What defines the character of a whisky? Its identity? Is it the craft, knowledge and know-how of the people making it? The barley? The fermentation methods? The distillation process? The casks and the maturation conditions? Arguably it’s a bit of all of the above and then some. I’ll argue that, while they are vital to the final outcome and quality of any whisky, the casks are potentially on the lower end of those determining factors when looking for the intrinsic character of a distillery and its spirit. Because a whisky can alter dramatically depending on the wood used, for good and for bad. There are (granted shy and careful) steps taken by those who are seeking to make the wood an equally contributing factor to help define a whisky’s character –the wood program set up by Greg Glass at Whyte & Mackay springs to mind (their 18 year old Fettercairn these days is finished for 2 years in Scottish virgin oak). But on the whole, when talking about things like ‘provenance’ and, dare I say it, terroir, when discussing a distillery’s character, I feel wood still has a long way to go if we ever want to take it into account when discussing these things.
So, If we want to understand what a distillery ‘tastes’ like, you could argue that we need to ‘strip’ it from their final product – their actual whisky, and take it back a step to focus on all those other ‘taste contributors’. What we’re left with then, is, you guessed it, the new make.
Lagg new make spirit. 63,5 % ABV. 20 cl, very natural colour, very unchill filtered. Paid €17
Trying new make is always an interesting experience. It’s like a crash course in flavours and texture, and personally I would love it if more distilleries, particularly those catering to discerning enthusiasts, would offer it to customers. If not as a core range expression, then at least in limited batches or in the form of samples as a wee bonus to some other releases. The 20 cl presentation by Lagg distillery is spot on imo. It’s not that big that you would need to go through a full bottle, but still there’s enough of it to really give you the opportunity to come at it from different angles, allowing for some proper tasting and analysing.
I can’t tell for sure, but likely the 63.5% ABV isn’t the actual strength of the spirit coming from the stills (which tends to be higher), rather the filling strength of what goes into the casks (on the premises that 63,5% ABV is considered the ideal strength to put the new make into a cask, allowing for ideal interaction between wood and spirit). So, very ‘cask strength’ then, minus the cask bit obviously, which gives us a taste of what the raw spirit is like.
Nose
Peaty and smoky first and foremost. A big hit of iodine and TCP antiseptic. There’s a fruity sour -sweetness from citrus, yellow fruit and stone fruit with a grainy – dusty touch to it. It’s actually somewhat reminiscent of what I would associate with something coming from Laphroaig. Despite the high ABV, it noses fairly easily.
Palate
Fruity, smoky and ashy. Grainy – dusty, and only then the ABV hits, and hits hard. It’s not as much peppery as it is hot and slightly numbing. While it doesn’t have a thick, dense texture per se, it’s got this very clinging and very mouth coating mouthfeel.
Finish
Ash, ash and even more ash. Very long as well.
Final thoughts
While it is very consistent in delivery and development from nose through taste and into the finish, it’s surprising how easy going this was on the nose. The ABV is nothing to sneeze at, and it comes back with a vengeance on the tongue for sure. A ‘cask strength’ new make spirit is a fun thing to have in the cabinet. As said, it makes for a wonderful opportunity to try and understand the actual profile of a distillery. A while ago, I discussed the Lagg Corriecravie, and while there’s no mistaking the complete and utter flavour bomb it is, I did argue that it wasn’t completely ‘in tune’. I felt as if they put a very busy and flavourful new make into some very active casks and it wasn’t allowed enough time overall to truly settle and find its balance.
Now, technically speaking, anything under 3 years of age could be labelled as ‘new make spirit’, and while it would be even more fun to have samples of pure, raw new make spirit available next to samples of increasingly maturing spirit to fully get to understand all the things happening once a spirit is put into a cask, I’m well aware how this ‘chemistry in action’ would take us to next level whisky geekery. But I would definitely be on board if such an opportunity presented itself. As a score, for the new make, it’s actually really good and interesting, therefore I’m leaning towards something like 85/100. While it’s already quite obvious a whisky – in – the – making, it’s also obvious that it’s by no means whisky yet. So if you’re ‘expecting’ whisky, you’ll likely end up with a score closer to 80/100. Make of that what you will.
To end this series next week, I think I might dive into my big box of samples again. Possibly a non-scotch. Wait and see.
I’d looked at the Lagg new make then it fell off my radar. Glad you highlighted it again. I agree it’d be great to have more offerings like this for the devoted dram discussers. I’ve had some delicious new make over the years and two recently excellent ones were Lindores & White Peak. Looking forward to a peaty one and Arran being high amongst my favourite distilleries I’m very interested in Lagg. Thanks again for the recommendation and interesting series.
Sampling new make is always interesting. There is a local distillery here that makes what the master distiller says is "the best beer that goes into a still." He was a master brewer for years and decided to start with great beer to make great whisky. The new make is absolutely the best I've ever had and so fruity it makes me think of grappa. Thanks for the review. of this one!