February 17, 2016

Another bag of blends

You may remember that last time we tried to try a flight of modern blends, we had a newish Chivas 18, then had a very old Chivas 25 for the sake of comparison, and then just couldn’t help having other very old blends for the very same reasons. In short, it all became an old blend session. So, let’s try again today…

Clan Campbell (40%, OB, blend, +/-2015)

A French bottling. Clan Campbell, together with Label 5 or Glen Peel, is one of these high-volume-low-shelf brands that made France the number 1 export market for Scotch, in volume. It is not exactly Brora 1972. Colour: yellow gold. Nose: caramel, sawdust, overripe apples, corn syrup. I repeat, caramel, sawdust, overripe apples, corn syrup. Whiffs of musty old wood. Mouth: not too good. Raw, spirity, with too much caramel, then a few dried fruits, shortbread, and plenty of pears. As they say in the army, I’ve seen much worse, but this is no ‘interesting’ whisky. One to mix. Finish: short, toasty, fairly malty, with more bitter caramel. Comments: seriously, it’s really honest, but it will need ice or soda water. I don’t think you could sell millions of bottles if there’s not some kind of quality to the juice. SGP:431 - 70 points.

William Cadenhead 12 yo (46%, Cadenhead, blend, +/-2016)

Matured as a ‘solera’, only half of the vat being bottled at one given time. So perhaps not exactly a solera, rather a kind of living cask, but that’s probably better. 65% malt, 35% grain. Nice retro label. Colour: gold. Nose: starts with sour apples and touches of gunpowder, then we have flints, ham, natural leather (you may call that Turkish souk), and perhaps the brake pads of a private Porsche after the 24 Heures du Mans. Very singular, to say the least. Mouth: very, very singular. Roasted nuts, coffee beans, bitter chocolate, sulphury ashes, smoked tea… It’s all really very unusual. Finish: long, with a little citrus jumping out of this dry chocolaty and ashy combo. Comments: we could call this ‘a debatable whisky’. I’m sure some will love it, while others will run away. Very hard to score. SGP:362 - 80 points.

Great King St. 'Artist's Blend' (43%, Compass Box, blend, +/-2015)

We had tried the first batch back in 2011, and really enjoyed it (WF 85). 46% grain, the rest being malt, so 67%. Colour: straw. Nose: some tend to find Clynelish in anything by Compass Box (guilty as charged) but I wouldn’t call this a very Clynelishy blend. It’s maybe going a little more towards Pulteneyesque aromas… Not too sure. Apples, melons, chalk, a touch of kiwi, a little sea air, a few bonbons… What’s sure is that it is not grainy despite these bonbons and bubblegum. Mouth: it all happens rather more on the palate. Sweets, bonbons, green tea, lemon, custard, some green tea (you already said that, S.)… The malts are shining through, and there’s some youth. Sugar Easter eggs – when is Easter this year? Finish: short to medium, with a salty touch. Comments: of course I was joking, that would be 54% malt. Score unchanged, even if that would rather be 84.5 – but we don’t do silly halves. I find it a little lighter. SGP:541 - 85 points.

The Lost Distilleries Blend (49.3%, The Blended Whisky Company, blend, batch #6, 534 bottles, 2015)

Another mad bottling by the mad people at Master of Malt. This time they’ve blended Mosstowie, Port Ellen, Glenisla, Imperial, Caperdonich, Glen Mhor, and Brora, plus some grain. WHAT, they have blended Brora? Where did I put my fantasy Gurkha knife? Colour: straw. Nose: yeah well, we all know the best blend recipe. 1. choose great malts. 2. blend. In this case they’ve managed to create some kind of ultra-austere, mega-mineral whisky that reeks of wet old concrete, damp ashes, brake fluid, sand, plaster, and simply ‘one old machine in a old factory’. Mouth: we’re changing directions. The lemons and grapefruit kick in, and would come with more peat (PE, I suppose), some salt, a wee touch of rounded bubblegumy notes (Mosstowie?) and ‘a farm near the sea’ (Brora, obviously). Plus some jammy fruits, such as plums, that couldn’t not come from Imperial and Caperdonich. As for Glenisla, and although I’ve tried a handful of them, I just couldn’t tell you. Certainly not the ‘peat’. And Glen Mhor? That might be this engine-y, greasy side. Finish: long, and rather ashy and peppery, although there is a little fudge and maybe sugar-coated caraway seeds (what they give you in Indian restaurants with the bill ;-)) Comments: excellent, and certainly not dissonant (which could have happened). But the question is, was the Brora even better, or not? Crikey, I really don’t seem to find my Gurkha knife, they are very lucky up there. SGP:463 - 90 points.

Home Blend 35 yo 1980/2015 (47.6%, Wilson & Morgan, Barrel Selection, sherry butt, cask #26, 529 bottles)

A vintaged blend, that’s rather unusual. Colour: golden amber. Nose: starts with touches of rum, then cognac. A meta-spirit? Now it’s the sherry that’s doing most of the job after just five seconds, with plenty of raisins and walnuts, plus touches of orange liqueur and almond oil. Also tobacco and tea, which is really really nice. Mouth: excellent arrival, flavourful, very nutty (and we’re talking walnuts, pecans, and peanuts), before it gets even more sherry-ish, with more walnuts, bitter chocolate, a touch of mustard, and, quite bizarrely, ‘ideas’ of both amaretto and maraschino. It’s as if the fact that the (excellent) bottlers are Italian does influence my perceptions. Finish: quite long, on more or less the same flavours. Chiefly tobacco and walnuts, not to forget marmalade. Comments: is there any grain whisky in there? I find this extremely well made. Che maestria! SGP:551 - 89 points.

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