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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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December 16, 2016 |
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The Pre-Christmas Duos
Old and new Ord by Cadenhead |
Ord is always anything but ord-inary (loud applause, S.) but I think it’s not known enough. Perhaps does that come from the fact that the owners have recently buried it under the ‘Singleton’ (common) denominator? What’s certain is that many older bottlings, both official (ah the old 5, or the 28/30 from fifteen years ago) and independent (ah some Samarolis), have been up there with the very best of Caledonia! But today, Cadenhead is on. Yep, again. And we’ll have the older one first, since the strength is much lower. |
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Ord 1964 (46%, Cadenhead for Caves Fauchon, 75cl, mid 1980s?) A very rare bottling for French grocery store Fauchon which was, and perhaps still is although I’m not too sure, the French Fortnum & Mason. The main shop still is at Place de la Madeleine in Paris but it’s become too touristy. Yeah, like Fortnum & Mason. Colour: gold. Nose: it’s rather a graceful one, perhaps less big and emphatic than other old Ords, but it does have this resinous and waxy feel that was so impressive in the square bottle of the official 30. You’re nosing a blend of propolis extract with some honeydew and fennel and dill. Perhaps a little unusual, but so lovely… Mouth: indeed, it’s one of the most ‘pinesappy’ whiskies I could try in recent times. It’s also got some meatiness, between dried beef and ham (bresaola?) and then a coal/charcoal character. Some honeydew keeps singing in the background. Finish: medium, getting drier, as often. Ashy teas and more propolis. And honeydew. Bitter oranges in the aftertaste. Comments: rather drier than expected, and so maybe a little less ‘directly wow’, but yeah, it is superb old whisky from the times of the Beatles (and?) SGP:471 - 89 points. |
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Ord 20 yo 1996/2016 (54.3%, Cadenhead, Wine Cask, 252 bottles) This strange baby was transferred to a “Château Lafitte” cask in 2009, so this is rather double maturation than a finishing. Now, my friends, there are indeed some châteaux “Lafitte” out there, but those aren’t quite the thing. The premier cru from Pauillac, if that’s the one you’ve been using, is named “Lafite”, with only one t (and note to other distinguished whisky bottlers, only one f). De nada, you just owe me a wee dram. Colour: apricot. Nose: maybe that’s because of the eight years, but I do not feel all the flaws that usually come with quick finishings in red Bordeaux casks. No dominating French oak (châteaux such as Lafite only use their barriques once, they never refill), no dominating green pepper or capsicum from the rich cabernets, and no boisterous red berries either. Phew! In fact, this is rather a very nice, pretty typical Ord, with a perfect honeyed maltiness and a lovely sappy-waxy honey. With water: old cellar, saltpetre, rubbed leaves… Mouth (neat): well, it is unusual now. Capsicum indeed, red berries indeed, and plenty of mushrooms at that. Raspberry jam, caraway, marmalade, greenish tannins… Not too sure, not too sure… With water: some mutant whisky! We’re between Scotland and Bordeaux, so somewhere in the midst of the Atlantic ;-). Finish: quite long. Red fruits and herbs. Blood oranges. Comments: at the risk of repeating myself, this is not quite my favourite kind, but it sure is fun and… well, fun. And fun. SGP:661 - 79 points. |
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