Stronachie, Tullibardine, Port Askaig

Flaviar is an online merchant that sells a wide variety of spirits, but their specialty is themed tasting boxes. These curated sets often have whimsical names, such as Star Spangled Bourbon, The Ryevolution or Here Be Pirates, Yo-ho! (rum, if you didn’t guess). In the past I have tried flights of Balcones Texas whiskey and The Exceptional Scotch blends. This time I ordered Flavors of Scotch Vol. 2 (the first volume was before my time), with selections highlighting different styles of Scottish Single Malts.

Inside the canister you get three 50 ml vials ...

 ... with a place card for each spirit ...

 ... with visual flavor profiles printed on the back. 

This flight included two contrasting Highlanders: Stronachie 10 Year Old in a traditional style, and Tullibardine 225 finished in Sauternes wine casks. A peated Islay whisky filled out the set: Port Askaig 110º Proof.

The Stronachie distillery shut down 90 years ago, but when the A. D. Rattray company found a hundred-year-old bottle at auction they decided to resurrect the name. The independent bottler analyzed the contents and chose the Benrinnes distillery to reproduce the old-school style. This new Stronachie was aged for ten years and bottled at 43% alcohol by volume.

In the glass Stronachie had a light straw color and some lovely legs, suggesting a sturdy viscosity. Rubbing the liquid released some apple and pear aromas. A sip confirmed a pleasant mouth-coating viscosity, and I got the flavor of cinnamon pear compote. It finished with white pepper, not uncommon for Scotch.

The name Tullibardine dates back over 500 years to the time of King James IV, when it was known as a brewery. As a distillery it is rather young, having switched to producing spirits only in the 1940s. It went dormant in 1995, but new ownership revived the stills in 2003. It changed hands yet again in 2011, with a shifted emphasis on marrying Scottish whisky with French wine casks.

Tullibardine 225 is matured in ex-bourbon barrels before finishing in Sauternes wine casks (typically 225 liters, hence the name). Sauternes is a white Bordeaux style; its grapes have experienced noble rot, a fungus that shrivels the fruit for a raisin-like concentration of juice. I was expecting a light, fruity whisky, but the Tullibardine 225 Sauternes Finish (also at 43% ABV) had a deep amber color with dark aromas of plum and Mexican chocolate. The palate surprised me with sautéed asparagus before finishing with butterscotch.

Port Askaig is a gateway town on Islay, with ferries running to the mainland and the neighboring island of Jura. There isn’t an official distillery in the town proper, so Elixir Distillers of London source whisky from an undisclosed producer and bottle it as a representative Islay Single Malt. In the UK it is labeled Port Askaig 100° Proof, which might suggest a strength of 50% ABV, but the degree sign indicates an older proofing system. 100° equates to the modern 114.2 proof, or 57.1% ABV. The US export is labeled Port Askaig 110° Proof, most likely for legal reasons to avoid misleading the consumer. The degree sign is moot, as the strength is at the expected 55% ABV (half of proof).

Port Askaig has all the peaty smokiness that you would expect from an Islay malt. Its color is like pear flesh, similar to Lagavulin 8 Year, a paleness that hints at the youth of this non-age stated whisky. On the palate it shows a bit of the sweetness of Ardbeg 10 and the iodine of Caol Ila 12. Smart money pegs Caol Ila as the source, as it is the largest distillery on Islay, with capacity to outsource peated malt for various Scotch blends and independent bottlers. Caol Ila is also situated on the outskirts of Port Askaig for a nice geographical unity.

Port Askaig – Lagavulin 8 – Ardbeg 10 – Caol Ila 12

Overall, this was one of the more pleasing flights I have experienced. It was nice to try the Tullibardine, because I had been curious about Glenmorangie’s Nectar d’Or, also finished in Sauternes casks. Now that I know it is not one of my preferred styles, I can spare the expense. The Stronachie is more in my wheelhouse with its clean fruit notes, similar to the standard Glenmorangie 10 Year. And while I am always game for a peated malt like Port Askaig, I am fully satisfied with core offerings from the established Islay distilleries.

Cheers!