Dear Whisky Customers
Apologies that it has taken so long to get this newsletter out to you and the fact that it has gone back to basics. I was hoping that by now the blog section of the website would be up and running but unfortunately that is not the case. I hope you have had a chance to look at it because I think our designer Nick has done a fantastic job of it. I mean the whisky map is good fun. Another reason for the lateness of this newsletter is that I have been creating a database of all my whisky tasting notes, and as I have had to work through over 11 years of tastings it has taken a number of months.
Many of my early tasting notes were just hand written and some were frankly just rubbish, so a few of them had to be omitted. Anyway the plan is that each distillery will have its own page displaying the bottlings that we have in stock, an honest description written by me and possibly a link to my historical tasting notes. Yes I suppose that you could say that it is a vanity project, but I really wanted to do something with them, and sad as it may seem, tasting them has taken up a number of hours in that time and the artist in me see’s it as a valid body of work.
It’s probably not broad enough to warrant being turned into a book as the vast majority of my tasting are from the Independent sector and well if Malt Maniac’s can do why not us? I would like to think that it makes it appear that I know what I’m talking about. On that same subject I was having a chat with the Duncan Taylor rep recently because I hadn’t heard anything from her since well before Christmas and I was told that essentially I’m too demanding and that they really couldn’t do samples any more, and beside their bigger customers were quite happy to take their bottlings without the need to taste them first.
Now I have no problems with that state of affairs. I’m really happy that they are doing so well and obviously wish them well as they have over the years bottled some stunning drams, but equally they have bottled some not so stunning ones. Maybe you could say that I’m cutting my nose of to spite my face but I refuse to compromise my desire to only sell whisky that I consider merits a place on Gauntleys shelves. Rightly or wrongly I believe that is why you the customers continue to buy from us because that you know that if I recommend a whisky you know that it’s going to be worth drinking.
This obviously is not the first time I have heard this from an independent bottling company. I’ve been through this with a number of others and when those companies such as Dewar Rattray and James MacArthur are more than happy to send samples then I’ll continue to do my best to promote and sell their bottlings.
So coming back to the website! After having a long chat the other day with our web guy, what will happen is that I’ll post a blog about a new tasting and that will send an email to you and if it is say some new bottlings then it will probably direct you to the offer page on the website. Well I hope that’s what it will do, but I’ll obviously keep you posted as work progresses. Either way I urge you all to have a look around the site because, well, and I’m biased but it does look damn good, and from the feedback we have already received it is very easy to navigate around and of course we would welcome any suggestions or comments that you would like to make. Oh and you’ll have to excuse the picture of me that has been used, it’s quite an old one!!
Right, soap box bit over with. So on with the reviews, and there’s a lot to get through -
JIM MURRAYS WHISKY BIBLE 2011 WORLD WHISKY OF THE YEAR
As Jim says. “A blended scotch which has been sniffing around the top Bible award for a few years now. Recent bottlings had taken it that extra required step”.
I had been planning to taste this a few years ago when I was investigating blended whiskies, but I just never managed to get round to it, but now I have and it’s seriously good.
Ballantines 17 year old 43% (website price £45.61)
Tasted: Nov 2010
The nose opens with a lovely depth of rich, mature orange laced honey and creamy American oak. Excellent complexity with some gentle smoke, a hint of peat, iodine and a sprinkling of demarara sugar and cocoa powder. It’s a seriously malty nose with the sweet cereal/ grain note adding a touch of bite, but held in check by the malt. With time the oak moves into a serious caramelised caramel overdrive.
The soft, sweet malt hits the palate first followed by the creamy oak. Rich and weighty in the mouth with no shortage of demarara flecked fruit before some gentle peat arrives on the middle, before the malt, demarara, vanilla and cocoa wade back in. All the while the gorgeous honey creates a backdrop. The crisp, yet sweet grain can be sensed rather than tasted until the very end when it is accented by some dry wood spices and a suggestion of smoke. A beautifully crafted blend.
HAS THE RE-LAUNCH WORKED FOR THESE TWO?
Back in October of last year, Burn Stewart Distillers announced the re-launch of their single malt portfolio – Bunnahabhain, Tobermory, Ledaig and Deanston. Now these malts were to be bottled un-chillfiltered and at a higher alcoholic strength of 46.3%. This decision has to be commended but as three of the four are fully paid up member of the Axis of Evil I wondered if that would have a significant impact on the quality of those malts. Having had a Ledaig/ Tobermory tasting session fairly recently (October 2010) I wasn’t in a hurry to return to the scene of that crime! So I opted for the other two, and the results are below.
Bunnahabhain 12 year old 46.3% (website price £31.81)
Tasted: Dec 2010
The colour is a lot darker than the old 12 year old, and would indicate that more sherry butts have been used this time. The first sniff confirms that hypothesis – Slabs of malt and slightly sulphurous sherry wood, followed by damp earth and hints of high toned marc-like spirit trying to fight away through. Underneath some creamy vanilla can be detected and with time a sour apple note appears. Although it is less confected than the previous bottling, the delicate/ floral fruit has been sacrificed at the altar of the Oloroso god!
A soft entry with the sulphur tainted Oloroso holding the high ground, followed by damp earth and liquorice coated fruit. The flavours are pretty much all coming from the wood – bitter chocolate, treacle and spices. A touch of coastal character tries to assert itself and along with the addition of a bucketful of wood tannins really dries out the finish.
It’s a shame that they have been so heavy handed with the use of sherry butts as it really has compromised the distillery character at this age.
Deanston 12 year old 46.3%
Tasted: Nov 2010
The nose is as hard as nails with some floral acetone and hints of fruit and malt, but over time it becomes very farmyardy! The palate is hard and bitter. Industrial, alcoholic and lacking in malt, but not bitter oak. In fact it tastes like a cheap blend and is as rough as a badger’s doobry!
With water the nose is only slightly feinty but some hard honey and wood spice has now appeared. On the palate it has become sweeter with some cereal and honey, less industrial but the finish is eye wateringly bitter. One to be endured not enjoyed!
FOUR NEW BOTTLINGS FROM BENROMACH
I don’t get to see the rep for Gordon & MacPhail/ Benromach very often, but when I do it’s normally because there is something new to tell me about, which was about Gordon & MacPhails release of the 70 year old Mortlach, a mere snip at £10,000 a bottle and there is no surprise to say that I couldn’t get a sample of that! Of more relevance to me was the new bottlings in the Benromach range that he was also keen to tell me about. Although the 10 year old has been out for some time I hadn’t had an opportunity to taste it. Bourbon and sherry aged malt is vatted together and given a final maturation in sweet Oloroso casks, but the balance between the cask types is superb and add a lazy peat note and you have a very entertaining and well priced dram.
Benromach 10 year old 43% (website price £31.61)
Bourbon/Sherry – Finished in sweet Oloroso
Tasted: Nov 2010
The classic, light, grassy citrus spirit melds seamlessly with slightly leafy sherry. There are buckets of pure dark chocolate and hints of peat. Gently smoked with a hard/ brittle barley note.
Initially edgy and brittle on the palate with a hint of sweet orange and barley. The sherry sits in the background adding hints of coffee and chocolate. Quite oily with the lazy peat building but the coffee/ mocha theme continues. The oak gently bitters out the finish and ends with a pure cocoa bean finale.
The idea of the Origins range was to make a whisky from a single variety of barley, which would be matured in the same way in order to see what difference the varieties would have upon the finished product, so why did they decide to bottle a batch aged entirely in Port pipes? Surly that defies the whole object of the exercise? Anyway at least batch 3 is the logical follow on from the first batch. As I didn’t have a sample of the batch one to hand when I tasted these two new batched I can only summarise from my notes, and it would appear that the Optic Barley adds a distinct toffee’d malt character to the malt, whereas the golden promise would appear to be more toasted in character. It is possible that this toasty character could be down to a more heavily toasted cask, but either way I think that the golden promise batch is slightly more enjoyable in my opinion, but given the choice however I would reach for the 10 year old!
Benromach Origins 10 year old Batch 3 50%
Optic Barley
Re-fill Sherry
Dist: 2000 Btl: 2010
Tasted: Dec 2010
A huge, toffee overload! Followed by biscuity malt and crumbly shortbread, followed by more toffee and more malt. There is a vague smokiness, a touch of orange fruit and a lurking sherry presence, but the toffee gives it a right good kicking! A real enigma of a nose!
The palate is a tad lighter than the nose would suggest although it is still very toffee’d and malty. Thick and chewy, a veritable mouthful of malt! The alcohol attempts to balance and allows some hard citrus and wood spices through. Like the 10 year old the oak bitters out the finish.
A drop of water just about brings out some fruit on the nose and a slight cardboard note(?) On the palate it has become better balanced with the fresh citrus now keeping the toffee to a relative level. Even the grassy spirit comes through now delivering a metallic twang to the finish along with the bittering oak.
Benromach Origins 11 year old Batch 2 50%
Optic Barley
Port Matured
Dist: 1999 Btl: 2010
Tasted: Dec 2010
For a malt that has spent its entire life in port pipes it is surprisingly light in colour. The nose is very much like the Batch 3 – big and toffee’d with the spicy, winey notes being hammered by the toffee. Subtle it isn’t.
The palate however has a lightness of touch with eh earthy red fruit holding the high ground and the toffee lurking. Very oily and dry, there is no shortage of tannins here amongst the spicy/ peppery wine notes. Good length with wine moving into a Turkish delight/ rose petal/ old (slightly musty?) Bordeaux dénouement and like before the oak bittering out the finish.
Water makes the nose a lot more high toned and winey, but doesn’t really affect a huge change upon the palate, although it’s a bit softer and a touch vague now.
Benromach Origins 1999 (9 year old) Batch 1 50%
Golden Promise Barley
Re-fill Sherry
Dist: 1999 Btl: 2008
Tasted: Sept 2008
A 9 year old spirit, matured in a combination of first and second fill sherry casks, lightly peated to 4ppm.
The nose has an initial buttery note along with floral influences, followed by a prominent toasted malt note with subtle sherry notes in the background. The palate starts creamy and becomes very sweet with the heavily toasted malt influences along with a very delicate smoky nuance. Mouth watering, balanced and complex.
With water the nose displays a distinct sweetness with heavy malt notes, delicate orange peel and some smoke whilst on the palate it brings out a peppery note.
Benromach Peat Smoke Batch 3 46% (website price £30.59)
Tasted: Nov 2010
Apparently the head hocho of Benromach thought that the Batch 2 was too Islay in character, so they chose spirits with a lower peating level for this bottling……. And, well they’ve failed! It’s still quite coastal and phenolic with more than a passing reference to Caol Ila. It does seem a lot younger than the previous two bottlings with a touch of rose petal marc. However there is no shortage of crisp, briny fruit, orange, cereal and butterscotch oak. So quality wise they definitely haven’t failed!
The palate opens with the creamy fruit, cereal and barley before the brine and peat gets into gear. Definitely not a monster but the peat is the dominant theme and builds in a distinctly controlled manner. Just this side of wild and youthful (actually quite ferocious by Benromach’s normal sedate standards) with a lovely burst of pepper on the middle. Very long with a rock salt finish.
MARCH BOTTLINGS FROM DEWAR RATTRAY
Dewar Rattray Glen Grant 1993 (17 year old) 55.6% (website price £55.88)
Bourbon Cask 121916
Dist: 1993 Btl: 2011
Tasted: Feb 2011
A soft, yet granity hard nose of botanical laced honey with plenty of crisp barley. The honey has a lovely depth and complexity (manuka and orange blossom?) but is bone hard, yet given time it starts to reveal a perfumed edge. The oak sits pleasantly in the background.
The palate is slightly sweet with a malty entry before the brittle barley and honey arrives. Together with the piquant alcohol it does dry out the middle somewhat. Lovely length however with a herbal/ botanical feel. Again the oak is unobtrusive and sits in the background.
With water the nose has become possibly a touch more perfumed and a lovely nectarine note appears. It also emphasises the creaminess of the oak. The palate has become subtler or maybe a touch insubstantial but it is still pleasantly soft and more citrus in character. The oak has become slightly sawdusty now and some wood spices are noticeable and the length is still good. In conclusion Dewar Rattray has bottled some very good mid-teens Glen Grant’s over the years and this is the most highland-esque granity one to date!
Dewar Rattray Glengoyne 1998 (12 year old) 46%
Sample at cask strength 58%
Bourbon Cask 1289
Dist: 1998 Btl: 2011
Tasted: Feb 2011
Not a particularly inviting nose of burnt caramel. It’s oddly spirity and a bit on the plasticy side. In fact it reminds me of Deanston! Edgy, a touch dirty and with a very strong metallic note.
The palate is oily and viscous, again that burnt caramel which I can only assume is the oak mingles with some metallic notes. It’s pretty industrial stuff and unpleasantly astringent with some leafy/ nettly notes at the finish.
With a drop of water (approximately what it will be like at 46%)
Less burnt caramel but no real improvement.
Dewar Rattray Aultmore 1982 (28 year old) 56.1% (website price £79.55)
Bourbon cask 2214
Dist: 1982 Btl: 2011
Tasted: Feb 2011
A suburb nose of herbal mature honey, which has an almost light sherry dénouement. The depth of dusty, liquid honey is sublime and hidden within are some delightful almost rye like grains and crisp barley. The American oak begins to assert itself adding some white chocolate and light coffee notes with time and finally a slight floral note appears. Beautifully balanced and harmonious.
The palate also displays a lovely balance between the mature honey and crunchy barley with the oak coming through in waves of mature vanillins and is only stopped by the piquant alcohol. The mid palate is awash with leafy/herbal/menthol notes and the honey reappears, finishing with a slight perfume. Gorgeously deep and mature!
Water brings out a lovely Satsuma/ orange note on the nose, whilst the palate becomes exceedingly juicy. The mouth becomes coated in a lovely honey/ oak combination. The oak does bitter out the finish a touch and leaves behind a heavy-ish wood spice after taste, so again I opt to take it neat.
Dewar Rattray Caol Ila 2000 (10 year old) 46% (website price £45.75)
Sample at cask strength 63.2%
Bourbon Cask 309530
Dist: 2000 Btl: 2011
Tasted: Feb 2011
Nose hair curlingly pungent, alcoholic, coastal and phenolic! Definitely in the more robust modern style of Caol Ila (like the distillery 12 year old). Butch and rubbery with hints of kipper and medicinal peat. With time some Ardbeg-esque burnt wood and earth appear. Stunning stuff!
The palate is intense and a pure sooty peat overload. Dusty peat briquettes and alcohol makes the eyes water! Damn that is alcoholic! Neat this is definitely one for the S&M freaks amongst you. After the alcohol has subsided it leaves a slightly minty citrus note but the combination of soot and salt coat the mouth and definitely dries it out!
With a drop of water (approximately what it will be like at 46%)
To be honest there is not much change to the nose well apart from the fact that the aromas are less alcoholic that is! Maybe it’s not quite as butch now and it allows the juicy citrus fruit to emerge from the peat. The palate is a lot softer but no less sooty! There’s absolutely no let up in the peat. This is a real peat monster! Superb length and like the nose maybe not quite as butch or as oily as the distillery 12 year old, but damn it’s awesome!
Dewar Rattray Glencadam 1990 (20 year old) 58.1% (website price £51.54)
Bourbon Cask 5987
Dist: 1990 Btl: 2011
Tasted: Feb 2011
A crisp and intense nose of lemon and lime fruit liberally sprinkled with icing sugar. Stunningly fresh for its age with hints of grass and undertones of pineapple, banana and ultra clean creamy oak. I don’t think I’ve come across a Glencadam that is this fresh and edgy although with time it does start to show its age with a touch of delightfully mature honey.
The palate is awash with the trade mark distillery tropical fruit character. Some lazy spice and alcohol drift in but the gentle honey just glides down the throat. This is superb. Crisp barley and some citrus fruit balances and it shows just a hint of grassiness. Very long with the pineapple and banana returning. Awesome!
Water freshens the nose up even more and there is more mature honey evident now along with more brittle barley. The palate is softer and grassier now and as the honey and oak retreats it allows the edgy barley room to shine. Quite sherberty now and less full and the botanical heavy finish does seem to give the impression that this cask has been bottles in the nick of time. Once again I would opt to drink this neat.
Dewar Rattray Tamnavulin 1989 (21 year old) 57.4%
Bourbon Cask 1750
Dist: 1989 Btl: 2011
Tasted: Feb 2011
The nose opens with a slightly dirty, earthy, malty-coffee aromas followed by some lanolin. I don’t think this has been matured in the best of casks as there are a few off-wood notes. What fruit there was has become a bit raisinated and is crushed by the old buttery oak – and that is the overriding theme.
The palate is old, oily and full of lanolin and yet more old wood notes. The alcohol is tart and botanical and the finish is bitter and a bit dirty. It seems like both oak and spirit are extremely tired.
Dewar Rattray Miltonduff 1980 (30 year old) 44.5%
Bourbon cask 12427
Dist: 1980 Btl: 2011
Tasted: Feb 2011
An old, woody and acerbic nose. Quite murky yet underneath some lightly herbal, juicy fruit lurks beneath some buttery aftershave like oak. It would appear that a poor quality cask has spoilt some good spirit.
The palate is not as murky as the nose but the fusty old wood grips the spirit in a vice like embrace. Almost industrial and the fleeting glimpse of fruitiness and heatheriness again confirms ones suspicions about the quality of the oak. Shame.
Dewar Rattray Craigellachie 2002 (8 year old) 60.1%
Re-Fill Sherry 900073
Dist: 2002 Btl: 2011
Tasted: Feb 2011
A very spirity nose, somewhat akin to acetone mingled with sulphur tainted cask notes. Good grief there are alcoholic/ botanical notes all over the place. It’s like a Sauvignon on steroids with a latent, rather nasty metallic edge. All a bit of a mess to be honest.
The palate is sweet, sugary and sulphured before the alcohol wades in and then it’s bye-bye taste buds! Grubby and confected with a sugary marc like finish. Water makes not one iota of change!
Dewar Rattray Blended Malt Batch 001 55.8% (website price £56.78)
Sherry
Tasted: Feb 2011
This is a vatted malt (under old terminology) of four single sherry casks (at least 19 year old) representing the regions of Scotland: Auchentoshan 1991, Balblair 1990, Benriach 1989, Bowmore 1991 - These four sherry butts were vatted and then married together for a further 9 months maturation in Benrinnes sherry hogsheads.
A thick and unctuous nose of dried fruits and liquorice saturated sherry. The Bowmore adds a hint of peat and smoke, whilst the Benriach adds some citrus/ grassy note. Mellow and gentle with a lovely malty depth and complexity. The balance between grape and grain is excellent
The palate is soft and quite smoky. Coal and peat dust is definitely the dominant theme. The sherry casks add boldness and weight but never go out of balance. I think this blend works really well - Some late citrusy Benriach punctuates the peat but the other two malts are there to add weight and flesh it out as the Bowmore takes centre stage. The palate is possibly a tad less complex than the nose but that’s splitting hairs really. The alcohol is very well integrated and I would avoid the addition of water as it becomes a bit confected.
NOVEMBER BOTTLINGS FROM DEWAR RATTRAY – STILL IN STOCK
Inchgower 1974 (36 year old) 56.4% (website price £108.95)
Bourbon Cask 1624
The edgy brittle barley and minerality of this dram keeps the gorgeously mature honey in its place. With time the herbal element begins to show and evolve as does hints of damp earth/ loam, green cardamom, wet honeysuckle and coffee bean. A really interesting and exemplary nose.
Like the nose it is edgy and brittle to begin with before the herbal laced honey wades in. Juicy and mature with plenty of mouth watering alcohol, but the herbalness returns and the gorgeous honey is flecked with hints of white liquorice and wood spice. As the honey peters out the gorgeous old oak keeps the flavours rocking!
With water I swear the honey has become thicker and deeper – Stunning! The palate is glorious, the alcohol nip has obviously been reduced but it releases plenty of spicy white fruit, herbs and liquorice root. Ok, the honey does expire quite quickly now but the void is filled with a veritable bucketful of spices.
Tomintoul 1967 (43 year old) 44.3% (website price £126.59)
Bourbon Cask 3557
Quite a reserved nose, yet joyously fruity – apricot, tangerine and tropical fruit with some brittle honey and granity notes. With time some camphor and lime emerges and the honey begins to assert itself as does the creamy oak. All in all it’s pretty laid back and mellow.
Gorgeously soft on the palate. Silky and fruity, just like the nose. There’s plenty of malt, barley and brittle honey joined by a lazy marzipan note and a herbal accented middle. The alcohol gently nips at the end, finishing with that highland-esque granity character. A dram to contemplate!
NEW BOTTLINGS FROM RAYMOND & JAMES MACARTHUR
Bladnoch Forum Aultmore 1982 (28 year old) 53.5%
Sherry (?) Hogshead 2216
Dist: 1982 Btl: 2010
Tasted: Dec 2010
This is an odd nose. It starts with earthy, fern like sherry aromas before turning into an oily Grappa! Slightly musty and dirty with some vanillins and mature honey trying to come through but ultimately failing.
The palate is rigid and tart. Musty with old grass and distant honey. Again it seems like a vapid and dirty alcoholic Grappa which departs the building in a furtive hurry leaving a fusty old wood finish.
With water it sort of tames the nose a bit allowing some oily orange fruit out but that mustiness is all pervasive. On the palate the spirit creaks and dies. Once upon a time the spirit was probably pretty good but alas the wood definitely wasn’t.
Bladnoch Forum Cambus 1986 (24 year old) 52.7%
Bourbon Hogshead 18989
Dist: 1986 Btl: 2010
Tasted: Dec 2010
Yee-Haw! We’re definitely in buttery oaksville! – Toffee, caramel and maybe a hint of mature honey. The herbal-grain note attempts to assert itself, but the interesting thing is that the spirit really doesn’t show any maturity at all.
The palate however is a complete reversal of the nose with the grain starting to move into a Guyana rum-like rancio, but again the spirit seems to have been immune to the passing of time! Finally the oak arrives just as the alcohol dries out the finish.
With water the aromas and flavours are simplified into grain spirit and oak. 10 out of 10 for the cleanliness of spirit and wood but 0 out of 10 for complexity.
Bladnoch Forum Inchgower 1982 (28 year old) 50.7% (website price £58.80)
Bourbon Cask 6966
Dist: June 1982 Btl: Aug 2010
Tasted: Nov 2010
A lightly oiled, dense nose of granity hard, crisp honey with a mature wood edge. Elegant and gorgeous with oodles of crumbly spices and beautifully clean oak. With time some almost grainy botanical notes emerge along with hints of parma violets before moving in a cognac-esque rancio direction. Wow! This is seriously complex stuff, each nosing brings out a new aroma.
The palate is light a fight in a sweet shop. Confected yes, but not cloying. There’s a touch of parma violets, Turkish delight and sherbert but the granity honey and botanical notes stop it become overly sweet. The honeyed theme continues right to the end.
Water makes the nose redolent of pure, honey coated breakfast cereal! Whilst on the palate it emphasises the creamy oak, which in turn does bitter out the finish a bit. So I would opt to drink it neat.
James MacArthur Old Masters Glen Ord 12 year old 45%
Bourbon
Tasted: Nov 2010
An extremely youthful nose full of gristy cereal and clean marc aromas. There’s some nascent honey and a slight white flower note but this is far too young to have been bottled.
The palate is not as youthful as the nose suggests but it is still young. There’s some pleasant honey and spices but the cask has imparted virtually no vanillins. If it was me I would have racked this into first fill quarter casks, which would have at least given it a blast of oak. The alcohol is also quite intrusive, adding water brings out the malt and cereal on the palate and it is pleasant and inoffensive, but not worth £38.
James MacArthur Old Masters Mortlach 14 year old 45%
Bourbon
Tasted: Nov 2010
A rather reticent nose. And I would suspect another whisky aged in a well used cask, although unlike the Glen Ord there is a touch of vanilla on the nose along with some perfumed honeyed fruit, cereal and dunnage notes. Actually with time it becomes extremely perfumed. Underneath there are hints of maturing brittle honey and the oak is beginning to turn sawdusty.
On the palate it seems a lot younger. Slightly honeyed fruit with some grist and malt, but it’s the youthful cereal and slight marc note that dominates. Good length though with a touch of coffee in the finish. Once again the alcohol is quite intrusive and like the nose very little wood interaction. Adding water it becomes a light, crisp, Spey. Pleasant if a touch evanescent.
James MacArthur Old Masters Bowmore 10 year old 45%
Bourbon
Tasted: Nov 2010
A slightly oily, fishy, briny nose with a whiff of turpentine/ acetone, which would indicate the cut was probably taken a bit soon along with some youthful marc notes thrown in for good measure. It’s also a bit dirty, but those notes kind of get caught up in the woody –peat notes.
The palate opens with the youthful marc notes along with a touch of violet and rose water followed by some oily peat and fishy notes. Again a few more years in the oak might have helped remove those off notes. Some late coal dust puts in an appearance at the end, but like the other bottlings it shows no real cask interaction.
James McArthur Old Masters Caol Ila 1995 (14 year old) 58.4% (website price £58.95)
Sherry cask 10042
Dist: 1995 Btl: 2010
Tasted: Dec 2010
The nose opens with the delicate sweet but light sherry cask infused with a classic, bog myrtle peat reek along with no shortage of coastal notes. This is a lovely nose. Complex, fresh and balanced with some high toned youthful spirit notes. With time it becomes quite dusty with hints of aniseed and all spice appearing.
The palate follows the same path as the nose with the sherry cask to begin with, followed by some gentle peat and lashings of salt. Seriously coastal on the middle and although the abv is in the high 50’s it is quite drinkable neat even if it the flavour do gravitate somewhat to the side of the mouth. Again lovely balance and maturity with a sooty finish.
With water the leafy/ bog myrtle islay character is more prevalent. Really rounded and quite malty now with a touch of orange and pink grapefruit before some burnt ember and wood spice notes appear. Superb complexity! The palate again shows more distillery character and with the alcohol subdued the middle is delightfully fruity and really well balanced.
TWO NEW BOTTLINGS FROM BLADNOCH
Bladnoch 18 year old 55%
Oloroso Sherry
Tasted: Feb 2011
A big, slightly perfumed nose of leafy first-fill Oloroso. Lovely complexity with sweet dried fruits, brown sugar and molasses. With time a gun smoke (sulphur?) note creeps in along with some blood orange and iron like notes. The citrus starts to become a touch butyric however and a slight soapiness is now evident. What isn’t evident is any distillery character though.
The palate is juicy and leafy, with no shortage of herbal notes, tannins and alcohol. It’s a bit on the tart side with that gun smoke note hovering just on the edge of sulphurousness. Very dry finish with again no distillery character and a finish that become a touch confected.
Water pushes the cask back on the nose but not enough to let any spirit character show through, still the gun smoke/ sulphur note lingers at the edge of perception. On the palate it does emphasises that blemish though and it’s still pretty tannic and dry.
Bladnoch Lightly Peated 8 year old 56% (website price £36.26)
Tasted: Feb 2011
The nose is more subtly peated than the last bottling. It displays a greater earthy character with a slight mentholated note. Quite robust with some burnt wood notes. Actually given some time the peat aromas really build in intensity. Very complex with hints of light coffee and toasty vanilla but some citrus fruit is beginning to shine through. With more time a delicious honeyed fruit note appears and the spirit seems to be showing a maturity beyond its years.
The palate is more like its real age with hints of rose petal marc, crisp barley, grass and citrus. The peat is more subservient than on the nose – almost ethereal. Piquant alcohol cleanses the palate and leaves behind some coastal glazed fruit and the crisp, almost mentholated citrus. Good length with the light peat lingering on the edge of the tongue.
Water pushed the earthy peat back on the nose allowing more of the oily spirit to show. The density had increased and it’s less overtly fruity but a lovely floral note has appeared. The palate, like the nose has become more oily and dense. Again the peat is delicate, but very pure and the finish has a really delightful peppery/ spiciness along with a sweetly floral after taste.
RE-EVALUATED BOTTLINGS
Glencadam 15 year old 46% - Distillery Bottling (website price £45.32)
Tasted: Nov 2010
The last time I tasted this I wasn’t impressed. The wonderful tropical fruit of the 10 year old had been lost beneath the hobnail boot of the oak. And this bottling follows a similar path but the luscious tropical apricot, banana and honeydew melon stands up this time to the sawdusty oak. The balance on the palate is also considerably better opening with the tropical fruits before the creamy oak lazily wanders in abetted by some lovely honeyed/ malty moments.
Macallan Fine Oak 15 year old 43% (website price £43.25)
European and American Sherry/ American Oak
Tasted: Nov 2010
Quite a perfumed and floral nose with some distinct rose petal marc notes. There is plenty of American oak, spice and juicy barley aromas, which keep the sherry well and truly locked down. With time it becomes quite peppery and develops hints of demerara sugar and smoke. Very appealing.
The palate is luscious with sweet barley and American oak dominating the proceedings to begin with, but the crisp barley ticks the natural, oily caramel into touch on the middle. Quite piquant and lively with some lovely edgy spices and only the merest hint of some sherry. Lovely bitter/ sweet balance as the oak returns. A serious lip smacking finish. Who needs mountains of sherry?
Nikka Miyagikyo 10 year old 45% (website price £58.16)
Bottling Code: 06J04A
Tasted: Nov 2010
A touch high toned to begin with but this is followed by waves of lovely dried fruit, orange conserve and hints of gooseberry(?) and greengage(?). It has a gorgeous freshness to the sherry with plenty of coffee-spice notes.
The palate is soft and gentle with a lovely complexity of dried fruit – sultana, raisin, figs and cinnamon which moves into a malty liquorice middle. Superbly fresh with a lifting peat smoke note on the finish. Really complex on the palate with a pure coal scuttle finish. It seems a lot peatier and the quality is a lot better than when I last tasted it.
NOTES FROM AN INTERESTING NOVEMBER TASTING
Well call me Max Mosley and spank my ass! Well I must be an S&M devotee to want to taste this lot, with the exception of the Black Bottle, which I’ve always thought was very good value for money. However after tasting this bottling it goes to show that batch variation is a big issue with these high volume blends. Anyway getting back to the point!
Every now and then one has the desire to slum it in the nether reaches of the whisky world, no, only kidding! I think Famous grouse or maybe Teachers was the first whisky I encountered back when I was a lot younger, and to say I disliked it would have been an understatement, but it’s always good to go back and re-evaluate bottlings from time to time and give them a fair crack of the whip, so to speak. So I did, and well they are what they are – cheap blends, no better or worse than others. The Cameron Brig grain was as expected but the Black bottle was very disappointing and please don’t get me started on that travesty that is called Scottish Leader. Thankfully after that the quality of the malts we tasted that evening improved dramatically!
Cameron Brig 40%
Cameronbridge Grain
The nose is one dimensional – oak and young-ish sharp grain. The palate I think has been flattened by caramel. Nondescript and sweet.
Snow Grouse 40%
Chill Filtered Blended Grain
A soft, creamy nose with sweet grain, botanical and oak. Reminds me of an oak aged Vodka. Not as smooth on the palate as the grain shows a bit more bite. There is a bit of oak but it starts to become a bit sickly sweet before the botanicals arrive. A bit lacking in the flavour department, but it has been designed to be a mixer. Slightly harsh, bitter finish.
Famous Grouse 40%
An ever so slightly fusty nose followed by damp caramelised grain. There is a slight thread of smoke and some sherry. The palate is flat and caramelised. More grain than anything else, but it’s thin and innocuous stuff. The minimal malt component gives it no body whatsoever, and again it finishes rather bitter.
Black Grouse 40%
It seems to have an impression of greater age than the Famous Grouse. Rounded and soft, it has an air of Bunnahabhain about it. Still a bit simple and grainy but the peat smoke gives it some character. The palate opens with the smooth, crisp grain, but the peat smoke dominates (probably not a bad thing!). The malt has a tad more presence but not enough to give it a real density and thus it feels rather watery. Again like the other two bottlings it has a bitter finish.
Black Bottle 40%
Definitely more floral grain on the nose and less malt than I remember. There’s some pleasant Coal Ila, fresh citrus, but………. Where’s the peat gone? The palate opens with the young grain and finally there is a hint of almost medicinal peat along with a lazy Ardbeg malty/ fruit sweetness. However the palate is a bit all over the shop and the malt disappears rapidly and leaves behind the botanical grain and its pretty hard grain at that.
Scottish Leader 15 year old 40%
The nose has some pleasant fruity moments with a hard/ industrial Dufftown-esque malt feel. A touch of wood and some dried fig/ sultana aromas appear with time. The palate is flat, industrial and innocuous. Some oak tries it’s best to break through the caramel and the grain comes through at the death. Give the bottle a shake and see how much caramel they have used, it’s frightening!
FOUR OLD MALT CASK BOTTLINGS
Many years ago as some of you may remember we used to stock some of the OMC range, but we stopped not because of any quality issues, but that they insisted that we purchased full cases. Now back then that was a big issue as we were happy with those that didn’t place that restriction upon us, nowadays that wouldn’t be an issue but as I’m more than happy with the Independents that we do stock, coupled with the fact that you can find OMC bottlings all over the place I don’t feel the need to re-visit the past. However it is always good to taste what they are bottling and if I’m looking for an interesting bottle myself I often pick up one of these or one from their Douglas McGibbons Provenance range.
So after the masochistic blends it was good to get on and taste something a bit less hard work, although the Lochside wasn’t exactly a stroll in the park!
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Glen Ord 1990 (18 year old) 50%
Bourbon Hogshead DL4705
Dist: Mar 1990 Btl: Oct 2008
Tasted: Nov 2010
Faintly phenolic with a touch of marc-like rose petals and pepper. Briny and rather peated for an Ord with some underlying malty sweetness. The oak adds some burnt toffee and barbequed banana. The palate is fresh, young and tingly. Again slightly phenolic with some oily tropical banana, spice and plenty of alcohol. Oooh this is getting very oily and very spicy, there’s even a touch of grist too. I think this could have aged for years. Lovely length with a malty, barley finish.
A drop of water brings out some grassy citrus notes and some lovely crisp barley. The palate has become more malty with a touch of brittle honey. It just keeps rumbling along in its own world of sugar and spice coated fruit. Yum!
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Lochside 1991 (18 year old) 50%
Bourbon Hogshead DL6303
Dist: Oct 1991 Btl: Oct June 2010-11-30
Tasted: Nov 2010
Quite a botanical and grassy nose. In fact it could almost be a grain (which it can’t be as the grain stills were removed in the mid 1970’s). There’s some hard citrus with brittle honey and a touch of earthiness. The palate is hard, crisp and botanical with hints of straw and hay. It’s a bit evanescent and destroyed by the alcohol. Hot, burning finish. Trying to see through the alcohol there might be some soft sweetness but who knows.
With water a very, slight, subtle orange note appears, whilst on the palate there is more oak and that sweetness does come through but it hasn’t changed the hard, grainy character., thus making it very hard going.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Highland Park 1996 (13 year old) 50%
Bourbon Cask DL5732
Dist: Sept 1996 Btl: Jan 2010
Tasted: Nov 2010
Faintly phenolic and briny with some fishy and rubbery notes. A very pleasant nose which develops a touch of wood, honey, lavender and bung cloth. The palate is pretty fruity, almost tropical in character – banana, papaya and apricot, followed by the salinity, fish, honey, heather and spicy notes. Soft, yet not lacking in intensity and a long heather-honey finish.
With water the nose becomes very gristy with a bucketful of malty sweetness. It’s very fruity for a Highland park. The palate now revels in its icing sugar coated tropicalness. Less phenolic now and the oak does bitter out the finish a touch but it leaves a lovely mocha after taste. A superb bourbon casked Highland park and a definite exception to the rule!
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 1992 (16 year old) 50%
Sherry Butt DL4825
Dist: Apr 1992 Btl: Jan 2010
Tasted: Nov 2010
For its age the nose is quite youthful. Damn phenolic as you would expect with menthol and medicinal peat notes overlaying the really heavy chocolate/ cocoa cask notes. The palate opens with an avalanche of dry, duty, phenolic peat and malt followed by the cask sweetness and alcohol. It’s an intense mouth watering ride. Excellent length with hints of menthol and bog myrtle in the finish and a pure peat dust after taste.
With water it all goes horribly wrong. It has metamorphosed into a sweet, sickly and seriously confected mess.
TWO NEW DUTCH OFFERINGS
Millstone 8 year old ‘American Oak’ 43% (website price £56.82)
First Fill American oak
Dist: 2000 Btl: 2009
Tasted: Feb 2011
Initially quite high toned with a serious hit of pure and complex new American oak aromas – This is an object lesion in the aromas that oak imparts to a spirit, such as lactones (oaky/ coconut), phenolic aldehydes (vanillins), lignin (pure vanilla pod), carbohydrate decomposition products such as fufurals (almond and caramel). The oak however is not the over riding theme as there are some under ripe banana and fleshy sub-tropical fruit along with an edgy, almost rye like note which imparts a crispness to the aromas and balances the oak. With time some lovely perfumed orange and spice.
The palate opens with the pure vanilla, almonds, sweet vanilla and delicate butter notes, the vanilla builds into a pure crème brulee. The crisp spirit comes through on the middle with enough of a bite to balance the oak sweetness. Lovely length with some slightly tropical fleshy fruit following on and finishing with a grassy/ spicy flourish.
Millstone 8 year old ‘French Oak’ 40%
Dist: 2000 Btl: 2009
Tasted: Feb 2011
A heavy, oily and densely woody nose. Slightly murky with some lanolin and grilled nut aromas. Then some eastery, high toned notes emerge but the oak clamps down quickly. There is an impression that beneath the oak there is some delicate fruit but the reality is that the oak is still taking more than it is imparting and although interesting I would give it a few more years yet.
The palate is full, robust and oily with toasted nuts and a touch of burnt brown sugar. The oils increase but then the oak suddenly stops dead and leaves the crisp, underweight grassy spirit exposed. Very odd to say the least with a rather bitter finish. Tasting backs up my impression that this needs more integration time.
GENERAL ROUND UP
Glenrothes 1991 (17 year old) 43% - Distillery Bottling
Bourbon
Dist: Sept 1991 Btl: 2008
Tasted: Nov 2010
The nose is somewhat murky, hard and industrial. It’s definitely not the best Glenrothes I’ve come across. It has some mature, light honey, cinnamon, star anise and oak but it gets rather high tones and acetone like. The palate is very much like the nose with the addition of some sulphur, probably from the still given that it has been bourbon matured. The alcohol is hard and intrusive and the overwhelming murkiness is distinctly unpleasant. Maybe it’s a rouge bottle because Glenrothes shouldn’t taste like this.
Glenkinchie 59.3%
Distillery Only Bottling, bottled 2010
Amontillado Cask?
Tasted: Nov 2010
I would guess that the majority of the spirit in this bottle has spent its entire life in an ex-Amontillado cask as that’s what all the aromas consist of. A really clean nose with all the nutty, sweet, spicy notes that you would expect sans distillery character! The palate is very much the same. The alcohol masks the finish just allowing the oak to bitter out at the end. Water doesn’t change much to be honest. It’s fine if you like this type of dram. Personally I’d stick with the standard distillers edition.
Caol Ila 12 year old 43% (website price £38.95)
Tasted: Nov 2010
Quite full and oily aromas with a lovely balance between the phenolic peat, fat apricot, slightly sweet orange and white fruits, salinity and oak. Definitely fatter and broader since I last nosed it (years ago!) with hints of juniper, bog myrtle, fish oils and some lovely sugar coated slightly gristy barley.
The palate opens with the oils before gently smoky, phenolic peat arrives with a touch of TCP on the middle. Like the nose the palate is broader than it used to be, but is still seriously coastal, with some lovely malty moments in the finish before the salt returns leaving a faint impression of burnt embers.
Linkwood 12 year old 43% (website price - £41.82)
Diageo Flora & Fauna Bottling
Tasted: Dec 2010
A crisp, clean nose of slightly honeyed fruit with hints of vanilla custard, grass and citrus. Full and robust with a slight mineral note. With time the honey takes on a lovely maturity.
Soft and gentle on the palate, like the nose it is quite full and pleasantly honeyed with an abundance of natural vanilla custard and lovely, soft, fleshy/ grassy apricot and apple fruit along with hints of unsweetened pineapple. Lovely long finish with a granity/ mineral finish.
Gordon & MacPhails Dallas Dhu 1982 (27 year old) 40% (website price £73.48)
Dist: 1982 Btl: 2009
Tasted Dec 2010
A crisp, earthy nose of gently honeyed fruit with herbal nuances, overlaying a lovely malty core. For it’s age it seems almost youthful with crisp barley and a touch of floral orange, complimented by some sawdusty oak.
Soft and juicy on the palate. A lovely depth of unassuming light honey and orange fruit along with hints of vanilla and wood spices. Good length with a slight candied/ sherberty/ icing sugar coating to the fruit and a touch of mocha on the finish. It really seems like it’s only in its mid teens.
Amrut Fusion 50%
Tasted: Dec 2010
A blend of unpeated Indian malted barley and peated Scottish malted barley. Distilled separately.
The nose is not as sweet and sickly and a lot better balanced than the 40% Amrut I tasted awhile ago. It’s quite young with plenty of clean, peppery, marc notes. With time it does become sweeter with some sweet barley and almost sherried fruits; although I believe that no sherry casks are used. With time hints of dusty orange and briny peat.
The palate is full and oaked. The coastal peat character is more up front and followed by the sweet barley. It’s a touch on the fiery side but that is tempered to a certain extent by the chocolatey malt. Gently smoked with a very peppery middle similar to Talisker crossed with a sort of Bunnahabhain floral character. The piquant alcohol masks the finish somewhat but there is plenty of dry peat and marc notes in the after taste.
With water the oak retreats on the nose allowing more of the peat and chocolate orange notes to emerge, although it does become sort of vague-ish. On the palate it is however it becomes a bit watery and the finish reminds me of pot pourri! An entertaining dram as long as you avoid water.
Rowans Creek 50.05% (website price £37.74)
Batch 09-123
Tasted: Dec 2010
A big corn coated nose with no shortage of sweet oak and coffee syrup. Beneath the rye gently nips. Very polished with a sweet violet note and a touch of earthiness.
The palate leads in with the subtle sweet corn and oak, shot through with hints of light molasses and treacle. Soft, yet edgy rye grains and spices just about balance it out before the oak rumbles on with a pure marzipan middle. The alcohol slightly masks but coffee, liquorice and tobacco notes come through on the finish. Like the nose it is extremely polished.
With water the nose becomes oilier and lighter, releasing some juicy chocolate orange and more wood spice – cinnamon stick, bark and sweet ginger. Like the nose the palate becomes oilier, lighter (although still quite full) and spicier, it also releases a violet note. It seems a lot more polished and a touch younger than I remember, but still very good!
Blanton’s Gold 51.5% (website price £57.70)
Barrel 179. Warehouse H. Rick 44
Tasted: Dec 2010
Quite a rich nose with no shortage of crisp almost peaty rye to balance the fat wheat and sweet but edgy corn meal. Oily and elegant, a sort of Evan Williams meets Sazarac character. The oak is relatively restrained allowing the complexity of the nose to entice. With time some violet notes become apparent, but the rye spices keeps the nose edgy.
Like the nose the palate opens with the crisp rye followed by toffee popcorn and piquant alcohol. The oak moves in bringing some gentle spices and natural caramel. Although the finish is reasonably long and laid back it is pretty dry. The combination of rye and oak see to that – definitely edgy!
With water it knocks back the rye intensity on the nose, bringing out the hidden coffee/ cream and orange nuances. Really spicy and rounded now with the rye only noticeable at the periphery. The palate is sweeter as the subdued rye allows the corn to play and personally I miss the impact of the rye. Possibly a bit longer now with that classic earthy finish.
Tomintoul with a peaty twang 40% (website price £28.50)
Tasted: Dec 2010
A crisp yet rich nose of very lightly oiled dry peat. Slightly gristy as the young spirit component asserts itself. With time it becomes quite malty with a definite fruity intensity. The palate opens with the youthful element, showing a touch of marc-like character followed by the dry, powdery peat and a violet note. Like the nose it becomes a tad gristy before the oak briefly puts in an appearance leaving the older spirit component to show off. Lovely length with a touch of oily liquorice and hickory in the finish.
Chivas Regal 12 year old 40%
Tasted: Jan 2011
A rather spirity nose with some light orange, bourbon oak, but mainly dominated by the clean grain. With time the oak does assert itself with some creamy notes. The palate is soft with hints of orange fruit and malt. Initially it teases one with a malty impression but it tails off rather abruptly as the grain kicks in. Reasonable length with a botanical finish.
Bowmore Tempest Batch 2 10 year old 56% (website price £47.23)
First Fill Bourbon
Tasted: Feb 2011
The colour is a lot darker than batch 1. The palate is crisp, fresh and mentholated but with plenty of robust oak vanillins, more so than batch 1. It is also oilier and peatier than batch 1 with a greater degree of phenolic citrus as well. It’s a lot butcher and a lot more like the Bowmore of old. Lovely balance with the peat smoke turning drier and some bog myrtle notes becoming apparent. With time the fruit takes on a lovely perfumed sheen.
The palate is definitely ‘old skool’ and opens up with plenty of peat dust, soot and pepper. This knock spots of batch one and the current distillery 12 year old. In fact doing a comparative tasting batch 1 seems almost smokeless! Very citrusy with a serious intensity of coastal notes on the middle. The smoke coats the mouth and the complexity is very impressive with hints of bog myrtle, nettles, iodine and light seaweed. Superb length the saline lemon fruit lingering.
Water surprisingly mutes the nose somewhat and makes it very oily, also one gets the impression that the oak has closed in on the spirit. On the palate it takes the edge of the intensity and emphasises the bitter oak which when combined with the salt and citrus makes it extremely drying, also the peat character diminishes somewhat as well, thus drink it neat.
Balvenie 17 year old ‘Rum Cask’ 43%
Tasted: Feb 2011
A gristy and crunchy nose with plenty of barley and a hint of under ripe banana. The rum cask finish is quite light and delicate, lightly blanketing the depth luscious honey and orange with a gossamer thin veil of sweetness. With time some pure vanilla appears.
The palate is dry and old. Homogonous and flat. After such a beautiful nose the palate is frankly as dull as dish water – and doesn’t taste a great deal better either! Some bright citrus emerges on the middle but the fruit remains muted and some dusty oak bitters out the finish. Obviously this was just nosed before it was bottled!!!
Connemara ‘Sherry Finish’ 46% (website price £57.37)
Tasted: Feb 2011
A gentle and sooty nose. Lightly phenolic with some edgy floral (violet?) tinged peat. Lovely depth of fruit, which combined with the sherry gives it a subtle breadth. Superb complexity, now some creosote and farmyardy notes appear and with some more time the aromas become quite meaty, akin to barbequed sausages! Some people say that peat and sherry do not work together, but the sweet/savoury/peat balance on this nose is superb.
On the palate the juicy grape is up first. Very polished and poised with the dry smoke and sooty peat building along with the violety sweetness. The mid palate is extremely sooty with a light almost medicinal peat character, but the dry smoke continues unabated. The sherry cask returns in all its mouth watering glory on the finish. An excellent journey and an excellent sherry finish!
Maison Paul Beau – Borderies Extra Vieilles Cognac 45%
From spirits around 45 years old
Tasted: Feb 2011
A delicate, flinty, mineral nose of subtle dried fruit, liquorice, light coffee and marzipan. With time it moves into an almost sherry cask whisky demeanour. Mature yet the alcohol gives it an edginess on the palate. Delicate soft fruit is shot through with a mineral vitality. The spices come through pleasantly on the middle. Slightly undergrowthy/ vegetal with nuts, cinnamon and liquorice root notes. Good length with some late bitter chocolatey tannins. One could be picky and say that the finish becomes overly bitter, and one could argue that it has maybe spent a bit too long in the cask, but coming from what is considered the poorest Cognac region it’s pretty good.
Hazelburn 12 year old 46% (website price £44.10)
Sherry
Tasted: Feb 2011
A full on sherry nose – burnt toffee, coffee with a hint of polished leafiness. There is a slight hint of spice and I think I detected a touch of marmaladey orange. The palate is softly oiled with again the burnt toffee and polished leafy sherry notes and to be honest that’s about it really, although the sherry is very clean though. The spirit is there (on the middle) but it’s pretty undistinguishable. Good length with plenty of salted peanut notes on the finish. Think Auchentoshan 12 year old but better!
Glenmorangie Nectar d’Or 46% (website price £46.47)
Bourbon/ Sauternes
Tasted: Feb 2011
A deep, edgy and quite gristy nose. Initially it is a tad soapy with an almost old fashioned shaving soap quality. The honeyed sweetness from the finishing cask builds and a slight white floral top note appears along with a touch of white pepper and cinnamon. With time some dried grape and buttery oak puts in an appearance. A pleasant nose once one has got past the soapiness. The palate is full and juicy with honey, vanilla custard and buttered pop corn notes. Some barley kicks in on the middle and the slightly piquant alcohol balances the sweetness. Crisp citrus and green fruits lead into a mouth watering finish. Very well balanced on the palate, beginning quite sweet but finishing dry and crisply.
Glenmorangie 18 year old 43% (website price £85.02)
15years in Bourbon/ 3 years in Oloroso
Tasted: Feb 2011
The nose is very oily and a touch reserved. Perseverance in sniffing reveals a dense orange fruit character with a gentle sweetness imparted by the Oloroso cask, which is not overwhelming and adds a lovely touch of coffee-spice. It’s become exceedingly oily now as the mature honey begins to show. Very complex and rather understated to be honest. With time it becomes quite floral. The palate opens with a fair amount of oily barley and light honey. There’s a touch of under-ripe but fleshy citrus and the delicate, clean sherry moves in on the middle bringing with it some tannins and spice – again it is quite understated and the piquant citrus pierces it like an arrow! Very long with the barley returning and finishing with a perfumed touch, which almost verges on the soapiness.
Well that’s it for now. I hope you enjoyed the read. Oh and don’t forget to check out the website www.gauntleys.com
Regards
Chris Goodrum