NO AGE STATEMENT WHISKIES : FOOL'S GOLD?
One fact must be understood at the outset. When a new make leaves the spirit still after due accounting by the Excise Board member, it heads off into large metallic containers. This ensures that the output new make from several consecutive batches are well mixed, uniform and ready to be transported to and relocated at a dedicated warehouse. This arrangement makes matters much easier for a blender, and is more efficient and cost-effective. For instance, the Diageo’s warehouse at Blackgrange bond near Alloa alone holds about six million casks. Only small distilleries mature their new makes on site. Most of the new make is at 65-70% ABV. This is where the Blend Master joins the act. He selects the barrels into which this particular lot of new make is to be matured in. The new make is watered down to 63.5% ABV and loaded into the barrels. Full use is made of advanced digital technology to simplify matters and one wonders what changes Artificial Intelligence will bring along.
Shouldn’t it have any influence on the character of the whisky? It depends on what is being produced. For the larger brands where consistency is important, the marriage of many different casks for a bottling will mask most of the effect of the distillery’s location. Added to that, with maturation warehouses often in different locations, then where it’s matured becomes less relevant. Huge bonded warehouses, in Glasgow, Leith or Aberdeen are testament to the scale of the industry, and to the fact that it has rarely been possible to store all Scotland’s whisky in its numerous, remote and often small distilleries.
The three processes which influence maturation, viz., additive, subtractive and interactive return to the fray. The rate at which these processes occur changes both the concentration and the ratios of congeners in the spirit, and therefore changes the quality of the maturing spirit. All three rates are influenced by the local weather and atmosphere, particularly the temperature and relative humidity. If a Talisker cask ex-Skye is taken to Speyside, where there is much lower humidity and higher temperature variation, both over the course of a day and from season to season, the whisky created will be different.
Diageo, after years of research, believes the exact site of a maturation warehouse makes no discernible difference to the whisky. Scotland’s marine microclimate is quite consistent from coast to hill to glen, such that any small climatic difference is not meaningful over the life of a maturing whisky. The unrivalled multiplicity of flavours and character in Scotch derives partly from raw materials – particularly any phenolic character from malted barley – from the process of fermentation and distillation, and above all from maturation.
The story is quite different for grain whiskies. The production rate is 30-40 times that of single malts. The new make follows the same initial route, but is loaded into the even larger tanks at 95.6% ABV. For a grain whisky that is to meld and host specific age-stated single malts for blending, the mash bill is varied as deemed most appropriate. Moreover, the casks will be provided by the blender. The quality of cask will depend on the quality of the blended Scotch. The grain whisky will be decanted into these casks at a watered down 63.5-65% ABV, to be ultimately treated by the Master Blender. The casks will be second-fill or better.
The grain whisky for even the cheapest 3-YO blended Scotch has to spend three years maturing in an oak barrel. These barrels are third, fourth and even reconditioned fifth-fill; the grain whisky will be evened out at 63.5% ABV and the product after three years will be used by the Master Blender. All malts and grain whiskies are evaluated at a very low 20% ABV and only then is a selection finalised.
I too am disquieted that Master Blenders at large are bringing out NAS whiskies that are clearly younger than the whiskies they are replacing, yet carry up to a 50% price increase and will develop this global issue logically in this post.
It shows how the balance has tipped too far towards marketing at the cost of the consumer. If a distillery has only one NAS whisky, they can obviously understand that, but if it has 10 different NAS products, like Macallan and Bunnahabhain do, how does it explain the differences to the retailer, who then has to explain them to the consumer? Macallan is an LVMH brand and has its own pricing norms-take it or leave it.
On deeper analysis, one has to live with the times. Let's face it: NAS whiskies are here to stay and we might as well accept this fact gracefully.
NAS is slowly replacing many popular and excellent age stated malts. Its advance is inexorable and in time will increase as a percentage of the whiskies in the market. NAS expressions display the Master Distiller’s skills. Why are we looking at it negatively? He has, at times, to add aged malts from older casks to maintain consistency and quality. No Master Distiller would release anything but a good whisky. They are individuals whose commitment, passion and integrity will not permit them to let poor quality product releases in their name. They have too much at stake.
Here, please remember that the least expensive Single Malts (entry level Single Malts like Glenfiddich 12 or The Glenlivet 12) are far more expensive than the Luxury-level/Premium Blended Scotch brands Johnnie Walker Black Label, Chivas Regal 12 and the like, for the same volume. I'll explain why shortly.
WHAT IS A SCOTCH WHISKY ?
The International Whisky Competition is an event that takes place annually in a major city in the US in the 1st week of May, in which whiskies are blind tasted and rated by a professional tasting panel. The results are used to produce tasting notes for an International Whisky Guide. There is no Scotsman on the panel- it is entirely American. This panel selected Glenmorangie Signet NAS as the Whisky of the Year 2016 with 97 points and Johnnie Walker Double Black Label was awarded the Gold Medal in the Best Blended Scotch NAS (No Age Statement) category with 94 points, ahead of Johnnie Walker Blue Label (91.3 pts). JWBL managed only the Bronze Medal in the Best Blended Scotch Whisky 12 YO category with 89.8 points. On whiskyanalysis. com, it is rated some 80 slots lower than JWDBL, out of 1,100 top ranking whiskies. That kills the Double Black vs Black Label controversy! That also means that JWBL is no longer the bar for premium Blended Scotch Whisky. How it became the target line is also surprising, at least in Asia, where the top rated 12 YO blends were Phipson's Black Dog, Buchanan's 12 YO, Old Parr 12 YO and the Hankey Bannister 12 Year Old Regency Whisky. Chivas Regal 12 YO joined the top lot after 2001, when purchased by Pernod Ricard.
Incidentally, the Whisky of the Year 2017 is another NAS, the Ardbeg Kelpie Committee Exclusive, with 97.3 points.
The style of Coleburn Whisky is a bit sweet and fruity, but only independent distillers presented single malt releases. Almost all of the whisky that Coleburn Distillery had produced was used in blends, especially in the Johnny Walkers when Diageo became the owner. Virtually all Johnnie Walker blends produced today by Diageo contain Cardhu-and a lot of it; plus Clynelish, Dailuaine, Talisker, Linkwood, Mannochmore and Caol Ila. The Coleburn shut down in 1985 and its SMs were last used in Johnnie Walker Red, Black, Gold Labels and Swing in 2000. Its absence is easily found in the changed nose and palate of the JWRL and JWBL.
Johnnie Walker Black Label 12 Years Old Blended Scotch Whisky thus has Cardhu as its core malt, backed up with the super-smooth Glenkinchie, Dalwhinnie, Blair Athol (the primary SM in Bell’s),the multi-faceted Cragganmore and Dailuaine. The recognisable Single Malts for me are Clynelish 14 YO, Cardhu, Caol Ila, Glenkinchie, Dalwhinnie, Auchroisk, Inchgower and Talisker. JW claims that there are at least 25-28 more Single Malts and they must be right; it is a 40-whisky blend, after all. The Single Malts need not be from different distilleries; any distillery can provide tens of Single Malts, of the same or different ages. The age mandate comes into play here. Cameronbridge and North British provide the single grain whiskies, from three to five.
All whiskies named above are 12 YO or older. Talisker, most popular as a 10 YO, remains casked for two years more to contribute to the blend. This 12 YO is not sold in the market, and has, sadly, not been used for over five years, with detrimental effect on the Blend; the Taliskers in the market are the Talisker Storm, Skye Gift Pack, Talisker Dark Storm and the Port Ruighe (all NAS) followed by an 18 YO! I can't accept the Talisker NAS family's bumped up prices.
Even so, better barrels are often used as holding barrels which, after decanting the grain whisky 3 or more years later, are charred and used for smoky malts. A 6 YO Port Dundas can be as good as an 8 YO Cameronbridge and a 9 YO North British can be as good as a 12 YO Girvan. How many Grain Whisky brands have you seen at a Duty Free shop? Perhaps Haig 15 YO; I have seen only three others, Compass Box Hedonism NAS, Loch Lomond NAS and Port Dundas 21 and I have travelled, mind you. I do not deny that there must be others, but Grain Whisky is a far cry from what you would expect.
Massive fully automated fermentation plant & washbacks at North British Grain Distillery |
Caol Ila has been using wooden washbacks since 1846 |
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKIES
During his experiments to get the balance right, he discovers that one blend can be given a pronounced smoky and peaty taste. Talisker 10 and Caol Ila 12 join up with Cardhu as the core SMs, and the blend's smoky and peaty taste can be accentuated by using charred casks. He isolates these additions and finds that they are pominent 8YOs on their own right, like Caol Ila 8 and Lagavulin 8. A quick look at the stock position shows that he can add these SMs freely and run them for one year. If the market response is good, he will supplement JWBL with this darker, smoky and peaty expression. He tests it in 2010 and it is good, so much so that Diageo directors agree to giving this brand a label of its own. Since it is a derivative of JWBL, JWDBL is found to be the best suggestion and is approved, but as an NAS edition, since it uses 8 YOs, and in an era where 'Old is Gold' is the diehard tagline, a JWDBL 8 YO will instantly excite disapprobation even before tasting.After a hugely successful launch in travel retail as a 1L bottle in 2010, it was rolled out for general release in 2011 as a 70Cl 40% ABV brand.
The preponderance of No Age Statement whiskies has stoked a furore among some aficionados, which may no longer be sustainable. As a result of the unforeseen increased demand for old age single malt whisky stocks, the whisky baories are running a little dry. The lack of transparency has infuriated a few. Do note that such an outcome was recognised decades ago by prescient producers such as Ardbeg and Glenmorangie, where Dr Bill Lumsden is the Master Blender.
“We’ve successfully been releasing NAS whiskies for 20 years with Glenmorangie and Ardbeg and they are doing very well,” says Lumsden who has blended a plethora of successful NAS whiskies for both LVMH brands. His theory is simple: if you have the makings of a good whisky, all you need is a good barrel. The Ardbeg Kelpie, Corryvreckan, Uigeadail, Ardbog, Galileo, Supernova, Perpetuum, etc., and the Glenmorangie Signet, Bacalta, The Tarlogan, Tayne, Dornoch, The Duthac and many more have kept their tills ringing while accumulating awards galore, proving his posit.
For Glenmorangie, he makes copious use of the Devil's Cut, aka ‘indrink’, the liquid absorbed into the wood during maturation mainly in the Sherry industry. About 12% of maturing Sherry/Wines are absorbed into the barrel. Sherry needs 2 yrs maturation in 500L barrels, so 60L of Sherry awaits the new make/Scotch whisky if a barrel switch is made for secondary maturation, or a Sherry barrel used for the primary. He adds a note of caution, “Regardless of what you are doing, young whisky in bad wood will be ruthlessly exposed.”
The Chivas Regal Effect: One interesting note from the mom and pop economics/marketing culture is the ‘Chivas Regal Effect,’ which occurs when a product sells more because the price of it has been increased. Since people often equate price with quality, consumers, who otherwise would not have purchased a product, might choose it because it is more expensive (and thus ‘better’ quality). Wine(a 1982 St. Emilion) is a good example of this effect in the world of alcohol and LVMH in branded consumer luxury goods. NAS whisky distillers are canny enough to implement this concept, which have left many consumers in an ambivalent frame of mind.
There are many reasons to justify the NAS, but in some cases the whisky hasn’t met with expectations in terms of quality. Taking younger single malts and blending with older is not a problem, since distilling and wood management techniques have greatly improved in recent years, but the whisky still needs to be satiating. “People should make a judgement on quality alone and not be swayed by the importance of age,” says Euan Mitchell, MD at Arran Distillers.
Even so, I am not prepared to accept Mitchell's "summing it all up" statement. There are far too many brands out there, veritably slugging it out in a tight market, a major portion of which is reserved for the VIP Brands. There is bound to be the less scrupulous distiller or private bottler who will cut corners. Such products that don't meet quality standards dictated by their price must be brought to book. But how? Who will dictate or define standards, as one man's uisge could be another man's hooch?
I foresee and forecast that there is no future for Blended Scotch except truly rare brands. Only 3-400 of the 3,000+ brands will remain. Half will be exorbitant, priced like the Macallan and LVMH SM brands and the other half will remain for the proletariat, like Teachers, Grants, Bells, Famous Grouse, Lawson, Highland Queen, etc. As of 2010, 91% of all Scotch sold was Blended. That figure has dropped to 87% in 2015 and by 2030, will further drop to 80%, declining till doomsday. The world has discovered Single Malts and people will have enough money to buy them. Both Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal have moved into NAS and these brands will sustain them. Johnnie Walker will survive on its Black Label, Green Label, Island Green Label NAS and Blue Label NAS, apart from usurious special editions. Chivas is promoting its NAS Blended Malts, the Ultis, Extra and Mizunara and its iconic 21-YO Royal Salute will last the distance.
Some good 5 YO Blends are on offer, like Mackinlay, Bank Note, Cluny, Glen Orrin, Golden King, Red Hackle, Loch Ness and Lismore, etc.
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