I have left out the Mannochmore tastings I was to have in this session, as I think they represent both older and more attractive whiskies than the standards that will be dominating this session. Anyway, a session with bottlings from distilleries that I rarely come across, and winners are few and far between, so I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised by some of these.
Cardhu 12yo 40% OB White Label 90's bottling
With a picture of a pedestrian similar to the one on the Johnnie Walker Label on the top of the stopper. The color is lightly golden. It smells light and perfumy, some hints of old brandy and unripe apples. Light and fruity. The taste is burnt, rubbery, alcohol stings, pistachio nuts, raspberry sherbet, dusty, drying, very pleasant. I think it could make good use of a bit of water, but not much, With water it becomes lighter, more rubbery and even more perfumy. I have to say when adding water it leaves that old and pleasant style, and puts itself right into that young over-diluted style which I was afraid of.
When undiluted it's a light old styled whisky that I think many would find pleasing: 6
Cardhu 12yo 40% OB mid 00's bottling
A more recent version, with that ruby-red color on the label. Darker golden hue on this one, perhaps added some more E's or there could be some older or perhaps sherried stocks in the mix? It smells very light and perfumy, nothing to get excited about so far. The taste is even lighter and easier than the nose expected, maybe some licorice and oaky notes. Wheat and lavender. The finish is short and oaky, some grassy notes as well.
These two Cardhus has been pleasant even though a bit tame: 4.5
Knockando 12yo 1973-1985 43% OB Justerini & Brooks
The Knockando is still an important factor in the Justerini & Brooks blends even though its now owned by Diageo. Unfortunately not a distillery that they are putting a lot of effort into, but they do very well in france. It is also a very close neighbor to the Cardhu distillery which I tried very recently (about 30 minutes ago).This is a very old OB. I think Knockando is one of the few, or perhaps the only one, that has taken the time and effort to make board corks for miniature bottlings. The color of this is golden brown. It smells peppery, moss, greens, herbs, a very raw style. The taste is burnt, chilies, spices, coriander, rhubarb, smoked sausages, green beans. Very well made old style whisky.
Very good, but it would benefit enormously from higher strength: 6
Knockando 12yo 1990-2002 43% OB Justerini & Brooks
A much more recent vintage. I hope it will prove that newer versions must not depend on bottle maturation for decades before reaching a good standard. The color is similar to that of the 1973. It smells sour and bitter, lemon juice, orange cores, green leaves, spirity. The taste is sweet, cinnamon, oak, honeycorn, honey, vanilla, more in bourbon territory this one, not that it's by any means a bad thing in this case. The palate alone makes this quite an interesting whisky. One that I'd love to serve in a blind tasting and see what reactions it'd make. Surely 9/10 would never even think of Knockando.
Rich and honeyed: 6.5
Knockdhu 12yo 43% OB
Moving from Speyside to Highland then, not that its a big move, or a move at all really. This whisky is nowadays known as An Cnoc. So I guess these whiskies was bottled pre 1993. The color is light golden. It smells light and fresh, like some young Ben Nevis'es, fresh, minty, grassy, oaky, paint. The taste is sweet, burnt caramel, milk chocolate, dried fruits, banana chips, Jerusalem artichoke, earthy, a very modest malt, if one can say so, working class malt?
Rustic stuff: 4
Knockdhu 18yo 1978-1996 58.8% Adelphi cask#1888
The only one from an independent bottler in this tasting, also the only one from a single cask and the only one bottled at cask strength. I hope this will elevate this tasting to a 7+event. The taste is golden brown. It smells spirity and foamy, perfumy, sweet, sherry, burnt rubber, rosé wine. The taste is thick, malt syrup, rich, barbecue sauce, sweet chili sauce, honey, very intense. This is surely a distillery that should bottle some of their casks as SC, but I think they might be lost in the owners idea of adding to blend production and making easy profits, not any problem, but I'd hope they'd assess making some money on their good single malt whisky as well.
Thick and juicy, a rich and fruity whisky for lazy afternoons: 7
Next tasting: Cragganmore Distillery
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