1 November 2012

Dear Client

There are fifteen (15) new bottlings under the OLD MALT CASK label – sorry about that! -– together with three (3) OLD & RARE as well as three (3) CLAN DENNY Old Grains and lastly 2 new DOUBLE BARREL releases being an Ardbeg/Glenrothes as well as a Ledaig/Bowmore.

Tasting Notes for OLD MALT CASK follow:

OMC 2215 Glenlivet 11 Year Old Sherry
Nose: Spiced & sweet + macerated dark fruits – vanilla syrup & toffee
Palate: Nutty with chewy barley – Scotch tablet – mocha &sweet spices
Finish: Camphor cough drops + muscovado sugar – grist + flamed orange. (F)

OMC 2217 Mannochmore 13 Year Old
Nose: Clean & fresh – grassy & spiced – peppery & malty
Palate: Big on the barley! citric – still grassy + butterscotch
Finish: Long – warmingly spiced +that same barley style(F)

OMC 2220 Laphroaig 14 Year Old
Nose: Tarry sweet – warmingly spiced – “bandaged” + iodine.
Palate: Opens soft & honey sweet – builds to intense ash-soot-peat.
Finish: Nicely “medicinal” distinctly phenolic spices –soot – and tar (F)

OMC 2204 Tamdhu 14 Year Old
Nose: Toffee’d and vanilla’d – citrus abounds – then oak & Malt too.
Palate: Massively sweet – treacle? + barley & maraschino cherry
Finish: Butterscotch-y – then expect subtle spices and soft oak. (F)

OMC 2218 Ben Nevis 16 Year Old Sherry
Nose: Big & fruity – aromatic & sweet –honey’d & spiced
Palate: Attractively sweet – both fruity and fudgy + late barley & smoke
Finish: Carries a spicy gristiness + warming camphor & more soft honey (F)

OMC 2208 Caol Ila 16 Year Old
Nose: Big and “Islay” in style – oily rags + phenols & rock pools
Palate: Smoked barley + soft peat + ash & a soft tarry quality.
Finish: Camphor style cough drops + chimney soot & spices. (F)

OMC 2169 Clynelish 16 Year Old
Nose: Sweetly barley’d – attractively spiced & vanilla’d – distinctly citrusy.
Palate: Now honey’d + spicy – mellowing to cedar, camphor and warm sugary.
Finish: Sweet cough drops with milk chocolate powder plus muscovado sugar. (F)

OMC 2197 Highland Park 16 YEAR OLD
Nose: Carries dark treacle, peat, salty ozone, cedar + trailing smoke
Palate: Phenolic with- iodine, leather, demerara sugar + more smoke
Finish: Maritime& leathery+ darkly spices – camphor &late treacle (F)

OMC 2209 Glentauchers 16 Year Old
Nose: Fresh and fruity – spiced/lightly oaked with sweet barley.
Palate: Citric sweet with juicy barley sugar, vanilla & Malt.
Finish: More barley + a sugared biscuit quality & late camphor. (F)

OMC 2207 Speyside 16 Year Old Sherry Finished
Nose: Warmingly spiced – sweetly fruited – now with demerara sugar
Palate: Lightly oaked -relatively dry – then catch barley sugar+ soft fruit
Finish: Back to the spices +a gristiness + caramel & now marshmallow !(F)

OMC 2203 Tormore 17 Year Old Nose: Sweet & buttery + vanilla & banana + smoke & spices Palate: Sweetly spiced now – distinctly vanilla’d + fruit & butterscotch Finish: Medium long – round & mellow + spicy toffee & sweet mocha (J)

OMC 2198 Macallan 18 Year Old Nose: Opens sweet & fuity – carrying a butter cream style + vanilla Palate: Still sweet & creamy + softly spiced running to vanilla tablet Finish: Smoothly honeyed + crunched sugar – in a more’ish style (J)

OMC 2205 Glenturret 18 Year Old
Nose: Carries fresh fruit and honey – warms to juicy barley, spices & oak.
Palate: Has a peppery tang – more oak + macerated fruit & molasses.
Finish: Spicy – still showing honey’d sweetness, malt and late camphor. (F)

OMC 2219 Linkwood 21 Year Old
Nose: Big – “beefy” – spicy with brown sugar – citrus & vanilla
Palate: More sweet spices with vanilla – sugar & barley.
Finish : Lightly oaked – still vanilla’d – nicely gristed + mocha. (F)

OMC 2216 Glen Mhor 30 Year Old
Nose: Clean and spiced + cedar, cappuccino, barley and vanilla.
Palate: Citric – smoked- toffee’d + a homebaked style (& peat?)
Finish: Carries burnt sugar – more spices – malt & trailing smoke. (F)

Tasting Notes for OLD & RARE:

OAR0182 St Magdelene 30 year old
On the nose detect a clean – fresh and herbal style which warms to barley , caramelised fruit (particularly peaches) and crème anglaise/ vanilla custard. Palatewise it is still sweet and herbal – being distinctly fruited, now in a macerated style, and carries warming spices together with toffee/fudge flavours. The finish remains fruity with that same peachy style plus molasses and demerara sugar- showing a late butterscotch and cereal based style. (F) – PLEASE NOTE – THIS ALSO HAS A MID NOVEMBER RELEASE

OAR0179 Port Ellen 35 year old
Opens in a softly subtle – yet self evidently Islay – style, then anticipate smoked barley-mocha-peat and a leathery belt combination. Palatewise it is initially light – but holding it opens it to soft tar, bonfire ash with more coffee and chocolate flavours which all run to a finish which is now more tarry – citric – sooty and phenolic. (F)

OAR0136 Bunnahabhain 37 year old Sherry
The nose is rich and heavily spiced and carries a marinated plums character with a polished oak quality. Still massively spiced on the palate, it now develops to dried fruit & nuts with an attractive oceanic style – lightly salted and softly peated. The finish is long, carries a dark chocolate quality and remains spicy with a ginger and pepper quality. (J)

CLAN DENNY Tasting Notes:

DEN0091 Port Dundas 34 year old
Burnt orange plus Scotch tablet sweet as the nose opens – detect also some soft oak and perfumed spices. Palatewise anticipate mouthcoating sweetness – in the style of sugary fudge, flambéed banana and sherbet – running to an equally all combining sweet finish with soft spices and floral notes off setting it. (F)

DEN0090 North of Scotland 38 year old
Screams Bourbon initially on the nose – it is so sweet and very vanilla’d – distinctly toffee’d and coffee’d in style. Early oak gives way on the palate to creamy and vanilla flavours – maybe even some citric pineapple and more toffee – then its (all too short finish) is candied, still creamy, softly spiced and buttery (F).

DEN0070 Dumbarton Bourbon 46 year old
Massively and sweetly spiced early on the nose – it then softens to a truly fruity mixed bag – beyond which detect sugar and light oak. The palate is BIG, still fructiferous but carries black coffee, sweet spices and vanilla flavours – all neatly (and too swiftly) replicated on the finish. (F)

That was a busy 6-7 weeks of tastings for Mr Fred – but he believes there are some real value-for-money younger, quality driven PROVENANCE bottlings – allied to some top end Malts, too many to itemise from OLD MALT CASK/DIRECTOR’S CUT and OLD & RARE … but they are – we believe – self-evident!

Yours faithfully

Fred Laing

Visit Douglas laing at www.douglaslaing.com