
November 16, 2016

Seven John Does

Some older ones this time. No names, but a lot of data about the ages, vintages, casks, the stillman’s birth year, the number of rodents that the mouser killed, and even the sex of angels. Quite…

The Wanderer 24 yo 1992/2016 (55.5%, Exile Casks, barrel, Speyside)

A homeless undisclosed single malt that found a free bed at Neil and Joel’s in London. A very moving story. Colour: pale gold. Nose: starts varnishy and even acetic, with some cellulose and sawdust, and gets then rather bourbony, with a lot of vanilla and touches of coconut. Even more sawdust too. We’re almost at IKEA ;-). With water: gets rather earthy, with sweeter notes too. Hay, custard and marshmallows, nice combo. Mouth (neat): really good, creamy, pretty much in the style of these many young Aultmores that the indies were having two or three years ago. Vanilla liqueur, coconut, sweet tannins, tea… With water: rather tangerines this time, as well as oranges. Finish: medium, on pretty much the same flavours, and rather more malt. Coconut balls. Greenish tannins in the aftertaste, but those are nice. Comments: the cask has been rather active. I could have said Arran, but we all know that Arran wasn’t quite running yet in 1992. SGP551 - 85 points.

Fine Blended Whisky 35 yo 1980/2015 (46.7%, Whisky-Fässle, sherry butt)

Some old single cask blended Scotch that may have been blended at birth. Colour: amber. Nose: really very nice, with some tobacco, autumn leaves, fig cake, and quite a lot of toffee, although the whole would remain rather elegant, and never ‘heavy’. I especially enjoy these whiffs of eucalyptus, pinesap, and pipe tobacco that are rising to your nostrils after just one minute. Mouth: really old-school sherry, with some old oloroso, a very dry polished oak, bags of old chestnuts, and even more pipe tobacco than before. Also some very black tea. Touches of molasses and orange syrup in the background. Finish: rather long, with ‘ideas’ of old hyper-sherried Macallans. Very high malt content for sure. The aftertaste is dry and almost bitter (artichoke liqueur) but all that works very well in this context. Comments: very excellent. Blends? Anytime… in this case. SGP:461 - 89 points.

Bodach Aislig 35 yo 1980/2015 (46%, Murray McDavid, bourbon, 379 bottles)

Some whiskies from Glenrothes, Glengoyne, Bunnahabhain, Tamdhu, Cameronbridge, North British and Port Dundas that were blended a while ago and further married in a cask. Colour: amber. Nose: I’d swear there is some peat in there! Perfect oily style, with many, well, oils, saps, pine-y aromas, and various polishes. Linoleum, linseed oil, earthy tea, umami, camphor, soy sauce, and then quite a chunk of cured ham (jabugo)… Also juniper berries. A very sexy nose. Mouth: good, some may consider it got too woody, for it does bite you a bit. Very strong black tea, Jaegermeister, crème de menthe, Mitteleuropean bitter herbal liqueurs, all that… And above everything, a massive clove-iness. Quite some cocoa powder too (natural, not sugared). Finish: long, acrid, but I do like that. Mint and bitter chocolate. Comments: quite a ride! It’s an uncommon hyper-herbal composition, but I did enjoy it a lot. SGP:381 - 87 points.

Speyside Region 38 yo 1977/2015 (46.2%, Whisky-Fässle, sherry butt)

Colour: amber. Nose: yeah, chestnut purée, pecan pie, dried figs, and cigars and chocolate. Cigars dipped into chocolate! And prunes, old armagnac (many old armagnacs soon on WF!) oranges, chestnut honey… Mouth (neat): starts dry and even a little aggressive, with a dry dustiness and bags of cloves, but it tends to settle down. A bit. Dry herbs, thyme, chocolate, juniper berries, dried dates, a touch of salt… And quite a lot of dark toffee from Ballindalloch. I said nothing. Finish: long, earthy, and chocolaty. Some mint again in the aftertaste, that’s old age. Very nice dry tannins. Comments: not the first from these parcels we’re trying. All of them have been excellent. SGP:461 - 90 points.

While we’re at it…

Speyside Region 41 yo 1975/2016 (47.4%, Whisky-Fässle, fino sherry butt)

Ah, those casks! Watch this… Colour: gold. Nose: orange blossom honey! Beeswax! Cherry liqueur! Amaretti! Candied tangerines and quince! Camel cigarettes! I remember so well the first pack of Camels I had bought forty years ago. I do not smoke anymore, but I’d gladly buy a new pack of Camels just to nose them. Stunning smells (and terrible tastes!) Mouth: oranges and Calvados plus manuka honey and Grand-Marnier. Mouth feel is perfect. Love the wee touches of earth and cracked pepper in the background, and the citrons that are slowly taking over. Finish: medium but fabulous. Back on oranges and honey – nothing wrong with that! Comments: no surprises here, these casks are/were magical. I remember I had thought one of them tasted like the greatest old Calvados. That’s more or less the case again here. SGP:551 - 92 points.

Speyside 41 yo 1975/2016 (48.7%, Maltbarn, sherry cask)

We could write three or four words and slap a high rating. No hopes here, rather certainties. Colour: pale gold. Nose: oooooh! Patchouli and hashish! And ripe bananas, wormwood, lemongrass, watermelons, regular melons… Would you have a guitar at hand? Mouth: so good, so good… More bananas, grass, rocket salad (so yeah, there is a bitterness), cinnamon, cardamom… But some oranges manage to keep it fresh, lively, and extremely seductive. I mean, attractive. No hashish on the palate, though. Finish: quite long, and rather Christmassy. Stolle, ginger and bananas, and perhaps a little maracuja. A perfect oak in the aftertaste, with a tobacco-ish side. Comments: these are the old whiskies to buy by the case these days. Plus, it’s always depressing to see all these empty official (and stupid) decanters going for £2 each at flea markets. SGP:551 - 92 points.

Perhaps a last 92 poi… I mean, a last 1975…

Speyside 40 yo 1975/2015 (51.3%, Sansibar and S Spirit Shop, sherry cask)

Whisky for Samurais, apparently. Colour: pale gold. Nose: oh well, please read my notes for the Maltbarn again. Finding differences and variations would be plainly and totally masturbatory. Mouth: thoroughly so! This one bites a little more, but that’s just the higher strength. Which, by the way, imparts a little more notes of bitter oranges and herbs. Aren’t we nitpicking again? With water: honey, Camels, gingerbread, anis bredala (hoppla)… Finish: a rather stunning spiciness. Comments: another gracious old one. I don’t know how Frau Merkel and her henchmen are doing it, but they are still issuing some stunning whiskies there over the River Rhine. Doch man muss sagen, herzlichen Glückwunsch zu Ihrer Arbeit! SGP:551 - 92 points.

Seriously, those are all utterly superb, provided you’re not totally against a little spicy oak in your whisky. And against not knowing about the distilleries.

Check the index of all undisclosed malts I've tasted so far