Tag: Gordon & Macphail | Page 2 | MaltKlaus' Daily Drams

June 6, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: Bunnahabhain Peated 8 years MacPhail’s Collection

Dram data:
Distillery: Bunnahabhain
Bottler: Gordon&MacPhail
Distilled: 2006
Bottled: 2015
Age: 8 years
Limitation: –
Casks: refill/first fill sherry hogsheads
Alcohol: 43%
chill filtered and uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: white wine
The nose opens with fragrant and well-integrated peat smoke. Not too phenolic – somewhere in between Bowmore and the south coast distilleries. Behind the layer of peat smoke we’ve got fresh oak vanilla sweetness, milk toffee, milk chocolate, brown shortbread which work in harmony with the peat influence. Supporting aromas in the background are a pinch of salt, crushed shells and the (positively) dirty aromas I often get in Bunnas – a hint of oil and earth. This is a surprisingly balanced, multi-faceted dram for 8 years! Continue reading “Tasting: Bunnahabhain Peated 8 years MacPhail’s Collection”

April 28, 2016October 7, 2016

Tasting: Glen Albyn 1976 – 2012 by Gordon & Macphail

Glen Albyn 1976 - 2012 by Gordon & Macphail's

Dram data:
Distillery: Glen Albyn
Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail
Distilled: 1976
Bottled: 2012
Age: ca. 36 years
Limitation: –
Casks: Ex-sherry
Alcohol: 43%
chill filtered, uncoloured
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: apple juice
My first Glen Albyn – a lost Inverness distillery, founded in 1846 and closed during the miserable 80s whisky downturn in 1983. Bottlings of this distillery are getting very scarce these days…
The nose opens with notes of dusty apple strudel with sugar (no raisins!), old mashed banana, icing sugar with a drop of lemon, rich, creamy old oak and dried orange zest. Very, very mellow and well-aged! The palate has notes of white and red apples – very light, actually, light spices and a lot of creaminess. Old, dried oranges, a hint of cardboard and an old banana with peel with a fragrant oak and a whiff of dusty old cellar (yep!) in the background. Continue reading “Tasting: Glen Albyn 1976 – 2012 by Gordon & Macphail”

December 13, 2015October 7, 2016

24 drams till Christmas tasting #13: Glenturret 2001 – 2015 by G&M

Dram data:
Distillery: Glenturret
Bottler: Gordon & Macphail
Distilled: 2001
Bottled: 23.09.2015
Age: ca. 14 years
Limitation: –
Casks: sherry casks
Alcohol: 43%
(most likely)chill filtered; natural colour
Whiskybase link

Tasting notes:
Colour: amber
The nose is unmistakably sherry influenced – there’s no mention about the casks being used on the label so we can only guess, but it’s a safe bet! The vanilla does point into the direction of either American oak sherry casks or a second maturation. Type of sherry? Could be a sweet Oloroso or a PX. So, we’ve got sweet-ish sherry notes, vanilla, ripe cherries, raisins, condensed orange juice, caramel, hints of toffee, wax and just slight spices – more like ginger than European oak oriental spices.
Continue reading “24 drams till Christmas tasting #13: Glenturret 2001 – 2015 by G&M”