Cock-and-bull trio No.11, Imperial, Blair Atholl (ha), Glenlivet

November 10, 2013

Cock-and-bull trio No.11, Imperial, Blair Atholl (ha), Glenlivet

Let's see what we can find today... We'll try to keep all this relatively light.

Imperial 1995/2013 (45%, Gordon & MacPhail for La Maison du Whisky, first fill sherry butt, cask #4887)

Colour: light gold. Nose: hmm, maybe not quite. Starts a little butyric and grassy, without the big fruits that we usually find in Imperial. Some porridge, vanilla, something faintly medicinal (right, feintly medicinal too), some cardboard, a little clay or mud... Not a sexy imperial for sure. Maybe is it all happening on the palate? Mouth: a little better but it's a little sour, with some beer, a little burnt wood, touches of salt... An unlikely one. Finish: rather long and even saltier. Surprisingly salty. Salted caramel. Comments: as strange one, I must be impervious to this baby's (hidden) charms. Strange that G&M and LMdW chose this one, all the other new ones I could already try have been on another planet. SGP:251 - 75 points.

Blair Atholl 23 yo 1989/2013 (46%, The Coopers Choice, cask #6502, 280 bottles)

Right, Blair Atholl with two Ls. Who cares, after all? Colour: straw. Nose: a waxy Blair Athol(l), also firmer and more mineral than usual. Nice whiffs of moss, leaves, fern and pine needles, then more cider. Little fruitiness or sweetness so far. Mouth: starts a little bizarrely, fizzy and lemonade-y. Tonic water, bitter oranges... Schweppes? Some pepper too as well as a wee soapiness. A little hard. Finish: rather long, bitter, green... Strong green tea. Comments: it's not especially flawed, it's just that it doesn't offer much pleasure in my opinion. SGP:361 - 74 points.

I think we need another one by The Coopers Choice, I know there are much better ones among their new or recent bottlings. Maybe this one?...

Glenlivet 14 yo 1998/2012 (46%, The Coopers Choice, cask #6914, 260 bottles)

I'm cheating a bit, we all know that Coopers Choice have magnificent sherried Glenlivet! Colour: gold. Nose: no huge sherry, but this chocolaty and tobacco-like combo works very well. Refill sherry hogshead? Raisins, cigars, liquorice, a pack of mint lozenges... Mouth: very excellent. I especially like the pretty big notes of dried pears (that would be williams pears), a slightly smoky kind of chocolate, the few bitter herbs (and cloves), the raisins and the coffee. Good body. Finish: long, slightly flintier. Bitter chocolate, raisins, touches of rum. More pepper in the aftertaste. Comments: now we're talking! But I was expecting that... SGP:451 - 87 points.