Category Archives: 88 Points

Glengoyne Week – Day 3: Glengoyne 17yo 1989/2006 ‘Charlie’s Choice’ (56%, OB, First Fill Oloroso Hogshead #1231, 279 bottles)

Day three brings us another one of the three 2006 Mashman’s Choices. The first one being an American Oak Sherry Butt from 1991. That one was pretty special, since Sherry once only came from Spanish or French oak Butts and Puncheons. Today’s Glengoyne, comes form another atypical Sherry Cask, a Hogshead. No information this time where the wood came from. Charlie Murray, the Mashman, said the following about his choice:

“In my time at Glengoyne this is the best cask I have tasted. Heaps of complexity with no rough edges.”

Color: Dark copper brown (murky).

Nose: Very spicy, old mahogany furniture. Lively, floral and elegant, and maybe a tad soapy. But altogether excellent. It’s not you usual stuffy dark sherried Whisky, nope, this is something else. Some tar, licorice and smoke! A ditch in the countryside after a nice fresh downpour of rain. Powdery and complex, it shows itself in layers, for me a sign of excellent whisky. Pencil lead and meaty. Nice expression of the wood. Elegant and refined. Smells like it was made with coal. Stunning nose.

Taste: Full and petrochemical (that’s a good thing here!). Nice wood and leafy, rotting leaves that is. Pencil shavings and tobacco. Licorice. The toast of the cask presents itself as smoke, quite unusual. The taste is bolder (than the nose), but keeps its elegance. After the full body the finish breaks down a little bit too soon. Warming alcohol. Some time after swallowing, leaves you with a beer like taste in your mouth. Did I say unusual already?

A great pick by Charles Owen Murray, it’s a great Glengoyne, but surely it couldn’t have been the best? Maybe Charlie was drunk at the time he was asked about this release, or Charlie didn’t get the chance to try a lot of Whisky 😉 It may not be the best, but very good indeed. It certainly is special, and a tad unusual to boot.

Points: 88

The Balvenie 25yo “Single Barrel” 1974/2002 (46.9%, OB, Cask #13285)

Well, actually the Balvenie 25yo I reviewed earlier, was quite a disappointment. I have another single barrel here, so let’s see if this one is any better… By the way, again I couldn’t find a picture of a Balvenie 25yo Cask #13285, so here is a picture of the similar looking cask #10139

Color: Gold.

Nose: Waxy, sweet white sherry. A nice old, dried leaves and wood combination in the nose. Again you sense this is an old bottle. Vanilla and lemon freshness. This nose is less complex than cask #13282. The vanilla that’s in here is similar to the vanilla notes I got from Angostura rum 1919. I guess cask #13282 has a more refined nose, but this is equally exciting. More raw and different from the other one. I think this one is better, it is less complex, but has more to it. Wood and almonds come out when you sniff this vigorously, still it is not bad wood. Hot butter and some funky farminess, how’s that for a Balvenie! Lovely oldness to it all.

Taste: Sweet and even slightly acidic, and no heavy wood attack like cask #13282, hurrah. Fatty and mouth coating wax. This one is immediately a lot better. The wood is here and very noticeable. The dry leaves are here too, but this doesn’t attack you with that unrelenting bitterness. This cask has also a lot of wood to it, but the bitterness is held in check. It does lack a bit of complexity though. There isn’t a lot more to it than this. Nice old Balvenie.

Great to try these Balvenies so close together. These are sister casks, but do show quite some difference. It’s not only the bitterness that is obvious. Comparing these two there is infinitely more. That goes to show, how big the differences can be between two similar bottles, and how buying without tasting is so tricky. I would also like to point out that the reduction that obviously took place here isn’t a problem, this Whisky holds the fort. Actually it’s the best Balvenie I had in a very long time. Still no 90’s score though…

Points: 88

Bowmore 12yo 1988/2000 (50%, Douglas Laing, Old Malt Cask, Sherry, 702 bottles)

The Master of Malt version of an eighties Bowmore did not turn out to be a FWP-Bowmore after all. Looking though the whiskies that have accumulated at Master Quill’s castle, I found another eighties Bowmore. This time an oldie by Douglas Laing. At one point in time, the Laing Brothers thought they would have to show the public what are the ‘young’ whiskies in their Old Malt Cask range, so decided on red lettering and a red tube. Somehow this ‘experiment’ didn’t last for very long, so this look is rather scarce. Lets see if this time we have a genuine FWP-Bowmore on our hands? Is it lavender & violets or peat & smoke?

Color: Light Copper Gold.

Nose: Butter, popcorn, quite some hints of flowers, but not like a FWP. Peat and a decent amount of smoke. Deep almost brooding kind of licorice. Clay, smelly pond in summer, probably a sulphur compound. This organic smell is actually great in this Whisky. Ashes and gravy, meaty.

Taste: Nice elegant Islay. Soft tasty peat, with smoke on top. Lots of caramel, toffee. Nothing is over the top. Perfect non-sugary sweetness in the background. But as with the Master of Malt version, it breaks down a bit towards the end, and has a sweet yet ‘light’ finish. There is something else that is pretty similar with the Master of Malt bottling. Again, the acidity quickly follows the sweetness. They somehow are linked. Do I detect some soap at the end of the finish? If it’s there it doesn’t hurt the whisky much. On occasions it takes the properties of a rum.

Not a perfect Whisky. Has some distillation faults (butter) and some issues with the finish and stability (with air), but overall it’s a very drinkable and likeable Whisky. Again not a victim of FWP.

Beware, this whisky doesn’t take air very well, let this breathe and you’ll see how it breaks down in your glass. Break open a new deck of cards, invite some (lady) friends over for a nice and friendly game and drink the whole bottle in one evening, you’ll do yourself and the Laing Brothers a big favour.

Points: 88

Inverleven (Dumbarton) 18yo 1987/2006 (57.9%, Cadenhead, Closed Distilleries, Bourbon Hogshead, 276 bottles)

And here is another Cadenhead’s, from the same kind of cask, from the same year 1987, with three years more ageing. Cadenheads call this Distilled at Dumbarton, made with Inverleven stills. Everybody else calls this whisky just Inverleven. To clear things up. The Single malt whisky that was made this way, was called Inverleven. Inverleven was made untill 1991. This was made with the ‘normal’ type stills. In the same building was also a Lomond type still that was installed in 1959 at the Dumbarton distillery and ran untill 1985 (With the malt being called “Lomond”, not Loch Lomond). Loch Lomond lies close by to the north. Only a few kilometres away, still Loch Lomond is a Highland Whisky, and Inverleven a Lowlander.  To wrap things up. The Dumbarton Distillery was the spiritual home of the Ballantine’s Blend.

Color: Light gold. (Darker than the 15yo Cadenhead).

Nose: Grassy and clean. Balanced, fresh and citrussy. Not sharp fresh lemons, but more deepness to the citrus. It not quite grapefruit. Old very ripe lemons maybe? Toffee and syrup. Candied old lemons, that’s it! In the back some nice elegant wood. This nose is definitely nicer than the 15yo, it’s more mature and balanced. Still the nose of the G&M was even more elegant, and woody. If you look for it carefully, in the depths of this Whisky you can smell a little bit of ether and acetone.

Taste: Sweet and spicy. Ok, the wood plays a role, but in no way like that of the G&M. The sweetness is also a bit more laid back compared to the 15yo Cadenhead. Great balance, fantastic balance actually. There is this perfect balance between the sweetness, the caramel, (more caramel than toffee) and the spiciness of the wood. Also some austere waxiness. Having said this, it still seems to lack a bit of complexity. The G&M seems to have more of that, yet every time I return to this Whisky is get better and better. Allow this to breathe and you’ll be rewarded. It could have remain a bit thicker in the finish, but still this is a stunner.

This version is definitely better than the 15yo, so maybe the extra ageing did some wonders, but you’ll have to allow for cask variation. It’s also better than the Gordon & MacPhail version. But both definitively have earned their place on anybody’s shelf. All of these Inverleven’s are Whiskies like no other. Quite a unique nice Lowlander. Highly recommended.

Points: 88

Caol Ila 16yo 1977/1993 (58.6%, Cadenhead)

Almost a month ago I reviewed one of those beautiful tall green glass Cadenheads bottles. A Dufftown to be precise. But there were more of those on these pages. I remember a Tormore and a Pulteney. In the dungeons I found another one of those! So today it is time to do another one from the same series. I guess I have a soft spot for them. This time a Caol Ila from 1977 that they already decided to bottle in 1993.

Color: Gold

Nose: Ahhhh, nice creamy peat. Very vegetal and coastal and slightly fishy. Salty fish. It is sea spray in heavy winds. Very clean and warming. Not very animalesk as they (and I) tend to say. It does have a lot of peat but still I wouldn’t say that it is in your face peat. Tar, not so much, but I do get some rubber. Some cold dry smoked tea leaves (Lapsang Souchong). Lots of smoke actually and extremely nice salty driftwood that finishes off in toned down Coleman’s mustard powder. Classic Islay.

Taste: Very smoky attack and half sweet (perfect sweetness). Meaty, roasted pork maybe. It comes across as powdery and slightly soapy. Fruity, hints of peach and banana. Here the sweetness seems to me to be a little wild, animalesk. The taste is very typical for a Caol Ila. This was recognizable blind. This has a nice full body with a perfect sweetness (slightly acidic) that matches the toned down peat a lot, combined with the smoke…a winner. Macaroons (made with almonds) and a slightly bitter finish (from the wood) and overall a tad too simple for a score into the 90’s.

Well if you like your Islay Whisky smoky, that this is for you. It may look like something different but actually this is very smoky, very very smoky. The smoke is able to push the peat to the background. Last piece of advice, give it some time to breathe…

Points: 88

Tomatin 21yo (52%, OB, 6 Refill Bourbon Casks & 1 Refill Sherry Butt #31648-54, 2400 bottles, 2009)

In the first weekend of October 2011 I went to the Whisky-Show in London with my friend Erik (both days). We liked the show so much that we went there again this year. Both years we tasted a lot of good whiskies. When we talk things over afterwards we always ask each other what surprised us. Last year we voted Tomatin to be the biggest surprise with all the bottles they brought. This year we had the chance to try several new batches of bottles we tasted the year before. The 30yo was stunning, especially the last batch is very good! Keep watching this space for Tomatin 30yo, but first we’ll have a go at one of their Limited Editions.

This Limited Edition 21yo is made out of 6 Bourbon Casks, since they don’t mention Barrels or Hogshead, I guess both are in the mix. For good measure also a Sherry Butt was thrown in. All casks were Refill casks. Casks were hand (or should I say nose and mouth) picked by Douglas Campbell. It’s called a Limited Edition since this is a one-off deal.

Color: Gold

Nose: Creamy, popcorn with a full sweetish toffee nose. Slight hint of wood and Fino Sherry. Also a slight hint of toast and fresh fruitiness with a nice touch of sweat. Smoked coconut. Might seem strange to you, but this makes it utterly balanced. When aired the whole gets drier, dare I say fruitier? Also a new marker shows up: coal.

Taste: Sweet and strict. Typical Tomatin Bourbon cask at first with a nice fruity finish but the Sherry influence is there too. It also has a little bite from the oak. Black fruits and some pineapple in the aftertaste, which make the finish wonderful, almost like a special effect, since the fruit shows itself pretty late. Nice laid back Tomatin with a perfectly balanced body.

If you’re into an old fruit basket, get yourself a, nowadays, expensive Caperdonich 1972. If you want a fresh fruit basket, and old skool whisky quality, then do yourself a favour and get a Tomatin. This one is great. Highly recommended.

Points: 88

Thanks go out to Alistair for handing me this sample.

Japanese Whisky Week – Day 4: Yamazaki 25yo (43%, OB, 75 cl)

Leaving Nikka for a while and now visiting Suntory’s Yamazaki. Yamazaki is the oldest working distillery of Japan being founded by Shinjiro Torii in 1923. It lies between Kyoto and Osaka. Shinjiro Torii also founded the Suntory company. As with Nikka founder Masataka Taketsuru, both men were pretty influential in the rise of Japanese whisky. Taketsuru also first worked for Torii as a distillery executive before embarking on his own adventures.

Color: Mahogany

Nose: Furniture wax and burnt sugar. Before I go on, I have to say it’s a very thick and rich smell. It’s barely recognizable as a whisky. It could have been rum, but also smells like a PX Sherry. A truckload of raisins and prunes. Cacao with oak, minty oak actually. Glue, sugar and gravy. Well this is a pretty complex Japanese whisky.

Taste: Very dry and oaky. Toast and a hint of soap. The soap returns in the texture that otherwise is pretty thin. Sherried. Seems old. Red & black fruits, mocha and coffee. Dry teeth. Unfortunately this has a short slightly burnt, oaky finish. In this case it’s probably a good thing it got reduced, because if this would have been 55% ABV or even higher, with all these thick aroma’s and all that oak, it probably would have been very hard to drink. It’s a syrup (just not in the texture).

To my amazement, this is almost sold out everywhere. Don’t they make this anymore? If you think this is just the next standard Yamazaki after the 12yo and the 25yo, think again. This is very pricey stuff. If you want it today, be prepared to part with 600 Euro’s (800 USD) at auctions or 800 Euro’s (1000 USD) from a store. Wow, what an experience. So if you can get a dram in a bar, please do, you’ll have to try this, if it’s only just once in your life.

Points: 88

Westmalle Tripel (9.5%, 33 cl)

My good friend of “I think about beer” did a review of Westmalle Tripel recently, and I thought, I have that one too! Please check out his blog, it’s very well written, with a lot of passion for beer. It features tasting notes like mine but especially the in-depth stories are fantastic.

As with a lot of beers, I like to age them a little, and this beer’s no exception. I guess mine was aged for 4 years (best before date 30/07/10), but it is recommended to leave Westmalle alone for at least 5 to 10 years!

Westmalle is one of six Belgian breweries that are ‘protected’ by the Authentic Trappist Product logo. Achel, Orval, Chimay, Rochefort and Westvleteren are the others. The logo was presented to discern the trappist beers from the more and more widely available ‘abdij beers’ of Belgium and other countries. (Abdij = Monastery). Most of those beers aren’t even brewed near a monastery, but commercially brewed under a licence. Still, it’s the same style of beers. Usually with a blond beer at normal strength, a dark “Dubbel” and a heavy blond “Tripel”. occasionally a very heavy “Quadrupel” exists.

It is not only beer that falls under this logo, and not only Belgian beer to boot. Here is a list of all products that fall under this logo.

  • Trappist Beer from Achel in Belgium
  • Trappist Beer and Trappist Cheese from Orval in Belgium
  • Trappist Beer and Trappist Cheese from Scourmont-Lez-Chimay in Belgium
  • Trappist Beer from Rochefort in Belgium
  • Trappist Beer and Trappist Cheese from Westmalle in Belgium
  • Trappist Beer from Westvleteren in Belgium
  • Trappist Beer, bread, biscuits and chocolates from Koningshoeven in Tilburg, the Netherlands
  • Trappist Liqueurs from Echt-Tegelen in the Netherlands
  • Trappist Liqueurs from Stift Engelszell in Austria
  • Trappist Cheese from Mont des Cats in France

Info is from The International Trappist Association site, have a look here for more information.

Westmalle comes in 33 cl and 75 cl bottles. There is a selection made and the best output is bottled in the big bottles. Being already the best of the best it is further ‘bettered’ in the big bottle due to a better beer to air ratio. Thicker glass so less influence of light and foremost, more contact between the beer and the yeast that’s in the bottle. The third fermentation stage takes place inside the bottle. Add to this the ageing potential and you could end up with a fabulous beer! Now back to our little, slightly aged bottle.

Color: Murky Gold. Almost no yeast depot. Old fashioned yellow-orange. One centimetre of white foam. I tasted this beer in its original chalice.

Nose: Fresh, citrus, both lemon and orange peel and yeast.

Taste: Alcohol, quite bitter too. Refreshing. Creamy foam with half-sweet orange skin infusion. fantastic balance and a beautiful texture. Warming.

Nothing for the novice. The bitterness is quite a bit of the character. Beware because ageing makes this beer less fruity and more deep and bitter. The label, the bottle, the iconic WA-logo, the smell of it all. It breathes a time long forgotten, pré WW I. You consider yourself back in the thirties. A high score, but not necessarily your easy, every day choice. This is a classic.

Points: 88

The Benriach 21yo 1984/2006 (55%, OB, Batch 3, Oloroso Butt #1438, 658 bottles)

Earlier I tried a 1968 Hogshead from the next door neighbour of Longmorn. Here is another Benriach from Batch 3. The hoggie scored 89 points, so let’s see if this peated and sherried Benriach can match that score. This one being a lot younger and probably completely different. That’s a plus for Benriach anyway. They always tried out a lot, so there is a lot of variation going on…

Color: Orange Gold.

Nose: Smoke and licorice. Nice wood in the fireplace. Clean sea air and peat. Also a slight hint of soap. Black and white powder. Musty Sherry and salty tar. Deep down syrupy apricots and even deeper down a floral note. Given some time, the very dominant heavy wood fire notes luckily die down a little to show more of what’s underneath.

Taste: Sweet and prickly cannabis. Don’t do drugs, do a Benriach! Peat and spicy wood. Musty moss. Red fruits, fresh and candied. Toffee and nougat. Very big body that’s chewy with a little bit of hidden (soapy) banana in here. Finishes a bit like a Kriek Lambic, slightly bitter.

Quite nice big bodied malt. The peat and smoke are great here and there is just enough sweetness here to balance that out. If the fruityness would be able to show its face some more this would have been excellent. Still very good nonetheless. And yes, another great Benriach in batch 3.

Points: 88

Royal Lochnagar 28yo 1977/2005 (58.5%, Blackadder, Raw Cask, Hogshead #310, 260 bottles)

New Lochnagar was founded in 1845. New Lochnagar? Yes. First Lochnagar was built in 1823, and burnt down by “the competition” just three years later. The distillery was rebuilt, only to burn down again in 1841. So the distillery was rebuilt again in 1845 as New Lochnagar. Lochnagar became Royal in 1848 (it lies very close to Balmoral Castle). No more fires burning down the house, but still a lot of construction going on. In 1906 the distillery was rebuilt yet again and in 1963 completely renewed.

Here we will try an independent Lochnagar, again a Blackadder Raw Cask with cask sediment in the bottle. This time no powdered char, but only small chunks of charred wood.

Color: Full Gold

Nose: Fresh, sea spray wich changes quickly into a damp wine cellar. Very spicy wood and vanilla. Resembles the sweet smell of a bourbon, high on rye. Mocha with a hint of ground coffee. Varnish and fresh mint leaves (not bruised). This smells like it will be very sweet. Very nice nose.

Taste: Strong and sweet, but luckily not as sweet the nose predicted. Butter caramels and the varnish is here again. The whole is very full bodied. Wood with Aspirin (wow, that’s a first). Nutty and ashy. The finish is drier than in the beginning, but still sweet enough to mask a lot of the wood. It doesn’t taste like it, but underneath it’s pretty woody. The dry finish ends in a little bitterness that reveals this woodyness.

In the end a quite nice Lochnagar. The finish is dryer and has some bitterness that seems a bit off compared with the sweetness from the beginning. Maybe not a 90+ scoring malt, but definitively a very interesting Lochnagar if you want a complete collection. Still, with these flaws in the finish I have a little soft spot for this Lochnagar, since the nose and the initial taste are really great.

Points: 88

p.s. This one is at the time of writing still available in Russia for 534 Euro’s