Dimple 15-year-old

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

Ratings:
79/100 – Whisky Bible 2006

The ‘Dimple’ is a must-have whisky for any collector, which is why I’ve had it on my wishlist for some time. I was tempted to buy a new bottle from my local Wine Rack but, at £36.99, it was a lot of money for a blend and when compared to better whiskies at the same price or less. So, when I saw this miniature in an auction, I couldn’t resist getting it for a couple of pounds.

The ‘Dimple’ was first produced in the 1890s by John Haig & Co Ltd. There is no shortage of full-sized vintage bottles selling in auction for £20 or less, which is why the new price seems so ridiculous! But with a cute name and a unique bottle shape, it’s a lovely whisky to have. For the latest version the Whisky Bible 2014 give it 87.5/100, so it’s improved a lot since 2006. I’ve included this older score for reference, even though my miniature might well be from the 1980s or even 1970s.

Here’s Frozen Summers with his review on You Tube (August 2014):

Loch Ranza (Arran distillery)

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

Ratings:
83/100 – Whisky Bible 2006

It seems that this blend from the Arran distillery had a name change from “Loch Ranza” to “Lochranza” with the latter being the new bottling. Jim Murray mentions both old and new in his bible for 2006. The old style bottle I have gets the remark “A good, solid chewy blend of some panache. But a tad more bitter and toffeed than the present new bottling.” He then goes on to give the new bottling, the Lochranza, 78/100 so I’m glad I got the better, older example!

I read on the ‘Master of Malt’ website that the Lochranza blend consists of mainly Arran whisky, so when I finally open this miniature for tasting I’ll see if I can spot the Arran element.

Glen Kella (Manx Whiskey)

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

This little bottle of Glen Kella was a curious find among a larger mix of whiskies in an auction lot. I’d never heard of it before. Some research reveals that this is a controversial whisky that saw Glen Kella Distillery taken to court in 1997 by the Scottish Whisky Association (SWA). They complained that the redistillation after maturation wasn’t in the rules and the resulting spirit shouldn’t be called whisky/whiskey. As a result no bottling from the Isle of Man distillery has been labelled whisky or whiskey since. They now refer to it as ‘Manx Spirit’.

What’s nice about this little story is that my bottle has ‘whiskey’ on it so I know it predates 1997. Back then the managing director of Glen Kella, Andrew Dixon, described the drink as “like a ladies’ whisky, light and sweet without the bite or the burn. It is a real whisky.” In the Wikipedia entry for the Manx Spirit it says “colourless, and can be used in cocktails without adding a brown tinge”.

I’ve read some tasting notes about this whisky which have included comments such as ‘paint thinner’, ‘sweet’, ‘sea salt’ (most likely from the Manx water which is added in the blend), and ‘heavily peated’. It sounds interesting but I can see why the Wikipedia entry mentions using it in cocktails. It doesn’t sound like the sort of whisky you’d enjoy au naturale.

Miltonduff 12-year-old

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

Ratings:
84/100 – Whiskybase (an average of 16 member votes)
76/100 – Malt Maniacs (from 5 review)

This bottling by Miltonduff first appeared around 1990 (although Malt Maniacs suggest c.1995). Whiskybase only list 20 official releases from the distillery (founded in 1824) and this 12yo is one of them.

76/100 on Malt Maniacs is a reasonable score but 84/100 on Whiskybase is very good. Comments include “a delicious expression! Strong flavors, delicious nose, bourbon casks are apparent but could there be virgin oak as well?” and “a very good standard OB bottling from the late 1980′ s. For me much better than its peers of this era.”

Usquaebach 15-year-old

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

Ratings:
83.36/100 – Whiskybase (from an average of 13 member votes)

Looking for a review for this blend I stumbled across videos on YouTube saying it had won a silver medal at the 2011 International Whisky Competition – wow! I was impressed until I started to wonder what this competition was. A quick Google and, low and behold, it was a competition that started in 2010 in Chicago with little or no credibility. I found a review of the 2011 competition (where the Usquaebach picked up its silver) to find that only 18 whiskies had been submitted. There were 3 categories with gold, silver and bronze so 9 of the 18 whiskies picked up awards. With 100s of whiskies available in the world it was hardly a fair competition between a mere 18. To enter a whisky for judging cost $500 which makes me think “why don’t more people set up whisky competitions?!” Sounds like a nice little earner to me. I’ll go and order some rosettes from Ebay…..

Royal Lochnagar 12-year-old miniature

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

Ratings:
83/100 – Whisky Bible 2006

One of the things I love about getting whisky from auction is the extra information you get with some bottles. This miniature of Royal Lochnagar still has the original price on it when it was bought, either from a High Street shop or the distillery itself. £3.25. It’s been a while since you could buy a mini malt for as little as that without looking online.

I wasn’t originally intending to get a miniature of this 12yo. Tesco have a full 70cl bottle but in 6 months they’ve never had it on offer. Every time I’m in my local store the same few bottles are staring at me, unloved and unwanted. At £33 I’m not surprised! It would be cheaper to buy it online. If Tesco every reduce it they might manage to sell a bottle or two.

According to Whiskybase this miniature of Royal Lochnagar was in production between 2003-2007, hence using the Whisky Bible rating from 2006. Not that it makes much difference because the 2014 edition of the bible has exactly the same comment (although the mark has gone up 1 to 84/100). I thought about including a link to a tasting video done by Charlie MacLean, the Distillery Manager at Royal Lochnagar but I got put off by his remark about the colour. He was saying how lovely it was but, at the same time, Jim Murray remarks in his bible about caramel being added. It doesn’t seem right to praise a whisky’s colour when it’s been artificially enhanced.

Here’s a review by ‘A Dram A Day’ on You Tube (August 2016):

Glen Scotia Pure Malt (1980s)

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

Ratings:
81/100 – Malt Maniacs (from 1 review)

I’ve been thinking that my collection is complete and I own a single malt from every active Scottish distillery but this Glen Scotia could be a fly in the ointment. Until recently I believed if anything was called ‘pure malt’ it was one of the old ways of describing a blend. I then kept stumbling across vintage bottles of Glen Scotia from the 1980s in auctions and certain online shops where ‘pure malt’ was being labelled as ‘single malt’. I then read on Malt Madness that both blends and single malts are effectively ‘pure malt’. CONFUSED!

I’ve attempted to find out if Glen Scotia were issuing a blend around the 1980s and, if so, what they called it but I’ve drawn a blank. I’ve had to take a guess with the rating from Malt Maniacs because my bottle looks like the 8yo from the 1980s but it’s missing the 8yo label. I may have to bite the bullet and buy another example of Glen Scotia where it clearly states “single malt” on it.

The Clan Malt – Matheson & MacNaughton

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

You’ll never see a more obvious case of “whiskies acquired in an auction as part of a mix of malts that weren’t really wanted”. Nobody in my family has the surname “Matheson” or “MacNaughton” and nor do I know anyone with those names. But it will be interesting to see what these taste like. From quick research on the internet they both could contain the same Speyside malt but from which distillery is not revealed. It’s still perfectly possible to buy a new bottle with one of 80 different clan names (and their crests) printed on it. If you’re interested then the Scottish Kilt Company sell them for £4.99 each.

Update (16th May, 2014) – less than 5 months since I wrote this blog, I’ve checked the Scottish Kilt Company website and the price is now £7.99 each. A rise of 60%!!! That’s how crazy the whisky world is at the moment!

Alternative – Justminiatures do their version of ‘clan malts’ for £3.29 each here (blends are £2.99).

Loch Drunkie 10-year-old

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

I’m not sure whether to be delighted or disappointed with getting this mystery malt. I was hoping to find something out about it on the internet but nobody seems to have discussed it. That’s a shame but, it makes it all the more exciting that it’s such a mystery! What is this stuff?! I was hoping Jim Murray might have covered it in his Whisky Bible but none of the editions I have mention it. My earliest bible is 2006 so perhaps the Loch Drunkie had been discontinued before then.

Loch Drunkie itself is a small loch near Callander in the Stirling council area of Scotland. Famous for . . . well, nothing, but you can fish in it and cycle around it. Maybe even both at the same time if you’re after a bit more excitement!

Probably the closest distillery to Loch Drunkie is Deanston (as the crow flies) but Glengoyne distillery is closer by road at less than 20 miles. Could either of these distilleries be behind the Loch Drunkie malt? It remains a mystery.

MacArthur’s

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

Ratings:
77/100 – Whisky Bible 2006

When I searched online for ‘J MacArthur, JR & Co’ and got the postcode for this company, then did a search for the postcode, it matches that of Inver House, a company that owns several distilleries in Scotland. At a guess I would say that MacArthur’s was a blend that Inver House acquired, along with the business itself.

Although this bottle is a lot older than 2006, I imagine Jim Murray’s remark of “a decent touch or two, but basic” probably still applies to this miniature. A blend I acquired as part of a job lot of 10, where this one was there to make up the numbers. I’m not expecting this whisky to set my world on fire but let’s hope it’s a reasonable tipple!