Glen Grant 25, 1993-2018, 50.8% – Cadenhead’s Club

Posted on 15 February 2019 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

With most clubs associated with distilleries or bottlers you wonder what it’s for. In a lot of cases it is barely more than a  quarterly newsletter and some ‘exclusive’ section of their website that barely offers any added value.

Of course, in a lot of cases there’s a bottling every one or two years with a varying amount of interest. I remember Speyburn doing an amazing one a few years ago that was also included in a Twitter Tasting. It was affordable. On the other hand there’s the White Stag releases from Arran Distillery that are ridiculously expensive, in general.

There’s the other kind of benefit of which you don’t know you have them until you visit the distillery. This was the case with the Warehouse 24 thing from Balvenie, which netted us an amazing dram during the tasting after the tour in 2015.

Then there’s the Springbank Society and Cadenhead’s Club (they sure love their alliterations). I became a member of the Springbank Society some 11 years ago and last year the Cadenhead’s Club followed suit. Shortly after they did their first Club exclusive bottling of this 25 year old Glen Grant, finished in a Sherry Hogshead for 3 years. At 75 quid.

Of course, modern Glen Grant isn’t 70s Glen Grant, but I wasn’t going to let such an opportunity pass me by. Here’s my tasting notes:

20190215_094435.jpgSniff:
Sweet tropical fruits. Orange, peach, some banana too. Some oak, autumn leaves and dark, crusty bread. Quite complex with some black pepper behind the sweetness.

Sip:
Dry, spicy with pepper at first. Far less sweet, but still fruity. Some bitter hints with peach stones. Peach, orange. The spices are a bit autumnal.

Swallow:
Here the sweetness comes back, but not to the same level as the nose. A very well balanced finish with slightly peppery spices, sweet tropical fruits and oak.

This is a very good whisky. The sherry is very present for the relatively short time the whisky spent in a sherry cask. It’s not similar to 70s Glen Grant because that’s just in another league, but for a modern one this is cracking. I love the balance between the wood spices, the bitterness and the fruit.

89/100

Of coure, it’s still available in the secondary market for 300 pound, so only a 300% increase in less than a year.

Glen Grant 25, 1993-2018, 50.8%, Cadenhead’s Club

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The wonderful world of whisky

Posted on 8 February 2019 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Four years ago I wrote about having less of a collection and becoming more of a drinker than a collector. Although I did sell some bottles in the wake of that post, not much changed. The amount of bottles stayed largely the same, which was an improvement over an ever increasing stash, but it didn’t really shrink.

I’ve been easy to enthuse for a lot of things all my life. Always the geeky stuff, whether it be fantasy books, Magic: the Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons, CDs, video games, comic books, beer or whisky, when I get into something I get into it bigtime. In a way, the same happened with kids. When I started that, I had to go and get three…

This has a drawback, of course. These things cost money and generally when your enthusiasm wanes, there’s not much to show for it or sell on (I’m no longer talking about my kids, by the way). The exception to the rule is whisky and Magic cards. These things are worth quite a bit, after some years. The drawback of whisky, the main topic of this blog, is that I try to drink it. A day after drinking it, it might look the same, but it supposedly tastes quite different.

Over the last two years I’ve taken a step back from the world of whisky, in a way. I’ve not gotten out of it, but I don’t follow the newest releases all that much, and I don’t need to keep having better and more exclusive whiskies. I’ve come to the conclusion that the whiskies I’m tasting are good enough, great even, without them being more and more expensive, old and rare.

While that makes me miss all kinds of releases that I would otherwise have thought to be must-haves, it does make a lot of things easier. Not necessarily cheaper, since without the new releases, there’s still enough awesome stuff available. Of course, some whiskies are insanely hard to miss or say no to. Like these upcoming Game of Thrones single malts. Apparently they aren’t very good, but I’m going to try some of them anyway. Also, I already ordered them before hearing feedback on them.

What this slight distance to the cutting edge of the whisky world does is that it brings a bit of peace and quiet. There’s no unnecessary F5-ing of websites to get the latest Springbank Local Barley (although I did get that, but it was more of a timely Facebook check and someone else posting a link). There’s no scanning of RSS feeds for interesting new releases. There’s no 50 newsletters in my mailbox every week with stuff I supposedly cannot live without. And yet, there’s enough awesome stuff to drink.

This distance makes me more of a whisky drinker than a whisky blogger (even though I still blog, obviously). It also makes it far more easy to enjoy the world of whisky, since I’m not trying to be in the thick of it. If I now get an email with ridiculous claims of grandeur, I unsubscribe. If I see a brand bragging their hooch to such levels it starts to be annoying, I unfollow them.

The Dutch have a saying “Doe maar normaal, da’s gek genoeg”, which means “Act normal, that’s crazy enough”, and I find that to be more and more accurate (and yes, we’re still a rather Calvinist lot). We’re generally talking about spending some € 80+ on a bottle of booze, so if that’s the normal, that’s crazy enough. I don’t want to have all the shouting and bragging too.

Honestly, the less a brand markets their stuff, the more they come across as having faith in their product without all the nonsense. This might be less true for the entry level whiskies that have a different target audience than me/us, though.

 

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Glenrothes 1997-2017, 19yo, 58.5% – The Single Cask

Posted on 5 February 2019 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

This bottler suddenly showed up on my radar when I was randomly browsing Master of Malt. Like I needed to find something to spend money on… Anyway, I tried doing a bottle-share with it, but that didn’t get any traction. However, I decided I definitely wanted this Glenrothes, so I ordered it anyway.

I did sell a sample or two, if I remember correctly, but I was lucky enough to keep most of it to myself. A proplery sherried Glenrothes, not bottled by themselves is mostly a good thing. Somehow their independent casks are soooo much better than what they keep for themselves, I really doubt their selection process.

The guys from The Single Cask were at Maltstock as well, last year, and I remember talking to them. I also remember than  I was kind of wasted so I don’t have a clue what we yapped about.

Tasting notes then, right before I empty it over the coming weekend.

glenrothes-19-year-old-1997-cask-l1097-the-single-cask-whiskySniff:
Very Oloroso-y. A funky combination of fruit and spices. Pecans, dates, caramelized sugar. Quite some oak, dirt, nuts, fruit. Slightly yeasty, somehow.

Sip:
Sweet and rich. Pecan pie, marsipan, the inside of mars bars. Nuts, dried fruits. Some chili heat and oak. Intense, slightly feinty. Very old fashioned.

Swallow:
The finish is quite similar to the palate. A long one too, very rich with pecan pie, mars bars, milk chocolate.

This is a cracking whisky. Even thought it’s 58.5% it’s not overly sharp. There’s a lot of richness that competes with the boatload of alcohol. The combination of all kinds of candybars strangely makes sense. The addition of lots of nutty flavors and some dried fruit makes this more or less the quintessential sherried Speyside whisky.

It’s a shame it was only 85 casks, so it’s all gone. It wasn’t cheap though, at € 130

90/100

Glenrothes 1997-2017, 19yo, L1097, 58.5%, The Single Cask

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Speyburn 1989-2013, 46% – Gordon & MacPhail

Posted on 3 February 2019 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Speyburn. One of these rather unknown distilleries that’s not open to the general public, but who are trying to make headway with all kinds of cool Christmas marketing. At the end of 2017 I got one of those Christmas sweaters and I love it. Last time it was a limited print of a painting of the distillery.

Also, Speyburn gets pushed by the likes of Jon Beach (from Fiddler’s in Drumnadrochit). However, I still don’t know how much of that is just good old fun, and how much is based on the distillery releasing a rather textbook single malt, without many bells and whistles, and that being a very good thing nowadays.

What I do know was a joke, was the Speyburn Transcontinental Day, or STD in short.

This whisky then. I’ve been slowly going through my bottle over the last year and a half. Yesterday I brought it to my regular Magic: the Gathering night and it was quite loved there as well. One of the guys in the group is of a younger vintage than this dram, too.

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Shortlisted to be empty by the end of today.

Sniff:
Very focused on the malt without it being overly grainy, or too sweet. There’s gentle oak and straw too. Some stewed fruits in the background. I would never have guessed that this was from a sherry cask. It’s more apples, pears and grapes than peaches and dates. Although, maybe there’s a hint of peach too.

Sip:
A dry palate, with not much sweetness and a bit of a sharp edge, especially for a 23 year old whisky. Straw, stewed apples and pears. Some puff pastry and a hint of sweetness later on. The dryness is similar to a corky apple, without the flavor being horrid.

Swallow:
The finish brings a bit of sharpness, with dry straw and oak. There’s a bit more barley sugar and sweetness on the finish, while the fruits have been pushed back a bit. So, more focus on the barley and oak.

It’s quiet a lovely dram and a whisky that’s more or less a textbook Scotch. Quite straightforward, with barley, oak and some fruity notes. Nothing out of the ordinary. What makes this better than utterly generic is that it’s very well executed and therefore not boring at all.

87/100

Speyburn 1989-2013, Refill Sherry Hogsheads, 46%, Gordon & MacPhail’s Connoisseur’s Choice. Available in Germany for € 100

 

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Bowmore 1998-2013, 15yo, Refill Butt, 52.1% – The Whisky Agency

Posted on 1 February 2019 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Sherried Bowmore from the nineties. I’m game!

When this was released by The Whisky Agency in 2013, I immediately picked up a bottle. Based on previous experiences, and while they’re not guarantee for future success, I’m glad I took this gamble.

I finished it last week, because I was having a whisky with my good friend JE after some beers, and I knew it was going to happen. Which is exactly why I decided to write tasting notes in the afternoon before.

I only opened this one or two years ago during a Blog Barbecue & Booze Birthday Bash, and it was popular then. But what would you expect, with a 15 year old Bowmore from a good sherry cask? Their Darkest and Laimrig remain incredibly popular too, and rightly so.

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Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Engine fumes and grease. Rich fruits. Slightly bitter with apricot stones, cherry stones. Fruit with apricot, peach, dates, sour cherries. Oak, sherry, some baking spices.

Sip:
Sharp on the arrival with lots of peppery bite, but not too much of it. Later it gets sweet oak, fruit and spices. Syrupy thickness, with gentle smoke. A whiff of diesel and brine.

Swallow:
The finish has some heat too, but less than the palate. Not very long, but lots of dried fruit, spices and sherry. A whiff of smoke too.

Not surprisingly, I’m a huge fan of this whisky. I think in the year or two it has been open it did get a bit less fierce but I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing. By any means, it does exactly what you want this style of whisky to do, so it’s not very surprising.

Well, maybe because it’s so good, you might expect it to be slightly less interesting and delicious. The diesel engine scents put this a notch above slightly comparable Bowmores, in my book.

91/100

Bowmore 1998-2013, 15yo, Refill Butt, 52.1%, The Whisky Agency (Stamps Serie). Available from the Czech Republic for € 227

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Two newish rums from private casks

Posted on 28 January 2019 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Since the whisky market is getting more and more flooded still, quite some bottlers are buying casks of rum. Supposedly (one told me something like this) because they’re somewhat cheaper than casks of whisky. It’s a shame that’s not often reflected in the price per bottle…

A while ago I received a sample of the newest rum bottling from Best of Whisky, which is a 12 year old Worthy Park from Jamaica. A lot more recently I also received a sample of a 7 year old Mount Gay in Barbados, from The Whisky Exchange.

Over the weekend I tried both of them and they’re good.

rum_mou20.jpgMount Gay 7 year old, 54% – The Whisky Exchange

Sniff:
Lots of brown sugar and sweet oak. Some hints of copper and iron. Cinnamon, tar and caramel. Slightly chemical, which is not uncommon with rums like this. A bit vegetal too.

Sip:
Pretty sharp, but the sweetness takes a bit of the edge off. Sweet, but with cauliflower. Nutmeg and cinnamon. Caramel, very thick and black. A hint of tar. Later on there’s oak.

Swallow:
The finish is very gentle, but very sweet with wood spices. Not too long but the caramel and oak linger.

Well, on the write-up that came with the sample it said this was Mount Gay dialled up to 11. Rich and sweet and spicy. Every word of that is true. I’m having quite different tasting notes as usual, though…

It’s quite a gorgeous rum, with a lot to be discovered, and some flavors that I’ve not found in many rums before. This makes it a lot more interesting that ‘ye olde generic rum’. Thanks to The Whisky Exchange for this glass of goodness!

87/100

Mount Gay 7 year old, 2400 bottles from Barrels 54%, The Whisky Exchange, £87.95

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Worthy Park 12 year old, 2006-2018, 57.9% – Best of Wines / The Duchess

Sniff:
A very heavy and feinty rum. There’s sweetness, there’s wood. There is engine oil and sugary biscuits. Tea, ferns, mold.

Sip:
Very sharp, even as a second dram. Dry, woody, spicy. Some wet dirt, wood pulp and old, cracking leather.

Swallow:
Candied lemon, cracking leather, cactus, oak. Lots of contrasting flavors. Fruit and spices, sweet and savory.

Well, this is something different. There’s mountains of flavor with a lot of feinty notes to it. You’d almost say it’s a bit too much, but it’s not. This is exactly what it needs to be and it’s the best rum I’ve tried in quite a while. Well, since last April at Cadenhead’s, but that was a while…

89/100

Worthy Park 12 year old, 2006-2018, 57.9%, Best of Wines / The Duchess, € 65,00

My favorite is obviously the last one, and at that price point it’s quite decently priced as well! If I hadn’t blown my budget on the supposedly not so very good Game of Thrones whiskies for a share, I might just pick a bottle up. I might even do so next month, since it’s a stunning drink!

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Music in 2018

Posted on 25 January 2019 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Normally I blog about the records I liked best in the week between Christmas and New Year, but this time around I didn’t. Things were insanely busy during these days, and I didn’t get around to sitting down for a longer post for which I can’t just dump a few tasting notes from Google Keep and be done with it.

Also, I didn’t even have the list ready by that time. Now I do, for about three minutes or so. My shortlist was 14 records and while I couldn’t really rank them before without a lot of consideration, I now just picked the ten I liked best and was done with it. Ordering them took another minute or two.

#10: Old Crow Medicine Show – Volunteer

This record came hot on the heels of “50 Years of Blonde on Blonde” I didn’t rank it any higher than tenth. It’s a good record, but it’s a bit too enthusiastic. Almost up to a level that I skip it because I want something a bit more quiet, and a bit more accommodating than ‘everything at 11’.

#9 Tyler Childers – Purgatory

When this was announced I fully expected it to be my number one album of the  year, but it had a massive drawback. It got released a year late in Europe, and because of that nothing on it was new. All tracks were on Youtube before, and a lot of them featured on EPs that came out in 2017. It almost felt like a greatest hits. So, great songs, great record. Just too late.

#8 My Brightest Diamond – A Million and One

My third favorite record of 2014 (I had to look it up) was by Shara Nova. This one came out in November or December, and I gave it a couple of spins right away. Thoroughly enjoyable, even though it didn’t make as big an impact on me as the previous one. Still great tunes, and far more electronic and ‘modern’ than anything else.

#7 Eels – The Deconstruction

A very old fashioned Eels record, compared to the previous few. And an old fashioned Eels record is something to keep an eye on. Quite upbeat even. For me and for Eels.

#6 Courtney Marie Andrews – May Your Kindness Remain

I loved her previous record which only came out last year. It even took the number one spot back then. The second record is almost as good, which is quite an achievement. It’s a bit different, with a different style to it, and it didn’t have Table for One on it, which I still think is an epic song.

#5 Gretchen Peters – Dancing with the Beast

This record… If you’ve not heard it, go give it a listen. It is a bloody amazing one. All songs are good, and it certainly has that darker mood that I seem to love (no surprise to anyone, I guess). Strangely, it feels like a record made thirty years ago, but with just some contemporary edges to pull it into 2018…

#4 Carter Sampson – Lucky

When the first Carter Sampson record of 2018 hit Spotify I was very happy, until I realized it was yet another record with old songs. Somehow that’s a thing for her/her record label. A few weeks later Lucky was released, and it did not let me down.

I really enjoy these Americana/Country (not sure where one ends and the other begins) records that tell stories about weird peope. The fly-over-state version of Tom Waits, so to say.

#3 Karen Jonas – Butter

I don’t even really know why this one is so high, but I keep replaying this album. It took some getting used to, and it’s rather different than most things I like. It’s a bit more brash, and a bit more fun, maybe.

The surprising combination of Karen’s voice, with how not-so-big she is was surprising, to say the least.

#2 Colter Wall – Songs of the Plains

This was one I was waiting for, and a bit afraid for. It’s been a thing the last couple of years that follow up album are a bit of a letdown. This is not one of them.

It’s a farm-country record, if that’s a thing. Which is not strange since Colter Wall herds cows too, if I’m not mistaken. Also, it makes me want to go to Canada for a road trip. That voice, then. Keep in mind the guy was born in 1995.

In less than two months I’m going to see the guy live too. Very much looking forward to that!

#1 John Prine – The Tree of Forgiveness

Another artist I’m going to see live this year! I’m glad I’m able to do so, since he isn’t the youngest anymore!

John Prine released his record early in the  year, after years of not releasing anything and me being completely oblivious to him and his songs. I fixed that this year and have listened to his music a lot, especially this record. I walks the line between addressing issues in the world and his life, and being funny and not serious at all.

His voice is great, especially if you consider his history. His song writing is old fashioned, yet relevant. My favorite record of the year!

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Cadenhead’s bottle-share

Posted on 21 January 2019 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

Towards the end of last October I did yet another ‘last’ bottle share of the year. The last one because I had been stressing my wallet, and everyone else’s in my sharing group. Of course, that wasn’t true and I did another share right after with Springbank’s Latest Local Barley release.

Ever since I became a member of the Cadenhead’s Club early last year I finally managed to put them on my radar. I knew it was a great bottler for longer, but every time I found some cool bottlings I had flamed through my budget already, or was in such a spot to not be doing any bottle-shares. That finally changed.

What also helped was their presence at Maltstock, where I tried some stunning bottlings from their range. Amongst these was a Paul John whisky from India, and there’s one in this share too, because the first one was amazing.

I planned to do five bottles in the share, but the Laphroaig received less than enthusiasm in the sharing group and pushed the price up too high for some of us, so I didn’t get that in the end. I did manage to get a sample which I’ll review shortly.

This share contained a 25 year old Glen Grant, 24 year old Glenlossie, a 6 year old Paul John and a 9 year old Inchgower. All from Cadenhead’s Single Cask and Small Batch ranges.

Glen Grant 25, 1992-2018, Bourbon Barrel, 50.4%, Cadenhead’s Single Cask

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Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Sweet bourbon cask, earl grey tea. Some banana, stewed apple with some cinnamon. Quite a bit of vanilla, but also a bit dry. Crumble pastry, candied orange peel.

Sip:
More smooth than expected. Quite some oak, cinnamon. Apple, orange and tea again. Apple chutney, with some spices. Rather dry with oak and wood spices.

Swallow:
A lot more typical cask influence than before. Vanilla, apple, white oak, crumble pastry, custard. Hits of cinnamon and tea.

88/100

Lots of nice flavors, a bit predictable and generic. But tasty and good. The tea note on the nose was a pleasant surprise, although the vanilla throughout this whisky made it a bit too contemporary for a higher rating.

Glenlossie 24, 1993-2018, Bourbon Hogshead, 53.6%, Cadenhead’s Single Cask

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Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Dry bourbon cask, lots of wood with some crisp fruity notes. Dried lemon and fresh apple. Unripe pear, apple. Somehow, water running over mossy rocks. Mountain streams.

Sip:
Dry and slightly sharp. Dry hessian, dry oak, dry autumn leaves. Apple, pear, lemon and even dried, dusty pineapple cubes. Also, some malty notes.

Swallow:
More malty with some alcohol heat, based on the big sip. A long lasting finish with dried yellow fruits. Apple, pear, pineapple. Some icing sugar.

88/100

I got triggered to buy this based on how amazing the Glenlossie was that FV and I had during their warehouse tasting in April. Luckily, this is in the same vein, but slightly less impressive. I am sure that if rated rationally the other one would be like this one too, except for the fact that I tried that in Campbeltown and it was an amazing trip and that makes me giddy.

Inchgower 9, 2009-2018, Sherry Hogshead, 56.5%, Cadenhead’s Small Batch

202385-big

Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Heavy, leathery sherry. Some baking spices, prunes and dates. Fruit and wood. Slightly waxy behind all the sherry violence.

Sip:
Quite sharp with lots of oak, pepper and a bit more alcohol than I expected. Dry because of the sherry, but with a lot of flavor.

Swallow:
Strong woody flavors, with sherry, spices.

85/100

This wasn’t a very expensive bottle at some 50 pounds or so. It is very much worth that, even though I think the distillery character is a bit overwhelmed by the cask. But high quality Inchgower and a high quality cask. What’s not to love?

 

Paul John 6, 2011-2018, 1 Bourbon Barrel and 1 Bourbon Hogshead, 56.6%, Cadenhead’s Small Batch

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Image from Whiskybase

Sniff:
Very spicy, with a lot of dry barley and oak. Very concentrated on the nose, not too strong. Lots of wood spices, baking spices, grilled fruits.

Sip:
It’s sharp on the palate. Again, dry and spicy. Lots of baking spices, not sweet at all. Nutmeg, dry clove, hot cinnamon. Quite some oak.

Swallow:
The finish has something very unscottish. Something very spicy. Dry and oaky.

89/100

Damn tasty. Super spicy. Slightly bitter. This is a thrill ride, in a very unique but very delicious way. I had to get used to this before I loved it, but it’s worth getting into. A shame Paul John is getting so expensive, especially these casks that have been in Campbeltown for a year or so.

Wrapping up

So, this was a very fun share. I had some sizeable samples for myself, I believe I ended up with 18cl of each, after all shares had been poured out. Normally I would mind that, because that also means extra money sunk into it. However, in this case I didn’t really mind the bit of extra dough at all, since these whiskies were very, very good.

I can only suggest giving Cadenhead some love, since they deserve it. I guess they love the world of whisky too, since they keep releasing these whiskies, mostly at rather acceptable prices compared to what some other bottlers think they can ask!

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Bowmore Warehousemen’s Selection, 17yo, 1999, 51.3%

Posted on 18 January 2019 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

When I was on Islay, of course I didn’t just buy a shared bottle of Bunnahabhain Marsala Cask, we also went to Bowmore. We obviously went to Bowmore since we could see the distillery from our cottage, and it’s a great distillery to boot.

At the time they didn’t have a cask out for a handfilled Distillery Only bottling, which was a shame. They did, however, have this Warehousemen’s Selection available. A 17 year old whisky, matured in. This looked very appealing, but that may be the case because I was all giddy about being on Islay and being at Bowmore. I couldn’t remember for the life of me that this was matured in wine casks, as well as sherry and bourbon. I generally don’t like wine casks, and Bowmore’s wine casks have done nothing to change that opinion.

When I found this out, when I printed the label for my share, I was a bit apprehensive about trying it. Not entirely without reason.

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Image from WhiskyBase

Sniff:
Smoke with fruity wood notes. A bit like a burnt cake with red fruits. Almond ‘spijs’, nuts, dark and sugary bread.

Sip:
Quite sharp, with lots of sweet fruit on the arrival. It builds to a lot of chili heat, which gives it some sort of urgency. Red fruits, almonds, very dessert like. But with oak and smoke and barley.

Swallow:
The finish is strangely warm, with little to no typical Bowmore flavors. Lots of red fruits, stewed strawberries, sweet blackberries, maybe even rhubarb.

There’s a certain weirdness that’s not bad, but just weird. It makes it hard to love this whisky. The combination of flavors is a bit off whack, and the fact that the heat on the palate makes me want to finish is quickly is not a good thing.

So, there’s positives, with it being a complex whisky with lots of flavors. And there’s negatives with this being a very weird whisky that I couldn’t really find enjoyable. Bummer.

Apparently, I’m an outlier here, since it gets almost 90 points on Whiskybase, with almost a hundred ratings.

83/100

Bowmore Warehousemen’s Selection, 17yo, 1999, Bourbon & Sherry & Wine casks, 51.3%

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Lagavulin 12, 12th release, 56.1%

Posted on 17 January 2019 by Sjoerd de Haan-Kramer

At one point, the Lagavulin 12 cask strength, the one that is released annually by Diageo, was going to be the thing I would collect. Every year it’s a top scoring whisky that’s truly amazing for it’s money, and it’s an overseeable amount of bottles you’re collecting. I wanted focus.

However, as the years progressed and I bought the annual bottling, and sometimes an older one through the secondary market, the prices of the first few releases started to go up, with me stopping to check once they reached some € 400 for the first two releases.

What happened in more or less the same period, was that I tried the 12th release next to the 17th release. They were virtually the same. Kudos to Diageo for consistency, utterly boring to collect. A side by side tasting would be the most boring tasting ever.

Then and there I decided to sell most of what I had collected over the years, starting with the once I had twice, and some of the ones that were actually worth something. Shit hit the fan when someone bought 6 of them and PostNL lost the package. I got most of the money back so it all ended up fine, but it took six months, a lot of stress and I still lost over a hundred Euros.

Anyway, that 12th release I tried next to the 17th was nearing its end, so I wrote notes and emptied the bottle. Here we go!

20190112_210033Sniff:
Quite fuel like. A massive smack of alcohol, with loads of smoke, diesel and brine. Some very light fruityness with grapes, unripe pears and apples. A bit of pine.

Sip:
Quite strong and very consistent with the nose. White grapes and unripe pears. Brine and smoke and sea weed. Very much Lagavulin as you’d expect it.

Swallow:
A bit sea wwedy again, lots of brine. Quite vegetal with some floral notes too. Smoky, slightly diesel like, some oak. Grass, brine.

So, all is well in Lagavulin Land. This is a tremendous whisky with everything that you want there. It ticks all the boxes, if you know what you’re looking for in a 12 year old Lagavulin. Quite strong, but with a very coastal and harbor like character. The brine, the sand, the fishing nets, the smoke from the boats’ engines. Gorgeous stuff.

89/100

Lagavulin 12, 12th release, 56.1%. Still available for around € 140 in shops, and € 125 in the secondary market.

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