Tag Archives: Single Malt

Littlemill 21yo 1992/2014 (52.9%, The Whisky Mercenary, Bourbon Cask)

Littlemill then. These days everybody seems to be raving about this sadly closed distillery. The official bottling seemed not to be very popular in its day and initially not a lot of tears were shed when this distillery closed in 1997 and subsequently was destroyed in a fire in 2004. Lots of Whiskies from the early nineties are bottled recently and surprise, surprise, a lot of them seem to be pretty good if not spectacular! Here we’ll have a look at a Littlemill that was aged in a Bourbon cask. This particular example was selected by Jürgen Vromans a.k.a. The Whisky Mercenary, who to this day has Always picked some great Whiskies. Just have a look at these reviews: Glenlossie, Tormore, Clynelish, Dailuaine and Cooley.

Littlemill 21yo 1992/2014 (52.9%, The Whisky Mercenary, Bourbon Cask)Color: Light gold

Nose: Fruity, waxy and spicy. Vanilla bean and vanilla Ice-cream. A breath of fresh air, but also some sea wind. Spicy oak with mocha. Extremely pleasant. Thin layer of honey and beeswax. Sugared yellow fruits, but also tiny, tiny hints of mustard. Hints of freshly cut oak but also an old cigar box. Cold tea (plain black tea, without milk or lemon). In the best sense of the word, a wood driven nose. Complex and very appetizing. Sometimes dry and dusty, the next very aromatic. Nice stuff!

Taste: Sweet and highly aromatic. A bit wet behind the ears, youthful oak. Yes this Whisky has been in an excellent cask. Lots of wax, beeswax, earwax, but also natural furniture polish, that doesn’t smell like an oil refinery. The wax and wood have an underlying sweetness and are aided by a nice hint of black fruits, and some oaky bitterness. Very well-balanced, and just right. It was bottled at the right moment. Maybe when it was younger it would have been more fruity, but would it have been such a distinguished gentledram?

Not every Bourbon cask is just a Bourbon cask, and not every freshly distilled Spirit that is meant to be a Single Malt Whisky is alike. Still when you take a (freshly used or refilled) Bourbon Barrel or remade Hogshead and put new-made Spirit in it, you more or less know what you’re going to get. Sometimes some especially great wood finds its way into the cask, or the barley was great, or fresh, or from a great variety. Sometimes something magical happens. Single cask Whiskies like these are all about the details so it takes an anorak like Jürgen to pick them out. Well done.

Points: 88

Glenfarclas 16yo 1995/2011 (53.9%, Kintra, Confidential Cask, Sherry Butt #5, 120 bottles)

In the depths of my ever-growing amount of samples, I found this sample of an undisclosed distillery named Glenfarclas. Actually, Glenfarclas isn’t stated on the label, but it has somehow become common knowledge that this Whisky was made by Glenfarclas and hand-picked by Erik Molenaar of Kintra from the Netherlands. Erik as well as Glenfarclas have been featured before on these pages, so why not continue immediately with this undisclosed Glenfarclas…

Glenfarclas 16yo 1995/2011 (53.9%, Kintra, Confidential Cask, Sherry Butt #5, 120 bottles)

Color: Copper brown.

Nose: Heavy on the Sherry there! Velvety but also a lot of sulphur. Licorice, dry air and wood. Black and white powder and cookie dough. Lots of aromas and all are on full volume. Meaty (cold raw meat), creamy, vanilla but also some mint and flint. Lot of aroma from wood, without being overpowering. Like the wood of an old door which has just been stripped of its thick layer of cracked paint (and cooled off) (no, I’m not on LSD, it’s an association).

Taste: Full on funky sherry, thick. Coal. Watered down red berry juice with (bitter and sweet) licorice (The Whisky is not watered down, mind you, nor tastes like it’s watered down). Quite sweet at first but quickly taking a turn towards the drier side. Sulphur here again, but all very tasty if you like your heavy hitters. Sometimes a whiff comes across like a rum (heavy on wood). Towards the finish some nice red fruits come to the front. Strawberries (not fresh ones, but ones that have been frozen). Spicy and prickly wood.

Definitely not your daily drinker type of malt, but a nice, albeit flawed expression of a nice Sherry bomb (hello NSA, it’s me again). I like this pick by Erik. It is a Whisky which is far from boring. A lot is happening in this, and not even all at the same time. However, a word of caution. This malt loses a bit of its balance when it gets enough time to breathe. The aromas start to unravel a bit, the wood gets weaker and even worse, a soapy component rears its ugly head, so no slacking with this one!

Points: 88

Glen Moray 15yo 1998/2013 (46%, Cadenhead, Bourbon Hogsheads, 684 bottles)

This is the third Glen Moray on these pages. Although I use a 100 points scare for scoring drinks, and in my opinion Whisky is one of the best drinks around. Whisky usually scores in the upper ranges of that scale. So any good Whisky scores at least 80 points. Both Glen Moray’s I reviewed before, one 13yo Dun Bheagan, and one official 8yo, didn’t make it across the 80 points-line and are therefore considered bu connoisseurs to be “mediocre” at best. However, if you read my reviews carefully, they still have enough going for them, and are still pretty good drinks, or pretty good Whiskies for that matter. It’s just that a lot of Whiskies score higher than these Glen Moray’s. But here is another Glen Moray, one by Cadenhead, so lets see if this will score in the 80’s or even higher?

Glen Moray 15yo 1998/2013 (46%, Cadenhead, Bourbon Hogsheads, 684 bottles)Color: White wine.

Nose: Quite closed, or isn’t there much happening. Alcohol, hints of sweet yellow fruits. Even though it isn’t a white wine finish were Glen Moray are almost famous for, it does remind me of a white wine finished Glen Moray. Hints of margarine and vanilla. Soft touch of oak. Very restrained, it just smells like fresh air.

Taste: Yes typical thin Glen Moray again. A crumb of old dark chocolate. A little bit of oak, and an acidity resembling a wine finish. Usually Glen Moray tends to get overly sweet after a wine finish, and I can’t say that’s the case here. Lots of maltiness and a little bit of paper and bitter oak in the finish. Good, it gives it character. Anything better than that strange acidity.

Extremely light color, again casks (probably two) that weren’t very active any more. I am not completely sure this isn’t a white wine finish. A very clean expression, and that’s me being positive, because not a lot seems to be happening here… (Mind you, this is still a damn good drink!)

Points: 76

Dalmore 11yo 1999/2011 (57.2%, Kintra, Refill Sherry Butt #3079, 120 bottles)

Dalmore then. Not so long ago I reviewed the official Dalmore 12yo and rummaging through the ever-growing stock of samples, I found this almost 12yo Kintra bottling. If it was only given two extra months and two extra days, this too would have been 12 years old!

Dalmore was founded in 1839 by Alexander Matheson but the Sunderland’s start distilling there. Soon after the MacKenzie brothers, Charles, Andrew and Alexander start to run the distillery. When Alexander Matheson dies in 1886, his successor sells the distillery to the MacKenzie brothers (1891). In 1917 the Royal Navy takes over and use the facility to make mines! After three years the Navy moves out and in 1922 the distillery is again up and running. In 1960 The MacKenzie brothers merge with White & Mackay and in 1990 White & Mackay were bought by American brands. In 2001 White and Mackay were sold again and called Kyndal spirits but the White & Mackay name returns a year later. In 2007 it is sold yet again to the United Breweries Group, an Indian conglomerate.

Dalmore 11yo 1999/2011 (57.2%, Kintra, Refill Sherry Butt #3079, 120 bottles)

Color: Light ocher gold

Nose: Big. Vanilla ice-cream and light wood, with some light menthol cigarette as well. Powdery and dusty. Cherries and Licorice. Horseradish. The wood is very perfumy. Definitely floral and perfumed soap. Strong aroma from a high strength Whisky. Half sweet, salty toffee with funky Fino or Manzanilla Sherry notes, but not as much as in other Fino matured Whiskies, so this might not be one. Red fruit hard candy drops and it does have a salty edge. Animalesk (cow dung) and soft wood. So enough happening on the nose.

Taste: Nice burn and quite sweet actually. Spicy sugared oak with white pepper, but also a sour oak note which turns into ripe black fruits. Quite a lot of wood. Coconut and maybe some peach. The horseradish returns and here it is less sharp but more sweet. Ahhh how nice it is to have a cask strength Whisky again. A breath of fresh air. Vanilla ice-cream returns for the finish. Otherwise the black fruits stay on so the funky sourness is there to stay too. Nice example to analyze like this. But the a word say it all. It is a Whisky you have to work with. If taken casually you won’t fully appreciate it, and maybe even won’t like. This needs your full attention and time.

Quite a nice development. It starts out pretty sweet, after which the wood shows itself. After that, the body collapses a bit to reform behind the lines to come back with a nice finish. Although not without its faults, the whole is quite nice and absolutely an experience. Nice how easy the development can be followed. The more it breathes the better it gets. Very nice pick Erik!

Points: 85

Reisetbauer 7yo 1998 (56%, OB, Chardonnay & Trockenbeerenauslese Casks, 350 ml, LWH 098)

Hans ReisetbauerAnd now for something completely different! An Austrian vintage Whisky made by Hans Reisetbauer. This Whisky was distilled in 1998 and matured for 7 years in Chardonnay casks but also in casks that once held Trockenbeerenauselese, a (very) sweet and syrupy white wine. Casks come only from Austrian wine makers Alois Kracher and Heinz Velich. When looking for information, Hans seems to win a lot of prestigious prizes for his Eaux-de-vie or brandy’s made with fruits, and is regularly awarded as the best distiller in Austria. Hans decided to have a go at making Whisky. Hans planted four hectares of his own summer barley which was harvested for the first time in July 1995. Hans uses a double distillation regime.

Reisetbauer 1998Color: Gold

Nose: Creamy and lightly fruity. Apples and not winey at first. Fruity sweet with caramel. Very mild and definitely decent smelling (I may have expected something less good?). Powdery and dry, nice wood. Hint of vanilla. I’m not sure about the Chardonnay yet, but after some breathing I do smell the Trockenbeerenauselese. Having said that, it does remind me a bit of a Glen Moray in…yes, Chardonnay.

Taste: Sweetish and very vegetal. Fresh wood and a spicy (and winey) oak attack. Paint and plastic. Here most definitely the wine casks make their mark and mask that this is actually Single Malt Whisky. Maybe using the more traditional kind of cask would have been a better idea and use the Chardonnay and TBA casks for a finish. Quite hot and the heat has staying power. The aroma’s fade out leaving a hint of tannins, plastic and acidity. Still not a bad finish though.

I have heard people claiming this was terrible, but I don’t agree. Yes it is maybe too heavy on the wine casks used, but I can look past that and there definitely is some quality and potential here. Would love to see how Hans improves himself making Whisky.

The picture on the left is of the 700 ml bottle, simply because I couldn’t find a picture of a 350 ml bottle like mine, and I don’t think an empty bottle would make a good picture here. As can be seen on the bottle label, there were 1500 bottles made. On some bottles however instead of the 1500 bottles statement there is a code LWH 098 or LWH 007. Some bottles, bottled at 43% ABV, have a different label where the vintage (1998) is replaced by 7 years, but carry the same code LWH 098 as some 1998 vintages. Do you still follow?

Points: 75

Aberfeldy 12yo Limited Release (40%, OB, Batch #2905, 2014)

As mentioned before, through John Dewar and Sons, Bacardi owns five Scottish Malt Distilleries. This year Bacardi is releasing official bottlings from all of the five distilleries, and that’s not all. All Whiskies released will have age statements. As we have already seen, that’s a dying breed! Not for nothing these five malts are being marketed as “The Last Great Malts Collection” Aberfeldy is the third in a row and for the time being the last. The first was Craigellachie and the second Aultmore. The remaining two will be Royal Brackla and Deveron from the Macduff distillery, both are not released yet.

Abefeldy 12yo Limited Realease Batch #2905Color: Gold

Nose: Funky in a nice way. Creamy and fruity. Tropical fruits, papaya and pineapple. Smells a bit like a Tomatin. The fruit take the back seat and then some dry wood spiciness kicks in. Almonds. Dusty. Nice fruity and friendly nose. Caramel and cow-dung (a good thing in Whisky)

Taste: Toffee and some fruit. Waaaaayyyy to thin. Why bottle this at 40%! Bad move! Taste is there but it is watered down. Toffee again and Amaretto, but where is the rest? Hints of strange acidity in the (beerlike)finish. It’s all about vanilla ice-cream, cream, toffee and caramel with some fruit.

Better tasting than the previous 12yo. The taste was enhanced by extending the fermentation time for this bottling, and it worked. Why didn’t they enhance the ABV too?

Points: 81

Aultmore 12yo (46%, OB, 2014)

For as far as I know only three new Aultmores are being released. This 12yo, but also a 21yo and a 25yo. The 21yo is released to travel retail for one year only, after that the 21yo will be more widely available. With a 12yo and a 21yo it is a portfolio similar to that of Aberfeldy. Aultmore is the next distillery Bacardi is releasing under the “Last Great Malts” moniker. Foggie Moss, as stated on the label, is the name of the water supply for Aultmore. Water from Foggie Moss is lightly peaty! Aultmore 12yo

Color: Light gold, straw.

Nose: Meaty and very perfumy. Sweet, cherry chocolate bon-bon. Way different from the Craigellachie 13yo. Organic. It smells upfront and restrained at the same time. Feminine, floral, touch of lavender. It smells like the bottle looks! Very interesting Whisky. Inhale vigorously for a breath of fresh air and the nicest result. Lovely! Definitely meaty, gravy. Mocha and very milky chocolate. A touch of glue and orange juice. Great balance.

Taste: Spicy and sweet. Cookie dough. The sweetness is countered by woody spiciness. The nose may be very different from Craigellachie 13yo, but in taste it’s a closer relative (by ownership). The organic note from the nose returns here. Otherwise well-balanced but simpler than the Craigellachie. Overall pretty nice and again very drinkable. The sweetness, for me, hinders the finish a bit, especially because when the sweet film is shed from your mouth not a lot is staying behind (except from some organics, soapy texture and wood). It seems a bit thin. Still it has something special. Maybe needs to breathe a bit.

This bottling shows a very clean Aultmore (hence the packaging) and it shows the distillery character. Very drinkable, clearly an entry-level malt. Cleaner and less funky than the Craigellachie 13yo. By the way I found no peat in the Whisky.

Points: 83

Craigellachie 13yo (46%, OB, 2014)

Wait…wait…wait some more. Now? No, not yet, wait a little longer. Now? No there is still no wining about all those NAS* bottlings. OK, I’ll wait… Well surely now? Yes, go, go, go! NOW!

This is how I imagine it went down at Bacardi HQ. In 1998 Craigellachie, Aberfeldy, Aultmore and Royal Brackla were sold by UDV (now Diageo) to Bacardi (Martini). CraigellachieOnly once before was there an official Craigellachie released by Bacardi, namely the 14yo (and a special 21yo for the Craigellachie Hotel). Finally after a lull of 16 years, and when the whole world only talks about the plethora of NAS Whiskies, Bacardi puts out official releases of all of their distilleries, including Macduff (with Deveron as the brand, so no more Glen Deveron). Today we’ll have a look at the Craigellachie 13yo, one of a series of five. The first stint saw the release of this 13yo together with a 17yo and a 23yo. Not much later we’ll see a 19yo for travel retail and a majestic 31yo.

Craigellachie 13yoColor: Light gold.

Nose: Creamy with sawdust and bourbon vanilla. Spicy and fresh-baked bread. Wine gum fruitiness with a touch of sulphur. Dusty flower and mushy apple. The sulphur part (mind you it just a touch), first the spicy part of the oak quite well. Tiny hint of honey, soap and butter. This official 13yo is most definitely less funky than most of the Independent expressions I’ve nosed thus far. Probably the funkiness comes from Sherry wood.

Taste: Sweet and very creamy with again a nice woody spiciness that catches up. Fruity and a hint of burned bread, Buttered toast. Still the whole is not all to heavy and the finish isn’t miles long. The sulphur and the wine gums pop up in the finish and takes a bit away from the balance. Very drinkable and accessible. Nice soft Whisky from Bourbon or Tennessee Whisky casks.

If you ask me, Bacardi made a lot of effort to take the world by surprise by not only issuing five whiskies with an age statement, but also with its design, We’ll have a look at some of the others later, but these five look absolutely stunning. Well done. The Whisky itself was matured in Refill American Oak Casks and that shows. Same score as the Laphroaig Select. Both sweet and different from each other, and will fit together nicely. (Take the Craigellachie first).

Points: 83

*NAS (No Age Statement)

Laphroaig ‘Select’ (40%, OB)

Here it is, that last month of the year, again! Unbelievable how quickly time flies when one ages. Not too long untill the next Christmas and soon another new year. Luckily every season has its benefits. Winter is a season that makes peated Whiskies even tastier than they already are. A long time ago, I was introduced to Laphroaig 10yo (export strength, 43%). People were raving about it so I went out to buy myself a bottle. Being used to Bourbons and Scottish Blends, I was quite shocked what a Single Malt Whisky cost. I turned around ran out of the store…

Laphroaig SelectWalking around for a bit (no way I was going to pay that!) However, it was cold and I really wanted that simple green glass bottle with that simple but classy white label. I couldn’t resist and went back in. Then it hit me, the vision of that handy flat 20 cl bottle. Great! That offered me a taste of Laphroaig without losing a lot of hard-earned cash, so I got me a Laphroaig 10yo. Great! The rest, as they say, is history. I liked it so much I was hooked for life.

Much later, in 2014 to be exact, Laphroaig released yet another new bottling and called it ‘Select’ since the Whisky is from “hand selected oak casks for perfect balance and flavour” Well I didn’t know that up untill now Laphroaig picked their casks at random, or let a computer decide. Strange…

Color: Light gold

Nose: Fresh and heavy peat, like from the old days. It does bring back memories. Lots of iodine, and therefore medicinal. Salt, tar and sea spray mixed with some ashes. Distant smoke. Salty and smoked dry kippers. This is how a Laphroaig should smell. Nice!

Taste: What! Sugar water, some more sugar-water. Where is the rest. It takes a while but finally some ashes arrive with some heat. In that heat the peat emerges. Nice peat, but very childish peat, no stout bearded peat, but nice candied peat. Likeable. Where is my love it or hate it Laphroaig, this is a entry-level Laphroaig. Try to gain some new souls Laphroaig. Cold sweet tea with more ashes and a sugary sweet finish to match. Finish is not short. The ashes and peat stay on, but have to fight the sweetness off.

What a Whisky. They made me think with the stunning nose Laphroaig has returned to something that made me love Laphroaig in the first place, but when trying it, it turns out to be Laphroaig candy! Don’t try this after another Laphroaig, because almost any other Laphroaig will blow it out of the water. Try it after a Lowlander and it will be a lot better.

Having said all this, I don’t hate it. It has a stunning nose, and it does have a purpose letting newbies be scared by the nose, but liking the taste. There is something of the old Laphroaig in the taste department too, but it is hidden behind a lot of sweetness, and it does have a decent finish. The label states that this expression had a final maturation in new American oak casks, but I didn’t get the new wood not the vanilla it usually brings. By the way, it tastes a little bit watery. 40% fits the purpose, I mentioned above, but for me it could have been (a lot) higher in ABV, but there are probably other Laphroaigs for that…

Points: 83

Macduff 10yo 2000/2011 (46%, Dewar Rattray, for Specialists Choice, First Fill Sherry Butt #5788, 360 bottles)

Macduff 10yo 2000/2011 (46%, Dewar Rattray, for Specialists Choice, First Fill Sherry Butt #5788, 360 bottles)Finally a younger expression of Macduff. Not one I predicted in the last Macduff review, would be from the nineties, but already one from the new millennium. We’ll see what happens next time. All the Macduffs I reviewed up untill now were all in their thirties, this time we go back to basics with a good old ten year old from the year 2k. Lets see if the computers monitoring the distillation process didn’t go berserk.

Color: Copper

Nose: Raisins and fat Sherry. Pencil shavings. Creamy oranges. Nice soft and velvety wood. Milk chocolate and warm chocolate milk. Hint of cranberry. Pretty meaty if you ask me. Curious mix of red fruit with spicy wood and chocolate. Licorice root. Intriguing.

Taste: First a short, sharp, spicy and slightly bitter bite, than the (slower) sweetness comes into the mouth. Again pencil shavings and licorice. Excellent sweetness and the pencil shavings are great. Also some ashes. Lots of not too dark chocolate although later on, the wood turns a little bit bitter turning the milk chocolate into a darker kind. Also over time, the sweetness seems to be more and more out-of-place, disturbing the balance a bit.

A nice daily drinker or a Sherry grenade. Well, it’s not a Sherry bomb, and I feel the reduction worked well this time. I obviously haven’t tasted this at a higher strength, but I have noticed that adding water to a first fill red Sherry, gives the Whisky a sharp edge. This example is far from sharp. Very drinkable and very nice nevertheless.

Points: 84