The Malt Whisky File by Lamond/Tucek

[lincoln imp]

I like the different slant on this book, IE that they do not actually give a score.
Can somebody please explain how Cragganmore 12yr gets 7 out of 10 for peatiness though?
The only gripe i have is that there are too many entries for the Blackadder bottlings, owned by Tucek.
Too much self promotion for my liking but thats busuness i suppose.

[whiskytutor]

Many thanks for the kind words lincoln imp, I am John Lamond.
The Cragganmore peat rating is because I ALWAYS find Cragganmore relatively heavily peated. The old DCL (Diageo) malts alll have a relatively high peat level in the flavour. Look at Glenlossie, Mortlach, for example. I have always found Craggnamore to be the company's most peatily flavoured Speyside, which is why i was surprised when they put it into the Classic Malt range - which was supposed to show a typical character of the region. To me, Glen Elgn or Glendullan are much more typical of Speyside than Cragganmore. To assess the peat levels, you have to taste it clinically against its local peers.
As to the Blackadder bottlings, I agree with you, but I have a co-author with whom I have a regular battle over what gets included. Remember I taste a goodly number of bottlings over the course of the year. I am quite successful in keeping out the volume of Blackadder bottlings that Robin wants included though! I have to say that some of the independent bottlers don't always get in touch re their new bottlings though.
Regards,

John

[Willie JJ]

Sounds kind of subjective though John. Any idea how your peatiness rating compares to the peating levels of the malt used by the distilleries?

Welcome to the forum by the way.

Cheers

[whiskytutor]

Of course it's subjective! All tasting is subjective. I attempt to be as objective as possible in my notes (and the industry thinks that I have done fairly well), but any tasting will have personal prefernces imposing opinions and influencing assessment.
Yes, ask anyone within the industry, they will advise that some of the former DCL distilleries are the most heavily peated of the Speysides. The issue of Cragganmore being representative of Speyside is something which I have raised several times and, even within Diageo, there are several who think that there are more representative malts within the company's portfolio. But there were politics involved in the initial decision.

[Exciseman]

I too love the approach that this book takes.

Especially if my wife likes a particular expression, I can with a degree of certainty find other bottlings that will appeal to her.

I would perhaps like more 'mainstream' bottlings included and some of the obscure ones left out. But overall, a big 'thumbs up'.

[lincoln imp]

Many thanks for the kind words lincoln imp, I am John Lamond.
The Cragganmore peat rating is because I ALWAYS find Cragganmore relatively heavily peated. The old DCL (Diageo) malts alll have a relatively high peat level in the flavour. Look at Glenlossie, Mortlach, for example. I have always found Craggnamore to be the company's most peatily flavoured Speyside, which is why i was surprised when they put it into the Classic Malt range - which was supposed to show a typical character of the region. To me, Glen Elgn or Glendullan are much more typical of Speyside than Cragganmore. To assess the peat levels, you have to taste it clinically against its local peers.


John

John, thanks for the info i will try and get a bottle of Glendullan to compare with Glen Elgin and Cragganmore.Interesting.
What do you think of the 1973/29yr OB, CS ? I would be interested in your views or any other members who have tried it.