MACALLAN 1990 - BLACKADDER RAW CASK

Much have been said about the current style of Macallan - the Gold, Amber, Sienna and Ruby...

Statements like 'a shadow of it self...' 'thin and without heart...' and 'Where has my Macallan gone?' has been seen posted on social media but if you look at it from the average whisky drinkers point of view, this is probably still good whisky, right? Well, we're all at different places on our whisky journey and the many people drinking these new expressions will most likely not know (or even care) what older versions tasted like and are also most likely not prepared to put down the money to find out... and for that reason these NAS expressions will probably live on - sadly!

Don't get me wrong, they're fine for the businessman rushing through the airport while wanting to pick up something with a popular brand name on, but they're no longer enough for the malt anorak with lots of malt mileage under his belt - then again, the anoraks are not where the turnover is to be found, volume sales is generated by an entirely different customer base...

Here and there, however, are bottles of Macallan tucked away under staircases and in cupboards, like at the place of a very good whisky friend of mine... Recently he brought out a heavily sherried Macallan to enjoy with friends as it should be... 

Macallan fishing hut on the distillery beat on the Spey River, June 13th 2013 © The Malt Desk

Macallan 1990 14yo (13.02.1990/xx.06.2004) 59,8%, sherry butt#2643, 201 bottles, Blackadder

Colour is mahogany

Nose:
Starts big and somewhat dirty with some matchstick sulphur.
Wet tobacco leaves, very ashy and earthy, leather, prunes, reduced balsamico, dark chocolate and a well sized alcohol attack on the nose.

Taste:
Big and meaty! this could be a Mortlach! There's certainly a Mortlach style sulphury edge to it. The alcohol delivers a huge punch and the whole thing seems a bit hot to begin with, but time will calm this down a bit.

There's that leather again, notes of earthiness and mushrooms and burnt coffee - very closed in fact! A little water brings out some expected dark fruit notes, overripe oranges, black pepper. Even with water this show a distinct and not that well integrated oaky side.

A big brute of a Macallan! Much of it because of its high alcohol strength...

86/100!

Thanks to JBH for the big dram and sample!

BRAEVAL 1996 - BLACKADDER RAW CASK

Located off the beaten path high up in hills in Speyside on the edge of the Cairngorm Mountains and not far from Tamnavulin and Glenlivet distilleries, you'll find Braeval. Originally named 'Braes of Glenlivet' it was quickly renamed 'Braeval' when current owners Pernod Ricard (Chivas Bros.) bought the distillery back around 2001 to prevent 'Braes' from being mistaken with their bread winner, Glenlivet...

As I mentioned, Braeval is located high up in the hills, actually there's a bit of a dispute with Dalwhinnie Distillery just off the A9 main road about which distillery is the one located at the highest point in Scotland. Dalwhinnie is located 10 miles north of Drumochter pass which is 460 meters above sea level. Dalwhinnie is supposedly 351 meters above sea level coming down on the north side of the pass. Braeval is, according to other surveys, located 355 meters above sea level but there's never been an exact survey establishing which distillery is located highest up.

Going to Braeval takes you off the smaller country road, the B9008 and after a couple of miles on a side road stopping for sheep with lambs and thinking you'll never find a distillery out here, there it is...

The Braeval whisky is light in style with lots of volatile fruity notes, IMO so it's with much anticipation I dive into this sherry cask expression, as I feared it might be over powered by the cask influence...

Here's my take on it...

Braeval Distillery, May 5th 2013 © The Malt Desk

Braeval 1996 12yo (xx.11.1996/xx.10.2009) 57,3% Sherry butt#4904, 488 bottles, Blackadder Raw Cask

Colour is light amber

Nose:
Sweet apple, white pepper, vanilla, baked banana, slight milk chocolaty notes and thin coffee, bit of crushed walnut. Alcohol carrying it all to your nose very aggressively, so this needs to be nosed very carefully.

Taste:
Vanilla, honey, crisp malt and very light in style in spite of the sherry cask influence (great!), cinnamon, apple again, caramelised white garden fruits, caramel desserts, also thingking vanilla ice cream with light caramel tough here... The sherry is certainly peeping through as a an accelerant towards the finish where it gives off a short alcohol burst but then mellows out on a slight burnt sugar note.

This is an very nice dram, indeed... I love to see the light style of Braeval still coming through even though its been matured in a sherry cask, though it's maybe not the most active one... but it's still enough to give it more than a touch of sherry notes.

Thanks to JC for bringing this to a recent private function

The score for me on this one creeps up to...

87/100!

ROSEBANK 1989 10YO - BLACKADDER NATURAL STRENGTH

Rosebank distillery was located on the western outskirts of Falkirk, northwest of Edinburgh... please note that I said 'was'... the distillery closed in 1993.

Being a light and sometimes volatile spirit, Rosebank has often been accused of not holding up for prolonged maturation but these days we see independent releases as old as 30 years doing just great... and why was it even seen as that? could it have something to do with Rosebank being distilled in the traditional old lowland style i.e. - 3 x distilled.

Now, Rosebank was actually one of the only distilleries still practicing triple distillation in recent days up until its closure in 1993, although as many as 30 was thought to have used triple distillation in the late 1800's. Today the Lowlands region of Scotland only has Auchentoshan using triple distillation. Rosebank is today, along with closed St. Magdalene/Linlithgow distillery also becoming cult whiskies and prices of these bottlings are going up fast too.

I'm sadly missing pictures from Falkirk of the old Rosebank buildings, but the modern wonders of technology lets Google Street View provide a picture for you.

Now, onto the review...

Rosebank 1989 10yo (xx.04.1989/xx.05.1999) 59%, oak cask#839, Blackadder Natural Strength

Colour is pale white wine

Nose:
At first very closed down, but after a while it becomes very aromatic with herbs, grass, perfumy hints, soft citrus notes, vanilla, white port and bursts of alcohol

Taste:
Without water this is just too rough, but with a splash it gets a creamy arrival, soft apple, malt extract, vanilla and coconut, bitter green grapes, lemon and a little porridge... all the flavours being very, very clean...

A lovely young Rosebank!

86/100!

ISLE OF ARRAN 16YO - BLACKADDER

August 2012 saw my first visit to Isle of Arran - and what a beautiful place this is!
We spent the night on the south of the island at the Lagg Hotel (recommended!).
Good food there and fine rooms - no cell phone reception though, but wireless available there in some parts of the hotel.

Lagg Hotel, Isle of Arran, August 18th 2012 © The Malt Desk

The next day saw us travelling up the west coast of Arran to Lochranza and the Arran Distillery which is among Scotlands youngest distilleries, completed only back in 1995. The whisky from there is now reaching its mid-teens and is - in this bloggers humble opinion - has for a while been having a quality to be reckoned with.

The bottling reviewed below is from early 1996 which makes it some of the oldest yet released, though its not an official bottling...

Isle of Arran Distillery, August 19th 2012 © The Malt Desk

Lochranza (Arran) Distillery 1996 16yo 07.02.1996/xx.04.2012, 52,8% oak hoggie#51 (not specified), 299 bottles, Blackadder

Colour is full straw

Nose:
Medium heavy nose, oily malt, freshly baked paestry and white fruit and oranges, waxy too plus a little varnish

Taste:
Arrival om malt and natural caramel, lighter than expected from the nose. Even though this is most likely an ex-bourbon cask, I'm getting something that resembles Fino sherry notes with its dryness. Also getting shortbread and spices, pineapple and banana - incredibly mouth coating!

Arran is maturing nicely - this is great stuff and I suggest you try and hunt down at bottle of this delicious stuff!

89/100!