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!

I’ve just picked up my own bottles of this 12 years old Bowmore 1999 bottled by Fulldram and drawn from an oloroso cask so I’m quite curious to find out how it tastes.

Bowmore 12 yo 1999 (57,6%, Fulldram 2011, oloroso sherry cask, 190 btl.)

Nose: immediately smoky (charcoal) and coastal (seaweed, tarry ropes). Not really a sherry bomb but it does open up nicely with sweeter notes of apples, yellow plums and apricots. Also a wave of yellow raisins and natural caramel. Water even brings out some hints of overripe mango. Some wet hay and chocolate. Strong but beautifully balanced and mouth-watering. Mouth: very powerful with lots of peat, more than we’ve come to expect from Bowmore recently. Strong liquorice / menthol notes (Fisherman’s friend). It takes a while before the hotness fades away and sweeter background notes come forward. Raisins again, hints of berries. Anise. Water makes it a little more rounded, but it stays bold and peaty. Finish: long and coastal, with liquorice and a lingering sweetness.

A good Bowmore which combines powerful Islay flavours with sweeter aromas. I would have liked a tad more roundness on the palate – it’s very peaty so I think it could resist a little more sherry, but given the price (€ 60 for members) it offers very good value for money. If you’re not in the Fulldram whisky club, your best shot at getting it would be QV.ID.

Score: 87/100

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

This Ben Nevis was matured in a sherry cask for 13 years, then watered down, then further matured for one year and finally bottled at 46%. On the label they call this “double maturation”.

Ben Nevis 14 yo 1992
(46%, OB 2007, sherry cask #2623, 815 btl.)

Nose: starts a little sharp and not as sherried as I had hoped. Plenty of orange peel, liquorice and some mineral notes, even a few coastal hints. It takes a while, but it opens up nicely with rounder chocolate and nutty notes. Some leather. Soft herbs. Mouth: good strength, with more sherry notes now. Sweet raisins, kumquats, chocolate. Orange liqueur. Hints of ginger. Something delicately smoky in the background. Still a surprising coastal hint. Finish: medium long on rounded sherry, spices and a bit of wood.

Not an easy one to describe or score. Don’t be fooled by the first impression – it takes a very long time to display its full potential. Around € 100 if you can still find a bottle.

Score: 87/100

It was presented at the Lindores Whisky Fest last weekend and I heard some discussions about the price. Many people wondered how a 20 year-old whisky could be worth € 225, but remember sherried Ardbegs are thinly scattered. Douglas Laing released a 1991 refill cask earlier this year and that was rather scandalously priced at € 450. So yes, it is expensive but relatively cheap at the same time. Ardbeg is not selling casks to independent bottlers any more, so I’m afraid the times of affordable medium-aged sherry cask Ardbegs are now officially over!

Ardbeg 20 yo 1991 (48,4%, Malts of Scotland for Hotel Bero 2011, sherry hogshead #MoS 11003, 240 btl.)

Nose: balanced nose with excellent notes of old ashes and tar on the one hand and rounded, chocolaty notes on the other hand. Sweet almonds and rhubarb compote. Figs. Lovely tobacco leaves. Old leather. Relatively soft iodine and hints of camphor. Complex, not extremely big (which is a good thing – it’s not over-sherried nor over-peated) and quite brilliant. Mouth: starts rich and oily with sweet peat smoke. Again some almonds, now mixed with dried fruits and lemon drops. Some herbal notes. The smoke grows stronger, the soft tar shows up again. No brute forces here, it’s all about integrating the different flavours. Finish: long on dried fruits and smoke with a softly coastal edge.

The sherry complements the whisky very well, and the harmonious qualities might actually justify the price in my opinion. Available at the Hotel Bero for € 225.

Score: 91/100

Port Ellen 26 yo 1983 (54,6%, Duncan Taylor Rarest of the Rare 2010, cask #674, 282 btl.)

Nose: hey! Even better than I remembered it. Relatively soft sooty and smokey notes with hints of cured meat. A bunch of sweet notes as well: chocolate ganache, praline and Black Forest gateau! Fruity cherry / mixed red fruits jam. Hints of tobacco with a very delicate medicinal touch. Warm precious wood like rosewood and sandalwood. Few of the sharp / austere notes that you find in other Port Ellen. When compared to Port Ellen PE1 for example, it becomes clear how extremely luscious this is. Just excellent. Mouth: sweet peat and ashes mixed with rounder notes again (cocoa, sweet almonds, berries, figs). A hint of peppermint. Slowly drying towards tobacco. Finish: very long, drier and a little peppery.

An extraordinary Port Ellen with an almost perfect sherried style. If you liked PE1, then you’ll love this. Around € 190. I’ve spent some time trying to find it, but it seems to be sold out.

Score: 93/100

Glen Scotia 19 yo 1992 (59,6%, A.D. Rattray 2011, sherry butt #2 (part), 359 btl.)

Nose: a dirty start (some rubber, sulphur and organics) although it gets better after some breathing. Typical huge sherry: dried prunes, blackberry pie, walnuts, raisins… Some roasted malt notes and faint smoke in the background. Leather. Hints of mulchy leaves as well. Mouth: just as sherried. A slightly salty dryness alternates with a herbal sweetness (Ricola bonbons). Dry fruits. Roasted chestnuts and oak. Balsamic syrup. Some nice mocha as well. Plenty of caramel flavours. Reminds me of some 1950-1960’s blends in a way. Finish: quite long and dry, on spices, bitter chocolate and oak.

Difficult to assess, although I think it’s more consistent than the Glen Scotia 1992 by Malts of Scotland. You could argue it’s over-sherried with little distillery character left, but if you’re looking for a sherry monster, then it’s quite interesting. Around € 85. Distributed in Belgium by Jurgen’s Whiskyhuis.

Score: 82/100

Laphroaig 21 yo 1989 (56,9%, Douglas Laing Old & Rare Platinum 2010, refill sherry hogshead, 212 btl.)

Nose: the tar seems to be a little softer here, but apart from that, the nose is very similar. Big tobacco notes and cocoa. Dark fruity notes. Cigar boxes. Of course also the usual coastal notes, sweet peat and antiseptic. Some graphite. This one leaves a slightly sharper impression than the Liquid Sun bottling. A little mint maybe. Mouth: quite dry, with big peat, some walnuts and hints of olives. Pepper and lemon zest. Big smoke. Seaweed. Certainly less fruity, which makes it less unique (but perhaps more classically Laphroaig). Liquorice. A little ginger. Finish: long, dry and leafy, with salty and bitter touches.

From the nose I though this would be nearly identical to the Liquid Sun release, but on the palate it turns out less rounded and balanced, less sherried and more extreme. Not bad of course, but at this price? Around € 230 – now sold out. This year’s cask is still available but it will cost you over € 300, that’s just ridiculous. Thanks for the sample, Johannes.

Score: 88/100

Laphroaig 20 yo 1991 (53,3%, Liquid Sun 2011, sherry hogshead, 279 btl.)

Nose: impressive notes of tar and smoked meats: cecina de Léon, grison, barbecued streaky (pork belly)… nicely mixed with muted medicinal notes and gouache paint. Coal smoke. Quite sweet as well, with tobacco and some dried fruits. Blackberry jam? Nice balance. Water brings the spices out. Mouth: again very smoky and ashy, with burnt toast and plenty of liquorice, a little pepper and salt. Then the sherry comes through, still showing sweet notes of ripe dark fruits (cassis especially) and chocolate. Nice tobacco notes and espresso. Finish: long, drier, smoky and a bit salty with a little coffee. And back to the smoked bacon.

As I said, sherried Laphroaig can be really good. This one has quite an excellent combination of deep smoke and dark fruits. Recommended. Too bad the rarity makes the price heavier than I hoped for… Around € 150.

Score: 90/100

Karuizawa 1991 (62,5%, OB 2007,
sherry cask #3318)

Nose: very strong and slightly rubbery. Volcanic ashes? At the same time, the hotness prevents other aromas to come out, it definitely needs some time to open up. Some sherry notes (of the earthy, mossy kind) and spices (pepper, ginger). Roasted nuts and baked pie. Blackberries and dried figs. Getting more floral over time. Mouth: hot, dry and sherried, with the original malt shining through after a few moments. Sweet coffee. Plums and dates. Very spicy, quite overwhelming. Slightly smoky and salty. Not much difference with water. Finish: long, hot and spicy.

An earthy / ashy expression of Karuizawa.
Not a quick charmer, but it gains balance if you let it breathe. Around € 90 at the time, now sold out. Thanks for the sample swap, Johan.

Score: 86/100

Yamazaki 12 yo 1996
(60%, OB for Whisky-Live Japan 2009,
sherry butt AX70012)

Nose: deep sherry with fruity notes (sourish raspberry, red apples), nutty notes (walnuts) and oak resin. A little mint. Heavy sherry but faultless. Mouth: thick and compact. Starts dry and hugely oaky with dried fruits, walnuts and ginger. Evolves nicely on sweeter, creamy flavours like vanilla and chocolate ganache. Exotic woods. Pepper. Finish: smoky with great roasted coffee beans and milk chocolate.

Very big and packed with wonderful sherry notes. Not very complex though, and there are heavy wood flavours. Now sold for € 200 and more here in Europe, too much from a quality perspective.

Score: 86/100

This cask is part of the new Malts of Scotland releases.

Tamdhu 20 yo 1990
(49,8%, Malts of Scotland 2011,
sherry butt #8119, 209 btl.)

Nose: a profile that’s similar to the Tamdhu 1989 Liquid Treasures. Lots of rum & raisins again. A little gunpowder and flints. More and darker chocolate, something of burnt sugar as well. It doesn’t have the slightly sour notes of balsamico. Dates. A few gamey notes. Roasted nuts. Mouth: sweet with smoky undertones. Raisins, prunes and dates. Roasted almonds. Big sherry. A nice dark chocolate bitterness. Then back to muscovado sweetness and light pepper. Some liquorice. Finish: long, marked by sherry and mocha with a nice dryness.

High power sherry. Very similar to the Liquid Treasures bottling, equally nice altogether, differences will come down to personal preferences. Around € 80.

Score: 86/100

This Glen Grant 1959 was a leftover of a cask bottled in 1999 by Samaroli (at least that’s what I’ve heard). In 2007 the bottles were relabeled by the people of Whisky Club Austria (Konstantin Gregoriadis and others). The label says “designed by Serge Valentin”.

Glen Grant 40 yo 1959 / 1999 (48,9%, Whisky Club of Austria 2007, sherry cask, 22 btl.)

Nose: almost everything you would expect from old dark sherry. Prunes, raisins, Portuguese Ginjinha, dark chocolate and roasted nuts. Balsamic syrup. All kinds of herbs. Something that holds the middle between fuel and dusty notes (bottle ageing?). High octane sherry without any possible off-notes. Mouth: very intense. Dried fruits but there are fresher notes as well (grapefruit, cherries, oranges). Some oak but never too dry. Nutty flavours again. Some pine resin. Mint. Finish: beautiful, long and very rewarding.

A very impressive and very intense Glen Grant. You need to be a sherry lover of course. No need to look for this bottle, I would say, although once there was a bottle on Whiskyauction.

Score: 93/100

They decided to use small 20cl bottles, officially because the volume left in the cask was so small. That has nothing to do with exceptional angel’s share, it’s simply because Whisky Magazine bottled part of both casks in full 70cl bottles to support Oxfam.

Karuizawa 19 yo 1991
(60,8%, OB 1991, sherry butt #3206)

Nose: starts a bit dirty (something in between sulphury and farmy) but airing helps. Tobacco, matchsticks, hints of incense. A lot of pencil wood and limestone. There are some raisins and blood orange notes from the sherry, but on a second level. Ginger. Mouth: powerful with a big peppery kick. Rather sweet, with orange honey. Cigars, maybe even some smoke? Getting quite dry in the end, with an earthy umami flavour. Some vanilla as well. Finish: long, lots of pepper again. Tobacco. After a few hours, an empty glass smells like cured ham.

Big as Karuizawa can be, with the same elements as older versions but with a little less depth. The 1997 is slightly fruitier and less complex. Around € 60 for a 20cl bottle.

Score: 86/100

Ledaig 9 yo 2001 (50,5%, Whisky-Doris 2011, sherry butt, 212 btl.)

Nose: big peat, exhaust fumes and smoked meat. Unique hints of pimentón (smoked paprika powder, commonly used in Spain to prepare Pulpo a la Gallega). Then big coastal notes (cod-liver oil, smoked fish, iodine) and hints of rubber boots. Quite farmy as well: wet earth, a little yeast. Underneath a nice layer of dried fruits and burnt sugar from the sherry. Fresh lemon and ginger. Some Mexican chocolate with spices. High complexity considering the age. Mouth: oily mouth-feel, with earthy peat but also a honey coating. Lemon. Coastal notes again. Tar. Less complex now, but very clean. Finish: very long, peaty and slightly chocolaty with a salty note.

A well-made peat bomb, with plenty of peat and coastalness but also quite rounded thanks to the sweeter sherry notes. This version costs € 42. The higher strength version is € 48.

Score: 87/100

The 60,6% version starts more alcoholic and is slightly more closed. It takes more time to open up, but after a while they’re quite similar. I would suggest the 50,5% version as it has more than enough power and shows more of its flavours without the need to fiddle with water.

Ardbeg 27 yo 1975 (50%, Douglas Laing OMC 2002, sherry cask, US market, 342 btl.)

Nose: soot and sherry in a great marriage as both are not trying to overpower. Some of the notes, in no particular order: camphor, chocolate, gentle peat, iodine, sea breeze, red berries, juniper, tar, dark leather, dried prunes… All of a sudden, it reminded me of the famous Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar praline invented by our Belgian shock-o-latier Dominique Persoone for Oud Sluis – it has the same chocolate smell combined with slightly sourish vinegar. Priceless. Mouth: big liquorice flavours now. Tar again, some tobacco as well. Nutmeg and pepper. Very intense. Earthy, ending on spices and pine needles. Finish: really long, rather oaky now. Pepper and liquorice.

An impressive Ardbeg, very intense. The tar is quite big but the chocolate sweetness from the sherry makes it special. Not unlike some heavily sherried Port Ellen actually (say PE1). Very hard to find now, and expect € 400 or more.

Score: 92/100

A 39 years old Macallan bottled by Gordon & MacPhail for La Maison du Whisky. Here we go!

Macallan ‘Speymalt’ 1970 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail for LMdW 2010, first fill sherry hogshead #10031)

Nose: (old) Macallan + sherry = magical richness.  Apricot tartlets, prunes and dates. Some fresh red fruits. Mint, cinnamon and hints of sweet ginger. Some heather and fir-tree honey. Dusty books in the background – lovely. Mouth: vivid, with plenty of dry spices (cloves, cardamom). While initially rather rounded, it quickly becomes leathery and a lot oakier. Blackberry liqueur. Some resinous notes. Walnuts and liquorice. Roasted coffee. Very rich. Finish: medium length (only), with forest fruit, resin and spices.

In line with last year’s excellent cask although maybe a tad less sparkling. Not cheap, but acceptable for this age: around € 210. Now sold out.

Score: 90/100

Saint Magnus

Saint Magnus was matured mainly in Spanish sherry oak, of which 20% were first fill casks. It is bottled at 55%.

The third edition in this series, Highland Park Haakon, will be bottled as an 18 year-old. Expected in the second half of 2011.

Highland Park 12 yo 1998 Saint Magnus (55%, OB 2010, 12.000 btl.)

Nose: starts with a few unfresh smells, especially in comparison with yesterday’s 1986 by Daily Dram. Hints of rubber and meat. This is not uncommon for sherry releases, but I have troubles with it sometimes. After a while it fades and shows more classic dried fruits and honey lacquered meat (overall not very sweet though). A little yeast. Apples and cinnamon. Heather. Subtle peat. Some barbecue smoke, leather and plenty of spices. Mouth: very spicy (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg) with toffee notes, apples and a hint of wax. A little pepper. Some bitter liquorice. In the end there’s something like burnt oranges and still some rubber. Finish: rather long, dry / bitter and sherried with peat smoke.

I had high hopes for this, but they’re not entirely fulfilled. It’s nicely coastal and relatively peaty but I’m more a fan of fresh, juicy (second fill?) sherry influence. Quite expensive as well: sold for € 100.

Score: 80/100

Talisker 21 yo 1986 (45%, G&M Secret Stills 2007, cask #1361-1363, 1860 btl.)

Nose: starts in a lovely old-fashioned style, with wet dogs, some garage smells and peat smoke. Nice coastal notes as well: seaweed and soft iodine. Then it grows less austere, with creamy sherry notes, some oranges, vanilla and chocolate. Makes me think of much older Ardbeg in a way. Delicious. Mouth: a weakish, bittersweet attack with peat and Seville oranges. Some iodine again. Quite minty / herbal as well. Hints of liquorice and pepper. Finish: medium length, with smoke, herbal notes and liquorice.

A Talisker with a great balance between peat smoke and half-sweet sherry. Still available in some places. Around € 100 in the UK and € 140 in Europe. It beats me why certain lovely releases stay on the shelves for such a long time!

Score: 89/100