Nadurra

A tasting the other night sponsored by Glenlivet and Aberlour. Of course, I went for the Aberlour, and as far as tastings go, this was a disappointment, as we only tasted a couple Aberlours, and nothing exceptional. I ended buying a variety of their stuff – the 12 (perhaps the best everyday whisky there is), the 16 (a richer, more flavorful, and smoother expression of the 12), and A’Bunadh, the cask strength Aberlour, which is a must in the cabinet, because it is unlike anything else. Rich chocolaty malt flavor, overwhelming taste. For me, it was backwards, having Aberlour the stepsister of Livet, when Aberlour is one of the very best Speyside malts, with so much more character than the other label. But probably on the marketing side of things, Aberlour is the weak sister. I think Glenlivet remains the biggest selling malt in the U.S., and one of the best selling world-wide.

Livet deserves respect for being the first malt to market itself here in the states, and in a way, they kicked off the whole single malt craze. I can remember Lew selling Glenlivet long before any of the other malts ever made an appearance. And as John points out, one can find Livet almost anywhere – on airplanes (for $5, not a bad price), at bars that don’t otherwise stock good whiskies; at restaurants. In fact, I was drinking Livet last fall, in Cortland, at the Holiday Inn!! Also for five dollars. But having given Livet its due for bringing malts to the U.S., I don’t really care for their whiskies. They’re smooth; but lacking in character. Almost like they want the widest possible appeal, so they don’t want to offend anyone. But really, if your goal is not to offend, aren’t you consigning yourself to a excessively bland product? It’s nice to be smooth, but taste and character are more important. Those qualities with smooth, now you’re talking.

But glad to say, Livet now produces one whisky that that stands out from all their others. It’s the cask strength malt, Nadurra- 16 years in first fill bourbon casks. Unlike all the other Livets, up through the 18, Nadurra is loaded with taste. And I don’t know what it is about the cask-strength whiskies, but they all seem to have unique characteristics. Nadurra’s is a subtle citrus flavor underneath the malt. Mike calls it spicy; Jim Murray says it's ginger. Citrus, ginger, spicy, whatever. It's bright and lively, even when watered down to around 40 percent. And at $60 a bottle, when you consider how far the cask-strength malt stretches, it’s really a good buy.

I hadn’t eaten before the tasting; it was too busy that day. And I came late to the tasting, so I had to down a couple of the generic Livets quickly to catch up. Still, I was in fine shape until I asked the guys for a refill of Nadurra. Three Livets, and then two cask-strength shots back to back. Boom. By the time we got to the Aberlours, I was feeling just fine. Maybe even a bit too fine. Danny, Tony and I went to the bar afterward to eat BLTs, and to give us an hour before we got on the road. Next month we’ve got a Laddich tasting, and we’re trying to figure out a way for John to make it home for that event.