Strathisla 8yo 40% OB Gordon & Macphail 70's
You all remember the flat square miniature bottles from the 70's by G&M? I have a couple of them from some distilleries I haven't tried in a while so why not make this a vertical? Strathisla is the main malt in Chivas Regal I believe, not my favorite by far but let's not judge. Pale Color, smells strong, mint leaves and honey with burnt polyester, the one from burning bras at women's liberation parties. The taste is fresh, lip balm, cactus, lime, mint and floral notes. Old style malt, a sort of dirty unrecognizable malt.
Distinctive, in an acquired way, not for everyone: 5
Strathisla 49yo 1960-2010 53.2% Gordon and Macphail for The Whisky Fair
Now, let's try this oldie from Strathisla, G&M seems to be hitting the market with quite some extraordinary vintages from this distillery nowadays. Needs some time to breath this one. The nose is really oaky and peppery, minty, amazingly fresh for such an old malt. The taste is really extreme, old hickory, roasted beef, dried sage, honey, mustard and ginger. A very sweet attack at first before settling with a long peppery aftertaste that just goes on and on. Water? Not necessary, but if you like a bit rounder flavours do add.
Amazing whisky, something of a bygone era I guess: 9
Strathisla 20yo 1948&1961-1981 40% Charles & Diana Wedding Commemoration Malt G&M
G&M are nowadays displaying a wide range of older Strathisla bottlings. Anyway, I'm going to attend my first ever wedding this weekend, so appropriately I will enjoy some wedding malts before I go. This one smells sweet, rustic, it's a bit darker than the Glen Grant and is even more fruity on the nose, grapefruit, melon, honey, fish eggs and apples. The taste is very rustic, a bit meaty, kind of reminds me of some Tamdhu's I've tried.
All in all an improvement from the Glen Grant of same series: 6
Strathisla 8yo 57% Gordon & Macphail for Pinerolo
Why not end the evening with a bourbon-matured 100 proof youngster. Strathisla is a whisky that for me jumps the whole scale and I never know what I'm gonna get. This one smells of alcohol and vanilla. The taste is filled with vanilla, while the alcohol seems to play a smaller part. It has a fantastic gentleness about it, I just love the tender vanilla and the semi-peppery aftertaste. Another one to enjoy with a cigar. I do not recommend water in this one neither because it's so fine.
A sweet & light whisky, an everyday malt with lots of charisma: 8
Strathisla NAS 1980-? 40% OB
Today I'll try 4 different 40% standard OB's without age statement. This one has a very bland odor, small hints of hay, typical smell of barn on a summersday and perhaps some grilled seafood. The taste is of pine, ink, strong glue and bitterness. With a small addition of water it doesn't improve much on palate. The aftertaste is what saves this malt from the bottom as it gives a longlasting and very fresh, minty finish. I do use a couple minutes between each sip on this one, not because of the semi-foul flavours, but to get as much from the aftertaste as possible.
Finishing on a high note: 4.5
Strathisla 42yo 1967-2009 44.5% The Whisky Agency x/120 btls
This Strathisla smells very strong, I'm not sure what cask it's matured in. There are strong odors of lemon, honey and wax, nice but very concentrated. The taste is extremely strong, some vanilla notes that totally disappear behind the woody flavours. Let's add our friend water to this one. With water and additional minutes it gets some initial flavours of apple cider, and ends on a very strong and bitter note.
Very uninteresting, and undemanding for the taster: 3.5
Strathisla 12yo 43% OB
Strathisla is becoming harder to find nowadays, which have led to many old bottlings going for insane prices online. This is the old standard OB with a photo from 1786 of the distillery on the label. It's a very perfumy malt, alcohol, ink, leather and bitterschnaps on the nose. The taste is very fresh, herbs, mountain air, plum juice and white chocolate. The aftertaste is of thyme and chives.
A nice and subtle malt: 5
Strathisla 12yo 1989-2001 43% Signatory Vintage
I get immediately some pungent, strong and good scents from this Strathisla. It reminds me in a way of sherry, but it isn't. Some bitter apples in the taste, not bad at all, a few drops of water reveals some round, earthy tones.
A good Highlander: 6.5
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