Viskiblogistit olusilla, kaikki selvisivät!

Kutsu kiiri läpi vaarojen ja kurujen, jokia pitkin kiemurrellen. Harakan lennättämänä, korpin perille kuljettamana se tavoitti järvien keskellä olevan savujen peittämän saaren, jossa tarinat ja riimut ovat käsinkosketeltavia. Siellä sanoman kuuntelin, pohdiskelin ja lopuksi reppuni pakkasin. Tie kohti etelän kaukaisia kivipaaseja alkoi, kulkien asioiden kautta joista ei tohdi ääneen kuiskailla. Sanon vain, jos lukisitte ajatukseni toivoisitte että ajassa matkustaa osaisitte.

Kaukana lahtien pieksemillä rannikon kivillä, turvassa aalloilta ja myrskyiltä, sijaitsee rakennus joka ulkonäöllään satunnaista kulkijaa hämää. Jos taas sen aarteet tiedät, näet jalokiven joka hehkuu kirkkaasti tuhansien peltisoturien marssin kupeessa. Eikä tässä puhuta lyhdyistä, vaan noista juomista jota meistä monet pitävät.

“Kallossa” eteen tarjoiltiin olutta, joka oli mustaakin mustempaa. Mustiksi kiviksi sitä kutsuivat. En tiedä mitä se oli, mutta parin tuopin jälkeen se ei maistunut enää kovin kitkerältä, vaan oikeastaan aika hyvältä. Ehkä siinä on vähän tiukka ensimaku, tai ehkä se on vain väärin maisteltu kun sitä ei edeltänyt sopivat etelän maan valkoviinit. Niin tai näin, se maistui kyllä.

Tarinat lentelivät kuin osumat Agincourtissa ranskalaisten riveihin. Syviä, iskeviä ja uppoavia. Satunnaisesti vähän pintaa naarmuttaenkin. Kukaan ei kuitenkaan tunnustanut tappiota, vaan nauru ja hauskuus pysyivät mukana seurueessa ja säilät narikassa. Olihan tässä kyseessä useampi Suomalainen viskiblogisti, jotka vihdoin tapaisvat! Mitä kaikkea tästä taas kehkeytykään, ei sitä osaa sanoa. Harmillisesti vielä veljiä jäi uupumaan, mutta matka on pitkä. Ehkä piakkoin yritetään uudestaan, jos vain pienet posteljoonit jaksavat juosta!

Erityisen antoisaa oli kuulla mielipiteitä tarinoiden takaa, katsella kuutioita toisin silmin ja tietysti oppia tuntemaan muita myös viskimaailman ulkopuolelta. Oluet, jotka kummasti katosivat tuopeista kellon tahtiin, antoivat jutuille myös juuria sekoittuen viskien maailmaan melko saumattomasti.

Pakko sanoa ja kehua näitä muita blogeisteja – olivat paikalla tai eivät. Aivan mahtavaa väkeä olette ja on ollut suuri ilo ja etuoikeus tutustua!

(kuva ei ollut mukana tapaamisessa, mutta sopii tunnelmaan josta ei mystiikkaa puuttunut!)

In summary: some of Finnish #Whisky #blog writers met today. I must say it was an honor and a privilege to meet them! Networking by an ale or two seems to work for us. Lots of stories to swap, lots of ideas to share. Hopefully we’ll meet again soon, with some luck our numbers grow. 

Talisker Dark Storm – from the eye of Skye

At the first, you don’t hear a thing. The wind calms, birds stop their chore and tweets go silent. The dark cloud approaches fast. The wind wakes up first, gathering speed and strength and feeling proud when traveling in front of the storm. The rain, the thunder and it’s bright flashes fill ears and eyes. The storm has arrived.

Talisker put out their first Storm (in Finnish) earlier this year. It was a delightful experience that made one enjoy the whipping pain of rain on bare face. Now they re-entered the theme with their Dark Storm. It is Talisker, from the Isle of Skye, matured in “selected heavily charred casks”. They also state, that this maturation should give it extra spice and smoke.
The color is very pleasant and something you’d expect to see when looking at whisky. Oils are thicker than I thought they’d be. After all, this isn’t very specially old or strong (45.8%, the usual Talisker) dram. They don’t give out any age for this one, but it’s probably around 10-12YO mostly.
The nose is opening up slowly. At first, it doesn’t give out any surprises – except that it is very afraid and staying at the back corner. Then, when you beg for it, it will produce out a healthy buff of smoke. Much more smokier than any Talisker usually. But I am still very surprised, how delicate the nose it.


Mouthful gives out at first a smooth, then a bit late biting, smoke. Spiciness and smokiness are very much present here. Variety of tastes travel on my mouth, a bit of chocolate is recognizable but what I like the most is the smoke and the feeling that you are licking a deep-charred wood. There are, luckily I might add – or otherwise I can drop off enjoying whisky and start spending my evenings by an dampened fire – other tastes that fulfill this dram. But it is not too complex. Neither it is a very attacking one either. It is a enchanting dragon with a sweet tongue and smoke buffing out of it’s nostrils. For some reasons, known only to ancient legends, it is holding it’s killing bite back and giving us a very nice expressions of itself. Like a tamed beast.
Despite being a very smoky whisky, it is easy to enjoy and drink. Clearly made to please lots of people and to accommodate today’s worlds endless hunger of Scottish drams, especially smoky ones. This one is really competing with Islay magic!

Octomore 6.1. – antakaas kun kartanonherra kertoo mitä sinä yönä tapahtuikaan..

Kaadetaan ensin lasiin vähän mustan pullon juomaa, tulkaapa lähemmäksi. Minulla on teille jotain kerrottavaa.

Se oli syksyinen yö, kauan sitten kun vielä sukumme asutti suurkorven syväkurvissa suurta tilaamme. Päärakennus oli kolmikerroksinen ja ikkunoiden pokat koristeelliset. Jopa tuuliviiri oli kiiltäväksi hinkattu. Sisällä kävellessä saattoi aistia seinävaatteista henkivän vuosisatojen arvokkuuden. Mutta niiden silmät, ne tuijottivat ankarasti. Mitään tai ketään ei säästetty. Ei ollut helppoa, olla katseen alla jatkuvasti. Esi-isien vaatimukset tuntuivat niskassa kuin saraseeni-miekan sukkela terä.

Sinä yönä, kun heräsin, sydämeni löi varmasti tämän Octomoren verran – 167 iskua minuutissa. Vaikka edellisenä iltana olikin istuttu iltaa niin, että hikikin oli helposti 57% tislettä, jotain outoa tuntui olevan ilmassa. Hetkellisesti savua ja vahvoja tunteita kohosi käytävistä ja seinistä. Turpeinen maku suussa puin silkkisen aamutakin päälle ja kävelin hitaasti katsomaan mistä on kyse. Outo hehku kajosi varovaisesti oven alta, mutta taulun ankara katse pakotti minut käyttäytymään varmasti. Ovi aukeni hiljaa naristen. Seurasin valonkajoa alemmaksi, sydän jyskyttäen mutta samalla tunsin myös rauhallisuutta. Muinaisuus mukana kuiskasin vanhaa lorua

Kymmenen on teriä ikuisia

Yhdeksän loitsuja väkeviä

Kahdeksan aarretta löydettäväksi

Seitsemän pulloa savuista juotavaksi

Kuusi soihtua polttavaa sytytettävänä

Viisi arkkua tyhjää kannettavana

Tässä vaiheessa pysähdyin ja kalpenin. Neljä on tunnettuja esi-isiä kadonnut aikojen saatossa – onko nyt aikani. Kadotin sanat mutta tarina jatkui kuin itsestään.

Neljä kohtaloa jo on täyttynyt

Kolme tytärtä kaunista syntynyt

Kaksi askelta vielä ja kurota

Havahduin ja kurotin oikealla kädelläni, napaten syvältä suosta kaivetun viikinkien miekan kouraani. Kuvittelinko vai välkehtikö se vihreänä?

Yksi väistö ja lyönti raju, jolla tuntematon pudota!

Miekka välähti ilmassa ja luulen kuulleeni suuren pamauksen, kuin Ukon jyrähdyksen. Kirkas valo säkenöiden kaaduin selälleni, tunsin vanhan aseen kuumentuvan ja kättäni polttavan. Mutta en vain osannut laskea siitä irti.

Heräsin myöhemmin sängystäni. Katsoin kättäni ja näin nämä palojäljet, katsokaapa – ne ovat siinä vieläkin vaikka tarina oli isoisoisäni. Ja se vanha miekka paloi ja kärsi aika paljon, se on muuten se sama terä joka on asehuoneen vitriinissä. Tarina ei tarkemmin tiedä mitä tapahtui, mutta muistakaa..

Jos haluatte koskaan kertoa tarinoita, niin tässä on oiva juoma kertojalle eikä kynttilänvalokaan syksysessä illassa haittaa! Suuria tunteita on helppo lisätä, kun juomassa on taikaa. Mukana on karhun murinaa, jota on höystetty lumoajattarien kuiskauksilla. Lohikäärmen polttava henkäisy kuumensi liemen samalla kun metsän hengetär lauloi sudet takaisin salojen taa ja Ahti kiemurteli särkiparvessaan. Kaunista ja karua mutta myös mystiikkaa joka kumpuaa kellareista, maaluolista sekä shamaanirumpujen lyönneistä.

Makua ja luonnetta riittää vaikka toiselle päivälle, mutta kerrotaan silloin vähän erilainen tarina!

If you ever want to tell a tale, make sure you have some Octomore 6.1. It will dazzle your mind and take your imagination to the world of mysteries and mystical beings. Dragon’s Breath gives this dram a burning heat but also the Enchantress soft whisper will give it a wild magic effect. It has the strength of the bear’s growl that has been tamed by spirit’s songs. There is the beauty and the brute, delegate lady and mansion’s lord. Trickster and the loyal servant. All the elements are here, just tell the tale that has smoke, mystery and fire in it!

Laphroaig Cairdeas 2013 Port Wood Edition for the Friends of Laphroaig

Deep inside the wilderness, where wild beasts walk and mate, the camp is set. The long hours of day are behind and dark mystical sky turns the hourglass to symbolize it’s reign. The fire is being set up from dead trunks of tree, filled with tar and smoke inside them. Small sticks catch the tender flame first, and they start eating that try tinder that was kept safe during showers and mist. Soon there is a smoke circling the wood and crackling sounds boom the silence. Fire is born and light reveals the tarp and worn out gear. Prehistoric travelers wonder the richness of the sky and wait for the moon to raise, since it is the night that demands rituals to ensure good hunting and game.
I’ve taken a few tastings of Cairdeas, but today when I started to write about it I was surprised about it’s feel and mood. Cairdeas Port Wood (51.3%) is an special annual release and this year it was sold empty in a matter of hours. As name suggests, this has seen port wine finishing to create a variation for ordinary Laphroaig taste.
The nose is charming me. The smokiness is not hitting with full strength, but it is there. As a promise. Also ordinary Laphroaig intimidation is hiding and does a very good job with it.
Taste reveals that the fire is burning. Smokiness is strong and taste bites like a big bear with a mortal wound. It does not last that long, but the peak is powerful. After that it is about the smoke and the wine with sweetness. Not the most ordinary combination with Laphroaig, but for me this is a home run! Second mouthful enhances the sweetness but the campfire keeps on burning and adding smoke. This something that shows off what smoky Islay can also produce. Very enjoyable experience and this one will keep the chatter going on when you have a tasting! 

Glenmorangie SIGNET

Sturdy. Steady. Strong. When you pick this bottle up, you will be amazed by it’s build and weight. It is made to give out a statement, that it is not just a average dram walking on it’s way. There is a mind behind. Signet is captivating on it’s form and design, also the color in the bottle is fantastic. But that’s just the bottle, what about the Whisky?

Signet is a non-age statement whisky. I was given this one as a present, and I heard that whisky store owner had quite a tale to tell during the acquisition. They say, it has at least 5% of 40 YO Glenmorangie, in the internet they talk about over 30YO but only the distillery knows, I think. It is good to think that there is at least a bit of 40YO in it. Signet is a combination of rare elements and, by their words, clouded in secrecy. And I do like good tales, so this is provocative about it’s origins. Also, Signet has collected winnings in whisky competitions which only makes the anticipation and expectation higher.

One thing I must say already, which I don’t like, is that the coloring is a construct and not a natural result. Of course it is mostly just the color, but it kind of takes away one respectable foot from the evaluation. 

Nose is pleasant and rich. It is smooth, easy and made to serve. It is a mix of multiple aromas, where sherry is the most dominant – but using soft leather gloves so there isn’t any snap in it.

Taste starts smooth and pleasurable. After a while there is a bit more sherry, but there isn’t much sting that Glenmorangie often serves for me. This has no edges, it is a rolling hills with meadows that are always sunny and shiny. Lustful and seductive, sweet tastes that combine with kind of coffee like characteristics and on the second mouthful I do get more spices, much more spiciness.
The taste lingers in the mouth a long time after the last sip. I must say that while this is not of Islay, this is something that I do enjoy. There are no harsh feelings, no stingy bees but instead a finely tuned mandolin that can make you feel good and just enjoy the smooth evening!

Bruichladdich Valinch 23YO 2013 Lions Tour

The Autumn is closing in. Leaves of trees change their form and color. Some give up and take the last glide towards the ground far beneath. Some are stubborn and enjoy the sun and last moments of the summer, that has lasted longer than usually in Finland. I do welcome that, since there will always be a winter and the dark. In recent tasting I’ve used great lake of Saimaa as a mood agent. It’s been a while since I was able to visit the Lapland, that some memories are fading away. Change is constant as the Northern Star.

Bruichladdich Valinch 2013 is not of smoke. Nor is it of power or peat either but it is of something different and unique. It is only available to distillery visitors and they have a special barrel from which they bottle these drams by hand, using an old copper Valinch. In short: single cask (026) , cask strength (49.9%) and thus this bottle is 160/400. They distilled this one 16.10.1989 and bottled it this summer. Each cask gets a different title, celebrating a different occasion or theme.

This one is said to be “enhanced in premium French oak”. Vigorous searching provided some results that pomerol casks were used for finishing. Deep red wine (bordeaux) as can be seen in the color. The redness is not just about the looks, it is about everything here. I’ve had the pleasure to taste a few red wine barrel finished drams, and I’ve enjoyed most of them. However, rarely they are this strong in character.

The color is deep and captivating. You can stare at it. Oils flowing, light scattering and changing it’s form. It is very much alive and kicking! The nose is full and promises strong experience. Bordeaux wine is pleasant and the result has a broad spectrum to experience.

Taste has the first bite. It is strong and oily, while changing it’s form and feel many times when enjoyed. By all means, it is not simple or straight-forward. Red is a strong taste and it runs the overall experience. It is a strange and enthralling combination of whisky and wine, doing something interesting from both worlds. Also, it is not standing in a corner but takes it’s place in the dance floor. Strong and proud, tall and talented. There is fire in these Lion’s eyes, that bellow in deep red and can burst into flames in case the situation requires such an action. Guardian and con-man, historian and futurist. But also you can tell jokes and stories, that will make the crowd laugh!

The taste lingers and gives out memories that remind you of the dancing nights, moonlit walks and lost ways. It will be till the morning, until this one fades away.

The Tasting Night

Recently we held a tasting for over 20 people as part of a celebration party. Our tastings usually have 6-12 participants, so this was a big leap forward. With smaller number of people, you can create a more intimate atmosphere and whatever you say, can be heard effortlessly. Where there almost 30 people, the playground is totally different. And when the tasting started, I found out that the people had gathered in, more or less, a big oval, which is good if you want to be heard and seen. 

First, especially since some of the participants hadn’t tasted much whisky before, it was good to recap some guidelines: check visual elements such as color and oils. Tell about the nose, and how it changes over time. And of course tasting, palate and after taste. It is also good to remind, that people take small sips and don’t drink it bottoms up. 

Originally, I expected something like 30-40 tasters so I had to include many full or near full bottles in the tasting. for QC there was a spare bottle in case the first one runs out.

This tasting had the following menu.

• Bruichladdich Laddie 10
• Laphroaig Quarter Cask
• Ileach Cask Strength
• a short break
• Port Charlotte PC10 (normal range)
• Ardbeg Ardbog
• Octomore 5.1.

Some of those whiskies were unopened, so it was also good to explain to the attendees, that how it affects the taste and what is usually means.

Since it was clear that not everybody is not paying the full attention all the time, it was a celebration party after all, we chose to keep the facts minimum and focus on the story. And it was very clear, that the story – using wild imagination, did carry forward for attention and for feelings. It depends on the storyteller, on the whisky and of course on the audience and the situation what you tell and how.

Our journey started from shores of a Finnish lake, looking at the sunset. A walk to a rocky hill made us set up a small fire to honor the summer past. Looking at the night sky, we experienced the spectacular shooting star show and realized it was a turning point in time. Days turn to night, summer to autumn and new age is emerging.

The second part took us below. Finding a hidden cave and tunnel, which burned walls enclosed us as we descended into the deep earth, where the peat is born. Our journey went through the ages and history, where aged and burned armor, endless battles, ancient beasts and their bones marked the legends that were born there. Finally, when we had ventured into the early history we turned, and emerged. As millenniums raced forward, we felt the magic and we forged the legends to our kind. Undefeated, we emerged into the future, standing on the top of the mountain and celebrated the rising sun’s red beams that lightened rivers of possibilities in front of us. It was time to celebrate.