M
Posts: 1631
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Kilwinnkie
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Speyside Story - my backpacking tour of the whisky region.
The first stop was the Glen Moray distillery in Elgin. The tour mentioned a lot off stuff about maltose, grist, mash tuns, pot stills, spirit safes, feints, hearts, draff and various other terms that utterly failed to sink in. Still, it was interesting to see up close for the first time how the process works, and it gives you a feel for the processes and technique behind the dram you're drinking.
The complimentary drink at the end was out of a choice of three: the Glen Moray Classic, a 12 year and a 16 year. Apparently the Classic was formly labled as a 6 year old, but had been languishing at the bottom of whisky charts due to the snobbery of most whisky drinkers. Once they'd renamed it 'Classic' it rocketed up to within the top five best sellers...
Anyway, being a snob, I opted for the 16 year old. The decription of it was of a "Christmasy" drink with rich, almost savoury flavours and a long finish. Although I couldn't pick out all the other flavours that had been mentioned, there was a really delicious taste to it, and the finish was warming and seemed to roll over the mouth for ages. Great stuff.
Second along the line was the Strathilsa Distillery in Keith. Whereas Elgin as a town had slightly disappointed me - Tesco superstores, M&S Just for Foods and the distillery in the middle of a pretty bland suburban housing estate - Keith had a much more remote feel to it, and the Strathisla building itself was the original distillery to have the pagoda design that's become so famous in the region.
The first dram before the tour was a Chivas Regal; they contribute much of their whisky to the blend. It was smooth and tasty, but was a bit tame when compared with the Strathisla 12 year old that followed after the tour. Dried fruits and oakiness is the best description of it I can muster, but it's definitely on my list to buy once I can find a bottle of it somewhere.
Walking for the best part of two days (in the rain) I'd arrived in Abelour. The trudge was entirely worth it as I was able to take the tour at the Aberlour distillery. If anyone is in the area and they can only go on one tour - take this one. A slightly nuts French Canadian brought the history and context to life and by now the whole process of whisky making was sinking in.
At the end of the tour there were six - yes, six - different drams to try. The first of these was simply the spirit without having been flavoured in any cask - it was clear and almost tasteless, but it gives an idea of how important and influential the cask process actually is. Following this were two cask strengths - one bourbon and one sherry - both only available for purchase on the tour; two of their standard bottlings - a 10 year old and a 15 year old (I think) - and, my persoanl favourite, the A'bunadh, which has a rather great story behind it. When the building was being restored in the 1970s, a bottle was discovered behind a wall, wrapped in a newspaper dated from the 19th century. After drinking most of it, it was sent for chemical analysis and given to master blenders for nosing and tasting. The A'bunadh - which means genesis or origins in Gaelic - is as close to the production and flavours of the 19th century bottle and was probably one of my favourite drams of the week.
Feeling particularly merry after that morning tour, I signed up for a nosing class that evening in Dufftown. Unfortunately, it came across more as a promotional evening for Tomintoul and Glencadam distilleries rather than a proper attempt to educate those at the tasting. Still, I got to taste Tomintoul 10, 12 (both rather bland) and 16 year old (a bit better but still nothing special), Glenccadam 10 and 15 year olds (which were both forgettable) and, finally, a dram of Ballantruan, which was going for a peaty taste rather than the lighter tones of Speyside, but still had some way to go if it was wanting to challenge Islay. Still, if I was merry in the morning, I was positively joyous by now, and had made friends with a Dutch couple I was sharing a taxi with. They were big whisky fans - and offered me a glass of some double casked whisky back at the campsite. Unfortunately I can't recall what it was - it knocked everything at the nosing night into a cocked hat. Oh, well.
Next up was a walk to Rothes and the Glen Grant distillery. A very modern, sleek-looking building and well tended gardens give the place a very fresh, cutting edge feel, but somehow just doesn't have the character of other locations. Perhaps it's because I had the most monotone, uninspiring tour guide who failed to bring any life to the place, but it doesn't quite capture the imagination as other distilleries...Still, there were no complaints about the whiskies being offered: fruity, floral, summery flavours and a lovely crisp after taste in both the 5 and 10 year olds. They were the ideal flavours after the slightly more heavy-going session of the day before and suited a stroll in the sun.
After a brief visit to the Dallas Dhu historic distillery and enjoying a Macallan 25 year old with a pub landlord I got talking to, the final destination was the Benromach distillery - the smallest working distillery in Speyside. It's a cute wee set up just outside Forres, and is notable for producing the world's only totally organic whisky - even the casks used are new as they want to guarentee that every step of the process originated from organic sources, something not possible with second hand sherry and bourbon casks. By now I could recite the whisky-making process inside out, but it was still interesting to see the slight variations in layout, stills and processes that provide hugely different results.
The whisky I tried post-tour was the 'Traditional' single malt. It uses all local barely and has a small use of peat in the malting process, so the flavours were earthy, cereal and a with slight smokey tone. A very impressive drink from such a small place, and was a highnote at the end of my own tour.
Next chance I get I'm heading to Islay and the islands or even further north, though I'd barely scratched the surface of the Speyside malts.
< Message edited by M -- 21/7/2009 11:58:49 AM >
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RE: The Single Malt Club - 
) - and saving my first dram for the evening of my last exam, which is in a week.
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