Glen Elgin 1975 (46,8%, Malts of Scotland ‘Angel’s Choice’ 2011, bourbon hogshead MoS 11024, 47 btl., 35 cl.)

Nose: great profile, very polished. Lots of furniture polish really. It takes a while to open up. Then it shows subdued yet elegant fruits (melon, yellow apple) and honey. There’s a soft herbal side to it as well: mint, heather and chamomile. Mouth: gentle and fruity at first (pear, citrus, apricot) but quickly gaining spiciness (pepper, liquorice). Some waxy notes and a little oak resin, sure. Finish: long, still pretty fruity with hints of herbal tea.

An excellent Speysider, totally in line with earlier Glen Elgin 1975. Plenty of fruits and herbs. Around € 90 (exactly 50% of what a full bottle would cost) so here’s an opportunity to experience this profile without breaking the bank.

Score: 88/100

Duncan Taylor had a few similar releases (cask range #70xx), it wouldn’t surprise me if they were related.

Glen Moray 36 yo 1973 (53,1%,
The Whisky Agency ‘Perfect Dram’ 2010,
joint bottling with Three Rivers Tokyo,
bourbon hogshead, 301 btl.)

Nose: stewed fruits (apricots, prunes) with tropical touches (mango, melon, coconut). A lot of vanilla and oak, or rather oak polish, which gives this one a bit of a bourbon profile, maybe even a Japanese oak character. Beehive notes (honey, wax) and spices (cinnamon, mint). Mouth: again oaky with bags of spices (cinnamon, vanilla, pepper, nutmeg). Fruity notes like plums and oranges. Hints of coconut and pineapple. Sweet malt. Some leathery touches. Finish: long and vibrant with oranges and spices.

A little water takes away the harshness of the oak and releases its full potential of nice fruits, wax and spices. A nice surprise with a slightly exotic character.
Around € 170, but we’re too late now…

Score: 90/100

Longmorn 36 yo 1975 (50,6%, The Whisky Agency ‘Perfect Dram’ 2011, ex-bourbon hogshead, 163 btl.)

Nose: starts very fruity, with tangerine, peach, banana, papaya and some nice strawberry bubble gum notes. Quite some vanilla. Touches of wax and almonds. I’ve had a lot of these Longmorns but I’ll never get tired of them. Mouth: punchy start on fruity notes, mainly oranges and pink grapefruit. Then there’s some rather obvious oak and some drying notes of pine resin and tea. Some mint, nutmeg and aniseed. Finish: long, with the same oak / fruit theme and some herbal tea.

On the nose, those bubblegummy notes are a nice extra, but I’m afraid the oaky notes on the palate are louder than how I remember them in previous releases. Still pretty amazing how high the quality of these casks is! Around € 190.

Score: 88/100

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

This 36 year old Glenury Royal was part of the Diageo Special Releases of 2005. Only 2100 bottles were made available at around € 600. It seems it has never been a great seller because recently they were offered in different shops for as low as € 200.

Glenury Royal 36 yo 1968 
(51,2%, OB 2005, 2100 btl.)

Nose: scented and floral with a significant amount of oak polish and sawdust. A bit of vanilla. Mango. Hints of parma violets and lavender, but not really perfumy. Some peaches and apple compote. Gets quite leathery and chalky. Some peaty / farmy notes but they seem to disappear as soon as you pinpoint them. A complex and rewarding note. Fresh, fruity with a distinct ‘oldness’ to it at the same time. Quite lovely. Mouth: very juicy and fat, building up much more peat now. Lots of spices from the oak, sawdust and again a leathery foundation. Hints of smoke and roasted nuts. Some bitterness and herbal notes towards the finish. Finish: long, slightly bitter, with toasted oak, nuts and varnish.

A very complex malt with a unique but slightly difficult character. It seems to continuously switch between fruity notes, herbal notes, freshness, harshness and many other things… Still available with a nice discount.

Score: 91/100

Although most of the production goes to Johnnie Walker and White Horse, independent single malt bottlings are fairly common as well. This 36 years old Linkwood 1973 was bottled for the 10th Anniversary of The Whisky Exchange in 2009.

Linkwood 36 yo 1973 (49,7%, The Whisky Exchange 10th Anniversary 2009, bourbon cask)

Nose: a delicious old Speysider, vibrant and utterly fruity. A vanilla infused fruit salad with ripe banana, some mango, dried apricots, papaya… Hints of good piña colada. A little polished oak. Pancakes (VIPS tortitas anyone?). Faint tobacco leafs and spices in the background. Really outstanding. Mouth: fruity again, some pineapple, orange and apricot but less abounding in vitality than on the nose. A more spicy kick with ginger, cinnamon and soft pepper. Oaky in a good way, giving it a lot of depth but not the dryness. Finish: long, growing more tannic and resinous now, although the fruitiness seems to go on and on.

Clearly the best Linkwood I’ve had so far. A stunning nose and overall on par with the lovely Clynelish TWE 10th Anniversary, although that one still has a slight edge in complexity for me. Around € 170, still available from TWE.

Score: 92/100

Invergordon is a grain distillery located in the Northern Highlands (it shares its grounds with Ben Wyvis) and is part of the White & MacKay group. This Invergordon is 36 years old, distilled on the 14th of November 1972.

Invergordon 36 yo 1972 (41,4%, Bladnoch forum 2009, cask 95390, 184 btl.)

Nose: creamy vanilla with big hints of coconut (as expected). Reminds me of certain rums in that respect. Very sweet with notes of Demerara sugar. White chocolate. Some exotic fruits (pineapple, guava). A bit of sourish oak polish. Less complex than an old malt whisky, but very good as a grain. Mouth: completely in line. Coconut cream, vanilla. Kind of a malibu drink without the stickiness. Rather gentle. Finish: short and light with a very faint hint of perfume.

A typical old Invergordon, very enjoyable albeit a bit too mellow and mono-dimensional. Sold out. Around € 60 at the time.

Score: 82/100

Glen Grant from the beginning of the 1970’s can be outstanding. This one is 36 years old and bottled for the German Whisky Fair.

Glen Grant 36 yo 1972 (56,3%, Duncan Taylor 2009 for The Whisky Fair, sherry cask, 209 btl.)

Nose: an exotic fruit basket. Tangerine and kumquat followed by mango, fresh figs. Ripe gooseberries. Dried apricots. Superbly candied, with hints of honeysuckle. Whiffs of vanilla (crême patissiere). Not unlike a Bowmore from the late 1960’s. Very round and polished, but it’s not all fruity because there are subtle undertones of oak polish and coal smoke, even something that reminds me of gas. Mouth: still very fruity (lots of grapefruit now, tangerine, passion fruit, papaya). Much more wood than on the nose which gives it a drier, slightly bitter profile. Still really exotic. Cake with honey. Chocolate. Very refined sherry. Finish: medium length, on oak polish, tangerine and the lightest hint of mint.

Around € 150 at the time, but sold out soon after the publication of the Malt Maniacs Awards. Quite a lot of wood (not surprisingly) but very very good!

Score: 92/100

ps/ It’s safe to say all of the Malt Maniacs Gold medal winners are stunning whiskies (we didn’t think otherwise of course). This Glen Grant and the Yoichi are top of the bill for me, with the Yoichi being the nicest surprise. Also, these two turn out to be the cheapest of the pack. Woohoo!

Caperdonich 36yo 1972 (47,8%,
Duncan Taylor Rare Auld 2009, cask #7449, 158 btl.)

Nose: starts on furniture polish but after a few moments this makes place for a fruitier profile. Prunes and dried apricots. Hints of tangerine and chamomile. A bit of freshly cut mint. Very elegant, very balanced, very superb. Water brings out some wet wool but diminishes the overall power. Mouth: gentle attack but a wonderful development. Fruity and quite minty again, fig marmalade, beautiful tannins and spices (cloves, cinnamon). Some almonds. Finish: smoothly fading, getting more herbal with the wood taking the upperhand (not drying though).

As expected, great stuff. At around € 115, you can’t go wrong. Sold out at most places but Duncan Taylor releases similar cask at regular times. None of them was ever bad.

Score: 91/100

Glengoyne 36yo 1973 (55,1%, Malts of Scotland 2009, cask #677, 138 btl.)

Nose: very fragrant (slightly flowery). Charles McLean identified it as “ladies powder” and although I wouldn’t have come up with this myself, it’s actually well described. Unique. Again lots of fruit jams (tons of raspberries). Some warm, yellow apple with whiffs of cinnamon. Honeysuckle (lovely). Juicy and sugary, with red candy and vanilla. More malty notes than the 1972. Mouth: the same fruity sweetness, but fresher and slightly more sourish. Oily mouth-feel and very balanced. Vanilla again. Fruit cake and tangerine. Finish: sweet, on apples and lots of spices. Hints of pink grapefruit.

The 1972 and 1973 share quite a lot of qualities even though they’re matured in different cask types (the sherry influence was less typical and leaning towards the bourbon cask). Also, none of the oak types interfere. They enable the distillery character to shine through, instead of overpowering the spirit. The 1973 Glengoyne is probably a tad more vibrant, but in the end they’re equally great. Same price: around € 180.

Score: 91/100

Glengoyne 36yo 1972 (52,8%, Malts of Scotland 2009, cask #3195, 305 btl.)

Nose: beautiful sherry influence, which is not at all “in your face” but gentle and well integrated. Great hints of fruit candy (tangerines with more tropical fruits – guava, pineapple) and all sorts of jams. Some grapefruit. Notes of polished oak, vanilla and soft cinnamon. No signs of over-ageing or sulphury sherry whatsoever. Mouth: again very tropical and slightly candied. Prune jam. Tangerine. Passion fruit. Rich honey with more wood influence now and more spices (mostly cinnamon and cloves). With water, there’s some coconut. Getting slightly drier and tannic in the end. Finish: long, sweet, fruity and slightly nutty.

This Glengoyne has a lot to offer. The big fruitiness is terrific and the whole is remarkably fresh and lively after 36 years. Totally flawless. Not cheap though: around € 180.

Score: 90/100