Early November Outturn Offerings 

Marriage in the merry month of May 

Cask No. 59.41                  $195

Highland, Northern

We were greeted by the very intense smell of an array of quality perfumes and very expensive flower bouquets. After a while deeper notes appeared, polished pew wood, old hymn books and incense – we got the impression of being a guest at a wedding in a historic catholic church. The taste, rich toffee, rum truffles, raisins, chocolate covered almonds and the sugar coated icing of a mini egg. Careful when adding water – we have now left the church and photos are being taken in a cherry blossom orchard. There are also fresh fruity notes of water melon, mango and white grapes. The taste now floral – possibly roses, slightly oaky and the dusty icing sugar on the wedding cake. Very enjoyable, from the distillery in Allness which was completely renovated in 1974.

Drinking tip: Ideal for a hipflask at a wedding

Colour: Honeycomb gold                                            Date distilled: November 1983

Cask: Refill hogshead                                         Alcohol: 45.7%

Age: 29 years                                                         USA allocation: 72 bottles

Buttery waffles on polished wood 

Cask No. G7.4                           $190

Grain

The nose was delightfully sweet – toffee sauce on ice-cream and banana, apple pie, corn candies, iced caramels, dusty muesli and dried apricots; added interest came from flowers, sawdust and fag packets in an oriental massage parlour. The unreduced palate had golden syrup, maple syrup, chocolate fondue with fruit and a dusting of oaky spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove); quite bourbon-like. On the reduced nose, leather and polished wood supported the sweetness of buttery waffles and salted caramel. The palate was sweet yet musky, like a Mars Bar with old spice – lip-smackingly tasty, we thought. The distillery is near the Ayrshire coast.

Drinking tip: After a nice lunch or with banana split dessert

Colour: Jill Masterson’s skin in Goldfinger                                        Date distilled: May 1984

Cask: Refill hogshead                                         Alcohol: 58.4%

Age: 28 years                                                         USA allocation: 60 bottles 

Complex, carefree and curvaceous 

Cask No. 7.82                            $150

Speyside, Lossie

The nose – classic lady’s leather handbag (cigarette packets, nail varnish, perfume, custard creams, ginger biscuits) – then seductively sweet (crème brûlée, salted caramel, apricot jam) and fruity (lemon, green apple, dried bananas, peaches, lychees). The palate spread pools of velvety sweetness (crystallised pineapple, soft toffee, syrup on toast) from which bubbles of acceptable bitterness would pop (perfume, pepper, marmalade, green wood). The reduced nose got us thinking about pine tree fresh, perfumed bath salts – heady and seductive stuff! The sweet, fruity palate now seemed complex, carefree and curvaceous, trilling under gentle kisses of oak. The distillery claims connections with Saint Marnoch.

Drinking tip: A dram for day-dreams, fantasies and reveries

Colour: Antique gold                                                                                         Date distilled: April 1993

Cask: Refill hogshead                                         Alcohol: 53.0%

Age: 19 years                                                         USA allocation: 144 bottles

A ballerina in stilettos 

Cask No. 46.21                          $100

Speyside, Lossie

The nose was immediately promising – offering buttered popcorn, puff candy, caramel, burnt orange peel, toasted almonds, pot-pourri, molasses and Christmas essential oils. The palate had good viscosity and an expanding universe of flavours – orange and lemon zest, moist gingerbread, wood-sap, candied angelica, pepper and Lea and Perrins – chewy and tasty, with spicy tingles. The reduced nose found malt, maple syrup on bacon, porridge and a wood-panelled room. The palate now suggested duck with orange sauce, syrup of figs and leather thongs – and seemed to dance around the tongue like a ballerina in stilettos. Named after a tributary of the Spey.

Drinking tip: A nice wee dram to provide warmth and contentment in the winter months, especially at Christmas

Colour: Wedding band gold                                                            Date distilled: May 2002

Cask: Refill butt                                                              Alcohol: 60.9%

Age: 11 years                                                         USA allocation: 114 bottles

To get lost in the moment 

Cask No. 53.186                                $160

Islay

The nose neat is extremely fresh and clean, some mentioned tea tree toothpaste with baking soda, others lime zest and green Starburst candy and there were also parallels drawn to very fine new fresh cashmere or angora wool. We all agreed it felt like a sunny day at the machir with a warm salty sea breeze in our faces. The taste, salted butter, pistachio nuts with a hint of burnt heather. With water soft and woolly with a sweet smoke and a little soapy like ‘Radox Watermint & Sea Minerals’ shower gel. The taste sweet and malty; a mug of Horlicks with milk and honey and a lime cake with salted caramel frosting.

Drinking tip: Enjoying a sunset on the beach

Colour: Virgin olive oil                                                                                       Date distilled: December 1989

Cask: Refill hogshead                                     Alcohol: 54.2%

Age: 23 years                                                         USA allocation: 120 bottles

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