Abbey Whiskies' 40 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Abbey Whisky is raising the standard with it’s Secret Casks range of malts. They are 30, 40 and 50 year old malts, matured at Speyside’s finest distilleries and bottled under the Abbey Whisky label.

Outstanding quality matched with excellent pricing makes these malts stand out and are a worthy alternative to buying similar, branded malt whiskies.

Don’t forget as well that you can also buy 3cl. sample bottles of each malt to help you make that final decision.

Today I’m sampling the 40 Year Old Speyside Single Malt.

Tasting Notes

Nose: The first thing that strikes you is it’s Rich golden syrup colour. On nosing, Cane sugar aromas abound coupled with plump sultanas. Pleasantly woody but not overpowering. Palate: Nice level of sweetness, more of a quick hit. Light, no trace of oil, not woody. Finish: Smooth, spicy with warming afterglow. Overall: A lovely dram, very moreish. Not as sweet as I thought it might be and definitely not as woody. This whisky ticks all the right boxes and pleases all palates. Terrific value for money as well!

It’s priced at £139.00 and can be purchased here.

Many thanks to Abbey Whisky for the sample!

The Glenfarclas 1953

It’s not every day that the Royal Mail delivers something special to my door. Well, in fact, they hardly ever as it is usually bills. But a couple of days ago a very special package was delivered courtesy of the chaps at Master Of Malt.

After ripping through the extremely efficient packaging my eyes became all gooey and misty eyed. And it wasn’t because I’d just poked myself in the eye with some of the industrial strength bubble wrap that had surrounded it.

No, it was because I held in my hand a very precious thing, a box containing a miniature of Glenfarclas 1953!

Now that’s something very special indeed. Not only is it 58 years old which is pretty special in itself but it is the oldest spirit ever to leave the Glenfarclas Distillery walls.

The cask it matured in for all those years began its life in Spain, where it was used to mature and then transport fine sherry to Scotland. It was bought by Glenfarclas and filled with whisky on 20 November 1953.

As it states in the Press Release (they’ve written it so much better than me):-
“The single cask whisky launched by Glenfarclas is the oldest spirit released so far by the distillery.
The privilege of exclusive access to the distillery’s rarest and oldest stock, the remaining 4 casks distilled in 1953, were given by George Grant, of Glenfarclas to a panel comprised of Serge Valentin, a whisky connoisseur and a key member of the internationally renowned Malt Maniacs, Ben Ellefsen, Sales Director for Master of Malt (Whisky Magazine’s ‘Global Online Retailer of the Year’ 2012), Michal Kowalski of Wealth Solutions and George Grant himself.
The panel was unanimous in their selection and cask #1674 was selected to be bottled.”

Cask #1674 yielded only 400 bottles at a cask strength of 47.2% abv and is naturally coloured and non-chill filtered. It has been produced for the Polish investment market but some are available from Master of Malt.

58 Years of WOW!

Amazing to think that when it was distilled the world was a very different place. Britain was just coming out of rationing, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth was held and Frankie Lane was at No.1 with “I believe”.

To put 58 years into perspective, people would have started their working life at Glenfarclas after the whisky was casked and retired before it’s bottling!

Here’s some tasting notes:-

Official Nosing by Charles MacLean

What I Reckon

Nose: A mild nose feel. Very clean, fresh and highly perfumed — the scent fills the room: hair lacquer, shampoo, face cream, almond oil (and pounded flaked almonds). I was reminded of an old fashioned barber’s shop. Beyond this, a fruity complex which includes fresh apricots and dried figs, and the gradual emergence of sweet tablet. (@ c40%) Even a drop of water reduces the aroma. After a while some rich vanilla sponge emerges — even steamed syrup pudding, very slightly burnt. The latter develops into scorched brown paper. Palate: Smooth and fresh; not as sweet as expected. Centre palate and quite tannic/mouth drying, with some spice. A long, rounded, warming finish. Finish: Warm sand and sand-dunes, with sun-tan oil. Overall: Layer upon layer of flavour. A splendid old whisky; still lively, and not displaying any woodiness. Much influenced by the American oak cask, but wholly beneficially. Best enjoyed unreduced. Cheerful and friendly at natural strength.

Nose: I was tapping away on the laptop and was surprised at how quickly the room was filled with it’s wonderful sweet and fresh aromas. Palate: Sweet but not sickly, currants, cake mixture. Not oily or heavy at all. Finish: Spicy, hint of dryness and very, very warming! Overall: As I said in a tweet “Glenfarclas 1953 – that truly is an amazing malt! I think I’m spoilt for life!” My opinion certainly hasn’t changed – it is an awesome dram. It may have been bottled at nearly pensionable age but it is still full of life and zest!

Once again, many thanks to Master Of Malt for an amazing opportunity to taste history!

Benromach Organic

Benromach, Speyside’s smallest whisky distillery, has done it again!

Two of its Single Malt Scotch Whiskies, Benromach Peat Smoke and Benromach Organic, has won a gold and silver medal respectively in the Scotch Whisky Masters 2012 competition.

One of the most respected competitions in the industry, The Scotch Whisky Masters attracts entries from leading distilleries from around the world. The awards are decided by independent, expert judging panels after an extensive and rigorous blind tasting process.

David Urquhart, Joint Managing Director of Gordon & MacPhail, commented: “It’s wonderful to see Benromach Peat Smoke and Benromach Organic honoured by such a prestigious competition. The win is a true testament to the hard work of the Benromach Distillery craftsmen. Their skills and dedication that go into the making of our whiskies is reflected in the medals won.”

The list of awards for the whiskies of Speyside’s smallest working distillery keeps on growing: Their flagship Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Benromach 10 Years Old was awarded gold at the 2011 Great Taste Awards and in November 2011 it gained gold at TheFiftyBest.com awards in New York.

What makes this all the more amazing and undoubtedly adds to the charm of Benromach is that the distillery employs just two men!

You can buy Benromach Malt Whisky from:-

• The Whisky Exchange
• Master of Malt
• Edencroft Fine Wine & Spirit Specialists
• Abbey Whisky
• The Drink Shop
• Whisky Online

Benromach Peat Smoke
Full bodied, intense and challenging with a smoky character, yet balanced with the fruity elegance of Speyside.

Benromach Organic
Initially launched in 2006 as the world’s first bottled Single Malt to be fully certified as organic. The whole process, including the use of the raw ingredients, distillation, maturation and bottling, is certified to the rigorous standards set by the UK Soil Association. The whisky is matured in virgin American oak casks from environmentally managed forests which has added a unique robustness and depth which complements the traditional Benromach spirit.

A date for your Diary: Monday 28th May at 7:30pm

Some very special whisky tasting news here: There’s to be a Glen Garioch Malt Whisky Tasting with Morrison Bowmore Malt Master Iain McCallum at TWE Vinopolis. The tasting will take place on Monday 28th May at 7:30pm.

Glen Garioch has been part of the Morrison Bowmore group since 1970 and is often seen as one their quieter distilleries. However, this is not quite the full picture.
Their whisky range was relaunched in 2009, breathing new life into the brand and their recent whiskies have revealed that they are anything but ‘quiet’.

Glen Garioch is now seen as a connoisseur’s dram, with the standard expressions now bottled un-chillfiltered at 48%. They’ve also complimented their range by yearly releases of cask strength vintage bottlings.

So it’s a rare honour to be joined by the company’s Malt Master Iain McCallum to lead us through a selection of their whiskies.

Iain will take us through the Glen Garioch range, showing the evolution of the whisky over the last 40 years and its emergence as a formidable single malt.

The Masterclass will start with the Founder’s Reserve and the World Whisky Award-winning 12 year old, before moving through the 1994, 1991, 1986 and 1978 vintage whiskies, ending on the excellent 1971 single cask, bottled in conjunction with The Whisky Exchange and launched at their Whisky Show in 2011.

Tickets are priced at £25 and will go on sale on Wednesday 16th May at 3pm.

As ever, tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis and are limited to two per customer. You can book your place at the tasting by phoning the shop on 020 7403 8688 or by calling in.

Highland Park 1994 - Island Single Malt Scotch Whisky

70cl / 40% / Distillery Bottling – Formerly only available in travel retail, this 1994 Highland Park was released in 2010 and is said to be sweet and fruity with soft smoky notes..

Price: £ 46.95  BUY IT NOW

You can buy this Malt Whisky from:-

• The Whisky Exchange
• Master of Malt
• Edencroft Fine Wine & Spirit Specialists
• Abbey Whisky
• The Drink Shop
• The Whisky Barrel

Or you can compare prices from a selection of suppliers.

Miltonduff 1969 / Gordon & Macphail Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky

70cl / 43% / Gordon & Macphail – A Gordon & Macphail bottling of little-seen Speysider Miltonduff. From the colour, we’re hazarding a guess that this is from sherry wood. Bottled in 2008, just shy of its 40th birthday..

Price: £ 189.00  BUY IT NOW

You can buy this Malt Whisky from:-

• The Whisky Exchange
• Master of Malt
• Edencroft Fine Wine & Spirit Specialists
• Abbey Whisky
• The Drink Shop
• The Whisky Barrel

Or you can compare prices from a selection of suppliers.