Dràm Mòr Christmas 2022 Release
Three Malts and a Grain | Various ABV
Samples!
We’ve touched upon the issue of reviewing samples here on Dramface before.
Dallas has advocated the pleasure that can be found when coming across an aesthetically pleasing handwritten label on a sample bottle, and in a recent Aqvavitae vPub, Roy brought it up with Angus (part time Whiskyfun guy, full-time Sponge), and we heard there are pros and cons to forming your opinion based on a handful of centilitres rather than decilitres.
Any way you bend it, it remains a bit tricky as you’re given basically two, occasionally three pours at best, to try and set your nose and mouth to work to get a good enough indication of the quality of a whisky.
Even behind the scenes, there’s been quite a bit of discussion between the Dramface team on the value and merit of an opinion based on a sample. But as we want to bring you honest and well-informed an opinions, we plough on. ‘Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor tiny wee bottles…’ or something along those lines.
There are some important points to be made when writing a review based on samples. Cost efficiency plays a factor (although probably only from the reviewer’s point of view), as it’s simply impossible to get your hands on every new release. Also, and specifically for independent and/or limited releases, a set of samples comes in handy when there’s a narrow time frame in which it’s actually relevant to discuss them. At Dramface, we want to be somewhat up to date and with the eyes on the ball when writing about seasonal and limited releases such as these, allowing in a set of samples every now and then is pretty much the only way forward if we’re looking to avoid blowing a few months’ worth of our whisky budget all at once.
So while it’s easy to snub samples as an unreliable source for a review, be it because you don't get to spend enough time with a whisky, be it because of the whole dilemma of ‘freebie equals favourable review’ (for the record: it doesn’t), I feel that if we acknowledge these aspects, the good ones and the not so good ones, I would very much like to argue that samples indeed have merit when reviewing a whisky.
Given there’s relatively little liquid at hand to provide this sort of information and opinion, it proved to be an even tougher challenge to deliver at this time of year. For the past few weeks I went from one family festive dish to another work-related reception and back, meaning my palate was pretty much blown to bits when I finally could unwind at the end of the day with a dram in hand. Luckily, a few ascetic days in between those more gourmet-like dishes were calculated in, resulting in a much cleaner palate which was put to use to assess the latest Dràm Mòr batch.
Despite launching their adventure as indie bottler months before the pandemic struck, the rather formidable Kenny Macdonald has become a familiar sight and sound at whisky festivals, which is a sign they’re doing quite well in stating their case to enthusiasts. It’s also hard work being a small independent company. If you follow Kenny and his peers on social media, the amount of time and money they spend travelling is jaw-dropping. It may be the most rewarding and fun work chatting and talking all things whisky, but I can imagine it’s often exhausting. Hunting down good casks and negotiating deals with distilleries, brokers, warehousing facilities, bottling plants etc, may be essential parts of running the business. But getting people to know you’re out there and making sure they have access to your product, is undoubtedly an equally big challenge.
Review 1/4
Craigellachie 9yo, Portuguese red wine cask finish, 330 bottles, 52.1% ABV
£70-75
Nose
Zesty lemon, oranges, melon, cherries, berries, raisins and sultanas, pears and pear drops are leading the way. Right behind that a subtle earthy-tannic note from the red wine cask, intertwined with that signature Craigellachie character of gentle savoury notes, with toasted cereal and vanilla. Still a bit spirity, but the cask finish adds a pleasant layer to things.
Palate
Strong and warming. There’s far less fruit to be found here, as vanilla spices and darker notes of treacle and toffee take centre stage. Adding water brings out a salty note and dark roast coffee, before it turns into a warm, peppery finish.
Score: 6/10 EA
Review 2/4
Ruadh Maor 10yo, (peated Glenturret) Portuguese red wine barrique, 268 bottles, 57.2% ABV
£80
Nose
Luscious! The best of the sweeter notes of the red wine cask wonderfully intertwined and in a spot on balance with the savoury-earthy peat. Peat, rather than smoke, although the smoke is there. Strawberries on TCP, orange peel and pink candy notes thrown in a smoke pit, poured over red wine and held together by bandaids. Super intriguing.
Palate
Potent and strong arrival, again a spot on balance between dry red wine (translating into old leather) and the peat. Peat that’s now a bit more ashy on the tongue. Despite the strong ABV it’s very drinkable as it is. There’s a viscous mouthfeel with wood and salted cracker and a fruity sweetness I can’t quite put my finger on as towards the finish it turns dry, woody and again increasingly salty.
Score: 8/10 EA
Review 3/4
Glen Elgin 8yo, first-fill bourbon cask, 244 bottles, 56.8% ABV
£65
Nose
A bit closed, some lemon zest and very grainy. Vanilla with floral notes going into a soft sour/wet leaf note. Adding water alters things significantly: herbal-parsley, with suddenly a creamy-milky note with white fruit and a herbal honey touch.
Palate
A tad hot on arrival. Cardboard, vanilla and lemon-zest. Again, the added water alters things dramatically and it really opens up. That dry, cardboard like feature remains, but it mellows out with notes of white fruit and herbs, spices, white pepper and cardamom which linger on in the finish.
Score: 5/10 EA
Review 4/4
Girvan 27yo, refill bourbon barrel, 54.8% ABV
£95
Nose
All kinds of sweetness: pink bubble gum, popcorn and a gentle astringency underneath to counter things. Given time it turns increasingly fruity, with super ripe pears and grapes to the point it almost becomes something artificial confectionary. Pleasant, uncomplicated, but inviting.
Palate
Effervescent. A gentle, sappy woodnote and the fruits are less sweet and drier this time round. Sweetness from white chocolate. There’s a distinct green note, almost like a rye, with that mixture of green notes and bubble gum. A drop of water and it changes again, as it almost drowns out the fruity notes and accentuates the green notes. The finish is sticky and clingy, echoing a gentle wood spice.
Score: 7/10 EA
The Dregs
I won’t dwell too long on the Glen Elgin. It’s not a bad whisky, but I initially thought it was spirit forward and a tad generic. However, the way it changed after adding water was astounding. Spectacular even, making it one of the most interesting evolutions in a fairly young whisky I’ve encountered. Yet, I feel I might have crossed paths with it at the wrong time. It’s more of a summer dram in my opinion and although I tried every whisky separately spread out over several evenings, a summery whisky was indeed the odd one out when you’ve been mostly sipping and enjoying some heavier character whiskies fitting for the season.
The Girvan was a textbook example of a good grain whisky. It makes a splendid malternative. An interesting, uncomplicated and fun single grain, with an extra perk where grain whisky outshines malt whisky, because where will you find a 27 year old cask strength malt whisky for such a price?
When I first saw that two of the four bottles were finished in red wine casks, I had my reservations. I am guilty of having presumptions and biases, it turns out, as I was immediately proved wrong on both occasions. They got it spot on. The wine cask finishes lifted the Craigellachie and added character and flavour and what it does with Glenturret is magical. I think it’s on par with some of the best Longrow Reds I’ve tasted. I’m not suggesting it’s similar, but when a heavily peated spirit gets finished in a vessel that previously held the right type of wine, something truly special occasionally occurs. This, in my opinion, is one of those occasions, and if I could buy just one bottle of the lot, this would be the one I take away from this line-up as it ticked all my boxes and then some.
Samples and images provided by Dram Mòr
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