Glen Speyside Class 18 yo
(50%, Malts of Scotland 2011, batch n°1)

Nose: fruity and honeyed. Baked apples sprinkled with cinnamon. Pear syrup. Apricot jam. Some great pastry notes. Demerara sugar. Heather and hay. Mouth: similarly sweet and fruity, very honeyed. Apple pie with raisins. Fructose. All sorts of fruit jams. Sugar coated nuts. Heather and light pepper in the end. Even a faint hint of smoke. Finish: sweet, softly spiced.

This Glen Speyside Class is much better than the Glen Grain Class in my opinion, and more typical for its type of whisky. Sweet, rounded, with decent complexity. Good to see it’s still possible to find a tasty 18yo single malt under € 50, bottled at 50%, uncoloured and un-chillfiltered. Around € 45.

Score: 84/100

Undisclosed Speyside distillery 30 yo
(40%, Master of Malt 2008, 2nd edition)

Nose: deep oloroso sherry influence, but very playful at the same time. Big notes of pear frangipane (not sure if that type of cake is known all over the world, but it’s delicious). Raisins. Honey and demerara sugar. Whiffs of furniture polish and pine resin. A drop of water brings out red candy. Some superb sherry at work here. Mouth: not the most powerful attack, but very creamy. Starting on pine resin and evolving on dark chocolate. Mon Cheri. Very fresh considering its age. Dried plums and figs. Orange skin. Spicy fruitcake. More oranges when you add water, but it quickly gets watery. Finish: medium length, warm and nutty with hints of cloves.

A stunning nose on this Speyside sherry bottling. It slows down on the palate, but on the other hand it’s very smooth. Too bad there’s no version at 46%, it could have been truly heavenly. If I were to place a bet, I would say Glenfarclas. Perfect for sherry lovers. Around € 120.

Score: 90/100

Undisclosed Speyside distillery 30 yo 
(40%, Master of Malt 2009, 3rd edition)

Nose: a classic bourbon matured profile with truckloads of honey and some lovely fruits (melon, apricot, ripe banana, papaya). Big big vanilla (coming close to actual bourbon at times) and hints of cinnamon. Sugared almonds. Warm oaky notes and wax are easy to notice, but the nose is not tired at all. Great nose. Mouth: a spicy attack, but it seems to fall flat soon after the arrival. Much more oak now, a bit too much even. Pine resin and nutmeg. Hints of grapefruit but overall not nearly as fruity as the nose made me expect. Finish: a bit undefined, with dry oak and subtle fruits.

The glorious nose and the woody palate reminded me of another undisclosed Speysider by Thosop. I wouldn’t be surprised if they came from the same distillery. Don’t get me wrong, I could sniff this all day and it’s certainly nice enough to justify the price tag (about € 125). Available from Master of Malt.

Score: 85/100

Undisclosed Speyside distillery 30 yo (40%, Master of Malt 2011, 4th Edition)

Nose: nicely aromatic despite the low strength. Very juicy, with honeyed malt, vanilla and baked apples. Some dried fruits (plenty of raisins) and spices (cinnamon, soft cloves). Orange peel. Mouth: sweet start on honey and soaked raisins. Caramelized apple again. Sweet almonds. Hints of tobacco and a little wood resin. Finish: still rather honeyed with something of roasted nuts. A tad drier in the very end.

A rich and really juicy sherry bottling. Something in between the heavily sherried 2nd edition and the malty / more bourbonny 3rd edition. Too bad they’re still holding on to the 40% strength. Available from Master of Malt. Around € 115 – good pricing again.

Score: 87/100

Undisclosed Speyside distillery 40 yo
(40%, Master of Malt 2008)

Nose: big notes of dates and dried figs. Oak polish. Sour notes of red fruits (redcurrant, raspberry) and tangerine. Hints of sherry vinegar that work quite well. There’s also a great nuttiness in the background. The whole is a bit sharp but very entertaining. I hope I can be just as vibrant at the age of 40. Impressive. Mouth: fruity start, good attack but the fruity notes can’t keep up very long. The oak comes rolling in and takes over the whole mouthfeel. Tannic and resinous. Again some notes of vinegar. Finish: long, nutty and fruity. The oak is less prominent. Hints of dark chocolate.

Good stuff but a malt of ups and downs. The nose is very nice, the palate is disturbed by the oak and in the finish the battle between fruit and wood seems to end in a draw. Around € 160.

Score: 87/100

Master of Malt Speyside 50 yo
(40%, Master of Malt 2009)

Nose: great nose, fruity and spicy. Apricot pie and yellow raisins. Oranges. Heather honey. Vanilla and a little cellulose varnish. Woody notes and pine needles as well, but actually less than expected for such an old malt. Some mint. Cinnamon. A lovely touch of candle wax and even engine oil. Quite excellent. Mouth: ah, here’s the wood. Immediately spicy with nutmeg and cloves. Quite phenolic as well which is a nice addition. Some chocolate. Hints of tea and olive oil. Getting quite tannic. Maybe a few extra degrees would have balanced it better? Finish: rather short, spicy and not too dry.

A stunning nose with beautiful fruit and smooth signs of age. On the palate it misses some punch, which means there’s more emphasis on the wood than on the fruits. Very nice. Around € 290 which is a lot of money but still relatively cheap considering the age.

Score: 91/100

ps/ Master of Malt now offers 3cl samples of more than 60 whiskies, including this 50 years old Speysider.

As for the distillery, our first guess would be Glenfarclas, although the combination of distillation year and cask number could also indicate Strathisla. Bourbon cask maturation is very rare for Glenfarclas, but it certainly existed.

Speyside Region 41 yo 1969 (55,1%,
Whisky-Fässle 2011, Bourbon hogshead #2671)

Nose: very punchy for an oldie. Starts on polished furniture. Complex development, hard to pin down. A lot of spices anyway (cinnamon, cloves, eucalyptus). Hints of soft vanilla and heather. Very moderate fruits, mainly Seville oranges and orange liqueur. Angelica cake. Subtle wax. Mouth: again very spicy (soft pepper, ginger). The oak is easy to notice but luckily it doesn’t cause a dry mouthfeel. Hints of tea. Again quite orangey with a dash of honey. A hint of smoke in the background? Finish: quite long, spicy with liquorice, oak and a few salty notes

A great old Speysider without excessive oak but with plenty of spices. An interesting opportunity to buy a 1960’s malt for a very reasonable price. Around € 180.

Score: 89/100