Old Pulteney 1983 58.7%

Bottled January 2003, cask number 6182.

pulteney1983sample

Nose: Barbequed marshmallows, oak, vanilla, plum jam. With water it develops malty notes, both shortbread and digestives, “Kornmo” with real butter and brown cheese. There are also red apples and a hint of honey.

Palate: Sweet pears, light oaky bitterness. With water it develops a cloying sweetness, possibly marshmallows again, but over the top. Not unpleasant in itself, but a feeling that it might become too much very quickly. There is also some juniper wood and sweet apples.

Comments: Obviously needs water to tame the strength. More interesting nose than palate, but despite the lack of hyperbole I am actually pretty sold on this. I’m a little sad that I only have a sample, and since I can’t remember who I got it from I don’t know whose cupboard to raid, it might have been Morten..

Glenmorangie 10 years 40%

This is the old standard bottling of Glenmorangie, pre-LVMH.

Nose: Red currants and orange, vanilla and a light oaky perfume. No noticable evolution with water.

Palate: Sauna and fruit. A bit more spicy with water.

Comments: A perfectly decent entry level bottling. Easy to like and drink, and uncomplicated.

Bushmills 21 years 40%

I had to order a bottle of Bushmills 21 years old, as there is reason to wonder if the importer has been in the sun too long or something. The price in Norway is 599,90  NOK (around 60 GBP) – which is cheap for a 21-year old in any case, but seems like the sale of the century compared to prices in the UK where the RRP is 137 GBP. But is it worth it? That, obviously, is the salient point, because if it’s undrinkable it’s money out the window whatever the price.

Fancy boks får du i alle fall for penga
You get a fancy box for your money, at least.

Nose: Clear bourbony notes, oak and vanilla. Plums in Madeira, lemon peel, toffee and spice; curry, in fact. Water brings out more fresh fruits.

Palate: Oak and vanilla. A somewhat bitter oakiness. I was hoping water would open it up and bring out more flavours, but was disappointed.

Comments: Very lovely nose, pretty bland taste. Nothing wrong with it, though, and certainly worth the 60 pounds, but not the 137, I don’t think.

Utsiden av boksen
The outside of the box

Old Pulteney 1995 Single Cask Selection 59.8%

Hand filled from a cask at the distillery by Snorre (by order of me). Distilled 21.11.1995, bottled 08.07.2010, matured in an ex bourbon cask, numbered 2851.

Nose: The ABV is noticable, otherwise it smells of vanilla, wood and dried cranberries. Water opens it a bit and adds dark chocolate, toasted almonds and barley.

Palate: good quality vanilla ice cream with brittle. Water brings out a woody note, but the vanilla and brittle stay. The finish is very long and tastes mostly of sweet but pure liquorice.

Comments: Definitely needs water. I seem to like it better now than when I first tasted it, so it is possible that a little air has helped it along. Not the best Pulteney I’ve had, but it would not deter me from filling a bottle myself if I ever get to visit the distillery.

Kininvie 17 years Batch 001 42.6%

kininvie

Nose: Toffee, rose water, dry birch wood. With water dried raspberries, green jelly babies, blackboard chack and a hint of aniseed.

Palate: Half-rotted wood, but also something fruity. Somewhat more bitter with water added, and the impression of decay is lessened.

Comments: My first reaction when taking a sip was “Ouch”. That’s not really a reaction you want, to put it that way. The nose is really very good, but the taste is just not working for me at all. With the reservation that it was tasted in the middle of the 7 Stills Tour of Dufftown, the only other single Kininvie I’ve had was much better.

Longrow 8 years 2010 Open Day 58.5%

Distilled 2001, matured in an ex-shiraz hogshead. Purchased at the Cadenhead’s shop in Campbeltown in 2010, I split a bottle with Leif Olav (after a week on Islay we both had enough bottles in our luggage so a shared bottle seemed like a good idea).

Nose: Pretty spirity, some smoke, the insides of a damp, wine-soaked cask (as if you stick your nose in the bung hole of a recently emptied cask and sniff it). More obvious smoke with water, since the intense spirit disappears. Dried apricots and grilled pineapple, green apples and lemon balm (the herb).

Palate: Immediately a little anonymous, a lot of alchohol and a touch of oak. With water it develops smoke on the palate as well, cold rock and some tropical fruits.

Comments: Definitely needs water to flourish, but is scarily easy to drink at full strength, though rather boring. Very fruity once water is added. The wine cask is not obvious at all, except for that initial “damp cask insides” on the nose.

Innis & Gunn American Oak Pale Ale 4,4%

It’s not often a new beer pops up in Norway that has no hits on the interwebz. This is such a beer.

Innis & Gunn are famous for their wood matured and cask matured beers and this newest one is no different. It’s matured over Bourbon-infused American oak heartwood for a full and rich bourbon flavour. So let’s see if it’s true.

InnisGunnAmericanOakPaleAleAMLColour: Deep golden, edging towards light brown.

Nose: Vanilla and oak, in other words bourbon. A hint of fresh green apples is also present.

Palate: Light almost a bit watery start. But the bourbon flavours come out in force as we go along. The green apples still linger in the back. The bourbon lingers on and stay on the palate for a long time.

Summary: If you don’t like bourbon, stay away. It’s refreshing and a bit different, but the bourbon flavours are a little bit overpowering for me.

Laphroaig 1989 23 years 48.9%

This is a special bottling Laphroaig did last year exclusively for the Scandinavian market.

Nose: Smoked and barbequed meat, bonfires and cheese. I get Applewood vibes and that is never a bad thing. With water there is less meat and more ashes, but also red berries and smoked seaweed.

Palate: Less interesting than the nose, but very nice. Fridge ice and ashes. Water sharpens the taste and brings out a slight bitterness and orange peel.

Comments: Perfectly drinkable at full strength, but water gives it another dimension. A great dram. The only negative thing I can think of is a somewhat short finish, the smoke lingers but nothing else.

Macallan 1996 13 years Adelphi 58.8%

the_whisky_bar-3Nose: Toffee with a hint of mint. Dry oak and vanilla. With water it develops raisins and baked apples, but the vanilla gets a somewhat rotten side note.

Palate: Too much oak? After only 13 years that’s actually kind of impressive. Oak, varnish, slightly rotten wood. With water it develops some bitterness, which for once is a good thing as it kills off the note of decay.

Comments: I’m ambivalent, but land on “No”. Too much cask and it’s also all over the place and tastes different for every sip.