Whisky Party

Last night StrongLikeCask and I went to a whisky tasting with the US Ambassador for The Speyside and Scott’s Selection.  I’ve got tasting notes below, but first a few observations about whisky tastings at local liquor stores:

• If your taster wears a kilt, he shouldn’t sit down on a chair in front of you (seriously).
• It might be useful to bring your own Glencairn glass.
• Multiple tastings get to be a problem if you keep using the same glass for each new dram.

Sniping aside, this was a great tasting put on by Heights Chateau, my local wine store.  The whiskies were impressive – mostly 20 – 36 year old vintages from Scott’s Selection – and the $40 price tag was well-worth it considering the average price per bottle of what we tasted was somewhere in the ballpark of $175, and one bottle even went as hight as $332 (a Glenlivet 1971 Sherry Cask, only 3 barrels of which were ever made).   The Speyside Ambassador had great stories to tell about his own distillery and the whisky business more generally, and the two hour tasting flew by.  At the end of the evening, StrongLikeCask bought me a bottle of Longmorn-Glenlivet from 1967, my favorite dram of the evening, as a belated wedding gift.  That was a steal.

Quick note – some of these drams were hard to identify, especially stacked one on top of the other, and at times we moved pretty fast.  That’s why not all of the tastings contain notes on color, nose, taste, or finish.

Tasting Notes:

The Speyside 12

The Speyside is a relatively new distillery, having been in operation for only 15 years.  As such, the 12 year is their signature malt.  It’s also one of only 4 distilleries in Scotland whose distillation process is completely manual – no computer automation is used in their process.  They produce 86 barrels per week, and are the 3rd smallest distillery in Scotland.

Nose: Suprisingly alcoholic for one of the only non-cask strength whiskies we tasted.  Hints of citrus and vanilla.

Taste: The citrus resolves into orange upfront, with a slightly floral finish.

Overall: A surprisingly nice dram considering it’s $38 price tag.  I actually enjoyed it quite a bit more than some of the older vintage whiskies.  This may be worth returning to for a full 40 Under $40 review.

King’s Crest 25 (Blend)

Very tough to identify.  Maybe some bananas and caramel.  With a price tag of $222, I really didn’g “get” this whisky.

Auchentoshen 1983 (21 year)

Color: straw

Nose: Floral, but lacking a perfume quality found in Rosebank.

Taste: Identical to the nose.  Very light alcohol profile.  I should note that this is one of the few single malts that is triple distilled.

The Glenlivet 1977 (27 year)

Nose: Huge alcohol profile.  Tough to get anywhere near the glass.

Taste: Some cinammon.  Banana and spice.

Macallan 1989 (18 year)

This was interesting in theory – it’s a Macallan aged in a Bourbon barrel rather than the usual Sherry cask.  I couldn’t identify any difference between this and the Glenlivet 1977, and have to say I prefer the sherried version.  This and the Glenlivet 1977 may well be my least favorites of the night.

Glenrothes 1980

Color: pale gold

Palate: Chewy

Aberlour 1989 (18 year, Bourbon Aged)

Color: Straw

Taste: The ambassador said this was a cinammon bomb and he was right.  Very rich.

Longmorn-Glenlivet 1967 (36 years)

Nose: Campfire

Taste: Burnt, or carmelized fruit.  A little vanilla.

Overall: Hands down my favorite of the evening.  The smoke/peat is very dry and not at all phenolic like a Laphroaig or Lagavulin.  It actually reminded me more of a Springbank than anything else.  This is the bottle that StrongLikeCask picked up for me.

Glenlivet 1971 Sherry Cask (36 Year)

Nose: Lemon Zest

Taste: Candied – and interesting mix of sherry and cinammon.  There’s a tightness to the sherry as well.  It’s not a big dram.

This is the most expensive bottle of the evening ($332).  According to the Ambassador, it comes from one of only 3 barrels ever made.

Highland Park 1986 (21 Year)

For some reason, I got very little out of this dram.  My only note from last night is “seaweed.”

Bruichladdich 1990

Non-citrus fruit.  Maybe berries.

Bunnahabhain 1988

Nose: Thin, almost like a tequila.  Reminds me of the Glenrothes Select Reserve.

Taste: Some nice smoke.  The taste in no way resembles the nose.  It’s a little incongruous and slightly surprising.  Like drinking two whiskies at once.

Caol Ila 1984 (22 Year)

Nose: Barbeque, slight hint of that tequila smell from the Bunnahabhain lurking in the back.

Taste: Tangy barbecue straight out of the smoker.  Awesome.