To celebrate this I am going to publish this review from a session with fellow Maniac Keith Wood. We also featured the Ronnie Routledge bottle on our stands at fairs recently where people loved it. Here is why:

Glenglassaugh 35 y.o. OB The Chosen Few No. 1 – Ronnie Routledge, May 1976 – 2011, Sherry Butt, 654 btl., 49,6%

Comment: What a fruit basket, mostly on passion fruit, pineapple, plum and huge apricot jam notes, slightly cristalline and very clean. The complexity is amazing. We also found vanilla, natural caramel, elderflower, violets, lilacs, grass, herbs, candyfloss, honey, a hint of licorice and the smell of rising pretzel and dark bread dough in the oven. On the palate it turns more herbal and posesses way more bite than expected (a peppery influence) without ever losing the big dextrose fruitiness. The finish reveals frothed milk, malt, oatmeal, Vermouth and soft echoes of the passion fruit and apricot. The oak is always very discrete. Who wouldn’t ask for a second sip of this nectar? To put it in a nutshell, this is another stunning single cask from Portsoy in a style of days gone by – and slightly different from the others I had so far. If you want to compare, click here and here and here.

Score: 90

P.S.: A friend of mine was so kind to provide me with an unreleased sip af a 1967 Glassa from a sherry cask. It blew me away, 92 points. The only downside to this dram was that is turned a bit dry but aside from that it was merely perfect on dark and even some brighter cristalline and cooked fruits (many maraschino cherries), coffee and chocolate, broodingly powerful. Forgive me that I am predictable here, but these profiles of secondary and tertiary aromas with high complexity and clean character are right down my alley. Kudos, Glenglassaugh!

Glenfarclas 2001 – 2011 OB ‚The Family Casks‘ for Potstill (Vienna), first-fill Sherry Cask 2819, 318 btl., 60,1%

Comment: To put it short and sweet, this Farclas has a classic dark sherry profile with morello cherries and jam, ginger bread, dark chocolate, dark wet wood, mahogani, caramel and a hint of aniseed (typical of Glenfarclas), all well-balanced and powerful. A recommendation for you Sherry-heads out there!

Score: 90

Laphroaig PX CASK OB, Travel Retail Exclusive, 100cl, 48%

Comment: Still noticeable Laphroaig but with way more cask influence (American oak, then Quarter Cask, finally PX). I can smell more Bourbon (a lot, actually) than Pedro Ximenez, which seems normal when you look at its maturation process, but both elements are there. American Laphroaig, so to speak, with juicy oak, vanilla, caramel and quite some ripe tropical fruit (pineapple, lemon, dried peach, even banana and coconut). The sherry cask brings dark fruit aromas as well (prunes, dates, sultanas) and has taken some of the edge Laphroaig usually has – it simply is softer yet fuller and less austere (dare I say ‚modern‘) and moseys between three worlds (Islay, Jerez and Kentucky). However, the oak is controlled and has not gone overboard. More in the back there are different kinds of nutty aromas, orange liqueur and Laphroaig’s typical peat, seaweed, tires, pepper, iodine and resin. On the palate it is peatier and more South Coast Islay than one could have suggested, which is good news to me. Quite rich, a bit sweeter than usual Laph and really well-balanced. Like in the bouquet it takes little leaps to Jerez and Bourbon Count(r)y, altogether in medium concentration and weight. This dram would also work as an introduction to the peat genre for newbies. The finish stays Hebridean mostly with matchstick sulphur, peat, chalk and iodine. A good addition to the range, subtle Islay summer, but not for purists and hardcore peaters.

Score: 89

Knockando 12 y.o. The Managers‘ Choice 1996 – 2009, Sherry Cask 800790, 58,5%

Nose: A very sherried and nutty profile that doesn’t show a lot of distillery character but presents a paradise for first-fill Sherry cask lovers. I am getting plums, cherries, raisins, bitter chocolate, chestnuts, beef jerky and some sulphur in a slightly dry style.

Palate: My umami-detectors are in full action here. This powerhouse of a Knockando tastes pretty much like the nose but has some bitter elements that go with that kind of style. In addition to the aromas mentioned there are Demerara sugar and hints of cigar tobacco to be found. Nice but not utterly complex.

Finish: Quite long and – you guessed it – sherryish. The cask is doing all the talking.

Score: 89

Comment: A great dram for the Sherry heads among you but definitely a different experience from the usual Knockando dram. I would like to taste more single cask Knockando from various ages and cask types to get a better understanding of their capability.

Talisker 18 y.o. OB 45,8% (from 2008/09)

Comment: This bottle was part of my house bar for a while, but now I am going to review the 4cl that remained of this wonderful classic more thoroughly: First, I am overwhelmed by the great balance of its seductive nose. Talisker 18 is very fresh and maritime with notes of smoked mackerel, oysters, brine and some seaspray on the shoreline. I also get just the right amount of peat for this style of whisky with discrete sulphur and chalk in the back, along with a beechwood bonfire. The complexity goes on with aromas of orange and lemon zests, baked apples, pineapple juice and an intriguing connection of plums and apricots. The typical Talisker pepper and some snus-tobacco sort of hover over the whole mix. On the palate we have the famous chili catch in a mild way, because this whisky is more on balance, austerity and finesse than on extremes due to a longer ageing process that took away some edges but added seconary and tertiary aroma components. It could have some more power, though. I would love this at cask strength even more. I consider it to be  a great daily dram and a bang for your buck (around 55.- Euro), but it is not an easy one as it takes time and some experience. Talisker rarely disappoints. Kudos!

Score: 90

This bottling is more of an exotic find for fans – Maggie sourced another nice cask back then, I think. People loved it at our stand on several whisky fairs. Here my short review taken in Munich 2011:

Tomatin 28 y.o. Scotch Single Malt Circle 12.01. 1982 – 23.02.2010, Sherry Cask 29, 574 btl., 55,3%

Comment: Sweet, deep and vanilla-laden, well-balanced between spice (white and black pepper) sherry, malt and a bowl of fruit. Nice coffee notes round off this autumnal dram.

Score: 88

Highland Park 1970 – 2010 OB ‚Orcadian Vintage‘ 48,0%

Comment: A lesson in roundness, all is perfectly integrated, a  quite creamy-sweet dram lead by brighter fruits (pear, apricot) and (dried) flowers, toffee, turkish delight, Grand Marnier, a whiff of mint and Fino Sherry. Darn good, but very expensive.

Score: 92+

Highland Park 1971 – 2011 OB ‚Orcadian Vintage‘ 46,7%

Comment: Altogether quite similar to the 1970 in profile, but this one is more on herbs and heather/honey. Again I am getting the apricot and all that candyfloss jazz to be smelled at county fairs. This 1971 has a nicer oak influence but is a bit less complex than its predecessor from 1970. Anyway, great stuff.

Score: 92+

Highland Park 25 y.o. OB, 1980 – 2005, Single Sherry Cask 7363 for Germany, 55,5%

Nose: Where to start? At espresso, nougat, the earthy spice, the army of dark fruits (morello cherries, dates, prunes), at polished oak or the maritime freshness? Mmh, let me just mention the single elements of this peacock’s tail of dark aromas. Hazelnuts, maritime freshness with a hint of peat, dry sherry, candyfloss and resin should not be forgotten therein. Wow!

Palate: Coffee bean in chocolate at first, then dark wood, tobacco and the Sherry-influence (dark dry fruit) take over, even with some sulphur of the good kind. All is dark and brooding in a full-on attack with spice. Water can (but doesn’t have to) be added, which brings out the fruit more.

Finish: Eternal! Tobacco and earthy peat meet dark wood and fruits. Like having a 100% chocolate with a fine Port.

Score: 91

Comment: This chewy and potent malt is not for beginners, really. It is like a powerful sports car that needs an experienced driver. Quite rare, that such a power house also has such high complexity. This amazing single cask HP-Sauce doesn’t fit every day, but if it does, it is a real stunner.

These two drams received a lot of attention recently. The Old Pulteney 21 y.o. was named ‚World’s Greatest Whisky 2012‘ by Jim Murray with 97.5 points in his annual release Whisky Bible, a choice many people joked about, and the Ardbeg 1991 – 2011 Malts of Scotland for Hotel Bero from an extremely dark Sherry Cask 11003, 48,8%, started fiercly held debates in several forums because a) of its color and b) you can only get a bottle if you stay over night at Hotel Bero in Belgium (well, at least no other duties like kissing Geert Bero’s ugly cousin or dancing in lingerie on a pole were involved there, so what is all the fuss about?

Slainte Math, Geert!

It’s a real cool place to stay with great cuisine, you Ardbeg nuts! By the way: excellent marketing, Geert! I like this creation of hype).

Let’s take a look behind the chitter-chatter and only judge quality:

Old Pulteney OB 21 y.o., 46%

Nose: Very balanced, an allrounder. Smoked peaches (does that exist?), maritime freshness, white

pepper, a lot of vanilla, honey, ripe pears and intense apple compote. It is much less farmyardy than earlier versions, this bottling is clean and fruity-sweet like a first-fill Bourbon-Cask Glenmorangie. Later I am getting milk coffee, whiffs of leather and even more tropical fruits in the sweet malkt. Maybe a tad too nice – like an A+ student.

Palate: Dry at first with dried flowers and heather. Woodier and more gristy (just as I remembered it) than the nose suggested, but overall very fruity and tropically sweet (white oak madness) like above.

Finish: Very long, malty, gristy and sweet. Echoes of the fruit and vanilla and big Bourbon Cask influence again.

Score: 90

Comment: This whisky has become more mainstream. Every note is clean, upfront and present, Bourbon Casks are doing the fruity trick, but spices are missing a bit. This Pulteney is more on the oaky side in general. Where have the stable notes gone? Good whisky, but not the world’s best whisky in this year for me. However, I have no problem with Jim Murray’s decision – taste is individual, in this case VERY individual. Congrats to the producers and thanks to Lucas for the quick shipment of the sample.

Ardbeg 20 y.o. Malts of Scotland for Hotel Bero (Commemorating 90 Years and Four Generations), 2.1991 – 10.2011, Sherry Cask 11003, 240 btl., 48,4%

Nose: As deep as the colour. Burnt woodsticks in a bonfire, roots and herbs (camphor) like in a Port Charlotte, new tires, dark fruits, orange zests and figs, cola nut, tarry rope, pine resin, dark chocolate, cocoa powder, leather, coffee beans, beef jerky, forest honey, traces of sulphur and iodine, lit Cuban cigar, pepper and mustard seed. All that jazz is well-integrated and still maritimely fresh.

Palate: Liquid ashes,chalk and earthy roots at first, then it displays old medicinical Ardbeg notes, which is extremely good news. Hello beetroot! Resin! Herbs! As dirty and mossy as the Very Old Ardbeg or some 1967s plus my beloved model train trafo burn aroma. Round, not disjointed at all. Wow.

Finish: Extremely long and flinty (gunpowder). Sulphur, ash, peat and iodine in a great combo, tobacco, cocoa powder, pine needles and resin smoke. Just perfectly balanced between bitter and sweet, wonderfully dirty – like clothes and skin after a night at the bonfire.

Score: 91+

Comment: Awesome cask choice – and I find it extremely heartwarming that such old-style Ardbegs can still be found (with hints to Port Charlotte). I just wish I knew where! Anybody selling?

Old Pulteney OB 17 y.o., 46%

Comment: This is the younger brother of the „World’s Greatest Whisky 2012“ according to Jim Murray – my sample of the actual winner (21 y.o.) is under way, but I had the 21 at our stand in Munich two years ago, I scored it at ’90-‚ then. Not a bad dram at all, but it didn’t change my whisky world. Funny, not many people wanted to give it a try then. That might have changed by now.

Its younger brother at 17 years is equally as fine and very recommendable. The nose reveals Marshmallows, moss, berries (gooseberry, cassis), apricots, apples and passionfruit and seems nicely fresh. Flowery and smoky elements join in as well. I tastes like its nose and shows great roundness – an absolutely convincing dram!

Score: 89

Ardmore 18 y.o. Dewar Rattray 1992, 46,8%

Comment: Great Speyside elements mostly on hay and dried flowers and a lot of lemony notes meet just the right amount of smoke and peat that can be taken by the rather fragile distillate. Honey and ginger whiffs add to the mix. Two worlds colliding, not bad, but a bit mind-boggling.

Score: 87-

Arran 15 y.o., The Maltman 1996, Sauternes Cask, 46%

Comment: Donald Harts new series of independent bottlings has hit the markets. My first specimen of these drams is this Arran, a very creamy and fat dram, mostly built on primary notes. It might not be the most complex one, but it is darn good, especially when the Sauternes/Barsac sweet wine is talking (Chateau Climens Cask). A worthwhile Arran.

Score: 88+

Cooley 10 y.o. Dewar Rattray 2000, 46%

Comment: Very typical Irish Whiskey with a lot of class. Grass, vanilla, lemon, soft fruitiness and gummibears without any edges. Very smooth.

Score: 87+

Ben Nevis 13 y.o. Dewar Rattray 1996, Sherry Cask, 58,2%

Comment: Displays this wonderful Ben Nevis character made of forest floor notes, Curry, chocolate and so much more – my winner of that night because it is real Single Malt – no other distillery can produce drams like this. If you like Ben Nevis and cask strength, go for it.

Score: 90

Longmorn 30 y.o. G&M, 43% (bottled ca. 2009)

Comment: These old Sherry Cask Gordon & Macphail bottlings never disappoint. If only they were a bit stronger in abv… however, with some distilleries like Macallan or Strathisla it doesn’t matter, these whiskies already convince at 40% or 43%. This Longmorn is no exception, but it could have scored three points higher with a bit more intensity. I am getting Haribo ‚Saftbären‘ gummibears (again, sorry!) and fine well-integrated Sherry at first, also Cassis and loads of dark fruits – like a compote. The taste satisfies with berries, dusty books, dark wood and the notes from above in a round and sweet way and the right amount of bitterness in between. One for sipping all night.

Score: 90+

Let’s have Bowmore Single Malt today, two youngsters, head-to-head. The distillery has regained a good standing among the real Islay fans because the whiskies after 1990 (with 1993 being outstanding but also atypical) have turned more consistent and peaty while having lost the lavender/chlorine offnote some people hated. I have to state that I never had problems with that kind of Bowmore profile, even in the 1980ies – and I have always cherished their distillates over time because of the roundness in character and complexity while being absolutely unique. You surely can tell a Bowmore from other distilleries‘ drams. It is great to see that they managed to regain their ‚terroir‘ after 1994 by also keeping the new steamtrain power notes. Sweet completeness.

Bowmore’s Scientific Secret

A Very Interesting Chart

However, what they know about distilling can’t be translated to the fields of science, I guess. Take a close look at this graph, or what they call the Bowmore version of the Beaufort Scale (nice marketing though) printed on the box of the ‚Tempest‘: There is an x-axis for complexity and a y-axis for, well, smokiness AND storm levels (on the right). So smoke equals storm, or what? Or what do the two x-determiners mean. I am lost. Shouldn’t the product of both axes deliver the final result? Drop me a mail if you can explain Bowmore math to me – or the responsible marketing guy’s logic .

Who cares anyway, let’s get down to what matters most: the whisky inside the bottles:

Bowmore 10 y.o. OB ‚Tempest‘, bottled 2010, Small Batch Release No. 2, First-Fill Bourbon Casks, 56%

Nose: The first-fill Bourbon Casks make this fruitier and slightly oakier than the Ambassador’s Cask – it is very round and the peat, smoke and spice (white pepper, Chipotle) stand only in the background – but add to the mix. I find vanilla, toffee, Orange Pekoe tea, goarse, lemons, apricots, apples, green bananas and lots of orange marmelade as well. It becomes spicier with time but overall, it remains on the gentle side of peated Islay drams. Late tobacco joins the unusual mix.

Palate: Now we have much more Bowmore typicality, different from what the nose had suggested. I love this profile, it reminds me of the old Mariner, but with more fruit and orange liqueur covered by chocolate (hence sweeter) – without losing the Island traits. It is so round that water would be an insult to it.

Finish: The fruit is equal in weight to softened Islay notes and the Bowmore character. Medium length, definitely shorter than the Ambassador’s Cask. Very easy to drink so that a second dram is desired.

Score: 88

Comment: Clean and fruity style, but still true Bowmore. It is well-priced and a recommendable bottling for those who like the softer elements of Bowmore. Only the name doesn’t fit. I’d call it Bowmore ‚Tropical Depression‘ .

Islay Single Malt Scotch (Bowmore) 13 y.o. for the German Malt Ambassadors 1996 – 2009, Bourbon Cask, 180 btl., 58,8%

(identical to Bowmore 13 y.o. James MacArthur’s ‚Old Masters‘ 1996 – 2009, 58,8%)

Nose: Less fruity but more spice, a lot of spice (black and white pepper, chili, salt, even juniper like in a Caol Ila) and Islay (maritime freshness, seaspray, peat, smoke, dirty harbour) in here. Intriguing: There is bell pepper (which I love). This should be called Tempest. It clearly shows Bowmore characteristics (more than the Tempest) like ferns, leafs, lilacs, forest floor and ozony chlorine after a while. The only fruit components I can detect are lemon zests and apples. This one sings Iggy Pop’s greatest hit.

Palate: Brine, salt, spice combo, peat, tar, herbs (stinging nettle) and harbour aromas, even old tires and ropes hanging in oily seawater. No water again, but hotter on the palate than the Tempest.

Finish: Long, complex and spicy, slightly flinty later with traces of iodine, a bit like a peppered and salted steak on a steamtrain – and an apple as dessert. This is a true South Coast Islay.

Score: 89

Comment: A very nice bottling, which was relabeled from a James MacArthur release only for the German Malt Ambassadors. If you like your Bowmore spicy and more phenolic, this is your choice. More tempesty than the Tempest. I like!

Stuart Nickerson and Peter Krause

At the end of our wonderful visit at Glenglassaugh Distillery, Managing Director Stuart Nickerson held a nice and very generous tasting session. Among many drams (e.g. New Make, a young Californian Zinfandel Cask and an incredibly mature Bourbon Cask from 2009), about which I am going write soon in an article about the visit, he let me try the new 45 y.o. and two real stunner cask samples that will be released soon. They have just been filled into bottles some days ago. My intention is to inform you in time so that you can get your wallets ready and make an ‚early-bird-order‘ not to miss them, because they absolutely are Must-Have-Drams.

What a View!

These whiskies really left me speechless – again the case with old Glenglassaugh. Like old Bowmore, Lochside, BenRiach or Longmorn, they display a complexity, cristalline fruit and smooth texture which is only to be found in legendary bottlings from the past.

Old Cask in the Warehouse

Despite their age no woodiness occurs in these masterpieces that are surprisingly light on their feet. Here are some quick notes I could take:

Glenglassaugh 1975 – 2011, 36 y.o. (Over 30 years old-Series) Sauternes Cask Finish, Cask No. R10/02/01, 43,00%, 280 Bottles

Comment: A very unique style that is owed to 18 months in Sauternes wood after the regular maturation in a Sherry Cask. Reminiscences of the 1964 Bowmore Fino Sherry come to mind – overripe fruits led by pineapple and passion fruit meet Creme Brulee. The traces of fine Sauternes noble rot grapes enhance this ‚uber-fruitiness‘ even more. It gets you addicted with every sip you take. Wow!

Score: 93+

Glenglassaugh 1972 Sherry Cask No. 2900 (to be bottled in 2012, maybe by Andrea Caminneci, Germany)

Comment: This is a sister cask of Andrea Caminneci’s 2010 bottling, which is promising for a start. After pouring it needs time to develop – it is tightly-knit – but after some minutes it becomes quite expressive and shows the profile described in the

Glenglassaugh Still(wo)men

introduction. Lead aromas are plum, cherry, exotic fruit, marzipan and almonds. It is hard to say if it is better or worse in comparison to the Sauternes-finished 1975, we are in a really high league here. I call it almost a tie, but the unusual style of the 1975 settles the fight.

Score: 93

Glenglassaugh 45 y.o. / 1966 OB Decanter, Refill Sherry Hogshead, 49,2%

Comment: This already released beauty might have a much higher price than the predecessors will cost but keeps the promises and fully delivers pure drinking joy. It is not fully on a par with the 40/41 y.o. release from the year(s) before, but it comes really close (a statement agreed to by Stuart Nickerson) and in a similar style (see my notes of the 40/41 y.o. here on www.slowdrink.de or use fellow Malt Maniac Serge’s recent descriptions on both on www.whiskyfun.com). Simply put, it is old style Sherry-casked whisky at its finest. Name an aroma and you will find it in this amazing dram.

Glenglassaugh 30 and 45 y.o. Decanters

I will post more detailed notes about it – and about Andrea Caminneci’s new bottling – right here when my sample from The Whisky Show will be delivered to my house by my friend Michael (along with White Bowmore, Auchentoshan 1957, Springbank 1968, Isle of Skye 50 y.o. and other monsters). How could we all have ignored these old Glenglassaugh Malts in the past? A crying shame.

Score: 94

New Legends in the Making - Glenglassaugh's Spirit Safe (the only one with beach view in Scotland)