A Birthday Session, 1960 in Martinique, Scotland and Japan

September 20, 2014

	A Birthday Session, 1960 in Martinique, Scotland and Japan
	It's my birthday today. For this special occasion I decided to choose three spirits that were distilled in my birth year. That, I agree, doesn’t make much sense, as it’s only a number, but I also wanted to select three very different aged distillates, for once, while keeping some kind of coherence, which will be that common vintage, 1960. Other than that, well, this is just a normal session!

Habitation Saint Etienne 1960 (45%, OB, Martinique, +/-2013)

This baby was distilled at the original Habitation Saint Etienne, which got closed in 1988. The brand’s still in use, and even alive and kicking, but it’s been ‘squeezed’ as HSE. There are many great bottles under that name, by the way, but the spirit can’t be exactly the same as the original, unless it was distilled before 1988. Please note that this rhum was probably poured into inert containers (demijohns or bottles?) some time in the 1980s or 1990s, so it might have aged only for around 20 years. Probably for the better if you ask me, the rhum was lying in La Martinique’s tropical climate. Colour: dark red amber. Nose: an extreme smoothness, the whole being extremely delicate, elegantly fragrant, with some sultanas, touches of ylang-ylang, some honeysuckle, oriental pastries and then whiffs of old humidor as well as hints of dried figs and dates. Keywords: elegance and mellowness. It’s not very sugarcane-y, having said that, and one could have mistaken it for some old cognac. Remember, old spirits tend to converge! Mouth: the oak feels, and it starts grittier than expected, punchier as well, with a faint grapey side (cognac again.) The good news is that that all that tends to mingle and to become smoother, with raisins again, dried papaya slices, a tiny touch of mustard or even wasabi, then more bitter chocolate. Some tannins for sure. Strong black tea. Finish: quite long, drier, oaky and chocolaty, but always with some raisins that are the guardians of smoothness in this context. I love the hints of black olives and liquorice in the aftertaste. Comments: a superb nose and a palate that tends to be a notch too oaky for me, that’s an old story as far as… old spirits are concerned. But it remains a very great old spirit for sure. SGP:562 - 89 points.

Macallan 1960 (80°proof, OB, Campbell, Hope & King, Rinaldi Italy, +/-1975)

A famous series, all whiskies being 15 years of age, although that was not always advertised. I’ve tried quite a few vintages from 1946 to 1963, all ex-sherry wood, but I had kept the 1960 for this special occasion. Now’s the time. Colour: dark amber. Nose: both the resemblance and the differences are striking. Did they use to add a bit of rum into Macallan at CH&K? Of course I’m joking, what’s similar is the ‘old humidor’ side as well as the dried fruits, while what’s obviously different is the slightly steely profile, the whiffs of roasted malt, the notes of toasted cake and the chocolate. Also the wood smoke that arises after one minute. More globally, this is obviously drier; I’d even say it’s both drier and less emphatic than many other vintages. The raisins have been burnt here. Mouth: wider, fuller and more ‘immediate’ than the rum, and without any noticeable oakiness. It’s typically old Macallan, in fact, with this sherry that does not taste like plain sherry at all, and that brings many dried fruits, from figs to raisins and from dates to prunes. No meatiness here, no gunpowder, no grapey notes, rather those fruits plus some tobacco, some fresh fruits as well (ripe bananas, perhaps) and then just one drop of cough syrup that brings even more complexity (a little wormwood, aniseed, mint, sloe, juniper…) Impeccable. Finish: long, rather round, with some chocolate, marmalade, maybe cherries in kirsch, figs… Fresh oranges in the aftertaste lift it. Comments: one of the whiskies that converted many people to malt whisky. No wonder! Even if other vintages have been even more stellar in my opinion… SGP:562 - 92 points.

Yamazaki 1960/2003 (56%, OB, Japan)

I believe this baby used to be the oldest Japanese single malt when it was launched, before being dethroned by both Yamazaki 50 yo and Karuizawa 1960. Yamazaki, as you probably know, is Japan’s oldest whisky distillery (although there are rumours of even older, so pre-1923, much smaller long-gone distilleries.) Colour: dark red amber. Nose: one can feel that this one’s spent much more time in wood, because its rather varnish and even acetone that first reach your nostrils. But as usual, those notes do get mellower, leaving room for a lot of tobacco, polished wood, roasted chestnuts and then many dried fruits and chocolates. Becomes more and more chocolaty over time, and tertiary as well. Ham, mushrooms, old Bourgogne, humus… Quite superb! With water: even more superb and incredibly complex. Marzipan, old books, old oils, sesame oil, cedar wood, a touch of caraway, turmeric, earth… A fabulous nose indeed, but with old whiskies, that doesn’t say anything about the palate. Mouth (neat): again, the oak feels, but what’s really striking is this massive coconut, there’s more coconut than in a coconut! That comes from the oak again, of course, and I have to say I’ve never tasted such a profile before. Tannic coconut milk. Not too sure this time… With water: rather curious! Coconut-and-menthol flavoured black tea, I’d say. Almond oil as well, liquorice wood… Finish: long, tannic, always with a lot of coconut and some bitter chocolate. Very cocoaty (excuse me?) Comments: I found the nose totally impressive, probably one of the greatest noses ever once the varnish had vanished (good one!), but in my book, the palate was rather too oaky - even if that was high quality oak. SGP:471 - 87 points.

(Muchas gracias, Cyril, Emmanuel and Diego)



			Today: DISCO JAZZ or birthday party music? Performer: Les McCann with Houston Person. Track: don't fear the disco beat in Road Warriors. Please visit Les McCann's website and buy his music...