October 2022 Digest

October 31, 2022 Whiskery Turnip

Welcome to a brief wrap-up of reviews from October 2022! My teaching semester has passed the halfway point and picked up steam as I head into the last full month of the semester. That means lots of grading— midterms, papers, projects, and of course, time for a bit of whisky.

I started the month with a few great weekend trilogies; briny drams beginning with the letter L and American single malts. These were two of my favorite briefs to do as I love distilleries (and distillery labels) that start with the letter L, and I am a massive fan of the American Single Malt movement. The Ledaig and Lochindaal, a rare treat from Bruichladdich, were all fantastic— if only I had had some Lagavulin, Laphroaig, or Longmorn to toss in there well. No doubt I will be revisiting the letter L!

I closed the month with a delightful Halloween-inspired tasting of a twenty-something grain and malt from the shuttered and demolished Dumbarton distilling complex. Dumbarton, the single grain, and Inverleven, the single malt, were new to me, and, after asking around, it seemed a ghost whisky tasting was the best way to get into the holiday spirit.

Which one of these Lowland Whiskies was the trick, and which was the treat? I am not sure I figured that out. Without a doubt, the best part of that review is the lovely hand-drawn art of my wife, whose work frequently adorns this website.

The closest I came to a theme this month was “American Single Malt.” I reviewed my first American Blended Malt this month, a delight from Lost Lantern in which distillers from six distilleries brought casks to combine. Yet, even more impressive in the flavor department was a 6-Year McCarthy’s bottled by Lost Lantern. McCarthy’s rarely disappoints, yet Lost Lantern has managed to bottle casks that were somehow on an even higher level. I also featured a trilogy of American single malts, including a much earlier release from McCarthy’s, the oldest Stranahan’s I have ever tried, and a new edition of Westward’s Stout Finished single malt.

I love the category of American single malt and the sheer variety of ways that distillers approach malt— from very scotch oriented to more bourbon/wood-driven, yeast-focused, barley varietal-inspired, or fermentation-time wizardry. I love it all.

It was a busy month between midterms, research on post-hurricane disease outbreaks, and whisky tasting! Let us begin with a few numbers.

26 reviews
6.08 average score
14.9 Years average age

Here are a few standouts from the pack:

Best of the Month

It was a tight race for “Best of the Month” this time, with two big contenders, the Vega 41 Year Blended Malt and Single Cask Nation Laughing Frog 28 Year, receiving top marks. I scored each of them an eight but noted in my review that I gave the Laphroaig 28 Year an eight plus, which in my completely formal and scientific rating scale, means it comes out on top.

I was not particularly enthused with the last couple of older Laphraoig I tried, so I was not sure what the expect from this bottle. It blew all my expectations out of the water. Even my wife, who had been a downer on some of the older Laphroaigs, found this to be divine. While I knew what I was tasting, she came in blind and remarked, “hmmmmm umami,” with the first sip, and it only got better from there.

Value of the Month

I cannot believe the Arran 10 Year released by Warehouse Liquors was only $80 at release! Sure, a 2019 release feels as though it was several decades ago, and whisky prices have inched up (or long jumped forward in some cases), but I assure you, it really was not that long ago. This was by far the best value on an Arran I have seen in the US for quite some time. Perhaps if Arran can forgo switching their US import partner again and their distribution network becomes more established, bottles like this can become more common. But who am I kidding? They change partners and reset their brand presence every 3-4 years, so we must be due for a bit of chaos!

Here’s to hoping that comment remains a joke and not an astute prediction.

An honorable mention for Ledaig 10 Year Archives, a sibling cask to value selection from last month.

Surprise of the Month

Nothing surprised me more this month than Stranahan’s Sherry Finish Batch 13. It was the most scotch-y Stranahan’s I have ever tried. Based on prior experience, I expected a woody mess as Stranahan’s has always struck me as a malt that leaned more toward bourbon-adjacent new oak-driven flavors than anything else. Yet this was something else; it was totally in line with what you would expect of a sherry bomb from Scotland. The sherry cask was very well done and paired nicely with the robust malt in an unexpectedly delicious manner.

A full list of reviews can be found below:

Oct. 1 Ledaig 14 Year SMWS 42.75, Lochindaal 10 Year BBR, Ledaig 10 Year Archives

Oct. 2 Lost Lantern Blended American Malt Edition No. 1

Oct. 4 Glenallachie 19 Year (1995), Hart Brothers

Oct. 6 Dailuaine 11 Year (2010) SMWS 41.145 "A pilgrimage of flavour"

Oct. 7 Oban 12 Year, 2021 Special Release

Oct. 8 Westward Stout Finish, Stranahan’s Sherry Finish Batch 13, McCarthy’s 3 Year

Oct. 9 Braeval 23 Year (1997) SMWS 113.42 "Forest Foraging"

Oct. 11 Arran 10 Year (2009) for Warehouse Liquors

Oct. 13 Tobermory 15 Year (2006) SMWS 42.68 “An Atlantic Morning Dip”

Oct. 15 Glen Scotia 9 Year (2010), SMWS 93.126, Glenfarclas 17 Year (c. 1990s)

Oct. 16 Bowmore 17 Year (2004) SMWS “Time Travellers”