Another bag of whiskies


September 12, 2022

Another bag of whiskies

As they come, without any kind of logic

Mac NaMara (40%, OB, blended Scotch, +/-2022)

There used to be a Poit Dhubh 21 yo by the same bottlers back in the 1990s that was just out of this world. The Mac NaMaras have not been in the same vein, but it's been ages since I tried any of those 'Gaelic whiskies'. Colour: gold. Nose: toffee and fudge, sawdust, brioche and a distant hint of grass smoke. Feels a tad dusty but this is only the nose. Mouth: I rather like it, it's a tad rougher than your usual commercial blend (but isn't everything commerce these days?) A little sour wood, cereals, sour apple juice, candy sugar, marmalade, cardboard… The body's a little oilier having said that. Finish: medium and a little bitter and even more cardboardy. Not the best part. Comments: a rather honest and loyal proposition but as many large-volume blends would do, it would nosedive towards the end and get dusty and cardboardy.
SGP:451 - 75 points.

Distilled at a Highland Distillery (Westport) 17 yo 2005/2022 (57.1%, Watt Whisky, 198 bottles)

An unusual Westport bottled as a single malt. Colour: deep gold. Nose: big cakes here, cereals, anything by Kellogg's, a lot of butterscotch, even more millionaire shortbread, then salsify gratin and perhaps even moussaka. Good fun! With water: wonderful milk chocolate with a touch of mint, After Eights, more shortbread and scones, and certainly a lot of butterscotch. Mouth (neat): absolutely excellent, with an earthy kind of mineralness, leaves, Mars and Twix, and perhaps even more moussaka. Cheers to our friends in Greece! With water: the best cakes, filled with marmalade. Jaffa cakes. But of course, Jaffa cakes! Finish: long, on the same kinds of notes. Comments: were we the Distillers, we'd be proud to see such an indie bottle bear our actual brand name. One of my favourite fairly recent Glen***gies, and that's not Glenugie.
SGP:551 - 89 points.

Secret Speyside 28 yo 1994/2022 (50.6%, Les Grands Alambics, The Jazz Series, butt, 118 bottles)

Secret Speyside 28 yo 1994/2022 (50.6%, Les Grands Alambics, The Jazz Series, butt, 118 bottles)
Miles on a bottle of whisky, that's pretty much like eating proper goose foie gras and drinking champagne while driving a black Miura along the Riviera, no? For once we'll listen to some music while tasting this whisky, which we never do, and that'll be… say On The Corner (just because it was better recorded than Bitches Brew). Colour: pale gold. Nose: I'm not sure we've ever been this close to fresh amaretti and maraschino. Would then move towards 'paler' fruitcake (pears etc) and old vin doux naturel, perhaps Rivesaltes, fresh walnut cake, turon, sesame cream, plum jam… With water: perfectly waxy. A savoury side too. something coastal as well. Mouth (neat): extremely very good (what?) with a tenser side – you'd believe you're further north along the East coast - and some greener fruits. Seriously, aren't we rather somewhere between Inverness and John o' Groats? With water: excuse me? Olives? Brine? What's the trick? Do they do butts in Jamaica? Finish: long, unexpectedly briney. Comments: hope I haven't made any mistakes or misinterpretations here, but after all, as Miles said, 'don't play what's there, play what's not there' (he probably added 'mother***er!) Not sure that's a good idea with tasting notes, have said that. Great, great 'Speysider' nonetheless.
PS I've got a very funny anecdote with Miles in Nice but I'll tell it another time.
SGP:562 - 90 points.

Just to check one thing…

Distilled in the Highlands 9 yo 2013/2022 (55.6%, Thompson Bros., blended malt, refill hogshead, 327 bottles)

There's some kind of cat on the label (come on, it is a cat) so we know what's in there. Colour: pale white wine. Nose: these are never easy when they're this young, while they were in the late 1960s (but that was still the neighbouring distillery). Now the wax and citrus are there in full force, it is just a little narrow, a little limoncello-y. With water: fresh wool, paraffin, chalk, grist and mud. Classic. Mouth (neat): eau-de-vie de barley kept in a waxed jar that had previously contained homemade limoncello. Or something like that. Hot young baby. With water: gets perfect once you got the amount of water right, which ain't too easy to do. What a spirit! Finish: perhaps not that long, and probably more eau-de-vie-ish than older expressions, but all that is only normal. Wonderful - meow! Comments: en route for some 90 points at 12 years of age.
SGP:562 - 88 points.

Glen Moray 14 yo 2007/2022 (54.6%, Best Dram, Kirsch Import, 1st fill bourbon barrel, casks #5697+5699, 433 bottles)

I agree we should have had this one within a Glen Moray session, but first we were curious, and second, there's no Glen Moray session planned before December. Colour: white wine. Nose: very barley-y, which is very Glen Moray. Crystal-clean doughiness, sourdough, baguette, plantain, then apples and cherries. We're extremely close to the raw materials (remember, that would be barley, yeast and water). With water: some plasticine and shoe polish, even some soap. Nothing abnormal in this context (it saponifies bigly while we haven't got a lot of time). Mouth (neat): sweet barley, plum spirit, barley sugar, finger biscuits and cider. Exactly 'Glen Moray', with no make-up whatsoever. With water: some williams pears and even more barleyness. Finish: pretty long and rather more citrusy. Almost hoppy in the aftertaste. Comments: malt whisky as Mother Nature intended, would they write in good brochures.
SGP:551 - 87 points.

Glen Spey 2010/2021 (59.7%, Or Sileis, Mercury Selection, bourbon barrel, cask #80057OA, 239 bottles)

Same, no Glen Spey session planned before long, that's why we're putting this one into this hotchpotch. Colour: gold. Nose: same style, word for word. An immense barleyness, less grass than in older expression of Glen Spey, more cakes, toasted bread and nougat… Well, modern wood improved almost all malts, but it also made them a little alike. What we may start to miss is… asperities, as they say. Nice savoury side too, even if this baby's ex-bourbon. With water: lemon squash and sourdough. Mouth (neat): raw, tight and sharp eau-de-vie-y barleyness. Sums it up, I would suppose. With water: well it loves water, even if it would remain pretty simple and probably similar to the other million casks they would shelter within the central belt of Scotland. There are four casks per inhabitant in the country, apparently, so 20 million casks altogether. Hope no one will ever need to use them as energy source. Finish: medium, sweeter, simple, barley-y. Kirsch in the aftertaste. Comments: indeed, this wee Glen Spey for Asia reminds me of some kirschwassers that some distillers have tried to mature in wood. Few asperities here, but it'll disappoint no one.
SGP:541 - 83 points.