
November 28, 2017

Another little bag of undisclosed whiskies

As they come...

Speyside 16 yo ‘Black Friday’ (54.6%, The Whisky Exchange, sherry butt, 582 bottles)

Of course I’m late. Black Friday was November 24th, but between us, I must confess I don’t really appreciate these kinds of commercial stunts. Black Friday, St. Patrick, Father’s Day… Bah… Colour: gold. Nose: sure it’s lovely, with cakes, brioche, vanilla, apple compote, and perhaps a touch of ripe kiwi. Fine, very fine. With water: orange cake! A must! Mouth (neat): perfect, I have to say. Sultanas, honeys, stewed pears, more brioche, and above everything, a perfect maltiness. With water: gets creamier, fuller, never rough, with a perfect maltiness, oranges, barley syrup, and more sultanas. Finish: medium, pastry-like, with oranges and apples tangoing in the aftertaste. Comments: I was too busy last week, I just couldn’t try this baby on time. But better late than never! Excellently Ballindallochian and, I’ve heard, sold out (in a flash). SGP:551 - 88 points.

Mystery Speyside 25 yo (45%, Billy’s Whisky Barrel for G&B Whiskyfest Ostende, 2017)

Most sadly I couldn’t attend this year’s edition of the Ostende whisky festival. And yet, I could get some of their special bottlings, including this mysterious one that, I’ve heard, was infused with shrimp croquettes. Colour: white wine. Nose: good distillate, good moderately active cask, good length of maturing, and thus a perfect profile, as fresh as it gets, with this feeling of ‘a walk throughout an orchard’, plus touches of mint and fresh bread from the baker’s. Mouth: the parentage with the ‘Black Friday’ is totally obvious. Honey, ripe apples, barley, a pinhead of marmalade, and a little grape pip oil. Finish: rather long, with a very remote smokiness, some wax, a little green pepper, and more oranges than on an orange tree (pfff…) Earth in the aftertaste. Comments: extremely good again. Well done Belgium! SGP:551 - 88 points.

Orkney 17 yo 2000/2017 (55.2%, North Star Spirits, bourbon hogshead/PX, 366 bottles)

This baby was finished in PX, something that I do not always enjoy – but there’s been exceptions, so let’s see… Colour: gold. Nose: funny! You do get the PX, with some roasted sultanas, but you also get fumes, leatherette, and above everything, a lot of smoked ham. Coal tar, moscatel. This is a style I’ve not encountered very often in the past, let’s dig deeper… With water: gets cleaner, also spicier. Notes of rye, caraway… Mouth (neat): really creamy, and really unusual. Curry, ginger, moscatel, cinnamon, ripe strawberries, caraway… This is a true UFW (that would be unidentified flying whisky). With water: goes into several directions. Finish: medium, on peppered strawberries. Comments: I’ve first tried the wackier one amongst North Star’s new whiskies, you know. The others are much more… great, whereas this one was more… unlikely, but then again, only a personal opinion, as always. Try to try this very unusual baby! SGP:651 - 78 points.

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