Very sadly the Vaults lost their very popular manager recently. Douglas McFarlane died while taking part in the Edinburgh Marathon, and so this tasting was dedicated to him.

While Olaf normally tries to choose a wide spread of malts from a geographical perspective, on this occasion we had 3 Speysides and 2 Islays, but the range of tastes was a wide as ever.

Longmorn

Cask No: 7.58, 19 year old, 51.4%

Colour

Pale Gold

Nose

This made quite an impression - it had a sharp almost effervescent character. Almost reminded me of an alcoholic version of Cremola Foam, and explained the society’s tasting panel comments of sherbet and ginger beer.

Initial Taste

More unexpected contrasts here. It was warm and rich, yet at the same time light and subtle. Yes that probably is a contradiction but that’s the complexity of malt whisky for you.

Later Taste

Second sip and we started to find fruits - mango and orange, with just a hint of tea-tree and some rich flower essences. Yet there was also a base of black treacle. If you were to come up with those flavours you’d never believe they would blend well together but the combination works a treat.

Finish

Medium length and sweet.

With water

I don’t advise adding water to this. It kills the nose and the subtlety is greatly diminished.

Conclusion

A subtle and intriguing whisky which I’d be happy to explore further.

Inchgower

Cask No: 18.30, 24 year old, 45.5%

Nose

Very strong and distinctive. Joss sticks, salt, must, and what one of the Whisky Boys identified as Cedarwood.

Initial Taste

Honey on the front of the tongue - the panel had suggested Sauternes, which I would agree with, and Montilla Sherry, which I haven’t tasted. Seafood tastes began to come through.

Later Taste

Having initially liked this I was a little disappointed to find that the tastes seemed to blend together and it lost the interesting competition of flavours.

Finish

Long and rich but becoming a little monotone as the tasting progressed.

With water

A more citrusy flavour was opened out with a very little water. A hint of lemongrass and ginger which agreed with the panel, though I didn’t detect any of the marijuana leaf that was also mentioned, honest officer.

Conclusion

Initially I was quite taken with this but it lost me later on as the flavours lost their individuality. However some of my fellow tasters rated it very highly so if the flavours mentioned here are attractive to you then it’s worth giving it a try.

Daluaine

Cask No: 41.45, 25 year old, 56.1%

Colour

Darkish gold with a hint of red

Nose

This whisky provoked tales of rubbing the spirit on the hands and nosing it that way, and indeed Olaf did this on the night. My more conventional method brought a sense of rich tobacco and cigars.

Initial Taste

Initially it tasted dry with an ash aftertaste. Not dissimilar to a standard Ardbeg but based more on tobacco rather than wood.

Later Taste

As it developed it became sweeter and more syrupy, which was quiet unexpected, but it still retained a feeling of an old gentleman’s club. Think oak panelled rooms with old retainers bringing fudge and chocolate on a silver platter.

Finish

Medium-long, with the tastes matching those already mentioned.

With water

I’m never a great fan of water and it didn’t add much to this dram

Conclusion

I liked this, but curiously the memory of it seems better than the feeling on the night. Had I had it on its own then I’d probably have been quite happy but I suspect it suffered from the two that followed it.

Interlude

At this point we had a new development in the shape of a supper of Chicken and thick-cut chips. Very welcome indeed and most generous of the society to lay this on. I did wonder slightly if that would affect the tasting but the two malts to follow were quite strong enough to overcome any such concerns.

Caol Ila

Cask No: 53.141, 20 year old, 52%

After the last tasting in February in which the Caol Ila was a brilliant standout which I could have stayed with forever I was looking forward to seeing what else they could come up with.

Nose

Not as strong as most Caol Ila’s, more subtle

Initial Taste

Slightly sweeter than usual and not as smoky. Bright was the word that Lucas of the Edinburgh Whisky Blog used and that works for me too.

Later Taste

It’s very subtle. Hints of heather and oriental cooking flavours such as the pak choi that was mentioned in the panel’s notes

Finish

Satisfying, as Caol Ila always is, but perhaps not quite as long as usual.

With water

Just a touch, since I’d have preferred if it had started slightly stronger than the 52%. Opened out a little with more smoke and hints of lime and mint.

Conclusion

After the previous bottling (which sold out very quickly) it was maybe inevitable that this one would suffer a little by the comparison, but it was nevertheless very good, and I’d like to try an evening of it alone to see how it stands up to longer analysis. Lucas voted this his favourite and we both wondered at the price comparison with the new Caol Ila 25 year old (twice the price and only 43% strength) which he mentioned on his blog recently. I’ll have to search the bars for that as I can’t afford a full bottle.

Ardbeg

Cask No: 33.88, 10 year old, 56.5%

Colour

Light blond

Nose

Classic Islay, slightly medicinal with lemon drops, mint, salt and wood.

Initial Taste

Mightily impressive. Surprisingly the taste was substantially different from the nose. Suggestions of Benedictine and TCP. Not as dry as some Ardbegs. It was only at this point that it sunk in that this was a 10 year old.

Later Taste

It seems to get stronger and more complex the further into it you get. Not sure where the panel’s “telegraph poles in swimming pools” came from - clearly the panel lead wild lives! - but that sense of country smells with tar and wood preservative and fresh west-coast air is very much there.

Finish

Long and gratifying.

With water

If your tastes are anything like mine you won’t want to know, so I didn’t try it.

Conclusion

For me this Ardbeg was the top malt of the evening, and for a dedicated Caol Ila fan that’s saying something. Wonderfully complex for a 10 year old you could find new flavours with every sip. We were served the usual cheese board and some chocolate truffles at the end of the tasting and they both went well with this so it stands up to competing tastes very well. What I found really surprising was that this was the cheapest of the evening’s selection, but even had it been the most expensive I would recommend any Islay fan to seek this one out.

Overall Thoughts

An intriguing selection by Olaf - quite diverse considering their geographical locations. More subtlety compared to the previous round which was perhaps more grandly impressive. Previous rounds have often had two or three which I liked a lot and one or two which were less to my tastes. This time all of them were very interesting and at least four of them would be more than welcome at my table, and strangely enough that one, the Inchgower, was voted a favourite by a couple of my fellow bloggers. Of the three Speysides the Longmorn was my preference and I could happily spend an evening or two with that. The two Islays however were simply delicious, with the Ardbeg winning out this time with an outstanding expression. I suspect this is another that will sell out quickly so get there in a hurry. If you miss out then the Caol Ila won’t disappoint unless you’re lucky enough to already have a bottle of the February release, and fans will probably want it anyway.

Thanks again Olaf, an excellent evening.

Black Bull 12 year old blended whisky (50% ABV)

I got this whisky in a little miniature bottle from the guys up at Duncan Taylor and Co when I signed up to their mailing list. Which I thought was really nice of them and as soon as I’ve finished typing this up I’ll email them my thanks. Sorry for the digression and I’ll get back to the tasting before everyone loses the head with me.The Black Bull 12 year is a 50/50 mix between  malt and grain whisky and bottled at 50% ABV. And it has the colour of what most people think of as a whisky colour - a strong umbery orange colour which has the romance of whisky with a vestige of the past and what we all saw our grand parents drinking in the seventies - it looks like a lovely retro whisky, if there is such a thing!

On the first smell the alcohol dominates but makes way quickly to a Toblerone overtones (chocolate and vanilla rich whisky scents always make me think of Toblerone  - again seventies Christmases I guess). Its big on smell, and the scent lingers longer in the nose than I would normally expect which is hugely pleasant.Initial tastes of honey with a slight fruity note - reminds me of elderflower wine but as I’ve not had elderflower wine in over twelve years I could be off the mark, and the whisky coats the tongue in the way that a bourbon does with a thickness and strength I hadn’t expected. The thickness of the whisky and the creaminess continues into the finish which had a hint of tamarind or something equally oriental.

With a little water the whisky nose developed a slight smokey character the water seemed to destroy the flavour but really heightened the vanillans and weakend the finish. All in all one of the best blended whiskies I’ve had in a long time. Worth a little punt this Christmas if you have people coming round - likely to appeal to staunch whisky snobs and seasonal drinkers in the same still.

This is the perfect Hogmany family whisky - not enough to offend anyone and not enough to reach the heights of a great malt. In essence a perfect social whisky - and its the memories that whisky creates in many of us which is why we love one whisky over another although at 50% the memories may be slightly fuzzy.

If you fancy a bottle for this Hogmany have a look at the Black Bull stockists on their website or Google product search.

The nice folks over at Master of Malt have added a range of sampling whiskies (available in 3cl bottles) for just this very purpose so before you invest in a full size bottle of whisky you can sit back, taste and decide whether it’s something you should be looking at going forward. More information on whisky samples can be found here.

Of the list I’ve had a quick look at (I’m in the office and having to surreptitiously type this without getting caught) the ones which catch the eye are:

• Glenfarclas Family Cask 1969 bottling - am drooling at the prospect of this one already and there is probably no way on earth I could ever afford a full bottle.
• 19 year old Tomatin - our review of this has been lost for ever due to technical difficulties (correction - we’ve now resurrected it) but I still think this is damn fine (and Stephen Fry agrees which is kinda cool)
• Renegade Rum - I’ve never tasted this rum and rum is only just behind whisky in terms of joy bestowing powers on my personal pleasure graph. So I’m going to have to rustle up a copy of this.

It does also mean that hopefully I can now afford to get some whiskies which I could never afford and use them as “research” for the blog. Can I put that on expenses? Sorry thought I was an MP there for a minute and got carried away with the whole idea of claiming anything on expenses.

So we’ve taken a while to try and recover as much as possible - trying to locate old drafts in our inboxes and searching through Google for old versions of pages but we’re almost there! We should be back by the weekend - apologies to all our twitter followers who will no doubt be seeing the twitter feed going mental as we post everything back on the site. Normal service resumes ASAP.

Now before we go any further I’m going to talk about naming, because reviewing malts to the wider world is a bit awkward if you can’t tell people what distillery they come from. People don’t associate tastes with numbers the way they do with names. Up till now I’ve followed the SMWS line of only showing bottling numbers but in the context of a blog it’s all a bit artificial and anyone who wants to know the name can find it online anyway with very little effort. I’ve become aware that the main reason for continuing the “secrecy” is to prevent people thinking that the standard bottlings that you’ll find in your local off-licence are going to taste like the society’s specials, but given that we’re making it plain that these tastings are very much out of the ordinary I don’t see that as a real danger. So I trust they’ll forgive me naming the distilleries this time round.

So on to the first dram and what a choice to begin with!

1. Glenfarclas

The Society’s tasting panel name - Caribbean Beach Party
Bottling number - 1.151
10 years old, 63.3%

Colour

Medium light gold

Nose

Distinctively Glenfarclas, this took me back to a bottle that my best man bought me nearly 30 years ago. Robust, butterscotch, spicy, hint of rum, light smoke.

Taste

First taste
Incredibly rich and honeyed, sticky toffee pudding, a little Seville orange and a bit of peppery spice. This is seriously strong but to me it’s not overpowering, although some of my tasting compatriots found it so and immediately headed for the water. For a 10 year old this has incredible depth.

Second taste
The warmth and quality just gets better and better. Despite the strength the spirit only gives an edge to the richness and an accent to the touch of smoke that sits in the background. A little more fruit surprisingly appears as the taste matures in the mouth. The smws panel reckoned Papaya but I don’t know that taste well enough to say.

Finish

Long and spicy

Later

Unlike some malts that are left in the glass for a while it maintains all its integrity, dark spicy fruit notes are prominent. I didn’t care to sully this with water - it was too good as it was - but it would probably have taken it quite well.

Conclusion

Glenfarclas is an old favourite of mine, particularly the 105 proof version and this was a supercharged version of that with oodles of depth and quality. As I said on the night, when you can drag me away from the west coast islands this is what can do it. And this bottling is remarkable value - I think Olaf said £43.50 (check out their site to make sure) which is scarcely more than a standard over-proof bottle. At that price it’ll be snapped up.

In complete contrast we moved on to

2. Glenkinchy

panel name - Exotic taste of summer
Bottling - 22.28
21 years, 54%

Colour

Pale yellow

Nose

Light. Melon and Lychee.

Taste

First taste
More complex than expected. Light on the tongue but quite vibrant. The far eastern fruits are there to match the nose but there’s a lot more going on underneath as well.

Second taste
Flowery notes come through, Elderflower perhaps.

Finish

Longer than expected given the lightness of the tastes

With water

Spicey dried fruit comes through but not in any overpowering sense, just enough to give more character.

Later

Some toffee notes. Not one to leave for too long but then you wouldn’t be doing that would you?

Conclusion

I could easily have used the word “unexpected” in just about every line of this tasting. This is a subtle and interesting whisky with far more depth than most Lowland malts that I’ve experienced. It would make a fine light apperitif or a summer afternoon dram, and I’d expect a lot of people to like this.

Our next is a real rarity and a possibly unique flavour:

3. Glenugie

Panel name - Tickled by monstera deliciosa
Bottling - 99.11
29 years, 43.4%

Colour

Pale honey

Nose

This one left us all feeling that we’d come across the major note before but none of us could place what it was. Maybe Apple Strudel? Waxy, a hint of diesel oil, leather, but there’s also something else that none of us could pin down.

Taste

First taste
Spangles (that was mentioned in the November tasting on a whisky I didn’t care for but the context is rather different this time), and all of the same flavours as mentioned in the nose.

Second taste
After much discussion someone came up with a touch of soft cheese. Very unusual.

Finish

Again cheesy, and longer than expected

With water

Not strong enough to withstand water which takes too much edge off it.

Conclusion

This is very unusual - I actually hadn’t heard of it before and you may never come across it again as the distillery, which was in Peterhead, is long gone. As a contrast to the others it was fascinating and provoked a lot of discussion.

In complete contrast again we moved on to the realms of sherry:

4. Tormore

Panel name - Pouring treacle on cut grass
Bottling - 105.13
26 years, 56%

Colour

Tawny sherry.

Nose

Brazil nuts, cherry cola. I was in close agreement with the society’s panel on this one - not always the case.

Taste

First taste
Cough syrup, black treacle, warm, upper mouth tastes. Lots of influence from the sherry cask it was matured in.

Second taste
Slightly bitter counterpoint to the sherry richness.

Finish

Medium long and rich.

With water

Opens out to a xmas cake taste.

Conclusion

Heavily sherried whiskies are seldom to my taste but this was a good one and my nearest neighbour at the table really enjoyed it. I wouldn’t drink it often but as a winter warmer and companion to the festive season I can see it being popular.

At this point I hadn’t read the society notes for our last whisky and Olaf told us he’d considered a fine Ardbeg but decided instead on this one. Hope rose in my taste buds immediately and I wasn’t disappointed because the first sniff identified it immediately. Short of handing me a gold bar he couldn’t have brought a bigger smile to my face.

5. Caol Ila

Panel name - Captain Pugwash
Bottling - 53.139
27 years, 55.2%

Colour

Pale yellow. Surprisingly none of the green tinge that it usually exhibits.

Nose

Unmistakeably Caol Ila but not quite as slap-in-your-face as some younger versions. Slightly medicinal as any Islay should be but not too much. Redolent with promise of wonderful tastes to come.

Taste

First taste
Heavenly!! Light and open, fragrant, peat smoky, complex, a hint of lime. Staggeringly good.

Second taste
And it gets better and better, so many layers of tastes interacting. Marvellously subtle. Some sweeter notes appearing, peach syrup. The society’s notes mentioned all sorts of seafood - scallops and lobsters and I can see where that’s coming from (oh for a glass of this with delicately cooked scallops in olive oil) but the whole amalgam almost defied analysis because it hung together so well. We talked about the bonfire-on-the-beach impression that I’ve used before to describe this so it was nice to have that confirmed.

Someone mentioned peatiness but here I disagree with common opinion - I don’t see Caol Ila as peaty but as peat smokey. To me peaty is the taste of those dark rivers in Perthshire, the taste you get in whiskies like Blair Atholl. Yes of course many Islays are peaty but Caol Ila has a much lighter flavour which is much more reminiscent of the light smoke and pure white ash you get from the dried peat briquets that are common in Ireland.

With water

Yeah right, wild horses could’t get me to put water in this, not even for a review. It’d be a crime.

Finish

Typical cask strength Caol Ila but much more so. It lasts and lasts and lasts and there isn’t a taste like it. (If there is somebody tell me what it is!)

Conclusion

Ok, you know I’m biased, but this is simply outstanding. Probably the best whisky I’ve tasted in the last 5 years and maybe a lot longer. I really can’t praise it enough. If I could get regular supplies of this I’d even walk past Talisker for it.

Overall Thoughts

A big thank you to Olaf for such a varied and interesting selection, with a big strong starter, a couple of thought-provoking and unusual tastes to follow, a big sherry flavour in the penultimate spot, and a spectacular finale to die for. When you’re trying to choose malts to match the tastes for a varied panel you usually have at least one that is a bit disappointing for at least a few of them - though which one it is is different for them all. This time I can say I enjoyed all of them in different ways and they all provoked memories and comment from the whole group. I have to mention the Glenfarclas because it was not only very good but also fabulous value. However Olaf and I had discussed previously that of all the distilleries there was only one which their tasting panel had never rejected a cask from, and that is Caol Ila. This one demonstrates why.

After cheese and oatcakes we headed downstairs for some convivial discussion - can you guess what Olaf and I were both drinking?

Why have I been craving to taste the 19 year old Tomatin?

Fair question. But put simply if the polymath Stephen Fry feels it to be his favourite whisky (I don’t know what he likes about whisky but I trust him) describing it as “ Stunning from first nosing to final swallow”. I’m one of those who in some small way would love to be Stephen Fry and instead of being a polymath is merely otaku. Duly I feel I must taste this whisky, right now, without delay at the inglorious time of 11:45pm inspite of the ear bashing this is about to cause purely to see if Stephen Fry is right about everything, including whisky. I have to admit that I know little about Tomatin - having tasted it only once in my life about 6 years ago and the one I tasted left so little impression on me that I can’t remember a darned thing about it. And with this little tasting it’s at cask strength (57.6% ABV) so I should sleep soundly this evening and probably may have difficulty with my memory in the morning if i drink too much of it.

It’s a phenomenal golden colour - and I mean real gold not orangey and not that bronzey (sp?) colour of a sunrise but more a gentle, subtle gold that has me smiling (probably would show I liked butter if I held it up to my chin). And the smell falls right in the middle of my current tasting preferences. It reminded me of the Caribbean to start with and not rum but Tortoga cake. In particular the smell you get when you pierce the shrink wrapped cellophane wrapping around a pineapple tortoga cake. Fry talks of ‘peardrops‘ and he may be right but I don’t have much time for pear drops and preferred strawberry bonbons as a wean.

It’s slightly malty and oatmeally - like a mad scientists micro-brewery stout smelt from three streets away which leads you round two corners and up an side street (I’m actually thinking of Bridge of Allan brewery at this stage - which is strange as I’ve never smelt them brewing) before you can find the place. It packs multiple flavour layers into the mouth as it goes down - at the front of the tongue and then fattens out into the back of the mouth where the fun begins even more.

I’m actually smiling - which if you know me is as rare as hens teeth.

It’s not heavy in alcohol heat, and instead is charming, elegant and goes down too easily. At just under £70.00 it’s not the cheapest bottle I’ll buy this year but it’s in the top two I’ve tasted so far.

If you fancy tasting a whisky distilled in Scotland from the first distillery purchased by a Japanese company, judging by this it was a canny investment. If there are a couple of you having a dram together and you want a conversation started that will generate no ends of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ and probably merriment give it a go. I’ve not tasted it with water yet but it feels like it could probably take a tiniest pipette of water and may just open up a bit further. I don’t want to risk it and when a whisky as good as this crosses your path maybe it would be a bigger sin to add water.

And now off I toddle to my bed for the night - with a smile on my face.

I’m heading back to Madeira myself in a few weeks so I might develop even more of a taste for it by the time I get back!

They are also offering a sweepstake on their website at the moment with a very interesting prize of an exclusive Scotch Whisky nosing and tasting kit containing 24 separate aromas and a dedicated nosing guide, along with a Balvenie hipflask. Go to Discover Rare Craftsmanship Sweepstakes if you fancy taking part in that.

The sweepstake seems to be part of a number of developments on their site with the Warehouse 24 members area and their Whisky Shelf - which is a place to record and compare your tasting experiences of all whiskies, not just the Balvenie, with other members.

Nice to see an attractive looking site making some enterprising additions. They should do well with it.

Bottling 35.32

34 years old, 55.1%, 183 bottles

Colour

Light

Nose

Pear drops, liquorice, someone mentioned spangles - a real blast from the past. I immediately started to feel that this one would not match my preferences.

Taste

Initial taste
Complicated and confusing rather than complex, my impressions were of a fiery, coarse nature. On this one I found the society’s tasting notes completely at odds with what I was getting from the whisky. Pear drops again, a sourness, flavours of allspice (which is a spice I don’t like), and a type of bitter citrus rind that I couldn’t pin down.

Later taste
Water improves it (not something I often say) but it’s still a very back of the throat taste that I found quite unpleasant.

Finish

More of that pear drops lingered rather  too long

Conclusion

After about three tastes I gave up on this one as it was not to my taste at all. While there are malts that I am not keen on I honestly have never disliked one as much as this. I suspect it was probably at the lower end of most of my fellow taster’s preferences too, although one of them rated it her favourite of the night. It takes all sorts - you couldn’t pay me to drink this one!

It was a relief to move on to the fourth.

Bottling 28.22

19 years old, 57.8%, 631 bottles

Colour

Very pale

Nose

Spirity, wood, and a curious scent that eventually reminded me of ham and pea soup.

Taste

Initial Taste
Front of the tongue, warm, rich,  nutmeg, dark. The flavour improves with time, with hint of charred steak and bitter orange. Quite drying though. Once again I found the supplied notes a little different to my own impressions with none of the Thai curry they mentioned or apples. Though it was interesting that someone had mentioned that pea soup that I got in the nosing.

Later Taste
Water produces a very palatable taste with lemonish notes and gets rid of that dryness. I wouldn’t go quite as far as the chocolate limes one of the original tasting panel had mentioned but it was certainly quite sweet.

Finish

Not the longest but very satisfying.

Conclusion

If drinking it neat I can imagine an Ardbeg drinker quite enjoying it, although it comes from a very different area, but if you don’t like a dryish palate then you’ll probably want to use a little water at which point it opens out into a sweeter character altogether.

On to our last of the evening and it was a really interesting choice, not at all what we were expecting from knowing the name, an Islay generally associated with maritime imagery.

Bottling 10.70

11 years old, 55.7%, 283 bottles

Colour

Very pale

Nose

A flashback to a childhood smell of swimming pool towels, lanolin, and after discussion with Mike we settled on a hint of potassium permanganate.

Taste

Middle of the tongue, rising up the gums. A strong pungent taste which, while not the normal taste for this distillery, was identifiably that complex signature that Islay drinkers love and others seldom come to terms with.

Later Taste

More of the traditional saltiness that this malt is usually associated appears with a little water, but it holds up very well and I can agree with the notes mention of leather and heather.

Finish

Substantial

Conclusion

You’ll either love it or hate it. If you like Islay then I’d definitely recommend giving it a try.

Our thanks again to the Society for their hospitality and another interesting selection.

Olaf was again our host and regaled us with more stories of his early membership (he was the first overseas member before moving to the UK and later Edinburgh) and the beginnings of the Society. The selection of whiskies for our delectation was his choice and promised to give us a fresh perspective on some different distilleries’ production. The one thing you soon learn at these events is that the casks that the Society gets bear little relation to the standard shop-bought output from these distilleries.

So, on to the whiskies themselves.

Whisky 1

Cask 37.45 - 22 years old, 56.5%  (230  bottles available)

Colour

Light honey

Nose

Leather, marzipan.

Taste

Initial taste
Front of the tongue. Spicy, intense. The society’s panel mentioned Victory V losenges and I can agree with that. There are also flavours of spicy duck as you’d get in a Chinese restaurant and hints of the dark sauce that’s usually served with crispy duck.

Later taste
No change in character, just a rounding of the flavours

Finish

Long, warming

After a little water

Sweeter, more light honey, later hints of lemonade.

Conclusion

Very nice. Very interesting, I could definitely enjoy an evening with this. Most of my fellow panelists agreed. Way better than anything I’d tasted from this distillery

Whisky 1a

This was a  surprise bonus from Olaf - same distillery as the first but this time it had spent 15 years in Sherry casks.

Strength was a surprising 60.4% though there was little sense of overpowering spirit. A lovely rich nose that immediately suggested festive celebrations. Tastes of slightly singed Xmas cake; very rich, smoother than the first version despite the additional strength but even more spicy. A touch of Rum coming through.

Rather surprisingly water really draws the strength out of it,  makes it sweeter. Later on it’s still rich.

You probably couldn’t drink much of this at its full strength but you’d enjoy what you did. Definitely a malt for special occasions. Diluted it’s a different dram, still interesting but not with the same character.

Whisky 2

Cask 26.63 - 12 years old, 58.7% (580 bottles)

Colour

Pale

Nose

Nail polish immediately - everyone seemed to agree on that. Hints of Rosemary, something I couldn’t immediately identify but which was probably the Chartreuse mentioned in the society notes, plastic.

Taste

Spicy toffee! Yeah, strange concept isn’t it? The initially puzzling background taste resolved itself into oak wood chips.

Finish

Oily, oaky.

After a little water

Water smooths it off, more pleasant but less character.

Conclusion

This is an odd one. There are aspects that are interesting but it doesn’t really hang together properly for me. There’s too much oiliness and the nose is confusing - it doesn’t seem to match the taste.

(Tasting notes will continue in the next post)

The whisky in question is The Balvenie, a Speyside noted for its smooth taste. Now regular readers will know that I’m not really a Speyside afficionado; generally favouring the wilder and more complex flavours of the west coast, though I do have fond memories of an evening spent drinking Balvenie in the company of the historical novelist Dorothy Dunnett, herself an expert and appreciative malt drinker; but the prospect of a combination with the rich taste of Madeira easily persuaded me to lay aside my normal preference for smoke and peat.

The Balvenie - Madeira Cask, 17 years old, 43%

Colour

Medium-light honey

Nose

Soft, smooth, a suggestion of honey with a slight hint of cough medicine. The Madeira comes through well. Leaving it for a few minutes produces a vanilla note with the Madeira fading back.

Taste

Initial taste

Warm without being spirity. Front of the tongue tastes predominate, redolent of one of the richer honeys such as Manuka.

Later taste

The honey dies back and a spicier taste appears - very reminicent of Christmas cake with flavours of dark dried fruits and cinnamon.

Finish

Medium length. Not essentially different from the flavours of the second taste, but while in a west coast malt I would find that slightly disappointing, here it is much more appropriate for it to maintain consistency.

After a little water

A touch of water releases some lighter vanilla notes and the taste lightens too, becoming sweeter and finally producing the Madeira cake flavour that I’d been expecting might be present. I seldom prefer watered versions but here it’s a satisfying counterpoint.

Conclusion

The marriage between smooth Speyside spirit and the rich flavours of Madeiran wine works very well. While Balvenie isn’t as complex a spirit as one from Islay or Skye, its smooth refined palate provides an ideal base for the addition of the rich spiciness provided by the wine casks. Had this approach been applied to a more complicated malt it might well have resulted in a clash, here it blends the respective flavours to produce something that exceeds both. If you like smooth Speysides and especially if you also like rich, spicy fortified wines then I’d recommend that you give this one a try when it’s released in September.

One of Dorothy Dunnett’s books involves the hero’s Scots father owning a plantation on Madeira in the 15th century - it’s a connection that now makes perfect sense.