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+

Macallan G&M 10 y.o. G&M, 70° (red letters, probably distilled in the 1960ies)

Nose: Very elegant profile (not weak at all, but less obtrusive and fat than the younger versions – this thin lady wants to be discovered) with lemon and orange zest, humidor, pepper, faint earthy peat smoke, sweet malt (but less sweet than in younger ages), vanilla pudding, dark fruits, traces of Sherry and the European oak (Quercus robur). I also get apples, hay, coal and a whiff of ginger. Again, perfectly round and balanced.

Palate: Medium-dry and slightly sweet, thin like a needle yet loaded with aromas which are just dotted onto the palatal canvas, definitely not a „in-your-face“ style.  You have to concentrate hard not to miss the complexity because of the ‚light-loaded‘ character (this is no contradiction!). All notes from the nose show up discretely. Drink this Mac in big sips.

Finish: Malt, haystack and dried flowers, earthy peat tingles, dark oak ad fruits. Medium length.

Score: 90-

Comment: This one reminds me of the brighter versions of the 1962 – and the distillery character is clearly there. In a nutshell it is light and summer breezy, but definitely high class – for those looking for understatement and finesse. It needs a little work, but then it rocks. For lovers of powerful drams it is just highly drinkable without leaving too much of an impression concerning the primary notes. Use it as an aperitif, an afternoon malt or put it early in a tasting session.

For every tasting I hold I try to select a nice starting dram that gets the tastebuds ready and that is quite unknown to the public – and it shouldn’t upstage the drams to follow. In whisky tastings this usually is an old blend, a vat, a ‚malternative‘ (another spirit) or a Single Malt from an unknown source.

When I saw the Prince Regent bottle for the first time (this is quite rare), its dark color immediately appealed to me and I bought it for an unusual high price for such an unknown Malt – 59 Euros – but an inner voice said: Go, get it! My feeling about it was justified when we opened it at the Whisky Walk.

Tasting Note

Pit Krause pouring the starting dram: Prince Regent

Nose: Very well-balanced, highly complex and enticing – this is old style Sherry Malt of the finest kind with good OBF (old bottle flavor, a smell that comes from bottle maturation and reminds one of wet cardboard, old libraries and leather) and a sweet touch, tons of dark fruits (mainly maraschino cherries), rum-raisins, flowerpot earth and discrete peat, tobacco, dark mahogani wood, leather, cough drops, damp smoke, Grand Manier and so much more: close to perfection!

Palate: As smooth as a velvet glove with the aromatics of the nose, but a bit weak with its 43%. The nose promised a thicker syrup-like taste, but this is thinner.

Finish: Medium length, mainly on dark fruits and berries, rather peaty now, dark woods and pleasant sulphur. All in all it reflects the nose, but brighter fruits and earthy smoke come to light after some minutes as well. It leaves you with the desire for more.

Score: 92

Comment: What a stunner! This might very well be a Glendronach, Macallan or a Strathisla from the best years. The nose is out of this world and the finish is really fine as well. Just the weaker palate keeps it from being a real legend. A ‚must-try‘ if you see it. And yes: it stole the show from some drams to follow!