A little bag of blended malts


January 29, 2025

Mixed bags

Whiskyfun's mixed bags
A little bag of blended malts

A bit of everything, we may also stumble upon secret single malts trying to play hide-and-seek with us.

Monkey Shoulder ‘Batch 27’ (40%, OB, William Grant & Sons, blended malt, +/-2024)

This one is enjoyed from time to time, being a very important malt in France, a vatting of Glenfiddich, Balvenie, and Kininvie. Since its introduction in 2005, it has always been Batch 27—surely the largest vatting tank in the world! Jokes aside, I used to prefer earlier versions, but things can always evolve. Colour: gold. Nose: well, it’s lovely, ever so slightly cardboardy, but also on shortbread, acacia honey, ripe mirabelles, and cinnamon cake. Honestly, I really like this nose… Perhaps they’ve increased the Balvenie proportion? Mouth: yes, it’s good, not as light as you might expect, with flavours close to the nose, plus a touch of orange. It only loses momentum after about thirty seconds—that’s the 40% for you. Finish: very short, indeed, and that’s its main flaw. A return of cardboard. Comments: a shame, I felt it was heading beyond 80 points.
SGP:441 - 79 points.

Since we were talking about France...

Speyside Blended Malt 12 yo ‘Famille Dupont’ (52.7%, Mossburn, Cask Collaboration Series, calvados finish, 2024)

Speyside Blended Malt 12 yo ‘Famille Dupont’ (52.7%, Mossburn, Cask Collaboration Series, calvados finish, 2024)
This intriguing baby was finished in ex-calvados Pays d’Auge and ex-pommeau casks. Famille Dupont, renowned calvados makers in Normandy, also produce pommeau—a kind of pineau or ratafia, essentially apple juice fortified with calvados. Colour: light gold. Nose: it’s not easy to detect the calvados in an obvious way, which is for the better, as many aromas from calvados (including apple, naturally) are also commonly found in malt whiskies. This results in a very coherent nose, which I find lovely, round, and well-balanced, with very light muscat-like touches that may stem from the… pommeau. With water: very subtle earthy touches, which are delightful. Mouth (neat): apple and even cider are far more apparent on the palate, with a slightly fizzy character and hints of lemon. This makes the malt very refreshing—it could work beautifully with desserts. Light liquorice and green pepper. With water: more honey, heather, and linden blossom. It’s very good. Finish: rather long, soft yet robust, and very attractive. Comments: essentially a finishing that doesn’t feel like a finishing—right up my alley. And I adore apples. But beware, it goes down all too easily—you’ve been warned.
SGP:641 – 86 points.

The Bad Na H-Achlaise (46%, Badachro Distillery, Tuscan oak, +/-2024)

A name even harder to pronounce than Allt-A-Bhainne or Bruichladdich—quite the achievement! But oops, this is a single malt sourced elsewhere. My bad, as Badachro appears to only make gin and vodka. They’re located on the mainland, just opposite the northern tip of Skye. We had previously tried a cask-strength Bad Na H-Achlaise, which was excellent. Colour: gold. Nose: oh, this is lovely! A medicinal smokiness, but not in the Islay style—perhaps Ledaig? —with oysters, tarred ropes, resinous wood ashes, cherries, oil paint, and fresh tar… all very charming. Mouth: excellent fresh peat, once again with a touch of cherry (perhaps from the Tuscan oak?) and loads of maritime notes, including hints of a neighbouring ship’s hold. Finish: long, more lemony, perfectly ashy, and peaty. Comments: the only issue is going to a whisky shop, not speaking Gaelic, and asking, ‘Have you got some Badnahashlez, by any chance?’… If they don’t throw us out, we’re in luck. A superb bottle.
SGP:564 – 88 points.

Ben & Sherry 6 yo (57.1%, Watt Whisky, blended malt, butt, 282 bottles)

This hippy whisky combines fifty percent Benrinnes and fifty percent Glasgow Dist. Let’s try to avoid overly frosty commentary. Colour: Nose: an unusual start, quite fermentary, with notes of cooked vegetables, courgettes, and even Brussels sprouts. Then comes saltpetre, soot, cherry stalks (in herbal tea), and roasted aubergines. It’s very polarising, as they say. With water: still those cooked vegetables, but now joined by honey and slightly "evolved" dried figs. Mouth (neat): more sherry-driven, but spicy and almost fizzy. Think chilli-infused Schweppes, kirsch straight off the still, pink grapefruits, and braised cabbage. With water: it settles down, revealing walnuts, baked apples, marmalade, tobacco, honey, and sweet peppers. Finish: similar, and it lingers for a good while, with a peppery aftertaste. Comments: don’t be fooled—my notes may seem odd, but this little UFO is rather charming, taking you on a journey from Brussels sprouts to meadow honey. Almost a thriller.
SGP:571 – 86 points.

Crimson Casks (46%, Compass Box, blended malt, 2024)

Sherry butts (yay) but also red wine casks (ouch). You might say that if they added Clynelish, as usual, things would work out. Let’s just hope the proportion of “red wine” (what kind of wine?) remains modest. There are also tales of kings in the story—perhaps a secret nod to Robert Fripp? You know, King Crimson and all that. Colour: reddish amber. There’s definitely red wine here. Nose: well, I rather like this! As expected from Compass Box, it’s well-balanced, though there are plenty of peonies, black cherries, tomato leaves, roasted peppers, raspberry ganache, and heaps of milk chocolate. Mouth: it’s more of a mix on the palate, a “cuisine whisky” as some might say. Dark chocolate, morello cherries, red peppers, dates, prunes, marmalade, raisins, and hints of ginger… It’s remarkably structured, almost like molecular cuisine. Finish: long, jammy, and spicy, with a certain Turkish delight vibe. Candied orange zest lingers in the aftertaste. Comments: it’s really amusing, but please, Adrià and Veyrat, stay out of my glass!
SGP:551 – 82 points.

Blended Malt 23 yo 2001/2024 (45.1%, Decadent Drams, Decadent Drinks)

Watch this one, it’s been finished for a year in an ex-Ardbeg cask, which feels pretty decadent indeed. But here we are… Colour: amber. Nose: it seems the Ardbeg cask had been thoroughly emptied—or rinsed—or steamed… Or perhaps not? You do catch distant hints of burnt tyres (was there an F1 GP nearby?) and a faint whiff of medicinal tincture, but that’s about it. Oh wait, a little menthol emerges too, along with perhaps three or four whelks, a sense of old dunnage warehouse, and a trace of dried kelp on the beach. Right then, this might just be the ideal way to create a ‘lighter’ Ardbeg. A stunning nose, truly, so delicate and finely chiselled. But as we’ve said before, Ardbeg leaves its mark even at homeopathic doses, doesn’t it? Mouth: zut alors, this is fantastic stuff! A faint Schorle-like vibe, with strawberry lemonade and chilli, but also a charmingly saline fruitiness. Blood oranges, pecans, and a slightly earthy, dirty (slaggy) touch—surely the Ardbeg’s doing. Finish: long, with quinine and orange. Comments: one simple question—can they make this in-cask blended malt exactly like this again?
SGP:562 – 88 points.

It’s time to stop; let’s have an old one as a digestif.

Glen Avon 30 yo (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, Avonside, +/-1990)

Whoops, another single malt in disguise. It’s worth noting that no one at G&M has ever admitted what Glen Avon really was, not even under torture (even after being tied up and forced to listen to Mariah Carey’s entire discography). Main candidates, M. and GF. That said, the vintages of Glen Avon that were available more or less coincided with those of Macallan, which were also bottled by G&M. However, it’s not set in stone that all Glen Avons came from the same distillery… Same goes for the Glen Gordons. Anyway, let’s simply taste this baby without any further ado. Colour: gold. Nose: there’s this smokiness we never found in GF, but which was common in M. It’s also less fruity than the GFs of the time. On the other hand, there are superb notes of shoe polish and tobacco. Roasted nuts of all kinds complete the profile beautifully. Mouth: it’s just a tiny bit tired, having become slightly dry, fairly liquorice-y, mentholated, and meaty (bone broth), but the smokiness remains, and those roasted nuts are still doing their job in the background. All in all, it’s still magnificent, just a bit fragile and light. Finish: short to medium in length, with a touch of plasticine and a faint salty edge. There’s a hint of sorrel soup in the aftertaste, but it’s very elegant. Oh, and a little piece of grilled bacon. Comments: it’s a bit like a vintage sports car—you just need to handle it gently. This resembles M. a great deal, but then again, the river Avon flows into the river Spey right next to Ballindalloch, the home of GF. M. is much further away, on the Spey. Right, enough playing Sherlock Holmes…
SGP:452 - 89 points.

(Thank you, Brian)