Late August 2016 Outturn Offerings
Cask No. 63.35 $220
Exotic fruits and polytunnel flowers
Speyside, Spey
Exotic fruits flattered our noses (mango, rhubarb tarts, cherry pies, sherbet lemons, jellied fruits) but it had interest and weight too – brown sugar, craft workshops, sandalwood and perfume samples in women’s magazines. Even more fruits arrived on the palate – strawberry, blackcurrant, kiwi, fig and plum – all held down to earth by deeper notes of fortified wine, dark chocolate, Strepsils and sugar-coated fennel seeds. The reduced nose was simply delightful – perfumed pear and elderflower sorbet and flowers in polytunnels. Lots to discover on the palate now too – honey sweetness balancing fruit and floral perfumed bitterness – we agreed it was elegant and rounded.
Drinking tip: A summer’s day in the garden, bees humming in the flowers.
Colour: Bright amber
Cask: Refill barrel
Age: 25 years
Date distilled: November 1989
Alcohol: 50.7%
USA allocation: 90 bottles
Flavour profile: Old & dignified
*President’s Choice*
Cask No. 1.200 $140
Enigmatic and masculine
Speyside, Spey
An interesting nose; floral, pot-pourri and grassy notes balanced fruitiness (pineapple, blackcurrant, raspberry, foamy bananas). We also discovered a contrapuntal interplay between sweetness (syrup sponge, white chocolate, vanilla, toffee) and charred oak and clove. The palate was muscular, powerful and tasty; masculine flavours of balsamic, aniseed, pepper and various toasted notes (hazelnut, coconut, pizza crust) slightly overshadowed the Madeira cake and fondant icing sweetness. The reduced nose brought sugar-coated fennel seeds and bicycle repair shops. The reduced palate was slightly enigmatic – we found stem ginger, walnut whips, and chocolate digestive biscuits – but unquestionably moreish – a good cask, and a good dram.
Drinking tip: Interesting and unusual enough to be a conversation piece – or just to provide some early evening distraction.
Colour: Sauternes
Cask: First-fill barrel
Age: 15 years
Date distilled: May 2000
Alcohol: 55.7%
USA allocation: 84 bottles
Flavour profile: Sweet, fruity & mellow
Cask No. 4.218 $145
A Little Warmth
Highland, Island
We all noticed, when pouring into the glass, the wonderful beads forming and lasting for a long time. The colour had a glow and so had the aroma; ember, aromatic charred wood, a freshly brewed steaming hot cup of nettle tea and making blackberry compote. The taste was herbal, salty, dry and quite some heat, but all in perfect balance with flavours of roasted chestnuts and dry cured Black Forest ham. Water brought out more sweetness like toasting marshmallows or caramelizing sugar on a Crème Brulee. The taste was soft and sweet, a Peach Melba with pistachio and almond caramel cream.
Drinking tip: When in need of a little warmth
Colour: Brass trumpet
Cask: First-fill barrel
Age: 16 years
Date distilled: October 1999
Alcohol: 55.9%
USA allocation: 90 bottles
Flavour profile: Spicy & sweet
Cask No. 42.19 $100
Smoke threatening the laundry
Highland, Island
Our noses detected laundry (wooden tubs, washboards, mangles) with lemon soap; some sweetness developed (lemon bonbons, Moffat toffees, Oddfellows) while smoke, coal bunkers and creamy goat’s cheese rolled in ash arrived later. Water highlighted the savoury, spicy notes – chilli onion jam, humbugs, cinnamon swirls and pork belly cooked with five-spice. The palate however, was big and smoky from the word go – wood ash, tar and carbolic; quite a bit of wood (sweet oak, old tarry ship’s timbers) with sweetness (Edinburgh Rock) that was sometimes deeper and darker (syrup of figs, liquorice, sherbet fountains, sweet and sour, soy sauce, char sui).
Drinking tip: Either while doing the laundry – or with a suitable book (Tales of Para Handy).
Colour: Lemony gold
Cask: Refill barrel
Age: 9 years
Date distilled: October 2006
Alcohol: 58.2%
USA allocation: 60 bottles
Flavour profile: Peated
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