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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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January 26, 2021 |
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Single session, today Coleburn |
It's not often that we taste only one whisky out of the blue, but you see, the Coleburn box has been virtually empty for quite some years. So when G&M's latest blue chip Coleburn came out last year, well, I already wasn't having any proper sparring partner at hand, and with Covid and the cancellation of all festivals, I'm afraid the situation hasn't changed much to this day. So better not let that old G&M evaporate and try it now. |
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Coleburn 47 yo 1972/2020 (62.4%, Gordon & MacPhail 125th Anniversary, cask #3511, refill sherry puncheon, 363 bottles) 
Remember Coleburn Distillery, located near Elgin, was closed for good in 1985 but it's still got a few aficionados who do remember that it could be a stupendous malt whisky. Ripe pink bananas anyone? The buildings are still used for the storage of whisky casks. Colour: gold. Nose: oh yes, crushed ripe bananas, menthol and the subtlest blend of honeys there ever was. Manuka's not too far away, remember Sir Hillary, who conquered Mount Everest, used to be a professional beekeeper in New-Zealand! But why am I telling you this? Mead as well, obviously, beeswax, high-class chardonnay,. Now despite this very old age, this baby was bottled at more than 60% vol., which is just incredible. What I mean is that water should make it more complex… With water: no changes as far as the main aromas are concerned, but each main one literally explodes and gives birth to tiny sub-aromas, such as many honeys, mentholy herbs, white wines and even tropical fruits such as, indeed, bananas, papayas and guavas. Mouth (neat): a wrestler for sure, with some tart spiciness and literally wheelbarrows of peppermint. With water: fantastic fruits, mints, very soft spices and, once again, honeys. Some piney notes might be a little loud but that's often the case with very old whiskies that spent their whole life in a single cask or two. Tend to become a little tea-ish, also. Ginger and cloves, cinnamon tea… Finish: pretty long and rather all on mint, beeswax, and cinnamon. A tad drying but that's absolutely not unseen in such old whiskies, or brandies for that matter. Comments: this one had been much lauded when it came out last year, and I now understand why. Hope we'll still manage to try a few other Coleburns over the years. Forgot to say, Coleburn used to work in tandem with Clynelish for some time, especially in the 1930s.
SGP:561 - 91 points. |
Right, this session was short, but good. |
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