1 July 2012

This month we have a wide ranging selection of six (6) different OLD MALT CASK bottlings – six (6) from PROVENANCE plus one (1) OLD AND RARE – not forgetting two (2) from DIRECTOR’S CUT and two (2) DOUBLE
BARRELs.

Tasting Notes for OLD MALT CASK:

OMC2174 HIGHLAND PARK 15 YEARS
Nose: Sweet & vanilla’d + honey & an interesting camphor style
Palate: Opens fruitily sweet – lightly peated – softly smoked
Finish: When the sweetness fades, gentle peat smoke takes over (J)

OMC2187 IMPERIAL 17 YEARS
Nose: Aromatic with barley + tobacco early & nuts + baking later.
Palate: Dry – warmly spiced – opens to more tobacco, now camphor
Finish: Cough drops + gristy quality + light gentle oakiness (F)

OMC2186 SPEYSIDE SHERRY 20 YEARS
Nose: Syrupy sweet –with orange zestiness – nutty & gristy
Palate: Dark, macerated, spicy fruit + barley – crunched oats/nuts
Finish: Still spicy with soft camphor – grist & sweet liquorice. (F)

OMC2159 LINKWOOD 21 YEARS
Nose: Opens with a sweet, dried fruit character + a malty/woody quality.
Palate: Richly spiced + macerated dried fruit + marzipan & dark chocolate.
Finish: Long – still spiced – now drier carrying a nutty/leathery character. (J)

OMC2165 ROSEBANK 21 YEARS
Nose: Clean, fresh & fragrant – carrying a sweet fruity quality + honey
Palate: Sweet spicy with a Jasmin character + a fresh, lemon zest style
Finish: Long – still fruity + sweet grist then running drier to an oak tang (J)

OMC2189 AULTMORE 30 YEARS
Nose: Sweetly spiced – lightly oaked – home baked (ginger biscuit?) quality
Palate: Toffee’d & spicy + caramel & milk chocolate + sweet coffee
Finish: Long – now drier – with dark chocolate + more oak tang (J)

PROVENANCE Tasting Notes follow:

PRV0810 SPEYBURN SHERRY 7 YEARS
Opens with a fresh, flowery character carrying a sweet home baked style plus honey and vanilla – then ripe fruit and candied lemon appear. The palate is equally sweet, softly spiced with more fruit – now gently fermenting. This all runs to a light but surprisingly long finish with a spicy and crushed sugar style. (J)

PRV0809 BALMENACH 9 YEARS
The nose opens light and fresh and carries a fruity, malty quality. The palate is sugary sweet, still fruity and develops to a gristy character – all this is neatly replicated – sucrose sweet – on the medium long finish plus a late zesty tang (F & J)

PRV0812 JURA 9 YEARS
Blonde – but big and sweet initially on the nose plus later clean, fresh, gristy tones. On the palate – detect sweet barley, vanilla toffee plus light oak, toast and spiced flavours. The finish shows more of the (now lightly burnt?) toast and marmalade plus grist and a real spicy character. (F)

PRV0731 BOWMORE 10 YEARS
The nose opens with a surprisingly creamy vanilla style and runs to a sweet, peated barley quality. The palate carries a well balanced smoky character plus an old fashioned sweet butter style- like slightly burnt shortbread.
The finish is long – sweetly smoked and carries a flamed lemon zestiness. (J)

PRV0777 BRAEVAL SHERRY 12 YEARS
Wonderfully round, full and autumnally fruited as it opens on the nose – then as it warms detect burnt orange zest and warming spices. Palatewise it is massively sweet carrying fruit salad, candy floss and more spice with a long nutmeg – on – fruit – and – creamy-custard finish. (F)

PRV0784 ROYAL LOCHNAGAR 12 YEARS
Opens clean and fresh on the nose carrying a fruity, vanilla’d quality – home baked style. The palate opens light, still fresh and develops to a crushed sugar and orange pith character. The finish is medium long, sweetly spiced and runs to an orange tang. (J)

Tasting Notes follow here for OLD AND RARE

OAR0173 BANFF 36 YEARS
Sweet barley is immediately evident on the nose – and it opens further with honey, fresh cut summer grass – running to subtle aged and toasted, smoking oak. Palatewise there is a mouthcoating sugar tang of sweetness plus a Galliano liqueur style of spiciness with more late honey (Hot Toddy style) and coffee. Beyond replication of those same flavours – on the finish there is a vanilla fudge quality with the soft spices carrying even more interest. (F)

DOUBLE BARREL Tasting Notes:

DBS0036 CAOL ILA/TAMDHU – 1ST RELEASE
Nose: Initially it is sugary – opening to briny, beachy rock pools.
Palate: Oceanic with waves of sweet toffee and dark sugar coffee.
Finish: Spicy – with an interesting mix of hard candy, salt and a maritime style.

DBS0037 TALISKER/CRAIGELLACHIE – 1ST RELEASE
Nose: Opens surprisingly fresh, with burnt orange peel, spicy biscuits (also slightly burnt)
Palate: Fresh & grassy at first – before a sweetly spiced smoke appears
Finish: An apparent wood quality linger, burnt pine with a sweet ashy character

DIRECTOR’S CUT Tasting Notes:

DIR0015 DAILUAINE 40 YEARS
Nose: Rather citric – distinctly vanilla’d – Malty + lightly honied.
Palate: Soft and subtle/sugary and cedar-y/spiced yet subtle.
Finish: More honey apparent + warming spices and trailing smoke. (F)

DIR0013 BEN NEVIS SHERRY 45 YEARS
Nose: Spicy, with a Sherry trifle style and a drier/oaky backdrop.
Palate: Warmly spiced & tingling – heads drier to cloves in oranges.
Finish: A cough drop quality – mentholated! – dry yet warming (F)

With these and others we hope to be of service to you.

Yours faithfully

Fred Laing

www.douglaslaing.com