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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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September 15, 2020 |
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Sure this is a little pre-annoying, but you never know, a very good cask could make some grain proper, err, bourbon. Please don’t shoot!… |
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Kirin Fuji (46%, OB, Japan, single grain, +/-2019) 
This rather new little baby is made at Fuji Gotemba Distillery. We had tried quite a few grains by Kirin last year, Fuji Gotemba’s ‘Single Grain Distiller’s Select’ at 52% vol. and Kirin 25 yo ‘Single Grain Small Batch’ having been my favourites (WF 84 and 88 respectively). Mind you, they had defeated quite some malts by Fuji/Kirin. Colour: gold. Nose: it is grain with some Japanness, that is to say this kind of herbal, slightly incense-y style that’s not often to be found in Scotland. Warm bread, orange blossom water, brioche, roasted pecans and cashews, quite a lot of marzipan, wee touches of menthol (embrocations)… Above everything, no excessive:
- varnish
- vanilla
- coconut.
And so we’re happy…
Mouth: a different story, as this is very sweet, on coconut balls, wine gums, liquorice allsorts, candyfloss and just a handful of thin mints. IT’s not unpleasant at all, quite the opposite, but not exactly up my alley because of all this sweetness sitting on a rather thin base. After all, this is gran whisky. Now the wood was first class, which rather saves it. Finish: very short and very sweet. Sawdust in the end. Comments: a cruel dilemma. Some sides are pretty lovely (the nose, the quality of the wood) but the body is a little frustrating to this malt aficionado. Still worth a solid score in my book.
SGP:631 - 80 points. |
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Girvan 9 yo 2009/2019 (61.4%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, Pinot Noir finish, 294 bottles)
What? Wie bitte? Colour: apricot. Nose: cassis and geranium leaves, cactus, fern, fir needles, no sweetness. A very curious baby… With water: pretty fine, rather on rosehip tea or eglantine, I would say. Mouth (neat): not a bad concoction, we’re pretty much in oak-aged grappa territories here. Blood oranges and raspberries, plus leaves. Not bad at all, in fact, I’m positively surprised (please don’t tell any of my whisky friends, okay?) With water: yes, this rather worked, even if we’re losing some brightness now, and are getting a little too leafy again. Cassis leaves, very pinot noir. Finish: medium, tea-ish, with touches of cherry stem tea, if not proper Burgundian cherries. Comments: so, absolutely not the utter disaster I was expecting. I mean, Girvan, nine years, and pinot noir. Come on! SGP:641 - 80 points. |
While we’re having young Girvan from strange casks… |
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Girvan 13 yo 2006/2020 (58%, Asta Morris, peated cask, cask #AM048, 126 bottles)
Looks like this is ex-Ardmore (I would have thought Ailsa Bay)… Colour: straw. Nose: a smoky blend of some sort, perhaps old White Horse? Ashes, gravel, rye bread, coal, varnish… Not too sure at this point. With water: fine, some sunflower oil, roasted sesame oil, nougat and turon, halva… All that I rather like. Mouth (neat): surely funnier on the palate, with a feeling of deep-charred coconuts and smoked pineapples, then popcorn and muscovado sugar. With water: a little more fragile given the thinness of the spirit, but it looks like the peater prevented the rather slim grain from tumbling over. Finish: a little short, on barbecued marshmallows. Yep I’ve been a boy scout too. Comments: let’s not change scores, that these ‘scores’ are only for the record anyway.
SGP:742 - 80 points. |
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Cameronbridge 21 yo 1997/2019 (54.7%, James Eadie, US exclusive, refill hogshead, cask #75794) 
We’ve had a sister cask last year and thought it was a little raw. Now what’s so funny about this one, you may wonder? The fact that they manage to sell grain whisky to America, I believe that’s like selling fridges to the Eskimos; now you’re right, with global warming, they’ll soon need them too (S., what a stoopid intro that was!) Colour: straw. Nose: starts a little cologne-y, gets then more floral and on gooseberries and coconut, with a little vanilla and orange liqueur (triple-sec). Certainly not as raw as the sister cask as I remember it. With water: soft, with earthy touches, green bananas and agave leaves. Mouth (neat): creamy and rich, and indeed, pretty bourbony. Sugar syrup, vanilla, coconut, touch of lavender, biscuit…With water: same, more or less. A tad sugary, with notes of Starbucks’ café latte in the back, as often. Finish: short to medium, sweet. Comments: quite good if a little boring, just pretty far from all the excellent malts they’re having at J.E. I suppose I’ll never really be a grain guy.
SGP:630 - 78 points. |
What was that again? Ah yes, Cameronbridge… |
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Cameronbridge 29 yo 1989/2019 (57.8%, Cadenhead, Small Batch, 432 bottles)
From two bourbon hogsheads. Don’t deluxe old blends sell these days? Colour: gold. Nose: soft cakes, mirabelle jam, coconut, shortbread, preserved greengages, touches of ripe bananas. All right then. With water: syrup. Keep away from kids! Mouth (neat): frankly, it’s good juice, it’s fruity, technically sound, it goes down extremely well, it’s got the right amount of liqueurness, a lot of melon syrup, in short it’s absolutely flawless. With water: flawless indeed, but a notch empty. Grains, however great, rather belong to blends in my book, but as a grain, it’s pretty perfect. Finish: short and sweet. Indeed. Comments: indeed.
SGP:730 - 80 points. |
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Cameronbridge 30 yo 1989/2019 (57.9%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, bourbon hogshead, 222 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: same whisky. With water: same. Mouth (neat): almost the same whisky. Perhaps an earthy touch and a little more coffee? With water: same. Finish: same. Perhaps a wee tad more sour, as in sourer fruits. Comments: good production standards. Grain whiskies are like the buns in a hamburger, you’d happily taste the meat alone, but you’d never have just the buns ‘like that’, would you? I know, but I’m trying my best, remember I’m in the midst of a grain session…
SGP:730 - 80 points. |
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Cameronbridge 38 yo 1982/2020 (48.6%, Liquid Treasures for eSpirits, bourbon barrel, cask #8287, 140 bottles) 
1982, that’s Kim Wilde, no? These labels are always very beautiful by the way (nothing to do with Kim Wilde)… Colour: straw. Nose: it’s a little straighter, a little more on vegetables and vegetal oils, sunflower, all-grain oil, pine nuts, with touches of pils beer and hints of bananas. Mouth: grain needs almost forty years, this is more proof. Lovely tropical fruit salad and syrups, apricots, honey, touch of mint and camphor, notes of raisins, and even a tiny cognac-like flavour. Different league. Finish: medium, sweeter, going towards honest Latino rum. Comments: I liked this one rather a lot, it gained complexity over the years.
SGP:730 - 85 points. |
Good, let’s have two even older Invergordons to see if we could reach the 90-mark, and then call this a session. |
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Invergordon 45 yo 1974/2019 (45%, The Vintage Malt Whisky Co. for Hot Malt Taiwan, bourbon barrel, cask #30, 228 bottles) 
At 45 years of age, grain whisky may start to talk… Colour: gold. Nose: exactly, it’s when wee mentholy, camphory, and herbal notes starts to appear that these whiskies, unless beautifully sherried, which is not the case here, start to show class and distinction. I’m finding superb notes of fresh peaches, for example, and ‘moderate’ mangos. Some artisan nougat too, a little parfait amour, curaçao… Mouth: very good, on many herbs. Melissa, borage, dill, orange blossom, high-end green tea, proper earl grey too, white wine from the south-west of France (Jurançon, Irouléguy, just been there, they’re making great progress…) Finish: still a bit short, but with some touches of mocha that are working extremely well. Orange. I’m finding almond croissants in the aftertaste, but that’s probably a little ‘pushed’. Comments: impressive old grain whisky, with a flabbergasting freshness.
SGP:651 - 89 points. |
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Invergordon 44 yo 1973/2017 (51.1%, Sansibar for Whiskyklubben Slainte, 275 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: it’s a little more sugary again, rather less ‘mature’ (at 44!) but that may be the higher strength. Garden peat, almonds, cigarettes, vetiver… Not too sure. With water: some mineral touches, quite uncommon in grains, Vicks VapoRub (more common in old wood)… Mouth (neat): there’s a little wood smoke at first, cigarettes indeed (say untipped Craven A but I’ve lost all my references since I’ve stopped smoking, a good twelve years ago), or there, these sweetened slim brown cigarettes, the name escapes me. Chestnut purée for sure. With water: it doesn’t really like water, gets a little disjointed. Finish: medium, earthier. Crushed almonds. Comments: it’s very hard to get the water right as the whisky’s rather fragile. Very fine old grain nonetheless, but not 90-material at all in my book.
SGP:551 - 86 points. |
Okay, a last go at Cameronbridge, for glory… |
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Cameronbridge 33 yo 1984/2017 (55.8%, Wilson & Morgan, Barrel Selection, cask #19281, 230 bottles) 
Colour: deep gold. Nose: the barrel’s been pretty active here, we’ve got a lot of cakes and jams, praline, plums, rums, slivovitz, zwetschke, fudge, shortbread… Very fine, but it just wouldn’t go very deep this far. With water: Maker’s Mark. Mouth (neat): praline and pastries, with a rather rogue kind of oak where ginger and turmeric are starting to appear. We’re close to bourbon this time again, this is rather Pappy-like, I would say. It’s tremendous that it would be this Pappy-like, believe me, and the Pappy people are good people, very good people, they are best friends of mine. Whoops, please excuse me… With water: vanilla galore, coconut, coffee liqueur, heather honey, rye, shortbread. Finish: short to medium, clean, with rather more butter cream and custard. Comments: firm and soft at the same time, and really very ‘bourbon’. Quality’s high, it’s clearly an upper-echelon pretty old grain whisky. Maybe just not extremely necessary.
SGP:651 - 84 points. |
(Thank you Chris at Sushi+Soul, Lucero and other friends) |
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