June 1, 2015

Tasting the three
Inverness distilleries again

You know, if you’ve got a whisky blog, you may have noticed that ‘big names’ pull much more traffic towards your pages than virtually unknown ones, such as the babies we’ll try today. But since at WF Towers, we’re more into quality than into quantity as far as visitors are concerned (proof, you’re reading this – yeah I know, that’s very lame), we’ll dare trying these three forgotten names today. Well, not everyone has forgotten about these Inverness distilleries, but it’s true that we haven’t seen any new bottlings since… around 2012. Not that we’re seeing them all, but let’s simply hope we’ll be able to do this again in the future…

Glen Albyn 1976/2012 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail, licensed bottling)

Closed in 1983, destroyed a few years later. Only G&M can still pull out an old Glen Albyn these days. Amazing… Especially since they may have more. Now, I wouldn’t say Glen Albyn’s my favourite Scottish distillery… Colour: gold. Nose: more old school than this, you die, as we say in France. Hay juice, cardboard, chamomile, concrete dust, these fruits that are half oranges, half lemons (aren’t they called pomelos?), plenty of grass, a little engine oil… There’s some oak as well after 36 years, but it doesn’t dominate. Its just not some very sexy whisky – unless you find History sexy. Mouth: starts with cardboard, white pepper, lemon juice and soft mustard, not something you’d see been poured to models in Ibiza, would you. In fact it’s very dry and rather drying, with little brightness, but I have to say these notes of petrol and metal polish make it movingly old school indeed. In short, this is a rare style by these days’ standards. Finish: a little short, but relatively clean for Glen Albyn, thanks to some rather lovely touches of grapefruits and citrons. I’m sorry, of pomelos. Earthier aftertaste. Comments: this dry old beast is not just a curiosity. And the price is fair, I think. And anyone needs a Glen Albyn in his cabinet – while that’s still possible. SGP:361 - 82 points.

Glen Mhor 34 yo 1975/2010 (43.3%, Mo Or Collection, bourbon hogshead, cask #4036, 170 bottles)

Glen Mhor used to be one of Glen Albyn’s two cousins. It was closed in 1983 as well, and demolished in 1986. I’d say it’s rather less rare than Glen Albyn, but I always liked it a little better. Colour: white wine (after 35 years!) Nose: much fruitier, livelier, ampler and more complex than its cousin, despite these whiffs of engine oil again, plastic, porridge, brine and mixed greens. Plenty of fruit peelings, hints of papayas, then raw rhubarb, a very funny rummy side (raw white agricole), and this chalky thing that’s always there in Invernesses whiskies. Lamp oil, graphite… Mouth: oh but this is excellent! The fruits took over, with lemons and, indeed, papayas, but it hasn’t got what the modern fruity whiskies have, that is to say a slightly dullish fruity simplicity. Lovely acridness, with some tar and liquorice, lime, earthy tea, sucking an untipped menthol cigarette (as far as I can remember), and then a lot of green tea. And green bananas – or plantains. Impressed. Finish: not too long but the vibrancy (yeah) is amazing at this age and at this strength. It remained very fresh – but remember Glen Mohr was the key component within Shackleton’s McKinlay’s. Comments: big surprise. Well, a half surprise, I’ve already tried a few great 1975s, such as Duncan Taylor’s. SGP:562 - 88 points.

Millburn 1978/1997 (65.6%, Gordon & MacPhail, Cask Series, cask #3166)

A bottle from the good old times when G&M’s Cask series and United Distillers’ Rare Malts were often fighting above the 65% vol. limit. Explosive whiskies that used to take no prisoners! As for Millburn, it was closed for good two years after Glen Albyn and Glen Mohr, so in 1985, and became a restaurant smartly called The Auld Distillery. Colour: straw. Nose: a time machine. We’re back to the times when cars, motorbikes and whiskies were truly dangerous. A lot of ethanol (and maybe other alcohols, some more lethal) on top of what seems to be a combination of tropical fruits and ripe orchard ones. Bananas and apples, if you will. Other than that, well, it burns your nostrils. With water: dust, chalk, concrete, fabric, barley, earth, gravel, clay… This is very Invernessy – I’m talking about the city’s malts. Mouth (neat): thick, very lime-y, ultra-grassy, sweet (but that may be the sweetness from alcohol) and more and more Haribo-ish. Say those little purple crocodiles… With water: it got unlikely once again, but in a sexier way. No chalk, rather citrusy fruits, or rather the jellies and jams made out of them. Spanish apple liqueur plus limoncello plus sauvignon blanc – or something like that. The strongest lemonade ever made? Finish: long, ultra-zesty. Really, very very zesty. Comments: the cask was just a vessel. The whisky’s spectacularly old-school, with a huge personality. Not 100% sure about its Haribo-ish side, though. SGP:562 - 87 points.

We’ll try to do another Glen Mohr vs. Glen Albyn vs. Millburn session this year.

	May 2015
	Favourite recent bottling: Laphroaig 15 yo '200th Anniversary' (43%, OB, 2015) - WF 90 Favourite older bottling: Glenlivet 7 yo (75° proof, Peter Thompson, early 1970s) - WF 92 Favourite bang for your buck bottling: Talisker 10 yo (45.8%, OB, +/-2014) - WF 91

Favourite malternative:
Caroni 34 yo 1974 (46%, Bristol Spirits, Trinidad, +/-2008) - WF 91

Tasting the three Inverness distilleries again

Tasting the three
Inverness distilleries again