WhiskyNotes » 56.3%

Laphroaig 1990 (Whisky Agency)

Ruben — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:00:00 +0000

No shortage of good Laphroaig. This Laphroaig 1990 was released by The Whisky Agency as a joint bottling with Dutch distributor Bresser & Timmer. Easily found on Dutch websites such as Whiskysite.nl.

Laphroaig 20 yo 1990 (56,3%, The Whisky Agency ‘Perfect Dram’ with Bresser & Timmer 2011, ex-bourbon, 237 btl.)

Nose: quite peaty and smokey, exceptionally high on maritime notes (seaweed, smoked fish). Antiseptic notes. Some wax / fat. Wet gravel and mineral notes. Quite dry and grassy, the expected lemon juice and almonds are present, as well as some banana, but the dominating layer is certainly the maritime smokiness. Intense. Mouth: assertive, oily and coastal. Big smoke with lemon, evolving to drier lemon zest. Salted fish. Sweet almonds and other nutty flavours. Hints of burnt grass and seaweed again. Finish: very long and deeply smoky / peaty. Getting even drier, with liquorice notes.

A very big and maritime Laphroaig. Smoky, powerful and flawless. What’s not to like? Around € 120.

Score: 88/100

Glen Grant 1972 (DT for Whisky Fair)

Ruben — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:00:00 +0000

Duncan Taylor is one of these independent bottlers with impressive stocks of superb old whisky. The last few years, they’ve released lots of high quality Caperdonich, Glenrothes, Strathisla, Bowmore, Glenlivet… all from the late 1960’s / beginning of the 1970’s.

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!

Bowmore Tempest

Ruben — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:00:11 +0000

Described as being “unlike any other Bowmore single malt”, the long-anticipated Bowmore Tempest is a small batch release of only 2000 cases from Islay’s oldest distillery.

It’s great that Bowmore doesn’t follow the trend to make big profits on limited (young) bottlings. This 10 year-old cask strength Tempest costs around € 45. Quite fair.

Bowmore 10yo Tempest
(56,3%, OB 2009, 12.000 btl.)

Nose: a fresh mix of orange marmalade and sea air. Nice and soft, citrus is the main component here. Then the floral notes appear, with hints of violets. Totally different than those soapy lavender Bowmores though. Strawberry candy! Sultanas. Some vanilla cream as well. Some maritime notes and ginger syrup. Mouth: citrus again, but the peat kicks in now. Nice evolution with rather big salty notes, oranges, a little sherry and a nice bitterness. Earthy smoke. Some pepper. Finish: medium length on salt, iodine and slightly bitter green tea.

I have not been a fan of recent official Bowmores, but the least you can say is that this is a nice surprise! The nose is very pleasant and this Tempest is a fresh, enjoyable dram overall. Very good value for money.

Score: 85/100