Crabbie 30 yo John Crabbie 48.6% (allegedly Macallan) vs Glengoyne 40 yo Single Malts of Scotland 56.8%
I am sure I am not alone in preferring this shot of the old Macallan to the shrine to commercialism that is the new distillery.
Crabbie 30 yo John Crabbie 48.6% ~ bottled 2018 (allegedly Macallan)
A single cask. And by this nose, refill I think. Soft and plush with lots of jammy tones, a tangy glazed maraschino, cocoa powder on confections, allpice and black pepper, and soaked tea leaves – so a little prickly with tannins as well. The spirit is nicely rounded off with good maturation but still keeps its structure tight. Toasty cereal and malty elements remain. Juicy red berries. Some dry cardboard on the tongue, black ink and quite some spicy and burnt sort of oak tannins starting to show. It’s all there but done with the panache of middle management civil service. So tick tock check the box but a little boring. A solid 86 pts.
Glengoyne 40 yo Single Malts of Scotland 56.8% ~ bottled 2017
So, Whisky Exchange. Yup avalanche of rich dried fruit as expected, all sorts of purples and viscous fruit juice. A wall of raspberry and dark chocolate bricks. Lots of thick black tea, enough to power a construction crew. Soot, snubbed candles, charred wood and tar. Not quite into soy sauce territories yet though. Caramelised sugar left just a moment too long on the stove. Liquorice sticks, stripped and dried out bark. Goopy resin-covered twigs. On the tongue it maintains an enveloping richness and shows off a dry cinnamon and dessert spices dustiness with little leafy notes. Very delicately tiptoeing the line on oak tannins so it’s heavy yes but not yet blocky or unbalanced. Very good one. 90 pts.
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- 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
- Ben Nevis 19 yo 1996 / 2015 Fighting Fish 52.3% vs Ben Nevis 18 yo 1996 / 2014 The Whisky Agency 53.2%
- Ardbeg 21 yo 1992 / 2013 Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask 15th Anniv. 50.2% vs Ardbeg 21 yo 1993 / 2014 Mackillop’s Choice #1289 54.3%
- Crabbie 30 yo John Crabbie 48.6% (allegedly Macallan) vs Glengoyne 40 yo Single Malts of Scotland 56.8%
- Glenugie 32 yo 1965 / 1997 SMWS 99.7 55.1% vs Glenugie 32 yo 1965 / 1997 SMWS 99.6 56.6%
- Clynelish 30 yo 1970 / 2000 Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask 312 bottles 42% vs Clynelish 31 yo 1970 / 2001 Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask 186 bottles 48.4%
- Rosebank 34 yo 1994 (distilled ~1960) James MacArthur 55% vs Rosebank 30 yo 1975 / 2005 Silver Seal 55.8%
- Clynelish 21 yo 1995 Signatory #8672 55.5% vs Clynelish 22 yo 1995 Signatory #8673 56.3%
