The Dark Expedition – preamble

It’s been over three months since I sailed with a group of wonderful people across the North Sea from Gothenburg to Orkney. I have no explanation for why it’s taken so long to get started on this account of the trip, other than, well, life and such. Short posts with tasting notes are one thing, longer texts take more time and energy. Time is mostly available in the evening when the kids are in bed, and by then energy is frequently sadly lacking. I also had a couple of thousand images to dig through to identify those worth editing and presenting. And then there was the question of form: Should I aim for something I could develop into a magazine feature? Should I stick mainly to pictures rather than text? Should I even write about the sailing here? This is a blog about drinkable stuff, after all, not sailing. And so weeks passed by.

A steady course is to be desired, both in sailing and in blogging.
A steady course is to be desired, both in sailing and in blogging.

But now, finally, I think I’m in the zone. I’ve decided you’ll just have to scroll past if you’re not interested in sailing. And since this is a blog I’ll be sharing my diary entries pretty much as I wrote them, feature articles will have to look after themselves. A little editing will happen, to clarify or add detail, but mostly I’ll share it as I wrote it while it was happening. Once at Orkney, the visit to Highland Park will obviously be the main focus, but I’ll pop over to a bay by the name of Scapa, too. And I’ll end with a bit of a summary of my experience and some wisdom gleaned from hindsight. And there will be plenty of pictures, but most will be published in a gallery at the end.

Are you ready? Part 1 will be published tomorrow, all things permitting, in the meantime you can enjoy the official video from the trip:

Nordic Whisky News #3

Sweden: On the 20th of November Smögen whisky will release two bottlings at Systembolaget. One – Smögen single cask 20/2011 – is a single cask ex Maker’s Mark cask bottling, bottled at 60.9%. 295 bottles of 500 ml will be made available. The second bottling – Smögen Sherry Project 1:1 – has been finished in sherry casks, is bottled at 52% and 595 bottles of 500 ml wil be made available. The latter is listed as “övrig sprit” (other spirits) rather than whisky for some reason, though Smögen say it was filled in casks in July 2011 and bottled in September 2014, which makes it three years old by a healthy margin. Whiskyblogg.se has tasting notes for the single cask and Whisky Saga for the Sherry Project.

Sweden: Also on release at Systembolaget in November is Box The Challenger, at 48.2%. The date for this bottling is the 27th, and a pre-release was held at various Swedish pubs on the 13th.

I will be ready to order on the 27th myself, the jury is still out on the 20th, but I have to admit it’s tempting.

Ardbeg 1998 11 years Dun Bheagan 56.2%

From a barrel with cask number 1782, June 1998-2010.

ardbeg_11_dunbheaganNose: Clementine peel, especially the white part, quite sweet malt, grist (a lot of flour), leather sofas. With water the grist solidifies into whole barley and I get some lemon as well.

Palate: Asphalt dust, cold smoke and coal.

Comments: Yummy. Very nice mix of grains/grist and smoke.

ardbeg_11_dunbheagan2

Glenglassaugh Torfa 50%

glenglassaugh_torfaNose: Smoked fudge. With water it develops into smoked cardboard box.

Palate: Foam banana sweets dusted with sugar that have spent som time in the smoke oven (or perhaps the kiln).

Comments: As a peatfreak I naturally like this. However it’s not complex enough, neither is it THAT good, so I wouldn’t consider buying a bottle. But if you’re offering I’ll have another dram.

Glen Ord 1973 23 years Rare Malts 59.8%

glenord_raremaltsNose: Malt and tobacco. With water I get more smoke, as well as lemon curd and digestive bisquits.

Palate: Bonfire and malt. With water the tobacco shows up on the palate, but also lemon.

Comments: Yummy. It’s funny how the smoke and tobacco exchange places nose/tastewise with water. Not complex enough to be worth several hundred pounds at auction, perhaps, but certainly moreish.

Inchgower 1974 22 years Rare Malts 55.7%

inchgower_raremaltsNose: Orange, melon and malt. With water green leaves and after a while in the glass suddenly intense butterscotch, then later again goat willow and lemon sherbet.

Palate: Malt, wood, herbs, Bitter finish. With water it develops fruitiness with underlying moss.

Comments: Very intriguing, a lot happens in the glass and I was told even more happened when the bottle was newly opened (I had one of a bout three drams left in the bottle for a month). One of those Rare Malts I’d really like more of, because it’s interesting, but also very, very nice.

Springbank Rum Wood 12 years 54.6%

Distilled 1989, bottled April 2002 (newly opened bottle).

springbank_rumwood Nose: Rum, apple, butterdough. Chalk and ashes. More ashes with water, but also fresher fruit, green grapes and spruce shoot tips.
Palate: Butterscotch first, malt and cedar wood. The finish is dry, bitter and somewhat ashy, but the buttery taste stays. Water brings out oatcakes with butter, with green grapes, but no cheese.

Comments: Original, but is it good? Unfortunately I have to settle for “No”. It’s the bitterness on the palate again, and there is not enough sweetness to balance it. And this weird buttery character. Is it because of the rum cask? Rum hardly tastes of butter, so I don’t know. Could it be the fattiness of the spirit that reacts this way with the rum cask? In any case, I’m underwhelmed, again.