The TWE Whisky Show 2018
So, as promised I said it wouldn't be as long until my next entry and I have lots to tell you about over the next few blogs!
A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the TWE Whisky Show in London and I thought I'd take a bit of time today to tell you about it.
For those of you who are unacquainted with the show, it's the largest whisky show in the UK. This year there were somewhere in the region of 150 exhibitors there from the world of whisky plus a few extras from complementary industries such as salmon and cheese! Basically anyone who is anyone to do with making whisky is in attendance from distilleries to independent bottlers. It's a great opportunity for anyone to come along and try something they haven't tried before either because they haven't had the chance or moreover because it's new. There are over 600 whiskies to choose from. Pretty good, right?
The show has been greatly expanded this year and there is now a whole floor dedicated to new and up-coming whiskies. I think this is a great addition and I spent a lot of time up there getting to meet some real whisky trailblazers and try some unique and new drams!
Included in your ticket cost is sampling of the full range of whiskies on show, 1 "Dream Dram Token" where you get to try something extra special (think £500-£1000 a bottle special...), a two course meal and mini masterclasses and talks. Not bad I say!
In this blog I will take you through some top-line details of what I saw, tasted and experienced on the day. I will zoom in on a few choice whiskies or distilleries in subsequent blogs but this should give you a starter for ten around my experience at this wonderful event!
I started the event in the best possible way with one of my all-time favourite distilleries...
Kilchoman
Kilchoman were unveiling their brand new Sauternes Cask Finish (not quite released at the time of the show) so this was a great opportunity to try something new and we were not disappointed! This whisky has spent 6 years in ex-bourbon casks and is finished for 5 months in Sauternes then bottled at 50% ABV. It will retail at around £80 and it's an absolute cracker! You get all those wonderful delicate notes on the nose that Kilchoman is quickly becoming famous for. The nose is wonderfully sweet and vanilla-y with that delicate peat smoke coming through too. There are loads of fruity notes on the pallet, with hints of peaches, apricots and bananas. It has a medium and very creamy finish with pleasant but not overpowering peat smoke in there too.
Moving on from the Sauternes, there was really only one place to go. Kilchoman Loch Gorm has long been one of my all-time favourite whiskies so I simply had to try their 2018 release of this sublime malt! This year's edition is a vatting of 19 oloroso sherry butts filled in 2007, 2008 and 2011 before being bottled in spring this year. Only 15,000 bottles were produced so get in early (it retails at £68)! This expression in the range just keeps getting better and better with age, the 2018 edition is simply sublime! The nose is so warming and almost meaty, it's big, bold and hearty! As you would expect there are loads of dried fruits in there, it literally smells like Christmas! It is so rich, thick and complex on the pallet, with all kids of big deep flavours coming through and the finish is incredible, so very long and lingering with warm dried fruits, citrus undertones, hints of oatiness and peat smoke.Simply awesome!
Next on the list was another firm favourite of mine...
Bruichladdich
Alongside Kilchoman, Bruichladdich is always up there for me as one of the best distilleries in the industry and I couldn't wait to see what they had on offer. And they had plenty to go at! I was all set to try their two new Octomore offerings when the person at the stand suggest we try something different first.The starting point was a very special Port Charlotte that had spent some serious time in some serious wine! This offering was made up of 50/50 bourbon and wine casks finished for a year in Mouton Rothschild casks. For those who don't know, Mouton Rothschild -is an insanely expensive Bordeaux. It is bottled at 59% and retails at around the £65 mark. The nose was full of unripened fruits (plums) and had a slightly sour tinge to it. The pallet was something else, a proper mouth-coater with loads of big flavours, aniseed and liquorice were two that stood out the most. The finish was very long and lingering with a hint of clotted cream right at the very end. Overall, very enjoyable!
Next up was the new Black Art (Black Art 6.1). A 26 year old unpeated offering bottled at 46.9%. The whole idea of black art is that nobody knows what goes into them. A mysterious secret cask mix! This is the first of these releases produced by new head distiller Adam Hannett and it's a good one! The nose has loads of apples and kids sweeties and I was all set for a nice smooth sweet malt but no...The pallet was the driest I have come across in a long time, with yet more aniseed and even blue cheese! The finish was big and dry too with a bitter creaminess, tonic water and that cheese in there again. A beast of a malt that stayed with me for a good while afterwards.
The plan was to return later for those Octomores...we never got round to it unfortunately.
Next on the agenda was Jura. As they have recently refreshed their entire range it seemed like a good opportunity to do a full tasting of all the had on offer. I won't give anything away at this stage as I am planning for this to be the subject of a subsequent blog.
After our Jura adventure it was time to line our stomachs with the excellent food that was available. This set the scene for a good afternoon of sampling all the delights of the show. Whilst at dinner though we got chatting to an independent bottler who recommended we check out Chichibu. This is not a whisky I knew a great deal about but not wanting to be one to miss out on a recommendation, duly headed straight there!
Chichbu
Chichibu is a relatively new Japanese whisky. Founded in 2008, they pride themselves on small scale and unique malts using mostly locally grown barley. The whisky we were recommended was an imperial stout cask finish. For all the digging I've done on the Internet I'm struggling to find a price for this. Needless to say, it's very good. The dram itself has spent 3 years in bourbon before being finished for 4 years in stout casks, it's bottled at 59.9%. The nose on this is quite medicinal, with notes of dry white wine (very Pinot Grigio) and sharp acidic lemons. There's more lemoniness on the pallet (although only the tart flavours with no sweetness) and a spicy chilly kick. There is more of a hint of Cointreau in there too. The finish is an odd one, it's really powerful then just seems to disappear. The finish definitely continues the citrus theme, although this time more orange zest than lemons. Overall a very enjoyable dram. From here it was time to visit one of the big guns to see what they had to offer...
I started the event in the best possible way with one of my all-time favourite distilleries...
Kilchoman
Kilchoman were unveiling their brand new Sauternes Cask Finish (not quite released at the time of the show) so this was a great opportunity to try something new and we were not disappointed! This whisky has spent 6 years in ex-bourbon casks and is finished for 5 months in Sauternes then bottled at 50% ABV. It will retail at around £80 and it's an absolute cracker! You get all those wonderful delicate notes on the nose that Kilchoman is quickly becoming famous for. The nose is wonderfully sweet and vanilla-y with that delicate peat smoke coming through too. There are loads of fruity notes on the pallet, with hints of peaches, apricots and bananas. It has a medium and very creamy finish with pleasant but not overpowering peat smoke in there too.
Moving on from the Sauternes, there was really only one place to go. Kilchoman Loch Gorm has long been one of my all-time favourite whiskies so I simply had to try their 2018 release of this sublime malt! This year's edition is a vatting of 19 oloroso sherry butts filled in 2007, 2008 and 2011 before being bottled in spring this year. Only 15,000 bottles were produced so get in early (it retails at £68)! This expression in the range just keeps getting better and better with age, the 2018 edition is simply sublime! The nose is so warming and almost meaty, it's big, bold and hearty! As you would expect there are loads of dried fruits in there, it literally smells like Christmas! It is so rich, thick and complex on the pallet, with all kids of big deep flavours coming through and the finish is incredible, so very long and lingering with warm dried fruits, citrus undertones, hints of oatiness and peat smoke.Simply awesome!Next on the list was another firm favourite of mine...
Bruichladdich
Alongside Kilchoman, Bruichladdich is always up there for me as one of the best distilleries in the industry and I couldn't wait to see what they had on offer. And they had plenty to go at! I was all set to try their two new Octomore offerings when the person at the stand suggest we try something different first.The starting point was a very special Port Charlotte that had spent some serious time in some serious wine! This offering was made up of 50/50 bourbon and wine casks finished for a year in Mouton Rothschild casks. For those who don't know, Mouton Rothschild -is an insanely expensive Bordeaux. It is bottled at 59% and retails at around the £65 mark. The nose was full of unripened fruits (plums) and had a slightly sour tinge to it. The pallet was something else, a proper mouth-coater with loads of big flavours, aniseed and liquorice were two that stood out the most. The finish was very long and lingering with a hint of clotted cream right at the very end. Overall, very enjoyable!
Next up was the new Black Art (Black Art 6.1). A 26 year old unpeated offering bottled at 46.9%. The whole idea of black art is that nobody knows what goes into them. A mysterious secret cask mix! This is the first of these releases produced by new head distiller Adam Hannett and it's a good one! The nose has loads of apples and kids sweeties and I was all set for a nice smooth sweet malt but no...The pallet was the driest I have come across in a long time, with yet more aniseed and even blue cheese! The finish was big and dry too with a bitter creaminess, tonic water and that cheese in there again. A beast of a malt that stayed with me for a good while afterwards.The plan was to return later for those Octomores...we never got round to it unfortunately.
Next on the agenda was Jura. As they have recently refreshed their entire range it seemed like a good opportunity to do a full tasting of all the had on offer. I won't give anything away at this stage as I am planning for this to be the subject of a subsequent blog.
After our Jura adventure it was time to line our stomachs with the excellent food that was available. This set the scene for a good afternoon of sampling all the delights of the show. Whilst at dinner though we got chatting to an independent bottler who recommended we check out Chichibu. This is not a whisky I knew a great deal about but not wanting to be one to miss out on a recommendation, duly headed straight there!
Chichbu
Glenmorangie
Glenmorangie had a number of different expressions on offer, but keen to try something I hadn't had before I managed to find a couple of interesting drams. First up was Nectar D'Or. This is a 12 YO whisky finished in Sauternes and bottled at 46%. It retails at around £55. There was lots going on on the nose with warm stone fruits (peaches / apricots), grapes and tropical fruits such as pineapple, even a hint of Madeira wine in there too. There was a lot less to say about the pallet, less sweet than I was expecting from the nose with hints of burnt sugar, nutmeg and ginger. It was more bitter than I would have liked too. The finish was short and thin and again a tad bitter, I got burnt toffee and demerara sugar.
After this disappointment it was on to one of their premium offerings of the show, Signet. Signet is made using two unique types of barley, one being Cadboll barley and the other being a malted chocolate barley, more commonly used in the making of beers such as stout or porter. It's NAS but is said to have some pretty old stock in there, but an average age of around 20 years. It retails at around £130. I must start off by saying I was not a fan of this whisky, and certainly not at this price-point. On the nose there was lots of beachiness and seaweed, but almost a hint of wet dog...The pallet was very dry and thick indeed, strong black coffee, brie and leather. the finish was sweeter however with hints of treacle and raisins. Needless to say I didn't buy a bottle! It was time to move on. Next up was...
Arran
I think this a charming distillery and I really like what they are doing here. I tried just a couple of whiskies, the 10 YO to get the house style and the peated non cask strength Machrie Moor. The 10 YO is a great little whisky for the price (you can pick a bottle up for £35). The nose has loads to it, bananas and cream, pineapples and a touch of straw, the pallet gives you cherries and limes with a hint of charcoal and on the finish I get meringue, white chocolate and macadamia cookies finished with a little smokiness.
Machrie Moor is not something I have tried before and as Arran had traditionally shied away from peat I was keen to try. As it was getting later in the day I opted for the non-cask strength version! The nose didn't especially wow me, there wasn't a lot of peat there, I got a sweetness faintly reminiscent to stocks of minty rock. The pallet however was much more satisfying, the peat was really well balanced here, it was easy drinking and sweet with lots of oats and nuts. For me it was like marmalade on slightly burnt toast. The finish was medium in length and was quite dry with hints of marzipan. Overall a very enjoyable dram!
After Arran we headed upstairs to get a taste of what is new in whisky and the first place we came across was the delightful and brand new organic distillery Ncn'ean. Now I'm going to hold off writing anything on them here as I will be writing a full blog post on these guys at a later date.
To be honest, after Ncn'ean we stopped recording our drinking and just enjoyed ourselves. Some of the other festival highlights were
After this disappointment it was on to one of their premium offerings of the show, Signet. Signet is made using two unique types of barley, one being Cadboll barley and the other being a malted chocolate barley, more commonly used in the making of beers such as stout or porter. It's NAS but is said to have some pretty old stock in there, but an average age of around 20 years. It retails at around £130. I must start off by saying I was not a fan of this whisky, and certainly not at this price-point. On the nose there was lots of beachiness and seaweed, but almost a hint of wet dog...The pallet was very dry and thick indeed, strong black coffee, brie and leather. the finish was sweeter however with hints of treacle and raisins. Needless to say I didn't buy a bottle! It was time to move on. Next up was...
Arran
Machrie Moor is not something I have tried before and as Arran had traditionally shied away from peat I was keen to try. As it was getting later in the day I opted for the non-cask strength version! The nose didn't especially wow me, there wasn't a lot of peat there, I got a sweetness faintly reminiscent to stocks of minty rock. The pallet however was much more satisfying, the peat was really well balanced here, it was easy drinking and sweet with lots of oats and nuts. For me it was like marmalade on slightly burnt toast. The finish was medium in length and was quite dry with hints of marzipan. Overall a very enjoyable dram!After Arran we headed upstairs to get a taste of what is new in whisky and the first place we came across was the delightful and brand new organic distillery Ncn'ean. Now I'm going to hold off writing anything on them here as I will be writing a full blog post on these guys at a later date.
To be honest, after Ncn'ean we stopped recording our drinking and just enjoyed ourselves. Some of the other festival highlights were
Wolfburn - Some really exceptional drams here. I will be looking to get myself a few of them. Loads of rich spicy pepperiness
Tobermory - I tried the 18YO Ledaig which is always a winner and one of my drams of the show
Lagavulin - I tried their 12YO. I struggle with these younger Lagavulin's, they always fall short of the 16YO and yet they are more expensive. This was no exception.
Benromach - Always a great distillery and the Chateau Cissac finish was my dram of the show last year. I tried their Sassicaia finish this time around and it didn't disappoint. Not quite as good for me as the Chateau Cissac but still excellent.
After this, I know I drank more (there is evidence of me at Tullibardine, Gordon & MacPail, Ben Nevis and Starward) but anything I write here will be tainted by my ability at the time to see straight, nevermind give a balanced judgement on the taste of the whisky!
So, that brings us to an end of the blog and a deep dive into the TWE Whisky Show. It was a really great day and I would thoroughly recommend it!
So, until next time, sláinte!
Tobermory - I tried the 18YO Ledaig which is always a winner and one of my drams of the show
Lagavulin - I tried their 12YO. I struggle with these younger Lagavulin's, they always fall short of the 16YO and yet they are more expensive. This was no exception.
Benromach - Always a great distillery and the Chateau Cissac finish was my dram of the show last year. I tried their Sassicaia finish this time around and it didn't disappoint. Not quite as good for me as the Chateau Cissac but still excellent.
After this, I know I drank more (there is evidence of me at Tullibardine, Gordon & MacPail, Ben Nevis and Starward) but anything I write here will be tainted by my ability at the time to see straight, nevermind give a balanced judgement on the taste of the whisky!
So, that brings us to an end of the blog and a deep dive into the TWE Whisky Show. It was a really great day and I would thoroughly recommend it!
So, until next time, sláinte!
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