CAPERDONICH 1992 20YO - BERRY BROS & RUDD

Key words here are:

Demolished Speyside distillery, there's a hype around bottlings from 1972, used to be called Glen Grant#2, had a pipe with new make spirit going across the road to the filling store... I'm, of course, talking about the Caperdonich Distillery as you might already have guessed from the headline ;-)

The production from those years, almost all went into blends, but some casks escaped the blending vat, making it possible for us to try lost malts like this one today...

Here's my view on this 20yo expression...

Caperdonich 1992 20yo 46%, ex-bourbon cask#121125, Berry Bros & Rudd

Colour is pale straw

Nose:
Vanilla, fruit and berries, mandarin, peeled grapefruit and gooseberries, grassy and a distinct oaky edge. Seems a little 'hot' on the nose...

Taste:
Oak spices, quite peppery actually, short malt rush, then a burst of fruit which quickly rushes off again. A very strange palate if you ask me - it seems a bit out of balance and actually quite spirity and hot at 46%. The addition of water takes away some of the heat and gives the fruits a bit more time to linger and also produces some faint licorice notes along with hint of pineapple.

This certainly needs water and once it had some it becomes a decent dram... but still lacking some balance, though...

82/100!

GLENLIVET 1973 38YO - BERRY BROS & RUDD

Like I mentioned in the last post, the Glenlivet 12 used as a benchmark whisky comes up against these next expressions... starting with this one - a 38yo expression from London based bottlers and wine merchant Berry Bros & Rudd.

Glenlivet is one of those malts that seems to have been around forever which also shows when bottlers like Gordon & MacPhail in Elgin suddenly pops out a 70yo expression a couple of years back... and also a series of other bottling in their private collection series. One can only wonder how much other great stuff they have tucked away...

Some old casks of Glenlivet tucked away at an undisclosed location © The Malt Desk May 2012

This was an expression bottled by Berry Bros for The Whisky Show 2012 - a weekend event hosted by the large (online) retailer The Whisky Exchange.

Reports says the bottling was received very well at the show and since there was only 120 bottles available of it, it had to disappear very quickly - and it did!

Lets see if there was a reason for that...

Glenlivet 1973 38yo 48,6%, cask#10644, Berry Bros for The Whisky Show 2012, 120 bottles

Colour is full gold

Nose:
Crisp barley, hint of varnish, honey, tropical fruits - especially coconut and pineapple, orange marmalade and some nipping salt even

Taste:
Very nice arrival on flowery malt, melon, candied apples, confectionery's sugar, almonds, very lively and not tired at all. A little oak pops up somewhere mid palate but gets flushed in orange sweets drops and juicy malt. Finish is long on, spices, ginger, toffee, fruits and sweet malt.

What a lovely old 'Livet this is...

90/100!

GLENTURRET 1978 - BERRY BROS & RUDD

This will be the first whisky from this distillery I'll be reviewing for this blog.

I visited the place in August 2009 and there was no doubt which blend the place was was associated with - there were Grouse all over the lot there... but this is the malt desk and - at least for now - not the blend desk.

We're of course at Glenturret Distillery in Crieff - another distillery claiming its the oldest in Scotland - along with a few others... but I'll not get into that as its often a matter of first illegal/legal distillation on site etc.

I've actually not had that much experince with Glenturret other than a couple of distillery bottlings which really didnt impress me that much... drinkable, yes... but something was missing.

The bottling I'll be trying, though, has gotten very good reviews indeed, so I thought I had to try it myself, as I mentioned Glenturret, is a malt road less travelled for me.

Glenturret Distillery & The Famous Grouse Experience - August 2009 © The Malt Desk

Glenturret 1978 34yo 47,6%, ex-bourbon cask#2, Berry Bros & Rudd

Colour is full straw

Nose:
Honey, melon, apple, pineapple, licorice, mild oak and fruitgums

Taste:
Coffee beans, fruit mix, some mellow citrus, cocktail berry sugar sweetness, finish is very sweet and rum like, hint of old grains - very delicate in fact, like it could snap at any time.

If only all Glenturrets could be like this one...
My notes above doesn't do this one justice, I'm afraid - other than I might add it's good!

90/100!

CRAIGELLACHIE 1991 - BERRY BROS & RUDD

Craigellachie Distillery is one of those that truly lives a quiet life - although they put out around 4 million liters of spirit each year - most to go into the Dewar's blend.

It's an industrial distillery for sure, highly automatic - even more than see in other places I've seen. Located in the village of Craigellachie on the road to Dufftown, its very much one of those places you just pass and never will get to visit as its not normally open to the public - but a few of us were very luckily to visit during the 2011 Spirit of Speyside Spring Festival.

It's also one of those distilleries that uses worm tubs for cooling, and with that sometimes producing a heavier spirit note, sometimes described as 'meaty' as in i.e. Mortlach that also uses worm tubs. I wouldn't exactly describe the Craigellachie spirit as meaty or heavy - instead it has an indescribable edge to it and an ultra clean malt/grain character.

The distillery put out a 14yo that's an easy drinking dram, but I haven't seen it around for a while... so probably discontinued. Before that - and when the distillery was still owned by United Distillers (Diageo) they had a bottling in the Flora & Fauna range and a bottling in the Rare Malt series as well.

Personally I think this distillery deserves more attention than it gets, as it can really put out some good stuff - but it all seems to disappear into Dewar's blends.

Craigellachie Distillery, May 2nd 2011 © The Malt Desk

Craigellachie 1991 20yo 55,8%, ex-bourbon cask#2715, 218 bottles, Berry Bros & Rudd

Colour is white wine

Nose:
Bakery shop, fresh, sliced pineapple, spices, hint of licorice root - a bourbon cask straight as an arrow!

Taste:
Vanilla, paestry, creamy, peppery, the licorice shows itself here, also green apples, a flowery note and truckloads of medium heavy malt/barley sugar.

An easy drinking summer malt, a slow sipper on a hot day - Lovely!

87/100!

BUNNAHABHAIN 1990 - BERRY BROS & RUDD

I don't know why, but the darker and colder months always brings out the smoke gene in me, and its in these months I drink most of my peated whiskies and I often wonder if others have the same way?

If you do, please comment below the review - thank you!

Now, I've reviewed 8 Bunnahabhains already on here - and I think I've mentioned this before - but Bunnahabhain is really a (still hidden?) gem. Especially the older stuff!

This time I'll be trying a bottling from London based wine & spirits merchant, Berry Bros. & Rudd. I've had mixed experiences with them, though mostly good...

Bunnahabhain 1990 21yo 53,1%, refill sherry butt#18, 616 bottles, Berry Bros & Rudd

Colour is deep mahogany

Nose:
Heavy, oranges, mint, (diesel?) oil, pine, tea and pipe tobacco

Taste:
Some rubbery notes and hints of sulphur, dry oloroso sherry, a small hint of smoke and a little spicy oak. Prunes and raisins and earthen floors. Goes herbal with water and gets very spicy, finishing on pepper and oak.

A good Bunnahabhain that I think will benefit from oxidation... still its not all the way up there..

84/100!