St. Magdalene 1981/1999 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, Connoisseurs Choice, II/BJ)

If you thought both Cragganmores were bottled a long time ago, then you must have a look at this St. Magdalene. This one was bottled one century ago. The 20th century to be precise. Nope its not antique yet since this was only bottled in 1999. Remember Prince? St. Magdalene itself is alas no more. Closed in 1983, it’s buildings now housing people ins stead of casks. An eternal shame led by economics of the eighties. In those days we had a Whisky loch (lots of unsold Whisky), and today almost a shortage. Big disappointment here, since St. Magdalene is my favorite Lowland distillery. Just have a look at my review of the legendary 1979 Rare Malt edition. By the way, bottles of this 1981 Gordon & MacPhail that were sold in Germany had stickers on the back that informed the public about caramel coloring…

St. Magdalene 1981/1999 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, Connoisseurs Choice, II/BJ)Color: Gold.

Nose: Nice, grassy and citrussy. Quite nice and elegant after all those heavy hitters I reviewed before. Waxy and fruity, again in sugared and dried apricots. Quite grainy too, it’s almost like an old blend from the sixties. Vegetal, less grassy actually but more like fern and almost flowery. Sweetish and waxy apple skins. Marmalade. With some air mare grassy and vegetal. Dry grass and hints of hay, making this an easily recognizable Lowlander. Distant white pepper and some slightly rotting wet wood or bad breath. (not bad here). Not un-complex, and very pleasant to smell. A shame this style is almost disappearing. Do cherish your old Magdalenes and Rosebanks people!

Taste: Sweet (paper) and fruity. Pleasant stuff. Yes, quite light and fragile, but that is helped along by the sweetness. After the sweetness comes wax, paper and cardboard, still quickly overthrown by a delicious fruitiness. Warm apple juice with apricots, Short peak of prickly black pepper. Hidden behind the fruity (not sugary) sweetness a hint of black coal. Highly drinkable. Decent finish with a nice fruity aftertaste.

I thought this would be killed by reduction and caramel coloring, but no. It still has a lot of life in it, just like the ancient Gordon & MacPhail Strathisla 30yo I have on my lectern. That’s also elegant, brittle and light, but still giving a lot. I feel old malts could “take” a lot more than today’s modern Malts.

Points: 87

Cragganmore 1988/2002 “Distillers Edition” (40%, OB, Double Matured in Ruby Port Wood, CggD-6553)

As could have been expected by reading the last review here is the Cragganmore Distillers Edition, and just like the 12yo this particular bottle, was also bottled in 2002. Cragganmore is seen by many as a top Whisky. Blenders see it that way, and especially Diageo see it that way too. Although it has been part of the original Classic Malts range from 1988, it never was the most popular of the six. I don’t have to spell them out for you don’t I? Well OK, the original six were: Lagavulin (Islay), Talisker (Skye: Islands), Oban (marketed as West-Highlands), Glenkinchie (Lowlands, which many thought it would be Rosebank, but economics decided otherwise), Dalwhinnie (Highlands) and Cragganmore (Speyside). Still some aficionado’s are very keen on Cragganmore because Cragganmore is said to be a complex malt by using hard water and have stills with flat tops. History also teaches us that Cragganmore used a lot of Sherry casks.

Cragganmore 1988/2002 "Distillers Edition" (40%, OB, Double Matured in Ruby Port Wood, CggD-6553)Color: Copper gold.

Nose: Creamy and waxy, this time with a winey note, which makes it instantaneously more interesting than the 12yo. Fresh air with licorice and black and white powder. The yellow fruits from the original 12yo have been replaced by the red (berry) fruits from the Port finish. Tiny hint of Calvados. Red apple skin. Creamy vanilla is still here though. Hints of Sinaspril (a children’s headache medicine I remember from the seventies). Fruity candy powder (synthetic).

Taste: Seems spicier, but still a bit too light. Watered down Ice-cream. Quite sweet. Sugar water with a tiny amount of forest fruit syrup. If this would have been cask strength, the harshness you get from Ruby Port finishes probably would have been easily noticeable. Instead, the reduction and the sweetness are able to keep the Ruby Port in check. Just like the 12yo I reviewed last, this has a pretty weak again and it has a finish with some cask toast thrown in for good measure, but it helps. Up untill the body, the Whisky has quite some good aroma, and then the finish comes which has the length of a snuffed out candle. It’s alight for one moment and gone the next. This really needs to be slightly higher in strength, as well as the 12yo. If 46% ABV is too much, at least adopt 43% as a minimum strength for Single Malt Whisky. Sure in the olden days a lot of Malts were 40% and held their ground, but today’s yield driven more modern Malts seem to need a higher strength than that…

Personally I find the choice for Ruby Port always very tricky. Whereas Tawny Port is easier to use and gives usually better results, because Ruby Port finishes can be very harsh and are easily overdone. Luckily here the finish seems to be OK. The 12yo was quite simple, fruity and sweet, but for me this Distillers Edition has something more to say, especially on the nose. Concerning the taste, the Port is not always good match for the sweetness of the Cragganmore Malt. The first time I tried it, it didn’t work, the next day I liked it, but maybe that’s saying more about me than the Malt. It still is an easy peasy Malt, not all that complex. It is quite interesting and I do quite like it. I prefer it over the 12yo.

Points: 84

Cragganmore 12yo (40%, OB, Circa 2002)

A short introduction: Cragganmore was founded in 1869 by Glenfarclas’ John Smith and stays within the family untill 1923 when it is sold to the newly formed Cragganmore Distillery Co. In 1927 Cragganmore is 50% owned by DCL, one of the precursors of todays Diageo. In 1965 DCL buys the second half of Cragganmore to become 100% owner. In 1988 this Cragganmore 12yo becomes part of the Classic Malts Series, and in 1998 the Cragganmore Distillers Edition sees the light of day (more about that later), but let’s not get ahead of ourselves and have a go at this 12yo that was bottled back in 2002…

Cragganmore 12yo (40%, OB, Circa 2002)Color: Gold.

Nose: Fruity and malty. Quite some hints of caramel. Chilled produce, sugared yellow fruits and some candied orange. Waxy with an air of menthol. Hints of cardboard and toasted oak. Perfumy and vegetal. Fern on a dry forest floor. Sweetish, but also some oak acidity. Give it some time and the oak turns more spicy. Otherwise it is light, with creamy vanilla, wax and candied sweet yellow fruits.

Taste: Waxy and toffeed. Quite fruity and light. Dried peach and old dried apricots. Hints of clay. Warming. Damp earth from the forest again. Maybe some mushroom? Yellow fruit sweet yoghurt. A funky acidity creeps in. Very soft warm oozing caramel. Soft distant wood. Cigar box wood. Simple, light and likeable. Tiny hint of beer and hops in the finish, which comes as a surprise, also quite sweet with a burnt wood edge too it.

In the end I still feel that it is bit anonymous really. The distillery character is somehow hidden behind fruity sweetness, caramel and wax. Nice fruitiness though. Very easily drinkable. Again an entry-level malt to get you going. Nothing wrong with it, but also nothing special. One you’ll finish quite quickly and you’ll start wondering afterwards where it has gone. If anything, it does invite you to take another sip, as I will do right now..

Points: 81

Appleton Estate 21yo (43%, Jamaica)

A long time ago I reviewed a 12yo from Appleton Estate and liked that very much. Not so hard since I love the Jamaican style of Rum making. Time now to try out the super premium 21yo. Besides the 12yo and the 21yo there are several other expressions in the Appleton Portfolio. In fact the 21yo is the super premium Rum from the portfolio and it doesn’t come cheap, ok, not really expensive either, but I see huge differences between one market and the other. On top of the 21yo comes a 50yo “Independence Reserve”, well that costs as much as a small car, but for that amount of money you do get one of the best Rums money can buy. The 12yo I reviewed earlier is the best of the rest and before that one comes a 8yo and an entry-level Rum called “VX”. Apart from that there are a special gold and special white colored Rums for ya cocktails.

Appleton Estate 21yoColor: orange Brown.

Nose: Thick and woody and dusty. Right from the start it is showing its age. Over aged old high ester rum. Jamaican and delicious. Hints of tar and dry. Over time becoming even drier. I have to say already, this is an excellent nose. Paint stripped old wood, dusty and worthy of restoration. Red apple skin and latex paint. Fresh creamy butter. Custard. Christmas pudding, without the Christmas. Dried old orange skins. Hints of very old Demerara Rum.

Taste: Quite woody. Mahogany, old furniture. Hints of old dry Demerara. Burn furniture. That slightly burnt note is very typical for Rums that have aged for a long time. I like that, but it may be an acquired taste. Decent sweetness balanced by old dark wood. Chocolate powder and hard coffee flavoured candy. Quite fruity and gives off some dry heat. Despite all this I have to inform you it’s only delicious, but lacks a bit of complexity I would have though and Jamaican Rum of this age would have. Quite a long finish though with some burnt wood and…wait for it…cow manure. Coming with the complexity, maybe even a wee bit too short aftertaste. The whole is utterly delicious though.

I tried this long ago and found it too woody then. Now it and I have aged some more, I truly like it. It’s not overly woody, but it may be a wee bit too simple, soft and a wee bit too easy-going. Nevertheless, lovely stuff, maybe a bit to expensive compared tot the complexity, but very nice and drinkable. Dare I say, again, that it has been reduced too much?

points: 88

Zuidam Flying Dutchman No.3 (40%, The Netherlands)

Here we have a Rum from the very well-known Caribbean Island of the Netherlands, ehhhh, well, actually the Netherlands are closer to the north pole than the Caribbean, so what the hell did Patrick van Zuidam thought he was doing over there? At least he’s from the southern part of the Netherlands. People who like to submerge themselves in “Carnaval”, not entirely the same thing the Brazilians are doing, but never the less. Lets not get distracted now. Word is that Patrick’s brother Gilbert (the marketing) needed a Rum in his portfolio, so Patrick (the distiller) set out to make him one.

Zuidam Flying Dutchman No.3 (40%, The Netherlands)Color: Light orange gold.

Nose: From a distance when pouring: banana. When sniffing from the glass; Semi sweet, Thick and fruity, but over time the sweetness gets less and less. More wood influence combined with a slightly smelly organic smell. Not necessarily bad mind you. Hints of mint from the wood. Spicy, creamy toffee and molten vanilla ice-cream. Dark chocolate and mint, yes, hints of After Eight.

Taste: Yes great balance between wood and distillate. Not too sweet. Wood is the first thing you’ll notice, quickly followed by a hint of a grain distillate like Jenever, which makes it stand out from any other Rum (in the world). Next up some caramel and semi sweetness. Wood and (fresh) almonds, but also a tiny citrussy note, lemon. Caramel, toffee, milk chocolate with vanilla and vanilla ice-cream. Hard powder candy sweetness. The strange vegetal note from the nose is in here too and is noticeable on the tip of your tongue, right before the body starts forming in your mouth. Vegetal and some fresh oak, seem to make it up. Lacks a bit of complexity. Short finish where the balance loses out, almost like it breaks up into the components its made up of. Not a lot of after taste.

What I do like with this Premium Dark Rum is that Patrick managed to get the wood to play a part in this Rum instead of overpowering sweetness. OK, lots of experience from Jenever and Millstone Whisky. For me it tastes like an unfinished product though. A project that was started up, and left us with a Rum that has been aged for three years, and then was forgotten. Good enough for the time being. Patrick seems to be on the right path here, but also seems to have lost interest in this Rum, concentrating on Millstone and Jenever and Korenwijn. I’m guessing this Rum will become better when Patrick has aged himself somewhat more…nudge, nudge. So in the end not a bad Rum, but something that has potential, not fully explored yet. There is also a colorless version of this Rum, but if I understand correctly, that is essentially this dark Rum, stripped of its color and some of its aroma’s…

points: 80

Amrut Portonova (62.1%, OB, Batch 5, 2014)

Ahhh, another Amrut. Nice. I had the pleasure to try some Amruts in the past and was very nicely surprised by the Intermediate Sherry (which I then bought) a Single PX Sherry Cask #2699 (which I then bought) and the Kadhambam (which I have yet to buy). I also tried the “plain” cask strength version, and although pretty nice, I preferred the former ones. Now this Portonova crosses my path. This time a Port finished Amrut, and yes, I have high hopes for this one too…

Amrut Portonova Batch 5Color: Light orange gold. No typical Port pinkishness.

Nose: Although this has a huge ABV, this doesn’t leap out of the glass. Give it some time and some dust and cinnamon emerges. Wow. Cookie spices, dried plums and raisins. Exotic and Christmas in a bottle. Fresh air after rain. Creamy and soft oak. Hot metal. Barley, but different from barley you get from (young) Scottish Whisky. Sweet milk chocolate and red fruit juice. Apart from this all, it has a sweet and deep feel. Exotic spices, curry, cardamom, but where is the Port? I already missed the pink hue, but I also miss its smell. Complex stuff this because there is even a lot more happening in the nose than what I noted here.

Taste: Condensed red fruits. Thick, but initially simpler than the complex nose promised. Obviously quite hot with this high ABV. The wood tastes more like paper and cardboard, than any kind of wood. Not a lot of the wealth of spices shine through on the palate, and that’s a shame. Its more a fruity Whisky with maybe some faint hints of Port. Vanilla comes next. With time if becomes more outspoken and creamy. Nice evolution though. Hints of banana in the aftertaste. Lovely.

First I have to air a disappointment. This would be a stellar malt if the spices from the nose were noticeable so more in the taste as well, without being overpowering of course. Missing the spices on the palate makes the taste of this Whisky a bit simpler than it could have been. Now that we have that out-of-the-way. The whole is still an utterly good Whisky. Very much recommended. An excellent winter warmer I would say. I will have to get me one of these soon.

Points: 88

Glenmorangie 25yo “Quarter Century” (43%, OB, Circa 2012)

And here is another entry-level malt. Anyhow, it is when you give your wife a Luis Vuitton bag very month. If you’re more middle class, or like me, no class at all, you might want to get the 18yo “Extremely Rare” which isn’t actually extremely rare but compared to this 25yo is extremely affordable and quite nice. The 18yo scored a quite nice 87 Points. The 18yo has spent all of it’s time in Bourbon casks, save for 30% of the Whisky which was transferred into Oloroso Butts (or Puncheons) after 15 years, to get a three-year Oloroso finish. This 25yo is a blend of Whisky from Bourbon and Oloroso casks, but also contains Whisky from casks that once held Burgundy Wine. Pinot Noir (red) and/or Chardonnay (white). It is unclear if the Burgundy part is a full maturation or only a finish, well the same goes for the Oloroso Sherry as well.

Glenmorangie 25yoColor: Orange gold.

Nose: Waxy, dusty with old wood. Old bottle. Well if anything, this does show its age.  A sharpish winey note. Burnt oak and a distinct sweetish toffee note. Very creamy mocha and milk chocolate with hints of creamy latex paint. Duo Penotti. Hints of oak, cigarette smoke and wine acidity. paper dust. The aroma’s seem to weaken with time. Fragile.

Taste: Strong sweet entry. Red sweet and sugared cherries, so quite some wine influence. Toffee is in here too. Liquid candy. Light, slightly too low in ABV if you ask me. Similar burnt note to the nose. Old wood. Easily recognizable is the American oak ageing. Creamy vanilla and mocha coffee. Slight hint of oaken bitterness. Easily drinkable. Seems simpler that I initially thought and the finish has medium length.

This proves is for me. If you want a Glenmorangie from the current range, I prefer the ones with an age statement, the older ones that is, over the ones that are named after Hyundai cars. The secret here is that the 18yo is maybe a better and definitely much affordable Whisky than this 25yo. Sure, this 25yo is a great piece of work and compared to the 18yo is slightly more complex, but the 18yo seems to be the better balanced Whisky of the two. Did I mention the humongous price difference between the two?

Points: 86

Highland Park 12yo (40%, OB, 2015)

Three years ago I already reviewed a Highland Park 12yo. That one was bottled in 2003 at 43% ABV. Today we’ll have a look at another Highland Park 12yo, only this time we have one that was bottled this year at 40% ABV. if you look closely on the (modern) bottle, a laser printed code is discernible. For instance, on this bottle, the code is L0042T L4. The thing to watch for is the letter T. I won’t go to deep into this here, but following the alphabet, P stands for 2012, (Q was skipped), R is 2013, S is 2014 and T, which we have here stands for 2015. So lets see if the people behind Highland Park were able to maintain the quality of their 12yo.

Highland Park 12yo 2015Color: Gold.

Nose: Barley. Oxidized funky Sherry. Yes, Heather and honey, so it’s still Highland Park people. Nice hint of smoke. Fresh, a breath of fresh air, with plenty of aromatics thrown in. Next a floral and sweet candied yellow and red fruit note appears. Forest strawberries fruit gello. The hints of smoke, the toasted cask, almonds, the funky Sherry, and obviously the heather and honey make this instantaneously recognizable as a Highland Park Whisky. No doubt about it. Do I detect a sort of rural smelling sulfur compound?

Taste: Very sweet and thin. Alas. Smoke and toasted wood, and also some Heather and honey. Just like the Balvenie 12yo, this is a very easily drinkable malt that will not last long. You’ll finish the bottle in no time, no time at all. Nice smoky taste and some woody bitterness. Dark chocolate. This would be a good one to compare to the Benromach 10yo, which also has a smoky note.

Just like the Balvenie, they made this into the entry-level bottling of the range. It is sugary sweet but it does show that it is a Highland Park, and that’s a big plus. Easily recognizable. Compared to Highland Park 12yo’s of the past, it lacks a bit of depth, or maybe that’s because this was bottled at 40% ABV. It has become more user-friendly because it is more sugary and fruity sweet to lure you in like they do with children and candy. But I have no problem with that, since this should be the introduction to Highland Park. If you ask me this is a very modern and popular take on an introduction to a brand of Whisky. Just try the Springbank 10yo as an introduction to Springbank and you’ll know what I mean.

Points: 82

The Balvenie 12yo “Doublewood” (40%, OB, Circa 2014)

Somehow a lot of Balvenies were already reviewed on these pages. However not the most popular one, the entry-level 12yo “Doublewood”, yes not a NAS bottling yet. Before the 12yo, the 10yo “Founder’s Reserve” was the entry-level Balvenie, but that one was discontinued in favour of this “Doublewood”. As I said before, Balvenie is a Single Malt I like to like, or like to love if you prefer, but somehow I don’t buy a lot of them anymore. Sometimes a bit weak and if they are really good, they are also really expensive. Once I had my own bottle of “Doublewood”,long, long ago, and it was very nice. I had several “Doublewood’s” since, but just like the 15yo “Single Barrel” I found the quality to be somewhat slipping, but they always stayed true to the Balvenie style, and for me that is elegance. Time to fill in one of the gaps on these pages and finally review the 12yo “Doublewood”. I can only hope this recent bottling does the trick for me again…

The Balvenie 12yo DoublewoodColor: Bright ocher gold.

Nose: Lots of caramel to welcome you, and hints of sugared orange skins. Creamy with slightly spicy oak. Sweet sawdust and sweet whipped cream. Hints of Cream Sherry, but the American oak donated a lot of vanilla to this Balvenie. It’s almost like there is also some virgin oak in this one. Hints of dried crushed leaves in autumn and a tiny burnt note. Smells fresh and well-balanced, although it does remind me of a heavily caramelized Whisky.

Taste: Nice but also rather thin. Sugary sweet and again caramel and cream. Yes, loads of vanilla are present as well as fresh almonds. It’s an ice-cream of a Whisky. The creamy aroma’s are quite big so it seems ok at 40% ABV. The lowest possible ABV to call itself Whisky, does show in the short finish. It hardly leaves any after taste. The finish itself seems to be built around a toffee flavour.

So this is probably a very nice entry-level Whisky. Very appetizing and sweet, with all the sweet markers. Toffee, caramel, Sugar and vanilla. Nothing to scoff at. Pretty good balance, but also quite simple. Not for analyzing, but for drinking without giving it too much thought. The only beef I have with this one is the short finish.

Points: 83

Wild Turkey 12yo (50.5%, OB, 2007)

It’s still september, so why not add another Bourbon to our collection of reviews. This time, we’ll focus on a Wild Turkey 12yo 101 proof, that was bottled a few years ago. Today’s version looks somewhat different and more blue. According to the Wild Turkey website, todays 12yo (as well as a 13yo) is only meant for the Japanese market. Over here, we still have a 101 proof, but that is one without an age statement (NAS).

Wild Turkey 12yoColor: Orange gold.

Nose: Fatty and full of aroma. Candied oranges with lots of toffee. Quite sweet-smelling. It almost smells like a dry Rum. Very appealing. Right after this (and not before), the smell of the wood. New oak with lots of vanillin obviously. Lots of nuts. Almonds combined with rather new thick leather. All aroma’s are big in this one. Also some hints of dust and vanilla powder and cookie dough. Pushed even further in the background are small, small hints of red fruits and toasted wood. Big and tasty smelling. If this tastes like it smells, this really is a winner. It’s all about toffee, vanilla and nuts.

Taste: Not as big on the toffee now, but still a big aroma. Wood plays a bigger role, and that is no surprise, considering the age of this Bourbon. Vegetal wood with a slight hint of soap. That sounds worse than it actually is. Vanilla combined with sugary sweetness. Sweet corn even. Not overly complex, but nice and big and very tasty. Quite a big finale of toffee and some big aromatic sweetness, but aided by the toasted wood note quickly balancing out the sweetness, also showing its age.

I always liked Wild Turkey’s Rare Breed, but this is another winner! I will have to return to Rare Breed for a comparison. If I remember correctly, Rare Breed shows more Rye compared to this sweetish 12yo. I also did a quick comparison with the Four Roses Single Barrel I have on my lectern, and they are quite similar in quality, and not even that far apart in taste. Four Roses has a different kind of sweetness though. It’s sweetness isn’t all that big and more focused, but very present as well. Wild Turkey has a broader kind of sweetness. Maybe the sweetness is more integrated because of its age?

Points: 83