Archives for 2015

Tullibardine / 1990 Old Malt Cask 23 Year Old / Cask # 10453

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Highland.
Bottler: Hunter Laing.
Unit: 70cl
ABV: 50%
Cask#: 10453
Cask Type: Refill Hogshead.
Distilled/Bottled: September 1990/April 2014.
Bottles from Cask: 319 
Age: 23 Year Old
Old Malt Cask is unashamedly for connoisseurs of the finest expressions of Single Malt Scotch Whisky. As one of the most established brands in the single cask market, Old Malt Cask is trusted by thousands of Malt Whisky consumers all around the world as the selection which bottles some of the most noteworthy Scotches in the market. Each month, the Hunter Laing tasting panel reviews the company stocks and, after careful consideration, selects only the casks which are of the highest quality. Whether the whisky was distilled in Speyside or Islay, the Lowlands or the Islands, they all have one thing in common – they have been bottled at exactly the right time to capture the unique characteristics of the cask.
Invariably bottled at 50% strength to maintain drinkability, each new expression is non-chillfiltered to ensure that the personality of each cask remains. Our expert blender also writes notes to guide the consumer through the tasting experience. We don't have to do much with the whisky – we let it speak for itself.
Old Malt Cask has spent fifteen years as one of the market leaders in the single cask category. As the reputation of Hunter Laing rests on the quality of each release, they aim to ensure that each new bottling delights the consumer as much as the last one.
Nose: beautiful structure and weight; a little toasty, but welcomes the nutty spread. Excellent salt to suger ratio;
Taste: sublime delivery with near perfect weight and poise and some ramped up barley. The oils are delicate, the sugars playful and the quasi-bourbon style liquorice adding just the right degree of tostesterone;
Finish: a late settling of some sugary scores as the light muscovado overpowers the fudgy oak;
Balance: an early morning reminder why I can really love this job.
Ratings: 95 Points / Jim Murrays's 2015 Whisky Bible.
©Tasting Notes from Jim Murray's 2015 Whisky Bible.

Old Pulteney / 21 Year Old Single Malt

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Highlands.
Unit: 70cl.
ABV: 46%.
As with the 17-year-old, with this expression they marry together Old Pulteney matured in ex-bourbon wood with spirit from ex-sherry wood casks. The crucial difference, however, is that the ex-sherry wood in this case is made from American Oak (mostly Fino sherries). This adds yet another layer of complexity, depth and character to this truly superb malt whisky.
Nose: Full bodied with traces of fruits (apples and pears); slightly fragrant with spicy overtones.
Colour: Golden amber with straw highlights.
Taste: Sweet to start with a light fruitiness; hints of honey and vanilla followed by a dry finish.
Ratings: Single Malt Scotch 16-21 Years (Single Cask) / Jim Murray's 2016 Whisky Bible.

Brora / 37 Year Old / 2015 Release

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Highlands.
ABV: 50.4%
Distilled: 1977
Bottled: 2015
Unit: 70cl
A magnificently confident, smoky and sweet Brora to recall Shakespeare’s timeless description of Cleopatra… ‘age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety’… If a chocolatier made a malt it would surely taste like this, with cocoa-rich shells and centres of caramel, cherry fruit and marzipan offset by a perfectly judged sea-salt piquancy.
Appearance: Deep yellow gold. Exceptional beading.
Nose: Cautious, yet welcoming: smooth, rounded and well balanced. Peaty, with a smoky fresh-lit fire soon giving way to scented candle-wax and dry, fragrant herbs. Soft sultana cake notes become malty, with toasted coconut, honey and lemon zest underscored by subtle wood smoke. With time there’s butterscotch and a little marzipan too, again offset by darker notes of peat. The aromas fuse with water, which raises sweet jam and creamy toffee below top notes of minty, fragrant herbs and perfumed bath salts, and less pronounced smoke.
Body: Medium to rich, soft.
Palate: Powerful at cask strength. Syrup-smooth and sweet to start, then spicy, mouth-drying and faintly charred. Fresh and fragrant flavours of cocoa, dark chocolate truffles, orange zest and toffee honeycomb rise before background hints of wood smoke and ripe, red berries. With water the taste is softer and lighter; less sweet and more mineral, with vanilla and distant mouth-cooling pine resin.
Finish: Medium to long and deeply warming: spicy too, its herbal freshness fused with dark chocolate, appetising toothsome tannins and a minty, fragrant aftertaste. Lengthy and gentle with water. Distinctly minty again, with hints of liquorice and well-roasted coffee in the background.

Tomatin / 36 Year Old Small Batch Release

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Highland's.
ABV: 46%.
Unit: 70cl.
Bottles Produced: 800.
Tomatin are excited to announce an addition to their range – a 36 year old small batch release – which is available to all markets now.
Batch 1 of this new 36 Year Old expression has been vatted from a combination of ex-Bourbon and ex-Oloroso Sherry casks, producing just 800 bottles. Smooth and creamy, it has been bottled at natural cask strength (46%abv), non chill filtered and natural colour. Packaged in an attractive wooden box, each bottle is individually numbered and comes with its own certificate.
Tomatin are in a unique position to be able to offer a product of this age on an ongoing basis. Following the withdrawal of their famed 30 year old expression, we expect this new 36 year old to be a welcome addition for drinkers, of Tomatin single malt.
AROMA: Pear drops, ginger snaps, butterscotch, vanilla ice cream, sherry notes, milk chocolate.
PALATE: Woody and malty, less sweet than the nose, cloves and cardamom.
FINISH: Elegantly smooth and creamy with just a hint of spice.
Ratings: 96.5 Points and Single Malt Scotch Years (Multiple Casks) / Jim Murray's 2016 Whisly Bible.

Macallan / Hunter Laing's Old & Rare 21 Year Old

Summary: Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside.
ABV: 56.8%
Unit: 70cl
Age: 21 Year Old.
Cask #: 
Distilled: June 1993.
Bottled: March 2015.
Bottles Filled: 100
Nose: wow! Speyside at its most concentrated: the barley is both thick yet, on another level, bordering on juicy and light. Almond oil appears to cling to the nose, as does kumquats and freshly picked peas:
Taste: almost a mirror image of the nose. That barley…there is simply no getting to the bottom of it:
Finish: long, with those oils clinging fast. The oak is spice free but projects mocha afar…:
Balance: one of the best Macallan’s I have encountered for a very long while. The weight of the malt emphasis beautifully the small size of the stills. Intense yet so complex and beautifully balanced.
Ratings: 95.5 Points / Jim Murray's 2016 Whisky Bible.
Tasting Notes: Jim Murray's 2016 Whisky Bible.