Locke's Premier Crew

[PureDrop]

Fellow members,
You'll recall that in 2009, the Irish Whiskey Society selected two casks to travel the canal from Kilbeggan to Dublin, with the whiskey bottled as "Locke's Grand Crew" - see http://grandcrew.iwai.ie. The occasion was to mark the 50th anniversary of the decision to close the Grand Canal to commercial traffic in 1959.

Well, we're at it again, this time selecting a cask to mark another water-related event, the 50th Shannon Boat Rally see http://shannonrally.iwai.ie . This rally dates back to the Association’s campaign in the 1960s to prevent the closure of the Shannon Navigation by the then proposal to replace high level bridges with low level ones. The Rally features water based competitions, social & sports events and of course cruising along the rivers and lakes of the Shannon. It culminates in a prize giving ceremony where the Premier Award is presented to the winner of the rally’s main on-water competitions. We intend to select a superb 10yo single malt cask that, in keeping with the standards required to achieve the Rally’s Premier Award, deserves the appellation "Locke's Premier Crew".

We had hoped to announce this at Thursday night's tasting and seek volunteers to be on the selection panel. Unfortunately, we're up against it from a time perspective. We need to bottle the whiskey in two-three weeks time (bottling line constraints) and working back from that, we need to make a selection by Thursday morning!

We have a short list of 6 10yo single malts. If you are a member in good standing of the IWS and are available to taste on Wednesday evening (from 7pm, south Dublin), then please PM me. We seek two volunteer tasters. The thread at http://forum.irishwhiskeysociety.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=148 documents what we did when selecting the casks for Locke's Grand Crew. We'll do something similar this time around too.

Apologies for the very short notice - there are reasons but too tedious to go into.

Our thanks once again to Cooley for going out of their way to facilitate this venture.

Michael

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[John]

I assume you got your tasters Michael? Sounds like a good project, good luck in selecting and I hope all goes well.
J.

[PureDrop]

Only one new volunteer!

[jcskinner]

Well, we've done it.
The Premier Crew team met tonight and finalised our choice for this year's bottling, and I can reveal that in the end the decision was unanimous. We hope we've chosen a whiskey you'll all enjoy just as much if not more so than the superlative casks bottled for the Grand Crew last year.
Here's what we did:
We convened at Martin Bolsinger's house, and Martin was a superb host, providing everything that hard-working whiskey tasters might desire.
While we were momentarily diverted by the drama of the World Cup, seven of us settled down to business eventually and considered the samples from six different 10 year old casks that had been offered to us by Cooley.
These came in sets of two from three separate rotations, but as we learnt last year, every cask is different and must be considered on its own merits.
Having said that, we all quickly dismissed the casks from rotation K00/3 - numbers 247 and 248 respectively. It was felt that k00/3 247 was unbalanced, with an odd orange off-note that the whiskey didn't benefit from. Its sister cask 248 came across as a dull version of the usually lively and pleasant Locke's 8 year old single malt, with a herbal quality that didn't lift it.
There was a marked improvement with the next two casks from rotation K00/4. Cask 374 from this rotation offered some acetic acid, a bubblegummy candied sweetness, and a hint of liquorice or rye. It was notably tannic and drying in the mouth. An interesting and complex dram, but perhaps not as married together as we were looking for.
By contrast, and this is what I mean about adjoining casks having their own character, cask 375 was splendidly balanced. Its nose offered malty brown bread and citrus peel, as well as the fruity character one associates with Tyrconnell. It was sweet on the palate with hints of dark chocolate and tasty malt, which sustained in a long finish.
The final two casks considered were from rotation K00/6. The first, cask 712, offered a fresh and vibrant nose. Again that orange liqueur quality came across on the nose and palate, but this time it was well reined in and offered an eccentric and unique characteristic to what was otherwise a nicely balanced dram.
The final cask of the night was 713 from the same rotation. It had big fruit on the nose, with some exotic lemongrass, candied caramel, and an interesting spiritiness identified as floor polish or paint thinners, not unlike that found in some older pure pot still whiskeys. Definitely a rewarding nose.
On the palate, the spiritiness transformed into a sugary sweetness, held in balance with grapefruit-like citrus, strong malt, and a herbal, almost menthol quality. It finished well, with hints of bitter chocolate, citrus peel and grain.
All the whiskeys were nosed and tasted at the strength the Premier Crew will be bottled - 46 proof. Last time, for the Grand Crew, such was the agonising that we were long into the night before making a final decision. And that decision was in the end resolved by bottling both the two favourite casks.
This time, the decision was much easier to make. Cask K/006 712 was of interest to some tasters, but all accepted that perhaps it was a little unusual for general drinkers.
Cask K/004 375 was definitely in the running, and everyone present accepted that it was a more than decent heir to the Grand Crew whiskeys bottled last year.
However in the end, the unanimous choice was the last dram of the night - Cask k/006 713. It had the perfect combination of balance and complexity that makes it suitable for general drinking and the appreciation of aficionados.
Hopefully, when the cask is bottled and made available to members later in the Summer, you'll all agree!

[PureDrop]

Many thanks for that superlative report on the proceedings Jim.
This is effectively our 3rd selection - we're delighted to give it our stamp of approval!
/M

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[PureDrop]

A few photos of the selection of the cask for the Locke's "Premier Crew".
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your noses - Leo, Gary & Jim passing judgement.

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We're nearly there - Michael & Martin feel the tension!

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After the heavy work, Martin breaks open the cabinet - Martin, Zoltan & John in relaxed mood.

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[PureDrop]

Boxes & Bottles have been delivered - Labeling has commenced!
The whiskey will be launched on Saturday, July 24th at the start of the Shannon Boat Rally ( http://shannonrally.iwai.ie )
The photograph on the front label is by Kevin Wickham ( http://www.pbase.com/kwickham/49th_iwai ... boat_rally ) and shows the fleet at Jamestown in 2009. The map on the reverse label is from a book "The Shannon and its Lakes" by R. Harvey, published in 1896 by Hodges, Figgis & Co..

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[John]

Looks like a nice job guys
Well done.
J.

[PureDrop]

Hello folks,
The Shannon Boat Rally was launched today by President Mary McAleese. Amidst the celebrations, a bottle of Locke's "Premier Crew" was presented to her husband Dr. Martin McAleese by the Rally Vice Commodore, Tom Meegan. This and other photos + press releases etc. at http://shannonrally.iwai.ie/press.html


/M

[PureDrop]

Out of interest, a pair of bottles ...
Locke's Grand Crew cask 700 (in box) and
Locke's Premier Crew cask 713 (in box)
were auctioned in aid of RNLI last week during the Shannon Rally for €200.
Michael

[martin]

The Captain himself delivering 12 bottles of Premier Crew to the July IWS Meeting.

[varizoltan]

The Captain himself delivering 12 bottles of Premier Crew to the July IWS Meeting.

like

[TheWhiskeyBro]

For members who haven't yet ordered click on the link below for more information on ordering

http://shannonrally.iwai.ie/whiskey.php

Potential members who are interested in the exclusive Premier Crew bottling, can use the same link to let the society know of their interest by filling in the comment box.