Tormore 10-year-old (mid 1990s)

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 4th December 2013

Ratings:
74/100 – Whisky Fun (June 2009)

A 10-year-old, mid-1990s bottling, which means it was first distilled in the mid-1980s. My other Tormore, the 29-year-old, was distilled in 1984, so a very similar birthday to this bottle. The comparison will be interesting but there’s already some clear differences. The Whisky Fun review for this 10yo mentions ‘caramel’ which the 29-year-old doesn’t have. There’s also a big difference in strength with the 10yo being 43% and the 29yo being 53.9%. I can even that out with water but the higher percentage usually means a fuller taste experience. But it should be a fascinating comparison. I’ll be interested to see if I can spot the added caramel in this 10yo, and what difference 19 years more cask-time has made.

The Tormore distillery is an interesting place. It was constructed between 1958 and 1960 on virgin land with the purpose of being attractive, and is now Grade B listed. Yet, unfortunately, it doesn’t open for visitors. That seems such a waste! Hopefully one day the owners will have a change of heart. Perhaps being relatively young compared to other distilleries they don’t think it has enough history to be interesting but that hasn’t stopped even younger distilleries from opening their doors to the public.

Bladnoch 8-year-old (1980s)

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 4th December 2013

Ratings:
85/100 – Whisky Fun (October 2005)
78/100 – Malt Maniacs (average from 6 reviewers)

Usually it’s very difficult to trace an old bottle of whisky back to when it was first produced (if it doesn’t have a distillation date on the label) but, thanks to Whisky Fun and Malt Maniacs, I was able to identify this bottle as ‘late 1980s’. Saying that, I don’t know when this version of Bladnoch stopped being produced – damn! But, as Bladnoch was closed in 1993, and not reopened again until 2000, I know this bottle wasn’t produced after 1993.

This is my 2nd example from Bladnoch distillery, my first being an 11-year-old distilled in 2001 shortly after Bladnoch was relaunched under new management. It will be interesting to compare the new with the old. The Whisky Fun review of this 1980s bottle says “Excellent, very typically Bladnoch, I’d say”. So it’s nice to know this small bottle provides a taste history of what Bladnoch used to be like.

Noble Highlander, Special Reserve

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 4th December 2013

Sometimes I buy a whisky where there’s very little to be said about it. Enter the ‘Noble Highlander, Special Reserve, Rare Old Scotch Whisky’ produced in Scotland by Donald MacDonald & Co, Edinburgh. I tried to find out a bit more about this whisky, then about the producer but the internet wasn’t being my friend with regards to these searches. It seems quite a rare blend but, because of the nature of the whisky world, even if I kept it for 20 years I’d never make a fortune selling it. This is a £2 miniature bottle that might be worth £4 in 20 years.

There’s an American comedian, Lewis Black, who does a joke about bottled water. He pokes fun at how nobody would want to buy water with a picture of a deer on the label because we imagine it might have been pissing and shiting in our drink! The Noble Highlander, Special Reserve, has a picture of a Highland Coo on it. I say no more!

Aultmore 20-year-old

Bought – Whisky Broker, 29th November 2013

Ratings:
82.67/100 – Whiskybase (average from 8 member votes)

Another bottle from the small, independent bottler The Whisky Broker. Details about this whisky from their website:

“This Speyside whisky, distilled on 10th October 1991 at Aultmore Distillery, has been matured in an oak hogshead for over 20 years. The whisky has not been chill filtered, nor has any colouring been added. The whisky has been bottled at natural cask strength.

This whisky has been lightly filtered to remove large particles of wood sediment from the cask, but may still contain small traces, which are visible only when bottle is left standing for a period of time.

Details:
Hogshead number 6083
Distilled 10th October 1991
Bottled 1st June 2012
Bottle Size: 200ml
Strength: 54.4% vol.”

Auchroisk 21-year-old

Bought – Whisky Broker, 29th November 2013

Ratings:
85/100 – Whiskybase (from one member vote)

Another bottle from the small, independent bottler The Whisky Broker. Details about this whisky from their website:

“This Speyside whisky, distilled on 17th December 1991 at Auchroisk Distillery, has been matured in oak casks for over 21 years.. On the 3rd June 2013, refill bourbon barrel numbers 102220 and 102221, were transferred into a second fill sherry hogshead (formerly containing Tomatin, sold on this website). The whisky was further matured until 28th October, when it was bottled at cask strength, aged 21 years.

This whisky has been lightly filtered to remove large particles of wood sediment from the cask, but may still contain small traces, which are visible only when bottle is left standing for a period of time.

Each bottle is individually numbered (mine is No.14 of 171).

Cask Details:
Refill Bourbon barrels 102220 & 102221
Distilled 17th December 1991
Bottled 28th October 2013
The cask yielded 171 bottles at a cask strength of 45.0% vol.”

Tormore 29-year-old

Bought – Whisky Broker, 29th November 2013

Ratings:
86/100 – Whiskybase (average from 6 member votes)

My Christmas day blog post. You’d think I’d have something better to do than this?! But if one of the 3 wise men going to visit Jesus had been a Scot, you can be certain he’d have taken a whisky with him to wet the baby’s head with Joseph. A dram at Christmas to a Scot is like haggis on Burns night. It just is, OK!!! 🙂

I’ve always said I don’t get tempted by the age of a whisky but, I lied. I’ve read and heard several reports over the years that, in general, the best age for a whisky, much like we humans, is in the mid to late teens. Sometimes there can be a magical 25-year-old malt, or a 40yo, etc., but, even when you find them, they command far too much money when you compare their price and quality to a good 15yo. Then I spot this 29yo Tormore, a full 70cl bottle, for £65 from the Whisky Broker. No reviews so it’s a bit of a punt but if one of the bigger independent bottlers were selling it we’d be talking £100+. It seems a bargain, and a chance to taste something with plenty of maturity.

The problem with getting an expensive bottle with lots of age is, can I bring myself to drink it?! The temptation is to hide it away for 10 to 20 years and then sell it for a fortune. Except, I don’t think this is a collector’s piece. For one thing it would be easy to fake the original seal so if I tried to sell it in 20 years, nobody will be sure that the whisky inside is genuine. OK, I’ve convinced myself to drink it – YES! 🙂 And I’ve recently acquired a 10yo Tormore so I’ll have something young from the distillery to compare against.

Happy Christmas!

Glenglassaugh Fledgling XB

Bought – The Drink Shop, 28th November 2013

Ratings:
91/100 – Whisky Bible 2013
81.43/100 – Whiskybase (average from 9 member votes)
67/100 – Malt Maniacs (average from 7 reviewers)

When you consider that the Fledgling XB is a spirit matured in bourbon barrels for 1 year, therefore not officially whisky, you realise why there is such a wild different when it comes to reviews. Personally I’m not even sure it should be reviewed because what can you compare it against?! At least in the world of whisky the boundaries have been established over the decades and likes/dislikes can be explained with some level of accuracy. So I would say to take reviews of any spirit drink with a pinch of salt and be your own judge, should you feel like trying something different.

Glenglassaugh distillery was closed in 1986 but reopened in 2008. Rather than twiddle their thumbs until 2011 when their new spirit could officially be called whisky, they decided to release spirit drinks to whet the apetite of the patiently waiting customers. So, in 2010 we see the launch of ‘Peated’, ‘Clearac’, ‘Blushes’ and ‘Fledgling XB’. Then in 2011 the distillery issued ‘Revival’ the first official whisky at 3 years old. This is next on my shopping list, even though the Whisky Bible only gives it 75/100. As interesting as the spirit drinks are, I feel I ought to have an example of real whisky from this reborn distillery.

Glenglassaugh ‘Blushes’

Bought – The Drink Shop, 28th November 2013

Ratings:
85/100 – Whisky Bible 2013
73.71/100 – Whiskybase (average from 9 member votes)
55/100 – Whiskyfun (Serge Valentin)

Bought as part of a triple set of 20cl bottles from the revived Glenglassaugh distillery. Not a whisky because it’s too young but a chance for whisky fans to taste something different. ‘Blushes’ is spirit matured in red wine casks for 6 months. First released in 2010, it’s now been discontinued.

85/100 in the Whisky Bible classifies this spirit as ‘very good to excellent, definitely worth buying’. The author Jim Murray concludes his review with “tasty and fascinating, though the wine tries to minimalise the usual sweetness you find in malt spirit.”

Whiskybase members are less charitable than Jim Murray but Serge Valentin of Whiskyfun is more damning. He concludes with “of course I have nothing against experimentation but just like the helicopter-bicycle, not sure the future is bright for such gimmicky combos. Better buy a good white eau-de-vie, it’ll be cheaper. Now maybe this ought to be drunk chilled?”

Glenglassaugh ‘Clearac’

Bought – The Drink Shop, 28th November 2013

Ratings:
76.09/100 – Whiskybase (average from 13 member votes)

Bought as part of a triple set of 20cl bottles from the revived Glenglassaugh distillery. Not a whisky because it’s too young but a chance for whisky fans to taste a new spirit straight from the still.

 

Wild Turkey 101

Bought – The Drink Shop, 28th November 2013

Ratings:
87/100 – Ralfy – His review on YouTube (September 2013)
91/100 – Whisky Bitch – Her review on YouTube (March 2012)

Wild Turkey was on my radar when I found the ‘Rare Breed’ version mentioned in Ian Buxton’s book ‘101 Whiskies to Try Before You Die’. When trying to hunt it down in August I stumbled across the Whisky Bitch’s review of the 101 on YouTube. She loves it, especially as a sipping whiskey. Ian Buxton said that all Wild Turkey’s range were good (except possibly the ‘calendar’). Combine the two views and the 101 was firmly on my shopping list.

By September Ralfy posted up a video review of the 101 on YouTube and added his weight behind the praise of this bourbon. Although the 81 version is available in some supermarkets, I’d only found the 101 in one High Street store, The Wine Rack. At £26.99 there were plenty of single malts I wanted at that price of less, so getting the 101 seemed a distant prospect. But, when putting in an order with The Drink Shop, I noticed a cheap mini of the 101 and grabbed my chance. If it tastes as good as everyone says I might push the boat out in 2014 and get a full bottle!