Dear Whisky Customers
Welcome to the latest newsletter. I must confess that it’s been several months since my last missive to you, and yes for my penance I have done four Our Fathers, two Hail Marys and oh lots of single malts!
This edition of the newsletter probably should be called the ‘Douglas Laing Edition’. Why? Well after my comments in the last newsletter about the willingness or lack of as the case maybe of independent bottling companies sending out samples I had a phone call of Hugh Muir, the sales director to say that he’d be more than happy to send out samples of their new bottlings each month. Now there was an offer I wasn’t going to pass up!
As I have said previously we did stock some of their Old Malt Cask range a few years back, but as we had to purchase in full cases of 6 bottles I wasn’t really in the position to be able to commit to such a stock level. However fast forward a few years and given the amount of spirits we are selling now, holding that level of stock is no longer an issue. So upon receiving their new price list I was amazed at the number of different bottlings they are doing these days. No longer is it just the Provenace and Old malt Cask ranges, there are the Old & Rare, Ceramic Premier Barrel and Clan Denny Grains.
I mean in June alone they bottled no fewer than 20 new malts. It makes you wonder what there stock holding are like if they can bottle that number pretty much every month. As you will see from my notes below that bottling that quantity means that, in my opinion some of those casks have been bottled too soon and some are of less than outstanding quality. However some are just absolutely stunning, especially the Grains! And after the demise of our relationship with Duncan Taylor I have missed having some stunning old grains on the shelf!
Also in this issue there are reviews of the latest bottlings from Dewar Rattray, Bladnoch and the Alchemist along with the usual round up of interesting stuff I’ve tasted over the last couple of months.
Right, deep breath and here we go!
APRIL PROVENANCE BOTTLINGS
I initially decided just to stick with the ‘Old Malt Cask’, ‘Clan Denny’ and ‘Double Barrel’ range but I may do some of the Provenance bottlings at a later date. My experience of them is that they can be quite pleasant and in some cases good value for money like the MacDuff and Highland Park, or a bit suspect like the Jura, in which I think the cut was taken too soon. But, maybe I should have gone for the Macallan, which as my notes say was probably on e of the best ex-bourbon bottlings I have ever tasted.
Douglas McGibbon Provenance MacDuff 2000 (10 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Code: PRV0692
Dist: Nov 2000 Btl: Apr 2011
Tasted: Apr 2011
Quite a floral nose – heather and bracken with no shortage of vanilla oak and youthful cereal. A bit high toned and gristy with some eye watering menthol notes. The palate is soft and gentle with youthful cereal and spicy malt, along with the oak adding toffee and caramel. The alcohol is quite intrusive for 46% and to be honest overpowers the palate. Pleasantly floral and grassy on the finish
Douglas McGibbon Provenance Macallan 1998 (12 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Code: PRV0697
Dist: Oct 1998 Btl: Apr 2011
Initially quite high toned and floral with a lovely aniseed spice and citrus nip. Possibly the most floral Macallan I’ve ever come across. Hints of light vanilla, burnt butter and some sub tropical apricot and pineapple. The palate opens with those sweet tropical fruits – pear, pineapple and citrus along with some gentle spice and oily/ creamy oak. Hints of gristy barley on the middle with some granite/ mineral notes. The combination of citrus and alcohol does give it a bit of a tart finish and it’s not overly complex, but it certainly is one of the best Bourbon casked Macallan’s I’ve tasted.
Douglas McGibbon Provenance Jura 1999 (12 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Code: PRV0693
Dist: Jun 1999 Btl: Apr 2011
Tasted: Apr 2011
Oily and slightly dirty. The nose is dominated by spicy marc/ grappa and linseed oil notes. No fruit. Later some earthy malt and light peat appear but it’s pretty much agricultural rather than elegant. The palate is light and oily, again dominated by the spicy marc/ grappa notes. I would assume that the cut was probably taken a bit too soon as the foreshots oils dominate. Dry and alcoholic with a malty/ doughy finish, and with the oak bittering out the finish it’s one to be endured rather than enjoyed.
Douglas McGibbon Provenance Highland Park 1999 (11 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Code: PRV0698
Dist: Sept 1999 Btl; Apr 2011
Tasted: Apr 2011
A nose awash with toasty oak and coastal salinity along with a hint of fish and some earthy cereal and malt. The palate is lightly oiled with the caramel oak flattening the edges. Some oily fruit, malt and barley are all present. Good length with some fresh coastal citrus notes and hints of tarry, light peat.
APRIL OLD MALT CASK BOTTLINGS
I thought the Glen Spey was ok. I mean its Glen Spey after all. But the other bottlings were superb. I love Ardmore. It’s a very underated malt and not often seen as the bulk goes for blending. As for Auchroisk, too often I have come across bottlings that have been swamped in sherry, so it was good to see an top notch ex-bourbon cask bottling, showcasing its Speyside charm. As for Craigellachie. It was the first time I had tasted a bottling from that distillery and for a sherry cask it was stunning. It put me in mind of an old Glenfarclas.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Glen Spey 1997 (14 year old) 50%
Bourbon
Code: OMC2005
Dist: Feb 1997 Btl: Apr 2011
Tasted: Apr 2011
A very oily nose with freshly cut grass, turpentine and earthy malt along with some old wood notes and hints of burning leaves. The palate is fresh and citrusy with the oils building along with some grass, malt and honey. Quite a spicy middle with hints of marc and lots of bitter oak which shortens although the spices still hang in there though.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Ardmore 1996 (15 year old) 50% £53.95
Refill Bourbon Hogshead DL7044
Code: OMC2021
Dist: Feb 1996 Btl: Mar 2011
Tasted: Apr 2011
A milky/ vanilla nose with some wonderfully deep, edgy barley fruit. Some gentle smoke drifts in and the phenolics build in a tender manner. Lovely complexity with hints of brandy butter, peat and spicy liquorice.
Again the palate is quite milky and mouth coating with a depth of barley sweetness and rumbling malt, peat and alcohol which bursts into a mouth watering middle accented by citrus and menthol notes. Lovely balancing sweetness and a very long coal dust and ash finish. Excellent complexity and intensity.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Auchroisk 1990 (21 year old) 50% £72.95
Refill Bourbon Hogshead DL7045
Code: OMC2020
Dist: Feb 1990 Btl: Mar 2011
Tasted: Apr 2011
A lovely fleshy nose of citrus fruit and sweet white liquorice with hints of pear drops, plum, lavender and peppery spice. Really complex with the citrus giving the aromas a lovely fresh edge. With time the vanilla oak appears as does a touch of gristy cereal.
Soft vanilla oak encloses some deep citrus, apricot, pear and white peach fruit. There is a lovely sugar coated quality to the fruit along with some slightly gristy barley and sawdust notes. Piquant alcohol leads into a very peppery, white liquorice middle. Stunning depth with a delightfully leafy/ menthol finish, which reminds me of the classic cat pee Sauvignon blanc characteristics. Exquisitely balanced.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Glenallachie 1972 (38 year old) 50% £114.95
Sherry DL 6880
Code: OMC1982
Dist: Mar 1972 Btl: Jan 2011
Tasted: Apr 2011
An elegant, full-on, mature Oloroso seeped nose of dried fruit, gingerbread, plums, raisins and the most luscious sherry spice imaginable. There’s a hint of something phenolic and peaty in the background along with a touch of burnt wood, mature honey and old beeswax polished wood. A simply stunning nose.
The palate is soft, gentle and mature. Opening with the polished wood and gently earthy-spiced dried fruit. Hints of burnt embers and a gentle spicy/ oxidised rancio roll across the tongue. The middle is redolent of mature honey, rum like liquorice and treacle toffee which coates the mouth. The alcohol keeps it fresh and stops it becoming cloying. A beautiful length finishing with a touch of peat, assam tea and some more burnt wood.
APRIL CLAN DENNY BOTTLINGS
What can you say, apart from two stunning old grain whiskies!
Douglas Laing ‘The Clan Denny’ Cambus 1963 (47 year old) 49.7% £126.95
Bourbon Cask HH7029
Dist: Aug 1963 Btl: Apr 2011
Tasted: Apr 2011
A sawdust and spice nose. Loaded with ultra-mature oak and reminds me of a wheated bourbon with that cotton candy/ candyfloss character. Plenty of dried fruit and barley sugar balances out the oak well. Lovely depth.
The palate is soft, opening with some brittle honey and the oak appears to be more sudbued than you would have expected given the nose. More rum like in character with plenty of dried fruit and spices galore! Soft and chewy with liquorice and more darkly-spiced caramel. Superb length with the spirit showing a touch of citrus and botanicals in the finish. A lovely old grain.
Douglas Laing ‘The Clan Denny’ Dumbarton 1965 (45 year old) 49.5% £122.95
Bourbon Cask HH7001
Dist: Dec 1965 Btl: Apr 2011
Tasted: Apr 2011
The nose opens with sweet oak and gristy, spicy vanillins along with some burnt butter, honey an light molasses notes. The luxuriously sweet oak builds into a coconut and light toffee morass, accented by touches of ginger and brandy butter. Oooh this nose is stunning!
The palate is relatively light and elegant with the sweet oak showing first - loads of toasty vanilla, butter and caramel. By no means is this one dimensional as some invigorating grainy spice explodes on the middle trailing some lovely mature honey before moving into a tropical banana and coconut finish, all lightly dusted with chocolate. Lovely balance with the floral grain maintaining the equilibrium. Simply stunning.
DOUBLE BARREL
I have been intrigued by these bottlings for quite awhile now and I’m so glad I have had the opportunity to taste them, because I love the idea of vatted malts. I love the idea of combining two or more different casks to create something new and interesting. Of the four bottles the three combining a Speyside malt with an Islay worked best as each component complimented each other beautifully. I felt that the other bottling didn’t work so well as the two components (Highland Park and Bowmore) were too similar to each other. I definitely urge you to give them a try as they are excellent value for money.
Douglas Laing ‘Double Barrel’ Caol Ila/ Braeval 10 year old 46% 36.95
Bourbon
Bottling Code DBS0024
Tasted: Apr 2011
A very, very, very fruity nose! Total tropical heaven – banana, kiwi, apricot along with a creamy/ grassy note. Almost like a big ripe, Sauvignon blanc. The Caol Ila adds some coastal citrus and distant peat smoke but my god, it’s exuberantly fruity! Quite youthful and with time becomes quite sugar coated.
The palate is sweet and fruity, again very tropical with some burnt toffee and coffee. The Caol Ila again adds some coastal citrus bite and a decent amount of clean peat to the vatting. Lovely length with the barley sweetness returning. If you like Edradour or Oban than you’ll love this. Stunning length.
Douglas Laing ‘Double Barrel’ Macallan/ Laphroaig 9 year old 46% £42.95
Bourbon
Bottling Code DBS008
Tasted: Apr 2011
A juicy, barley-cereal and tropical nose. Banana, apricot and pear with a twist of medicinal peat. Lovely integration of the two casks. The Macallan adds weight to the Laphroaig. With time some floral notes along with hints of burnt wood and toffee appear.
The palate is quite sweet and tropical, like the nose with some grippy oak. The Laphroaig bundles in on the middle with plenty of medicinal peat, smoke and bog myrtle/ herbal coastal notes. Very long with an astringent coal dust and bracingly salty finish.
Douglas Laing ‘Double Barrel’ Highland Park/ Bowmore 46%
Bourbon
Bottling Code DBS022
Tasted: Apr 2011
An oliy and fishy nose with some youthful marc notes. It seems like the Bowmore is the dominating force, but it’s curiously pretty much smoke and peat free. There’s some candies fruit and earthy spice and a touch of perfumed hyacinth. With time some sweet peat emerges.
The palate is quite immature with oily marc notes along with some fish and scrubby heather. The middle is pure malt vinegar and reminds me of fish and chips??? A rather astringent finish and to be honest I’m not getting a lot of Highland Park here. It does seem to me that both components have cancelled each other out. Good length with a vague spicy-smokiness before the oak bitters out the finish.
Douglas Laing ‘Double Barrel’ Ardbeg/ Glenrothes 10 year old 46%
Bourbon
Bottling Code DBS0013
Tasted: Apr 2011
A deep nose of astringent citrus sharpness with the Ardbeg initially dominating with burnt wood, menthol, bracken and loamy peat. The Glenrothes although somewhat subdued adds a touch of honeyed sweetness and a slight creaminess from the oak.
The palate is full of rich, Ardbeg fruit, beach bonfires and herbal, coastal notes. The Glenrothes honey blunts the coastal note but they return with a vengeance on the middle brining a good dollop of peat, which runs through to the finish. However the Glenrothes honey reappears at death, mingling with the violets and burnt wood. Extremely entertaining.
MAY PROVENANCE BOTTLINGS
Having spent a rather a lot of money last month I unfortunately couldn’t justify blowing another wodge of cash on May’s bottlings, but I’m more than happy to review them!
I always approach Mortlach with a bit of trepidation as I’ve tasted some awful (mainly sherry casked) bottlings in the past but this one although being finished in an ex sweet sherry cask was pleasantly well balanced as was the Ben Nevis.
Douglas McGibbon Provenance Mortlach 2003 (8 year old) 46%
Bourbon/ Montilla Finished
Code: PRV0695
Dist Mar 2003 Btl: May 2011
Tasted: May 2011
A light, syrupy nose with tined fruit (apple, pear) and hints of vanilla, spice and background sherry which adds to the sweetness, although a sliver of citrus does try to balance. The palate opens with creamy white fruit along with some hay/ straw nuances and a gentle developing sweet sherry character. It really rolls out on the middle and it has become almost liqueur like in its viscosity. Good length with a spicy finish.
Douglas McGibbon Provenance Ben Nevis 1998 (12 year old) 46%
Bourbon/ Sherry Finished
Code: PRV0701
Dist: Nov 1998 Btl: May 2011
Tasted: May 2011
Light, leafy sherry notes mingle with some high toned citrus. Quite malty as you would expect from this distillery and sweetly spiced. The palate is rich and full, opening with the light, leafy sherry and sugar coated fruit. It becomes very sweet towards the middle but some edgy spices do their best to offset that. Good length with barley, leafy herbs and an almost bog myrtle note. The alcohol sort of balances sweetness but does dry out the finish.
MAY OLD MALT CASK BOTTLINGS
I so wanted to stock the Coal Ila, Laphroaig and the Ben Nevis, so maybe it was beneficial that they has sold out of both of them before I could get my hands on them! The Imperial was ok, a bit homogonous but ok. The Benriach was extremely odd. I have often come across a balsamic note in red wine made from over ripe grapes but it is the first time I have come across it in a malt. I personally liked it but I imagine it being a bit of an acquired taste.
I’ll pass on both the sherried Tamdhu and MacDuff as they were both bordering on the edge of vegetal sulphurousness.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Imperial 1995 (16 year old) 50%
Bourbon
Code: OMC2029
Dist: Apr 1995 Btl: May 2011
Tasted: May 2011
The nose seems a lot more mature than I would have expected with plenty of deep honey balanced by some lovely fresh citrus (lemon) and white fruit, pear and creamy oak.
The palate is dry, soft and full bodied with a pleasant array of citrus, creamy oak and palate cleansing alcohol, which mask the finish somewhat.
With water the nose develops a distinct pear drop character and emphasises the toffee’d oak. The palate has become a tad homogonous but it’s still quite pleasant though.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Benriach 1996 (15 year old) 50%
Bourbon
Code: OMC2014
Dist: Mar 1996 Btl: May 2011
Tasted: May 2011
A robust and pungent nose reminiscent of old onion skins and balsamic vinegar. There are hints of dark fruit and malt but the balsamic character is dominant and although not altogether unpleasant it is unusual. Quite gristy with some sweet fudgy moments.
The palate is soft and lightly peated, followed by the old onion skins and balsamic laced fruit. Like the nose it is pretty robust with some old grass and a big spice hit on the middle. Good length with the toasty oak coming through along with some tart citrus which does dry out the finish. An interesting dram and certainly not what you would have expected from a Benriach.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Laphroaig 1993 (18 year old) 50%
Bourbon
Code: OMC2022
Dist: Mar 1993 Btl: May 2011
Tasted: May 2011
A pungent, medicinal and mature nose of bog myrtle pet and driftwood. Quite robust (in an Ardbeg style) with some sweet fruit beneath the phenolics. With time the wood notes appear adding hints of burnt coffee and toffee. Lovely maturity with a fresh gun flint and coastal edge.
The palate opens with a beautiful softness of sugar coated vanilla as the phenolic begin to build. It’s quite sweet for a ‘phroaig with the fruit becoming quite tropical in character, there are hints of honeydew melon, guava and pineapple all shot through with a gentle, lingering peatiness, which moves into a dusty/ ash like finish.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Caol Ila 1990 (21 year old) 50%
Bourbon
Code: OMC2015
Dist: Mar 1990 Btl: May 2011
Tasted: May 2011
A wonderfully mature and fishy nose. The maturity is evident in the dried straw, burnt coffee and liquorice character. Surprisingly phenolic for it’s age with some smoke, brine and high toned, salty-violety notes. Seriously good.
The palate is quite similar to the ‘phroaig in that it’s quite sweet and fruity followed by some straw, damp earthy-peat before moving into a vegetal, bog myrtle, undergrowthy middle. Really complex and long with a soft, sooty, burnt cinders and coal dust finish.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Tamdhu 1989 (21 year old) 50%
Sherry
Code: OMC2016
Dist: Dec 1989 Btl: May 2011
Tasted: May 2011
A big, ever so slightly vegetal nose which lingers on the edge of sulphurousness, although I can forgive this minor blemish and the nose is awesome. Full of those wonderful old sherry notes – walnuts, sweet dark toffee, luscious orange conserve, dried spices and a late charcoal note.
A lovely, mature, soft and luscious palate, again like the nose slightly vegetal and verging on the s word! However this gentle dram coats the mouth in a complexity of liquorice, dark toffee and a profusion of wood spices. Superb length with hints of parma violets. The piquant alcohol balances wonderfully the gentle tannins that show on the finish.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Ben Nevis 1971 (40 year old) 45.8%
Bourbon
Code: OMC2013
Dist: Mar 1971 Btl: May 2011
Tasted: May 2011
A robust and aromatic nose which reeks of maturity. Brown sugar coated fruit and sawdust mingles with an old marc-like oxidised rancio. Seriously complex with hints of dry smoke, coffee, marzipan and toffee’d oak.
The palate is a shade lighter than the nose would suggest and that ‘love or hate’ old marc character is quite prominent, mingling with light treacle, liquorice, dark spices and a subtle peat note. Very long with the old marc notes dominating and a delicate smoky finish. A very unusual Ben Nevis and one that I would suspect is an acquired taste, but if you like unusual spirits, which I do then this is definitely worth trying.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask ‘Cigar Malt’ Macduff 2000 (10 year old) 50%
Sherry
Code: OMC2025
Dist: Nov 2000 Btl: May 2011
Tasted: May 2011
A light, leafy sherry nose, bordering on the edge of sulphurousness. Quite full with chocolate and toffee notes along with a touch of sugary syrup. The palate is full and chewy, somewhat straightforward, again the sherry flirts with the sulphur and the finish is rather dry and tannic with a spicy, coffee laced after taste.
JUNE PROVENANCE BOTTLINGS
Glendullan can be frankly quite dull, this bottling was pleasant and probably worth £34.95, however the Glen Spey was, well, not so good. Maybe a year or two more in the wood might have help, then again, maybe not. I looked at the label of the Bunnahabhain and thought, hmm, nine years in a sherry butt, hmm, not going to get much in the way of distillery character here are we?
And well, I was correct! As for the Laphraoig that was quite sweet and very pleasant. Maybe I’ll have to get a case next month, if it’s still available!
Douglas McGibbon Provenance Glendullan 1999 (11 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Code: PRV0708
Dist: Oct 1999 Btl: June 2011
Tasted: June 2011
A pleasant, easy going nose of sugar coated herbal honey and white flowers along with some spicy oak and a touch of high toned cereal. The palate begins quite sugary, followed by sweet malt and a hint of oat biscuit. Relatively straightforward but pleasant with a touch of herbal honey and citrus. The alcohol bites and cleanses leaving a lemony finish.
Douglas McGibbon Provenance Glen Spey 1999 (12 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Code: PRV0707
Dist: Apr 1999 Btl: June 2011
Tasted: June 2011
Quiite a dense and malty nose with some oily vanilla, which in time becomes rather burnt and heavy on the butterscotch/ caramel. The palate is like the nose, dense! Slightly musky with the burnt caramel oak notes up first. On the middle it shows its relative youth with an abundance of peppery marc. The oak flavours kind of run out fast and leaves the young spirit exposed on the finish and it’s rather spirity at the end.
Douglas McGibbon Provenance Bunnahabhain 2001 (9 year old) 46%
Sherry
Code: PRV0696
Dist: Oct 2001 Btl: June 2011
Tasted: June 2011
The nose is quite sweet, and the sherry is definitely in the candied-sweet style. There is some pleasantly spiced dried fruit and later some pure buttery/ nutty marzipan – American sherry butt perhaps?
The palate is a touch on the tannic side and quite candied. Again there is some burnt wood and spice followed by the marzipan and almond finishing with hints of dark chocolate…… and …. spirit. I have to say it’s all a bit disjointed and the spirit hasn’t had time to evolve, hence all the flavours come from the wood. If I’d tasted this blind I wouldn’t have guessed it was a bunnah!
Douglas McGibbon Provenance Laphroaig 2001 (10 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Code: PRV0704
Dist: Feb 2001 Btl: June 2011
Tasted: June 2011
A lovely, youthful, sweetly honeyed, violety tinged nose. Resplendent with plenty of fish oils, earthy/ manurey peat and tar. In fact I would say that it is ‘rude peat’, you know the really stinky type! Although it’s quite honeyed it’s still raw and edgy – It’s a young ‘phroaig! But…. It has depth and a relative complexity.
On the palate it is quite subtle and sweet for a ‘phroaig. It opens with some gentle orange fruit and barley, which leads into a seriously gristy, smoky, malty, coal dust middle. It slowly ambles off in that fashion to the end. Wow that’s a damn dense and malty ‘phroaig! Excellent.
JUNE OLD MALT CASK BOTTLINGS
Oh My God!!!! I have had an epiphany! A road to Damascus moment! I have found a bottling of Dufftown that I would quite happily drink and recommend. If there is any left next month I may just have to have a case, but it on show, worship it…. Well I think you get the picture. But the Dufftown award for this month goes to the bottling of 21 year old MacDuff!
Whilst being cutting. I suggest that whoever wrote the tasting note for the Glenkinchie 12 year old should taste this bottling of Dailuaine, as that is what the Glenkinchie 12 year old should have been like! I’ll pass on the Balmenach and the Caol Ila, for reasons that will be apparent when you read the tasting notes.
But I just can’t get over that Dufftown. I suppose that as they say ‘Every dog must have its day’!!!
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Dailuaine 1997 (14 year old) 50%
Bourbon
Code: OMC2030
Dist: Apr 1997 Btl: June 2011
Tasted: June 2011
A lovely crisp and high toned nose – floral marc and perfumed white flowers mingle with some grassy notes. Lovely balancing buttery/ toasty oak, accented by a touch of sweet honey. A lovely, harmoinious nose, classic light Spey.
The citrus and sharp alcohol hit the palate first and it definitely needs a drop of water as the alcohol is very intrusive. It just hints at some honeyed sub tropical fruit, banana and oak.
With water the nose becomes more floral and grassy. Almost Lowland-esque as is oftent the case with light Speys. Oooh a gorgeous twang of pure, fruity orange and orange blossom appears now. Glenkinchie……… take note please! The palate has become a touch lactic/ milky now that the alcohol bite has diminished. Gently sweet rose water, honey and oak now shows. I must say that it’s a bit short and simple, although the nose is delightful.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Balmenach 1983 (27 year old) 50%
Bourbon
Code: OMC2034
Dist Sept 1983 Btl: June 2011
Tasted: June 2011
A lightly, spirity, almost grainy nose. The old wood notes – coffee and burnt caramel subdue the light, juicy orange fruit. Wood 1 Spirit 0!!! If you sniff hard enough one can detect some lovely brittle honey but you have to sniff so hard that you feel that your nose is going to turn inside out. Maybe I’m being a bit harsh and it does become quite floral with time. Maybe the palate will be its redemption?
Ah, well, no! It’s gentle and juicy, albeit it briefly before in wades the bitter/ burnt cocoa oak. There’s some floral spirit but it’s undistinguishable and becomes rather spirity. Old and dried out.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Dalmore 1999 (12 year old) 50%
Bourbon
Code: OMC2031
Dist Apr 1999 Btl: June 2011
Tasted: June 2011
A gritty, golden honey coated Satsuma nose accented by citrus rind high notes and a light Tequila-esque spicy rose petal character. Quite intriguing with some light caramel and barky charred wood.
The palate is robust and oily with some full-on, spicy oak to begin. A large dollop of honeyed barley briefly fills the mouth along with a fleeting herbal/ nettly note before its back to the oak riding in on a delightful wave of oily, nutty marzipan. Good length with some burnt, spicy marmalade orange rind in the finish. Possibly a bit heavy on the oak, but good fun nevertheless.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Dufftown 1992 (28 year old) 50%
Bourbon
Code: OMC2035
Dist Nov 1992 Btl: June 2011
Tasted: June 2011
Hold the front page!!!!!!.......... The nose isn’t too bad! Yes it is still industrial (there’s no escaping the distillery character) but there is plenty of barley sugar and honey to balance out the industrialness. Hang on this is remarkably complex. There are hints of walnuts, fragrant Lilly and plenty of manly, oily honey and sawdusty/ violet tinged oak. OMG!! This is actually (dare I say it!) Very good. Imagine a mature Glen Grant roughing it and you will see what I mean.
The palate is a text book example of controlled oiliness. Not too heavy and not too light. It liberally coats the hard edged barley and honey, which amazingly keeps the industrial roughness at bay. The middle is redolent of old marc with hints of liquorice, greenish walnuts, plump juicy sultana, macerated prunes and an Armagnac-esque dried fruit rancio. Finally ending with a burnt rubber and hot alcohol note (well it is still Dufftown!)
All I can say is this is a unicorn, a mythic beast – It’s a bottling of Dufftown I’d actually like to drink, and I never though I’d say that!!
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask MacDuff 1990 (21 year old) 50%
Bourbon
Code: OMC2033
Dist Mar 1990 Btl: June 2011
Tasted: June 2011
A spirity, volatile, acerbic, unconstructed nose of turps and dirty Dufftown-esque fruit and bitter, bitter oak! Some light peat oils muddy the nose even further. Not very appealing!
The palate is exactly the same as the nose…. Hard, spirity and not particularly pleasant.
Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Caol Ila 1980 (30 year old) 50%
Bourbon
Code: OMC2041
Dist Sept 1980 Btl: June 2011
Tasted: June 2011
A stunningly deep and mellow nose of liquid mentholated herbal honey, seaweed, old burnt driftwood and leather. Wonderfully honeyed (in an old Glenrothes manner) but balanced by a fresh coastal edge. With time it becomes very oily with some spicy, black pepper and cinnamon notes appearing.
A woody start to the palate with some building, gentle almost ethereal orange fruit but the oak comes in a bit too fast. The middle is edgy and surprisingly raw. Once the alcohol passes it leaves a seriously briny finish but the oak is gripping hard and one feels like it was bottled in the nick of time (but the reality s that it should have been bottled a number of years before). The finish is a bit on the spirity side with some sooty, peat echoes.
JUNE PREMIER BARREL BOTTLINGS
These are completely new to me, but I do like the packaging. It’s quaint and aimed principally at the gift market as the malts bottled are with the exception of the Mortlach, which is delightful, rather straightforward. Although in saying that the Blair Athol is interesting, as I’ve never encountered a peated version before.
Douglas Laing Premier Barrel Braeval 1999 (11 year old) 46%
Sherry
Code: PBR0091
Dist Sept 1980 Btl: June 2011
Tasted: June 2011
An edgy nose of brittle honey and high toned, floral spirit. Quite grassy and citrusy with some tosted caramel vanillins. The palate is a touch oily with burnt caramel and nascent spirit. No real depth or character, just oak and spirit. It must have been matured in a well used butt as the sherry influence is only noticeable on the aftertaste once the bitterness has passed.
Douglas Laing Premier Barrel Blair Athol 2000 (10 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Code: PBR0094
Dist: Sept 2000 Btl: June 2011
A most unusual nose for Blair Athol – Distinctly coastal with some herbal, sweet peat. A bit like Bowmore or Highland Park when they are in their fishy guise. Quite phenolic with a touch of burnt wood and a late soapy note. The palate is quite sweet and sugary with some phenolically enhanced white fruit and a touch of parma violets and fish oils. It’s a bit simple and the finish is a bit on the hot side, plus lacking any real distillery character because of the use of peat. But it’s interesting nevertheless!
Douglas Laing Premier Barrel Highland Park 1998 (13 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Code: PBR0096
Dist: Oct 1998 Btl: June 2011
Quite a fishy nose with some background peat. Like a lot of bourbon casked Highland Park’s it’s a tad nondescript and develops a slightly floral shaving foam note. The palate is reasonably sweet and slightly gristy with some honeyed and fishy moments. Like the nose it’s rather bland and slightly watery with a slightly briny and spicy finish
Douglas Laing Premier Barrel Mortlach 1997 (14 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Code: PBR0095
Dist: Apr 1997 Btl: June 2011
A rather delightfully honeyed and gristy nose. A serious honeyed cereal overload! There’s plenty of fruit along with a touch of straw, linseed and developing creamy oak. The palate opens with the honey, straw and flax notes with plenty of cereal, malt and squishy (technical term there!) fruit. The alcohol is quite piquant but short lived and leaves a rather pleasant perfumed and grassy finish. A good refreshing dram.
Douglas Laing Premier Barrel Macallan 2002 (8 year old) 46%
Bourbon
Code: PBR0093
Dist: Sept 2002 Btl: June 2011
An oily, botanical nose. Almost gin like with hints of cereal and butter. Far too young to show any evolution. The palate is crisp and brittle. Straightforward and botanical, especially on the middle. Simple, uncomplicated, quite perfumed with a slightly spicy finish.
Douglas Laing Premier Barrel Craigellachie 1999 (11 year old) 46%
Sherry
Code: PBR0092
Dist: Sept 1999 Btl: June 2011
A vegetal sherry nose with some burnt toffee, liquorice and marc-like notes. A touch unintegrated with the marc notes becoming quite peppery with time and the sherry notes become quite confected in style. The palate is sweet and bitter with vegetal sherry, burnt toffee and malt. Quite full but like the nose it’s somewhat unintegrated. The wood influence ceases quite abruptly leaving the sweet marc spirit alone on the finish.
NEW DEWAR RATTRAY BOTTLINGS
What can I say? It’s been a good month or two for Macallan. It seems like that you wait ages to find a superb ex-bourban cask version and then two come along at the same time! They’ve also bottled a lovely Longmorn, which is quite reasonably priced for a Longmorn. However star of the month has got to be the Strathmill. Dewar Rattray have a track record of bottling excellent casks from this distillery and this bottling probably beats the two 31 year old’s they released in 2006 and 2007.
Likewise with regards to Glen Scotia. It takes a seriously good sherry cask to get me all excited about that sort of dram, and this is. Slightly different to its sister cask (Cask No1) bottled in 2009 but still equally as good. I don’t tend to get too worked up over the colour of whiskies to be honest, but just look at the colour of it. It’s a really beautiful colour! I’ll pass quickly on the Caperdonich but the biggest surprise was the Laphroaig. Neat it was fine but as soon as water was added it all just fell apart. Normally when a whisky tends to do that it at least hints at the fact but this one was a total surprise.
And for those of you that missed out on the superb Caroni rum that they bottled in December, then grab a bottle of their new bottling of Venezuelan from Pampero.
Longmorn 1996 (14 year old) 46% (website price £38.50)
Bourbon Cask 97630 – sample at cask strength 55.9%
Dist: 1996 Btl: May 2011
Tasted: May 2011
A lovely, classic Speyside nose of fresh citrus with herbaceous notes of fern, camphor and pine needles along with hints of crystalised fruit, honey and dusty oak. The palate is as intense and fresh as the nose but a tad oilier and deeper with more apricot, nuts and oak character. The lovely crisp almost sharp citrus arrives on the middle with mouth watering clarity and finish with a herbal flourish
With water (an approximation of what it will be like at 46%) the nose has become heavier and oilier with the oak being a touch more in control and exuding marzipan like aromas although given time the herbal citrus notes do come through. The palate also displays a little more oak with some slightly burnt caramel notes and some heavy honey flavours which build until a short burst of citrus cleanses the palate leaving the crystalised fruit showing in the finish. A perfectly charming dram.
Macallan 1995 (15 year old) 46% (website price £43.00)
Bourbon Cask 11251 – sample at cask strength 57.3%
Dist: 1995 Btl: May 2011
Tasted: May 2011
A voluptuous nose of toffee’d, herbal honey. In fact it is very herbal with some almost bog myrtle-like nuances. Dripping in luscious honey and creamy oak with some sublimely sugar coated fruit, malt and barley. A storming bourbon casked Mac! (and how many time shave I said that???!). The aromas have a lovely maturity.
The palate is expansive and toffee’d with a depth of intense, soft apricot and apple fruit. A lovely spicy middle with some piquant alcohol (which must be around 60%) leads into a long, leafy/ grassy finish which is partial masked by the alcohol.
With water (an approximation of what it will be like at 46%) It has become more aromatic with some distinct white liquorice notes. The honey has lightened a bit and the toffee’d oak aromas have been relegated to the background but it is still pretty herbal. The palate is much like the nose – lighter and more aromatic, but mouth filling herbal. Lovely length with some rose petal/ Turkish delight notes in the finish.
Caperdonich 1995 (15 year old) 60.4%
Bourbon Cask 95052
Dist: 1995 Btl: May 2011
Tasted: May 2011
Quite peated by Caper standards, but the peat has a lovely sweet edge but then it becomes quite metallic with some creosote notes and an almost hot-sulphur-vegetal character. One things those still were pushed a tad hard when this was distilled. Yes, there is some pleasant light herbal-honey and a touch of oak, but…..
The palate displays that hot-sulphur-vegetal character and to be honest is somewhat thin and cardboardy with a semblance of fruit and a touch of peat. The intense alcohol emphasises the vegetalness and the finish is rather bitter.
Adding water thins the aromas out even more, ok it adds a touch of liquorice root but it definitely emphasises the sulphur. The palate is pure sulphurous sugar water. Caperdonich can be a bit hit and miss at times and this one is a definite miss I’m afraid.
Strathmill 1976 (35 year old) 44% (website price £88.26)
Bourbon Cask 1125
Dist: 1976 Btl: May 2011
Tasted: May 2011
A gorgeously juicy orange fruit nose. The aromas are pure orange skin with hints of white liquorice, fern and pine needles and some jaw droppingly, exquisitely mature honey. Oooh this exudes mature honey! Superb complexity with some beautiful, slightly sawdusty oak.
The palate is delicate with a stunning depth of wonderfully soft orange and exotic fruits along with the honey. It has still retained a pleasant freshness and just enough alcohol to balances the honey. The barley arrives on a wave of delicate oils leaving a mouth coating finish. Amazingly long with a seriously herbal finish which reminds me of a pure, old, slightly oxidised Loire Sauvignon. Seriously elegant!
Laphroaig 1998 (13 year old) 63.9%
Sherry cask 80017
Dist: 1998 Btl: May 2011
Tasted: May 2011
The nose opens with some barely discernable, gentle nutty-sweet sherry before being swamped by the expected phenols arriving with a briny, peaty, fishy, ruubery bog myrtly wave. It seems a bit more mature than 13 with some burnt wood and coffee notes.
The palate opens with some sweet parma violets, dusty/ gritty peat and alcohol! Damn that’s an alcoholic hit! When your eyes have finished watering there’s some leafy bog myrtle and smoky, dusty, tarry peat left. I can’t discern much in the way of sherry character, although there is maybe a touch of sweetness at the end and maybe a hint of tropical white stone fruit.
With water it all goes a bit Pete Tong! It has turned into a sugary vapidness and where was that sulphur note hiding?? I can’t believe the change and how what appeared to be a damn good dram has fallen apart so dramatically!
Glen Scotia 1992 (19 year old) 59.6% (website price £65.81)
Sherry Cask 2
Dist: 1992 Btl: May 2011
Tasted: May 2011
A gorgeous dark, mature, mellow sherried nose of walnuts seeped in prune juice with hints of liquorice, Seville orange, bog myrtle, light peat, malt extract assam tea and pure Tate & Lyle golden syrup. Seriously complex and very sumptuous.
The palate is soft and lusciously endowed opening like the nose with seeped walnuts as the oily tannins and alcohol builds. Wonderfully mature sherry, possibly PX, all dark, rich and malty with a maritime twist. Quite leafy and herbal on the middle with no shortage of malt extract. Great length with hints of bitter chocolate in the finish.
With a drop of water the nose displays more of the coffee, aged rancio and mellows the palate into a wonderful morass of gentle, yet robust mature walnutty, malty sherry. Another stunning cask of Glen Scotia!
Pampero (Venezuelan) Rum 1992 (18 year old) 47% (website price £45.29)
Cask 14
Dist: 1992 Btl: May 2011
Tasted: May 2011
An intense nose of dark, demarara sugar, peat, dried fruit, walnuts, liquorice and an agricol herbalness which balances the sweetness.
The palate is lighter than the nose suggests with a distinctive herbal rancio along with stewed fruit, walnuts and a touch of peat. Soft yet intense alcohol leads into a demarara sugar finish. There is no let up in the intensity of deeply spiced dried fruit and it finishes with a touch of dark chocolate and some drying tannins. Another superb single cask rum!
NEW BOTTLINGS FROM BLADNOCH
As Raymond has bottled a new expression of the ‘Distillers Choice’ I thought I’d give it a taste and yet again he has vatted together some exceptional casks, which really gives you an insight into how good the spirit from this distillery is and how well it ages. It has a lovely balance between the youthfulness and the maturity. It has jumped up quite a lot in price, maybe because Raymond has used a smidgen more older spirits in this vatting? I currently have 2 bottles left of the previous expression, which are only £30.13 – so grab them before they go and you won’t regret it!
By the time you read this the 52.9% bottling of the 20 year old will have sold out, which is unfortunate as that leaves the 52.4% bottling..… enough said. And I won’t comment on the new release of the ‘Lightly Peated’, well, apart from to say that it is not the best bottling I’ve ever tasted of it….. And, unfortunately I have to say the same about the new cask of Mannochmore too.
Bladnoch No Age ‘Distillers Choice’ 46% (website price £37.92)
Btl: 2011
Tasted: May 2011
Initially the aromas are crisp and freshly citrusy then the aged component begins to assert itself with some mature, deep honey followed by hints of wool fat, barley, malt and creamy/ toffee’d oak. The youthful element floats above this mature core and with time becomes more perfumed.
The palate however opens with the mature honey and straw with no shortage of barley and a liberal dollop of creamy oak. The mid palate displays more of the youthful grassiness. Lovely length with the malt returning along with some slightly sugared fruit, liquorice and a touch of coffee. A text book vatting.
Bladnoch 20 year old 52.9%
Bourbon Cask 5767
Tasted: Apr 2011
A big, robust and quite malty nose, which begins quite freshly grassy and earthy with plenty of cereal laced fruit, mature honey. Not as perfumed and definitely more robust than the previous bottling. With time the oak continues to build and a mature orange fruit note becomes apparent.
The palate is like the nose. Full and robust with a beautiful depth of crisp cereal and malt. It becomes more delicate towards the middle with some straw and mature honeyed nuances along with spice and white perfumed fruits. Piquant alcohol cleanses the palate and leaves a long perfumed finish. It just goes to show that a good Lowland spirit can age remarkably well.
With water the nose become more perfumed, like the first bottling and some exuberant spiced orange notes have emerged as has the oak with a delightful crème caramel and clotted creamy character. Now the big soft vanillins are running riot! The palate is lighter and like the nose the oak does dominate now. The spirit has receded beneath the weight of caramel and toffee and it does become a tad spirity towards the end, but the finale is pure spice heaven.
Bladnoch 20 year old 52.4%
Bourbon
Tasted: May 2011
A slightly butyric nose. Rather sickly with some old straw and creamy/ lactic oak aromas struggling to get through the fatty, lanolin and baby sick.
The palate is not as butyric as the nose, but it is still somewhat un-clean with some old honey, straw and rich, biscuity malt. The alcoholic is cleansing to say the least and leaves some old marc notes and a bitter, dry, tannic finish. Not one of the better casks of 20 year old!
With water the nose attempts to redeem itself and has now become grassier and more aromatic with some white fruit notes. It seems a tad younger now there is now masking baby sick! The palate is much the same, lighter and younger with the oak pushed to the background (adding some old marzipan, dark chocolate and coffee) allowing some pleasant citrus moments to show.
Bladnoch 9 year old ‘Lightly Peated’ 55.5%
Bourbon cask 325
Tasted: May 2011
The nose came as a complete shock – burnt toffee, burnt coffee, tarmac and cinders. My god what did they toast this cask with? A flamethrower??? There are not an awful lot of peat aromas and to be honest it feels a bit disjointed. With time some floral-marc notes try to put in an appearance. The palate is exactly the same as the nose, burnt, over-toasted and alcoholic.
Unfortunately water just emphasises the burnt notes and it’s really heavy going. There’s some late gentle peat but overall the cask has done the spirit a disservice!
Bladnoch Forum Mannochmore 28 year old 52.1%
Bourbon Cask 2853
Tasted: May 2011
An almost peated nose. Robust with old coffee and tobacco smoke notes. Very peppery and spicy with a hint of violets. Quite an unusual Mannochmore and it kind of puts me in mind of Brora. With time a touch of light Satsuma appears.
A robust and full, if somewhat one dimensional palate. There is some mature white fruit, old coffee, earth and liquorice. Intensely alcoholic, leading to a slightly honeyed, mature orange finish. It feels a bit too old to be honest but it does have a pleasant herbaceous/ grassy flourish to finish.
The nose is definitely livened up by a drop of water. Gorgeous, zesty orange and honey appear as does a light floral note. However the palate is a bit of a let down and has become watery (sugar water) and just plain old. The old wood is pretty much all there is on show now and it’s quite damp, rotten and earthy. A real shame, but as I suspected it’s just spent too long in the cask.
NEW ALCHEMIST BOTTLINGS
It’s been a long time since I’ve heard from Gordon Wright. I had assumed that after he had got into the restaurant game, he is the co-owner of the rather picturesque Inn at Kippen – www.theinnatkippen.co.uk that he might be spending more time with his feet up at the bar, but no, he’s still busily hunting down whisky to bottle. And may I say that he has released two stunning bottlings of Highland Park and a lovely fishy Bowmore. The Macallan I was less keen on and although the Tulli was pleasant in that Tulli style it doesn’t appear on his agent’s price list, but that’s not altogether a problem when one has that Highland Park 12 year old to hand!
Bowmore 12 year old 46% (website price 39.42)
Bourbon
Tasted: Apr 2011
Ah, Bowmore in its fishy, phenolic and briny guise! Quite herbal with plenty of peat and high toned, youth marc-like notes. The palate opens quite sweetly, which was a surprise with layers of citrus fruit, peat and fish. Actually it’s very peaty on the middle and although it’s very linear and a one-dimensional it’s a serious peat/ coastal fest! In saying that it’s linear doesn’t take away the fact that it has a superb depth to it. Lovely medicinal/ seaweedy finish. It definitely blows the cobwebs away!
Macallan 18 year old 46%
Sherry
Tasted: Apr 2011
A deep, leafy/ vegetal Oloroso’d Macallan. However it’s quite light on its feet with some spicy apricot and orange fruit trying to emerge from the toasty sherry wood notes of fig, dried fruit, coffee/ chocolate. A good clean sherry nose with a slight perfume.
The palate is light and slightly soapy and very vegetal/ leafy along with plenty of wood tannins, and not unsurprisingly no distillery character. The wood notes are not as complex as the nose and it has a slightly high toned/ spirity finish. The cask returns with some coffee/ mocha and bitters out the finish. Not totally my cup of tea as you will well know!
Highland Park 12 year old 46% (website price £42.66)
Bourbon
Tasted: Apr 2011
Wow!!!!!! This must be the fruitiest HP I’ve ever come across. It’s huge and tropical and would give Glencadam or Arran a real run for their money in the tropical stakes. Really complex with apricot, banana, pineapple, tart citrus, and not forgetting plenty of oak! Big, expansive, yet not overly coastal aromas, however there is a faint salinity and a thin vein of delicate smoke, but my god it’s a fruit fest!
The palate is pretty sweet opening with some slightly gristy sawdust before the tropical fruit arrives in waves of gentle apricot, mandarin, banana and white fruits. Very juicy and mouth wateringly fresh. Lovely and harmonious with the oak adding a bitterness to the finish. Very long with a hint of under ripe fruit and a slight peat note in the after taste. Superb!
Highland Park 21 year old 46% (website price £72.92)
Sherry
Tasted: Apr 2011
A luscious and malty, mocha/ chocolaty rich nose. Gentle mature sherry wood imparts spicy prune and figgy fruitcake notes, balanced by some honeyed orange, tangerine and a slight coastal nuance. Some dusty peat and herbal/ heather notes drift by. A multi-dimensional classic HP nose!
The palate is gentle and mature with plenty of dried spiced fruit, orange peel, and chocolaty sherrywood tannins. An intense hit of alcohol paves the way for the herbal, heather and mature honey to put in an appearance and like the 12 year old the oak bitters a touch at the death, but the length is stunning, slightly coastal with a bitter chocolate infused gently peaty finish. Damn it lingers and the spicy orange fruit returns for a curtain call. Absolutely superb!
Tullibardine 18 year old 46%
Bourbon
Tasted: Apr 2011
A hard, slightly industrial and oily nose with hints of menthol and decaying, spicy rose petal marc. But…. There is some soft fruit, malt and brittle honey beneath. With time the aromas become almost gristy and sawdusty in character.
The palate is light and marc-like and very peppery with some hard, brittle herbal-barley on the middle. The alcohol is mouth watering and intense but still very peppery. The finish is a tad hot and industrial and slightly tannic as the oak bites but those lovely peppery moments linger. An interesting and not altogether unpleasant bottling of Tulli, but it’s definitely of that style!
A COUPLE OF RUMS
There’s not much to say about these two Rums apart from that they are stunning and if you love rum, then you really should buy them!......... Don’t you just love the subtle sales pitch huh!
Ron Zacapa (Guatemala) Centenario Solera 23 40% (website price 55.82)
Produced from Sugar Cane Honey – a blend of spirits aged between 6-23 years.
Tasted: Arp 2011
Deep, darkly scented aromas of dark toffee/ honey coated dried fruits. Superb complexity with some aged Pedro Ximinez wood producing an almost damp Armagnac-esque rancio along with hints of liquorice, smoke, citrus conserve, nuts and with time a slight perfumed-herbal peatiness.
Off-sweet on the palate. Unctuous in a sort of Diplomatico fashion. Full of liquorice, nuts, dried raisinated fruit and burnt, bitter toffee. Although it seems initially to be quite broad and sweet it has a delightful lightness of touch and a lovely balance, which moves into an agricole-esque, floral, tobacco and citrus peel finish. Superb length with the wood returning with a touch of dusty spices.
A really interesting rum, which seems to bridge the gap between a molasses based rum and an agricole.
Angostura (Trinidad) 1824 12 year old 40% (website price £48.47)
Btl No 157221
Tasted: Arp 2011
Quite a light nose, displaying plenty of vanilla oak, which with some time becomes a bit sawdusty in character along with some edgy, high toned dried fruit notes. Densely perfumed (violets?) with tropical fruit mix – dried banana, apricot, nuts and a touch of smoke. Absolutely stunning depth with the spicy smoke building.
The palate is dry-ish and light with a gentle sweetness. More nutty, slightly antiseptic in character with a hint of an oxidised rancio. Extremely spiced middle with the antiseptic notes taking hold and dominating right through until the end where it finishes with a pure liquorice root note and a sweetly-spiced after taste.
The palate shows a lovely progression from initial dryness through to a sweeter finish. Superb!
SPANISH BRANDY
As you may or may not know. Our sister company Rhone2Rioja has the agency for the superb range of Equipos Navazos sherries. This is the second brandy that they have released and this time we decided that we’d have a go at selling them to other Merchants, especially those that buy the sherries, but first one had to taste it, and that seemed like a good opportunity to re-visit the other Spanish brandy that we have.
As you can see from my tasting notes they are very different to each other. The la Bota No29 is wonderfully elegant, much like their sherries, whereas the Uno En Mil is more robust, less heavy on the ‘Oloroso’ than the previous time I tasted it many years ago and with an almost peaty character.
Equipos Navazos No. 29 La Bota de Brandy 42% £TBC
At least 10 years in American Oak, finished in 3 ex-Fino Butts from Bodegas Rey Fernando de Castilla
Limited release of approximately 800 50cl bottles.
Tasted: June 2011
A very Lowland-esque nose (slightly musky white flowers), heavy on the floral fino aromas. Superb, subtle complexity of brittle honey along with hints of pure orange, white liquorice and some lovely herbal vanillins from the American oak.
The palate is soft, subtle but quite full, opening with some straw like Fino enhanced fruit followed by a gentle salty, dried fruit rancio. The mid palate has a beautiful texture, coating the mouth with juicy raisinated fruit reminiscent of a fine Cognac and underpinned by the unassuming American oak. Superb, lingering finish with a slight perfumed nuance.
Uno En Mil 40% (website price £36.68)
Cask 11/1000
Tasted: June 2011
Pungent and deep aromas of Amontillado, mixed with a light Oloroso note. The aromas are reminiscent of peat and manure in a sort of Connemara like style. Quite drying with some burnt wood notes. Lurking beneath are some lovely honeyed, dried grape moments.
The palate is gently sweet with like the nose, opening with the Amontillado character. Full and rounded with a lovely depth of sweet dried fruit and only a mere suggestion of peat, which only becomes apparent in the finish. At first the palate seems quite straightforward but the complexity of slightly salted nuts and dried fruit gently unfolds. Ones only complaint is a slight sulphur blemish hiding amongst the burnt wood notes, but aside from that it is pretty robust and enjoyable.
NEW WHITE SPIRITS
Glenglassaugh ‘The Peated Spirit Drink’ 50% 20cl (website price £13.95)
Tasted: Mar 2011
Just like the ‘Spirit Drink that Dare Not Speak Its Name’ the aromas have a lovely sweetness with fresh rose petals and lightly oiled cereal. Fairly lightly peated with said peat showing a pleasant earthy character.
The palate displays the same sweetness as the nose. Quite gentle with Turkish delight/ rose water notes. There is some really good depth to this with plenty of cereal and malty digestive biscuit flavours. The peat is dry and not overpowering and moves into a light coal dust dénouement towards the finish. Superbly balanced with the sweetness returning.
It is ideal at this alcoholic strength as with the addition of water it becomes a touch soapy and more oiler on the nose, whilst the palate looses its character.
Aguirre Family Pisco ABA 50cl (website price £15.97)
Double distilled (in copper pot stills) clear spirit made from Muscat
Tasted: Mar 2011
Soft and full aromas which have a sort of fluffy/ starchy/ milky character. Hints of lime, grape, angelica and rose petals make for an interesting nose. With time some soft spice notes develop.
The palate is like the nose suggests soft and full with a distinctly creamy mouth feel, which with time becomes more milkier. The soft spice and rose petal notes build pleasantly, leading into a refreshing lime infused finish. Right at the end the Muscat grape does put in a peachy appearance in the after taste.
Herradura Tequila Blanco 40% (website price £30.29)
Rested in new uncharred oak casks for up to 60 days.
Tasted: Mar 2011
A very peppery nose. Warm, rounded and full with a slight creaminess. The aromas become more starchy and fibrous in character given some time with some hints of toasted nuts.
The palate is like the nose soft and has a distinct toasted hazelnut flavour, along with a touch of almost clotted cream. It opens into a lovely petally and pure red/ black peppercorn mid palate. Lovely intensity with the pepper becoming increasingly complex. Soft and very smooth.
Herradura Tequila Reposado 40% (website price £33.45)
Aged for around 11 months in new charred oak.
Tasted: Mar 2011
Softer and rounder than the Blanco. The oak ageing is definitely apparent, but the pepperiness of the spirit is undiminished. Still full and creamy with the subtle vanillins adding a little sweetness.
The palate surprisingly shows a lot less oak influence (the sweet vanillins are somewhat absent) and it is still very full, nutty and peppery. Maybe it is a touch drier as the oak imparts some bitterness but then the pepper kicks in again and any bitterness is soon lost. Very long, less nutty and maybe a touch more floral.
Herradura Tequila Anejo 40% (website price £38.19)
Aged for between 24 and 32 months in new charred oak.
Tasted: Mar 2011
The aromas are a lot more subtle than the Reposado, and the additional time in oak gives the spirit a more whisky like character. It’s very nutty now with plenty of toasty vanilla, but less pepper. However the floralness of the Reposado is joined by some citrus, sweet toffee and herbal notes. One gets the impression that the oak is beginning to dominate the spirit, however at the point in time it is finally balanced.
The palate is lovely and soft. Full, nutty and toasty. The oak bitters the start but like before the pepper again powers through. This time the oak hangs in there and eventually dries out the finish. That finish is all about the pure wood notes and spice but the pepperiness never gives up the ghost. Interesting loamy/ mushroomy after taste.
The Botanist Gin 46% (website price £26.28)
Distilled at Bruichladdich
Tasted: Mar 2011
31 botanicals are used in the production of The Botanist, including 22 native to Islay. The full list of botanicals is as follows: angelica root, apple mint, birch leaves, bog myrtle leaves, cassia bark, chamomile, cinnamon bark, coriander seed, creeping thistle flowers, elder flowers, gorse flowers, heather flowers, hawthorn flowers, wild Islay juniper berries, lardy's bedstraw flowers, lemon balm, lemon peel, liquorice root, meadow sweet, orange peel, oris root, peppermint leaves, mugwort leaves, red clover flowers, tansy, thyme leaves, water mint leaves, white clover, wood sage leaves.
The nose is distinctly London Dry in character with plenty of crisp citrus rind, juniper, herbs and floral notes. A lovely complex and fresh nose with no shortage of depth and a slight creaminess. The palate is slightly oily but balanced by the crisp and citrusy fruit. Again herby with plenty of juniper and an almost tart alcohol which gives it a very mouth watering touch. Fresh and long with a slightly rooty/ barky/ earthy finish.
Chase Marmalade Vodka 40% (website price £33.70)
Tasted: June 2011
The nose has a lovely purity of marmalade orange with the crisp, graininess (less starchy than 2010 bottling) of the spirit balancing the sweetness very well. Initially it is quite sweet on the palate and full of English breakfast marmalade flavours. The spirit sits beneath and just comes through with a lovely bite towards the end. Superb balance and extremely smooth. Very long, leaving an oily, orange residue coating the mouth.
A COUPLE OF NEW LADDIES
With the release of PC8 that drew a line underneath the first batch of Port Charlotte to be distilled and now the guys at Bruichladdich have gone onto a vatting, or as they would say a ‘multi-vintage bottling’. Likewise they have done the same with the ‘Organic’. Now as stand alone bottlings there is nothing wrong with either of them, but as you will see from my notes, I fell that neither really hits the heights of the bottlings that they have replaced.
Bruichladdich ‘The Organic’ 46%
Tasted: Mar 2011
Very coastal and slightly phenolic aromas. Quite floral and becoming rather perfumed with time – hyacinth and honeysuckle with some crisp, brittle honey and barley. Lovely depth to the nose with the brininess swirling around a lovely malty/ honeyed core.
The palate is soft, gentle and rounded. A lot more youthful than one would have expected given the nose. Quite coastal with plenty of youthful cereal and hints of honeysuckle and perfumed white flowers. Not as deep and fruity as the 2003 bottling, but with a bracing fresh salinity. It does have some depth and the malty/ honey notes definitely linger. Good length with hints of rose water and pepper in the finish.
It’s good but the palate doesn’t have the depth that the nose promises and personally I would have continued to release it as a vintage rather than as a multi-vintage bottling.
Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 46%
Tasted: Mar 2011
A crisp, briny and peaty nose. It puts me in mind of a young, moderately peated Caol Ila – wonderfully fresh and coastally! The up pops some sugar sprinkled orange, citrus rind and as the aromas unfold some rubber and burnt wood aromas emerge and finally some creamy oak. The peat is quite dry and crumbly, almost dusty in character and quite gentle unlike say the PC8 which was visceral in its intensity.
The palate is soft and quite sooty to begin with. There is a suggestion of apricot and orange fruit and a lovely rounded depth. The dry peat arrives with elegance on the middle with a lovely complexity of dry, earthy layers. Good length with hints of honeyed citrus returning and some bitter oak, salinity and herbal nuances. Quite an oily after taste.
Very charming and civilised but I miss the rampant intensity of previous bottlings.
AROUND THE WORLD IN 30 DRAMS?
Well, not quite 30 drams, but a round up of non Scottish whiskies that I’ve been tasting over the last couple of months. The highlights would definitely have to be the Penderyn ‘The Welsh Rugby Union 125th Anniversary’, the Connemara ‘Turf Mor’ and the Yoichi 12 year old. Low lights would have to be the Goldlys Belgium Double Still Whisky, which has been carameled to death and the Wasmunds Virginian Pot Still Malt, which like the other couple of bottlings that I have tasted from American micro-distilleries suffers from being bottled way too young.
Suntory Hakushu 12 year old 43.5%
Tasted: Mar 2011
A delicate and fragrant nose reminiscent of forest floors, bracken and ferns floats above a beautifully clean base of honeyed barley, gentle peat and citrus fruit. The oak sits pleasantly in the background and doesn’t impinge upon the overall freshness of the aromas.
The palate is as delicate as the nose, but don’t mistake that for a lack of depth. It opens with some crisp barley and citrus followed by herbal/ grassy notes. There is a lovely, pure peat/ coal dusty middle leading into a juicy, lightly honeyed and floral finale. Just like the nose the oak sits in the background adding a weight of oily vanillins and spice.
Nikka Yoichi 12 year old 45% (website price £76.87)
Bottling Code 14J02B
Tasted: Mar 2011
Clean, coastal sherried fruit aromas mingle with sweet dark malt and plenty of earthy peat. This has a lovely depth with layers of grape, salt, mature citrus fruit and peat. Later some hints of molasses and toasted wood emerge.
A beautifully soft and elegant palate with mature coastal laced sherried fruit by the bucket load. The spices (cinnamon and cumin) and dark malt really kick in, followed by a superb complexity of peat flavours – dry and earthy one minutes, then highlighted by some tcp/ medicinal moments. It really lets out it’s phenolics towards the finish where the oak bites and adds some bitter chocolate/ toffee. Lovely length with some charred embers and soot to finish off with. This is one of those drams whish flows superbly from beginning to end!
Penderyn 41 Madeira Finish 41%
Bourbon/ Madeira
Tasted: Apr 2011
A high toned and youthful nose with plenty of spicy rose petal marc and a lot less Madeira cask than usual. This allows more of the floral spirit character to show and it’s beautifully accented with some flecks of honey, green fruit, peach and apricot.
The palate is delicate, opening with some fleshy fruit and followed by a touch of light spice and rose petals. Like the nose the Madeira influence is at a minimum. Some honeyed barley moments balance the slightly bitter oak vanillins but move into a more sweet, buttery demeanour on the finish.
Penderyn ‘The Welsh Rugby Union 125th Anniversary’ 50%
Bourbon/ Madeira
Tasted: Apr 2011
An expansive, richly Madeira accented nose. Quite spicy and sublimely fruity with tropical fruit, greengages and buckets of black peppery spice. A stunning nose! Multi-layered and multi-dimensional. With time the spices become more herbally and finally some bourbon-esque vanilla appears.
There’s no gentle preamble on the palate as you are straight into a mouthful of bourbon spiced fruit. Serious big and mouth wateringly intense, helped by the slightly higher abv. Next the Madeira dried fruit wades into the ruck leading to a peppery marc finish. The oak slightly bitters the finish but the enormity of the malt holds it off well. Without a shadow of a doubt the best bottling of Penderyn I’ve tasted.
Penderyn ‘Celtic Manor Sherrywood 2010’ 50%
Single Oloroso butt – 200 bottles
Tasted: Apr 2011
A huge, spotlessly clean, sweet toffee/ nutty Oloroso nose – Dried fruits ahoy! However the peppery marc spirit character comes through adroitly. Nowhere near as confected as the standard sherrywood expression, it is more real and earthy with what seems like a smidgen of peat and later some lovely mature honey, which mature beyond its years.
A lovely soft entry with plenty of spicy raisinated fruit, burnt toffee and some peppery spirit notes. Reasonably complex with hints of burnt wood, cocoa and yet more dried spicy fruit. The oak bites adding a bitter chocolate note to the finish. Not quite as complex as the nose but the spirit does return on the after taste.
Connemara ‘Turf Mor’ 58.2%
Bourbon
Tasted: May 2011
An intensly fresh and briny nose. Seriously phenolic and youthful but with a good balancing malty-sweetness. Slightly gristy with hints of fleshy green banana and some high toned ‘off the still’ soapy notes which emphasise the youthfulness of the spirit. With time some charred wood aromas come through as does a slight perfumed heather/ lavender note.
The palate is sooty and sweet (as opposed to sooty and sweep!). The soot verily coats the tongue in a sugared-peat veneer. Incidentally the peat does have a kind of turf like quality! The alcohol explodes on the middle dragging the peat dust with it, but it’s not one dimensional as there is an underpinning of fleshy, slightly under ripe fruit, dark chocolate and tannins with some light syrup coming through on the finish.
Water emphasises the youthfulness of the spirit and accentuates the soapyness. It has become a tad less complex as the dry peat aromas become more prominent. The palate is less sweet now and drier and with the reduction in the abv it just lacks that mind blowing hit in the same way that watering down the George T Stagg does. If I was being picky I’d say that it could have done with matbe a touch more mature spirit included in the vatting to offset that youthful-soapyiness but if you like your peated malts young and a bit raw, like the Ardbeg very young then you will love this ……… and I do!
Goldlys Belgium Double Still Whisky 40%
Tasted: May 2011
Column and Pot Still, aged for at least 3 years in boubon casks
It smells like a blend……. And a heavily caramelised one at that. There is some toffee’d malt along with hints of almonds from the wood and some high toned, grain like esters, but the caramel whether natural or artificial rather ruins it.
It really tastes young. There are plenty of ‘off the still’ cereal notes along with some marc like spices and nutty wood notes, but again the caramel flattens it. I think without it would be reasonably pleasant.
Wasmunds Virginian Pot Still Malt 48%
Batch 39 – Aged 42 months
Tasted: May 2011
Barley mated over fruit wood and hard wood. Aged in cask with wood chips?
Quite a distinctive and peculiar nose – Rosemary, thyme, herbs and lanolin. Really quite complex with hints of violets before banana and tropical fruit notes emerge. There is plenty of rich, caramel oak, which although quite fudgy doesn’t dampen its enthusiasm, but it does start to dominate the nose and it becomes pretty heavy on the fruit wood (cherry?) notes, tobacco leaf, pepper and spice.
The palate is however all wood – smoky caramel, cherry wood smoke. The youthful marc like spirit struggles against it but is fairly overwhelmed and flattened by all the (probably natural) caramel. The alcohol does to a certain extent clean the palate allowing the rosemary, thyme and violet notes to appear but the wood puts paid to that and it all stops quite short.
Pradlo Distillery, Czechoslovakia – Hammerhead 1989 (20 year old) 40.7%
Dist: 1989 Btl: 2009
Tasted: May 2011
1005 Czech barley and Oak
A light, fragrant, Speyside-esque nose with some ghard vanillins, toffee and brittle honey. There is a sort of turpentine whiff to the aromas and with time it becomes quite perfumed. Definitely interesting with a huge amount of herbal honey. It actually seems a lot younger than 20 years, maybe Czech oak has a tighter grain?
The palate is light and honeyed with some herbal wood notes amongst the vanilla and toffee. Some rose petal notes and brittle honey appear but the alcohol (although not particularly high) kicks in and that’s the fun over with. Not much in the way of length and tannins bitter out the finish. Now it seems to be showing its age, and for me just lacks body.
James Sedgewick Distillery, South Africa – Three Ships 10 year old 43%
Sherry
Tasted: May 2011
A clean, sweet, slightly leafy sherry nose with hints of herbs and liquorice. Quite aromatic and nutty with some sugared almond notes. It’s pleasantly sherried with maybe a smidge of peat (of the slightly medicinal variety) but where is the distillery character?
The palate is gently sherried (probably from refilled butts) again slightly leafy. Bold, mouthfilling and spicy with the alcohol appearing to be quite piquant. A short-ish, very dry finish as the tannins grip, but if you like sherried drams this is not too bad, but I wish that there was some distillery character.
GENERAL ROUND UP
Yes I know that I’ve tasted and reviewed both the Springbank 15 and Longrow CV before, but when the distillery kindly sent some samples of the lastest bottlings along with a sample of the Hazelburn 8 year old ‘Sauternes Wood’, I though it would be remiss of me not to review them!
Springbank 15 year old 46% (website price £44.43)
Tasted: Mar 2011
A classic, deep, rich, malty and sherry influenced nose. More chlorinated than I remember and thankfully sans vegetalness this time! Still as complex as ever with plenty of orange conserve, dry peat and earth. There seems to be less American oak, but the sherry adds hints of figs, dark chocolate, coffee and some late burnt wood.
The palate is softer and sweeter to begin with. A lovely bitter/ sweet balancing act – Sherry laced fruit, malt, salt and dried fruit leads into an extremely salt encrusted middle. Spotlessly clean this time with the wood coming through on the finish with dark bitter chocolate, cocoa, some tannins and an earthy/ peat finale. Still stunning!
Longrow CV 46% (website price £32.63)
Tasted: Mar 2011
A very fishy and peaty nose. The peat is unusually for Longrow in that it is more medicinal in character, and is all encompassing. However there are some drier/ earthy peat moments. Beneath the complexity of peat aromas there lies a thick malty base with plenty of creamy vanillins. Later some burnt wood, mocha and fresh Virginian tobacco notes appear.
Unlike the last time I tasted it the palate opens with the sweet malt and subtle orange fruit before the dry peat drifts in and progresses into medicinal territory ably abetted by some rubber and fishy notes. In fact the finish is extremely rubbery and with the oak biting and bittering out the finish it leaves a salty/ oily peat coating finale. Bracing and exuberant, with what appears to be a greater degree of older spirits in the vatting giving it depth and breadth along with a malty sweetness which just about balances the bitter oak and salt. Wonderful stuff!
Hazelburn 8 year old ‘Sauternes Wood’ 55.9% (website price 51.35)
Dist: June 2002 Btl: Feb 2011
5 years in refill Bourbon Oak and 3 years in Sauternes.
Tasted: Apr 2011
A huge, powerful nose of dark, sweetly treacly scented dried grape with some leafy, almost Oloroso-esque notes in the background. Very complex and as expected cask dominated, but the complexities of the aromas are stunning - coffee, mocha, burnt sugar, caramelised banana and cinnamon notes. It then becomes exceedingly salty and fishy and then, which was a complete surprise peaty!? – Now I was always under the impression that hazelburn was made from malt that was air dried, but it becomes very phenolic with time!
The palate is soft and grapey with that Olosos-esque character showing first. Like the nose it’s insanely complex, rich, earthy, fishy, smoky, peaty and intensely, mouth wateringly alcoholic. However no level of alcohol can subdue the big honeyed grapiness and it returns trailing ginger spiced dried fruit in its wake. A big salt hit attempts to restore some balance and it finishes with a considerable tcp/ medicinal flourish.
With water the nose becomes lighter, sugary and more high toned. A bit simpler with plenty of rasiniated fruit, burnt coffee and cocoa still. The palate is softer and sweeter now. Very woody with liquorice and treacle toffee – the Sauternes cask is in full control and it has a sort of Armagnac-like quality to it. Marginally less intense but that is mainly due to the alcohol being tamed by the water but the burnt toffee coated banana and dried liquorice flavours are still running rampant. A seriously different beasty!
Arran 14 year old 46% (website price 40.37)
Bourbon
Tasted: Apr 2011
A huge an enveloping tropical fruit nose. There is no shortage of floral-honey-nectar, barley, toffee’d banana, grape, lime and a touch of light spice. The aromas are all wrapped in this delicious brown sugar sprinkled maturity along with some supportive oak. With time some perfumed acacia top notes appear.
The palate is broad and generous, and exceedingly complex – opening with hints of green fruit, grape and kiwi before moving into fleshy tropical citrus, barley and banana territory. A lovely bracing coastal middle (which surprisingly was absent from the nose!) leads into a wood infused finish – cocoa, burnt butter, brown sugar. And just when you though it was all over the tropical fruit returns cloaked in a shroud of maturity and really lingers!
Domaine Francois Lamarche (Vosne Romanee) Marc de Bourgogne 1961 41% £69.95
Tasted: Apr 2011
Light, vegetal spirit bouquet exuding distinctively mature aromas of loam and damp, foresty/ mushroomy notes. A delicate nutty/ oxidised rancio with hints of mature stewed berries. The old oak adds hints of toffee’d walnuts.
The palate is soft and light with a lovely fruit sweetness – mature berry fruits, earth, loam and mushroom notes mingle with the decaying petaly/ vegetal spirit notes. Lovely intensity and bitter-sweet balance. Very long with the wood adding hints of bitter chocolate and walnuts. A superbly, venerable spirit.
Elijah Craig 18 year old Single Barrel 45% (website price48.58)
Barrel No: 3051
Dist: Jan 1992 Btl: 2010
Tasted: Apr 2011
A distinctively powerful Bardstown nose, yet it displays a serious degree of elegance. Corn fat and robust, the oak powers in leaving a honeyed wake. Full and creamy with stewed apple, liquorice, toffee and violets. The spicy rye nips gently beneath. With time hints of coffee and linseed oil become apparent.
The palate is again a harmonious blend of power and elegance. Fat corn, oak and gentle rye flavours meld together beautifully. Quite oily, with mouth coating honey and a slight cotton candy note. One can sense the rye building on the tongue and it duly arrives with a gorgeous spiciness leading to a slightly bitter finish, which the vanillins try there best to soften. Seriously good!
Gordon & MacPhail ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ Aberfeldy 1990 (20 year old) 43% (website price £39.94)
Refill Sherry
Dist: June 1990 Btl: Oct 2010
Tasted: Apr 2011
A supremely honeyed nose with some sawdusty oak, musky orange and hints of lavender oil. Seriously appealing and integrated aromas that with time show a touch of citrus conserve and honeyed almond.
The palate opens with some oily citrus fruit swirling amidst a sea of mature wood extracted notes – toffee, honey and liquorice followed by plenty of rich malt and a touch of sawdust. Very unctuous, yet the nip from the alcohol balances and allows the fresh citrus and floral spirit to show towards a violety-perfumed, rose water ‘tart’s boudoir’ (technical term!) finish.
Laphroaig 10 year old 55.3% (website price47.72)
Sherry. Batch 003
Btl: Jan 2011
Quite a subtle nose, along the lines of Batch 001. The sherry certainly holds the phenolics in check and it is the cask sweetness which is at the forefront. Rich and quite malty with some oily banana, cocoa and charred wood amidst the developing briny, phenolic peat. Superb complexity with hints of bog myrtle, seaweed, earth and some youthful cereal.
Flavours of wet tar and creosote hit the tongue first followed by mentholated, medicinal peat and ooh look more tar! The palate is the reverse of the nose with the sherry wood playing second fiddle, mind it does fight back with some pleasant leafiness. It moves into a slightly rubbery, charred wood middle before descending into a salt encrusted finish. You’ve just gotta love this stuff!
Water mutes the nose a touch and its shows a lot more of its oily side. It’s possibly a touch on the sugar coated side now. The palate is sootier and gentler and the sherry character is more prevalent and keeps the rampant peat in check. It’s a lot sweeter now and like the nose it has a definite candied dénouement. The wood does impart a bit more of an over bitterness to the finish, so personally I would drink this neat.
Kilchoman ‘Winter 2010 Release’ 46% (website price £43.88)
3 years in Bourbon, peated to 50ppm
Tasted: May 2011
A phenolic and briny nose with no shortage of wonderfully sweet barley and Ardbeg-esque burnt wood. The peat aromas are quite dry and there is a tantalising citrus thread.
The palate is soft and youthful and pretty much mirrors the nose with some sweet but dry peat first up, followed by the barley. The middle is full on and intensely phenolic and meanders its way to a sooty, slightly tannic finish.
Right that’s it for now, but just to let you know that tasting has already begun for the next newsletter. Well I had to draw the line somewhere!!! But just to whet your appetite, the focus will be on the Gordon & MacPhails ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ range along with a superb entry level Cognac from Domaine Le Reviseur, from the Petit Champagne region and three superb Armagnac’s from Clos Martin.
Oh and finally the blog is in the final stages of being tested and if you log in to www.gauntleys.com you will probably see some excerpts from the newsletter. Hopefully by the time of the next newsletter that will be the other way around.
Until next time.
Chris Goodrum