Convalmore Distillery was built back in 1894 and already within 12 years it had changed hands in ownership twice. After being mothballed in the fatal 80's by Diageo, it was sold once again in 1990 and has since then been used as warehousing facilities by Wm Grant & Sons. Single malt bottles of Convalmore are rare and usually bottled by low strength ranges such as Connoisseur's Choice and Chieftain's Choice, and the quality is usually that of whisky from well used refill casks. No OB was ever bottled. Raised in the heart of Speyside its hard to find palatable similarities to neighbors Glenfiddich and Craigellachie, as this very much was a whisky created for blending purposes. The distillation equipment in the distillery have all been removed and the only thing that's left from what once was Convalmore-Glenlivet Distillery Co. are the buildings.
Convalmore 12yo 1969-1981 40% Connoisseurs Choice Gordon & Macphail
The color on this one is amber orange, I'm sure its been tampered with some E150 of some kind. Caramel coloring that is. It smells of wheat, dry white wine, light, aperitif style, some bitter herbs and grape seeds, pesto. This is very light and sure makes me think of some grain whisky more than malt whisky. The taste is bitter, glue, emphasis on alcohol, a bit austere and very spirity and not enjoyable to be frank, but perhaps a drop of water can reveal a difference. Now it turns even more bitter, burnt almonds, grassy, rhubarb, floral, seems more like a lowlander of questionable quality this one. The finish is longlasting on green tea and mint. I won't be too harsh as it seems a clean spirit and probably perfect for its intent, but as a whisky to enjoy you might as well buy a Famous Grouse.
Light, floral, bitter, Bladnoch? No, Convalmore!: 3
Convalmore 16yo 1981-1998 43% James MacArthur's
Even J.McA bottled this diluted, and they usually keep it at CS, I wonder why, thankfully there are some CS bottling in this concluding session of my Convalmores. The color is hazy grey-brown-ish, at least no coloring here. It smells of honey, cream, vanilla, wheat biscuits, aniseed, sweet licorice, toffee, dark chocolate, coffee, bailey's cream, as a matter of personal fact this is quite brilliant nosewise. The taste is sweet, vanilla and honey at first before it becomes bitter and grassy. Some floral notes, dry white wine, weeds, unripe plums, glue, synthetic, rubber, sour in an odd fashion. The nose and initial palate is what made this whisky an enjoyment, but after that it just got sour and bitter with too many off-notes.
A two-edged whisky: 4.5
Convalmore 15yo 1983-1998 43% Chieftain's Choice
I remember I purchased a full bottle of this at a reasonably fair price (around 70 Euros), and at first I disliked it, but when air got into the bottle it seemed to enhance the minimal goodness that was there at first. So, I decided to put some of that into 5cl miniatures and see how it taste a couple years on, now that time has come. The color is amber orange, very similar as the G&M. It smells of wheat, glue, orange peel, clay, pears, plums, garlic, coriander, lemon. The taste is sweet, sour plums, grapes, melon, very sweet and fruity whisky. The finish bitter, white wine, almost a bit hard to handle, despite being very light, but water will not help here. Tonic water.
Totally MOTR: 4
Convalmore 31yo 1975-2006 46.1% Scott's Selection
Scott's Selection is an all CS series which is both affordable and very often of excellent quality which would be much more expensive at other bottlers. The oldest one in this session. I do not know what cask type is used here as SS leaves little information of such. The color is amber and turns cloudy straight away, certainly not colored or chill-filtered which is good news. It smells of malty, oaky notes, caramel, burnt sugar, irish cream liqueur, butter, eucalyptus, quite fresh and clean, some minty notes, even hay and shoe polish. The taste is malty, licorice, vanilla, vodka, very sweet and light, sip-able to any extent, but not very complex. Seems a very nice spirit that have endured many years in a rather tired old cask.
This is quite flawless, yet not very interesting: 6
Convalmore 28yo 1977-2005 57.9% Market House
Amber color on this one, I do not believe I've tried many whiskies from Market House, but as I've understood it is a small dutch IB. This should anyway make for a quite different spirit than the latter 4, as they were all more than 10%abv lesser. It smells of cinnamon, green apples, butter, vanilla, plums, nicely spirity, gasoline and white spirit, rubber, I guess many would consider this a whisky with many off-notes, but the lack of spirity notes makes them all shine. This is absolute superb on the nose, one of the best I've had. The taste is sweet, oaky, burnt, bitter liqueurs, butter, grassy, needs a couple drops of water. Now it turns more bitter, green grapes, grape fruit, lime, burnt butter.
Once again Convalmore excels on the nose and fails on the palate: 6
Convalmore 25yo 1978-2003 59.4% OB Rare Malts
One of the few OB's, which all have been bottled after the the shutdown of the distillery. The color is golden. It smells of honey, alcohol and mustard, a bit like some high strength meads to be fair. Certainly a malt that would be considered volatile by some, as the alcohol level does get a say here, but that sweet vanilla, watermelon, honey and grainy character is just clean and fresh enough to overshadow any off-notes. The taste is red onions, radish, vinegar, floral, bitter liqueur, unripe apples, very sour and bitter, a water that needs some water to become balanced I think. With a small drop of water it turnssweeter, vanilla, banana, orange marmalade, a very nice whisky, with water that is, and perhaps a very good example of Convalmores potential. There won't be much Convalmore like this in years to come, so I suggest this for anyone that want to try HQ Convalmore.
One that holds high standard on both nose and palate: 7.5
Convalmore then
Convalmore now
Next tasting: Inverleven Distillery
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