According to participants of the Orcadian Vintage tasting in Frankfurt, Gerry was very entertaining and straightforward. Her shared his opinions about the new releases openly. Among many interesting remarks he mentioned was, that you can use old HP bottlings as ‚weather-backcasts‘. The less peaty a dram is, the windier it must have been during the days when the malt was in the kiln, because in that period of time, wind could enter the malting floor/kiln area somehow and partly blow out the phenolic smoke. I can neither confirm nor contradict this as pure B.S. – it just sounded very interesting when a friend told me about his words. Please ask Gerry for the details.

We are not into weather history today, all I do is try this stunning whisky with its heavy price tag:

Highland Park ‚Orcadian Vintage‘ 1964 – 2009, 290 btl., 42,2% (from two refill-hogsheads, one American Oak, one European Oak ex-Sherry)

Comment: This one is the inaugural release of the series and comes with a heavy box with wood inlays and a silver amulet on the front (Viking design, yeah right, I forgot). Nice but … I guess such packaging is necessary to sell it for almost 4.000 squid.Let’s just judge the spirit. An amazing cristalline nose with beautiful balance awaits the chosen few to sip it. The mix of the two different casks is a success, because one gets the best of both worlds, Bourbon (exotic fruits like passion fruit, caramel) and Sherry Casks (wonderful dark aromas of excellent Sherry, dark wood, slight mustiness, etc.). It is all the way high-class with orange-liqueur, sourish notes of rhubarb pie, marshmallows, coffee, heather, Sauce Bolognese and a little peat smoke. On the side, there is a lovely competition between the freshness of cristalline dextrose, which is so typical for the 1964 vintage, and the slight mustiness from old and forgotten Sherry casks. Let’s taste this baby now: No ‚bad‘ woodiness, just a spot-on delivery of mahogani and fruit at first, then the aromas from above ride in gloriously. A whiff of mint joins the delicate nectar on the mid-palate, leading over to a complex finish that only an old whisky like this can deliver. Nothing is in your face here, all is just hinted at. I stand in awe, this piece of liquid art is among the best 50 drams I ever had. Worth a high price for sure, but not the one they charge – hence, not many whisky lovers will get the chance to drink it.

Score: 94+

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+

Runners-Up #2:

Caperdonich 1972 ‚the Octave‘ (Duncan Taylor) for Malts and More, 38 y.o., 1972 – 2011, Cask 414293, 71 btl., 52,5% (finished 3 months in Sherry Octave)

Recently, Caperdonich whiskies, especially from 1972, found a well-deserved spot in the hearts of connoisseurs. Our friend Thomas Mansen imported this one and it is no exception to the rule. It is awesome. I usually don’t fancy the idea behind the Octave bottlings, but here it worked again.

An amazing fruit basket (apples, pineapples, figs, green grapes, peaches, cherries, Riesling-grapes) that is kept from being kitsch by perfectly balanced spices and an amazing freshness. The sherry is already well-integrated and not dominating, it adds darker fruits to the utterly complex mix. Butterscotch, vanilla, almonds, cinnamon, pepper and white oak can also be found. The palate screams „input overload!“ This juice doesn’t need water but can „swim well“.

At a price below 140 Euro, this is a must-have. Maybe Thomas from Malts and More will take 5% off from the bottle price if you mention that you read about this one on www.slowdrink.de.

Score: 92

Port Ellen 1981 Old Malt Cask (Douglas Laing), 18 y.o., 12.1981 – 11.2000, Sherry Cask, 444 btl., 50%

Many people say that Port Ellen malts should be drunk at a young age when they still have untamed power, oil and dirt. This is quite true, but we could recently see that PE ages really well without losing too much of its character – maybe even more so than other Islay drams. So here is the good news: We can drink Port Ellen at any age. As people get older version more often, I decided to put a younger bottling in the line-up.

The Sherry is there but not in a lead role. This role is taken by coastal Islay notes. We have sweet malt, peat, sulphur, blue cheese, an oily port rope, iodine, chalk and dark fruits. Modern Islay whiskies rarely can only hold a candle to this profile. Despite a brooding power underneath, this is so easy to drink and in great balance. Simply a great and slightly untypical PE for fans of complex peated whisky with secondary and tertiary notes.

Score: 92

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Runners-up #3:

Benriach 1976 Signatory, 29 y.o., 22.12.1976 – 16.01.2006, Cask 9441, 401 btl., 54,6%

Many 1976 Benriach have been great, but I would not go as far as to say that this is the best vintage. I love BenRiach and try to taste everything I can get from them as they are so versatile and mostly high class.

This bottling has the typical notes (freshness by acidity, tangerines, oranges, apricots, apples, yes, grapefruits as well, vanilla, a hint of berries like cassis) and Chardonnay-grapes, kiwi and passion fruit. There are more expressive 1976ers out there, but this is more than decent. It is a bit fragile – which it has in common with many old Laddies. So place this one early in your tasting (we had it too late and after a hearty meal). Under the right circumstances it really unfolds.

Score: 91

Springbank (Longrow) 1992 Berry Bros. & Rudd, 1992 – 2009, Cask 71, 46%

Marketed as Springbank, this clearly is peaty Longrow at its finest. Really typical (medicinical, mineral, smoky and herbal, slightly farmyardy, cedar resin, pine, lemon zest, stinging nettle, hints of fruits and leather) and high class, also very complex yet aggressive. I would have loved to try this at cask strength. Nice iodine notes accompany the long finish.

There is a follow-up bottling that has been released this year that is said to be as good. The older young Longrows around the early 1990ies are really promising. Seems like Longrow is back on track – and it makes a great contribution to the peat genre!

Score: 91

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Runner-Up #4:

Bowmore 1987 Blackadder Raw Cask, 21 y.o., 1987 – 2009, Bourbon Hogshead 2783, 257 btl., 48,7%

Bowmore of that vintage really splits the tasters: Some people simply dislike the profile of that time (lavender, chlorine, ferny forest floor), others find it really interesting. This phenomenon happened with this bottling as well and the scores were all over the place. I must admit that I am on the side of Bowmore-fans, whatever the age. For me, this was a nice dram.

Score: 88+

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As you can see, this line-up was on a very high level throughout. That’s how we like it Come join us next time!