Volume 1, Issue 4
March 2018
Independent Bottlers W H I S K E Y
S O C I E T Y
O F
B R A Z O S
V A L L E Y
Independent Bottlers: A Twist WHISKEYS INCLUDED: Craigellachie 13y Lonach: Craigellachie 7y Dickel Hand Selected Barrel 9y Barrel Bourbon Batch 8b Laphroig 10y Lonach: Laphroig 10y
Welcome to the fourth edition of the Whiskey Society of the Brazos Valley newsletter and tasting kit. It is my hope that you’ll find the guided tastings relaxing, informative and fun each month. Inside each kit, you’ll find 2 oz. of each of the 56 whiskeys of the month, labeled by number, not name, in case you’d like to taste them blind before reading more about them. I do recommend trying them in three groups of two (12, 3-4 and 5-6) which I’ll explain later. In addition, you’ll find this newsletter in your email inbox, including some education on that month’s theme, tasting notes, and some basic info on how to taste your whiskeys. For our next edition, I thought it would be fun to look at the differences that arise from a producer distilling, blending, and
bottling their own product versus someone who purchases whiskey and blends and bottles it independently.
We can all name the large blended scotch brands (Dewars, Johnnie Walker, etc) as well as some of the famous American Non-Distiller Producers (NDPs) like Bulleit, Ezra Brooks, and Templeton. There’s nothing inherently wrong with bottling someone else’s whiskey, it can be a cool look at what different people do with the same materials, as well as allow for barrels that
don’t “fit” a producer’s style to have a second chance at being enjoyed without having to be fit into a blend. While Scotland has long enjoyed a history of quality NDPs, ranging from the famous blended malts to smaller, single barrel bottlers, American producers have a less obvious history. That is partly owed to the fact American NDPs have, in general, been less forthright in sharing the sources of their whiskey or admitting they don’t own stills. The examples I’ve chosen for you this month are pretty transparent about the whiskey’s origins and I hope you enjoy the side by side look at two different producers’ takes on the same distillate. Salud! -Brad
Why Buy Someone Else’s Whiskey?
Even small ones are REALLY pricey
Surprisingly enough, there are relatively few companies and craft distillers that actually distill all of their own product. Despite the romance (and branding) of many brands claiming to be crafting their product from grain to glass, there’s lots of reasons why a
producer would find it much more advantageous to buy someone else’s juice than distill their own. Let’s look at a few reasons and dispel the myth that its automatically a bad thing: Capital Costs: Buying a
facility, raw ingredients, fermentation equipment and a still are GIANT up front capital expenses for a product that takes time to age. If you’re not independently wealthy when setting up your new business, it can be hard to get a
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Why Buy Someone Else’s Whiskey? (Continued) loan to buy all that gear and materials on a product you can’t sell for years down the road. Buying someone else’s juice can help you avoid some of that capital cost. Age: Whiskey can’t be rushed to
age. If you’re a new producer and you want to start selling 10 year old product, you’re going to have to buy it off of someone else or wait 10 years. There’s no shortcuts to time. Contract Distilling: Similar to capital
costs, but different, some producers opt to “contract distill” their prod-
ucts at someone else’s facility who can match the exact specifications they would like to achieve. Perhaps, they’ve run out of capacity, maybe they don’t have the expertise with a certain whiskey style to do it in house, or maybe you don’t have the right equipment. Regardless, contract distilling is a common practice which we’ll touch on in a coming newsletter. Off “style” barrels: Many producers
will offload quality barrels that, for whatever reason, didn’t mature the way they would have liked (see last
Another well known NDP brand edition’s talk about single barrel differences). That doesn’t mean they’re bad, but it does mean they may not fit the house style or would have to be blended into a cheaper product. Independent bottlers can give those barrels new life and a chance to shine on their own.
Scottish Tradition The Scots have been making whiskey for a long, long time. Typically, before the modern single malt craze, most producers bottled none, or almost none, of their own whiskey. It was all sold to local establishments to be poured from the barrel to patrons, or more commonly, to whiskey brokers/ blenders who would blend various whiskies and distribute
them to market. Over time, these brokers and blenders began to acquire production facilities for themselves in an attempt to vertically integrate, and develop more consistent access to their preferred whiskies. It is only in the last 30 or so years than many of these distilleries have begun to bottle whiskey under their own name, all of their product
previously having been committed to the larger blended products of their parent company. It is still possible to find independent bottlings from most of these “blending” producers, however, even if there wasn’t an own bottled product at the time. Independent brands like Signatory and Gordon & MacPhail specialize in single casks from various makers.
American Tradition Americans have a whiskey tradition all their own, and especially with a product like bourbon, where the romanticism is part of the appeal, appearances are everything. Many NDPs in America are reasonably transparent about where their product came from. They label a state of
origin, won’t make misleading claims about having a “Master Distiller” when they own 0 stills, etc. Conversely, producers such as Templeton and Michters in recent years have gotten in some hot water for being misleading, or even outright deceptive, when it comes to marketing
their products and spreading their story. If you’re unsure whether someone buys or distills their own product, look for a state of origin on the label, a DSP # (basically a distillery registration number) on bottled in bond products, or just Google it. The label on the right shows an example of the DSPs.
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# 1 : C r a i g e l l a c h i e 13 y
Tip: Try tasting these whiskies in three groups of two this month, to get the full side by side experience! Or don’t, they’re your samples to enjoy!
Craigellachie is one of those single malt distilleries that I mentioned earlier, where for most of its life it did not bottle products under its own name. Purchased by Dewar’s in 1998, Craigellachie began to produce an single malt for commercial release in 2004. They began to release the standard 13y expression in 2014, which is what most people know them for today. The distillery still uses a worm tub to condense its spirit, which leads to the full and rich house style. In the general
regional character of Speyside, the distillery also avoids peat. ABV – 46.0% Some Things to Look For: This dram shows off the rich, tree fruit and honey character of the worm tub/Speyside influences. Look for a bit of matchstick or extinguished candle as well. This isn’t from peat (the whiskey is peat-free), but from the particulars of the distillation, which leaves a touch more of the sulphur compounds in the spirit than other methods do.
#2:Lonach: Craigellachie 7y Duncan Taylor is one of the big whiskey blender/brokers of the UK. More well known for their Battlehill and Duncan Taylor brands, Duncan Taylor also began the Lonach brand in 2006 to focus on overstrength and understrength single malt casks purchased from distilleries and blended in small batches. No longer actively promoted today, the brand is still hanging
around a decent number of shops, and offers a reasonably priced look at Independently Bottled (IB) expressions. Some of the initial releases carried substantial age (30y+), though many of the “everyday” priced ones are in the 7y-12y range. ABV - 46.0% Some Things to Look For: Generally, younger spirit carries
more grain and fruit notes, and this is no exception. Lacking much of the honey of the 13, this presents with much more banana and tropical notes on my palate. As these were probably “off character” barrels due to high/ low proof, its fun to see the similarity and differences to the OB expression.
#3 Dickel 9y Hand Selected Barrel Tennessee Whiskey: Different George Dickel isn’t the first thing people think of when they hear “Tennessee Whiskey”, that’s Jack Daniels. I find that Dickel produces some fun whiskies at affordable prices, especially their older 9y and 14y efforts, which are bottled over 50% abv and have lovely concentration. The distillery also has been selling a sub-
stantial amount of whiskey to NDPs in recent years, capitalizing on the bourbon boom of the last decade. This whiskey is a single barrel of roughly the same age as the ones which were sold to Barrell to make sample #4, so lets see what Dickel does with their own product. ABV — 51.5%
Some Things to Look For: The Lincoln County Process (refer to the American Rye newsletter for info, or Google it) tends to bring out unique flavors not found in other bourbon. This dram shows off stylish BBQ flavors, along with good sweetness and darker notes.
than Bourbon, this designation means that new make spirit must have been maple charcoal filtered prior to aging. Otherwise, the same Bourbon rules apply for mashbill, barrel, etc.
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#4: Barrell Bourbon Batch 8b Begun in 2014 as a NDP of whiskey and rums, Barrell quickly acquired a reputation of quality by releasing whiskeys of substantial age and always at cask strength. The majority of their first 10 batches likely came from Dickel, and this one is no different. The “B” designates that it’s the same batch of juice as batch 8, but they aged it an additional year in their own possession before releasing it. It’s exactly the same distillate as sample #3, just bought and blended by a
different entity and left at cask strength. it ABV – 64.15% Some Things to Look For: This should be easily noticeable as higher proof than the OB Dickel bottling. Drawing on the same savory notes, this higher proof, slightly older expression comes across as a full throttle BBQ spice bomb. Can you pull any similarities or differences (aside from proof) with the OB Dickel 9y?
# 5 : L a p h r o i g 10 y Ah Laphroig! Some of you may be familiar with this fantastic producer of peaty Scotch, but in case you’re not, this is classic Islay peat at a fair age and a bargain price. At under $40 in most markets and super widely distributed, this is my go to entry drug when convincing someone to dip their toes in peat forward Scotch.
Beginning legal production in 1815, Laphroig eventually became fairly unique as it still malts a substantial portion (though not a majority) of its own barley. This allows them to impart a unique “creosote” note through their own peat influence on the barley, combined with a wider cut off the still gives Laphroig a full bodied peaty style that’s all its own. If this whiskey is offensive to your tastes, you probably won’t like other
similarly peated Scotches. Never fear though! Different regions/ producers’ peat all taste a bit different! ABV - 40.0% Some Things to Look For: “Medicinal” “Iodine” “Smokey”, they’re all common terms used to describe this full bodied spirit. What pops to mind when you smell the peat?
#6: Lonach: L a p h r o i g 10 y Distilled back in 2005, this batch of 10y barrels were bottled in 2015 and were another group of under and overproof casks that the folks at Laphroig must have determined weren’t going to fit the house style for their standard products. Bottled at a higher ABV than the standard OB 10y, this offers a very different expression of the same initial spirit that came off the still. The ABV — 46.0%
Some Things to Look For: This vintage seems to show off the most minerality/saltiness of the three, as well as the most spice. See if any of that spice reminds you of anything you might have kicking around your kitchen.
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Ta s t i n g G u i d e l i n e s & Club Information How To Taste Whiskey There are four components to tasting whiskey: The glass, your nose, your mouth, and water. Depending on how you use these four elements, you will get wildly different impressions of a whiskey. Lets go through them one by one: Glass: Most people tasting whiskey professionally use a glencairn or a copita. Glasses
that are skinnier at the top then the bottom are ideal, as they concentrate the smells of the whiskey. Rocks glasses are next best, with a shot glass being dead last. Nose: Smell determines the large majority of flavors, not your tastebuds. Smelling (or
nosing) a whiskey should be done with your nose close, but not in, the whiskey glass. Get it too close and you’ll get only alcohol, find an ideal spot just farther than that.
A Glencairn
Mouth: You should take a small sip, being careful to not slurp air as you would with
wine (this will bring out the alcohol burn). Let the whiskey touch all areas of your mouth, before swallowing. Pay attention to both mouthfeel and flavors, as you sense different things depending on where the dram is in your mouth. Water: This is open to much personal preference, but most whiskey benefit from a
drop or two of water (or a couple more if they’re particularly high proof). The water allows additional compounds to come out of solution in the whiskey and more easily be sensed. You can watch the oils (where much of the flavor of whiskey resides) dealing with the addition of water when you first add a drop or two. Some people prefer to avoid all water, some prefer to add ice (though the low temperature isn’t ideal for allowing you to smell/taste more), but many people prefer a drop or two of regular water. Experiment a bit to find what you like. Remember, the ideal amount may vary from whiskey to whiskey.
Close, but not too close!
Club information If you’re reading this for the first time, then WELCOME! The Whiskey Society of the Brazos Valley is an informal club of enthusiasts, founded in 2017, who like to split bottles of whiskey to try more and varied drams than we could on simply our own budgets. Each month, 5-6 2+oz samples are circulated with a newsletter explaining the theme and providing some (hopefully!) interesting and informative content to enhance your experience. The cost to participate is simply the retail cost of the whiskey split evenly and the glass vial it comes in. There is no upcharge for the newsletter, club profit, my profit, etc. Additionally, for each glass vial you return, you’ll get a 50 cent credit towards your next club tasting cost share. There is no ongoing commitment, your cost is simply the cost for the month, should you wish to partake after you receive the newsletter. If you have any suggestions, comments, or know of anyone that would like to participate, feel free to contact me at bpb25@cornell.edu. Thanks! And Cheers!
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