The Glenrothes 1995 Vintage
Elegant and pure. Not too young, and not particularly old. A very straightforward picture of Speyside style. If you’ll excuse the hyperbole, this tastes like sunshine on a cool spring day. Yum.
Tag: Malt
Amrut Fusion
On the tongue, this dram blooms into a medium-complex whisky with no apparent flaws. A few tropical notes give it an exotic style, which might appeal to those tired of Scotch standards.
Edradour Caledonia 12
A very weighty dram, with big fruit-bomb sherry, a thick mouthfeel, and a barrage of cooked fruit flavors. It feels like a 50%-plus ABV whisky on the tongue, and even has some of the elements of good cask-strength sherry bombs.
Whisky News of Note
Compass Box releases the “Last Vatted Malt” before UK law changes the name of the category to “Blended Malt Scotch Whisky”. Also, Connosr releases a new online magazine which focuses on whisky production worldwide, edited by Dominic Roskrow.
Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist
Like Willy Wonka’s Three-Course-Dinner Gum you get a salty, nutty appetizer, a main course of roasted barbecue pork, a dessert of roasted peaches, a cup of chocolatey coffee and an after-dinner mint! Amazing. I suggest keeping an eye out for a lonely bottle at a bar or a sample to bum off a friend. It’s an experience.
Amrut ‘Intermediate Sherry Matured’
Very different from sherry-finished Scotches I’ve had – the fruitiness is subdued and suggests dried rather than jammed dark fruits. This leaves a difficult-to-describe combination of wood extracts, dried herb flavors, and rancio. There is certainly more here to discover, and I think the play off of standard Amrut flavors is successful. Definitely a whisky to ponder.
The Macallan (18 year)
Sherry all the way. The fruit here is bright and juicy. Truly a classic dram, which continues to be excellent.
Finlaggan Old Reserve
Finlaggan is a conundrum. Bottles from the Finlaggan brand contain a single malt from an Islay distillery. The company keeps a very tight lid on the identity of its source, breaking silence only to insist that Finlaggan does now, always has, and always will contain whisky from the same distillery.
Talisker (18 year)
The peat flavors that made Islay famous for their intensity here instead get equal billing with sturdy oak and lusciously sweet malt. I could wish a little less bitterness on the tail end, but this is totally Talisker, and substantially more smooth and finessed than the 10 year-old.
Oban (Distiller’s Edition)
The Distiller’s Edition is a yearly release of the usual 14-year Oban which is further matured for 6-18 months in a Montilla Fino sherry butt (which is always a first-fill cask – in other words has only held sherry before). I tasted some of the 2010 bottling, which was distilled in 1995.