Today I am clearing my whisky cabinet from those bottles that are almost history – you know, those bottles with 2-8 cl left in them but that still never seem to get empty although they are quite good. Of course I could refill them in samples … but I really have enough samples to wait, too. So, let’s kill them off, two old and two new ones. No huge tasting notes this time, just comments:

Glenberry 5 y.o., Straight Malt Scotch Whisky ‚de luxe‘, pear-shaped bottle, Premier Scotch Whisky Co., Italian Import by S.E.I.B.A. for Supermercati Pam-Spinea-Venezia, 75cl, 40 Gradi

Comment: Complex! Big wonderful OBF (Old Bottle Flavour), well-balanced between peachy fruit, dusty malt sweetness and peppery spice plus vanilla, toffee and whiffs of smoke from the oak. Later almonds, white chocolate, licorice, sawdust, orange zests and tangerines chime in. How can it be so complex with only five years of age? Good ole‘ times… . It even doesn’t fade away in the finish like other old blends and has traces that remind me of old Macallan and Tomatin 5 y.o. from the 1970ies. This Glenberry, bottled for a supermarket and priced below 10 Euros back then, can keep up with any standard Single Malt of today.

Score: 90-

Balblair 5 y.o. OB Pure Malt, Italian Import by Spirit S.p.A. Genova, 75cl, 40%

Comment: I have seen this in auctions for a very reasonable price and went for it – and never looked back. Well-made whisky that contributed to the world-renowned Ballantine’s blends. It is very flowery and light, again no offnote, but less impressive than the Glenberry. Hay, malt, honey, licorice, ginger, pepper, Marshmallows, apples, peaches and a little white oak can be found. A light ‚quaffer‘ that does no harm.

Score: 84

Glendullan 14 y.o. Murray McDavid for Malts and More, 5.5.1993 – 23.08.2007, Bourbon / Rioja Cask, 493 btl., 46%

Comment: It is rare that we get rather young Glendullan from the Speyside. Our friend Thomas Mansen from Malts and More recommended this one to me and it was enjoyed by most people who have tried it at our stands at fairs. Jim McEwan selected it for Thomas who made it an exclusive Malts and More bottling. Of course, this is modern whisky now, finished in a wine cask – a totally different ball game from what I had before in this tasting session. This is much more on primary notes. The wine is right there with the malt, herbs, blood orange and assorted (Asian) spices leaving a rather dry impression altogether. The nose is not overly complex at first, but after a while it becomes alive with melon, tangerine skin, berries and vanilla pod. On the palate I am getting grapes, raisins and sweet malt with whiffs of spice and smoke, really pleasant as a combo and quite sweet in the finish. Juicy! At 45 Euro, this is not a bad choice. If you mention ‚www.slowdrink.de‘ at your purchase, Thomas might give you a discount on it.

Score: 87

Bunnahabhain 13 y.o. ‚the Octave‘ by Duncan Taylor, 1997 – 2010, Cask No. 383244, 73 btl., 51,2%

Comment: These peated Bunnahabhains from 1997 were always nice, but a bit simple. Now, as they gain greater age, they convince more and more people and show Bunnahabhain’s diversity. This one is a textbook example for that. And it is another bottle from Thomas Mansen. This Bunna with atttitude has rooty peat like a Port Charlotte but counters it with a bigger body to balance the phenolic load more evenly. Ashes and powerful spiciness meet maraschino cherries, lime, latte macchiato, leather, herbs, tar, diesel, kola nut, salt, chalk and traces of Nocino (green walnut liqueur). The palate reveals the three months in a small Sherry cask because of sweet wood-rancio-sulphur-mix that often comes with drams from such Octaves – unusual and more Bunnahabhain now, but you have to like sweet Islay Malts with gunpowder. This is a real alternative to the South Coast whiskies and screams for its use in blind tastings. Priced around 55 Euro. Same deal as with the Glendullan from above: mention us to Thomas for a discount.

Score: 88+

These days people start to realize the potential of Tobermory and Ledaig – especially the recent Berry Bros.&Rudd bottlings of young peaty Ledaig convinced the connoisseurs. Today I want to try a Tobermory recommended by Manfred Kröger. It was finished in a Chateau Latour cask, a first growth Bordeaux winery with worldwide fame. Bruichladdich / Murray McDavid believe in using famous wine producer’s casks: for maturation in fine wood and for good PR. However, no whisky critic can confirm a clear difference in the taste of whisky that has been racked in either excellent or average producers of wine so far, but it undoubtedly is a nice idea for a wine lover and adds an extra-value to the drinking experience. Let’s now taste this Mull Single Malt with its affinity for expensive Bordeaux.

Tasting Note:

Nose: Farmyardy, fresh and spicily exotic at first, a malty and grainy overture, some peat, red grapes, green bell peppers (a typical note of Cabernet wine), charcoaled bonfire wood and resin, forest freshness, interesting spice-combo (nutmeg, spice cake, mustard seed, black and white pepper), dried flowers, leather balsamico and wonderful latte macchiato coffee aroma with a piece of milk chocolate on the side. It gets more raisiny and wine-oriented with time, also late vanilla, and more milk coffee. Quite complex and unusual. A development worth waiting for, very interesting.

Palate: Spices and sweetness battle in the creamy and viscose liquid – Liquid wet dog (J) in the very beginning, then malt, grain, farm yard, Kahlua, grapes and lots of raisins. This might be modern and tweaked but it is huge for its 46%.

Finish: The sweetness wins, but the spices still echo from afar – chocolate, sweet red wine, malt, coffee, leather, pepper, chili and some peat. The farmyard notes seem to be gone.

Score: 88/89 (after a day it improved to 89 and became more integrated)

Comment: This is a digestif (maybe even after a coffee break) because of its sweetness and viscosity. It reflects its place of origin and therefore, it is an interesting and justified Single Malt. If you like your whisky big, raisiny and liqueur-like, this is made for you. At 39.90 € this is quite a bargain. However, our friend Manfred Kröger from  www.whizita.de  sent me this dram to review and takes off another 5% on every new customer’s order if you mention www.slowdrink.de – sounds good to me.