Ben Nevis 19 yo 1996 / 2015 Fighting Fish 52.3% vs Ben Nevis 18 yo 1996 / 2014 The Whisky Agency 53.2%
Old, tatty and honest to goodness Ben Nevis. Ben Nevis 19 yo 1996 / 2015 Fighting Fish 52.3% I am late to the wonders of these 90s Ben Nevis. Wonderfully … Continue reading
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%
So there’s going to be a new core range 19 yo Official Bottling? Ardbeg 21 yo 1992 / 2013 Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask 15th Anniv. 50.2% It’s a perfectly … Continue reading
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 … Continue reading
Glenugie 32 yo 1965 / 1997 SMWS 99.7 55.1% vs Glenugie 32 yo 1965 / 1997 SMWS 99.6 56.6%
Glenugie 32 yo 1965 / 1997 SMWS 99.7 55.1% An oily medium bodied malt that’s fairly complex with viscous oils of various sorts both vegetal and industrial, pine resin and … Continue reading
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%
Clynelish 30 yo 1970 / 2000 Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask 312 bottles 42% Uncommon vintage and one of the earliest available from the new Clynelish post construction. Honey and … Continue reading
Rosebank 34 yo 1994 (distilled ~1960) James MacArthur 55% vs Rosebank 30 yo 1975 / 2005 Silver Seal 55.8%
Rosebank 34 yo 1994 (distilled ~1960) James MacArthur 55% Yes it’s an older style of Rosebank markedly different from the zesty and fresh of later years. This one reminds me … Continue reading
Clynelish 21 yo 1995 Signatory #8672 55.5% vs Clynelish 22 yo 1995 Signatory #8673 56.3%
Clynelish 21 yo 1995 Signatory #8672 55.5% Immediate. Rubbed wax, grated grapefruit peel, limestone, wet clay, dewy branches. liquid paraffin. A tiny bit of wet ropes, and just a touch … Continue reading
Ledaig 17 yo 1997 Carn Mor #643080 49.7% vs Ledaig 18 yo 1997 Carn Mor #643023 55.6%
Ledaig 17 yo 1997 Carn Mor #643080 49.7% These late 90s Ledaigs could be very good, and this one proves the point. It is uncomplicated but effective: Big peat, big … Continue reading
Ardmore 12 yo 1986 / 1999 100th Anniversary 40% vs Ardmore 20 yo Signatory bottled for the 50th Anniversary of the Forty-Nine Wine & Spirit Club in 2009 54%
Ardmore 12 yo 1986 / 1999 100th Anniversary 40% The peat used for Ardmore’s malt, being of a different composition than Islay peat, gives this Ardmore a muddy earth and … Continue reading
Glenlivet 26 yo 1968 / 1994 Signatory #2821 51.2% vs Glen Grant 25 yo 1976 / 2001 Signatory #2889 58.2%
Glenlivet 26 yo 1968 / 1994 Signatory #2821 51.2% A gentle and soothing old Glenlivet. Warm waxes softened into an oily pliability, elegant with light honeyed touches, poached syrup and … Continue reading
‘Hakushu’ Hakushu 43% vs Yoichi ‘Peaty and Salty’ 55%
‘Hakushu’ Hakushu 43% Slightly oily in a cold crushed kernel sort of way. Reserved and somewhat distant. Tiny bit of tobacco leaf, hints of dried bark and brown leaves, the … Continue reading
Bowmore 1957 / 1990 Moon Import 40% vs Bowmore Jug 1955 / 1974 ‘Specially bottled for 12th September 1974’ ceramic decanter
Bowmore 1957 / 1990 Moon Import 40% Any doubts can be put to rest, this is one of the finest Bowmores anyone can be fortunate enough to try, nevermind the … Continue reading
Wardhead 19 yo 1997 Impressive Cask Whisky-e Ltd 51.1% vs Wardhead 19 yo 1997 Big Fish Whisk-e Ltd 51.3%
Wardhead is of course teaspooned Glenfiddich. Wardhead 19 yo 1997 Impressive Cask Whisky-e Ltd 51.1% What’s impressive is the freshness and crisp malty nose, with entirely natural ‘naked’ scents of … Continue reading
Brora 37 yo 2016 Special Release 48.6% vs Brora 37 yo 2015 Special Release 50.4%
Brora 38 yo 1977 / 2016 Special Release 48.6% Early 70s Broras are known to be peated powerhouses more so than late period Broras, but this is a 1977, and … Continue reading
Bunnahabhain 1968 / 2010 Malts of Scotland #12291 40% vs Bunnahabhain 25 yo 1964 / 1990 Master of Malts #4852-4856 46%
Bunnahabhain 1968 / 2010 Malts of Scotland #12291 40% A profile that is perfect even at 40%, which makes this a breeze right from the pour: almond oil, thin resins … Continue reading
Glen Grant 8 yo Securo Cap 100 proof vs Glen Grant 15 yo Securo Cap 70 proof
Glen Grant 8 yo Securo Cap 100 proof An old nose – slightly dirty with grimey surfaces, mineral oil flecked with bits of carbonised something or other, and (wonderfully) no … Continue reading
Bellevue 17 yo 1998 Duncan Taylor #94 52.2% vs Bellevue 18 yo 1998 Kill Devil Hunter Laing 58.2%
Bellevue 17 yo 1998 Duncan Taylor #94 52.2% Papery dry bark, moist spongecake, and sugar glaze with hints of acerbic lemon zest. A lot more shows up on the tongue, … Continue reading
Oban 27 yo 1963 James MacArthur 56% vs Oban 32 yo 1969 / 2002 55.1%
Oban 27 yo 1963 James MacArthur 56% My chequered experience with unique minis like this tells me they should be handled with caution as the risk of off notes seem … Continue reading
Longmorn 21 yo 1973 / 1994 Signatory #9279 54.9% vs Longmorn 31 yo 1964 / 1996 Kingsbury #52 59%
Longmorn 21 yo 1973 / 1994 Signatory #9279 54.9% A deep yellow fruitiness blends beautifully with wet wool and rubbed granite. Aromatic earthen notes too in the shape of petrichor, … Continue reading
Ardbeg 12 yo 80 proof, white label bottled for the French Market in 1966 vs Ardbeg 18 yo 1975 / 1993 Signatory #2461-2463 43%
Ardbeg 12 yo 80 proof, white label bottled for the French Market in 1966 Tarry and phenolic in a primordially pure and achingly beautiful way, streaked with jagged salinity and … Continue reading
Springbank 21 yo 1995 / 2017 #470 Copper Monument vs Springbank 15 yo 1992 / 2007 The Whisky Society 52.6%
Springbank 21 yo 1995 / 2017 #470 Copper Monument 45.8% Quite rich and rounded without jagged edges. The sherry presents itself with overtones of blackcurrant jam, moist leather but also … Continue reading
Dalmore 30 yo 1963 / 1993 Cadenhead 54.5% vs Dalmore 1977 Glenscoma #12147 ’20 Year Anniversary of SCOMA GmbH’ 60.4%
This is a new format designed to be efficient with Instagram. Some changes are afoot. Dalmore 30 yo 1963 / 1993 Cadenhead 54.5% Uncommonly old Dalmore. It’s an oily one … Continue reading
Clément 1976 Très Vieux Rhum Agricole 44% vs Rhum Vieux du Pere Labat 1997 42%
Clément 1976 Très Vieux Rhum Agricole 44% A deep and burnished rhum that is, though I hate to use the word, totally smooth without any of the salty or phenolic … Continue reading
Bowmore 35 yo 1968 / 2003 Duncan Taylor #1426 vs Bowmore 40 yo 1968 / 2008 Duncan Taylor #3824 42.3%
And with this post, I will begin transitioning posts to Instagram, under the handle ‘whiskyrific’. Thank you all who have checked back on this blog through facebook now and then. … Continue reading
Monymusk ‘Sugar Estates of Jamaica’ Rhum Agricol Moon Import 46% vs Monymusk 12 yo Berry Brothers for La Maison du Whisky 55.4%
Monymusk ‘Sugar Estates of Jamaica’ Rhum Agricol Moon Import 46% Note this is a Rhum Agricole.. distilled in Jamaica… very odd because Jamaican rum is traditionally molasses based. Light almost … Continue reading
Bowmore 21 yo 1971 43% vs Bowmore 36 yo 1972 / 2008 Prestonfield #3881 48.8% vs Bowmore 27 yo 1973 / 2000 Blackadder #3176 50.2%
Somewhere else on this sunny island Bowmore week has started… Bowmore 21 yo 1971 43% ~ bottled 1992 While the fruit isn’t as explosive as say 1968, it remains an … Continue reading
Benrinnes 20 yo 1974 / 1994 Signatory #2577 43% vs Benrinnes 19 yo 1971 / 1991 Cadenhead 55.3%
Benrinnes 20 yo 1974 / 1994 Signatory #2577 43% I expected something of a beast but this old Benrinnes is a gentle old soul, granted there are dashes of beef … Continue reading
Old Pulteney 1989 / 2015 Lightly Peated Limited Edition 46% vs Old Pulteney 15 yo 1982 Millennium Single Cask #1522 61.1%
Old Pulteney 1989 / 2015 Lightly Peated Limited Edition 46% Only half trying to be lame, but there’s really something old in Old Pulteney that lingers on, and this one … Continue reading
An Cnoc 39 yo 1975 / 2014 44.2% vs Linkwood 36 yo 1973 / 2009 The Whisky Exchange 10 Years Online 49.7%
AnCnoc 39 yo 1975 / 2014 44.2% Just a note that AnCnoc is the whisky distilled at the Knockdhu distillery. This is done to avoid confusion with the nearby Knockando … Continue reading
Glenkinchie 18 yo 1974 James MacArthur’s 40% vs Inchmurrin 31 yo 1966 / 1997 SMWS 112.1 50.2%
Glenkinchie 18 yo 1974 James MacArthur’s 40% Unrecognisable if one’s only reference is the very bland whisky that it is today! Here is a revelation and a lesson. Its presents … Continue reading
Glenkinchie 19 yo 1964 Gordon & Macphail Connoisseurs Choice 40% ~ Brown label vs St. Magdalene 18 yo 1964 Gordon & Macphail Connoisseurs Choice 40% ~ Brown label
At the time, the Connoisseurs Choice range was meant as an introduction to lesser known distilleries. Little would they have known what a perfect little snapshot each of these bottles … Continue reading
Highland Park 1955 Gordon & Macphail ‘Cask’ 52.8% vs Highland Park 1955 Gordon & Macphail ‘Cask’ 54.6%
Highland Park 1955 Gordon & Macphail ‘Cask’ 52.8% And eternal gratitude to the most generous Whisky person ever! Somewhat reserved at first nosing, and it has its aromatics but not … Continue reading
Longmorn 1969 / 1991 Gordon & Macphail ‘Cask’ #3716/7 61% vs Longmorn 1969 Gordon & Macphail ‘Cask’ 61.5%
Longmorn 1969 / 1991 Gordon & Macphail ‘Cask’ #3716/7 61% A bottle series and a fabled year, quite sure nothing will go wrong now. And indeed. Joyous, exuberant, and gilded … Continue reading
Benromach 1982 / 2000 Gordon & Macphail ‘Cask’ #987 61% vs Benromach 1982 / 1996 Gordon & Macphail ‘Cask’ #1335 + 1341 63%
I don’t see very many Benromachs around, wonder what they’ve been doing with all their whisky, given it’s a small distillery, and yet it’s been 20 years since it reopened? … Continue reading
Mortlach 35 yo 1936 Gordon & Macphail Pinerolo for Edwards and Edwards 43% vs Macallan-Glenlivet 15 yo Pure Malt Gordon and Macphail Gold Label 80 proof
The Malt Affair Vol. 4 is over and there were some true gems to be had in the line up, like this stunning old Mortlach, fielded by first time exhibitors … Continue reading
Springbank 12 yo 100 proof 57% ~ early 90s vs Springbank 10 yo Sutti Import 59% ~ a rather dark vatting
Springbank 12 yo 100 proof 57% ~ early 90s Unmistakable quality at full volume, and the wall of scent is classic Springbank. Thick herbal liqueur, some pine or fir based … Continue reading
Glen Mhor 26 yo 1965 Prestonfield #202 56% vs Glen Mhor 1978 / 1989 Gordon & Macphail Cask 65.3%
Glen Mhor 26 yo 1965 Prestonfield #202 56% The old style sherry here is a fitting velvet glove for the adamantine fist of the Glen Mhor. First you luxuriate in … Continue reading
North Port 15 yo 1974 / 1989 Sestante ‘Very Rare’ 66.1% vs North Port 14 yo 1974 / 1988 Intertrade 66.2%
North Port, or Brechin, distillery was one of those hit by the whisky downturn of the 80s and closed for good in 1983. Not particularly missed or lamented, one still … Continue reading
Glen Grant 18 yo 1977 / 1995 Wilson & Morgan 46% vs Glen Grant 32 yo 1972 / 2004 Milroy 51%
Glen Grant 18 yo 1977 / 1995 Wilson & Morgan 46% Honestly a lovely sherry maturation, replete with cherry compote, fig jam, molasses and soy. Brittle old wood, cinnamon and … Continue reading
Pierde Almas Tobaziche Mezcal 48% vs Pescador De Suenos Tobala PSTB-2A 2016 San Juan Del Rio 50.13% NOM-0258X
Pierde Almas Tobaziche Mezcal 48% A luminous and crystalline mezcal short on smoke and the dirty facets one finds in other makes. Instead it bring a full agave flavour, clean … Continue reading
A Kilbride Distillery 28 yo 1989 / 2017 HNWS Taiwan 51.1% vs Laphroaig 25 yo 1986 / 2011 AD Rattray #2123 60.6%
A Kilbride Distillery 28 yo 1989 / 2017 HNWS Taiwan 51.1% It doesn’t actually say Laphroaig but the word Kilbride is a dead giveaway – that and the whisky itself. … Continue reading
Dalwhinnie 1970 / 1991 Connoisseurs Choice ‘Map label’ Gordon & Macphail 40% vs Dalwhinnie 1963 Connoisseurs Choice ‘Brown label’ Gordon & Macphail 40% ~ mid 80s bottling
Dalwhinnie 1970 / 1991 Connoisseurs Choice ‘Map label’ Gordon & Macphail 40% I’ve always been intrigued by Dalwhinnie. While it falls into the light but stark, slightly floral highlands style, … Continue reading
Mannochmore 14 yo 1992 / 2006 Cadenhead Authentic Collection 54.6% vs Mannochmore 25 yo 1990 / 2016 Special Release 53.4%
A modern distillery founded in 1971, its six stills only went quiet between 1985 and 1989. Given that this distillery is (unfairly?) blamed for being the source of Loch Dhu, … Continue reading
Been off travelling, some good drinks too. 50s and 60s Bowmore, 60s Laphroaig, 60s Ardbeg, 60s Highland Park, 1972 Brora
Visiting some friends, and drinking some great old bottles. A pictorial record: Bowmore 1957 / 1990 Moon Import 40% Such elegance and nervous poise. I think of another … Continue reading
Bruichladdich 25 yo 1991 #2490 & 2491 Dun Bheagan Ian Macleod 48.1% vs Bruichladdich 24 yo 1992 Black Art 5.1 48.4%
… or ‘One wonders why the wine’, or alternatively ‘What wonders the wine wrought’, depending on which camp you fall into, red or blue, left or right, Rebels or Empire. … Continue reading
Cardow (Cardhu) 28 yo 1962 James MacArthur 55.7% vs Craigellachie 46 yo 1970 #1607 Gordon & Macphail for LMdW 60th Anniversary 54.2%
Cardow (Cardhu) 28 yo 1962 James MacArthur 55.7% It is very unusual to find a 60s vintage Cardhu. There’s really only the Cadenhead black dumpy, and then this strange one, … Continue reading
Longmorn 1967 Old Master’s James MacArthur 57.1% vs Longmorn 30 yo 1969 / 1999 #4249 Adelphi 56.7%
Longmorn 1967 Old Master’s James MacArthur 57.1% Note that the mini does not give the bottling year nor the cask number, but the equivalent full bottle states 2002 and cask … Continue reading
Caol Ila 19 yo 1995 Signatory #457 + 458 vs Caol Ila 1990 Mackillop’s Choice #1484
Caol Ila 19 yo 1995 Signatory #457 + 458 46% The fresh sort of peaty Islay, more buttered burnt toast than unholy infernos. A light toned but rooty ‘clean earth’ … Continue reading
Hampden 7 yo 2010 Velier 62% vs Long Pond 15 yo 2003 1200/1300 ‘Continental Flavoured’ TECA 63%
Oberservation: Some of these high quality young rums completely outclass whisky of the same age. Counterpoint: Apples and Oranges though. Hampden 7 yo 2010 Velier 62% Thick treacly yet salty … Continue reading
Highland Park 1982 / 1994 Gordon & Macphail Cask #784-786, 788 56.9% vs Highland Park 1983 / 1992 Gordon & Macphail Cask #1556 59.7%
Seems like a bumper crop of young undisclosed Highland Parks has arrived at the independents, most of which seem to have been well received. How about some young HPs from … Continue reading
