Whisky Review: Clynelish 14

Clynelish is a somewhat less well-known member of the Diageo family of whisky distilleries, having recently been a part of their "Hidden Malts" collection of single malts that were previously rare or unavailable. In the case of Clynelish, much of this has to do with the tumultuous history of the distillery.

Scotchwhisky.net

It was established on the Dornoch Firth in 1819 to serve as a market for grain grown by the Duke of Sutherland's tenant farmers. Clynelish quickly built an extremely strong reputation during the 19th century. However, the distillery fell on hard times in 1931 and closed its doors. The distillery reopened briefly after 1938, but was once again shuttered amid the grain shortages of WWII. Reopening once again in the post-War years, the distillery was updated in the 1960s and a new distillery was built alongside the original in 1967, copying the old stills as closely as possible but installing a significantly greater number of stills to increase production capacity. The original distillery closed for a short time and was then renamed and operated as Brora starting in 1969. The old distillery began to make a more heavily peated whisky to fill a gap in the owner's portfolio as heavier Islay-style whiskies were an important component in their blends. This ended in 1983, at which point the old distillery was closed for good. The new distillery continued to operate under the Clynelish name, primarily producing whisky for the Johnnie Walker Gold Label blend. Single malt Clynelish bottlings were semi-available during the 1990s in the "Flauna and Flora" incarnation, but got a bigger push in 2002, releasing the now standard 14 Year bottling.

Clynelish 14 Year


Nose: briny, a bit of sherry, malt and peat, which becomes saltwater taffy, malt and bitter chocolate after dilution

Taste: sweet & sour up front, then malt, leading into sherry, salty chocolate and vegetal peat, which becomes sweeter with water, gaining gobs of creamy malt and honey up front

Finish: malt, sherry, a touch of salty peat, bittersweet chocolate and pepper, which becomes drier with water

This whisky really introduced me to the concept of maritime flavors in a single malt. While there are long, heated debates about whether or not whisky can really taste salty, my guess is that much like the way that a whisky can smell sweet even though there's no way for the nose to directly detect sugar (check out the first video around 2:30), there are flavors and smells in the whisky that the brain associates with saltiness, so it assumes that there must be actual NaCl present and fills in the perceived blank. But whatever it is, this whisky really reminds me of a seashore, with the salt tang and wet vegetation all swirling around.

To me this whisky falls somewhere in between Arran 10 and Highland Park 12 in terms of peat. Much like the Arran the peat seems more vegetal than smoky, but unlike Arran, Clynelish does use a medium-peated barley malt. This makes it an excellent way to ease into peat-ier single malts without going all the way into heavier Island and Islay whiskies. In terms of sherry influence, Clynelish is much closer to the Arran than Highland Park. Though if you want to try a version with greater sherry influence, there is a Distiller's Edition, which is unfortunately seems to be difficult to find in the States. But the regular Clynelish 14 is still solid and usually runs somewhere between $45 and $55, which makes it a rather good value given its age and the quality of the whisky.

Tiki Classics: Tinkering with Dr. Funk

Recently Doug over at the Pegu Tiki Blog posted a review of various recipes for the Dr. Funk cocktail. This is in a sense one of the ur-tiki drinks, having been invented in the South Pacific long before Don Beach touched a bottle of rum. You should really go read the full history that Doug posted, which includes figures like Robert Lewis Stevenson and Paul Gauguin. However, it seems that none of the recipes available make for a really inspiring drink. Looking over the lists of ingredients, I could see that there should be a good drink somewhere among them, so I decided to tinker a bit.

This was basically an attempt to split the difference between Don's version and Trader Vic's.

Dr. Funk Mod-1


1.5 oz Appleton V/X rum
0.5 oz Smith & Cross rum
0.25 Herbsaint
0.75 oz lime juice
0.5 oz simple syrup
0.25 oz gredadine
0.5-1 oz soda water

Combine all ingredients except for soda water, shake with ice and strain into a chilled rocks glass full of ice. Top with soda water. and stir briefly

The sip leads off with a tingle of soda water, followed closely by the Jamaican rum dunder funk. This segues into lime and sugar, which quickly transforms into a melange of Herbsaint anise and grenadine fruitiness, with just a hint of the soda water's carbonic acid.

It took a couple of tries but I'm pleased with how this drink turned out. I was quite happy to find that the Smith & Cross/Appleton V/X combo did an excellent job of tying down the quarter ounce of Herbsaint. I was worried that it would overwhelm the drink, as six drops is usually enough for most of the drinks I enjoy that contain Herbsaint. The soda water helps to leaven the drink and its carbonic acid works to counterbalance the hefty doses of syrups. Go with half an ounce of soda water if you want a more spirit-forward drink and an ounce if you want a more fruit and anise-focused drink.

Whisky Review: Arran 14 Year

I reviewed the younger 10 Year whisky from Arran a few months back, so now it's time for it's elder sibling. I got very lucky and was able to get my hands on these two whiskies for very reasonable prices because the state of Oregon has a bit of a glut of Arran and decided to heavily discount them. The 14 Year runs in the mid-70s most of the time, but has been available for only $50 for the last few months. Unfortunately that comes to an end on March 1st, so if this sounds like a scotch you'd like to try and you live in the NW, I'd suggest picking up a bottle sooner rather than later.

Like the 10 Year, the Arran 14 Year is bottled at 46% without chill filtration, giving is a decent amount of heft and a nice mouth feel. It's somewhat inconsequential, but I have to hand it to the people who do the packaging for Arran. The standing stone motif is a nice touch. It's a very good balance between showy and simple, which lets it stand out on the shelf without overreaching. Nicely done.

Arran 14 Year


Nose: milk chocolate, mint, orange peel, a hint of vegetal peat, malt, a touch of sherry and rum

Taste: a burst of citrus, raspberry and mint up front, which glides into sweet chocolate malt and dark berries mid-palate and back, with allspice, cinnamon, sherry, peat and pepper leading into the finish, which becomes more intensely honey sweet throughout the palate and diminished peat influence after dilution

Finish: honey, bittersweet chocolate malt with slightly bitter peat, dark fruit and black pepper

This is a really excellent whisky. With that said, I think I actually like the Arran 10 Year a bit better. The 14 Year cranks up the sweetness of the 10 Year while losing some of the peat and other Island influence that provided such a nice balance in the 10. If you live in Oregon or can make it here by the end of the month, it's mostly going to be a matter of personal taste. There's only a $10 difference between the two expressions right now. But once March rolls around, the 10 Year will become a much better deal, especially if you order it online.

Whisky Review: Dalwhinnie 15 vs. Distiller's Edition

Another set of provisional reviews, this time of two offerings from the Dalwhinnie distillery.

Dalwhinnie 15 Year


Nose: raspberries, sherry, raisins and creamy peat, with the peat moving forward and gaining a bit of vanilla after dilution

Taste: lightly sweet with a bit of sherry, which becomes drier and gains a bit of mocha near the end after adding a couple of drops of water

Finish: light vegetal peat, slightly flat, which gets a bit more pep with peaty, sherried chocolate and malt after adding water

I found this to be a decent, but somewhat uninspiring whisky. The nose is rather fruity and the vegetal peaty that pokes through in all stages of the drinking experience is nice, but it wasn't enough to make me want to go out and buy a bottle. With that said, it is rather reasonably priced for a 15 year old, coming in around $50-55. If I didn't already have a decent number of whiskies in the "light, vegetal peat over sherry" vein, I probably would go out and buy it.

Dalwhinnie Distiller's Edition


Nose: light sherry influence, malt, a bit of both vegetal and smokey peat, which becomes sweeter with maple syrup, malt, peat, sherry and a bit of pine sap after dilution

Taste: light, creamy malt up front, fades into sherry further back, which gains a burst of gin botanicals right before the finish after adding a few drops of water

Finish: malty vegetal peat, which becomes bittersweet malt after adding water

Much like the time I tried Oban 14, I drank this whisky at the wrong time. In this case it was after a dram of Aberlour A'Bunadh, which is obviously a rather hefty whisky. So again, there are probably subtleties that I missed due to my taste buds and nose having been retuned to cask strength. This is a fairly nice whisky, though other than the interesting gin note in the palate, I didn't feel like it brought much to the table that you can't find in the regular 15 year old Dalwhinnie, especially considering the extra $20-25 you'd have to shell out for a bottle.

Mixology Monday LXIV: Tiki!

Yeah, I've missed out on a few MixMos lately, but there was no way I could skip this one. Doug over at The Pegu Tiki Blog has declared that in conjunction with Tiki month, it would also be the theme of this month's Mixology Monday. So I present to you further evidence that rum and tequila can play nice together.

The Ahau's Dram
1.5 oz añejo tequila
0.5 oz Demerara rum
0.5 oz lime juice
0.5 oz orange juice
0.5 oz honey syrup
0.25 oz orgeat
0.25 oz allspice dram
1 dash Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients with a handful of cracked ice, blend for five seconds and pour unstrained into a chilled rocks glass with more cracked ice.

This drink began as a fairly simple adaptation of the Three Dots and a Dash, as the vegetal flavors of tequila have some passing resemblance to those of rhum agricole. In this drink I went with Sauza Hornitos Añejo, which is a totally respectable and relatively inexpensive añejo tequila. It's not going to blow anyone away, but it toes a nice line between tequila funkiness and more subdued barrel flavors. With a nod towards Jim's Special, I subbed out the falernum for orgeat to help bridge the rum and tequila. Lastly, in keeping with the fact that this is a slightly lighter drink than the original, I went with El Dorado 5 Year rum rather than the heavier ED12 or Lemon Hart 80. ED5 is nice and fruity while retaining a lot of the classic Demerara rum flavors.

The opening sip is surprisingly dry, with hints of orgeat nuttiness, leading into the fruity notes of the Demerara rum. This segues into a burst of lime and orange, followed by the spices of the Angostura bitters and allspice dram, then finishes with the vegetal agave flavors of the tequila. Amidst all of that, the honey works its magic to smooth everything out. In a sense, this opens like a rum drink, but finishes like a margarita.

Once again, thanks to Doug for hosting this month and a good MxMo to all!

Whisky Review: Talisker Distiller's Edition and Oban 14

Much like my Cask Strength Shootout post, these are provisional reviews, as I only tried these whiskies once. Still, they were large drams, so I got a fairly good sense of what was going on.

Talisker Distiller's Edition (98 or 99?)


Nose: barbecue peat smoke with honey sweetness underneath, a little bit of oiliness, pine sap and sherry if you dig for it, which gains some brown sugar and molasses notes while the barbecue smells win out over the peat after a bit of water

Taste: slightly sweet up front, strong pepper mid-palate, dried fruits, citrus, malt and a touch of bitterness leading into the finish, which becomes a bit more subdued and creamy after dilution

Finish: gentle barbecue smoke, chocolate and what I thought of as a mash-up between the nose and early palate

This is the whisky that finally convinced me that peat smoke could be a good thing. After flipping through Michael Jackson's scotch guide for a while, I finally just asked the bartender for a suggestion for something similar to Highland Park. He suggested Talisker and the DE was only $1 more than the basic 10 Year. And I was in heaven. I really like the spicy barbecue flavors that come with the smoke. I still need to try the Talisker 10, so I don't know if this is just a feature of their whisky or something that comes out of the extra maturation in sherry casks, but it's really delicious. I'm even considering some Islay whiskies now, which were pretty much the opposite of what I was interested in when I started. How things change...

Oban 14 Year


Nose: PX sherry, raisins, a hint of peat and a bit of orange peel, with the peat and sherry becoming more harmonious after adding a few drops of water

Taste: lightly sweet up front, malt, a bit of sherry, and orange mocha going into the finish, which becomes a bit sweeter and more peppery after dilution

Finish: sweet and malty, with a touch of sherry, which evolves into bitter chocolate malt after adding water

It was a bit of a mistake for this to be the second whisky of the night after the Talisker. I have a feeling that this is a better and more complex scotch than it seemed at the time, but after the brawny island smoke, it just couldn't stand up. I'd really like to try more, but the price point is just a bit hard to justify when the somewhat similar Clynelish 14 is nearly $30 less. If anyone has a lead on a store that will sell and ship it to me for under $60 I'd love to try it again, but right now it's a little way down my 'to buy' list.

Tiki Classics: Big Bamboo

This drink comes from the estimable Mai-Kai Polynesian restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, FL, one of the few remaining outposts of remaining from the heyday of tiki. Built in 1956, the Mai-Kai is a veritable temple to all things tiki, including 23 tons of Polynesian artifacts, five dining rooms and two cocktail lounges, all under a 40-foot tall concrete A-frame sculpted to look like enormous wooden beams. If I ever have a reason to go to Florida (and it'd probably need to be a pretty good reason given the heat and humidity), I would absolutely want to go to the Mai-Kai. The entire place is an experience, from the tiki lounge built to look like a sunken ship to the mind-boggling collection of rums.

This drink comes from the mind of Mariano Licudine. In the 1930s he was a bartender for Don the Beachcomber, learning many of the seminal tiki recipes in the process. After moving through various Beachcomber locations across the country and rising to #2 bartender, he was hired away by Jack and Bob Thornton, the money behind the Mai-Kai. Mariano was instrumental in every element of the Mai-Kai, from the design details to the drinks. His tenure at the Mai-Kai was so successful that he became something of a celebrity, appearing in papers, magazines and television programs across the country.

This particular drink was a Mariano secret for years, being served only to members of the Okole Maluna ("Bottoms Up") Society who had consumed every one of the 48 drinks on the Mai-Kai's menu.

Big Bamboo (modified from Remixed)
1.5 oz Cuban rum (sub Virgin Islands or Puerto Rican)
0.75 oz dark Jamaican rum
0.5 oz lime juice
0.5 oz grapefruit juice
0.5 oz orange juice
0.35 oz honey syrup
0.35 oz passionfruit syrup
2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Combine all ingredients, add a handful of cracked ice and blend for 5 seconds, then pour into a chilled rocks glass full of cracked ice.

The sip leads off with rich flavors of the rum and spicy Angostura bitters, followed closely behind by the tropical fruits flavor of the passionfruit syrup, orange juice and the honey sweetness, then last but not least, the snappy sour and bitter flavors of the lime and grapefruit juices. You should be careful with how much you dilute the drink through blending as it has a fairly hefty dose of rum and its good to be reminded how much alcohol you're consuming. Over cracked ice, the drink will mellow with time, becoming dangerously drinkable.