Harviestoun's Black Oil Strike
The fact that oil is a limited resource means that it’s always likely to be in great demand. Prices may have fluctuated dramatically over the last year or so but you can bet your bottom dollar that such an increasingly rare commodity will ultimately rebound to top whack.
There’s one oil, however, whose price has remained constantly high throughout all the global economic turmoil. It’s Scottish ‘black oil’, or Ola Dubh in Gaelic, as carefully created by Harviestoun Brewery.
The base beer of this remarkable drink is Old Engine Oil, a dark old ale that has been part of the Harviestoun stable since around 1999. The name’s not particularly flattering, but it does convey the image of a thick, viscous liquid glooping luxuriantly into a glass.
Treated Like Royalty
For Ola Dubh, brewer Stuart Cail takes the Old Engine Oil recipe and gives it a bit of thrust, boosting it from 6 to 8% ABV. He does this because the beer has a lot to deal with later in its life – after fermentation, it is treated like royalty, given the rare privilege of being allowed to mature in whisky casks, and no ordinary whisky casks at that.
These casks come from the award-winning, world-renowned Highland Park distillery and they have been caressing and cosseting the distillery’s finest spirit for anything up to 40 years.
What a waste it would be to allow wood that had been so blessed to simply be turned into flower tubs or bar tables. Far better to allow the oak to keep on giving by filling the giant hogsheads and butts with Harviestoun’s specially prepared ale.
But, before we get to the impact of the wood, we need to say a few words about the beer. It begins with abundant pale malt, plus lots of roasted barley for chocolate notes and oats for smoothness.
A high mashing temperature ensures that not all sugars become fermentable, leaving some sweetness in the palate. Aroma and character from hops are deliberately kept in check, with Golding, Fuggle and Galena varieties simply contributing balancing bitterness.
It’s a rich and sumptuous creation. Now let’s discuss the whisky that flavours the oak.
Unusual Climate
Highland Park is based in the Orkney islands, a northern outpost of the UK that has an unusual climate and topography. Winds off the ocean ensure the summers are never too warm and the winter never too cold.
Trees are scarce, which means the peat that has developed over the centuries in the soil, and is then used for kilning the malt, is not wood influenced. Put these two geographical components together and you have the makings of a whisky that is smoky and heathery with malt and sherry notes to varying degrees, depending on the vintage.
The sherry comes from the Oloroso that first seasons the casks in which the whisky is aged. The wood itself is a mix of European and American oak and this seasoning takes away the more pungent and influential qualities that virgin timber would bring to the party.
Some oaky character obviously leaches into the beer once it begins its maturation in the casks emptied of whisky, but of more influence are the former contents. Whisky notes and, still, sherry hints, can drift into the beer and the whole combination of wood, spirit and fortified wine has a stunning impact.
Five Expressions
Ola Dubh now comes in five expressions, based on the how long the casks previously held whisky. The youngest is 12-year-old, the highest 40-year-old, with, in between, 16-, 18- and 30-year equivalents.
Stuart needs to take care when it comes to maturing the beer, however. Bold flavours from the older casks that have been steeped in whisky for so much longer need to be restrained so, whereas beer can remain in younger wood for around six months, beer in the 30- and 40-year-old casks is limited to three months or so.
In the cask, the beer is flat and port-like. A little carbonation is added for botting and the beer is pasteurized for stability, although, such is the strength and flavour, this would appear to have little impact on the taste.
My tasting notes show a steady progression of character and complexity. The 12 is oaky and chocolaty, with hints of red berries. The 16 is smoother and richer, with chocolate, coffee and peat.
The 18 (a recent addition to the range) has a tingly whisky presence on top of bitter dark chocolate, while the previous top-of-the-range, 30, certainly ups the oak and spirit character and is very refined. For even more whisky influence, reach for the newly-released 40, with its sumptuous palate of fudgy, dark chocolate, spirit and tangy oak.
In very short order, Ola Dubh has become a much sought-after product. Rave reviews have, according to Stuart, ‘written the PR for it’, to the point where Harviestoun doesn’t need to try too hard to sell it.
The quantity of each release varies but averages around 18,000 bottles. Demand means that these are fetching more than $20 a throw in US bars and restaurants, suggesting that this particular oil is even more precious to its followers than the expensive liquid that powers our everyday life.
There’s one oil, however, whose price has remained constantly high throughout all the global economic turmoil. It’s Scottish ‘black oil’, or Ola Dubh in Gaelic, as carefully created by Harviestoun Brewery.
The base beer of this remarkable drink is Old Engine Oil, a dark old ale that has been part of the Harviestoun stable since around 1999. The name’s not particularly flattering, but it does convey the image of a thick, viscous liquid glooping luxuriantly into a glass. Treated Like Royalty
For Ola Dubh, brewer Stuart Cail takes the Old Engine Oil recipe and gives it a bit of thrust, boosting it from 6 to 8% ABV. He does this because the beer has a lot to deal with later in its life – after fermentation, it is treated like royalty, given the rare privilege of being allowed to mature in whisky casks, and no ordinary whisky casks at that.
These casks come from the award-winning, world-renowned Highland Park distillery and they have been caressing and cosseting the distillery’s finest spirit for anything up to 40 years.
What a waste it would be to allow wood that had been so blessed to simply be turned into flower tubs or bar tables. Far better to allow the oak to keep on giving by filling the giant hogsheads and butts with Harviestoun’s specially prepared ale.
But, before we get to the impact of the wood, we need to say a few words about the beer. It begins with abundant pale malt, plus lots of roasted barley for chocolate notes and oats for smoothness.
A high mashing temperature ensures that not all sugars become fermentable, leaving some sweetness in the palate. Aroma and character from hops are deliberately kept in check, with Golding, Fuggle and Galena varieties simply contributing balancing bitterness.
It’s a rich and sumptuous creation. Now let’s discuss the whisky that flavours the oak.
Unusual Climate
Highland Park is based in the Orkney islands, a northern outpost of the UK that has an unusual climate and topography. Winds off the ocean ensure the summers are never too warm and the winter never too cold.
Trees are scarce, which means the peat that has developed over the centuries in the soil, and is then used for kilning the malt, is not wood influenced. Put these two geographical components together and you have the makings of a whisky that is smoky and heathery with malt and sherry notes to varying degrees, depending on the vintage.
The sherry comes from the Oloroso that first seasons the casks in which the whisky is aged. The wood itself is a mix of European and American oak and this seasoning takes away the more pungent and influential qualities that virgin timber would bring to the party.
Some oaky character obviously leaches into the beer once it begins its maturation in the casks emptied of whisky, but of more influence are the former contents. Whisky notes and, still, sherry hints, can drift into the beer and the whole combination of wood, spirit and fortified wine has a stunning impact.Five Expressions
Ola Dubh now comes in five expressions, based on the how long the casks previously held whisky. The youngest is 12-year-old, the highest 40-year-old, with, in between, 16-, 18- and 30-year equivalents.
Stuart needs to take care when it comes to maturing the beer, however. Bold flavours from the older casks that have been steeped in whisky for so much longer need to be restrained so, whereas beer can remain in younger wood for around six months, beer in the 30- and 40-year-old casks is limited to three months or so.
In the cask, the beer is flat and port-like. A little carbonation is added for botting and the beer is pasteurized for stability, although, such is the strength and flavour, this would appear to have little impact on the taste.
My tasting notes show a steady progression of character and complexity. The 12 is oaky and chocolaty, with hints of red berries. The 16 is smoother and richer, with chocolate, coffee and peat.
The 18 (a recent addition to the range) has a tingly whisky presence on top of bitter dark chocolate, while the previous top-of-the-range, 30, certainly ups the oak and spirit character and is very refined. For even more whisky influence, reach for the newly-released 40, with its sumptuous palate of fudgy, dark chocolate, spirit and tangy oak.
In very short order, Ola Dubh has become a much sought-after product. Rave reviews have, according to Stuart, ‘written the PR for it’, to the point where Harviestoun doesn’t need to try too hard to sell it.
The quantity of each release varies but averages around 18,000 bottles. Demand means that these are fetching more than $20 a throw in US bars and restaurants, suggesting that this particular oil is even more precious to its followers than the expensive liquid that powers our everyday life.
