Tomatin 10, bottled in the 1970s, 43%

Posted on 23 August 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Tom (van Engelen) recently won this in an auction and the bottle-share group wouldn’t be the bottle-share group if it hadn’t gotten bottle-shared. So, a sample made its way to my shelf and, contrary to semi-random samples like this, wasn’t forgotten for another half decade.

It’s the official Tomatin 10 from some 50 years ago, imported into Italy. There’s all kinds of information on the importer and the tax stamps, but you can look that up yourself on the Whiskybase page here.

Image from Whiskybase

A bottling from 50 years ago comes with a certain risk, although the fill level, as you can see on the image below, is insanely good. Screw caps should be the way to go, for this kind of stuff. There’s not only the fill level that might be an issue, but also whether it was kept properly, although all signs point in the right direction (the label isn’t faded, the fill level again). Then there’s the OBE (Old Bottle Effect), which changes the flavor of the whisky. It doesn’t always work, and can make an old whisky really flat, or utterly magnificent. Let’s find out!

Sniff:
Lots of old style malt with iron and copper. Old apples, soil. Quite dusty and very, very old fashioned.

Sip:
A gentle arrival with more metallic flavors. Malt, iron, copper polish. Some wood, old style and therefore slightly funky, yeasty. True bottle aging.

Swallow:
The finish carries on down the same way. Even more ‘old’, but on the short side.

Lovely flavors, but a tad simple. The age of the bottle holds it up. So there is quite a lot of OBE, and I think without it, it wouldn’t have been a too interesting dram. Now it is, but as said, it’s a bit simple. There aren’t too many other flavors going on.

In 1961 the amount of still was increased to 10, at Tomatin. This expansion started in 1956 by going from 2 to 4, then to 6 in 1958, and another four were added in 1961. I can only imagine that the spirit got a bit less unique in that era. Although, old Tomatin (as in, bottled after a huge amount of time in the cask) is utterly magnificent.

87/100

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Secret Speyside 17, 2005-2023, First Fill Oloroso Sherry Butt, 58.1% – Signatory Vintage

Posted on 22 August 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

According to everyone on the internet, this is a Macallan. The little (m) on the label also suggests that, since there’s not too many distilleries with an M out there. Macallan, Macduff, Mannochmore, Miltonduff and Mortlach. Of course, four of these five are in Speyside so that officially doesn’t really narrow it down.

Of course, there’s the palate and aromas you can go by, but I am know to be notoriously shit at guessing whiskies based on smell and taste.

Image from Whiskybase

Now, I have to admit I’ve not had many Macallans over the last couple of years. Ever since prices started to soar, they’ve priced themselves neatly out of my enthusiasm. On top of that, independent releases have all but dried up, and official releases focus more on color than they do on sharing information of what is in the bottle. I dislike that, to say the least.

Anyway, a decent aged Macallan, from a decent bottler. I had to get my hands on a sample of this, and that worked out really well.

Sniff:
Full on sherry on the nose. Lots of dried fruit, lots of sweetness. Dark oaky notes too. Not a lot of those yeasty notes that sometimes come with sherry matured whisky. Tobacco, and where there was some gentleness at first, there’s lots of bite and black pepper after a minute or so.

Sip:
The palate is surprisingly dry with lots of chili and black pepper. After that the dried fruits, dates, plums, cherries, come back. Their stones are here too, with an almond like bitterness.

Swallow:
A rather hot and rich finish. Dry, but with lots of dried fruit that do add some sweetness, without it being contradictory.

This is one of those whiskies that is quite contradictory to me. On one hand there is a lot of nice flavors and depth and oomph for two whiskies, but on the other hand there is almost nothing reminiscent of spirit and barley happening. It’s all cask, all the way.

So, it’s very good in a way, but it’s also not something I’d want to return to too often.

87/100

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Benrinnes 10, 2013-2023, Refill Bourbon Hogshead 300745, 57.5% – Dràm Mòr

Posted on 21 August 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer
Image from The Green Welly Stop / Tyndrum Whisky

For a refill bourbon cask whisky, this one has a rather dark hue to it. Without tasting it I would have guessed this to be a sherry cask. If you ever wonder why information on labels is important, here is one thing.

Dràm Mòr bottled this 10 year old version of Diageo’s blend focused distillery recently, and it has now made the leap across the North Sea and is available in Austria. Of course, with their strict export regulations (open borders my ass) this is of exactly zero help to us in the rest of Europe, but who knows, it might spread.

Sniff:
There’s a crisp, slightly chalky note of sweetened aniseed on the nose. Some bay leaf, dry oak shavings and grist. In the background there’s lemon and apple. Slightly burned pound cake.

Sip:
The palate arrives very dryly, with lots of oak, grist, almond flour. After a couple of seconds a peppery notes changes from fresh black pepper to hotter chillies.

Swallow:
The finish mellows quickly but leaves all the dryness. A hint of copper, barley, black pepper lingers longest.

This is a surprisingly nice dram from Benrinnes and Dràm Mòr. I didn’t go in with high expectations, although I’m not entirely sure why. Possibly because those younger Benrinnes’ have not been delivering a lot over the last couple of years. This one does, however. A rather complex whisky for its ten years of maturation, with lots of lovely flavors to be discovered!

87/100

Available in Scotland for £ 75, and in Austria for € 90

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Caol Ila 30, 1981-2011, Bourbon cask, 52.9% – Liquid Sun

Posted on 18 August 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

So, ages ago when I got a bunch of bottles in that were scoring well different than you’d expect by checking the label and bottler, I also got this 30 year old Caol Ila. Early eighties Caol Ila is a thing and many whisky fanatics have either tried it or had bottles of it, since it was anything but rare.

Generally, those older Caol Ilas also score quite highly, but this one doesn’t. Generally that is not a reason to buy a bottle, but for some reason I was compelled to do so anyway.

Image from Whiskybase

Now I know Liquid Sun doesn’t have the best track record. I’ve had more than one bottling from them that scored way below what would be the average, and in one of the whisky groups I’m in there’s still a running joke about a certain Linkwood from them that was utterly atrocious.

Sniff:
A crisp and slightly acidic smokiness with some kippers in the background is not something you’d directly associate with Caol Ila. Especially not 30 year old Caol Ila from 1981, and yet that is what we have here.

Barley, a bit of oatmeal porridge, but mostly apple, star fruit, white grapes. Of course, there’s a light salinity with sea weedy smoke.

Sip:
The palate is quite light too. There’s some white pepper, dry white oak and soot. Dusty barley and a whiff of vanilla. It gets a bit more coastal and harbor-y with a bit of time. So, tarry ropes, fish, sand. That kind of stuff.

Swallow:
The finish has a bit more fire. There’s more wood smoke, more embers, but more peaty smoke too. Much like a kiln at a distillery. Quite long with oak and white pepper, a whiff of diesel and a bit more fruitiness than on the palate.

Even though this absolutely is no regular Caol Ila 1981, or any vintage Caol Ila, I thoroughly like it. Way more than its rating made me expect. The combination of peat smoke, coastal notes and the fruity crispness is actually great!

89/100

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Burnside 1999-2023, Oksamyt Wine Finish, 57.9% – Berry Bros. & Rudd

Posted on 16 August 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Where Fiddichside is obviously Glenfiddich, Burnside is their neighbouring distillery of Balvenie. As with many distilleries nowadays, they don’t want their distillery name on the label, and on top of that things have to be bottled as a blended malt. Tea-spooned with a drop of something else.

Whether or not that last bit actually happens or is just stated on the label in uncertain, but with this one being a blended malt AND a single cask, I have my doubts. Nonetheless, even if there’s a drop of something else in the cask, it doesn’t really matter in regard to flavour.

Oksamyt supposedly is a Russian style of red wine. However, the internet is very sparse with information on it. When Googling it, I get things about knitwear, a hotel in Ukraine and a dog kennel. When Googling ‘Oksamyt Wine’ I get this whisky. So, no idea indeed.

Image from Whiskybase

When there’s not much to go by in regard to information, we have to go by flavour, and that’s what counts in the end anyway. So here we go!

Sniff:
Mature malt with definite influences of oak and vanilla. On top of that is a layer of gentle red fruits. Both fresh and stewed strawberries, blackberries. Balvenie’s typical notes of honey are there too. It’s quite mature on the nose.

Sip:
The palate certainly has all the ABV that is on the label. A rather sharp oakiness, with quite a bit of hot peppers. The red fruit is here, but is playing second or third fiddle. Some honey sweetness when it calms down a little bit.

Swallow:
The finish shows more typical red wine cask notes, along with a slight meaty note and some rancio. The meaty note adds a bit of a weird sweetness, like decaying meat, in a way.

It reminds me of Balvenie’s Port Wood, apart from all flavours being amped up a little bit. The wine is definitely there, but it is surprisingly lovely. Notes of red fruits are added to the barley and honey from the distillery, and it works really well.

87/100

Only available in Germany for about € 230

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Fiddichside 31, 1989-2021, 1st Fill Oloroso and PX Finish, 47.5% – Murray McDavid Mission Gold

Posted on 15 August 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Fiddichside, hmm… What could it be? I don’t know of any other distillery with ‘fiddich’ in its name, so I guess this will always be a guess. It does say that it’s a blended malt, so it might be a teaspooned one.

Apart from the mystery that cloaks this bottle, it used to be one of the rarer whiskies in my collection. And by rare I mean old and expensive, in this case. I got it during Covid when it was available through BijThijs in Vlagtwedde, The Netherlands. There was a ‘Drambo‘ sticker on it, so something was up with that, although I’m not entirely sure what, since it is not a bottling that was exclusive to them. Maybe it was exclusive to them in The Netherlands alone?

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Old wood, apricot jam, warm apple sauce. There’s hints of barley too, but with an age like this, that gets pushed back a bit. There’s a sort of non-smoky charcoal note too. A pastry sweetness ties it all together.

Sip:
The palate is very gentle but does have a bit of a sawdust dryness. Again, a pastry like sweetness with egg-washed puff pastry, apples, raisins and cinnamon. So yeah, Tarte-Tatin, cobbler, what have you. Quite some oak and after a while some pepper starts shining through.

Swallow:
The finish lingers with dryness and the hint of pepper. It’s less sweet than the palate and nose, and a little bit more spicy. An apple seed bitterness joins the fray, with baking spices and some pear skins.

It is quite true to the character of the distillery that we don’t know about, with notes of fruit and apples, some honey throughout as well. A very gorgeous dram, especially because it has mellowed so much over three long decades. Highly recommended, even at the current rate of € 300 (which is only a tiny bit above the initial retail price).

91/100

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Mannochmore 13, 2010-2023, Bourbon Hogshead 3088, 54.8% – Dràm Mòr

Posted on 14 August 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

After a couple of weeks of holidaying in France, and bringing quite a bag of samples with me that I barely (barley?) touched, let’s get right back to reviewing some fine drams! The first one of which is another one that was sent to me by Dràm Mòr.

This time it’s a Mannochmore from 2010. A distillery that is not too well known since most of its spirit is destined to go into blended whiskies. However, there have been quite a few independent bottlings over the last couple of years, generally scoring above average. So, promising, I guess.

Image from Aberdeen Whisky Shop

Sniff:
Very malty, without it being the only scent there. Dried apples, French bread, puff pastry. Apricot jam, barley and a whiff of yeast.

Sip:
The palate arrives sharply with alcoholic heat and white pepper. There’s a bit of simple syrup, oaky sweetness. Baked apples, apricot jam, bread.

Swallow:
The finish is a bit more simple. Very classical and old fashioned, with oak but mostly focusing on barley notes. The other flavors are receding quickly with apple, some pear and a jam/chutney sweetness.

In a way it’s a very straight forward dram with bourbon cask maturation. But, that is also a good thing since I think whisky tends to be best in that situation. Nothing too fancy, but good quality spirit and a reasonable amount of oak influence. Like this one.

With this dram clocking in at just under € 80 in Austria and £ 65 in Scotland, a very well priced whisky and recommended if you prefer whisky to be not too pretentious!

86/100

Check for availability on Whiskybase!

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Laphroaig 13, 1992-2005, Bourbon Cask 3407, 59.5% – Signatory Vintage

Posted on 21 July 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Back when I started my whisky adventure I used to visit De Whiskykoning on a very regular basis (some say a too regular basis). After discovering Islay whiskies and cask strength independent casks, so fairly quickly, I was doubting between this Laphroaig, and a version of Ardbeg’s Airigh Nam Beist releases.

My friend TT and I got to try them both and we chose this Laphroaig over its almost-neighbour. The fact that the shop-owner told us a story about the Ardbeg and the bottling being named after a closeby spring with dead animals in it didn’t help. Rob Stevens, of De Whiskykoning, always used the stories marketing departments spun and pushed them to 11 for sarcastic and comedic effect.

Image from Whiskybase

Anyway, of course I drank the whisky rather quickly and decided a couple of years later to start looking for a second bottle. Through whisky buddy SJ I managed to get one and I opened it during COVID and finished it last night.

Sniff:
Freshly polished leather, iodine and some other old fashioned Laffy notes. After a minute there’s a weird soapy note. There’s a hint of hoppy Belgian ale too.

Sip:
The palate brings a bit of heat, but it’s nowhere near as sharp as a 59.5% should be. It does build a bit after a couple of second. Some iodine, some salt, some seaweed and smoke. A fairly limited palate.

Swallow:
The finish is slightly stronger than I thought it would be.

I think oxygen got the better of this one. There was only about 4cl left when I poured this, and there had been this little for a while. Still, the slightly more subtle peat compared to more modern Islay drams, combined with a bit more old fashioned approach really makes for a lovely dram.

I should have drank this earlier, before it got too oxidized. However, even thought it wasn’t as good as it should be, it still is a rather nice and drinkable dram.

86/100

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Speyside Single Malt 24, 1998-2023, 53.2% – Thompson Brothers

Posted on 20 July 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

If you want older scotch malt whisky these days, you either have to go for undisclosed distilleries or blended malts. Or teaspooned as they like to call it. That is, if you want to keep things at least a little bit affordable.

Image from Whiskybase

In this case, affordable still sets you back just shy of € 200 in Germany, and the more ‘exclusive’ sellers (the ones who buy things to flip immediately after they sell out) are starting at € 250 by now. Luckily, I was able to bottle-share this one at the original price through Dramtime.

Often there’s some inkling of an idea to what distillery hides behind the undisclosure, but in this case I have no idea where this whisky comes from. Except for the Speyside region, obviously.

Sniff:
Soft, old oak. Very wood forward, but with some gentle fruity notes. A slightly bitter whiff of almond flour, with a hint of apple pie. Dark cake crust, cinnamon and baked apples.

Sip:
Again, a slightly bitter note of almonds and pie crust. There’s also some black pepper corns, sawdust and a hint of grilled apple peels.

Swallow:
The finish continues down the ‘this is quite a mature whisky’ trail. A long finish with apple pie crust, a hint of leather in the background, less spices than before and quite some oak.

Very mature and a very typical example of older Speyside whisky. Maybe not so unique, but very tasty nonetheless.

This is one of those weird situations where this is technically the more tasty whisky, compared to the Sutherland (a weird comparison, but those were the two Thompson bottles I got from the last batch), but the Sutherland is more interesting, more unique, in my book.

89/100

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Bruichladdich 22, 1991-2014, Hogshead 2270, 55.9% – Whiskybroker

Posted on 19 July 2023 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

I was going to start this review by stating that I really like trying Bruichladdichs from before their restart in 2001. That would have been too much information in a way, since I like trying Bruichladdichs no matter what. Maybe the sole exception is the inexhaustible quantity of cask finishes from around 2008 or so.

Anyway, this one popped up in a set of bottles I got off of MvZ when he was pruning his collection. I intentionally went for stuff that you’d expect to have a higher score. I wanted to know how cynical and jaded whisky fanatics had become over the years, and in the end I did a ‘weird whisky tasting’ with a couple of those bottles.

This one was shared through regular channels and last weekend I finally emptied it, and wrote my tasting notes.

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Digestive biscuits and rushes (that tall, sturdy grass on Islay). Straw too, crusty bread, dried apples. Still a bit rough and funky around the edges, which makes it very much ‘Bruichladdich’ in style. There’s a slight milky thing going on too.

Sip:
The palate has some sharpness. The ABV is noticeable and there’s a hint of white pepper. Oak, old barley and steeping tanks. Very malt forward, but also with hints of straw, marram grass, charred oak and old apple. Quite dry and the oak gets more room than before.

Swallow:
The finish is rather similar to the palate but does show that milky note that was there on the nose. Quite long and dry, with lots of oak and barley. Sawdust, grist, grass, straw. The works.

I think this is a true Bruichladdich whisky. It might not be as funky and weird as they can get, but it does exactly what you expect it to do. It’s an old fashioned whisky with lots of Victorian things, or at least, what I consider to be typical of those old distilleries that had almost no upgrades over the last century and a bit. Springbank is another one that comes to mind.

Rather enjoyable, this dram, but not superb. But, considering this was released by Whiskybroker.co.uk, the price would have been very acceptable or even low. And that would have made this a success, I think.

87/100

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