Review #101: Balblair 21yr 1990/2011, Cadenhead's, 51% abv, bourbon barrel, 144 bottles

I have unfounded high hopes for this dram

Balblair is a Highlands distillery owned by Inver House that sometimes produces great whisky, and sometimes very boring whisky. Cadenhead's bottled a great many 1990 barrels from Balblair, some of which I suspect were very good and some very bad. I have high expectations for this particular whisky, but not for any particular reason, alas.

nose: starts off well enough -- dried grass with a lot of honey, and then some almost plummy fruit, peonies, and old oak. opens up to apples, yoghurt, and maybe a puff of smoke while keeping that honeyed sweetness.

palate: curious -- it starts aggressive, with astringent, very spicy apples, and then sort of peters out. there are some creamy peaches in there, and a nice combination of honey and hay, but there's not a lot of body there.

finish: shortish, with apples and lots of wood spices (cinnamon, vanilla, even some licorice).


My general (largely uninformed) impression of Balblair is that it makes dull young whiskies that just might become extraordinary with age. This will reinforce that impression: this seems like a dull young whisky that has gained (considerable!) richness and depth with age. Didn't quite make it to extraordinary, however.

score: 87

Index of first 100 reviews

oops, no hyperlinks

Ardbeg NAS, 53.2%, MoS (“Kildalton Cross”)                  83

Ardbeg Corryvreckan, 57.1%, OB                                       89

Arran 2005/2011, 55%, OB for the Nectar                          85

Arran 15yr 1996/2012, 56.2%, Glen Fahrn                         89

Arran 17yr, bottled 2013, 46%, OB                                     85

Auchentoshan “Valinch” 2012 release, 57.2%, OB             83

Auchentoshan 17yr 1995/2013, 53.5%, whiskybroker       78

Auchroisk 22yr, 1990/2013, 49/8%, Whisky-Faessle         86

Aultmore 6yr 2007/2014, 53.7%, Kintra                             83

Balmenach 24yr 1988/2013, 55.2%, van Wees                   87

Benriach Heredotus Fumosis 12yr, 46%, OB                      84

Benriach 36yr 1976/2013, 40.1%, OB for Whiskysite        92

Benrinnes 23yr, 1988/2012, 43%, Mackillop’s                   83

Bladnoch 21yr 1991/2012, 52.9%, Whiskyman &TBD     86

Bladnoch 1990/2011, 58/3%, Edition Spirits                      86

Bowmore “Tempest” Batch 4, 55.1%, OB                          88

Bowmore 11yr 2001/2013, 50.6%, The Whiskyman          89

Bowmore 16yr 1993/2010, 59.9%, Perfect Dram               87

Braeval 1991/2013, 53.1%, Brachadair                              83

Bunnahabhain Moine 5yr 2006/2012, 61.1%, Archives     83

Bunnahabhain 12yr (+/-2013), 46.3%, OB                         82

Bunnahabhain 24yr 1989/2013, 50.9%, AC                       90

Caol Ila 15yr 1996/2012, 56.5%, Sovereign for K&L       89

Caperdonich 1992/2012, 55.9%, Berry Bros.                    82

Clynelish 14yr 1998/2012, 49.5%, Maltbarn                     87

Clynelish 17yr 1995/2013, 45.2%, A.D. Rattray               87

Craigellachie 9yr 2002/2012, 59.5%, Exclusive Malts      70

Dalmore NAS, 49.1%, Asta Morris for TBD                     86

Dalwhinnie 15yr, 43%, OB                                                82

GlenDronach 19yr 1993/2012, 54.7%, OB for K&L         89

Glenfarclas 17yr, 43%, OB                                                 85

Glenlivet 12yr, 40%, OB

Glen Garioch 1990/2012, 54%, Archives                           85

Glen Ord 15yr 1997/2012, 54.2%, Archives                      85

Glen Scotia 1992/2010, 53.3%, Malts of Scotland            79

Highland Park 12yr, 43%, OB                                            82

Highland Park 17yr 1995/2013, 53.9%, Edition Spirits     85

Highland Park 21yr, 47.5%, OB                                         90

Imperial 17yr 1995/2013, 52.7%, Signatory for K&L       86

Isle of Jura 23yr 1989/2013, 46%, van Wees                     87

Isle of Jura 23yr 1989/2013, 58.7%, Signatory for K&L   91

Kilchoman 4yr 2006/2011, 60%, OB for WIN                   88

Kilchoman “Loch Gorm” 2013 release, 46%, OB             82

Knockdhu 18yr 1978/1996, 58.8%, Adelphi                     85

Lagavulin 16yr, 43%, OB                                                   84

Linkwood 14yr 1982/1997, 46%, Wilson and Morgan     86

Linkwood 16yr 1997/2013, 59.0%, C&S Dram                81

Longmorn 19yr 1992/2011, 52.7%, CWC                         85

Longrow Rundlets and Kilderkins, 51.7%, OB                  89

Macallan 12yr, OB                                                              81

Miltonduff 30yr 1982/2013, 49.5%, Maltbarn                   86

Mortlach 1995/2012, 49.1%, A.D. Rattray                         83

Mortlach 22yr 1989/2011, 47.9%, Kintra                           83

Old Pulteney 21yr, 46%, OB                                              88

Port Charlotte 2001/2013, 57.5%, MoS                             90

Springbank 18yr (+/-2012), 46%, OB                                89

Talisker 1986/2007, 45%, G&M (Secret Stills 1.2)           90

Talisker DE 1991/2005, 45.8%, OB          

Tomatin 1991/2013, 55.7%, C&S Dram                            82

Tomintoul 43yr 1968/2011, 43.2%, TWA Private Stock   90

Tormore 1984/2013, 51%, Archives                                   90

Tullibardine 23yr 1989/2012, 54.4%, C&S Dram              87

Big Peat NAS, Batch #22, 46%, Douglas Laing                 81

USA/Canada:

Blanton’s Single Barrel, 46.5%, OB (Buffalo Trace)          84

Burnside Bourbon 4yr, 48%, OB                                         72

Eagle Rare 17yr 2012 release, 45%, OB (Buffalo Trace)    92

Elijah Craig 12yr, 47%, OB (Heaven Hill)                          83

Elijah Craig 18yr, 45%, OB (Heaven Hill)                          84

Four Roses Single Barrel, 50%, OB                                     86

George Dickel No. 8, 40%, OB                                             67

George T. Stagg 2013 release, 64.1%, OB (Buffalo Trace)  93

Jack Daniels Old No. 7, 40%, OB                                         65

Jim Beam White Label, 40%, OB                                         62

Lot No. 40 Canadian Rye, 43%, OB (Hiram Walker)          80

McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt (bottled 6/2011), 42.5%   83

Michter’s Small Batch Bourbon, 45.7%                              82

Wild Turkey 101, 50.5% (duh), OB                                     83

Ireland:

Green Spot Single Pot Still, 40%, OB (Midleton)               84

Redbreast 12yr, 40%, OB                                                    81

Japan, Taiwan:

Kavalan Solist Sherry, 58.6%, OB                                        89

Yamazaki 12yr, 43%, OB                                                      86

Mexico:

Del Maguey Santo Domingo Albarradas Mezcal                82

R(h)um:

Aniversario Ron Anejo, 40% (Venezuela)                      80

Barbancourt 15yr Estate Reserve Rhum, 43%, (Haiti)   75

Botran Solera 1893 Rum, 40% abv (Guatemala)            82

Caroni 15yr 1997/2012, 46%, Sansibar (Trinidad)         89

Millionario Sistema Solera 15, 40% (Peru)                    87

Plantation 2000 Rum, 42%, the Nectar (Trinidad)         87

Zaya Gran Reserva 12yr, 40% (Trinidad)                       70

Stuff from France:

Camut 6yr Calvados Pays d’Auge                                   85

Chateau de Pellehaut Armagnac 1996, 50.4%                90

Chateau du Tariquet VS Bas-Armagnac, 40%                82

Coeur de Lion Calvados Selection, 40%                         81

Amari:

Cardamaro

Cynar

Sparkling wines:

Mumm Napa Brut Prestige

Lamarca Prosecco DOC

Ruffino Prosecco DOC

Lucien Albrecht Cremant d’Alsace

Roederer Estate Brut Anderson Valley

plus there was some grappa, apple brandy, Spanish brandy, tea, vodka, and probably some other stuff

Review #100: Benriach 36yr 1976/2013, OB for Whiskysite, 40.1% abv, Cask #3012, refill hogshead, 118 bottles

happy birthday

So, I started this blog for roughly two sets of reasons. One was that both my memory and my notebook were getting more and more muddled, and I needed some way of keeping them straight. (Which of the Jim Beam Small Batch Collection can't I stand? How many attempts have I made in looking for the perfect middle-aged Tomatin or Glen Garioch? I don't know, but's it's rather easier with tags.) Not only couldn't I remember everything, but I couldn't even sort out my notes for anything. The other set of reasons involved all the sample bottles I did or didn't have. I'm not a big drinker at all, so much of what I love about whisky comes from diversity rather than quantity. This leaves me looking for samples, but at the same time torn between treating the samples as too precious to ever open (and thereby make disappear forever) because no particular occasion merits it, and voraciously opening all the samples in rapid succession. This blog was a way to find a happy medium.

I thought I would try to take about a hundred sets of notes over a year's time, and here I am, on the one-year anniversary of the first post, about to write review #100. So success! I haven't actually accomplished anything, I still don't remember anything, but it's been a pleasant path, and I still have some whisky left.

anyway, to the whisky ...

Nose: intensely fruity -- very ripe nectarines and lychee, tangerines, some tangy melon, a honeycomb, and wisps of wood smoke. Some smaller oak notes, too: vanilla, mint, and well, wood. Overall, though, it's fruitier than fruit, and then honeyed and floral.

Palate: becomes more tropical but less fruity and more honeyed.  And there's an interesting sharp edge -- some wet hay and sour but spicy wood.

Finish: the honey and wood become relatively more prominent, but the fruit really runs deep. Eventually the fruit peters out, though, and there's something almost mentholly remaining.


This one makes me happy.

score: 92

Review #99: Caroni Rum 15 yrs, 1997/2012, Sansibar, 46% abv, 179 bottles

gonna party like it's review #99

Caroni is no longer since 2002. It was in Trinidad. They used molasses. I'm not sure where it was aged or in what, but I should.

Nose: almost jammy fruit (peaches and strawberries) and tarry black soot. Burnt sugar and lawn mower exhaust. Sugar cane and rubber boots. A little bit of hay and camphor mixed with bananas and sweet wood. This is heady stuff.

Palate: Rather medicinal -- the rubber boots/camphor/fruit combination turns into something like ricola. Feels a little thin at 46%, perhaps.

Finish: sweet and very minty, with a little spice. Smoke and rubber boots again.


Not the easiest, but the best rum I've ever had. I only wish it showed a little more depth on the palate. A shame it isn't made any more.

score: 89

Review #98: Tullibardine 23 yr 1989/2012, C&S Dram Collection, 54.4%, Hogshead, C#1957, 268 bottles

not this not that

Tullibardine is a distillery that is not in Speyside and is not owned by a giant conglomerate. There seems to be some very young barrels of it lying around, and also some very old ones, but not much in the middle. They produce a fair amount of distillate, and I can't imagine where it all goes -- maybe Highland Queen? In any case, this wasn't made by the current owners.

Nose starts out sour and gristly, but then brightens up with spicy cider apples and vanilla, toffee and grass, and a little smoke. An antique rose and some oak. It's a pretty classic, unfinished profile, with a nice balance between smooth and sharp.

Very spicy on the palate -- pepper and cinnamon -- and the smoke comes through more, too. Otherwise a nice battle between apple juice and dry old oak. A bubblegum note, too.

The finish is a little odd. It becomes overpoweringly oily before the sweet fruit reasserts itself. Oak again, too.


Bottled at a good moment, I think. Very nice, well-aged whisky that takes on a simple profile beautifully. A nice surprise.

score: 87

Review #97: Botran Solera 1893 Rum (Guatemala), 40% abv

more rum

This is Botran, which is like Diageo-free Ron Zacapa. (Same distillery, different brand.) This is made from cane juice (excuse me, "virgin sugar cane honey") and aged at altitude in lots of different barrels for lots of different lengths of time.

nose: some naked ethanol and curious esters, but then resolves into bananas foster and candied nuts with lots of miscellaneous winey notes. it's mostly typical rum aromas (various versions of brown sugar), but a little grassiness and dusty oak makes it interesting. I'd guess there's some older stuff in the solera, too: there are hints of honey and flowers and even some red fruit.

palate: I find it a little sour, oddly. Thin, too, but maybe that's for the best. Bunches of sour fruits and a little vanilla to go along with the brown sugar.

finish: didn't really get started.

The nose was above average, and the palate was sort of interesting, I guess. It's cheap, too.

score: 82

Review #96: Secret Stills 1.2 (Talisker) 1986/2007, Gordon and MacPhail, 45% abv, 1st fill sherry, C# 1361/63

open secret

So, this is Talisker. "Isle of Skye" is a bit of a giveaway.

Nose: Gentle but complex sherry nose. Dried apricots, a little iodine, walnuts, and rancio. After the nutty fruit, some peppery peat smoke. Lots of smaller notes gradually emerge: apples, white chocolate, old hay, paraffin, wood glue, leather, jonquils. Overall it's fruity, dry, and a little smoky, but it's worth spending some time with.

Palate: Soft and slightly sweet. The peat becomes prickly. There's some oak. If there's any sulfur, it's for the better.

Finish: earthy, slightly farmy peat, balanced by fruit and oak.

This is what the Distiller's Edition wishes it could be. There's nothing overwhelming here, but it's all delicious and good.

score: 90

Review #95: Plantation Rum Trinidad 2000 for the Nectar Belgium, 42% abv, Marsala and Cognac cask finish, 450 bottles

back at home to work again

I've been away, drinking beer and bourbon, and now back home, satisfying an unreasonable craving for peat. I can't really score any of those objectively, so I'll continue with summer rum for a little while.

This is from Trinidad (via France via Belgium, at the least). I guess that means it's made from molasses. I don't know anything else about it.

nose: interesting! first a praline sweetness, then a sharp, almost smoky grassiness, and finally jammy fruit -- peaches in syrup above all, but also lychee and some melon. some marshmallow candy along with faint whiffs of motor oil, sesame seeds, and walnuts. sweet and dirty at the same time.

palate: very zesty/winey with candied fruit and brown sugar. The strength seems just right -- I don't know if it's the alcohol or the acid, but everything balances out and the range of sour/dry fruit flavors remains intense.

finish: nothing special. everything fades away, leaving behind some sour orange and maybe a little camphor.

I really enjoyed this. I'll have to try more of these silly Plantation multi-cask-finishes, to see if they turn out not to be silly. Same score as last one.

score: 87