Review #65: Springbank 18yr, 46%, OB, +/- 2012?

sweet, salty, smoky

Springbank -- at least the 21yr olds in the 1990's -- is still my touchstone for all spirits. It cost about  $120/bottle then, or maybe around $100 if it was on sale. I couldn't really afford it, but it was worth it anyway. I tried to save some money by buying a 12yr old, was thoroughly unimpressed, and then pretty much gave up forever. Not quite, but that's another story. Still, after the 21yr, buying whisky just seemed futile.

Anyway, today an 18yr old. I hear that quality is high again. The prices certainly are.

nose: powerful and complex. it's a malty sweetness that moves through toffee, the glue of old books, some fruit, and finally to smoke. wood polish and beeswax come out after a while, along with some shoe leather. a little bit of engine oil. the fruit is candied, baked, and slightly spiced -- it's hard to pick out specifics -- it's orchard fruit that's become rich and almost floral. some sherry fruit -- raisins and prunes -- too.

palate: prickly smoke and old sherry wood. nutty and briny.

finishes: still smoky, slightly oily and with just a little candied orange.

In the end, it's a fairly subtle experience -- it's not too far from my memory of the Springbank 21yr, but with everything mellowed out and dialed back. Still, it's a well integrated whole, with a nice old-fashioned profile, that somehow resonates with me.

score: 89

Review #64: Glenfarclas 17yr, OB, 43% abv

I hope there isn't a sulfur problem.


I hear (a) that 'farclas batches haven't been very consistent and (b) they 17yr isn't as good as the old 15yr or 18yr or whatever. So I'm a little worried ...

nose: citrus first of all, starting as a heavy orange syrup but then become more tangy, a bit of aspirin and bicycle tire, cinnamon, canned peaches, honey, birch bark, paprika, marzipan, maple syrup and faint smoke. overall it's a light, fruity syrup with a lot of subtle wood spice.

palate: ooh, very light. mostly peaches and rose hips, with just a little smoky/sulfury burn.

finish: honeyed sweetness for a while, but ends a little bitter.

No sulfur problem, although it's noticeable in there. (I'm pretty sensitive, however.) I would say that it's not great value for money, but I'm not sure what to compare it to anymore among middle-aged, heavily-sherried whiskies available in the U.S. Enjoyable stuff, if a little light and not particularly distinguished -- the nose had a lot of complexity but it didn't hold up. Too-low-abv might be the long and the short of it.

score: 85

Review #63: Glenlivet 12yr, Clear Creek Distillery Apple Brandy, Skyy Citrus

some minis

somehow, after Christmas, I ended up with a more or less random assortment of minis. It's time to get rid of them.


Glenlivet 12yr Pure Single Malt Scotch Whisky, OB, 40% abv

I believe this is the most popular (in some sense) single malt in the world. I don't know why: it smells like fermenting cider when it hits the glass, then a blast of vanilla and some wood that's been left out in the rain. The vanilla's even a little weird -- like the artificial flavor in a cheap pastry. On the palate: might as well be water. A little bit of lager and some deciduous fruit on the finish, and a nicer vanilla. I'll have to try this again sometime -- it can't really be this bad.

score: 60 (the gentleman's D-)


Clear Creek Distillery Apple Brandy, 40% abv

It says "golden delicious" on the label, so it's a varietal. Has a kind of tinny new carpet smell alongside the apple. The apple is tart and interesting, but a little one-dimensional. A little hot on the palate, but the fruit flavor is intense and persistent. Has a spicy, almost raisiny note next to the tartness, but generally a very lean profile. This isn't their best spirit; I don't know why. Go for the pear or the grappa instead.

score: 78


Skyy Cirtus, citrus flavored vodka, 35% abv

According to the label it contains "all natural essence of orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, and tangerine." I can't think of any other way to introduce citrus flavors into drinks, so I'm glad they provided this service. I like the smell, actually. It is a nice citrusy smell. I have some orange bitters that smell a little like this. On the palate it seems medicinal (not in a good way). Finish really, really lasts. I'm not sure that I want it to. I like it better than the Glenlivet, though. A few points for the nose.

score: 65

Review #62: Bladnoch 21yr, 1991/2012, The Whiskyman and The Bonding Dram, 52.9%, 119 bottles

distilled by the previous owners

I'm still searching for the perfect Bladnoch, so let's see if this one is it.

nose: sharp and grassy, but also sweet and candied. not much in between. Wet clay, chamomile, lemons and pears, cotton linen. Maybe some pineapple and banana. The fruit bounces around between malic and citric and something tropical. A wisp of smoke.

palate: wow, all over the place. Very intense toasted oak juice and vanilla, linseed oil, waves of sweet fruit, zesty but really a lot of oak. Finish is more of the same. Oak is very drying.

Very good intensity and development. It seems vibrant and mature at the same time, but the oak at the end hurts it for me. I'm not sure it suits this profile well.

still available from The Bonding Dram.

score: 86

Review #61: Jack Daniels Old No. 7 Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey, George Dickel Classic No. 8 Recipe

charcoal mellowed

This is the world's favorite whiskey and its near neighbor. Each is produced by a giant multinational corporation. Both subject their newmake to the "Lincoln County Process," which involves soaking maple charcoal with it. The idea is presumably that it takes out yucky stuff. Of course, there are other paths to the same goal, notably: aging, and not putting yucky stuff in in the first place. I know how this is going to turn out, but I thought I'd get some fresh samples to check.


Jack Daniels Old No. 7 Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey, 40% abv

Smells like wet, dusty cardboard. (Wet and dusty at the same time is a kind of achievement, I suppose.) I'll play Candy Crush till I'm dead and come back ... The cardboard is still there, but some fruit (apricots?) and vanilla and nail polish come in, too. There's some charred wood and creamed corn. The palate is surprisingly like the nose: like getting smacked in the tongue with an old cardboard box filled with tinned fruit, corn, and lumber. Finish is the same. Consistency, that is.

score: 65


George Dickel Tennessee Sour Mash Whisky, Classic No. 8 Recipe, 40% abv.

The cardboard seems a little drier and woodier. The whole seems leaner and grassier. I don't have any Candy Crush lives. Umm. Now it's chalky -- it reminds me of the amox suspensions that babies with ear infections get. Or is that powdered milk? Better come back in a few minutes ... Sure enough, some fruit come out, but it's still lean. There's a very high fruity-medicinal note, as if from a Lifesavers-branded cough syrup. Palate is softer, fruitier, and cleaner than the JD, though. More pleasant to drink and less woody. Cracked corn and vanilla on the finish.

score: 67


ok, let's try them in their natural habitat, with Coke.

JD: weirdly, the woodiness and some funky medicinal notes are what stand out from the Coke. Maybe on the rocks with more Coke is the way to go.
GD: works much better, although it gives a sour edge to the Coke's sweetness. It becomes interestingly vegetal and spicy, though. Reminds me of a place that sells handmade soaps with herbal fragrances. Plus Coke. (I'm not sure this is a tasting note.)

Neither of them are bad. They're perfectly ok. But they're marketed as premium and here (in NYS) they're really quite expensive, actually -- comparable to much better whiskey. (The Dickel is much better on that front, but the Dickel #12 is outrageously priced here.) I have trouble thinking of the Lincoln County Process as anything other than a way of making cheap booze palatable, so I have trouble figuring out why this is supposed to merit a deluxe price.

Review #60: Château de Pellehaut 17yr Tenareze Armagnac, Folle Blanche, 1996, 50.4% abv (from K&L)

bottleneck bottle

So I hadn't bought any Armagnac for a couple years because I bought an especially bad bottle. I don't even know what it is -- the cork broke a long time ago, so I decanted it into an old Château de Montal bottle. Finally, through many heroic, nobles acts of consumption, I've finished the old one to make way for the new one. This was selected on account of Sku -- otherwise I probably would have gone for Baraillon or Ognoas. Also: readers please note by fine use of the circumflex. I just figured that out.


Very woody nose. Slightly grassy at first, and then the fruit powers in. It starts with very ripe pears and cherries, and then becomes more exotic. Well, somewhat more exotic: flambéed bananas. Dried apricots, parsley, lilacs, and custard (crème brûlée -- the diacritical marks might be affecting my palate). A young old spirit.

Palate is a little alcoholic and fairly grapey. Some old varnish and leather. Finish is long and fruity but somewhat drying.

The nose on this is stunning -- powerful and rich. The palate is more bracing than subtle. I'll take a point off for the finish, but it's hard to find fault. So thanks for the tip, Sku. (unless the other ones were even better!)

score: 90


+special bonus for comparison's sake: the last pour of the old bottle
generic Armagnac, unknown vintage, unknown abv.

nose is clean, as in scrubbed with soap. some juice box (apple, grape) flavors come through after a couple minutes. very light palate -- almost entirely raisins, with maybe a prune or two and some grape stems. Finish is pure raisins, and surprisingly long and sweet. This isn't bad stuff, but lacks very many or very intense flavors, so there never seemed to be much point in drinking it. You kind of have to focus to remember what kind of spirit it is. (And *not* in the ancient, this-is-so-complex-it-transcends-its-primary-flavors way.)
score: 68

Review #59: Linkwood 14yr, 1982/1997, 46%, Wilson and Morgan Barrel Selection

Only six more to go

I'm still catching up on the reviews I wrote by hand while my computer was sobering up, but I'm making progress. Now for a Linkwood. I don't know much about Linkwood. I think it closed down in the eighties, but apparently not before they made this one for me.*

nose: smells like generic Speyside whisky -- in a good way! very rich nose of honey, rose hips, grapefruit, some gooseberries, cut grass, and vanilla. a little oak spice. everything perfectly balanced.

palate is soft and yet a little too oaky. Not a whole lot going on.

Finish is nice -- mostly sweet and grassy, and very long. Some candied fruit (esp. orange) comes in at the end.

There's nothing extravagant or sensational about this, but it's very good. No gimmicks, it just holds together nicely. I'm not sure why I didn't have to pay much more for it.

score: 86


* research indicates: Linkwood shut down one of its still houses a couple years after this was distilled. It was fired back up for a while, but has gone quiet again. Weird. If I had a still house, I imagine I'd be using it.

Review #58: McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt, 3yrs, Clear Creek Distillery, Batch #W11-01, bottled 6/2011, 42.5% abv

I like the descriptive label

It tells you: the peated barley is from Scotland, the mash was fermented by Widmer Bros, he used a pot still, it's aged 3 years, it's NCF. The label also has a picture of Multnomah Falls for some reason. I'm still confused as to how a guy with a still that he uses to make framboise manages to make peated whisky, but whatever.

nose: two-stroke engine burning oil, country ham with extra salt, new Nikes, seasoned firewood.

palate is softer and greasier than I expected, but still phenolic. The new-sneaker-smell seems to have become almost plummy. (and yet for some reason I think it's the same flavor, just different.)

the finish is suitably long for the heavy peat, but maybe a little sour in the end.

The great thing about this is that the flavors are intense at 42.5%. There are peat-profiles I like better, but this holds its own, easily.

score: 83

Review #57: Clear Creek Grappa (Pinot Noir), Grappa (Pinot Grigio), Pear Brandy (Poire Williams/Bartlett)

Clear Creek catch up, part I

Another distillery bought out, so it's time to catch up with Clear Creek. Must be time to take the bar. Anyway, today is the clear stuff. Not sure when I bought all of these. I don't have scores for them, either because I can't read my handwriting or because I don't know what I'm doing.


Grappa (Pinot Noir), 40% abv

smells like grappa -- musky, estery nettles and plums and marigolds and then a sweet, almost citric flower (lemon balm?). Palate is like sucking on grapeskins. Finish is a burst of grape jelly but then a little drying and vegetal.

palate cleanser=triscuits


Grappa (Pinot Grigio), 40%

Spicy and fruity. Fruits are, well, crushed green grapes, but also white fruits (lychees, underripe peaches). The spices are trickier to sort out. White peppercorns, caraway, tarragon, none of which are spices. Oh well. Even a little gardenia maybe. Peppery and fruity attack; smooth, grapey finish. Amazing that something this good could come from pinot grigio.


Pear Brandy (Poire Williams/Bartlett), 40%

Rich pear nose, a little spicy, a little sweet. Perfectly peary. Becomes a little green and spirity on the palate and then the pear resasserts itself. Just pear, don't know what else to say.

no scores, but this is all really good stuff.

Review #56: Bunnahabhain 12yr, OB +/- 2013, 46.3%

another Bunny

I haven't tried this in a while -- not since they upped the proof. I think there's more sherry casks in the mix now, too. And it's owned by a South African drink conglomerate, because whatever.

nose: sharp, grassy edge followed by distinct sherry notes: orange peels, walnuts, coffee, dried fruits, and fudge. A little bit of medicinal bitterness, but the overall effect is light and sweet.

palate: bitter attack that develops nicely, through marzipan sweetness into waves of apple peelings, walnut skins, salted caramels, and oak. There's some sulphur here, I think, but it works well to give some oomph to a light whisky.

finish: finish is pleasant but unremarkable. maybe a little saltier and greasier than the palate.

very well made -- everything in balance, so that modest flavors are tasty and interesting. Good basic malt.

score: 82

Review #55: Bunnahabhain Moine 5yr 2006/2012, C#800041, 61.1% abv, 261 bottles

resuming from technical difficulties

So, it turns out that Caol Ila is bad for laptops. (Fucking Diageo.) Obstacles have been surmounted, however, and now I'm back to posting here at the TastingDome. I have a bunch of things I managed to write on scraps of paper, so I'll just type all of them out, I guess, if I can read my own handwriting. First up is a very young Bunna.

nose: starts off dry and smoky, with hints of cardboard, but then switches to bacon. Rich, fatty bacon, and then coastal notes -- seaweed, sea salt. Maybe a little ashy, as if the bacon got overcooked. I'll give it a few minutes to see if anything else turns up ... Smoked pears, some vanilla and lanolin.

palate: like a lawn mower that caught on fire. creamy, too.

finish: oily and sweet.

This isn't what I expected. I expected mouth-burning phenols, weird beery notes, and angry pears. This is actually pretty pleasant, especially if you like bacon. I had heard this was newmake-y, and if that's so then I like newmake. It was aggressive on the palate, but the sweetness bails it out.

score: 83