The Naughty Naughties - April 22-24, 2011

[Ganga]

Not really dislike but not really that good either. While the Scott's sounds simplistic it is really enjoyable whereas the OB is just kind of there.

[Ganga]

SMWSA 95.7
d: 8.97
b: 5.07
58.1

Nose: lemon pledge, waxed wood, butterscotch, caramel, vanilla
Palate: huge heather/grass notes, butterscotch underlying, caramel over vanilla ice cream
Finish: long, rough and sweet

To comment on the last part, it's got some rough grassiness yet the sweet caramel and butterscotch are fighting with it.

[pkt77242]

SMWSA 95.7
d: 8.97
b: 5.07
58.1

Nose: lemon pledge, waxed wood, butterscotch, caramel, vanilla
Palate: huge heather/grass notes, butterscotch underlying, caramel over vanilla ice cream
Finish: long, rough and sweet

To comment on the last part, it's got some rough grassiness yet the sweet caramel and butterscotch are fighting with it.

Distliilery?

[Ganga]

Gee I miss Willie's influence.

Glenrothes, 1972 bottled 2005

Nose: leathery, Honeycomb (the cereal), orange-cinnamon cider, red apples cooked with a sugar cinnamon core in the microwave
Palate: cinnamon-sugar...apple pie! Stewed oranges
Finish: Rich. oranges and cinnamon fading into cooked apples

[Ganga]

Sorry, 95 is Auchroisk.

[Ganga]

Speymalt Macallan 9, 1993. Bottled 2002 or 03. I don't have the bottle anymore as I moved it to a smaller bottle.

Nose: tangerines, cinnamon, some graininess, fungal
Palate: portabellas sauteed in corn oil, orange zest, cinnamon-muted
Finish: just kind of fading off the palate

This is something I enjoy but not for everyone.

[Ganga]

HP 12, roundy shoulders bottled between 2000 and 2007. Hard to read the codes at this point.

Nose: heather honey, marzipan, whispy smoke
Palate: Bit o'honey and chocolate, waxy smoke, orangey
Finish: moderately long, relaxing, sweet yet smokey

[Ganga]

Arran Chat Margaux. I don't have the actual bottle anymore but these single casks were from the mid-2000s

Nose: Almost like cranberry in caramel, little pungeant, pomengranites
Palate: pungeant, kind of negative. I know many who like this but it's just not me. cinnamony, spicey
Finish: long, going from cringe to almost satisfying as things mellow.

[pkt77242]

Speymalt Macallan 9, 1993. Bottled 2002 or 03. I don't have the bottle anymore as I moved it to a smaller bottle.

Nose: tangerines, cinnamon, some graininess, fungal
Palate: portabellas sauteed in corn oil, orange zest, cinnamon-muted
Finish: just kind of fading off the palate

This is something I enjoy but not for everyone.

Is it better than the Macallan 12? or just different?

[pkt77242]

Arran Chat Margaux. I don't have the actual bottle anymore but these single casks were from the mid-2000s

Nose: Almost like cranberry in caramel, little pungeant, pomengranites
Palate: pungeant, kind of negative. I know many who like this but it's just not me. cinnamony, spicey
Finish: long, going from cringe to almost satisfying as things mellow.

Is it better now than when you opened it? Did time and oxygen help?

[Ganga]

Arran Lepanto PX
bottled 8.2.06

Nose: Vanilla, pepper, lemon peel shavings
Palate: huge black pepper hit, vanilla, butterscotch
Finish: start big but fades quickly, peppery sweetness.

[pkt77242]

Arran Lepanto PX
bottled 8.2.06

Nose: Vanilla, pepper, lemon peel shavings
Palate: huge black pepper hit, vanilla, butterscotch
Finish: start big but fades quickly, peppery sweetness.

Is there any flavor from the PX?

[Ganga]

Farclas 11 for Traverso
1996-07

Nose: cherries, caramel, cinnamon
Palate: huge cherry hit on top of caramel and vanilla ice cream, some fruits
Finish: long and mellow, lots of chewy caramel

[Ganga]

I would expect that the PX is manifesting in the spicey/pepperiness of this. Not something I would expect from bourbon casks. The spice and pepper is what makes this one nice.

[pkt77242]

Farclas 11 for Traverso
1996-07

Nose: cherries, caramel, cinnamon
Palate: huge cherry hit on top of caramel and vanilla ice cream, some fruits
Finish: long and mellow, lots of chewy caramel

Sounds damn good. How can yo unot like vanilla ice cream with caramel on it.

[Ganga]

Sig Clynelish 9

28.9.96
17.11.95
cask 222

Nose: waxy, light earthiness, vanilla
Palate: rich, creamy, waxy, dried peat, little bit of charcoal
Finish: long, earthy

I do like this but it reveals itself differently each time.

[Ganga]

The traverso bottling is one of the best Glenfarclas you can find when you account for price point. Nearly as good as the Beltramos 15 and available @ 3 for 150! Holds up against some of the best Glenfarclas bottlings w/o accounting for price!

[dramtastic]

Suntory Shinanoya
Gota Corta Cask
Yamazaki
9 yo

Distilled: 1999 so bottled 2008 or 09

Nose: cinnamon, cherries jubilee, pecan pie
Palate: bing cherries, cinnamon, bread notes, plum wine
Finish: big, cherry pie

Hate to be picky but that's Bota Corta Cask

[Ganga]

It's good to picky. I was reading labels by the light provided by the monitor as I had the lights off in the room. Sees to help focus the nosing and tasting.

[Fscott]

Cragganmore Distillers Edition Port Finish. Distilled 1992-bottled 2005

Nose: Grape juice, cereals, wax
Palate: floral, grapefruit, musky
Finish: fades fast, medicinal aftertaste

Balvenie 21yo Port finish it ain't. I have a love/hate relationship with this one. Once in a while it's really enjoyable, often it is so-so.

[Fscott]

Speymalt 1971 Macallan. Bottled 2009

Nose: Orange liquor, kumquats, sherry
Palate: Maple syrup, hint of wood must (not unpleasantly so)
Finish: Wood, dark chocolate, smooth

Wow. As I was saying in another thread, this was a birthday present from my wife. (71 is my year). Pleasurable on many levels to be drinking one so old.

[Fscott]

Arran Lepanto PX
bottled 8.2.06

Nose: Vanilla, pepper, lemon peel shavings
Palate: huge black pepper hit, vanilla, butterscotch
Finish: start big but fades quickly, peppery sweetness.

Sounds interesting, Ganga. Is it double finished in Lepanto and Pedro Ximenez?

[Fscott]

Last one.

Arran Vintage Collection 1996 - bottled 2005

Nose: Custard, pear tart
Palate: Peppery, chamomile with honey
Finish: Golden raisins, lemon, cream

[Ganga]

That Macallan sounds rich.

The Arran has on the label "Finished in a Lepanto PX Brandy Cask from Glonzalez Byass". I would think the singular cask would mean only a single cask finish.

[Ganga]

Last one.

Arran Vintage Collection 1996 - bottled 2005

Nose: Custard, pear tart
Palate: Peppery, chamomile with honey
Finish: Golden raisins, lemon, cream

Sounds sweet and not spicey like the Lepanto PX Brandy finished one.

[johan brugge]

Finally I made it. Here's my first one of the evening. A Bowmore 1991 17yo Dewar Rattray 56.2 % (bottled 3 Nov. 2008).

Nose: Burnt plastic at first (not very pleasant) but after breathing for about 15 minutes it becomes very different. It's all about softly peated fruity sherry with a maritime touch. That about covers it all. Really nice.

Palate: The flavours of the nose seem to continue in the palate. There is much more peat than you would expect from a Bowmore. The sherry stays on the background but it gives a very nice touch to the palate. I really love it!

Finish: sweet sherry and gentle peat that lasts and lasts.

Brilliant whisky. So far the best Bowmore I've had.

[johan brugge]

Miltonduff 1991 Gordon & MacPhail 17yo 60.9 % (bottled in 2009), cask: refill sherry hogshead.

Nose: Hot and sweet. Ripe bananas. With water: more spicy and some anise too.

Palate: Hot yet sweet again. With water it's like a totally different whisky now. Much tastier. More spices and herbs, sweet fruit. It become more oily too.

Finish: Very warming and long with (again) spices on the background as well as a touch of mint.

It reminds me of a strong Nikka from the barrel and that can't be bad, right?

[johan brugge]

Glentauchers 1975 35yo The Whisky Agency 47.3 % (bottled in 2010)

Nose: Very soft, very sweet with lots of ripe fruit and a little waxy/varnish kind of smell (but not bothering at all !). After a few minutes it becomes somewhat sourish. With water: same as first but I pick up more overripe bananas now.

Palate: Again a lot of very sweet fruit. It reminds me of my late Bunnahabhain 1973 TWA. It's a very delicate whisky with a firm body. With water it becomes a bit more peppery but for the rest it stays the same. I think it's much better without the water.

Finish: Long and sweet.

I you let this one breath for about 30 minutes it becomes really amazing.

[johan brugge]

Next up is a Glenturret 1991 10yo 56.6 % by G&M (bottled in 2008)

Nose: First impression was wax and varnish. Hot, slightly sweetish but the varnish is too dominant. After some breathing I pick up a vague scent of nuts but that's about it. Even water doesn't change much.

Palate: Wohoow. Sherry, and lots of it. Hot pepper, very sweet (honey if you ask me), slightly fruity. This one is a good swimmer. It becomes much better now. Less pepper and more sherry influences. And again some wallnuts but very briefly. It's gone very fast.

Finish: long, peppery and sweet. With water it's better: even longer and sweeter.

[johan brugge]

This one is bottled in 2010 but it's too good to be left out. Highland Park 1997 G&M 13yo 54.3 %.

Nose: From the moment this whisky is in my glass I can smell vintage port or something like that. After about 20 minutes of breathing I pick up burnt brown sugar and coffee. It's the very first time that I can smell coffee in my whisky. It disappears quickly though when I twirl the whisky in my glass a bit. When I stop doing that I can smell dry raisins and again this coffee.

Pallate: Hmmm. Love it already. Clearly sherry. Raisins (again) and a whiff of coffee. Very good!

Finish: Prickly, sweet, long. Slightly bitter like I drank the last drop of very strong espresso.

This is a very very good HP IMHO.

[TUFKAC]

Though recovering from a cold, tonight I took:

Highland Park 20 yo MWBH, 51.2%. Nice one, though not overly impressed by it, lacks a bit of depth, power and complexity.

And one disqualified high octane whisky:
G&M CS Glen Mhor 66.7% 15yo 1979/1995.

[johan brugge]

Ahaaah. I've got a whisky that is distilled AND bottled between 2001 and 2009. Isn't that peachy? It's a Kilkerran Work In Progress edition I, 5yo at 46 %

Nose: Malty, fruity (pear) and some minerals too. It makes me think of a Lowland whisky but then the minerals make you doubt. It's very nice for such a young whisky.

Palate: Tasty. Pretty much the same as in the nose. Again it's very well done. It tastes more like a Longrow now. Nice.

Finish: Rather short with some minerals and maltiness.

Like I said earlier, not bad at all for such a young whisky. If you didn't know it's only 5yo you'd say it's a 10yo.

[johan brugge]

OK, another one that is distilled in 2010 but like the HP 1997 it's way too good to be left out. This time it's a Laphroaig 11yo 1999 The Nectar of the Daily Drams 59.5 %.

Nose: Very smokey and peaty. Earthiness too (if that's a way of describing it). Seaweedy. With water: just beautifull !!! The peat, smoke and the sherry are perfectly balanced. Magnificent!

Palate: It's a very oily kind of whisky. Lots of peat, gentle smoke, brine, saltiness too. All of that coated with these delicate sherry flavours. This is a beauty!!

Finish: Just like all of the above. Long, salty, peppery, ... It doesn't stop.

This one's worth every Euro. Money very very well spent if I may say so.

[johan brugge]

Bowmore 1990 19yo Signatory Vintage (casks 647 + 648), bottled 30 April 2009.

Nose: Peaches and apricot. Grassy, salty and little or no smoke.

Palate: Peat, pepper and green tea. Very special! This is the first time I've tasted green tea in a whisky. Well balanced.

Finish: Long, dry, salty, peppery and again this green tea.

I really love this one! Along with my Bowmore 1991 DR the best Bowmores I've had until now. And this SV cost me only 56 € or so. Value for money.

[johan brugge]

Bruichladdich Micro Provenance 1992 - 2009.

Nose: Lovely, peat, minerals, wet grass and fruit.

Palate: Malty like a good Lowland whisky. Peat and fruit stay more in the background now. With a few drops of water it changes for the better. Delicious! Pleasantly complex with more peat than in the nose.

Finish: Some pepper, slightly peaty and smoky. Citurs after a while but not a lot of it.

Really a nice, soft Laddie.