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Hi, you're in the Archives, August 2016 - Part 2
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August 31, 2016 |
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Bruichladdich’s Spanish wines |
Of course not ‘wine’ as such, but The Laddie’s always been good at using the most unusual wine casks. If you want to learn more about the wines of the world, either you buy Parker’s (or Johnson’s, or Robinson’s) books, or you browse Bruichladdich’s back catalogue. Ha! |
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Bruichladdich 23 yo 1992/2015 ‘Douglas Clyne’ (48.9%, OB, valinch, bourbon/Figuero, cask #009 R09/125, 396 bottles)  Douglas Clyne is Bruichladdich’s engineer and Figuero is a well-know winemaker from Spain (Ribera del Duero). Most probably tempranillo. Colour: amber with orange hues. Nose: you’re nosing a blend of Hungarian Tokaji and Pedro Ximenez, with bags of raisins and overripe and dried figs and bananas. No ‘red’ notes that I can get, greatest of news. It seems that this finished worked. Mouth: rather weirder, but that was to be expected. Swiss cheese, blackberries, double cream, pipe tobacco, and simply ‘wine’. We’re quite far from Scotch whisky now, we’re almost close to brandy de Jerez, but without any added sugar. Which is fun, of course. Finish: long, spicier. Speculoos at cask strength (what?) and pencil shavings. That’s probably some European oak speaking. Comments: as they say, for the whisky enthusiast that already has everything. A rather good deviant dram – or winesky. SGP:561 - 79 points. |
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Bruichladdich 11 yo 2005/2016 (57.2%, Claxton’s, Rioja wine cask, cask #1605-1052)  So after Ribera, Rioja. According to the colour, it’s red Rioja, so probably tempranillo-led as well. Colour: amber/apricot. Nose: love Claxton’s new series, but this is a little hard. There are more used matches than in a boy scout’s pocket at first nosing, although that aspect tends to blend well with a cake-y and nutty side after just ten seconds. Oh and with plenty of walnuts, limey earth, and garden peat. And Cuban cigars. Well, it does grow on you, I have to say. With water: brand new leather, more used matches, and a funny gamy/smoky side, but after almost ten minutes, you’ll find some fresher fruity notes. A blueberry pie, perhaps (watch your teeth). Mouth (neat): a very spicy, and very strange arrival, quite un-whisky again. A lot of barbecued bacon, then fresh blackcurrant nectar, then various peppers, including green pepper. I find this rather appealing, given the unlikely pedigree. With water: cheese fondue and cigars. Much nicer than it sounds! Finish: long, on pretty much the same flavours. A little Cherry Coke? (apologies, I did not want to hurt anybody within the Scottish whisky industry). Comments: a ‘funny’ experimental premix that rather worked, in my opinion. SGP:451 - 81 points. |
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Today: JAZZ. Performer: Athur Blythe. Track: Opus 1. Please visit his website and buy his music... |
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August 30, 2016 |
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Little duets, today oloroso Glendronach |
It seems that the older vintages are almost gone, but on the other hand, the younger ones are quite good as well. Pretty pretty good… (indeed I’m a Larry David fan). Oh and I’m much more for oloroso than for PX! Just saying… |
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Glendronach 19 yo 1995/2015 (54.6%, OB, for Taiwan, oloroso sherry puncheon, cask #5086, 607 bottles)  Indeed a puncheon is a very large cask – and Taiwan is getting just mad with anything malt whisky. Well-done Taiwan! Colour: amber. Nose: my they do the olorosos well! Leather and cigars, then walnut wine and marmalade, then raisins and menthol liquorice, then polished oak. As expected, this baby’s got all going on. With water: perfect. Did anyone ever tried to add Cuban tobacco to chocolate? Instead of just nuts or raisins? Mouth (neat): very very good, and not stuffy/olorosoed, so rather fresh, starting with bitter oranges and cracked pepper, going on with some bitter chocolate and fruitcake, and becoming rather raisiny then. Our beloved large black Corinthians. With water: swims extremely well. Gets fruitier and fresher, not something that happens very often with oloroso monsters. Truth is, this isn’t quite an oloroso monster. Finish: rather long, fresh, with raisins and marmalade plus a drop of old armagnac. Comments: firmly in old Mac territories. Who goes hunting loses his place. SGP:651 - 90 points. |
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Glendronach 18 yo 1993/2011 (54.9%, OB, oloroso, cask #1, 509 bottles)  Colour: almost coffee. Nose: chocolates of various kinds and origins, plus a little game, marc, beef bouillon, and hashish. In a way, its rather narrow, but it’s perfectly narrow. Ah yes, and bone marrow. With water: nosing a box of cigars, more or less. Mouth (neat): rather rougher and less immediately pleasant than on the nose, thanks to a gritty/grassy side that’s a little troubling. Well, not quite but it’s a little tannic perhaps, as in over-infused tea. All the rest is pretty great. Coffee. With water: very good, should I add ‘of course’. Toffee, coffee, chocolate, and raisins. The tannicity has been diluted. Finish: long, rather more on liquorice, with a little mint in the aftertaste that just cleans your palate. Comments: another faultless oloroso-ed Glendronach. The 1995 was a little fresher and maltier, hence a marginally higher score. SGP:551 - 89 points. |
We’ve got bags of other sherried Glendronachs yet to taste, but that’ll happen later. |
(and thank you, Joy and Nicolas) |
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Today: JAZZ FUNK. Performer: Jerry Bergonzi. Track: PG 2013. Please visit his website and buy his music... |
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August 29, 2016 |
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Young Craigellachie and Glenallachie |
Not sure this session will make any sense, but I thought trying a young Craigellachie and a young Glenallachie together would be funny, since both distilleries share similar names. I mean, seen from Alsace, after all they both end with ‘llachie’ (new lows, S., new lows…) Oh well, let’s just try them… |
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Glenallachie 7 yo 2008/2016 (46%, Hunter Laing, Hepburn’s Choice, refill sherry hogshead, 301 bottles)  Colour: dark gold. Nose: a dry and walnutty sherry kicks in first, with some tobacco and a little leather as well as an earthy touch, then we rather find raisins and dried dates filled with marzipan. I cannot see who would be against this. Mouth: creamy, starting sweeter, quite rich yet not fat, with rather more spices and bitter oranges, then walnut wine, more leather, and more tobacco. There’s quite some nutmeg and cinnamon cake (have to try to bake that one day). Finish: medium, with a pleasant feeling of café latte and even mocha, and rather pepper in the aftertaste while the coffee never quite gave up. Comments: everything works, with a sherry that manages to make this baby taste rather older than it is. SGP:451 - 85 points. |
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Craigellachie 9 yo 2006/2016 (57%, Carn Mor, Celebration of The Cask for The Whisky Shop Dufftown, 10th Anniversary, bourbon, cask #9006914) Colour: straw. Nose: a few spirity notes flying around at first nosing (plum eau-de-vie), but a grassy maltiness is soon to kick in and to put things straight. A little leather too, then fruit peelings. Melons, apples… With water: more raw malt, muesli, and even a little chalk. A lot of barley, which we just cannot not enjoy. Mouth (neat): bonbons and jelly babies, all flavours included, from grapefruit to pineapple via blackcurrant. It’s a little ‘spritzig’ as well, but that’s not unpleasant. Also rhubarb, lemon, and kiwi. With water: lemon squash sweetened with agave syrup and honey, plus a dash of white pepper. Finish: medium, fresh and fruity. A western orchard in June rather than in July or August. The malted barley is back in the aftertaste. Comments: both whiskies were very different, but quality levels were totally similar. Let’s not try to be smart, same very good score. SGP:641 - 85 points. |
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Today: JAZZ. Performer: Geri Allen. Track: RTG. Please visit her website and buy her music... |
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August 28, 2016 |
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White rhums agricoles on Sunday |
We’re still in summer mode, so let’s have a little white rum. In my meagre experience, rum has to be quite ‘congeneric’ to be interesting when white, that is to say to come from pot stills or Creole columns. Anything from multiple-column distilleries is boring at best when white (and sometimes brown, agreed). Mind you, it’s almost always pure flavourless ethanol. There’s rum and there’s rum, as we all know. Anyway, let’s see what we can find… Rhum agricole should be a safe bet, even if apparently, agricole only makes for around 3% of all rums sold in the world. Oh and please note that most good white rhums agricoles are bottled at 50 or 55% vol., so, let’s be careful… |
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Saint Aubin ‘1819’ (50%, OB, Mauritius, agricole, +/-2015) This one’s actually agricole, so from cane juice rather than molasses, in the French tradition. Colour: white. Nose: it’s very ‘natural’, totally grassy, with an obvious briny side and this great ‘dirty’ feeling that mostly comes from these artisanal kinds of rum. A rather rough rhum agricole, but that’s what we enjoy. Mouth: a bittersweet arrival, with a great salinity and a lovely cane juice/grapefruit combination. I’m also finding a little caraway, sloe, and juniper. Some pepper striking in the back of your palate. Finish: long, perhaps a tad too spirity, but these rums are not meant to be sipped ‘like that’. Comments: this session starts well. Some characterful agricole from l’Île Maurice! SGP:362 - 80 points. |
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Depaz ‘Blanc’ (50%, OB, Martinique, agricole, +/-2015) You wouldn’t imagine how many hectolitres of this are quaffed on the island, usually as ‘Ti-punch’. Colour: white. Nose: a richer, more aromatic white rhum agricole, with more bananas and plain cane juice. Lovely whiffs of angelica and lemon balm, plus green olives and freshly cut pineapples. Perfect balance, this is high-quality quality distillate! Mouth: it’s got this soapy side that’s consubstantial to this style, then rather some lavender sweets, as well as a little mint (drops). Other than that, it’s just a cane-y explosion. Finish: long, grassier, with a soapiness that’s perhaps a little too obvious now. But other that that, it’s very fine. Comments: expectedly nice and really characterful again. SGP:462 - 79 points. |
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Saint James ‘Fleur de Canne’ (50%, OB, Martinique, agricole, +/-2015) This is a limited edition – but we all know that that doesn’t mean much, don’t we. Colour: white. Nose: rather different, more coastal, with some soot and some oysters, as well as quite some shoe polish, like in a great Alsatian Riesling from around Hunawihr or Riquewihr. Like this, really like this… Mouth: we’re closer to the Depaz, with pineapples and lavender sweets, but also notes of gin. I guess that’s what I was calling ‘soapy’ before. Juniper. Finish: long, and even more ‘junipery’. Some spices as well, mulled wine, speculoos, lemon… Grittier and hotter aftertaste. Comments: less earthy/grassy, but not less characterful. There’s really something happening in these white agricoles. SGP:451 - 78 points. |
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Fighting Spirit Blue (50%, Chantal Comte, Martinique, agricole, +/-2015)  This one comes from Distillerie du Simon, where they distil for HSE and Clément if I’m not mistaken. Chantal Comte is an French independent bottler. Colour: white. Nose: almost the same as the Saint James, while both do not come from the same distillery. Perhaps a tad dustier? Notes of plain sugar. Mouth: rather better, a little sweetish, and perhaps a little rough as well. Lacks the depth that the other ones had. A little lemon liqueur? Ginger? Finish: medium, a little indefinite. Nicer touches of tangerines in the aftertaste. Comments: less well-chiselled and less deep than the others, but yeah, quite good. Too expensive at 40-45 Euros, though. SGP:451 - 75 points. And since we were talking about HSE… |
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HSE ‘Cuvée Titouan Lamazou’ (50%, OB, Martinique, Agricole, +/-2015) Titouan Lamazou is a French sailor that won many races such as the Vendée-Globe. He’s also an excellent writer and artist, you should check his drawings. Colour: white. Nose: it might be the same juice, but I like this much better than the Fighting Spirit, it’s fresher and deeper at the same time, with notes of agave (I know) and cane juice, lemon, seaweed, grassy earth… Lovely nose, really. Mouth: superb mezcaly white rum, earthy, very fresh, very slightly smoky, very pure and zesty… It’s really lovable spirit. I’m asking you, who needs oak? Finish: medium, fresh, even more on cane juice. Stunning rooty aftertaste, mezcal-like indeed. Comments: I’m going to buy a bottle. Well done, HSE! SGP:462 - 86 points. |
We’ve got many more, but perhaps a last one, from Guadeloupe this time… |
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Karukera ‘Rhum Blanc’ (50%, OB, Guadeloupe, agricole, +/-2015) This is pure blue cane rhum from the Domaine de Marquisat Sainte Marie, exactly where Christopher Columbus set foot quite a long time ago (thanks Alexandre!). It belongs to Longueteau. Colour: white. Nose: it’s a bit fatter, less pure in a way, with more earthy aromas, and more spices as well. Notes of fresh butter with bits of seaweed, as Monsieur Bordier is making. Great butter! Now it hasn’t quite got the entrancing brightness of the HSE. Mouth: quite brutal and rough, with something medicinal, some earth, some dust, many spices (juniper and cloves), and quite some cinnamon, which is uncommon in unaged spirits. Harder to pin down. Finish: long, earthier, and still quite spicy. Comments: loses you a bit, this is perfect material for ageing in wood, IMHO. As a white, it may lack cleanliness and ‘zing’. SGP:361 - 74 points. |
Wait, do you have three extra-minutes? Why not try another Guadeloupe? Or rather a Marie-Galante where, according to this humble taster, they make the best of the best? |
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Père Labat ‘50°’ (50%, OB, Guadeloupe, agricole, +/-2015) How can anyone not love this immaculate label? I’m sure Kazimir Malevich would have approved. Colour: white. Nose: yess. Extremely pure, and yet deep and wide, and yet simple and millimetric. Are you following me? In fact, it’s totally on sugar cane juice. Grass, earth, lime, olives, tar. Mouth: oh totally perfect! Same extremely high quality as the HSE, only even brighter, further chiselled, and purer. Ashes, a wee touch of eucalyptus, three olives, and please no gin, thanks. Finish: long, ultra-clean, superb. Celeriac. Leaves your mouth as clean as a baby’s, which is a little dangerous since the next think you want is another glass of the same. And then another. And then… Comments: this is funny, I quite like the Père Labat 40° (WF 78) but this 50° is in a whole different league in my opinion. Okay, same score as the HSE. SGP:462 - 86 points. |
Oh well, while we are at it… |
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Nine Leaves ‘Clear’ (50%, OB, Japan, +/-2015)  Pot still rum from Japan, made out of Japanese brown sugar, not out of cane juice, so it may not belong here. But who sets the rules? I do! I have to say Nine Leaves’ Almost Spring had left me totally cold last year (20 points-cold, actually), but a wise man changes his mind sometimes, a fool never. So… Colour: white. Nose: much shier than the Père Labat, and probably much less cane-y. Pretty delicate but really, it does not talk much, unless you give it a lot of time and attention. Perhaps cut green pears, perhaps fresh asparagus. And surely a touch of fennel and aniseed. Actually, it grows on you! Mouth: ah but this is nice! Aniseed and fennel-forward again, then a little eau-de-vie-ish (williams pears, plums), becoming a little more spirity after a few seconds, losing definition and focus. Finish: yes, that’s where it loses it. Too spirity for me. Comments: certainly much better than the ‘Almost Spring’ that we had tried, but indeed, after the agricoles, it’s getting tough… SGP:441 - 65 points. |
 Check the index of all rums I've tasted so far
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August 25, 2016 |
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Little duets, today Imperial |
Yes, again. The former hidden gem is becoming more and more cult as several indies are issuing very good (and very fruity) expressions. Signatory Vintage, for example… |
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Imperial 20 yo 1995/2016 (50.8%, Signatory Vintage for The Whisky Exchange, hogshead, cask #50252, 232 bottles) Colour: straw. Nose: ah, this one is particularly mineral and even chalky, and perhaps less a fruit bomb than other 1995s from the same excellent bottlers. It’s even, as they now say in wine, rather saline. There’s also a little rubbed mint and perhaps notes of band-aid, as well as a good deal of cut grass. So, rather more austere than others, with rather green plums at the fruit department. With water: gets a little rounder and easier, with ‘sweeter’ fruits. My beloved mirabelles! Orange juice. Mouth (neat): more fruits! Lemon-forward muesli or something, many acidic fruits (green gooseberries and greengages), and a tart, rather biting side that certainly not unpleasant. Did they distil muscadet? With water: once again it gets rounder, without losing its lovely vivacity. Finish: medium, zesty, citrusy… Grassier aftertaste. Comments: another ‘wine malt’. If you like them ‘angular and chiselled’ as much as this little taster… SGP:561 - 88 points. |
Let’s find another interesting indie in the Imperial pigeonhole, perhaps one that’s rather younger… |
Imperial 15 yo 1996/2011 (51.3%, Duncan Taylor, Dead End Whisky Club, hogshead, sherry octave finish) Sorry, no picture. Colour: dark gold. Nose: traces of oak flying around, plus many raisins and notes of earl grey tea, with this chalkiness again in the background, as well as marmalade. With water: awesome. I’m not too fond of all these octaves, they often display much pencil shaving and other woody aromas, but this time it works very well. Chartreuse aged in American oak, or something… But it soon goes towards butterscotch. Mouth (neat): very rich, raisiny and oaky, lemony… Grapefruit and tobacco. With water: the herbal side comes to the front. Oak-aged chartreuse again, but the oak got a little too loud this time. ‘Sawdusty’. Finish: rather long, with oak tannins and a lot of tea. Pepper, cinnamon. Comments: I had it at a rather high score for a while, but water makes the oak stand out on your palate. A solid bottle nevertheless. SGP:461 - 80 points. |
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August 24, 2016 |
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Little duets, today 40 yo Speyside |
You know them, some are said to be Glenfarclas, others Cragganmore, and sometimes even the bottlers have no clues. Seriously, yes, even after five beers at the bar! But they’re often wonderful… |
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William Cadenhead Speyside 40 yo (40.2%, Cadenhead, 2016) A single malt, said to come from that classy Speyside distillery near where Bob Dylan has (or had?) a house. No, that’s not Malibu… Colour: straw. Nose: oh, typical old cask that ‘went down’ quite a lot, but without having gotten flabby or simply dead. One aroma I often find in these old whiskies is bananas. Other than that, we have herbs (verbena, wormwood) and assorted overripe apples. It’s pretty delicate and indeed lightish, let’s hope it won’t sink on our palates. Mouth: it does not, thanks to some rather marvellous fruits that do fight the obvious oak (tea) and keep the whole afloat. Overripe apples again, bananas again (and touches of mangos), some marzipan, and perhaps a spoonful of chestnut purée, with this light tannicity. Finish: medium, with the oak starting to dominate (green spices, banana skin). But it never gets drying. Comments: the equivalent of some old chardonnay that’s still got all its teeth. Meursault, there. SGP:451 - 88 points. |
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Speyside Region 40 yo 1975/2016 (55%, The Whisky Agency, fino butt, 389 bottles) TWA and affiliated sub-bottlers often have great old undisclosed Speysiders, this should be no exception. Colour: gold. Nose: awesome. Mandarins and citrons at first, with a funny metallic side (tin box), then some fantastic notes of angelica and rhubarb, as well as very vivid whiffs of a great kirsch. Really very cherry and almond-like. And beyond that, some perfect notes of earthy tea, pu-erh style. An amazing nose, really. With water: extraordinarily mossy and ‘foresty’. Lime and moss, fern, mushrooms… And the subtlest pipe tobacco ever. Stunned. Mouth (neat): malt whisky, seriously? This is some superb old Domfrontais calvados that’s been either mis-stenciled or mislabelled, I’m dead sure about that. Can we see the papers? Fabulous notes of apples and pears of the highest grades. With water: exactly, Domfrontais. Probably pre-war. Please call the anti-calvadosporn brigade! Finish: as often with these old spirits, the finishes are a little less entrancing because the oak is finding its way. But still, it’s excellent, on… old apples! Comments: I find this one totally exceptional. It’s also true that I love a good fino – and a great old calvados. Very well done, Whisky Agency! SGP:551 - 93 points. |
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August 23, 2016 |
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Perhaps a few Teaninich for a change |
Teaninich is a huge distillery, and yet not many people know about it. Let’s have a wee bunch, and see what we can find in the ‘Teaninich’ pigeonhole in our sample library... We’ll try to tackle several decades…! |
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Teaninich 8 yo 1996/2005 (43%, Jean Boyer, Best Casks of Scotland, sherry)  Similar label. A wee bottling for France. What’s good is that it was unchill-filtered and very pale, so probably very ‘natural’, let’s see… Colour: pale white wine. Nose: raw and grassy. Porridge and leaves, aspirin tablets, grapefruit skins, cut grass, wet newspapers… Not the fruitiest malt whisky ever so far, but ‘it talks’. Mouth: good malty grassy arrival, then grapefruit juice, lime, barley, Schweppes, and a little pinesap. Very austere, but ‘close to the barley’, which we enjoy. No make-up whatsoever. Finish: rather long given the strength, grassy, leafy, very dry. Some wholegrain bread in the aftertaste. Comments: pure malt whisky, perhaps akin to what they were making in the Highlands, in the 19th century. Good and, above everything, utterly ‘honest’. SGP:361 - 83 points. |
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Teaninich 18 yo 1984/2003 (59%, Dun Bheagan, cask #5946, 642 bottles) Dun Bheagan is a brand by Ian McLeod that used to be quite big in France ten or fifteen years ago. I wouldn’t say we’re seeing many of them these days. Colour: gold. Nose: oh, an awesome sharp sherriness, full of oranges, mustard, pepper, and even wasabi. Coal, ink, more very dry stuff… And a lot of earth. With water: gets even earthier. A walk in a forest, with oranges in the pockets. But why would anyone do that? Mouth (neat): really, a lovely peppery and orange-y attack, dry, sharp, mustardy… Notes of blood oranges on top of that. With water: it’s rather the leathery side that comes to the front, which isn’t quite as good. Very oily mouth feel. Finish: long, bitterish, bitter oranges, leather, pepper, raisins... Comments: I had first thought it would be magic, but it’s just very good. SGP:461 - 85 points. |
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Teaninich 27 yo 1983/2011 (56.9%, Signatory Vintage, refill butt, cask #8074, 389 bottles) Colour: white wine. Nose: this one’s extremely mineral, I’d even call it stone-y, with some limestone, wet rocks, then some diesel oil and engine oil, before a few fruits are joining in the dancing, especially white peaches. This is very different, and probably more complex. The wonders of good refill wood. With water: fern, kelp, moss, rubbed leaves. Supreme grassiness. Mouth (neat): I find this exceptional, almost peaty, very mineral, dry, lemony, with a mushroomy side and perhaps some seaweed. Ex-Islay cask? That wouldn’t surprise me. With water: totally impressive. I’m not saying it’s not the distillate, but this sure was a magical cask. One of the most ‘old Highlands’ kind of Teaninichs I’ve ever tried. Finish: long, very precise and austere, absolutely wonderful. Smoky aftertaste (no, seriously, ex-Islay cask?) Comments: to write that this came as a surprise would be an understatement. Super high-class and one of my favourite Teaninichs ever. Agreed, not that I’ve tried hundreds of them… SGP:463 - 91 points. |
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Teaninich 32 yo 1983/2015 (47.5%, Cadenhead, Small Batch, Gold Label) Colour: white wine. I so totally love it when such old whiskies are as pale as this. Nose: ooh, this is… Silent. I mean, not totally silent, but it whispers, it speaks low, it’s shy, we should not brutalise it. Cut cactus? Moss? Paraffin? Lamp oil? Damp hay? Gravel? It’s either extremely subtle, or… dead. Let’s see… Mouth: not dead, not dead at all. Old limoncello, citrons, celery (never found this much celery in a malt whisky), fennel, verbena… So it got very herbal, yet not sharp, amazingly fresh given the age, and what I especially enjoy is the way it turns almondy. Barley water. Finish: surprisingly long, citrusy and candied, with a paraffiny background that’s totally not a flaw in this context. A funny medicinal side in the aftertaste. Camphor, balms, oils… Comments: only time can gives this to whisky – and us. This baby was fragile at times, but it’s, say luminous side totally saved it. SGP:461 - 88 points. |
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Teaninich 35 yo 1971/2006 (45%, Samaroli, cask #3574) Colour: straw. Nose: similar territories, except that this is more almondy, more phenolic, even earthier, and oh-so-subtle. In truth, I guess this cask was provided by W.M. Cadenhead. Bandages, tiger balm, embrocations, crushed mint leaves, barley water, wild thyme, borage, tea, thin mints… The problem is that with a nose such as this one, the palate could be weak and flabby… Mouth: indeed. Not that it’s weak, but it lost focus and ‘cohesiveness’. Bits and pieces everywhere, such as this ham, or this lemon, and a grassy oakiness that makes it a tad drying. But it’s still very good, do not get me wrong. Finish: rather long, but dry, grassy, with some green oak. Comments: I’m sure it was way better ten years before. When would that have been? 1996? SGP:351 - 84 points. |
Perhaps a very last one, what do you think? And since this have become a verticale, well… |
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Teaninich 20 yo 1957/1977 (80° proof, Cadenhead, black dumpy) Not the first time I’m trying this baby, but I never quite managed to give it enough time – and attention. Colour: pale gold. Nose: dry and leafy, with whiffs of lamp oil, sesame oil, cut grass, metal polish, paraffin again (and again), bresaola, Grisons meat, cigars that got dry, charcoal… It’s well in the style of these old dumpies, with this metallic side (that may have come from the caps, agreed), but this works like Marcel Proust’s Madeleine. Happy memories, with many friends involved! Mouth: it’s well alive, supremely waxy, peppery, orange-y, slightly medicinal, becoming peppery and grassy. There’s even a little salt. It’s just not too complex – while complexity’s the supreme standard in our little book. Finish: pretty long, a little coarse, grassy, with a waxy/soapy side. Comments: quite brilliant, just not totally flabbergasting. Perhaps a little too dry. SGP:362 - 89 points. |
Oh while we are at it, we could as well quickly try the 22 yo again, what do you say?... |
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Teaninich 22 yo 1957/1979 (80° proof, Cadenhead, black dumpy) You’ll have noticed that the age statement lies on the neck label this time, while it was on the main label with the 20 years old. Tiny things, salt of our lives, as they say in Goa. Colour: pale gold. Nose: wait, this is superior. It is finer, with flowers, waxes, and many very complex citrusy things. Old sauvignon blanc, for instance, or top dry riesling. Exceptional grapefruits. Oh that will be enough. Mouth: supreme indeed. Bone dry whites, lemons, lime, grapefruits, herbs… You don’t need a novel, do you? I'm not fool enough to try to write one in French, let alone in my lousy globbish… Finish: long, magnificently citrusy and mineral. All ‘green’ peppers of the creation in the aftertaste. Comments: the 22 beats the 20 fair and square. See, age does matter. SGP:462 - 92 points. |
(Merci Alain, Angus, Antoine, Diego, Joeri, and Max) |
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August 22, 2016 |
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A short verticale of Glenturret |
Glenturret’s made in the far-east. The far-east of Scotland, that is. In my experience, it’s a singular malt, and several bottlings done in the 1980s and 1990s have been very, say eccentric, and sometimes even quite weird. But things have changed and I’ve tried some very excellent recent Glenturret. Let’s check a few more… |
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Glenturret 2002/2015 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail, The MacPhail’s Collection) Colour: gold. Nose: starts with buttered parsley or something like that, goes on with some coal dust covered with lemon cream (but who would do that, S.?) and keeps going on with whiffs of damp wine cellar, with a musty side and quite some old wood. Saltpetre. A little cumin in the back of the background. Mouth: very nice, unusual and interesting, with a spicy combo that’s quite, well, unusual. Spiced chocolate (they make some excellent spiced chocolate in Spain), cloves, cracked pepper, more cumin, thyme… In fact, I’ve rarely seen this much thyme in malt whisky. The whole works well, it’s a very interesting variation on malt whisky for your bar. Finish: long given the low strength, always spicy and chocolaty. Dry, herbal, perhaps even meaty. The aftertaste is a little metallic/dusty, echoing those older bottlings that I was mentioning. Comments: a fun bottle, and I always enjoy a very different malt whisky. SGP:462 - 85 points. |
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Glenturret 21 yo 1994/2015 (51.6%, Creative Whisky Co., Exclusive Malts, 10th anniversary, 263 bottles) I’d love to share a dram with… their graphic designer. Colour: pale gold. Nose: a similar start, but this time there’s more of this ink, soot, tin, and even this paraffin that was to be found in earlier bottlings. There’s this very peculiar kind of soapiness, not obligatorily unpleasant – not at all, in fact – and a lot of lamp oil, linseed oil, and perhaps a drop of fusel oil. There, you have it. With water: broken branches, fresh butter, more linseed oil… Mouth (neat): yeah well, it does have that ‘Glenturretness’. Soaped grass and herbs, lemon peel, sour juices, copper, lemon squash… It’s very unusual, to say the least. With water: the soapiness comes to the front. Finish: quite long, with much more lemon, which kind of puts it straight. Comments: the soapiness is very different from, say Bowmore’s in the 1980s, it’s much less floral, and much more ‘natural’. Or say ‘mineral’. In a way, it is an historical bottling. For malt exegetes? Completists? Rock-and-Rollers? Pete Doherty? SGP:362 - 77 points. |
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Glenturret 37 yo 1977/2014 (48.2%, Sansibar, 90 bottles) Another micro-bottling. Not quite garage whisky though, garage whisky (as in garage wine) is rather what’s cooking up in Dornoch these days… Excuse me? Ah yes, Loch Ewe… Colour: gold. Nose: these are the miraculous batches. Little weird old-Glenturretness, and rather soups and stewed vegetables plus banana skin and pinesap. What’s really striking hard are guavas, those love-them-or-hate-them fruits that, well, I love. Also moss, fern, and mushrooms. Is this autumn yet? Mouth: really very unusual. More pinesap, Vicks, eucalyptus, liquorice and menthol drops, fir liqueur, Jägermeister, old wood (several, thuja, cedar, oak), hashish, citrons, natural rubber… Finish: long, still funny, and very sappy. Some kind of monk’s concoction that’s supposed to cure anything. Abbey liqueur. Straight oak in the aftertaste. Comments: certainly not catholic ;-) or kosher, but once again, these very different whiskies can be superlatively entertaining. Funny old whisky. SGP:472 - 86 points. |
Hold on, while we’re at it… |
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Glenturret 35 yo 1977/2013 (49.2%, The Whisky Agency, Private Stock, refill hogshead, 227 bottles) Colour: gold. Nose: a similar mentholy style, and again ideas of Vicks Vaporub, except that some perfect tropical fruits are bringing balance and easiness to the combo. Mangos, for instance. Small pink bananas as well, don’t remember their name. Hints of thuja wood as well, Moroccan artisan chessboards (yeah well), fresh hazelnuts… Perhaps a little fresh paint as well? There’s always something happening in Glenturret. Mouth: just between us, the oak’s a little too loud. Gritty tannins and overinfused green tea, grapefruit skin… Actually, the grapefruit saves it, because once the citrusy side starts to roar and sing, the oak is beating a retreat. Good! Finish: long, but the greenish oak is back. But there are also passion fruits, and indeed grapefruits. Ends up biting your lips, as if you had quaffed freshly squeezed lemon juice. Comments: hard to assess, hard to score. Rather extreme. SGP:471 - 85 points. |
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August 19, 2016 |
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Little duets, Inchmurrin versus Croftengea |
When we tried some Loch Lomond the other day, I wrote that I would soon taste some Inchmurrin too, and today is the day. But rather than an OB, we’ll have some indie by Signatory, just for fun. I find it great that they would bottle this pretty unknown name! And then, another surprise made at Loch Lomond… Croftengea. Because you may remember that they make different styles of malts, grains and blends at Loch Lomond Distillery, with names such as Inchfad, Rhosdhu, Craiglodge, Inchmoan, or indeed Inchmurrin and Croftengea. You’ll easily find their characteristics on the Web. |
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Inchmurrin 18 yo 1996/2015 (43%, Signatory Vintage, refill butt, cask #30, 658 bottles) We tried some sister whisky last year (cask #24+25) and found it good (WF 79). Always been fond of this series, as Cosmo Kramer would have said, “no fuss, Scotch!” Colour: white wine (very refill!) Nose: porridge and bread, yeast and beer, that’s the spirit. Also caraway and gingerbread, I’d say. In a way, we’re close to many a new craft malt whisky, except that those would be 18 months old, not 18 years. Mouth: so very unusual! Bread again, Alsatian anis bredala, wholegrain bread, ale, hops, pine nuts, porridge, lager beer… What’s totally great is that while I think we could find some in other Inchmurrins or other whiskies by Loch Lomond, there are almost no feinty notes, and not even one hint of baby vomit. Finish: rather short, but very bready. Ashy aftertaste. Comments: love love love, I’m glad this bottling exists, even if it’s no Brora 1972. SGP:352 - 80 points. |
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Croftengea 10 yo (56.6%, Single Cask Nation, refill bourbon hogshead, cask #486, 133 bottles) Wrong picture but the layout should be the same. It’s not often that you come across some of this peated Loch Lomond, I only remember bottles by The Whisky Fair in Germany, around ten years ago. Guess I’ve still got some in the bunker. Oh and the former owners had one too, a 1996/2005 that has been to my liking (WF 80). Colour: pale white wine. Nose: totally unusual. Bakelite, tarry ropes, bicycle shed, leatherette, new tyres, a large discotheque ashtray around 4am (when we could still smoke in nightclubs), engine oil… And a brand new Chevrolet, circa 1980! With water: charcoal and carbon paper. Who remembers carbon paper? Mouth (neat): really funny. Some kind of smoked lemonade, perhaps, smoked salmon, salt, ink… and really a lot of smoke. It’s mega-smoky! With water: gets almost civilised, gentler, certainly cleaner, with notes of lemon, kippers, and smoked tea. Less ashy. Finish: rather long, saltier, more lemony. Comments: a great surprise, I had thought it would be a little wobbly and uncertain, but I think it’s actually very well made. And probably very well selected, it beats quite a few peaters from Scotland’s mainland. And some from the islands too. SGP:447 - 86 points. |
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August 18, 2016 |
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Little duets, today indie Aberlour |
In theory, we should find truckloads of western orchard fruits today, since these babies will be un-sherried, let’s see… |
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Aberlour 21 yo 1995/2016 (51.5%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, refill hogshead, cask ref #DL 11063, 278 bottles) Colour: white wine. Nose: indeed, starts with a little varnish and acetone (nail polish remover), but goes on with many ‘western’ fruits, gooseberries, greengages, apples, white currants, while there are touches of ‘good’ sulphur in the background (flinty sulphur rather than eggs or cabbage, or even raw native sulphur). With water: more of all that. Swims well but doesn’t change much. Perhaps a little more clay? Mouth (neat): it’s really powerful, and probably one of the most ‘naked’ middle-aged Aberlours I’ve tried to this day. Brutal fruits and bitter grasses, cider apples, green melons, lemon zests… It reminds of some young Rosebanks. With water: this feeling of sweets covered with grass juice and even bitter rocket salad. A sharp Aberlour! Finish: long, and very grassy. Cinchona in the aftertaste, Campari, lemon… Comments: quite beastly! The equivalent of A’bunadh, only without any sherry. SGP:471 - 85 points. |
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Aberlour-Glenlivet 25 yo 1990/2016 (51.4%, Cadenhead, Small Batch) Colour: white wine. Nose: similar, which was to be expected, but rounder and smoother, seemingly, with a little vanilla. Mirabelles and quinces plus ripe gooseberries and fermenting apples. Make that artisan cider. With water: it’s the barley that becomes more talkative, with a little brioche, dough, croissants (and why not?) Mouth (neat): really lovely and very typically Aberlour, one of the fruitiest spirits up there. Oranges, more mirabelles, more quinces (as jelly) and more ‘sweet’ apples. Say golden delicious, but I’m no apple expert. Solid body at this strength, of course. With water: oh it’s getting a little tropical! Guavas, perhaps? Also pears. Finish: quite long, very ‘natural’, malty and fruity. Comments: a relatively smoother, and more mature naked Aberlour. Really does the job. SGP:561 - 87 points. |
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August 17, 2016 |
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Little duets, Mortlach 44 years apart |
Some Mortlachs are very meaty and fat (shan’t we call them beef-bouillony?), while others are brighter and fruitier, and kind of mimicking their neighbours up there. We won’t try any of the premiumised officials today, rather some indies… |
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Mortlach 18 yo 1998/2016 (55.8%, Signatory Vintage for The Whisky Exchange, sherry finished hogshead, cask #5, 681 bottles) TWE’s latest bottlings have all been excellent, kudos. Now, no one never fails (sardonic laughter…) Colour: amber. Nose: has there ever been a Flora and Fauna at cask strength? I don’t seem to remember any, but this is how they would have ‘nosed’, I imagine. Good sulphur, good roasted nuts, good polished wood (and new upholstery), quite a lot of menthol and eucalyptus, and then some kind of earthy fruitiness. Fallen cherries on the ground (under the cherry tree, obviously). With water: more polished oak. Visiting a carpenter (who’s drinking oloroso). Big pencil shavings. Mouth (neat): feels a little ‘doped’, perhaps, with quite a lot of sweet and spicy wood extracts (black toffee, tobacco, black tea) but this huge arrival just works. Goes on with more beefy notes, beef jerky, marrow, Grisons meat… This is very Mortlach, to say the least! With water: bitter oranges and more pencil shavings. Finish: as long as a Fidel speech, with some tobacco (cigars, obviously) and bitter chocolate. Comments: huge whisky, perhaps a little tiring, but a perfect example of the make, as they used to say in 1980’s marketing brochures. As subtle as a sledgehammer at times, but quite great imho. SGP:562 - 85 points. |
And so, forty-four years earlier… |
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Mortlach 1954/2012 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail, Rare Vintage, first fill sherry butt, cask #494, 347 bottles) With the traditional ‘eagle label’. That is right, this baby’s almost sixty years old. An earlier bottling (in 2008) had been quite balsamic (WF 86). Colour: coffee with a greenish tinge. Nose: you would think you’re nosing an old oloroso, somewhere in Andalucia. Old walnuts, barbecue smoke, mutton suet, old camphor cream, a box of Cuban puros, and roasted chestnuts. The words ‘medicinal tobacco’ springs to mind, but that would be an oxymoron, wouldn’t it. Mouth: hurray! Seriously, I was afraid it would have gotten too dry and cardboardy, but no so, not at all. Eating some tobacco from your untipped Gauloise (you know, adolescence memories), eating chocolate fudge (we used to have a thing called Carambar in France), drinking some old-style very black tea, and crunching ultra-roasted pecan nuts. And coffee beans while we’re at it. Woody yet not dryingly tannic, you cannot expect much more from a 60yo ex-sherry malt whisky, can you. Finish: quite long, and all on coffee, tobacco, and bitter chocolate. Marmalade in the aftertaste, always great in this context. Perhaps Corinth raisins as well. Comments: some miracle in a bottle. And psssst, the price is very fair given the age. SGP:462 - 90 points. |
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Today: BRAZILIAN JAZZ. Performer: even more of WF favourite Hermeto Pascoal to celebrate the Olympics. Track: Renan. Please visit his website and buy his music... |
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August 16, 2016 |
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Young Ledaig vs. Old Tobermory |
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Tobermory 2007/2015 (52.3%, Beacon Spirits, 169 bottles) This is actually Ledaig. Please fasten your seat belt, recent vintages of Ledaig have been consistently and constantly astounding in my book. The more recent, the better! Colour: pale white wine. Nose: I’ve promised that I would stop claiming that younger Ledaigs are the new <please insert name of famous Kildalton distillery here>. So I won’t tell you what I think. What is sure is that it’s appropriately tarry/sooty, with a garden bonfire in the background and a large plate of oysters, some smoked. Ever tried smoked oysters? Iodine, of course. With water: hessian and almond oil, bandages and paint thinner. Mouth (neat): dazzlingly fresh, smoky, salty, lemony, crystalline, and tarry. Seawater blended with limejuice and a drop of engine oil. Make that three drops. With water: turpentine, plasticine, lemon juice, brine, just like in <please insert name of famous Kildalton distillery here>. Finish: ashy almonds plus seawater, anchovies in salt, tar. Comments: hope they won’t send a vial into space! SGP:467 - 90 points. |
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Tobermory 42 yo 1973/2016 (47.7%, OB, 650 bottles) According to some sources it seems that this old baby’s been finished in oloroso, but some other sources state that it was a full-maturing in sherry. Hope the latter are right, let’s see… Colour: amber/coffee. Nose: old oak and other woods all over the place. New humidor, thuja wood, wax polish… Then more and more tobacco, pipes and cigars (in an old wooden box), roasted pecans and walnuts, heavy toffee, and then this very tiny touch of new plastic than could be found in many older Tobermories, bordering leather. A tablespoon of Chinese plum sauce. Mouth: very oaky, extractive, spicy… Oak essences (menthol, eugenol – I think), bay leaves, cloves, very bitter orange marmalade, black pepper… All this is very extreme, and even biting at times. Perhaps a little tiring, I cannot imagine quaffing more than one centilitre of this in one hour. Goes more towards ‘extreme’ liquorice after one minute or two, Scandinavian-style. Finish: extremely long, tannic and spicy, with more bitter oranges in the background. Comments: at £2,500 a bottle, it’s probably not the best B-F-Y-B whisky that came out this year. And boy does this pachydermic old whisky have oak! SGP:581 - 82 points. |
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Today: BRAZILIAN JAZZ. Performer: even more of WF favourite Hermeto Pascoal. Track: Taynara. Please visit his website and buy his music... |
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August 15, 2016 |
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New Kilkerran 12 and friend |
The new and first core-of-range Kilkerran is out, let’s try it. Yeah I’ve decided not to rack my brain today. |
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Kilkerran 12 yo (46%, OB, 2016) That’s right, the first ‘regular’ expression of Glengyle/Kilkerran, after the various ‘WIPs’ that have almost all been very convincing. Although I preferred the bourbon versions, but that’s a matter of taste. Love the no-fuss label by the way. Colour: straw. Nose: pristine lemony/chalky/sooty start, then rather broken branches and a touch of liquorice wood, as well as hints of bandages and tiger balm. Perhaps barbecued herbs, perhaps thyme and rosemary? I can’t seem to find anything bad to say about this nose. Mouth: impeccably old-style, sooty, rather peaty, peppery, lemony, and really very salty. It is totally distillate-forward, which is always something we enjoy at WF Towers. I find there’s something ‘old Springbank’ to this baby that goes straight into my personal pantheon of readily available large-batch malts. Finish: long, with perhaps a few more notes of bonbons, but the salty tang and the lingering peppery peat still play first fiddles. Comments: ah, yes, I’ve got something bad to say, it’s a shame that this was to be expected, and that consequently, no good surprises could occur. I may write a letter… SGP:353 - 90 points. |
Yeah, go find a good sparring partner… Unless, wait, a young naked old Springbank, perhaps, to check whether my impressions were right or wrong? Rummage rummage… |
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Springbank 8 yo 'Glens Extra' (70°proof, Robert Watson Aberdeen, 75cl, 1960's) We’ve already tried other versions of Glens Extra, which was some pure young Springbank bottled for Italy. Robert Watson was one of Cadenhead’s sub-brands. This very bottling had a black screw cap, while others had golden ones, but we all know that that doesn’t mean too much. Anyway… Colour: white wine. Nose: well, hard to say, as in this one, a part of the peatiness transformed into these stunning tropical fruits that can also be found in Laphroaig and Bowmore bottled at the time. Mangos and maracujas, all that. But beyond that very tropical layer of aromas, the cores seem to be similar, chalky, mineral, sooty, smoky… But this little Glens Extra is really brilliant. Mouth: this is where the Kilkerran wins, by a small margin. Not that the Springer is weaker, or not just superb, it’s simply got this paraffiny je-ne-sais-quoi that Springbank sometimes had and that’s not always totally pleasant. Other than that, it’s perfect. Chalky lemons, smoky grapefruits, and some kind of ‘green soot’. Finish: surprisingly long, and just as salty as the Kilkerran’s. Comments: same family, obviously. Which is very refreshing! Also love the fact that they carefully avoided any stupid ‘innovations’ with the Kilkerran. You only have to innovate when what you’ve already got isn’t perfect, am I not right? SGP:452 - 89 points. |
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Today: BRAZILIAN JAZZ. Performer: more of WF favourite Hermeto Pascoal. Track: Celso. Please visit his website and buy his music... |
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Best
malts I had these weeks - 90+
points only
Glendronach 19 yo 1995/2015 (54.6%, OB, for Taiwan, oloroso sherry puncheon, cask #5086, 607 bottles)
Kilkerran 12 yo (46%, OB, 2016)
Mortlach 1954/2012 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail, Rare Vintage, first fill sherry butt, cask #494, 347 bottles)
Speyside Region 40 yo 1975/2016 (55%, The Whisky Agency, fino butt, 389 bottles)
Teaninich 27 yo 1983/2011 (56.9%, Signatory Vintage, refill butt, cask #8074, 389 bottles)
Teaninich 22 yo 1957/1979 (80° proof, Cadenhead, black dumpy)
Tobermory 2007/2015 (52.3%, Beacon Spirits, 169 bottles)
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