You may say Master of Malt is coming late with their Inchgower, but it has to be applauded their version was available for around € 85 while the others were around € 150!

Inchgower 36 yo 1974 (53,4%, Master of Malt 2011, refill sherry hogshead)

Nose: nice old-style Speyside, with a little more vanilla than other 1974 releases. A lot of lemon balm and paraffin. Honey. Old oak. Dried flowers and soft spices (cinnamon, mint). A little leather. There’s also a lovely chalky dampness to it, even some coastal hints. Great complexity. Mouth: starts with a zesty fruitiness (oranges, lemon) and punchy spices (pepper, ginger, aniseed, mint). Big citrus notes. Still some waxy notes and leather. Hints of herbal tea towards the end. Even better (slightly rounder) with a drop of water. Finish: long and warming with citrus and spices standing out.

A high quality Inchgower again, very complex and certainly on par with the ones we’ve seen before. Think about the price and you know this was an unbelievable bargain! It was sold out, then it came back (06/08/2011), now I’m pretty sure it’s sold out completely…

Score: 90/100

Inchgower 36 yo 1974 (55,5%, Whisky-Doris 2010, refill sherry cask #1476, 167 btl.)

Nose: a very complex mixture of subtle fruits (dried apricot, citrus) and a slightly sharp coastalness (sea air with a little iodine). Quite some spices (ginger, pepper, cinnamon) with elegant oak. Hand warmth brings out nice vanilla. Apart from this there’s a whole range of tiny notes that come and go: leather, wax, damp earth, flowers… They don’t make ‘em like this any more. Fruitier and more complex with some water, even slightly smoky. Mouth: fruity notes (apricot again, oranges, grapefruit, lemon zest) with a clear peaty undertone. Coffee and almonds. Getting bitter (very dark chocolate) and salty in the end. Maybe a tad too sharp although a drop of water makes it rounder. Surprisingly coastal for a Speysider.  Finish: long, dry with plenty of spices and some bitter lemon zest.

One of the most coastal Speyside whiskies I’ve tried. Add the uncommon peaty edge and you’ve got something special. Not an easy dram, but full of character. Available from Whisky-Doris – € 150.

Score: 90/100

Inchgower

Recently there were a few 1974 Inchgowers by Dewar Rattray, Douglas Laing and Single Malts of Scotland. This one is bottled by Thosop Import, the distribution company behind Whiskysamples.eu.

Inchgower 35 yo 1974 (57%, Thosop Import 2009, refill sherry cask, 42 btl.)

Nose: warm and fruity. Lots of melon and kiwi. Apples. Quite some oak polish, sweet sawdust and paraffin. Big notes of vanilla and cinnamon. Leather. Honey. Hints of eucalyptus as well. Very subtle sherry, very fresh and fruity considering the age. Immensely complex really. Gets a bit more floral with a few drops of water. Mouth: sweet start, quickly getting mentholated. More plain oak now. Pear. Grapefruit. Hints of camomile and mint. Big notes of cloves and ginger. Slightly chocolaty. Showing some herbal notes, strong green tea and liquorice towards the end. About the same with water. Finish: drier, warm, spicy and oaky.

An Inchgower with a glorious nose that I sniffed maybe a hundred times before deciding to pour it. On the palate it’s mostly the spicy wood extracts that do the talking. Only 42 bottles but I’ve heard a few are still available. Price: € 150.

Score: 90/100

Inchgower 28 yo 1982 (57,2%, Malts of Scotland 2011, bourbon hogshead #6969,
212 btl.)

Nose: starts strong but warm, with some vanilla and cooked fruits. It quickly gets more grassy (fresh and dried), gingery and minty with light hints of garden herbs. Spiced up with some fresh sawdust, traces of smoke and a slightly sharp, salty breeze. Mouth: the first wave is slightly milky and creamy (vanilla ice cream?). Then some citrus notes (ripe tangerine). After a while, a big wave of oak comes rolling in, in a nice, slightly bourbonny way (pine wood, resin, cedar maybe). Not tannic, just a little oak-flavoured, subtly bitter and heavily spiced. Soft toffee and demarara sugar in the background. Leather. A hint of parma violets. Finish: medium length, with traces of fruits, salt and lingering oak.

Even though it’s not very rounded, this Inchgower stands out in a good way and has a nice coastal edge. Be sure to try it if you’re not afraid of some wood nectar and plenty of spices on the palate. Around € 115.

Score: 86/100

Inchgower 29 yo 1982 (53,9%, Master of Malt 2011, refill hogshead, 190 btl.)

Nose: initially fairly malty with quite some spicy notes and waxy overtones. There’s a very nice sweetness of plums and berries (think cassis / blueberry and gooseberries) which makes it stand out. Hints of gingerbread. Also notes of vanilla ice cream. Hints of garden herbs as well, even something of… sweet cucumber? This may sound bizarre but it’s quite a unique and interesting nose. Mouth: again a strangely attractive combination of vanilla cream, toffee, nuts and a faint hint of wet paper. Nice enough though. Then back to blueberries with brown sugar and cocoa. Finally some spicy oak with a hint of resin. Finish: medium long, with cocoa / praline up front.

A whirlpool of uncommon flavours and a slightly quirky result, just like to the Inchgower 1982’s I’ve had before (by Malts of Scotland and Whisky-Doris). Maybe not the complex old style of the 1974 but still very interesting and good fun to drink. Around € 85. Available here.

Score: 87/100

Inchgower 28 yo 1982 (56,6%, Whisky-Doris 2010, bourbon hogshead #6971, 192 btl.)

Nose: unique notes of very ripe banana, buttercups and a slightly strange milky element (like a milk steamed Oolong tea or even hints of buttermilk). Quite oily. Hazelnuts and almond paste. Plenty of vanilla cream. Hay. Faint coastal notes. Very complex and quite unique. Mouth: again it shows a certain buttermilk note, even something of a Hollandaise sauce (now that may sound strange but it’s actually quite nice). Sweet marzipan and vanilla. Intense pepper and sharper grassy notes. Sugared camomile tea and a hint of bitter oak. Finish: quite long with pepper and salt and a praline note.

I don’t think I’ve tasted anything like this before. Impressive butteriness, that works out well. Very complex altogether, with intense spicy, salty, sweet, buttery, bitter and nutty flavours! Bonus point for having such a unique character, although I suppose many people will find this way too strange. Around € 110.

Score: 90/100