Fettercairn 23yo 1984-2007 52% OB cask#241 btl.154/255

I'm sorry about the weird picture, but my camera was off that day. This is a sherried Fettercairn, from Spanish oak. That meaning the oak comes from spain, and also the sherry I suppose. The color is nutty brown/hazel. It smells rich, minty, bayleaves, onion soup, mushrooms, earthy, vinegar, dry cider. The taste is licorice, spirity, oaky, spices, chili, ashes, sulphur, wax, gasoline, quite strong. Lets add some water. Now it turns sweeter, more mellow, peppery, ashes, ginger, phenol, still quite a beast. At least its not rubbery. The finish is long and peppery. You gotta love your heavy sherries to enjoy this one I think.

strong and bitter, a great whisky for those that can handle it: 8



Next tasting: Strathconon blend

Tasting Benrinnes x3

Ah, Benrinnes! I remember the 15yo, splendid. And then I've had some other great ones too, but I find it's not much Benrinnes around, I've gathered these three for this session. Two slightly older bottlings and one kinda recent.


Benrinnes 20yo 1992-2012 55.7% Big Market Sonderabfüllung cask#004

There's no statement of this being from cask#004, it could very well be bottling#004 or batch or bottling or others. Until other information comes along, I'll be guessing the Unicorn number is a cask reference. 4cl bottle. The color is white wine. It smells big, rich, camphor, malt syrup, leather, mint leaves, rucola, wheat beer, spirit based marker, paint thinner, vanilla, boiled cabbage, cod liver. Very fresh. The taste is malty, spirity, quite young-ish, but it has some oily notes in the back that are quite pleasant. Water added. Now it turns to be richer, some sulphur, coffee, cinnamon, wax, heather, lemon lozenges, honey, cooked apples. A much better experience this time around. The finish is bitter and short.

What can I say, a great display of distillate, an everyday dram that takes some water: 6


Benrinnes 21yo 1979-2000 57.6% Scott's Selection

First one from Scott, which in my opinion is one of these smaller IB's bottling mostly whisky from distilleries usually under the GP's radar. The color is golden. It smells musty, prunes, dates, figs, caramel, cinnamon, honey, really rich and sweet, sumptuous some might say. Also quite some sweet mustard notes. The taste is so dry its almost painful, and also of dry white wines and hay. Adding water. Now it turns sweeter, minty, blackcurrants, bittersweet, raspberries, turkish yoghurt, bitter herbs, jägermeister, quite strange one, yet I wouldn't hold that against it. The finish is sweet and peppery.

Another one that excel when diluted: 7


Benrinnes 18yo 1979-1997 62.7% Scott's Selection

The label states that it is both "natural strength" and "undiluted", so at least you know what you're getting into. I've seen 6yo's bottled at CS at lower strength. Same vintage as the 2000 bottling, it could very well be the same cask bottled at two stages. The color is golden. It smells red wine, blackcurrants, blue grapes, rich port wine, dark chocolate, honey, eucalyptus, fennels, by far best nose so far. The taste is creamy, burnt butter, lime, sour notes, dry sherry, a bit too alcohol-driven, lets hope this as well excels with added water. Water makes it more rubbery, sticky, burnt sugar, pure alcohol, a bit hard to understand why they bottled this at such an age and strength, as it seems far from enough matured. The finish is just burnt.

How non-coherent can a nose and palate be?: 3



Next tasting: Fettercairn Distillery

Audny NAS 46% OB Agder Brenneri



This one is from Series 2, and i don't know what series means in this context, perhaps its a batch reference. I believe this one is 3yo, and it came out a year or two back. Yet its still available where I live. That's pretty unusual, it being the first ever Norwegian Single Malt, from a single cask, and limited to 1750 bottles only. Lets see. The color is pale golden. It smells butterscotch, caramel, furniture polish, tonic water, sweet and strange. Remember, it's matured in a big old sherry cask for not many years. The taste is again a bit strange, a lot of furniture polish, paint remover, rubber, burnt plastic, really hard to pin down. Let's add a couple drops of water. Now it turns sweeter, corn syrup, aniseed, perfumy, another side that I find quite hard to enjoy. The finish is on carrot mash and sour wine.

Now, all that being said, I have been in contact with one person that, when he visited Agder Brenneri, got to try a cask sample of this, and in his opinion, it was a much better spirit than what is put out. Perhaps Ole Puntervold lost faith in his spirit, or he was afraid to walk off the straight and narrow at first bottling. Anyhow, I believe this cask could have done wonders given 10 or so more years, and young spirits should usually be bottled CS and from smaller casks. I hope this is not the last we will see of spirit from Norway. From what I've heard, Sweden and Finland, amongst many others, are producing excellent whisky these days.

More of a novelty than a serious attempt to make a lasting impression: 2.5

Next tasting: Benrinnes Distillery

Glen Keith NAS 43% OB "Distilled before 1983"

I think this is my first ever version where the "before 1983" is actually printed on the label. Usually Glen Keith was bottled as a 10yo at the distillery. The next 10yo will at soonest be out in 2023.  The color is golden. It smells heather, palm oil, walnut shield, rye bread, molasses, sweet licorice, toasted almonds, sage. The taste is rather perfumed, strong vanilla, lavender, ginger, sawdust, chili oil, root beer, sweet and perfumy, not my kind of malt unfortunately. But there are no real flaws. Some strawberry and exotic fruits in the finish lifts it a bit. Also a nice licorice and peppery sensation that overlaps in the end. This is probably one of the last remaining "lost distillery" ob-bottlings still available both readily and affordable. Catch one while you can. I have a couple more, to use as reference points when going head to head in 2023 and beyond.

Ah, the old times: 6

Next tasting: Agder Brenneri (Norwegian Single Malt Whisky)