August 18, 2015

Stuff

Blends, blended malts, undisclosed distilleries, mysterious bottlings, hidden Glenfarcl… ahem… Well, anything that doesn’t bear the name of its provenance. We’ll see how far we’ll manage to go… And we’ll do that at random again, so expect quite a roller coaster.

Amber Glen (40%, Amber Glen, blended Scotch, 2015)

We already had Amber Glen’s Speyside and found it rather pleasant. As usual, we’ve been a little lazier with tasting the blend. Colour: pale gold. Nose: typical youngish Scottish blend, akin to the style of many large brands. A little pear spirit, caramel, nuts, cake, honey, sawdust, and the faintest hint of coal smoke. It’s a relatively dry style. Mouth: touches of salt in the arrival, some wax and paraffin, then bread and more pear spirit, with some candy sugar. Reminds me a bit of Whyte & Mackay. Almost forgot to mention the obligatory overripe apples. Finish: a bit short, rather dry again, with this salty touch. Comments: some kind of honest blended Scotch, without any major flaws, but probably rather for mixing. SGP:341 - 68 points.

Isle of Skye 12 yo (40%, Ian Macleod, blended Scotch, +/-2015)

This is not Talisker, mind you, and we haven’t got any proof that there’s some Talisker inside, but the brand has got a good reputation. Tasted their superb 50yo a while back, but I lost my tasting notes (booo!) Colour: deep gold (orangey gold, not always good news wrt caramel). Nose: more presence, more character, more smoke, more paraffin and more soot. It’s another rather dry nose, without much fruits, but it does have this promising smoky/coastal side. Let’s see… Mouth: indeed, it’s a ‘coastal’ style, with some brine, more mineral waxes (lamp oil?) and some bitter oranges plus orange cake. A wee bit too fudge-y and caramely in the back for me, but otherwise pretty pleasant. Finish: medium, salty, with oranges. The aftertaste is rather smoky. Comments: some kind of pre-malt for blend drinkers, perhaps. Next stations, Highland Park 12 or Talisker 10. SGP:342 - 77 points.

Mark IV (70° proof, Army & Navy Stores, blended malt, 1960s)

Let’s check what the British Army used to quaff quite a long time ago! It doesn’t say it’s a blended malt, I mean not like that, it says ‘Blend of Pot Still Whiskies’. That’s the same! Colour: bronze amber. Nose: sweet Vishnu, this is something else. A perfect earthy, smoky, phenolic, tertiary nose. An extravagant blend of pipe and cigar tobaccos, bitter oranges, mushrooms, cough syrup, old herbal liqueurs, tar and shoe polish, earth, grapefruit liqueur… Well, this is an exceptional nose, the British army had it good. Mouth: power and smoky saltiness, with an incredible depth. The flavours are the same as those we found in the nose, more or less, plus a grassy side that keeps it fairly angular, as they say in wine. Feels more like modern 43-44% vol. Finish: that’s were it loses points, and that happens with very old bottles, it’s the drying side that comes out and that makes it a little too bitter for modern palates. A feeling of having eaten earth, cardboard, and bitter grass. Having said that, there are lovely honeyed touches in the aftertaste. Comments: I guess this baby was for the high-ranking officers only! You may now break your ranks and save your shanks. SGP:453 - 87 points.

Loch Lomond 'Single Blend' (40%, OB, blend, +/-2015)

Fun stuff, this. Since both the grain and the malt have been made in the same facility, it’s well a single blend, just like Lochside or Ben Nevis used to do quite a long time ago. What I don’t quite know is whether it was blended and then matured, so blended at birth, or not. I’m not sure tasting it will tell… Colour: gold. Nose: carbon paper, cardboard, baker’s yeast, soot, porridge, old vase water. In fact, there isn’t much happening. Mouth: we’ve tasted much worse. Orange squash plus nutmeg, cardboard, pepper, grass, fruit peelings… I have to say all these oranges, especially bitter ones, do work. It’s a rather rough blend, but I find it honest and, above all, un-fiddled-with. You do not feel a bitterish caramel. Finish: pretty long, rather malty and cake-y. Comments: it seems that it’s a high-malt content blend, unless I’m mistaken. Good and faithful, a rather good surprise. SGP:351 - 72 points.

Anon. 13 yo 2001/2015 (51.5%, Abbey Whisky, The Rare Casks, single malt)

Gasp, they wouldn’t even tell us about the region! Colour: gold. Nose: malt galore. Breads, porridges, cakes, fudges, shortbreads, leaven, praline, custard… What I particularly like in this nose is its bready/malty side, and the discreet touches of mezcal or tequila that do come through. Agave and maple syrups. With water: oh this baby swims very well. Its clean, pure, well-ripened malt whisky. Fresh brioche flavoured with orange blossom water. You’re right, panettone. Mouth (neat): I like this, really. It’s got the sourness of some well-made bread (not the supermarket junk), this praline again, a few raisins and dried figs, and then a feeling of clear lees, very peculiar. An unusual drop for sure, with even a fino-ish side. With water: cancel that, it’s rather oak-aged marc de gewürztraminer. Finish: long, malty, raisiny. Indian Pale Ale flavoured with sultanas. Comments: how shall we call this baby? A smart drop for real malt lovers, perhaps? SGP:451 - 87 points.

Limited 13 yo 2001/2015 (51.5%, Whisky Circle Pinzgau, Germany)

Limited 13 yo 2001/2015 (51.5%, Whisky Circle Pinzgau, Austria)

Hum hum. Same age and vintage, same strength, similarly highly skilled selectioneers… But this time we’ve got better clues on the label, as it states N57° 25’ 37.189” W3° 18’ 58.892”. Which, in Google earth language, means… a little place near Marypark, north of Ballindalloch, not far from the Speyside Pottery. Ha-ha. Colour: gold. Nose: the glories of shared casks. Both whiskies are more identical than the Kessler sisters after a few mai tais. Mouth: and so I’ll tell you the story about that Scottish chef who always cooks with whisky, and who sometimes even add it to the foo… Oh, no, not again! Finish: how about the story about the guy cooking a turkey, and who… Comments: so this white horse enters a bar, and the bartender says ‘did you know we’ve got a whisky named after you’? And the horse to answer, ‘what, Dobbey?’… SGP:451 – 87 points.

PS the dangerous side of shared casks is that you could quaff glasses and glasses of each just to make sure that they’re well the same whisky. Good, things are getting a bit awry, aren’t they…

Scallywag ‘Cask Strength N°1’ (53.6%, Douglas Laing, Speyside blended malt, 2015)

The little dog seems to have been very successful at easy drinking strength (which I had found really good, but not totally stellar – WF 81), so we’re now seeing a CS version. Makes sense, doesn’t it. Colour: full gold. Nose: this one’s rounder, more cake-y, with more vanilla, easy raisins, easy pastries, easy butterscotch, easy honeys, and easy fruit pies. I don’t know of anybody who would disagree with this nose. So to speak. With water: a pure, total, and unparralelable definition of malty easiness and goodness. Is unparralelable even a word? Mouth (neat): great arrival, rounded, smooth, candied, honeyed, with baklavas and petits-fours, a little cider, and then more raw apples. Goes on with oranges and a pleasant fruity, slightly bittersweet maltiness. This feeling of IPA again. With water: m a l t w h i s k y. Finish: quite long, on more malt, chicory, brown beer, cakes, biscuits, honeys, and all that. Comments: I’d say it’s one to have in your bar and to pour to your friends who would wonder about the Speyside style. Just perfect and yet a little forgettable, perhaps. SGP:551 - 85 points.

Good, do we have room for one more? Just one?... And not just any?...

Repeat (57.2%, stupidcask.de, peat cask finish, +/-2014?)

Repeat (57.2%, stupidcask.de, peat cask finish, +/-2008) A stupid whisky imagined by the very crazy people at Cadenhead Berlin, who are smart and knowledgeable enough not to take themselves seriously. I’m asking you, how could anyone working in the booze business take himself seriously? They’re not gastroenterologists, are they? This is the same whisky as the infamous ‘Fishky’ that was finished in herring casks, but it’s been finished in a peat cask instead. Finishing an unpeated whisky from the Rhinns of Islay in a peaty cask, how… stupid – and funny - is that? Colour: coffee. Where does this colour come from? Nose: seriously, this is nice! Blackberry jam and olive brine plus tamarind and Finnish tar liqueur, plus this very unusual fruitiness that can be found in some green teas. No I couldn’t better describe it. With water: chestnut purée, cigars, garden peat, old musty cellar, black earth... Mouth (neat): well well well, this is more difficult. Buy a palette of Lagavulin 16, pour into a huge pan, and cook for two weeks. Thick as Port, and perhaps a little plastic-y. Oh, I forgot to tell you, add a litre of paint to your Lagavulins. No, the colour doesn’t matter. With water: you’re eating earth. Finish: very long (kills you session but we knew that was going to happen). Very earthy, and always quite ‘painty’. Blood oranges and bitter oranges in the aftertaste. Comments: not that stupid, I have to say, but whacky and shaky it is. I’m even wondering if there wasn’t a little VA. Yes that would be volatile acidity. SGP:465 - around 75 points, perhaps, because of the nose, but very funny.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: contrarily to what I had thought (silly me), this baby's actually a peated Islay, finished in a cask that was almost half full with Islay peat. Unfiltered, hence the colour.'

(With thanks to Klaus, Phil, Simon)