Tag Archives: Australia

Johnnie Walker Ghost and Rare Port Ellen

by

Yes, it really does have Port Ellen in it.

The Johnnie Walker ‘Blue Label’ moniker is synonymous with luxury and rarity, so it’s fitting that when Diageo decided to blend together some of their rarest whisky stocks, they would release it as an extension of the Blue Label range. But that’s pretty much where the lineage to the ‘common’ Blue Label ends, as this new release from the striding man is almost in a league of its own.

Johnnie Walker Port Ellen

The new release I’m talking about is the Johnnie Walker Ghost and Rare Port Ellen and I was fortunate enough to attend a special preview tasting last week held at one of Sydney’s finest diners, Bennelong, at the Opera House.

The story of Ghost and Rare

The ‘Ghost and Rare’ element of the name comes from the malt and grain whiskies used in this blend, specifically those from the closed distilleries of Caresbridge and Calendonian (both grain distilleries), along with the fabled golden child of Islay, Port Ellen distillery.

Port Ellen’s history dates back nearly 200 years to the 1820s when it was founded on the south coast of Islay, the little island we now know as home to Scotland’s peated (or ‘smoky’) malt whiskies. It produced whisky for over 100 years before being sold to DCL, who we now know as Diageo, the parent company of the famous Johnnie Walker brand. After only a few years of ownership, Port Ellen was temporarily closed for some 37 years, before it was eventually brought back to life in 1967. The resurrection would be short-lived though, as the whisky glut of the 1980s hit hard. Diageo – owners of Port Ellen, Lagavulin and Caol Ila – had a tough decision to make, and in 1983 Port Ellen was closed for good. In the decades that have passed since, the ever ageing (and dwindling) stocks of this lost Islay distillery have become some of the most sought after single malts in the world. So when you see a Johnnie Walker release with the name ‘Port Ellen’ on the bottle, it’s the kind of thing that piques your interest.

Tasting notes

The other thing to note is this; with Port Ellen and Caresbridge closing in 1983 and Caledonian closing in 1988, you have some seriously well-aged whisky in this blend. Aside from those three Ghost and Rare distilleries, malts from Mortlach Dailuaine, Cragganmore, Blair Athol and Oban also make an appearance, so this should be interesting.

On the nose I found it quite tropical, with some overripe, almost effervescent stone fruit. Behind that though were some interesting heaving notes; workshop grease, wet rocks and a salty maritime note.

The palate had a strong link to the nose with much of the above, along with a touch of citrus and a classy, tropical maritime peat note.

img_5164

Is the Port Ellen really evident?

Normally I would be a bit skeptical and wonder whether my mind was playing tricks on me. I know it has Port Ellen in it. It even says so on the bottle. So am I just convincing myself I can taste the influence on that rare malt? That would certainly be plausible, but I don’t think that’s the case with this one.

Here’s an interesting thing about this release. The absence of a certain detail makes this just as interesting as the inclusion of detail (top marks to Diageo for telling us what’s in the bottle!). The peat influence in most Johnnie Walker expressions comes from a healthy dose of Caol Ila, but a quick glance at the bottle confirms that Caol Ila is indeed absent from this release. In actual fact, the only whisky in this bottle with any kind of discernible peat and maritime note is the Port Ellen. So while we don’t know exactly how much Port Ellen is in there, it’s enough to let you know it’s there!

Johnnie Walker Ghost and Rare

So as I asked last time – a clever marketing move? Of course it is! But it’s so much more than that. It’s genuinely tasty whisky, with some genuinely old and rare liquid in it and it’s been put together in a very clever way. To think of this as a standard bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label with a splash of Port Ellen is missing the point.

The Johnnie Walker Ghost and Rare Port Ellen is now available from major stores with an RRP of AU$480

 

 

Sullivan’s Cove x Whisky & Alement

by

When these two get together, you know you’re in for something good

It’s our national day of celebration today – Australia Day – so I can think of no better day to post an article that celebrates an Australian whisky, and the fantastic people and bar that brought it to us.

If I had to pick a defining moment for Australian whisky in the last, say, ten years, one clear event comes to mind. It was when Sullivan’s Cove won the accolade as 2014’s ‘world’s best single malt’ in the World Whisky Awards competition. It was the moment the catapulted Australian whisky from being a thing that local whisky fans knew about, to a thing that everyone knew about. Articles started appearing in mainstream news, colleagues at work started asking if I’d tasted ‘the best whisky in the world’, and people who’d never even tried whisky – let alone an Australian whisky – started asking where they could get their hands on a bottle. It was a real zero to hero moment.

Sullivan's Cove Whisky and Alement

Just as Sullivan’s Cove played a pivotal role in catapulting Australian whisky into the mainstream, I’d argue that a certain Melbourne institution has played an equally sizeable one in defining the whisky-appreciation culture in Australia and really bringing it to life. That institution is Melbourne’s Whisky and Alement.

Whisky + Alement

Since opening their doors back in 2010 (originally known as Chez Regine), Whisky and Alement have quietly gone from strength to strength. With their whisky shelves overflowing back in 2013, they felt there was enough momentum and interest in whisky to take the leap and pigeon-hole themselves as a whisky bar. It made them unique and that gamble – along with loads of hard work – has paid off. It paved the way for Whisky and Alement as a bar, but also provided a place where they could educate a whole new wave of people who didn’t yet know they were whisky lovers.

Following on from their popular and educational Introduction to Whisky classes, the team started hosting The Story of Whisky: From old to new world’. Among plenty of other aspects, the story of whisky touches on the significance of single casks, but also explores the importance of blending and the notion that blends can produce something greater than the sum of their individual parts. And what better way to illustrate that to an audience than with your very own ‘blended’ whisky. And that’s exactly what W+A did with this Sullivan’s Cove collaboration.

A collaboration with Sullivan’s Cove

What you see here is quite a significant bottle. Julian White – one of Whisky and Alement’s owners – pitched this collaboration idea directly to Sulivan’s Cove Managing Director, Adam Sable. He tells me that it wasn’t just a case of ‘hey, it would be cool if we had our own bottle’, but rather he wanted to produce something with ‘purpose’. The ‘purpose’ was to help consumers understand that as unique and interesting as single cask whisky can be, they’re not always the complete package, so don’t automatically discount something that’s been ‘blended’ or diluted as being inferior. From my own experience, when done right, blends can definitely deliver something quite extraordinary. 

Sullivan's Cove Whisky and Alement

Adam was clearly on-board with the idea and a short while later Julian found himself at Sullivan’s Cove, surrounded by a host of un-marked sample bottles that gave nothing away as to their contents. The task – to put together a bespoke blend that met the brief, and could be proudly used in their masterclasses. After more than five hours of sampling, blending, nosing and sampling, Jules tells me that palate fatigue had well and truly set in, so after landing on something he thought might meet the brief, he called it a day. Returning fresh the next morning, a re-taste confirmed he was on the money, and this bottle was locked in.

What’s in the bottle?

Now it was time to find out what he’d actually blended and it’s a pretty bloody interesting one.

IMG_5193.jpg

Unbeknownst to Julian at the time, one of the casks he’d selected was HH042, which turned out to be Sullivan’s Cove’s oldest cask of whisky at 18 years of age, which clocked in at a staggering 76.7% ABV. The second component he landed on was TD0225, a ~10 year old French Oak tawny port cask at 69.6% ABV affectionately known as ‘Stubbs’, as it was rather short and stumpy after being re-coopered down to 180-190L. The idea of a blend clocking in at 70%+ ABV is a lot of fun, but doesn’t really make for the greatest drinking experience, so this was very sensibly brought down to 50.3% ABV, a perfect strength in my opinion.

IMG_5208.jpg

On the nose it’s thick, warming and comforting. A slathering of honey on hot buttered-toast, some dry oily grassy notes (like dried Australian native plant leaves), vanilla custard, those home-made chewy coconut biscuits and a some caramel fudge. 

On the palate it’s oily and textural, but without the distraction of a big alcohol whack. An amazing connection with the nose (which I personally love) with a good dose of thick honey, caramel pecan pie, pastry crusts and some dried fruit mix. The finish presents gentle baking spice with a slight eucalypt-menthol note.

I’m very much a sucker for single cask whiskies and the variability and fun they bring. But are they often a complete package? Are they always technically poised? Rarely. This on the other hand is. I’ve tasted quite a few Australian whiskies – not a huge number, but quite a few – and this is one of the very best I’ve come across. It nails the brief and is simply great whisky.

img_5228

Wherever in the world you’re reading this from – if you ever happen to find yourself in Melbourne, Australia, you should do yourself a favour and pay a visit to Whisky and Alement, or their sister venue upstairs, The Melbourne Whisky Room. And if you’re somewhat more local, full details on their great classes can be found here. I’m not sure if this bottle is currently on the bar to taste, but if you do ever get the chance, move it to the top of your list – I’m quite confident you won’t regret it.

The Last Drop Distillers

by

Tasting some seriously old liquid from the ‘rare spirit hunters’

Just prior to Christmas I was invited along to something that promised to be rather special. But I didn’t realise quite how special it would end up being until I arrived and scoped-out the rarities on the table. But more on that in just a few moments.

IMG_4953.jpg

The event was held to welcome The Last Drop Distillers to Australia, and their extremely limited range of very old, very premium (and rather pricey) beverages to Australia. You’re entirely forgiven if you haven’t heard of The Last Drop Distillers, as their whiskies aren’t exactly the kind of thing you’ll find on supermarket shelves. They greeted the world back in 2008; the brainchild of two pioneers of the spirits industry – James Espey OBE and (the late) Tom Jago – and their ethos was simple. They were going to source and bottle the world’s finest, rarest and most exclusive spirits. Ten years later, they’ve risen to the challenge and continue to only offer liquid that they firmly believe to be unique, delicious and extremely limited in nature.

The Last Drop in Australia

We were very fortunate to have Rebecca Jago, Managing Director and daughter of the late Tom Jago in Sydney to share the above, and some of her personal stories, while taking us through the following extraordinary line-up.

IMG_4951.jpg

First on our list was a 1971 Blended Scotch Whisky, that had an interesting back-story to it. This particular whisky was originally blended in 1983 as a premium 12 year old whisky for the American market, but after a portion was bottled, the remainder made its way back into 11 ex-Oloroso sherry butts where it sat un-touched for a further nine years. A small volume was again bottled at the age of 21 years, but for some reason a further parcel was held back; this time filled into nine ex-American Oak barrels. Another 24 years passed before the now dwindling parcel of whisky was discovered by The Last Drop, who then bottled it at 45 years old.

On the nose and palate this was completely convincing. A rich, flavourful blend that showed layers of complexity, no doubt brought about through a combination of great spirit, age and the complex cask treatment it had been through over the previous 45 years. Two minor issues with this one – 1) me consuming it with too much gusto, and 2) not having more in my glass to savour!

IMG_4966.jpg

Two very Glenrothes

If the blended whisky wasn’t special enough, we were also treated to two 1968 vintage Glenrothes, which form part of trilogy which The Last Drop will be releasing over three consecutive years. Approaching whisky of this age, I’m always quite skeptical as not all whisky can withstand 50 years in an oak cask and it doesn’t always end well. I’ve been very fortunate to try a number of whiskies aged between 40-60 years and there are only a handful that I’d genuinely want to drink again and again. These two fall into that category.

IMG_4965.jpg

The nose and palate were well and truly still alive with notes of earthen floor dunnage warehouses, old oak, and overripe tropical fruit, fleshy stone fruit, marmalade, liquorice straps, apple skins and baking spice. They both shared an awful lot in common and were an absolute treat to try.

The Centenario Port Duo

As dessert was served, Rebecca introduced us to something a little bit different, two Tawny Ports which represent The Last Drop’s first foray into fortified wine. The two bottles of port are presented as a set and hail from the Douro valley in Portugal.

IMG_4946.jpg

Why the two bottles? Well, to provide their lucky owners with the chance to indulge in what has to be a once in a lifetime kind of experience. One of the bottles is a 1970 vintage, which in itself is a mighty special thing. However, the other pre-dates it by 100 years and is an 1870 vintage. Yes, 1870, allowing you to taste the effect of 100 additional years of ageing. Having had the privilege to try both, side-by-side, I can confirm it’s a mighty special thing indeed.

The 1970 is still vibrant and full of bright fruit notes, honey, sticky plums, berries and the perfect amount of acidity. The 1870 vintage is almost like a reduced, caramelised version of its younger sibling. The viscosity is unreal; it’s syrupy, incredibly rich and is like a glass of liquid flame raisins.

If you’re in the market..

Apart from needing to taste exceptional, all releases that come out from The Last Drop have to have pedigree and flawless provenance and authenticity. Such is their criteria that since 2008, just 12 ‘last drops’ have been released, encompassing some incredibly rare Scotch whiskies (such as this 1967 Glen Garioch I tried a few years back), along with some very rare cognacs.

IMG_4993.jpg

The trio shown above will all be available through Dan Murphy’s here in Australia, starting at $5,000 RRP for the 1971 blend. Expect to see some further interesting releases from The Last Drop in 2019, possibly even including a super premium Bourbon!

Canadian Club 8 year old

by

Canadian Club probably isn’t the first whisky brand that comes to mind for the average reader of this site. But just because it’s not, doesn’t mean you should ignore the the history of the brand and the impact it’s had on whisky-drinking markets the world over. Long before it became a top-selling brand in Australia it had some seriously strong links to a very pivotal period in whisky history; the era of prohibition in America.

Snapseed

After founding his distillery in 1858 in Detroit, prohibition (among other things) would prompt Hiram Walker to up and move across the border to what’s now known as Windsor, Ontario in Canada. Although there was a constitutional ban on alcohol in place, prohibition didn’t exactly hurt Canadian Club’s sales, far from it. They’d already made a name for themselves in the United States before 1920 thanks to their well-aged, ‘Canadian’ style of whisky.

Snapseed

So when the laws kicked in and local whiskey became hard to find, Canadian Club would go on to become one of the most heavily smuggled brands, thus cementing itself as a solid whisky favourite once the laws were eventually repealed in the 1930s. By the 1940s Canadian Club was sold in over 90 countries; fast forward a further six decades and it continues to be hugely popular the world over.

Snapseed

In recent years in Australia we’ve seen big-spend campaigns marketing ‘CC and Dry’ as a beer alternative and you’ll even find it pre-mixed on tap in plenty of venues around the country. It’s been hugely successful for the brand and has been responsible for attracting plenty of new people to the whisky category. In fact it’s done so well that that Canadian Club has recently become the fastest growing spirit brand in Australia. So whilst it might not be the single malt whisky-sipper’s whisky of choice, there’s no denying CC’s immense popularity. Thanks to this success, Canadian Club have recently chosen the Australian market as the global launch pad for their newest release, the Canadian Club 8 year old and have kindly sent over a bottle to Whisky Ledger HQ for a bit of a road test.

Canadian Club 8 year old

The new expression sits firmly between the standard release and the 12 year old (in terms of age), but I’m told that it’s not actually the same whisky. With the 8 year old expression, the mashbill of grains used contains a higher malt and rye content compared to its siblings, so I’m expecting to get some nice ‘rye spice’ notes on this.

Snapseed

Tasted neat, the nose has plenty of caramel, creamy vanilla and a touch of baking spice. This same general profile carries through to the palate delivering flavours of creamy caramel, honey, pastries and baked goods and nice gently spice on the finish.

There’s a good chance this will be consumed mixed though, so I put it to the test in a classic highball (CC & soda with a squeeze of lime) along with the ever popular CC and Dry (ginger ale) and yep, they’re both pretty darn refreshing. Whilst it won’t convert me from being a beer drinker, I can definitely imagine this going down a treat in summer!

The Canadian Club 8 year old is exclusively available in Australia (for the moment, at least) at a recommended retail price of AU$50.

The Glen Moray Mastery

by

Glen Moray celebrates its 120th anniversary this year and to mark the occasion they’ve released something pretty special. But I’ll get to that in just a sec.

My experience with Glen Moray

I was first introduced to Glen Moray in a slightly unconventional way after tasting their whisky bottled as a single cask for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS). On paper, the whisky I tried sounded fairly pedestrian. It was from a refill bourbon cask and was mid-teens in age, but the spirit quality that came through on that particular cask really caught my attention. SMWS have gone on to release some pretty stellar casks from Glen Moray and I’ve bought many of them (especially those toasted oak releases).

Snapseed

Trying big, punchy single casks is all well and good, but it dawned on me a little while ago that I haven’t really tasted that many of Glen Moray’s original bottlings, the ones you can easily find on the shelf at your favourite bottle shop. That’s been on my to do list for a little while now and thankfully I recently had the chance when Master Distiller, Graham Coull made the trek to Sydney to launch his latest creation.

Mastery launch time

I was generously invited to a long-lunch one Friday, held at The Roosevelt in Potts Point to taste through not only the core range, but also the range-topping, limited release known simply as the ‘Mastery’.

Snapseed

On arrival we were treated to the flare that’s synonymous with The Roosevelt, enjoying a nitrogen Glen Moray ‘Triple Wood’ cocktail, garnished with a thistle and served alongside a moreish haggis oatcake. That would have done me just fine, but moving through to the dining space we were in for a treat as a five course meal followed, each dish paired with a whisky from the core range, including whiskies from the Classic range, along with their age-stated siblings.

Snapseed

I didn’t take detailed notes on each, but it was great to be able to taste them all back-to-back and be able to form some general observations. I genuinely like the spirit character of Glen Moray and feel as though it lends itself well to ex-bourbon cask maturation. The young Glen Moray Elgin Classic was spritely and fresh, whilst the older age stated expressions like the 12 and 15 year old definitely showed more maturity and depth.

Snapseed

The Chardonnay cask is really quite interesting, bringing an earthy oakiness to what’s normally quite a light fresh spirit, whilst the port cask finish is entirely moreish (to me, anyway). Graham let us in on some interesting info on this one, informing us that it starts life as a five year old ex-bourbon matured Glen Moray before being finished in a port pipe for a whole year. Why a year? Well, in Graham’s words “If you’re finishing something, you should always give it a full summer as that’s when the real wood interaction happens”. A super drinkable dram that comes in at only $50 a bottle! I’m struggling to think of another whisky at that price point with that level of flavour.

Snapseed

Graham also let slip that there are a few other finishes being added to the Classic range in the near future, include whisky finished in Cab Sav, Rum and Sauternes casks, so keep an eye out for those!

The Glen Moray Mastery

Back to the main subject of this post though, Glen Moray’s 120th anniversary and the new Mastery! The whisky can best be described as a multi-vintage single malt, which combines Glen Moray distilled in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Graham wanted to include some of the oldest stocks in the warehouse when putting this together, so 20% of the make-up includes ex-Port cask whisky distilled in 1988, whilst 80% of the whisky in the Mastery was distilled in 1994 or earlier. The heart of the whisky was finished in Madeira casks and to really lift the sweetness even further Graham also blended in some ex-sherry casks from the 1990s. That’s about as much as I can tell you, as Graham insists on keeping the final recipe of The Mastery a closely guarded secret!

Snapseed

On the nose it’s completely different to any other Glen Moray I’ve tried. It’s rich and deep, with notes of beeswax, dried fruits and chocolate. It’s jammy, with raisins, apricots, toasted nuts and even something a touch smoky, like dried tea leaves or coal ash. Super inviting stuff and a dram you could nose for hours.

On the palate it’s thick and oily, with a chewy sweetness of dried fruit and dark jammy flavours. There’s a touch of spice, some dark chocolate and oak, but not in an overwhelming way. The port casks used in this really shine through nicely.

It’s a properly tasty whisky, but then again, you’d hope it would be considering it comes in at a cool $1,400 a bottle. Just eight of the individually numbered decanters will be arriving in Australia, so if you’d like to get your hands on The Mastery, get in touch with your nearest Dan Murphy’s flagship store.

Snapseed

A special thank you to the truly down to earth Graham Coull and his lovely wife Faye for making the trip down here to present this great experience. I look forward to seeing you both again, hopefully at Glen Moray next time.