
December 22, 2023

For an easier session today, Roseisle vs. Kininvie

Roseisle's incredible double-straight-seven engine (Diageo)

Two sizable distilleries that are fairly recent and designed to produce vast quantities of quite light malt for blends, the former owned by Dieageo, the latter by William Grant. We're not anticipating any particularly notable characters, but after all, at Whiskyfun we taste everything.

Roseisle 12 yo 'The Origami Kite' (56.5%, OB, Special Release 2023, first fill and refill bourbon)

Here, I believe, is the first commercially released version of Roseisle, beyond the various samples that have been circulating since its launch in 2010. Roseisle's total capacity is 10 million LPA, which isn't huge (Glenfiddich and Glenlivet are much larger). I had the joy of visiting Roseisle with the Malt Maniacs on our 15th anniversary in 2012. Roseisle can produce very different styles, especially by using stainless steel instead of copper in the condensers, which generates thicker, less pure textures, even quite sulphurous ones, but it seems that the priority has remained with light and herbal malts, no doubt much easier to 'correct' when filled / used. Colour: golden. Nose: indeed, I find it quite herbal at the start, then more on apples and plums, then melon, nectarines, almond paste, coconut, and fresh wood. It's nice but there isn't a huge personality, we remain in the realm of the largest Speyside distilleries. With water: the same feeling. Ripe apple, beer, freshly mown lawn... Mouth (neat): very creamy, peppery and fruity at the same time, then increasingly herbal, with a bit of syrup and hops in the background. It's especially the quite thick texture that is remarkable, had they used stainless steel condensers? With water: much fruitier, a bit in the style of the strongest Californian IPAs, then more and more herbal and spicy, with a lot of green pepper and pink berries. Finish: quite long, always very spicy, a bit dominated by new wood at this stage. Pear. Comments: nothing more to say, it does the job very well, with a lot of texture.
SGP:561 - 85 points.

Aldunie 25 yo 1997/2022 (53.7%, Whisky AGE, blended malt, barrel, cask #1512, 172 bottles)

Aldunie is the 'teaspooned' name of Kininvie, thus sold as a blended malt rather than a single. Given Kininvie's notoriety is close to zero, I don't quite see what anyone would lose if the use of the actual distillery name were allowed. You're right, nor to gain, to tell the truth. In any case, Kininvie's capacity is about half of Roseisle's, at approximately 5 million litres of pure alcohol. The distillery was built in 1990, but to date, I haven't even tasted ten, whether under the name of Kininvie or Aldunie. I must admit, I'm a bit ashamed... Colour: straw. Nose: quite spirity at the beginning, with notes of medicinal alcohol and even antifreeze, but sweet herbs, melon, peach, and liquorice wood quickly come to the rescue. There are also lovely notes of pear cake with custard, if you please. We remain in a universe not so far from that of the new Roseisle, although this Kininvie is much older (but the wood was less active, more elegant here). With water: a bit of fresh mint, gooseberry, apple, greengage... Mouth (neat): indeed, we are close to Roseisle. Strong and fruity beer, overripe apples, pepper and a bit of chilli, melon skins, green nuts... With water: very good, with a bit of mango, but also some slightly bitter herbs. Green peppercorns. Finish: long, still spicy, this time with more ginger and allspice. Apple peel, gueuze, barley syrup, and lemon liqueur in the aftertaste, with a bit of chilli. Comments: less easy and fruity than a sister cask we tasted in the spring, but still very good.
SGP:551 - 86 points.