#gent13

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Glenfarclass Family Cask Release 1 1954/2007 Cask 444 Sherry Butt (52,6%)

As said, festivals are the ideal occasion to taste some unique drams. For Glenfarclas lovers, this is about as good as it gets: a 53 year old Family cask. By now, this goes for around 3.000 euro a bottle. It took a little bit of lobbying by Mark for which we are grateful. Cause this is marvellous stuff.  A voluptuous nose, characterised more by its depth and balance then by specific notes. Typical sherry scents (Turkish delight and sultanas), but backboned by a strong presence of the oak. On the palate, again the mouthfeel is what surprises most. Velvety. The finish is extremely long. Dusty leather. Floor wax. Some tobacco. A strong peppery, wooden undertone is there along the whole journey. A gem. 

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Port Dundas 46Y Scott's 1964/2010 Selection (44,1%)

Glad to finally taste a Port Dundas. For two reasons. First, we are from Dundaland, the surname of our little village. So, purely based on the name, this should be our house whisky. Second, because we did not taste that many grain whiskies up to now and this, by the age, should get us an idea of what the Ivy league of grain whiskies taste like.  Well, on the nose, this is an explosion of sweetness. Lot's of vanilla and cake. But also something more distinct. A hint of bitterness that reminds of balsamic vinegar. On the palate, the delivery is balanced, but rather underwhelming. An oaky, bitterish touch at first, then sweetness again. Vanilla. Sour candy. Unfortunately, not much of a finish left to savour, and that is not what you expect from a spirit of this age. The prize is reasonable (around 130€) seen the age, but in the end, you want taste, not age in you glass. 

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Arran Orkney Bere Barley (Limited edition) (46%)

A dram I had been looking forward to taste, as I am quite a fan of the Bruichladdich Bere and Islay Barley. And also this 8 year old expression is beautiful. This is not a typical Arran, so you feel the raw barley really altering the Arran character. The outcome is a much less spicy than creamy dram, with notes of dried hay adding to the farm character. No mistake, this is much sweeter than we standard Arran. It furthermore is a barley, cereal sweetness which I tend to appreciate a lot in malts. Something to cherish. 

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Tasting at festivals: lessons learned

Gosh, time flies. It has been almost a month already we headed to Ghent for our second attendance to the International Whisky Festival. Marc, Jay and I had a great time. We further refined our festival strategy: warm up with some entry level novelties, then go for the big fish. And big they were. Two Glenfarclas Family Casks (1954 & 1957) and Gordon and MacPhail's 1966 Glenburgie were our biggest catch. But we also got something confirmed: festivals are great for discovering, for bumping into other whisky lovers and for having great fun (obviously, since everyone is tipsy), but are not the ideal tasting environment. 

Our palate was not warmed up for the first couple of drams, our mind was too fuzzy to judge the last couple of drams, and in between were a great deal of nice encounters and chats that added to the experience as a whole, but not to the tasting as such. For example, it is a pity we tasted Macallan's new Ruby and Sienna to start with (even though we had a warm up dram before). We looked forward to it, but simply could not judge them. It was like our senses were failing because they were still starting up. Same for the second release of the much talked about Shackleton, of which I can only say it was punchy and bittersweet, and it did not really grasp me, but, honesty obliged, we tasted this a dozen of drams down the road. 

So, we'll need at least to taste these drams again sometime. That's why at the next festival, I'll bring along a bag of sample bottles. I will let me recommend some drams on the spot by the experts and be open for discovery, but I'll leave those expressions I have been waiting to try for a tasting session at home, in the right circumstances. 

Still, we had some good impressions of a series of very good whiskies, which will come up online in the days to come. 

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Kavalan Solist Ex-Bourbon Oak

A bit of a surprise. I heard but good about this relatively new, Taiwanese brand, but it was not really on my radar, even after tasting their quite nice blend. Until we bumped into Chris at the festival, who recommended us to try this expression: a single cask cask strengt ex-bourbon cask matured young whisky (although I must note I wasn't able to note which cask). 

On the nose, young, but also layered, with ripe bananas at first, tropical fruit nectar, but also whiffs of fresh appels. Quite unique on the palate, especially for an ex-bourbon matured young whisky. Rounded at first, fruity and soft. Velvety. The punchiness arrives, but late enough to let the soft, vanilla notes do their job, while just in time to prepare for a tingling finish. Too expensive (around 100€), but well worth trying. A pleasant surprise