The 80s (Feb 25-27, 2011)

[Spirit of Islay]

Expression - Bruichladdich 1984
Year - 1984
Age - 18yo
ABV - 46%
Cask / Bottle No. - 20% Fino Sherry - 20% Oloroso Sherry - 60% Bourbon Casks / 155 of 6000
Colour - Polished Copper
Nose - Lemon to start with , Toffee and oak , hint of green fruits and a drop of sherry .
Palate - Smooth across the palate , a dry sherriness , a slight sweetness of fudge and honey ending with lemon and green fruits .
Finish - A long dry finish , sherry and toffee .
Comments - Bottled Sept 2002 . A thoroughly enjoyable Laddie that wasn't to popular at it's time of release .

[Spirit of Islay]

Expression - Berrys Own 1982 Glenlivet
Year - 1982
Age - 27yo
ABV - 52.2%
Cask / Bottle No. - Refill Sherry Butt #4340 /
Colour - Deep Amber
Nose - Huge dry sherry to start with then dark fruits , dried fruits and spices cake dough , basically yer archetype Christmas cake .
Palate - A lovely sherry taste across the palate , pretty much as the nose regarding flavours......
Finish - Long and sherry with dark fruits .
Comments - This is how a sherry cask should be , not one bit of the nasty 'S' word . Another superb selection from Berrys !

[Spirit of Islay]

Expression - McGibbons Provenance 1981 Port Ellen
Year - 1981
Age - 18yo
ABV - 43%
Colour - Light Amber
Nose - No sherry nasties on the nose (always a good sign....) , spices , dried fruits , Christmas cake , slight iodine (not much) and a whiff of peat smoke.....
Palate - Smooth on the palate , good balance between the Sherry and spirit , again a touch of peat / smoke in amongst all the stuff associated with sherry .
Finish - Nice medium sherry finish with a light peatiness .
Comments - Distilled Winter 1981 , Bottled Spring 2000 , a very nice easy drinking whisky , not a bad PE , have had a lot worse......

[pkt77242]

Expression - Berrys Own 1982 Glenlivet
Year - 1982
Age - 27yo
ABV - 52.2%
Cask / Bottle No. - Refill Sherry Butt #4340 /
Colour - Deep Amber
Nose - Huge dry sherry to start with then dark fruits , dried fruits and spices cake dough , basically yer archetype Christmas cake .
Palate - A lovely sherry taste across the palate , pretty much as the nose regarding flavours......
Finish - Long and sherry with dark fruits .
Comments - This is how a sherry cask should be , not one bit of the nasty 'S' word . Another superb selection from Berrys !

Sounds very good Gordon

[Spirit of Islay]

By my calculation Gordon, the Laddie XVII should be late 80s - is that right?

Trying to think when it was bottled Nick , would have thought so though

[Spirit of Islay]

By my calculation Gordon, the Laddie XVII should be late 80s - is that right?

Trying to think when it was bottled Nick , would have thought so though

2004 so OK !

[Ganga]

Good day Gordon, Nick. Looks like you two have some goodies on tap. Sounds like a tasty Glenlivet.

[Spirit of Islay]

Expression - Brora OMC 1982 19yo
Year - Nov 1982
Age - 19yo
ABV - 50%
Cask / Bottle No. - Sherry Cask / 1 of 744 Bottles
Colour - Bright gold (obviously a well used cask judging by the colour)
Nose - Orange and Lemon at first , almost marmalade on toast , seashore with a whiff of peat smoke .
Palate - lightly peated orange marmalade , almost orange essence , again a hint of lemon . Really nice across the palate .
Finish - Long , orange .
Comments - Bottled Nov 2001 , a nice Brora , nowhere near an early 70's Brora but a thoroughly enjoyable dram .

[Spirit of Islay]

Tempting to open one then But maybe I'll be good

Go on , go on , go on........

[Ganga]

Tempting to open one then But maybe I'll be good

Go on , go on , go on........

Seriously, I'm not recruiting help.

[Spirit of Islay]

I think that is my lot for this tasting , thoroughly enjoyed it !

[Ganga]

Gordon, it is always good to have your participation. Next month it's the 90s. Sean has suggested April be Pre-80s. Feel free to put forth a suggestion or two.

[pkt77242]

I missed 2 samples yesterday a cadenhead bladnoch 1989 12yo and a glenhaven glen moray 1984 11yo. I wil be on after dinner to post notes.

[pkt77242]

Tempting to open one then But maybe I'll be good

Go on , go on , go on........

Seriously, I'm not recruiting help.

Sure Ganga I saw you slip gordon some ardbeg under the table.

[Ganga]

I missed 2 samples yesterday a cadenhead bladnoch 1989 12yo and a glenhaven glen moray 1984 11yo. I wil be on after dinner to post notes.

And me all out.

[pkt77242]

Cadenhead Bladnoch 1989 12yo

N: lots of alcohol, lemon and pledge. Hard to nose.
P: Loads of lemons, straw and some pledge. A little vanilla as well.
F: medium on lemon drops, alcohol and some vanilla.

Now to add water
N: Lemon, straw,grass and faint vanilla. slight bubblegum and barley
P: Lemon, straw, vanlla, grass and the bubblegum. also a touch of marshmellow and pine.
F: medium short on lemon and grass.

Opened up a little with water

[Ganga]

I seem to recall similar thought on the Bladnoch. Although I think I experienced some florals and some resin (as opposed to pine).

[pkt77242]

Glenhaven Glen Moray 1984 11yo

N: Lemon, pine and floral notes along with some cardboard. some nuts and a slight whiff of strawberry bubblegum.
P: Lemon, honey, nuts and a little smoke (almost like smoked pine?). Some ginger and cardboard as well.
F: Medium short on lemon, ginger and cardboard.

With water
N: Cardboard note got bigger and a touch of vanilla, otherwise the same
P: smoke disappears (was it ever even there?) and the cardboard goes away.
F: Shorter on lemon and ginger. the cardboard has disappeared.

Interesting

[Ganga]

Here are my notes from awhile ago.

http://www.spiritofislay.net/warehouse4 ... =56&t=1324

I recall that I find eucalyptus in this one. Sometimes Nyquil. It is a very strange animal.

[johan brugge]

Hi guys. A bit later than anticipated but here's is my first 80's vintage of today.

Karuizawa 1986 60.7 % cask 7387.

Nose: spices, wood, it's a bit hot, leather, cooked ham. I really like it.
Palate: hot, some more spices, liquorice, mandarins. It get more oily with some water but in general it doesn't change much.
Finish: long, some tanins again, a bit dry and after a few minutes it gets a bit more prickly.

I really like this one. The first dram I poured wasn't all that good, but now the bottle is open for a few weeks now, it's getting better and better!

[johan brugge]

A head to head between two Belgians this time.

In the left corner we have the Glenfarclas 1989 15yo (distilled 20.11.1989 and bottled 11.08.2005) single cask for Fisser at 60.2 %.
In the right corner we have the Glenfarclas 1989 14yo (distilled 04.1989 and bottled 10.2003) single cask for De Wit - Overijse at 58.7 %.

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE !!!!

Coulour:
For Fisser: burnt amber
For De Wit: dark gold

Nose:
For Fisser: pungent, a bold sherry attack yet it remains 'soft', overripe fruit, raisins, burnt brown suger. It's too sweet and too much on sherry for my taste.
For De Wit: lots of sherry but more delicate, fresh fruit, tanins too. I can't really explain why but I like this one a lot better than the one For Fisser. I can't stop sniffing this one (and then to say that I'am a peat aficionado!!).

Palate:
For Fisser: exactly as in the nose but with a slightly more bitterness (nothing to dislike though!).
For De Wit: still lots of sherry, soft, fruity, some wood too, a bit of pepper, but the balance remains perfect IMHO.

Finish:
Both are long (very long), sweet, very rich. Both are perfectly drinkable at cask strength without adding water. I like the single cask for De Wit much better than the one for Fisser. I know Serge Valentin (and a lot of Flemish whisky lovers too) was really thrilled by the latter one, but I don't care.

[johan brugge]

One more. A Japanese stunner this time (another one). It's a Yoichi 1986 59 % cask 112112.

Nose: very fruity (bananas and other exotic fruit), sweet, remarkably soft for it's 59 % vol. After a while I smell more wet leaves and a wiff of smoke, smoldering ashes. With a few drops of water I can smell the bananas again but that fades fairly quickly. I pick up a scent but don't ask me what it is. I just can't put my finger on it. There are no unpleasant scents of varnish, wax or anything like that. I find it very intriguing.

Palate: lots of liquorice, tingling, fruity. With some water it's still prickly, but it becomes more oily-like. Again very fruity. I like it!

Finish: prickly, sweet, fruity and tannins

I spent more time with my nose in the glass than with the whisky in my mouth. Very good again.

[dramtastic]

One more. A Japanese stunner this time (another one). It's a Yoichi 1986 59 % cask 112112.

Nose: very fruity (bananas and other exotic fruit), sweet, remarkably soft for it's 59 % vol. After a while I smell more wet leaves and a wiff of smoke, smoldering ashes. With a few drops of water I can smell the bananas again but that fades fairly quickly. I pick up a scent but don't ask me what it is. I just can't put my finger on it. There are no unpleasant scents of varnish, wax or anything like that. I find it very intriguing.

Palate: lots of liquorice, tingling, fruity. With some water it's still prickly, but it becomes more oily-like. Again very fruity. I like it!

Finish: prickly, sweet, fruity and tannins

I spent more time with my nose in the glass than with the whisky in my mouth. Very good again.

[johan brugge]

I forgot to post my notes of the Karuizawa 1986 60.7 % (or 60.1 % ?) cask 7387.

Nose: spices, wood, leather, slightly fruity and a wiff of cooked ham. It's a bit hot too, but not that much. I like it (yes, I know, again). It's all DT's fault. He got me started on these whiskies.

Palate: hot again, spices, mandarins, wood again. With some water it becomes more oily-like. The spices keep coming along with liquorice. It's more dominant than in the nose but it's not over the top.

Finish: long, some tannins, a bit dry too and after a few minutes it becomes a bit more prickly (nothing to dislike though!)

It's a diesel. It starts slow but then it builds up and up ...

[Ganga]

Johan,

That sounds terrific. I like it when the oily/diesel notes build in a whisky!