Some young whiskies from young Scottish distilleries


April 8, 2024

Some young whiskies from young
Scottish distilleries

Charlie

Charlie and his three sons presenting the new Ardnamurchan for their Maclean Foundation charity. Charlie is the one wearing a cap ;-).
(The Maclean Foundation)

As there is the new Ardnamurchan for the Maclean Foundation to sample before it's too late – the cause is worthy and perhaps it will already be sold out by the time we publish this – we shall take the opportunity to try two or three other relative newcomers, including a rare independent Ailsa Bay. I am convinced that we will come across a top Ailsa Bay sooner or later, perhaps even today...

Ardnamurchan 6 yo 2017/2024 (58.6%, OB for The Maclean Foundation, bourbon barrel, cask #80, 243 bottles)

Available through Royal Mile Whiskies, including through their website. Charles 'Charlie' Maclean and his three sons have started their family foundation to provide clean water to poor communities around the planet, in the very case of this first Ardnamurchan the aim is to fund projects in Madagascar. All you could say is 'bravo!' Colour: light gold. Nose: It's very taut, highly lemony, saline, very maritime, also with hints of Riesling grape stalks and touches of turmeric and fresh bread. In short, it's of absolute straightness, just like the trustees of the foundation! With water: little change, it's almost in the territory of the grandest "zero dosage" champagnes. Mouth (neat): a true blade. Cut grass, lemon juice, and sea water. I find it as taut as a bow, the water seems indispensable, even if a very slight roundness also makes an appearance (grapefruit liqueur). With water: superb coastal freshness, still plenty of lemon, ashes, Riesling, a bit of fresh coriander, and maybe some white asparagus, then fresh bread again. Finish: long and still tight, but without real aggressiveness. More ash than smoke in the aftertaste. Comments: I add that the price is very reasonable for such a noble cause and a whisky so pure and good.
SGP:463 - 90 points.

Dalrymple 10 yo 2013/2023 (59.3%, Tri Carragh, 330 bottles)

There are quite a few of these Dalrymples around these days, all advertised as secret William Grant's Girvan-based malt whisky 'Ailsa Bay'. This one had been re-racked in a first fill oloroso hogshead in 2021. Tri Carragh is an independent line by young Edinburgh-based company Stravaig Spirits. Colour: or. Nose: It's quite good in the style of a very dry Madeira wine, with walnuts and mustard, tikka masala, cloves, crushed pepper, then some coffee beans and very nice notes of ripe pink gooseberries. We adore that; I find people don't eat enough gooseberries nowadays, it might make them more agreeable (if they're ripe). With water: little change, perhaps a few hints of metal polish on top of all those nuts. Mouth (neat): very good, this oloroso was perfect and converses ideally with a distillate which is generally quite austere and not very engaging in my opinion. The result is a kind of amaro or rather earthy, spicy bitter, always with plenty of green walnut. With water: same, it's perfect. Almost miraculous, in fact. The perfect antidote to first-fill bourbon. Finish: long, very balanced, with very nice green spices, the aforementioned nuts, and quite a bit of tobacco, liquorice, and black pepper. Comments: I believe this type of very dry oloroso represents the perfect cask for Ailsa Bay, judging by this whisky. If I may say so. It's nudging 90, at any rate, it trumps all the Ailsa Bays I've tasted before.
SGP:363 - 89 points.

Holyrood 'Arrival' (46.1%, OB, 8188 bottles, 2024)

I adore Holyrood and finally, here is the first Holyrood whisky following some marvellous new-makes made from a variety of barleys (oh, the 'Chevallier', oh the 'bub'!) What surprises me a bit is that beyond the classic sherry and bourbon casks, they've also used rum barrels. A curious idea for a 'seminal' bottling – in my mind, rum is more for potential variations and it really smacks of 'flavouring', even if rum casks are of course traditional in Scotland. Well, let's see this in the glass... Colour: full gold. Nose: I don't find it very precise, indeed. Dried grapes, figs, orange liqueur, a bit of pineapple, cane honey... It's quite pretty and gentle, certainly, but this 'trans-category' aspect is odd. No fresh bread, imagine that! Mouth: same impressions. It's a bit like an American malt, heavily influenced by the casks, cinnamon, grey pepper. Bitter coffee, dark chocolate, gingerbread, cloves... Finish: very long, spicy, quite woody. Very dark tea and orange peels in the aftertaste. Comments: there's something I don't quite grasp here, but I remain a very big fan of Holyrood.
SGP:562 - 80 points.

Lochlea 5 yo 2018/2023 (50%, OB, casks #20, 25, 249, 272, 295, 02,000 bottles)

What a cask bill! 2 first-fill bourbon, 1 first-fill oloroso, 1 second-fill PX and 1 second-fill oloroso. It's somewhat unfortunate that a rather high initial price for this bottle seems to have somewhat dampened the original goodwill of the enthusiasts towards Lochlea, but sales appear to have been good. That said, the barley comes from the estate. Colour: gold. Nose: as with the Holyrood, there is the cheerful mix of casks which somewhat muddles the landscape, though here it seems to fare a bit better. There remains a rustic edge, mentholated, then more exotic, with bananas flambéed with… juniper. A ' slightly soapy' gin-like aspect that's ultimately not so unpleasant. With water: hazelnuts and honey-roasted peanuts. That's pretty unbeatable. Mouth (neat): not bad at all now. Smoky, spicy, heavily marked by the spices from the wood but still balanced. Cinnamon mints and orange marmalade. A very strong maple syrup note in the background. With water: indeed, it's to my taste, with none of that barrel-related mishmash. Pipe tobacco, Corinthian raisins, tobacco, and leather... Finish: long and rich. Pumpernickel and gingerbread, with a mustardy hint. Comments: it seems that this slightly mad Lochlea has managed to tame us after all.
SGP:562 - 85 points.

Torabhaig 5 yo 'Cnoc Na Moine' (46%, OB, The Legacy Series, Chapter No.3, 2024)

Well, we're all going to end up speaking Gaelic fluently with all these Scottish whiskies we're tasting. Bourbon, oloroso, PX. It's interesting that they've published the peat level in the barley post-malting (78.44ppm) and the residual level after distillation (19.7ppm phenols). The 2018/2023 'Batch Strength' was magnificent (WF 90), but it was 100% ex-bourbon; with the sherries, it might be different. More erratic, let's say, let's check that… Colour: straw. Nose: this impression of being in a working kiln, even if here, the smoke is less acrid than, say, at Laphroaig or Port Ellen (right, not a kiln). In fact, it's quite soft, rounded but not slack, rather medicinal (iodine tincture, mercurochrome) and then quite marked by a bit of wasabi. It remains a rather gentle Torabhaig on the nose, with some orange peel. Mouth: excellent, saline and root-like. Someone will end up peating gentian roots one day. On the palate, it's drier than expected, more lemony and peppery too, and especially, full of ashes. Then we find chalk and a bit of powdered ginger as well as a bit of tar. It remains fresh, the sherry has had less impact than we expected, and we're not complaining. Finish: fresh and smoky but more rounded nonetheless. Comments: absolutely excellent but the problem is the 2018/2023 'Batch Strength' that remains etched in our memory. No, it's very good, of course.
SGP:557 - 87 points.