Tag Archives: Speyside

Inchgower 28yo 1982/2010 (50.7%, Bladnoch Forum, Hogshead #6966, 222 bottles)

And here is another Whisky that stands atop of my lectern. This time an Inchgower bottled by Raymond Armstrong, the owner of Bladnoch Distillery. Bladnoch was founded in 1817, and Raymond bought it in 1995 and opened it again in 2000. Well this “Raymondo” has a website, and if that’s not all, he even has a forum. Well if you think that’s it now, wait, it gets better! Raymond buys casks of other distilleries’ whisky, bottles them, and sells them to members of the Bladnoch Distillery Forum. And it has to be said, he does that at very, very reasonable prices.

Now we move on to Inchgower, since it’s Inchgower that’s inside of the bottle. If you want to see how Raymonds operation looks like, and how this particular Inchgower was bottled, here is a link to a film made by our one and only Ralfy, certified Malt Maniac. (Just for the fun of it, I have bottle number 14)

Color: Copper Gold.

Nose: Caramel, estery and oaky. Distant liquorice, tar, olive oil and maybe even petroleum. All of this combined with some warm apple sauce and gravy. The nose hints of coming sweetness. It is a great nose, but when you sniff this for some time before tasting it there is something that’s not quite right, sort of unbalanced. You know it smells great, but…

Taste: Tar again, coal, sour oak. Almost as if it were made with steam and luckily it is not the sweet monster I expected. I hate it when a whisky is sugary sweet or simply too sweet. Instant headache. But don’t worry this is nothing like that. The top of the taste is very good. You’ll like it. The middle is oak, in a nice and elegant way. The finish is more the sour part of oak and sort of unbalanced, breaks down and is not very long. The wood is never overpowering or too strong. It’s a very nice example of Inchgower.

The bottle is almost full, but was opened last november (how time flies). I’ve tried small drams since then, and it got absolutely more balanced since the day of opening. Initial score was 85, but it will go higher now.

Points: 88

In fact it tastes more like an 89, but I had to take a point off for the slightly unbalanced finish.

The Balvenie 15yo 1983/1999 ‘Single Barrel’ (50.4%, OB, Bourbon Barrel #1300, 311 bottles)

Time for some more whisky then…

Let’s have a look at this old Balvenie. I have to say I don’t usually like Balvenie that much. I think that for me it lacks character and body. It’s usually a light whisky that is bottled at a relatively low ABV compared to other whiskies. This older 15yo is bottled at 50.4%, but more recent versions are bottled at a mere 47.8%. That having said. This 15yo and the original 21yo Portwood can be respectable whiskies, depending on the version you find. Still, I encounter the 15yo a lot, so I have the opportunity to try them on a regular basis and to me they don’t seem to get better, so if you want one, my tip to you would be: try to find an older one.

The Balvenie 15yo "Single Barrel" but not #1300Color: Light Gold

Nose: Vegetal, comes across as a very light and clean whisky. It’s powdery and the malt shines through. Dry wood. The cask didn’t give the whisky a lot of color, but is evident on the nose. After a while I get some lemony notes or maybe some lemon grass in combination with hot coco. Again I would use words like clean or fresh for this one.

Taste: Sweet and estery. Again the wood is there. It’s there from the start and I guess it will play a role for some time to come. Even the taste is clean, so if you like clean whiskies, this one is for you. Wow this one is very fruity now and does have some body. Prickly wood (not overpowering though), yellow fruits like dried apricots and peaches. Some bitter wood in the finish.

I would say this is a nice place to start drinking good malts. It’s decent and very easy to “analyze”. It’s clean and elegant and has some nice woody notes to show you what a cask can do. If you’re a connoisseur, well maybe this one’s a tad to easy. A friend of mine would say: “drinks well playing cards” Again, try to find an older one (50.4%). By the way, this is not cask strength. It is reduced to 50.4% to get more bottles out of a cask, or maybe the Balvenie drinkers like their 15yo a little lower than 57%. I’m not judging.

Points: 86

Macduff 37yo 1973/2010 (46%, Mo Òr, Bourbon Hogshead #20, 281 bottles, 500 ml)

Another bottle from the Mo Òr collection. This time a Macduff from a Bourbon Hoggie…

Color: Gold

Nose: Very elegant wood, and nutty, perfumy, nougat. Old saddle leather, distant dark chocolate and fresh mint (unbruised leaves). Old furniture, hints of wax-polish, waxed shiny chocolate.

Palate: Spicy (wood) and half sweet, the elegance stays. Great balance in this one. Minty and sweet. Absolutely not too woody, yet the wood plays a nice role in the balance of the whisky. This is an old cask, so the minty sensation is there, a bit of old bottle effect I guess. The great palate breaks down a little in the finish, like it’s trying to say that it`s time for bed. Now the oak plays a greater role in the finish, and turns slightly soapy, but never enough to let the experience down. I Like!

Sells for 175 Euro’s (500ml bottle)

Points: 88

Miltonduff 30yo 1980/2010 (46%, Mo Òr, Bourbon Hogshead #12431, 321 bottles, 500 ml)

So now the blog thing has even started for me, let’s do that starting with a bottle of Miltonduff, bottled by fellow Dutchman Michel Kappen of the Whisky Talker (among others). This is a new range of single cask whiskies aimed at high-end hotels, restaurants and golf resorts. The bottles (500 ml) ánd little tubes (25 ml) come in nicely painted matt black boxes. The bottles look like Tequila bottles to me, still all’s looking very nice…

Miltonduff 30yo 1980/2010 (46%, Mo Or, Bourbon Hogshead #12431, 321 bottles, 500ml)Color: Light Gold

Nose: Hazelnuts, milk chocolate, becomes fresher later on. Very mellow, laid back, dusty. Hints of lily, but not very floral overall. Not the clean nose you`ve come to expect of Miltonduff from bourbon hogsheads, or barrels for that matter. It`s more creamy, nuttier and warmer. No wood in the nose even after 30 years.

Taste: Some wood, walnut skin without the bitterness, dry. Easily drinkable. Creamy, sweeter later on, again nutty and warming. The nose fits the palate. Grassy and definitely more vegetal than floral. A winter aperitif. The whisky seems younger than it`s 30 years, so the cask wasn`t too active. Let`s have this @ the fireplace, but drinker beware, it drinks dangerously easy, your half liter will be gone quickly. Nice finish, toffee, slight bitterness from the wood.

Sells for 145 Euro’s (500 ml bottle)

Points: 84