January 29, 2016

Only two blended malts

Yes, a lean day at WF Towers. There will be more next time.

Monkey Shoulder (40%, OB, blended malt, +/-2015)

Last time I tried Monkey Shoulder I had found it pretty decent. Not earth-shattering, but decent. Now I’ve noticed that bartenders rather use it in cocktails. Colour: gold. Nose: young raw malt. Nosing your porridge when holidaying in the UK, some porridge into which one would have added a drizzle of whisky. Quite some cardboard too, apple peelings, grass… I find it particularly un-fruity. Mouth: indeed it rather happens on your palate. Apples, grass, a touch of ginger, barley and maize, a little caramel, and something spirity and curiously bitter, as if this combo was very young when bottled. Certainly not ‘smooth’. Finish: short, a tad sugary, rough, a little burnt. Tennent’s stout. Bitterer aftertaste. Comments: what happened? Is it me? I believe earlier batches had been ‘smoother’. SGP:251 - 73 points.

The Six Isles (43%, Ian McLeod, blended malt, +/-2015)

The Six Isles 10 yo from a few years back had been excellent (WF 84) but this is the NAS version, bottled at a lower strength. Six Isles is a blend of malts from six different islands, Arran, Islay, Jura, Mull, Orkney, and Skye. So we’re sure there is some Arran, some Jura, some Tobermory/Ledaig, and some Talisker in there. We just cannot be sure about the Islay and the Orkney! Colour: white wine (hurray). Nose: it’s pretty ashy and even medicinal at first nosing, then we find touches of plasticine and paint, but that’s all right. Some coastal elements, for sure. What’s smart is that it feels like ‘a whole’, it’s all very coherent. Nice nose! Mouth: good, Caol-Ila good, I’d say. Smoked fish, coal, ashes, smoked water, a little lemon, a touch of dill, a hint of salt, that’s all you need. Even the body’s good. Finish: a little short, perhaps, but clean and well-chiselled. Comments: more than good, only its lightish side at times may be seen as a very minor flaw. What’s more, it does not feel ‘too young’, at all. SGP:345 - 83 points.