14/05/2021 Whisky-Online Auctions' First Cask tasting Part 3

Third and final act of this Whisky-Online Auctions triptych dedicated to First Cask. Tim Roberts, Wayne and Harrison Ormerod chair from aback, whilst Lee 'Connas' Connor presents.

As the previous times, I try these superficially, keeping enough to spend more time with each dram at a later date.

Linlithgow 24yo d.1975 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#96/3/4): nose: haha! Verdigris, lichen on old wood, sugar, oozing through staves and crystallising, then a farm-y wave. That is right: there is definitely muddy peat, in there. Mouth: all is more gentle, here, with yellow flowers, yet also some limestone. A faint whiff of smoke wraps the whole. Finish: big, wide and a little austere. This has the same herbaceous and mineral profile of the nose (lichen and crystallising sugar), with crushed gravel, now. The audience reckons pencil, and I do see the connection, in that it feels softly waxy and has a gentle wood bitterness. I reckon we peaked too soon. 9/10

Connas found a newspaper clip about a court case
that involves St Magdalene whisky being stolen

Glenlivet 24yo 1976/2001 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#5527): nose: wax, apple peelings, a pinch of cinnamon, pear-scented varnish, and a cloud of sawdust. Mouth: an acidic attack that also has fierce pomelo and combava adding a gorgeous, fruity touch. Perhaps bergamot too? Finish: very long, fruity, citrus-y again (lime, pomelo), and a bit bitter, in a crushed-aspirin sort of way. The death sees an unexpected red-fruit Calippo flavour too. 8/10

Connas: "It's quite wood-forward on the nose."

Macallan 20yo 1975/1995 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#8899): nose: sherbet, chalky raspberry candy, crushed tablets (I am struggling to pinpoint the accurate name). Later, pear and peach appear amongst the chalky tablets. "Parma violet?" asks HO; "Pez?" asks JS; "Smarties?" JS continues (referring to the US incarnation, a tablet candy). She is pretty close, in that it makes me think of those candy necklace (candy-raver alert!) The exact thing, however, is Dextro Energy tablets, vaguely fruity and chalky as fook. Mouth: yes, this is sweet and a little chalky again, with sherbet and fruit-tree wood. It becomes quite woody over time, with a definite bitterness to complement wild (rasp)berries. Finish: orange joins the raspberry, yet this also has cassia bark and fruit green tea. It is a little too astringent and bitter for my taste, even if it is not flawed either. Further sips are fruitier -- and I like them better for it than the first. 7/10

TR: "I'm finding most of the drams quite bitter. It's the wood, I guess..."
WO: "And the dodgy plastic caps!" :-)

Glen Grant 20yo d.1976 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#2880): nose: wormwood and old shelves, an old kitchen table that has recently had a lick of varnish, burnt caramel, treacle and a pinch of coffee grounds. Mouth: oily and compact, this has lots of caramel, crème brûlée, mocha, tiramisù, even. Actually, it goes as far as treacle, come to think of it. Finish: mildly toasted flavours surface, here, with mocha, burnt caramel, black-sesame paste and chewing tobacco. It is creamy alright, but that feeling is drowned by the toasted notes, which, for all their omnipresence, do not quite deliver aniseed or nigella seeds. Perhaps a bit too much for me, this. I preferred it C#2886. 7/10

Connas talks about maturation. He has a couple of good slides about the solera system that is so widely used in Spain's bodegas.

Highland Park 20yo d.1974 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#4329): nose: dried apricot slices and chlorophyll chewing gum. That dissipates quickly to leave a very shy nose -- I find a little lavender gum, but I reckon that is suggestion, base on the provenance. The nose does grow in intensity, thankfully, with lovely lavender and a delicate smoke. Mouth: perfect balance, with a bit of citrus, the thinnest veil of smoke, and the trademark heather. Lemonade becomes more prominent with each sip too. Finish: gently toasted, this has burning brambles, yet also a herbal liqueur and lemonade. Yes: lime and pomelo lemonade, which, really, we should call lime-onade and pomelade. The finish does retain a certain bitterness, which will prevent a higher score, tonight. 8/10

Connas introduces the next dram as, "the Beast of Speyside, meaty and sometimes willingly sulphur-y."

Mortlach 22yo d.1975 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#6257): nose: great! It is a light, fruity Mortlach. Citrus-y and ethereal, it has  ground cardamom rubbing feathers with apple mint and crystallised apple slices. Mouth: fresh, sweet and fruity, this is teeming with candied fruit. There is also a gentle chalkiness to it, though that is not a bother, at such a low level. Finish: a soft bitterness that is soon eclipsed by waves and waves of lovely fruit candy. Very nice. Boiled sweets, hibiscus (Connas), fruit drops. 9/10

Connas [I paraphrase]: "I reckon it is the only whisky tonight I could have identified blind."
tOMoH: "You introduced this as the Beast of Speyside and meaty. This has nothing of those characteristics..."

Connas: "You're right, but it has Mortlach's texture."

Ardbeg 19yo d.1974 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask for The Sunday Times Wine Club, C#4380): nose: ash and eternal darkness. This has tar, old ropes, tapenade, cut turf bricks, drying on a stack, sphagnum moss and the shroud of an old ship. Mouth: smoked seashells, tarry, smoked whelks, boat-engine diesel... This is firmly petrolic indeed, very much like the 1974 we had recently. Finish: smoked mussel shells and kelp, more diesel and tar. Unfortunately, and just as it was with the Port Ellen on the first night, the dilution is very perceptible, here -- the only one tonight in which it is. For that, it loses a point. It may seem unfair, but life is unfair. 8/10

Short notes. It is late. I will come back to it later. It is a killer dram, without a doubt. It might not be C#2738 (few things are), but it is obviously from the same bloodline and I love it.

The Linlithgow is the overwhelming winner of tonight's popularity contest; it certainly is mine. One person preferred the Macallan, one liked the Highland Park best, a couple of votes go to the Mortlach, another couple to the Glen Grant, and, much to my surprise, not a single vote goes to the Ardbeg.

Quality night, with more interaction and better banter than on the second tasting. If my scores are to be believed, this line-up one had the weakest drams, despite having the most impressive list of names, but it was just as interesting as the other two evenings, really. That comforts me in my opinion that there is not a dud in that collection.

23/04/2021 Whisky-Online Auctions' First Cask tasting Part 2

JS and I, along with fifteen-or-so others, join Tim Roberts, Harrison and Wayne Ormerod and Lee "Connas" Connor for the second episode of the triptych dedicated to First Cask, Direct Wines Ltd.'s late collection.

Connas reminds us what First Cask was, as not everyone was at the first tasting. That takes up a whole thirty seconds or so, as the information is as scarce as it was last month.

Connas announces he took the feedback from last time on board and has a presentation to share. He apologises in advance for the fact he is not extremely tech-savvy. Case in point: his version of Powerpoint tells him that his licence has expired and offers to close that message by clicking a button -- he never does. The presentation is composed, for each dram, of a picture of the bottle, superimposed on a picture of the distillery. Connas then seemingly ad libs a little history and facts about the distillery.

I do not pay it much attention, more concentrated on enjoying the drams at my pace.

Bladnoch 16yo d.1980 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#89/591/12): nose: fresh and minty, fruity as a crisp white wine (Rivaner?), soon morphing into citrus peel. Later on, a woodier note shines through, with eucalyptus and rubbery olive-tree bark. Mouth: a surprising bite, with sparkly orangeade, which grows at the second sip. Swirling the liquid around the mouth reveals a soft bitterness and an even softer fruitiness. Finish: big, wide and orange-y, with a minute amount of grated Alka-Seltzer. It keeps the gentle bitterness, reinforcing the citrus (marmalade) and an almost rubbery woodiness. Lovely. I almost had it at 9, but for tonight, it is 8/10

Inchgower 18yo d.1976 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#9891): nose: barley sugar, apple jelly, crushed pear, candied lemon peel, lavender leaves (not the flowers, strangely enough), perhaps a note of pineapple. All in all, I find this rather herbaceous, despite the others detecting tropical fruits. Mouth: acidic attack and a lot more fruits, now, with pineapple and juicy apple, sprinkled with lime droplets and pomelo juice. Finish: bold -- no! Assertive, it once more has a softly bitter, rubbery side. Asafoetida and nigella seeds increase that bitterness. Someone cleverly mentions Campari and it is indeed reminiscent of bitter liqueur or dry vermouth. 9/10

Glenrothes 21yo 1975/1996 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#6051): nose: ah! It is a Glenrothes that falls under the category I am not fond of: rancid butter, sticky feet, chemical lemon flavouring, before sweet pot ale comes through. In the long run, the lemon-y side wins, which is good news, as far as I am concerned. Mouth: phew! It is all lemonade and chemical lemon flavouring, akin to souped-up Sprite. It is almost sickly sweet, though that is balanced by a gentle bitterness. The rancid butter seems gone. Finish: same as the palate, but even sweeter. Lemonade, in which one has poured ladles of caster sugar. Undoubtedly the weakest dram of the night, according to my taste, but still a decent drop. 7/10

Convalmore 16yo 1981/1997 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#89/604/112): there is a typo on the sample. Connas tells us this is his first Convalmore and he is excited to tick that box. Based on his post-sip reaction, that box-ticking excited him more than the dram itself, which is a pity. Nose: old school. This is smoky and hairy, boiler-room-like, with derelict garden tools and caramelised apple compote, simmering in a cast-iron cauldron. Mouth: zingy, it sparkles and tingles on the tongue. Repeated sipping makes this a full-on flat pomelo lemonade affair (pomeloade?) Finish: a lovely combination of citrus and vanilla; juicy mandarins, vanilla pods, and the whole turns creamy, towards the death. Very nice. 8/10

Glencadam 29yo d.1972 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#7639): nose; hugely vanilla-flavoured at first, with lots of custard, it then becomes weirdly farm-y, with dried cow dung and faded leather. It is not as metallic or herbaceous as more recent expressions from this distillery, even though it is also not the 1960s style. Mouth: furiously bitter, here, with lichen growing on old metal and moss on rubber joints. Cough drops, cachous... Oh! yes, this is Glencadam alright, now: vegetal, metallic and very good. Finish: a different story altogether, the finish is overflowing with melted milk chocolate, though chocolate sticking to a tin mould, to be sure. 8/10

Connas has another slide deck in which he talks about distillation. Again, I am too focused on the drams to pay much attention.

Tomatin 18yo d.1976 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#27643): nose: caramba! Tropical fruits aplenty, although that swiftly mutates into fruity/mentholated drops (dragées), before fire catches up, numbing the philtrum with verbena and fresh mint. Proper nosebleed, like. Then, the fruits come back, with peach and rosehip, dragon fruit and lychee. Mouth: it starts out bitter, then a huge wave of tropical fruits slap you in the face. It has dragon fruit, enormous peach and strawberry yoghurt, topped with nigella seeds. Finish: unctuous, creamy mashed peach, apricot custard and, quite simply, a fruity cavalcade, with caraway seeds to round it off. Total lack of surprise, as far as I am concerned, but when the quality is this high, I certainly do not mind it being predictable. 9/10

Bunnahabhain 19yo d.1980 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#5643): nose: dry earth and soft menthol, then steamed vegetables (swede?), turning back to toffee and mocha custard. Mouth: it is very mentholated. It also has a strong dandelion-stem bitterness, as well as peppermint, apple mint, crisp-apple skins and a delicate sea-air influence (sea spray, iodine, salt). Finish: complex, it swings between mentholated custard and dry moss, becoming almost mineral, then drying, with a lick of new-car rubber joints -- or is that melon skins? A more-than-decent Bunna, but to put it in simple terms: it is a sequence mistake. It is completely in the shadow of the Tomatin. 8/10

Different vibe, tonight. It felt less relaxed, and the conversation flowed less easily. Perhaps everyone was exhausted from a long week (I know I was), but it unfortunately made for a slightly-less enjoyable time. Some found the selection inferior to Part 1's. I did not share that opinion, but nevertheless...

Connas's line was also hissing during the whole tasting, which I found draining. Not sure if it was his microphone, his connection, or whatever else.

Anyway, looking forward to Part 3 all the same!

26/03/2021 Whisky-Online Auctions' First Cask tasting Part 1

Tim Roberts, Wayne and Harrison Ormerod of WOA are joined by Lee "Connas" Connor to present this tasting that focuses on Direct Wines Ltd.'s First Cask range. Connas (an unfortunate nickname for anyone hoping to find success in Francophonia) tells us all about First Cask: "It was set up as a subscription thing by Direct Wines, in the same fashion Laithwaites do with wine: one paid £25 a month to receive a bottle by post -- it could be an Aberfeldy or a Port Ellen, amongst others. They were ahead of their time. So much so that it did not last very long. That's about all there is to say about it."

If I was hoping to learn more about how the casks were selected, who the people behind it were, when they started or where they were based, that is my dreams crushed. Connas does tell us that some of the stock came from Signatory, but nothing that I did not already know. Ah well. They were based in Reading, by the way. ;-)

On to the whiskies. I have minute quantities and save some for more detailed notes at another date. I want to enjoy the company and the banter too, tonight.

Auchentoshan 15yo d.1981/1996 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#1159): nose: a pinch of chalk, macerated herbs and a scrape of limestone. It also has distant sweets. This is simultaneously assertive and welcoming. Mouth: lime juice, limescale, grass and grapefruit on chalk, then bergamot foliage ("That's a good note," says Connas -- flattery will get you nowhere, but thanks for trying). It feels green, in a good way, acidic, and a tad mineral. Finish: acidic, herbaceous (quite strongly so), it carries citrus leaves, namely mandarin, bergamot and grapefruit. Long-ish, pleasant finish. Provisional score of 7/10

Royal Brackla 24yo 1975/1999 (46%, Signatory Vintage for Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#5447, b#267): nose: waxy, meaty and sweet. The meat completely vanishes after a second, and makes room for chestnut sweets and avocado oil. It has bruised fruits too; apple, probably. Mouth: beeswax, beard wax, hair grease and, well, wax. Waxy grapefruit skins too. A musty palate, this! Finish: long, coating, waxy as apricot or tangerine skins. Short notes that do not do this justice. It is lovely, and one of the best Bracklas I have had. It will remain my favourite of the evening, against all odds. 9/10

tOMoH: "How did you decide the selection? You had twenty-one bottles to be split into three tastings. Why these now and the others later?"
WO: "It was mostly down to price, to be honest. We could not have the Port Ellen, the Ardbeg and the Linlithgow in the same line-up, as it would have pushed the admission price higher than what our regulars are used to."

Glenlivet 24yo 1974/1999 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#5131): nose: plums, overripe grapes, bursting with sugar. There is also a drop of lamp oil, or walnut oil. Mouth: sweet and nutty in taste, oily in texture, it shows a soft bitterness that makes me think of green-hazelnut custard. Finish: sharp and oily, if that makes sense, it has a definite fruitiness too -- mostly plum. There is also walnut liqueur, some avocado oil and Bourbon-cream biscuits. Another terrific dram. 8/10

Balvenie 20yo d.1972 (46%, Direct Wines (Windsor) Limited First Cask, C#14734): we talk about how rarely Balvenie is seen at the indies'. Connas ventures that maybe even SMWS has not bottled it -- they have (it is #40); seven times, but not for a long time. Independent Balvenie is certainly rarely seen under that name, these days. This must be one of the earliest First Cask offerings, considering the date. Pictures found online also suggest a different livery and company name to all the others. Nose: I find it remarkably close to the Auchentoshan, with chalk, faint menthol and a hefty dose of fruit (plump citrus, tangerine segments, grapes and waxy plums). Mouth: a mix of grapefruit and canary melon, juicy as fook. Behind that is also pomelo and tame lime, alongside tinned pineapple. It is acidic with a softy-softy bitter touch. Finish: super creamy, it now has fruity yoghurt and citrus-y custard. Tangerine segments dance to the swan's song. Towards the death, the drying chalk makes a comeback as well. 8/10

Aberfeldy 15yo d.1978 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#7799): nose: assertive, bold, even, it has tiger balm and melting limestone, with acid poured onto it. I really want to say nuts, but it is really closer to shoe polish. Later on, it turns into lemonade, bringing back the acidity, yet without the face-melting bite, this time. Mouth: nut-and-citrus juice, at once oily and acidic. An unexpected mix, I must say. It tastes wonderful, though. Sweetened orange tonic and more lemonade. Finish: wow! A lick of dark pot ale, almost coffee-like, but much more subtle. Dark chocolate? Chocolate-y stout? Yes, that and pomelo jelly. Another excellent surprise! 9/10

Glen Grant 24yo 1976/2000 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, Sherry Cask, C#2886): nose: gingerbread, ginger Hobnobs, cramique, Selkirk bannock, baked for slightly too long, a faint touch of suet, in the back, rancio, and even old cork. Crumbled speculoos appears too, much to my ecstasy (it spells cinnamon, mostly). Tilting the glass brings sauce grand'veneur under the spotlight too. Mouth: rancio and old cork again. This has been hugely influenced by the wine (the colour leaves little doubt about this being matured in an ex-Sherry cask); it has soaked prunes and sangria talking loudly. Finish: speculoos through and through, with the wine coming back for an encore (more sangria), and fruit as a supporting act: plum, prune, wine-soaked orange. Excellent. 8/10

Port Ellen 18yo d.1976 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#4778): nose: earth and clay, then some old modelling wax and pencil shavings. A mocha coffee pot, cleaned, yet still tainted by the indelible content. After a second, cockles and shellfish start to appear. Crushed seashells. Finally, cashew paste tickles the nostrils. Mouth: ooooh! Salty, coastal, but also sweet, like a dessert pasty filled with a salty mussel sauce and warm sand, washed down with cola. Finish: watery at first, it soon delivers similar sweet/salty flavours rolling on coastal notes of seafood that would be sprinkled with cinnamon and cassia powder, and served with a holly-berry compote. Lovely drop, even if it is the first one tonight in which the dilution is felt a little too strongly. Provisional 9/10

Good fun and great selection. I particularly enjoyed the no-frill approach. No fanfare around the Port Ellen, as other hosts might have done -- in name, it is the only one that sticks out. In fact, it is a rather iconoclastic group: WO explains that they opened the Port Ellen 12yo for the Queen's Visit for Whisky Show Old & Rare 2018 and were utterly underwhelmed by it. It is only the most expensive and highest rated Port Ellen (or, indeed, whisky) in some circles.

Down-to-earth people who love whisky and sharing it without feeling the need for inflated marketing bullshit. Roll on Part 2!