-
- Price band
-
£ £ £ £ £
- ABV
- 56.7%
- Production type
- Single malt whisky
- Region
- Speyside
- Flavour camp
- Rich & Round
- Nose
Big, dark and Sherried. Chicory coffee and cherry notes to start, then a touch of chocolate bitters backed up by gentian. With water you pick up walnut and a little lift of Sherry vinegar (but in a good way). Becomes increasingly like an old oloroso before there’s some added resin and a little clove.
- Palate
Powerful, hefty and quite tannic, and as a result slightly bitter. Roasted and full, with tight grip. There are some dried fruits in here and, while sultana and fig are helped to the surface by a drop of water, they continue to play second fiddle. In time there’s some roasted cereal.
- Finish
Hot while neat. Softens with water, but the astringency is still there.
- Conclusion
A Sherry monster for sure, but the distillery is obscured.
- Right place, right time
Drinking builders’ tea with a grizzly bear.
- Price band
-
£ £ £ £ £
- ABV
- 46%
- Production type
- Single malt whisky
- Region
- Highland
- Flavour camp
- Fragrant & Floral
- Nose
Rather gentle and soft, with plenty of lime leaf and a little of the distillery’s passionfruit. There’s a very light floral edge with notes of honeysuckle and slight powdery character. The cask is actually very discreet. In time you pick up some Mackie’s ice cream and a gentle perfume, all of which are enhanced – albeit subtly – with water.
- Palate
Immediately cool and sweet, with the citrus, fruit and flowers of the nose now, with added hints of mint coming through. Ice-cool and poised, with the merest dusting of cinnamon. Probably best neat.
- Finish
A suggestion of freshly-baked white bread, melon. It then becomes vanilla-accented.
- Conclusion
Balanced and quite discreet – and rather lovely.
- Right place, right time
Grace Kelly wearing Jo Malone grapefruit and jasmine.
- Price band
-
£ £ £ £ £
- ABV
- 43%
- Production type
- Blended Scotch whisky
- Region
- n/a
- Flavour camp
- Fruity & Spicy
- Nose
Immediate smoke with mixed coal and wood. There’s a briny note which makes me (probably wrongly) think of Campbeltown malts being used. Concentrated, pulpy fruits politely push the smoke aside, allowing an added whiff of snuffed candle and oiliness to develop alongside a green element. In time, there’s slippery tinned peach. Has the impression of slightly faded power. With a drop of water you get Oolong and rosewood.
- Palate
Very soft start, with butter toffee/fudge. Then the fruits return, now with the smoke only peeking out. This element does, however, grow in presence, introducing a charcoal/spent bonfire element on the back palate.
- Finish
Gentle and slightly short.
- Conclusion
Although water manages to anchor things slightly, you’re left with the feeling you’ve been chasing a ghost as the fruit leaves, followed by the smoke, leaving you with a buzz of alcohol and a memory of a whisky which once was juicy and elegant. Still, it’s a lovely experience to have.
- Right place, right time
Another hard-to-come-by trio of Scotch whiskies has been plucked from the vaults for Dave Broom’s assessment.
There’s a rare OB of the lesser-spotted Glenallachie bottled in 2005, which was only sold at Chivas Brothers-owned distilleries.
This is followed by Glenmorangie’s Artisan Cask, made from Ozark Mountain oak, which helped to usher in the firm’s famous bespoke wood programme.
And lastly, Broom shares his thoughts on a very unusual blend from the 1940s made for the Hudson’s Bay Company, which had a long history of importing liquor to the Canadian frontier dating back to the start of the 18th century.