Tag: Speyside

Cragganmore 1998 Noorbohandelen 42%

cragganmore_times_twoNose: Pear, a little oak, a hint of black pepper.

Palate: Cloying, varnished oak and some acetone.

Comments: Not nice. The nose is ok, but faint and not very exciting, and the palate is simply off-putting. I poured most of my dram down the drain, and passed the bottle to Arve, who drank a couple of drams while enjoying a pipe. However, once the pipe was done and he had a sip, he discovered just how horrid the whisky really was, and stopped drinking. The conclusion, therefore: Dinkable with a pipe (a cigar probably works as well), but generally not drinkable.

Cragganmore 1997 14 years Duncan Taylor NC2 46%

Bottled 2011.

Nose: Pear popsicles, a hint of smoke, oak. With water it develops into melon yougurt and dry driftwood.

Palate: Oak, honey, warmth and a little black pepper. More bitter with water and a subtle smokey character, but also something fruity, orangey.

Comments: Somewhat interesting the contrast between the “cool” nose, especially with the popsicles, and the “warm” taste. Otherwise a nice enough dram, middlingly complex but not something to spend an evening studying.

Glen Spey 17 years Cadenhead Small Batch 46%

From 2 ex-bourbon hogsheads. Blind tasting.

Nose: Immediately some gin notes, juniper and a hint of liquorice. That disappears after a while and instead I get orange, milk chocolate and eventually malt. Water brings out pear ice lollies and vanilla.

Palate: Orange chutney (is there such a thing?), in other words: Spiced orange marmalade. Grain dust and a little metal.

Comment: I like it. I’d love a top-up and would even buy a bottle if the chance offered.

Teaninich 1982 28 years Liquid Library 54,5%

Matured in an ex-bourbon hogshead, bottled 2010 by The Whisky Agency exclusively for Sweden.

liquid_library-2Nose: Quite a bit of alchohol, pear ice cream and a hint of orange. Water adds menthol and more fresh pear fruit.

Palate: Oak and a little apricot. With water I find some dark chocolate notes, some coriander and a hint of menthol.

Comments: Quite definitely drinkable. Not so fantastic that I will cry bitter tears once the bottle is empty, but quite nice enough that I will contribute to emptying said bottle.

Dufftown 1981 Old Malt Cask Advance Sample 50%

IMG_0576

20 years old, distilled October 1981, bottled January 2002, sherry butt, DL ref. 533.

Nose: Surprisingly fresh fruitiness, but also raisins, tobacco and oak.

Palate: Heavily sherried, dry oak. The more water I add, the more it tastes of dust (however contradictory that may seem). My thouhts go to old dunnage warehouses full of casks, to the corner where a small window lets in the sunlight, drying out the nearest cask and heating the dust up.

Comments: Somewhat too oaky, but otherwise one of the more interesting DUfftowns I’ve had (though that’s not necessarily saying much).

BenRiach Heavily Peated 1994 Signatory Un-Chillfiltered Collection 46%

IMG_20130522_21445610 år gammel, destillert 20.06.1994, tappet 11.10.2004, hogshead fat nummer 1643.

Nose: “Heavily peated” is no lie, the peat smoke hits you even as you’re pouring your dram. In addition I find oranges and grapefruit and something juniper bush’esque. With water the fruit turns to apricots or peaches, but the smoke stays. It smells like a kiln.

Palate: Peat smoke and juniper wood. With water a fruitcakey sweetness appears.

Comments: A perfectly drinkable peated dram, but no stunner. Better on the nose than on the palate.

Mortlach 1992 13 years Dun Bheagan 43 %

Distilled November 1992, bottled 2006. Casks numbered 8572 and 8574. 750 bottles from two hogsheads. Sample from, well, I cannot remember.

Nose: Dry wood, coriander, pears, cucumber.

Palate: Malt, vannilin, bitter almonds.

Comments: Takes a lot of water considering it’s only 43%. It’s always interesting to taste Mortlach from something other than ex-sherry casks, but this is not the best example I’ve had. A bit middling, both in terms of complexity and in terms of how the flavours push my buttons subjectively.

Linkwood 1989-2002 Cadenhead 56.3%

From a sherry hogshead, one of 264 bottles. A dreg, and it has been open for a while, so there may have been loss of aroma and flavour.

Nose: Apricots, baked apple (but no cinnamon). With a little water it provides a hint of smoke and cloves or even aniseed.

Palate: Faint smoke, heather honey, heather, spice (allspice and cloves), and peaches.