EDINBURGH INDIE 'THE BOTTLERS' - PART V

Bunnahabhain 1978 30yo 53,8% xx.12.1978/xx.05.2009, refill sherry hogshead#7586, The Bottlers

Colour: Gold

Nose:
Vanilla, Edinburgh Rock, citrussy and a mellow sweetness in general


Taste:
Classic old Bunnahabhain ale (malt) note that I love, Fruits and honey, more malt and some dark grains maybe, some licorice, a nice heavy style Bunnahabhain full of flavour. Gets more spciy if a little water is added. Love it!

89/100!

EDINBURGH INDIE 'THE BOTTLERS' - PART IV

Benrinnes 1982 26yo 57,4% xx.11.1982/xx.05.2009, refill sherry butt#3229, The Bottlers

Colour: Deep Oloroso

Nose:

Sherry and fruity first, but then almost immediately a full hit of rubber hit the nose - like a pair of wellies - a giants size wellies, that is :-/


Taste:
More rubber and now also with a sulphury hit though water takes off the top notes of unpleasentries. I have also tried leaving the rest in the glass for a good 45mins, without any improvement.

I did not finish this dram out of respect for the next one to be had.
They say that 40% of the population is immune to different kinds of sulphury notes...guess I'm not! :-O HUGE dissapointment, this one!

58/100!

EDINBURGH INDIE 'THE BOTTLERS' - PART III

Moving on to a Speyside favorite in this V-part review:

Mortlach 1983 18yo 57% xx.05.1983/xx.08.2001, Refill Bodega American oak butt#2378, The Bottlers

Now, here is a sentence for you 'Refill Bodega American oak butt' - try and say that fast when you have had a few drams. The description points towards a butt made of american white oak (quercus alba) instead of the traditional spanish oak (quercus robur) and then seasoned with sherry before it is used for maturing whisky - This is also practice much used by e.g. The Edrington Group for their Glenrothes and newer Highland Park expressions. Although, this is the first single cask I have seen from back as late as 1983.

So, whats this Mortlach all about?:

Colour: Light gold

Nose:
Floury (gristy?), vanilla, cream, caramel, a little oak sap

Taste:
Spice rack allsorts - from the heavier stuff you but in your meat dishes to the more delicate ones you use for baking (very much vanillas again)... Nutty, vinous and hints of short bread on the medium/long finish. Not at all the heavy character you get from, let us say, the Flora & Fauna Mortlach 16.

This is a very good one, indeed

88/100!

EDINBURGH INDIE 'THE BOTTLERS' - PART II

Right, part II of V-part review of The Bottlers goes ahead with a Clynelish - should be good:

Clynelish 1979 21yo 62,3% xx.07.1979/xx 07.2000, refill sherry hogshead#8333, The Bottlers

Full gold in colour

Nose:
Slightly farmyardy, the high abv% hits hard on the nose, with water some vanilla and mint comes out. Light chocolaty as well - very pleasant, indeed!

Taste:
Chocolate for sure, cake creme, candy store, some waxy fruits notes and caramel. Long and delicious sweet finish with just a hint of peat

90/100!

EDINBURGH INDIE 'THE BOTTLERS' - PART I

The first reviews featured here will be of 6 whiskies from Edinburgh indie 'The Bottlers'

Founded in 1993 and originally -and still is- a wine merchant, the style of most whiskies bottled by these guys are very much on the vinous side.

They have far from a big output, and the last ones to hit the market was back in 2009.
They have done some legendary bottlings of both cult distilleries Brora and Port Ellen and these are now very sought after on auction - usually going at almost ridiculous prices.

(Sadly) there will be neither Brora or Port Ellen among this series of 6, but there will be good whiskies in this series of reviews, for sure. Finally - more on the 'The Bottlers' here

Right, lets see what these guys are about - first one up is a head-to-head with 2 Springbanks:

Springbank 1993 16yo 54,8% xx.03.1993/xx.05.2009, ex-bourbon hogshead#218, The Bottlers

Pale straw in colour

Nose:
Fresh, citrussy, grass, briny with a dash of peat

Taste:
Much more peat in this one than the nose suggested, some bitter oak, porridge and cask vanillas lurking in the background. Very coastal indeed with seaspray, hint of old dock (tarry!) and ...more peat!! Close to a Longrow! strange since its sister cask is far from that... more on that below. Medium aftertaste.

Maybe not the greatest of Springbanks, but far from a bad one either

84/100!

Strange these 2 casks having forthrunning number and #218 being from March 93' and #219 being from April 93'. Either they had a stop in production or a filling stop with their newmake spirit being held over night(s) before filling again.


Right, lets have a go at the sister cask... #219 - no point in posting a picture of that one, since its similar to #218 except for the cask number



Springbank 1993 16yo 53,5% xx.04.1993/xx.05.2009, ex-bourbon hogshead#219, The Bottlers

Pale straw in colour

Nose:
Creamy, heavy style sweetness, honey'ed theme here, ver little peat, if any at all noticeable at all.

Taste:
Oh, here's the peat, though not as big as in #218. Its oily, spicy, heavy and drying, but still very much an easy drinker. Medium/long aftertaste.

This is the better of the 2 casks IMO. It's clearly more multidimensional compared to #218.

86/100!