I loved the ‚Cowboy’s Campfire Dram‘ release (SMWS 29.102), an amazing Laphroaig. Let’s see how these two compare in a head-to-head:

Laphroaig 12 y.o. Scotch Malt Whisky Society SMWS 29.105, ‚Massive and volcanic‘, 25.3.1999 – 8.2011, Refill Sherry Butt, 619 btl., 59,6%

Comment: Typical, very dirty, peaty and maritime with a green herbal touch, hot ash, slight mint aromas, much salt and pepper, mustard seed and a very discrete sherry influence. The power on the palate is enormous, what an explosion of peat and spice with heavy oily aromas, untamed Islay to the core, then my beloved matchstick sulphur and soot set in for good and the dram ends on these notes – smoother than expected – but still monstrous. I like it without water for its punchiness, but water makes it very well rounded and accessible. Try for yourself.

Score: 90

Laphroaig 20 y.o. Scotch Malt Whisky Society SMWS 29.104, ‚Not for wee boys‘, 12.10.1990 – 2011, refill sherry butt, 584 btl., 58,2%

Comment: Something went wrong with this cask, a bit of fungi, rubber and rotten sherry cover and dull down the usual Laphroaig features, but there also are nice aromas of ginger bread, curry and forest floor (Ben Nevis-like). Chocolate, sauerkraut and bacon add to the mix, a really unusual one. I am not yet decided. The taste is a bit more Laphroaig now (spicier than nose) but still in the same camp, quite sweet, then heavy peat smoke, the finish finally displays South coastal Islay features in a more typical way (soot, sulphur, peat, iodine). Worth a try, yet uncommon. No water needed.

Score: 86

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.

Nose: Starts uber-fruity and very nice, I am getting loads of passionfruit here (like an old Bruichladdich) along with tangerine, lime, peach, grapefruit, all very oily. Whoops, now the nut-express arrives (esp. almonds and macadamia), wonderful, and almost no wood or spice to be found without being boring. Some flowers add to the great depth and complexity.

Palate: This is high-class all the way in textbook-balance. On the light and delicate side, but with a fruity tail. Subtlety can be a charm.

Finish: Tropical fruit oil (passionfruit leads it), coconut and what not, a real stunner from this underrated distillery.

Score: 91-

Comment: Buy this! Have it in the morning or in the afternoon – or put it at the beginning of your tasting to spoil it for the following drams.

Bunnahabhain 42 y.o. Whisky-Fässle 1968 – 2011, Refill Sherry-Cask, 43,8% (Joint Bottling with Whiskybase)

Comment: From a great vintage for that distillery. This doesn’t disappoint at all and displays typical old Bunna-charm and complexity: Wonderful fruits, spice cake (cinnamon as leading element), honey, fruit tea, maritime freshness, leather, creme brulee with Sauternes wine, plums, Kirschbrand, tangerines, bananas, marshmallows, discrete oak and the noblesse of a fine Sherry. The taste is more on tea than I have ever encountered…is there such complex tea around?

Score: 90+

Clynelish 38 y.o. Whisky-Fässle, 1972 – 2010, 46,2%

Comment: Again, a typical Clynelish from the glory-years, excellent from the start. Seems like Jens is a great cask-picker! Waxy green apples, honey and pollen, apricots, vanilla, grass and herbs, lemon zest, lemongrass, a whiff of Asian spice and tea. Peat, smoke and moss are there but play only a minor role. Mmmmh, just great and also maritime (thunderclouds rolling in from the sea). Some austerity as well, altogether.

Score: 90

Glen Grant 37 y.o. Whisky-Fässle, 1973 – 2010, Whisky-Fässle, Sherry Cask, 46,2%

Aroma: Holzwürzig-tropenfruchtig, wie ein Obstkorb in der Schreinerei: Sägemehl-Tannine, Vanille, lösende Stoffe (Leim), weißer Pfeffer, eine Spur Harz und Eiche treffen Aprikose, Guave, Passionsfrucht, Grapefruit, gelbe Äpfel, Birnen, Multivitaminsaft, Mandeln. Der Sherry ist kaum zu bemerken, eher die Fruchtigkeit der Quercus Alba (amerikan. Weißeiche) dominiert.

Geschmack: Ein spannendes Spiel zwischen den Hauptelementen Holz und obstiger Frucht, das die Frucht gewinnt. Das Alter dieses Drams ist zu erschmecken, kein Balanceking, sondern ein ‚Schaukler‘. Mit Wasser deutlich cremiger und weniger Eiche (Empfehlung).

Abgang:

Great Bottler and very nice guy: Jens Unterweger, the face behind 'Whisky-Fässle'

Die Holzigkeit legt sich unbemerkt um die nun deutlichen Fruchtnoten und die Vanille singt ihr exotisches Lied. Langer Abgang.

Note: 87+

Kommentar: Man muss alte Whiskys mit Holznote lieben, doch dann ist dieser eine gute Wahl! Trotz der 46,2% Wasser zum Verdünnen verwenden!

Photo: L. Langer (link) - Thanks! His shop is worth a visit!

It was a hard day, so I need a bit of a treat. Mmmmh, let’s go for Islay power, an Ardbeg. But a special one: How about a bottling from the good old days, complex, but bottled at young age…the choices get narrower – maybe even at cask strength … and sherried … extremely hard to find. As I go through my samples I suddenly hold this nice specimen in my hand:

Ardbeg 13 y.o. Gordon & Macphail for Intertrade, 26 June 1975 – 13 July 1988, 543 btl., 75cl, 54,2%

This might save my day. I remember it as very powerful and pleasantly sulphury – in its very own style. As I am pouring the reddish-ambered liquid there is an astonishing viscosity visible. The aroma quicky fills the room, wow, the peaty cavalry comes through. Let’s see if it turns out well (the day and the Ardbeg) …

Nose: Close to perfection, I could smell this forever. Islay freshness at first. The elegance of Sherry traces (dark fruits, dark European oak) meets the raw peat-iodine-sulphur-combo (gunpowder-cavalry again), but all that in great complexity and depth, not only on primary in-your-face notes. Whatever you look for in an Islay Whisky is there! And more: fine tobacco, high-end chocolate, pepper and spice and roasted coffee as well, but nothing is disjointed or bitter – all aromas blow into the same horn, so to speak. OBF (Old bottle flavour)  rounds off this killer.

Palate: Oh my God. It is as good as I feared it to be. Full on, but also elegant and round – this malt builds a bridge between these opposites. Maybe it is the ‚in-between-age‘. All is there again with a slightly dry entry. Flints, peat, sulphur, iodine, gunpowder, Sherry, dark fruit, spicy chocolate, tires, malt, Culatello ham and fine wood build a tower on the mid-palate. No water!

Finish: Let’s play ’spot the weakness‘. It might not have the longest and most sustaining of all finishes, but it still is quite long and really impressive. It is a simplified copy of the nose that comes in waves like at the Southern coast of its natural mother. Jolly good.

Score: 94-

Comment: Great great Ardbeg, and I love the medium-age effect in this one. It has made my day! Thank God it was a 4cl-sample: 2 cl left for me to savour without taking stupid notes .

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)

Balmenach 22 y.o. / 1988 SMWS 48.24, Refill Bourbon Hogshead, 49,3%

Comment: Very fruity (green apples, pineapple, lemon zest) and mature in the nose, kept at bay by some spice (white pepper) and wonderful white oak influences (vanilla, caramel, wood, charcoal). On the palate it bursts even more with  fruits (local and tropical) and displays a honey-infused sweetness, herbs and roses in addition – this has really been stored in a good Bourbon cask (refill?). No water needed, but this is a swimmer indeed.

Score: 89+

Glenturret 22 y.o. / 1988 SMWS 16.30, 2nd-fill Bourbon Hogshead, 51,6%

Comment: Highly unusual, not to say weird in the nose, but not at all unpleasant. Cheese roll with pickle, berry liqueur, Amarena cherry sauce from Italy (Maraschino and Morello), heather, dandelions, moss, creme brulee, honey, white dessert wine (Riesling Auslese or Passito), wet socks after a walk in the woods. The palate is a tightly-knit mix of the notes above, concentrating on moss, berries and wine, but also wonderfully mineral. Awesome, seems older than 22 years. What a cristalline fruitiness that resembles dextrose! No water, please! The finish juggles with all these aromas at great length. This ranks among the best Glenturrets I had. It has a unique character, perfect maturity and a satisfying taste that makes you beg for another glass. STUNNER!

Score: 91

Glenrothes 20 y.o. / 1990 SMWS 30.63, Refill Sherry Butt, 55,8%

Comment: Sweet and christmas-cakey (or the German ‚Christstollen mit Marzipan‘). Tea, peat and Sherry, lots of raisins (too dominating), plums, maraschino cherries, orange zest, rubber, sugared nuts and marzipan complete the nose – this is perfect for the advent or X-mas coffee table. Later some tobacco and figs emerge from the glass. The sweetness in the mouth is overwhelming and a bit monodimensional (raisins again), but we have a long finish on the same notes and noble rot on dark grapes. Unfortunately, the palate couldn’t hold the promises of the nose. Not bad, but you have to like the rubber-raisiny Sherry profile mainly on primary notes, which can be really persistent.

Score: 86

Glen Albyn 31 y.o. / 1979 SMWS 69.14, Refill Sherry Butt, 56,3%

Comment: Herbal at first, licorice and honey, loads of flowers, lemons, orange peel, plums, kraut salad with black cumin, Sushi roll in Nori, whiffs of peat, old gardening earth, Chinese roasted duck and kola nut. A little water helps opening the complex elixir. Slightly dry arrival on the palate, rather light, oak, flowers, gentle peat, honey and herbs lead into an earthy finish with echoes of the nose and some ginger. The nose was better than the rest. Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable dram in the classic light but complex style without lots of ‚in-your-face‘ wood influence.

Score: 88+

Brora 30 y.o. OB 1979 – 2009, 2652 btl., 53,2%

Nose: A bit aggressive at first, a peaty heat comes from the glass (chili, black and white  pepper), green apples, peaches, lemons, medicinical iodine, leather, maritime freshness, vanilla, herbs and weeds, candlewax, sugared egg-cream (dessert).

Palate: Peatier and deeper in character than the nose suggested, no water needed; The fruits manage to hold on to the spicy ride. Wonderful fight between the peat-, the spice- and the fruit-related combo!

Finish: Peat, iodine, green apples, bandaid, slightly sulphury, chalk. Very long.

Score: 91+

Comment: Another great Brora, that seems slightly Clynelish in character, but with more peat and spice. Thanks to Flo for the sample.

Ardbeg 29 y.o., 1967 – 1996, Sherry Cask 923, 52%

A Legend: Ardbeg 1967 Kingsbury (thanks for photo to M. Höflmaier)

Nose: Dark not only in colour, I get mahogani wood, Sherry of the finest kind, peat, pepper, moss, roots, herbs (catnip, lemon balm verbena, even chamomile!), forest honey, dark fruits of all kind, old tires, Culatello ham, dark chocolate and nougat, espresso, tobacco, Vermouth, Pu Erh-tea, a dusty wooden boathouse at the seaside on a hot summer day. Really unusual.

Palate: Utterly complex, like a mix of 1970 Ardbeg, Port Charlotte and a dash of Black Bowmore, with the notes from above, but fruitier, also wet plank. It displays a real pleasant taste of its own. Don’t let water come close within a mile

Finish: Long, satisfying, peaty, sulphury (my beloved children’s gun sulphur), dark fruits (plums!), nougat honey, fir resin and what not. Goes on forever.

Score: 94-

Comment: Rather unusual Ardbeg (but there IS distillery character, don’t get me wrong), but high class and very original. I like it, but it is not my favourite expression of the distillery. I also loved the 1972, 1973 and 1974 Kingsbury Ardbegs, esp. the 1974 was exactly my style!

Ardbeg 29 y.o., 1967 – 1996, Sherry Cask 922, 54,6%

Score: 94

Comment: I had this one in Limburg „live“ with some friends at the Dutch Connection stand, so no full notes, sorry. It deserved the same score but it had more Sherry influence (making it fruitier – even with some berries – and nuttier)  and less honey, as I think back. It also seemed slightly more approachable and elegant (so 94 without the „-„, but both bottlings are unique and legendary! Try them if you can.

Still a Youngtimer: The Macallan 10 (distilled late 1980ies)

A Bottle within a Long Line of Legendary History

This series of Macallan (golden round age indication, see photo) was running for quite a long time (until around 2002). There were earlier versions with screw caps and 75cl and later ones like this which have a cork stopper and date back to presumably the late 1980ies in distillation. To put this bottling into perspective, I also have to mention the 10 y.o. at cask strength (red stripe) with 75cl (earlier) and its 70cl heir (diagonal stripe, same time) which were mind-blowing whiskies. I can also recommend the 8 y.o.

A Benchmark Macallan

versions from this series with a plastic or screw cap: all wonderful sippers. So I am keen on trying this expression which is still reasonably priced.

Highly Recommendable: The old Macallan 8 y.o.

With Macallan in general, one can say: the older, the better (exceptions exist, this isn’t so easy to simplify), but the styles of Macallan did vary in times. An early 1960 Macallan is quite different from a mid 1960 version, for example – however, the basic distillery character always shines through. Macallan was a primus inter pares for a long time – and deservedly so – many older Macallans are benchmark drams in terms of roundness, sherry integration and finesse. But one should not forget that many other wonderful distillates from other producers weren’t as easily available or yet discovered by the broad public then.

A Very Old Version of this Series (screw cap)

Macallan also is the probably most forged Single Malt (after blends), so beware of fakes. But don’t worry too much, most bottles are ok if you look at them carefully and buy at reliable sources. Unfortunately, some fakes are done very well. But that is another topic screaming for its own articles. Don’t let your love for Macallan be disturbed by some criminals.

Now I am going to review the small 10 y.o. bottling of 35cl distilled in the late 1980ies (according to tax stamp and other hints) today – a youngtimer.

The Macallan 10 y.o., Matured in Sherry Wood, 35cl, 40% (Italian cork stopper version, distilled in the late 1980ies)

Nose: Fine cigar aroma, orange zest and faint peat smoke caress the nose, accompanied with sweet malt and dark fruits (maraschino cherries, cherries, raisins, prunes and blueberries) evocated by the wonderful Sherry casks used for this expression. A dark mahogani wood note, roasted coffee and some pepper (mostly white) add to the impression of depth.

Palate: Round and smooth arrival, sweet and dark. Very complex with the notes from above. I love the back and forth between bitter (orange skin and wood) and sweet (Sherry and malt aromas).

Finish: Sweet malt and Sherry-influenced fruit aromas wrapped in the most unobtrusive earthy peat smoke, humidor, espresso, Grand Marnier and European wood.

Score: 91

Comment: Quod erat expectatum – as expected this is a quite typical Macallan: smooth, perfect Sherry influence, round and complex with the classic notes, which always are an intiguing mix to experience. How can it be so mature? Maybe not the most powerful monster with primary ‚in-your-face‘-notes, more a highly drinkable whisky of finesse. Also for afternoon coffee .

P.S.: Soon I will compare it to this one:

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!

Winner:

Auchentoshan 1965, 31 y.o., 4.11.65, Hogshead 2502, 49,3%

Before I poured this one, I told the crowd to drink and buy more Auchentoshan as it is heavily underrated in my eyes. My words earned pathetic smiles among some Islay-Fans, others chimed in by mentioning that the Three Wood was an excellent daily dram and that they had had great single casks from this triple-distilling Lowland Distillery before. I was really surprised – and happy – that at the final count, this bottling clearly won and even convinced the peatheads. Here are the impressions:

Perfect fruitbasket (regional fall fruit and exotic one behind it – yes, all of them!) with a reminiscence of Bruichladdich 1970 because of its sourly fresh character with grapefruit and passion fruit (good comment, Flo!). We have more flowers in this one, and of course, less coastal notes than in the Laddie. It is beautifully balanced. Creme Brulee, mahogani and white oak wood, goarse, mild chili and baked apples with cinnamon and what not…crazy. It delivers fully on the palate and in the finish yet remains light somehow. No water is needed because it is smooth at maximum delivery. Holy …!

Score: 94+

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Runner up #1:

Longmorn Glenlivet 1974 – 1985 for Samaroli (R.W. Duthie & Co.), 11y.o., Sherrywood, 600btl., 60,8%

Legendary Bottler, great distillery, unusual age. What can go wrong but the price tag with this one? It is extremely rare and I have only seen it at three occasions. Let’s see if Silvano picked another stunner:

A bit closed at first, we get fresh forest, old-style Sherry, mushrooms, horse sweat and a hot spiciness (chili, pepper, ginger). Later, complexity defines itself and makes this dram absolutely unique – I have never had such a combo: hazelnuts, sawmill, roots, Stilton Blue Cheese, espresso and berry notes emerge, accompanied by the smell of a classy Chesterfield Couch and wild boar stew with white beans in Barolo. All this is powerful and dark and could pass as a high end rum, too – on the well-balanced palate and in the long finish, that renders a bitterness of Sicilian-roasted coffee and high-end chocolate -. However, this needs time to be discovered – and maybe (not necessarily) some water, which brings a bit more roundness to the crazy carousel ride. Outstanding (in the orginal meaning of this word as well)!

Score: 93+

The other two runner-ups came in very close to these bottlings and will be revealed after my Speyside trip. I already introduced the Prince Regent (review below) . CU again after my Speyside trip until October 3rd.

All Bottlings of that Memorable Night