Whisky Intelligence has reproduced (with permission) The Gauntleys Whisky Newsletter for August 2011, the author, Chris Goodrum, has some excellent insights of whisky, which makes for excellent reading on a Sunday. However W.I. has carefully excised any mention of r*m, c*gn*c, sh*rry or V*dk*. The full newsletter can be viewed on the Gauntleys website.
WHISKY NEWSLETTER No 48 – August 2011
Dear Whisky Customers
Yes, I know what you are thinking……….. Something along the lines of ‘Good grief, I’ve only just finished digesting the last opus and now you want me to read (and buy!) more new whiskies!’ Well this speedy turn around in the newsletters is due to the fact that we have taken on a new member of staff, which allows me to knock a newsletter into shape more quickly. The downside to this is that if you do tend to come into the shop on a Saturday, then unfortunately I will no longer be there!
Instead I’ll be leaving you in the capable hands of Eann, the newbie (as they say!), who will be able to assist you in making a purchase. Anyway, it has been brought to my attention that the last newsletter was lacking somewhat in controversy. I guess that I aught to put that right this time then!
It’s been my belief for a number of years that the whisky industry as a whole doesn’t think much of customers that purchases miniature bottles. I feel that they think that serious whisky buyers do not tend to by 3 or 5cl bottles. Why do I say that? Well, give the amount of poor quality spirit that gets put into miniatures then I can’t think of any other reason. I mean I had a tasting recently that included a number of miniatures – the Glenturret tasting and a tasting of a selection of miniatures bottled by Ian MacLeod, and to say they were poor would be a bit of an understatement.
Now I know that the industry has to do something with its dodgy old casks but surely filling miniatures with rubbish is doing their image a disservice. Take for example the Glenturret. If you had never tasted their whisky before and were to buy a 70cl bottle of each of those miniatures, which came in a really interesting presentation pack then you would have to fork out somewhere in the region of £283, thus buying the miniature set for around £40 makes a great deal of sense to a first time buyer and frankly if I had never tasted Glenturret before, I definitely wouldn’t again given the dubious quality of those miniatures.
I mean if I was a regular punter and I had tasted that miniature of 10 year old I would have concluded that all their whisky was rubbish and would definitely look elsewhere for my Highland fix. The upshot is that you are loosing potential repeat business here, and for any company, especially given these current austere times, is shall we say somewhat unwise.
Anyway, aside from that you will also find in this issue is the following: a tasting of a number of Gordon & MacPhails ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ bottlings, the latest releases from Douglas Laing, as well as a Tomatin tasting and a look at the Dalmore rivers collection. Finally there is as always a general round up of other stuff.
GORDON & MACPHAILS TASTING
It has been a long time since I’ve had a good tasting of any of Gordon & MacPhails bottlings. More often than not I’ve come across them whilst judging the Independent Bottlers Challenge, but I submitted my list of bottling’s I’d like to taste and waited……… and lo! This lot arrived!
I deliberately chose some of the less well known bottlings as I’ve plenty of bottlings from the likes of Ardbeg, Arran, Bruichladdich, etc. Also it was unlikely that they would part with samples of say their Brora, Port Ellen and Rosebank, so I avoided asking for those and well, I avoided Fettercairn for other reasons!
The results of said tasting are as follows:
Gordon & MacPhails ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ Royal Brackla 1991 (17 year old) 46%
(Website Price £41.08)
Refill Sherry
Dist: June 1991 Btl: Apr 2009
Tasted: June 2011
A lovely, perfumed, engrossing nose of sweet, sugar coated light sherry influenced fruit. Quite herbal with some pleasant malty-honeyed moments. Very full and aromatic, developing hints of xmas cake and brandy butter
The palate is soft and succulent. Subtle refill sherry in a moist xmas cake style mingles with some rich fruit, herbal and brandy butter. Very polished with a balancing nip of alcohol. Long, mouth watering granity-honeyed finish with the herbal nuances returning. All in all this is a lovely medium to full bodied Spey.
Gordon & MacPhails ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ Tormore 1996 (11 year old) 43%
Refill Sherry Hogshead
Dist: June 1996 Btl: June 2007
Tasted: June 2011
A soft and fragrant nose of light Satsuma and plenty of spicy oak. With time the oak becomes very creamy and buttery with only a very subtle degree of sherry.
The palate is soft and reasonably fruity with a touch of honey and a pleasant sugar coating. A bit short and hot with a hint of spice in the finish.
Gordon & MacPhails ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ Glenallachie 1992 (17 year old) 43%
Refill Sherry
Dist: 1992 Btl: 2009
Tasted: June 2011
A seriously hard nose of brittle honey. Lightly fruity with some floral notes along with hints of buttery oak and subtle sherry.
The palate is a touch watery with a distinct burnt caramel character. Some pleasant white fruit can be found on the middle along with a touch of floral spirit. Ok length with the oak fading fairly quickly to leave the high toned spirit unsupported. In fact the palate displays no sherry cask interaction.
Gordon & MacPhails ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ Tamnavulin 1990 (20 year old) 43%
Refill Sherry
Dist: 1990 Btl: 2010
Tasted: June 2011
A muted, oily, cereal nose. Strangely it seems quite youthful or the light peppery marc note seems to give that impression. Pleasant if unfettered by complexity with a burnt caramel and a slight grape influence.
The palate is soft, reasonably oily, and straightforward with hints of grass and honey. It does become pleasantly brown sugar coated and has a good spice intensity. Lovely softness and length with a very brief sherry flourish at the death.
Gordon & MacPhails ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ Tomatin 1988 (22 year old) 43%
(Website Price £38.41)
Refill American Hogshead
Dist: 1988 Btl: June 2010
Tasted: June 2011
A beautiful fragrant nose, liberally imbued with pure cracked black pepper, light oily honey shot through with barley and displaying a lovely maturity to honeyed aromas. With time it becomes quite malty and really fills out. With time some rather good, juicy fruit and integrated oak become apparent.
The palate is soft and juicy with a gorgeous complexity of light honey and granity notes. It has a lovely, soft maturity which gently builds and fills the mouth with plenty of malt and barley. That pepper arrives on the middle with a serious intensity and lingers right through to the finish where some lovely, light orange notes appear.
Gordon & MacPhails ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ Auchroisk 1993 (16 year old) 43%
Refill American Hogshead
Dist: 1993 Btl: June 2009
Tasted: June 2011
Quite a high toned nose with a distinct peppery tequila-esque character. Quite hard, almost industrial in style. Some late oak vanillins and hints of white flowers try to balance, but it’s fair to say that that this dram and the term finesse are a mile apart.
The palate opens with slightly sweet vanilla oak, followed by the peppery tequila. The oak again isn’t exactly shy; in fact it is oak central! It also develops an intrusive burnt caramel note. Some malty barley does put in an appearance, but it’s never going to balance out that amount of oak. The finish is a tad on the hot side.
Gordon & MacPhails ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ Glencadam 1990 (20 year old) 43%
(Website Price £36.07)
First Fill Bourbon
Dist: 1990 Btl: June 2010
Tasted: June 2011
A superb, deep and malty nose. A lovely melange of blood orange, tropical fruit, grippy oak – although the vanillins are very soft. The oak does start to dominate the proceedings but it has a gorgeous sawdusty edge. In saying that the oak is balanced by some deft citrus and grassy notes. It’s not quite as voluptuously tropical as the distillery bottlings but this bottling is still exceptionally good.
A lovely, soft barley entry joined by some slightly toasted oak but the demarara sprinkled barley keeps the balance adroitly. A full on, mouth wateringly fruity middle, subtly tropical and subtly honeyed. A beautifully elegant palate and a gentle spicy finish.
Gordon & MacPhails ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ Mannochmore 1990 (15 year old) 46%
Refill Sherry
Dist: 1990 Btl: 2006
Tasted: June 2011
A soft, textbook, grassy Spey with a background of sherry oak. I’ve encountered more complex bottlings, but it’s pleasantly straightforward in a fleshy fruit way. With time hints of earth and soft, crumbly spice emerge.
The palate opens with the grassy notes but some burnt caramel encroaches and to be honest the sherry character is a bit on the hard and tannic side. The alcohol hammers the middle and well that puts paid to any further enjoyment. There is a slight spicy and oily, malty note in the finish, but I’m somewhat unmoved.
Gordon & MacPhails ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ Clynelish 1993 (14 year old) 43%
Refill Sherry Hogshead
Dist: 1993 Btl: 2007
Tasted: June 2011
Aromas of brittle herbal honey with a hint of camphor and mint (?). It’s very leafy in a sort of restrained manner. With time some orange tinted aromas push through and overall it’s a quite entertaining nose.
The palate however is another story- homogonous with a dominating burnt caramel note. There is plenty of sherry wood tannins on the middle and the spirit itself seems un-integrated. A leafy and mouth watering finish, but after the nose the palate is somewhat disappointing.
Gordon & MacPhails ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ Glen Elgin 1996 (14 year old) 43%
(website Price £38.58)
Refill Sherry
Dist: Oct 1996 Btl: Oct 2010
Tasted: June 2011
A huge nose of dusty and leafy sherry, with a distinct herbal dénouement. A gentle sherry monster, but definitely not one dimensional as it has a lovely honeyed depth and developing walnuts and spice notes.
The palate is soft and opens with some very fresh and slightly leafy sherry followed by toasted nuts and wood tannins. A piquant middle puts the breaks on the sugars and stops it overwhelming the palate. Seriously clean and deep with a lovely, waxy, honeyed finish and no shortage of playful spices. An exceptional sherried dram.
Gordon & MacPhails ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ Dailuaine 1995 (15 year old) 43%
Refill Sherry Hogshead
Dist: 1995 Btl: 2010
Tasted: June 2011
A big, herbal, sweetish sherry beginning before moving into linseed oil and turps territory. It’s surprisingly industrial in style and slightly soapy with hints of burnt coffee.
The palate is tight and hard, again verging on the industrial. Plenty of herbal sherry with some lovely building spices though. A surprisingly alcohol middle carrying a peppery intensity but the soft maltiness attempts to add some balance. It’s an odd one to say the least, a bit hard, but sort of entertaining, a bit like S&M I guess!
Gordon & MacPhails ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ Macduff 1989 (18 year old) 43%
(website Price £50.10)
Refill Sherry
Dist: 1989 Btl: 2007
Tasted: June 2011
Surprise!!!!! A lovely, mature, deep, honeyed nose with oodles and oodles of gorgeous honey, in a sort of restrained Glenrothes fashion. Deft notes of off-sweet sherry weave their magic. How come this is still on their list??? How come my taste buds are not being Macduffed up??? This is a little gem!
The palate opens with the soft, liquor like honeyed fruit. Ok the palate is a tad less complex than the nose but there’s a serious depth of quite mature honey. Ok length with a late granity/ stony edge to the herbal and spicy sherry character. The spirit is a bit exposed on the finish adding some botanical notes, but I’m in a generous and forgiving mood today! – Being serious though, this is a very good bottling……. Of Macduff!!!
Gordon & MacPhails ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ Caol Ila 1996 (13 year old) 43%
First & Refill Sherry
Dist: 1996 Btl: 2009(?)
Tasted: June 2011
A very phenolic, briny and tarry nose. Very old skool Caol Ila! In comes some lovely, sweet, sherried white fruit and garden greens. Reasonably intense with some light fishy notes appearing amongst the ever presence peat.
Quite oily on the palate. Serious fish oils and sooty peat. It moves in a tarry direction before the wood tannins arrive. Good intensity of malty sweetness which attempts to balance the alcohol and tannins. Good complexity with hints of camphor, bog myrtle, brine and parma violets. Gentle, sooty finish.
Plus from last month’s newsletter (just for the sake of completion!)
Gordon & MacPhail ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ Aberfeldy 1990 (20 year old) 43% (website price £39.94)
Refill Sherry
Dist: June 1990 Btl: Oct 2010
Tasted: Apr 2011
A supremely honeyed nose with some sawdusty oak, musky orange and hints of lavender oil. Seriously appealing and integrated aromas that with time show a touch of citrus conserve and honeyed almond.
The palate opens with some oily citrus fruit swirling amidst a sea of mature wood extracted notes – toffee, honey and liquorice followed by plenty of rich malt and a touch of sawdust. Very unctuous, yet the nip from the alcohol balances and allows the fresh citrus and floral spirit to show towards a violety-perfumed, rose water ‘tart’s boudoir’ (technical term!) finish.
THE SHACKLETON MALT
The story begins sometime between 1907 and 1909 when Ernest Shakleton’s team at the south pole were forced to abandon their expedition due to treacherous conditions and the onset of winter. Having to travel light they left behind three cases of Mackinlay’s Rare Old Highland Malt.
So after 100 or so years buried under the ice and polar bear poo (well maybe not that!) they were discovered by member of the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust in 2006, yet it wasn’t until specialist cutting equipment was shipped there in 2010 that the cases could be removed from the ice.
This find was considered so rare and valuable that the New Zealand authorities refused to let Whyte & Mackay, the current owners of the brand name fly any bottles back to Scotland for research purposes on a standard passenger flight. Thus Dr Vijay Mallya, the wealthy owner of Whyte & Mackay had to fly three bottles back to Scotland in his private jet.
So in January 2011, these bottles were delivered into the hands of Richard Paterson, Whyte & Mackay’s master blender with the strict instructions to create a replica of said spirit. To me the most amazing thing about this whisky (apart from the taste) is that it took him only eight weeks to do it. It wasn’t just a case of him sticking his rather formidable nose into a glass and going ‘Oh yeah we’ll chuck a bit of this and that into a beaker and bob’s your uncle’.
By using gas chromatography they were able to analysis the major volatile congeners, ethyl esters, phenols and maturation related congeners, thus concluding that Mackinlay’s was a malt whisky, rather than one blended with grain whisky, that it was ‘lightly-peated’ and that peat had come from a number of locations across Scotland (Islay, Orkney, St. Fergus and Tomintoul). They also concluded that the new make spirit was matured in a first-fill American oak sherry or wine casks for a period of greater than five years. Nosing also supported this hypothesis with the whisky exhibiting the woody, sweet, dried fruit and spicy aromas typically associated with sherry cask maturation.
They also amazingly concluded that due to the presence of ethyl lactate and 2-propen-1-ol (allyl alcohol) indicates that the wash had been infected with lactic acid bacteria before distillation, and because of the presence of short chain acids characteristic of feints (butanoic, 2-methyland 3-methylbutanoic acids), suggests that the cut point from the spirit to feints during distillation was made at lower alcohol strength than that commonly used in current pot still spirit production. This later cut to feints increased the intensity of cereal popcorn aroma at (2-acetyl-1-pyrroline) and that of earthy/mouldy leaf aromas is more intense in the Mackinlay whisky than in currently produced whisky5. There were also disinfectant/farmyard/phenolic aromas which may have been due to high-boiling point phenols normally only detected in more concentrated extracts of currently produced whisky.
Thus they concluded that the analysis revealed a very complex, lightly-peated spirit matured for 5–10 years in ‘first-fill’ American white oak sherry casks. They also believed that these findings significantly change our perception of the quality and character of Scotch malt whisky produced over 100 years ago. Malt whisky from this period was generally regarded as robust, peaty and too ‘heavy’ in style for ordinary consumption, but here is a whisky that was surprisingly light, complex whisky, with a lower phenolic content than expected. The full results can be found here – http://www.scientificsocieties.org/jib/papers/2011/G-2011-0630-1168.pdf
So with all that information did Richard Paterson get it right? Well in order to recreate the blend he selected malts from Glen Mhor, Longmorn, Benriach, Glenfarclas, Mannochmore, Tamnavulin, Glenrothes, Balblair, Pultney and Jura varying in age from 8 to 30 years. Thus according to Dave Broom, who was the only other person in the world to taste both the original whisky and Whyte & Mackay’s new liquid said “The Shackleton whisky is not what I expected at all, and not what anyone would have expected. It’s so light, so fresh, so delicate and still in one piece – it’s a gorgeous whisky. It proves that even way back then so much care, attention and thought went into whisky-making”
He went on to say that “I think the replication is absolutely bang on. Richard has done a great job as it’s a very tricky whisky to replicate, because you have this delicacy, subtlety and the smoke just coming through. The sweetness, fragrance and spice, and the subtle smoke, are all there in the replica. I’m blown away.”
And who am I to disagree with that!
Mackinlay’s Rare Old Highland Malt ‘Shackelton’s – The Enduring Spirit’ 47.3%
(website price £97.95)
Tasted: June 2011
A seriously old fashioned and complex nose. There are plenty of mature fruits (baked apple/pear) interwoven with burnt wood, toffee, malt and peat. Above floats some light orange and a hint of youthful cereal. With time the natural oils begin to assert themselves.
A lightly oily mouth feel, opening with the youthful cereal shot through with citrus notes (tangerine, lime), followed by the mature peat and burnt wood, light treacle-malt and slight nuttiness on the middle. It has some gorgeous lightly sugared moments and the lovely soft oils counter balance the alcohol, which in turn balances out the heavy old wood notes and spices. Excellent length with a subtle smoke infused finish.
TOMATIN
I must admit that I’ve not tasted a great deal of Tomatin apart from a few Independent bottlings and it was on the list of things to do before I die! And I’m not dead yet!! So it was quite fortuitous that the rep for Tomatin paid me a visit last month with samples galore including the stunningly good ‘decades’ bottling and the awesome, just released 30 year old.
Overall I was really impressed, the 12, 18, 30 year old and ‘decades’ bottlings showed very good balance between both types of oak and spirit, but the funny thing is the bottling that I thought I might like the most, the 15 year old, as it was purely ex-bourbon I disliked as the wood overwhelmed the character of the spirit. Funny that, but like I said if you have not tasted their distillery bottlings then you definitely should. Oh and the packaging is very cool too!
Tomatin 12 year old 40% (website price £29.67)
111/2 years in first and second fill bourbon, followed by 6 months in fist and second fill Oloroso.
Tasted: June 2011
A slightly high toned and floral nose with some herbal honey, barley, malt and just a subtle note of rich sherry. Lovely balance with hints of wood spice, buttery vanillins and granite.
A rather delightful palate opening with the granity honey and the American oak followed by some youthful cereal, spicy sherried fruit and wood spices. Mouth filling and malty with hints of barley and oily honey in the finish. Good length with a typical Highland granity finish.
Tomatin 15 year old 40%
First and second fill bourbon.
Tasted: June 2011
The nose has more of the Highland Character to it as it is sans sherry. Fresh, floral and granity, but it becomes a tad muted by the heavy, oily caramel aromas.
The palate is soft and gentle opening with some white fruit and straw along with hints of honey and juicy barley. But like the nose the oak grips too much and overwhelms the palate pretty quickly. Reasonable length with some oily maltiness.
Tomatin 18 year old 40% (website price £53.68)
16 years in first and second fill bourbon, followed by 2 years in second and third fill Oloroso.
Tasted: June 2011
A gorgeous nose with no shortage of herbal honey, granity fruit, sweet barley and a delicate, soupcon of leafy sherry. A thin sliver of smoke and a deft nuttiness add to the complexity of the aromas. The honey is wonderfully mature and the American oak vanillins are very well integrated.
The palate opens with the American oak showing a lithe milky/ creaminess, intertwined with some lazy smoke. A superbly fresh and granity middle with the honey barley, followed by some herbal notes as the light sherry kicks in. Superb length with a delightfully mouth watering, earthy and smoky finish.
Tomatin 30 year old 46% (website price £122.50)
Matured in 80% American Oak and 20% Sherry Butts
Tasted: June 2011
A deep and luscious nose of violet tinted, sawdusty oak and beautiful, fleshy summer fruits, mature honey and a touch of grass and minerals. With time the oak becomes quite buttery and a background sherry note puts in an appearance. Gorgeously evolving…. Now there is a lovely perfumed top note…. Oooh and now there’s more honey……….. Oooh, damn this is good!
Beautifully soft, assertive and delightfully complex on the palate. Opening with the natural oils in full swing, followed by mature honey and crisp citrus fruit, minerals and grass. The oak is a lot less obvious but it does add hints of banana and violets to the sub-tropical fruit, which unfolds in layers. A lovely, crisp, granity finish which balances the viscous natural oils and fruit. Amazing length… this is just so damn fruity!!
Tomatin ‘Decades’ 46% (website price £64.47)
In recognition of his 50 years service at Tomatin, Douglas Campbell (the distillery manager) has created a Single Malt using whiskies distilled in each of the 5 decades he has worked at the distillery. Starting with a 1967 cask and moving through each of the subsequent decades to the year 2005.
The Casks that made up this stunning dram are as follows: 1967 Refill Sherry Hogsheads, 1976 Oloroso Butts, 1984 Refill Sherry Hogsheads, 1990 First Fill Bourbon barrels, and 2005 First Fill Bourbon barrels
Tasted: June 2011
A beautiful Highland nose. Absolutely textbook stuff – soft, well endowed with a complexity of citrus fruit, a touch of grass and some lovely, sweet, buttery oak. With time it becomes quite perfumed as the lighter, younger notes, swirl around the core of mature spirit. A stunning nose, which gives up new aromas each time your put your nose into the glass.
Lovely, rich and full bodied in the mouth. Generous seeped, mature fruit accented by Satsuma notes fills the mouth. The middle has a beautiful fresh Sauvignon blanc character along with grass and mineral nuances. Again there is less oak on the palate and frankly it allows the full complexity of this vatting to shine through. Exceptionally long with a palate cleansing, classic, granity Highland finish.
THE DALMORE RIVERS COLLECTION
The reason for the release of this collection is to raise money to aid in the conservation of these important rivers with regard to protecting the salmon and sea trout, as well as the floral and fauna which bring in the tourists. In fact proceeds from the sale of the first Dee bottling helped to open up 25 miles of river and reinstate important spawning grounds that had apparently been blocked for over 100 years.
So it’s definitely a worthwhile cause which should be supported but to be honest what I’m interested in is………. How good are these bottlings?
After waxing lyrical about the brilliance of Richard Paterson and his recreation of the Shakelton malt, I fail to see what he was trying to do here. Well I assume that he was trying to create a distinct bottling to highlight the ‘assumed’ personalities of each of those rivers. Now, I must admit that I’m not personally acquainted with any of those rivers and as for fishing!!!!! I can’t think of a duller and boring sport (I’m sure I’ll get some stick for that!) – So if he was attempting to capture the essence of a dull sport with dull bottlings he has definitely achieved that!
Ok, maybe I’m being a bit too hard on both fishing and these bottlings, but all I can say is that I found the Tay Dram to be the most interesting but even then I found it hard to get excited about any of them. And as for fishing we all know that it’s just an excuse to escape the wife, drink beer and doze in the great outdoors! Hmm, maybe fishing isn’t so bad after all!!!
The Tweed Dram 40%
Tasted: June 2011
Quite a youthful and high toned nose with some slightly grassy fruit. It’s a bit on the confected side with some distinct marc-like notes. With time some hints of light orange, walnut emerges. I would guess this vatting is predominantly ex-bourbon casked as there is only a slight sherry influence.
The palate is pretty light and youthful, overloaded with peppery marc and thus a bit bereft of depth. Like the nose there is more bourbon than sherry character and said oak bitters and shortens.
The Spey Dram 40%
Tasted: June 2011
A bigger, nuttier and juicier nose with a hint of earth and peat. There are more sherry cask aromas, which adds a herbal-leafiness and with time an autumnal burnt wood note appears.
Again the palate displays a fair amount of youthful marc notes with some nutty/ leafy sherry. A bit simple which becomes quite toffee sweet with a praline middle. Again a bit on the short side.
The Tay Dram 40%
Tasted: June 2011
Quite a nutty and malty nose – almonds and walnuts. There appears to be a greater degree of maturity, the fruits have a distinct stewed character. There is still a touch of high toned cereal but its better integrated along with the burnt wood and coffee notes.
The palate is like the nose. Bold and weighty. The richness of chocolate-malt notes hold the youthful cereal notes in check. Better balance with a good intensity and bite from the alcohol. Quite a mouth watering, spicy finale and a juicy bourbon oak led finish.
The Dee Dram 40%
Tasted: June 2011
The nose is nutty and malty, along the lines of the Tay/ Spey Dram’s. Again there is some youthful cerealy marc and a touch of light orange fruit.
Quite sweet with again a passing similarity to the Spey Dram. Nutty with a suggestion of salt on the middle along with the expected youthful cereal notes. Again a tad short as the oak grips, but it does deliver some pleasant spices.
JULY OLD MALT CASK BOTTLINGS
Highlights from the July bottlings include the 10 year old Talisker. Now you don’t tend to see much in the way of privately bottled whisky from this distillery. Douglas Laing have possibly bottled more than anyone, but apart from around three bottlings in 1999, they have had to be called ‘Tactical’ so in approaching it I was a bit nervous because I really wanted this to be a good bottling, and it is! Like I said in my tasting notes it definitely lull’s you into a false sense of one-dimensionality, but believe me it isn’t
Others you should miss are the stunning bourbon casked 21 year old Macallan, and how many times have you heard me say that? The 12 year Laphroaig is equally as good and as for the 36 year old Strathmill……. It’s mind-blowingly good!
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Benrinnes 1992 (19 year old) 50%
Sherry
Code: OMC2051
Dist: Jan 1992 Btl: July 2011
Tasted: July 2011
A dense and alcoholic nose of cream soda with hints of peppery marc. Almost industrial in character with light honey, burnt caramel and stony/ mineral notes.
Quite hard and confected. Again it has a sort of fizzy cream soda-like character with some butterscotch, honey and minerals. There is not much in the way of sherry influence and the finish is rather sugary.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Macallan 1993 (18 year old) 50%
Bourbon
Code: OMC2059
Dist: Jun 1993 Btl: July 2011
Tasted: July 2011
A very oaky nose – creamy/ buttery/ toasty and toffee’d. There is a touch of honey and some floral notes but the oak is top dog.
The palate is quite sweet with clotted cream, butter and toffee along with some wood spices. There is some spirit, which lacks any real character on the middle, but in all honesty it’s an oak monster. The alcohol is very intrusive and obliterates the oak on the finish.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Macallan 1990 (21 year old) 50% (website price £82.95)
Bourbon
Code: OMC2040
Dist: May 1990 Btl: July 2011
Tasted: July 2011
Now this is more like it. A beautiful, elegant, fragrant nose of pineapple, gooseberry, citrus and pear with some delicate spice and robust (although not overwhelming) oak. Lovely complexity of mature honey and barley with the fruit having a real fruit skin intensity.
The palate opens with the beautiful soft and buttery oak. Again there is a superb balance between the oak and the slightly sweet, fruity spirit. Big dollops of mature honey emerge on the middle with a touch of pear drops. Very long with a fresh, minerally, tartly-citrus and slightly mentholated finish.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Strathmill 1975 (36 year old) 44.1% (website price £108.95)
Bourbon
Code: OMC2049
Dist: May 1975 Btl: July 2011
Tasted: July 2011
A beautifully fragrant nose of orange blossom with some gorgeous honey shot through with a seam of tart citrus fruit. With time the oak comes through with a slightly sawdusty character before developing a slight toasted caramel note.
Soft, gentle and oh so delicate. Opening with orange and tangerine fruit coated in light syrup and liberally sprinkled with caster sugar. The orange fruit become more liquor like as the mature honey flavours evolve. The alcohol adds just the right level of piquancy to stop it become too sweet and in doing so releases a slight herbal note. Superb length with some wood notes and tannins in the finish but there is no let up in the gorgeous, silky, liquid orange. Stunning!
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Tomatin 1970 (40 year old) 44.3%
Bourbon
Code: OMC2060
Dist: Dec 1970 Btl: July 2011
Tasted: July 2011
The nose opens with sour cherry and citrus infused with edgy granity mature honey. Beautifully mellow and liberally sprinkled with castor sugar is the barley, all backed by some supporting oak. With time it starts to become very sugared and I have to say that the spirit is really showing its age now as it becomes quite spirity with hints of pine resin and glue. The honey fights to stay dominant but it’s having a tough old time and the longer it’s in the glass the more it feels like it’s starting to break up. Maybe I’m being unduly harsh but after tasting the distillery bottled 30 year old and decades bottlings I have to say that it’s really not worth its £125 price tag. I mean for that sort of money it has to be 100% spot on and sadly this isn’t quite there.
The palate is soft, opening with the sweetly spiced fruit – sultana and prune. Although this is wonderfully gentle the sugar and tannins kick in on the middle. The honey does its best to hold those tannins at bay but its struggling. There are some lovely straw and barley notes emerging however. The oak although quite tannic is showing some gorgeously mature vanillins and I’m really torn as the palate isn’t showing the degradation that the nose is. Ultimately though I’m going to have to let this one go.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Talisker 2001 (10 year old) 50% (website price £59.95)
Bourbon
Code: OMC2062
Dist: Jun 2001 Btl: June 2011
Tasted: July 2011
The nose is very sweet and toffee’d for a Talisker, however there is some trademark soft peppery notes and a smidgen of peat in amongst all that oak. In fact this is a very fruity little number with oodles of sweet pineapple and vanilla emerging. It’s not overly coastal, so I would guess this has been mainland matured for most of its life.
The palate follows the same path as the nose. Pleasantly sweet and fruity with honey, malt, oak and youthful cereal notes. Even the peat is quite sweet but the missing brine and light phenolics come through on the palate along with some deliciously mouth watering barley. The classic peppery bite emerges on the finish along with some dry spice and coal dust.
It’s a bit of a sly malt to be honest. At first you think it’s a touch on the one dimensional side but then it just keeps developing and revealing more character until you sit back and think – Actually, this is pretty good spirit!
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Bowmore 1989 (21 year old) 50%
Bourbon
Code: OMC2065
Dist: Nov 1989 Btl: July 2011
Tasted: July 2011
Is this really 21 years old? For a spirit this age it’s showing an inordinate amount of youthful cereal with hints of fish, brine, smoked bacon, tar and camphor. With time it becomes quite earthy. Yes the edges of the spirit have been rounded off but on nosing this cask I would have left it alone for another few years.
Very oily on the palate and the spirit tastes a lot more mature (maybe it was the right time to bottle it?) There is some gentle earthy peat along with a hint of fisherman’s friends, menthol and bog myrtle. On the middle some lightly honeyed delicate fruit arrives. Good length with hints of liquorice, dusty peat and mature honey. In fact the honey is beautifully sweet, and it certainly seems to me to be a ‘classic’ Bowmore bottling.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 1999 (12 year old) 50% (website price £57.95)
Bourbon
Code: OMC2063
Dist: Mar 1999 Btl: July 2011
Tasted: July 2011
The nose opens with some lusciously sweet fruit and barley followed by the phenolic, brine encrusted peat, all in a wonderfully controlled fashion. Hints of citrus rind, ozone, and a load more fishiness arrive. A classic Laphroaig with some menthol and bog myrtle too!
A very tarry, ash encrusted opening to the palate. The mouth is coated in an oily sootiness right from the word go. The sweet fruit follows on with a touch of honey and some fishy nuances. Very intense and gorgeously peated. Very long with the citrus, bog myrtle and leafy goodness in the finish. It displays a deft sweet/ dry balance as the sweet fruit more than stands up to the alcohol and peat. Superb!
JULY CLAN DENNY BOTTLING
What can you say about this bottling; apart from you must buy it if you love old grain whiskies.
Douglas Laing ‘The Clan Denny’ Invergordon 1966 (45 year old) 47.1% (website price £127.95)
Bourbon
Code: DEN0071
Dist: Mar 1966 Btl: July 2011
Tasted: July 2011
Now this is worth its price tag! A very subtle and grainy nose. Lightly smoked and ever so slightly fishy with toasted caramel, nuts and perfumed fruity spirit notes – citrus, apple, pear and some light honey. The oak is very subservient (which is quite unique in my experience of tasting old Invergordon’s) and sits beneath the wonderfully edgy, grainy spirit. Late notes of vanilla infused pineapple and banana appear. Extremely complex and a nose that you just have to take your time with and contemplate.
The palate is reality sweet with a serious fruitiness – pineapple, pear and apricot all seeped in wonderfully mature honey. The grain nips beautifully and the mouth waters uncontrollably. The oak is very restrained and it allows the spirit to conjure up some warming dried raisiny fruitcake, accented with hints of chocolate and coffee. The balance and complexity is sublime, the wood and oak is in perfect synchronicity. This is absolutely mind-blowingly good. It’s a real honour to be able to taste spirit like this!
JULY PROVENANCE BOTTLINGS
The July Provenance and Premier Barrel bottles were the usual mix of the good and the Fettercairn!!!!
Douglas McGibbon Provenance Fettercairn 2000 (10 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Code: PRV0689
Dist: Oct 2000 Btl: July 2011
Tasted: July 2011
Unsurprisingly the nose is quite hard and industrial in character, but it does have some pleasant grassy notes. Youthful cereal marc like aromas dominate but there is a semblance of white fruit beginning to emerge. A surprisingly clean nose!
Hmm, the palate however is rather fizzy. Sort of elderflower fizzy pop to be honest. Lightly sweet with a rather intrusive level of alcohol. Short, but still clean though.
Douglas McGibbon Provenance Royal Brackla 1999 (11 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Code: PRV0688
Dist: Oct 1999 Btl: July 2011
Tasted: July 2011
The nose displays a good depth of gristy honey and orange/ tangerine fruit, along with a hint of banana and well integrated oak. With time some seriously malty notes emerge.
The palate is soft and honeyed, opening into a hay/ straw and gristy spice middle. In fact the middle is very spicy (of the powdery variety) with some hints of walnut. A reasonable length but the alcohol dries out the finish.
Douglas McGibbon Provenance Cragganmore 2000 (11 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Code: PRV0713
Dist: Jun 2000 Btl: July 2011
Tasted: July 2011
The nose is a touch spirity with some high toned marc-like notes. The oak grips quite hard and mutes the nose but there are some pleasant honeyed barley/ cereal moments.
The palate is soft and quite sweet, opening with an intrusive burnt caramel note which carries on in a very pervasive manor. Quite malty with hints of raisins. Reasonable length with a touch of honey but there’s no escaping the burnt caramel!
Douglas McGibbon Provenance Arran 1998 (12 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Code: PRV0705
Dist: Aug 1998 Btl: July 2011
Tasted: July 2011
A strangely appealing nose, but then I do have a penchant for the weird and wonderful! – Linseed oil and dried fruit followed by perfumed citrus fruit and caramel oak. And yep it’s as odd as it sounds!
Full and malty on the palate, again with some dried fruit and Guyana-like oiliness. Yes, it has an almost rum-esque rancio. A rather intensely juicy middle with hints of liquorice, marzipan and clove, finishing with a dry, saline finish.
Douglas McGibbon Provenance Macallan 1997 (13 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Code: PRV0716
Dist: Oct 1997 Btl: July 2011
Tasted: July 2011
Not the best Macallan I’ve nosed in my life. Burnt caramel, white liquorice, prickly alcohol along with hints of rubber and grass, and finally when I’d give up hope some late citrus fruit.
The palate is quite sweet – sugar coated barley and malt. Thankfully the burn caramel note is less pervasive, but it’s still there! It kind of ambles on in its own merry little sweet way until the oak and tart citrus bitters and dries out the finish.
Douglas McGibbon Provenance Mortlach 2003 (8 year old) 46%
Sherry
Code: PRV0712
Dist: Mar 2003 Btl: July 2011
Tasted: July 2011
An interesting and quite pretty nose, if one ignores the alcohol prickle. Almost perfumed, slightly sugary fruit interlaced with a light Amontillado leafiness and some dense, rich malt.
The palate is quite sweet and just a little bit soapy but there is a pleasant degree of dried fruit, apricot and malt. Slightly grassy on the middle but a bit short.
JULY PREMIER BARREL BOTTLINGS
Douglas Laing Premier Barrel Auchtentoshan 1998 (11 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Code: PBR0099
Dist: Dec 1998 Btl: July 2011
Tasted: July 2011
The nose is hugely peppery. In fact it has more than a passing resemblance to Tequila. Actually its white pleasant for a young ‘Toshan with a touch of white flowers and some background oak.
The palate is syrupy sweet and like the nose very peppery and Tequila-esque. There are hints of straw and winey notes galore. Very interesting and not too bad for a young ‘Toshan.
Douglas Laing Premier Barrel Dalmore 1999 (12 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Code: PBR0097
Dist: Apr 1999 Btl: July 2011
Tasted: July 2011
A hard, spirity, industrial nose with lots of burnt caramel and a touch of cardboard along with hints of prunes and dried fruit.
The palate is oily and sugary sweet, again the burnt caramel is oppressive and like the nose it’s quite industrial. Slightly tart citrus and bitter oak finish.
Douglas Laing Premier Barrel Laphroaig 2000 (11 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Code: PBR0098
Dist: June 2000 Btl: July 2011
Tasted: July 2011
A pungent, peaty, tarry and phenolic nose. Hints of astringent sea air and rubber. Classic young ‘phroaig.
The palate is quite soft with a distinct clotted cream character. It’s not as intensely peaty and rubbery as the nose would suggest but it’s pleasantly full and rounded with more of a sooty-peatiness. Good length with a sweet, slightly sugary finish.
GLENTURRET TASTING
As I said in my introduction these were all tasted from the rather funkily packaged 5cl tasting set that is available from the distillery. It’s a shame that the contents didn’t live up to the packaging. In fact I was give this set as a Christmas present and I’ve only now got round to tasting them with my tasting partner in crime. It was interesting to see that three of those miniatures had suffered quite badly from evaporation, the 14 year especially so. (see the rather rubbish quality picture as proof!) I wondered whether it was just the water content that had evaporated or whether some of the alcohol had done so because it certainly didn’t taste as alcoholic as I would have expected it to. Either way I doubt it much impact on the actual quality of the liquid.
Glenturret 10 year old 40%
Bourbon
Tasted: July 2011
Hmm, not the greatest nose in the world. There’s a fair few cardboardy off notes here. Ok, if you ignore the rather pervasive dampness of the nose you can see that there is some charming, soft, fruity, grassy and cerealy spirit here.
The palate pretty much mirrors the nose. It doesn’t really go anywhere as the damp cardboard theme mutes any semblance of fruity spirit.
Glenturret 14 year old 60.1%
Refill Sherry
Tasted: July 2011
An edgy nose of nutty, earthy, slightly leafy sherry with some malty sweetness behind. Very clean and distinctly herbal. With time the honey aromas come to the fore. Rather pleasant.
The palate is quite soft although it does open with the drying tannins. It really doesn’t taste as alcoholic as it should, but it does have a lovely, fleshy softness with a good dollop of malty-sweet honey and a pleasant herbal bite. Good length with a sweet lemon finish before the tannins dry brings it all to an end.
With water the nose has become rather confected, but in saying that it has also become more expressive with more citrus aromas and hints of white chocolate coated raisins, white liquorice and a touch of burnt wood. The honey has become more text book Highland in character, i.e. brittle but a touch of burnt caramel is beginning to encroach. The palate has on the other hand become simpler. Like the nose it is quite confected, overloaded with sugary sweetness, with more of the burnt caramel noticeable.
Glenturret 15 year old 57.7%
First fill Sherry
Tasted: July 2011
A very mature nose, quite surprisingly for its age. Full aromas of rich, moist Christmas cake, walnuts, toffee, dried fruit, sandalwood and polished leather with a herbaly, fresh edge. Yes it’s all cask, but this was produced from some stunningly good casks.
Quite a tannic start to the palate but those afore mentioned tannins are relatively soft. Very deep with dried fruit, mature prunes, walnuts and toffee. The alcohol seems quite well behaved until the mid palate when it ramps up the intensity and that’s all the fun over with.
With water the nose has again become very sugary, of the brown sugar persuasion. There is a lovely substrata of honey and now some burnt wood notes. The palate however has fallen apart in spectacular style, but I kind of had the feeling that it might do. After that wonderful nose the palate is a big disappointment.
Glenturret 16 year old 58.4%
Oloroso (?) Sherry
Tasted: July 2011
A very leafy and alcoholic nose with some gorgeous, liquor-like orange, macerated prunes accented with hints of clove, nutmeg, burnt chocolate and dark toffee. With time a lovely floral note appears but counterbalancing that, so does a slight fusty, mouldy note.
As expected the palate is all leafy sherry, bitter tannins and alcohol. As the alcohol passes some dark chocolate and sweet dried fruit remains.
Water makes no change to the nose; possibly there is a high toned granity edge. The palate on the other hand is just about holding together. Just like the 14 and 15 year old the palate has become simple and disappointing.
IAN MACLEODS MINIATURE SELECTION
I don’t think I really need to say much more, apart from read the tasting notes and be thankful that I’ve saved you the need to experience them first hand!
Lowland 8 year old 40%
Sherry (?)
Tasted: July 2011
A high toned and confect nose with an intimation of orange fruit and a touch of cardboard. Glenkinchie possibly? The palate is soft and sweet. Quite soapy with some cardboard notes. Shockingly bad actually.
Speyside 8 year old 40%
Sherry (?)
Tasted: July 2011
Aromas of youthful cereal and burnt toast, maybe some sherry with again some fusty notes amid the grassiness. The palate is rather watery with some uninspiring fruit, toast, and burnt caramel and cardboard. Yuk!
Highland 8 year old 40%
Bourbon
Tasted: July 2011
Quite spirity and peated. Slightly fishy with some tobacco/ cigar smoke. There is a touch of citrus and sugary fruit (Ardmore?)
The palate is quite sweet with a touch of cardboard (again!). The peat is only a shadow of its aromas and the wood tastes old. The spirit is sharp and intrusive and now the peat seems to have vanished completely.
Island 8 year old 40%
Bourbon
Tasted: July 2011
Aromas of wet card, peat and sugar along with some burnt wood and caramel.
The palate is insipid and wet. Watery and sugary, lightly peated with the customary cardboard and burnt caramel. This has got to be Ledaig! Even at 40% the alcohol is very intrusive. Quite long, however with a sooty finish. The after taste is quite pleasant though but you have to suffer the rest of it in order to get there!
Islay 8 year old 40%
Sherry (?)
Tasted: July 2011
Quite phenolic and beefy (Bowmore?) with burnt wood and a slight cough sweet character. Pleasantly peated with soot and I think some sherry.
The palate is soft and opens with some gentle peat and sherry wood. A bit on the simple side but nevertheless quite pleasant. It has and old skool Bowmore feel to it – dried fruit, sooty, smoky peat and honey. Good length with a herbal finish.
Isle of Skye 8 year old 40%
Sherry (?)
Tasted: July 2011
Simple and quite fishy with hints of sherry wood and honey. The palate is quite tannic and to be honest insipid. There is some sherry notes but it’s been deadened by excessive caramel usage. Underneath all of that is some pleasantly sweet, almost new make spirit. No length. I think this was heavily caramelised in order to make up for the knackered old sherry casks it was matured in. Shame!
ANOTHER STUNNING GRAIN FROM COOLEY
So here’s the replacement for the dearly departed 15 year old, which scooped the best single grain award at the International Wines & Spirits Competition in 2009 and 2010, so I would imagine great things are also expected of this new bottling.
It is unique in that it is the only Irish grain whiskey that is in regular production and there were only about 4000 bottles produced, so if you have tried the old 15 year old then you really should try this as its stunning.
Greenore 18 year old 46% (website price £67.77)
Tasted: July 2011
An aromatic, expansive nose of sweet corn. Wonderfully fat but balanced by a grainy nip and a touch of zesty citrus that is just so precise. There is a lovely depth of vanilla oak and one could easily mistake this as a product of Kentucky with a slight earthy note. Wonderfully rounded and showing some maturity but I’m sure that this spirit could comfortably age for another 18 years.
The palate is wonderfully soft and oily with the sweet corn showing first followed by the creamy, lightly toffee’d oak. Lovely and clean with like the nose a balancing citrus and grainy nip. Superb sweet/ bitter balance, finishing crisply dry with some rum-like dried fruit putting in an appearance. The oak is impeccably behaved and accompanies the spirit right the way through adding a smidge of violet and soft spices. Yet another stunning bottling!
THE ROUND UP
And so to the round up of the weird and wonderful!
Kilchoman ‘Spring 2011’ 46% (website price £40.01)
A blend of 3 and 4 year old spirit aged in fresh and refill bourbon.
Tasted: June 2011
A rich, enveloping tropical nose with oodles of controlled oak input. Earthy, deliciously sweet peat, Ardbeg-esque burnt wood and hints of bog myrtle and vegetation leap from the glass. Expansively fruity for such a young spirit and gently coastal.
The palate opens with coal dust and the lovely tropical fruit along with some oak tannins and butterscotch peaking through the young, briny and phenolic spirit. The oak suddenly stops on the middle and it’s pure, fresh, peaty spirit all the way to the end with a slight perfumed note on the finish. Definitely not lean as the fruit and oak verily cling to the mouth! Stunningly good.
Buffalo Trace ‘White Dog – Mash 1’ 62.5% (125 proof) (website price £22.29)
New make corn, rye and malted barley mash.
Tasted: June 2011
A soft, fluffy (not in a derogatory way) nose of puffed corn and crumbly rye biscuits. Exceptionally deep for new make with a superb purity. With time it becomes exceedingly floral with a distinct note of lilies. In fact this is very complex and it could act as a musky base for a perfume. Maybe I should dab some behind my ears?
The high alcohol content dries the palate quite quickly as one would expect. However there is plenty of malted cereal to get your teeth into. A very intense burst of floral perfume on the middle including the pure violet and lily notes found on the nose. Exceedingly long with a sort of shredded wheat finish. Very breakfasty!! I think I’ll be having it over my honey-nut cornflakes!
With a drop of water the nose becomes more high toned and oiler. Possibly more restrained now due to the oily congeners, which the oak would remove given time. But it is still beautifully rounded. The palate pretty much mirrors the nose now with a soft rose water note in the finish. Great new make spirit, which shouldn’t be a surprise as we all know how good the Buffalo Trace range is.
Jack Daniels Silver Select 50%
Single Barrel No 10-2396 Rick L-22
Tasted: June 2011
A very big, sweet, corn fat nose, with an explosion of equally big sweet oak. There is a suggestion of taught rye notes beneath, which tries hard to balance the sweetness. With time a touch of oily, herbal orange appears. Hmm, I really want to like this nose, but to be honest, it’s not particularly complex. Yes it’s big, brash and deep but it seems to lack the finesse of the ‘single barrel’ expression.
The palate is big and upfront, full of soft, sweet candy floss corn and wheat. The rye does nip with the alcohol but I get the feeling that there is not enough of it in the mash. Damn the oak really holds it fast; it’s very intense and dominating with marzipan and vanilla oils. In the mouth it’s very linear and well, probably best described as……… solid. Good length with some clean (?) earth and spice notes.
With water the nose becomes even denser and oilier. Those rampant oils really subdued the nose now. Maybe there’s a soupcon more honey now, but it’s lumpen and solid. The palate is much the same. Its lumpeness and lack of elegance is quite surprising. Maybe there is a touch of menthol and liquorice but the oak tannins dramatically bitter the finish.
On the evidence of this tasting I would stick with the cheaper ‘single barrel’ bottling.
Antiquary Finest 40%
70% Grain, 30% Malt
Tasted: June 2011
A soft and fragrant nose which is quite heavy on the floral grain, which overlays some malty fruit. The palate is soft and straightforward with plenty of good quality floral grain along with a hint of malty sweetness. A pleasant length with a light spice note in the finish.
Antiquary 12 year old 40%
50% Malt, 50% Grain – 14 separate malts including Ardbeg
Tasted: June 2011
An edgy, grainy nose with light citrus and a Speyside grassiness. The gentle peat note actually seems to emphasises the earthy/graininess of the nose. The buttery oak comes in waves and in doing so some natural caramel mutes the nose a bit as the oak gets into its stride, although in saying that it does have some honeyed moments.
Quite mouth filling and more malt on the palate with some encroaching burnt caramel. The gentle peat wafts in on the middle with the floral grain. Good length, if a tad straightforward with a spicy/ grassy finish.
Compass Box ‘The Artists Blend’ 43% (website price 24.99)
Tasted: June 2011
The nose opens up with plenty of sweet, juicy, grassy Speyside fruit with some subtle peat, brine and fishy notes, followed by some mature Islay fruit and burnt wood. With time the sweet American oak appears along with hints of white flowers, violets and a grainy nip.
Slightly oily, quite full and thickly sweetened with honey, grass and a touch of salt. The sweet grain hits the middle, brining with it some creamy oak and hints of tangerine. There is not as much peat on the palate as the nose would lead you to believe. There’s really only an intimation at the end. It may sound like it’s a bit of a sweetie, but the gentle alcohol balances and it finishes quite dry and crisp.
Edradour 12 year old ‘Caledonian Selection’ 46%
Sherry
Tasted: July 2011
The nose is heavy on the leafy sherry with a touch of sulphur. The aromas are all from the cask – dried fruit, orange peel and spices. The sweet honey and heathery nuances of the 10 year old have been crushed by the hobnail boot of Oloroso sherry casks.
The palate mirrors the nose. – Sulphur tainted, leafy, mentholated sherry and piquant alcohol. Cask 1 Distillery Character 0.
Gordon & MacPhail Cask Strength Imperial 1997 (14 year old) 62.7%
Bourbon
Dist: 1997 Btl: 2011
Tasted: July 2011
A lovely, classic Imperial nose of maturing honey with hints of sweet oak vanillins, grass, white pepper, violets and alcohol (no surprise given the abv!)
The palate is as expected quite alcoholic but there is a good depth of mature honey with hints of toasted white bread, malt, citrus and a grassy finish. This definitely needs a drop of water.
With water the nose has become wonderfully grassy and the oak has been let loose and now revels in its buttery/ fudgyness. Still wonderfully honeyed and deep through. The palate has unfortunately become a bit sugar water-like and the complexity (not that Imperial has an overt complexity) has taken a nose dive. Still there is some fleshy fruit and sweet honey on the middle and the grassy finish is still there.
St Georges Distillery Chapter 11 – 3 year old Heavily Peated 46%
(website price £44.97 and £16.10 for the 20cl)
Bourbon Casks 6.45, 6.47, 6.48
Dist: Mar 2008 Btl: 2011
Tasted: July 2011
The nose is quite phenolic with dry, crumbly peat and Ardbeg-esque burnt wood, which adroitly masks the youthful cerealy spirit. There is a thankfully brief aroma of heavily burnt caramel before the lovely soft, sweet barley with hints of violets and leafy herbs arrives.
The palate is a bit on the shy side with the gentle, earthy peat flavours taking awhile to get going. Briefly some youthful cereal, shot through with a vein of crisp citrus appears before the alcohol finishes it off. A tad on the short side to be honest but the dry peat and burnt wood notes tarry awhile (as they say!)
Overall the palate is probably not quite as impressive as the nose but don’t let that put you off, because for its age it’s still rather pleasant.
Berry Bros Bowmore 1994 (14 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Dist: 1994 Btl: 2008
Tasted: July 2011
Quite high toned and marc-like aromas with a touch of pepper. Quite shy with some confected elements. The oak comes across in a rather milky manner and with time some grass and violet notes emerge.
The palate opens with the milky oak followed by grassy accented, fresh citrus fruit and some sooty, coal dust on the middle. It’s ok, nowhere near mind blowing but pleasant with a good lemony finish.
Well that’s it for this edition of the newsletter. I hope you enjoyed reading it and that it will inspire you to try a few of the whiskies that I’ve reviewed.
Until next time
Chris Goodrum
Visit Gauntleys of Nottingham at www.gauntleys.com
