A Single Single Grain Whisky session


February 27, 2024

A Single Single Grain Whisky session (Invergordon)

What actually defines 'grain whisky' in Scotland is not, contrarily to popular belief, the fact that it's not made out of 100% malted barley, but the fact that it's not batch-distilled in pot stills. Which means that if you distill 100% malted barley in a column /continuous still, what you get is grain whisky. That is, for example, a variant that they do indeed produce at Loch Lomond Distillery (Loch Lomond Single Grain, 100% malted barley in Coffee Still).

Invergordon (Invergordon)

Nikka's rather famous 'Coffey Malt' would also be categorized as a grain whisky had it been made in Scotland. In any case, this little session will be, I believe, a first on WF, as we'll do a short verticale of only Whyte & Mackay's Invergordon, a fairly recent grain distillery in Roth-shire that was built between 1959 and 1961. In my book it is a top-grain-distillery, if not the very best. But first, the only blended grain we have at hand as the traditional apéro…

Blended Grain Scotch Whisky 35 yo 1987/2023 (55.1%, Hogshead Imports, second fill barrel, 268 bottles)

An astonishing and mysterious Scottish blended grain straight from the Netherlands. It could also be a 'teaspooned' single grain, you never know. Colour: gold. Nose: very typical grain whisky, with a combination of medicinal alcohol, acetone, vanilla, coconut and limoncello. With water: smoother, with much less acetone and much more buttered cakes, shortbread… Mouth (neat): sweet, with really a lot of coconut wine, antique Malibu, sweet custard, also an unexpected feeling of sugarcane juice, bordering rumness. There's also a little halva (sesame, pistachio) and just buttered and caramelised popcorn, plus more and more old wood, which is normal. With water: rather more of that old wood, as well as some rather oaky new-world chardonnay. And perhaps a little viognier. Finish: medium, on similar flavours, coconut, chardonnay, varnish… Bits of lemon zest in the aftertaste, which works. Comments: it's really good, I think. You just have to enjoy coconut and vanilla.
SGP:640 - 82 points.

Invergordon 32 yo 1990/2022 (49.3%, Acla Selection, barrel, cask #3, 143 bottles)

After the Dutch, the Swiss, all good friends of whisky. By the way, isn't Invergordon the northernmost Scottish grain distillery? Colour: gold. Nose: I've always thought Invergordon was 'a little closer to malt' than the other grain whiskies, it's to be wondered if they're not using more malted barley than the others. Remember there ought to be malted barley in Scottish grain, its enzymes are necessary and even required to transform the starch into sugar (long story short). Anyway, awesome nose here, deeper than that of the blend, fatter on the nose, with more well-defined fruits (melon, mango, lemon) and really not too much coconut and vanilla. We're really closer to malt whisky, say to the Lowlands. Mouth: excellent, sweet, fruity, with marshmallows, icing sugar, jelly babies, citrus drops and all-vitamin fruit juice (I take the opportunity to stock up on the much needed vitamin D, ha). Finish: medium, perhaps a tiny tad too sweet for me now, but it's still upper-echelon grain whisky in my book. Comments: this little barrel of 'pretty malty' grain whisky has been brought up very well.
SGP:740 - 86 points.

One must remember that not so long ago, precious malt fillings were not housed in new wood, nor even in first-fill barrels before these had been duly prepared with grain whisky. But times have certainly changed, as we have entered the era of wood-driven whiskies many moons ago.

Invergordon 35 yo 1988/2023 (55.4%, Dramfool's Middle Cut, bourbon barrel, cask #1481, 154 bottles)

Colour: light gold. Nose: relatively light, rather lemony, with apples and dough, gresini, whiffs of yuzu, a pack of cream eggs, a small glass of coconut liqueur, a glass of sauvignon blanc… With water: it's becoming more complex, with some touches of old copper, leek, turnip and celeriac, green tea… Mouth (neat): sweet and citrusy. We often mention limoncello, well this is almost pure limoncello (aged in oak for thirty-five years, mind you). With water: Fruit Loops (do they still make them?) and Juicy Fruit (same question). Notes of light rum, only better (say Havana Club). Finish: medium, sweet, on liqueurs and fruit drops. Green tea putting it all straight in the aftertaste. Comments: well, unless matured in good sherry for a very long time, grain whisky will always be a little thin, but there's no unbearable lightness in these Invergordons, on the contrary.
SGP:750 - 85 points.

Invergordon 48 yo 1973/2022 (40.1%, Acla Selection, barrel, 119 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: shh, let's listen to this very old one… Distant whiffs of ripe passion fruits, garden mangos (obviously not from a garden in Alsace or in Switzerland, not yet), papayas, some superlative white Meursault (yes, that's chardonnay too, and yes, they also make red Meursault), those pink bananas that we keep mentioning… Well you would almost believe this is an old Bushmills or Littlemill, or even Lochside. It dazzles. But shh, only 40.1% vol. … Mouth: this is a confirmation. Same fruit combo, plus a small mocha-spoonful of manuka honey. Moderate vanilla, pineapple and coconut – so it's not exactly becoming pina-colada-y, and we are grateful to it for that. Finish: not very long 'of course' but never excessively, well, pina-colada-y. Comments: one of the best recent unsherried old grain whiskies, without a doubt. Shh…
SGP:730 - 90 points.

Let's push this to 50 (years of age), if you please…

Invergordon 50 yo 1972/2023 (41.5%, DramCatcher, hogshead, cask #106192, 60 bottles)

Another micro-outturn for our close neighbours and friends in Switzerland. Colour: full gold. Nose: a little less emphatic, a little more delicate, closer to Italian pastries, amaretti, panettone, orange blossom, plus a pack of proper white nougat from Provence (not the ones you buy along the autoroute) and a touch of high-class pipe tobacco. Almost no one's smoking pipes anymore (except for a well-known Italian gentleman from Formigine) but I have fond memories of the smells inside the Dunhill shop, Jermyn Street, London. Another dazzling nose. Mouth: we're now extremely close to the 1973. To be honest they are hardly distinguishable, although this 1972 may display a few extra-notes of blood oranges. Finish: nougat à l'orange, vanilla cake, the expected coconut notes (but they behave) and this welcome green tea in the aftertaste. Comments: superb.
SGP:740 - 90 points.

(Merci Thijs)

Check the index of all grains we've tasted so far