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2008
April 1
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March 1
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February
1
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January 1
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2004
December
1
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2
November
1
- 2
October
1
- 2
September
1
August
1
July
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June
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May
1
April
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March
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The
Malt Maniacs Monitor
(PDF,
printable, 2.7MB, sorted alphabetically, updated March 31,
2008)
The file
contains approx 250 pages.
At the moment, we have collected 31,116
ratings on more than 10,204 different single malts
and whiskies.
We are sorry, the html version is no longer
available, it got too heavy anyway.)
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Serge's
Statistics
Shack
The
data on the MMMonitor allows us Malt Maniacs to play around
with the numbers for our own amusement. Please note that only
the results and conclusions published on Malt Maniacs are
'official'. However, these statistics are often used as the
foundation for our 'official' opinions.
Top Maniacal Malts
Recent
bottlings version
Old
bottlings version
(All HTML, sorted by average score,
updated 16/01/2007)
For
these 'solid' Top 100 (or Top 50 for the older bottlings)
we've taken all the malts that have been sampled by at least
six different certified malt maniacs and simply ranked them
from 'best' to 'worst'. Please note that these results can
be very different than our Awards', the latter addressing
only malts that have been submitted by the industry, whereas
most of the malts on the monitor have been, yes... bought
by us!
Soft
Top 250 Maniacal Malts
(HTML,
sorted alphabetically, updated 16/01/2007)
Simply
a list of the 250 best Single Malts scored by at least 3 different
Malt Maniacs. The results are slightly less
'solid', but you should find 'the best of the best' here.
You just can't go wrong when choosing any of these bottles.
The
Malt Maniacs Soft RIBs
(HTML, sorted
by bottler and average score, updated 16/01/2007)
Another interesting feature. Find out about our Recommended
Independent Bottlings, meaning all the bottlings which have
been rated above 85 points by 4+ Maniacs. Here are the gems!
Strange
Bits on Bottlers
(HTML, updated 16/01/2007)
As
we already came up with around 20,000 ratings in January 2007,
we felt we could try to come up with an even better ranking
of the various bottlers. Nothing really official or too serious,
though, especially because the bottles' prices have not been
taken into account and because a bottler that specializes
in rare and expensive whiskies will be 'advantaged' anyway.
But if you're a number crusher, please go ahead and browse
the list!
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A Messy History
1969 - 1983
All
the bottlings
Well, almost...
latest
update
May 21, 2005
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Serge's
Tasting Sheet: Back
on this website by popular demand. PDF, printable. Click here
to download.
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All the linked files (mp3, video, html) are
located on free commercial or non-commercial third party websites.
Some pictures are taken from these websites, and are believed
to be free of rights, as long as no commercial use is intended.
I
always try to write about artists who, I believe, deserve
wider recognition, and all links to mp3 files are here to
show you evidence of that. Please encourage the artists you
like, by buying either their CDs or their downloadable 'legal'
tracks.
I
always add links to the artists' websites - if any - which
should help you know more about their works. I also try to
add a new link to any hosting website or weblog which helped
me discover new music - check the column on the right.
I
almost never upload any mp3 file on my own server, except
when dealing with artists I personally know, and who gave
me due authorizations, or sometimes when I feel a 'national'
artist deserves wider recognition. In that case, the files
will remain on-line only for a few days.
I
do not encourage heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages,
nor dangerous motorbike riding. But life is short anyway...
As
they say here: 'L'abus d'alcool est dangeureux pour la santé
- à consommer avec modération' |
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Leave
feedback |
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May
9, 2008 |
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TASTING
THREE
NEW CAOL ILAS |
Caol
Ila 1996/2008 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail Reserve
for LMdW, cask #16100) 
Colour: white wine. Nose: as fresh and clean as
a young Caol Ila can get. Touches of dill and fresh
butter, then mint and liquorice sticks, the whole
coated with whiffs of sea air. Flawless but maybe
not overly expressive. Mouth: starts all on gentian
– which we love – and liquorice, truly
earthy. The peat is big and so are the spices, pepper
first. Little salt here, a Coal Ila from the land
rather than from the sea on the palate. Also a little
ashy. Very good anyway... Finish: pretty long, balanced,
mid-punchy mid-civilised, back on dill and with
a little salt now. Comments: of course it’s
very good whisky. SGP:337 – 86 points.
(and thank you, Olivier) |
Caol
Ila 17 yo 1991 (52.5%, Jack Wieber, Auld Distillers,
200 bottles, 2008) 
Colour: gold. Nose: this one is more buttery and
vanilled at first nosing, but the overall profile
isn’t too different. Maybe a tad more medicinal
as well as a little smokier. Very medicinal, actually,
as after a few minutes it really smells like a young
Laphroaig. Great nose I must say. Also notes of
unlit Havana cigar, quite wild. Mouth: this Caol
Ila definitely doesn’t taste like Caol Ila.
Wilder, rougher, very earthy and very grassy (rocket
salad), with green tannins (a pleasure in this case)
and notes of verjuice. It’s only after this,
err, ‘green’ display that more typical
notes do appear, such as salt, peat, pepper and
a rather big smokiness. Finish: long, still very
pleasantly ‘green’, with obvious tannins
that add even more wildness to the whole. Comments:
an unusually rough Caol Ila and a very interesting
variant. SGP:157 – 88 points. |
Caol
Ila 23 yo 1984/2008 'Local AI' (57.2%, The Nectar,
Daily Dram, 198 bottles) 
Colour: white wine. Nose: a little more wood influence
(read vanilla) here but other than that it’s
really like the 1996, only with more ageing. Gets
more complex after a few minutes, though, with more
iodine and more dill, mint and aniseed. Or make
that fennel. Very pleasant ashy notes as well, a
little wet chalk... It’s only after ten good
minutes that it really takes off, that is, getting
very farmy and maritime at the same time, all that
along some beautiful notes of marzipan and putty.
This one needs time! With water: this is funny,
now it got fully coastal. Sea air, shells, iodine,
fisherman’s net and bikinis. Not bikinis.
Mouth (neat): it’s like the official 18yo,
only at cask strength. Enough said. With water:
a middle-aged Caol Ila in its full glory. Almonds,
clams, salt, peat, pepper and crystallised lemons.
Totally classic. Finish: long, with more pepper
and peat and less of the rest. Comments: another
one that one shouldn’t try to assess too quickly,
but then it really delivers. Beautiful. SGP:346
– 90 points. |
And
also Caol Ila 12 yo
1982/1994 (43%, Taverna degli Artisti for Bar Metro)
 A
soft, mildly smoky and rather earthy Caol Ila with
very good balance and very pleasant notes of Williams
pears. Very, very drinkable. SGP:425 –
84 points. |
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May
8, 2008 |
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TASTING
– THE PERFECT STRIKE: FOUR 1969 LONGMORNS |
| Longmorn
31 yo 1969/2001 (45.65%, Douglas Laing OMC, 210
bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: this one isn’t one
of these ‘usual’ old uber-fruity Longmorns
it seems. Starts rather meaty (smoked ham, sausages)
as well as quite herbal (jasmine tea, patchouli,
dried parsley), displaying rather big – and
unusual again – notes of clams and oysters.
Even crabs. Also saffron and soft paprika... Thai
whisky? Very, very impressive anyway, and unlike
any other malt whisky I could nose up to now. Yes,
even the dreadful Mekong whisky... Mouth: just a
marvellous basket of all kinds of citrus fruits
this time, at least at the attack. Oranges, lemons,
tangerines, kumquats (you name them)... Then we
have the oak and its spices, very ‘ethereal’
ones, plus a little coriander and pinches of salt.
Amazing how nose and palate are different in this
one, it’s almost like if we had two (beautiful)
whiskies. Finish: long, all on orange and lemon
marmalade plus salt. Comments: this old Longmorn
is really fun – and two whiskies for the price
of one! SGP:463 on the nose and
732 on the palate– 91
points. |
| Longmorn
1969/2000 (53.8%, Castle Collection, VA.MA., Italy)
Colour:
gold. Nose: hell, this is superb again! Starts much
more on milk chocolate and crystallised oranges
as well as a little mint but gets then very, very
fruity, which is ‘normal’ now. Well.
Exceptional notes of tropical fruits (papayas and
mangos ahead), then the same kind of meatiness as
in the DL, only milder. Then whiffs of old walnuts
and orange juice, lemon balm, thuja wood, plum sauce...
Truly wonderful. No water needed. Mouth: it’s
almost like jam! Lemon marmalade, lemon honey, quince
jelly, yellow plums, ripe apricots... And more honey
and oranges. Also tobacco, white pepper, Szechuan
pepper, cloves... Wonderful again. Finish: long,
coating, candied, orangey and honeyed. Comments:
another wonderful old Longmorn, globally more classic
than the DL but not less good. SGP:743 –
91 points. |
| Longmorn
1969/2008 (54.6%, Gordon & MacPhail Cask for
The Whisky Fair)
This one caught a lot of attention at the latest
Whisky Fair in Limburg. Colour: full gold. Nose:
a little more discrete at first nosing, almost shy,
which is unusual with old Longmorns. Takes off after
a good two minutes, that is, slowly but continuously.
First we have the same notes of lemon balm as in
the ‘Castle’, then orangey notes that
grow bigger and bigger, then mango, guavas, verbena,
even a little muscat grape... All that is coated
with wood smoke (or pine cones), mint and even a
little eucalyptus, and the whole is probably less
decadent than its siblings but just as beautiful
on the nose. No water needed. |
Front and back label
(or the other way round?) |
| Mouth:
it’s certainly not slow at the attack, rather
punchy, orangey and spicy right at the first drops.
A tad more ‘brutal’ than its bros at
this stage but the general profile is very similar.
A little more oak as well, but the rest is all on
crystallised oranges, acacia honey, tangerines and
kumquats. Let’s see what happens with a few
drops of water: yes, that works, it got rounder,
creamier, with added hints of ginger and salt. Finish:
long, on the same kinds of note. Very salty tang
in the aftertaste. Comments: this beauty benefits
from a few drops of water on the palate, and then
it gets really in the same league as its brothers.
SGP:631 – 91 points. |
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Longmorn
1969 (61.5%, G&M Cask, 75cl)
Colour:
full gold. Nose: tell me about a punchy one! Now,
quite a few aromas do manage to come through, such
as oranges, milk chocolate and wood smoke... But
water is needed for sure here. With water: gets
interestingly medicinal (aspirin, embrocations)
but also a bit dusty and chalky. Some superb notes
of fresh limes, that is. Mouth (neat): more sherry
than in its bros it seems, but it’s also a
little too harsh without water. |
| With
water: ah yes, now it’s truly beautiful! All
kinds of citrus fruits just like in the DL, then
walnuts and pistachios, Chinese mushrooms and dark
toffee. Wonderful indeed. Finish: long, displaying
a blend of all aforementioned flavours. Comments:
another one that really benefits from a few drops
of water. No reason to rate it differently. SGP:543
– 91 points. |
| And
also Longmorn-Glenlivet
1968/2003 (61.3%, Scott’s Selection, 750ml,
US)
A beautiful nose starting on ‘full mint mode’
as well as citrons and lemon balm, developing on
verbena, pu-erh tea and then Parma ham. Stunning.
Mouth: ditto. Very compact and nervous... Then we
have passion fruit... The finish is very peppery
and smoky. Amazing that this one doesn’t seem
to need water at such high strength. SGP:743
– 92 points. |
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May
7, 2008 |
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| PETE
McPEAT AND JACK WASHBACK |
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TASTING
THREE
RECENT PORT ELLENS |
| Port
Ellen 1982/2008 (46%, Berry Bros, casks #2030-2035)
More
new bottlings of that famous malt whisky of which
all stocks were nearly exhausted ten years ago ;-),
but we won’t complain, many are extremely
good in our opinion... Hope this one will be as
good as the stunning cask #2469 by the same bottler.
Colour: white wine – pale straw. Nose: it
seems that it’s one of these ultra-austere
PE’s, all on wet stones, chalk, lime and even
aspirin, with almost no fruitness whatsoever. It’s
not very peaty either, rather porridgy and lemony.
Not quite a Lowlander of course but I believe it
wouldn’t be too easy to nail Islay’s
south shore when tasting this one blind. Interesting
notes of green curry and green pepper as well. More
peat comes through after a while but it never quite
gets ‘a peat monster’. Different. Mouth:
starts amazingly lemony – almost pure lime
juice – and peppery, with something a tad
drying on your tongue. A little cardboard? More
sweetness after that (apple compote) but again,
no big peat here. More something of Talisker I think,
which, of course, isn’t bad news. Finish:
medium long, peppery and still a tad drying, chalky,
‘mat’. Comments: very good whisky but
probably not in the same league as cask #2469 from
last year. Sort of lacks ‘something’
I think. SGP:256 – 85 points. |
| Port
Ellen 25 yo 1982/2007 (57.5%, Douglas Laing Platinum
for PotStill Austria, cask #3478, 512 bottles)
Colour:
amber. Nose: this one starts all on coffee and dark
chocolate, with a slightly subdued peat once more
but a very obvious smokiness. More wood smoke that
is... Then a little orange liqueur, pepper, dried
Chinese mushrooms (the large black ones), gunpowder,
maybe a little rubber (but I wouldn’t say
this is sulphury), prunes... Let’s see what
happens with a little water: big notes of pencil
shavings do arise, as well as a little shoe polish
and pipe tobacco. A little drier. Mouth (neat):
it’s truly one of these peat’n’sherry
monsters, with a huge attack on caramel and pepper,
maybe a tad cloying that is. Oily mouth feel. Goes
on with a continuous fight between the thick sherry
(orange liqueur, prunes, chocolate, blackcurrant
jam) and the peaty and slightly bitter pepper. Hot,
quite immense but maybe not too subtle... With water:
drier, more on coffee, soy sauce, salty liquorice
and balsamic vinegar. Finish: very long, with a
balance that’s perfect now. Comments: nobody
won the fight. This is a rather extreme –
and sulphurless - sherried Port Ellen. SGP:367
– 90 points. |
| Port
Ellen 28 yo 1979/2007 (53,6%, Norse Cask Selection,
cask #QW1311, 277 bottles)
Colour: pale straw. Nose: ah yes, now we’re
really talking! Big, big smoke (coal and peat),
with the kind of austerity we’re really fond
of. Lemons, raw wool, wet limestone, a little mint,
oysters, lemon tonic, ink, ashes and the rest of
the gang... It suddenly explodes after a while,
with big notes of fresh eucalyptus leaves, new oak
and pear peelings. Not really sexy and maybe a tad
‘cerebral’, but truly beautiful. For
Port Ellen exegetes? With water: a full plate of
oysters, with lemon, seaweed and pepper and added
notes of fresh almonds. Less herbal and maybe more
typical. Mouth (neat): a little sweeter and rounder
than on the nose and more resinous and herbal as
well. Even bigger notes of eucalyptus, pine resin
sweets, mint... And of course a lot of pepper and
peat. Excellent! With water: it got more almondy
but still quite resinous. And very peppery. Finish:
rather interminable, with a peaty backburn and also
a little salt. Comments: one of these sharp Port
Ellens that we like so much, but that may put off
lovers of sweet and rounded whiskies. You’ve
been warned. SGP:158 – 92 points
(and mange tak, Carsten-H.) |
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WANTED!
For
a friend (I swear he's not yours truly) any of
these two dumpy Clynelishes.
Namely the 24yo 1965/1989 at 49.4% or the 20yo
1965/1985 at 46%... Or any other 'brown dumpy,
black label' Clynelish you would own or know of.
You may contact us there,
thank you!
Signed:
the sheriff. |
| MUSIC
– Recommended listening.
Jazz: the graceful and badly missed Susannah
McCorkle sings Love
walked in.mp3 with just a bass. Delicious,
isn't it? Please buy Susannah's music... |
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