Science of Whisky

Ardmore Legacy was introduced in 2014 as a replacement of Ardmore Traditional Cask. It has no age statement (NAS). It’s a blend of 80% peated and 20% unpeated malt. The distillery is owned by Beam Suntory. The malt is used in the Teacher’s Highland Cream blended whisky The color is a dark gold. On the nose, it is dry and creamy. The peat influence is obvious, but this is a drier, earthier peat rather than the medicinal peat of Islay and western Scotland. On the palate, it is smooth, with intense flavors featuring ripe fruit, vanilla and a creamy peat note. The finish is exceptionally long, featuring sweet fruit and earthy peat. An exceptional value, it can be found on occasion for as little as $20.

Glen Moray is a Speyside malt from the town of Elgin. The whisky carries no age statement, but is believed to average approximately seven years of maturity. It’s matured entirely in ex-bourbon casks. Most of which are first fill. The color is a light gold. On the nose, it is fragrant and slightly drying, with a distinctive malty aroma followed by notes of butterscotch, shortbread and accompanied by a fresh green, herbal, grassy note. On the palate, it is sweet, with notes of citrus and black currant set against a grassy background. The finish is medium, featuring shortbread, orange marmalade, fresh cut grass and some pepperiness.

Tomatin is an outstanding, though little known, Speyside whisky. It is matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and sherry casks. The color is a dark gold. On the nose, it offers up layered aromas of dried fruit, cooked oatmeal and a hint of dried, earthy peat. On the palate, it is oily and smooth, and features flavors of apples and pears, cooked oatmeal, dried fruit and a hint of sherry nuttiness. The finish is long and complex, featuring sweet, dried fruits and notes of smoke and earth.

The Deveron is a Speyside malt owned by Bacardi. It is a critical component of Dewar’s blended Scotch whisky, and is part of the “Last Great Malts” collection launched by Dewar in 2015. The color is a light gold. This is an incredibly fruity whisky, with aromas of citrus zest, apple and raisin on the nose. On the palate, it is sweet and silky smooth, with flavors of apples, melon and raisins, accompanied by notes of cinnamon, clove and pepper. The finish is long and waxy, featuring sweet fruit and a hint of milk chocolate

Glenfarclas is well known to Scotch whisky enthusiasts, but the 12 YO is such an outstanding value that I just have to include it. The whisky is exclusively sherry cask matured in Oloroso sherry butts, making it one of the best priced sherried whiskies available. The color is dark gold. On the nose, it offers the powerful aromas that are typical of sherried whiskies, sweet dried fruit, some nuttiness, along with vanilla and cinnamon spice. On the palate, it has the obvious oily mouthfeel and weight typical of sherried whiskies along with flavors of dried fruit, especially sweet golden raisin, vanilla, cinnamon and clove. For a truly exceptional value consider the 25 YO. At an average price of around $125, it is one of the best priced 25-year-old whiskies available, and offers up an even more powerful and concentrated version of the 12 YO.

The Loch Lomond distillery is situated just over the highland line, about a 30-minute drive north of Glasgow and just a few miles from its namesake loch. This is an outstanding whisky with an exceptionally complex production process. Still little known in the US, it represents an extraordinary value. The whisky is a blend of five different malts, some peated and some non-peated, which are distilled, onsite, in two different stills. The different outputs are matured separately in re-charred, ex bourbon barrels. The fermentation is an exceptionally long 120 hours and utilizes three different yeast strains. The result is an exceptionally complex and flavored whisky. The color is amber. On the nose, there are intense aromas of tropical and stone fruit, along with a sweet honey note and a persistent smoke in the background. On the palate, there are flavors of melon, peach and nectarine, along with honey, caramel, some coconut and a bit of pepper. The finish is exceptionally long, smooth, with a distinctive fruitiness, along with some pepper and a very slight, refreshing, bitter note. This is a must have whisky. You owe it to yourself to at least taste it once.

Allt-a-Bhainne (pronounced lot-a-vane) is a Speyside whisky distillery that has been in operation only since 1975. It was designed to be operated by a single person. It’s output, historically, has been earmarked for the various Chivas Regal blends. It is the main source of the peat component in Chivas. Only recently has it been available as an official distillery released single malt, although there are a number of independent bottler versions in circulation. The whisky is not yet available in the US, but is expected to be released shortly. So, keep a lookout for it. The whisky combines a distinctive sweetness, with its smoky peatiness. The color is gold. On the nose, there are aromas of ripe apple, caramel, honey and smoke. On the palate, the whisky is sweet, featuring ripe apples and pears, along with cinnamon spice and smoky peat. The finish is very long, sweet, smooth, smoky and spicy, but gets drier at the end.

Speyburn 10 YO can often be found for $20 or less, an incredible value that is well worth trading a Jackson for. The 10 YO was a gold medal winner at the 2006 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, but has continued to fly under the radar in the US. The color is a bright gold. On the nose, there is smoke followed by a very distinctive citrus note, along with candied orange peel and herbal elements of spearmint and a little grass. On the palate, the whisky is sweet and features flavors of cooked cereal, along with cinnamon, and other tropical spices, anise and a little pine resin. The finish is long, smooth, sweet and very flavorful and is accompanied by a note of lingering smoke.

This is another malt from the Northern Highlands that is underappreciated. It was picked as the top whisky at the 2010 World Whisky Awards. The shape of the bottle mimics the distillery’s distinctive stills. They lack the traditional swan neck because the original stills turned out to be too tall for the still house so they had to be modified to fit. The color is dark gold. On the nose, there are sweet honey notes, along with some smoke. The distillery is based in Wick on the North Sea coast, and the maritime influence is readily apparent giving it a noticeable briny character. On the palate, there are notes of caramel, citrus peel, some dried fruit, nuts vanilla and a bit of chocolate. The finish is very long, with a bit of a briny note (think a “dirty martini” residue at the bottom of a glass), along with dried fruit sweetness and a lot of smoke.

Another exceptional whisky from the distillers at Loch Lomond. This whisky is incredibly floral and fruity. Like its stable mate Loch Lomond, it undergoes a long fermentation designed to maximize the output of aromatic esters in the whisky. Moreover, the heart cut, the portion of the whisky that is retained for maturation during the second distillation, is exceptionally high, from 80% to 90%. The average ABV of the heart cut is 85%, that’s typically 20% higher than most malt whiskies. The high cut retains many of the lighter, more volatile aromatic compounds (esters), and is the main reason, along with extra-long fermentations, that the whisky is so fruity and floral. The color is gold. On the nose, there are aromas of apple and pear, along with peach and tropical fruits. There is also a distinctive waxy character. On the palate, the whisky is smooth and sweet, with a honeyed, somewhat viscous character, and features flavors of apple pie, baked pear, sweet dried mango, melon, peach, golden raisins and some chocolate. The finish is long and smooth, with a lingering dried fruit sweetness and some spiciness.

Blended from a mixture of bourbon and sherry casks, the light colour of this malt belies the richness of its character. The nose has a wide range of aromas, from citrus fruits to pears and a hint of peat, while the palate shows touches of smoke, vanilla essence, nutmeg, cinnamon and the salty tang characteristic of the distillery. Picked up the top prize in its category at the World Whiskies Awards 2014.

One of the classic after-dinner malts, Balvenie Doublewood's extra complexity and richness are a result of a second maturation in fresh sherry casks. Great stuff.

The classic 12 Year Old Aberfeldy single malt Scotch whisky, distilled in the Highlands. While the label sadly no longer features a red squirrel, it now comes with a rather handsome black and rose-gold colour palate to match the rich, malty, honeyed flavour profile.