scotch – Jim's Drams

Campbeltown

Campbeltown – Scotland’s forgotten whisky region.

Scotland’s forgotten whisky region

Ask many Scotch drinkers how many whisky regions there are in Scotland, and the will proudly say “Four! Speyside, Islay, Highlands and Lowlands.” They will be wrong. So was I, for many years. When I first encountered a Campbeltown single malt over a decade ago, I simply assumed it was a sub-region, or a marketing thing. It wasn’t until recently that I learned Campbeltown is the fifth officially designated whisky region in Scotland.

Campbeltown is a small town on the Kintyre peninsula in the southwest of Scotland. It is not far from Glasgow and the island of Islay, and the closest point to Ireland. So close to Ireland that lengend holds St. Patrick introduced the art of distilling to Scotland in that region during the 5th century.

At one time, Campbeltown (named for Archibald Cambell, 9th Earl of Argyle), was home to over 30 distilleries. In the Victorian age at the end of the 19th century, it was known as the whisky capital of the world.

Two world wars and a Great Depression later, and by the end of the 20th century, only two active distilleries remained – Glen Scotia and Springbank. In addition to their namesake whisky, Springbank also produces the heavily peated Longrow and the unpeated Hazelburn.

These were joined in 2004 when the former Glengyle distillery began production again after having been shuttered in 1925. With the name Glengyle now owned by Loch Lomond, the former Glengyle distillery is now producing whisky under the name Kilkerran, from Campbeltown’s original name, Kinlochkilkerran.

In general, Cambeltown whiskeys are known for being full-bodied, with a viscous, almost oily mouthfeel, and a coastal salinity due to the location on the Kintyre peninsula, and proximity to the sea. Here we look at the entry level expressions from each of these three distilleries.

First up, the Glen Scotia Double Cask. This is a non-age statement (NAS) whisky. Not surprisingly, the “double cask” refers to ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, the two most common types used for aging Scotch. All three expressions here combine bourbon and sherry cask influences.

This whisky is a deep gold in color, a little darker than actual gold. The nose brings expected sherry notes, but less dry than a sherried Speyside, with a touch of honey sweetness, a little biscuit-like cereal, and a hint of coastal salinity. The palate starts out sweet with a touch of the expected salinity, but gives way to drier notes, fading to almost slightly bitter in the finish. A few drops of water tone down the bitter notes at the end.

Springbank 10 is probably the most well known and widely available Campbeltown, at least in my area in the eastern U.S. The color is a medium gold, almost an exact match to the metal of that name. The nose starts off with toasted wood, followed by sherry notes. The expected salinity is lacking. The palate begins with a toffee sweetness, fading to drier sherry notes. The salinity that was lacking on the nose comes through in the taste. The mouthfeel is medium and slightly oily.

Last up is the Kilkerran 12. After resuming production in 2004, this 12 year old expression was first available just a few short years ago, in 2016. The color is a little lighter than gold, but darker than straw. The nose is warm, with wood dominating, and a hint of salinity that you might miss if you’re not looking for it. On the palate, it is the thickest and oiliest of the lot. It starts out drier than the others, with the typical flavors of a sherried Speyside, but a touch of coastal salinity and some peat quickly remind you that it is not one of those.

You may have noticed that each of these selections is bottled at 46% ABV. This is a common strength for single malt Scotch, as it is the proof at which non-chill filtered whiskies will not become cloudy when chilled.

Overall, each of these drams is representative of what the “typical” Campbeltown malt is expected to be, but each showcases different aspects to different degrees. If your whisky explorations haven’t taken you to the Kintyre peninsula yet, you may want to add it to your tasting destinations.

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Blended Whisky – Part Two

A look at blending your own whisky and the new Chivas Regal blending kit

Blending your own

If you’ve read part one of this post, or even if you haven’t, you might be thinking it would be fun to try blending your own whisky.

Well, if you think you have what it takes to create a unique and delicious blend, there are a few options available to you. There are a very small number of distilleries around the world that offer a whisky blending experience, where you can sample several different whiskies, and then try blending them with the help of an expert.

If a trip to one of these is not an option, you could buy several different bottles with different flavor profiles, or grab what you have on hand, and start blending.

Whisky Blending Kit from Chivas Regal – Comes in a very nice presentation box for gifting

Here’s another fun option, which I just tried. In November of 2018, Chivas Regal, one of the world’s leading whisky blenders, released a whisky blending kit. For about $35 U.S., you get 50 ml bottles (“airline” bottles) of 5 different whiskies identified only as smoky, fruity, floral, citrus, and creamy, as well as a 50 ml bottle of Chivas Regal 12 (as an example of a good, well balanced blend), a pipette to measure and dispense the whisky, and a beaker to do your blending. It also includes an empty 50 ml bottle labeled “My Blend”. All of this comes in a nice box, which would be perfect for gifting.

The idea here is to work in small batches, adding anywhere from .5 to 3 or 4 ml of each, to build a small tasting sample. You then taste, and adjust your recipe if you want more or less of a certain flavor. Once you have a blend you’re happy with, you can scale up your recipe and make enough to fill the 50 ml bottle.

It took a few attempts, but I managed to come up with something i was proud to call “My Blend”

If you’re going to give this a try, either with this kit or with your own whiskies, I have a few suggestions:
⦁ Before mixing anything, taste 2-3 ml of each whisky. Like making a cocktail, or cooking, it’s important to appreciate the taste of each component on its own, so you know what it’s contributing to the finished product.
⦁ A little smoke goes a long way. Even if you like a smoky whisky, you don’t want to drown out all of the other flavors. The purpose here is to learn about balance. I would recommend no more than about 5% of the “smoky” if you want to be able to appreciate the other flavors.
⦁ The main idea of the “creamy” is to add body and mouthfeel, not flavor. Use it accordingly.
⦁ Measure carefully, and keep track of what you do in each batch, so you can make informed adjustments, and reproduce the results once you find something you’re proud of.

If you look at this as $35 for 300 ml of whisky, it may not seem like a great bargain. I choose to look at it as $35 for a unique learning experience, and for that, it’s a great value.

I do wish they had an option to submit your recipe online and order a full sized bottle of your custom blend. There are sources that offer that, but you’re working from descriptions only, and don’t get to experiment first, so a mistake can leave you with a full bottle of something you don’t like.

Working with bottles of single malt that are available retail gives you better options for buying more, and making larger batches, but then it’s up to you to determine what to use for various flavor characteristics. With the kit, Chivas Regal has done that work for you.

Overall, if you have an interest in making your own custom blends, I think the new Chivas Regal kit is an excellent place to start.

Blended Whisky – Part One

Blends are your friends – Why you shouldn’t automatically dismiss blended whisky as inferior.

Blends are your friends

When most people hear the term “blended whisky”, they immediately think of Scotch. Irish whisky is also divided into blended and single categories, and there are even a small number of blenders in the U.S., but generally, blended whisky refers to Scotch whisky. The idea behind a blend is to combine whiskies of different flavor profiles to achieve a balanced, harmonious medley of flavors.

With single malt increasingly being marketed as a premium product, and news headlines about some examples selling for six figures, many people automatically dismiss blended whisky as somehow inferior to single malt. That is unfortunate. I’ve had some wonderful blends, and some mediocre single malts.

I even saw a comment once that single malt is better because they “get it right every time, every batch”, as if single malt meant single barrel. Obviously this person did not realize that unless it is labeled as “single barrel” or “single cask”, most single malts are a blend of different barrels, different batches, different ages, intended to produce a consistent product. It just all comes from one distillery.

The task of the master blender is not one to be disparaged or taken lightly. It takes years of experience and a trained nose and palate to make sure the next batch of Glenlivet tastes like the last batch of Glenlivet, when differences in grain, wood, and climate can vastly affect the flavor of each barrel. Or to make Chivas Regal taste like Chivas Regal, year after year, with varying supplies from all of your different distilleries.

Essential Single Malts

A guide to adding single malt Scotch to your home bar.

So you’ve got your home bar set up with all the basics. You’ve got all of the base spirits covered, including some whiskies for mixing. Maybe a bottle of Evan Williams or Jim Beam for bourbon cocktails. A decent inexpensive rye like Old Overholt. Maybe even Johnnie Walker Red Label or Dewar’s White Label to make up a Rob Roy in a pinch.

But now you’re looking to up your game. You have that friend or relative who’s a “serious” Scotch drinker. You want to add something nice that can be sipped neat. You want to add single malt Scotch to your home bar.

But where to begin? There are so many selections out there! Prices starting around $30, running up to hundreds. Thousands! Maybe you’ve tried a few. Maybe you’ve tried more than a few, and even have some favorites.

I thought about this, and decided to put togther a list, with a few basics requirements:
⦁ Provide a selection from each of the four most widely known Scotch regions (sorry, Cambeltown), each of which is representative of that region.
⦁ Keep prices reasonable, around $40 per bottle, so you can have a nice selection without spending the next mortgage payment.
⦁ By keeping prices reasonable, it also means you can introduce someone to Scotch without making them think “Gee, this is great. I wish I could afford to drink it at home.”
⦁ Be widely available. I don’t want to recommend something that you can’t find, nor do I want you to introduce your guests to something they can’t find.

For less than $200 (at least in my area), you can have a varied selection to please fans of everything from smoky Islay malts to sherried Speysides, as well as appeal to those new to the world of Scotch. For what it’s worth, here is my recommended “essential single malts”. While other expressions may come and go from my collection, these are the ones that will always sit on my bar, front and center.

Islay – Bowmore 12 Year Old – While this whisky offers the typical peat smoke flavor you would expect from an Islay, it is subdued, not overpowering, and balanced by a pleasant sweetness. It is not a “smoke bomb” like Laphroiag or Ardbeg. For someone looking to try Scotch and expecting it to be smoky, this is a great starting point. If you’re going to start with a single bottle, this is the one I would recommend.

Speyside – Glenlivet 12 Year Old (Glenfiddich 12 Year Old also works well) – These are probably the two most popular single malts worldwide. Both of these showcase the typical flavor profile of a whisky aged in sherry casks, and both should be available at almost any bar or liquor store. Both of these are a little over my $40 target price, but still under $50. Yes, there are Speysides under $40, but none do a better job of representing the region.

Highlands – Glenmorangie The Original (10 Year Old) – This was a tough one. There are so many options from this region, with such varied flavors. The “typical” Highland malt, however, is described as being light bodied and fruity. This core expression from Glenmorangie fits that description perfectly, with the distinctive citrus notes that run through all of their offerings.

Lowlands – Auchentoshan 12 Year Old – With most of the distilleries in the lowlands producing grain whisky, and much of that destined for blended Scotch, there aren’t too many choices for a Lowlands single malt. With Glenkinchie’s 12 Year Old coming in around $55-60, Auchentoshan is the winner by default to stay within my guidelines. The light body and earthy flavors are typical of the Lowlands.

You might be tempted to pick up the Auchentoshan American Wood for about $10 less. While it’s a good whisky for the price, it can be a little rough around the edges. In my opinion, it’s worth a few extra dollars to upgrade to the smoother, more approachable, 12 Year Old.

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What is Scotch?

What are the requirements for a whisky to be called Scotch? What are the different types and regions?

Scotch whisky, like Bourbon, is a specific type of whisky. Because it is commonly just called “Scotch”, it is sometimes thought of as a separate category, also like Bourbon. More than once, I’ve heard or read “I don’t drink whisky, I drink Scotch. Sorry to tell you, but if you’re drinking Scotch, you ARE drinking whisky.

However, although all Scotch is whisky, not all whisky is Scotch. In order to be called Scotch whisky, the following requirements must be met:
⦁ Must be distilled in Scotland from water, malted barley, and other whole cereal grains (the ingredients themselves do not need to come from Scotland).
⦁ Distilled to no higher than 94.8% ABV (alcohol by volume). ⦁ Aged in Scotland for a minimum of 3 years.
⦁ Can contain caramel coloring E150, but no other added colors or flavors. ⦁ Must be bottled at a minimum of 40% ABV.
⦁ If labeled with an age statement, it must indicate the youngest whisky included.
⦁ Labeling without an age statement is permitted. These are referred to as NAS (non age statement) whiskies.

It is a popular myth that all Scotch is smoky. I have even read that Scotch “must” be smoky, as if it were a requirement. This notion comes from the fact that traditionally, the heat to dry barley during the malting process was provided by burning peat, which is an abundant fuel source in Scotland. The smoke from this burning peat flavored the grain, and that flavor was still present in the finished product. Many distilleries still use peat smoke to impart that distinctive flavor, but many others use alternative heat sources to dry the grain and produce a whisky with no smoky taste.

In addition to these requirements, there are various sub-categories of Scotch. The most commonly known are single malt and blended, but there are actually 5 categories.
⦁ Single Malt Scotch must only contain malted barley (no other grains) and be produced at a single distillery. It can be, and usually is, a “blend” of multiple casks of various ages. Do not confuse Single Malt with Single Barrel, which is, as the name implies, from a single barrel.
⦁ Single Grain Scotch must come from a single distillery, but can contain other grains besides malted barley.
⦁ Blended Malt Scotch is a blend of different single malts from different distilleries.
⦁ Blended Grain Scotch is a blend of different single grains from different distilleries.
⦁ Blended Scotch is a blend of single malts and single grains from different distilleries.

As if that isn’t enough to remember, there are five official whisky producing regions within Scotland. These regions are mostly associated with single malt whiskies. Most blends contain whiskies from multiple regions, although occasionally you will see a blend from a single region.

Speyside – The largest whisky region in terms of number of distilleries and total production, and home to many of the best known single malt distilleries. Speyside whiskies are known for being full bodied and full flavored. Many are aged or “finished” in sherry casks, leading to a distinctive flavor profile. More on cask “finishes” in a later post. Speyside is located entirely within the highlands, and whisky produced in Speyside can legally be labelled as Highland whisky.

For a long time, I was under the misconception (as I think many are) that the Speyside region was defined as distilleries drawing their water from the River Spey and its tributaries. I learned recently that it is actually a geographical tax designation, defined by specific boundary lines and counties.

Highlands – The largest region geographically. Highland whiskies can vary widely in flavor profile, largely due to the size and diverse terrain of the region. Several smaller islands off the coast of Scotland’s mainland are home to distilleries. While some think these “island” distilleries should be a separate region, due to their unique characteristics, they are officially part of the Highlands – with one notable exception.

Islay – This single island is home to 8 active distilleries, and is considered its own region. Most Islay distilleries have continued the traditional use of peat. The region is known for its smoky whiskies, although there are some unpeated Islay whiskies as well. The S in Islay is silent, just like the S in island.

Lowlands – Most distilleries in the lowlands produce grain whisky, and much of that ends up in blends. The small number of lowland single malts are known for being light bodied and “approachable”.

Campbeltown – Ask many “experts” how many whisky regions Scotland has, and they will proudly say “four”, and proceed to list those above. There is a fifth official region, however. Campbeltown is located on the Kintyre peninsula in the southwest of Scotland, near Ireland. Legend holds that St. Patrick introduced distillation to Scotland by way of the Kintyre peninsula in the 5th century. At one time, Campbeltown was home to over 30 distilleries, and was known as the whisky capital of the world.

The few remaining single malts produced in Campbeltown are known for being full bodied and often “oily”. Like many coastal distilleries, they can have some salinity to them as well, as the salty air penetrates the casks over the many years that they spend aging in warehouses near the sea.

I know, that’s a lot of information. If you’ve made it this far, thank you! The truth is, this only scratches the surface, but it does cover the basics, and should help you get started. If you’d like to learn more, please be sure to subscribe!

Scotch? For St. Patrick’s Day?

St. Patrick’s Day isn’t just for Irish whiskey. Why the right Scotch might be an appropriate choice.

St. Patrick’s day is right around the corner, but before you reach for that bottle of Irish whiskey, perhaps you should pause for a moment.

But what does Scotch whisky have to do with St. Patrick? Plenty. St. Patrick was actually a native of Scotland, taken to Ireland at the age of 14. Legend holds that he introduced the art of distilling to Scotland in the 5th Century, via the Kintyre Peninsula.

With that in mind, a whisky from that region would certainly be appropriate for March 17th. Once a booming whisky city, Campbletown has precious few distilleries left, yet remains an official (but often overlooked) region.

The Glengyle Distillery closed almost a centruy ago, but re-opened in 2004. After several limited “preview” releases, the signature Kilkerran 12 Year Old was finally available in 2016.

Upon pouring, this whisky gives an impression of having a lot of body, almost appearing thick.

Oak dominates the nose, along with a hint of peat, and some sherry notes that one would more likely expect from a Speyside. Cherries come through, and linger after everything else has passed.

On the palate, it has a full-bodied mouthfeel that confirms the first visual impression – this is a viscous whisky. Fruity and citrus flavors dominate, along with the smoke hinted at on the nose, similar to a peated Highland. However, the oily body and lingering salinity confirm that this is indeed a Campbletown malt.

The finish is long, warm, and pleasant. If you’ve never had a Campbletown before, this would be a worthy place to start.

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