Category Archives: Mature

LMdW Artist Series #12 – The Bunnahabhain 40+ year

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At approx 44 years, every element of this whisky expressed its age…. it was a treat to have this wee teasing taste! All I could wish is perhaps one of these years to have a focused evening of just LMdW Artist Collection whiskies, not mixed in as mere sniffs and sips with hundreds of other experiences!

Here is what the folks at LMdW have to say (courtesy of how Google translates)….

  • Nose : ample, deep. Incredibly fresh, the initial nose is at once vanilla, lemony, minty and honeyed (acacia). After aeration, a green and rural landscape emerges. Dandelion flowers, scents of buttercup and honeysuckle divinely perfume the surrounding atmosphere. Farther away from the aromatic palette remains the imprint of a diaphanous peat. Wonderful.
  • Appearance : old gold with green reflections
  • Palate : rich, concentrated. Remarkably saline, the attack on the palate is marked by flavors of glasswort and green liquorice. Slender, the mid-palate reveals an invigorating malty bitterness. Then, spices (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg) spread voluptuously on each side of the palate. Gradually, fine particles of soot and dust appear.
  • Overall : long, fresh. Adorned with a delicate exoticism (pineapple, plantain), the start of the finish recalls the liquorice stick glimpsed on the attack, which closely links these two tasting sequences. Infused with plants (chamomile, sage), the aftertaste takes on bright green hues. Resplendent with maturity, the retro-nasal olfaction evokes blocks of dry peat rich in silt and algae. From the empty glass escape aromas of precious wood, hemp and dark chocolate.

Curiously I didn’t mention much peat influence in my notes, however, with a quick sniff and swish, this isn’t surprising to miss certain elements – particularly when in a “mass” tasting environment.

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LMdW Artist Series #12 – The delightful Clynelish 30+ year 47.7%

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Clynelish over 30 year (1990/2022) Ex Bourbon Cask No 3477 47.7% (LMdW Artist Collection #12) 137 Bottles. Highlands. Eur 350

  • Nose – Citrus perfume, then orchard fruits of pear, lightly waxy, sweet vanilla, delicate and nuanced
  • Palate – Lovely with a surprising depth, delicious and beautiful
  • Finish – Clean and fruity

An enchanting dram, classically styled. Perfection!

What more do the folks at LMdW have to say (courtesy of how Google translated)?

  • Appearance : Deep gold.
  • Nose : Fine. Magnificently herbaceous (hay, cut) and fruity (pineapple, banana), the first nose opens quickly with notes of wax that instantly plunge into the “Clynelish” universe. Allowed to breathe, new fruits (pear, apple) appear as well as particularly subtle aromas of vanilla and green liquorice. Increasingly creamy (semolina, rice pudding), the aromatic palette is also peppery, saline almost medicinal (balm, camphor) and lemony.
  • Palate : Dense, balanced. Overflowing with naturalness, with its malty and lemony flavors, the attack on the palate is intimately linked to the aromatic palette. Haughty and luminous, the mid-palate reveals extremely delicate floral notes (lily of the valley, white lilac, rose petal). Very pleasantly saline, the end of the mouth evokes a rural seaside landscape. Thus, at the bend of a bend, we can see the Clynelish and Brora distilleries.
  • Overall : Delicate, serene. Just as marvelously green and saline, the start of the finish shows a honeyed sweetness (acacia) of incredible smoothness. Exotic (coconut, pineapple) and praline, the aftertaste invites you to savor succulent courgette flower fritters. On the retro-nasal olfaction, noble spices (cinnamon, clove, nutmeg) bring a lot of energy to the finish. At once milky, fruity (banana) and rooty (gentian), the empty glass restores the ethereal character of this venerable version.

How fabulous to have a chance to try such a gem!

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Paris Whisky Live 2022 – VIP Antipodes with Arran 10 + 25 year

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Where to start? After the rather overwhelmingly long VIP line, I was finally in Paris Whisky Live and made my way to part of the VIP section. With all the crowds around the ‘popular’ Antipodes, I wandered my way to a curious one that combined whisky and beer.

Naturally, my eye quickly spotted Arran whiskies and I thought, why not warm up the palate with a friendly favourite?

Arran 10 year (05 Oct 2011 – 11 July 2022) 1st Fill Bourbon Cask 2011/1871 55.2% (LMdW Antipode bottle 163 of 224)

Knowing the Arran 10 year standard, I dove immediately into their 10-year Private Cask at cask strength – nothing like going from 0% to 55.2%!

It was exactly as expected! A lovely sunshine ex-bourbon dram with honey, fruity, cheerful cherries, berries, and more! Throw in some warm vanilla cream, a dash of slightly citrus notes closing with a sweet summery finish, What a lovely way to calibrate the palate for treats to come!

Arran 25 year (05 Aug 1996 – 11 Jul 2022) Sherry Hogshead 1996/892 51.5% (LMdW Antipode bottle 267 of 268)

I then moved on to the Arran 25 year…. This was not my 1st brush with their older whiskies, having been fortunate to try the 2020 25-year at the Lochranza distillery from the cask before it was bottled – a cask strength marvel that showcased just how carefully considered the approach was from the start. However what about this slightly later avatar?

  • Colour – Deep ruby, almost garnet
  • Nose – What a fabulous sherry bomb! Gorgeous rich character
  • Palate – Starts soft and silky smooth, then morphs into dark berries, chocolate
  • Finish – A long strong beautiful finish

What a wonderfully well-rounded mature dram. An absolute treasure!

This was no gentle start but instead going straight into the sublime! Clearly, I started my Paris Whisky Live 2022 in the right way!

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Paris Whisky Live 2022 – VIP Antipodes Ex Libris – Knappogue Castle + JP Wiser

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What the heck is the “Ex Libris” line from La Maison du Whisky’s Artist range all about? Put simply, this series goes beyond Scotland and links whisky to literature. Clean labels with a nod to days gone by, I was drawn to discover what lies between the covers of these “books.”

The quartet sampled at Paris Whisky Live featured a trio from Ireland from Knappogue Castle with three contrasting expressions (ex bourbon, sherry, and port) named after James Joyce poems followed by a remarkably aged Canadian J.P. Wiser – 40 years! – taking title inspiration from Canadian author Mordecai Richler.

As this was a Whisky fest, I kept to my pattern of sniff, swish and (sigh…) spit… which means my notes are fleeting impressions rather than proper tasting insights.

Knappogue Castle “Summer Wind” 28 Year (1994) ex-Bourbon Cask 888138 52.2% (LMdW ex Libris) EUR 540

  • Nose – Bright, light, and fruity, faintly floral
  • Palate – Darker dessert, vanilla cream, lovely balance, classic style
  • Finish – Light spice chased by candied ginger

An enchanting afternoon dram. I loved it! Such a perfect way to kick off our Knappogue Castle trio…

Knappogue Castle “Wind of Spices” 24 Year (1997) ex-Sherry Cask 87601 54.4% (LMdW) EUR 499

  • Nose – Delicious pastries, with some lovely heavier wood elements
  • Palate – Lovely rich, heavier, intense berries, chocolates, such depth of character… it almost touched being in the wood too long…. a bit vegetal
  • Finish – Long and strong

What a contrast with the ex-Bourbon! The Sherry cask added a marvelous dimension…. the kind of special dram you simply want to sit back, relax in a comfy leather chair with a damn good book…. slowly savoring for hours. Fabulous!

Knappogue Castle “Wind of May” 22 Year (2000) Ruby Port Cask 45429 56.8% (LMdW) EUR 515

  • Nose – Heavier
  • Palate – Hmmm…..  it was a bit too much punch for me, at least so early in the morning!
  • Finish – Bitter

For me, this was more of a winter dram than late-spring whisky.  Now I appreciate this was just a sniff and swish, however, I struggled with this one…. my scant tasting notes reflect this struggle too. Perhaps in a different setting, I would have a very different impression.

Changing gears, I moved on to The Apprenticeship, taken from Mordecai Richler’s novel The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1959), which refers to the journey of J. P. Wiser’s master blender, Dr. Don Livermore.

JP Wiser’s “Apprenticeship” 40 year (1982) 61.9% (LMdW)

  • Nose – Spicy, Sweet corn then shifted into a deep woodsy dimension
  • Palate – Smooth, waxy…. a bit like flavored crayons, all sorts of elements going on
  • Finish – Spicy

Now, this is one I wish I could have given more time and attention to! It isn’t often you come across something of such a vintage – particularly from Canada. I will fully admit that for a Canadian, I’ve woefully neglected exploring the Canadian whisky scene in my infrequent trips to visit family and friends. And to have a slice of whisky history like this practically slip through my fingers (nostrils)? Ah well…

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Paris Whisky Live 2022 – VIP Gordon + Macphail’s Convalmore + Highland Park

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Gordon & Macphail’s Private Collection features rare, old and even closed distilleries, a “must catch” at any whisky festival and a very good reason to go “VIP” for at least one day at Paris Whisky Live.

Featured in 2022 were a closed distillery – Convalmore – and a familiar friend with Highland Park. I had to start with the Convalmore which was approx 40 years patiently maturing in refill American hogshead.

This was my first experience with Convalmore – which was “Victorian” Speyside distillery that spent most of its life in blends. “Mothballed” in 1985, this particular vintage dram came from some of its final years of operations.

Convalmore (1982/2 Mar 2022) Refill American Hogshead #155 55.5% (Gordon & Macphail) 104 bottles

  • Colour – Amber
  • Nose – Delightfully fruity – pears, apples… dripping in sweet honey, shifting into vanilla cream – delicious
  • Palate – Lovely on the palate, soft… continued the fruity element, a bit waxy
  • Finish – Light spice, sweet with a buttery texture

Beautiful! This was so special. Fruity, waxy, subtle, nuanced and supremely sophisticated. Such a lovely whisky… and such a treat to have a chance to try something so rare and lovely from a closed distillery.

The official Gordon & Macphail tasting notes are remarkably similar to my scribbles from a sniff & swish at Paris Whisky Live:

  • Nose – Rich vanilla pod gives way to fresh green apple and orange zest. Honeysuckle notes develop with quince and toasted walnut.
  • Taste – Sweet and smooth exotic fruit flavours accompany poached pear and floral notes. White chocolate comes to the fore alongside baked apple
  • Finish – A medium-bodied finish with guava and sweet honey.

I couldn’t find this exact bottle for sale, however, a related one from 1982 was listed on WhiskyBase for GBP 1,500, which gives you a feel for just how pricey a sip of whisky history can be.

Next up was another vintage dram – also pushing the high side of 30s from Orkney Island with Highland Park. I must admit that this distillery was an early favourite – my ‘gateway” dram to single malts back in the 1990s – particularly the 18 years old. Since then, they have gone all over the place with different approaches, some very “Viking” branding… which made it all the more refreshing to slip back in time to the “original” spirit of their spirits…

Highland Park 37 year (1984 / 31 Dec 2021) Refill American Hogshead #1816 46.3% (Gordon & Macphail) Bottles 116

  • Colour – Gold
  • Nose – Fruitier than expected, sweet lemon/lime-like mosambi, honey sweet and light, with a dash of salted caramel
  • Palate – Incredibly silky smooth, gorgeous and well balanced, with a hint of citrus fruit coming from behind, light peat gives this a lovely dimension
  • Finish – Gentle and subtle

What fun! This was a lovely dram… In some ways reminded me a bit of the much younger Chorlton 15 year Orkney.

And what about the official Gordon & Maphail tasting notes as a reference? Yup! Would certainly agree…

  • Nose – Fragrant lemon aromas intertwine with honeydew melon and sweet Demerara sugar. Red apple notes develop accompanied by grapefruit zest and walnut.
  • Taste – Citrus fruit flavours give way to guava and subtle cured meats. Dried mango comes to the fore alongside toasted almonds and spicy pepper.
  • Finish – Soft smoke lingers on the finish with green apple, poached pear and spice.

I was curious to see what this experience would set you back… and found a bottle currently available through Whic.de for EUR 1,790.

What an interesting pair… and there we have it!

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London Whisky Show – TBWC’s Fabulous Invergordon 44 year Grain 47.6%

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I think we could be called ‘frequent flyers’ of That Boutique-y Whisky Co’s stand at the London Whisky Show. which meant we made it into being offered a ‘nip’ from Dave’s hip flask… Over the two whisky festivals, he had kept aside some extra special grains from:

  • Port Dundas 8 year old
  • North British 26 year old
  • Invergordon 44 year old
  • Cameronbridge 39 year old

We were fortunate to try an Invergordon grain – wow!!! Until this point, I had only tried Invergordon once before – a 28 year from Douglas Laing’s Old Particular series which was a bit of a mixed experience.

However, TBWC did not disappoint!

Invergordon 44 year (Aug 2018) Batch 18 47.6%, 305 bottles RRP £142.95

  • Nose – A curiosity box! Toasted coconut, roasted hazelnuts, then cream… reminding one of a frothy milky caramel coffee concoction!
  • Palate – Liquid gold! Complex, balanced, the complete package! Again… I was reminded of an indulgently sweet dessert or maybe even a Mars bar!
  • Finish – Soft yet firmly remains, long and lasting

We were completely smitten! It was such a beautiful, elegant whisky and such a remarkable to have an opportunity to try a slice of history.

What do the folks over at TBWC have to say?

We love tasty single grain whisky, which is why we were more than happy to bottle even more from the Invergordon Distillery in the Highlands! For a short while, there was a malt whisky distillery in the same complex as Invergordon, but these days Invergordon produces top quality single grain which ages in the cask very well indeed. Invergordon used to be home to some beautiful Coffey stills, so we thought we’d include a technical diagram of a Coffey still on the label of our Invergordon. A very technical, scientific and completely accurate diagram. Sort of. Look, “Coffee” sounds a lot like “Coffey”, ok?

Tasting notes

  • Nose: At first there’s warming cinnamon, hazelnut and burnt caramel, followed by hints of milky coffee.
  • Palate: A thick mouthfeel with nutty praline and wintery spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom.
  • Finish: The creamier flavours disappear to reveal a crisp and fresh finish with citrus and peppery flavours lingering.

Would we agree? Definitely!

And with that, our remarkable “select” journey through TBWC offerings at The Whisky Show in London, 2022 was done! With a HUGE thank you to @BoutiqueyDave both for this beauty and also for helping us explore under his guidance:

TBWC European whiskies:

TBWC Scottish drams, including two beautiful blends:

And even tried Christian Drouin’s 21 year Calvados!

Which meant we managed to work our way through 10 of the 21 bottles on offering (plus this bonus!), skipping those I had tried the previous weekend in Paris… wow!!!

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Blends of yore – Hedges + Butler 21 year 43%

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Without a doubt, this Hedges & Butler 21 year old blend made our evening “remarkable“! In fact, it was the primary prompt for our meeting. Why? It was bought on auction in Germany nearly two years earlier by Malt Manian Krishna Nakula. As he just so happened to be in Mumbai for an event, we naturally had to catch up for a dram or two! Very generously, he chose to open this particular piece of history… Lucky us!

So what did we think?

Hedges & Butler Royal Scotch Whisky 21 year (1950/60s – 1970/80s) 43%

  • Nose – Rich and robust, think German cherry liqueur or a single rum, dark fruits – particularly plums, earthy and bursting with character, buttery milk chocolate with a heavy fruit liqueur
  • Palate – It has a velvety silky smoothness, well rounded and balanced, waxy with some mineral and tobacco, luscious juicy fruits and berries, a hint of spice and wood at the back, chased by bitters
  • Finish – Long and lingering with a hint of sweet spices

Superb and simply delicious! This blend provided clear evidence that they don’t make them like they used to! Very different – incredibly complex, rich, rewarding… a big full whisky. The nose and palate are outstanding… and very memorable. Lucky, lucky us to have an opportunity to try something like this!

It is hard to find too much in the way of exact details however based on the label and auctions, it is likely from the 1960s / bottled in the 1980s. The auction price was around EUR 88 however with taxes and shipping, came to EUR 105. I thought it quite reasonable, however Krishna shared such bottles earlier were selling for significantly less. As more and more people are now discovering that these mere ‘blends’ are in fact hidden treasures from a time when the BEST malt went into a blend, the price is also rising.

Hedges & Butler (aka H&B) is a brand of blends part of the Ian McLeod group. They trace their history as a wine and spirits producer back to 1667, relocating in 1819 to Regent Street, supplying the coronation banquet of King George IV with wine, port, and champagne. Their relationship with whisky began in the 1830s with blended Scotch whiskies – gaining their 1st of several “Royal Warrants” by King George IV, followed by Queen Victoria, then eleven different Monarch’s.

Fast forward to the 1960s, H&B was acquired by The Bass Charrington Group, then from 1998 the brand name has been owned by Ian Macleod Distillers.

Today you can still find H&B with a no age statement and 12-year version.

What else did we try in our Remarkable Range evening?

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Remarkable Random Range of Whiskies

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What does a Scottish blend from the 1950 / 60s made for a Hamburg distributor and a German malt that barely qualifies as whisky have in common? Or what does a peaty coastal single malt bottled by an Indian distillery have to do with a sophisticated complex Island dram from a much-coveted Indie bottler? And how about the price range from an affordable entry-level Island OB in GBP 20s vs another over 150?! Or sourced from an auction some 40 years after bottling vs direct from bottler within hours of going on sale, to Le Clos Dubai duty-free or available exclusively in Bangalore only… Frankly speaking, they have practically nothing in common beyond a random sweaty evening in Mumbai where they just so happened to be tasted together!

A Remarkable (Random) Range

What a remarkable – if random! – range for a brilliant evening… which was revisited another night in Mumbai with more malt experts!

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A venerable Glenglassaugh 40 year (1965) 47.8%

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One of the best things about a good Whisky Festival or very well stocked bar is an opportunity to try something that ordinarily you would never be able to buy on your own… That is exactly why at Berlin’s  Union Jack we shared a very clear brief – we wanted to end our evening with something truly exceptional and rare. Our preference was a discontinued distillery – something that we would otherwise never ever have a chance to experience….

My tasting companion mentioned interest in a Port Ellen however we were open to anything. Our whisky guide for the evening consulted the Union Jack owner and came up with a remarkable short-list: Rosebank 25 year, Glen Ord 1975, Brora 27 year (2015), Macallan-Glenlivet 1968/1983 (Berry Bros)… to which we also added the Glenglassaugh 40 year (1965), which my eye had spotted as soon as we walked in the door… A light sniff of each bottle made the choice very clear…

Obviously you can tell which one we selected!

We had earlier discussed the Glenglassaugh distillery and how challenging it is to have stock of remarkable old vintage whiskies produced before its closure vs a young upstart that was – frankly speaking – initially bottled before it was ready. I shared how malt maniac Krishna Nakula was so enthusiastic about the “old” and had once shared a sample of the “new” make spirit from the re-start.

For those not familiar, Glenglassaugh followed the path of many a Scottish distillery. Founded in 1875 until its closure in 1986. It was re-opened in 2008 and had a wee bit of a rocky re-start however understand it is getting its game together and was joined a few years ago by master blender Rachel Barrie.

However enough pre-amble… what matters most is what we discovered!

Glenglassaugh 40 year (1965) 47.8% (Murray McDavid Mission) Bottle 084/411

  • Nose – Simply superb, berries mashed and fresh, nuanced, like an Eaton mess – full of crunchy mirage, berries and cream, an antique quality opening up further to reveal a hint of coffee richness, a fruity compote, red liquorice, red candies
  • Palate – Exquisite, soft yet big, silky smooth, full flavoured yet elegant, more of that hint of coffee, so balanced with a curl of smoke sneaking up from behind, chocolate coffee cream
  • Finish – Gorgeous – such a long fruity fabulous finish

Having the great fortune of sampling a few venerable, I was poised for something a bit shy… instead this was an absolute delight. Classic and yet still full and flavourful, not a single off note instead it was pure indulgence.

There was such sophistication – from bursting berries to that hint of smoke… it was simply outstanding and well worth choosing as our grand finale.

What more do we know? The label shares it was matured in Sherry and Rivesaltes Casks. I’ll admit I had to look up “Rivesaltes” to find it is a sweet wine made from red or white grapes from the Languedoc region of France. Like sherry, it is a fortified wine of which there are several variations using Grenache, Muscat, Malvoisie with styles ranging from amber, garnet, tuilé or rosé. I will certainly keep my eye out for “Rivesaltes” in future as it clearly did great things for this particular whisky along with the Sherry cask.

The best quote of the evening came from our guide?

“I just cry that they don’t make whisky like this anymore.”

To put into perspective, the average value of this bottle in auctions is approx € 1755 though likely impossible to find now. As for us? It set us back a hefty EUR 80 for a glass however we both felt privileged to have had an opportunity to try.

Before this “penultimate” dram, we had  explored three sets of “pairings” which included:

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Dubai Dream Drams – SMWS “Busy buzzing bees” 38 years (1977) 49.6%

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In our special “Dream Drams” evening in Dubai early 2019, we went from a lively and most enjoyable Irish whiskey to a completely different direction with a single grain.

And no ordinary grain, it was a Strathclyde bottled by The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) from 1977, matured for 38 years, producing only 72 bottles from a refill ex-bourbon cask…

And in their trademark way, it was creatively dubbed “Busy Buzzing Bees” by the SMWS folks.

What did our merry tasting group in Dubai have to say about it?

SMWS G10.10 “Busy buzzing bees” 38 years (23 Nov 1977) 49.6%

  • Nose – It greeted us with fresh pepper, then mellowed in vanilla, nougat, eucalyptus, emerging a distinctive farm-like quality, cedar wood, light lavender
  • Palate – Honey and caramel, a few found it “buttery”, delightfully sweet
  • Finish – Bitter almond
  • Water – Beautiful and silky

How rare it is to have a grain whisky that has matured nearly 40 years… we were honoured to have such an opportunity.

What did the SMWS folks have to say about this whisky?

A light, sweet and floral aroma greeted the Panel. Sugar dusted fruit flavoured bonbons and candy corn were mentioned before a picture full of promise emerged; sitting in the garden sipping on a Lemon Drop Martini and listening to the bees buzzing in the laurel hedge.

The taste had honey-roasted peaches with lavender ice cream whilst the overall impression was one of an almost perfect balance between delicate, perfumed sweetness and dry wood spice.

A drop of water and a plate of seafood pasta in a creamy marinara sauce and a glass of chilled, slightly mineralic, Riesling Auslese was being served.

DRINKING TIP: Perfect to replace a dessert wine

For those curious to try, it is still showing as available through the SMWS for £278.40.

Here are a few more whiskies we sampled in our Dubai Dream Drams evening:

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