December 4, 2015

Grainy days

The big distillers are really pushing their single grains these days, perhaps because the blends don't sell too well. When you can't sell the whole, try to sell the parts for heavier prices, you never know, that may work. Because remember the magical word is 'single', so the average Joe might believe a single grain is something more prestigious than a blend. I remember, in the old days, you only had Cameron Brig, William’s Grant’s Black Barrel, and the occasional official North British. But today, these silent spirits are really trying to catch more light… Shall we call them industrial whiskies? Mass-produced flavoured ethanol? Maybe not, let’s see… And we’ll try not to be too harsh because… well, some good friends like their grain whiskies. You know, a matter of empathy, just when the world needs it…

Port Dundas 12 yo (40%, OB, single grain, 2015)

Port Dundas was a very important distilling facility at Diageo’s, but they closed it down in 2010. And there is some stock… It appears that this baby’s solely for the USA. Colour: pale gold. Nose: very light, as expected, and indeed almost silent, but there are interesting citric whiffs, as well as wee touches of windshield washer fluid. Nicer than it sounds, I can assure you. Mouth: light rum, with coconut and vanilla. Very thin body. I don’t think the distillate has much to tell us, but in a way, this is kind of pleasant. All you need is a lot of ice and a swimming pool. No, not the Kardashians. Finish: nonexistent. Comments: one of the lightest spirits I’ve ever tried. Not repulsive at all, but indeed, ice is mandatory. Maybe not one for us, rather for retired footballers again? SGP:620 - 65 points.

Port Dundas 18 yo (43%, OB, single grain, 2015)

Colour: gold. Nose: a little more depth, perhaps, but I wouldn’t call this ‘a nose’. A wee chalkiness, a touch of vanilla, today’s newspapers, a little grated coconut… And perhaps some corn syrup. Visiting a carpenter’s. Mouth: lactones, vanillin, coconut oil, ginger, blended herbal tea, saccharine, sawdust. Finish: short, oaky. Sourish aftertaste. Perhaps a touch of lemon, which is welcome. Comments: it’s not that I’m deep in despair, but at around USD 100.00, come on… Almost makes me want to put the much nicer 12 years old at 70 points, retrospectively. One of the thinnest whiskies out there, the absolute anti-Brora. SGP:630 - 60 points.

Caledonian 40 yo 1974/2015 ‘The Cally’ (53.3%, OB, single grain, Limited Release, 5060 bottles)

Lovely half-pre-Castro-Cuban, half-Alfred-Barnard-era label. The whisky industry will soon call a guy named Gutenberg at the current rate ;-). Nah, Da Vinci’s too expensive. More seriously, we haven’t tried many Caledonians so far, let’s simply remember that the Haymarket distillery (Edinburgh) was closed in 1987. So, as far as grains are concerned, this is a historical bottling. Colour: gold. Nose: ha, now we’re talking! And we’re talking… Irish. Seriously, you’d think this is pure pot still whiskey, with overripe apples, butterscotch, and this very peculiar metallic side that just works in this context. And of course there’s plenty of vanilla and coconut. Fresh and vibrant, certainly not ’40 years’. I quite like this so far. With water: I like it even more. Some kind of softer bourbon, perhaps. No rye, though. Mouth (neat): very good, I think. It’s not malt whisky, obviously, but it’s got depth and structure, and all this tropical stuff (Irish indeed) just works. Mango chutney covered with buttered caramel and coconut liqueur, plus mandarin liqueur and perhaps Turkish delights. Goody good, and the oak never comes in the way. Meringue. With water: really very good. No oaky ventures, only stewed fruits and various pastries, including oriental ones. Finish: quite short, as expected, but clean, fruity, and praline-like. Comments: I haven’t checked the price, but if it’s fair(ish), it’s a good bottle to own to show your friends that grain whisky’s not always only oak-flavoured ethanol. I really like it very, very mucho. SGP:640 - 89 points.

Oh well, while we’re at it, let’s have more bread! I mean, more grain…

Invergordon 1988/2015 ‘The Nose Art’ (47.4%, Whisky-Doris, bourbon hogshead, cask #8096, 141 bottles)

We’ve had some good Invergordon. As for the label, not sure about which one I like best, the Cally’s or this sexier one… Colour: pale gold. Nose: yeah, I had thought Invergordon would be fatter. In this case that means more white chocolate, custard, fudge, millionaire shortbread, vanilla cake, kugelhopf… And all that. Perhaps even croissants bought around 6am in Paris, according to the label… Mouth: the oak roars a bit, but there’s a funny feeling of Chinese dim-sum, with all these superb sauces they have, then roasted nuts and stout beer. A lot of chocolate as well, malt extracts (I know that’s surprising), and perhaps a little strong chestnut honey. I’m a sucker for chestnut honey, if you’ve never tried that, please do. Finish: long, and even more Chinese. Chocolate and this stunning sauce they serve with Peking duck, made with plums and I don’t-know-what-else. Only the aftertaste is a little more problematic, with some gingery oak that’s a little too much for me. Comments: certainly one of the better grain whiskies. Very well selected, Whisky-Doris! A little less sure about the label, but indeed we all need more fun in our lives. SGP:650 - 86 points.

Oh well, let’s have (almost) all grain distilleries! Is this whiskyfun or what?

Strathclyde 1988/2015 (53%, Berry Bros & Rudd, cask #62118)

Apart from a stunning 9yo (yes) by Douglas Laing, I’ve often found Strathclyde pretty ordinary. Colour: pale gold. Nose: always this lack of depth, and this very simple coconutty/vanilla-ed profile. It’s not ugly, but this was made to dilute malts and make them cheaper and easier. I’m not too fond of these notes of cheap marshmallows and acetone, not to mention all this coconut. With water: corn syrup. Mouth (neat): better, but it’s simple sweet oak, coconut, vanilla, and oranges. Very easy, sweet, perhaps a little whorish. Jelly babies, Chinese confectionary, sweet oak. With water: no time for that. Finish: yeah. Comments: at 35€, yes, at 165€, no way. Keep putting this stuff into blends please – yeah I know blends don’t sell well these days. Or, I don’t know, maybe re-distil and make luxury vodka? SGP:640 – 69 points.

I agree, this is getting boring. Lets have a last one, and let’s try to make it a great one…

Carsebridge 38 yo 1976/2015 (55.8%, Signatory Vintage, hogshead, cask #130950, 184 bottles)

Almost as old as The Cally, this may work. Or not, let’s see… Colour: gold. Nose: croissants. I mean, fresh croissants. Perhaps a little butter. And Starbuck’s café latte. Plus, maybe, a little hay. Other than that… With water: old perfume? Joy de Patou? Best of cologne? Old roses? Mouth (neat): oh, good! Tinned pineapple, bananas, tropical juice, avocado purée, mango juice, aniseed, liquorice, angelica… Yeah, sure, you can always pour grain new make into and ex-1972-Clynelish cask with plenty of devil’s cut… ha-ha. With water: no, this is seriously great. Mango purée, papaya juice, blood oranges, spice cake, Himalaya salt (yeah right)… It is quite salty indeed. Perfect texture. Finish: medium, sweet and salty. Fudge flavoured with mangos and salt. As almost always, pencil shavings in the aftertaste, which might be a little vulgar. Cheap Californian cabernet (but does that exist? I mean, cheap ones?) Comments: typical great grain whisky. Almost no nose, great palate, slightly lousy finish. Could you please cut the price in half? Because the palate is worth 90 points in my book, or even more. While the nose, well… It was purely anecdotal. But not repulsive. SGP:740 - 86 points.

Check the index of all Grains I've tasted so far