very drinkable – Page 4

Arran 1996-2011 sherry cask 54.1%

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.

Old Pulteney 1990 21 years Cadenhead’s 56.7%

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.

Highland Park 1990 16 years Signatory 56.1%

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!

Old Pulteney 1983 58.7%

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..

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.

Dalmore 21 years 43%

This bottle has been languishing at the back of our cupboard for a while. Purchased at Kastrup for a ridiculously low sum some years back.

Nose: Apple and pear compote, but not an overly sweet one. Light oak and vanilla. A hint of menthol. The menthol is emphasised with water and other herbs and juniper wood also appear.

Palate: Vanilla and dried apricots. Dry wood on the finish. With water menthol appears on the palate as well, green wood and conifer needles, possibly from juniper.

Comments: An attractive 21 year old. It’s rather surprising that the bottle has been left untouched this long, I think we may have to do something about it.

Bunnahabhain 24 years 1988 Signatory Cask Strength 55.9%

From an ex-sherry butt #2800. Tasted at Casc in Aberdeen.

Nose: A lot of alchohol, chocolate covered cherries. With water it turns more towards orange marmelade.

Palate: A lot of alchohol, oak and dark chocolate. Water brings out orange marmelade spiced with ginger.

Comments: There is something vaguely smoky both on the nose and palate – dry and ashy – I’m wondering whether it comes from the oak or whether the spirit is actually smoky. A very good dram, but worth the money (GBP 13.10 for one dram)? Well, considering what Bunna is doing with NAS bottlings at the moment… probably not.

Blair Athol 1975 27 years Rare Malts 54.7%

Nose: Dried fruits (apricots, cranberries), acetone and wood varnish, banana, vanilla and rosemary. Obvious alchohol at full strength. Water tones down the alchohol and brings out pine needles and menthol, milk chocolate and black pepper.

Palate: Menthol, acetone, dried apricots and ginger. With water I also get dried banana, a little oak and sauna – as well as orange peel on the finish.

Comments: It just doesn’t get much better than this. You could spend hours picking through the nose and flavour on this one. It demonstrates just why Rare Malts used to have such an impeccable reputation (though the last couple of years of Rare Malt releases did not seem to live up to it). A very clever purchase, if I may say so myself (it was a birthday present for Arve quite a few years ago).

Highland Park 1989 22 years van Wees 46 %

Distilled 4 Desember 1989, bottled 1 August 2012, matured in a sherry butt with cask number 11854, giving 660 bottles.

Nose: Cherries and oak. With water: Honey, lemon and heather. Overlying smoke.

Palate: A hint of smoke. Sweet oak and liquorice.

Comments: Now we’re talking. A good cask which demonstrates nicely how well Highland Park’s spirit does in a sherry cask.

Thanks to Daniel for the sample.

Highland Park 18 years 43% (old edition)

This is the 18 year old in the old version, from before Highland Park refurbished their standard range. I belive the bottle was purchased around 10 years ago. If I get hold of a sample of the new (or indeed even older) 18 year old, I will do a similar comparison as for the two twelves.

Nose: Surprisingly spirity. Oak and heather. After a while dried fruits. With water the smoke appears, but also dark chocolate and a little forest.

Palate: Oak, dry wood, dried cranberries. With water I get smoke on the palate as well, and some sort of vegetation – dark chocolate on the finish.

Comments: A classic. It was once a good buy, the price was very reasonable for an 18 year old and you got a really good dram in return for your money. Those that remember the even older Highland Park expressions claim that it was even better twenty or even thirty years ago. That may be so, but I will confine my nostalgia to this one.