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Hi, you're in the Archives, April 2017 - Part 1
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April 14, 2017 |
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Fact-checking Some American whiskey |
Pure madness today, let’s check if one particular American whiskey, namely ‘Old Ezra’, is indeed similar to genuine Old Ezra Brooks, a brand launched in 1960 according to Wikipedia. Of course this is not very serious, and indeed we’re doing this only for fun... |
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Ezra Brooks ‘Old Ezra’ 7 yo (50.5%, OB, Kentucky Straight Bourbon, +/-2016)  Some traditional sour mash bourbon made and bottled at Heaven Hill for brand owners Luxco, that are or just have built their own distillery, as it seems. I have to say I rather enjoyed an Ezra Brooks 12 yo single cask last year (WF 80). Colour: deep gold. Nose: not my style, but I enjoy. Sweet charred oak, butterscotch, custard, liquorice, whiffs of geranium and violet flowers, caramel and almond crunch, sweet buttered popcorn… I guess there’s a lot of corn/maize in this. Again, not my style but I do enjoy. Mouth: rather big, starting with a little spicy orange, as well as a touch of bready rye, and rather unfolding with a lot of caramel, vanilla, fudge, sweet popcorn again, milk chocolate, and rather more oranges again (sweets). Finish: medium, with rather more candy sugar and corn syrup, and yet it’s not too sugary/sweet. Peppered orange juice. Comments: I’m finding this really honest and loyal, especially given the price (around $20 In the US!) SGP:541 - 79 points. |
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Ezra Brooks ‘100 Months Old’ (90° US proof, OB, decanter, 1970)  Doesn’t 100 sound larger than 8? There’s also the drawing and the name of a ship, ‘Old Ironsides’, embossed in the green glass. According to Wikipedia, it’s the other name for the USS Constitution (1798), which defeated the British frigate ‘Guerriere’ in 1812. The things you had to do to sell your booze in the mid-to-late 20th century! Colour: gold. Nose: really much nicer, but that may be good OBE. Many more fruits, especially bananas and pineapples, a lovely earthy dustiness, probably more rye, although I couldn’t be sure, obvious notes of café latte, and some perfect notes of artisan milk chocolate from Switzerland. With bits of roasted hazelnuts inside! And perhaps a little liquorice. Splendid nose. Mouth: same comments, this is, or it became, much more complex and ‘wide’ than the contemporary offering. Cinnamon rolls, grated nutmeg on mashed sweet potatoes, violet and lavender sweets, liquorice wood, wholegrain bread, spicy gingerbread… Loses a bit of steam after thirty seconds, but that’s quite normal, since this is a 47 years old bottle. Finish: medium, greatly bready, spicy, and orange-y. Perhaps a little soap in the aftertaste, perhaps a taste of light? Comments: I know people usually collect these decanters as ‘Americana items’, let’s only hope they don’t flush the lovely whiskey down the sink before putting the decanters on their shelves. SGP:461 - 87 points. |
Conclusion: that old Old Ezra was our 12,500 whisky! Othr than that, did you really expect some conclusion? |
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April 13, 2017 |
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Speed Tasting, many young Glen Moray |
Glen Moray’s one of those former ‘budget’ single malts that have gained more traction in recent years. I’ll always remember Stuart Thomson, when he was Ardbeg’s Manager, answering my question around twelve years ago: “What’s your favourite expression, Stuart?” I had expected answers such as ‘The 1975 Fino’, or ‘Provenance’, or ‘Lord of the Isles’… But he had answered ‘Glen Moray!’ Now it’s true that he used to be the manager there before his Ardbeg days… |
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Glen Moray 10 yo (40%, OB, +/-2016) It’s that well-known cheapish chardonnised expression. Do not expect a Montrachet! Colour: straw. Nose: ah. Barley, butter, apples, and repeat. I wouldn’t say this is un-nice, certainly not. Perhaps citrons coming out after two minutes? Mouth: ah! Certainly not un-nice indeed. A little sappy, with some citrons again, some peppery herbal tea, Ricola bonbons (you know, Alpine plants and all that), and a little custard. As for the chardonnay, well… Finish: short, but pleasant. Croissants, praline, and marmalade. Only the aftertaste is a little difficult, a little sour… Comments: not stellar, but I had though this would be much worse. Lost some points in the aftertaste. SGP:451 - 79 points. |
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Glen Moray 16 yo (40%, OB, +/-2016)  Rather a shame that they keep bottling a 16 yo at 40% vol. Now, it’s at 50€ a skittle in France. Colour: gold. Nose: it hasn’t got the 10’s fresher vibrancy, and I’m finding rather more buttery, although it does get nicely citrusy and golden-syrupy after a few seconds. I quite like these notes of warm hay and pastries! Lavender and leather honeys. Mouth: look, I think this is very good. Nice lemony/bready arrival, then walnuts, an unexpected touch of salt, and a little fudge. Orange blossom water. Finish: short/medium, fudge-y, then spicier. Cinnamon cake. Dry aftertaste (tea). Comments: it’s got the style and the quality of some ueber-blend. Royal Salute and such. So, almost a bargain! SGP:451 - 84 points. |
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Glen Moray 8 yo (57.8%, The Whisky Exchange, Time Series, 251 bottles) I’m glad someone’s paying attention to time in the whisky industry. Colour: straw. Nose: ah. Not much happening, but I’m pretty sure it needs water. Raw barley, lemon zests and shoe polish? The latter is funny and interesting. With water: paraffin indeed, and a little sour dough, lemon curd, cut grass… I’m finding this very elegant. Mouth (neat): excellent! Lemon, fern, spearmint, and an ashy/polishy side again. Like chewing candle wax when we were kids. With water: swims like Mark Spitz (I know I should update my references). Barley, croissants, lemon liqueur, one or three liquorice allsorts. Finish: medium, totally barleyish, and always very elegant. Comments: there’s something Yamazaki-ish to this. Super good and very fairly priced. SGP551 - 86 points. |
The reputation of Glen Moray is going up in the house… |
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Glen Moray 8 yo 2007/2016 (59.1%, The Single Malts of Scotland, barrel, cask #5134, 231 bottles) From the same parcel, I wager (brilliant, S.!) Colour: straw. Nose: not exactly the same, but we’re very close. Perhaps a notch more vanilla-ed? With water: rather plasticine this time. Uncontrollable molecules! Mouth (neat): yeah, very close. Lemon, peppermint, grass… But this one punches you in your face, careful! A Pablo Escobar of whisky. With water: there, we’re back, this is very similar indeed. Perhaps more honeyed. Finish: medium, and even more honeyed. Lemon blossom honey? Comments: I had a softer spot for the purer TWE, but this is great as well. Perfect quality/age ratio. SGP:551 - 85 points. |
While we’re having these young batches… |
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Glen Moray 8 yo 2007/2016 (60.9%, A.D. Rattray, bourbon, cask #5454) I guess the song remains the same (the gentleman is well read). Colour: straw. Nose: much more spirity, but that may be the very high strength. Wood alcohol, raw kirsch, and stuff. Quick… With water: no. Too young, too minimal, too narrow. Malt and vanilla and ripe apples, punto basta. The magic did not happen yet. Mouth (neat): raw, spirity and aggressive. Simply too strong, for me, at least. With water: really very okay, with nice lemon and honey, just a tad boring. It’s not impossible that The Whisky Exchange cartel did catch the best casks. Nasty nasty… Finish: medium, with a little more pepper from the oak. Comments: certainly good, but a little too elementary for me, this time. I say it’s great to bottle young casks, but those ought to be outstanding. SGP:551 - 78 points. |
A.D.’s got another chance… |
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Glen Moray 17 yo 1998/2016 (54.8%, A.D. Rattray, bourbon hogshead, cask #980003443, 282 bottles) Nine hundred and eighty billion three million and four hundred forty three casks? Colour: straw. Nose: nobody in there? Closed, perhaps a tad smoky, with wee hints of burnt herbs… That’s all, folks. With water: no. Flat sweet barley and soft sweet middle-eastern bread. Mouth (neat): better! Lemony fruit loops and barleyed lemon liqueur, with some green spices and a drop of tequila. Not very kosher, but as we whisky bloggers say when we don’t quite know what to say, interesting. With water: fine. You know, it’s malt whisky. Finish: medium, with not much standing out. Comments: no, it’s rather a little boring. There was more action in the 2007. SGP:541 - 76 points. |
Some sherry may be needed… |
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Glen Moray 7 yo 2006/2014 (58.8%, Single Cask Nation, 1st fill fino sherry, cask #3, 252 bottles) Colour: deep gold. Nose: some action! Walnut cake, garden peat, toffee, cigars, cedar wood, pecan pie… Ah! Whether the distillate’s important in this context remains to be debated, but there, this works. With water: did I mention walnut cake? Mouth (neat): remember those very young oak-doped Aultmores that used to be around a few years back? This is in the same vein, with a feeling of garage whisky, or of total barrel-driven-ness, and while I’m not philosophically in agreement with this concept, I cannot not applaud. Excellent engineering. Excuse me? Ah yes, fudge, spice cake (not space cake, eh!), speculoos, ginger biscuits, all that. With water: we’re approaching Guinnessness. Apologies. Finish: medium, cake-y, roasted, macaroony, coffee-ish… Comments: I think our dear friend over the Altantic ocean should have mentioned the cask first, and only then the distillery. Having said that, this is excellent. SGP:551 - 85 points. |
Please, please, some older ones… |
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Glen Moray 1996/2016 (49.2%, Sansibar and S Spirits Shop, 310 bottles)  Another mad label by our German friends. Where are my sunglasses? ;-). I also like these mentions such as ‘only 310 bottles’. In some cases it’s bad news, in other cases, it’s a blessing. Kidding aside… Colour: pale gold. Nose: oh, bicycle inner tubes! New Pirellis! Rubber bands! Sherry? With water: same, but things improve because there are more cake-y notes, more nuts (macadamia, pecan, peanut) and more toasted bread. Mouth (neat): right, let me try to explain this. You take espresso coffee, you add one rubber band, a dollop of ink (say reflex blue), a spoonful of soft mustard (we call that condiment in Alsace, but please do not bother), and a wee glass of Unicum. Stir well, and there, you have it. My pleasure. With water: a bit perplexed, honestly. You could drop this onto sushi. Finish: rather long, dry, and much more on tobacco, cigars… Comments: not comprendo much, but there is some fun to be had with this, for sure. SGP:352 - 80 points. |
This is second chances day, as it appears… |
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Glen Moray 25 yo 1991/2016 (50.9%, Sansibar, 296 bottles) Colour: straw. Nose: and now for something completely different, rum! This is some king of Havana Club, only much nicer than most Havana Clubs I could try (including rare batches that I could find while in Cuba). I’d simply mention bananas and cane juice, as well as hay and fresh hazelnuts. So it’s all pretty light and, as they say, evanescent. With water: some waxy lemon coming out. Mouth (neat): simple, apple-and-banana-driven, almost grainy (where’s Beckham when you need him?), and a tad mentholy. That’s the oak speaking. With water: just rather good. Eating hibiscus flowers, cane-y stuff, the smallest crème brulée, shortbread… Finish: medium, with more shortbread, pastries, baklavas, and ‘stuff’. . Caramel and fudge in the aftertaste. Comments: I really don’t know what to think. I’m a bit lost. SGP:451 - 82 points. |
How many Glen Morays have we just tried? You say nine? That is enough, and t wasn’t an easy session, I can tell you, as always when the distillate isn’t really very ‘idiosyncratic’. Having said that, glad we made it! |
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April 12, 2017 |
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There are some new official Longmorns, not always very well received because of their rather insane prices. We’ll try the cheapest expensive one (!) today, and then see what happens… |
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Longmorn ‘Distiller’s Choice’ (40%, OB, 2017) I’m not sure a proper distiller would choose some NAS that’s bottled at some rather stingy 40% vol. and that’s priced at some mad 70€, but here we go. I think I’d have called this ‘Marketer’s Choice’ instead ;-). Colour: gold. Nose: yeah well, it is nicely vanilled, soft, a bit cake-y in the style of Glenmorangie, with some butterscotch and some milk chocolate, as well as a good slice of apple pie. Perhaps a little citrus (blood orange). It’s simple, but yeah, it’s nice. Mouth: really very nice, just a tad thin. Orange cake, India pale ale, more butterscotch, and a little light toffee. Honey gingerbread. Finish: short, and that’s the main problem. Jaffa cake and mocha, with a wee bit of ginger and two raisins. Comments: it’s good, and well composed for sure, but rather too shy. Blind, I’d have said 40€ ;-). SGP:441 - 80 points. |
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Longmorn 1992/2016 ‘Persian Anise’ (46%, Wemyss Malts, hogshead, 336 bottles) Colour: pale gold. Nose: crucifies the OB, as expected. More punch, brighter fruits, more honey and flowers, and indeed some anise, as they said on the label. Or rather fennel, but I doubt ‘Persian Fennel’ would have made any sense on a label. Oh well… Very lovely nose, nonetheless. Mouth: wonderful typically bright unsherried 1992 Longmorn. A perfect blend of apple and orange juices, one teaspoon of pineapple syrup, plus biscuits and a few sherries, then more maple syrup and liquid salted/buttered fudge. Extremely good. Finish: long and typically fruity ala older Longmorn. A very classy distillate from some moderately impacting American oak. Comments: these fruity 1992s are all so very good… SGP:651 - 86 points. |
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Longmorn 20 yo 1996/2017 (51.5%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, refill hogshead, cask # 11626, 263 bottles) Aren’t we expecting a similar profile? Colour: straw. Nose: very similar indeed, a little hotter but that’s probably the higher alcohol, and perhaps a notch grassier and more ‘kirschy’ or ‘eau-de-vie-ish’. Perhaps for the very same reasons. With water: all kinds of melons are coming out. Mouth (neat): jelly babies and spoonfuls of jell-o all over the place. When was Haribo owning Longmorn again? Kiwis, litchis, oranges… With water: and back to melon, and even melon liqueur. That may sound a little extreme, but it’s not, there’s also a pleasant grassiness that keeps the whole straight and fresh. Finish: medium, very fruity. A handful of Haribo crocodiles (for a change). Comments: I tend to like the 1992s a little better than the 1996s, both being widely available here and there. But this is a very good 1996 for sure, if you like them ueberfruity. SGP:641 - 85 points. |
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Longmorn 1967/2015 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail, licensed bottling)  Ooh, the 1967s… La Maison had a wonderful 1967 G&M in the Book of Kells series a few years ago. So, high hopes… Colour: deep gold. Nose: typical G&M. It’s funny that some independent bottlers would own their own styles, but after all G&M are not only bottlers, they’re also ‘éleveurs’. Honey cake, sandalwood, gingerbread, maple syrup, overripe apples, then fresh mint and creased eucalyptus leaves, with a little liquorice. A few drops of retsina wine, perhaps. Completely perfect at almost fifty years of age. Mouth: starts rather almondy, with a small eucalyptusy side again (bordering on soap but that’s not quite soap), and unfolds on all orangey things, from teas to syrups and jams. Plus apples, gooseberries, and an unexpected smokiness, rather around pinewood smoke, sap and all that. Really full-bodied given the moderate strength, this was some big spirit. Finish: rather long, and rather mentholy/liquoricy. Slightly bitter chlorophyll in the aftertaste. Comments: many grassy oils from the oak have been leaching into the spirit, which added complexity – and probably a few more unorthodox molecules as well. My favourite today. SGP:571 - 89 points. |
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April 11, 2017 |
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A whole bag of really old grain whiskies |
That’s right, old blends without any malt inside ;-). We’ll try to do this quick, because we’ve got many of them on WF’s tasting table. Oh, forgot to add, we’ll only try 40 yos (or more)… |
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Carsebridge 40 yo (46.3%, Cadenhead, World Whiskies, bourbon hogshead, 78 bottles, 2017) A new very small batch without a vintage statement, from that long-closed and now demolished distillery (1983). Colour: pale gold. Nose: some vanilla, white chocolate and a touch of coconut, as well as a little warm sawdust and just wee whiffs of wet cut grass. Tinned peaches. Quite nice, and as undemanding as many grain whiskies. Mouth: ultra-easy and, most importantly, much more ‘fresh-fruity’ than most other old grains. Kiwis, blood oranges, a touch of mango… All that is a tad simple, but very very nice. Some coating vanilla and soft oak tannins around all those fruits. Finish: short to medium, rather citrusy, with some chocolaty cinnamon in the back. Comments: one of the very better grains for sure, even if as usual, the body’s a little thin(y). SGP:740 - 86 points. |
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Carsebridge 40 yo 1976/2016 (53.7%, Douglas Laing, Xtra Old Particular, cask #11529, 230 bottles) Should be very similar… Colour: gold. Nose: the higher strength makes it more spirity and varnishy, while it remains rather more coconut-forward for a while, before some pleasant buttery/grassy touches emerge. With water: grassy green peelings, kiwis, rhubarb… Not of those dull vanilla bombs at all. Mouth (neat): another one that’s very good, it seems, and very fruity to boot. A notch more bourbony than the Cad, but that’s perhaps the higher strength again. Jaffa cakes. With water: it’s quite malty! A few oak shavings, perhaps, but also an Old-Tomatiny side that’s very pleasant. Finish: medium, with more tropical fruits. We’re close to the Cadenhead this time. Nice grassy oiliness in the aftertaste (cough syrup). Comments: not much to add I’m afraid. SGP:650 - 85 points. |
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Cambus 40 yo 1976/2016 (53.1%, Douglas Laing, Xtra Old Particular, cask #11527, 108 bottles) UDV’s Cambus was closed in 1993. Colour: deep gold. Nose: we’re much more on cappuccino, fudge, chocolate, and butterscotch this time. This could be bourbon. With water: I’m thinking of some kind of tobacco-infused caramel cream, with a dollop of mocha poured in. Mouth (neat): bags of orange drops and a wee camphory side that adds much width. There are fewer fat fudge-y notes than in last year’s official Cambus 40, while I also find some very pleasant notes of rhum agricole. Some liquorice. With water: hurray, eucalyptus and camphor! Some marzipan too. Finish: medium, almondy, fresh, with touches of mint. Comments: some high-class old grain that almost wanders in old-malt territories. SGP:650 - 89 points. |
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Invergordon 42 yo 1973/2015 (52.2%, Sansibar and S spirit Shop Selection, bourbon, 240 bottles) Watch these old Invergordons! Colour: gold. Nose: coffee, chocolate, praline, fresh croissants, pancakes, lapel syrup… Shall we call this one ‘very breakfasty’? With water: same, caramel cream, cappuccino, a wee touch of Virginia tobacco… Mouth (neat): a little rough, perhaps, and really very bourbony. Cakes and toasts. With water: a little oak coming out, pencil shavings, roasted nuts… Finish: medium, on Starbuck’s hazelnut-flavoured coffee. Bwaah… Comments: all these grains, however good they are, are a little thin, some kind of genetic flaw. No exception here, but once again, it’s a very good one, although the sherried old Invergordons are usually superior in my book. SGP:640 - 86 points. |
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Invergordon 43 yo 1973/2016 (51.8%, Sansibar, bourbon) This should be similar, let’s see. Colour: gold. Nose: extremely close. The oak’s perhaps a little more obvious (our friends the pencil shavings). With water: we’re at a cabinetmaker’s. Mouth (neat): same. Perhaps a little more jammy fruits? Tinned pineapples. With water: rather creamy, with soft spicy cakes, cinnamon rolls and stuff. Finish: medium, nutty, praline-like. Comments: all good again, but I have to say these long grainy sessions are difficult and quite tiring. They’re the opposites of, say a Bowmore session that’s usually much more varied and entertaining. SGP:640 - 86 points. |
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Invergordon 42 yo 1973/2016 (52.3%, Club Qing, barrel, cask #10, 120 bottles) A very lovely label for a well-known bar in Hong Kong. Colour: gold. Nose: well, these 1973s are very consistent, to say the least. No real differences that I can find. With water: perhaps a little strawberry jam, coconut balls, some butterscotch and some custard. Hints of passion fruits. Mouth (neat): this one’s actually even more bourbony than the others, in a very good way. Coconut, chocolate, and mocha, with touches of oranges and maple syrup. With water: a little menthol, always very great news in my book. Finish: a little longer than the others, and pretty fudge-y. Millionaire shortbread, a little lemon curd. Comments: very well selected Club Qing. I’d sneak this baby into some blind old bourbon session and see what happens. SGP:640 - 87 points. |
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Invergordon 43 yo 1972/2016 (49.9%, Archives, bourbon, cask #11, 258 bottles) Our friends at Whiskybase/The Archives always bottle great whiskies! Colour: gold. Nose: starts with some potpourri this time, dried rose petals, tobacco, cedar wood… That’s the cask at work. Then classic fudge, vanilla cream, and cappuccino, plus more and more chocolate. Mouth: it’s the most herbal of them all so far, with some tobacco, bitter herbs, cinnamon, mint oil, a wee bit of propolis, and then rather green lemons. This 1972 is much less ‘smooth’ than the 1973s, tenser, and in away, maltier. I have no quibbles with this. Finish: rather long, with bits of ginger and turmeric, and bitter oranges in the aftertaste. Comments: very high-class grain. SGP:451 - 89 points. |
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Fine Single Grain Whisky 52 yo 1964/2016 (47.7%, Whisky-Fässle, barrel)  From the Lowlands, and most possibly some Girvan, as owners William Grant usually don’t allow the indies to used their brand names. But pure speculations, eh… Colour: deep gold. Nose: very fresh, a tad varnishy, and of course rather vanilla-ed, you’d believe this was distilled only 15 years ago. Sweets, jellies, drops, and touches of tinned pineapples. Classic young… I mean, old grain whisky. Keeps unfolding rather on custard and butterscotch. Mouth: certainly not some very active wood. Bubblegum, wheat whisky, even sweet maize, and a blend of coconut liqueur and sweet light rum, Cuban style. A little icing sugar and lemon powder as well. Finish: medium, a tad liqueury, in a good way. Crème de menthe and mandarin and pineapple liqueurs, coconut cream… Comments: it’s amazing that some whisky that’s been kept in one cask for fifty-two years remained this fresh and fruity. In fact, I rather love it. I think we found a 90! SGP:740 - 90 points. |
Exhausted. See you. More old grain soon. |
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Today: JAZZ FUSION. Performer: Sixun. Track: Malgré tout. Please buy their music... |
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April 10, 2017 |
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Seriously, I had first thought we’d do the most stupid session ever, young Ladyburn (we’ve got a new one – so to speak - in) vs. Wolfburn, just because of the names. But I came to my senses after having seen all those newish Auchentoshans, and thought tasting that old young Ladyburn as an interesting sparring partner would make better sense. Which leaves us with two new Wolfburns … |
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Wolfburn ‘Northland’ (46%, OB, 2017) A brand new release from Thurso, after the excellent first release from 2016 (WF 85). I think it’s just a new batch of the ‘regular’ Wolfburn. It’s said to be almost four years old. Colour: pale white wine. It seems that no new oak has been harmed in the process ;-). Nose: some kind of coastal pears, I’d say, with rather more malt this time, porridge, a touch of fresh mint, fresh quinces, apples, and just wee scents of the most elusive peat(iness). Then asparagus and fresh almonds, which I think I had already found in the first batch. Very coherent, in any case. Mouth: it’s really big, starting with some peppery ashes and rather more smoke than in the nose, and rather unfolds on cut grass, peelings, green plums, and then more ‘white’ fruitiness. Perhaps white cherries, perhaps rhubarb. Finish: long and more citrusy (grapefruits), with always a little bitter/green smoke roaring in the back. Bitter almonds. Comments: a rather spicy beast that did not go down the easy path. You know, vanilla and such. Same high score in my book. SGP:562 – 85 points. |
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Wolfburn ‘Aurora’ (46%, OB, 2017) A newer batch of the sherried Wolfburn. It seems that it’s four years old. Already! Colour: straw. So refill, or fino/manzanilla. Nose: it’s more rounded, a little leathery and buttery at first sniffing, but fresh malt and Seville oranges mingled to perfection here. Porridge-y oranges, perhaps? A little fresh gingerbread and a little pear and melon. Certainly a gentler Wolfburn. Mouth: oh mushrooms! Could we talk to the casks? And chestnut honey, spicy bread, and more bitter oranges. There’s really the same pleasant bitterness as in the Northland. Finish: long, spicy. Once again a bitter smoke in the back, but not enough to warrant an SGP of **2 (if you ever care). And more bitter oranges. Comments: I tend to like the straighter ones better when the distillate’s great – which is the case here – but this very lightly sherried baby sure rocks. SGP:551 - 83 points. |
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April 9, 2017 |
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True malternatives, Hampden adlib
To tell you the truth, this situation reminds me a little of when we could still taste a series of ten new Ardbegs, all distilled in the early to mid 1970s, just like that. Epic times, really. And although our ending will most probably – and hopefully - be very different from his, let’s remember what Yukio Mishima did write, “True beauty is something that attacks, overpowers, robs, and finally destroys.” We might well uncover true (and raw) beauty today… |
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Hampden 17 yo 1993/2010 ‘Mabaruma’ (46%, Pugi, Jamaica, 248 bottles) An Italian bottling for the company Pellegrini SPA that also had a very good ‘Barangai’. Not sure they’re related to the Pellegrinis that used to work with Corti Bros in California, well, let’s not go too deep into details. At 46%, this should have remained ‘kind of gentle’. Colour: gold. Nose: and here you go. Fresh paint, new stereo set (circa 1975), unpacking a new iPhone (whatever), cellulosic varnish, black olives, perhaps even a little sauerkraut, caraway and cumin, a touch of coffee, raw cocoa powder… This is unstoppable. And yet, at just 46% vol., it doesn’t seem like it’ll kill you. Mouth: pure, sharp, ultra-liquoricy Hampden, with plenty of salty coal tar and a blend of olive brine with green lemon juice (not quite lime). Fantastic, even if we’ve had some more complex Hampdens. No, really, love this Port Ellen of rum. Finish: long, on just the same profile. Comments: probably approaching the 15g/LPA esters. Now a Port Ellen of rum or an Ardbeg of rum? Discuss (I’m joking). SGP:363 – 90 points. |
Good, that was the easier part. Because, cough, cough… |
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Hampden 23 yo 1993/2016 (61%, Cave Guildive, Jamaica) Ex-bourbon barrels from a new very skilled and passionate independent bottler in Zürich, Switzerland. Let’s see if they had thrown Swiss cow heads into the dunder pit back in 1993 (I AM joking). Colour: straw. Nose: more painty and varnishy than the Mabaruma, but that may be the much higher strength. Lots and lots of fermentation aromas, rotting bananas, heavy and heady Dutch liquorice, brake dust (after the Nürburgring, ha-ha), some ultra-green brisk cabernet sauvignon, perhaps, damp old floorcloth… Oh well, it talks and talks and talks. With water: chocolate and coffee dust, more brake dust, and hectolitres of brine. UHU glue. Mouth (neat): totally green and liquoricy. Really very extreme. Anchovies, olives, tar, liquorice, lemon juice, UHU glue again, engine oil… All that. Hits you and hits you again. With water: sour lemons and ultra-dry cider, with a salty background. Finish: endless, salty, very briny. You just ate three tins of gherkins and drank all the brine (and had nothing else to drink). A wonderful dirtiness in the aftertaste. Mud and diesel oil. Comments: insane. And probably illegal. And I know many friends who’ll say this is flawed spirit. Now if you don’t like ultra-sharp spirits, indeed, you may walk away. SGP:473 - 92 points. |
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Hampden 1998/2017 (62%, The Wild Parrot, Jamaica, cask #WP9862, 278 bottles) I told you, birds and booze is becoming a very common combination. I mean, on labels. So what’s this Wild Parrot? It seems that it’s a range by Italian bottlers Hidden Spirit. Colour: straw. Nose: this one’s more alcoholic, so more spirity, with some kind of pineapple eau-de-vie, and a style that’s closer to cask strength agricole at times. And yet, this is well molasses in pot still, and not cane juice in columns. Now the Jamaicanness never stops flying out, with the usual tarry olives and briny liquorice. With water: a wonderful earthiness, old style pipe tobacco, pinesap, ‘*-ols”… Brilliant. Mouth (neat): a very marginally lighter version after the massive Guildive, a touch rounder, but it’s still huge, big, and phat. And of course, totally excellent. With water: superb salty development! Olives, olives, olives… A sweeter liquoricy touch in the background. Finish: ultra-long, almost all on salted liquorice. Lovely touch of wood smoke in the aftertaste. What, Jamaican kippers? Comments: love, love, love. Who needs Islay? Of course I’m joking. SGP:463 - 91 points. |
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Hampden 1992/2016 (61.6%, Rum Nation, Jamaica, cask #1-12, 504 bottles) 504 bottles from a single cask at full strength? This should be a butt, aged in Europe. Thank you Sherlock. Or there’s been some ullage/vatting taking place. Colour: gold. Nose: ultra-bright again, rather in the style of the Mabaruma, only at full speed. Petrol, tar, brine, anti-rust paint, black tapenade (crushed olives and anchovies), and then, in the back, a few fresh tropical fruits, around oranges and bananas. Oh and some camphor. I’ll tell you what I think a little later. With water: some flowers! Pot-pourri, dried roses… Dried mint leaves… Some pipe tobacco too, and perhaps a touch of cedar wood. Mouth (neat): a panzer division with fruits and flowers. Impeccably massive, salty, liquoricy, olive-y, kippery, and all that. Amazing rum for whisky lovers. With water: an amazing balance between some tropical jams (the names escape me), and the usual huge tarry/salty/high-estery side. Finish: very long and beastly, but it takes water well and you can tame it. Comments: I’ve heard they’re being poured this when they’re shooting Game of Thrones. I mean, the battles. SGP:363 - 92 points. |
In any tasting session, you need a crux. Maybe this last one… |
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Hampden 1998/2016 (66.3%, Rum Nation, Jamaica, cask #1-15, 480 bottles) Assassino! Colour: pale gold. Nose: yeah it’s a bit like the Wild Parrot, that is to say a notch more eau-de-vie-ish, and a tad less ‘grand-arôme’ than the 1992-1993s. As if they had done a little less ‘esterification’ back in 1998. But no worries, this is still as funky as the best Jamaicans can be, with all the usual suspects (olives and friends). With water: wow wow wow! Small herbs, genepy, verbena, perhaps chives, ramson/wild leek, which is very Hampden now that I’m thinking about that… And all things muddy, brake-fluidy, tarry, and plasticine-y. Mouth (neat): takes your tongue and twists it. Some gingery/clove-y oak, somewhere, sometime. With water: impeccable, and even kind of civilised. That’s my Vittel, I’m sure (where’s the cheque, Nestlé?) Salty and rather a little rounded, with some softer spices. Almost gentle, in fact. Finish: very long, superb, salty, spicy. Mustard on some speculoos. Yeah I know. Comments: you could spend evenings pondering the respective merits of the 1992 and the 1998. But you’d need several bottles (and a good liver). I’m a tiny-wee bit more in favour of the 1992, perhaps. SGP:453 - 91 points. |
Whew! That was all very very close (and high)… What a distillate! In my book, Hampden is an epitomical malternative. |
 Check the index of all rums I've tasted so far
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April 7, 2017 |
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Another name that’s not very famous. I always like to taste these underdogs, even if WF’s very distinguished readers do not seem to bother much (according to Gogol’s Analytics). Mind you, I wouldn’t taste Springbank or Lagavulin each and every day! On second thought, err… |
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Mannochmore 16 yo 1998/2014 (46%, Spirit of Scotland for Van Wees, refill hogshead, cask #5270)  Always nice to see this old label by G&M reappearing here and there. Well done Van Wees! Colour: white wine. Nose: I couldn’t quite define Mannochmore’s style, so we won’t try to spot deviances and differences. What’s sure is that this is kind of metallic and sooty, it almost noses like grandma’s old copper kettle or something. Then we rather find clay and lemon zests, then more metallic things again. Old toolbox… Mouth: really very unusual. Very grassy, always quite metallic, with some rotting fruits and some rather weird herbal liqueur. Very anachronistic, to say the least. Finish: medium, rather sour, with some soft chilli (Espelette). Nicer notes of oranges and even passion fruits in the aftertaste. Comments: the kind of whacky whisky that’s almost un-scorable. If you keep a very open mind you could climb up to, say 82-83 or perhaps even a little more. If you’re in a bad mood or ultra-conservative, you could go down to 50. So, (83+50)/2 = 66 points but in this case, scores are almost useless, as it’s a bottling for science. Kind of. Worth owning! (SGP:371) |
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Mannochmore 28 yo 1988/2016 (46%, Whisky-Fässle, hogshead) Some of our favourite ducks are back! Colour: white wine. Nose: I do find a little copper again, but we’re nowhere near the 1998’s extravagant metallic profile. Also fern, a little fresh butter, seaweed, then faint hints of brake fluid, then more traditional fruits, peaches, perhaps rhubarb (granted, not some fruit), perhaps a little sorrel? Very interesting… Mouth: tart, zesty, very lemony, and peppery. It’s almost some wasabi-ed lemon marmalade. Lemongrass,… well, anything lemony. The background’s a little sweeter and more syrupy, though. Finish: rather long, going from lemon until 1:15, to white pepper from 1:16 to 2:20. Of course I’m trying to joke. Comments: perhaps one of my favourite Mannochmores ever, I find it even better than last year’s very good official Special Release. SGP:661 - 87 points. |
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Mannochmore 28 yo 1988/2016 (47.9%, Antique Lions of Spirits, bourbon, 267 bottles) A very Moon-Import-The-Birds-esque new bottling by some transnational friends. Viva la Europa! Remember Moon Import used to be, to my knowledge, the first bottlers to add pictures that had strictly nothing to do with whisky to their labels. Cars, costumes, ships... and birds. Many do that now. Colour: white wine. Nose: very crisp, mineral, with whiffs of wet limestone and many unripe green fruits. Kiwis, perhaps, apples, rhubarb… All that before it tends to resemble the Fässle more and more, which can’t be bad news. Touches of soapwort, fresh butter, grist... Mouth: shall I copy-and-paste from the above? The two whiskies are almost identical, but I do not think it’s a shared cask. Super good. Finish: same. Comments: hurray, we’ve now got two favourite Mannochmores! This one is maybe a tad more ‘cerebral’ than the other. SGP:561 – 87 points. |
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Today: JAZZ. Performer: Elvin Jones. Track: Destiny. Please visit his website and buy his music... |
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April 6, 2017 |
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Tchuk tchuk, there comes the slowest whisky blogger in the West, tasting Springbank’s latest Local Barley after just everyone else. Plus a few others for due comparison. Game? |
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Springbank 11 yo ‘Local Barley’ (53.1%, OB, 2017) Not sure it’s reasonable to kick this session off with some malt that’s been bottled at some rather high strength. But you know, reason and whisky… And I’ve loved the recent LB 16 (WF 91). What’s also good is that this 11 was made with bere barley. Colour: white wine. Nose: it’s not that it’s shy, not at all, but I don’t think its got the high impact of the 16, this one’s rather kind-of-gentle, rather mineral (wet limestone) and of course rather coastal and lemony. A plate of oysters with a few lemon rinds and quite some kelp. With water: the usual old damp tweed jacked and our beloved wet dogs (we’ll build you a memorial, dogs). Coffee. Mouth (neat): very good, a little tequila-ish and bizarrely aquavity (yeah I know), with a lot of lemon, salt, and yes, agave. Really, it’s got a mezcaly side. The base is creamy and sligthly syrupy, but that only adds texture, no dumb vanillaness. At all. With water: artisan tequila from Campbeltown, now that’s interesting. Finish: rather long, and a tad more petroly. Salty/tarry aftertaste. Comments: more a Springbank to sip than a Springbank to nose, but I guess that’s the whole point. Mi piace molto. SGP:462 - 88 points. |
Let’s see what we’ve also got… Perhaps this odd one?... |
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Springbank 21 yo 1993/2015 ‘Open Day’ (46%, OB, refill claret, 264 bottles) Refill claret? This single cask was bottled for the Campbeltown Malts Festival. But really, refill claret? Colour: gold. Nose: frankly, I don’t know if that’s the cabernet-sauvignon, but I’m getting chilli oil and green pepper at first sniffing, as well as a very earthy, almost manure-y lemon. In my book, those vintages were ‘the unlikely ones’, but that’s only me of course. A wee bit of sulphury caramel too, perhaps. I said perhaps. And new plastic pouch (now streng verboten in France). Mouth: I don’t quite know what to think. Can you smoke Schweppes? It’s got a sexy side, with bitter oranges, but also a plasticine-y side that’s quite extreme. And green pepper, artichokes, eggplant… And concentrated lemon juice. Funny and a little weird. Finish: medium, hard to describe. Ink, Fanta, and tar. Leafy aftertaste. Comments: I don’t know, I really don’t know. Some kind of mutant Springbank. Now perhaps is it organic? SGP:462 - 78 points. |
Quick, back to normality (perhaps)… |
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Springbank 21 yo (46%, OB, +/-2016) A very shiny bottle, Maybe they should sell it with sunglasses. Colour: gold. Nose: ah yes, ink, coal smoke, black earth, black tobacco (Gauloises), then some fresher fruits, around oranges, then some burnt sugar and quite some leather and charcoaled beefsteak and bacon. A yeasty side too, we’re well around the early-to-mid 1990s. Mouth: a bitter and sour arrival, with some, well, sour beer and orange juice, then more smoked bacon, walnut wine, and leather. Pitches and tosses a bit, I’d say. Finish: medium, meaty, a tad sulphury, sooty, and with sour fruits. Some kind of smoked and salted marmalade in the aftertaste, as well as a gritty oak. Comments: a little too challenging, I’d say, really not my favourites vintages. Isn’t it amazing how everything improved again just a few years later? SGP:352 - 80 points. |
I agree, let’s check some indies… |
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Springbank 18 yo 1998/2016 (46%, The Cooper’s Choice, refill sherry, cask #116, 300 bottles) This one should talk… Colour: deep gold. Nose: yeah, there’s good sulphur and there’s bad sulphur. This is good sulphur. Superb notes of burnt precious wood mingled with orange zests and chestnut purée, then very old oloroso and a drop of black olive brine. Add one black cigar, and one clam, and one black truffle. And why not? Wonderful feeling of wholeness. Mouth: orange liqueur and brake fluid. Really. Or lemon juice and carbon paper. Or bacon and Bakelite. And chewing a cigar, most certainly, plus a lot of raw black cocoa. Not one gram of sweetness, this is superbly bone dry. Finish: long, very ‘black’ (despite the pale colour), and wonderfully cigary and leathery. Cracked pepper and bitter oranges in the aftertaste. Comments: a perfectly balanced dry-sherried Springbank, no wonder a cooper chose it. Ahem. SGP:462 - 90 points. |
Do we have room for a last one? Of course we do… |
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Springbank 20 yo 1996/2016 (57.5%, First Editions, Author’s Series, sherry hogshead) There’s Benjamin Disraeli on the label. Wasn’t that the guy that said, ‘I rather like bad whisky; one gets so bored with good whisky’? Ah, no, he said that about wine… Which is quite clever, isn’t it. Colour: deep gold. Nose: there’s more sherry, more rounded cake, chocolate, and vanilla, more barbecued bacon, and much less sulphur, whether good or bad. Roasted nuts aplenty (pecans and cashews everywhere), old balsamico, burnt fir wood, armagnac, Christmas cake, sour cherries, and even hints of old Barolo. This is spectacular. With water: mud, manure, old cigars, and very old wines. I’m sure you get the idea. Mouth (neat): yee-haa! Some action! Bitter oranges and mustard, chillies and cigars, whelks and ink, roasted walnuts and black pepper… I’ve known some very old amontillados that were a bit like this, to be honest. Unless that was rather Palo Cortados… Barbadillo if I remember well… Not too sure, since what happens in Jerez stays in Jerez… With water: a total Jerezian blast. Finish: long, saltier, brinier, and even more ‘walnutty’. Fantastically dry. Parsley in the aftertaste. Comments: dry sherry and Springbank tangoing to perfection. Just a little ‘segmenting’, perhaps. SGP:372 - 91 points. |
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April 5, 2017 |
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Three special official Glenmorangie |
A newish wined no-age-statement, a popular middle-aged regular, and a rare and princely single cask for charity. How does that sound? |
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Glenmorangie ‘Bacalta’ (46%, OB, Private Edition, 2017) Some humble yet expensive (+/-90€) NAS finished in casks seasoned with sweet malmsey Madeira, malmsey being another name for malvasia. Oh well, why not? Colour: light gold. Nose: starts a little buttery and porridge-y, gets then a little more ‘grilled’ and honeyed, with a layer of dry tobacco and ginger cookies, with hints of caraway and orange zests and marmalade in the background. It’s not too winey, having said that, which can’t be bad news. Mouth: starts more winey and a little sour (really reminds me of orange wine), with a green spiciness, some green pepper, and a feeling of mulled wine, with quite a lot of cinnamon, cloves, as well as a little aniseed. Rather bittersweet, with a green oakiness. Finish: medium, on some kind of spicy green fruitcake and molasses honey. Green/sour aftertaste, with more porridge. Comments: not as sweet as I had expected. I used to rather not like the older Glenmos ‘Madeira Wood Finish’ but I’m finding this one very okay. SGP:561 - 82 points. |
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Glenmorangie 18yo 'Extremely Rare' (43%, OB, +/- 2017) Of course not ‘extremely rare’, but pretty good according to my notes for earlier batches. The price is similar to that of the new NAS, and it’s partly a finishing as well (30% have been finished for three years in oloroso). Colour: pale gold. Nose: cleaner and fresher, more ‘natural’ than the Bacalta, more floral as well, with lovely whiffs of acacia flowers, orange blossom, and simply all-flower honey. Some orange cake, and brioche flavoured with orange blossom water. Mouth: really much brighter and more citrusy than Bacalta, with tangerines, honey, and more ‘oriental’ brioche. Some figs, dried pears and apricots, and then vanilla. Good body at just 43% vol. Finish: medium, honeyed, with dried fruits again and always this citrusy/floral side. Comments: a very easy, approachable, and consensual malt whisky. Really enjoy it. SGP:551 – 84 points. |
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Glenmorangie 12 yo 2003/2015 ‘Rare Single Cask’ (56.5%, OB, The Grimaldi Collection, bourbon, cask #633, 180 bottles) This cask was selected by and bottled for H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. It certainly is one of the rarest Glenmorangies, and bottles are being used/sold to support the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. Colour: pale gold. Nose: there! Some creamy vanilla and some orchard fruits, first peaches and greengages, then buttery pears and apricots. All that lies on some good puff pastry, and there sure is some honey and liquid caramel on top of all that. Very nice. With water: more brioche-y notes, panettone… Mouth (neat): really very good, and extremely citrusy. It’s all lemons and tangerines, and even yuzu, mind you. Just touches of oak shavings. With water: perfect malt whisky ‘as nature intended’. Bight yellow fruits with some cake, custard, and honey. Finish: medium and even more cake-y yet, but oranges are fighting back in the aftertaste. Comments: a kind of ueber-ueber Ten Year Old, and Glenmorangie as in Glenmorangie. See what I mean? SGP:551 - 88 points. |
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Today: JAZZ FUNK. Performer: Nicolas Folmer. Track: Pangea. Please visit his website and buy his music... |
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April 4, 2017 |
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Laphroaig, perhaps a crescendo |
A classic session, with OBs and IBs, and young ones and old ones alike. We’ll see what happens… |
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Laphroaig ‘Lore’ (48%, OB, +/-2016) Some NAS Laphroaig with a story, at +/-100€ a skittle. As unnecessary as some think? Let’s see… Colour: pale gold. Nose: easy, rounded, vanilla-ed, sligthly almondy, moderately smoky, and mildly citrusy. It won’t do any harm, as it appears. Mouth: a very oily mouth feel, with some wood ashes as well as quite a lot of vanilla. Some kind of rounded peat smoke, I’d say, but this very elementary combo works pretty well, in no small part because there’s more and more brine coming through. Gets then smokier and smokier, and to tell you the truth, all this smoke tends to become a little stuffy. Finish: long, very ashy and smoky. Is there only smoke in life? Some lemon in the aftertaste. And, perhaps, kippers. And certainly quite some wood. Comments: a smoke bomb that’s a little boring and that may lack ‘polishing’. Feels a little engineered. SGP:357 - 79 points. |
Some said the slightly sad Lore contains some Quarter Cask. Only one way to find out… |
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Laphroaig ‘Quarter Cask’ (48%, OB, +/-2016) I have to say I really liked this one last time I formally tried it, but that was in 2007 (WF 87). Colour: pale gold. Nose: yes, surely. It’ much purer than the Lore, better chiselled, fresher, with very nice whiffs of lemongrass and garden bonfire, herbs, kelp, beach sand, and all that. Doesn’t kick you, but it’s also much less, ach, err, say ‘vulgar’ than the Lore. Mouth: oh yes, this is so much better! Some clean lemony smoke, some brine, then some artisan lemonade, soft brine, one green olive (always a hit in the house), and a growing ashy side that would come with oak pepper. I mean, a pepperiness that should come from the oak. Finish: rather long, slightly Tabasco-ish, with a touch of eucalyptus and mint. Comments: didn’t it become spicier and oakier over time? Nah, I think it’s very good Laphroaig despite the oak that’s just a little too obvious for me. SGP:457 - 84 points. |
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Laphroaig 10 yo ‘Original Cask Strength Batch 6’ (58%, OB, 2014) I’ve been very lazy with my 10 CSs, I’m sure I’ve missed many batches, and I know I’ll never catch up. But should I care? What’s sure is that I’ll always remember the older 1l bottles for duty free shops (not the useless travel retail outlets). Eternal whisky glories! Colour: gold. Nose: wow. And I mean, wow. This is Jamaican rum. Black olive cake and smoked balsamic vinegar. Does it really come from the distillery that made Lore? With water: yeah yeah yeah, that thing that we used to find in older Laphroaigs, smoked almond oil or something… Mouth (neat): fantastic arrival, violent and brutal, almost sadistic. Massive amounts of smoke and ashes! Leaves you speechless (who said great news, who?) With water: great. Unripe mangos, smoke, kippers, lapsang souchong, and a dry smokiness that tends to become a little too dominant, perhaps. Finish: long, dry, very ashy. Comments: perhaps a little difficult at times, but nothing frightens us. Probably not as great as earlier batches, but we keep flying pretty high. SGP:457 - 87 points. |
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Laphroaig 15 yo 1998/2014 (46%, Van Wees, The Ultimate, refill sherry butt, Cask #700355, 728 bottles) That’s right, more than 700 bottles from a butt, at 46% vol. And? Colour: gold. Nose: and OB killer. More complex, more herbal, subtler, more elegant… That’s the problem, many distillers are obsessed with wood these days. And yet they are the d.i.s.t.i.l.l.e.r.s., aren’t they? Anyway, lovely citrons, seawater, olives, hessian, pipe smoke, and smoked fish in this one. Plus notes of walnutty and slightly mustardy manzanilla. All these 1998s are great, I have to say. Mouth: naturally. Big smoke, sweet mustard and green pepper, very bitter chocolate, espresso, and very smoky ashes mixed wit the driest marmalade. Plus the obligatory salty touch, for good measure. Obvious, in the greatest way. Finish: long and very dry, on salted chocolate, mustard, and walnut cake. Comments: not an easy one, but I’m a total fan. My masochistic side, I suppose. SGP:367 - 90 points. |
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Laphroaig 18 yo 1998/2017 (50%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, Consortium of Cards, refill butt, 665 bottles) Yet another story, no comprendo here, I’m throwing in the towel. Cards, again? Did the good Hanyu people take over or something? Colour: straw. Nose: this one’s more medicinal, after all this is Laphroaig. Lemon and iodine, bandages, white pepper, and a dozen oysters. Some vanilla around all that, and perhaps peppered whelks. With water: a little sour dough, mashed potatoes, croissants au beurre… Mouth (neat): some sharp and pungent Laphroaig that bites you with all this pepper, we’re almost in chilli territories. It’s also very sooty and ashy, and rather bone dry. With water: we tamed it, it became gentler, with even raisins (from the sherry?) and some kind of sweet herbal tea. Finish: medium to long, with smoked raisins. Over-baked kouglopf (yep there are many different spellings). Comments: it’s funny how water makes it rounder and sweeter. Peat and sherry don’t always tango to perfection, this one does it rather well in my opinion. SGP:557 - 87 points. |
A last one, perhaps, back to the darker ages… |
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Laphroaig 28 yo 1967 (46%, First Cask, cask #2202, +/-1995) This range used to be done by Direct Wines, a mail order company in the UK. In short, whisky by wine people, what could go wrong? Colour: gold. Nose: of course, this is a whole different planet. For example, you’ve got all these medicinal touches, bandages, balms, iodine and such… And then, the tropical fruits, passion fruits, mangos, pink bananas, papayas… I have no idea why no contemporary whiskies have got those, perhaps is it a matter of yeast? Would make sense, wouldn’t it? In any case, this is typical 1960s Laphroaig, and with flying colours. Some would say it’s a pretty Bowmore-y Laphroaig, but we’re talking 1960s, remember… Mouth: when medicine and tropical fruitiness combine so well, you’re almost in heaven. And this baby’s still punching and kicking, with no OBE that I can get, it’s as if it was bottled yesterday. Golden raisins, cassata, camphory syrup, maracuja liqueur, rocket salad (yep, a bitterness), oysters, limejuice… It’s even kind of raw and unpolished, after all these year. Finish: very long, dry, bitter, ashy… I also get olive oil with basil, lemon and pepper, I’m sure you could pour this over your spaghettis. Comments: well, it would be an expensive way of doing your arrabiata sauce, but it could work. Superb old Laphroaig, but it would need twenty more years of bottle aging to get smooooother. After all, great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance (time to call this a tasting session, S.). SGP:456 - 90 points. |
(And mille mercis Angus and Fabien) |
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April 3, 2017 |
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A bag of young and middle-aged Dalmore |
Beyond the hyperboles and the loud marketing, Dalmore remains a superb distillate in my book, especially when bottled quite ‘pure’, that is to say rather void of any blackish/darkish substances, from oloroso to cabernet through caramel. Let’s see if we find some of those today… |
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Dalmore 12 yo (40%, OB, +/-2017) A 2015 version had been rather to my liking (WF 81). Colour: gold. Nose: starts malty and bready, which is obviously nice, and gets then rather spicy and cake-y, with some cloves, aniseed, and gingerbread. I have to say this does not quite smell like the 12 used to in my book, I seem to feel much more newish, spicier oak. I do enjoy the way it gets then fruitier and fresher, though, with kiwis and the usual oranges. Mouth: indeed, more spicy oak over some orange cake and marmalade. Quite a lot of bitter chocolate too, Ovaltine/Ovomaltine, and toasted bread. Finish: medium, really dry. Walnuts. Comments: really a dry Dalmore, but the usual oranges are never too far away. Same score as last time. SGP:451 - 81 points. |
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Dalmore 10 yo 2006/2016 (46%, OB, for France) Rather bizarrely, this baby was finished in first fill Jim Beam barrels. Isn’t that rather ‘regular’ and not quite a finishing? Ha, whisky semantics… Colour: straw. Nose: yess, pure Dalmore with an extra-layer of vanilla and limoncello. You’re wandering throughout an orchard in Corsica, with various mandarins, tangerines, oranges and citrons around you. Some quinces too, and some dandelions on the floor. A glorious smell, this! Mouth: oh this is good! Perfect round citrusy style, with only the slightest oaky spicy tannicity (ginger), and otherwise wheelbarrows of those aforementioned citrus fruits. The higher strength helps too. Finish: rather long, and rather on lemon marmalade. With wee bits of dried ginger… Comments: not some very complicated spirit, but it tells you how great Dalmore can be when you leave it alone. SGP:551 - 86 points. |
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Dalmore 18 yo (43%, OB, +/-2016) This baby was virtually double-matured, as it spent five years in sherry. It’s been eight years since I last tried this expression (WF 83). Colour: gold. Nose: this one’s more complex, rather more floral, and certainly more tertiary, with whiffs of old humidor, prunes in armagnac, peonies, walnut wine, brandy de Jerez, and then a slightly heavy/spicy breadiness, reminding us of pumpernickel. Some moist all-honey gingerbread too. Mouth: very oily mouth feel, as if glycerol had been added (of course there cannot be any!) and a totally ‘gingerbready’ development. White pepper, chestnut honey, marmalade, Corinth raisins, spelt, perhaps buckwheat, walnuts… It really tends to become dry, with quite a lot of raw cocoa powder. I always quote Van Houten, but there must be other brands. Finish: rather long, with a very spicy sherry. If you will, this is the opposite of sherried Macallan. Comments: very good, but I sure liked the style of the 2006 better. Vive le naturel! SGP:451 - 83 points. |
Dear indies, the floor is yours… |
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Dalmore 2001/2015 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail, Connoisseurs Choice, refill hogshead) Refill hoggies? That should be very natural. Colour: white wine (indeed). Nose: pure classy maltiness with notes of white cherries, peaches, and orange skins, then rather overripe kiwis and custard. Pastry dough, plus the lightest honey. Mouth: very very good. Crisp fruity maltiness, oranges, orange cake, and wee bits of liquorice wood. Finish: medium, malty/fruity, always with these Dalmore-y oranges singing in the background. Peppery and leafier aftertaste. Comments: not an impressive whisky, and certainly not a ooh-ha Dalmore, but I’m feeling it’s very honest, rather a lost quality these days, Your Highness. SGP:551 - 84 points. |
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Dalmore 25 yo 1990/2016 (56.3%, Cadenhead, Single Cask, sherry butt) Probably a refill butt, according to the colour. Colour: pale gold. Nose: warm custard and oak at first, then rather croissants and orange blossom water, with a panettone-y side (with apologies to our friends in Northern Italy). Bags of marzipan too. So far, it’s perfect. With water: ever smelled raw cocoa when it arrives to the chocolate factory? Also a very discreet touch of copper, or perhaps tin. And of course, oranges, which is totally Dalmore in my book. Mouth (neat): ooh! Lime and pepper, then Seville oranges and walnut wine, with touches of old amontillado and a wee vinegary side that’s totally perfect in this context. Perhaps white balsamico? (with further apologies to our friends in Northern Italy). With water: even if it weren’t good, it would be interesting (that was useful, S.!) Finish: long, peculiar, citrusy and candied. My grandma was having a tin box where she used to keep various candied citrus fruits, zests and such, for her pastries. Totally that! Comments: they did it again, I’m very afraid. Pure Essence de Dalmore, with echoes of those older official dumpies with their funny silver or golden labels. SGP:661 - 91 points. |
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March 2017 |
Favourite recent bottling:
Port Ellen 32 yo 1983/2016 (54%, The Auld Alliance, Singapore, cask #001/508, 120 bottles) - WF 92
Favourite older bottling:
Ardbeg 24 yo 1965/1990 (54.4%, Cadenhead, black dumpy, 75cl) - WF 95
Favourite bang for your buck bottling:
Glen Garioch 12 yo (48%, OB, +/-2016) - WF 86
Favourite malternative:
Hampden Estate 17 yo 2000/2017 (47.4%, Sansibar) - WF 91 |
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Today: JAZZ (kind of). Performer: Marcus Strickland. Track: Alive. Please visit his website and buy his music... |
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April 1, 2017 |
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Breaking! A News Section On Whiskyfun! |
Yep we’ve decided to add a news section to Whiskyfun. Not that anyone would care, but everybody else is copying publishing news these days, and news make for easy and quick Google-friendly content. They do it, why couldn’t we do it too! Oh and we took this opportunity to start to get rid of that annoying yellow background. So without further ado, here’s today’s whisky news, |
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| The Whisky News by Whiskyfun |
| - This Week's Edition - |
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Brought to you by The GlenWonka |
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| The secrets behind Donald Trump's hair: Former stylist reveals to The Daily Mail the President covers it with Dalmore Single Malt Scotch Whisky. She also revealed Trump uses so much whisky his mane is 'solid and matted', and added “not only is the colour orange, he does also smell of oranges, which is a calamity!” |
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Woman in Inverness trades her late husband's whisky collection for brand new bottles of her preferred Scotch. “This Italian gentleman has been very kind to me, I’m so happy I could get rid of all those dusty old bottles of Laffroaig, Bomoore or Mac Allen at once! What’s more, I’m now the proud owner of sixty-four cases of Bell’s, my favourite brand by far”, said Margaret McMinimall, 74, a former cashier at Tesco. |
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Huge amounts of vanillin found in wild salmons in Scotland. “We ship them straight to sushi factories in Shoreditch and Hoxton, where hipsters just love them”, says Jock McBannister, CEO of Amalgamated Fisheries plc in Lochilpead. |
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New study finds that in most new Scotch Malt Whiskies, the sherry inside is actually older than the spirit. “I guess we’ll have to source younger sherry from now on” said Erwan MacScallop, Senior Advisor, Whisky Creation at the Scotch Whisky Association. |
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U.K. government to tax all social content related to spirits from June 1, 2017. £100 a tweet, £250 a Facebook post, £5 a retweet, £2 a like, £15 a share, £0.005 an Instagram post. Private posts to be invoiced to brand owners “because we see them coming”, added Victoria Lordham, Head of the Alcohol Advertising Control Office at the Department of Health in London. |
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| Diageo CEO Mildred Ferguson just announced that she will resign before the end of July this year. “I keep asking our specialists why we can’t do with our Single Malt Scotch Whiskies what we’re doing with Zacapa or Cîroc and everyone’s just shrugging their shoulders, it’s a nightmare. Under those conditions, I’ve decided to throw in the towel and to go back to banking and politics”, commented Mrs. Ferguson, 49. |
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After the large success of whisky writers Ian Buxton and Dominic Roskrow’s books, 101 Whiskies To Try Before You Die and 1001 Whiskies You Must Taste Before You Die, moderately known yet very inspired Dutch whisky writer Englebert van Apfelstruudel is planning to write his own guide book, 1,000,001 Whiskies that Will Kill You Without A Doubt. “There is just one small matter to deal with at this stage, finding a publisher”, warned Mr. Apfelstruudel. |
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1,261,732,143 bottles of Scotch whisky have been sold worldwide in 2016. Through a combination of circumstances, that’s also the number of times the word “Rare” was written on a label. |
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New study finds that in adverts for any whisky festivals in the whole world, there are seventy-four times more girls than there will actually be on location. “That’s because there’s never any budget for photographs and so we always use the same old pictures from when Ardbeg had hired those twenty-four Lithuanian esco…, I mean, event assistants, back in 1998”, said Archie Hamilton, a disillusioned account executive at a 21st Century London based independent advertising agency. |
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| Scottish Distillery accidentally bottles a new whisky with an age statement. “We mistakenly used a backup file from five years ago when doing the label”, said Jock O’Gilvy, Creative Director at Stranger & Strangest in Glasgow. |
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| New revelations suggest that Bourbon was first called Bourbon because of the famous Bourbon Vanilla. “I had always thought it was the opposite”, said veteran Bourbon blogger Jimmy Lactone. |
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| Brand Ambassador for a famous Scottish Distillery caught drinking his own whisky in a Pub in Manchester, instead of gin and tonic. “Aye, a moment of distraction, I shan’t do it again” said Sam Gibbons. |
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While no such event had been reported in the whole world since 2007, a bottle of Karuizawa was just uncorked in Hong Kong! Speaking on the phone from her hospital room, Mrs. Chao-Xing Chan said, “It was around 9:45pm and I was cooking Hainanese chicken. I suddenly noticed that the bottle of Kikkoman sauce was empty, so I opened a new one that Fedex had just delivered in the morning. Then my dear husband came back home, and I can't really remember the rest…” |
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| There is no new Laphroaig NAS planned this week. |
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| W.M. Cadenhead in Campbeltown are aiming to bottle a very bad cask of Scotch malt whisky ”to see what it feels like”. Should you own such a cask, please contact Mr. Mark Watt, W.M. Cadenhead, 30-32 Union St, Campbeltown PA28 6HY, United Kingdom, or call +44 1586 551710. |
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| Man from Dundee, 55, sells his The Macallan Lalique Crystal Decanter for eighty times its original price at mywhiskyauctiondelamuerte.com and accidentally wins it back because “the fookin’ cat stepped on the fookin’ keyboard”, causing the bankruptcy of his whole family over three generations just because of the fees. |
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| The Fitness Room Owners Association is suing the SWA for unfair competition after a burst of claims on Facebook such as A Glass of Whisky Is The Equivalent To An Hour At The Gym. “Not our fault, our community manager in Hanoi made that mistake, indeed that’s rather red wine but those useless people in Vietnam don’t know much about drinks”, said spokesperson Fergus MacHarroon. |
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| Last Friday, a dyslexic copywriter in Edinburgh mistakenly wrote 'barely Scottish' instead of 'Scottish barley' on the label for some new high-volume blended malt whisky. “Sadly no one noticed, we were all in the pub already when that happened, I guess we’ll now have to re-label all seventy thousand cases”, said Dick McMildew, Marketing Content Director. |
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| New Burmese Whisky Distillery to advertise the age of the oak trees instead of the age of the spirit. “People still need numbers”, said Chakrii Chaowchanchai, the Manager of the Pink Elephant Distillery in Rangoon. |
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| Lady in Aberdeen who celebrated her 110th birthday last year while telling the Daily Mail that A Shot Of Scotch A Day Was The Secret Of Her Good Health found to be only 35. “I’ve always looked much older than I really was because of all the whisky I drink, so when that guy from the business came to see me with a cheque, I answered yep, let’s do it”, said Jennifer Hundertpfund, who’s the great-granddaughter of a German submariner. |
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| Scottish Whisky Distillery doesn’t win any award at this year’s International Wine and Spirit Competition |
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| Bowmore Distillery on Islay are missing the keys to their famous Vault No.1. In an official statement, Distillery Manager David Turner writes, “Rachel, please call us asap”. |
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| Lars Vallhällä, Director Of Whisky Name Creation, celebrates his five years with Highland Park. Lars was formerly in charge of finding names for IKEA’s bathroom items, after having been the head of the Lost Screws Department. “It’s been very exciting, I love my work at Highland Park, I’m just struggling a bit with their old IBM keyboards that are missing the umlauts”, said Lars. |
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| Man caught trying to buy a cask of malt whisky at Lagavulin Distillery while he isn’t from China. “I was wearing a large Christian Dior scarf with golden dragons embroidery, had pulled my Lamborghini baseball cap over my eyes, and borrowed an Audemars Piguet wristwatch in solid red gold with diamonds, but someone in the warehouse noticed the bottle of Orval that was sticking out of my pocket and they got me out of the place”, said Wout Van de Putte, a relatively wealthy whisky enthusiast from Antwerp, Belgium. |
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| Forty-five thousand men working in the Scotch Whisky Industry while also being part-time guitarists gather to put up a new Pop Rock Festival in the Midlands. After having run a long, Mai-Tai-fuelled brainstorming session, they unanimously decided to call the new event “Woodstock”. |
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| English whisky writer spotted in Scotland. “I had lost control of my new Tesla near Carlisle and couldn’t do anything until it ran out of power on the M6 near Wishaw”, said Mr. Jim M. once back south of the border. “We’ve heard a few gunshots here and there but no one was harmed”, commented Assistant Chief Constable Kenneth Fitzpatrick in Glasgow. |
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| In an interview to the Scotsman, Glenmorangie’s Head of Whisky Prospective and Creation, Dr. Jim Jobs, just announced that the company would start focussing on the biggest innovation in Scotch Whisky yet, “Making it just as when we were making it best”. A major breakthrough that leaves all other distillers flabbergasted. “Dr. Jobs has always been at the forefront of innovation, he is a leading light and an all round good chap. Now why do I always have to pay for the martinis?” commented Dr. Arnold W. Morgan, Diageo’s Director of Future Whisky Heritage. |
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| Man working in the whisky industry surprises everyone and does exactly what he said he would do. |
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The GlenWonka’s new Global World Brand Ambassador, Jennifer MacHutton, is actually a robot to which several ChatBoxes and Social Pages are connected. “Aye, we had to do it, not only because we don’t have to spend fortunes on sexy clothes and gin and tonics anymore, but also because our latest human Brand Ambassador, Billie McPherson, left us for another whisky company while taking our/her 732,584 Facebook fans, 896,245 Twitter followers and 7 Google Plus connections with her”, said Lyudmila Simpson, The GlenWonka’s Director of Rapid Blind Digitalisation. |
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Very proactive babypreneur from Lochaber launches IWD. Young Alastair MacWinner, 7, told us “I first had the idea of launching Intercontinental Whisky Day while I was at kindergarten, back in 2014, so it’s mine, obviously. What’s more, my parents only got the Internet last week, which explains why I just couldn’t have known that the idea already existed under at least three different forms. Now if you would excuse me, I’ll call you back once I’m rich and famous, which will happen in the very near future I am led to understand, since I’ve already got Nicola Sturgeon’s Sub-Sub-Sub-Secretary Of Scottish Rural Entrepreneurship on the phone for ten seconds last night.” |
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Shocking: new American whisky producers Six Shot Distillery in Cooper Town, Tennessee, found to actually distil their whiskies, including rye, malt, wheat, corn, and bourbon. |
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| Mr. Cheng Keow Tran, an absent-minded whisky specialist at Changi Airport, Singapore, accidentally sells a bottle of the new The Dalmore 50 year old. “We’re devastated, that’s the first time this happens, we’re planning to use holograms instead of actual bottles from now on”, commented Minnie McBurns, Chief Halo Marketing Officer at Whyte and Mackay Ltd. |
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| A twenty-five year old Man who does not plan to build a whisky distillery was found in a pub in the city of Wick, in northern Scotland. “We had to commit him”, said Police Officer Stuart McNevis. |
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| Compass Box to launch a new series of Quasi-Blends at Fortnum & Mason in London later this year. Designed after Piero Fornasetti’s most famous works, the labels won’t mention the compositions of each whisky, to comply with the regulations, but rumour has it that there’s either 100% Clynelish or 100% Laphroaig inside, hence the name ‘Quasi-Blend’. We're awaiting comments from the Scotch Whisky Association but we’ve heard the whole board was starting to suffer from depression. |
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| Amounts of Pedro Ximenez sold in bulk to Glendronach Distillery now higher than bottle sales, said to Madrid newspaper El País the Consejo Regulador de la Denominación de Origen Jerez-Xérès-Sherry in Jerez de la Frontera and the Consejo Regulador de la Denominación de Origen Montilla-Moriles in Montilla. “Aye, fine, we’ll stick with it so to speak”, commented Hunter McFaddis, who’s a cooper. |
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Ardbeg Distillery to sell an empty bottle of their popular Islay Malt Whisky as a very Limited Edition named ‘Airie’. “Aye, the cask had been leaking for years and I knew it was empty, but the guys at our Marketing Department thought this would be a very innovative opportunity”, said melancholic Manager Michael ‘Mickey’ Heads, who’s now considering either an early retirement or swimming back to Jura. |
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| That's all, folks! More new news whenever there's more noteworthy news... |
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Best spirits I tried those weeks, 90+ points only
Dalmore 25 yo 1990/2016 (56.3%, Cadenhead, Single Cask, sherry butt)
Fine Single Grain Whisky 52 yo 1964/2016 (47.7%, Whisky-Fässle, barrel)
Laphroaig 15 yo 1998/2014 (46%, Van Wees, The Ultimate, refill sherry butt, Cask #700355, 728 bottles)
Laphroaig 28 yo 1967 (46%, First Cask, cask #2202, +/-1995)
Springbank 18 yo 1998/2016 (46%, The Cooper’s Choice, refill sherry, cask #116, 300 bottles)
Springbank 20 yo 1996/2016 (57.5%, First Editions, Author’s Series, sherry hogshead)
Hampden 17 yo 1993/2010 ‘Mabaruma’ (46%, Pugi, Jamaica, 248 bottles)
Hampden 23 yo 1993/2016 (61%, Cave Guildive, Jamaica)
Hampden 1998/2017 (62%, The Wild Parrot, Jamaica, cask #WP9862, 278 bottles)
Hampden 1992/2016 (61.6%, Rum Nation, Jamaica, cask #1-12, 504 bottles)
Hampden 1998/2016 (66.3%, Rum Nation, Jamaica, cask #1-15, 480 bottles)
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