Watt Whisky Winter 2022 Outturn
Five Single Malts and a Rum | Various ABV
Bring Out The Jura!
That’s exactly what I felt like requesting as I recorded my first COVID-19 negative result over the festive period.
It was a moment to celebrate finally stepping free of self-imposed restrictions, despite the atmosphere being as thick and sinister as any backend Fife pub on a Sunday evening. In such pubs, from my experience, Jura is plentiful.
While the delicate device sat in front of me, suggesting happy days with no red line apparent, I knew as I crunched some extra-hot bar nuts that my palate was pretty lifeless and my nose probably couldn’t distinguish a 1960s Johnnie Walker from its current grain-led modern variant. That’s a huge difference, if you haven’t tried it — even if we’re told things haven’t changed. Even tucking into my son’s Mini Cheddars the next day prompted the immediate reaction of they forgot to add the cheese, before realising that my own limitations persisted.
Ah, if only my grannie was still around during this festive period to obliterate the turkey and pulverise the vegetables. 2022 was clearly the year for her and my taste buds. Rather than reaching for a glass of water to wash away the pulped brussel sprouts or annihilated cauliflower, I would have reached for another serving, unaware of the culinary savagery on display. With each course celebrated with a dram of Mannochmore’s finest, Loch Dhu.
First-world problems, I know, given what this virus has done to my own family and others worldwide. A little taste and smell deprivation doesn’t seem too bad an outcome compared to the millions who are still suffering chronic long-term effects. In today’s society, it is all about self and self comes first, often at the cost of others.
The potential COVID-19 impact on whisky tasting abilities was highlighted in a rather infamous BBC story involving Blair Bowman back in late 2021. Locked in his Edinburgh apartment-cum-bunker, the critic that most like to deride was hiding from the virus and trying to protect his income. I can understand these motivations — along with the possibility that other reasons that might not have been disclosed. The reaction from the sniggering whisky community was varied, and again I can appreciate why. Blair serves an area of whisky that enthusiasts quickly dismiss, carrying the torch for an assortment of drams that many of us have left behind on our own whisky journeys.
Personally, I think that if someone wants to protect themselves under the guise of their importance to the whisky industry and linked earning potential, then that’s their prerogative. The wheels of industry churn on, and if the hangers-on don’t grip tightly enough, they are soon forgotten and replaced. That’s the reality of the situation: a Snowpiercer environment where the next person steps up. For every consultant in a lofty and privileged position, there are a hundred wannabes waiting to take their place. It must be a pressurised and tiring environment, where you’re only as good as your next positive statement or gin endorsement. It explains why so many never bite the hand that feeds.
My own position is more one of enjoyment and my income will always be non-whisky related, so I can ditch any agenda. Even my own Dornoch cask (far from undrinkable), which would have had some value as their #2 cask, was sold back to the brothers for what I paid for it 5 years previously. My own Glen Mhor research has been distinctly driven by a no-profit mantra, going so far as to put on a ridiculously cheap tasting in Edinburgh of this lost distillery (which sold out in a few hours). Researching a lost distillery isn’t cheap, but less visible is the drain on your time. So, I come from a different perspective and environment. I don’t want acclaim or an industry role and I don’t want to take your money. I just want an enjoyable dram at the end of a hard and thankless day.
Yet COVID-19 doesn’t distinguish between any of us. Those filling their boots with profits or massaging words to receive industry acclaim are considered fair game. Each of us can be in this position, sitting alone one evening with a bottle of Jura and trying to retrain our senses. While I can lament or look to the BBC for an outlet, there is much to be said for kicking back and taking advantage of the situation: an opportunity to spend time with some starter whiskies, the inoffensive candidates among whom Blair and others arguably ply their trade. One can revisit bottles that were discarded decades ago, recalibrating and performing the whisky equivalent of cardioversion.
I continued with my diet of Balvenie, blends, Glenmorangie, Jura, and drams that I knew inside out…until I could take no more and felt able and confident to transition once more to demanding liquids. Thrown into the mix was a helping of Irish whiskey — the most benign of whiskies in the eyes of some. I tend to disagree given the new distilleries we’re seeing, but some samples in my stash harked back to the old days of bottle anything and label it as such. All this, along with an Auchentoshan, provided a good basis for my recovery, along an appreciation of how important your senses are and how we take them for granted – way too much for granted.
The opening of the recent Hazelburn 10 release provided flashes of more flavours coming through. Peat also knocked on the door with a distillery exclusive Kilchoman (finished in Port, a lovely thing), forming a strong combo with a private cask bottling from Bruichladdich. Step by step, things started to unravel and my senses woke from their slumber.
In the midst of all of this, I received the latest outturn from Watt Whisky. This was slightly delayed by the worthwhile strikes of our postal workers (whom I support with a blast of the horn each time I drive past their picket line).
Then, a new virus pushed things back further with the added joy of little sleep and a relentless cough which seems to have become rampant across the country. So, December was pretty much a write-off. I’m fortunate that things such as these — my senses — are not linked to my income. I don’t need to write, judge, taste, or nose to resuscitate any revenue stream. If my alias or name is on something like this, then you can rest assured I’ve treated these whiskies like any others and that they’ve been tasted in my preferred environment and set-up.
I’ve heard all manner of tales about tasting routines from the professionals, consultants and suchlike. From 6am tasting notes to demanding free samples at whisky festivals (only to knock these back in rapid fashion at a nearby table, with the most pedestrian of tasting notes appearing shortly afterwards). “Whatever works for you” is the best mantra. I’m a believer in my palate having woken, stretched, and relaxed by the time the evening arrives. Consistent glassware and a quiet corner of the house (often the hardest element of the equation) works best for me, along with a good cup of tea prior to any drams and the possible inclusion of a blend to warm things up.
Overall, these delays seem fitting, as there’s no better way to kick off 2023 and hopefully a great year all round than with the latest bunch of releases from Watt Whiskies, who we’ve been covering on a consistent basis here at Dramface. Their emphasis on quality, value, and enjoying the contents fits well with our own values as whisky drinkers. Please forgive my tardiness and tuck into a January that needn’t be dry and without hope.
Review 1/6
AFD Dominican Rum 11yo
Refill rum barrel, 5 years in a tropical climate & remainder in a continental climate, 57.1% ABV
Around £85
Nose
Orange sherbet, rubbed brass, tinned fruit salad with syrup. Fresh wild strawberries, mint leaf. This isn’t a big, bold, and dynamic rum. I find it more playful and less sweet-focused.
Palate
Now the sweetness comes through some vegetal qualities. Brown sugar, strawberries, plums, and a pleasant texture. Rhubarb, tobacco, green olives, and bananas.
Score: 6/10 DM
Review 2/6
Cameronbridge 30yo
Hogshead, 276 bottles, 45.6% ABV
Around £89
Nose
Candy floss and ripe apples. I’ve noted those sweet mushrooms you used to get in the random 10p bags as a kid (I guess they’d be nearer £1 nowadays). Icing sugar, a gentle grapefruit and, of course, vanilla. I’m reminded of the outdoors and cotton sheets and a faded tangerine.
Palate
Sugar cubes in an old café, withered vanilla pod that still offers something, and white chocolate. A steady grain that seems gentile and assured. Raisins, freshly baked cookies that underline that sweet aspect, and white fruits.
Score: 7/10 DM
Review 3/6
Loch Lomond (Croftengea) 5yo,
Barrel, 57.1% ABV
Around £65
Nose
Vegetal with autumnal notes, dulse. Lime juice, smoked almonds and honey, and a coastal sweetness. Old withered varnish, salted caramel, and hazelnuts.
Palate
More of that vegetal quality and plenty of oomph at 5 years of age. Plenty of compost and autumnal woodland notes. Cardamon, cloves, sea salt, and liquorice.
Score: 6/10 DM
Review 4/6
Glasgow Distillery 5yo
Sherry butt (partial cask), 216 bottles, 57.1% ABV
Around £69
Nose
Slightly rubbery, armchair leather, walnuts, and red chillies. Boot polish, tobacco, and cranberries. Blackberries, red grapes, peppercorns, and cloves.
Palate
More peppercorns, coal dust and old boots, and a chewy texture. Toffee, red liquorice, cardamon, and red apples, and some residual density on the palate.
Score: 5/10 DM
Review 5/6
Tomintoul 12yo
Ruby Port finish for 14 months, 282 bottles, 58.4% ABV
Around £69
Nose
You can sense the Port influence with Bakewell tart, Red Velvet cake, and walnut oil. Keeping the desert theme, there’s also Stollen with some marzipan evident. Yet it never oversteps on the sweetness with a pleasing level of fruitiness and red apples, keeping things balanced.
Palate
More balance on the palate with orange, ginger, and spent tobacco. Chocolate, toffee apples, fudge, and apricot round off an enjoyable crowd-pleaser.
Score: 6/10 DM
Review 6/6
Tormore 12yo
Rye Barrel, rested for 14 months, 222 bottles, 59.3% ABV
Around £70
Nose
Very clean and fresh, plenty of vanilla as you’d expect, and a buttery nature. Melon, being outdoors in the countryside (no manure), and apples, Pencil shavings, grapefruit, white chocolate, and ginger root.
Palate
The freshness continues and you can appreciate the rye barrel impact. More wood spice on the palate with lemon mousse and satsumas. There’s a creaminess with grated nutmeg and grapefruit. Very juicy and pleasing.
Score: 6/10 DM
The Dregs
The Dominican rum is very easy going and approachable. It isn’t my preferred style, as I’m big on the esters and rich textures that rum can deliver, yet there is something pleasing and leisurely about the experience in general. This ultimately fits well with the Watts’ philosophy. I do enjoy the tropical versus continental maturation aspect. If only we could have more of this in whisky when it comes to the regions.
We forget what Cameronbridge can offer us as the distillery has been around for longer than you’d think and wasn’t always the behemoth that it is today. While it provides the spirit backbone to many Diageo products, the sheer size of it is overwhelming. It is easy to forget that there is a grain whisky here which is more than Haig Club — given time, it warrants applause. I find that evident here; it’s a great price for a 30 year old drop. It won’t change your life or demand your total focus to decipher, but grains such as these are just for enjoyment and I find them lovely things.
The Coftengea (Loch Lomond) continues the fine standard of distillate from Scotland’s most varied distillery. Compared to the Glasgow bottling, this 5 year old is more spirit driven and offers plenty of character and a blast of its heavily peated roots. Young, feisty, and affordable, it is a whisky for the bold drinker, one that loves a hit of peat.
The Glasgow bottling is young still finding its way in life with some bold wood character already in situ. I’ve not been taken by anything from this distillery to date, but it’s very much in its infancy. While I’m not greatly taken by this whisky, it is solid and remains representative of much of the younger wave of distilleries we have in Scotland.
Tomintoul isn’t a distillery we talk about generally, but it offers a good basis in blends. Ss a single malt, it would deserve more of the limelight if the range were revamped. Through independent bottlings such as this Watt Whisky release, we can appreciate there’s more to Tomintoul than you’d think. The Port cask after 14 months has had an impact but not an overly great one, which we’ve seen in releases elsewhere. Whisky as much as life is all about balance and not overstating any aspect. A tasty and easy pourer, it’s another reflection of the Watt Whisky mantra.
We’ll be hearing more from Tormore in the coming years, and despite some tinkering by Chivas in recent times, it remains an impressive distillate that has bags of never fully realised potential. If you’ve been fortunate enough to have some of the early bottlings from the 60s and 70s, then you’ll appreciate Tormore had a distinctive voice that has become muted in more recent times and turned into a haphazard official range. Here’s to the future of the distillery and unlocking that potential! It’ll be a huge ask, but I’m excited — well, as excited I can be about a whisky.
So, overall, this is an enjoyable selection from Watt Whisky. It ranges from average to very good, with plenty to explore in-between. My own personal picks would be the Cameronbridge and the Coftengea; two names you don’t talk about much in any whisky conversation.
Tried these? Share your thoughts in the comments below. DM