Old Rhosdhu

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

Ratings:
63/100 – Malt Maniacs (average from 4 reviewers)
75/100 – Whiskybase (average from 4 member votes)

My first example of a single malt from the Loch Lomond distillery and I was disappointed to see the rating on Malt Maniacs. Then I took a look at the marks for other Loch Lomond malts and realised there was a theme here – they all mostly rate average to poor. In 2006 the Whisky Bible gives the Old Rhosdhu 5-year-old (which I believe replaced my NAS bottle) 77/100 and said “big, ungainly, molassed, caramelised chewing whisky”. So even the new version in 2006 wasn’t much of an improvement! But at least it ticks Loch Lomond distillery off the collection list.

75/100 on Whiskybase doesn’t seem so bad until you start to read the comments,  “tastes like a cheap, bad blend”, “borderline ‘down the sink’ territory due to there being very little going coupled with a poor start and finish” and “in my view not worthy to be labelled a single malt”.

Tasting notes provided on Whiskybase:
Nose: Smells like sunflowers and metallic also a little musty. There is some fruity sweetness but it is in the background.
Taste: Very weak and bitter with a few banana & custard notes. Cardboardy, there are a few pineapple notes.
Finish: Short, a little weak and a little zesty

 

Dew of Ben Nevis

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

Ratings:
76/100 – Whisky Bible 2006

It seems this bottle was discontinued sometime between 2006 and 2009 because in my 2009 edition of the Whisky Bible it’s been replaced by a ‘blue label’ version and there’s now a 12yo version of this blend. As mentioned above, in 2006 my little bottle of Ben scores 76/100 in the bible, which is “average and usually pleasant though sometimes flawed”. Jim says of this blend “heavy duty stuff with a sweet finish” so obviously not worthy of many words.

The Dew of Ben Nevis is one of two blends produced by the Ben Nevis distillery, the other being Glencoe.

Dunhill ‘Old Master’

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

Apparently Alfred Dunhill Ltd got into selling whisky in 1982, so this bottle isn’t any older than that. The bottle design is quite interesting and it’s a replica of a Victorian design from 1845. It’s certainly very distinctive. Malts in the mix are said to be between 8 and 20 years old. When hunting for this blend on Google the first link I found was for a big bottle on ‘Master of Malt’ that they once sold for £250. It’s now flagged as ‘discontinued’. But I also found two big bottles that sold at auction in 2012 at £20 each. That’s more like it for a blend, even if this was considered a luxury version. ‘Hard To Find Whisky’ are trying to sell a bottle for £250 which is madness. My miniature has a price label on it, presumably from the first shop it was bought from, for £4.95, It cost about £2 at auction.

Argyll 12-year-old

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

Ratings:
88/100 – Whiskybase (from 1 member vote – 757ml version)

Another mystery malt?! It looks very likely. Digging around on the internet I found that a similar black jug of whisky was made for the QE2 cruise ship. Like the Argyll, the QE2 jug was bottled by Beinn Bhuidhe Holding Ltd, Inveraray, Scotland. I found a discussion about the QE2 malt on a forum where the holding company was identified as Morrison Bowmore Ltd. It was agreed that the QE2 whisky was most likely Auchentoshan, owned by Morrison Bowmore distillers ltd. Perhaps this Argyll 12yo is Auchentoshan? Unfortunately Morrison Bowmore also own two other distillers, Bowmore and Glen Garioch. The Argyll could be one of those.

As this is my first little whisky jug in my collection I had a look on Ebay to find out what empty jugs sell for. I was stunned! My Argyll only cost about £2 with whisky in it but I could sell the empty bottle on Ebay for 2 or 3 times that price, or even more! Funny to think that the whisky inside is free!

Glenmorangie Port Wood Finish

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

Ratings:
80/100 – Malt Maniacs (average from 10 reviewers)
75/100 – Whisky Fun (December 2004)

I bought this miniature example of Glenmorangie along with a 10-year-old in a metal presentation tin at auction. A previous owner has put a label inside saying “X-mas 99, £4.99” which was very kind of them. There was a new release of this port wood finish in 1999 so I’m assuming this was it.

Jim Murray mentions this port wood expression in his whisky bible of 2006. Although he gives it a good mark of 87/100 he says it’s not as good as it was 10 years earlier. It’s hard to say if this applies to my bottle from 1999 but hey, it’s Glenmorangie so it’s bound to be great!

Tullibardine 1988

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

Ratings:
71/100 – Malt Maniacs (average from 8 reviewers)

After winning this bottle at auction, I received it to find a label on the back written by a previous owner which said “15/7/08 Ebay £5.76”. Five years later and I win it at auction for £3.25. It goes to show that not every whisky has shot up in price in recent years! But getting 71/100 on Malt Maniacs, I might have bought a turkey rather than a golden goose.

What’s interesting about Tullibardine, and indeed this bottle, is that the distillery was mothballed in 1994, then opened again in 2003. According to Malt Maniacs this bottle was produced around 2004, shortly after the distillery reopened. Distilled in 1988 it was clearly a cask kept in storage during the time the distillery was in limbo. It makes me wonder what happens to casks during such times, and if they have much, or any care and attention?!

Braes of Glenlivet 8-year-old

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

Ratings:
89/100 – Malt Maniacs (average from 4 reviewers)
65/100 – Whisky Fun (April 2007)

For a young whisky distilled in 1987 and bottled in 1995, I feel quite fortunate to find several reviews online. But they are rather confused. Averaging a fantastic 89/100 on Malt Maniacs from 4 reviews, Whisky Fun only gives it 65/100. Perhaps he had a bad bottle?! I must admit though, I had to laugh when the review said “I’m sorry but ‘ouch!’” after drinking it neat. It’s 62.7%, which says it all. Anything that strong was going to need watering down!

This bottle ticked ‘Braeval’ off my ‘distilleries to get’ list. Originally I was wanting to get a 11-year-old Braeval ‘Old Malt Cask’ but unfortunately it was out-of-stock when I ordered it. This pre-name-change version will do for now but I’m still on the hunt for a new example from the Braeval distillery.

Teaninich 1981 17-year-old

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

Finally I have an example of whisky by the independent bottler ‘Signatory’. They’ve proved very tricky to purchase at auction because they’re always very popular. I think it’s partly because of their reputation for good quality, partly because their bottles come with a nice tube, but also because even a miniature has information about the cask and bottle number on it. My little example is bottle no.619 from 1250 taken from cask 89/587/101 and bottled in April 1998. Fascinating! 🙂 This may seem like it brings out the inner train-spotter but it’s this level of extra detail that adds value to a whisky, unfortunately. I say ‘unfortunately’ because whisky is expensive enough, and I’m more about the taste than having the master distiller’s inside leg measurement on every bottle. When I drink this will I remember it was bottle 619 from 1250?! Will I care?! Not in the slightest. But if it tastes great than I’ll be after another example from Teaninich!

Linkwood 25-year-old 1980s

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

Ratings:
80/100 – Whiskybase (from 1 member vote)

As a big fan of Linkwood I had to pinch myself when I won this little bottle at auction. Although it’s not the longest example of maturation in my collection (I have a 26yo Highland Park and 29yo Tormore), where this Linkwood wins is the date it was distilled. This miniature dram was bottled by Gordon & MacPhail in the 1980s, which means it was first distilled in the 1960s or even late 1950s. I found a very similar 70cl bottle online dated 1959 that sold at auction for £168.

The reason why I only had to pay £5.25 for this bottle of history is probably because you can still buy a new 70cl bottle of Linkwood 25yo today, priced at about £80. That’s a bit rich for my blood but some would consider it quite cheap for a vintage malt – Simon Cowell and Bill Gates for example. I say that now but if I ever drink this miniature I’d feel compelled to replace it, so I’d better start saving my cash!

Knockando 1986

Bought – Online Whisky Auction, 22nd December 2013

Last year I was all set to buy the latest version of the Knockando 12-year-old from Waitrose for £28 when I read Jim Murray’s review in his Whisky Bible. Scoring 76/100 his first word was “disappointing”. The 12-year-old distilled 2 years earlier got 86/100. I don’t know about you but when I’m clutching £28 in my hand, all set to buy something, and I hear it’s “disappointing” I decided to put my money elsewhere.

It was when I started following whisky auctions that I noticed lots of old Knockando bottings with dates on them – 1974, 1975, 1976, etc., available in both 70cl and miniature form. How interesting! According to my book on distilleries, Knockando started these ‘annual’ bottlings in the 1970s, mentioning the year of distillation rather than a specific age statement.

When I bought this miniature 1986 there were several other Knockando dated whiskies on offer. 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978 and 1980 to name but 5. I have to wonder if the idea behind doing this was for collecting. I can imagine getting bottles from several different years and wanting to find the ones I’m missing. I must resist! Thankfully I think I can. I’ll save my pennies until the 70cl 12yo gets a decent review again.