Once again, no Blair Athol today, I'm sorry for the untrustworthiness of this site. The story is that when getting home from work in the early night hours tonight, I checked my e-mail and discovered I'm getting offered a new, exciting and improved job! And, because it is the early hours of night, I'll celebrate with a smaller portion of something not only just as new, but also exciting to me. Let's make a final judgement on it later to see if there's improvement as well. Strathmill Distillery! I've had a bunch of older Strathmills before, I think it was 4x30-something year olds, but they lacked a bit of spice, or life if you like. Two new oldies in this one, but if they don't prove up to par there's a young CS JMcA at well over 60%abv that perhaps can bring something new to the table.
Strathmill 37yo 1974-2011 44.4% The Nectar of the Daily Dram
I believe this is rumoured to be one of the better Strathmills out there, at least today that is, remember, although never spoken much of, its still been around for over a century. The Nectar... seems to be an IB that's fairly priced yet emphasizes on bottling older whisky. Let's hope its mellowed with style rather than being an over-oaked monster. The color is golden. It smell spearmint and honey, grassy, marjoram, wool, peppery, herbal, citrus, sherried, older HP's comes to mind, cinnamon, oil, just a perfect nose, can't say a bad word about it. After 37 years, one would might expect so... The taste is stearic, junipers, honey, grassy, weeds, needs some water. Now theres marzipan, caramel, almonds, earthy notes, steam damp, raw mushrooms, well, I'll tell you one thing, the nose seems much older than the palate, but all in all I can agree its one of the best, if not the best, Strathmill I've ever had.
Fancy sherry or peat? Stay away from this. A maltfan? Try this one!: 7
Strathmill 31yo 1976-2008 44.8% Adelphi cask#1126
I know 1976 was a good year (Quality of spirit concerned) in particular for many scotch distilleries, why I have no idea as the downfall of scotch whisky reached its climax just 7 years later. Adelphi is a bit of a pricy IB, but they have some stupendous sherry casks once in a while, absolutely worth having a go at if you can afford it. Same color as the 1974. It smells of restrained honey and glue, not much in this whisky, maybe it needs some time. About 15 minutes later it turns more acidic, dusty, washcloth, linens, silk, I do not get much from this. The taste is sweet and rich, sweet licorice, mint, dark berries, leather, varnish, reminds me a bit of Allt-á-Bhainne, but the licorice are a bit more mundane. Adding water does not help, but its a fun whisky which again seems younger than it really is. But no oaky notes!
I can't differ them scorewise, but that don't mean they're similar: 7
Strathmill 11yo 1992-2003 64.2% James MacArthur's cask#10907
JMcA also bottled cask#10908 one year later, I don't know what that could mean in this context. Young, high strength, should be a great break from those older Strathmills I'm used to. The color is golden, becomes hazy very quickly. It smells wheat, hay, spirity, onions, herbal, thyme, wool, seems a very natural whisky. The taste is heather, peppery, spices, chili, cayenne, onions, cinnamon, oregano, basil, very nice! Banana skin and black pepper. This is right in my alley when it comes to malt, dangerous and peculiar, rich and powerful, a great whisky.
My fav Strathmill so far: 8
Next tasting: Glen Scotia Distillery
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