Category: Scotland | Page 6 | MaltKlaus' Daily Drams

December 24, 2016December 23, 2016

24 drams till Christmas 2016 #24: Mortlach 1954 58yo by Gordon & MacPhail

Dram data:
Distillery: Mortlach
Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail
Distilled: 27.01.1954
Bottled: 20.11.2012
Age: 58 years
Limitation: 347 bottles
Casks: 1st Fill Sherry Butt
Alcohol: 43%
chillfiltered and uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Let’s review the oldest whisky in the house – 58-year-old Mortlach, to be exact… just because it’s Christmas!

Tasting notes:
Colour: mahogany
The nose starts out surprisingly restrained. Not an over-oaked dram at all, as I initially feared. Delicate even, but what a nose! Lots going on in the glass! A myriad of warm, sweet, dried fruits. Seriously! An abundance of dried plums, cherries, figs and a sneaky date as well. But oh so mellow and as elegant as dried fruits can be! Of course we’ve also got spices. But mellowed, gentle spices, no harshness at all. Cloves, a cinnamon stick, bay leaves and allspice. And herbs. Wormwood, perhaps? But that’s not all, of course. The fruits and spices are accompanied by cherry-flavoured pipe tobacco with black cavendish, the leather jacket of an orchard worker, an bee-keeper’s oak cabinet and a slice of chocolate fruit cake. Dense, interwoven, layered, “aged” and still very elegant. What a nose! I really hope the palate will be the same! Continue reading “24 drams till Christmas 2016 #24: Mortlach 1954 58yo by Gordon & MacPhail”

December 22, 2016December 21, 2016

24 drams till Christmas 2016 #22: Glen Spey 2004 by Gordon & MacPhail CC collection

Dram data:
Distillery: Glen Spey
Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail
Distilled: 2004
Bottled: 26.09.2013
Age: ca. 9 years
Limitation: –
Casks: Refill bourbon barrels
Alcohol: 46%
unchillfiltered and uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Glen Spey. That’s the Diageo distillery producing one of the lead malts for their J&B blends. How does it work on its own as a young malt?

Tasting notes:
Colour: straw
The nose starts off on the light side – Vanilla, orange and a malty sweetness with some alcohol on top. Fruits? Well, maybe a cheeky pear and a red apple with waxed skin have somehow made it into the barrel. Quality distillate for sure and very nice, but just a tad generic? Like a beefed-up (ABV-wise) young Glenlivet or Glenmorangie from the supermarket. Well, let’s see what happens on the palate! Continue reading “24 drams till Christmas 2016 #22: Glen Spey 2004 by Gordon & MacPhail CC collection”

December 21, 2016December 19, 2016

24 drams till Christmas 2016 #21: Laphroaig 1998 17 yo by Cadenhead’s

Dram data:
Distillery: Laphroaig
Bottler: Cadenhead’s
Distilled: 1998
Bottled: November 2015
Age: 17
Limitation: 192 bottles
Casks: bourbon hogshead
Alcohol: 56,2%
unchillfiltered and uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Indie Laphroaig seems to have become scarcer and scarcer these past years – especially older whiskies in their teens or above. Cadenhead’s to the rescue!

Tasting notes:
Colour: pale white wine
The nose is typically Islay. Well-matured, refill-cask, heavily peated Islay whisky. Peat smoke, the usual phenolic kind with dirty bandages and iodine, soot, ash and well-used machine oil. Behind all that smoke, a salty sweetness creeps in – salted toffee on custard served on clamshells with lemon drizzled on top. Maybe a green apple is involved as well. The power of great refill casks, allowing the spirit to shine, just rounding out the edges. On to the palate:

Continue reading “24 drams till Christmas 2016 #21: Laphroaig 1998 17 yo by Cadenhead’s”

December 19, 2016December 18, 2016

24 drams till Christmas 2016 #19: Edradour 2003 9 yo PTM

Dram data:
Distillery: Edradour
Bottler: official bottling for LMDW
Distilled: 2003
Bottled: 2012
Age: 9
Limitation: 247
Casks: refill ex-Caol Ila hogshead
Alcohol: 61,2%
unchillfiltered and uncoloured
Whiskybase link

PTM? What the heck is PTM? Yet another three-letter abbreviation. Well, it stands for “peated through maturation”. Fill your Edradour new make into a hoggie which was previously used to mature heavily peated Caol Ila whisky – and the idea is that some of the peat smoke carries over. Let’s see whether the theory works!

Tasting notes:
Colour: gold
Ah yes, there’s definitely peat smoke on the nose! Not on the same scale as heavily peated Islay whiskies, but it’s there. Very similar to the inaugural Wolfburn bottling, where they applied the same technique. Surprisingly mellow for over 60% alcohol! We’ve got light peat smoke, vanilla, coconut, strawberry marshmallows, Kiwi, lime and heather. Light, but in no way boring. Let’s try the palate: Continue reading “24 drams till Christmas 2016 #19: Edradour 2003 9 yo PTM”

December 17, 2016December 14, 2016

24 drams till Christmas 2016 #17: Fettercairn 2000 14 yo by C&S

Dram data:
Distillery: Fettercairn
Bottler: C&S dram collection
Distilled: 12.09.2000
Bottled: 23.03.2015
Age: 14
Limitation: 217 bottles
Casks: Bourbon barrel 3171
Alcohol: 53,5%
unchillfiltered and uncoloured
Whiskybase link

This is the season of “firsts” – the first Fettercairn to be officially reviewed on the blog! Let’s do it!

Tasting notes:
Colour: red gold
The nose opens on the “green” side. Freshly cut grass with lemon and vanilla drizzled on top. Sawdust with resin and a hint of wood glue, dry end-of-season tangerines, old malt sweetness and a whiff of allspice. Very interesting profile that takes a bit getting used to, definitely not mainstream! Adding water and waiting for several minutes reveals more tropical fruity notes Give it some time! On to the palate: Continue reading “24 drams till Christmas 2016 #17: Fettercairn 2000 14 yo by C&S”

December 16, 2016December 12, 2016

24 drams till Christmas 2016 #16: Springbank 12 yo Burgundy (2016)

Dram data:
Distillery: Springbank
Bottler: Official bottling
Distilled: 11.2003
Bottled: 05.2016
Age: 12
Limitation: 10260 bottles
Casks: 1st fill Burgundy barrels
Alcohol: 53,5%
unchillfiltered and uncoloured
Whiskybase link

So… we’ve had Madeira finished Finnish whisky yesterday, so let’s stay with wine finishes/maturations and pour a dram of a hugely popular Springbank from earlier this year.

Tasting notes:
Colour: red gold
The nose opens with quite a lot of peat smoke for a Springbank whisky. I’ve had more subtle Longrow drams! Not that I’m complaining! Once you cut through the peat there’s the usual slightly salty note intermingled with fresh mint and a whiff of alcohol. Digging even deeper we finally arrive at the core of the whisky. Very noticeable wine cask influence. Sweet grapes, grape seeds, candied oranges and pineapples, pickled ginger, mango sorbet with lemon drizzled on top, fruity pipe tobacco and Swiss orange cough drops. Not an easy dram. Let’s check the palate: Continue reading “24 drams till Christmas 2016 #16: Springbank 12 yo Burgundy (2016)”

December 14, 2016December 11, 2016

24 drams till Christmas 2016 #14: Tobermory 19 yo by Cadenhead’s

Dram data:
Distillery: Tobermory
Bottler: Cadenhead’s
Distilled: 1995
Bottled: 07.2014
Age: 19
Limitation: 498 bottles
Casks: Sherry Butt
Alcohol: 54,2%
unchillfiltered and uncoloured
Whiskybase link

What’s that wee dusty miniature back there buried below other samples? Tobermory? Haven’t had one in a while – don’t mind if I pour one…

Tasting notes:
Colour: amber
The nose opens on… aaah! Dirty sherry whisky profile! None of this highly polished, clinically, modern stuff! Burnt rubber and oily rags with a bottle of Manzanilla poured over them on first contact! Not for wimps, that’s for sure. But what else is there? Almost burnt roasted dried fruits (any fruit, really), lovage, burnt toffee (hey, how many more burnt things can you cram into a Sherry butt?), high-octane chocolate and a handful of cloves. Sulphur, you ask? Well… err… maybe a burnt matchstick, but that’s about it. With water: not too much change, just a tad more accessible for people not used to this style of whisky. Let’s check the palate! Continue reading “24 drams till Christmas 2016 #14: Tobermory 19 yo by Cadenhead’s”

December 13, 2016December 10, 2016

24 drams till Christmas 2016 #13: Caol Ila 2005 11 yo by Gordon & MacPhail

Dram data:
Distillery: Caol Ila
Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail
Distilled: 21.01.2005
Bottled: 20.07.2016
Age: 11 years
Limitation: –
Casks: 4 First-Fill Sherry Butts
Alcohol: 57,3%
unchillfiltered and uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Young Caol Ila. You can’t go wrong with intense, young Caol Ila, right? Let’s have a taste of this one, from Gordon&MacPhail’s Cask Strength Collection.

Tasting notes:
Colour: light gold
The nose is very intense on the first nasal contact! Intense, phenolic peat smoke with alcohol, vanilla and white pepper/horseradish sharpness! Whoa! But I like it! Exactly why we love young, heavily peated whisky! Let’s wait a few minutes… Ah ha! Ginger, peaty apple compote and something spicy… used mulled wine spices? To be honest, I would’ve guessed ex-bourbon maturation, but the leaflet says first-fill ex-Sherry butts. On the other hand… it could’ve been dry sherry, there is a dryness… With water: same general profile, but less alcohol! Let’s see what the palate has to offer! Continue reading “24 drams till Christmas 2016 #13: Caol Ila 2005 11 yo by Gordon & MacPhail”

December 11, 2016December 9, 2016

24 drams till Christmas 2016 #11: The Macallan Edition No.2 NAS

Dram data:
Distillery: Macallan
Bottler: Official bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: 2016
Age: NAS
Limitation: –
Casks: 7 different types
Alcohol: 48,2%
unchillfiltered and uncoloured
Whiskybase link

The Macallan, probably one of the most widely recognised luxury whisky brands in the world, released their 2nd “edition” whisky, this time made up of no less than seven different cask types. It would be rude not to give it a proper review after being given a blind sample for a competition amongst malt mates!

Tasting notes:
Colour: amber
The nose opens with dense, heavily sherried, aged aromas. You could bury your nose in there for a long time. Let me rephrase that – you CAN! The European oak spices dominate, paired with mixed sherry impressions. Cinnamon, star anise and a pinch of nutmeg rubbed on a new leather jacket lying on a boardroom with old oak flooring. Raisins, caramelised ginger, dark chocolate too.
Very interesting and dense – but after close to a quarter of an hour in the glass and having taken a sip something happens: The nose gets much lighter, less “dark” and intense. Most whiskies improve with time in the glass, this one, strangely, seems to lose. A LOT! This happened to me on the first, blind tasting and now upon retasting as well. Let’s see what the palate has in store! Continue reading “24 drams till Christmas 2016 #11: The Macallan Edition No.2 NAS”

December 10, 2016December 9, 2016

24 drams till Christmas 2016 #10: The Epicurean Lowland blended malt by Douglas Laing

Dram data:
Distillery: –
Bottler: Douglas Laing
Distilled: –
Bottled: 2016
Age: NAS
Limitation: –
Casks: –
Alcohol: 46,2%
unchillfiltered and uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Lowland whisky distilleries are low in number and they also aren’t featured too often these days – so let’s take a look at this blended malt (a mixture of different single malt whiskies), made up exclusively by Lowland whiskies.

Tasting notes:
Colour: cucumber water
The nose opens on the light, grassy, citrus-laden side. Light in character, which is a quite common lowland whisky profile. Sweetened cucumber water (a trace of rock candy), freshly cut grass, hay, light vanilla, lemons and limes. Yep, a nice, clean, light, but still eventful nose, not “baby-young” but also not super-old either without a trace of oak. Or, maybe… a trace of leather – a bomber jacket perhaps? On to the palate! Continue reading “24 drams till Christmas 2016 #10: The Epicurean Lowland blended malt by Douglas Laing”