A mixed little tasting today. Lately I have felt its been one too many of those one tasting/one distillery sessions. So as I sat there romancing about the older days when my tastings could include anything and everything, I came up with the idea of combining blends and single malts for once. And in this tasting I wouldn't be surprised if the blends will be superior.
Master of Malt 12yo 1980-1992 43% Select Cask
Says to have spent 12 years in sherry casks, so a mix of sherry casks then. Very light in color, some refill wood, or white sherry? Maybe a mix. This was bottled almost 20 years ago, so there could be some bottle-maturation going on here, for those of you that believe in such. I do! Smells dry, cinnamon, garlic, cloves, thyme, lots of dried herbs. The taste is definitively on the bitter side of sherried, and to my surprise, peaty! Peat and bitter herbs, along with small stings on the palate of what I reckon to mimic soap and fusel. I mean, it's far from a pretty whisky. I dare say its so ugly that its hard to not enjoy. Like any good working class hero, it has its problems, but the fact is it has some charm.
A great surprise, no sweet and tame oloroso-notes here: 6.5
Christmas 20yo 1980-2000 52.2% Seasons Greetings
Well, the title for this single tasting is all information there is to be found on this bottle. Except from "Single Speyside" and "5cl product of Scotland". So this one doesn't say anything about being a malt or even a whisky... dubious at least. But 20yo single speyside something can't be that bad? Could it be a Glenfarclas, or some 20yo moonshine, who knows? White wine color. Smells spirity and oaky, not very pleasant, reminds me of some of the bad stuff I've tried from the likes of Glenallachie and Knockando. Given enough time, say 10 minutes, some burnt sugar, rhubarb and grenadine comes to the surface, a strange one it is. The taste is the highlight so ar, it has this small peatiness that I found in the 12yo as well, fusel and soap is present, but the herbal notes aren't here. This one must be from some dry and bitter sherry casks, fino? Maybe it is in need of some water. Water provides a lighter and sweeter malt, more speyside-ish, and a bit more bland if you know what I mean...
Another one that, except the nose, seems to be a rare treat: 6
Campbell's Tomintoul Special NAS 57% P&J Campbell, The Glenlivet Whisky Depot
An older bottling, probably a 70's or 80's bottling. Sort of the same that G&M released a bunch of back then. A flat and square-ish one. Golden brown color. The nose is perfumy, raisins, licorice, toffee, syrup, mint gel, big mustard notes, a nice one. Okay, time to post one of my regards, I think that the reason many blends are looked so much down on as they are, is the fact that they're usually watered down to 40-43% to make profit. But if bottled at higher strengths they could've been just as good as most single malts. The taste is sort of harsh, cappuccino, coffee beans, leather, dry, musty, very good, if you like your whisky dry and a bit on the wild side. It's from another era, I wonder if there's any older Tomintoul in this one. Reminds me somewhat of Glenfarclas, but also Dalmore. Damn, I like it a lot, I just can't find the words to justify that.
Dirty whisky: 6.5
Avonside NAS 57% G&M James Gordon & Co
I think this is a bottling fro Gordon & Macphail's but I'm not sure. I know that G&M have/had a blend that's called Avonside. Same flat bottle as the Campbell's. Orange hue. This one has a certain, and pretty demanding scent of orange peel. Orange peel and spirit. The taste is just burnt. This is a bad example of a blend gone wrong. The spirity notes overpowers everything else here. And the lack of just a small hint of sweetness, sherry, peat, oak, herbal or anything else, makes this seem like the aforementioned moonshine I was expecting from the Christmas 2000. Maybe, I mean, I hope that some water will create sort of a redemption here. With water, well, to say it gets better would be an overstatement, but it lessens the burden that's put on the palate when drunk bare.
Blends can be as good as the best single malts, but as bad as the worst as well: 1
Next tasting: Bunnahabhain Distillery
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