#drbilllumsden

Sometimes I wish I had never met Dr. Bill Lumsdun 😎. More on that some other time... Glenmorangie Private Edition is always a welcome whisky for personal reasons. Signet introduced me to Whisky, well it "elevated whisky from turpentine and gasoline" to iso amyl alcohol and other exiting things, and yes that is interesting. Ealanta was simply extraordinary at the time and Private Editions are a thing to look forward to, for me ever since then. While Ealanta was a nod to virgin oak, Allta is a little wink to the lowly yeast. Hopefully yeast will get it's rightful recognition. Four Roses, Westland's Matt Hoffman, and a few others keep the spotlight on yeast. Hopefully this opens a broader front. Commercial yeast and barley can only go so far. 130 odd distilleries in Scotland, perhaps a few more can look (again) at the role of yeast that gets it all started. (A very few do already). Well there is this bottle open for anyone who cares about stuff like this, Edition No. 10. Cheers to Private Editions, Cheers to Dr. Bill Lumsdun. #drbilllumsden #glenmorangie #whisky #scotchwhisky #yeast #moet #matthoffman #westlandwhiskey #fourroses #singlemalt #ardbeg (at Norfolk Wine & Spirits) https://www.instagram.com/p/Btluan3HBRc/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1035hrzc1ck05

(Welcome back 🤙🥃 for the final post on the @glenmorangie @grainsurfboards collaboration). It was now time for the second beautifully crafted element of the evening, a deconstruction of Glenmorangie Original by one of the sixteen men of Tain responsible for the golden, fruity, sweet spirit that flows through the tallest stills in Scotland - distillery manager, ‘whisky builder’ Andy MacDonald! 🕺 . Our first 🥃 was filled with crystal clear new make spirit, approximately 70% ABV. The sweet fruity character from the Glenmorangie shone through, delicious malty flavours sparkling on the tongue 🎉 Second we had a cask sample of the 10-year-old from a first fill bourbon cask, approximately 60% ABV, here the beautiful vanilla, peach and floral notes stood out. . Third up was a cask sample of the 10-year-old from a second and final fill bourbon cask. Citrus, fudge, toffee and apricots burst forth 😋 . Finally, we had a dram of Glenmorangie Original bottled at 40% to finish the tasting, well almost finish, as Andy mentioned that if we pour the first fill into the second fill cask we could create our own cask strength Glenmorangie Original. Who needs Dr Bill and @mcc_brendan, eh? 😉 . The night was not over as we were invited back downstairs for more delicious Glenmorangie cocktails. A fabulous evening with some truly incredible craftspeople. Well done Glenmorangie and Grain Surfboards👌 . . #beyondthecask #grainsurfboards #whiskybuilder #drbill #drbilllumsden #whiskysour #adramgoodtime #craftmanship @emilyharris1316 https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn9w1iPgnIA/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=pjq3f3612zdi

Day's don't get much better than this... We spent the morning with Brendan McCarron (@mcc_brendan), a kinda Luke Skywalker tae Dr Bill Lumsden's Obi-Wan Kenobi. He shared his baby, @Ardbeg An OA, the newest addition to their core range. An Ardbeg that’s sweet and smoky, fat and thin, ugly yet beautiful. If Ardbeg was Japanese it would be the embodiment of Wabi-sabi, but it’s not, it’s more je ne sais quoi. It is however fantastic in any language. A mixture of PX sherry (about 25%), new char oak and ex-bourbon, finished in a new massive french oak vat for over 3 months in a sort of solera system with a little of the previous marriage being left behind to influence the future blossoming romance of flavours. But that’s not the beginning. We started with the diamond that is Ardbeg 10 a big, raw, smokey, intense beast loved by many, despised by a few, a wee bit like @gruffalo, knobbly knees, turned out toes and a poisonous wart at the end of its nose. Tasting them side by side really highlighted just how different An OA is to the 10. The PX sherry in An OA really stands out. Brendan has created something that’s stickier, sweeter but still retains that unmistakable salt and sea spray 'Ardbeginess'. To understand how An OA came to be, we tried two special cask strength samples, one which was fully matured in PX casks, the other in new char oak. Both unveiled the varied complexities of the liquid and went some way to help understand what goes into trying to create something that has to stand-alone in such a stellar core range. The pièce de résistance was a sneaky wee taste of the new Twenty Something (a 23 year old Ardbeg), where the smoke has been enveloped in an auld sherry jacket before slowly rising up and tantalising yer taste buds. Tasting over, we retired for a spot of lunch and an Ardbeg old fashioned. Did we mention before day's don’t get much better than this? Big thanks to Brendan and all at @quercus_comms for such a great tasting, and a great insight into the future of Ardbeg #adramgoodtime #ardbeganoa #drbilllumsden