Tag Archives: Highland

London’s Whisky Show 2023 – Single + Single

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In our planning for our one day at London’s Whisky Show 2023, I insisted on including Single & Single in our explorations. A newer entrant into the indie bottle scene, they have been around since 2000. After a bit of a quieter period, they are back with striking labels and getting their word out. 

On offer was their Alter Ego Range described as:

At Single & Single, we are renowned for our adventurous pursuit of uncompromising whiskies. We take pride in crafting spirits that not only delight your palate but also captivate your imagination. Our Alter Ego Collection, with its distinctive photographic character labels, is a testament to our commitment to engaging you on a deeper level.

We believe in making our whiskies memorable for you. That’s why we’ve chosen to tell our story through captivating characters. These characters serve as the key to unlocking a world of flavour and intrigue just for you.

We tried their full range of five, starting first with Glen Garioch…

Glen Garioch 10 year (2012)  Bourbon barrel, 1st Fill 52% 673 Bottles

This was one powerful dram – a burst of aromas on the nose and full flavours on the palate. Quite rewarding and impossible to ignore. Not quite why, but I jotted down “The Pogues” – somehow this dram reminded me of the band!

What do they have to say?

With this whisky, tradition is there to be toyed with. From the honey-sweet nose all the way through to a palate packed with cinnamon, fruit and barley, and on to its long herbal finish, this dram reinvents and refreshes. What you have here is an era-agnostic celebration of classic styles; an age-old approach that focuses firmly on the future. 

We were then guided to a pair of HIghlands to contrast and compare…

Highland 14 year (2008) Oloroso Sherry Barrel, 1st Fill 52% (yes – it is the one on the left!)

Fabulous! Rich, robust, full of fruits, quite juicy on the nose. Take a sip and be rewarded with big bold sherry flavours, round and full, tapering into a strong finish.

What they have to say:

A whisky that demands immediate respect, you’re bound to be captivated by this compelling dram. The nose leads with saltiness and soft sultanas before being joined by baking spices and dried fruit on the palate, then wafting off in a long, sweet finish. You might never discover exactly what this spirit is, but you’ll never forget its incredible allure. 

We then compared it with a different Highland – same vintage and also sherry!

Highland 14 year (2008) Sherry Butt 52% 748 Bottles (the above bottle on the right)

Delicious dried fruits on the nose, spicier and yet also had a lovely understated quality. The dried fruits follow through on the palate, also joined by sweet spices, and some marmalade, and then eased into a rather tasty finish.

I remember slightly preferring one of the other – I think it was the Olorosso however can’t be 100 sure as they were both good. 

What they have to say:

There’s something about this authentic, assured whisky. Quietly confident, it is by no means typical. With a complex flavour profile that shifts from hints of orange vanilla to cinnamon and spice, it might come off as a little eccentric. Maybe it is, but if you try to judge this dram by its cover, you’ll only be fooling yourself. 

Next up was a sassy young Linkwood.

Linkwood 7 year (2015) Château Larose Barrique, 1st Fill 52% 642 Bottles (Single + Single)

This one stood out for me. The aromas were old fragrant slightly floral candles, lemons, and simply delicious! Much like what I find with many Linkwoods – a delight on the nose and no push-over on the palate. Substantial, creamy, waxy, wonderful with some spice joining the nutty nougat… dessert in a glass. 

What they have to say:

Enticing and enigmatic, this whisky stares straight at you, unflinching. Fragrant, floral and grassy on the nose, it turns increasingly sweet on the palate with marzipan and almonds, before ending dry and citric. Upfront and beautiful, it’s got a glint in the eye that’s incredibly beguiling, if wholly unconventional.

Then we closed with a Tullibardine…

Tullibardine 8 year (2014) Château Margaux 52% 274 Bottles 

The aromas were full of citrus and berries. The palate is spicy, with the citrus shifting from lemon to orange, and more… I think I caught a bit of the wine element with some tannins and found it had a rather dry oaky finish. Pucker up and enjoy!

What do they have to say?

Dabbling in duality and layered with nuance, this whisky shifts perceptions from the start, with an explosion of lemon sherbet, red berries and marzipan on the nose. Take a sip and there’s custard, plum and orange zest before spice and hints of oak linger on the dry finish. A dram that defies labels, it’s charming and unapologetic, a contrast unto itself. 

What was our conclusion? As attractive as the labels were, the liquid reigns supreme – and in this case, it was a clear “thumbs up!” In terms of markets, I doubt I will see this in Germany anytime soon as they seem to be focusing attention primarily on the UK, France, South Africa, Taiwan, and South Korea in Asia.

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Oban 14 year 43%

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In the whisky department, we all have a familiar friend or two… This would certainly be the case for the Oban 14 year.

It also is one of those whiskies that just keeps on resurfacing… Our original Whisky tasting group enjoyed it in August 2011 and June 2013... and it cropped up in our Whisky Ladies November 2015 tasting session.

There is a reason for it – you know what you are going to get with Oban. Its profile has managed to maintain a certain consistency over the years.

In my case, it is an early evening drink of choice with a dear friend in Singapore. I see Oban and I think of some most enjoyable evenings with merry conversations accompanied by a dram or two with her.

20151126_Oban14

Oban 14 year 43%
  • Nose – Sherry, berry, apple, pears, a little leathery but overall fruity, some citrus orange peel, honey sweetness
  • Palate – Apple juice, cherry, a puff of smoke, nutmeg, nicely balanced, enough to chew on to satisfy without being heavy
  • Finish – Settled into a gentle smoke
  • Comments – “Aaaaahh! Coming home to an old familiar friend!”
Such a contrast from the Nikka which was so unpredictably contradictory… to the point of almost being contrary.
Oban is an elegant, something to enjoy with friends early evening, it isn’t complicated, it isn’t challenging however it is just exceedingly enjoyable.

Here is what they say:

A hint of peat smoke, combined with a salty maritime flavour. Citrus orangey notes are also present in both the nose and on the palate, and the sweeter honeyed notes give our malt a smooth silky finish.

Other whiskies sampled by our Whisky Ladies in November 2015 included:

Forty Creek Confederation Oak Reserve 40%

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Aultmore 2000 46% (Gordon + MacPhail)

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Our October tasting session had a theme of ‘go slow’… let the whisky evolve… Each had its unique character and each needed proper time and focused attention to unravel its mysteries.

We also went back to our original ’spit the 1st sip’ approach – helping us better calibrate our palate to appreciate the three distinctly different whiskies.

Our first whisky of the evening was yet another treat from independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail – this time a delicate Speyside from Aultmore.

Altmore 2000

Aultmore 2000

Aultmore 2000 46% (Gordon & MacPhail’s Connoisseurs Choice), Bottled in 2014
  • Colour – Light straw
  • Nose – Floral fruity, ripe peach, sweet and very inviting, has a sense of being velvety smooth, exceedingly tempting, as it opens a bit of nougat
  • Palate – Initial ‘1st whisky’ hint of being bitter, then after our first swish & spit, the next sip revealed a delicious honey, mild spice. For once the palate is every bit as good as the nose promised, exceedingly well-balanced, delicate yet still manages to coat the palate from top to bottom, balanced and oh so smooth and creamy
  • Finish – Some debate as the initial impression was the finish was quite limited… yet still felt satisfying. As we ‘tuned’ ourselves to the nuanced character, began to appreciate that in fact it has a long subtle finish, really quite delicious!
  • Water – Don’t… Water does not enhance and makes it seem terribly young with a spicy kopra
  • Impressions – Like a delicate Japanese or Chinese paper cut, very well-rounded, very easy to drink…

Speculation… As we sample blind, we began to assess our thoughts about the whisky. It vaguely reminds of Glenmorangie in its light fruity floral sweet character yet different. Age was a bit difficult to gage – not very young but also not too old. Certainly not more than 16 years… Sense that the alcohol hovered around 43% given its light approachability.

The reveal… Our first as a tasting group from this distillery and yet another ‘hit’ from independent bottlers Gordon & MacPhail. It is getting to the stage where we can blindly grab anything from their Connoisseurs Choice line!

Our host shared that he briefly sampled it at a whisky event in Europe. While normally such light whiskies are not his personal preference – this one stood out as something compelling enough to explore further. We agreed!

Knowing it is a light whisky and would be the first of the evening, he chilled the whisky for 45 mins in the fridge before serving to help ensure the viscosity for our tasting.

Our conclusion was that this was the kind of whisky  you would just sip on your own while reading a good book, curled up with a cosy blanket on a cool evening. Something to slowly enjoy its subtle range of aromas and taste. It doesn’t need conversation. It doesn’t need company. It is for those times you simply want to relax in quiet comfort.

Here’s what the Gordon & MacPhail folks have to say about this Aultmore:

  • Matured in a refill American hogshead and refill sherry hogshead. Natural colour. Non chill filtered.

Without Water:

  • Nose – The whisky has herbal, dried apricot and raisin aromas with hints of charred oak.
  • Taste – Delicate fruitiness, with red apple and pear flavours. Festive spices and a touch of oiled wood linger.

With Water:

  • Nose – Toasted malt and sweet summer fruit aromas, blueberry and raspberry. A subtle cinnamon edge lingers.
  • Taste – Peppery and sweet with hints of green apple and plum. Becomes creamy with a smooth milk chocolate edge.

Previously Aultmore was rarely available as a single malt beyond independent bottlers, instead found as part of popular blends like Dewars.

Some may recall that I tried a couple Aultmores on my July London trip – both the 12 and 21 year – part of Bacardi’s “Last Great Malts of Scotland” range. I was surprised to find them so appealing – and recall being impressed that the promise of the nose followed through on the palate.

I, for one, look forward to both exploring more Aultmore and more from Gordon & MacPhail!

The other whiskies we sampled in October included:

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Deanston Virgin Oak NAS 46.3%

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Our May 2015 tasting session featured whiskies from three countries – USA, Scotland and Ireland. We found the quality and appeal of this trio extreme from ‘disaster – do yourself a favour and don’t buy!’ (Hudson) to ‘decent but disappointing’ (Deanston) and utter ‘delight’ with “More! Please sir may I have some more!’ (Teeling)

The Scottish whisky was one sampled previously and earlier a favourite of our host. As always, we tasted blind so would not be influenced by anything other than the immediate whisky experience.

Deanston NAS 46.3% (Whisky Lady)

Deanston NAS 46.3% (Whisky Lady)

Deanston Virgin Oak NAS 46.3% 
  • Colour – Light straw
  • Nose – Initially quite fruity with lime and vanilla, as it warms up, has a french lemony sweet aftershave kind of quality  – think Brut! The overall sense even before the 1st sip is that of a young, fresh, delicate whisky. After the 1st sip, whiff of crunchy green apples, nutmeg, strong honey
  • Taste – A fizzy tingly on the tongue, warm yet alas narry a hint of complexity, most found it a bit bland
  • Finish – Limited and sweet
  • Water – Nope! Don’t go there. Even diluting with only a few drops makes it simply too weak and waters down the light nose
  • Immediate reactions – “OK but… maybe a good whisky for people who don’t drink whisky.” Ouch! Honestly, while there was nothing wrong with the whisky, it just somehow didn’t quite strike a strong chord. A few more descriptions bandied about were “bland” and “insipid.”
With more time to breath…
  • I used the lacklustre initial impression as an opportunity to see how it would fare after oxidating for 20 – 30 mins or so. Unlike the Nikka Takesturu 17 year or Chichibu French Oak Cask, I strongly suspected the Deanston would not improve with more time to breathe
  • Sure enough, a half hour later found the nose had dramatically changed to a pronounced sour curd – not in a pleasant way – with none of the initial fruity citrus sweet
  • On the palate? Remained decent but yes… bland

Our host shared:

“I first bought Deanston 10 years ago and it was excellent! Then my next bottle was about five years ago and it was so so. This one? (sigh)… Disappointing” 
I was curious about how this compared with our previous Deanston experiences, so I dug out our sampling records:
  • Deanston 46.3% in April 2012 – I missed this tasting session but another member noted how “We liked the bitter chocolate”
  • Deanston 12 year in June 2013 – For this one, we found “Nuanced nose with over ripe fruit, sweet and spicy on the palate, lovely finish with a hint of spice that slowly dissipated. Delightful!”

The label provides no indication of the year the whisky was bottled, so it is difficult to say whether the whisky or our tastes have changed so dramatically over the years. The only detail it does share is that it is finished in virgin oak casks and is un-chill filtered. I suspect the virgin oak element was what didn’t meet our collective palate.

Deanston up close... (Whisky Lady)

Deanston up close… (Whisky Lady)

In fairness, this isn’t such a bad dram… Unfortunately it just isn’t one that stands out. I’m a firm believer that whisky preferences are highly personal and it all depends on what appeals to your palate. Even though it clearly wasn’t the favourite of the evening, it was one whisky we could pinpoint as ‘Deanston’ even before the reveal. Which means something somewhere has registered as being distinctly ‘Deanston.’  Perhaps in a different mood, setting or a different set of expectations, it would shine more.
What others say:

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GlenDronach 21 Year Parliament

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Our January 2015 tasting session offered three new whiskies to sample: Bailie Nicole Jarvie, Paul John Single Malt Edited and GlenDronach 21 Year Parliament.

This session was definitely one where the best was saved til last! As usual, we first sampled blind then revealed the whisky.

GlenDronach 21 year Parliament 48%

  • 20150115-GlenDronach 21 year ParliamentColour – Dark deep amber, almost ruby in colour
  • Nose – Instant sherry, bold, can immediately make out it is a complex and rounded whisky, a delight of berries, black cherry, toffee, banana, just bursting with character and not in the least linear
  • Taste – Raisins, plum cake soaked for long time before devouring, dry like rum, as robust as the nose suggested, earthy and rich
  • Finish – Plum finish like a dry sherry

For an all-nighter – one of those wonderful whiskies where a little goes a long way!

We also tried a small experiment:

  • Our host and partner sampled in Tulip glasses from a bottle previously opened
  • Myself and other club member tried in our standard Glencairn glasses

What was the difference?

Well…. We had a bit of debate over which was ‘sharper’ or ‘more mellow’ however it seemed the newly opened bottle was much more pronounced, rounder and more complex whereas the opened one slightly ‘cut’ but still a marvellous malt.

Confession time? Our host sez it is his current favourite! And I will admit to draining the last drop from the opened bottle… sorry folks!

Closeup...

More info:

  • Again one of those interesting distilleries, founded in 1826, that was quietly producing, neglected from 1996 to 2001 and then re-opened but only more recently catching attention for their single malts
  • Matured only in sherry cask – combination of oloroso and pedro ximinez – making it quite distinct from the typical ‘sherry’ cask finish approach
  • Released in 2011 and named ‘Parliament’ for the parliament of rooks that live in the trees near the distillery

In short – not to be missed!

Slainthe!

20150115-GlenDronach Close up

Since sampling this, there have been more GlenDronach adventures:

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