Tag: 20 years | MaltKlaus' Daily Drams

April 4, 2017July 5, 2017

Tasting: Benriach 20 yo

Dram data:
Distillery: Benriach
Bottler: official bottling
Distilled: –
Bottled: ca. 2016
Age: 20
Limitation: –
Casks: –
Alcohol: 43%
unchillfiltered; uncoloured
Whiskybase link

It’s been quite a while since I last had a Benriach, a distillery I’ve often had a bit of trouble with (with exceptions, such as the rather nice daily dram the 12 yo is). So let’s try this 20 year-old sipling!

Tasting notes:
Colour: amber
The nose is very promising upon first contact, soft and mellow, yet rich, with an “aged” base and heavily sherried! Old banana, banana chips, vanilla sauce, sweet grapes, some pickled ginger, fresh figs, rum-soaked plums and juicy sultanas. The fruity component rests on a bed of slight cask smoke, a whiff of dunnage warehouse and spices – cloves and cinnamon come to mind. Rich, juicy, fruity and dark, without too much wood, just about right for a 20 yo dram.
Continue reading “Tasting: Benriach 20 yo”

March 9, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: Glen Spey 1995 20 yo by Cadenhead’s – 2015 Club bottling

Dram data:
Distillery: Glen Spey-Glenlivet
Bottler: Cadenhead’s
Distilled: 1995
Bottled: 2015
Age: 20 years
Limitation: 180 bottles
Casks: Ex-Sherry hogshead
Alcohol: 52,7%
Unchillfiltered, uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: dark forest honey
It’s been ages since my last whisky review – the cold ruined my nose and palate for quite a while. In the glass today is one of my most anticipated bottles of the year – the “free” bottle from Cadenhead’s club which you get when you trade in a full stamp card (i.e. for buying six bottles of whisky from them). Great deal and it’s always a big mystery what the surprise bottle is going to be. For last year’s bottling, which arrived here in Austria in February 2016, they chose a sherry hogshead (!) from a rather obscure Speyside distillery. So let’s check it out!
The rather gentle nose is that of a well-aged (probably first fill) proper dry Sherry (Olorosoor Fino? – i.e. not overly sweet cream sherry) European oak sherry cask. Slightly dry sherry notes and wood spices (sandalwood, cinnamon, star anise) up front, met by what remains of a clean, slightly citrus-laden distillate. When I first tasted it I had lightly vegetal notes too – I think I can attribute those to my cold, I can’t find them anymore. Continue reading “Tasting: Glen Spey 1995 20 yo by Cadenhead’s – 2015 Club bottling”

January 13, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: Caol Ila 1995 20 yo by Cadenhead’s

Dram data:
Distillery: Caol Ila
Bottler: Cadenhead’s
Distilled: 1995
Bottled: 10.2015
Age: 20 years
Limitation: 564 bottles
Casks: Butt
Alcohol: 57.7%
Unchillfiltered, uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: white wine
Seems like yesterday since I last tasted a refill-Butt 20-ish Caol Ila. I was very fond of the last one so there’s certainly no harm in trying another! The nose is… rather gentle and delicate, actually. Very little alcohol despite nearly 58% ABV with a light and delicate peat smoke – almost a Bowmore-ish flowery note (burning lavender and violets?). Slightly damp cotton candy, diluted honey, almost faded Italian orange blossoms, citrus juice with bits and peel, an oak board in a florist’s shop and highland honey so faint you’re wondering if the bees made it through the summer. Continue reading “Tasting: Caol Ila 1995 20 yo by Cadenhead’s”

August 5, 2015October 7, 2016

Tasting: Tobermory 20 yo 1994 by Cadenhead’s

Dram data:
Distillery: Tobermory
Bottler: Cadenhead’s
Distilled: 1994
Bottled: 2015
Age: 20 years
Limitation: 570 bottles
Casks: sherry cask
Alcohol: 57,8%
unchillfiltered; natural colour
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: amber
The nose starts with a quite strong mixture of alcohol and sulphur notes (I don’t mind sulphur as long as it’s not taking over, which it isn’t in this case). Oak spices, caramel, cocoa and hints of dried dark fruits in the background, but this baby needs a bit of water for further dissection. Three espresso spoons to a 25 ml measure seems about right. Ah yes, a classic european oak ex-sherry cask nose, none of this polished, vanilla-laden designer stuff from American oak casks we see so much of these days… Aged to a point where the cask spices take over the sherry influence – but don’t mistake it for being over-the-top woody, it isn’t at all, just the european oak flexing its muscles, that’s all. Continue reading “Tasting: Tobermory 20 yo 1994 by Cadenhead’s”

March 18, 2015October 7, 2016

Tasting: Glen Scotia 20y 1992 by Archives

Dram data:
Distillery: Glen Scotia
Bottler: Archives
Distilled: 02.1992
Bottled: 05.2012
Age: 20
Limitation: 80 bottles
Casks: Hogshead
Alcohol: 50,4%
Unchillfiltered, natural colour
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: light gold with lots of dark cask bits 😀
The nose is a bit strong on the alcohol at first with a delicate and shy aroma lurking underneath. Not too active a cask I guess. After the initial alcoholic note passes I get light fruit notes.
Continue reading “Tasting: Glen Scotia 20y 1992 by Archives”

February 22, 2015October 7, 2016

Tasting: Glen Garioch 1993 20y by Single Cask Collection

Glen Garioch 1993 20 years Single Cask Collection

Dram data:
Distillery: Glen Garioch
Bottler: Single Cask Collection
Distilled: 29.09.1993
Bottled: 04.02.2014
Age: 20 years
Limitation: 226 bottles
Price at the time of purchasing: – (sample)
Casks: Bourbon Hogshead no. 808
Alcohol: 55,1%
Unchillfiltered, natural colour
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: straw
The nose is a bit closed down at first, it needs some time to open up. Neat: A mix of delicate vanilla, peppermint, white pepper and lemon juice. Continue reading “Tasting: Glen Garioch 1993 20y by Single Cask Collection”

January 14, 2015October 7, 2016

Tasting: Bunnahabhain 1991 20y by Single Cask Collection

Dram data:
Distillery: Bunnahabhain
Bottler: Single Cask Collection
Distilled: 02.12.1991
Bottled: 22.08.2012
Age: 20
Limitation: 738 bottles
Casks: Bourbon hogshead 5468
Alcohol: 49,1%
Unchillfiltered, natural colour
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: gold
The nose is light, fragrant, perfumy. A rather shy islander. Sweet orange juice, ginger, ripe pears, red apples with a floral note on top. Continue reading “Tasting: Bunnahabhain 1991 20y by Single Cask Collection”