Of malt whisky, cider and other drinkables. Carpe aqua vitae.
From a barrel with cask number 1782, June 1998-2010.
Nose: Clementine peel, especially the white part, quite sweet malt, grist (a lot of flour), leather sofas. With water the grist solidifies into whole barley and I get some lemon as well.
Palate: Asphalt dust, cold smoke and coal.
Comments: Yummy. Very nice mix of grains/grist and smoke.
Cask number 1973, distilled 11.12.1996, bottled 31.03.2011.
Nose: Apple compote with cinnamon, dark chocolate, fragrant roses. A little water adds mint, orange peel, jasmine and lemon.
Palate: Oak and apple peel, honey, black pepper and dark chocolate. More chocolate with water, orange marmelade and bay leaf.
Comments: Yet another stunning sherry cask from Arran. Confirms the rule that these are a steal at almost any price (this particular cask has not been available in Norway, but those that have have been just as good).
Thanks to Bjørn for the taster.
Bottled June 2012.
Nose: Marsipan covered in a thin layer of dark chocolate. Fruit tree. More fruity with water, tinned fruit coctail with mint and chocolate chips.
Palate: Plum in Madeira, dark chocolate, a little After Eight. Maltiness shows up with water, also oak and a hint of pepper.
Kommentar: Quite simply really, really good.
Distilled 21.02.1975, bottled 05.08.2010, matured in an ex-bourbon cask with cask number 553.
It’s an open secret that Signatory’s Rare Ayrshire contains single malt from Ladyburn, but they are not allowed to state so on the label.
Nose: Shortbread, honey. With water I get tart apples and after a while vanilla and sherbet powder.
Palate: Fruity oak, maltiness. More apple pie with water.
Comments: Not bad at all, though less complex than I could wish for.
Distilled 13.12.1990, bottled 12.06.2007, from cask number 15688. 1st fill sherry butt.
Nose: Quite closed. A little vanilla and baked pears. Water brings out smoke, orange peel and white flowers.
Palate: The smoke may be hiding on the nose, but is obvious on the palate; cold bonfire. Also freshly baked wholemeal bread with honey. With water the smoke turns chalky, and I find flower nectar and honeydew melon.
Comments: First a note on the colour. It’s not obvious from the picture, but this is hardly darker than the average white wine. What’s up with that? 1st fill sherry should normally be much more visible. And the nose and palate have no very obvious sherry notes, either. If you buy this because you like sherry bombs you will be bitterly disappointed.
But otherwise: What’s not to like? A really, really nice Highland Park cask Signatory have got their hands on, even if it seems to be mislabeled.
Another sample I have forgotten the origin of. I really need to create a better system for samples!
Bottled January 2003, cask number 6182.
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..
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.
Nose: 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.
Nose: Toffee and fudge, vanilla, cream and burnt sugar. Some raisins. With water herbs, coriander maybe, appear.
Palate: Cheap milk chocolate with a proper caramel filling. Like a cross between Cadbury’s Caramel and a pound shop Christmas calendar chocolate. With water the caramel develops a burnt edge.
Comments: I’d have liked more, mostly because it was hard to get a grip on it and 2 cl didn’t seem like enough. Nice, though not overly complex.
Nose: A little sickly and “chemical”, malt and yeasty dough. Water helps by bringing out citrus, mostly lemon, a light oaky perfume. Still a lot of malt and bun dough.
Palate: Malt, yellow apples and sweetish glue. With a drop of water it’s much better, as the glue disappears and it tastes of apple pie with custard. More water adds a vague taste of vomit.
Comments: A drop of water was good, more a bit of a disaster. Once the water was added it was almost undrinkable.