Glen Keith 40 yo 1970 Murray McDavid Aficionado Bottle 1 of 1 vs Glen Elgin 40 yo 1975 Maltbarn
Because who has that many samples of old Glen Keith or Glen Elgin lying around –
Glen Keith 40 yo 1970 Murray McDavid Aficionado Bottle 1 of 1 49.2%
A Limburg only special, lucky you if you were at a friendly neighbourhood bar when it was still available by the pour.
Nose: Very impressive nose, who would have thought to find this much fruit in Glen Keith. Baskets of fruit, ripe pineapple, red berries, mandarins. Not a bursting fruit though but deep and layered into these many oils and leather and hot cream so yes the oak is unavoidable but remarkably polite considered the great age. Find also strands of dried sage maybe? Great composition – a lush depth but well-ordered with perfect balance.
Palate: The oak is quite evident. Old ‘dull’ peppercorns and wrinkled ginger knobs give a moderate hot sting. Also quite flinty but now here the fruit really start to get loud. Just popping with fizzy juice. Lots of oils and ‘weight’ behind it too. Then the varnish and leather, old panels, burnt caramel and carbon notes start to assert themselves. Feels very much like an Irish Single Malt with more weight and more wood.
Finish: Not that long, residual juice is evident but so are the oaky notes, though it feels like it’s getting tired now.
Glen Elgin 40 yo 1975 Maltbarn 48.5%
Nose: Like the Glen Keith the maturity is evident, even if it leans towards a leaner profile. Still it’s round and multifaceted. This one has deeper sweet oils and thin waxes – clean and clear with just a hint of snubbed candle. Also so quite a heap of minerals as well – flints, sand and granite. It does allude (somewhat) to Clynelish right now. Some clay, some bark and leaf clippings. A little on the simple side.
Palate: Turns out to be the light and lean sort that registers ‘higher’ – as opposed to heavy. Hot minerals lots of hot sand and hot glass. Also hot waxes and thin sweet oils plus honey. A dose of tart green fruit now. It’s somewhat astringent. Bark and more fresh clippings from the garden. Quite effervescent.
Finish: Somewhat shorter than expected, and it does fizzle out somewhat, tart and astringent, some clay maybe. Minerals.
Whiskyrific RSS
- Lagavulin 10 yo 1988 / 1998 Horae Solaris Moon Import 50% vs Lagavulin 1988 Samaroli 56%
- Tomatin 23 yo 1981 / 2005 Whisky Wizard #18244 46% vs Tomatin 34 yo 1976 / 2010 The Whisky Agency & 3Rivers 51.1%
- Bunnahabhain 26 yo 1987 Highland Laird 51.1% vs Bunnahabhain 25 yo 1988 / 2013 La Maison du Whisky Artist 3 #18745 56.3%
- Glen Garioch 1993 / 2014 Spirit & Cask Range #1794 52.9% vs Glen Garioch 25 yo 1990 Old Particular Douglas Laing #10989 56.9%
- Laphroaig 9 yo 2004 / 2013 Hunter Laing ‘Advance Sample’ #10054 50% vs Laphroaig 12 yo 2002 / 2014 Distillery only self fill cask #6930 57%
- Glenfiddich 18 yo 40% vs Glenfiddich 37 yo 1964 / 2001 Ian Macleod #10791 58.7%
- Dalwhinnie Winter’s Gold 43% vs Dalwhinnie Lizzie’s Dram 48% vs Dalwhinnie distillery only 2008 / 2019 American Oak Single Cask 63.4% vs Dalwhinnie distillery only 2008 / 2019 Bodega Sherry Single Cask 63%
- Domaine Dupont Millésime 1977 Calvados 42%
- Benrinnes 28 yo 1984 / 2013 Old & Rare Hunter Laing 49.8% vs Benrinnes 16 yo 1980 / 1996 Blackadder #1350 61.2%
- Teaninich 34 yo 1983 / 2018 Berry Bros for Shinanoya #6729 46.2% vs Teaninich 18 yo James MacArthur (bottled 1991 ~ distilled circa 1973) 58.4% vs Teaninich SMWS 59.5
