Speyside

Tamdhu 120th Anniversary Single Cask

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside /

Tamdhu 120th Anniversary Single Cask #7389

59.3% ABV
Distilled 12/12/2002; Bottled April 2018
European Oak First Full Sherry Butt
603 Bottles (sample from bottle 238)
$342 (SRP £250)
Website
Tamdhu 15 Yr Single Cask 7389
We would like to thank Paul (check out his reviews here, or on Dapper Drams) for sending us a sample to review.

What the Distillery Says

Tamdhu Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky has released an exclusive Single Cask Distillery Team Edition, bottled to celebrate the 120th anniversary of the Speyside distillery.

Selected by the 15-strong Tamdhu distillery team and bottled un-chill-filtered at cask strength, only 603 individually numbered scarce bottles will be released. Matured in a European oak first-fill sherry butt, the single malt has a smooth, long-lasting finish and a deep natural colour.

To find the cask best suited to mark the momentous anniversary, a range of ages and cask types were selected, including European and American sherry oak, and blind-tasted by the expert distillery team

Sandy McIntyre, Distillery Manager at Tamdhu Distillery, said:

“The distillery team had a lot of fun nosing and tasting nine samples and voting for their favourites. The final top three were then selected for a blind nosing and tasting and ranked by each of the team members to agree on the winning cask.”

The victor was a European first fill sherry butt, which boasts an exceptional natural colour from years of maturing in Tamdhu’s traditional dunnage Warehouse Number Five.

Sandy McIntyre continued:

“This cask is something to savour and enjoy over a prolonged period. I would expect this bottle to be opened on special occasions when you would share a dram, or two, with close friends and family or even just to keep for yourself – selfish, perhaps, but who can blame you!”

Tamdhu is owned by one of Scotland’s leading, independent family-owned distillers, Ian Macleod Distillers. Tamdhu Single Malt is matured exclusively in the finest Oloroso sherry oak casks from Spain, nothing less. This scarce wood bears two great gifts; colour and taste. Tamdhu’s deep natural amber is developed by the cask and each dram owes its rich, complex taste to the wood.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Hello sherry bomb! Loads of sherry with raisins, plums, dates, figs, clove, nutmeg, pecans, allspice and hints of cinnamon with wisps of smoke.
Palate:  Creamy mouthfeel that starts off with rich dark fruit, dark chocolate covered cherries, and sharpens a tad with some pepper; cloves and allspice along with pecans.
Finish:  Long and gently drying with dark cherries, smoke and cocoa.
Comments:  This is delicious. The first Tamdhu offering I’ve tried, I fear I’ve started at the wrong end of the spectrum. Very rich and intense dram, and an unabashed sherry bomb (if you like that sorta thing, which I do!) One of the best whiskies I’ve tried in 2019, and reminds me a bit of Macallan cask strength. Yes, it is pricey for a 15 yr single malt – and one can argue that any single cask is just as exclusive. For a special anniversary bottling, this is just as special as you’d like it to be. And remember that age isn’t everything; I’ve had 20 yr single malts I liked less than this. A brash whisky that definitely has me looking to explore Tamdhu further . . . which is fortunate as I have another sample from them to get to shortly!

Rating: Must Try

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The Glenlivet Nàdurra Oloroso Batch OL0614

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside /

The Glenlivet Nàdurra Oloroso
Batch OL0614

60.7% ABV
$90-$100
Website
Glenlivet Nadurra Oloroso batch olo614

What the Distillery Says

First Fill Oloroso Sherry Oak casks from Jerez add richness and luxury.

The Nàdurra range uses traditional 19th-century production methods to create inventive and original whiskies. This version is matured in first-fill Oloroso sherry oak casks from the Spanish region of Jerez. The sherry-soaked wood introduces the rich, sultry flavors of dried fruit and warm spice. Nàdurra Oloroso, like all expressions in the range, is bottled and released in small batches, and, unlike most modern whiskies, is non-chill filtered so has all the body you would expect from a whisky that has been drawn straight from the cask. It’s a bright, vivacious gold liquid, with aromas of dried fruit and spice. To drink, it’s smooth and creamy with chocolate and marmalade. This is a divine example of what happens when you bring together Spanish passion and Speyside tradition. This whisky is all about using traditions to achieve modern brilliance.

Color: Bright gold
Cask: First Fill Oloroso Sherry Oak
Flavor: Dried fruits, warm spices
Nose: Dried fruit, raisins, apricots, cinnamon, liquorice
Palate: Smooth and creamy, spicy orange marmalade, dark chocolate
Finish: Long and sweet, slightly dry and spicy

What Gary Says

Nose:  Sherried oak (more dry sherry than dark fruit) with subtle dark chocolate and spices; water brings dark fruit notes forward.
Palate:  Robust and intense fruitcake, plums, black cherries, raisins, baking spices, dark chocolate and unsalted mixed nuts; water tamps the chocolate a bit and brings the spice forward.
Finish:  Moderately long with drying sherry and subtle earthy oak spice trailing.
Comments:  I’m not sure if this has changed in the last few years (note that my sample was batch OL0614 from 2014), but I wouldn’t describe the color on this as ‘bright’. It’s a fairly dark and dense dram (which I prefer visually!) This one is a bit odd to me in that typically Oloroso matured whisky is heavy with dark fruit, and every time I tried this what jumped out to me was the sherry itself and oak over the fruit. That said, I really enjoyed every taste! Just a lovely intensity of flavor.

Rating: Must Try

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Glentauchers 18 Yr Cask Strength

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside /

Glentauchers 18 Yr Cask Strength
Gordon & MacPhail Casks 5072 & 5073
Distilled 1995

58.3% ABV
$125-$145
Website
Glentauchers 1995 Cask Strength

What the Producer Says

A rare example of cask-strength Glentauchers, released by independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail. Distilled on 14 June 1995, it was aged in a pair of first-fill sherry butts for 18 years before being bottled on 27 January 2014.

Natural Colour; Not Chill Filtered

Packaging Notes:  Sweet, with apple, pear and eucalyptus notes developing. The palate has chili spice with ripe banana, orange peel and a creamy chocolate edge

What Gary Says

Nose:  Orchard fruit, stewed apples, an herbal/malty note with a hint of darker fruit and nutmeg.
Palate:  Sweet entry with a strong/sharp spiciness, subtle fruit notes underneath with pears, banana, orange creamsicle; some water seems to thicken the mouthfeel, subdues the spiciness a bit and brings out more of the dark fruit notes.
Finish:  Moderately long, drying with fruit and pepper spice.
Comments:  Often I find the tasting notes in a PR or on the bottle to be fairly imaginative but not particularly accurate. Everyone tastes differently, but these were damn close to my experience (in hindsight, I get the eucalyptus although couldn’t put my finger on it as THAT; same thing with the chili spice). Water improves this one quite a bit, and actually improves the mouthfeel which I don’t find very often.

Rating: Stands Out

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The Glenlivet ‘Capsule Collection’

/ / Gary's Blog, Speyside

Think ‘Scotch Pods’ ala Tide Pods (but to be clear, these are ‘Scotch Cocktails’ – not only whisky).
The Glenlivet Capsule Collection

Or don’t.  Really.  Don’t think about it.

When I saw this posted on Twitter, I thought for certain it had to be a gag.  Not until seeing the actual posting on Pernod-Ricard.com did I accept that “this is not a joke” (although I believe that is still debatable).

Don’t get me wrong – I love innovation in whisk(e)y.  Whether it’s Maker’s Mark inserting staves, or Compass Box doing . . .well, what they do – I applaud folks for looking for new and interesting ways to unlock flavors and develop new products.

But this . . . no.

For starters, pretty much every whisk(e)y drink I know doesn’t take a 23 ml “sip” all at once (which is roughly 3/4 of an ounce, or half a shot).  And it isn’t just the size – this eliminates anyone being able to add water, or ice, or do . . . anything beyond simply swallowing it.

I’m curious what market research suggested that folks would be interested in this sorta thing.  I could see this delivery mechanism for things like soda (or as my Yankee family would call it – ‘pop’), or for parties having Vodka jello-shots in this type of package (although I do not condone ‘rapid alcohol consumption’ vehicles).  But the whole premise seems to lack understanding about what whisk(e)y drinkers (at least the ones I’ve spoken to) are looking for in their whisk(e)y enjoyment experience.

Sometimes innovation means something that is . . . well . . .  this.

Cheers!
Gary

UPDATE:  Readers pointed out that the capsules themselves are a cocktail (not just whisk(e)y), which is better . . . although I’m still not a fan.  

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Macallan 12 vs Classic Cut 2018 vs Cask Strength

/ / Gary's Blog, Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside

Macallan 12 vs Classic Cut 2018 (diluted to 40% ABV) vs Cask Strength (diluted to 40% ABV)

After reviewing The Macallan Classic Cut 2018 and The Macallan Cask Strength – both of which are non-age stated – I pondered how these would compare with The Macallan 12 yr if I brought them both down to the same 40% ABV.

I carefully measured out the whisky and appropriate water amount, thinking I might be able to do this as a blind side-by-side-by-side. It was clear that I’d have to actually be blind to not tell the difference, as visually the differences were stark.
Macallan Cask Strength vs 12 vs Classic Cut 2018 at 80 proof
The above image doesn’t quite do it justice, but is close. What you’re seeing above from left to right is The Macallan Cask Strength (60.1% originally), The Macallan 12 yr (40%), and The Macallan Classic Cut 2018 (51.2% originally). After bringing the outside ones down to 40%, it was clear that the Cask Strength likely has older whisky than 12 yrs, while the Classic Cut likely has younger whisky. Age and color aren’t linear, and there are some light colored whiskies that are amazing – so let’s not dwell on the color. The picture doesn’t show how much the Classic Cut clouded up (much more so than the Cask Strength).

The Macallan 12yr Sherry Oak

40% ABV (same as bottled strength)
Color: Amber, crisp & coppery.
Nose: Dark fruit, plums, raisins, musky oak.
Palate: Sherried fruit, slight pepper spice with some savory herbal notes in the back.
Finish: Moderate in length, drying with dark fruit and trailing pepper spice.
Comments: A perfectly fine single malt, and a great baseline of comparison for other Macallan expressions.

The Macallan Classic Cut 2018

40% ABV (brought down from bottled strength of 51.2% ABV)
Color: Yellow, natural honey; quite cloudy.
Nose: Fruity, with apricots and figs, little oak and orange candies.
Palate: Less sweet, more herbal with toned down stewed dark fruit.
Finish: Shorter, with trailing spice notes.
Comments: At 40%, this is pretty disappointing. My guess is that this is much younger than 12 yrs old, or aged in different wood, or aged in much different areas of the rickhouse. That said, you can’t take Macallan 12 and ‘up the proof’ – or said another way, the whisky in this bottle wasn’t necessarily intended to shine at this proof.

The Macallan Classic Cask Strength

40% ABV (brought down from bottled strength of 60.1% ABV)
Color: Still dark, brown brick with deep red tones, cloudy.
Nose: Rich, dark fruits with tobacco and hints of leather (like Macallan 12 but turned up another notch or three).
Palate: Sherried fruit, oak, pepper spice with smoke.
Finish: Moderate to long with drying cigar paper and hints of raisins.
Comments: While this had the most water added, it remained the darkest (although didn’t cloud up as much as the Classic Cut, which I found interesting). This was the one I enjoyed the most at this proof, although I won’t dilute what I have left of this lovely whisky to 40% (I enjoy it more at something closer to the bottle strength). It remains rich and complex, with depth and balance that sets it apart from the other two. I would conclude that this is a older than the 12 yr, and possibly matured differently (either different locations or different wood). Either way, it is freaking delicious.

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