If I ever make it to Hong Kong, I’ll definitely visit Tiffany’s NY Bar. It’s one of these epicenters of whisky culture in Asia. Moreover they’re hosting the HK Whisky Festival and releasing a constant stream of interesting bottlings. For now we’ll wet our appetite with three recent bottlings sourced from Glenfarclas, GlenAllachie and Ardbeg.
Glenfarclas 20 yo 2004 (56,0%, OB for Tiffany’s NY Bar & OBE Whisky Bar 2024, refill sherry hogshead #2032, 108 btl.)
Nose: very classy sherry. That means raisins, dried apricots, juicy sultanas and cherries. Oak polish. Then also honeyed notes, hints of pollen and toffee, light tobacco and brown sugar. Drops of high quality Oloroso as well. Hints of milk chocolate coated nuts and caramelized peanuts, along with subtle oak spice like cinnamon and ginger. This could have been a Family Cask release so far.
Mouth: the alcohol comes out more, leaving a bit of a sherry brandy feeling. Still raisins and cherries, with boozy fruit cake and orange peels. Mild herbal notes and toasted walnuts, along with leathery notes. Then increasing cocoa, plum jam and a faint hint of sourish coffee.
Finish: long and balanced. More sweet and sour fruits, nutty hints and chocolate.
A rather excellent Glenfarclas, much like in the days of the first Family Casks. All about elegance, with a good dose of fruits, polished oak and refined herbs.
GlenAllachie 13 yo 2011 (61,8%, OB for Tiffany’s NY Bar & Whisky Lovers Hong Kong, Oloroso hogshead #805001, 355 btl.)
Nose: modern sherry. Truckloads of juicy raisins and orange peels, along with hazelnuts and some heather honey. Being a modern seasoned cask, there’s a good dose of active wood and vanilla too. Then darker hints of coffee beans, toffee and dark chocolate in the background. Just a balsamic / varnished touch as well.
Mouth: very punchy. Again this mix of raisins, red berries, prunes, orange peels, dark chocolate and a leathery dryness. A lot of honey. Some herbal extracts as well, before it moves towards resinous notes, cinnamon, black pepper and candied ginger. Spices become quite loud towards the end, but the dram does take water well.
Finish: long and spicy, with aniseed, cinnamon and a boozy (sherry brandy) edge.
As good as it gets when it comes to modern sherry casks. A fairly big fruitiness, with a big bourbonny footprint as well. It’s actually a bourbon cask that was transferred to first-fill sherry after 8 years of maturation. A very solid example of Billy Walker’s style. Score: 88/100
Ardbeg 15 yo 2009 (54,5%, Brave New Spirits ‘Cask Masters’ for Hong Kong Whisky Festival 2025, first-fill Rivesaltes barrique #26001/2009, 308 btl.)
Nose: coastal and mossy despite the fortified wine cask. A lot of kelp and sea salt, with savoury notes and cold ashes. Then mild chocolate and smoked oranges, along with caramelized peanuts and hints of bread crust. After a while some green apple shines through as well.
Mouth: sooty and herbal peat, in a rather chisseled way, with a certain lemony and aniseedy sharpness. Then black peppercorns, caramelized nuts, herbal honey and hints of oranges. Marmalade too, but never the deep sweetness we were expecting.
Finish: quite long, mostly on black pepper now, along with salted ashes.
Of course Ardbeg sets expectations, and this bottling doesn’t fulfill them entirely. Not bad at all, it just shows a little less depth and volume than we’d hoped. The sister cask #2006 can still be bought from The Whisky Exchange, by the way. Score: 87/100