July 2012 Outturn Offerings

 Cask No. 71.34 is President’s Choice 

Rabbit, ginger, & treacle tart 

Cask No. 71.34                     

Highlands, Speyside (Findhorn) 

Big rich sweet aromas accosted the Panel – ginger cake, strawberry Chewits, treacle tart, cinnamon, malt loaf but also earthy mushrooms, Marigolds (the gloves not the flowers), leather and musky horses; this was when one Panellist pictured herself riding a spice–bag-laden Andalusian horse through orchards wearing leather chaps. Warm, sweet, savoury on the palate, hot and tannic with rosemary & sage, saddle polish, rabbit paella, warm chocolate sponge, dried cranberries and hazelnuts. Diluted, aromas of olive groves, red apples, hay and grilled rabbit with smooth, creamy tastes of oranges, prunes, strawberries, apricots and more rabbit. Founded as Kinflat distillery in 1810. 

Drinking tip: While riding through the orchard on hot summer days 

Colour: Veiled bronze                                       

Cask: Refill gorda                                             

Age: 13 years                                       

Date distilled: March 1998

Alcohol: 56.8% 

$110

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Manuka honey on a razor strop 

Cask No. 38.21                     

Highlands, Speyside (Rothes) 

This rare offering, from the distillery originally built as Glen Grant Number Two, had a subtle, unusual nose – initially yeasty (sourdough bread, Hefeweizen beer), then developing leather, plasticine and peeled twigs, fruit skins (especially orange) and eventually, chocolate. The taste combined the dark sweetness of Demerara, toffee and Bourneville, with orange, black pepper and leather (someone suggested ‘manuka honey on a razor strop’). The reduced nose had herbal notes (coriander, nettles) wood polish and sweet perfumes (jelly beans, dolly mixtures, gummi bears, rose hip tea). The palate balanced that jelly bean sweetness with slightly bitter lemons and mild pepper heat. 

Drinking tip: Whenever you have a craving for jelly beans 

Colour: Auspicious gold                        

Cask: Second-fill hogshead                               

Age: 17 years                                       

Date distilled: May 1994

Alcohol: 58.0% 

$125

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Manly and avuncular

Cask No. 41.50                     

Highlands, Speyside 

Early vinegar traces evaporated, leaving honey, dates, puff-candy, Christmas cake, ginger-bread and flat coke – one panellist found it ‘manly’ with its leather, brandy and cigars. The palate offered apple and pear cleanness along with a richer seam of coca-cola, ginger beer, dark ale, chocolate gingers and liquorice. Water jazzed up and brightened the nose – crisp fruits, citrus, sherbet and Starburst (but with a thin hint of gym shoes). The reduced palate was fizzy, complex and unusual – ginger, nutmeg and clove spice, dark chocolate, honey, toffee, liquorice and elderflower, with tobacco and leather in the finish. From Carron’s only working distillery. 

Drinking tip: A contemplative, end-of-summer kind of dram – be sure to give it time 

Colour: Ginger gold                                          

Cask: Refill hogshead                                       

Age: 30 years                                       

Date distilled: December 1980

Alcohol: 53.5% 

$200

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Making candles in the art room

Cask No. 44.51                     

Highlands, Speyside 

Warm, dripping candlewax, maybe making candles by dipping wicks. Then the aroma quickly passes through leather cream, floor polish and furniture polish to crayons – a school art room – before revealing a scented dimension (bog myrtle?). We were all reminded of (happy) schooldays. At natural strength it tastes like it smells, with the addition of toasted tea-cake. A splash of water freshens and raises more fragrance – bog myrtle, sage, lemon grass and lemon peel – but the waxiness remains. Now the taste is sweet, smooth and waxy, with some spicy/herbal notes, light eucalyptus and scented sandalwood or cedar wood. Sir Peter Mackie once owned this distillery. 

Drinking tip: A school reunion, with good friends 

Colour: Pale gold                                              

Cask: Refill hogshead                                       

Age: 22 years                                       

Date distilled: October 1989

Alcohol: 53.7% 

$150

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Garry the tank commander 

Cask No. 127.13                   

Islay, Loch Indaal 

The boys thought of war-games: 303 gun oil, polished gun-stock, dead fireworks, cordite, bomb sites. The girls were at the play-ground: skinned knees and Elastoplast; matron’s cupboard, Germolene and Calomine lotion. Both parties came together when we tasted at full strength: “hit the dirt” was the cry – a mouthful of charcoal and every exposed part grazed… Water modifies it: flatter and softer, with smoke and salt – “flannelette sheets drying before a cottage fire”. The texture is smooth and the taste sweet then salty, with brown sauce and chips in old newspaper. A classic example from the Islay distillery which has yet to be built. 

Drinking tip: With a fish supper after a day’s mountain biking 

Colour: Mid gold                                               

Cask: Refill barrel                                            

Age: 8 years                                         

Date distilled: June 2002

Alcohol: 65.7% 

$85

Please visit the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America at www.smwsa.com for more information.