BENRINNES 2000 19YO - CADENHEAD IN THE COURTYARD

Time flies - its been 2 weeks since the last post :-O  - also keeping this a short one...

I recently opened the bottle which I'm about to review and I thought I'd let it breathe a bit before giving my opinion on it.... and yes, I know - it's another Benrinnes - but it's a good one!

This bottle was one a little more than a handful of expression available at the Cadenhead in the Courtyard event in September 2019 - a sort of a Cadenhead Open Day outside the one they usually share with Kilkerran during the Campbeltown Malt Festival in May

We were lucky with the weather too for this event back then and the Courtyard event itself combined with a few upstairs tastings and warehouse tasting made this a perfect day out! Add to that the opportunity to take away some bottlings exclusive to this event - what a treat!

Draff being dumped from Benrinnes on 3rd May 2010 © The Malt Desk

Benrinnes 2000 19yo 56,5%, 2 sherry hogsheads + 1 bourbon hogshead, 56,5%, Cadenhead in the Courtyard

Nose:
A slight alcohol nip at first, but then a clean fresh sherry style with rum raisins, cold coffee, milk chocolate, cough sweets, licorice root, and candied apple slices.
I do recognize this as a malt, but the moe inexperienced nose could easily mistake this for a rum, IMO

Taste:
For a second there, on arrival, this just gives an alcohol burn
This is chocolate and praline, a bit earthy style sherry here but still clean as a
whistle in its style, maybe a bit of that cough style camphor in here too?

Quite syrupy, but also a hint of some orangy notes peeping through mixed with coffee and strong tea. Somehow, I'm also getting the impression that this how a whisky/coffee/dark honey mix would taste like if not at cask strength like this one.

Great stuff, especially on the nose!
A real Winter Warmer!

89/100!

MACALLAN 1989 31YO - CADENHEAD SHOP RELEASE 2020

Every year, these past few years, indie bottler Cadenheads has released bottlings chosen for each of their UK and Continental retail shops - and 2020 was no different - even with the Corona still raging...

The bottlings for released in Dec 2020 were:

Benriach 2010, 10yo
Bunnahabhain 2013, 7yo

Glenallachie 2007, 12yo

Glenburgie 2010, 10yo

Glendronach 1990, 30yo

Glenfarclas 2003, 17yo

Highland Park 1992, 28yo

Miltonduff 2008, 12yo

Macallan 1989, 31yo

Below, I'll pass on my initial impressions on the latter Macallan and I will also be slapping an initial score on it, but it will not get a full-on review with extensive notes due to the sample size. 

Visiting in September 2019, a period where the distillery should be packed with visitors, the ones there were what also the ones I feared fiding there...
Most visitors were from markets that see Macallan more like a luxury brand rather than a whisky.

Also, the decline in cask quality over the years are now showing.
The fabled old sulphur-free sherry casks of yesteryear are gone and I find that the new style, slightly sour sherry cask style/note that I also find in Highland Park has crept into Macallan. This makes perfect sense really, as Highland Park and Macallan are owned by the same parent company, Edrington and cask source is the same.

This bottling, however, comes from an ex-bourbon barrel, so we'll not be dealing with sherry off-notes here - and yes, Macallan does mature some of their spirit in ex-bourbon casks as opposed to general belief. This claim is also made by other distilleries that matures their whisky in sherry casks, but this is purely a marketing scheme.

This though is still not a guarantee of good wood as even bourbon casks go bad or infuse too much wood into the spirit. This being a Cadenhead bottling though, I do not expect this to be the case...

The small Macallan sample tasted below was made at the old Macallan distillery and not at the new shiny one pictured below. However impressive the new Macallan is, however carbon-neutral or 'green' they are its sadly also a monument over what the brand has become.

Let's try it

The new Macallan Distillery, September 17th 2019 © The Malt Desk

Macallan 1989 31yo 45,3%, ex-bourbon barrel, 108 bottles - Selected by the Cadenhead Odense Shop

Nose:

Loads of cask spices, a hint of resin, and pleasant vanilla and malt notes
Do I even detect a hint of ginger and hops in here?

Taste:

Good arrival with vanilla, juicy garden fruits, and a finish very much on crisp malt and oak in a good but not overly measure.

89/100!

Thanks to my friend JGJ for the sample

GLENFARCLAS-GLENLIVET 1973 41YO - CADENHEAD AUTHENTIC COLLECTION

After my last post, I thought it would be fitting to do a post where, as I mentioned here, some Cadenhead bottling actually do carry the Glenfarclas name - and this one of them. Bottled back in 2014, this is not one you'll come across every day, but if you do and want to treat yourself to a little extra, go for it

This family-owned distillery -one of the last in Scotland- is one of my favorite distilleries, certainly in my top 3. Why? Because they still do things the way they want to - and not to satisfy a large number of shareholders demanding a return on their stock every year. And you know what? It works for Glenfarclas!

Glenfarclas seems to make consistently good whisky which is very important and also seems to be able to still source some very good casks - especially their sherry casks! Long-standing contracts with sherry producers have secured a steady flow of good sherry casks and we just have to cross our fingers that this will last.

Glenfarclas Distillery Visitors Centre, September 15th 2019 © The Malt Desk

Glenfarclas-Glenlivet 1973 41yo 40,7%, bottled July 2014, ex-bourbon hogshead, 186 bottles, Cadenhead Authentic Collection

Nose:
Very laid back, quite possibly because of the low abv
It has dusty wood, vanilla, loads of sugary notes, the artificial strawberry scent from the strawberry cream caramels. Also vanilla, a little wood sap, and fruits in there, loads of them! Sweet mandarins, mango juice, peaches, and banana. Very tropical but also with that little touch of wood to keep it all in place - Very nice and I like this dignified old-style bourbon cask that still manages to deliver in spite of its very long time in the cask. 

Taste:
Gentle, yet expressive arrival...

This is candied fruits galore, turning into a nice malty finish.
We're all over the fruit range here, from apple notes, apricot, lemons, and honeydew melon covered in vanilla and a sprinkle of icing sugar.
All this turns into a slightly drying gingery note and some dusty greenish wood along with a dominant malty note that eventually has to give away to a little
drying oak and a slight herbal note.

This is a delicate malt and bottled just in time at 40,7%.
Also, more time in the cask will probably have tipped this OTT and introduced far more drying and bitter notes.

But at this stage - lovely old stuff! and since I don't do ½ points

91/100!

'A SPEYSIDE DISTILLERY' 2001 18YO - CADENHEAD VIRTUAL OPEN DAY 2020

In September 2019, independent bottler Wm. Cadenhead did their first dedicated Open Day event - just for them called Cadenhead in the Courtyard.
This was a new type of event to make up for them having to share the Kilkerran Open Day during the Campbeltown Malts Festival in May. This day also gave Cadenheads the opportunity to feature only their bottlings and tastings and also release some bottlings only for this day, also. It was great fun and an event to look out for in the future.

This year the Campbeltown Malt Festival was, of course, canceled due to Covid - and so was the planned Cadenhead in the Courtyard even for September 2020.

Instead, a virtual festival was arranged, which each brand having its own virtual Open Day and a release of a virtual festival bottle.

The one offered on the Cadenhead Virtual Open Day was the bottle featured in the review below... it's only named 'A Speyside Distillery' which, with Cadenhead, usually means the family-owned distillery in the Valley of the Green Grass - and I'll go out on a limb here and go along with that.

It's not that Cadenheads never bottle anything with this particular distillery name on - but due to legal reasons, they can only bottle 2 or 3 a year if I remember correctly. I'll shortly be reviewing one that carries the GF name.

It's also not only Cadenhead that is limited to this and this distillery that imposes restrictions on names. Its widely seen across the whisky industry.
Other examples are names like Williamson & Leapfrog for Laphroaig and when the label says 'An Orkney Malt', you have a Highland Park.

On to the review...

Glenfarclas Distillery Visitors Center, September 23rd 2016 © The Malt Desk

'A Speyside Distillery' 2001 18yo 52,3% (dist. xx.10.2001 - bott xx.10.2020) 1 ex-bourbon + 1 ex-sherry cask, 552 bottles, Cadenhead Virtual Open Day 2020

Nose:

OK, I'm guessing that if you get this straight out of a newly open bottle you'll wrinkle your nose...
My bottle has now been open for a couple of weeks and the nose has certainly come to life with notes of malt barns, damp slightly bitter/sweet wood notes, brown sugar, cracked peppercorns and a slight sour note.
Various wood spices start to dominate a bit along with more dry and sweet sherry influence and a hint of milk chocolate bars.

All quite well - even though it doesn't seem to swim well

Taste:
Much better (without water, that is)

The sherry notes are coming through very clearly - though, I'm having a hard time determining if the wood spices that follow are from the bourbon or the sherry cask used.

I'm getting quite an active bourbon cask in the background (I might be wrong) then sweet and spicy, nutmeg, caramel, dark honey, a hint of dark chili-infused chocolate, drying cinnamon, powdered ginger, and hint of orange peel.

It's all very pleasant, but it's like it wants to allow both the bourbon and sherry cask to have their say but it's not allowing either or both to shine - it's like it has not had time to marry properly before being bottled.

This is not -by any account- a bad whisky scoring an 85/100
I just expected a bit more of this - especially given the circumstances surrounding this release.

85/100!

HAZELBURN 2007 12YO - CADENHEAD AUTHENTIC COLLECTION

It's time to review another recent release from the good folks in Campbeltown, Wm. Cadenheads. Released late in Autumn 2020, this triple distilled unpeated Springbank carries the name Hazelburn.

The triple distilled unpeated style was introduced by then Manager Franck McHardy, who'd returned to manage Springbank after a stay in Northern Ireland and a job at Bushmills Distillery, where whisky is also triple distilled. The new Hazelburn spirit was first produced by the Springbank Distillery again back in 1997. 

The name Hazelburn originally comes from another distillery in Campbeltown (Early 18th Century - 1925/26) and was at the time, one of the biggest distilleries in Campbeltown. 

This particular edition comes from a single re-charred bourbon hogshead. Something that previously has worked very well with the Springbank spirit

Casks in the Springbank courtyard May 22nd 2019 © The Malt Desk

Hazelburn 2007 12yo 51,9%, re-charred bourbon hogshead, 234 bottles, Cadenheads Authentic Collection

Nose:

Quite heavy - that re-charred bourbon hogshead certainly has a say here...
Also quite creamy, loads of sweetness from vanilla and a strawberry note, hints of oregano and orange peel, a touch of ginger, custard and crisp slight burnt butter dough with the cask char also showing itself. A few drops of water brings out some flour/freshly made baking dough

Taste:

Thick and creamy arrival. If you've tasted whisky from a re-charred cask before you know where this style comes from. Dark honey, overripe banana, loads of caramel notes - that Créme Brûlée again. There are hints of cloves in there too, along with some fair bit of delicious but, to me, unrecognizable fruity notes.

At first, this came across as slightly peated to me, but this quickly receded and I found that it was probably the cask char speaking loudly on the first approach and at this point, I think I was right... This might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I love this as opposed to another re-charred oak matured whisky, I've reviewed lately...

89/100!

Sample was bought via my whisky network

BENRINNES 2000 20YO - CADENHEAD WOOD RANGE

It's quite nice to be trying some Benrinnes again... and I just recently had the opportunity to try both the below bottling as well as a very nice bourbon cask expression from The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. The SMWS expression will be reviewed at a later time... 

Anyway, there was quite a buzz surrounding this Cadenhead release as everyone wanted to get their hands on this heavily sherried expression.
Why? Dark whisky sells - that's just a fact! Is it better?
Well, depends both on your taste - darker and spicier vs. lighter and fruitier? 
Personally, I like both - but it also comes very much down to my mood which one I prefer on that specific day! What's your preference?

When you, in this case, combine the sherry maturation with the amount of buzz that has been created by some independent bottlers around Benrinnes Distillery - especially from Cadenheads- as to how good whisky from this distillery can be - you got your whisky frenzy with bottle flippers and whisky anoraks competing for the same bottles.

My only fear when buying a sherry cask bottling today (both a cask finish or fully matured) is sulfur. That, or getting a bottle that has been in one of those new very modern sherry infused style casks. Hello, Whisky Industry - they're just not very good casks! (rant over!)

Now, I know that sherry isn't fashionable anymore, so there's bound to be fewer casks, and especially good casks, out there for the whisky industry to snap up - but these new ones? They're but a shadow of previous casks.

Then there's the price of sherry casks, costing about x10 as much as a bourbon cask - but all this warrants a post of its own.

But back to the review...

Benrinnes Distillery from the road, August 26th 2012 © The Malt Desk

Benrinnes 2000 20yo 54,7%, Oloroso sherry cask finish, 336 bottles, Cadenhead Wood Range

Nose:

Luckily, it seems this cask has escaped the sulfur candles of Jerez unharmed.

Bl**dy hell, how much sherry was left in this cask when it was re-reracked into this cask? Right away you get that heavy sherry influence you also imagined that would approach you when looking at the color of this whisky. 

Loads of dark fruits, raisins, figs, and alcohol-soaked plums. Also in there, there's cinnamon, cooked apple, and some lovely spicy wood notes - all well-integrated and delivered by the alcohol

Taste:

Again, this is a cask finish! This means that this has been matured in a (probably) ex-bourbon cask before being moved to its finishing cask, an ex-oloroso sherry hogshead in August 2019... It's showing a lot of sherry influence, for sure -but I'm also getting quite a bit of delicious wood spices, possibly a combination of its previous cask and the sherry cask? Also there, is nutmeg in abundance, some milk chocolate, a slight hint of warming paprika, and Danish 'krydderkage' (look it up!)

I get if someone wants to call this one a one-tracked whisky as it takes experience to pick out the more subtle underlying notes in this one.

It has certainly turned into what many whisky anoraks refer to as 'sherry bomb' but I still feel there's a bit more to this... In any case, it's a whisky that, for sure, is in tune with the Xmas Holiday season.

88/100!

Sample was bought from via my whisky network

'AN IRISH' 2006 10YO (13YO) - CADENHEAD

Tonights tipple is 'An Irish' from Indie bottler, Cadenheads

Effectively a 13yo whiskey, but since it left Ireland for Scotland at the age of 10, it also say 10 on the label. It then spent a further 3 years in the cask in Scotland, the last 17 months in an Ex-Guyana rum barrel.

Most likely an unpeated Cooley, it carries that light Irish style beautifully but still has a little kick due to the 47,1% abv.

'An Irish' 2006 10yo (13yo) 47,1%, Ex.Guyana Rum Barrel since April 2018

Nose:

Those nose reveals loads of malty sweetness in the traditional Irish style with noticeably apple and pear notes - but also dosed with influence from the rum cask, but in no overwhelming influence.

Taste:
The taste comes across slightly hot to begin with but mellows out as its also gets your mouth watering. It all comes across quite tropical with the sweet malt, fruit, vanilla and rum cask influence. Not a huge star of a whiskey, but thoroughly enjoyable whisky from 'The Emerald Isle' - via Scotland and Guyana

86/100

HIGHLAND PARK 1990 25YO - CADENHEAD SMALL BATCH

Well, we all know by that when a distillery says it matures all its whisky sherry casks, its not true... there are plenty of examples of this, Glenfarclas, Macallan and of course, Highland Park which is the one I'll be focusing on in this review...

Now, I'd been eyeing this one for a while and decided to grab a couple of bottles and at the same time, put a bottle on a tasting as these ex-bourbon casks Highland Parks can be really delicious... and I was not to be disappointed with this one either - and adding to that the price here in Denmark was really fair (DKK 1299,- or £133/€173) which makes it a much better offering than e.g. the official 25yo Highland Park currently priced at x 2-2,5 times that. I'm aware that this isn't a sherried version like the official 25yo but with a price difference like that, I'll live ;) - in fact, I find independent bottlings more fun as they show what a distillery can do besides their regular offerings.

One such independent bottler is Cadenheads, a subsidiary of Springbank Distillers in Campbeltown and one of, if not, my favorite bottler at moment... Their offerings are just really, really good - both in terms of quality and very often also in price - this 1990 25yo Highland Park is one such and it was bottled as a part of the Cadenhead Small Batch-series.

The Highland Park Malt Floor, August 6th 2009 © The Malt Desk

Highland Park 1990 25yo 50,6%, 2 ex-bourbon hogsheads, 426 bottles, Cadenhead Small Batch

Colour is light gold

Nose:
Vanilla, loads of honey, quite fresh, a noticeable puff of smoke, sweet barley notes, some apple, bit of ginger and grass, fresh pineapple and quite a mix of herbs

Taste:
The arrival is on citrus and honey until a strong burst of tropical fruits, mainly pineapple, mango rushes ind along with loads of juicy malt wrapped in a vanilla paestry. It's also quite smooth and creamy for a 50% malt - no rough edges here. Then we have more ginger, more, now slightly burnt paestry and smoke.

The finish goes towards cold olive oil and herbs and a slight mineral touch.

Great stuff!

91/100!

MACALLAN 1989 25YO - CADENHEAD AUTHENTIC COLLECTION

Much have been said about The Macallan amongst whisky anoraks over the past years...

First there was the launch of the Fine Oak series, which give us a look at what Macallan tastes like when you mix ex-bourbon and sherry casks. Back then there was an outcry and comments like 'its not The Macallan style' and 'You've ruined Macallan' were uttered. Still, you could get your usual sherry matured age statement Macallans along with your Fine Oaks, only that was about to change as well with the arrival of the Macallan 1824-series in 2013. Gone were the low end age statements and instead we saw the introduction of the 'Gold', 'Amber', 'Sienna' and 'Ruby' and again the uproar was there...

Now, as a whisky anorak I understand this... even if the 'Sienna' and 'Ruby' are good whiskies and the ones worth pursuing in the 1824-series, they are somewhat overpriced... but hey, what whisky isn't overpriced these days or on its way to be? More importantly - we need disclosure - whats in the bottle? if its only 7 years old, tell us so we can make an informed decision on whether we want to spend out hard earned money on what's being offered or if we want to go elsewhere.Now, I know got a bit off topic here, but those following my blog will know that this is an issue I care about *end of rant*

But what about Macallan from bourbon cask, like the ones that went into their Fine Oak series? Well, they're (so far) only available from the independent bottlers... but its my experience that it can work just fine. Macallan actually have a very good base spirit, that, that works just fine if the cask makeup is all right and a little age is added to it. You are, of course, not getting your usual expected sherried style of Macallans, but who says that bad if the cask is good?

This one from Cadenheads is a great example of just that...

Macallan old section - stillhouse no. 1 just visible to the left, June 12th 2013, © The Malt Desk

Macallan 1989 (xx.xx.1989/xx.10.2014) 25yo 51,4%, ex-bourbon barrel, Cadenhead Authentic Collection

Colour is golden

Nose:
Thick malt, a handful vanilla, some laid back citrus and a slight flora note. I also find a little warm apple pie in here. After a while, what I can only describe as gingery notes peeps through. There's white chocolate and a honeyed creaminess to go with that as well. The alcohol never gets invasive but instead delivers the above notes beautifully.

Taste:
Incredibly mouth filling with big waves of malt, oranges, vanilla custard and a little toffee. There's a red berry notes in here as well, more apple, hints of pineapple, fresh toast and birthday cake base. Mid to end palate really shows how good a malt spirit this is, as it gets incredibly smooth and the malts just keeps rushing in all the way to the end.

This is great stuff!

89/100!

HIGHLAND PARK 1988 27YO - CADENHEAD CASK ENDS

Its time for the last Cadenhead review this time around, but don't worry - more are coming soon :-)

As I mentioned in my Benriach review from 4th October, I was looking for something special to take home for the Cadenhead tasting and this Highland Park was it... It was first tried in a warehouse in Campbeltown where Mark Watt took us through a few of Cadenhead casks and my choice fell on this Highland Park, even though there were other very good offerings :-)

Mark Watt doing what he does best, May 7th 2015 - Photo by my whisky-compadre Johnny Rose

Highland Park 1988 27yo 52,6% ex-bourbon hogshead 1988/2008+ sherry hogshead 2008/May 2015, Cadenhead Cask Ends

Colour is dark mahogany

Nose:

Thick heavy molasses syrupy notes, a slight dirty, smoky musty note as well, burnt caramel and figs and black cherries. The sherry is just about over the top and leaves no room for other than some dark chocolate notes as well...

Taste:

Again heavy, lots of dirty notes bordering on sulphury but the again not, especially when allowed to breathe a bit. Notes of strong espresso, black olives, soy sauce and a the obvious wine/sherry and a slight charred finish.

This is big whisky, though not an incredible complex one...

You'll need to be into massive sherry bombs to appreciate this one, but then who doesn't like a whisky like this from time to time.

Again lovely stuff, this time directly out of the Cadenhead Warehouse in Campbeltown.

89/100!

AUCHROISK 1989 24YO - CADENHEAD SMALL BATCH

Auchroisk Distillery, located not far from the small village of Mulben in Speyside, must have what is probably one of the quirkiest designs of a distillery ever. Its Architecture is inspired by a Gothic style and along with its sheer size (warehouses included) it could have doubled for a medieval castle had it had a wall and moat and been all black. The Distillery and especially the warehouses, however, are slightly blackened with fungus from the maturing whisky on site.

And there is quite a lot of whisky there. Owners Diageo have around 250.000 casks maturing there from various distilleries and further warehouses are planned on site. Warehousing is not the only thing bit at Auchroisk. The production is close to 6 million liters of spirit annually and there has been talk of an expansion in that area too.

Auchroisk Distillery and one of the warehouses behind it, April 29th 2011 © The Malt Desk

Auchroisk 1989 (xx.xx.1989/xx.03.2014) 24yo 57,5%, 2 sherry butts, 1140 bottles, Cadenhead Small Batch

Colour is light amber

Nose:
Nutty and slightly sulphury in style but not enough to put me off. It also has a faint metallic note. Stale/brackish water, earthy notes and some orange. It then takes off in a herbal direction after a while, maybe juniper? It sounds kinda freaky, but it works...

Taste:
Pleasant arrival on toffee, fruit and nuts before the alcohol rushes in reveals a slight sulphury edge on the palate along with malt and crusty Danish. Mind you, the sulphur is still not strong enough to put me off. I'd say the main there here is toffee/candied apple - it doesn't really stray far from that.

OK, maybe not a whisky that would inspire you to start sprouting poetry, but still pretty decent - and I really like the funky nose on this one :-)

81/100!

BALBLAIR 1990 22YO - CADENHEAD AUTHENTIC COLLECTION

Its been 10 months since I last reviewed a Balblair so its about time to do so again. Like I mentioned in my previous review from January, I really like the style of most of the North Highland distilleries so I had high hopes for this expression... Balblair and Cadenhead - that can't possibly be a bad combination, eh?

Even though this expression carries a colour that could easily be mistaken for a sherry cask, it is actually matured in an ex-bourbon barrel - a fact that made me just a tiny bit worried that this would be overly oaky.

So was it? read below...

The very crammed stillhouse at Balblair, August 23rd 2012 © The Malt Desk

Balblair 1990 22yo (xx.xx.1990/xx.07.2012) 57,4%, ex-bourbon barrel, 192 bottles, Cadenhead Authentic Collection

Colour is amber

Nose:
Ohh, lovely!
Quite some cappuccino notes extending all the way to hot chocolate. The alcohol seems a little aggressive at times, but eventually calms down, leaving rooms for more delicate notes of overripe apple and earthy notes. Also in there are heavy, sometimes slightly burned caramel notes and a little orange peel and clove - sounds kinda Xmas'y, don't you think?

Taste:
The oak shows itself a bit more on the palate, but its doing it in the nicest way possible. Again there's the apple, hints of mushrooms and what it must feel like to lick a hardwood floor. Time lets an understated vanilla and cinnamon theme and dark honey/slight syrupy notes come through. The medium long finish gives away to some peppery oak and a little mint.

This whisky comes and goes when you drink it and I quite like that.It also shows that even though the colour hints at some big oak influence, its not the case (here, at least)

Great stuff!

89/100!

BRAES OF GLENLIVET 1989 19YO - CADENHEAD AUTHENTIC COLLECTION

It's no secret that some distilleries are more popular than others and when looking at different online whisky shops, I often see empty product categories and/or sold out labels across the pictures of these popular ones... However, one category that is also often empty is the Braes of Glenlivet aka Braeval, but not because its popular but because there's not much of it around - why, you ask?

Well, there's several reasons...

It is, in distillery terms, a fairly 'new' place, starting production in 1973 under the Braes of Glenlivet name. The name was then changed to Braeval in 1994 to prevent mistaken identity with nearby Glenlivet distillery. Owners Chivas Bros has never been promoted it as a single malt as almost all of its production is used as a dressing malt in Chivas Bros' blends. Add to that that the distillery has been closed from 2002 to 2008 means that the few releases available now all carries a bit of age.

Still, there's a few bottlings to be found here and there and I suggest you try it if you like a light, yet full flavoured single malt. I'd place my bets on Cadenhead and/or Signatory if you want try this malt. In fact, this particular expression was so good that it was voted overall best bottling at the Cadenhead tasting I hosted about a month ago, with 2 votes more than a 27yo Highland Park from a sherry cask - how about that? Personally, I had it in 2nd...

So, what's all the fuss about?

Braes of Glenlivet or Braeval as the distillery is called today, May 3rd 2010 © The Malt Desk

Braes of Glenlivet (Braeval) 1989 19yo (xx.xx.1989/xx.10.2008) 58,4%, ex-bourbon hogshead, 240 bottles, Cadenhead Authentic Collection

Colour is pale straw

Nose:

You need to be careful with this one as its 58,4% - Chances are you'll numb your nose trying to pick up the delicate nose of this one and instead only get alcohol and we don't want that!

There's pear, grassy, vanilla, honey, hint of pineapple, ginger and a little spicy oak and delicious malt notes... This reminds me quite a lot of Glenmorangie 10 back in the early 00's - lovely!

Taste:
Again, you also need to be careful with this one on the palate. make sure you have either plenty of saliva or just a little water to take the top of the alcohol here.

This one starts with grass and white wine cooler, overripe pear, cider and then heads off in the sweet and spicy direction with vanilla, raspberry and ginger notes. The addition of water makes the whole thing rather creamy and extremely malty - a trait I really like and also allows fruit notes dressed in barley sugar to really play on the finish.

I could drink this all evening...

89/100!

BRUICHLADDICH 1991 21YO - CADENHEAD AUTHENTIC COLLECTION

Phew, time flies and personal stuff has lately interfered with my writing a bit more than I'd like, making my reviews a bit sporadic lately. Anyway, Let's skip straight on to the next Cadenhead bottling.

When I first started drinking whisky around Y2K, I remember trying Laphroaig 10 and Lagavulin 16 and thinking that Islay whisky wasn't for me... However, I had not yet made the acquaintance with Bruichladdich and to be honest I'm not quite sure when I did except it was around 2003/2004, which means it was some 3-4 years into my whisky journey.

Back then I fell in love with the 10yo and 15yo 1st edition even though both Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg had also already made their way onto my drink list by that time. It would then be another 3 years before I visited Islay and Bruichladdich for the first time (2007) and since then I've been back to Islay 4 more times 08, 09, 11 and May 2015.

In May I brought a bottle of 1966 40yo Bruichladdich bottled by Duncan Taylor with me to Islay to drink while we were there - seems only fitting a bottle like this goes 'home' to end its days, yes? :-) you can read my review of that bottling by clicking here.

Anyway, back to the 1991 from Cadenhead. This is a bottling from the Authentic Collection-series, which means its a single cask-bottling.

Distilling Port Charlotte at Bruichladdich, October 7th 2008 © The Malt Desk

Bruichladdich 1991 21yo (xx.xx.1991/xx.10.2013) 52,1%, ex-bourbon hogshead, 176 bottles, Cadenhead Authentic Collection

Colour is pale straw

Nose:
This noses like classic bourbon matured B'Laddich. It also feels like that the cask hasn't been all that active. Its all very fresh and malty long with vanilla, apple tart leaning towards citrus (grape fruit?) notes. It also reveals a slight floral note, some mineral and cooking oil notes + the tiniest hints of peat.

Taste:

I think my suspicions about a fairly inactive cask sticks. The arrival is very mellow and pleasing with soft white fruit (apple, melon), truckloads of malt, some licorice and barley sugar. The finish is almost entirely malt driven with a slight salty burst and a herbal edge at times.

This is maybe not the most complex of malts, but just drinks so incredibly well and that counts for something in my book too. I'd say it one of those malts you'd pour a large dram of, when you need to relax after a busy week.

86/100!

LITTLEMILL 1990 24YO - CADENHEAD SMALL BATCH

It's been 2½ years since I last reviewed a Littlemill here on The Malt Desk - a sure sign that this closed Lowland distillery often is hard to come by.

A second reason is that it has had a a bit of a dodgy reputation a few years back, but indie bottlings over the past 2-3 years has show that Littlemill did, in fact, produce good whisky in the years leading up to its closure in 1994. 10 years later in 2004, what remained on the site was destroyed by fire.

Looking through old reviews online, it seems like young version of Littlemill have never been held in high esteem... could this be a case of Littlemill not shining until it reaches its late teens early 20's? much like Port Ellen, IMO... That said there's (of course) always the exception to the rule, but from what I've tasted myself over the years, e.g. from Port Ellen, I never really thought much of it at 13-14yo.... Anyway, this is just my stray thoughts on the matter. :-)

Now back to the Cadenhead Littlemill...

Littlemill Distillery - picture from WikiMedia

Littlemill 1990 24yo 53,7%, 2 ex-bourbon hogsheads, 582 bottles, Cadenhead Small Batch

Colour is full straw

Nose:

Ohh, a very tropical little number this one, exotic wood, very noticeable coconut, then vanilla, mango fruit juice, melon and oranges. There's also a slight mineral-like edge to this nose. Wet gravel/dirt perhaps? Almonds/marzipan in here too It also shows some herbal notes at times... even notes of old Calvados

Taste:
Mango, peach and oranges peel held back by malt. There's more coconut, vanilla creme and overripe green grapes in there as well. What really strikes me with this one is how well the alcohol is integrates with the flavours here. The finish is not as heavy as one would expect but it goes on for a while and when its about to disappear you just want to take another sip!

It's the best Littlemill I've tried - it's deeeeelicious! :-)

At the first nosing/taste this came across with a bit of varnish/paint thinner which often can be the cask with Littlemill, but leave this one to breathe and a whole other world appears - in fact its up there with the most brilliant stuff I've tasted so far in 2015

91/100!

BENRIACH 1996 19YO - CADENHEAD SMALL BATCH

Its time to throw myself into a world of Cadenhead bottlings - what's not to like about that? :-)

Its been one of my favourite bottlers for quite a few years now - why? because of the quality of their bottlings - that why! I agree, there's the occasional dud out there (at least according to my taste - regular readers will know I'm sensitive to sulphury notes) but they are few and far between at Cadenheads, IMO... and I wonder if there's any in the bunch I'll be reviewing next. 

The plans for a Cadenhead tasting took form already early this year.
I already knew then that Campbeltown would be on the agenda for my 2 weeks in Scotland so it was not just a matter of keeping my eyes open for a special bottle to bring home for the September tasting. The rest of the bottles for this tasting was bought at the Cadenhead shop in Odense, Denmark.

First up was the BenRiach Small Batch...

The stills at BenRiach Distillery, May 6th 2013 © The Malt Desk

BenRiach 1996 19yo 47,1%, 2 ex-bourbon hogsheads, 558 bottles, Cadenhead Small Batch

Colour is full straw

Nose:
Classic Speyside nose... lots of apple, vanilla and honey and grassy notes - it gets a bit sharp-ish, but a few drops of water calms it down at bit.

Taste:
Sweet arrival with vanilla custard, overripe pear, some ginger and a hot sensation mid-late palate and again some water can take the edge of things.
With water it gets very citrussy on the palate and also has some gingery notes peeing through at time.

Except for the little hot-streak, this is a classic Speyside profile and one most can drink. I can't really put my finger on what its missing for me to take this one higher... but it is missing a little something.

Still, its perfectly good whisky!!

83/100!

MORTLACH 1988 19YO - CADENHEAD AUTHENTIC COLLECTION

Its been 6 months since my last Mortlach review and in the meantime I found and opened a Mortlach that I first tried at a tasting all the way back in 2008. No notes were taken back then, but I remember it as traditional style sherried Mortlach and a very enjoyable dram.

So, does my taste buds of today agree with the ones I had 7 years ago?

The old maltings at Mortlach across the road from todays facilities, May 4th 2014 © The Malt Desk 

Mortlach 1988 19yo (b. 02.2008) 57,6%, ex-sherry butt, 664 bottles, Cadenhead Authentic Collection

Colour is light mahogany

Nose:

Very obvious and quite spicy sherry here - a very heavy classic Mortlach style showing in this one. Its quite dirty and moldy with some struck match and burnt toast. There's dried fruits (raisins) and hints of blackberry and cloves


Taste:
Dried fruit, candied orange and dark chocolate, wet tobacco and black cherries. sulphur as in wine style and quite an earthy note. Goes on with a little smoky nuts and dark caramel and a burnt wood note.





I'm not a fan of sulphury whisky, but this one has just the right amount to add to an edge to this whisky and the sensation is so evident here that I'd say for sure that the cask is the main contributor here. Its just too much for it to be the spirit on its own.

I don't think its as good as I remember it to be - from memory I'd maybe rate it an 86-87p, but its still a more than decent whisky!

83/100!

A few added thoughts...

This one comes across quite differently now than it did 7 years ago. So much that I have to ask myself a few questions about what stands out in this whisky from then 'till now...

Have I become more sensitive to sulphury notes ... and did know what they were 7 years ago?
I'm sure I have and yes, I did know back then... 

Have daily factores like time and food consumed been taken into account when tasting whisky?
Yes, I almost always taste whisky/take notes early in the evening and never after having strong or heavily flavoured food, like chili or curry

Has oxidation after opening and up to the point where I now review this bottle contributed to change the character of the whisky?
It sure has, which is why I don't review a whisky until its at least 1/3 down

So what can we conclude from this?
There are many factors that influence your sense of taste and smell, but most of all -or in this case for me- I'd say that 7 more years drinking whisky has made a difference.

In 2008 I was already well on my whisky-way, but its really from 2008 and onwards that I have made the biggest steps on my whisky journey - making that periode of time a huge part of how I've experienced this Mortlach and whisky in general! I'm picking up stuff both on noses and palates of whisky that I haven't before and I'm sure that if you ask me again in 5 years time, there's a chance its changed a somewhat again.

So get out there and try some whisky! There's great experiences to be had - especially if you try and go for older stuff/bottling and its certainly educational when you compare it with whats on the market today!

GLENFARCLAS 1988 25YO - CADENHEAD AUTHENTHIC COLLECTION

Douglas Laing calls this distillery for 'Probably Speyside's Finest', Blackadder calls it Blairfindy and supposedly Gordon & MacPhail calls it Glen Avon and I'm am of course talking about Glenfarclas Distillery...

Glenfarclas is best know for producing lovely sherry casked whisky, but sometimes a bourbon cask leaves the place, either for blending purposes and some of them also ends up with the indie bottlers, like the one in this review.

Being from one of my favourite bottlers, Cadenheads, I certainly looked forward to trying this one - lets' try it...

Glenfarclas Distillery Visitors Centre, May 5th 2014 © The Malt Desk

Glenfarclas 1988 25yo (b. 10.2013) 53,7%, ex-bourbon hogshead, 222 bottles, Cadenhead

Colour is bright yellow

Nose:

Honey, ginger, vanilla, grassy, slightly malty and yeasty notes and a hint of oak. The whole thing seems a bit restrained, but time and 2 drops of water brings out fresh baked bread, much more grass and a lemony note

Taste:

Crisp malt, citrus (lemon zest, mainly) kiwi and oak spices, white pepper, shortbread, oat meal, dried raspberry müesli and a little custard

A very nice dram, indeed though maybe not that complex and demanding as others... but who says everything has to be? this is quite enjoyable as it is... 

85/100!

MORTLACH 1992 21YO - CADENHEAD SMALL BATCH

When visiting Dufftown I always swing by Mortlach Distillery... there's just something about the place :-)

This time, however, it was a bitter sweet feeling to visit the place. The planned expansion of the site by owners Diageo has resulted in the charming old stone warehouses on the front lot getting demolished in the name of progress. The lot was empty in May 2014 with just some rubble left and in mid October when I was back, there were now building equipment all over the site. But will this actually be put to use? Due to a fall in global demand owners Diageo has halted many of their investments across several of their sites and there's currently no indication of when and if they'll resume the planned expansions - at this point we can only wait and see...

But on to the whisky... Independent bottler Cadenhead has long been a favourite of mine and these past couple of years has seen some cracking stuff from the Campbeltown based bottler. So good that 3 bottlings from Cadenhead made my top 6 list for 2013 - that should be a clear sign of quality, right? Cadenhead also manages to still keep their prices out of the 'complete silly'-range which certainly gets a thumbs up from me as well :-)

A very good example of that is the 1992 Mortlach I'm about to review, which retailed at just £60 in late 2013...

The empty lot at Mortlach - The existing distillery buildings visible to the right, May 4th 2014 © The Malt Desk

Mortlach 1992 21yo 55,2%, ex-sherry hogshead, 228 bottles, Cadenhead Small Batch

Colour is hazelnut

Taste:
First impression is that the whole thing is rather fresh, light and crisp in style, but also very sweet still... Blueberry and cherry, overripe fruits, a bit of chocolate and some oak spices nipping at your nostrils along with an ever present toffee caramel note.

Taste:
A honey'ed sherried Mortlach. More overripe fruit, black olive and blackberries this time, but also clove and hint of cinnamon. Water brings out some notes akin to apple and oranges. Water produces a vegetable/herbal edge for me both on the nose and palate, mainly fennel and dill. The whole thing rounds off with a dash of oak and bitterness.

An incredible easy drinker, even at full strength 55,2%. Its very good whisky for sure, but it stays on a very narrow path and doesn't produce any real surprises except for the herbal notes. It's a good think I like this style of whisky :-)

87/100!

SPEYSIDE DISTILLERY 1994 - CADENHEAD AUTHENTIC COLLECTION

They say that every distillery is capable of producing decent and, maybe, even good whisky, its just a matter of the combination of good spirit and casks that's not really a secret... However, if you're not able to have these two most important factors work, I'm afraid its all uphill from there... and this is sadly how it is with the Speyside Distillery.

Located on the very edge of Speyside, across the A9 main road and not far from the village of Kingussie and the beautiful ruins of the Ruthven Barracks, the distillery is, once you get there, a pretty little spot with old fashioned stone buildings and water wheel - kind of a miniature of Strathisla Distillery in Keith... but that's where the similarities stop...

I've never really had a good whisky from Speyside Distillery, but I've always wanted to give this Distillery a second (or third or fo..) chance - and when I was offered a sample of a cask bottled by one of my favourite bottlers, Cadenhead, I was yet again up for the challenge.
Previously, I've only subjected my tastebuds to distillery bottlings, incl. their blend Drumguish ... and sadly, I've been far from impressed :-/

Let's see how this one fares...

Everything is under one roof at the Speyside Distillery, May 2nd 2011 © The Malt Desk

Speyside Distillery 1994 15yo (bottled xx.06.2009), 64,6%, ex-bourbon hogshead, 200 bottles, Cadenhead Authentic Collection

Colour is straw

Similar bottle shown

Nose:
Wow, heavy on the alcohol, of course - Let's start by taking this one for a swim *splash* Much better - more approachable now with vanilla and licorice and anise notes, some glue notes, green soda sports drink, grass, candied onions (if there is such out there?? :-O) custard and some few notes of something i can only describe as floral... Much more pleasant and expressive than expected

Taste:
Oak and malt and actually quite thin on the palate, except for the alcohol with almost no notes carried through from the nose. It's hot! and not as in hot due to the alcohol abv% but more like a bad spirit cut. As already mentioned, malt is in here and a little lemon/orange notes, ginger powder and then vanilla and more glue and sappy notes and maybe a little raspberry on the far finish

Another Speyside Distillery bottling not really doing it for me, I'm afraid :-(
It's drinkable with alot of water added, though

I've had far more enjoyable whiskies. Anyway, thanks to Kalle for the sample!

72/100!