Maltal Combat II: The Pot Still Punch-Up

Yellow Spot vs Redbreast Cask Strength

The Fighting Pride of Ireland

Battle two in the Maltal Combat series shines the spotlight on two of Ireland's highly commended single pot still whiskies. Yellow Spot and Redbreast are stablemates hailing from County Cork's Midleton Distillery. Both have won awards on the international stage, making tonight's match-up a unification bout.

Tale of the Tape
Both whiskies are 12 years old and have similarly colourful names. After yesterday's press conference, Yellow Spot weighed in at a respectable 46% and, despite showing signs of jaundice, looked relaxed and confident. Redbreast Cask Strength tipped the scales at a hefty 58.6% and, when quizzed by reporters if the pre-fight training was taken seriously, looked a little flushed. The bookies have the Redbreast down as clear favourite as a result of its sheer power, although with such a sporting pedigree, it would be foolish to write off Yellow Spot.

Yellow Spot - 46%

Nose:
Banoffee pie with a dusting of espresso. Dried banana chips, peach stones and lashings of honey. Bourbon cask influence is very much in evidence. Puts me in mind of old-school fruit salad drizzled with condensed milk.

Palate:
Exactly what you'd expect. Everything you get from the nose and more besides. The espresso note is more pronounced as we near the finish and I dare say there's a decent amount of oak going on too but the dessert flavours are the dominant force here; potentially a little unbalanced. As it develops, there's a flash of bubblegum that puts me in mind of immature grain whisky but it doesn't stick around long enough to be too detrimental.

Finish:
Warm and medium-long. Drying and spicy towards the end with a mouth-watering encore. This really does make use of every bit of its 46%.

Thoughts:
On paper, the less brawny of the two but it does incredibly well with what strength it has. Compact, competent and sets the bar high, although some may find this a little too sweet. Shows some weakness when nearing the finish but definitely a contender.

Grade: B
Promising start and lively during the early rounds. Runs out of ideas a little as the fight progresses and suffers a wobble towards the end.


Redbreast Cask Strength - 58.6%

Nose:
A little more grown-up and austere than the Yellow Spot but oozing quality and menace in equal measure - this could be a handful. Big sherry, black cherries and Belgian chocolate to begin with followed by a hefty slab of marzipan. Muscovado sugar, dates and sultanas. Beware: Nose prickle awaits the enthusiastic sniffer.

Palate:
Oil slick! The mouthfeel is silkier than a silkworm's silkiest silk stockings. Sweet arrival but tempered with a savouriness that adds real depth of flavour. Some mildly bitter oak and chocolate, which is now dark in nature. Plum duff with more than a hint of nutmeg. Some slight graininess but nowhere near as much as the Yellow Spot.

Finish:
Given its strength, not as long as I had been expecting. wood, pepper and honey and then strangely a jolt of liquorice appears from nowhere. Ends on a bitter, oaky note which is in perfect contrast to the arrival.

Thoughts:
A real crowd-pleaser. Hugely entertaining, delivers its punches well and nicely balanced. More of a complete experience than its opponent.

Grade: A
Started slowly but never looked troubled. Got better and better as the rounds progressed and never ran out of steam. A masterclass in the noble art.

Punchy - in more ways than one

Redbreast Cask Strength (KO - Round 10)
The bookies' favourite on strength alone but it was the combination of poise and balance that was the difference in the end. A deserved winner.

Maltal Combat I: The Beginning

Glenmorangie: Quarter Century vs Signet

A battle for the ages

With all the recent back and forth on the topic of NAS whisky, I found myself wondering if I could put such a bottling up against an aged whisky of a similar style and let them slug it out. They'd have to be of comparable ABV, similar peating levels and ideally from the same distillery. A dive into the Stumblevault, one broken cork and a bruised head later, an idea was born.

Glenmorangie is a Highland heavyweight and very close to my heart. Some of my earliest dramming memories involve a bottle of the Port Wood, a heavy based tumbler and a period of fragility the following morning. Whilst my method of consumption may have changed, and my tumbler replaced by a nosing glass, I still try to keep a bottle of  'morangie tucked safely away. How fortunate then, for the purposes of this experiment, I kept two.

Glenmorangie Quarter Century - 43% (25yo)

Nose:
In a word, chocolate! Beautiful cocoa underscored by red fruits and a hint of tangerine. Gentle oak appears after a while with wisps of marzipan and lady fingers. This is a real sweetie.

Palate:
Clear red wine influence at the beginning with berries and cherries all over the shop. Oak tannins take hold as the taste develops. Velvety mouthfeel with gentle warming spices. Honeycomb and orange peel linger as it nears the finish.

Finish:
Long but gentle. Coats the tongue with a warm oiliness with lingering black pepper and oak. Wonderfully balanced.

Thoughts:
Well engineered, rich, balanced and tasty. Yet, somehow, this is not blowing me away. It's the whisky equivalent of a Rolls Royce; beautiful, serene, luxurious. It's just lacking the entertainment you'd get in less refined methods of travel.

Grade: B
Don't get me wrong, it's a high B. A very high B. Stupendously high. It's just too civilised to seriously float my boat.


Glenmorangie Signet - 46% (NAS)

Nose:
Incredibly rich with bags of sherry. Walnuts, cigar boxes and tiramisu. Black cherries and a hearty blob of Dijon mustard. This has real pedigree.

Palate:
Again, rich. Malty, chocolately with a dash of coffee. This is more full-on than its older brother. Madagascan vanilla ice-cream dusted with dark chocolate and a spritz of orange zest. Spicy with a great oily mouthfeel.

Finish:
Warm and lingering. Nowhere near as elegant as the Quarter Century but by no means inferior. Pepper and Christmas spices with a mocha finale.

Thoughts:
Rich, dark and full of flavour. An absolutely superb whisky. This may lack the refined quality demonstrated by the Quarter Century but it is more than a match in the flavour stakes. Puts the elder statesman in its place.

Grade: A
This is a very good whisky and shows that not all NAS bottlings are inferior, immature tripe destined for the Travel Retail sector. Bravo.

Dark Horse

Glenmorangie Signet (Split Decision)
Maybe it's the extra ABV, maybe it's the richness of flavour, maybe it's because my tastebuds lack the refinement to truly appreciate the quality of the 25. Whatever the reason, the young upstart gives the old man a bit of a lesson in the end.

However, before we get too carried away, the difference in quality was marginal. I'd wager that if I did it all over again, depending on the kind of day I'd had, I could easily have judged the 25 the winner..... right up until the point I compared the prices.

The Land of the Rising Tun

Yamazaki & Hakushu - Distiller's Reserve - 43%

Only one is named after a sneeze

Japan exhibits a fascinating attitude towards craft. From the majestic swords forged during the much-lauded koto period through to the ultra-reliable automobiles of today, the Japanese ethos has been one of 'try, try and try again until we get it right....and then keep trying until we're better than anyone else'. Truly an awe-inspiring civilisation. Admittedly this is also the country that brought us tentacle porn and those vending machines that sell soiled schoolgirl panties so, you know, swings and roundabouts.

At the forefront of the craft of Japanese whisky you'll find Suntory. There have been a number of quite excellent releases spilling forth from both the Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries, collecting a whole host of gongs at various award shows across the globe. For example, if you can source a sample of the highly-praised Yamazaki 18, I'd strongly urge you to do so. "Sample?", I hear you cry. "Surely Johnnie, if it's that good, why not buy a bottle?".

Yeah, you got me. This is where, historically at least, I've had a problem. I've always found Yamazaki and Hakushu to be a little on the costly side when compared to their Celtic cousins. The previously mentioned 18 year old Yamazaki will set you back in excess of £140 at one well known online store and I've not seen it much cheaper for some time now. Something of a conundrum then. If only Suntory would follow in the footsteps of Nikka and release some accessible, reasonably priced fare.... and you know what? They've only gone and done just that.

Yamazaki Distiller's Reserve - 43%

Nose: 

Big sherry and a surprising maturity, given the lack of an age statement. There's older whisky in here. Strawberries and other red fruits. A certain red wine note with a little prickle of spice.

Palate:

Echoes the nose. Lively with elements of maturity but there's a fair amount of youthful character. Strawberries with flashes of black cherry, definite winey note and winter spices humming along underneath. 

Finish:

Sweet and spicy. Mildly drying oak and what I'd label a classic sherry profile.Medium in length and satisfying.

Thoughts:

This is an extremely competent malt. In truth, it leans towards the youthful side of balanced but it's none the worse for it. The wine cask influence keeps things playful and there's enough spice to beef up the whole experience.

Grade: B

Hakushu Distiller's Reserve - 43%

Nose:

The nose kicks off with apples, unripened melon and pears. Fruity but crisp and dry. If the Yamazaki is summer this is definitely spring. There's the slightest hint of bonfire smoke and a vegetal quality that is far from unpleasant.

Palate:

A lot smokier than the nose would suggest. Starts off sweet and a little on the tart side with a light peatiness running alongside. This is a little more austere than its brother and every so often, there's an unapologetic eau-de-cologne note.

Finish:

Dry and ashy. Medium in length and with burnt oak and bitter grapefruit. It's not unpleasant but it's certainly challenging. That eau-de-cologne note is there again. Fascinating.

Thoughts:

Not nearly as approachable as the Yamazaki. This is a thinker and yet not especially complex. However, I like a challenge and I'm definitely going to spend more time with this one.

Grade: B

Final Thoughts:

Going on grade alone, you'd think these whiskies were on a par, but they're really not. The Yamazaki is a step up from the Hakushu in almost every way and earns itself a solid B, while the latter just scrapes in at the bottom end. Both are still fantastic value, well worth a punt and, at a shade under £40 each, you'd be doing yourself a disservice by not getting both. However, if you can only get one, I'd go for the Yamazaki every time.