
September 14, 2022

Another new flight of great young cats

All young malts from recently built Scottish Distilleries. But what does 'recently' exactly mean at WF Towers, you may ask? Let's say any facility built after Arran (1995). That was right last year, was it not? Having said, there will soon be more new names than old ones up there in Scotland! Of course that's very cool…
	Ardnamurchan Distillery

Drumblade 10 yo 2011/2021 (46%, Duncan Taylor, Battlehill, blended malt, sherry cask)

Drumblade is teaspooned Ailsa Bay, William Grant's new peated lowlander (2007). We've often fund Ailsa Bay a little simple, but we're ready to be convinced otherwise, maybe with this little indie? Colour: straw. Nose: a piney, vegetal smokiness at first, as if they would have used younger peat when malting the barley, and in smaller quantities. The sherry's chiming in later on, with raisins and some artisanal butterscotch, as well as our usual walnut cake and pecan pie that we always just love…. Mouth: good peppery punch, with a moderate smokiness and rather bonbons, or agave sweets (without the worm that's not a worm that some Mexican friends would put into their sweets and lollipops). Some leafiness over all the butterscotch and raisins. Finish: medium, sweet and peppery. Comments: good and less peaty than the official Ailsa Bays in my book. In truth the peat is discreet.
SGP:552 - 83 points.

Annandale 6 yo 2015/2022 (59.7%, The Whisky Barrel, 15th Anniversary, 1st fill oloroso sherry butt, cask #TWB1028)

I think I'll simply copy-and-paste what The Whisky Barrel have written about Annandale, as it is just perfectly concise and, well, perfect. 'Annandale is a modern Scottish distillery situated within an historic distillery building. Originally established in 1830 ait produced single malt whisky until 1921 when it was closed, stripped and the buildings that remained became the site for a Porridge oats company, livestock 'warehousing' and, sadly, disrepair. The Annandale Distillery Company purchased the site in 2007 and undertook mammoth effort to restore the buildings and bring whisky production back to Annandale. In 2014 the spirits flowed again and the first, new, single malt Scotch whisky from Annandale was released in 2018.' Oh and happy anniversary to you, The Whisky Barrel! Colour: deep gold. Nose: butterscotch, tobacco and peat, that's some rather modern combo. Simple and efficient, no quibbling at all this far. In the background, some menthol, tar, curry and camphor. With water: similar, except that everything tobacco and camphor too the lead. Very funny whiffs of tomato leaves and sour-sweet bulldog sauce. Mouth (neat): a little strong, perhaps, with some acetone and varnishes over rather a lot of pepper and even chillies, but you do feel that's it's going to be all right once a little H2O is added. With water: extractive, concoctiony, modern, and just awesome. Wonderful sweet spiciness on top of this tobacco-y smokiness. Finish: long and, believe it or not rather sake-y and shochu-like. Rounder, almost honeyed aftertaste. Comments: with sushi, perhaps! I'm surprised the Japanese do not actually produce this style. Extremely high quality/age ratio.
SGP:566 - 88 points.

Let's try bourbon… In general, I like them best with peated whiskies, but it's true that that sherry was already very high…

Annandale 6 yo 2015/2022 'Peated' (56.2%, Best Dram, Kirsch Import, 1st fill bourbon, cask #567, 254 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: I have the feeling that this is going to be a draw. I don't know why but I'm getting something Japanese once more (starts with Chi and ends with bu), with smoked almonds, charcoal bread, meringue, one small green olive, the infernal chalk + grist combo, then lemon and lime juices. Extremely well carved. With water: this time again, some menthol and some camphor, plus fresh sourdough and grapefruits. Mouth (neat): ho-ho, lemon drops and even marshmallows at first, then chillies this time again, and then massive amounts of peaty lemons. Or lemony peat, as you like. High zestiness, always great. With water: the peat gets less talkative, although lapsang souchong tea and smoked espumas would still sing. Did you notice that more and more young chefs would tend to smoke many parts of their dishes? Especially sauces and, yes, espumas? Everything's carpaccio-ed and everything's smoked these days. No complains, I love that. Finish: medium, a little more bonbony again. More lemon drops. Comments: I told you this would be a draw. Let's watch Annandale a little closer in the coming years…
SGP:655 - 88 points.

The next one will be obvious after those Annandales…

Ardnamurchan 5 yo 2015/2021 (52.5%, North Star Spirits, ex-bourbon, 247 bottles)

These new distilleries seem to have understood that it's way smarter to let the best indies use their names and thus propagate their messages. Provided the whisky's good, of course. Colour: straw. Nose: close spirits, this one being just a little more, say self-restrained, a little oilier as well, and rather more on breads, rye, wholegrain, pumpernickel, all that. A little more fermentary. This time again, we won't complain! With water: a lot of porridge, plus a little Swiss cheese and a baby's gym socks. Mouth (neat): more acetic, sour, fermentary, glue-y… In short, a little more profound and wild. With water: leaner this time, with the usual lemons, smoked almonds, indeed olives, mezcal, breads… Finish: rather long, with notes of petroly riesling and some sweeter bread. Comments: I think I love this one just the same. One day we'll do a large fighting session, new Scotland versus new Japan. What do you say? Having said that, this baby feels seriously less peaty than the Annandales.
SGP:553 - 88 points.

Just to be sure…

Ardnamurchan 6 yo 2015/2022 (58.4%, Thompson Bros., first fill barrel, 267 bottles)

Colour: straw. Nose: it is a little older but it feels a little younger, with more varnishes and nail polish, even UHU glue (our favourite brand, we endorse UHU), but that may well be the higher ethanol. Let's see… With water: hey hey, horse saddle, hay, porridge, whey, cottage cheese, fruit peel, ale, tobacco… Mouth (neat): yes, a little hot and bonbony/varnishy. Water please… With water: bingo. Gets simpler, actually, but it's full of greengages while greengages are up there in the top of my list. The smoke is perfect, even a tad mentholy and on eucalyptus. Finish: long, more herbal and like cough medicine. Comments: probably a slower cask. Either they added two years in wood, or you'll add twenty years in glass. That's doable, no? I would say the North Star was tad more 'wildly chiselled' but to be honest, this is splendid too. Perhaps does it need a little more work from the taster, or indeed twenty more years in your cellar (to reach 90+).
SGP:564 - 88 points.

Listen, coming up with different scores wouldn't make any sense, we have the future of Scotch in our glasses, let's just celebrate accordingly! Oh and we were also having this one…

Ardnamurchan 6 yo 2015/2022 (59.7%, Thompson Bros., first fill barrel, cask #356, 267 bottles)

Ha-ha, that's the fellow that's always been on Adelphi's blend on the label. Some say that's Charles MacLean when he was a student, but I doubt it, Scotsmen don't do flamenco, do they? Colour: white wine. Nose: let's do this one quickly, it should be a sister cask. Well, no, it's actually a lighter, fruitier Ardnamurchan, but that may be the very higher strength. Two tons of little easter sugar eggs and just distant whiffs of garden bonfire. With water: closes down, gets grassier, doughy, malty and beerish. Two whiskies in one, as we sometimes say. Mouth (neat): a fruit foam bomb, lemons, toffee apples… With water: some tropical fruits showing up. Finish: long and a little eau-de-vie-ish. Comments: it was a little simpler, but why are they all this good?
SGP:653 - 87 points.

I'll do several 'masterclasses' (gosh I hate that expression) with Charlie, with Dave, or with Angus, in Paris (whisky live) and in London (whisky show), and even in Warsaw later in the year. What I want to say is that I hope the whiskies will be this good and inspiring!

Glasgow Distillery 4 yo 2017/2022 (61.1%, The Whisky Barrel, 15th Anniversary, 1st fill sherry butt, cask #TWB1029)

We're on Deanside Rd in Glasgow now (obviously - bravo!) Colour: full gold. Nose: this is a different style, more on rubbers and leaves at first sniffs. Very leafy sherry, but at 61% vol. you just can't really tell. So, with water: grasses, then various nuts (Brazil) and crude chocolate. Some flowers too, peonies, pansies, geraniums… The palate will tell. Mouth (neat): huge, on Fanta and marshmallows. Water please… With water: and there! Cakes, panettone, orange blossom water, dried figs, oriental pastries, baklavas, makrouts, all that. It was worth the wait, even if we're not exactly in the same cluster as that of the Annandales and Ardnamurchans. This is rounder, softer, a tad more MOTR even if it remains a brilliant young malt. Finish: medium, with more honey and cakes, as well as raisins. Dried pears. Comments: a tad more 'regular' than the others, but it's also virtually unpeated. No quibbles at only 4 years of age, on the contrary, and Glasgow is awfy Glasgow.
SGP:551 - 85 points.

Lindores Abbey 3 yo 2018/2022 (58.9%, OB for The Whisky Barrel, 15th Anniversary, oloroso sherry butt, cask #585, 720 bottles)

Lindores Abbey 3 yo 2018/2022 (58.9%, OB for The Whisky Barrel, 15th Anniversary, oloroso sherry butt, cask #585, 720 bottles)
Let's not talk about friars and exchequer rolls, but what a colour! Colour: reddish mahogany. Nose: prune juice and soy sauce, with some hoisin and some kinds of smoked embrocations that may not exist in real life. And then, big molassy rum (old Demerara) and heady chocolate. Quite some cask action here. With water: ganache, chocolate, molasses indeed. Mouth (neat): really thick and spicy. Imagine some prune spirit boosted with some 'End-of-the-world' chilli and with some slightly brutal old Armagnac from Ténarèze. More or less that. With water: back to civilisation, with some raisins and cinnamon cookies or rolls, plus dried figs and dates. Some batches of the old 10 yo C/S by Macallan used to be a bit like this. Some early A'bunadhs too. Finish: rather long, on chocolate filled with raisins and various liqueurs. More spice again in the aftertaste, pepper, clove, cinnamon… And pencil shavings. Comments: pretty brilliant, if perhaps less 'high-precision' than the ex-bourbon Ardnamurchan and Annandale. As watch enthusiasts, we love high precision.
SGP:662 - 86 points.

Strathearn 8 yo 2014/2022 (49.8%, Thompson Bros., Seven Casks Series, virgin American oak, cask #17, 58 bottles)

A few years ago we went to Strathearn to distil a few litres of our own with some friends including the Thompsons, but I don't think this would be 'our' cask. Colour: gold. Nose: you do feel the small still-set, this is not exactly old-school pot-still malt whisky, it's rather a crossbreed between rum, bourbon and Scotch malt indeed. Banana cake, rye bread, pancakes, sugarcane syrup, blancmange, croissants, vanilla cake, pistachio nougat, a few crumbles of ginger cookies… Mouth: again a feeling of 'cross-genre whisky', with some coconut cake, young bourbon, cinnamon rolls, rye… Indeed, a lot of rye for sure. Finish: medium, with many oak spices and vanilla fudge, with drops of tangerine liqueur and grenadine. Ginger cookies again in the aftertaste. Comments: a lot of fun here, even if 'this cannot be Scottish'. But do they really need to make Scotch, in Scotland?
SGP:641 - 84 points.

Last one…

Dornoch 4 yo 2017/2022 (55.5%, OB, Thompson Bros., 1st fill 100l bourbon, cask #54, 178 bottles)

Don't we all love this pocket distillery and the distillers (and their parents?) I think it's the first time I'm trying a bottled ex-bourbon expression of Dornoch and frankly, I wouldn't have waited much longer. Colour: straw. Nose: first, please note that I shall never, ever inflate or boost any comments or notes or scores about spirits just because they were made by friends. What's more, we've got friends within Diageo or Pernod as well anyway. Good, this has fresh sawdust, oils (sunflower and grape pips), root vegetables, artichokes, eggplants, rye bread, pumpkin seeds and tapioca. I find it quite austere, which I always like rather a lot. With water: fresh-sawn pinewood and balsa, plus porridge. Mouth (neat): craft and rather belonging to a gang of a few distilleries of the world that are producing whisky 'differently'. I mean, it's a malt from Dornoch that's much closer to Westland in Seattle than to actual neighbours Glenmorangie, for example. More rye bread, muesli, Swiss Läckerli… With water: a tad more on breads, with touches of anise and poppy seeds this time. Finish: medium, with even more anise cookies, or 'anis bredala', as we say in little Middle-Alsace. Comments: I find it very 'worldwide', despite the small size and the location of the Distillery. Doesn't whisky make you travel anyway? Great, great young bready drop.
SGP:461 - 86 points.