Special Report #150 Log Entry 150 - November 1, 2003
The next six weeks are going to be one big malt marathon. On November 29 things will be turned up a notch when Instead of writing a few dozen different log entries that would take me until the summer of 2004 to finish, I'll try to
collect the highlights of my adventures in one big-ass report. I wouldn't want the esteemed visitors of MM to die of boredom while they were reading yet another set of tasting notes, so those will be a bit shorter than usual.
Here's an overview of the sub-reports featured in this log entry; - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 150-A: Saturday, November 1, 2003 Over the last few years I've been building a I started with a strange puppy; the Glen Grant 10yo (40%, OB, Batch LM30391). I picked up a few bottles of the Macallan 1990/1999
(50%, John Milroy Golden Strength, Millennium Selection) a few years ago under the assumption that this might be comparable to the wonderful 10yo 100 Proof OB. Since then I've learned that the casks of Macallan that are sold to independent bottlers are not always the best ones. What's more,
most independent bottlings offer Macallans aged in bourbon casks, while the 'house style' you'd expect comes mostly from the first-fill sherry casks used for the official
bottlings. The Balvenie 15yo 1985/2002 'Single Barrel'
(50.4%, OB, cask #286) is actually 17 years old. I've got a very small sample of the Dalmore 21yo
(43%, OB) from Rogier Prins. I'm not completely sure, but I suspect this was bottled around 2000. I'm a big fan of the 12yo OB because it's good and affordable, but
somehow I've never gotten around to sampling the more expensive varieties like the 'Cigar Malt' or this 21yo. The nose was polished, round and sweet - but not very powerful. If memory serves, it's fairly similar to the profile of
the 12yo, but a tad more sherried and refined. The palate was malty and just a tad bitter. The finish didn't last very long. Reflecting on the experience, I'd go with 81 points. Not worth the price difference with the 12yo,
IMHO. After my (tee-total) guests left it was time to open some young Caol Ila's. I've got loads of them in my reserve stock but I've found that many of them are quite similar in style. That sounds more self-evident than it
actually is; in fact many people argue that the cask in which a malt is matured has more effect on the end result than the distillery itself. From that perspective, it's good to see more information about the 'wood history' of a
whisky appearing on labels of IB's and OB's these days. Another reason for opening them is that I won't be able to stock up on any amazing discoveries I find anyway. My wallet is ultra-light at the moment and many of the bottles
that were released more than a few years ago will have vanished from the shelves of most liquorists anyway. The Caol Ila 9yo 1992/2002 (43%, Coopers Choice)
comes in the plainest bottle of tonight's Caol Ila quartet, but since the prices of these 'Coopers' malts are usually quite reasonbale I'm willing to overlook the plain
looks. The Caol Ila 10yo 1988/1999
(43%, Hart Brothers, Distilled December 1988) came from Italy, so it had one of those paper tax strips across the cork. At first sight it seems like a classy package - a distinguished cardboard tube with a 'parchment' with tasting notes and bottling details. However, on closer inspection a lot of the 'information' turns out to be utter bogus. I quote:
'Caol Ila has a very small production, almost exclusively used for blending and vatted malts. The Caol Ila is one of the top malts produced on the island and is fairly difficult to source as a single malt'
. Yeah, right... This might have been the case a decade ago, but I wouldn't be surprised if Caol Ila had the widest variety of Islay IB's available on the shelves of
liquorists around the world these days. I picked up the Caol Ila 10yo 1989/1999
(46%, Dun Eideann, Casks #1577-1581, Bottle #597, Distilled April 1989, Bottled August 1999) at Giorgio's in Milan as well. I haven't seen any 'Dun Eideanns' in
Holland yet so I'm quite curious about this one. The fact that they bottled four casks in a row doesn't bode well... If I'm not mistaken the
Caol Ila 12yo 1990/2002 'Winter/Winter' (43%, McGibbon's Provenance) came from some Dutch shelf but I'm not sure. It comes last in today's flight simply because it's the oldest Caol Ila.
And that's it for the first session of November - no time for lucid observations tonight. - - - Dram Diary 01/11/2003
(Only freshly discovered whiskies and revised scores are listed here.) 83 - Balvenie 15yo 1985/2002 (50.4%, OB, Cask #286) I've sampled eight new whiskies tonight, seven of which were 'proper' single malts. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
150-B: Saturday, November 8, 2003
I know I should have been drinking last week, but I just didn't get the chance. I think I've got enough bottles on my shelves to keep Davin entertained during his visit, but just to be on the safe side I dropped by On my way home I swung by Martijn Boogaert's place to discuss a television-project we're involved in. I was surprised to find a small whisky collection in Martijn's studio. We had been working together for over a month and
somehow the topic of whisky never came up. (People who know me will appreciate how unusual that is ;-) There were many deluxe blends in the cupboard, but a few single malts as well. The sample of the Glen Keith 10yo
(40%, OB) was only half filled, so I decided to try that one right away, before it could oxidise any more than it probably already had. I was actually in the mood for
something 'coastal' tonight but I'll get to that later on. Right now it's time to try my second Glen Keith ever. Another sample that needed to be scored and judged was the new Tormore 12yo
(40%, OB, +/- 2003). The Tormore used to come in a clear clumsy bottle with some vague drawings of an impressionistic kid on the label, but the new package is much more appealing - cobalt blue tube and cobalt blue label. Simple but effective.
OK, now it's time to have a look at some big bottles on my shelves.
I picked up the Tobermory 10yo (40%, OB) because the distillery isn't on the matrix yet. I want to serve a few Tobermories and Ledaigs to the other maniacs when
they get to Amsterdam in a few weeks.
Next, I felt it was time to turn up the coastal element a notch or two. Let's hope the Clynelish 11yo 1990/2001
(45%, Blackadder, Distilled 11/05/1990, Bottled 09/2001, Oak Puncheon #3953) manages to break tonight's cascade of mediocre scores. Looking at the scores, you'd think this year's 'Walpurgis' session has already started, but I'm still tasting Scottish single malts here...
What's happening here? Bad karma? I marveled at the lunar eclipse until my glass was empty. So, here you go - and there you are... - - - Dram Diary 08/11/2003
(Only freshly discovered whiskies and revised scores are listed here.) 67 - Arran NAS Non-Chillfiltered (46%, OB, X1059/X1060, L3183BB 1240) Great - with tonight's six fresh malts my - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 150-C: Tuesday, November 11, 2003 According to my
I returned home earlier than expected and felt more than ready to sample my last drams as a 'Malt Mogul'. In good spirits I opened the first sample of the evening, the Glendronach 12yo 'Original'
(43%, OB). This bottle was available in the 1990's and has since been replaced by the 12yo 'Traditional'.
I've got two bottles of the Glenmorangie NAS 'Traditional 100 Proof' (57.2%, OB, 100cl) in my reserve stock, but when I set up
a sample swap with Wouter Klok to get my hands on the Glendronach Original I had to get a sample of this 'Traditional' as well - just to see how it compares to its predecessor I sampled on I think the Talisker 1986 'Distillers Edition' Double Matured
(45.8%, OB, Jerez Amoroso Finish, TD-S:5AM) is the only one of the 'double matured' classic malts I haven't tried yet. I've heard both good and bad things about it and I guess I was just a little scared
to find things out for myself. Well, it's time to face my fears. With three fresh drams under my belt, my Track Record showed 499 single malts. And I would drink 500 malts OK, so it doesn't rhyme - but it conveniently brings up the topic of 'a thousand malts'. Speaking about Serge; n The Bunnahabhain 34yo 1968/2002 'Auld Acquaintance'
(43.8%, OB) scored 89 points two weeks ago but all the other maniacs scored it in the 90's. The nose was heavily sherried with loads of organics and some subtle smoky notes. Polished oak. Mint
& liquorice. Simply fabulous - although something perfumy popped up in the back that I didn't care for. The taste had loads of
smoke and wood in the start (a little too much if you ask me) and after a fabulous fruity, minty centre the finish is long and satisfying. OK, I'm convinced - let's go with 90 points
for this one. The nose is up there with the best I've ever encountered and the taste isn't bad either. When the clock struck midnight the hour of fools arrived and I said goodbye to the noble world of Scotch single malts. The next
'Walpurgisnacht' is still six months away and there were some non-Scottish and/or non-single and/or non-malt 'abominations' I needed to get off my shelves before the other maniacs arrived. Well, the Lammerlaw 10yo
(48.2%, Cadenhead's World Whiskies, Bourbon barrel, Bottled June 2003, 240 blt.) wasn't an abomination. Sadly enough this distillery from new Zealand is now closed, but I've tried some versions that were pretty good for
single malts that were not born and bred on Scottish soil. Davin brought samples of the Forty Creek 'Three Grain' (40%, OB) to Scotland. This is something very interesting - it's a blend of
three types of grain whisky (distilled from malted barley, rye and maize) We didn't get to sample it in Scotland but Davin gave me a sample to try in the comfort of my own home. There was still a little Whisky de Bretagne NAS (41%, OB) left after a Pandora session a few months ago. Tonight will be the
perfect opportunity to decide on a final rating for this French grain whisky. I picked up the
Cameron Brig NAS (40%, blend) on sight at a megastore this summer because I've heard a lot about the single
grain whisky by the same name and I wanted to introduce some friends to a grain whisky to illustrate the difference between
different 'types' of whisky. But after I opened the bottle and poured everybody their drams, I noticed that this smelled much more
like a blend than like a single grain. Closer inspection of the label showed that this could be a blend as well as a grain whisky; all
the label said was 'Specially Selected Choice Old Scotch Whisky'. I was pretty sure it was a blend, so I stashed it to the back of a cabinet until now.
OK, it's 1:30AM and it's time for my last 'dram' of the evening. Phew... Enough S&M action for one night... - - - Dram Diary 11/11/2003
(Only freshly discovered whiskies and revised scores are listed here.) 93 - Ardbeg 1974 'Provenance' (55.6%, OB) Five of the whiskies I sampled tonight were single malts I had not tried before. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
150-D: Saturday, November 15, 2003 Day 1 of Davin's visit to Amsterdam officially started when we met up at Amsterdam Central Station a little before noon. After a slow coffee and a quick lunch at 'Van Dobben' we headed to my place to start the dramming. Davin was very motivated to get some serious work done for the matrix, so he was extremely eager to start the dramming as soon as possible. Obviously, I was most happy to oblige.
We started the session with a Balvenie 15yo 1985/2002 (50.4%, OB, cask #286). We proceeded with a quick dram of the
Auchroisk 11yo 1989/2001 Port Finish (43%, Chieftains). The nose was a little creamy in the start and showed some wood and some smoke - and maybe some light peat as well. More spices & organics later. The palate
showed some nice fresh wood and fruits, but if I'm not mistaken it wasn't quite as complex as the nose. No real competition for the
Port wood finishes from Glenmorangie or Balvenie, but a very nice whisky for the price. I'll stick with my score of 81 points while Davin scored it at 78 points.
Our discussions turned towards the recent controversy about the transformation of Cardhu into a vatted malt. A great excuse to do a H2H of the old single malt
Glen Grant 10yo (40%, OB) and the new version I suspect of being a vatted malt. Both noses seemed quite citrussy this time but after a few minutes the citrus had vanished from the old single malt version. Meanwhile, the
vatting seemed to become oilier and slightly nuttier. Davin agreed with my score of 72 points for the old single malt version but
scored the vatting a generous point higher than my own 69 points; he gave it 70 points on his personal enjoyment scale. I didn't make many notes on our next dram, the Imperial 18yo 1982
(43%, Chieftain's). The nose was light and faintly spicy. Spirity, oily and a little flowery. Pine? Over time it grew more complex and it managed to climb above average. Sadly enough, the
taste pulled it back down again - flat and faintly woody. A displeasing hint of machine oil as well. No reason to increase my score of 73 points - it didn't learn a lot in eighteen years.
Maybe that was because this was his very first sample of the Imperial distillery ever.
Davin's a francophone, so I thought he might know the Belgian chansonnier Jacques Brel. Next, we turned our attention to two siblings, the Mortlach 12yo 1989/2002 (43%, Coopers Choice, Sherry cask) and the Mortlach 21yo (40%, Sestante). The nose of the Coopers Choice was nice, polished and surprisingly complex. Sweet and very, very pleasant. After maybe five minutes it shows some delightful organics and peat. For a moment I played with the thought of increasing my score from 84 to 86 but in the end I conservatively went with 85 points . Davin liked it even better at 87 points. It needs some time, though. Considering its age and its price I was slightly underwhelmed by the performance of the 21yo Sestante bottling I picked up in Italy when I first opened it , but I have to say it grew on me over the last year. I'll stick with my score of 84 points for this one, even though Davin only liked it 82 points worth. By this time we really needed some more food in our stomachs, so it was a good thing there's a Chinese restaurant nearby. We gave my favourite Chinaman a call and within half an hour we could replenish our energy. Davin was pleasantly surprised by the size of the eggrolls we get here in Holland (about 500 grams each - pretty much a meal all by itself), so after the 'entrees' we were ready to resume our session with the Aberfeldy 12yo (43%, OB). We were making good progress for the matrix, because this was our tenth dram of the evening. I didn't find anything in there I didn't find before so I'll stick with 78 points for this one. Davn went with 78 points as well. Time for another H2H, this time of the Glenglassaugh 1986/1998 (40%, MacPhail's Collection) against its older sibling, the Glenglassaugh 1973 (40%, Family Silver). The 1986 was a fairly 'momentous' dram; it was distilled in the same year the distillery was mothballed. I found dust, cream and powdered milk in the nose; it reminded me a lot of an old milk powder factory I used to visit. My score of 72 points for the first dram from the bottle was clearly idiotic, so I'll increase it to 80 points. Davin liked it even better than me, judging by his score of 82 points. The Glenglassaugh 1973 performed as before and received 86 points from me and 85 points from Davin. Unlike Glenesk, Glenlochy or Glenugie, this is one of those distilleries that really didn't deserve to perish.
We had ourselves another break, after which things became increasingly silly. Dram #15 of the day was the Royal Brackla 16yo 1984/2001 (43#, Coopers Choice). The nose was rich and polished with a fleeting sweetness. The palate was hot and fruity. Davin and I both went with 77 points. Another dram that needed another score for the matrix was the Tamdhu-Glenlivet 10yo (58.9%, Cadenhead, 18.75cl). This time I found the nose of the Tamdhu citrussy, soapy and perfumy, growing sweeter with time. The taste seemed quite sweet as well. After some more breathing I even thought I found some traces of peat and other coastal elements in the nose. I decided to increase my score to 78 points while Davin scored it at 80 points. By now we had switched to overproof whiskies.
I was really starting to feel it, but Davin was still going strong. I didn't make any notes on the Cragganmore 1976/1993 (53.8%, G&M) this time but if memory serves it might have performed even better than
before but I decided to stick with my score of 85 points while Davin gave it 86. As it turned out, Davin had never tried a Mannochmore before (except for the Loch Dhu I poured him last year), so we proceedced with the
Mannochmore 22yo 1974/1997 (60.1%, UDRM). I found the nose smokier than I remembered but that's no reason to change my score of 77 points
for this one - and that was how Davin scored it as well. Not a great whisky, but proof that they can actually distill something decent at Mannochmore. We finished the evening with a H2H of two of my top shelf treasures. With 20 malts under his belt for the evening, Davin had broken a personal record. - - - Dram Diary 15/11/2003
(Only freshly discovered whiskies and revised scores are listed here.) 77 - Balmenach 11yo 1990 (43%, Chieftain's) With the exception of the Knockando 1986/1998 all these were familiar bottles.
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150-E: Sunday, November 16, 2003 The second day of Davin's visit started with a few drams in the morning.
But once again I'm getting ahead of myself. I realise this big-ass report may already be growing tedious (and I'm not even half-way
yet), but this log is as much for my own 'alcoholic administration' as it is for public amusement. I've made it a point of transferring
as much of my notes as possible to this log to help me keep track of my malt mileage and my discoveries along the way. So, here are the notes I made on my first 'skalks' ever. We kicked off with the Linlithgow 18yo 1982/2001
(43%, Signatory Vintage). The Arran NAS Non-Chillfiltered
(46%, OB) is one of the new expressions I wrote about earlier in this log entry. Right after I opened the bottle it scored a fairly underwhelming 67 points but after just one week of breathing it seems to have opened up a bit.
The nose was sweet and malty at first, growing grainier. I got a distinct oatmeal impression this time. After a while it became oilier,
which pretty much spoilt the party for me. The palate was just as weak, uneven and bitter as last week, so I'll stick with my 'questionable' score of 67 points
for this one. Davin scored it just within 'average' territory with 71 points. That leaves plenty of room for improvement. I can't really remember why we picked the Glenrothes 1987/2000
(43%, OB) as our next dram; we both sampled a generous supply of Glenrothes 'vintages' at the distillery on June 2 and Glenrothes also submitted three or four OB's for the Malt Maniacs Awards. Anyway, for one reason or another we
did pick it, Davin gave it 79 points and I didn't feel like changing my own score of 78 points for this one. Not one of the best expressions I've tried. The sample of Glen Scotia 12yo 'Full Proof' (54%, OB, Bottled 1980's) that Alberto Righi sent me a while ago wasn't empty yet, which gave me the opportunity to serve the last bit to Davin. Davin wasn't too thrilled about it, judging by his score of 74 points. The other maniacs that tried it (Serge, Olivier, Krishna, Mark and myself) liked it a lot better and all scored it in the 80's. I kept my own score at 81 points for this one. After five drams it was noon; time to head into town to get some breakfast. We had ourselves an 'uitsmijter' and coffee at cafe 'De
Staalmeesters' before we headed to the new Cadenhead's store here in Amsterdam for a nice little tasting session. I issued a
challenge to Andries Visser (one of the proprietors) a few weeks ago; I would bring samples from three of my personal favourits to the table and Andries had to try and match them with bottlings in the Cadenhead's range. We started o
ff with four tasters (Andries, Davin, Alexander van der Veer and me) around 14:00 and were joined a little later by Springbank's charming ambassador Kate Wright.
We started with H2H of my Linlithgow 1982/2000 (61.6%, Scott's Selection) against an opponent from the Cadenhead's stable; the Littlemill 14yo 1989/2003
(61.9%, Cadenhead's Authentic Collection, 294 bottles). The nose of the Linlithgow started off grainier and oilier than the Littmill. Vanilla? The palate was chewy and spicy. The Littlemill showed much more sweetness in the
nose. Polished and very rich. Malty. Creamy. Coffee. Peanuts. The palate didn't seem to have any sweetness at first, but given
time it becomes very sweet with lemon drops in the background. For me, the Littlemill was the winner with 83 points (Linlithgow stays at 82 points) but all other tasters preferred the Linlithgow over the Littlemill.
Andries argued that he deserved a second chance, so we had another Lowlander by its lonesome self. not only good lowlander so The nose of the Bladnoch 14yo 1989/2003
(53.6%, Cadenhead's Authentic Collection, Bourbon barrel, 210 bottles) was very distinctive. I was quite sure I smelled yoghurt in there and the others agreed. Then I got milk. It was a bit malty as well, growing
sweeter with time. I also got some wonderful organics after ten minutes. What a fabulous nose! Unfortunately, the taste wasn't
quite as complex and appealing as the nose. I got soap and a bitterness that drops off after five minutes. After time, it has a
beautiful body. Nice and chewy. We decided to nickname this 'The Dairy Malt'. I ended up with a score of 84 points for this puppy.
Davin liked it even better and gave it 86 points. Yeah, I'd say the fabulous nose alone justifies the investment. Our next H2H put my sample of the Macallan 10yo Cask Strength
(58.8%, OB) against an opponent from the Cadenhead's stable, the Macallan 12yo 1989/2001 (60.2%, Cadenhead's Authentic Collection, Bottled October 2001, Sherry Butt). Well, the nose of
Cadenhead's had plenty of sherry, just like the OB's. In fact, it was more subtle and balanced in this one than in the latest 12yo OB I tried. It had some nice spices as well. I didn't make any notes on the taste, but my score was
87 points. Davin gave it 84 points. I haven't been overly excited by most independent Macallans I've tried so far, but maybe that's because most of them were
matured in bourbon casks. I liked this sherry casked Cadenhead's almost as much as the 10yo C/S OB which received 88 points. Next, we turned our attention to two interesting bottles that were brought by Alexander. Our last H2H at Cadenhead's was my sample of the Port Ellen 22yo 1978/2000
(60.5%, UDRM) against another Islay malt, the Bunnahabhain 24yo 1979/2003 (45.7%, Cadenhead's Authentic Collection, Bottled July 2003, 156 Bottles). The nose of the PE
had all the peat and brine I remembered and I stand by my score of 93 points. The nose of the Bunny showed salmiak, liquorice
and aniseed. Lemon and a hint of oil as well. The palate was fruity and a little bit dusty. It felt weaker than its 45.7%, but I still thought is was worth 87 points. So, how did the Cadenhead's bottlings perform in this 'challenge'? We finished the Cadenhead's session with an oddity; the Dark Whisky 3yo (40%, OB, Poland). It was hard to get back to our matrix duties when we got home in the evening, but we managed to successfully attack six different
bottlings from the Tobermory/Ledaig distillery. This distillery on the island Mull was one of the last active distilleries that were not
featured on the matrix yet. Well, that little problem was solved after Davin and I had finished and scored the following expressions;
As you can see, there's a good reason most maniacs have avoided this distillery so far.
To reward ourselves we finished the evening with a H2H of two expressions from a more reputable distillery. We turned our attention to Alberto Righi's sample of Glenfarclas 15yo (46%, OB, Italy) and my own big bottle of the
Glenfarclas 1983/2001 Family Reserve #4 (46%, OB). The 15yo made a better impression than when I first tried it. The nose was very fruity with toffee
and sherry. Soft organics. The palate was chewy, fruity and woody. In this case, I actually like the palate better than the nose. I increased my initial score to 80 points
while Davin even thought it was worth 87 points. I found the nose of the Family Reserve polished and much more refined than that of the 15yo. More smoke an organics too - stock cubes. The taste was dry and fruity
with plenty of good wood. A little winey. It takes things further where the 15yo stops. It's just a tad too dry and dusty in the end to reach 90 points but I'll happily increase my score to 89 points
. Davin went with 89 points as well. And that concludes this report - but just keep scrolling down for more... - - - Dram Diary 16/11/2003
(Only freshly discovered whiskies and revised scores are listed here.) 80 - Aberlour 11yo 1989/2001 (43% Aberdeen Distillers, Distilled 10/1989, Bottled 09/2001, Oak Hogshead #11039) All the 'Aberdeen' and 'Cadenhead's' bottlings I sampled today were fresh discoveries. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 150-F: Monday, November 17, 2003
I'd love to write a huge report about the third day of Davin's visit, but I simply don't have the time. Things are getting ever more hectic with the
2003 MM Awards tastings and the visit of Krishna and Mark coming closer. So, this report will only skim the surface
of our alcoholic adventures on the last day of Davin's visit. It was a mighty interesting session, though. Our trek to the north of Scotland
this summer ended in Inverness before we headed back into Speyside, so we decided to 'virtually' explore an alternative
route. This route would have taken us north to Orkney before following the coastline westwards to Skye and then south to the holy island of Islay.
We started with a H2H of two malts distilled at now defunct distilleries near Inverness; Glen Albyn and Glen Mhor. Michael Jackson
classifies them both as 'Speyside' distilleries in his 'Malt Whisky Companion' but some time ago Serge Valentin argued that they
should be considered Northern Highland distilleries. Davin and I looked for typical characteristics that could put them in any of these
categories but couldn't really find anything decisive. In fact, I found a good deal of lemon in both noses, which is supposed to be a Lowland marker. The Glen Mhor 12yo
(40%, G&M) was bottled in the early 1990's. The nose was malty with a very distinctive aroma of walnut
shells - besides the lemon. It was oilier than the Glen Albyn. The palate was a tad sherried, but too weak and dusty for my tastes - a typical 'old school' G&M bottling that shows little distillery character. Meanwhile, the
Glen Albyn 22yo 1977/1999 (43%, Signatory Vintage, Cask #1952) was quite sweet and transparent in the nose, apart from the lemony notes I mentioned earlier. It
showed some nice liquorice and salmiak notes later on. I guess you could see those as coastal traits, classifying this as a Northern
Highlander. The palate was sourish with a malty centre. It grew dry, bitter and very woody towards the finish. Not good wood - plywood... I went with 76 points for the Glen Mhor and 79 points
for the Glen Albyn. Davin rated them 74/75. Our next H2H took us a little bit further north.
Orkney is as far north on the distillery trail as you can go - well, until the new
Time to turn our sights westwards for the rugged island of Skye.
Well, when I sniffed it again (from one of my fiendish 666ml cognac bowls this time), I quickly realised that I may have been on the
better end of the deal after all. The nose was very richly sherried with plenty of wonderful organics. Dry roasted almonds. More like
a Macallan 18yo than a Talisker 10yo OB. A fabulous experience. The taste was very sherried as well, with plenty of excellent
wood. A real sherry monster that goes on and on and on. This is the battery bunny of single malts. I'd have to say this beats any
Macallan 18yo or 25yo I've had so far. That's especially impressive when you consider that the bottle was freshly opened. I gave it 92 points
while Davin liked it even better with 94 points. And the good news is that UDV submitted this one for the 2003 MM
Awards, together with the 1982/2003 successor matured in Bourbon Barrels. I can hardly wait! Being the nasty bastard that I am I gave Davin a sample to bring home to Canada so Johanna could taste what she so carelessly swapped.
But wait, in all the excitement I almost forgot about the 19yo Douglas Laing 'Tactical'.
Time to continue our virtual trip along the coast of Scotland - south to Islay this time.
Davin had been keeping track of his expanding malt mileage during the past few days and as it turned out he now had sampled 51
new malts on this extended whisky weekend. He decided to do one final Amsterdam H2H this year to bring the total number to 53 -
more new malts than he had tried in the entire year 2001. To end our whisky weekend on a high note we reached for the remainder of two samples sent to me by Serge; the treasure trove bottling of Bowmore 1965 'Full Strength
(50%, OB, bottled somewhere in the late 1980's) and the slightly underwhelming Lagavulin 23yo 1979/2002 (46%, Murray McDavid Mission II). The nose of the
Bowmore was as fabulous and complex as ever and showed some very nice mocha accents this time. I was so busy enjoying myself that I forgot to make any notes on the taste - see The Lagavulin seemed like a bit of a let-down compared to Bowmore's blast from the past. And thus Davin's malt mileage for this weekend ends up at 53 single malts. - - - Dram Diary 17/11/2003
(Only freshly discovered whiskies and revised scores are listed here.) 95 - Bowmore 1965 (50%, OB, Bottled 1980's) Well, the Signatory HP 22yo was the only fresh 'discovery' today, so that puts exactly 509 single malts on my Track Record. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 150-G: Friday, November 21, 2003
Short note for Non-Dutch readers: Don't panic, there's nothing wrong with your browser and I haven't suddenly lost my mind
either. The gibberish you'll find in the next few paragraphs is just Dutch. By popular demand I've decided to write a report in my
mother tongue for a change. Check out the Dram Diary below for the results - or buy yourself a Dutch-English Dictionary and use
this report as your first step towards mastering one of the most throat-torturing languages in the world ;-) Waarde landgenoten, Hottentottententententoonstelling en paashaasschaamhaarverzamelaar zijn slechts twee van de woorden die ik al sinds geruime tijd
op MM heb willen gebruiken teneinde anderstalige lezers te verbijsteren met de rijkheid van onze wonderschone taal. En ziehier - die droom is eindelijk verwezenlijkt ;-)
Wellicht bent u verrast hier plotseling een verslag in uw moerstaal aan te treffen. Ik voelde mij genoopt af te wijken van mijn
normale routine nadat enkele whiskyliefhebbers die ik tijdens de 2003 editie van het 'International Malt Whisky Festival' tegen het lijf
liep (of liever gezegd tegen het lijf zwalkte) nogal verbaasd reageerden toen ik 'gewoon' Nederlands bleek te spreken. Jawel, ik ben
een gewone Hollandse kaaskop - vermoedelijk net als zo'n beetje iedereen die dit dit stukje kan volgen, behoudens misschien een enkele verdwaalde Belg of Zuid-Afrikaan ;-)
Trouwe lezers van deze site hebben kunnen lezen dat ik de twee voorgaande edities van het festival in de Oude Kerk in Den Haag
met gemengde gevoelens verliet. Ik ben van huis uit al niet zo'n liefhebber van grote mensenmassa's en de prominente
aanwezigheid van diverse vis- en sigarenboeren deden mijn bezwaard gemoed ook al geen goed. Ik was dan ook aangenaam verrast
met het ontbreken van walmende verkopers op de 2003 editie van het festival. Dit zorgde ervoor dat ik me dit keer met minder dan
normale tegenzin in de drinkende nensenmassa begaf. Het feit dat de entreekaarten voor het festival me ditmaal niets kosten
speelde ongetwijfeld ook een rol, evenals de feeërieke harpmuziek die de sfeervolle kerk bij tijd en wijle vulde. De doedelende zakken
die af en toe ook werden ingezet om de feestvreugde te verhogen konden me aanmerkelijk minder bekoren, maar na een paar goeie (of zelfs minder goeie ;-) single malts wordt zelfs dat op den duur draaglijk... Nu wilde het toeval dat ik op deze bijzondere dag niet bijzonder goed 'bij neus' was.
Na enkele opwarmertjes was mijn eerste 'serieuze' malt de Longrow 10yo 1993 (46%, OB, Sherry & Bourbon). Hij werd geschonken
door Springbank's Kate Wright die ik een week eerder tijdens de 'Cadenhead's Challenge' al tegen het bevallige lijf was gelopen. Er
ontwikkelde zich al snel een uiterst geanimeerd gesprek - hetgeen wellicht de beknopte aard van mijn notities verklaart... De neus
van de Longrow verried een licht turfachtig verleden; ruiger en meer 'ballen' dan de typische Springbank. Meer 'organics' ook. Toch
kreeg ik de indruk dat deze whisky - althans de neus - gebaat zou zijn bij een paar jaar meer in het vat. Die indruk werd bevestigd op de tong. Beduidend ruiger dan de gemiddelde Springbank. De score van 83 punten
is onvoldoende om de forse prijs te rechtvaardigen. De documentatie van een groot deel van mijn omzwervingen door de kerk in Den Haag schijnt te ontbreken, maar volgens mijn
aantekeningen belandde ik na verloop van tijd bij de kraam van Bresser & Timmer. Ik had het bedenkelijke genoegen tegelijk met
Hans Bresser (bekend van Bresser & Timmer) mijn militaire dienstplicht te vervullen in het pittoreske Apeldoorn. Achteraf bezien is
het maar goed dat 'de russen' niet zijn gekomen - de Nederlandse whiskywereld zou er waarschijnlijk heel anders hebben uitgezien ;-) Enfin, ik dwaal weer eens af - iets dat me wel vaker overkomt... Vervolgens vergastte Hans me op een
Glenturret 12yo 1990/2002 Sherry Finish (43%, Chieftain's, Distilled July 1990, Bottled December 2002, Casks 9076-9077, 1584 Flessen). Mijn notities betreffende de neus zijn erg beknopt; 'zeer vreemd'. Ik kan niet met
een gerust gemoed zeggen dat ik het erg lekker vond, maar dit is zonder twijfel een uiterst interessante whisky. In de smaak vond
ik een aantal elementen die me op een of andere manier aan groenten deden denken. Na rijp beraad besloot ik dat een score van 70 punten gepast zou zijn. De
Laphroaig 14yo 1989/2003 (50%, OMC, Cask Reference 971, Distlled March 1989, Bottled September 2003, 300 Flessen) was
van een heel ander kaliber. De neus was verrassend subtiel en deed me denken aan de 15yo 1985/2000 'Laudable' van enkele jaren
geleden - voodat OMC de naam Laphroaig mocht gebruiken. De smaak was droog en rokerig zoals vanouds. Deze whisky voelt fantastisch in de mond. Mijn score: 84 punten
. Na nog een rondje door de kerk raakte ik in gesprek met Normaliter zou ik nog diverse rondjes door de kerk hebben gemaakt om zoveel mogelijk nieuw spul te ontdekken maar in dit geval gaf
ik de voorkeur aan het voortzetten van mijn gesprekken met John Glaser en Lex Kraaijeveld. Na zo'n dozijn verschillende whiskies
(waarvan ruwweg de helft helaas ongedocumenteerd) had mijn brein de slijtageslag met mijn neus en tong dit keer gewonnen. Mijn
honger naar alternatieve inzichten over whisky was groter dan naar mijn honger naar de whiskies zelf - ditmaal althans...
Voordat ik dit beknopte verslag afsluit wil ik echter niet nalaten u een waarschuwing mee te geven. Lex vertelde me dat de
stuntelende knuppels van de Speyside distilleerderij zojuist een nieuwe potentiële ramp de weg op hebben gestuurd: Cú Dhub
(40%, OB). Totdat ik de Loch Dhu 10yo van de Mannochmore distilleerderij ontdekte waren de Drumguish en Glentromie (beiden
afkomstig van de voornoemde Speyside distilleerderij) de laagst scorende malt whiskies op mijn Track Record. Blijkbaar warende
mensen van Speyside verbolgen over het feit dat de Loch Dhu hun 'kontpositie' op mijn Hit List had overgenomen, want het gerucht
wil dat men met de 'Cú Dhub' heeft geprobeerd een whisky in de stijl van Loch Dhu te recreëren. De vooruitzichten zijn allerminst
veelbelovend, maar ik zal mijn oordeel opschorten totdat ik het miniatuurflesje dat Lex me beloofde ontvangen heb. Proost! Johannes de Wankelmoedige - - - Dram Diary 21/11/2003
(Only freshly discovered whiskies and revised scores are listed here.)
OK, back to plain English now. I won't repeat all my notes in English because you should be able to find most of them elsewhere on this site in due time. So,
I'll just stick to the highlights here. The most noteworthy discoveries on the festival were:
84 - Compass Box 'Juvenile' (44%, OB, Vatting) That puts the number of malts on my Track Record at 513
. (I can't count the 'Compass Box' vatted malts.) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 150-H: Monday, December 1, 2003
Phew... When I started writing this special report I had planned on reporting on every single day of dramming (especially the
tastings concerning the MM Awards) but due to my hectic schedule during the past few months I'm afraid I'll have to change my plans. Please check out
Malt Maniacs Issue #9 and the 2003 Awards Addendum for more detailed reports about the 2003 MM Awards. On these pages I'll have to stick to a few of the highlights. Obviously, finishing the MM Awards tastings with I suggested a H2H comparison between the
Braes of Glenlivet 12yo 1989/2001 (62.1%, Cadenhead's) and its older sibling, the Braes of Glenlivet 17yo 1979/1997 (58.1%, Signatory Vintage). Both of them preferred the Cadenhead's bottling, but the
difference was marginal. Mark went with 89 points for the 12yo Cadenhead's and 87 points for the 17yo Signatory Vintage, Krishna with 87 and 85 points respectively. That's pretty much in the same area as the score of 88 points
for both bottlings I arrived at when I sampled them with Davin two weeks ago. We poured ourselves another dram while we tried to figure out why Pernod Ricard mothballed this distillery last year.
We finished this manic monday with an old favourite of mine; the Ardbeg 17yo (40%, OB, Bottled +/- 2000). Once again the minds of the maniacs were pretty much in synch; Mark agreed with my score of 89 points
while Krishna went slightly lower with 85 points. Crag Daniels is the only maniac to score the Ardbeg 17yo even lower with 84 points - all other maniacs put it in the upper eighties or lower nineties.
And that's all I have to report. No new malts for me, so no Dram Diary this time. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 150-I: Tuesday, December 2, 2003
With the MM Awards samples out of the way, we could kick back and relax a little.
For this report I'm simply going to list the malts we sampled and the scores of the certified malt maniacs in a special MiniMatrix.
Davin akso sampled these bottlings when he came over two weeks ago. Well, there was one rather special bottling among them
that Davin didn't get to try. Alexander van der Veer had already donated the Aberdeen bottlings of Aberlour and Highland Park when
we met for the Cadenhead's Challenge two weeks ago. I also invited him over for tonight and we used the opportunity to swap
some bottles. In exchange for a bottle of the stupendous UDRM Port Ellen 1978/2000 and an OMC 'Laudable' I received a few other
bottles, including the new Ardbeg Uigeadail and an interesting bottling from a Speyside distillery that was closed in 1993; Pittyvaich. The Pittyvaich 21yo 1976/1998
(43%, Signatory Vintage, Sherry Butt #12241, Bottle #116 of 420) was the only new single malt I tried tonight, so it's the only whisky I'll include the tasting notes of.
And I'm afraid that's it as far as tonight's tasting notes are concerned. JH KN MA - 02/12/2003 MiniMatrix Malts: That's it for this report - once again no Dram Diary. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 150-J: Wednesday, December 3, 2003
Wednesday was our fifth day of dramming, so our livers could do with a light regime for a change. Not our stomachs, though -
Krishna collected some exotic spices and ingredients on the oriental market nearby and prepared a wonderful spicy Indian dish for
us. Well - I thought it was spicy; he told us he made it extra mild to suit our western palates. Go figure... Anyway; here are the malts we tried this evening (in blind H2H's); JH KN MA - 03/12/2003 MiniMatrix Malts: I didn't feel the need to change any of my scores, except for that for the Banff. And that's the end of another short and sweet report. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 150-K: Thursday, December 4, 2003 And this is where things started to go horribly wrong.
The plan was that Krishna, Mark and I would simply drive to Alsace in a car I rented for the occasion. Turckheim is located some
750 kilometers from Amsterdam and (theoretically) the route is fairly easy; all you have to do is follow the river Rhine south-east
and make a sharp right turn just before you enter Switserland. Despite some delays things went pretty much according to plan until
we reached the 'autobahn' in the German Ruhrgebiet just across the border. Everybody that has ever tried to navigate his way
through this hidious area knows that it's easy to lose your way there - so that's what I did. That's happened to me before, but this
time several detours, traffic jams and a completely overcast sky conspired to keep us from finding our way out of the maze.
When we were still cruising the Ruhrgebiet around 16:00 I realised we would never make it to Alsace in time. That was enough to
make me lose whatever was left of my mojo. I'm no great driver to begin with and as my frustration grew my driving became ever
more erratic. It became increasingly dangerous for K&M to be in the same car as me so I decided to head back to Amsterdam to try
and find an alternative mode of transportation to Alsace for K&M. We were back where we started a little before 20:00 and
managed to find a night-train to Strassbourg that would put K&M in Strassbourg the next morning. I felt extremely bad about
missing this year's Alsacian adventures but I had completely lost my mojo and needed a few days of peace and quiet - and lots of sleep.
Before we left for the train station we decided to open a bottle and have a 'bon voyage' dram. No time for any more drams - we had to rush to get Mark & Krishna on their train in time.
I returned home as soon as Krishna and Mark were safely on their way to Alsace. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 150-L: Sunday, December 7, 2003
While Krishna and Mark were dramming in Alsace I used my time to catch up on some work and some sleep. After three days
without a single glass of whisky, I was in a great dramming mood when K&M returned from Alsace on Sunday evening. They were in
great spirits and, better yet, brought samples of many great spirits with them. While they shared their tall stories from Alsace we sampled a few samples Serge had prepared for us. We started with a Port Ellen 23yo 1979/2003
(46%, Wilson & Morgan Barrel Selection, Butt #6769). This was one |
After the bad karma of the 'Lunar Eclipse' session