Bad ass whisky tasting at De Whiskykoning

Posted on 18 April 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Last Friday was the day I booked a tasting at my favorite whisky shop. We went to Den Bosch, to De Whiskykoning (who has a new web site, by the way) with some friends for the bad ass whisky tasting.

We agreed upon an amount per person and he would make a line up of great drams and not tell us what the drams were until we had tasted them. A proper blind tasting, so to say.

At eight o’clock all nine of us were in and we were guided to the tasting room, which is always an impressive sight. Hundred of bottles line the walls, from recently released to decades old stuff.

The first whisky was this Bladnoch. My father in law even called the distillery!

The nose is light and floral, with a definite creamy scent to it. Smooth with some oak and soft grain aromas. The palate was surprisingly sharp with notes of barley, cream, grass and flowers. Quite dry too. The finish was smooth with that creaminess again, and some light spices.

A very impressive Bladnoch.

88/100

Then another Lowlander! This 1989 Rosebank from a sherry cask is a really good whisky that shows why Rosebank is such a fan favorite.

The nose had a hint of glue at first with a light hint of sherry. There’s raisins and peaches. A light dusting of spices, some aniseed and orange. The palate is very dry with a combination of fruits and spices. Dry sherry, peach, date. Quite smooth again. The finish long and highland like. Someone even called if Brora-y. Ever so slightly ashy with oak and wood spices.

Amazing whisky that could stand up to quite a lot of the cask strength stuff that came after. Ridiculously tasty!

92/100

A blended malt by David Stirk’s Creative Whisky Company, from the David Rampling Series from last year. It contains two unnamed single malts and is bottled at 45.4%, at 38 years old.

This one fully went for the Sticky Toffee Pudding nose, palate and finish. On the nose there also were dates, oak and some aniseed. The palate is dry and oaky, but still crisp. Dates and dryness too. The long finish added some almond to the mix.

90/100

A very old Glenlivet from Duncan Taylor’s Peerless collection. At 40 years old, this one was a beauty.

On the nose it is very smooth and has lots of barley and straw, and oak shavings. A touch of vanilla too. The palate is smooth with lots of oak, old oak and a slight increase in ABV over the rest, which was noticeable. The rich finish focuses on oak and oak shavings.

91/100

I finally got to try this but I expect to write proper tasting notes soon, so I’m leaving it at that.

Then this came along. This is a bruiser. Not a single cask, but still a very limited release, especially after being in the bottle for 24 years.

The nose had a tiny hint of rubber, but more in a way that it is a prelude to something great, than just car tires. Some sherry and iodine, very dirty with ‘ontbijtkoek’, oak, figs, plums. Very old sherry. The palate is sharp and rich with a light dryness. Very sharp indeed (it turned out to be almost 64%), but also sherry and dried leather. The finish suddenly had some beef stock, with leather and that hint of rubber again. And dried figs and plums.

Over the entire bit there was a whiff of smoke but not a lot indeed. We did call it old Caol Ila but weren’t very sure of ourselves. But damn this is insane whisky. A shame the shop owner didn’t want to sell the rest of the bottle, at whatever the cost.

94/100

Then this one popped up as an encore. I didn’t write proper notes on it and I still expect to buy it at some point. Somehow I forgot after the tasting. Maybe I was slightly more impressed with the rest?

So, a ridiculously awesome tasting. Very much worth the € 50 we spent on it and I am already making plans for next year.

Thanks to Rob who owns the shop, but also Michiel, Seth, Bram, Henk, JP, Ronald, Elco and Thomas!

Posted in - Blended Malt, Bladnoch, Caol Ila, Glenlivet, Lagavulin, Rosebank, Springbank | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ledaig, Vintage 1996, Spanish Oloroso Sherry Casks, 46.3%

Posted on 15 April 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

This limited edition Ledaig was released little over a month ago and I decided to share it. Since last year I actually have some positive experience with the brand, divided between their 18 year old, a 1974 vintage bottled 20 years ago and, of course, their ridiculously awesome 42 year old.

Interestingly, these are all official bottlings, and not independent ones. I, of course, know that the level of the 42 year old is not easy to measure up to, but a new bottlings that might be anything like the 18 year old is something worth trying.

So, I bought it. I bottle-shared it, and yesterday I followed through with my new plan. To go through my own samples from bottle shares, I plan to just sit down with it and have a couple glasses of the same whisky. Really getting to know it, instead of  just writing notes based on a few centiliters. In case of 3 cl samples there’s not much choice, but generally I end up with 10 centiliters. So, three pours. An evening of whisky per sample.

Anyway, I had a few drops of this on earlier occasions, and I had twice as much for myself in this case. I already knew I liked it. But now for proper notes.

Sniff:
It’s typical for properly aged Ledaig. It’s both very clean and incredibly dirty. There’s overripe fruits, peach and mango. I also get barbecue grease, the sooty, congealed kind. On the other hand there’s clean wood smoke with grass and straw. The smoke is a tad sharper than I expected.

Sip:
The palate continues with the sharp smoke leading the way. There’s salt, oak, straw, slate. A typical combination of peated coastal whisky. Then the barbecue kicks back in, with the fatty soot, ash. Also hints of mango chutney and peach. Slightly on the sweet side.

Swallow:
The smoke is a bit more prominent on the finish and it seems at first that the dirty side of the whisky doesn’t carry all the way through. That’s not the case as it just starts with ash, straw and grass. It is quite long and after a little while you get the meaty, fatty flavors back.

This whisky is exactly what you expect it to be on many levels. The only thing that was different than what I hoped it would be was the prominent smokiness, but that too isn’t something that’s a bad thing.

The dirtiness is something I hoped for and it’s something that I think is unique to Ledaig. It’s why the 18 year old is great, it’s also why this one is great. A highly recommended dram if you want something else from Islay smoke!

88/100

Ledaig, Vintage 1996, Spanish Oloroso Sherry Casks, 46.3%. Available for € 135 at Best of Wines

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MacPhail’s 2000, 40% – Gordon & MacPhail

Posted on 14 April 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

This was part of a bottle share a fellow Dutch sharer did a while ago. It was all a bit of a strange one since he got this, I think, in auction. But since this is an old ceramic jug you don’t know how much whisky is actually in it.

So, while the initial guess was that it would be close to the stated two liters, it turned out to be closer to 1.2 liters. A good 40% of the contents had evaporated over the years. Based on that info a possibly dodgy whisky became even more dodgy, but I wanted to go ahead and ordered 5 cl anyway (instead of 10 cl though).

The whisky was blended and bottled to celebrate the new millennium. Whether that means it’s been bottled in 2000 or just in 1999 is unclear. I would have thought this jug to be much, much older since so much has evaporated from it!

The MacPhail’s 2000 is a blended malt whisky with a combined age of over 2000 years old. The whisky in it are up to 60 years old. It means, I guess, that this has some significant age on average. Although it doesn’t say how many different whiskies are in there. So if could technically also be loads of three year olds. I bet that’s not the case though.

Image from Whiskybase

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
The nose is full and rich, with a very old-whisky-feel to it. Slightly oxidized but absolutely not in a bad way. Fruity sherry with a slightly bitter note of oak. Orange, date, cocoa. The sherry is sweet and fruity with oak, spices and a slight bitterness.

Sip:
The palate is slightly sharper than I expected of an oxidized, old, blended 40% whisky. Slightly dry and slightly bitter. Sweet and fruity with peach, date, sweet oranges. Some European oak notes too.

Swallow:
The finish, again, is old fashioned and sherried. Lots of sherry, lots of fruit. Some baking spices and a dry, bitter note. Oranges are prominent again, and the finish is long and rich.

I have to admit I was taken by surprise. Based on all the info I had on this whisky I expected it to be kind of a bummer when I actually tried it. There were so many red flags with the oxidation, and the already low ABV to start with.

I was wrong. This is a stunning whisky that has been able to stand up to a porous environment, oxidation, low ABV and filtration. This is quite a feat, if you ask me.

The flavors are comparable to quite some older G&M bottles I’ve had in the past and it wouldn’t surprise me if there is quite some Glen Grant and Strathisla in there. Probably also some Glenlivet and Longmorn, based on what Gordon & MacPhail bottled a lot of in the past.

What just popped into my head: If this contains whiskies of up to sixty years old, there is whisky in here from the early 1940s. A truly interesting ‘bottle’.

91/100

MacPhail’s 2000, 40%, Gordon & MacPhail. Only in auctions and valued at some 500+ euros I guess.

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A lot of new bottle shares, and some old ones

Posted on 12 April 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

A few months ago I wrote a short overview of bottle-shares that were still available then. Most of those have sold now except the Willett one. Can’t really blame people for not knowing this rather awesome distillery. What also doesn’t help is that I’ve not even gotten around to tasting and reviewing these samples yet.

Since then I’ve done a bazillion new bottle shares, varying from random bottles that popped up on websites left and right, and some things from my own collection that I’d been wanting to open for ages.

Some of them worked out, some didn’t, some did to some extent.

Some bottle-shares have not sold out yet, so I’ll be listing those available below as well. What also happened is that I went rather ballistic in an auction, based on the incredibly well written article by The Whisky Sponge on April Fools Day. Three bottles were ‘won’ and that bill has to be paid somehow too!

So, these bottle-shares are all available and you can get in touch with me, if you like to partake any of them!

Wolfburn 3 years old

I’m quite thrilled about this one. Their spirit was very promising and I think they’re doing well for not jumping on the ‘heavily peated bandwagon’. The most recent distillery in Scotland to come on steam and get to the three year mark.

10 cl  = € 9
(20cl available)

Millstone 2013 Peated PX for ‘Whisky in Leiden’

In support of both a cool shop and (IMHO) the best distillery in The Netherlands, this three year old, cask strength, PX matured, peated single malt from Zuidam Distillery. I have no clue what to expect yet, but it’ll sure be interesting!

10 cl = € 9
(30 cl available)

The ones below are a ‘little bit’ more expensive, but we’re also venturing into an entirely different category of whisky here.

While this might sound decadent, I’m hoping to get into the somewhat more rare and old stuff in another ‘quality over quantity’ trial.

Dallas Dhu 1976-2001, Old Malt Cask, 50%

I’m very curious to this one. I don’t have much experience with the closed Dallas Dhu, and this is from the 70s, which was quite a great period of distilling in Scotland. I saw that the two ratings on Whiskybase averaged out on 91 points, so I bet this will be interesting!

10 cl = € 50
5 cl = € 26
(20 cl available)

Balblair 1975-2006, 30yo, 46.2%

And while Balblair is becoming more and more popular, I haven’t tasted many very old ones. The ones that I did try were pretty amazing, so here’s to this one! A 30 year old from the mid seventies, at a relatively low ABV of 46.2%.

10 cl = € 38
5 cl = € 20
(15 cl available)

Balblair 5yo, bottled in the early eighties, 40%

And another Balblair, most likely being distilled in the late seventies. The tax label on the bottle indicated it was bottled anywhere between 1977 and +/- 1985 based on my research. It’s just five years old, but that was how single malt was drunk mostly during that era. Liquid history, if you ask me.

10 cl = € 13
5 cl = € 7
(10 cl available)

Posted in - Bottle share, - News and Announcements, Balblair, Dallas Dhu, Millstone, Wolfburn, Zuidam | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Benromach Sassicaia 2007 (bottled 2016), 45%

Posted on 11 April 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Benromach releases a Sassicaia finished whisky from their warehouses every year or so. They don’t come with an age, but they use a vintage instead. They go with vintages for a lot of the wood finished whiskies, while the older ‘regularly’ matured whiskies come with an age statement.

In this case, the vintage 2007 means that it’s at least an eight year old whisky. The whisky matured in bourbon casks for the better part of its life, before being finished in Sassicaia casks from Tuscany for 2 years. More info can be found here.

There aren’t many Sassicaia casks out there, and while Benromach has the more famous one, I know the casks were also used in Glenmorangie’s Artein Private Edition from a couple of years ago.

I generally am not one to be swayed by wine cask matured of finished whiskies, but there have been some quite nice ones over the years. Let’s see what this one brings us!

Sniff:
The wine influence is clear from the get go. It also gives the whisky a weird second layer. Like there is a lot of bourbon maturation wanting to be noticed, but also the wine casks. Lots of fruit, quite some malt and a lot of oak too. Red fruits like strawberry and a liqueur like sweetness. Quite heavy, but that’s not unexpected for Benromach. Also, a but of a wine warehouse mustiness.

Sip:
The palate shows more of the very sweet wine influence. Oak and some peppery heat. Quite dry with a kind of red fruit compote flavor. Like stewed forest fruits (strawberries, raspberries, black berries, that kind of stuff).

Swallow:
The finish is smooth with lots of oak. It’s of medium length and quite sweet again.

Well, what to say. Like this whisky, I’m a bit in doubt between two things.

On one hand it’s a very decent and old fashioned Benromach, with a couple of years of maturation under its belt. The oak makes itself known and there are a lot of flavors to like or even love.

On the other hand there’s the overly sweet wine influence, which is just a bit too much for me. The sweetness brings a lot of fruit flavors, but I think they’re overdoing it just a bit.

In the end, I’m terribly sure there are a lot of people who’d love this whisky, but it’s just not for me.

80/100

Benromach Sassicaia 2007 (bottled 2016), 45%.
It’s not available yet, but will soon be. Knowing Benromach it’ll be very fairly priced.

Thanks to Benromach for the sample!

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Springbank 1996-2016, 19yo, cask 106, 54.8% – Archives

Posted on 7 April 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

The last of the three Springbanks released by Whiskybase / Archives about two weeks ago is the only sherry cask of the bunch. The cask filling date and the bottling date are slightly different but comparable enough.

An interesting fact is that this only came out about two weeks ago and people are already trying to flip it on the Whiskybase Marketplace for € 999, while the original price was ‘only’ € 180.

Also interesting is that where the bourbon casks were refill hogsheads, this comes from a fresh sherry hogshead. So first fill. The hogshead denominator does not necessarily mean that it was made from American oak, although that is very likely.

Sniff:
The sherry influence is very clear and reminiscent of a more juicy and fruity sherry. Lots of peaches and plums and dates. Old oak with a light dusting of baking spices. Slightly feinty and maybe even a hint of sulfur on the nose. In a good way that is.

Sip:
The palate is slightly sharper than the nose suggests (but not as sharp as cask 551). Some chili pepper and grilled fruit. Peach, apricot, date. Slightly bitter with tea, lots of oak and some earthy flavors.

Swallow:
The finish is mostly spicy with some fruit and pith. Quite long. After a while the spices get more subdued and it all becomes more fruity.

Again, the guys at Whiskybase have picked an awesome cask. I’ve tried several sherried Springbanks over the years, but they have become few and far between over the last couple annums. However, this is a really good one and (if I would have bought it) would have a great addition to my ever growing collection of Springbank whiskies.

The fruity flavors are nothing to be surprised by, but the combination of the spices and the earthy hint of tea and old oak made it something ‘more’, something better. Great stuff, albeit the least interesting of the three…

90/100

Springbank 17/05/1996 – 26/02/2016, 19yo, Fresh Sherry Hogshead 106, 54.8%, Archives (Shells from the Bay of Caracas). It used to cost € 180 but is already sold out.

Thanks to Whiskybase for a sample!

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Springbank 1996-2016, 19yo, cask 550, 56.4% – Archives

Posted on 6 April 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

This just occurred to me: If I just repost the entire post from yesterday, only a very limited amount of people would notice, and I’d get away with it. Sort of.

This ‘second’ cask, to me at least, logically it would have been the first, was literally a sister cask. 550 is the number of this one, 551 was yesterday’s. The age of the bottles only differs in minutes or hours, since they were filled and emptied on exactly the same day.

A very cool thing to try these side by side, because it doesn’t happen often that you get this chance. So, from a purely educational stand point, this is very interesting for us punters.

Let’s see what this brings us!

Sniff:
More minerals on the nose and slate as well. Straw and oak make an appearance, and I get licorice. Slightly timid at first, and some vanilla showing up after the initial notes. Minor hints of barley and a whiff of smoke.

So, similar, but not the same as cask 551. This one is more minerally, and there are hints of vanilla that I didn’t find before. Classic too, but not as weighty or typical.

Sip:
The palate shows some peppery heat with straw and oak. Barley husks and quite some wood notes. I get flavors of sand, slate, minerals, those grainy biscuits you get for cheap in the supermarket. Mash, slightly sour.

A very different balance than cask 551. Far more focus on the grain and the flavors you get from that. I guess this cask was a lot less active.

Swallow:
The finish is smooth and focuses on the barley again. Some light smoke and oak too, with a slightly salty end to it.

Quite a different dram from the previous one. While both are very ‘Springbank-y’ but where this one focuses on barley notes, the other one was far more grassy and woody. I’d say minerals and barley are the theme of this one, which makes it a rather coastal dram.

Having said that, I also love this one very much. It’s a really, really great dram that can stand to almost anything. It’s quite intense, although the palate is slightly more gentle than the other one.

91/100

Springbank 25/10/1996 – 03/03/2016, 19yo, Refill Bourbon Hogshead 550, 56.4%, Archives (Shells from the Bay of Caracas). It used to cost € 160 but is already sold out.

Thanks to Whiskybase for sending samples!

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Springbank 1996-2016, 19yo, cask 551, 54.9% – Archives

Posted on 5 April 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Contrary to the big boys of whisky blogging, I’m not going to write the three Springbank reviews of the newest Whiskybase Archives batch in one go. Mostly because that would leave me with little else to blog about for the rest of the week, and second because I don’t really have the time right now.

The story so far.

A little while ago the awesome guys at Whiskybase surprised me with a pack of samples. It contained three Archives releases of Springbank whisky. The IDs for Whiskybase were there, but the page didn’t show anything yet.

2016-03-18 13.02.37

So, I knew it was Springbank from 1996, bottled for Archives. That’s about it. I was very curious to get stuck in, but I also knew I wanted to take my time and sit down properly to try these. Properly aged Springbank is not as common as it used to be, and I know the Whiskybase guys to not half-ass things like this.

So, a few days ago I tried the samples. At about the same time I sat down to try them. The next day things were sold out. I was late to the party. Again.

Anyway, the first of these three Springbank reviews is from a Refill Bourbon Hogshead, number 551 from 1996.

Sniff:
The nose is gentle with some chalk and straw. There’s a certain salinity with dryness and oak. Classic, and weighty older Springbank for sure! It reminds me of the official bottlings they did with the white labels. Mixed peppercorns. Quiet but ‘important’, as my mate Ben would say.

Sip:
The palate starts surprisingly sweet with banana foam candies, but that’s gone quickly. Then there’s an unexpected fierceness with lots of oak shavings and licorice. Straw, salt and basalt. Slightly syrupy sugar and a tiny trace of smoke.

Swallow:
The finish is slightly oily and mellows quickly. There’s straw and hay with oak and some gentle spicy notes. Licorice root, pepper, salt.

This, ‘dear reader’, is ace Springbank. This is exactly what puts Springbank on the map for me. It’s weighty, slightly dirty with a hint of salt and smoke. There’s something of all categories of flavor (fruit, grass, spices, smoke, feints, the lot).

The sharpness on the palate suggests it can take some water if you swing that way, but I think I prefer this without. It just works. Like a charm.

92/100

Springbank 25/10/1996 – 03/03/2016, 19yo, Refill Bourbon Hogshead 551, 54.9%, Archives (Shells from the Bay of Caracas). It used to cost € 160 but is already sold out.

Thanks to Whiskybase for sending samples!

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Best beers of March

Posted on 4 April 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

So, since I’m spending shitloads of money on beer again. Or at least I was over the last couple of months, I decided to get something out of it except lots of enjoyment. So, after 2.5 years of absence, there’s a ‘Best beers of ….’ again.

This month has been rather crazy with lots of different brews, of widely varying quality.

Freeburn, Loch Ness Brewery, 7%
YES. I ordered this early in the month and have been thoroughly enjoying it. It’s ridiculously awesome with lots of malty goodness and a gentle cask influence. My beer of the month!

Dark Sister, Brussels Beer Project, 6.66%
I believe this was a Black IPA? Which also means it was tasty but not exceptional. Else I’d have remembered it.

Black Saison, Bidassoa Basque Brewery, 6.7%
Good but not great.

Spencer Trappist Ale, Spencer Brewery, 6.5%
One of the newer Trappist breweries. A lot of attention was given to this when it came out, but the beer itself is heavily styled after its Belgian counterparts. Therefore, there’s absolutely no reason to buy this if Belgian beers are cheaper. Utterly mediocre and far too expensive for it.

SmokieNess, Loch Ness Brewery, 5%
 A reddish ale brewed by the guys at Loch Ness with one of their favorite bands, Smokie (?). I don’t know the band, but I really enjoyed the beer. Not exceptional, but thoroughly enjoyable. Recommended.

InverNess, Loch Ness Brewery, 4.5%
A gentle IPA at a lower ABV. Typically English, but the hops usage was more American styled. Recommended.

ReAle, Birra del Borgo, 6.4%
Good but not great.

Braggot Brett 2014, De Molen, 8.5%
An intentionally infected beer, much like (AFAIK) Orval’s Trappist. Not sure what the angle was here, but I really, really didn’t like it.

Stouts, Porters, that kind of stuff:

  • KeTo Reporter, Birra del Borgo, 5.2%
    Brewed with tobacco. Very interesting and easy drinking. Good for a change of pace.
  • Grandpa’s Darkside, Bad Hair Breweing, 11.5%
    Not really good. Forgettable
  • Old Rasputin, North Coast Brewing Co., 9%
    A staple in the category, I think. Recommended
  • Barrel Project #2/2015, Brouwerij Kees, 10.6%
    This doesn’t stand out from the others in the category of whisky barrel aged stouts.

IPA:

I love IPAs. I was, however, looking for some new ones. Just to not drink Punk IPA all the time. These ones are great, and highly recommended:

  • Blue Dot Double IPA, Rooie Dop, 9%
  • Fuck Art, this is Architecture, To Øl, 5%
  • Delta IPA, Brussels Beer Project, 6.5%
  • Albino Squid Assassin, BrewDog, 7.4%

And I had the Duvel Triple Hop 2016, which somehow is very popular but I just can’t seem to care about it. It is better than last year’s though. The Double Wide IPA by Boulevard Brewing Co. (8.5%) is nice but forgettable too. And forgettable American beer in Europe is just too expensive.

Sour ales:

Most sour ales I had this month were from Alvinne. They seem to focus on the style, but they don’t make Gueuze. That results in, from my opinion, quite inferior beers in which the sweetness of the malt and wood have not been well integrated.

  • Omega, Alvinne, 6%
  • Chain Reaction, Alvinne, 5.3%
  • Sigma, Alvinne, 10%

Oude Quetsche Tilquin (2014-2015), 6.4%
A random Gueuze I picked up last week and there’s nothing wrong with it. It also won’t sway you away from buying 3 Fonteinen or Cantillon, and that’s just as expensive.

Good, but just not for me:

Some beers are actually quite good, but somehow the style doesn’t sit well with me

  • Bambergator, Brauerei Fassla, 8.5%
  • Noa Pecan Mud Cake Stout, Omnipollo, 11%
  • Lager, Loch Ness Brewery, 4%

Forgettable beers:

  • IPA, Peak Organic Brewing Company, 7.1%
  • Dodo, Oedipus Brewing, 5%
  • Benediktiner Weissbier Dunkel, Benediktiner Weissbrau, 5.4%
Posted in - Beer | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Smith’s Glenlivet 1974, 43% – Gordon & MacPhail’s Rare Vintage

Posted on 31 March 2016 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

intro_bg_lg

Glenlivet doesn’t pop up all that often in independent bottlings. Also is it not quite on the radar of the usual suspects I taste whisky with. The result of that is, of course, that I don’t try many Glenlivets.

This is quite strange, since I know I rather like the distillery’s product. I went through some bottles of it over the years and most of them were good, some were better. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad Glenlivet.

What did get on my radar is that they released some ridiculous ‘dram chair’ two years ago. Also, some of their releases are ridiculously expensive, like the limited edition Bochel which is an 11 year old sherry’d dram, for some € 230. The reviews of that are rather positive, but there’s always a footnote that it’s not with that much by a long shot.

But still, their normal releases and the Nadurra’s are all pretty fine drams. The indie versions I’ve tried have all been good to great. Let’s see how this one fares. Oh, it’s from the Wood makes the Whisky campaign again, and this one clearly shows how wood was involved in it.

Sniff:
Big and spicy sherry notes. Not just peaches, plums and figs, but also quite some wood spices. Nutmeg and clove, I’d say. Very light and not as ‘old’ as I expected it to be. Slightly bitter with oak and dried autumn leaves.

Sip:
Very smooth and gentle. Quite hot on the palate again, but in this case that’s more the bitterness of the oak and the spices coming through than it is pepper. Autumn leaves, tobacco leaves maybe. Oak, quite a lot of that, and baking spices. Nutmeg and clove. Some fruits typically associates with sherry in the background.

Swallow:
Here the oak gets a bit dusty and the bitterness is more pronounced than it was before. Classic sherry notes, the aforementioned bitterness is coming through full strength, supported by spices, fruit and oak. Very long on the finish.

I saw Gal review this and rate it at 88 points. I think that’s a bit on the low side, but I might be more of a sucker for bitter flavors.

So, yay on the bitterness! The combination of flavors works really well and in no way is this a simple dram. The fruit combined with the earthy, leafy flavors works great. Add some spices to that and you’re in for a rather great dram.

The ‘old’ flavors of slightly too powerful oak are not in play yet, but they are starting to show up. That means the whisky isn’t too old but the raw edges have been trimmed. All in all, it seems this was bottled at the best possible time.

91/100

Smith’s Glenlivet 1974, 43%, Gordon & MacPhail’s Rare Vintage. Available for $ 299 at K&L Wines

Thanks to Gordon & MacPhail for the sample!

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