
June 6, 2016

Blends reloaded

Blends used to leave us cold (yes I know there are some stunning ones, but there are many more stunning malts if you ask me). But since some very skilled malt people now issue more blends as well, and do it well, we’re just following the trend and the flow. But let’s start with some old popular large-volume ones, as the aperitifs…

Té Bheag Nan Eilean (40%, Praban Na Linne, blend, +/-2015)

A whisky that’s been quite successful in France since 15 years or so, since it’s been positioned as a ‘Gaelic whisky’. Said to be 8 to 10 years old. The company’s Poit Dhubh malt is perhaps more famous, and I remember an older 21 that was stellar. Colour: gold. Nose: good smoky maltiness, but I find the whole dry and unsexy. Some cardboard, perhaps. Let’s move on… Mouth: this is better. Some peat and lemon, some brine, some malt, some smoke… It’s a little wishy-washy, like some Islay Mists NAS could be, but it’s perfectly potable. Finish: not much, but on the other hand, there are lovely hints of leafy peat smoke, like in some Caol Ilas. Comments: one of the rare real peaty blends. A shame that it’s rather on the weaker side. SGP:344 - 77 points.

Grand Macnish (43%, OB, blend, +/-2015)

Everyone knows the Grand Macnish, but I do not know many friends who’ve actually dared tasting it. Now a famous whisky writer tried it, awarded it 89 points, and wrote that it’s ‘For those who prefer their whisky with character, eccentricity and attitude rather than water.’ That’s totally me! (kiddin’). Colour: pale gold. Nose: not bad, since there isn’t much happening. Perhaps nuts, perhaps toasted bread, perhaps fudge, perhaps pie and tarts. That’s many perhapses. Mouth: frankly, it’s okay. Sweet, light, cake-y, undemanding but rather oily, with more texture than flavour, I’d say. It’s fresh, and it’s rather ‘fresh refill Speyside’. A mildly good surprise. Finish: short, with a little butter and a little honey. Comments: forget about the nose, but I found the palate rather flawless. I could drink this humble blend that’s certainly not worse than some new NAS malts (no, no names). And much cheaper. SGP:441 - 75 points.

Blend No 888 (40%, House of Macduff, blend, +/-2015)

This by the same people who are doing the ‘Golden Cask’ malt line. As you may have guessed, the name and the packaging are meant to appeal to our most distinguished Chinese friends. Colour: gold. Nose: nada, niente, nichts, rien, really not much. Wood, perhaps porridge, perhaps maize syrup. Now there’s a wee leafy side in the background, that’s not too bad. Mouth: another one that’s not too bad on your palate, even if there’s a dirty-ish earthiness that’s a little disturbing. No, wait, it goes astray, with some raw alcohol and a feeling of cheap fruit liqueur. On the other hand, there’s a little good malt. Finish: short, dispensable. Calls for water – to flush it away. Comments: in truth there are some ‘good’ sides, akin to those of Johnnie Walker Red, but there are also a few flaws. Perhaps for cocktails. SGP:431 - 68 points.

Dewar's 12 yo (40%, OB, blend, +/-2016)

I think this packaging that is surfing the wave of retro is relatively new. They all start to do that, imagine new wave becomes all the rage again in two years time! But let’s see if this baby is not a waste of good Aberfeldy or Aultmore. Colour: gold. Nose: first malty, then slightly sharp and narrow, with hints of smoke and grapefruits. Not a nosing whisky, but there is ‘something’. More than in the Grand Macnish or in the 888 for sure. Mouth: ah, now we’re talking! I find this very good, surprisingly good, with good fruits, good smoke, and good malty parts. Now that Bacardi have got a nice malty portfolio, I think they could enhance their entry-level blends. Nice oranges, honey, Danish pastries, orange drops… And the body’s quite perfect. Finish: medium, a tad oriental, with baklavas and makrouts. And Turkish delights! Comments: a real good surprise, this could become my house blend (should I drink blends). And it called for the next one… SGP:541 - 80 points.

Dewar's 15 yo (40%, OB, blend, +/-2016)

These blends have also strange names. The 12 was ‘the Ancestor’ (an old Dewar moniker), while this 15 is ‘the Monarch’. More retro than that, you die. When our descendents will find these bottles in our old cupboards, they’ll think they were bottled around 1930. Colour: pale gold. Nose: perhaps not very different, just rounder, with more vanilla and biscuits. A little more floral as well, also with apple peel, which is nice. Noses like a good IPA. Hoppy whisky, that’s funny. Mouth: same league as the 12, same profile, same brightness, same maltiness. And almost the same whisky, just a tad fatter and oilier. Very good. Finish: rather long this time, feeling like 43-44% vol., which is always a great sign. The malts have taken command. Touches of herbal liqueurs, caraway, wormwood… Comments: real great work. It is blended Scotch for malt drinkers, I’d say. SGP:551 - 82 points.

Some older blend please…

Catto’s 25 yo (40%, OB, blend, decanter, 2,400 bottles, +/-2011)

Another old brand. I opened an old bottle with a spring cap the other day, it’s brilliant. This one was bottled to celebrate the brand’s 150th anniversary. Colour: gold. Nose: blends are usually more for your palate than for your nose, but I have to say that this one’s delicate and elegant, and unusual at that. I get thuja wood, smoked herbs, charcoal, fresh almonds, cashews, then dried coconut and, perhaps, this wonderful sauce that our friends the Indians cook, korma. Some action! In a blend! Mouth: excellent. Smoky, earthy, phenolic, tertiary, only the low strength is a frustrating handicap. Smoked leaves and grass, cider apples, tobacco, coffee beans, honey, malt… One question, is Highland Park one of the base malts in here? Answer on a postcard please. Finish: this is where the low strength gets even more frustrating. It’s like hearing a great jazz gig from the outside, while the night is sold out. Booo! Comments: not quite murder, but we’re close. In a way, this is like Ardbeg 30 Very Old, a kind of whisky-ish genocide. Superb juice impaired by humans (what what what?) SGP:552 - 85 points.

More power, bitte!

Blended Whisky No. 1 35 yo (46.5%, That Boutique-y Whisky Company, blend, batch 3, 1,428 bottles, 2016)

The smart and engaging people at Master of Malts are now going AS with this series, which I find very smart. One batch won one of Whisky Magazine’s World Whiskies Awards, but since I’ve left the jury this year after a good eight or ten years (yeah, phew), I think I’ve never tried it. No, no need to contact me again, no time to lose, thank you mucho. Colour: amber. Nose: rum. Hints of flowers (dandelions and peonies), honeys, fruit ganache, and bizarrely, a little OBE. You know, these metallic mushrooms and mosses… After two minutes, you’re in a bodega in Jerez. Cheaper than an Easyjet flight and less tiresome. You’ve even got free speedy boarding. Mouth: amazing. Chocolate mints, salty liquorice, millionaire shortbread, old cognac, and a pre-war bottle of Grand-Marnier. Certainly a little rancioty (apologies). The strength is absolutely perfect. Finish: long and firmer, with some honey and leather, and maple syrup in the aftertaste. I mean, real maple syrup (hint to hotel owners who do pancakes). Comments: it’s like foie gras, I do not wanna know how they make this. There are some unpolished edges, but that’s for the (even) better. SGP:562 - 91 points.

Good, time for a last one. And why not go NAS? (I’m pleading for leniency!)

The Circus (49%, Compass Box, blend, 2016)

The composition is so complicated, involving some kind of married casks plus malt from Benrinnes. What seems to be sure is that it’s all sherry. As for the label, well, it looks like some circa 1910 Prussian chromolithography. And why not! Colour: gold. Nose: don’t we all know that CB have discovered the secret behind any great blend? Which is, you guessed it, to keep the grain content to the strict minimum? Unless you’ve got some 1960s ex-sherry Invergordon at hand, of course. Sponge cake and caramel, panettone, Mars bar, butterscotch, a spoonful of muesli. No bomb so far, but its more than fine. Mouth: hold on, I do detect grain matured in first fill wood. I may be dreaming, but that imparts a rounder profile, more chocolaty, more on Nutella (yeah, go, shoot), more on tiramisu, and more on café latte. Not totally my thing, but I know friends who’d kill for this style. De Gustibus et Coloribus non est disputandum… Finish: medium, round, vanilla-ed and pastry-like, with a little more malt in the aftertaste. Ovaltine readymade drink, you know, you just add hot water, and you get some kind of warming beverage. Nescafé. Comments: very very (and I mean very) good, just not quite my style. After all, the grain content may have been high, I was probably plain wrong again. Totally love what CB do, but I tend to like their stellar Clynelish/Islay-led compositions even better. Yeah, de Gustibus etc. indeed… SGP:631 - 82 points.

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