About Scotch Barrels

According to British law, scotch must be aged in oak barrels for three years. Typically these are sherry or bourbon barrels. Historically when barrels were shipped from Spain to England to England distilleries would purchase the empty barrels to be re-used because they were cheaper than buying new ones and to add flavor. Interestingly sherry and bourbon are normally made from American oak. That's right, barrels are made made with American wood, shipped to Spain, used for sherry, and sent to England for scotch. The barrels used for bourbon can only be used once by law, so there is a large amount of the available and with the demise of the sherry market and increased scarcity of sherry barrels bourbon has become more important. Now bourbon is just American whiskey, so it is interesting that scotch almost exclusively re-uses barrels where bourbon will not. These barrels are typically charred before use to allow the oak to mix with the bourbon. Typically scotch will use the same barrels twice before they are discarded since the bourbon or sherry flavors are gone. That means that if the bourbon was matured for 6 years and two scotch batches were made then the barrel could very well have been used for 30 years or more.

Another difference between sherry and bourbon barrels is the size of the barrels. Sherry barrels are called butts and are 500 liters. Bourbon is typically made in 200 liter barrels that are taken a part and reassembled with a larger barrel end, or head, and made into a 200 liter barrel called a hogshead. Laphroig has created quarter cask bottlings, which are the size of barrels used a 100 years ago when the entire barrel was transported for delivery. Lagavulin's Distillers edition finishes the maturation in Pedro Ximenez barrels for a year. Pedro Ximenez is a type of white wine made in Spain.

Barrels have a significant influence on the taste of scotch. I hope that this entry helped educate you about them. Much of this information comes from Michael Jackson's excellent Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch and would be a good place if you are wanting to learn more. It will be interesting if with the changes in the industry if changes will occur to the barrels used in production.

Malt Maniacs and scotch ratings

Scotch is expensive, so doing some research before buying is often times well worth it. Your taste might not agree with their's totally, but having someone who has tried hundreds of scotches might point you in the right direction. Their descriptions can also be helpful for you to find out what types you like as well. If you like peaty scotches you can look for scotches that have those for the tasting notes. If you like Laphroaig 10 year try the 15 year for something new.

I have enjoyed books from Michael Jackson and Jim Murray, but everything is going to the web so I have look for a ratings site for a while. Recently I ran across Malt Maniac's website. Every year they do awards for the year based upon their ratings, which include separate ratings for everyday malts and more premium malts. Check out the ratings for 2009 here.

A few Islay selection here I would like highlight that are more affordable, as in under $100 and are in the silver rating, since the gold ones are simply too expensive. Lagavulin 16 year took home a silver with a rating of 86 and is simply as good as scotch comes in my book. The Lagavulin Distiller's Edition comes in slightly higher at 88 and is a good change of pace. Caol Ila 16 gets an 86 as well. Bruichladdich's mega-peated whisky Octomore comes in at 85 although will cost slight more than $100. Laphroaig 10 comes in at 85, making it probably the best value in the silver. Ardbeg Corryvreckan also gets an 88, but will also cost more than $100.

The Ardbeg Experiment

The Ardbeg distillery was originally established in 1815, but was mothballed in 1981. Although it reopened in 1989 in limited production, it again closed in 1996. In a very interesting move LVMH which is the holding company for Louis Vuitton, Moët et Chandon, and Hennessy, re-opened the distillery. LVMH is the world's largest luxury goods conglomerates, so they clearly had a plan with the purchase. With all of the rappers like Biggie and 2Pac rapping about drinking Dom Pérignon and Hennessy, Fergie singing about LVMH product Fendi, I am sure that LVMH is doing quite well. So what was the vision for the newly acquired Ardbeg?

First they invested in high quality management. Next they invested heavily in their internet marketing. Even today you can see how Ardbeg's web site is vastly superior to any of the rest of the Islay distilleries, selling the scotch directly to the customer, which is still a rarity. They also sell Ardbeg branded clothing from the web site, which also is unique. The Ardbeg Committee email group which allows purchase of special scotches again directly from the distillery, again by passing the resellers.

The real area of differentiation for Ardbeg has been the special bottlings. The only bottling that has a year associated with it is Ardbeg 10. The rest are blends. For far too long scotch brands have made the connection between quality and age, which is just not the best way to measure quality. Although many scotches increase in quality as they age, many actually do not such as Glenfiddich. Focusing on age increases costs since they have to be held for longer and also prevents focusing on the flavor. By focusing on flavor and blending within Ardbeg's distillery has been revolutionary in the static world of single malt scotch.

The names of these bottlings include Airigh Nam Beist, Blasda, Corryvreckan, Uigeadail, and the newly released Supernova. With the Ardbeg Committee swelling to 300,000 members these enthusiasts have made Ardbeg quite successful. When the new Supernova was released the Ardbeg website crashed.

Like other LVMH they have formed close relationships with celebrities. For scotch the biggest celebrity is currently Jim Murray with the very popular Whisky Bible. The results for making him a consultant for the distillery have paid off nicely as he in 2008 named Ardbeg 10 the best whisky in the world and the year after Ardbeg Uigeadail. This obvious conflict of interest has brought him a bit of notoriety among scotch snobs, but has clearly increased the brand's visibility.

The marketing of Ardbeg is clearly well beyond the more traditional distilleries. Recently Ardbeg 10 has increased its price and each special edition has been more pricey than the last one. Although word about Ardbeg's ascendancy has not reach the US yet, clearly this is a major brand to watch.

The rest of the distilleries are starting to play catch up. The Lagavulin Distiller's Edition is an attempt to address the Ardbeg special editions. Laphroig has increased their web presence to build a stronger relationship with their customers. They have also created the blended Laphroaig Quarter Cask as a special edition.

It will been interesting to see how the industry continues to respond to the disruptive entrance and ascendancy of Ardbeg. There are now three premium distilleries on Islay. These are glorious times for the this little island of Scotland