December 18, 2015

Idiosyncratic Speyburn

A tribute to a few crazy young Scots who became Speyburn’s most extreme zealots – just for fun. Here’s to you guys.

Speyburn 'Bradan Orach' (40%, OB, +/-2015)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: so funny! Where else would you find caper brine and old cider, plus newspapers of the day and plenty, and I mean plenty of porridge, not to forget Kronenbourg? Really, this is so funny… Mouth: very liquid porridge seasoned with lemon juice, custard, and drops of chilli liqueur, plus a growing oakiness. Loads of sawdust, which makes the whole very drying, although the cider in the background kind of makes it kind of drinkable. Thin body. Finish: short. Peppered apple juice, perhaps? More fudge and custard in the aftertaste. Comments: so funny! One to have in the bar, just because of that – and because of its very modest price. So recommended, in a way. A funny way. SGP:331 - 69 points.

Speyburn 1991/2015 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail, Connoisseur’s Choice, refill sherry hogshead)

Part of the ‘The Wood Makes The Whisky’ series by G&M. Colour: straw. Nose: perhaps does the wood make the whisky, but in that case it was some oak that tasted just like some good Speyburn, which was quite a coincidence. Dusty porridge, ink, carbon paper, brake dust, overripe apple juice, Gueuze beer, croissants, and butter. A little butyric, perhaps… Also sauna notes. Mouth: much more depth and zing than the OB. Stats with some great fresh parsley, dill, and sorrel, which is unusual, and rather goes on with a slightly dusty maltiness, partly mineral and partly spicy. Very far from being unpleasant, and this ‘old skool’ profile is actually just lovely. Now, would the vodka-fuelled Millenials drink this? Not too sure… Finish: quite long, pleasantly dirty/mineral. Old skool indeed. Cider apples, grapefruits, and custard in the aftertaste, plus pepper. Comments: a malt unlike any other indeed. SGP:362 - 81 points.

Speyburn 26 yo 1988/2015 (52.3%, Berry Bros. & Rudd, sherry, cask #2114)

Colour: pale gold. Nose: very same vein as the G&M, with infinitesimal differences. Perhaps a little more bacon this time? Because of a little more sherry? But that was probably re-re-re-refill. Custard, butter, ink, sawdust, cider. With water: strange. Lemon squash, fresh concrete, butter, paper, stewed artichokes. And in artichoke there’s… right, art. Mouth (neat): Speyburn seems to like higher strengths, the difficult parts being kind of counterbalanced. Nice creamy bitter orange liqueur, plus pepper, Gorilka vodka… With water: really unlikely. Imagine some kind of peppered and ‘sawdusted’ lemon juice… But then and once again, it’s funny. Finish: quite long, but a drying oak took control. This feeling of having just drunk a cup of over-infused tea. Some mint in the aftertaste. Comments: intriguing, challenging, amusing… You know what that means when tasters use those words, don’t you. But it’s good whisky, just, yeah, a little challenging. SGP:361 - 79 points.

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

Pete McPeat and Jack Washback