
March 6, 2020

Rectified mashes and stuff

Indeed, grain whisky. I’ve heard they even distil celeriac, beet, rutabaga and now English tourists (last I heard, whole coaches have been missing for months). For a little more fun, we’ll do this randomly. Forget verticales!

Carsebridge 43 yo 1974/2018 (43.6%, Eldvatten, cask #SE096, 90 bottles)

Colour: god. Nose: there is some maize, vanilla and coconut, but there isn’t only maize, vanilla and coconut. Notes of bonbons, little Easter eggs, marshmallows, coconut balls, toffee apple, sweet cider, then geranium flowers… This is not Clynelish, but it’s rather pleasant and not totally silent! Mouth: very good. It’s thin spirit, like any grain, but it’s aromatically apt, and even pretty complex, with various sweet nuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, these marshmallows again, notes of parfait amour and curaçao, poppy sweets, sugarcane syrup (very obvious), other syrups… It’s getting sweeter an sweeter, but never exactly sugary, quite miraculously. Finish: medium, thin as always, sweet, wit some caramelised popcorn of some sort. Comments: for some grain whisky, it’s excellent. Grain enthusiasts would love this, too bad there were so few bottles.
SGP:730 - 84 points.

Invergordon 46 yo 1972/2019 (49.3%, The Whisky Blues, barrel, cask #28, 230 bottles)

Invergordon 46 yo 1972/2019 (49.3%, The Whisky Blues, barrel, cask #28, 230 bottles)
Very old Invergordon not filled in sherry, that’s interesting… And I love blues with whisky, as long as it's not Muddy Waters (ooh that's smart, S.!) Colour: gold. Nose: once again, it’s not a cologne-y one, neither is it just empty, but it’s rather full of varnish and sweet liqueurs, then banana wine and coconut water. A little earth too, milk chocolate, praline, toffee, café latte… We’re almost at Starbucks’ but no worries, we shall survive. Mouth: good, coffee-ish (Tia-Maria), latte-ish, varnishy, then a little woodier. Some sour touches. Coconuts. Finish: medium. Cherry wine, chocolate, sour apples, ales, coconut water… Comments: rather fine! These grains are all pretty thin, but after all, nowhere is it written that Scotch out to be fat and thick!
SGP:640 - 82 points.

Strathclyde 30 yo 1989/2019 (52.1%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, 162 bottles)

This baby was finished for around one year in fresh oloroso and, according to the colour, did suck out litres of that oloroso. Colour: coffee. Nose: rum and copper, plus furniture polish and rather PX than oloroso. I mean, proper old PX. Pipe tobacco, prune juice… With water: lovable! Old bourbon, pine liqueur, tobacco, Demerara, juniper, caraway… Mouth (neat): love this! It’s totally wacko, as herbal as Jägermeister, full of walnut wine (cask strength nocino), and almost as smoky as Ardbeg with the rectifier off (or out of order). With water: clap clap clap. Finish: very long and rather on liquorice and menthol this time. And tar. Comments: what this is not is ‘authentic’, but no one should or will care, it’s very funny and well made, intriguing, and interesting. And fun (you’re rambling again, S.) A crazy concoction – oh and careful with water though, it’s not a very good swimmer.
SGP:571 - 87 points.

Cameronbridge 25 yo (57.6%, Whic, sherry, 503 bottles, 2019)

Isn’t it Mr and Mrs Macron on the label? Colour: dark amber. Nose: leather and gunpowder at first, then struck matches and sour cherries (and cherry stems and leaves). Could be that water would be needed… With water: crude chocolate and, well, more chocolate. Always with a few struck matches here and there. Mouth (neat): a bit brutal. Coffee-kirsch, slivovitz, arrak, fig wine, chicory coffee… At least it makes you travel. With water: sweeter. Cherry liqueur, chicory, chocolate, chestnut purée… Finish: pretty long, a tad leathery and coffeeish. Strawberry drops. Dry aftertaste (strong black tea). Comments: a good drop for sure, but I find it a little jumbled and unfocused. But after all, it’s only grain whisky. Peace.
SGP:561 - 78 points.

Cambus 42 yo 1976/2019 (57.6%, The Perfect Fifth, bourbon, cask #05916, 138 bottles)

Cambus 42 yo 1976/2019 (57.6%, The Perfect Fifth, bourbon, cask #05916, 138 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: coconut balls and white chocolate, honeysuckle and lime blossom, orange blossom, coffee, caraway, old geenever (sp?), and really litres of ginger liqueur. Some action in this old grain, hurray and bravo! (hold your pony, S.) With water: very lovely caraway and old Chartreuse. Tarragone anyone? Mouth (neat): oh, excellent! Really excellent! Stunning citrus and tiny spices, around tangerines, tiny cumins, pad Thai.. Are we sure this is Cambus? (like if that was of any importance…) With water: fab roots and spices. Gentian, ginger, ginseng, turmeric… This one will cure you (and defeat the current coronavirus, I’m sure). Finish: medium or almost short, but perfect, eggy, rooty, nutty… Comments: didn’t they make malt at Cambus, at some point? Okay, I know, there’s malt in any grain whisky…
SGP:451 - 89 points.

Invergordon 43 yo 1973/2017 (50.5%, The Whisky Fair, refill hogshead, 180 bottles)

No sherry in this old Invergordon either… Colour: gold. Nose: sour coco again. Not’ing against that, but there… zzz zzz zzz… With water: vanilla and coconut… Some Irish blend, just four times younger (and twenty times cheaper, I imagine). Mouth (neat): Malibu and Bailey’s, fudge, custard, orange cream, Jaffa cakes… Nah, this is pleasant. Chicken to lions, but there (wha-a-at?) With water: sweetish white wine. Viognier? Finish: viognier. The best are great, the others are lousy. Hey, one man’s opinion. Comments: we’re losing steam, as it appears. All these thin and sweetish whiskies tend to be a little boring, but this one was very good, no doubt. Just, yawn, a little boring and too sweet.
SGP:640 - 81 points.

Will anything beat the Cambus (really, Cambus?) Let’ be logical about this, and have more Cambus…

Cambus 26 yo 1993/2019 (55.4%, James Eadie, sherry, cask #48094, 617 bottles)

Cambus 26 yo 1993/2019 (55.4%, James Eadie, sherry, cask #48094, 617 bottles)
There, sherry from a good maker’s… Colour: dark amber. Nose: of course. Walnuts, coffee, cured ham, chocolate, Mars bar, pipe tobacco. Probably the sherry doing all the work, but that works pretty brilliantly. The whisky’s providing the… ach, ethanol. With water: lovely cocoa, hot chocolate, tobacco, oloroso… In truth this nose got wonderful. To think that I’m using Evian instead of Vittel today! Mouth (neat): creamy, earthy, meaty, chocolaty, coffeeish, very good despite the thinness (can’t do anything against that). With water: what did they do at James Eadie’s? What’s the trick? A SECRET? Wonderful chocolates, ganaches, truffles, some cognac as well, rancio… Hey is this legal? Has this baby been STRised? Kavalanised? Finish: long, Cognacqy, with touches of toffee and chicory. Comments: mazeltov! But this can’t be just ‘a 26 yo Cambus’, this is a notorious sign of witchcraft afoot, my friend…
SGP:651 - 88 points.

Good, maybe another Cambus, and we shall be done with grains. Until, say the month of May. Yes, of 2020.

Cambus 30 yo 1988/2019 (46.1%, Cadenhead, Single Cask, bourbon hogshead, 300 bottles)

Colour: gold. Nose: coffee liqueurs and small sugar eggs, roasted carrots, chicory, violet sweets… That’s the thing with grains, they will let any tiny aroma from the cask (or time) come out unhindered, since they have virtually no firepower. One could call them aroma sponges, actually. There, yes, it is liquid tiramisu! Mouth: oh good! Coffee, malt (yep), latte, barley syrups (this maltiness is troubling indeed), dark beers (Westvleteren 12, anyone?), some kind of sweeter soy sauce perhaps… Finish: long, saltier (great news!) and wonderfully meaty. Some kind of lighter meat broth, marrow bouillon. I’m even finding notes of Swiss cheese, which tales the biscuit! (I’m not feeling too well, S….) Only the aftertaste is a tad cloying, a little too sweet and sour. Toffee too. Comments:
SGP:650 - 86 points.

Right, could be that we’ve gone way too high with these silent spirits, but isn’t today International Generosity Day? Plus, I've survived a fast train crash (well, derailing at 270kph) right yesterday, so there... ;-)

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