
October 22, 2018

Little duos, today Fettercairn

There’s this intriguing new old official…

Fettercairn 28 yo (42%, OB, 2018)

A bit pricey at between 550 and 600€. Colour: gold. Nose: typically Fettercairn, with this combination that would involve grandma’s old copper kettle, a few overripe apples, some bitter walnuts, half a glass of artichoke cordial (or Cynar), office coffee at around 7pm, gingerbread, more and more caraway, and a touch of overripe orange as well as bananas starting to rot, which gives it a wee tropical side. Mouth: funny stuff. Very spicy and dry arrival on pipe tobacco that you would eat, then bitter citrus peel and more dry coffee. It would go on with bags and bags and bags of walnuts, both fresh and old. It’s really different from anything else distilled that could be found over there in Scotland. A little touch of soap and paraffin. Finish: medium, on some kind of bitterish cake made with walnuts, caraway, and Jerusalem artichokes. Don’t try that at home. More and more heather honey in the aftertaste, but that’s a little late. Comments: a rather challenging malt, as Fettercairn always was. In a way, it’s good that they wouldn’t try to bourbonise it (you know, boring vanilla and stuff).
SGP:371 - 78 points.

Let’s find an indie of similar age… There…

Fettercairn 29 yo 1988/2017 (48.9%, Maltbarn, bourbon cask, 154 bottles)

Fettercairn 29 yo 1988/2017 (48.9%, Maltbarn, bourbon cask, 154 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: this is much more natural. Sure there’s this peculiar grassiness and these hints of soap, but there’s also some sweeter sour bread, a touch of mango, fruit bread, and a good glass of proper mead. Some beeswax too. Less loco than the official. Mouth: indeed, it’s the official but with more freshness, less coffee-ish notes, yet many roasted nuts, pecans, macadamia, then a lot of complex citrus, from citrons to pink grapefruits. In other words, some kind of drier limoncello, if you will. And as they say in rock and roll, the mead goes on. Finish: rather long, more mineral, and even a tad petroly and earthy. Peppery aftertaste. Comments: a very good, interesting, unusual malt whisky. The oak influence has been kept to a minimum, all for the better. One of the best Fettercairns I’ve ever tried.
SGP:451 - 89 points.

And the winner is… the indie!

Check the index of all Fettercairn we've tasted so far