First things first, Inverleven was never a distillery on its own, but a single malt whisky produced at Dumbarton Grain Distillery in the lowland region of Scotland. The Dumbarton Distillery was raised as recent as 1938, ceased distillation in 1991, and now it has been demolished. There aren't many single malts made within grain distilleries today, other projects similar to this was Glen Flagler at Moffat, Kinclaith at Strathclyde, Ben Wyvis#2 at Invergordon and Ladyburn at Girvan, all closed and not the most missed I believe. What else is to take note of when having this whisky is that about 50% of the Inverleven was distilled by a Lomond Still, such a whisky which produced the short-lived Glencraig at Glenburgie and the Mosstowie at Miltonduff. Today only Loch Lomond Distillery still mainly uses the Lomond Still, and today they too have a questionable reputation as a single malt. One could get skeptical thinking what whiskies Inverleven shares similarities with, but lets not judge yet.
Inverleven NAS 1991 40% Gordon & Macphail
This whisky was distilled in the final year of distillation at Dumbarton. So pretty much as recent single malt as you'll ever get from that distillery. And still broadly available, so you can very well snatch a piece distilling history for a fair price here. The color is golden. It smells of latex, restrained, needs time to open up on some cloves, grassy, notes, banana leaves, sour gum, grapefruit, not much more to it, very bland and weak nose, maybe its triple distilled? The taste is hoppy sweet, wheat, citric, grapefruit, lavender, oily, waxy, this a very restrained malt that needs both time and patience. Its easy to get frustrated by such a bland whisky. Pour it at a blind tasting and you'll see what I mean. After 45 minutes of breathing there's some fresh green apples and egg whites. Water added. Now it turns rounder, maltier, wheat biscuits an more sweet green apples. The finish is, well, there is none, perhaps some wheat, maybe.
Hello? Inverleven, are you there?: 4
Inverleven NAS 1985 40% Gordon & Macphail
Most Inverleven from IB's are bottled pretty old, it seems it took some times for other IB's than G&M and Cadenhead's to really discover this lowlander. If you want a younger version I believe these bottlings from Gordon & Macphail are your best option. The color is pale golden. It smells of vanilla and hay, ginger, small spirity notes, greengages, grassy, floral, more lowland-style here than in the 1991. The taste is sweet, strawberries, floral, peppery, honey, a bit drying, wheat, mild cheddar. Water added. Now it turns sweeter, marzipan, strawberries, banana, vanilla, quite a sweet treat. The finish is vanilla and peppery.
Becaus of the complexity alone, this will climb over the 1991: 5
Inverleven NAS 1984 40% Gordon & Macphail
One year down, 1984 is the year after many distilleries in Scotland closed, and I don't see that many 1984 vintages around, perhaps the distillers became a bit vary after 1983 and produced less in 1984? Or perhaps more 1984's will come in the years to follow. The color is golden amber. It smells of wheat, raw onions, earthy, grassy, chives, white wine, peppery. Seems the older vintage the more complex an Inverleven gets. The taste is very bitter, tonic water, sulphur, grainy, gin, sulphur. Water added. Now it turns more one-dimencional and bland, peppery. The finish is vanilla, peppery and spirity.
I believe there's some sherry wood involved here, but it doesn't work, falling between two stools: 2
Inverleven NAS 1979 40% Gordon & Macphail
12 years younger than the most recent vintage in this session, it's fun to see how this distillates dtyle have changed through a bit over a decade. The color is amber orange. It smells of garlic, green peppers, fresh peppercorns, vinegar, feta cheese, wheat. The taste is drying, dry white wine, rubbery, peppery, dry licorice. This is better in all perspectives as it has a good amount of oak influence and lets the sherry wood, that also was apparent in the 1984 speak. I guess its just a much more complex and fun dram. The finish is on dark chocolate and caramel, plus some peat(!) and phenol.
The best of the G&M bunch. 6
Inverleven 21yo 1966-1988 46% Cadenhead's
A short lived design by Cadenhead as they had different color on the letters for which region the whisky came from. I must agree that it was maybe not the greatest look for a whisky bottle. The color is white wine. So now I've tried distillate from the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's. I don't believe there are Inverleven vintages from other decades available today. It smells of grassy, onions, coriander, parsley, a lot of green herbs. A simple and light whisky so far. The taste is rich, sweet, peppery, banana leaves, oaky, ginger, I like this a lot as it shows a clear lowland style. This clean and fun whisky, but one to have by on its own, this not nearly complex enough to enjoy besides a loaf of bread. The finish is peppery and bitter.
Clean and fresh lowland whisky: 5.5
Inverleven 27yo 1973-2010 48.85% Chivas Brothers Deoch and Doras
Time for a CS, and its one of these embarrassingly parochial %abvs. One of the cheapest, but just as effective I guess, comparing it to the Nc2 and such, ways to market your bottlings as "something else". Anyway, even if their marketing scoop is a bit rich, I think its great that they bottle whiskies like this as there's far too few Inverlevens around these days. The color is golden. It smells of rich, nutty, buttery, stewed onions, malt syrup, malty, oranges, heather, caramel, minty, cinnamon, great stuff. The taste is buttery, rich, peppery, fish oil, salty, fried scallions, cashews, soy, very rich and pungent whisky. This is by far the most complex Inverleven I ever had. It's a rich and full whisky. The finish is buttery, peppery, sage, oregano, hay.
A rich whisky, classic and fulfilling, like going to the spa.... WHAAAT?: 8
Inverleven 30yo 1997-2007 49.2% Signatory Vintage cask#3603,3604 btl.64/279
Oldest one in this session, but only the second CS. I wish I had an Inverleven approximating 50%abv, or even 60%abv. I guess that's what comes from the use of mostly refill bourbon wood, low strength and a lot of cask character. Who could be against that? The color on this one is amber golden. It smells of dry white wine, clay, licorice, minty, mint leaves, spearmint, buttery, rich, cocoa milk, rich and creamy. The taste is bitter, grassy, heavy floral notes, rich, banana peal, grassy, floral, roses, tulips, oranges. Water added. Now it turns sweeter, vanilla, mandarine, sugary, dark chocolate. The finish is peppery, pistachio and onions. The finish is rich and peppery, oregano, basil, licorice.
It's a nice whisky, fresh and rich, lowland as it should be: 7
Dumbarton back in its heydays, this must be the backside of the distillery, with the river Loch Lomond running on the left side of the picture behind the padoga top of the distillery.
The last bit of Dumbarton Distillery still standing back in 2009
Next tasting: Ladyburn Distillery
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