Tomatin 19yo 1989/2008 (40%, Master of Malt, Refill Sherry Hogshead, 399 bottles)

I caught a cold last week, which is very unfortunate when you try to write tasting notes. Fortunately my nose is back in business now, and in the process ‘got a rest’. Let’s start whisky reviewing again, with an example of a whisky that should be light and is ‘low’ in ABV.

There are two versions of this, one reduced to 40% ABV (this version) and one at cask strength, that was 57.6% ABV. This example was bottled by Master of Malt, maybe the biggest competition for The Whisky Exchange. Just have a look at their website for quite a nice collection, just don’t be fooled, a lot is sold out and stated as such. Looking around the net a bit, I already got a sense that the cask strength version should be much better. Those of you that are used to my reviews, know already that I don’t like reduction a lot, but I do admit that it sometimes cán work, let’s see if that is the case with this Tomatin.

Color:  White wine.

Nose: Toffee with some acidity. Seems sweet at first, but quickly turns into something dry. Cardboard like woodiness. Fern with a hint of licorice, toast and ash. Quite floral later on, but the cardboard doesn’t give way. Not bad, but atypical Tomatin, for this lacks the (tropical) fruityness, we all know. Apart from the cardboard it is powdery and slightly mouldy.

Taste: Again dry, woody and mouldy. Ear wax. Wood spice and slightly bitter. Watery. Nothing more to it really. I hope the cask strength version is (a lot) better, because this is nothing special. Maybe this was reduced to death? Very atypical for a Tomatin, since it lacks all forms of fruityness…

For me a completely uninteresting Tomatin. This must be a cask that was sold off for blending. Would be interesting to try the cask strength version though, because at 40% ABV… well you get the picture…

Points: 80

Gonzalez Byass Cristina Oloroso Abocado

Some casks of Gonzalez Byass lying around...

Gonzalez Byass is an often seen cask in Scottish warehouses. These casks already find their way into making some excellent whisky. As we all know, the best results come from Oloroso casks, so here we have the opportunity to try a nice Oloroso from Gonzalez Byass.

This Oloroso is made of Palomino Fino and Pedro Ximénez (both white grapes!). Up to 95% of all grapes used for sherry is Palomino. Since this Sherry is sweetened with the PX-grape, this is essentially is a cream sherry. Usually three types of Palomino are grown: Palomino Fino, Palomino Basto, and Palomino de Jerez. Of which the first one is considered the best for making Sherry and especially today the latter two are grown less and less. Besides these Palomino’s, only Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel grapes are used for Sherry.

Gonzalez Byass Cristina Oloroso AbocadoEssentially, there are three types of Sherry:

1. Fino (including Amontillado and Manzanilla)
2. Oloroso
3. Palo Cortado

Fino Sherries arise under flor. This means that when the must is fermented a ‘flower’ of yeast (flor) grows on the surface, and no oxygen can pass through. This also causes the finished wine to have that fresh yeasty taste.

In Oloroso (‘Scented’) Sherries the flor is suppressed by fortification at an earlier stage. Since the lack of this layer of flor, the Sherry comes in contact with air through the porous walls of oak casks, and undergoes oxidative aging. Due to the ageing, the wine becomes darker and stronger.

Palo Cortado is a rare kind of Sherry and is placed between Fino and Oloroso. Palo Cortado resembles Oloroso in color and taste and has the aromatics of Amontillado (sort of long aged Fino), and it doesn’t arise under flor.

Color: Golden Brown. Amber.

Nose: Nutty and fragrant. Diluted PX, so notes of raisins. Very floral and maybe some fresh wood and vanilla. Toffee. Baked banana. Actually quite nice.

Taste: Sweet and sour, with lots of depth. Clean lemony acidity. Not cloying, thin compared to PX. So I guess not a lot of PX was used, nor should it have been used, to me this seems just right. Actually I quite like this. Easily drinkable and for me a thirst quenching Sherry. Recommended.

I’m quite new to Oloroso’s. I just had only one before and that was a bone dry one. This one, at 17% ABV, has some PX thrown into the mix and therefore is more palatable than the dry one I remember. Time to expand more into Oloroso Sherry, since a new world has just opened itself to me.

By the way, I found out that good bottles of Sherry are far less costly than the most recent offerings of whisky, which seem outrageous. Today a new 21yo Lagavulin (yes Oloroso Casks) costs almost 700 Euro’s. I think I’ll buy some more Sherries tomorrow.

Points: 87

PX Sherry: Valdivia Pedro Ximénez Dulce

Some casks of Valdivia lying around...Valdivia was founded by a supplier of building materials in 2003. He bought an old property in Jerez and completely renovated it. Next was locating some old stock to be able to release a series of old Sherries. This Series is called Sacromonte and are made up of 15 year old Sherries. Here we will try a PX from the ‘standard’ series. The modern look is aimed at the new trend-conscious generation. In its young history, Bodegas Valdivia already has its third owner.

Valdivia Pedro Ximénez (Muy Dulce version)Color: Mahogany. Dark brown with a fabulous red hue.

Nose: Wood, leather, raisins and figs, Lavas. Old books and syrup (not as strange as it seems). Hint of smoke and tar. Smells sugary sweet with a promise of nice acidity. Greenish. Fresh cut shrubs (a smell of working in the garden trimming various plants). Fabulous balance. It doesn’t smell only thick, as some PX do, nor has it a kind of mustiness, still it does smell elegant and ‘fresh’.

Color: Mahogany. It’s essentially dark brown with a fabulous red hue.

Nose: Wood and leather. Raisins and figs. This has even some lavas notes. Old books in syrup (what?). A hint of smoke and tar. Smells sugary sweet with the promise of nice acidity. Green. Fresh cut shrubs (a smell of working in the garden trimming various plants). Fabulous balance. It doesn’t only smell thick, as some other PX do, nor has it only a kind of freshness, but it does smell like a modern and elegant,’fresh’ PX.

Taste: Wow what a texture. Modern tasting. Sweet, but not raisiny as most others are. Some asphalt in the mix, but mostly clean sugar syrup and cough syrup. This should go over pancakes. Definitely a Sherry to accompany (sweet) foods, not only after dinner or as a dessert. The body is quite mild and the finish is short. Not what I’ve expected.

It’s good. Compared to the Lustau reviewed earlier, this is a less typical PX, less old skool and thus more modern. Even though it’s quite thick It lacks a bit in the taste department if you sip it like I’m used to. This one should be taken in big gulps en then, and only then, does this Valdivia show what it’s made of. Even the Elite I’ve tasted earlier has more going on in the taste department, what is a surprise considering the Elite had an ultra thin, velvety, texture.

Valdivia PX Dulce LabelFor me the nose is fabulous, and the taste a bit thin and short. Lacks a bit of complexity. When I finish this bottle, I will try the 15yo Valdivia.

Points: 83

PX Sherry: Lustau Pedro Ximénez “San Emilio”

Lustau LogoEarly November I started a series to support the drinking of sherry to get more good sherry casks for the whisky industry. For reasons not even science can wholly explain, I picked PX Sherries as a starting point. As mentioned before, PX or Pedro Ximénez is the most syrupy and sweet Sherry around, and is considered an after dinner Sherry or one to accompany a nice (sweet) dessert. Goes well with ice-cream.

Lustau PX San EmilioEmilio Lustau was founded in 1896 by Don José Ruiz-Berdejo who was an Almacenista himself. He made Sherries and stored them for a while, after which he sold them off to larger companies, thus adding value. In 1940, his son-in-law and name-giver for the company, Don Emilio Lustau Ortega moved the Bodega to the old quarter of Jerez. Since then the company wanted to be the best and expanded by offering high quality Sherries.

This “San Emilio” PX (17% ABV) is from the Solera Reserva range which has it’s heritage in the original Stocks of Don José Ruiz-Berdejo. His stocks were combined with special Sherries from different “Almacenistas”,  small independent wine-producers. Besides this Solera Reserva range, where casks of the same type of Sherries are blended, there is also a very interesting Almacenista range. In this series, Lustau selects small batches of high quality sherries which have been made and matured by small independent producers, or “Almacenistas”, who often make Sherries as a hobby.

Color: Almost black mahogany.

Nose: Very elegant syrupy Sherry which has a nice dry whiff of paper over it. Grassy with cloves. Dried apricot and raisins, also a more spicy element which you get when putting parsley in broth. A hint of yeast and/or flor (Marmite), so not only syrupy and sweet. For me also hints of lavas.

Taste: Sweet (sometimes sugary), but accompanied by a nice acidic touch, which is a great effect on the palate. The acidity reminds me a bit of the lemon part of cola. I Love SherryYes the apricots are there and some vibrant freshly made raisins and maybe some dates. Very lively and never dull, heavy or dusty.Very well balanced. Actually, this is blended so well to a nice harmony, that it’s almost hard and not even fair to look for separate markers or hints of it. The sum is so great.

Easily a favourite of mine when looking at PX Sherries. Excellent and an easy recommendation. Oops, another “San Emilio” finished…Next bottle!

Points: 89

Tomatin 30yo (46%, OB, 1500 bottles, 2012)

Lou Reed’s Transformer on the record player and the new Tomatin 30yo OB in my glass, what can go wrong? As I already mentioned here, this Tomatin 30yo is a stunner. Yes let’s tell you up front that this will score in the 90’s. Don’t waste your time reading on, go out and get yourself a bottle. This Tomatin is all good, and that’s all I need to say!

The new 30yo was introduced in 2011, replacing the 25yo that still can be found. It’s reduced to 46% ABV, to fit neatly in the ‘standard’ range which now comprises of the 12yo, the 15yo, the 18yo and now the 30yo. The 21yo I reviewed earlier is a limited release and higher in ABV (52%), so it’s not part of the standard range. Still it looks like a huge gap to me between the 18yo and the 30yo. And a new 21yo or 25yo would be nice. For now, mind the gap…

When introduced, the press release stated it will be an annual release of up to 2000 bottles. Just so you know, the 2011 release was 1200 bottles and the new 2012 release is 1500 bottles. Keyword for the 30yo is consistency. By the way, these two 30yo’s are made up from 80% Refill Bourbon casks and 20% Oloroso Sherry casks.

Color: Straw, light gold.

Nose: Musty, and fresh. Lot’s of citrus fruit skins, oranges, tangerines and lemons. Also some old bottle effect, combined with (ear)wax. It has this similarity with the best of the 1972 Caperdonichs, which I like a lot. Great balance. A great one to smell. After some breathing we get another dimension of fruitiness. This time the citrus fruits are succeeded by more tropical fruits like pineapple, papaya and mango. There also is a dusty or powdery component to the whole. Still this waxy bowl of fruit is extremely nice and luckily all over the place. Some distant spiciness from the wood, but it’s hardly there, go figure after 30 years!

Taste: Again very nice. At first a short spicy attack and a little bit of wood. Next up, the tropical fruits again, papaya and mango. Not so much the pineapple and no citrus fruits. When the fruits subsides it shows a little a nice interplay with creamy (ice) coffee, vanilla and/or mocha. Yes the pineapple is here too, but it comes quite late.

Can’t imagine this was colored. It’s so light in color. That would be great, since we don’t like people messing with our drams, don’t we? Both the nose and the palate are neatly balanced. I really love these kinds of whiskies. One I thoroughly enjoyed. Imagine a great 30yo whisky and what they ask you to dish out these days. Considering this, this one is a steal (in some markets) and deserves a following. It’s 46% ABV and very nice, this makes it almost too easily drinkable and there is a possibility that this bottle will be empty in no time, so beware. The 2011 batch was also very good, still this one from 2012 scores one point higher, since it’s even more fruity.

Points: 91

Thanks to Alistair for the Sample and Stephen for the info!

Glen Scotia 18yo 1992/2010 (46%, Mo Òr, First Fill Sherry Butt #6, 1076 bottles, 500 ml)

Next up Glen Scotia, also a first on these pages. Glen Scotia hails from Campbeltown, once a big place for whisky with regional status (again). Try to imagine a place that has almost 30 distilleries working at one time in the 19th Century. Not so long ago this Glen Scotia was the ‘other one’ from Campbeltown after the well-known Springbank. Today Springbank makes also Longrow and Hazelburn. And from the same owners the recent ‘addition’ that is Glengyle Distillery (Kilkerran). Let’s say that Glen Scotia is the only Campbeltown distillery not owned by the people of Springbank. Owner today is Loch Lomond Distillery Co. and the place is fairly run down. When the distillery was mothballed in 1994, the staff of Springbank restarted intermittent production in 1999, not to lose the regional status of Campbeltown. A status lost eventually, but eventually reinstated.

The distillery was founded in 1832 by the Galbraith family. For one reason or another the label on the bottles state 1835. Lots of changes of ownership during the years and even some closures in 1928 and 1984. Since 2000 Loch Lomond has taken over Glen Scotia and runs the distillery with its own staff.

Color: Copper Gold.

Nose: Very musty and dirty. Fruity as in fresh sweet apples mixed with apple compote. A very nice hint of smoke and coal that reminds me of an old steam locomotive. It actually smells like something from the industrial revolution. Old Skool? Lets move on. Mint and still a lot of apple. Lit matchstick. Nice balance and easy. Not very complex. Underneath it all, a sort of sweet wood smell, very laid back.

Taste: Wood and toffee. Caramels and quite a bit of ash and toasted cask. A nice bite and definitely a firm body. Sulphury (of the egg kind) and quite some oaky and milky sourness. Actually I get some more egg notes, especially boiled egg (the white part). Closing in on the finish, it dries out a bit, and is not as big as expected. Here the wood plays a much greater role, than on the nose. Not as balanced as the nose.

Usually you’d expect more color after 18 years in a First Fill Sherry Butt, so this must be a Fino (again) and it kinda goes into that direction.

I was asked to keep an eye out for sulphur in this one. It’s there slightly on the nose (as a burning match). But it is more pronounced on the palate (the bite here comes not only from the wood, but also from the sulphur. Usually there is some sulphur in Sherried Glen Scotia’s. Lots of it in a 1991 Cadenheads offering if I remember correctly. It’s there on the palate and even more so in the finish (late). Is it ruining the balance or the palate? Does it disturb me? No, it’s some kind of good sulphur. it’s somewhat hidden. It’s there but not in the usual obvious way. That happens sometime, that’s why I called it good sulphur. Still, overall there isn’t a lot of sulphur in this one, so don’t worry. And hey, sulphur is good for the skin!

Points: 84

Longmorn 15yo (45%, OB, Circa 2002, Litre)

I just found out that Longmorn isn’t on Master Quill yet! Longmorn is one of my absolute favorites. Just have a go at a sixties or seventies fruitbomb or heavily sherried expressions from the days the stills were heated with coal. Sometimes it almost tastes like the coal went into the whisky too. A liquified locomotive. But no use crying over spilt whisky and let’s start-up with this old 15yo. This 15yo is no more and was replaced in 2007 by the current 16yo. So it’s off the market for five years now, but bottles are found in some shops and are still fairly cheap at auctions. Also the packaging has dramatically changed. The 16yo new bottle has metal and leather glued to it, and has an intricate box. This 15yo looks fairly simple. Surely Longmorn are capable of making a pretty good standard whisky? Lets find out how this eighties distillate behaves, and maybe we get a chance in the future to compare this to the new 16yo expression. I tasted the 16yo once in 2009, and scored it a measly 81. I hope it got better in the mean time.

Color: Copper gold, caramel.

Nose: Spicy and slightly smoky. Apples (not the skin), and heather. Vanilla ice-cream. Creamy with the slightest hint of pine. Malty and it smells quite sweet. Nougat. Powdery with wet leaves and even some wood.

Taste: Full sweet body, with a tad of almonds. Powdery texture. (no there is nothing floating in my glass). This does have its bite. I get apples again, half sweet and half sour.

In the whisky market of today and definitely in the whisky market of tomorrow which will be taken over by bottles without an age statement, something like this is hardly possible. Aged for so long, and bottled at this strength. This is pretty good stuff, and only a few can still drink this as their daily dram. It seems they can’t make it like this anymore…

Points: 86

Allt-a-Bhainne 12yo 1996/2008 (46%, Murray McDavid, American Oak & New French Oak, 1500 bottles)

Allt-a-Bhainne is a new distillery, now owned by Pernod Ricard (through Chivas Brothers Ltd.). It was founded in 1975 to be used for the Chivas blends. Pernod Ricard bought Chivas from Seagram in 2001. The distillery was shortly mothballed between October 2002 and May 2005. Just two years before the foundation of Allt-a-Bhainne, Chivas also founded Braes of Glenlivet (Braeval) for the same purpose, and therefore is considered it’s sister distillery.

Color: Full gold, hint of copper.

Nose: Musty. Pencil shavings. Mocha. Very light. Powdery and creamy. Thick wood. Spicy oak and floor polish. Liquorice-water. A bit salty. Dry meat.

Taste: Paper, cardboard. Sweetish malt. Again thick spicy wood. Not very expressive. Non existent finish. Nothing offensive, but also nothing spectacular in this. Sweet wood. Watery.

Built on wood, but not on tannins as you might have thought. Not a lot happening really. Disappointing, but also quite cheap. I don’t know why this got bottled. It would have gone into a blend without a problem. Buy if you like inoffensive wood.

Points: 76

Auchentoshan 18yo 1991/2009 (46%, The Cooper’s Choice, Hogshead #491, 360 bottles)

Well living in the low-countries and doing a Auchentoshan review without pointing at the site of the A toshan man is impossible. So here is a link to Mark Dermul’s site about Auchentoshan. It’s about whisky obviously, but have a look at all those Auchentoshan Trucks! Lovely.

For now I will do a short intro to Auchentoshan. officially the first word of Auchentoshan is in 1823 when a guy named Thorne got a licence. But there is reason to believe that Auchentoshan started in 1800 named Duntocher. In the past the Germans didn’t like Auchentoshan too much and bombed the place already in 1941. Smart as the Scottish are they waited for the end of the war, rebuilding Auchentoshan. Just to be sure, they started rebuilding in 1948. In 1984 Stanley P. Morrison buys the place and sells his own company to Suntory ten years later. In 2008 Morrison Bowmore starts with the new packaging we know today. But first this expression by indie bottlers The Cooper’s Choice (actually The Vintage Malt Whisky Co. Ltd.) The people behind Finlaggan.

Color: White wine.

Nose: Grassy. Mocha and lemon. It’s sour in an ugly way. It’s whisky with an added layer of strange minty sourness, that wouldn’t gel at all. Very unbalanced. Air freshener.

Taste: Malty with menthol. Although the taste isn’t bad, something definitely went wrong with this cask. Hot and woody. Caramel. Leafy and some plywood. Toffee, with paper in the short finish.

Sorry Mark, but this wasn’t very good. Something went wrong and it showed in the nose. Unbalance. Funny though, that the taste wasn’t all that bad. So it can be drunk, but why should you want to, when it smells like this.

Points: 78

Oban 1995/2010 (43%, OB, OD 159.FW, Distillers Edition, Montilla Fino Finish)

Oban is one of the special Whiskies from Diageo. Not a lot of versions around, very little independents have it, and most of it you’ll find are old bottles, with big prices. It a bit their highland Lagavulin, which also once had few expressions and little seen with independents.

Montilla is a Spanish DO (Denominación de Origen) from the southern part of Córdoba. The Fino used for this finish is commonly a clean, vibrant, straw-colored wine. It has a complex and subtle nose. Delicate notes of predominantly yeast and almonds. Sometimes also tobacco and liquorice. The taste is dry, bitter, smooth and lingering. Also very nice olive oil comes from here.

Color: Orange gold.

Nose: Fresh (air), wood, a little bit creamy. Thick. Slightest hints of tar and laurel liquorice and something sour like a green apple. Dry and perfumed paper. This does have a Fino trait to it (I once had a Fino Glenfarclas and the characteristics are very similar. I also once had a bone dry Fino Sherry from Lustau, which also had the same characteristics). I guess, Whiskies from a Fino cask are easy to recognize.

Taste: Wood is the first up, plywood. Yep, Fino. Little bit of vanilla ice-cream. And a slight pepper bite. It has cardboard combined with sugar, some sort of strange sweetness. I’m not convinced this finish worked well with the Oban distillate. The finish is quite anonymous. Also, it isn’t very balanced. After some breathing I got some organics (yeast and cow-stable) and some late sweetness, which makes it slightly more drinkable, but it doesn’t undo the unbalance.

This is a bit disappointing actually. I expected more from Oban combined with Fino Sherry. Not something I would buy, nor would I order this at a bar. For me it is ‘put together’ or crafted. It isn’t being honest like I found recently with some official Benromachs. Also the Fino finish doesn’t work for me here.

Points: 82