The Malt Affair: Michiel Wigman Masterclass tasting
Welcome Michiel and Jan to Singapore! We hope you’ve enjoyed our food and hospitality, and that you were never short of something to drink. Notes from the engaging Masterclass:
Ardbeg 28 yo 1965 – 1996 Cadenhead 54.4% Dried grass on fire, engine oil and working engines. Something here is very reedy. Reed mats, clean white minerals with a splash of mud just after the rain. Sea worn timbers, tarred rope and murky seawater. Old glue and flaking old books. This one has an element of phenolic dirtiness that isn’t quite dirty if you catch my meaning. And the antique peat is distinctive. 90 pts
Miltonduff 23 yo 1966 / 1990 Spinola 61.4% Chocolate, pu erh, graphite and juicy black plums plus blackberries. Expressive and full of easy charm. Cinnamon and allspice glazed walnuts, amaro and more weight than I imagined Miltonduff capable of. Hints of mint and bullion, but it remains totally juicy and sherry led, never straying into overly woody and tannic territories, which at this strength and in this cask, is something wondrous itself. 92 pts
Springbank 32 yo Local Barley 1966 / 1998 #494 54.4% Outstanding. Broad shouldered yet multi hued. Resinous, barky, just slightly medicinal in a herbaceous way. But also engine oil, sea air, wisps of white smoke, dry clay, coal pits, smears of ash and dried peat. While not fruity per se, the zesty overtones of grapefruit and limes are apparent as are preserved melon rind and salted licorice. Easy peasy 93 pts
Longmorn 1977 / 1999 Scott’s 57.8% Plenty of bursting reds and deep purple fruit. Maraschino cherries, plum sauce, cocoa, a drop of tar, hacks candy, bitter herbal remedies, thick black tea and a bit of soot. It’s all very good until the finish approaches and then it veers sideways into all sorts of bitter woody and overly tannic territories. Pity, would have been stellar otherwise. 88 pts
Linkwood 1969 – 1988 Moon Costumes #1693 46% Coffee powder, licorice, some soot and blackberry jam. Dry on the tongue, with emergent dry spiciness like rye bread with a few drops of amaro. Cinnamon, firewood and black pepper, though taking a turning towards tannic black tea. Not a heavyweight but rather supple and lifting. 88 pts
Glenrothes 33 yo 1967 – 2000 VAMA 48.5% Warm waxes, a single sliver of dried citrus peel, mint and chamomile tea. Some gentle phenols like a drop of machine oil, with warm granite, sprinkled with ground angelica quinine and black pepper. Though it skirts bitter territories nervously. A precious little nugget – dense, coherently assembled and always rounded and soft. 89 pts
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- Glen Ord 28 yo 1992 / 2020 SMWS 77.65 49.3% vs Caol Ila 27 yo 1983 / 2010 Spirit of Caledonia 51.5%
- Craigellachie 20 yo 1972 / 1992 Cadenhead 53.3% vs Craigellachie 22 yo 1973 / 1995 Rare Malts 60.2%
- TTomatin 40 yo 1962 / 2002 Douglas Laing 44% vs Tomatin 19 yo 1976 / 1996 Cadenhead 55.9%
- Benrinnes 20 yo 1995 / 2018 La Maison du Whisky #6093 49.4% vs Benrinnes 20 yo 1997 / 2017 Cadenhead for Shinanoya #912 57.4%
- Ireland 27 yo 1988 / 2015 Nectar of the Daily Drams for La Maison 49.5% vs Secret Highlands 24 yo 1996 / 2020 Batch no.7 Finest Whisky Berlin 54.8%
- Single Malt Irish Whiskey 30 yo 1989 / 2019 The Whisky Cask Company #16044/16258 48.1% vs Single Malt Irish Whiskey 24 yo 1991 / 2016 The Whisky Cask Company #6847 55.8%
- Teaninich 12 yo 2007 / 2019 Single Malts of Scotland #301262 57.5% vs Secret Orkney 15 yo 2005 / 2021 Cooper’s Choice #121 56%
- Bunnahabhain 30 1989 / 2020 “Kinship” Hunter Laing 45.5% vs Laphroaig 24 1990 / 2014 Hunter Laing #HL14111 51.9%
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