Just a few more New Cats


August 30, 2024

Just a few more New Cats

Some, like Ardnamurchan or Daftmill, will increasingly be the focus of specific sessions on WF, which is entirely normal. Others still produce relatively few different expressions, so we'll keep them in this slightly odd category of 'New Cats', if you're in agreement.

Isle of Harris 'The Hearach' (46%, OB, batch 15, 2024)

The Hearach has turned quite a few heads at the Edinburgh Whisky Fringe. Can you believe it, we're already on batch #15! You might argue these could be rather small batches, but in any case, we absolutely adored the first one (WF 86). Colour: white wine. Nose: I absolutely love this smoky aroma entwined with mashed turnips, slag, ashes, apple juice, fresh concrete, barley, rye beer, and aubergine… There’s certainly a lot going on in this glass. Mouth: lively, taut, with a hint of Ben N. paraffin, followed by lemon, chalk, green apple, salty smoke (if that’s even a thing), yeast, and mustard… Truly a malt with a style all its own. Finish: rather long and complex, with that faint touch of cologne and polish you sometimes find in Ben N. and Spring B. Comments: goodness, it seems Batch 16 is already out! We’ll never keep up, but it’s singular, and it’s delightful
SGP:462 - 87 points.

Kingsbarns ‘Coaltown’ (46%, OB, 2024)

An in-cask blend of Kingsbarn and a touch of peater from said cask. I’m not opposed to this sort of thing as long as they’re upfront about it, as they are here. It’s a different story when it’s done without so much as a mention, trying to pass off a distillery’s malt as peated when it isn’t—less ideal, if you ask me. Sadly, there are plenty of examples around us. Colour: white wine. Nose: it’s rather nice, fresh, and cheerful, with pear, apple, nail varnish, and cigarette smoke. You could even throw in some whelks if you like. Mouth: yes, it’s good, nothing to complain about. I even think it could be a great substitute for gin in certain cocktails, though I’m no cocktail expert. Finish: long, with lemon, apple, and ash. Comments: one can’t help but wonder if there aren’t some barrel brokers or overzealous coopers who ‘season’ casks specifically for this kind of flavouring, using very young peated whiskies, much like the bodegas do with sherry in Jerez, for example. That said, it’s really quite good—though I’ll stick with my Kingsbarns ‘Bell Rock Cask Strength’ (WF 86), thank you.
SGP:454 - 80 points.

Lochlea ‘Sowing Edition Third Crop’ (46%, OB, 1st fill bourbon, 2024)

A proper estate whisky, using its own crop and thankfully no strange casks that have been too heavily ‘borrowed’—that’s a relief. Our favourite Lochlea so far has been the impeccable 5 yo from 2018 (WF 85). Colour: white wine. Nose: pure chalk, mud, slate, and green apple, with tiny touches of pineapple and mango. Not what you’d typically expect from a first fill bourbon, but I think that’s a positive here. A lovely, fresh, and lively nose. Mouth: much more influence from the fresh oak, but still very much in fruity territory, especially with exotic fruits like papaya. There’s a fair bit of honey and liqueur as well, alongside that ever-present wet chalky note. Finish: fairly long, almost sweet, with hints of pear liqueur. Comments: the texture is quite oily, and the fruits really come forward on the palate, giving it a slight Irish character. I really do like this one. The first fill’s impact was much more pronounced on the palate than on the nose.
SGP:641 - 84 points.

Holyrood ‘New Make Japanese Sake Yeast’ (60%, OB, spirit drink, World Whisky Day 2022)

We’d previously enjoyed other new makes from Holyrood, including the ‘Bub’, and perhaps had set our expectations a bit too high for their ‘Arrival’. Patience will be required, but in the meantime, let’s enjoy this new make for… World Whisky Day? What’s that about? Colour: white. Nose: very much a new make, but the fruits are delicate, with notes of sorb, jujube, and wild strawberries (peat?). A few touches of apricot liqueur. With water: I’d swear there’s a sake-like note here. Some pears as well. Mouth (neat): a fruity, smoky, fermentative, and liqueur-like punch, with wild strawberries making a reappearance. With water: even better, moving more towards candied citrus, and there’s also a touch of Comté or summer Gruyère, very fruity. Finish: lovely, long, smoky, and citrusy. Comments: the great thing about new make is that you can add plenty of water without the risk of bringing out the wood and its tannins. I promise. It’s an absolute treat and very, very good.
SGP:632 - 86 points.

Glasgow 1770 6 yo ‘Tokaji Cask Finish Batch 02’ (54.8%, OB, 2024)

Ah, Tokaji… we approach it with the same caution as the bubonic plague. Not in our wine glasses, of course, but in our whisky. That said, this is an unpeated version, so it should clash much less, unlike those Laphroaigs finished in Tokaji 20 years ago that sent you straight to the emergency room with little hope of return. Colour: gold. Nose: it’s still not easy, with notes of earth and mould mixed with gunpowder, buttercream, vanillin, and roasted pineapple. With water: like a box of spent matches. Mouth (neat): ultra-sweet, ultra-liqueur-like. Tangerinecello, Williams pear liqueur, and sugar cane syrup. And pepper, too. With water: it gets a bit better. The more water you add, the more it becomes tolerable. Finish: long, very sweet. Comments: this isn’t the whisky’s fault at all; it’s the Tokaji casks. They should never, ever leave Hungary. Love other expressions of Glasgow Distillery.
SGP:743 - 59 points.

Glasgow 1770 2018/2024 (62%, OB, Kirsch Import, virgin oak + oloroso, cask #18/1192, 318 bottles)

Colour: red amber. Nose: campfire smoke, V8 exhaust fumes, charcoal smoke, bitter chocolate, cigar boxes, coffee, and concrete. We’re ready for this. With water: lovely leather (what we used to call Russian leather) and horse saddle. Mouth (neat): monstrous, and we love it. Candied ginger, burnt fir wood, eucalyptus, ashes, candied lemon, and liquorice wood. Jägermeister is child’s play in comparison. With water: ah, here comes the oloroso, bringing marmalade and megatons of candied fruits of all sorts. Almost on the edge of moscatel, or at least, ‘cream’. Finish: very long, tauter, with more focus on candied citrus, and that bitter chocolate always lingering in the background. The peat seals the deal. Comments: I’m really fond of this big beast that buries the ‘Tokaji’ once and for all. Phew.
SGP:654 - 86 points.

Well, we said we'd do 'pure Ardnamurchan' sessions from now on, but we didn’t make any promises, and in this case of self-assessment by Adelphi/Ardnamurchan, we don’t want to wait too long.

Ardnamurchan 10 yo 2014/2024 (56.8%, OB, 1st fill bourbon barrel, for Whisky Fringe 2024, cask #10, 252 bottles)

It’s good that Whiskyfun Inc. just invested in a 32-inch computer screen, purely to read Adelphi’s labels. Anyway, I reckon the folks at Adelphi didn’t have much trouble getting hold of a good cask from Ardnamurchan (that was a bit weak, S.). Colour: straw. Nose: you know what else we love about Ardnamurchan? It’s that Japanese touch. If you’d said Chichibu or Shizuoka ex-bourbon, I’d have nodded and said ‘absolutely’. White beer, chalk, wort, kerosene, mashed potatoes (50% potatoes, 50% butter, 50% olive oil). I know. With water: it’s all about that mash now, and what a lovely mash it is! Mouth (neat): it’s so good (sing it in French, c’est si bon). Porridge, licking stones, gravel, green apples, white beer, tiny apples and plums… With water: a fruity, yeasty affair, with peach compote, mixed prunes, fine beers, and especially those marvellous yeasts, cakes, and breads… Finish: the same but drier, more vegetal. Yet still fermentary. Comments: nothing to add.
SGP:462 - 90 points.