Myken Arctic Gin 47%

In May Myken Distillery finally release their first product, a gin, on the Norwegian market (i.e. Vinmonopolet), and I thought that a good excuse for a vertical tasting. So here we have batch 1 at 47.3%, which I’ve already got notes up for, batch 2 at 47%, a sample I got when I visited Myken for their official opening i September, and batch 3, the one which will be available from next Friday, also at 47%, in an appealing half litre bottle with the awesome label designed by Metric Design. Please note that I happen to have the coolest bottle from the batch, number 42 (the answer, as we all know, to life, the universe, and everything). Pretty much the best birthday present I’ve had for some time (and, yes, I turned 42).

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Batch 1

Nose: Cucumber, juniper, fresh herbs, coriander and cumin.

Palate: Juniper twigs, light liquorice. More soapy coriander with a few drops of water.

Batch 2

Nose: Herbs and sea foam. Juniper and cumin. Something quite waxy, as well as warm wood.

Palate: Soapy coriander, herbs and more sea influence.

Batch 3

Nose: Juniper berries and a sweet juniper wood note, fresh herbs, black pepper and sea.

Palate: Soapy coriander, faint liquorice, juniper berries, spruce twigs and orange peel.

Comments: There is definitely a clear relationship between the three batches. A little tweaking of the spice mix has obviously been going on, but no radical changes. In my opinion they’re going in the right direction with the tweaking, too, I marginally prefer batch 3. All three are excellent sipping gins, and it would suprise me if they didn’t also work in drinks, from the reasonably simple G&T to those with a list of ingredients as long as your arm.

Myken Arctic Gin will be available to order at Vinmonopolet from Friday May 6, for 509.90 NOK for 0,5 litres. The order number is 3957902 and there are only a couple of hundred bottles available in this first release, so if you want one you shouldn’t hang around.

Aberlour a’bunadh batch 53 59.7%

Finally a new batch of Aberlour a’bunadh at under 60% abv, meaning it can be legally sold in Norway. According to the importer, a few bottles were on their way, but it’s possible that they disappeared immediately, at least there are noen available through Vinmonopolet just now.

Nose: Plum jam, plum in Madeira, dark chocolate. A little burnt rubber with water, but also chalk and dry, dark chocolate. After a while I find orange marmalade, too.

Palate: Dried fruits, dark chocolate, burnt rubber. Oak and cocoa powder on the finish. Much the same with water.

Comments: I should really have been paying attention and secured a bottle if it did show up at Vinmonopolet. The a’bunadh is an expression I like to have available at all times, and we’re running low. Batch 53 is a perfectly decent batch. The presence of burnt rubber reveals the heavy sherry cask influene, but it’s nicely balanced and not at all overpowering, and I really like the total. Very drinkable, as usual.

Clynelish 18 years Old Particular 48.4%

Old Particular is a series of bottlings from the independent bottler Douglas Laing. The spirit in this Clynelish cask, a refill hogshead, was distilled in April 1997 and bottled in May 2015. The cask provided 216 bottles, and at least some are available at Vinmonopolet. It has the reference DL10770.

Clynelish 18 years Old Particular

Nose: Fruits and berries, gooseberry bush, green apples. With water the fruit intensifies.

Palate: Black pepper, a lot of sweetness, cask as well, somewhat musty oak, cinnamon.

Comments: Not a text-book Clynelish, but it’s complex and certainly very nice.

Tasted at Trondheim Whiskyfestival 2016.

Glenallachie 20 years Cadenhead Small Batch 59.1%

Glenallachie 20 years Cadenhead Small Batch bottle

Nose: Lemongrass, malt and oak. With quite a lot of water it turns towards citrus and grass.

Palate: Overoaked, oaky bitterness. With a lot of water: Much better. Malt, candy floss, hazel nuts, still quite a lot of oak.

Comments: Undrinkable at full strength. Better with water, but it never quite redeems itself in my eyes.

Tasted at Trondheim Whiskyfestival 2016.

Scapa Skiren 40%

Scapa Skiren was launched last year as an addition to the Scapa standard lineup. As with all Scapas the spirit was distilled in Scapa’s Lomond still, the only one still in operation in Scotland. The whisky is issued without an age statement and has matured in first-fill american oak.

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Nose: Apples and pears, dry malt loft. Its youth is apparent the moment you add water.

Palate: Malt, yellow apples, apple peel, some bitterness on the finish.

Comments: A pleasant surprise; a simple, but nice, session dram.

Tasted at Trondheim Whiskyfestival 2016.

Blair Athol 1991 22 years Berry’s 46%

Bottled in 2014, cask reference 7279.

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Nose: Quite a bit of citrus and orange peel, bitter vanilla. More towards baked apples with water and hints of liquorice.

Palate: Malt and liquorice (or “sisselrot”, common polypody, or rather the edible root of it which has a vegetal liquoricy taste).

Comments: Something of a surprise, not a typical Blair Athol at all, but very nice, even so.

Tasted at Trondheim Whiskyfestival 2016.