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April 24, 2024 |
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The Mysteries of Japan, a few unusual whiskies
Japanese whisky remains enigmatic, ranging from the very authentic to the completely counterfeit, the blends of the two, the fakes that have become real, the improbable categories, the distilleries that don't exist, the shochu-whiskies, the malts that are grains... Let's have a bit of fun! |
Wakame (La Fourche) |
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Nikka 'Pure Malt Black' (43%, OB, Japan, +/-2023) 
This already ancient range of three 'made in Japan' whiskies includes this Black, a White, and a Red. Naturally, all the retail sites present them as purely Japanese whiskies, based on Yoichi and Miyagikyo, but fifteen or twenty years ago, everyone knew they were vatted malts or blends that included a good dose of Scotch, like Ben Nevis (which belongs to Nikka) and Ardbeg. And nobody was complaining , given the already established reputation of these Scottish distilleries and the very sweet price of these Nikkas at the time – prices which have quadrupled since then. I add that they are not necessarily blended malts, since unless I'm wrong once more, 'Coffey malts' are considered malts in Japan, whereas in Scotland they would be grains, as it's the type of still that decides, so to speak. In short, I don't know what's in my glass, but I know it's a 'Product of Nikka' and that it can be very good. It's been 20 years since I've tasted the Pure Malt Black! Colour: gold. Nose: lovely peat, nice fruitiness, indeed a Ben Nevis-like sensation, this earthy, basaltic and slightly salty and mustardy side, with a bit of new leather, this very nice pepper, these touches of menthol, these green walnuts that seem to indicate the presence of sherry... In short, it's a very nice nose, whether it's 100% Japanese malt (which it doesn't seem to be) or a world blend. Great work from the master blender. Mouth: oh but it's excellent! Marmalade, tobacco, pepper, more mustard and coffee (this combination is vomitive in real life, but it works in a whisky), slightly burnt walnut cake, a strong salinity, a very present smokiness, bitter oranges... And the low strength is never a problem. Finish: rather long, still on this dry but not drying style. Mint and salted liquorice in the aftertaste. Comments: I really like it a lot, forget my overly long and superfluous introduction.
SGP:564 - 88 points. |
Right, we have a dilemma, do we continue with very old blends or with brand-new malts from 'New Japan'? Okay, let's try the young ones, three from 2018, take a break, and then taste two precious old ones from Suntory... |
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Kanosuke 4 yo 2018/2023 (55%, OB, Japan, distillery exclusive #7, rechar bourbon cask, cask #20458, 814 bottles)
Before you start to wonder how they managed to pull 814 bottles from a bourbon cask, please note that these are 20cl bottlets. Colour: gold. Nose: what we were expecting, that is to say something pretty crystalline, while being smokingly coastal and lemony. And after three minutes, many more breads, some sourdough, and thousands of litres of fermenting wash (watch your spectacles). Right, a washback in action. With water: smoked mussels, kippers, a little gasoline… Mouth (neat): will you believe me if I say that this is somewhere like the Pure Malt Black, only at cask strength? And yet, that's what I'm getting, mustard, smoke, tobacco, salted lime, a touch of cucumber juice, a little oregano, and a lot of salted liquorice. Did they let some friends from northern Europe roam the warehouse? With water: even closer to the Nikka. How bizarre… or not. No Ben Nevis in this Kanosuke, naturally! Finish: long and very saline, with some lime and cucumber juice, and even a drop of gherkin brine. Comments: we're fans of Kanosuke and just wrote a few wee lines about it in the latest edition of Whisky Mag French edition. I think, I don't think it's out yet.
SGP:564 - 89 points. |
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Shizuoka 2018/2024 'KS + WS' (46.6%, OB, Japan, for Sushi + Soul, peated, bourbon barrel, cask #939) 
Sushi + Soul is a wonderful Japanese restaurant in Munich Germany (Glockenbachviertel, Klenzestraße 71 – that's easy right) they carry a huge assortment of Japanese whiskies (not Just Nikka Days and Hibiki, right – nothing wrong with those, of course). This is one of their own Shizuokas, fresh from the bottling line. I suppose they have a bottling line at Shizuoka, have they not? Colour: gold. Nose: pim pam poom, peat, mango, citron, lemon curd, coriander leaves and Thai basil. High-definition Shizuoka, not overly complex but could it be at just 4. Add elements from some ocean, I'm reluctant to mention wakame since that would be too easy with a Japanese whisky. Well, there, wakame salad. Awesome nose, pretty easy. Why make things difficult. Mouth: a feeling of serene fullness. Salty peat, more citron (if I mention yuzu you kill me – well, there, yuzu), gentler peppers (Szechuan, Timut), elderberry liqueur (Nussbaumer in Alsace make a great one, so much better than 'that famous brand')… And probably a little ginseng and some fresh raw wholegrain bread. Finish: long, a tad more gingery, and always with these smoked lemons, some olives, some gherkins, some capers and even some pickled samphire. Comments: dare I add that it would go very well with sushi, without you making fun of me? Wonderful young Shizuoka.
SGP:555 - 90 points. |
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Shizuoka 2018/2024 'KS + WS' (46.3%, OB, Japan, for Sushi + Soul, peated, bourbon octave, cask #287)
I think we'll be close to the previous one, so we'll go quickly to save the planet (digital pollution is becoming madness, it seems, I think I might restart a printed newsletter as I used to do before 1995 – and I hope the Scotch Whisky Review will do the same). Colour: gold. Nose: joke aside, yes it's close but oddly, I find this one less marked by the cask, and even cleaner, closer to bread, barley, yeasts, but also to rubber, camphor, virgin wool, fresh shrimp, wet sand at low tide... And tar. I believe my heart leans a bit towards this one. Mouth: magnificent lemons and sea water. It seems more potent than the other, more acidic too, with a wonderful bitterness (seaweed, finger lime). Great tension, it's like a very grand Chablis matured exclusively in refill. Finish: long, more on yeasts and acids, fermentations, even glue, with a bit of raspberry vinegar, perhaps. What beautiful tension. Comments: the other was more modern, perhaps easier, while this one offers an incredibly salty and lemony side. And it's a bit sadistic, make of that what you will.
SGP:565 - 91 points. |
A vatting of both casks is a drink of the angels and of the devils (perhaps WF 92) . Alright, we take the promised break and then come back for two possibly mad Suntory whiskies... or not, we shall see, they are a little unusual. |
There we are, we're back. |
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Suntory '60th Anniversary of Kotobuki Seihan' (43%, OB, Japan, blend, 60cl, 2006) 
Apparently, Kotobuki are printers. That's good, they could print my new newsletter. Impossible to know, or even guess what's inside the bottle, could be fully Japanese, could be Bowmore, could be anything else. Colour: gold. Nose: In any case, it's certainly not pure Bowmore, that's for sure, but there's a nice little maritime and smoky edge to it, even if the whole remains light, on a quite classic combination of toasted bread, wax, old wood and old books, as well as a slight camphoric and sandalwood side which, ultimately, does give it a 'Japanese' aspect indeed. A few tinned fruits, particularly rambutans – not something you find too often in our whiskies. Ultimately, it's the coconut that comes through, and that, that comes from the grain. Mouth: it's really good, definitely a high-level blend, with aged malts, even if as usual, after a very, very nice initial mouthfeel, the structure becomes a bit thin due to the grain. So not much chew, but very nice notes of flambéed bananas, black sesame ice cream, sweetened Earl Grey tea, old rum, herbal teas, rooibos. Finish: slightly short, but with more ham, old wax, a bit of caramel... Comments: there's a very charming side to this Suntory blend. A friend once told me, "you recognize blends by the fact that you put ice in them." Well, you shouldn't say that to our Japanese friends, but in this case, I wouldn't add ice, nor water for that matter. And by the way, congratulations to the people at Kotobuki, eighteen years belated.
SGP:652 - 86 points. |
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Suntory '50th Anniversary of Video Promotions, Inc.' (43%, OB, Japan, blend, ceramic, 2010)
This one is said to shelter some Yamazaki 1960 (!) ex-mizunara barrels (!!) and other old Yamazakis. Malt freaks don't know much about Suntory's numerous and rather crazy celebratory decanters (think about the Rolling Stones') but indeed it is a whole world, pretty close to that of the old Jim Beams (ah, the chainsaw decanter!) and, after all why not, to the Bell's bell decanters. What some people do not seem to gather, having said that, is that evaporation tends to strike these wonderful objects pretty heavily. Anyway, Yamazaki 1960, anyone?... |
Colour: deep gold. Nose: easier, lighter, rounder than the Kotobuki, more on straight cakes, pastries, macaroons, scones… There are a few old teas and embrocations in the background, but all in all, this is an extremely civilized blend that rather feels middle-aged, like 25. Wait, am I not getting some acacia flower fritters? Mouth: much more action on the palate, oxygen has not taken its toll yet, or perhaps was this one particularly well sealed? When you think that certain distillers, including a Scottish one starting with M, sell some of their decanters lying down in some boxes... it's a disaster waiting to happen, or proof that no one cares about the liquid inside. Frankly, they might as well put tea or Colorex in there, it wouldn't make a difference. Indeed, some have done this for decorative bottles intended for shop displays, which bottles now find themselves, some of them at least, at auction. Well played. Well, this Suntory is very good, it's becoming drier and drier, with very nice touches of mushrooms, cigar, leather (previously called Russian leather, but that's a recently outdated expression). Nice salty and mentholated touches, old wood (is that mizunara?), even more tobacco, then chestnut honey, yellow chartreuse, black nougat, black Assam tea... It's a very great blend, that's certain. Though one would dream of it being at 46%, or even 50% ABV. Finish: not very long but even more complex, this time with broths rich in herbs, chives, chervil, parsley, then mushrooms... Mushrooms are fascinating beings, did you know that... O-kay, right, that's for next time. Comments: a very great blended whisky and a decanter that seems to hold up very well. You just have to give the whisky inside a little time. One of the best blends I've recently tried. Like, after Covid.
SGP:562 - 90 points. |
There we have it, that was truly an extremely unstructured Japanese session. |
(A million thanks, Chris and Logan!) |
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April 23, 2024 |
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About Ten Blair Athol
Here is another Scottish distillery which currently has many bottlings at independent bottlers. |
Some Malt Maniacs on tour at Blair Athol in 2003 (WF Archive) |
Some are excellent; it's a far cry from the days of Arthur Bell and the time when, after being taken over by Guinness-UDV, Blair Athol 8 yo briefly joined the Classic Malts, alongside the other six (Lagavulin and the like). It is true that the distillery is very picturesque and strategically located from a tourism perspective. A word of caution to beginners: in Blair Athol, there is only one 'L', which has not stopped, however, a few absent-minded independents from offering 'Blair Atholl'. Let's see what we have, without adopting any sort of ranking... |
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Blair Athol 14 yo 2009/2023 (46%, Cadenhead, Original Collection, oloroso sherry finish) 
Colour: golden amber. Nose: very nice sherry on tobacco, walnuts and old coins and tools. Add some fried bananas and some maple sirup, as well as quite some cherry liqueur. Feels very sweet and PX-y for some oloroso. Mouth: sherry-led, and I mean sherry wine, not sherry cask. We love sherry but while you cannot not think of some glorious old sherry monsters of yesteryear that were just as 'boosted' as this, this feels a little too much and premix-y. Now, the end result remains pleasant, with PX, walnuts, raisins, nutmeg and some millionaire shortbread. Finish: long, more on caramel, walnut wine and chocolate. Rather a lot of chocolate. Comments: probably a pretty wet cask, but I think it rather worked, I don't find it too stuffy or cloying. BTWT I remember the distillery were having a superb sherry monster as a distillery-only bottling, quite some moons ago.
SGP:641 - 83 points. |
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Blair Athol 10 yo 'Bloody Sergeant' (51.8%, Macbeth, Elixir Distillers, household series, 2,800 bottles, 2023)
I've completely missed these as they were coming out last year. Warning, some red wine casks seem to have been involved here. I tell you, sometimes they just shouldn't tell. Colour: gold. It is not pink. Nose: indeed some pink gooseberries, some red currant and, above everything, some morello cherries. Together with the malt, they display a rather clafoutis-like profile. Do you know clafoutis? With the cherry stones, naturally, they make the cake trickier to eat, but so much better. With water: geared a tad more toward the malt. Mouth (neat): rather blood oranges and toffee apple. Grenadine and more redcurrant. Beaujolais, or at least Gamay? With water: water works very well, it mingles the flavours and lets more spices and herbal teas come out. Finish: rather long, much grassier. Stalks and stems? A little stout and chocolate in the aftertaste. Comments: good fun to follow this baby in your glass. A strange idea well executed, I would say.
SGP:651 - 84 points. |
Since we're on the subject of red wine... |
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Blair Athol 10 yo 2013/2023 (57.7%, Lady of the Glen, refill wine barrique, cask #310876, 307 bottles)
Not a finishing here, it is full maturation in a barrique, possibly Bordeaux. Colour: pale apricot. Nose: intriguingly dry, then with some muesli and fresh wild carrots. Love wild carrots – any carrots for that matter. A few macaroons, plus allspice, ras-el-hanout, a very tiny bit of Parmesan cheese… It's actually all elegant and even slightly discreet, but that may be the high strength. With water: adios wine, hello malt whisky! And a nice one, very 'Midlander', with melons, ripe apples, mirabelles and quince, sweet beer, ripe gooseberries... Mouth (neat): surprisingly spicy and fruity at the same time, you would believe this is some Indian whisky. Once again blood oranges and many spices, especially pepper. Touches of mushrooms, morels… With water: water does not erase the wine on the palate, but malt and wine had ten years to get better acquainted and start a family (what?) Hints of bubblegum (the children, ha). Finish: medium, fruity and a little tart, which is lovely. Leafier aftertaste. Comments: as is often the case, care must be taken when diluting a whisky that has been significantly influenced by wine; they can become astringent. I think it is best to limit it to two or three drops, even when the whisky is very strong.
SGP:551 - 85 points. |
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Blair Athol 11 yo 2011/2022 (58.9%, Hunter Laing, The First Editions, wine cask, cask #HL19177)
It just says wine cask while the colour isn't particularly pink, let's see if we find red berries… Colour: deep gold. Nose: we're pretty close to the lovely 2013, but it's rather rounder, creamier, more on chocolate and praline, some thicker brown beer, a small meaty side – we could have said sherry butt, brown bread dough... With water: some earthiness, yeast, beer, lees, leaves, crude chocolate… Mouth (neat): really rich, very much on oranges, vineyard peaches, mango chutney, garam masala, marmalade, chocolate, walnut liqueur - nocino… A lot of action in this wee youngster. With water: water works extremely well on the palate. The oranges are back, together with some light caramel, praline, and rather milk chocolate this time. Finish: long, with some demerara sugar and triple-sec. Choose your brand. Comments: as good as such a combo can be, in my opinion. They make these better these days, that's for sure.
SGP:551 - 86 points. |
I recall several interviews during which people would ask me whether I preferred whisky or wine. At the rate things are going, this question is going to become ridiculous, or at least useless or irrelevant. |
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Blair Athol 12 yo 2010/2022 (56.9%, Whisky Is The Limit, second fill sherry hogshead, cask #301692, 387 bottles)
Colour: rich amber. Nose: the chocolate truly dominates this time, followed by hazelnuts and toasted almonds, then Christmas fruit bread (we're really behind schedule), pumpernickel, dried apricots… It feels a bit more like first fill than second fill, truly. With water: Williams pear comes to the forefront, which is rather promising. Also sloe. Mouth (neat): very strong, earthy, spicy, and meaty. It's almost as if they've added game to the casks, perhaps grouse (which weren't exactly asking for it). Clove. With water: it's softer and rounded out again. Figs, honey… Finish: quite long, with some notes of broth, leek, nuts, bone marrow dumplings… But the chocolate comes back in the aftertaste, along with the honey and oranges. Comments: pretty superb. A very fine bottle, but ensure you have a good pipette.
SGP:651 - 86 points. |
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Blair Athol 14 yo 2009/2023 (55.3%, Maltbarn, Seventies, sherry cask, 285 bottles)
Ah these superb labels, they really should make posters out of them and sell them, truly. In any case, those from this new beautifully retro series. Colour: dark gold. Nose: we're in the realm of oranges and citrons, maple syrup, figs and honey, roasted peanuts... I think we've reached a new level, let's see this... With water: a bit of burnt wood, ash, mosses, mushrooms, chocolate, a touch of metal... It strongly reminds one of a very good amontillado. Mouth (neat): oh how good it is. Perfect sherry, crisp and spirited, oranges and mandarins, honeys, orange blossom water… With water: yes, that's it. Orange blossom is very prominent. Finish: medium length, freshness and perfect balance. Comments: could I have been influenced by this label that I adore? Come on, of course not. When a sherry cask has remained as fresh as this, it can only work superbly. If you've run out of Blair Athol in your bar, you know what to do...
SGP:651 - 90 points. |
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Blair Athol 11 yo 2010/2021 'Old Master Q' (53.6%, Hong Kong Whisky, refill sherry butt, 309 bottles)
Old Master Q is that little character from the very famous eponymous comic strip in Hong Kong. Apparently, he's quite clever and rather good with double entendres. We've already tasted a Tomintoul with him on the label, but I don't know if it will have been published by the time we publish this. You get the idea. Colour: straw. It's very much refill, superb. Nose: ah yes, barley, vanilla, cereals, apricot syrup, guava juice... We're really not in sherry territory anymore. With water: and mandarins, madeleines, biscuits... Mouth (neat): it's very good, it's smooth, it's fruity, with a solid malted base, vanilla cream, orange liqueur... You might have said bourbon, I wouldn't have called foul. With water: there, perhaps yes, it's got a more earthy side, more on nuts, a bit of smoky tea... Finish: rather long, with more ginger when water is added. Otherwise, it remains more citrusy and tight. Comments: it's quite protean, depending on how much water you've added. The quality is high, Master Q!
SGP:651 - 87 points. |
Perhaps it's time we turned our attention to some older Blair Athol, isn't it?... |
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Blair Athol 31 yo 1992/2023 (43.3%, The Maltman, bourbon barrel, cask #4783, 167 bottles)
This one ticks absolutely all the boxes. I imagine it's the natural strength of the cask, so we should benefit from added complexity… but also from a little fragility, let's check that. Colour: white wine (what's more!) Nose: peach juice, crushed peach, Bellini (with champagne), hints of pine sap, Provence melon, wafts of rose petals and lychee, gewurztraminer, mandarins… A lot of mandarins, truly. Mouth: it's perfect, very fresh, loaded with citrus and honeys, herbal teas, wood spices, cinnamon (cinnamon rolls), with the absolutely charming side of precious old woods. Finish: a regal return of fresh peaches. And champagne. In short, Bellini – we are in Venice, amongst hundreds of thousands of other tourists who come on those monstrous and dreadful giant cruise ships. Oops, let's move on, Venice does not belong to us… Comments: there was no need to fear any excessive fragility. The fruitiness was just perfect, the champagne as well.
SGP:651 - 89 points. |
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Blair Athol 30 yo 1993/2023 (54.4%, Douglas Laing, 75th Anniversary, Xtra Old Particular, sherry butt, cask #DL17911, 399 bottles)
Possibly the last time we have the opportunity to say 'happy 75th birthday, Douglas Laing, you sure all look much, much younger than that!' Colour: amber. Nose: It's all about jams, dried figs, dates, raisins of all kinds and from all origins, sweet wines (Rivesaltes, Banyuls, rancios, Malaga), then comes menthol tobacco, vetiver, liquorice, dried apricots... What's impressive is that there's absolutely no fragility, even when the Chinese sauces, such as hoisin, or the red one for dim sum, etc., come into play. With water: much rounder, much more on dried fruits and some slightly rustic cognac (good woods). Mouth (neat): it's a magnificent cask, powerful, quite peppery, liquorice-flavoured, marked by black propolis and pepper, with all the dried fruits right behind, as well as, of course, old walnuts. We do not speak of people here. With water: this time, water increases the complexity, releasing plenty of little herbs and more or less wild berries. Particularly sloe withered by frost. Finish: long, a bit wilder, raspy, on fruit skins. A bit of caramel, burnt sugar, autumn leaves... Comments: the slightly less thrilling finish costs it a point or two, but everyone should royally not give a darn. There, it's said.
SGP:562 - 89 points. |
And since we're celebrating anniversaries, this little last one… |
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Blair Athol 35 yo 1988/2023 (55.9%, Signatory Vintage, 35th Anniversary, oloroso sherry butt, cask #6847, 450 bottles)
It's worth noting, the Blair Athol 30th Anniversary edition by Signatory was already a 1988 (WF 91). Also noteworthy, the owners of Signatory could perfectly walk to Blair Athol to choose casks, chat or share a few drams. Right, only the walk back might then be more challenging. Colour: tawny. But we don't care about that. Nose: what to say about these chicken and beef broths, these leeks and asparagus, these countless raisins, these very old Jamaican rums and armagnacs from the first half of the last century, and all this metanoïcal aspect that transcends geography? And, above all, these figs? Maybe it's already time to call the Anti-Maltoporn Brigade. With water: it shifts to malt extract, soy sauce, green walnut, Worcester, lovage, but also dates and prunes. The balance is never broken. Mouth (neat): yes, of course, a perfect sherry, powerful but balanced, half coffees, half chocolates and half dried fruits (forget maths!) With water: there you go, yes, a just perfect, rather peppery sherry. Let's leave it there, if you don't mind. Finish: long, chocolatey, with a hint of smoke, cigar, ristretto. Comments: I believe this was the last 35th Anniversary Signatory Vintage we had yet to taste. So, for the last time, happy anniversary, Signatory! The world of 'sharper' whisky wouldn't be the same without you.
SGP:661 - 92 points. |
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April 22, 2024 |
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WF's Little Duos, today two
superb wee Lowlanders
A quick tasting session featuring an old Littlemill by Silver Seal that I've always wanted to try and a very rare independent Glenkinchie serving as a sparring partner. Apparently, it's a Glenkinchie, but we have no doubt about that... |
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Littlemill 23 yo 1990/2013 (54.8%, Silver Seal, cask #33, 10 magnums, 150cl)
There are only ten bottles, but they are magnums. That's got quite some panache don't you agree? We remember that Littlemills from the late 1980s and early 1990s were or are for the most part extraordinary, for a reason that remains unknown to me, as earlier vintages had been much less remarkable... Colour: white wine. Nose: we often mention the white Sauvignons from the central Loire, like Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé, well, we are right in there. Massive quantities of wet chalk, flint (with a slight mineral smokiness), lemon and green apple, not to forget pink grapefruit and mango, but without any vulgarity. As they say, it speaks. With water: a few touches of vanilla and Earl Grey, a three-kilo pack of Banana Foam... Palate (neat): it's very tight, very much on lemon zest, with almost a slightly soapy side, as in many artisanal limoncellos (no names, I value my health). Liquorice allsorts, marshmallows, passion fruit, green tea... With water: and there you have it, an explosion of exotic fruit candies and, let's say, an old Bushmills malt side. A perfect fruity bomb. Finish: rather long, leaning towards an all-vitamins fruit juice. Comments: this style almost takes you back to childhood. Sadly, I don't see many new Littlemills anymore, but let's remember that the distillery stopped speaking in 1994...
SGP:751 - 90 points. |
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A Lowland Distillery 13 yo 2009/2022 (57.2%, The Single Malts of Scotland, hogshead, cask #303994, 251 bottles)
With a lovely drawing of Glenkinchie Distillery on the label, which surely isn't there by complete chance. Colour: white wine. Nose: to tell the truth, it's not far from the very fruity profile of Littlemill, and rather different from the slightly patisserie-like and quite light character of the official Glenkinchies. On the other hand, we haven't tasted thousands of official Glenkinchies either. I find quite a bit of greengage plums, apples of all kinds, hints of fennel and anise, rhubarb, white peach, a touch of green banana... Very nice! With water: a camomile and lemon liqueur aspect, a fifty-fifty. A bit of light honey. Mouth (neat): it's rather lively, a bit herbal and, above all, very lemony. A hint of fresh coriander. With water: we're coming back around to Littlemill, but with a less exotic and more northern character, we might say. Greengage plums and apples lead the dance, and I also detect a bit of cane sugar. Finish: medium length, fresh, fruity, almost approaching an (excellent) grain whisky at this stage. Comments: perhaps we should have tasted this Glenkinchie before the Littlemill. It's always the problem with ascending alcohol levels.
SGP:651 - 86 points. |
Hold on, we could add a little independent Auchentoshan, there aren't that many of those… |
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Auchentoshan 25 yo 1998/2023 (54.3%, A Few Barrels Company, Uniqueness of the Cask, bourbon barrel, cask #100976, 119 bottles)
We tasted an excellent Octomore by A Few Barrels Company the other day, so let's see what's happening on the other side of the spectrum. It's true that between Octomore and Auchentoshan, well, you see... Colour: straw. Nose: it's amusing to find a rather uniform style among all these Lowlanders, this tense and fruity side, but here we're even more into marshmallows and fruit syrups here, including lemon syrup. I also find more tinned peaches and a very light rum side, quite amusing. Well, it's not Hampden either... With water: very delicate, it's like a Bellini (champagne and peach puree). Palate (neat): superb, very vertical, all-in on lemon, green walnut, and clay. The structure is very herbal but that works very well. With water: the Bellini is back, as are the assorted fruit candies, especially the raspberry and blackberry ones. Oh yes, really, these Lowlanders take you back to childhood, to the times when we started tasting 'canards' (ducks - a drop of eau-de-vie on a sugar cube). Finish: medium length, fresh and very fruity. Comments: magnificent Auchentoshan. As elsewhere, the independents are flying the flag high for the distillery!
SGP:641 - 89 points. |
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April 21, 2024 |
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A word of caution
Let me please remind you that my humble assessments of any spirits are done from the point of view of a malt whisky enthusiast who, what's more, is aboslutely not an expert in rum, brandy, tequila, vodka, gin or any other spirits. Thank you – and peace! |
Some rums, once again
There are many fine things lineing up, but that won't stop us from starting off by calibrating ourselves with, well, the help of little aperitifs that we have never tasted before, or only very sporadically. Like this one...
Magazine ad for Myers's, 1980s. The young woman didn't particularly seem happy with her decision, did she?
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Myers's Original Dark (40%, OB, Jamaica, +/- 2022) 
I had tasted it ten years ago and found it quite alright (WF 79), even though its reputation wasn't great-great. That's non-experts for you. Apparently, it's a very ancient recipe; what's certain is that the rather orange hue, as opposed to golden, suggests a liberal use of caramel. But let's not restart the caramel wars, shall we? Colour: orange gold. Nose: actually quite good, with petrol, tar, and discreet yet clear salty notes. Essentially, it's more The Platters than Parliament in terms of funk, but it works quite well. Sugarcane, very ripe bananas, a hint of olive oil… Mouth: yes, not bad at all, salty, with tar, a bit of varnish, petrol (who hasn't had to siphon a friend's tank at four in the morning, out in the country?), and then indeed bananas. I would be curious to taste it without the caramel layer, it seems promising. Notes of ash as well. Finish: a bit short but still salty and nicely Jamaican. Orange and mint in the aftertaste. Comments: we are in a good day, we'll raise the score (who cares, right?). A very nice, very British-tasting aperitif.
SGP:552 - 80 points. |
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Aldea 6 yo (43%, Rum Explorer by Château du Breuil, Canary islands, +/-2022) 
Distilled by Distilleria Aldea and partially aged in France and finished in pineau at Château du Breuil. These rather large Calvados makers seem to be diversifying pretty successfully, in whisky and, indeed, in rum. But Canarias is not an easy choice, I hope this will be better than the deep-sweetened Arehucas, for example (WF 40). I much prefer the Madeirans – I know those are Portuguese and not Spanish. Colour: gold. Nose: a rather metallic nose and a bit on the polish initially, without muted grape juice notes, leaning more towards charcoal, fireplace ashes, a bit of mustard and bitter oranges. I would have said... Madeira rum, but it is true that it's also pure cane juice (I believe). Mouth: the pineau is noticeable, giving it a sort of premix vibe, sweet-smoky-salty, not unpleasant at all but it loses you a little. It's not a rum that's immensely rummy, if you catch my drift, but yes, it's not disagreeable. Plenty of sultanas and peach syrup. Finish: medium length, quite nicely fruity, a touch of liquorice. Comments: it's really not bad, in my opinion, even if it struggles a bit following the astonishing Myers's, which is normal.
SGP:641 - 78 points. |
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Black Tot 'Master Blenders Reserve 2023' (54.5%, Elixir Distillers)
Every time it's said, it's marvellous to see these master blenders who, out of sheer altruism and love for humanity, are ready to part with their personal reserves with boundless grace. In any case, here is an intriguing blend that generously features Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados, and Guyana. In essence, a very British blend, or in any case, a very 'Royal Navy' one. Colour: full gold. Nose: it's very elegant, and at the risk of plunging us back into the Napoleonic wars (but no, that ended too badly for us!) there is a little Guadeloupean aspect to this rum that seems to house quite a bit of "grand arôme". In any case, it's mainly very balanced, without one origin dominating the others, not even Jamaica. Earth, tar, motor oil, dried grapes, eucalyptus, orange liqueur... With water: it's really the sugar cane that stands out – even if I imagine that only molasses rums were used to compose this blend. Mouth (neat): it's more marked by tar, a commendable bacterial aspect, pepper, seaweed, capers... The peppery note is prominent. With water: it loves water and develops a side of sandalwood and jasmine, very ripe mango, cinnamon, orange marmalade and rose water (Turkish delights). It's quite sinful, really. Finish: fairly long, a bit sweeter and gentler. As usual, the balances between the different components change with dilution, even more so in the finish. In my humble opinion... Nice salinity at the end. Comments: probably the cream of the crop of what you can do in terms of 'international' blending.
SGP:642 - 88 points. |
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El Salvador 2013/2023 (65.5%, L'Esprit Rhum, cask #MDH 2013-2, 264 bottles)
Aged for eight years on location, then two years in Europe. The estate/distillery is confidential but if you ask me, this could well from the makers of Cihuatan, so no bad news. We need to remain careful at 65.5%. Colour: gold. Nose: high varnish and barbecued herbs (thyme, rosemary, fennel seeds), pine resin, coal tar and just a lot of burnt sugar. Let's hope these rather wonderful roasted herbs will remain, once water's been added. With water: the herbs have remained but are rather in a fresh state. I also find banana peel and apple, dandelion flower, a bit of popcorn, sesame halva (pure sin)... Mouth (neat): rather sweet – herbaceous, but at this strength, we'll move on very, very quickly. With water: it shifts towards pink grapefruit, fudge, and vanilla cream. It remains quite simple but really very pleasant. And you can add litres of water. Finish: medium length, clean style. Apple juice with a hint of pepper. Comments: these are more like fillers, reminiscent of many Speyside whiskies. Take, for example, Glendullan or Strathmill. But that does not detract from their interest; we are well above the style of Puerto Rico (is there a style?) or the Dominican Republic, for example.
SGP:551 - 85 points. |
Since we're at it, tasting ethanol bombs… |
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Foursquare 2007/2022 'Fortitude' (62.9%, Man and Dram, Barbados)
Awesome Dada label. Colour: gold. Nose: interestingly, we're finding the same notes of parsley, rosemary, thyme and bear garlic as in the Salvadorian. Where do these molecules come from? Let's try to find out… With water: vanilla, melon, cane juice, nougat. Typical balanced style of a self-blend from Foursquare's. Mouth (neat): oranges at the helm, as fresh fruit, as liqueur, as marmalade, as candied bits and pieces… And a lot of alcohol. With water: just excellent. More oranges yet, and more pepper as well. Finish: medium in length, with a fresh texture that remains quite light, typical of these self-blends. In fact, I find that's how you recognise them. Comments: I agree we did this one a little quickly, but there wasn't much to say, everything was perfectly 'as expected', with no winey wood in the way.
SGP:641 - 88 points. |
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Zodiac 2024 – Verseau (63.6%, Famille Ricci, Trinidad and Nicaragua blend, bourbon, 420 bottles)
A new bottling straight from the French Riviera! This is actually a 50/50 two-cylinder blend of T.D.L. (Angostura) 16 yo 2008 and Compania Licorera de Nicaragua (Flor de Cana) 16 yo 2004. It's safe to say that this is a 16 year old. In theory, the T.D.L. is set to lead the dance. Colour: bright amber. Nose: there's always that fear of singeing your nostrils during a tasting session. In any case, you get the scent of mango cake and banana tart, with tiny hints of tar and more and more honey, yellow Chartreuse and fresh mint. These T.D.L.s are incredible. With water (incredible viscosity): earth, roots, quince, honey... Mouth (neat): superb, even at this near-lethal strength. It seems to me that we find this yellow Chartreuse again, ripe mangoes, even a drop of absinthe. Not to forget the wood glue... (alright, something reminiscent of wood glue). With water: more spices, gingerbread, a bit of ginger and turmeric, even saffron. Finish: long, fruity and balanced. And significantly very "good", simply put. Comments: I would have loved to taste the two components separately. And it would indeed be fun to sell two 50cl bottles assorted in a pack like "you've got the final say". In the style of these "ready to cook" ingredient assortments for the weary but committed urbanites... In short, it's a binary blend of very high quality.
SGP:651 - 90 points. |
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HD 9 yo 2014 (54.5%, Morisco Spirits, Jamaica, bourbon barrel, +/-2024)
I highly doubt that this is a rum produced by the Harley-Davidson company. Colour: yellow gold. Nose: you know the recipe. Take sea water and lime juice, 50/50. Add chunks of carbon, brake fluid, about fifty olives (half green, half black) and throw in some rubber bands. Add gasoline as you wish – depending on the day's price – and mix well, making sure not to expose it to an open flame. With water: the glue that's late to the party. Mouth (neat): it's so good, so typical, really heavy on new rubber and olive brine... What more can I say? With water: as always, Hampden loves water. It should be noted, however, that there isn't a lot of fruit, not even rotting bananas. Finish: long. Comments: it's a spirit that is quite indifferent to age, I don't think you can even establish any sort of relationship between age and intrinsic quality (especially blind). There are not many distillates like this. In short, I'm growing even fonder of Hampden, I don't know where this will end. The only thing that could change our perception is if the charming owners started forbidding independents from alluding to the origin, but we are not there yet. As a true-blue Frenchman, I might even go on strike!
SGP:563 - 91 points. |
Un petit dernier, as we say... |
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Zodiac 2023 – Bélier (59.3%, Famille Ricci, Jamaica and Panama blend, bourbon)
Right, some 14 yo Hampden DOK and some 16 yo Panama. We think the Panamanian might overshadow the Hampden, leaving not a trace of it behind, don't you agree? LOL. And isn't there a teasingly provocative side to these blends? The 'worst' part, as you know, is that DOK is Hampden's highest mark in terms of ester count. Over 1.5 kg/HLPA. Colour: dark gold. Nose: how amusing! It's like a honey cake smoked with fir wood. I'm serious. With water: here come the glues, the varnishes, carbon, brand-new rubber boots, olives, and perhaps even black garlic reduction—I really love that... You do detect a certain unusual sweetness, perhaps from the Panamanian element, but it's quite anecdotal. Mouth (neat): this smoked honey is crazy! Joking aside, the Jamaican dominates, as expected. Be careful, it's a bit throat-burning... With water: very Hampden. Nice depth, perhaps more fresh fruits (papaya), maybe not. The Panamanian is a bit like the piccolo within a symphony orchestra. Finish: smoked bananas and black olives. Yes. Apple and oranges in the aftertaste. Comments: a fun way to dilute your Hampden without lowering the alcohol level. Jokes aside for good, it's excellent and takes water well. Superb, these astrological (or should I say astronomical) blends by the Ricci Family.
SGP:562 - 90 points. |
 Check the index of all rums we've tasted so far
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April 20, 2024 |
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Angus's Corner
From our correspondent and
skilled taster Angus MacRaild in Scotland
Dailuaine, Glenfarclas and Macallan
Orbiting around Speyside today. I thought it would be a suitable occasion to return to these wee pairs and triplets, an approach we haven't done for a while. |
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Dailuaine 11 yo 2012/2023 (58.8%, Watt Whisky, refill sherry butt, 552 bottles) 
Don't Dailuaine and sherry usually go well together? Colour: bright straw. Nose: a leafy and vegetal profile that reveals plenty of distillery character I would say. This rather typical Dailuaine fatness that involves waxes, broths and cooking oils. The refill sherry brings a nice mineral edge to proceedings. With water: seems to get even bigger, with these notes of oily toolbox rags, rapeseed oil, camphor and putty. Mouth: these bigger aspects are well balanced by sweetness, such as honey in porridge, or sweetened breakfast cereals. Also some more vegetal notes such as bouillon and roast parsnip, but again with this honeyed side adding balance. With water: works well with water, really a mouth-coating, super oily dram with some waxy aspects and now also a lot of beery and ale notes along with some spiced breads. Finish: quite long, with some aniseed, green twigs, bitter herbs and more cooking oils. Comments: something of a beast, were they 'making Mortlach at Dailuaine' as Diageo sometimes seem to try out one distillery's profile at another. I would say water is obligatory here, a big, fat, heavy dram for when only such a whisky will do.
SGP: 471 - 85 points. |
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Dailuaine 33 yo 1989/2022 (46.3%, OB 'Casks of Distinction', cask #4144, refill American oak hogshead, 88 bottles) 
Colour: gold. Nose: It isn't hard to imagine the same distillate from the Watt Whisky bottling we just tried, arriving at this sort of profile given sufficient years. This is really classic full bodied distillate with a lot of texture and inherent oiliness, given a long time in refill wood. So what we have is many variations on waxiness, cedar wood, mineral oils, hessian, many wee herbal details, tiger balm, ointments and camphor. Love this profile, and it seems quite a few of Diageo's makes end up here given enough time. Mouth: superb arrival! Pure wax, honey and crystallised fruits of all colours and types. Still superbly fresh as well, so you have wee coconut and tropical notes, that sit alongside sharper aspects that also suggest acidity. Gorse flower, mint, guava, lime and pineapple all showing up. Finish: long, and doubling down on these impressions of coconut liqueur and exotic fruit salad vibes - really a pina colada! Still wonderfully waxy and bright as well. Comments: hard not to love older Dailuaine when it clings so closely to its supposed distillate character of being a kind of 'diet Clynelish' with these inherent waxy qualities. Very old school and excellent.
SGP:651 - 91 points. |
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Glenfarclas 43 yo 1977/2021 (43.1%, OB, private for Jeroboams, fourth fill oloroso sherry hogshead, cask #7288, 215 bottles)
Colour: bright straw. Nose: honeysuckle, yellow plums, many orchard fruits, baked apples and youthful sweet wines. It's also pretty floral with pressed flowers and various delicate, aromatic types of tea. This honeyed side only increases, becoming more concentrated, crystallised and harmonious. Mouth: superb, assertive arrival in the mouth. Spicy, but controlled, on herbal notes, medicinal touches, aniseed, cough syrup, jasmine tea, dried mint and preserved exotic fruits. Carries the age extremely well and retains good freshness and power in the mouth which seems above the ABV. Also some feelings of waxy citrus rinds, mineral oils and wee leather and tobacco notes. Finish: good length, back on honeys, lemon curds, flower teas, cinnamon and various herbal infusions. Comments: A big, bright, fruity and still very much alive and kicking old 'farclas. I suppose that's fourth fill for you?
SGP: 651 - 91 points. |
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Glenfarclas 29 yo 1992/2022 (52.6%, OB for Kensington Wine Market 30th Anniversary, cask #2906, sherry butt)
The opposite end of the wood spectrum I suppose? Incidentally, I have never been to Kensington Wine Market, but I can more than vouch for the owner's taste in Maple Syrup, which should be sufficient motivation for you to visit if you're ever in that neck of Canada. Colour: mahogany. Nose: a bright sherry profile that's immediately full of damsons, black cherries, plum wine, incense and wee umami touches of soy sauce and cocktail bitters. Hyper clean and wonderfully rich! Goes on with many of the usual suspects - sultana, freshly brewed coffee damp pipe tobacco - but wonderfully and effortlessly so. With water: broadens and becomes ever so slightly lighter with lemon balm, fruits stewed in armagnac and impressions of aged Drambuie and walnut oil. Mouth: a sherry bomb in the truest sense. Huge, jammy and sticky dark fruits, colliding with coal dust, walnut oil, hessian cloth, cola cubes and again this umami, almost salty vibe that suggests squid ink and Maggi! Really terrific and immensely powerful. With water: superbly plummy, jammy and juicy now. Rich dark fruits, aniseed, slightly funky bodega or dunnage style earthiness, and then more tobaccos and an increasingly dominating rancio aspect. Finish: very long, deeply warming, earthy, rather meaty now as well and still full of tobaccos, rancio, plums and bitter herbs. Comments: I'm not too often in the mood for these kinds of mega sherry bombs, but when that mood does strike, a whisky such as this is totally perfect. Love the tension between freshness, fruitiness and intensity of sherry character. Same score as the 1977, but the totally opposite side of the Glenfarclas coin.
SGP: 561 - 91 points. |
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Glenfarclas 20 yo 1969/1989 (58.2%, Signatory Vintage, dumpy, casks #52-54, 900 bottles)
Colour: deep amber. Nose: not a million miles away from the 1992, but perhaps straighter, more mineral and on metal polish, natural tar, herbal bitters, some top notch VORS oloroso and wee dried exotic fruit notes. Clearly a bit more 'old school' but same ballpark in terms of quality so far I would say. With water: roast game meats, game salami, cloves, black truffle, coffee beans and damp humidor impressions. Massive and getting more clearly old school now! Mouth: excellent arrival, very meaty, gamey and spicy with quite a lot of wood spices and things like liquorice root and aniseed. Bottle aged herbal liqueurs and old tar liqueur like Claquesin. Mint, suet, marrow and rancio! With water: terrific rancio now, full of herbal cocktail bitters, green walnut liqueur, tarragon, eucalyptus, pipe tobacco, lovage and various stocks and broths. Finish: long, rich, full of sweet ales, herbal cough syrups, more liqueurish vibes and still plenty dark fruits and game meats. Comments: very fascinating to this next to the 92, this is clearly of a different era, but I would say, for once, I prefer the more modern one by a small margin. Now, both are superlative sherry bombs of the highest calibre.
SGP: 662 - 90 points. |
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Let's stick with some classical sherried Speyside please. How about some old Macallan, anyone heard of this distillery? |
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Macallan 2003/2023 'Speymalt' (59.1%, Gordon & MacPhail, #13603613, 1st fill sherry hogshead, 298 bottles) 
Colour: amber. Nose: juicy, jammy, generous and modern in the best sense. Rather lot of sweetness and some quite specific notes of strawberry and raspberry jams. Also bramble leaf, quince and cassis. With some time comes these deeper and earthier notes that also involve tobaccos and bitter chocolate. With water: gets rather orangey, with aged Cointreau, bitter marmalade and some figs and prunes. Mouth: another sherry beast! Immediately big, spicy, assertive and rather hot with wee chilli pepper notes that recall some Tabasco and then herbal bitters, winter ales and pumpernickel bread. Feels like it needs water. With water: creamier and more complex now with water, which is quite the improvement. Getting more towards camphor, dark fruit jams, more bitter marmalades, freshly roast coffee beans and bacon frazzles - if you are a connoisseur of UK pub snacks. Pretty excellent once reduced I'd say. Finish: long, richly fruity, bready, spicy and still with a nicely intricate mix of jams and reduced dark fruit notes. Comments: I really like it, but I can't help but feel such a cask would show better with a few degrees reduction. Dear G&M, please can we have an 18yo 100° proof Speymalt…? Seriously.
SGP: 561 - 88 points. |
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Macallan 18 yo 1967/1986 (43%, OB, Corade Import France)
I rarely try old Macallan anymore these days, so this is a bit of a treat. Let's try to put out of our minds gargantuan and garish visitor centres, or vast decanter bottlings that you would require a separate seat on the airplane to take home… Colour: amber. Nose: old school sherry, but rather the fresher and fruitier kind, dominated as such by many dark fruits and delicate earthy and tobacco notes. I find many specific notes of sultana, fig and prunes soaking in Armagnac. There's also these very neat touches of leaf mulch and old sherry rancio too. A superbly balanced and enchanting aroma that doesn't really exist today - outside bottles of nice old sherry anyway. Mouth: a notch more drying than the nose suggested, going more towards earthy tones, dried mushrooms, tobacco leaf and things like walnut oil and salted liquorice. The overall impression is still full of 'beautiful old style sherry' though, and also a feeling of impressive freshness and power even at 43%, which I am almost always finding with these old Macs. Finish: medium to long, getting a little more floral and tad more honeyed, revealing some yellow plums and quince jelly in the aftertaste. Comments: simple in some ways, but utterly delicious is the overriding feeling upon tasting this old 18yo. Seriously, a simple but neat and quite perfect style that makes for a crazily quaffable profile that, as we've observed many times before 'Macallan built a brand upon'…
SGP: 641 - 91 points. |
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Macallan 18 yo 1965/1984 (43%, OB, Corade Import France)
Colour: deep orangey amber. Nose: I find this a more complex affair, less directly on fruity old sherry, and more a mix of petrichor and earthy notes, lots of leaf mulch combined with crystallised honeys, flower nectars, some very long aged dessert wines and mentholated pipe tobaccos. This one presents even older and more complex that 18 years I would say. It even starts to develop some delicate dried tropical fruits notes such as mango and papaya chunks. Detailed and highly compelling. Mouth: beautiful arrival, once again drier, but also more diversely fruity, more waxy and more on things like pollens, honeycomb, long aged SGN riesling and camphor. Feels like a different kind of sherry cask at work. I find a little herbal cough syrup and other faintly medicinal impressions. Finish: good length, perfectly drying, herbal, honeyed and waxy with many delicate dried fruits and some lovely fruit and herbal tea notes in the aftertaste. Comments: a notch higher once again I would say. I enjoy the simplicity and directness of the 1967, but there is something highly enigmatic and alluring that comes from this more complex and varied profile. Feels older than 18 in a very positive way.
SGP: 652 - 92 points. |
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Macallan-Glenlivet 20 yo 1974/1994 (53.9%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, sherrywood matured)
Colour: amber. Nose: ah, one of those old sherry casks that seems to lend a kind of extremely deep and also luminous fruitiness. Immediately chock full of rancio, walnut liqueur, aged pinot noir, bone marrow and quince, but also interspersed with many stunning green, dark and exotic fruits. Also herbs, tobaccos, meats and medicines galore. Everything and the kitchen sink in other words! With water: leaner, more mineral, more gamey and more leathery, with a deeper earthiness and black pepper, bitter herbal extracts and resinous fir wood. Mouth: stunning! Really almost like a liqueur in texture and with this vivid, stunning sweetness. The fruits become almost sticky, like pure jams and purees. Also still wonderfully balanced between gamey notes, sweet tars and medicines, prunes, some ancient Armagnac and mineral oils. With water: loses some of the impressiveness as it gains a little bitterness, but it's still pretty wonderful. Finish: very long, back on tars, cough syrups, liqueurs, dark fruits poached in old armagnac and the most sublime rancio. Comments: sip this one neat I would say, But otherwise, a stunning old Macallan that's up there with the very best of them. Another bottling that makes you think of 1974 as being some kind of borderline in malt whisky after which things started to take a bit of a downward turn in terms of quality and individuality.
SGP: 661 - 93 points. |
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Big hugs to Carsten and the folks at the Golden Promise! |
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April 19, 2024 |
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WF's Little Duos, today Strathmill on the table
Another of these distilleries that are rather well-known for supplying some major blended brands with 'fillers', so to speak, thus providing the base malt without too deviant a character. And yet, we do enjoy tasting these slightly lesser-known malts as often as possible, as they can grant us with excellent surprises. |
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Strathmill 15 yo 2008/2023 (56.9%, Gordon & MacPhail, Connoisseurs Choice, for Kirsch Import, refill bourbon barrel, cask #804815, 141 bottles)
With its fine age and a true refill barrel, one would expect to be close to the heart of the distillate. And perhaps a bit overwhelmed at 100 proof, let's check that that. Colour: straw. Nose: quite lovely, with fresh barley, cut hay, vanilla, orgeat syrup, rice pudding, marshmallows... It's hard to get more natural than this. With water: similar, just with a bit more of sweet citrus, orange syrup... Mouth (neat): strong, leaning towards lemony hops, rather strong beer, white pepper, a touch of wasabi, vanilla... It burns very slightly and also becomes quite bitter (Italian bitters). With water: everything falls into place, with a return of our friend limoncello, lemon balm water and sweets, well, lemon candies. Finish: fairly long, with a comeback of barley and some assorted fruit candies. Tea and a bit of cider in the aftertaste. Comments: a bit anonymous, but exactly a very, very good 'filler', capable of supporting a great blend.
SGP:561 - 85 points. |
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Strathmill 27 yo 1996/2023 (55.7%, Maltbarn, Seventies, sherry cask, 141 bottles)
Stunning new label designs, whether you experienced the late '60s and early '70s or not. Somewhere between an Emerson Lake & Palmer album cover and a Soviet Olympic Games poster. Very classy, without being cheaply retro. Off to a good start... Colour: deep gold. Nose: some cask! Extraordinary lighter pipe tobacco, old walnuts, indeed pure dry sherry (fino-esque), miso soup, hints of black (fermented) garlic… Well, this is shaping up to be quite the distinguished affair so far. With water: softer, on apples and pears, walnut cake, those slightly more intense honeys we so love (fir, chestnut). Mouth (neat): here it becomes quite rowdy without water. Loads of pepper, very bitter oranges, bitter almonds, capsicum, new leather... Water should be a great help. With water: it continues to flirt with bitterness, with notes of amaro, Cynar, pepper... Finish: the same, lasting a good while. Bitter orange in the aftertaste, and of course walnuts. Comments: the nose is absolutely sublime and ensures a high score; the palate is somewhat more confrontational.
SGP:461 - 88 points. |
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April 18, 2024 |
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A few Longmorn, vertically
Let's say four of them, does that suit you? It's a top-notch distillate, everyone knows that…
Longmorn's awesome old steam engine (Chris Allen, Geograph)
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Longmorn 2005/2022 (62.3%, Or Sileis Taiwan, 1st fill sherry butt, cask #18072, 619 bottles)
You can't miss it, there's a rather spectacular dragon on the label. Colour: mahogany/coffee. Nose: deeply chocolatey, with prunes and armagnac, and a hint of gunpowder, but let's not jump to hasty conclusions. With water: a profusion of toffee, grilled steak, barbecue sauce, hoisin too, mole sauce (chocolate), a drop of Worcestershire sauce, another of aged balsamic... It really recalls the old, very sherried Longmorn from G&M's. Mouth (neat): it's richly textured, but a tiny tad overpowering. Imagine hoisin sauce mixed with chestnut honey and very moist pipe tobacco. With water: more on tangerine, orange marmalade, peppermint, rancio, aged Pedro Ximénez... It's very traditional. Finish: long, chocolatey, quite 'brandy-ish'. Toffee and marmalade linger in the aftertaste, with a touch of tar and liquorice. Comments: very, very traditional. Pleased to see the continuation of crafting true sherry monsters.
SGP:652 - 88 points. |
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Longmorn 25 yo 1998/2023 (53.7%, Gordon & MacPhail, Connoisseurs Choice, Kirsch exclusive, Germany, 1st fill sherry hogshead, cask #20600101)
Our German friends love their sherried malts and their malts sherried, that a fact. Colour: full amber. Nose: it's heavily on tangerine, cinchona, fir honey, ferns and mushrooms, but also boot polish and asparagus cream. Odd combination, I know. It then veers increasingly towards beef broth, gravy, barbecue sauce… With water: it shifts to basalt, slag, spent matches, black truffle… Mouth (neat): it's gentler at first, but balsamico and crushed pepper quickly take over. Like Jägermeister, yet without a gram of sugar. With water: the return of oranges, pepper, cinchona, bell pepper… Finish: long, sharper, a bit vinegary. And this notion of sugarless Jäger… And myrtle. Comments: truly an adventurer, not easy to track. Beware, it will capture your full attention, even if you're in front of a 36-episode North Korean series on Netflix.
SGP:472 - 85 points. |
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Longmorn 16 yo 1997/2013 (48.5%, Sansibar, sherry cask, 143 bottles)
It was probably time we tasted this baby. Colour: straw. Nose: it's from a sherry cask but bears no resemblance to the two behemoths we've just sampled. It's much more reminiscent of Clynelish, with wax, ripe apples, melon, roasted chestnuts, jujubes, bamboo shoots, a hint of turmeric... Mouth: very good, very fruity, with melon and lemon, a bit of wild mint, verbena, grapefruit... The sherry is not at all evident. There's even a slight medicinal and peaty aspect, as if it came from an old Laphroaig barrel, which I strongly doubt. Finish: medium in length, but waxy and quite mineral. Candied citrus notes appear right at the end. Comments: in summary, a Longmorn that's not very Longmorn. But very good...
SGP:562 - 86 points. |
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Longmorn 30 yo 1993/2024 'Lost in Time' (54.4%, OB for The Whisky Exchange, 2nd fill hogshead, cask #56087, 180 bottles)
I really believe that this new 'rather all about the distillate' series is very smart (if a tiny-wee tad pricey, but not even sure about that and who's counting anyway?) We're a bit tired of first fill stuff and new woods, aren't we? Isn't it time to put, well, time back onto the pedestal? So isn't this rather counter-culture malt whisky by today's standards? Hippy drops? Rather Janis and Jimi? Colour: light gold. Nose: I'm reminded of their new Braevals. This is some statement. Apples and plums, ales and gueuzes, peaches and apricots, then brioches and macaroons, yellow melons, some very mild vanilla, rather barley syrup… With water: just perfect pure apple juice with drops of barley syrup. Mouth (neat): exceptionally fruity, neat, ultra-clean, just on barley syrup, apples, plums and oranges. Truly a statement, as this could have been a (brilliant) twelve-years-old just as well, IMHO. Forgot to mention white clover flowers – that says a lot, you won't find them in a 12. With water: total, simple, barley-y fruity purity. Finish: rather long, with many more small fruits, including white berries, small plums, and just a dollop of prairie honey. Comments: almost a seasoned hard-rock band finally playing unplugged – and amazing the world. A statement indeed.
SGP:651 - 90 points. |
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But why specify the colour of a whisky? |
I'm often told it makes no sense to note down the colour of a spirit in our records, since caramel is often added before bottling, rendering terms like 'deep gold' or 'mahogany' meaningless. I get that, but I generally respond that while the fact that a Toyota is painted turquoise doesn't change its roadworthiness, it's still "a turquoise Toyota". In essence, the colour is simply a descriptive feature, characteristic of all spirits, but it doesn't necessarily define their quality or, in some cases, their style or age. However, this very old Speyside, rich in paxarette, is indeed 'mahogany' in colour, whereas this very young Highlander, bolstered with red wine, is definitely 'rosé gold'. See what I mean? |
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April 17, 2024 |
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Glossy Glenlossies, part four and last |
We'll try to get through what we still have in stock… |
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Glenlossie 10 yo 2010/2020 (54.3%, James Eadie, recharred hogshead, cask #2479, 343 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: fresh, with hints of hay, freshly cut grass, apple, and lemon. Not too much vanilla, but a charming earthy aspect. With water: Italian lemon biscuits, the name of which escapes me. A touch of sweet woodruff, which I adore. Mouth (neat): a nice lemony zing and green apple. Lemon brioche, again with a very pleasant earthy side. Pear as well. With water: simply put. The sweet woodruff makes a comeback. Finish: medium length, balanced flavours and a lovely lemony freshness. Comments: youthful and completely without fault, especially if you love lemon as much as I do.
SGP:651 - 85 points. |
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Glenlossie 11 yo 2008/2019 (59.6%, The Single Malts of Scotland, hogshead, cask #1358, 301 bottles)
This too, should be without fault. Colour: white wine. Nose: very interesting to compare with the rechar version, here there's less vanilla, but more white flowers, roses, and peppermint. It's very elegant, one could almost dab a few drops behind their ears. Also, notes of Golden Grahams and Fruit Loops – pick your favourite brand. With water: fresh fruits, apples, peaches… Mouth (neat): fruitier and decidedly sweeter than the 2010 (icing sugar), then much more herbaceous and peppery as a second impression. With water: our beloved peaches make a comeback. Barley syrup, apple juice. Finish: quite long, with a very nice balance between garden fruits and all things gently malted. Comments: all these young casks are excellent, nothing to criticise especially since the prices are always very fair. Truly loyal whiskies, in essence.
SGP:651 - 85 points. |
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Glenlossie 19 yo 1997/2017 (50.9%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, refill hogshead, cask #DL 12017, 140 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: completely different, with more vanilla, coconut, clementines and even pineapple and banana than in the younger ones. A bit of polish as well, where does that come from? With water: acacia honey and muesli with a bit of white chocolate and shortbread. That would make for a good breakfast. Mouth (neat): polish and paraffin again, then banana peel and citrus fruit skins. This one is really intriguing. With water: it shifts more towards citrus fruits, zest… Finish: medium length, quite mellow, with hints of ginger tonic. Comments: the same, it's honest, loyal, and merchant-ready as we say.
SGP:551 - 85 points. |
We're not going to have only 85-pointers, are we?... |
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Glenlossie 22 yo 1997/2019 (51.2%, Maltbarn, bourbon cask, 161 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: this one is different, perhaps more complex, with a focus on waxes and mastic, then papayas, bananas, and vineyard peaches. A bit of praline cream and pistachio nougat. All of this works very, very well and doesn't really need water, but still, we have our procedures... With water: the fresh barley comes back to the fore. Mouth (neat): papaya juice with chamomile and apricots, all coated in beeswax. Does that speak to you? With water: a perfect, graceful fruitiness, without the slightest, well, let's say 'tawdry' aspect. I hope you'll forgive me. Finish: medium length, leaning more towards our local fruits, like apple for example. Spanish oranges coated with honey in the aftertaste. Comments: I believe we've reached a new level.
SGP:651 - 87 points. |
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Glenlossie 23 yo 1992/2015 (51.7%, Sansibar, Samurai Series for Spirits Shop Selection, bourbon, 317 bottles)
It's good to taste this youngster before it reaches ten years from its bottling, isn't it? Colour: straw. Nose: here's a Glenlossie with a more lemony note, characterised by green apple, then evolving into barley sugar, tangerines and a few hints of Coca-Cola. My deepest apologies. With water: a lot of paraffin and plaster. Mouth (neat): very pretty fruitiness but also sodas again, Coca-Cola as well as 7up and other delights intended to bring our youth into line. Ginger tonic and a very faint taste of paper. With water: very nice citrus, abundant zest, quinine… Finish: quite long, even more on quinine, with a bit of sweet pepper and even milder paprika. Comments: a malt that's a bit more 'art house', if you catch my drift. I really like it.
SGP:561 - 86 points. |
Another octave please… (never thought I'd ever write that)… |
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Glenlossie 19 yo 1992/2012 (51%, Feinkost Reiffercheid, Romantic Rhine Collection, sherry octave, cask #892622, 69 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: no heavy sherry at all, rather flints, clay, sunflower oil, acacia honey, mirabelle plums, quince eau-de-vie, beeswax… I have to say I am a little bit surprised here. Twelve years later, imagine! With water: one might say it's a little miracle. Chalk, vanilla, beeswax, yellow plums, apricots… Mouth (neat): frankly, I would have guessed a Balvenie of a similar age. Honey, well-withered quinces, mirabelles, a drop of olive oil... With water: edible flowers of all kinds and tangerine. Finish: medium length but with a very nice quinine and yellow fruits. Beeswax again in the aftertaste. Comments: just a simple little octave, really? Can we get a photo of the cask? Seriously, a very, very pretty little Glenlossie, not very 'sherry octave' though, it must be said.
SGP:551 - 88 points. |
There's old and there is older… |
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Glenlossie 16 yo 1970 (43%, Sestante, Italy, 75cl, +/-1986)
Colour: full gold. Nose: yet again some Balvenie-ness, that is to say mirabelles, quinces and acacia honey (very roughly). There's also old Yquem, apricot, roasted hazelnuts, a bit of metal polish, some chamomile and some verbena, 'a meadow in springtime'… Well this is all rather splendid and in a higher league, definitely. Two minutes later, a toasted aspect emerges, warm praline, cakes fresh from the oven… Mouth: herbs, mints, absinthe, chartreuse, a bit of chalkiness, some sultanas, figs, various honeys… It's the complexity that's rather astounding here, glad we still had this one to taste. Then it continues with honeys of all kinds, sweet beers, caramels, fudges and toffees… Finish: not very long but more on Parma ham served with a bit of honey. Italian friends, please don't tell me this is sacrilege! Comments: just another era.
SGP:451 - 89 points. |
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Glenlossie-Glenlivet 24 yo 1993/2018 (54.4%, Cadenhead, warehouse tasting, hogshead)
Colour: gold. Nose: roasted nuts and pinewood, pipe tobacco, then cassata, muesli and strawberry yoghurt. With water: some cardboard touches, candle wax, sesame oil… This is truly an unusual Glenlossie. Perfect for fooling people in a blind tasting. Mouth (neat): very good, robust, quite coastal, but extremely herbaceous. It's like a slightly off-kilter Ben Nevis, to be honest. With water: very amusing, with notes of Bénédictine and herbal liqueurs from the former Eastern Bloc countries. Used to adore all of them, from Gdansk to Dubrovnik and even further south. Finish: medium length. Peach syrup, a bit of orgeat. The question always remains, 'to add water or not to add water?' In this particular case, the latter would have been the right choice. Comments: a very amusing and unusual Glenlossie. Do they serve their best casks during their 'warehouse tastings'?
SGP:551 - 84 points. |
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Glenlossie-Glenlivet 23 yo 1993/2017 (56.8%, Cadenhead, Single Cask, bourbon hogshead, 216 bottles)
Not too sure if this was for their 175th anniversary. Colour: gold. Nose: it's all rather about waxes. Some soft woods, encaustic, old books, apricots, mirabelles and quinces… With water: awesome, some yellow chartreuse and some bergamotte sweets (from Nancy in Lorraine, France). Mouth (neat): extremely good, yet simple, on the moisten-most heavily honeyed nougat there is. Honeycomb. With water: honestly, this was a brilliant cask. I suspect some bees had invaded it and colonised it. Finish: rather long, still wonderfully honeyed. Comments: either you like proper honey or you don't. If you don't, there's nothing we could do for you.
SGP:651 - 89 points. |
I believe the next one will be our last Glenlossie until the year, say 2028. |
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Glenlossie 20 yo 1997/2017 (52.2%, Signatory Vintage for Acla da Fans, hogshead, cask #6773, 309 bottles)
Another Swiss bottling. Colour: gold. Nose: once again a pretty 'yellow one', with mirabelles, quince and honeys. Quite some vanilla too, this is very 'bourbon' indeed. With water: branches and stems, teas, chamomile, beeswax (bits)… Mouth (neat): excellent, on cane-juice rum, oranges, bergamots again, meadow honey and a little ginger/turmeric. With water: no further changes. Overripe apples? Finish: same, pear cake, mirabelle tarte, earl grey… Comments: awesome drop, typical 1st-grade filler, I would say.
SGP:551 - 86 points. |
Very well, within ten days we will have tasted 36 (thirty-six) Glenlossies. Not bad, is it? We haven't exactly touched the stars, but we've never haunted the malt dungeons either. Anyway, it seems that we can always rely on the independents... |
(Thank you Diego (RIP my friend), Max, Tomislav and other friends for all these Glenlossies) |
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April 16, 2024 |
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Glossy Glenlossies, part three |
My mother always told me that one should finish what they've started. I've particularly taken this advice to heart with bottles of Brora and old Clynelish, but I also promised you that we'd finish our tasting of Glenlossie that we started on the 3rd of April. So let's get it done quickly… |
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Glenlossie 18 yo 1997/2016 (54.1%, Ramseyer's Whisky Connection, 120 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: typical green fruits, gooseberries, greengages, kiwi, then pure grass and candied angelica. Tends to become fruitier. With water: whiffs of copper polish, that's nice. Lovely earthiness, mosses, humus, very old tree stumps… Mouth (neat): much sweeter on the palate, and certainly kind of old-school, with touches of old wine barrel, musty mushrooms, and then bags of dried figs. With water: more of that musty old-schoolness. You'd almost believe this was a very old bottle of high-malt-content blended Scotch. Finish: pretty long, on similar flavours. Comments: as if they had tried to replicate a bottle from the 1950s, it's even a little smoky.
SGP:562 - 88 points. |
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Glenlossie 25 yo 1993/2019 (53.9%, Valinch & Mallet, bourbon hogshead, cask #19-2501, 203 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: the clarity and roundness of a good bourbon cask, with some exceptional and adorable fresh parsley and watercress in the background. Where does that come from? With water: add peaches and a little gunflint. Mouth (neat): high-precision malt, no wood, no wine in the way, just lemons, aromatic herbs (wormwood, more cress) and fresh dough. We call these the immaculate ones; they even bear something monastic. Amen. With water: barley sirup, barley sugar, preserved peaches, toffee apples, some tighter honey. Finish: not immensely long but all on some lovely sweet barley-y notes. Ale and even hops in the aftertaste. Comments: perfect work of time, this is almost a Patek Philippe. A quartzless one, naturally – so to speak.
SGP:561 - 89 points. |
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Glenlossie-Glenlivet 23 yo 1993/2017 (53%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, bourbon hogshead, 216 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: this one's more on nougat, praline, roasted peanuts, fudge, dandelion honey (awesome honey), even white chocolate, sweet beers and wines… With water: gets grassy, perhaps not in the best of ways. Garden compost. Mouth (neat): rougher this time, grassy indeed, a tad acetic and pretty peppery. Not my favourite side. With water: some bizarre and unexpected mentholy notes. Turpentine and fern where they do not quite belong, shall we say. Finish: long, a little green, grassy and astringent. Odd turpentine-y side. Fir. Comments: some great sides but also some wobbly ones, in my humble opinion. Still a very good dram, naturally.
SGP:461 - 80 points. |
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Glenlossie 1977/2003 (45%, Samaroli 35th Anniversary, cask #633, 360 bottles)
All right, we already tried this one, but that was 18 years ago and we had had found it a little underwhelming (WF 84). But it's a Samaroli, so just to be on the safe side… Colour: white wine. Nose: it's all on barley syrup, apple juice, fresh bread and brioche… All nice but let's not call the Guinness Book yet. Mouth: herbs, saps, resins and some kinds of sweet waxes chiming in. Some sweet herbal liqueurs, peppers, more waxes… Hints of yellow chartreuse from a fairly recent batch. Finish: pretty long, tighter, more peppery. Juniper berries and coriander seeds. Comments: the palate was really sappy and resinous, almost too bitter. I think we'll keep our old score – not that that should mean much, we agree.
SGP:361 - 84 points. |
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Glenlossie 10 yo 2013/2023 (56.4%, Watt Whisky, hogshead, 264 bottles)
This one from the coolest part of the Wee Toon, by far. Colour: very pale white wine. Nose: pure apple juice. No, say 80% apple, 15% pear and 5% lime. Add some barley sugar, some fennel seeds, stir well… With water: add some hay wine. Ever tried hay wine? They make some in the Vosges mountains. Mouth (neat): everyone needs such a bottle in his cabinet. Pure malt whisky, no unwanted flavours, a wee greasy/waxy/oily side and just megatons of rustic apples. With water: a few other fruits creepin' in, tangerines, lemons, gooseberries, small plums 'that never totally get ripe'… Or small fruits that need frost. Finish: medium, sweet, barley-y, all-natural and totally honest. Comments: I hate to add that you could probably make some awesome cocktails out of this awesomely humble young malt whisky. Cocktails!
SGP:551 - 85 points. |
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Glenlossie 10 yo 2009/2020 (59.2%, The Single Malts of Scotland, hogshead, cask #6435, 121 bottles)
Colour: deep gold. Nose: classic vanilla, apples, peaches, m eadow honeys, sweet malted barley and tangerines. Right, those tangerines aren't that classic. With water: sameish. Mouth (neat): really punchy, with some excellent chalky/spicy citrus, citrons, ginseng, turmeric, coriander seeds… This was a pretty talkative hoggie. With water: tiny hints of curry, ginger, and abundant zests of all kinds. Bitter oranges. Finish: old Dutch genever and Italian bitters. Viva Europe! Comments: exactly the opposite of the Watt Whisky, and yet I find them both of the same high quality. Exile on Main St. vs. The White Album.
SGP:661 - 85 points. |
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Glenlossie 10 yo 2010/2021 (49.7%, The Single Malts of Scotland, hogshead, cask #8755, 152 bottles)
Colour: very pale white wine. Nose: take apple juice, add crushed chalk and slate, plus grist and sourdough. If you like malt whisky, you'll like this, and if you like this, you'll like malt whisky. Lousy tautological reasoning, I agree. Mouth: sweet barley, ale, cider, with a lot of ginger, turmeric, bitterer zests, pepper… I think water would be needed on the palate. With water: touches of glue, paraffin, propolis… That's bizarre, let's drop water. Finish: long, a little green, but rather wonderfully chartreuse-y. Comments: this one's a little more difficult to handle, but that makes for a good part of its charms.
SGP:551 - 84 points. |
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Glenlossie 11 yo 2011/2022 (52.8%, Morisco Spirits, Marble Collection, bourbon barrel, cask #35485, 287 bottles)
Are we not breaking some kind of record you and me, with this many young Glenlossies in a row? Colour: white wine. Nose: pure barley sirup and sweet cider, plus orange blossom water and panettone. Milk chocolate and gianduja. With water: towards brioche dough and raw uncooked white asparagus. Freshly broken branches. Mouth (neat): fudge, Szechuan pepper and ginger. Really hot, that's strange, 52.8 is not that high, is it. With water: some oilier texture, otherwise plain and pure 'average' malt whisky. Finish: medium, a tad leafier. Comments: none, it's just very good.
SGP:451 - 84 points. |
I think we're reaching the limits of such an exercise. All very good, none exhilarating. What's on on b***y Netflix? No wait, our heart is willing, so Montjoie St-Denis, let's just go on!... It is true that, in theory, at least in the old days, single casks were particularly outstanding barrels, exceptional in character. This might imply that it makes no sense to bottle dozens or even hundreds of identical or similar barrels as single casks, does it? |
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Glenlossie-Glenlivet 24 yo 1993/2018 (53.6%, Cadenhead, Single Cask, bourbon hogshead, 240 bottles)
Their latest golden age, shall we say, it is true that they have had several over the ages, since the days of Aberdeen.
Colour: gold. Nose: awesome bananas, acacia honey, white chocolate and chamomile tea. No grasses at all this time. A little coconut though, never the best side of any whisky. With water: oops. Green bananas. Mouth (neat): very good, very sweet, fruity, bourbon-driven and pretty banana-y indeed. Big pepper. With water: sweet, liqueury. Banana wine, tarte tatin, caramelised apples, new-world chardonnay. The new world means China, right? Finish: rather long, waxier, with some nougat and white-flower honey. The finish is the best part. Comments: ups and downs. Rather up but it's not Maggot Brain either, right.
SGP:651 - 86 points. |
A last one, but we may go on tomorrow or later, coz we've got many other Glenlossies to taste… |
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Glenlossie 9 yo 2010/2019 (55.4%, James Eadie, re-charred hogshead, cask #2478, 290 bottles)
It's a bit sad that you couldn't re-char people. Like toxic dictators… But I agree, no politics! Colour: light gold. Nose: pure syrupy barley, maple syrup, light honeys, dried pears, vanilla fudge… It's very re-char indeed. With water: sweet ales and ciders. Mouth (neat): very good young boosted malt whisky. Perfect wood tehknohlohgy (trying to mimic the Scottish accent here) but it would tend to become really very cinnamony then. With water: yeah, fine, good, okay, not bad at all, just a little oaky. Finish: medium, on maple syrup. Good for pouring over pancakes for breakfast. Nicer oranges on the aftertaste. Comments: perhaps not the best one by James Eadie ever. It's true that it remains a 9 yo Glenlossie. What's on TV tonight?
SGP:551 - 82 points. |
Well, it turns out we have more Glenlossie than I thought. See you tomorrow. |
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April 15, 2024 |
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WF's little Duos, today a pair of highly contrasting Bladnochs |
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| Jamie Reid 'I'm lovin' it / I'm hatin' it' (Arthound Gallery) |
This is clearly not an 'official versus independent' session as the official offering we have is merely a rather modest NAS at 40% ABV, while our independent today is a mature 34-year-old. In essence, it's probably a tadpole against a tiger, at least that's what we're expecting... |
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Bladnoch 'Kirkcowan' (40%, OB, American oak, 2023)
The price is very appealing. In any case, the label is quite humorous; it looks like it was designed in 1976 by Jamie Reid, whom we've met a long time ago (may he rest in peace). Colour: gold. Nose: it's pleasant but not sensational. Hay, vanilla, brioche, hints of sourdough, porridge... What's missing, compared to the Bladnochs from twenty or thirty years ago, are the citrus notes. Where have the citrus notes gone? Palate: it's soft, kind, but not disarming or bland, with notes of tea, custard, touches of fruit brandy (a sign of youth)... But this doesn't last very long, as the hay quickly takes control. Cardboard. Finish: fairly short, with tea and a bit of cinnamon. Plums and tea in the aftertaste. Comments: it's nice, but if you taste the old NAS with the white label/40% ABV from thirty years ago alongside it, you'll tell yourself there's still a long way to go. The thing that is historically necessary are the citrus notes!
SGP:451 - 80 points. |
Update: our friends at Dram Mor told us that "Kirkcowan has a much broader cut than standard Bladnoch (slightly different recipe). (...) Kirkcowan is made for a longer run, longer maturation, so it's a different creature from modern Bladnoch." |
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Bladnoch 34 yo 1990/2024 (55.1%, Whisky Sponge, refill barrel, 194 bottles)
I take my hat off to the young independent bottler, no matter how shrewd, for unearthing a Bladnoch that's thirty-four years old. Are you aware of the historical significance here? Bladnoch was closed, alongside Rosebank, by United Distillers in 1993. This whisky is likely one of the last vestiges of the great Lowlands of yesteryear, Rosebank-St-Magdalene-Bladnoch. Even though Bladnoch was restarted by the Armstrong family in the year 2000, with a style that seemed quite different to us. Colour: full gold. Nose: prominent custard cream and citron liqueur, followed by chalk, Sancerre, honeysuckle, and limestone. With water: oh lovely, virgin wool and fresh bread dough, then candied fruit, particularly citrus. Palate (neat): very lemony with other exotic fruits that are quite tight and even acidic, like passion fruit. With water: bread and lemon. Corsican lemon biscuits are very good, but not worth a special journey… Better to go there for the wines and the sea cicadas. Canarelli! The locals, on the other hand, can be a bit rough around the edges… (that's it, I'm dead). Finish: perfect, long, lemony, with a honeyed aftertaste. Comments: Corsican limoncello with honey from the maquis, homemade. To be enjoyed with barbecued sea cicadas indeed... But do they have that in Scotland?
SGP:651 - 91 points. |
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April 14, 2024 |
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A word of caution
Let me please remind you that my humble assessments of any spirits are done from the point of view of a malt whisky enthusiast who, what's more, is aboslutely not an expert in rum, brandy, tequila, vodka, gin or any other spirits. Thank you – and peace! |
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Portion of a press advert for Saint James, late 1970s. Rather witty play
on words about the Cannes Film Festival (canes = cannes in French). |
We'll try to find one or two more serious aperitifs than in the past. Other than that, as usual, it's going to be a happy mix, there are so many rums at Château WF these days! |
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Six Saints Caribbean Rum (41.7%, OB, Grenada, +/-2022)
Six Saints, that's not me and five chums, mind you. This one's said to stem from Clarke's Court Distillery, where they seem to have been distilling imported molasses since their own sugar factory had been mothballed. We already tried Six saints around nine years ago and found it very okay. Colour: pale gold. Nose: pretty light, light-Cuban style but with a little more fatness, even small whiffs of petrol, paraffin oil, lamp oil… Then vanilla, banana foam, and less sugary elements than I remembered. Which is good. Mouth: good salty arrival, some salted liquorice, some brine, gherkins, olives… Then indeed vanilla again. Don't get me wrong, it's neither a Jamaican (nor Renegade) but there seems to be some 'stuff' behind it. Do they use small muck pits? Finish: short, that's the weaker spot. Touches of salted liquorice. Comments: way above average, for sure.
SGP:452 - 80 points. |
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Montebello 5 yo (42%, OB, Guadeloupe, agricole, +/-2015)
Fresh cane juice in colonne créole, aged on location and so straight from distillerie Carrère in Petit-Bourg. Loved these old liveries, now Montebello's always felt a little 'strange' in my book, a little whacky, ambivalent... But remember I'm a simple whisky guy. Colour: straw. Nose: oh no, wait, it's very pretty, extremely salty, coastal, tar-like, very slightly vinegary (superb), with hints of yellow curry and plants and flowers in the background. Wood coriander, jasmine, tiaré… A rather splendid liquorice then emerges. Mouth: it's more unusual, oily, with a very pronounced sweet-salty and phenolic side. Some kind of boiled pineapple in liquorice juice and seawater, if that were possible. I hope not! Also, thing of ink and tar again, while the 42% ABV seems a bit light. Was there a 60% ABV version? Finish: medium, salty liquorice, slightly acidic. A sense of salted grapefruit juice in the aftertaste. Comments: I'm sure we'll come across a great Montebello sooner or later.
SGP:542 - 84 points. |
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C.A.D.C. SA 16 yo 2005/2021 (57.1%, Watt Rum, Venezuela)
That's the Corporacion Alcoholes Del Caraibos, a.k.a. CACSA, makers of Ron Canaveral. They have the DOC Ron de Venezuela. It's always interesting to taste these South American rums from independent bottlers; they often bear no resemblance to the overly sweet juices typically found in official bottles. Colour: amber gold. Nose: caramel, nougat, vanilla, bourbon. It really has a bourbon aspect, but water can change things. With water: even more nougat and vanilla, fudge, a bit of fresh cane and orange sponge cake. Mouth (neat): nice, strong, with candied orange, and a saline and very slightly oily side. But it burns your throat a little... With water: softer but still maintains its salty edge and even a bit of earthiness. Finish: not very long, it remains a light rum at its core. Comments: I think this is the most one can extract from these light rums that likely come from undoubtedly immense columns.
SGP:540 - 82 points. |
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Saint James 2001/2021 'Les Ephémères' (55.2%, OB, Martinique, agricole, 3,500 bottles)
Given the usual quality of these Saint James rums, it goes without saying that they are generally very, very 'ephemeral' indeed, if you catch my drift. Colour: copper amber. Nose: so typical! Cedar and rosewood, roasted peaches and almonds, peonies, liquorice, quince jelly... It's superb and especially very elegant. With water: incense, sandalwood, cigarette tobacco (Craven 'A')… Mouth: the wood is very pronounced here, with a lot of pine resin and strong liquorice, I imagine water will relax all this without spoiling it either. With water: yes, it works, we are still very strong (and modest). It's the damp earth that comes to the fore, mushrooms and citrus, medlars, softened cedar wood, also soft paprika… Finish: long, more on cloves, very dark chocolate and coffee beans. Still this very nice earthy side in the aftertaste, and even fresh morels (be careful, just a small bit, it can be toxic). Comments: that was a close call. A good pipette is mandatory.
SGP:561 - 90 points. |
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Diamond 26 yo 1996/2023 (50.2%, Distilia, The Golden Age of Piracy, Guyana, cask #5, 156 bottles)
Ever heard of that fine fellow, Captain Benjamin Hornigold? Colour: gold. Nose: This is a particularly soft Diamond on the nose, leaning more towards hay, chamomile, herbal teas, roasted chestnut, rooibos, white chocolate, and even fresh cane juice. Diesel and strong glue enthusiasts, move along! With water: little change, lots of sweetness, plenty of sugarcane... Mouth (neat): yes, a gentle Diamond, heavily on mandarin and cane juice. Just a tiny hint of brine way back on the palate. With water: it remains sweet, even though the Diamond DNA comes through a bit (liquorice, tar, brine, varnish, acetone). Finish: similar. Good length, nonetheless. Comments: a very intriguing Diamond and in that sense, probably a bit of a pirate, indeed.
SGP:551 - 87 points. |
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Enmore Versailles 29 yo 1994/2023 (45.8%, The Colours of Rum, Guyana, cask #27, 157 bottles)
This single wooden pot still (REV marque) has a dark copper colour. Nose: It's like very, very high-quality oolong tea, and that's it. I'm not kidding. Okay, there are a few tiny hints of liquorice, fresh paint, soy sauce, and walnut stain in the background. Mouth: but how delicious it is! Here we are on anchovies marinated in liquorice and wood varnish, or thereabouts. And then there's mint, myrtle, eucalyptus, a touch of ammonia, oysters... The freshness is exceptional, despite it being 29 years old. And that medicinal aspect, what a wonder, I'm sure it cures everything. Finish: long, very mentholated, with a return of the oolong tea and damp black earth. More pepper at the very end. Comments: tremendous but we need to wake up. Once it's gone, it's gone.
SGP:563 - 92 points. |
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Last Ward 16 yo 2007/2023 (60%, Velier, Barbados, bourbon)
This is triple-distilled pot still rum from Mount Gay, as I understand it (discontinued distillation). We've had a pretty phenolic Mount Gay the other day. This one from no less than thirteen barrels, aged in the tropics. Colour: copper. Nose: highly floral and honeyed, with great elegance, featuring notes of roasted pecan nuts and varnish, and even plywood (and we like it!). Then comes a greater abundance of tropical fruits, very ripe mangoes (beware), and bananas no less ripe... All this is really quite beautiful and spiritual; there are even notes of church candles. If that's not proof! With water: a lot of black tea. Mouth (neat): very powerful, very beautiful, but heavily marked by cedarwood, wood glue, sandalwood. I would go as far as to say it's not really drinkable at this strength. With water: ah yes, there we go, oranges, fresh mint, olive oil, and honey. That's a magical combination if the proportions are right, as they are here. Finish: very long, quite woody. Comments: tropical aging seems to have boosted the woodiness, as often happens, but the master blender has managed to achieve a rather balanced presentation. It's excellent if you don't mind a bit of wood.
SGP:561 - 90 points. |
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Bielle 2015/2023 (53.8%, Salon du Rhum Belgique, Guadeloupe, cask #120, 252 bottles)
Let's take the opportunity to slip in a young Bielle that we should have tasted rather a long time ago. Colour: gold. Nose: Bielle has a truly unique style, with a kind of spicy minerality, a mix between cumin and wet limestone tinged with basalt and candied sugar. With water: similar, but with darker honey and equally dark molasses. Mouth (neat): it's the cumin and bitter orange that take centre stage, followed by some metallic notes (copper) and grapefruit marmalade. A slight hint of slightly salty orange chutney. With water: orange, cumin, seawater, curry. Finish: quite long, spicy, saline, slightly mentholated. Comments: a Bielle with a bit of a candied aspect, perhaps a bit more mainstream than others. Very, very good, of course…
SGP:651 - 87 points. |
Ring-ring, a last rum for this Sunday, please... |
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Long Pond 7 yo 2015/2023 (62.2%, The Whisky Jury, Jamaica, refill barrel, cask #1, 259 bottles)
500-700 gr. esters/LPA here, that's pretty hefty. Remember nothing is linear in life… (what?) Colour: light gold. Nose: right, diesel oil, crushed barley/grist, cider vinegar (a drop), acetone (a drop), ammonia (a drop), plus several fruits about to rot, especially bananas. Just a perfect nose, with an impeccable 'mechanical freshness'. With water: indeed, an old engine just back from the factory, plus twelve big fat oysters. Mouth (neat): it is immensely good; the age does not matter. Remember, with any spirits, ages do no matter as long as you know them. What's always stinkingly nasty is to hide them when they're young, just to protect the price. This palate is wonderful, with salty lemons, varnishes, seawater, tar, liquorice, and if we must, 'engine oil'. With water: a little more towards lime juice and seawater. Finish: very long, on peppery and limey tar. Burns you a wee bit, even at +/-45% vol. Comments: very impressive young Long Pond, I'm not sure I knew they could be so good at such young age. But then again, it's the Whisky Jury.
SGP:562 - 90 points. |
Check the index of all rums we've tasted so far |
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April 13, 2024 |
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Angus's Corner
From our correspondent and
skilled taster Angus MacRaild in Scotland
Remembering
Stuart Thomson
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Recently we learned of the passing of former Ardbeg distillery manager, Stuart Thomson. It's very likely, and perfectly understandable, that many of you who have become whisky enthusiasts in the last ten years or so, probably don't know about him. For anyone who was into whisky in the late 1990s to early 2000s, however, you almost certainly would have heard of Stuart through the immense popularity of Ardbeg at the time. |
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It is hard to understate just how influential and important the work done at Ardbeg was after it was purchased by Glenmorangie in 1997. It aligned with a time when the cumulative efforts of independent bottlers, fledgling internet communities and cautious efforts by the larger companies all slowly began to tilt people's attention and interest towards single malts. This was a phenomenon that Ardbeg arguably began to lead; there wasn't really another distillery around the turn of the millennium with such a sense of cult about it. |
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This can be attributed to a number of things. Its marketing was undeniably important: fun, cheeky, playful, not too serious - these were rare qualities that stood out in an era defined by stuffiness, uncertainty and a general lack of creativity or a sense of over caution about taking new directions. It also helped that Ardbeg was unquestionably one of the great malt whiskies, a true grand cru make that was relentlessly idiosyncratic and, when at its best, forced many people to upend and reconsider their perceptions of malt whisky. The warehouses were full of casks that possessed these qualities, and they were released at accessible prices into a very different, far more innocent market than today's. The effect and influence of the whiskies themselves was vast and continues to this day. But beyond anything else, it was a very special team of people that worked to make Ardbeg a success and Stuart, as the 'face' of the brand was unarguably at the forefront of that. |
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Along with Jackie and many other distillery workers who are still there to this day like Emma and Dugga, he was responsible for introducing so many people to the joys of Ardbeg, of Islay and of malt whisky more generally. |
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Olivier listening to Stuart carefully (WF Archive 2004)
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This was a team of people who brought a lot of joy to people and who contributed an immeasurable amount to what Ardbeg would later become. In my view the behemoth of a global brand that it is today, was built upon the firmest of foundations - without which it's present successes (excesses?) would not be possible. These were foundations laid by the work, character and dedication of these people. |
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I went to work at Ardbeg as a summer job while I was a student in the year 2005, returning for a second summer in 2006. I had had travelled there in 2004 for a visit, camped at the distillery and been put to work waiting tables while I was there as it was high season and they needed help. This was typical of the kind of thing they did and could get away with in these days - it was very much the wild west. It was fast, sweaty work, hectic, exciting and extremely fun. It was on that trip that Stuart gave me my first taste of whisky straight from the cask in the warehouse: an Ardbeg 1975 fino sherry hogshead. It's hard to overstate the immense influence of an experience like that, at that age and for someone already emotionally invested in, and fascinated by, malt whisky. He filled half a highball glass with a valinch and I sat on the rocks overlooking the bay and sipped this liquid, the like of which I'd never experienced before. Jackie suggested I could return to work the following summer and I jumped at the chance. |
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With my bottling company, Decadent Drinks, we tend to make a big deal about 'fun'. Fun as a company value, fun as an ambition and objective - fun as important. Hearing about Stuart's passing has caused me to reflect a great deal this past week on just what an inspiration my time at Ardbeg was, just how much of what they strove for involved and was contingent upon, fun. The themed festival days, the tasting events, the food, the BBQs, the seemingly endless churn of visitors and tours, the general 'fuck it it'll work out, we've got good whisky' attitude that accompanied the messy blizzard of human effort and work and sweat that was thrown at keeping everything working and moving along. I increasingly understand now, viewed through the lens of retrospect, that what existed there, at that place and during that time, was unique and utterly special. |
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Stuart with Martine Nouet (WF Archive 2006)
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Parts of Ardbeg's magic still exist at the distillery, driven by Jackie and her team. Things a bit like it existed elsewhere too, perhaps most closely at Bruichladdich. But things have also changed, which is ok, things cannot persist in perpetuity. Much of what is different now stems from change of company ownership, but also the age we live in, which in whisky terms is defined far more by cynicism and hardness of attitude. |
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We are cynical of marketing, of prices, of stories and of people, often with good reason, but that age of innocence created a space in which something like Ardbeg could exist. That slight sense of lawless fun, the giddy awareness of what you were getting away with and the fact it was hard to believe, even at the time, was quite remarkable. There wasn't, to my knowledge, anything quite like what was painstakingly and meticulously created at Ardbeg in existence at any other Scottish distilleries at the time, and I don't believe there's anything quite like it today. At its best it made you understand and see with intense clarity why whisky was fun. It was a distillery which could explain the attraction of all other distilleries and whiskies with its fusion of the social with the reflective. A melting pot of friendships, fun and shared physical experiences of beautiful distillate. |
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When I arrived at Ardbeg I didn't really know much about whisky at all, bits and pieces at best. I plunged head first into working as a tour guide and I blush a bit to think about all the error-strewn nonsense I probably fed unsuspecting tourists. It was very much time with Stuart that taught me specifics and details, we would sit in the office after hours and he'd answer all of the questions I enthusiastically threw at him. I don't think I ever learned so much about any subject in such a short, intense space of time as those two summers. Indeed, on the other side of that experience I had gathered so many people I am still friends with today (it's where I met Serge for example), tasted and experienced so many incredible whiskies, discovered and learned about old style whiskies and took away the seeds of a 'grow it yourself' career with whisky. Fundamental to all that was Stuart. At heart he was a genuine whisky geek - he had as much passion for Glen Moray distillery as he did for Ardbeg - and he had tremendous knowledge about production specifics and an understanding of whisky on a chemical level which I, and many of us, certainly lack. I owe Stuart a lot for what he taught me, the time he spent with me and the encouragement he very kindly gave me. |
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Stuart, very sadly, had a bad relationship with alcohol, and it contributed in the end to him leaving Ardbeg. It was a painful time and a sad way to cut short a career in which he had contributed a great deal to the distillery's fortunes, its future, to its community and to the whisky itself. I won't include any notes with today's post, but I think it's worth reflecting on the character of Ardbeg distillate since 1997 and during the years that Stuart was manager. The fundamental make of Ardbeg, while undeniably different from the early 1990s era and the 1970s before that, remained brilliant in quality. To this day it's a whisky that, when I taste one of the more natural bottlings, un-obfuscated by silly wood, such as the 10 year old, or the recent 8 year old, I am often struck and left baffled that such brilliant, almost aggressively charismatic distillate still shines through. It is a whisky which does not make sense because this kind of relatively simple and modern production process should not yield this richness of personality and level of quality. There is much that is critical to say about how Ardbeg is sometimes bottled and the choices bound up in that, but the resurgent era over which Stuart presided is one of beauty and a legacy that anyone interested in the work of making great distillate should be proud of. |
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It was also work done without flair or bullshit. I will never forget the immortal words of one of Ardbeg's distillers who told me: "All that 'art of the stillman' stuff is bullshit! I could teach you how to run these stills in 20 minutes!" There's a lot in that and a rather wonderfully confrontational truth that dispenses with so much of the 'state sanctioned' hyperbole that often flows from the mainstream industry. It demonstrates that whisky making isn't flash or showy and it isn't art. It's really about decision making, judgement and following a good recipe. Something which I think was understood fundamentally at Ardbeg during this time - and by Stuart. |
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It was a distillery, and an era, that gives us the ultimate example of that truism which is so often co-opted by bullshit marketing double speak: whisky really is about the people. It's a cliché - but like many clichés it is descended from truth. Stuart was not a perfect person (which of us is?) but I remember his better qualities. That he was fun and humorous, he listened to you when you spoke and was interested to ask questions back. He went out of his way to be generous and kind to me, he taught me a great deal about whisky and was responsible for the kindling of real passion for whisky in many people, both in those who visited Ardbeg and those who he met on his work abroad. He was also an infectious music lover, playing his LPs gleefully at top volume, and when I think about him, it's hard to disentangle him from his love of David Bowie. I also recognised in him a dad who loved his two sons deeply. As a distillery manager he oversaw the production of exceptional whisky and he played a hugely important role in the team of people that helped make it possible for Ardbeg to become the force of nature it has become. |
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As time passes, I believe the evident influence and importance of what Ardbeg did for malt whisky culture and enthusiasm in those years under Glenmorangie only becomes clearer and more defined. I am very glad to have been there and witnessed a small part of it, and to share in some of the memories of so many who had their own great experiences at, or because of, Ardbeg and its team. |
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It is very sad that Stuart has passed away too soon, but he was an important part, and contributed a great deal to, something that made a lot of people very happy - and continues to do so today, led by Jackie and many of the same amazing people that keep the best aspects of Ardbeg alive and beating. |
From the short movie 'The Resurrection', 1998 |
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April 12, 2024 |
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Quickly, the newest LB and another Springbank
Because we don't want to lose our proverbial (they say) Springbank-fan-ness.
(Extract from the Eaglesome of Campbeltown price list, spring 1998. 'WB' means 'wooden box'. Who wants some Local Barley 1966? BTW to account for inflation alone, in 2024, prices from 1998 need to be multiplied by approximately 1.75 in Europe.)
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Springbank 24 yo 1996/2020 (49,1%, Sansibar, Koi Series, for Japan, sherry then madeira finish, 280 bottles)
Hope it was not a fishy bottling (ooh, bravo S., you've outdone yourself once more!) Colour: red dark amber. Nose: lemon peel, verbena, menthol, wasabi, walnut wine, mustard, pinesap, sour wines of many kinds, tiny whiffs of cat croquettes (no worries, those are the good ones – say WF's mousers) and some kind of Longrowness in the background. A rather intriguing nose, to say the least. Mouth: really rich, sweeter, much more honeyed, with a bit of 's' but nothing really unbearable, some eucalyptus, green walnuts, very sweet walnut liqueur, nocino, fir honey… Finish: rather long, pretty multi-dimensional, some moderate 's' being one of those dimensions. Gunpowder and umami sauce in the aftertaste. Comments: I believe it's a pretty crazy one, rather full of 'attractive flaws'.
SGP:662 - 87 points. |
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Springbank 13 yo 2010/2023 'Local Barley' (54.1%, OB, 8,400 bottles)
Forgot to try this baby earlier this year, it's more than time before they have the next batch, is it not. This was Belgravia barley from Glencraigs Farm malted on the distillery's floor, according to the back label. 60% Bourbon, 40% Sherry. Bottled dec. 2023. It's true that we love this series, there I said it. Colour: gold. Nose: indeed, a genuine member of our axis of wax (as we maintain it with Angus). Something hot ala Ben Nevis, some pure wax ala Clynelish, a coastal side ala Highland Park, and say a mustardy/meaty hint ala Benromach. Carbon paper, brake fluid, old paints, pine needles… With water: superb, orange peels, engine oils, church candles... Mouth (neat): so good. Lemon zests, verbena, gentian, paraffin, caraway oil… So good, so good… And once again some Longrowness. Did they not decide to vat everything together? With water: perfect waxes and mineral oils. Finish: long, a bit peppery, with citrus at the very end. Comments: I'll be accused of being a fanboy again, but it's true that the people are so friendly and so keen to keep their word that one just cannot resist them. Sublime Local Barley.
SGP:562 - 91 points. |
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