Glen Ord / Blended Malt / Blended Grain (TBWC)

This is the result of a Twitter tasting courtesy of That Boutique-y Whisky Company to showcase their Whisky Advent Calendar 2017 back in December.

I waited a bit to publish my notes, as most of the bottles had not been released at the time. Now they’re all available.

 

 

Glen Ord 20 yo (51,9%, That Boutique-y Whisky Company 2017, 293 btl.)

Nose: as natural as it gets. No sherry influence, but not 20 years worth of bourbon influence either. Barley juice. Apples and limes. Maybe tinned peaches and a light waxiness. Light vanilla. Water brings out some blossomy, grassy and minty notes. Fresh but rather narrow.

Mouth: again a bit of a fruit eau-de-vie feeling, showing lemon (peel), unripe pear and orange peel. Light grassy notes in the background, mixing with white pepper and oak. A nicely delicate fruitiness but overall not much happening here.

Finish: medium length, drying, on citrus peel and oak spices.

Not bad, very fresh and sherbety, on citrus and barley. Just rather naked and therefore less mature than its age would make you think. Perhaps a little overpriced at around € 150. In any case one distillery less on the to-do list.

Score: 83/100

 

      

Then an undisclosed teaspooned malt whisky: almost all of it came from one distillery, but a tiny drop from another distillery was added. A very young one, bottled at just 6 years of age.

 

Blended Malt No.4 6 yo
(53,6%, That Boutique-y Whisky Company 2017, Batch #1, 625 btl.)

Nose: starts feisty, porridgy and slightly lactic. We call that young. Hints of wet wool. Bread. Hints of cooked vegetables. Clears up after a while, with some yellow apple and toffee coming out. Quite a weighty spirit.

Mouth: reasonably sweet and very grainy. Popcorn. Apple eau-de-vie. Candied lemon with pepper. Burnt notes. Sweet turns to bittersweet. Too much raw alcohol as well. Grassy notes and something of a ginger liqueur. Something vaguely coastal too.

Finish: medium long, with grassy notes and pepper.

I don’t get this one. I’m not against young malts if the quality happens to be good, but not in this case. On second thought I really liked the Glen Ord. Around € 55 from Master of Malt.

Score: 72/100

 

 

Last but not least: the first blended grain whisky from That Boutique-y Whisky Company. It’s 50 years of age! The label features most of the elements that make up the aromatic profile of this whisky: a ship made of coconuts and pineapples, floating on a sea of vanilla with seagulls made of tropical fruits.

 

Blended Grain No.1 50 yo
(46,9%, That Boutique-y Whisky Company 2017, Batch #2, 60 btl.)

Nose: classic and mellow nose, with lots of banana custard and coconuts, tinned peaches and a hint of glue. Polished wood. Vanilla cake. Warm leather. Hints of caramelized white chocolate (which is great). Cinnamon pastry and light ginger in the background.

Mouth: less syrupy than some others. As often it feels like a mix of bourbon whiskey, rum and Scotch. Vanilla and honey, roasted pineapple. Caramel coated biscuits and more oak spices after a while.

Finish: long, on raisins, polished furniture, peppery notes and vanilla pastry.

Very good old grain, perhaps related to the 1964 blended grains we’ve had before. Very rich but not too sweet. Just 60 bottles, around € 190 from Master of Malt and warmly recommended.

Score: 90/100