I have to admit that – writing this after a good drenching on the most grotty Manchester day imaginable – the festive spirit has yet to grace Chorlton Whisky Towers with its presence. These new whiskies are full of the stuff though!
I generally try to select a good range of styles for each outturn (something for everyone, one hopes!), and this is about as diverse a trio as you can get. The prices have worked out really well on these too.
On y va!
First up we have a 17-year old Speyside. This is undisclosed single malt from Gl*nf*rcl*s matured in an oloroso hogshead – super-dark sherry perfect for the coming season!
On the nose we’re in a very oloroso place – with chocolate ganache, walnut cake, old metal toolboxes, chestnuts roasting over coal, tobacco and orange. I get some rum, fir branches and a drop of Worcestershire sauce too.
The palate is huge, with Dundee cake, ristretto, black cherry, treacle toffee and chocolate orange. The development is on toasted raisins, parsley oil, maple syrup and bitter orange.
Also worth mentioning that this takes dilution really well – it gets surprisingly clean and fruity, with apple pie, orange oil, toffee pennies and touches of menthol and hazelnuts popping up.
This oloroso hogshead produced 321 bottles at 55.8% and they are available for £75 each. Bargain!
Next up we have an 8-year-old Peallach, fully matured in a rioja barrique. This is basically Ledaig under a different name.
I know I’m on record as rarely approving of wine casks, but I like this one a lot. It’s nicely integrated (no dodgy last-minute finishing here), the cask’s not been too active, and Ledaig’s a robust spirit that can stand up for itself. It’s a really entertaining contrast with the very classical and elegant 18yo Ledaig from the last outturn too. Think of this one as the boisterous younger sibling!
So, on the nose: ashes and smouldering tarmac, very buttery pain aux raisins, bandages, salt and vinegar crisps, seawater and orange peel. In the background I get a curious mix of toasted black peppercorns, menthol, liquorice and cloves.
The palate is big, oily and really smoky. Charred lemons, dried Williams pears, morello cherries, black cardomom and black treacle. The finish is fantastically salty and ashy – one of those that you can still taste half an hour later.
Like the Speyside this also takes water really well – becoming softer and cleaner, with citrus, smoke and brine. Pure elemental Ledaig in other words.
This rioja barrique produced 293 bottles at 58.2%, and they are available for £65 each.
And last, but certainly not least, we have a 17-year-old Ben Nevis. Hector McDram rides again!
I’ve done a few different Nevises now, and they’ve all been completely different. This one’s certainly the most elegant and fruity of the bunch. The low-ish cask strength makes it an easy dram, but it’s also full of nuance and interest.
One the nose: this smells like Ben Nevis, which I know is a bit circular! Butter candy, ripe fruits (apple, peach, banana), lemon sherbets, fior di latte ice cream, shoe polish and soot. This really develops as it breathes, with mead, verbena, and elusive savoury touches emerging.
The palate is fab – fruity, funky, oily and mineralic. Oranges, plums, chalk, honeycomb, beeswax, and little bits of spearmint and chartreuse. The development is on green lemons, liquorice and salt – it feels super-precise and surprisingly coastal.
This bourbon barrel produced 285 bottles at 48.8%, and they are available for £95 each.
And…
…that’s it for now.
As the end of 2024 creeps nearer I’d like to take the opportunity to thank you for your continuing interest and support. It means a lot, really.
I’ll see you back here for the first outturn of 2025, but please do feel free to get in touch via any of the usual channels if I can be of assistance in the meantime.
Cheers!
David
