Tomintoul 39 yo 1972 (45,7%, The Whisky Agency ‘Perfect Dram’ 2011, ex-bourbon cask, 116 btl.)

Nose: different from the 1967/1968’s, thicker and warmer. Lots of beehive notes (honey, beeswax) with buttery touches. The fruitiness is very ripe: melon, papaya. A nice layer of spicy, polished oak as well. Buttercups. A tiny hint of menthol. Mouth: good attack considering the age. Still sweet and rounded, fruity (plums, melon) and honeyed. Then the oak becomes louder, with mint, some nutmeg and liquorice. A slight bitterness / herbalness in the end. Finish: medium long, not too dry but nicely spicy and minty.

These old Tomintouls are really enjoyable but beware if you don’t like oak in the foreground of your whisky. A nice variation on what we saw from 1967 and 1968. Around € 180.

Score: 88/100

Happy New Year everyone!

GlenDronach 39 yo 1972 (49,9%, OB 2011, oloroso cask #712, 466 btl.)

Nose: strikingly fresh and floral – the first thing I get are lovely roses and passion fruit ganache. A nice addition to the usual raisins, dried berries, cocoa and leather we were expecting already. Raspberries and redcurrant jam. Cherry plums. Big oak polish. Hints of mint. Underneath is a layer of darker aromas, blackberries and something vaguely meaty with a hint of clean gunpowder. While I’m usually struggling with these notes, they are so tiny I’d say it’s an asset. Simply excellent: very wide, luscious and juicy. Mouth: starts in a classic way, with Christmas cake, dates, sultanas… Rather dry with a velvety mouthfeel. After a few moments, a wave of superb tropical notes comes rolling in. Tangerine, guava, passion fruits again. As if they poured a few litres of BenRiach 1976 in the cask. Wow! It doesn’t last too long though, it returns nicely on chocolate, liquorice and very soft spices. Tiny hints of camphor / mint. Finish: very long, still a tad fruity but it’s mostly leather and spices now.

What a great dram to round off this year. It definitely needs time to open up and unfold the deep, almost oriental fruitiness that was hidden in the first few sips. For me this deserves a bonus point, I’ve rarely seen sherry and tropical fruits combined so beautifully, not even in other GlenDronach single casks. I’m stunned Serge chooses a GlenDronach 15yo (WF92) over this masterpiece (WF91). Around € 380, still available in some places. Many thanks for the sample swap, Mars!

Score: 93/100

Glen Grant 39 yo 1972 (48%, Whisky-Doris 2011, sherry hogshead #11395, 163 btl.)

Nose: This one has less alcohol and indeed it starts more like the Spirits in the Sky version with water. It seems more open – it doesn’t have as much cherry notes but its fruitiness is wider, like a red fruit compote with tropical touches in the background. Leather again. Maybe a little more spices and cocoa. Mouth: smoother but just as fruity and intense. Plums, blackberries, figs, all present. Extra raspberry (nice). Develops on cocoa, almost completely on chocolate in the end. Pretty much perfect strength and nicely supported by the spices without being oaky. Finish: long, sweet. Spices and chocolate.

I don’t have a favourite, both are equally great in my opinion. The lower strength certainly isn’t a downside and it’s 10% cheaper as well. Recommended. Around € 190. Available from Whisky-Doris.

Score: 92/100

Glen Grant 39 yo 1972 (53,2%,
The Whisky Agency ‘Perfect Dram’ 2011, ex-sherry cask, 119 btl.)

Nose: big big notes of cherries (dark cherries as well as Portuguese Ginjinha liqueur made from Morello cherries). Lots of dried fruits like figs. Bramble and plums. Dark honey. Precious woods and hints of leather and eucalyptus. Heaps of oriental spices as well (which blend into a kind of incense profile). A drop of water brings out beehive notes and makes the fruits a little more tropical. Just great. Mouth: more oak in the attack, but quickly the fruits take over. Still plenty of cherry notes, plums and mixed red fruit jam, this time combining nicely with a chocolate coating. Fruit cake. Finish: long and elegant, fading on Mon Cherie and soft spices.

This Glen Grant 1972 is clearly more sherried than the MM Awards winning Glen Grant 1972/2009 by Duncan Taylor or any other (mostly refill sherry) expressions of GG72. The oak is well controlled. A real beauty. Recommended. Around € 210.

Score: 92/100

Merry Xmas everyone!

Glen Grant 39 yo 1972 (51,4%, The Whisky Agency ‘Private Stock’ 2011, sherry cask, 87 btl.)

Nose: heavenly. Truly heavenly. Lots of fruity sherry notes: dried apricots, dates, prunes and raspberry jam but also more tropical notes of banana liqueur and pineapple. Very jammy, with lots of honey. Hints of vanilla. Big notes of beeswax and pollen. And wonderful oak polish. And milk chocolate. And marshmallows. Simply exquisite. Mouth: very thick again with rich flavours. Fruit jam all over. Creamy chocolate again. Spices, especially nutmeg and mint. There are quite some oak tannins and dry hints of herbal tea, in fact a bit too much for me. I had this at 93/100 at first, but the more I sipped, the more I was bothered by the wood. Finish: long, oaky and spicy, with all kinds of teas.

The nose is near perfect for me. If only it were a little less woody on the palate… I’m thinking the Glen Grant 1972 we selected at the Spirits in the Sky festival (to be bottled in the near future) is slightly better in this respect. Around € 230. As often with the Private Stock releases, hard to find (no wonder, only 87 bottles).

Score: 91/100

Clynelish 31 yo 1972 (57,8%, SMWS 2004, 26.33)

Nose: lovely fruit in generous quantities… mango, pineapple sweets, kumquat, apricot. The expected beehive notes as well: honey, beeswax and balm, light pollen. Buttercups and honeysuckle. And a faint minerality / austerity, maybe even a phenolic note, in the background. After some time: soft cedar oak – cigar boxes indeed. Mouth: fruity marmalade and citrus with more spicy notes now (ginger and pepper). Orange zest and lemon oil. Leathery notes. Pepper. The peaty edge  is more pronounced (still very soft though) which makes it a little more austere than on the nose. Mineral notes again. Finish: long, still beautifully fruity. Orange cake and spices.

Very, very high quality, but we couldn’t expect any less from Clynelish 1972 of course. Long gone. Thanks Dominiek.

Score: 92/100

Glen Grant 38 yo 1972
(48,2%, Malts of Scotland 2011, sherry hogshead #8235, 148 btl.)

Nose: no sherry bomb, just a very big and ripe fruitiness with melons, yellow plums, quince marmalade, gooseberries, apricot pie… very jammy and honeyed. Precious polished wood. A little maple syrup, marzipan and toffee. A little ginger and mint. Very elegant. Mouth: a tad more oak now, but still plenty of oranges, tangerine, fruit cake and lovely honey to withstand the wood. A nice combo of dried fruits and exotic notes. Develops some toffee and mint as well. Very refined and even more jammy with some water. Finish: not very long, with cinnamon, tangerine and frangipane.

Old Glen Grant is quite reliable and this one is no different with its jammy fruitiness. Recommended. Around € 170.

Score: 90/100

As an aperitif, we tried the Glen Elgin 1984 by Thosop, a nice dram with fruity, waxy and mineral notes on the nose, joined by some herbs and soft bitter notes on the palate.

Then it turned out the theme was Caperdonich 1972.

Here’s the line-up:

• Caperdonich 1972 (46%, G&M 2010, Connoisseurs Choice)
• Caperdonich 1972 (46%, G&M 2011, Connoisseurs Choice)
• Caperdonich 35 yo 1972 (48,3%, The Whisky Fair, 188 btl.)
• Caperdonich 38 yo 1972 (53,6%, DT RoR, cask #7440, 181 btl.)
• Caperdonich 38 yo 1972 (57,4%, Malts of Scotland, cask #1144, 98 btl.)
• Caperdonich 38 yo 1972 (58,4%, Whisky Agency Perfect Dram, 145 btl.)
• Caperdonich 39 yo 1972 (52,8%, Whisky Agency Private Stock, 57 btl.)

I had already tried most of them, except for the first two and the last one. The Gordon & MacPhail bottlings stood out because of their rather heavy sherry influence. At first I really liked them, but they came out last in our ranking as the refill sherry of the other releases suits the natural Caperdonich fruitiness much better.

Not everyone agreed on the rest of the ranking, but the recent release in the Private Stock series won the battle with a surprisingly unanimous vote. Indeed it’s marginally better than the Perfect Dram version which Luc, Johan and myself raved about no so long ago. Don’t bother looking for it, it’s gone already and I don’t even have a bottle myself.

By the way, I’m planning a big Caperdonich 1972 line-up myself with at least 24 versions waiting to be sampled. This will also include the 1972 DT for The Nectar which some people think of as the benchmark Caperdonich.

Brora 29 yo 1972 (59,5%, Douglas Laing Platinum 2002, 240 btl.)

Nose: instant farminess and typically Brora, with sheep stable and manure. Earth and hemp. Then some maritime notes. The peat is well integrated and quite fruity. Beautiful layer of beeswax. A little honey and marmalade. Sweet pipe tobacco and leather. When digging a little further, I noticed some rice milk… and a little chocolate? Nice! Something minty and peppery as well (close to prickly iodine). Really impressive. Mouth: very peaty now with lots of tar and pepper. Rather sweet at first, but growing drier and more leathery, with a slightly bitter / earthy finale. Some oak. Drops of lemon. Again a slightly sharp iodine edge. Finish: goes on forever. Peat, tar, ashes, leather…

This Brora shows heavier peat than any other Brora I’ve tried. I think it’s even a little unbalanced on the palate because of this, but the nose is drop dead gorgeous. I’m not hoping to find a bottle, it will be too expensive anyway. Heartfelt thanks for the sample, Thomas!

Score: 94/100

Last February, a Caperdonich 1969 cask #3250 was bottled, as well as the Caperdonich 1972 cask #7460 we’re reviewing here. Earlier this week, cask #7440 was bottled (53,6% as well).

Caperdonich 38 yo 1972 (53,6%,
Duncan Taylor Rarest of the Rare 2011,
cask #7460, 160 btl.)

Nose: very close to the 1972 bottled by Whisky Agency, which is currently my benchmark Caperdonich. Furniture polish and oak (which fades out over time) with tangerine, yellow plums, oranges and a little mango. Very juicy, a tad more citrusy than the TWA version. Maybe a bit more spices: cinnamon and mint, a little pepper. Vanilla. Slightly less beehive notes, although there’s certainly some wax and honey involved. Again very attractive with great depth. Mouth: assertive and punchy. Initially there’s a certain sharpness from the oak but over time it gets smoother. Very fruity: apricots, fig marmalade, honey. Plenty of spices (pepper, mint, cloves) and a faint bitter note from the oak. Finish: ginger and liquorice, mixed with honey.

Another wonderful Caperdonich! One point less for having a slightly less unique nose, but on the other hand this is priced well below the TWA version. Around € 140 which makes it quite a bargain. It seems most of the allocation went to Germany.

Score: 93/100

In case you haven’t noticed already, there’s now a Facebook page for Whiskynotes.be. Head over there if you’re interested in “informal” notes and early suggestions before they appear on the blog.

The one we’re tasting now is quite famous as well. It was distilled in November 1972 and bottled for Alambic Classique, a German spirits importer founded by Hermann Suppanz.

Ardbeg 28 yo 1972 (50,1%, Douglas Laing for Alambic Classique Germany 2000,
234 btl.)

Nose: wow. Let’s start by saying it’s quite organic and farmy, with notes of fern forest and wet leaves. Stables and sheep. Tobacco as well. Then some deep tarry notes and peat, nicely balanced. On a third layer, there’s something in between mint and dental filling material, if you know what I mean. Medicinal and mineral notes, maybe even some rubber or diesel. Leather. Algae. Quite dry, but wonderful. Mouth: quite dry again and rather salty. Liquorice and ashes. Lovely peat with camphor. Again some rubber. Cecina de León. Lots of algae. Not overly complex and missing punch in the middle, but still excellent. Finish: long, salty and dry.

Spitzenklasse, as they say in Germany. A true classic and as I said, it’s famous so the last bottle sold on Whiskyauction fetched € 740. Many thanks for the sample, Thomas!

Score: 94/100

Glenlivet 37 yo 1972 (56,8%, The Whisky
Agency – Perfect Dram III 2009,
bourbon hogshead, 141 btl.)

Nose: a rather spirity and grainy start. Folds open with floral notes, pollen and stewed fruits, but overall it keeps hovering around malty aromas. Citrus and apricot jam. A little vanilla and oak polish. Liquorice. Soft spices. Traces of wet limestone. Mouth: intense and very spicy. Still a generous amount of cereal notes. Ripe fruits (pineapple, gooseberries). Slightly bitter tangerine. Vanilla. Almonds. Some grassy notes. Finish: medium length, slightly hot with oak and spices, especially pepper.

This Glenlivet is surely a nice old Speysider, but it failed to impress me as much as it seemed to impress other people. It’s really complex though, and very coherent. A few drops of water take away some of the rough edges by the way. Sold out.

Score: 87/100

Glen Grant 38 yo 1972 (52,8%, The Whisky Agency ‘Grotesque Crocs’ 2011, refill sherry hogshead, 215 btl.)

Nose: a jammy and syrupy nose (Maple syrup and Belgian “Sirop de Liège”, made of pears). Lots of dried fruits (apricots, prunes) and honey. Quite some oak and spices (nutmeg, mint). Roasted nuts. A little wax. After breathing and the addition of a few drops of water it gets fruitier and more toasted at the same time. Very nice. Mouth: punchy and thick, with orange zest, citrus and heavy spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger). Again a roasted element (coffee?) and some bitter chocolate. Drying towards the end. I prefer the palate without water as it seems to highlight the spices even more. Finish: long, with the spices a little louder. The fruits are less assertive by now.

This Glen Grant may be spicier and a tad less fruity than the award-winning 1972/2009 for The Whisky Fair. It certainly delivers, but the reaction to water (nose / palate) make it difficult to play around with. Currently on its way to a store near you. Around € 180.

Score: 88/100

Luc Timmermans really sparked a hype around this one. One Facebook message was enough to have it almost sell out before this first review shows up!

Caperdonich 38 yo 1972 (58,4%,
Whisky Agency 2011, refill sherry, 145 btl.)

Nose: truckloads of apricot jam, with nice furniture polish and backed up by other juicy fruits like mango, tangerine, pears, quinces, even white cherries. Over time these change slightly towards (subtle) dried fruits (apricot, figs) and almonds. Apart from the fruit basket, it shows a whole range of elegant beehive notes (wax, honey, pollen). Hints of fruit tea and mint, later on soft spices as well. Hints of cigar boxes. Lovely pastry notes (lemon pie) with warm vanilla cream. Some cocoa. Candied, jammy, packed with flavours, and simply delicious! Mouth: starts fruity and rounded (figs, apricot). Then the firm oak comes rushing in (yet never too dry) with plenty of spices and mint. Slightly leathery. Really elegant and a few drops of water keeps the fruitiness alive. Finish: very long, half fruity / half oaky, and polished. Traces of liquorice and vanilla.

Punchy, aromatic, complex, fruity, spicy… The nose alone keeps me happy for a whole evening. The luscious apricots and figs lift it above other great 1972′s like cask #7424 for The Nectar. Last year TWA brought us the famous Longmorn 1972, and this Caperdonich promises to be one of the highlights of 2011 already! Around € 200 but I’m afraid there aren’t too many bottles left.

Score: 93/100

This Glenallachie 1972 was matured in a bourbon hogshead. There’s now a new Glenallachie 1971 from The Whisky Agency in the same Perfect Dram series.

Glenallachie 38 yo 1972 (49,9%, Whisky Agency 2010, The Perfect Dram VII, 102 btl.)

Nose: starts fresh and fruity with lemon and a few waxy notes. Citrus and grasses, and a few fragrant floral overtones. Cotton candy! It’s not too sweet or overly fruity though, there are hints of wet newspaper that give it an old-style charm. Even a hint of glue? Very soft spices. Nice. Mouth: oily and remarkably fizzy. Lemon peel and lime juice. Citrus candy. Lovely waxy notes. Not overly complex but very fresh, not too far from certain Lowlands distilleries. Finish: drying but still very lemony.

A nice introduction to Glenallachie. Such freshness and 38 years old, really? Still available in some places. Around € 165.

Score: 86/100

Clynelish 38 yo 1972
(46,2%, Whisky-Fässle 2010)

Nose: starts less expressive than I expected, but it folds open over time. Beeswax, pollen, tropical fruits (guava, mango). A bit “greener” than other Clynelishes, that I always seem to associate with yellow or orange hues. Grass maybe? Certainly more spices from the oak than in 20-30yo bottlings although it’s not woody. Mouth: also less abundant fruits here, less tropical (more on oranges and citrus zest). A bit resinous with some leafy notes. Ginger. Soft pepper. It’s easy to trace the oak. Maybe a soft mustardy note as well. Finish: grapefruit, spices, wax and a little salt.

This kind of really old Clynelish picks up a little roughness and shows less waxy sweetness compared to slightly younger 1980’s releases. Anyway it’s still great and comes down to personal preferences of course. Around € 230, now sold out.

Score: 91/100

GlenDronach 38 yo 1972 (51,5%,
OB 2010, Oloroso sherry butt #718,
396 btl.)

Nose: wow, this is quite surprising. Plenty of fruits here, but not the obvious dried ones. There’s poached fruits (pears, yellow plums) but also overripe mango, blood orange, some passion fruit and notes that remind me of different sorts of fruit jelly (quince jelly, raspberry gums and cassis sweets). Some butter toffee. Faint hints of cardamom. It keeps developing. This is like a wicked genius: you don’t understand it completely, but you do realize that it has a special and totally intriguing character. Mouth: continues in the same direction, with slightly sour stewed fruits and soft vanilla, but slowly changes character to milk chocolate and all kinds of nuts (mainly walnuts and almonds). Oak as well, but less tannins than in the 1971 version. Finish: very long, slightly fruity but really dry with notes of walnut skin.

After the great reviews of last year’s 1972, this cask was highly anticipated. In my opinion it’s less flawless but slightly more unique. It’s different from cask #719 and certainly different from the rest of the series. I’m curious to know what happened in 1972 to achieve such outstanding casks?
Around € 350.

Score: 92/100

Glen Grant 38 yo 1972 (52,4%, Whisky-Doris 2010, refill sherry cask #1650, 202 btl.)

Nose: this one is more expressive from the start. A nice honeyed fruitiness again but more dried fruits this time, with marmalade and syrup . The nutty element is slightly bigger, with coffee notes and caramel. Interestingly, the hints of new oak that I pick up make me think of old single grains while the mint / eucalyptus reminds me of certain bourbons. Very lively and entertaining. Water brings out a little vanilla. Mouth: more alcohol, more punch. It shows the same oranges, tangerines and yellow plums. Compared to the Thosop bottling, more spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, more pepper) and slightly less fruit. More balanced and more fruity with a little water. Finish: long, spicy with a hint of oak.

Another great Glen Grant. This one is slightly more oaky and spicy, which adds nice notes on the nose but also a certain dryness on the palate. Difficult to make a choice - I guess the higher strength is the main difference. Add a little water and they’re quite similar. Available from Whisky-Doris (€ 140).

Score: 89/100

Glenrothes 33 yo 1972 (56,6%, Signatory Vintage 2006, sherry butt #12368, 549 btl.)

Nose: not so sure… On the one hand, there’s plenty of fruits (tangerine, banana) with honey, but on the other hand there’s a faint sulphury / rubbery smell that I don’t like (fortunately it’s almost gone after 20 minutes). Hints of roasted sesame and moss. Nutmeg. Old roses. Beeswax. Pine needles. A bit unusual but very complex. Mouth: quite a peppery attack. A lot of resinous oak and grapefruit. Tangerine again. Peppermint. Fades out on more gentle flavours like honeyed pastry. Finish: rather hot, spicy and fruity. Quite long and intense.

A highly expressive Glenrothes, but it takes some time before you discover its strengths. Better enjoyed neat. Still available in several stores. About € 165.

Score: 85/100

Glen Scotia is rare, and a 37 years old Glen Scotia is even rarer. It was matured in a bourbon hogshead.

Glen Scotia 37 yo 1972 (45,1%, Malts of Scotland 2010, cask #1926, 197 btl.)

Nose: great start on nice notes of dried fruits (figs especially, also apricots) and gentle waxy / beehive notes. Yellow apples. Old white wine. There’s also a mustiness but a very nice one, kind of an old library smell. Old roses. Warm polished oak. A very light ashy undertone and faint hints of menthol. Ginger tea. This could have been the nose of an old-style Springbank. Really good. Mouth: a slightly bitter attack, perfect strength, with dried fruits, a bit of sour wood and hints of tequila. Walnut skin. Resin. Liquorice. It fades with a soft honeyed touch. Finish: a bit short and surprisingly coastal, with hints of salt water.

This Glen Scotia is definitely from another universe than the Glen Scotia 1992 but they share the attribute of not being a beginners whisky.

The nose is really high-class and probably the closest we can get to the old Campbeltown style nowadays. The palate had to grow on me: at first I thought it was a little austere and harsh (I scored it 88) but after a second tasting it became clear this is quite special and more complex. This should have been in my WWWF 2010 highlights. Around € 190.

Score: 91/100