Category Archives: Whisky Reviews & Tasting Notes

Talisker 27 y.o. (1985) Review

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Talisker 27 y.o. (1985)086

56.1% abv

Score:  93/100

 

Last year’s sassy special release from Diageo’s Classic Malt pepper monster, Talisker.

This was a hell of a dram coming out of the Isle Of Skye, and I can only laud Diageo for recognizing it as such and releasing it at the perfect state of maturity.  It takes some foresight to properly assess and hold onto these great casks as they develop.  More importantly though, it takes the right nose to know when it’s time to pull the spirit from the barrel and let it meet the bottle.  27 years turned out to be just that magic number here.

A great cask strength whisky firing on all cylinders.  A rare gem well worth trying if the opportunity presents, though I imagine it is fairly difficult to come by in most markets and at this late date.

Nose:  Creamy caramel, with some beautiful fruits.  Primarily of the orange-ish tropical variety.  Roman Nougat candy.  Pepper.  Brine and shellfish.  Those beautiful old wax/paint/latex notes that define great old whiskies.  Orange and other citrus notes.  Wood smoke.  Mild peat.  A faint touch of rubber at the back end as it develops.

Palate:  Some rather farmy notes.  Coffee with dark chocolate.  Orange and lemon.  Salt and pepper, as we’d expect.  Not just pepper though, but some chili as well.  Peat.  Not quite as fruity as the nose promises, but

Thoughts:  A beautiful old whisky.  A mate couldn’t get over how ‘Maritime’ this was, and indeed it says so right on the bottle.  I can’t help but agree.  This is a great age for Talisker.

Thanks to the fine fellow (whose anonymity I will respect here) for sharing this one.  Cheers!

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Glen Albyn 1981 Cask #50 (Signatory) Review

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Glen Albyn 1981 Cask #50 (Signatory)033

57.5% abv

Score:  83/100

 

Review from a sample provided by a good mate of mine, Andrew Ferguson of Kensington Wine Market, a long time back.

Ok…let’s do another Glen Albyn.  This time one that was distilled just two years prior to the distillery’s 1983 closure and bottled in 2010, making this a 29 year old single malt.

This Glen Albyn managed to hold onto a rather respectable 57.5% abv even after nearly three decades in wood.  How we do adore the strong older whiskies.  If you really want to suss out a malt’s make-up, the best way to do so is to have the whisky in a healthy state with a high alcohol content.  Alcohol, after all, is the medium for capturing the flavours and aromas we’re so keen to get our hands (and taste buds) on.

The outturn from this particular hogshead was 262 bottles.  Again…not bad for a dram of this age.  And while this one isn’t an immediate charmer, it still has enough going on to make it interesting.

Nose:  Fresh-cracked black pepper.  Dry hay and cereal notes.  Herbal with some green tea.  Grass (not freshly mown, but that which is cut and has had a day or two of moisture and sun).  Slight coastal wet rock and fishiness (odd).  I expected a lot more fruit here.  There’s a little, but more a melange than any actual concentration of individual fruit notes.

Palate:  Pepper.  Farmy and barn-ish.  Here’s the farminess hinted at in the hay on the nose.  Fiery as hell.  Peach tea (is this all the fruit we’re gonna get here?).  Barley is singing loud and clear.  Decent.  Nothing special.

Thoughts:  Always a treat to go back through the ages a bit, but a fine example of how those old and collectable malts are not always collectable for the right reasons.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Glen Albyn 1976 (Gordon & MacPhail) Review

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Glen Albyn 1976 (Gordon & MacPhail)082

43% abv

Score:  87.5/100

 

Let’s go back to the ‘closed distillery’ theme for this one.  Here’s another former DCL (Diageo) distillery that fell victim to the financial crunch of the early ’80s and shuttered in 1983.  This time we’re looking at a Highland distillery (Inverness, in fact) that was known more for its contributions to Mackinlay’s blended whisky than for it’s own name:  Glen Albyn.

Fortunately for those of us who like delving into history a little bit, there are still a few surviving casks from some of these closed distilleries.  These barrels lie primarily in the hands of independent bottling firms (and possibly blenders).  And while they may not always be an accurate representation of the distillery’s true profile, that’s more than ok by me.  Tasting drams like these is like sinking deep into a bit of Scottish history and whisky lore.  And let’s face it…there’s always something almost inexplicably hair-tingling about sipping a drink that was made before you were even born.

This 36 y.o. from Glen Albyn was decanted from a few refill sherry butts.  And none too active of butts, at that.  The sherry influence is incredibly soft.

Finally…I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to harp on it here…I will never understand the rationale of bottling any malt this old at anything less than cask strength.  Amazing what the motivation of the mighty dollar (or pound) can do.  The folks at Gordon & MacPhail, while some of the nicest people around, are particularly guilty of this, and the sad fact of the matter is that they have warehouses teeming with brilliant old barrels.  Hopefully we see a few more of them served up au natural in the future.

Nose:  Cinnamon.  Milk and white chocolates.  Ju-jubes.  Fruit cocktail in sugar syrup.  Lemon muffin.  A little bit of tartness.  Light clean florals.  Some dental cement and a touch of polish.  Banana cream pie.  Something here that reminds of a very old rum.

Palate:  Again…that fruit cocktail, syrupy soft sweetness.  Chocolate again.  Oranges and orange zest.  White cake dessert notes with smoke and wine.  Almond and other toasted nuts.  A little over-oaked, to be honest.

Thoughts:  36 years old, and should have been pulled sooner.  Having said that…as I mentioned above, these must have been quite dead sherry butts, as I’d almost guess this came from ex-bourbon barrels, as opposed to sherry.  If you can pull small sips across the tongue and try to wrap your head around the heavy oak…this is close to a winner.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

SMWS 77.24 “Mouth-Numbing Handbags” Review

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SMWS 77.24 “Mouth-Numbing Handbags”012

57.2% abv

Score:  92/100

 

Man, these guys (and gals) have fun with their naming conventions, don’t they?  ‘Mouth-numbing handbags’.  WTF?!  Gotta love the SMWS for this bit of tomfoolery that adds a smile to our sipping.

Another obscure as shit distillery from the Northern Highlands.  Well…obscure under it’s own name, that is.  This distillery (which may or may not be Glen Ord, if we’re keeping with the SMWS tradition of ‘sworn to secrecy’ releases under numbered, not named, distilleries) is more known for being bottled as The Singleton.  That malt, as you may be aware, is a rather generic entry in the Diageo stables.

With a production capacity as high as the distillery boasts (and still expanding!), and knowing the limited range of OBs they release, I can only assume that most of the distillate ends up blended away under the Johnnie Walker brand.  Sad, really, but let’s remember that for all the bottles of shameful Red Label that hit the shelves, there are also great bottles of Black, Blue and Green.  Well…perhaps not Green anymore.

Anyway…

That’s where the indies, such as the SMWS, come to the save the day for us malt enthusiasts.  By releasing odd casks like this 77.24 we get to see another side of the distilleries.  This is the kind of stuff that makes single malt whisky as much fun as it is.  In this case I’ll move forward with the hopes that there just may be more impressive whisky in the warehouses of Glen Ord that isn’t destined for mediocrity!  This is a hell of a cask, served up at just the right age:  A solid 23 years.  Good on the SMWS for scooping this one.

‘Nough said.

Nose:  Quite some pepper and spice.  Polished wood.  Caramel apple.  Think there’s a touch of smoke there too.  Ruby grapefruit with sugar.  Some peach and some of the most perfectly ‘in-check’ vanilla I’ve yet encountered.  Poached apple with mild x-mas spice.

Palate:  Smoke and peppery spice…maybe chili.  Citric tang.  Fruit salad.  Old cask notes and toasted oak.  Leaves behind an old school, almost kerosene-like, smoky candlewax and oak.  Close to an aged Talisker, to be honest.  A beautiful whisky.

Thoughts:  Glad to have tried it, but one of those bittersweet drams that leave you wanting more, all the while knowing that you can’t have it.  Better to have loved and lost, as they say.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Glengoyne 21 y.o. Review

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Glengoyne 21 y.o.Glengoyne_21

43% abv

Score:  83.5/100

 

The next step along the line in the old (and now obsolete) Glengoyne range.  This was the version from a couple years back (early 2010s, I think), before they snazzed it all up with new packaging and such.  I have tried the newer edition, but only in a festival setting.  Not an ideal venue to assess whisky, of course.  I can say, though, that I was not overly impressed with that one either.

Here we have an ‘interesting’ malt from the Highlands, and one that boasts a very different profile from the younger variants in the range.  Much more pronounced depth of sherry influence.  Emphasis heavily on the ‘much’.  You’ll still find the distillery’s inherent maltiness omnipresent (and almost a distraction), but the swirling depths of ‘dark’ and tangy/sweet notes are quite a game changer.

Having said that…this is still only an ‘ok’ whisky.  Some great individual characteristics, but it never really fires on all cylinders as a cohesive whole.

Nose:  Deep sherry influence.  A little drier and more complex than I expected.  Dusty, mincemeat notes.  Chocolate syrup.  Much cinnamon and a bit of cedar.  Dark breads and sweet molasses raisin cookies.  Neat nose.  Smells younger than 21, I think, but very nice nevertheless.  A mash-up of the spice cupboard and a good cigar.  A squeeze of orange.

Palate:  Maltier than I’d like to see it.  Apples and orange marmalade.  Loud woods now.  Dark chocolate with creamy filling.  Sticky toffee pudding.  Plum skins.  Very drying.  Should be fruitier than it is.

Thoughts:  Nice enough as it is, but this could have been much more impressive at cask strength.  Kinda falls a little flat unfortunately.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Drink Inform

Glengoyne 17 y.o. Review

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Glengoyne 17 y.o. glengoyne_17_year_1

43% abv

Score:  79.5/100

 

Think this one is now long gone, excepting those few bottles still dust-gathering on the shelves out there.  Highly possible, though, that they’re gathering dust for a reason.  Not a great malt from a distillery that I’m having a tough time really getting behind.  Nothing bad from Glengoyne (that I’ve encountered anyway), just nothing good either.  Simply another middling malt from the Highlands.

Pour a glass and the first nosing will have you thinking this just might be one of those affordable grail malts we all hunt for.  First sips, however, will tell you otherwise.  Sigh.  Big disappointment.  Love the nose though!

Nose:  Wow.  I really like this nose.  Very gentle, pleasant and approachable.  Creamy with light butterscotch notes.  Sweet pastries.  A touch of orange and pineapple.  Cookies and a little bit of milk chocolate.  Brilliantly subtle spices.  Restrained wood notes.

Palate:  Man…huge disconnect between nose and palate.  Still malty and nutty like the 10 year.  Slightly salty playdough note.  Some orange now.  Vanilla.  Deeper threads of sherry influence here than the nose belies.  Thin, and tannic.  So disappointing after the intricacies promised by the nose.  In what seems like a theme in the Glengoyne OBs…not a great finish.

Thoughts:  Would benefit enormously from being scored on nose alone, but you know we can’t do that.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Drankgigant.nl

Jura Boutique Barrels 1995 Review

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Jura Boutique Barrels 1995014

56.5% abv

Score:  89.5/100

 

Let’s go back to the familiarity of one of Scotland’s most isolated distilleries.  Just across the Sound of Islay lies the beautiful, sparse Isle of Jura, infamous for its red deer to human ratio of about 30:1 or something silly like that.  Man…what I wouldn’t give to leave the urban sprawl for a bit of that sort of existence.

Fortunately for us whiskyphiles, a few of those 200 or so people who constitute the entire populace of Jura (Duriachs, as they’re known) spend a good chunk of time engaged in the alchemy of turning solid to liquid, in the time-honored tradition of converting barley to whisky.  There’s always been magic afoot on Jura that extends well beyond alchemy, though.  For such a wee little place, there’s certainly enough interesting history to keep the intrigue high.

On to the malt now…

I really like these Jura Boutique Barrels releases.  Some, of course, are stronger outings than others, but all are definitely worth a ‘go’.  This more ‘whisky purist’-oriented presentation is a great direction for the distillery to be taking.  It seems as though Jura is better positioning itself in recent years; as something more than the bit part player it has on occasion seemed.   The malts are getting better and the presentation aspect is well covered.  This ’95 is case in point.  (Though I wonder about the lack of sleeve/tube/box.)

Nose:  Nice spicy, fruity dram.  Very surprising nose for a Jura, and truly shows how good the distillate is (if only they’d leave off those wine barrels and such!).  Berry scones, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Good dark bread.  Great spice mix and all the smells of great home baking.  Some pepper.  A little bit of apple, and some definite bourbon influence (of course).  Notes of dunnage warehouse.  Wet leaves and a touch of eucalyptus.

Palate:  Great oily and rich delivery.  Dark fruit puree.  Cranberry loaf and very tight oak.  More on the berries and maybe a touch of burnt marshmallow.  Slightly drying.  Chewy sour candies.  Caramel apple…wooden stick, tart apple skin and all.  There’s still a slight wine note here somehow.  Good, long finish.

Thoughts:  A bloody great Jura.  Very singular.  One of my favorites to come from the Willies and Tricky Dick, to be honest.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

 

 

Aberlour a’bunadh (Batch 34) Review

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Aberlour a’bunadh (Batch 34)004

59.5% abv

Score:  89.5/100

 

Fun.  Just found a sample I’d put away of another a’bunadh I had not yet written up. 

What say we cuddle up with a glass of Batch 34 from a few years back and jot down a few tasting notes for posterity?  Here we’re heading back into familiar waters, as long time readers will be well aware.  I’ve covered several of these releases over the years (and tasted many others besides).  With a’bunadh, the fact of the matter is that they’re all very similar, but somehow all very unique.  I’ll continue to cover as many of these releases as I can, knowing that there are some die-hard a’bunadh fans out there. 

First things first…I concede there are better sherried malts on the market.  ‘Specially some of the older ones from the storied old Speyside masters.  However…there are times when only a glass of a’bunadh will do.  Honestly.  I find myself returning to this malt time and again because the youth and bombast are simply unparalleled in terms of delivering an over-the-top fruity sherried experience.  This is a whisky for the days when your taste buds don’t want to be made love to…they just want a good, hard…well…y’know where I’m going with this.

Anyway…Batch 34 is a keeper.  A great progression on a theme.  If I come across any more of it on the shelves, I’ll be sure to clean ’em out.  Not likely to happen though, at this stage of the game.

Nose:  Flawless casks.  Big jammy fruits.  Cherry (my favorite fruit!).  None of the drier notes I’ve found in a few of the more recent batches.  Chocolate cake.  Cinnamon and nutmeg.  Some almond or Amaretto.  Pecan pie.  Toasted marshmallow.  A touch of eucalyptus.  Some Demerara.  A unique touch of smoke (from wood charring?).

Palate:  Oh, wow.  Like biting into a juicy handful of grapes.  Chocolate shavings.  Thick dark jam on hot biscuits.  Great spice and a touch of woodiness.  Some cherry and raspberry notes with just a touch of citric freshness.  Almost a Dr. Pepper or cherry cola familiarity.  Beautiful mix of sweet and tart.   The palate is a little different from the nose, but just as good and just as high scoring.  Great long finish.

Thoughts:  This is one of the better batches of a’bunadh I’ve ever doused my taste buds with.  Great release from a distillery that has successfully managed to walk the NAS tightrope.  As long as the malt maintains a profile and quality of about this level I will continue to buy.  Should also note…this is my Christmas dram.  Anyone coming to visit around the holidays can expect one of these while we listen to Dropkick Murphys’ ‘The Season’s Upon Us’.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Glengoyne 10 y.o. Review

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Glengoyne 10 y.o.5307

43% abv

Score:  78/100

 

Glengoyne.  The Highland Lowland malt.  An oddity in the Scotch whisky world wherein the spirit is produced in the Highlands, but matures in the Lowlands.  This has to do with the fact that Glengoyne straddles the regional boundary, with the distillery on one side and the warehouses on the other.  Fun little claim to fame, I suppose, but at the end of the day it is as incidental to the end product as any other regional appellation leveed on a malt.

Even up till now, many folks put far too much weight on a distillery’s regional nomination.  The simplest way I can point out the flaw in this theory is to ask you to blindly tackle a handful of Speysiders and Highlands together and tell me which are which.  Ain’t gonna happen.

Glengoyne is otherwise a fairly unremarkable whisky.  For a while there, in the mid-2000s, there was a bit of a buzz behind the name as the distillery experienced a bit of a renaissance under Ian MacLeod, but fanfare and rumblings do not a great spirit make, and unfortunately…I find myself still underwhelmed by the brand.  Yes…even in it’s older incarnations.  There are certainly some admirable characteristics in the Glengoyne expressions I’ve tried, but the sum never seems to equate to the parts, and balance is key to a great whisky.

I’m a little behind the times in getting to this review, as I believe it has now been replaced with a 12 year old expression, but such is.  I believe you can still find this one out there.

Oh yeah…One other little tidbit that Glengoyne likes to parlay to its advantage: it is “untainted by peat smoke” (their words, not mine).  Hmmm…so what?  Aren’t a whole whack of others as well?  Not sure why this would be a claim to fame.  And…’untainted’?  Like peat is a flaw?  Ummmm….ok.

Nose:  Caramel and malt heavy.  Creamy and raisiny butter tarts.  Gentle orange and shortcakeptype dessert notes.  Brown sugar.  Smells like a bit of a late bloomer.  Not quite grown up enough to be let loose.  Some mildly peppery, and leathery notes if you search deeper and longer.

Palate:  More sherry influence showing here than on the nose.  Cinnamon and dried fruits.  Slightly bitter nuttiness. Still fairly malty.  Apple.  The grains and oak are still miles apart here.  Both infintitely detectable as individuals and no cohesion yet.  Not a great finish.

Thoughts:  Simple and I suppose pleasant enough for anyone wanting a very entry level dram, but this doesn’t havbe much to keep me coming back.  Rather heavy for a 10 y.o. 43%er, I find, but not in a bad way.  Kinda makes me want to see the size and shape of the stills at Glengoyne.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Dallas Dhu 1979 (Gordon & MacPhail) Review

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Dallas Dhu 1979 (Gordon & MacPhail)078

43% abv

Score:  88.5/100

 

Another casualty of the unforgiving early ’80s. 1983, to be precise.  The same year we lost Port Ellen, Brora, St. Magdalene, Glen Albyn and others.  Some of these martyred distilleries have gone on to posthumous recognition far beyond what they ever earned while still in production, while others have, for the most part, slid under the radar.

Dallas Dhu is one of the latter.  There will always be collectors out there who hoard bottles from closed distilleries, of course, but I can’t say I’ve ever heard of a Dallas Dhu collection.  Scarcity, a perceived mediocrity and a lack of releases (tough to find independents, let alone non-existent distillery releases) are likely the primary factor here.  This Speysider was primarily blend fodder, unfortunately.  Now here’s where it gets hazy for me (and I’d love more info if anyone has at hand):  In the early part of the 20th century Dallas Dhu was unceremoniously dumped into a blend called Roderick Dhu, but in the years subsequent…?  I’m guessing, seeing as the distillery was a part of the DCL (read: Diageo) empire, that perhaps this whisky landed in Johnnie Walker, J&B, Bells, etc.

This release though, from Gordon & MacPhail, is a 33 y.o. malt from 1979, a few years before the distillery was silenced.  In what is a frustratingly consistent trend with G&M, we have another rather special old dram that has been grossly reduced in strength.  You will never convince me that this is in any way for the good of the whisky once the malt reaches an age such as this.  The argument that often gets put forth is that trial and error found this to be optimum bottling strength.  That’s absolute tripe.  The reduced abv is simply a way of stretching the whisky a little further and reaping more profit.  I should note…G&M are NOT the only guilty parties for this.

Yes, I know they have a business to run and all that, but seriously, industry people…work the math out until you reach a ‘wash’.  What I mean is…sell it at natural cask strength, but make the price point a tick or two higher so you still make your target profit margin on the barrel.  I’d rather pay a little more for the inherent quality, than see a reduced sticker value and have a less spectacular dram in return.  This holds especially true for these old and rare whiskies.  F*ck it up and it’s gone for good.

Nose:  Sugar cookies.  Soft florals and maybe some light tropical notes.  A touch of spiced poached pear.  Lemon meringue pie.  A touch of key lime too.  Vague smokiness (just from inner cask charring?).  Some wax and a faint latex note hints at age.  Allspice.  Some grassy notes (or maybe hay).

Palate:  A touch of smoke right off.  Some orange.  Rather more tart than the nose hints at, but pleasantly so, like the effects of eating pineapple.  Fruits in bread, maybe like hot cross buns.  A little oily.  Dry and oaky.  Dries up and leaves a finish of grain, apple and oddly enough…a very mild fishiness.  Reminds a little of a Rosebank or an anCnoc at the back end.  The arrival is almost faultless, but it careens downhill fast.  Easily salvagable through another sip, I suppose.  🙂

Thoughts:  Much more complexity on the nose than the palate.  We’re just inches short of a great malt with this one.  A little more cohesion on the palate and a slightly higher abv would have had this one rocketing into the lower mid 90s for a score.  Even so…decent dram and a treat to taste a piece of history like this.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt