WhiskyNotes » 56.5%

Macduff 2000 for The Bonding Dram

Ruben — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 08:43:15 +0000

Creative Whisky Company is an independent bottler specialising in single casks, all picked by the owner
David Stirk. He’s a former whisky writer for Whisky Magazine who also worked for Cadenhead. The names of the bottling ranges are easy to confuse: Exclusive Malts, Exclusive Range and Exclusive Cask.

We’re now tasting an exclusive Macduff 2000 bottled exclusively for our Belgian retailer The Exclusive Bonding Dram. It was chosen from a series of cask samples by founder Jeroen and a team of Bonding Dram enthusiasts. It’s bottled at cask strength and presented in a nicely designed box.

Macduff 10 yo 2000 (56,5%, Creative Whisky Co. for The Bonding Dram, sherry butt #3525, 200 btl.)

Nose: juicy start with cooked fruits and tinned fruits on syrup. Then slowly growing spicier (mainly cinnamon) with some Mexican chocolate disks. Gingerbread cake. Some nutty aromas and raisins. Baked apples. A lovely sherry profile. Water makes it slightly more fragrant and brings out oranges. Mouth: good attack, sweet, now with the same spices really up front. A light peppery prickle. Rum & raisins, figs, prunes. Also fresher fruits (berries and apples). Nice, and best without water. Finish: long and spicy with some Mon Cherie notes.

Available from The Bonding Dram for € 50. Great price / quality – recommended if you’re into fresh and juicy sherry. You can also buy a sample if you want to try it.

Score: 89/100

Glenfarclas 1990 Family Cask

Ruben — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 07:28:41 +0000

Glenfarclas Family Casks is a collection of single casks from each year between 1952 and 1994. Since the launch in 2007, some vintages were released multiple times. This 1990 cask #5095 was part of release 5.

Glenfarclas 1990 Family Cask (56,5%, OB 2010, cask #5095, 459 btl.)

Nose: great sherry power. Plenty of thick sherry, dark rum & raisins, demerara sugar, cherry liqueur. Some toffee and nutty notes. Very juicy and much richer than I expected from a 1990 cask. Water makes it more fragrant with hints of polished wood and apples with cinnamon. Mouth: again juicy, lively and full of flavour. Loads of oranges, dried fruits and plums. The oak comes marching in as well, which makes it drier and a bit herbal towards the finish. Water hardly changes it - an extra hint of mocha maybe. Finish: long and drying on oranges, spices and tannins.

This one takes the intense profile of Glenfarclas 105 and develops it a bit further, with quite some added oak but still an impressive balance. Juicy oloroso and plenty of punch at cask strength. Be prepared
for a heavy price tag though: around € 170.
A special treat for the holidays?

Score: 89/100

Arran 1998 (bourbon cask 700)

Ruben — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:00:55 +0000

This Arran 1998/2008 single cask was chosen over the Glenmorangie Astar in the recent Battle of the Stunners tasting.

Arran 1998 (56,5%, OB 2008, bourbon cask #700, 223 btl.)

Nose: clean and fruity. Vanilla with some honey. Yellow apples, pineapple and kiwi. Violet candy. Lemon marmalade. Very light oak influence. Sweet and very enjoyable. Mouth: good attack. Citrusy with hints of plums. Hints of cherry liqueur and peaches. A bit of lemon. Slightly spicy (ginger, pepper) with a bittery edge (liquorice?) towards the end. Finish: medium length, on creamy moccha and fruits with hints of saffron.

A solid Arran with a sweet vanilla nose. Not very complex but really drinkable.

Score: 84/100