Glug Glug Club Christmas AGM


December 22, 2018

	Angus's Corner From our casual Scottish correspondent and guest taster Angus MacRaild
	Glug Glug Club Christmas AGM
	Well, not quite annual, or general, but certainly some kind of meeting. We’ve managed to co-ordinate a seasonal rendezvous at Dornoch Castle Hotel where we will proceed to taste many silly whiskies. Quick fire notes tonight. Onwards!

Imperial 21 yo 1996/2018 (44.8%, Thompson Bros, refill barrel, 152 bottles)

Colour: pale straw. Nose: grassy, lemony, strawberry candy floss, mint julep, green tea and some very subtle waxes. Like so many of these 1990s Imperials, this is rather lovely. The lower strength works nicely. Mouth: white stone fruits, heather, soft vanilla notes, yellow flowers, mint tea, olive oil and some background green fruits. Gets nicely lemony with time. Finish: medium and very soft but full of rather luscious notes of apples, green banana, gooseberry tart, lemon and wax. Comments: a hyper easy drinking Imperial. Quaffing juice.
SGP: 651 - 89 points.

Carsebridge 45 yo 1973/2018 (53.5%, Thompson Bros, sherry butt, 349 bottles)

Colour: amber. Nose: if it were possible to polish cereals then this might be the result. These typical grain notes of wood shavings and banana syrup but also things like Jamaica cake, leatherette, lemon oil, cloves and brown bread. Unusually complex and ‘big’ for a grain - even an old one. Hints of honey, milk bottle sweets and rye spice. With water: marshmallow, BBQ char, toasted spices, horseradish and something rather mossy and mushroomy. Mouth: many toasted seeds, trail mix, spiced honey, cloves, milk chocolate, teacakes, grapefruit pith and lanolin. Very good! With water: gets gently sweeter but also rather intensely bready and limey. The tannins are a tad more biting now. Finish: good length. All on honeys, ginger, spiced breads, sultanas, fruit loaf and warm mead. Comments: I think I prefer it without water, but this is undoubtedly an excellent old grain. One of the best I’ve had in a fair while I’d say.
SGP: 640 - 88 points.

Bladnoch 13yo (80 poof, Cadenhead miniature, 1970s)

Colour: light gold. Nose: lightly honied, nervous cereals, tutti frutti, bubblegum and grassy olive oil. Some lemon jelly as well. Very lovely and rather typically Bladnoch. Some tinned pineapple after a while. Mouth: quite cereal and mineral. Soft sooty notes, mushrooms, lime skins, a little saltiness and some creamy camphory aspects. Wax paper and dried leaves. Finish: long, peppery, oily and with a resinous fruitiness. Comments: Excellent old Bladnoch. Rather bigger and fatter than usual for Bladnoch, but still with plenty of the green and citrusy Bladnochness.
SGP: 541 - 88 points.

Glenury Royal 13yo (80 poof, Cadenhead miniature, 1970s)

Colour: gold. Nose: superbly coconutty and richly waxy. Lots of soots, polishes, crystalised fruits and wee mushroomy and miso notes. Excellent. Mouth: terrific presence in the mouth. Very Cadenhead dumpy, even in the mini format. Lots of metal oils, mechanical notes, dark dried fruits, damp leaves, leather, pot pourri and cough medicines. Finish: good length. All on cereals, sooty waxes, more crystalised fruits and putty. Comments: Many great wee drams to be found in these old minis. Amazing staying power even in small format with a slightly low level. Big, old school highland style Glenury.
SGP: 561 - 89 points.

Springbank 17yo (80 poof, Cadenhead miniature, 1970s)

Colour: pale white wine. Nose: rather soft and slightly distant. Clay, dried cereals, hay, hessian, beach pebbles and white pepper. Gets a little less shy with time. Mouth: better! Classically waxy, lightly peaty, coastal, citrusy, mineral, pebbley, salty and some wonderful waxes and oils mingling together. Superb! Finish: medium, salty, oily, peppery and waxy. Comments: It’s mostly happening on the palate, but what is happening is pretty terrific!
SGP: 562 - 90 points.

Highland Park 22 yo (80 poof, Cadenhead miniature, 1970s)

Colour: gold. Nose: leather and wax mixed up with sandalwood, herbal cough syrups and dried mint leaf. Outstanding old Highland Park, same league as these other Cadenhead dumpy 57s. Some beef stock, earthy peat and metal polish. Mouth: brazil nuts, walnut oil, resinous peat, dried fruits, crystalised lemon peel, brine mixed with olive oil and many, many wee herbal aspects. Finish: long, salty, lemony, oily, peaty and lightly fruity. Comments: Outstanding old HP. One of the great styles of malt whisky.
SGP: 473 - 92 points.

Bowmore 13 yo (80 proof, Cadenhead miniature, 1970s)

Colour: straw. Nose: nettles, new world sauvignon, lemons in salt, very fragrant peat smoke, lime juice, white pepper, star fruit, oyster sauce. Lovely, extremely pure old school Bowmore. Mouth: tropical fruit flavoured medicines, ointment, lemon juice, waxes, cough mixtures, olive oil, brine, sandalwood ash, tar and soy sauce. Grassy, grapefruit and pickling brine. Finish: long, lemony, salty, very fresh, mineral salts and miso broth. Comments: A luscious, pin-sharp and extremely pleasing old school Bowmore. Reminiscent of some of the simpler Bicentenaries.
SGP: 653 - 91 points.

Balblair VH ‘Small Still’ (88 proof, OB, early 1970s)

A very cool old NAS bottling of Balblair at the curiously lucky/alt-right strength of 88 proof. This will appear at the Whisky Show Old & Rare in February should you wish to try and nab some. Colour: gold. Nose: pure acacia honey, heather ale, calvados, mulled cider and these lovely wee nutty notes such as toasted hazelnut, sunflower seeds and some aged Gueuze beer. Unusual but totally excellent! Mouth: hugely peppery, oily, camphory and riddled with winter spices such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Lots of earthy, leafy notes, meat stock, waxes, dried herbs, cooking oils and putty. Gets increasingly green, herbal and liqueurish. Mead, thyme, paprika and chocolate orange. I’m wondering how many of these ‘seasonal’ tasting notes are coming via the power of suggestion...? Finish: long, lemony, leafy, waxy, mineral, oily and full of thick, dark fruity notes like sultanas and dates. Comments: Superb and highly unusual old Balblair. I can’t help but love it. These wonderful and unusual combinations of fruits, herbs, resins and spices is pretty thrilling.
SGP: 662 - 92 points.

Ord 27 yo 1962/1989 (55.4%, Cadenhead miniature)

Colour: light amber. Nose: wax mixed with mashed root vegetables, olive oil, various stocks, ointments, furniture waxes and polish. Cooking oils, lime syrup, mango chutney, soy sauce, cloves, sheep wool. The most stunning accumulation of old highland style malt whisky characteristics. Waxy, oily, syrupy fruits, marzipan, so many wee flavours. Anti-maltoporn brigade territory to say the least! With water: sweeter, lightly oxidative, more lemony and totally stunning! Mouth: majestic waxes, fruit oils, green fruits, apple rings, cider apple, old calvados, lemon balm, very soft peat. Exquisite! With water: utterly majestic! Putty, minerals, molten sugars, waxes, verbena, wormwood, cough drops... anti-maltoporn brigade NOW! Finish: endless, earthy, camphory, sooty, waxy and kind of bottomlessly complex with all herbal liqueur notes and fruit extracts. Cannabis as well. Comments: not surprising. But holy hell! What utterly incredible whiskies these old 62 Ords were!
SGP: 672 - 94 points.

Ord 26yo 1962/1988 (56.5%, Duthie for Japan)
Colour: gold. Nose: we’re in extremely similar territories. This one is a tad more savoury but we’re still getting these abundant notes of waxes, exotic and green fruit syrups, mushrooms, old sweet wines, hints of toasted fennel seed, caraway and toasted coconut. With water: get’s almost a little salty now. Salted waxes, mushroom powder, damp wine cellar, old chartreuse and yellow wild flowers. Stunning! Mouth: there’s more divergence here. This is leafier, more tobacco accented, drier, sharper and more precise but also perhaps a tad narrower as well. Some wonderful notes of aniseed, lime skin, something gently tarry, more notes of soy sauce, stocks and hessian. With water: really towards some old Clynelish now with this waxy intensity, salty/fruity combinations, sea greens, wild flowers and natural sweetness. Finish: long, fruity, nervous, resinous, camphor, old liqueurs, dried herbs, flowers and more waxiness. Comments: Very close to the 27yo but maybe not quite as stunning. However, we’re still flying extremely high. What a batch of casks these 62 Ords were!
SGP: 462 - 93 points.

Thanks, as ever, to Phil, Simon and Jon.