whisky – grey whisky

Whisky 2020 – 57-61 – BenRiach Tasting

57 – BenRiach 2006 Sauternes Cask 12yr cask 1853 55.3%

Nose or pears, honey and saffron, egg tarts, pineapple, white flowers

Palate peach, pears, honey

Finish is super long with spice, vanilla egg tarts and flowers

****^

58 – BenRiach 2008 South African wine cask 10yr cask 7856 59% (adoro winery)

Nose for me is heavy cooked chocolate, black berry, graphite, cherry ripe and tropical fruit?!!

Palate super spicy, grass and a touch or cream, blueberry napoleons

Finish woody, coffee and grape seed

***^

59 – BenRiach 2005 PX cask 13yr cask 6924 56.2%

Nose is deep milky caramel coffee, Turkish delight, dates, sultanas, honey

Palate honey joy biscuits, dates, tannin, rubber and sulphur but not balanced.

Finish a bit too tannic, sulphur but some nice plums and liquorice.

***^

60 – BenRiach 21yr “Temporis”

Nose wood chips, plastic, dried seaweed

Palate honey and seaweed, band-aids

Finish really iodine and juicy.

***

61 – BenRiach 1995 peated oloroso cask 23yr cask 7385 51.7%

Nose of BBQ ham, orange and citrus, chlorine, pine needles.

Palate duck a’la orange and smoked ham, green wood smoke and shoe polish

Finish caramel and chalky

***

Whisky 2020 – 40-44

Tasting with social distancing and isolation is a bit difficult. Things have certainly slowed down. Thankfully some whisky bars have been sending samples.

40 – SMWS 63.49 (Glentauchers) In the dark of the abyss

Nose is intensely vanilla, with delightful citrus rind. Some caramelised figs and hazelnuts, toasted marshmallow and musk.

Palate is very sherried. Very woody and a slight sulfur note. Dry cooking spices, vanilla cream, dried apricots and dates.

Finish rubber, wood char, toasted nuts, brown sugar and praline

****

41 – Four Roses Single Barrel – Warehouse KE Barrel 64.3E

Nose vanilla cream, cracked pepper, cardamom, crushed ants, raspberry and raspberry leaf, pink marshmallow and orange zest. A lovely backbone of shoe polish and spice.

Palate vanilla cream, buttery, nutty, some slight rubbery notes, mashed strawberries, Christmas biscuits.

Finish melted butter for days and fresh wood shavings.

****

42 – Benrinnes 1995/2019 23yo by Drunken Master & The Elysian Hogshead #9080, 48.5%

Nose of lemon, malt, honey and wax. That real “old whisky” waxy smell with slight tropical fruits.

Palate sweet like kiwi fruit and dusty mangos. Hay and boot polish. Finally some lovely liquorice and pepperiness.

As the palate fades a bolt of vanilla cream and aniseed that lingers

****^

43 – Glen Elgin 1995/2019 23yo by Drunken Master & The Elysian, Hogshead #3271, 51%

Tropical fruits like pineapple and mango, whipped cream and chewy meringue. Getting a slight medicinal sense?!

Great palate weight. A strange mix of floral, roses, chocolate bullets and black cats. Feels like an old whisky

Finish leather bound books, cream and potpourri

***

44 – Caol Ila 2006/2019 12yo by Drunken Master & The Elysian, Hogshead #311572, 57%

Medicinal honey. Aspirin! Salty and mineral. Pink lady apples and fairy floss.

Palate is autumn leaves, seaweed and forgotten oyster shells. Caramel and cream.

Finish is sea spray, autumn leaves and cream.

(As an aside we had a piece of white chocolate at the end and wow! Islay and white chocolate… who knew! Try it!)

****

Whisky 2019 – 97-99

97 – Bruichladdich 2004 13yo by Silent Third Kyoto Cask 1543

Heavy maple and crispy bacon smoke on the nose, with heather and rich nori butter

Palate of wood smoke with a great heavy coating mouthfeel. The caramel and peat very fell integrated into orange zest scented Xmas pud.

The orange zest continues on the finish and turns dusty into date and date syrup.

****

98 – Tweeddale “Grain if Truth” 46%

Nose: Honey leads to jersey caramel and a slight earthy new make smell.

Palate: nicely sweet and then some nice chocolate milk notes but that’s about it. It’s simple.

Finish: Stays chocolate milk and hot and a little cream. Pretty flat on the finish though.

99 – Littlemill 1988 bottled in 2015 by Pearls of Scotland Cask #135

Nose is intensely over sherried wood, leather, maple syrup and hairspray.

Initially sweet and spicy, it is rancio in the extreme. Some great plump raisins and cooked pastry but those old wood notes are a frontal assault. There is really clear fresh and dried figs.

Finish is salty and woody, unsurprisingly.

Love this dram for it’s uniqueness… but objectively it is only good as those woody rancio notes are ridiculous.

***

Whisky 2019 – 91-96 – The Single Cask Tasting

91 – TSC Royal Brackla 2006 11yo Cask #310864

The nose was chocolate dipped pineapple with a side of sweet milky tea. Some nice woody notes.

Sweet and oily palate. Lemon tart, resin and chestnuts with spice. With water sweet jasmine tea

Simple sweet and salty finish.

***

92 – TSC Braeval 1994 22yo Cask #165641

Nice nose of snickers bars, stewed stone fruit and toasted coconut.

Simple and straightforward bourbon cask palate that is full of tropical fruit. It has nice creamy and woody notes.

Finish is really delicious salted coconut milk with fresh mango.

***

93 – TSC Deanston 1997 20yo Cask #1982

Curious nose with great earthiness like terrariums. Some chocolate and surprisingly gun powder. End notes of jasmine flowers.

Older Deanston are known to express waxiness on the palate and this certainly did. It was sweet and tropical like tinned pineapple and salty. The the earthy and mineral notes came.

The finish was salty sweetness with leather.

****

94 – TSC Tobermory 1994 23yo Cask #SA1294

Nose: roasted chestnuts, earthy, apricots and salt, vino cotto

Palate: hot and salty, peaches, really interesting and complex.

Finish: bitter and oily but in a good way.

Super confusing dram.

***

95 – TSC Ledaig 2008 10yo Cask #700076

Nose is gluey and oily, salty and maritime. Crisp green apple.

Palate is like licking a painters pallet splashed with fruit cordial.

Oily and maritime, standing in the sea spray.

****

96 – TSC Bruichladdich 2004 14yo Cask #12

Generous nose with apricots, crispy bacon, leather and carob. Reminiscent of old butter slathered on camp fire toast.

According to everyone at the tasting this is my type of palate – super sherried, super rancio with controlled sulfur. Great black fruit and proper maraschino sweetness. Loads of Christmas pudding!

A gentle finish which is dusty and has the umami of dried shiitake

****

Whisky 2019 – 74-79, Glendronach tasting

74 – GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 3
I really loved the simple nose a cross between a lemon eggy pudding and tiramisu.

Great sweet jasmine tea and fig on the palate leading to white peaches and cocoa, green almonds.

The finish has loads of cream and stewed fruit.

***

75 – GlenDronach Single Cask Oloroso #392 1993 26yo for The Whisky List
The nose was woody with loads of dried dark fruit, an interesting but not unpleasant plasticine note, candle wax and finally the Glendronach hallmark orange zest.

Sweet and nutty on the palate, some expressive stone fruit and orange zest, flinty stones and pencil shavings, great umami with dried mushrooms and coffee grounds. Was looking for maple syrup and caramel but was very muted there.

The finish was a bit muted for with old apples and nuts.
****

76 – GlendDronach Grandeur Batch 10 27yo
A real spritely nose with apricots with loads honey, and cake, cake and more cake.

Initial sweetness and a citrus zip, followed by spiced stewed stone fruit with cream. Later on the palate the sharpness of passionfruit with some sun drenched sultanas.

The passionfruit returns for the finish almost a passionfruit pavlova with loads of cream served with a glass of cola

****

77 – GlenDronach Single Cask Maderia #4761 1995 19yo for Whisk-E
The nose has great depth and complexity, hold on to your hats for this! Like I’ve shoved my face into a chiffon cake. Eating prunes and dates dipped in candle wax from a balsa wood box while taking a stroll through a rose garden.

A super sweet syrupy palate to begin with. Prunes and figs, sponge cake, peanut butter and honey sandwiches stuffed with orange zest and pencil shavings.

The finish is friendly prune cake made by my grand mother with day old cream and butter.

****

78 – Glendronach 12 (2011 bottling whisky would be from before the 1996 closing)

Nose: Pencil shavings, waxy and stone fruit

Palate: Pencil shavings, orange zest, figs, cocoa, flinty and honey

Finish: Flinty rocks and honey, dusty.

***

79 – Glendronach Handfilled distilled 05/06/92 bottled 27/02/19 58.9%
Dark, black, brooding… it looks like motor oil.

The nose is quite restrained with dried and dusty coconut but with some time with loads of fat raisins almost like Madeira and peanut butter on toast. Menthol and spearmint appear and after about 30 minutes in the glass real maple syrup on flapjacks.

The palate is packed with cocoa and dark dark dried fruit (dates, figs and prunes) but has relief from red apple skin tannins. Prunes reappears leading to honey, salted butter and finally pencil shavings.

A strong leather and chocolate glazed almond finish.

****

Whisky 2019 – 58-60

58 – Cambus 1991 25 years by Liquid Treasures “Faces on Angkor”
Nose: Initially the sweetness of jaffa cakes and strongly reminiscent of tiramisu. Bolstered by marzipan sweets and green apricots fallen in a rocky orchard. Orange zest grated over cold butter, the power of the cask (which I assume is PX) is evident.

Palate: There is a tiny influence of sulfur but that settles quickly to reveal an intense coffee, molasses, liquorice and chocolate backbone. Tropical fruits, specifically rock melon and kiwi smothered in whipped cream and drops of Manuka honey. It has a heavy and interesting mouthfeel – doesn’t seem like a grain whisky.

Finish: Lots of cocoa and that tiramisu makes a comeback.

****

59 – Daftmill 2006 “Winter batch” 5 first fill bourbon casks limited 1265 bottles
Nose: Really heavy on the nose deep biscuity notes and lemon drops, peaches with fresh cream and eggy pudding, obviously bourbon cask.

Palate: Much lighter spirit than I expected but the biscuit and cream note hits late and heavily and has pound cake smothered in almond cream.

Finish: Butter poached stone fruits show up wrapped in salty grape vines.

****

60 – Daftmill 2006 Cask 039/2006 57.4%

Nose: Heady toffee and dark caramel leads to flat coke and milk chocolate, dates and figs. Deep and heavy.

Palate: Tannic but well controlled … but but but … where’s anything else? Maybe some dark chocolate and dried fruit but I’m struggling to identify much else. With water it settles quite a bit, but only to reveal musk, meringue, spice and white pepper.

Finish: Woody, maybe a bit too old.

***

Whisky 2017 – 225

My final dram for 2017. A beautiful peated Heartwood. Tim, you’ve excelled yourself!

225 – Heartwood Darkest before Dawn Cask LD559 Olorosso Sherry *
Brown sugar, yoghurt, cream, boozy stone fruits, dried figs, cream, tomato paste, peanut brittle. Toffee apples, dark caramel, bitter chocolate, brown sugar, pouch tobacco, strawberries and cream, fresh and dried fig, chewy and massive, beef broth, salt, gravy granules.

Whisky 2017 – 184-188

184 – Cadenhead Single Cask Mortlach 30 Years 1987 48.2%
Cream, cassia bark, honey dew melon, fresh cut grass. Hint of leather, cream, liquorice, apricots, star anise, straw, rock melon skin, baked apple with cream.

185 – Oak Barrel Ben Nevis 1997 for Sydney Whisky Fair
Honey, aspirin, boot polish, short bread, black beans. Honey, orange zest, boot polish, golden syrup, granita biscuits, leather, some pouch tobacco, tinned peaches.

186 – Limburg Dramclub Blended 2016 Club Bottling 6
Rose petals, metal, cocoa, apricots, tobacco, caramel, toast with butter, honey, old apples. Tea, rubber, clover, salt, band-aids, honey, peanuts, stewed apricots.

187 – Maltman Port Charlotte 13 Years 2002 Cask 238 bottled for Shinanoya
Caramel, funk, steel, menthol, lemon butter, egg custard, plasticine, mint. Green grass, ash, coal, fruit cup, brown sticks and leaf matter, grapes.

188 – Cadenhead Caol Ila 33 Years 50.2% 1983
Bananas, green apples, malty, glue, plastic and ash, ice-cream, apple snow, cream, slightly medicinal. Cream, fruit, sage, parsley, sea salt, slight hammy note, stewed apples.

Whisky 2017 – 172-175

Quite an eclectic mix of whiskies here… all were excellent. How good are single cask Teeling?

172 – The Single Cask Bowmore 2001, 14 years Cask 31931
Banana, malty, band aids, yeasty, proving bread, butter, cream, caramel. Salt, burning grape vines, peaches, preserved lemons, chocolate, lantana, short bread, passion fruit, clear sugars, wonderful mouthfeel, orange zest.

173 – Kingsbury Mhain Baraille 1980 35 Years Blended
Glue, hobnobs, leather, raspberry jelly, hand cream. Cream, passionfruit vine, dried pineapple, pavlova, freeze dried apple. So tasty.

174 – Kavalan Solist Port Cask, Cask 0090908028A 59.4%
Brown sugar, peaches, cocoa, glue, Nutella, apricots, coffee, old butter, maple syrup, boot polish. Woody, stone fruits, glue, melted butter, iced coffee, dried apricots, pine, mushroom pate.

175 – Three Rivers Teeling 23 Year Old Cask 6821
Very dried peaches, leather, shaving cream, sarsaparilla, wood glue. Cream, beef jerky, passion fruit, chocolate, old shoe leather, cream, salt, rubber, pink pepper corns.

Whisky 2017 – 166-171 – The Gresham, Brisbane

Back in Brisbane for work and I took the opportunity to visit The Gresham again. Fun place, not up to the standard of Mebourne’s biggies but a solid selection. The Octomore 7.3 was excellent!

166 – Signatory Glenturret 1987 Hogshead Cask 374 50.1%
Short bread, preserved lemons, leather, caramel, Marion’s fruit buns, jelly fruits. Herbaceous, peaches, apricots, butter, cream, salt, tobacco, menthol, hobnobs, milk chocolate.

167 – SMWS 46.32 Glenlossie “Summertime and the whisky is easy” 1992 22 years
Toffees, Madeira cake, kiwi fruit, pineapple daiquiri, malty, macadamias, soapy, bubbling bicarb. Disappointing and confused on the palate the butter hits after a strange bitter note, stone fruits, sulfur, shortbread, slight iced coffee.

168 – Glendronach 2003 PX Puncheon Cask 4034
Wood shavings, marshmallows, pineapple upsidedown cake, lemon butter, chicos, peanut brittle and ozone. Whipped cream, wood, leather, salt, roasted peanuts, rose petals, melted butter, hazelnuts, loads of Manzanilla, weak raspberry cordial, still young and fresh, slightly dusty and green almonds, chestnut cake.

169 – Glendronach Peated
Cream, apples, band aids, imperial leather soap. A really pleasant dram fruity (peaches and apples) and friendly, some oaky and buttery notes and a touch of flinty smoke. Pretty simple but easy drinking.

170 – Ardbeg Kelpie
Heather, leather, cream, caps, salt, pink pepper corns, honey, plastic toys, ham on rye, apple snow. Earthy and leafy, flint, coals in a cold fire, cream, Guinness – better on the nose.

171 – Bruichladdich Octomore 7.3
Caramel toffees, plasticine, Eaton mess, smoke, wood glue, fake Parmesan, milk chocolate, leafy. Quite dry and smokey, bacon and HP sauce sandwich, dried apple rings, sulfur, salt, cream, tea tannins, burning leather and bracken.