Glen Garioch 1997 vintage (Travel Retail Exclusive)

Information

Distillery: Glen Garioch
Bottling: Distillery Bottling (Travel Retail exclusive)
Age: 15
Distilled: 1997
Bottled: 2012
Strength: 56.7%
Cask: 1st and 2nd fill ex-bourbon

Whenever I get, or get to open a new Glen Garioch I get excited it is my second favourite distillery after Balblair. Coincidently (or not?) both distilleries were subject to a modernisation of tired old packaging, and started releasing "vintages" rather than fixed ages (although Glen Garioch do a 12 year old)which while still characteristic of that distillery, is also characteristic of a certain year. While the vintages list the year, they don't specifically mention an age does that mean it is technically a NAS (no-age-statement) whisky, meaning that 1997 does not need to be the youngest malt in the vatting? That is a question I'll need to find an answer to.

Nose: Immediately a big fruity, estery exposion. Very typical of Glen Garioch to me with a big pear dominance, followed with apple, and banana, with plenty of lesser fruity notes of strawberry and citrus. The combination of fruits are very sweet and candied and the overwhelming memory triggered is of Jelly Tot sweets. Other fruity sweets such as Irn Bru bars and Fruit Salad are also present. Some other sweet but richer things like Chocolate Honeycomb, and the creamy, biscuitness of Nestle White Chocoloate Crunch bars. Plenty of other malty, biscuity notes like shortbread. There is vanilla in there as well, but blends in well with the fruity sweet notes. Lighter floral and heather notes as well.




Palate: Big fruits. Those Jelly Tots are back, and accentuated by the fiz from the high alcohol strength. Hold this in the mouth and let it dilute and mellow, the mouth-watering fruit sweetness comes through like Jolly Ranchers and it gets very chewy, waxy and oily. Creamy biscuitness from the crunch bars as it melts in the mouth with a distinct nuttyness. This also has a very rum-like feel in the mouth.

Finish: Very long, and spicy finish. Vanilla and the crisp sharpness of Coriander seeds. Rum & Raisin fudge, with a touch of citrus.

Comments: A very tasty, and complex construction from Morrison-Bowmore's master blender Rachel Barrie. In many ways this is superior to some of the Glen Garioch single cask releases as there is the higher strength which definately appeals to me, and it carries the character of the distillery and the year, but has the benefit of being constructed through multiple casks to give it more complexity than just a single cask alone. The only drawback of this wee dram is that it is only available through Travel Retail (Duty free to you and me), and I picked this up in Glasgow airport for less than £50. You won't get a single cask for this price. Pick this up if you get the chance or know someone else passing through a airport which stocks it.

Inver House 21 year old Blended Scotch Whisky

Information

Distillery: Blended Scotch Whisky
Bottling: Inver House 21 year old
Age: 21
Strength: 43%

After my tour of Inver House I discussed this bottle with Malcolm Leask and managed to get some information. The 43% indicates that it is was export and was destined for Asia. It appears that it was possibly bottled in the early 90s, which would mean the whisky contained was distilled sometime in the 70s. I have forwarded the picture on to the experts at Inver House and I will update this page once I can find out some more.

Nose: This is very light and mild on the nose, but typical of lower strength whiskies so not particularly a bad thing for this whisky itself. Fruits in the way of apple, pear and tropical pineapple notes. Chocolate, Vanilla, Pecan nuts, hazelnuts. Coconut. Cereal notes of Rolled Oats, Granary Rolls, malt biscuits and Horlicks.

Palate: I can't decide whether this is mild or flat. I spent so much time above 50% ABV everything under does tend to be this way, but I am trying to enjoy more at a lower strength. This will be more important if I am going to try and source bottlings from an older time where higher ABV was just not common. Cadbury's Fruit & Nut bars. Nutella, fruity and honeyed. Very easy drinking.

Finish: Pretty short finish with spiced apple, vanilla and some grain.

Inver House Tour

Today my brother and I went a tour of Inver House distillers' facilities in Airdrie. As a life long resident of Airdrie and also a massive Balblair fan, I wanted to know more about blended whisky and in particular Inver House's blends in which Balblair is a main component.

This tour was kindly organised by Gillian Gibson, the Global Brand Manager for Balblair and anCnoc single malt whiskies, and I was left in the very capable hands of Mark Williamson, Assistant Blender.

Due to this being a busy and working facility I was not able to take many photographs. Mark us to one of the vast warehouses and we all spoke in depth about whisky, malts, blends, and the industry in general. He showed us round the blending and vatting areas, the bottling plant and finished off with taking us to the blending lab where he had laid out an array of spirits for us to nose and taste.

We got to try new make spirit for Balblair, Knockdhu, Pulteney and Balmenach single malts, as well as new make grain whisky which goes into their core blends. Finally Mark took us through the core blends of Cattos, MacArthurs, Hankey Bannister Original, Hankey Bannister Heritage Blend, and Hankey Bannister 12 year old, and how they are put together with the various components. I urge you to try and seek out a bottle of the Heritage Blend, at 46% it really stands out strong and is pretty tasty. When I get a bottle I will review it.

Again, thanks for Gillian and Mark for facilitating this.

 

26.92 Hard glazed pretzel sticks (Clynelish 28 year old)

Information

Distillery: Clynelish
Bottling: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 28
Distilled: 1984
Bottled: 2013
Strength: 58.2%
Cask: Refill sherry butt.
Cask Code: 26.92 Hard glazed pretzel sticks

Nose: Very light and delicate. Tangerine is most prominent, but sharper like when you are peeling a tangerine and it squirts out in your eye. Melon and also the a woody earthy note like the melon seeds themselves. Tunnock's Caramel Logs - Chocolate, Caramel, Biscuit with a covering of desicated coconut. Some heather and hay. Marmalade on burnt toast. These are by no means strong notes as this is very closed on the nose and takes a lot of deep digging in the glass. The longer I hold the glass in my hand the more it very gradually opens up and becomes more tropical. More meaty and briny notes appear later on for me here. Salty bacon and sausages.

Palate: Salted fruits. Lemon. Spicy, Peppery with the bite of fresh Ginger. Salt & Vinegar crisps. Dry desicated coconut.

Finish: Fizzy lemonade alongside salty briny flavours. Spicy. More salt. Gentle oak and a little smouldering smoke.

Hankey Bannister Blended Scotch Whisky

Information

Distillery: Blended Scotch Whisky
Bottling: Hankey Bannister (Inver House)
Age: NAS
Strength: 40%

Tonight I am doing something out of the ordinary for me, and that is writing notes for a Blended Scotch Whisky, and by that I mean a blend which is comprised of both Malt and Grain Whisky from a variety of distilleries. The blend I am going to look at is Hankey Bannister and the reason I have chosen this is because it is one of the flagship blends which belong to Inver House Distillers (International Beverage), and one which has malt whisky from my favourite distillery Balblair which is one of the distilleries owned by Inver House along side Pulteney (Old Pulteney), Knockdhu (anCnoc, Speyburn and Balmenach, all of which are producing highly regarded single malt whiskies.

Blended Whisky gets a bad reputation among many single malt drinkers and I admit even by myself in the past, however it is worth remembering that single malt whisky only makes up approximately 10% of whisky produced, and the 90% of whisky produced at pretty much most of the distilleries including my beloved Balblair is put into blended whisky. Without blended whisky most of these distilleries would cease to exist, and indeed in the past many distilleries have been mothballed or destroyed as a result of changed in the blended whisky market. So I say to every one who liked blended whisky - please keep drinking it! As long as you due I shall be able to continue drinking my favourite single malts! It is a win win situation.

Anyway, Hankey Bannister is a blended whisky which is made up of single malt from all of the above single malt distilleries, and also with grain whisky from as far as I can research is from both the North British (Edinburgh) and Port Dundas (Glasgow) grain distilleries. However the Port Dundas distillery is now closed so I can only assume this is no longer the case and grain from somewhere else is being used. Maybe Invergordon or Strathclyde? As far as I can find out it is made up of approximately 30% malt whisky of which this is mostly Balblair, and then 70% grain whisky.

Let's taste it then.

Nose: I expected the first thing to hit me was the smell of grain, but I am wrong, and it would be unfair anyway to just shout GRAIN GRAIN GRAIN and not thinking about the other subtleties which are present so that is what I will do. The initial nose gives me sherried malt notes. Praline and Marzipan. Sweet Almonds, milk chocolate and mint chocolate. My nose is very aware of menthol notes from sherried whisky and I can usually detect it quite strongly in most sherried malts. The menthol notes here are starting to come in a way that reminds me of mouth wash and I imagine that is the effect of the mixture with young spirit but in a way that takes the edge of something which woulde be harsher so I think these sherry notes balance out this youthfulness. Vanilla, Oak and some other spicy elements can be detected. I am getting cereal aromas which I suspect are coming from the grain which remind me of shortbread fingers, buttery and biscuity. Some fresher fruits coming through by way of pear and red apple, almost crab apple like. A little mango and the fruit coming to an end with the slight tannin bitterness of orange peel.  Some burnt toffee and at the very back is a whisp of smoke on the horizon and finally some lighter solvent notes which creep out every now and again.

Palate: The low alcohol of 40% is immediately evident on the palate. I am a guy that likes a real kick in the teeth from my whisky but I know I am in the minority here. Very easy and fairly smooth. The dried fruit and sherry notes carry into the mouth fairly easily backed up with that familiar grain kick but nothing offensive. The Vanilla, Oak and spicy elements are there as well.

Finish: The kicker here is the finish is actually suprisingly long and indeed longer than some single malts which are older and stronger. I suspect the young spirit is helping out with this. Slightly chewy with the dark dried fruit, some dark chocolate and that whisp of smoke again.

Comments: You know what? I am not offended by this. I don't think it is something I could sit and savour in the same way I do my single malts  but it has made a change of scenery for me and given me an insight into the greater world of blended whisky and has opened my eyes to some of where Balblair ends up. I would be very interested in trying some of the other Hankey Bannister releases such as their 12 year old and 21 year old but they appear very hard to get hold of in the general UK market. If anyone could send me some samples to review I would greatly appreciate it ;)

Miltonduff 30 years old - Cask 3714 (Adelphi)

Information

Distillery: Miltonduff
Bottling: Adelphi
Age: 30
Distilled: 1982
Bottled: 2012
Strength: 52.7%
Cask: ex-bourbon, cask 3714

Nose: Lemon butter biscuits, banana foam sweets, tropical fruit punch, marshmallows, coconut, vanilla, green sports mixture sweets, a little herby in the form of thyme and basil.

Palate: As big on the palate as on the nose. Dominated by citrus through Lemonade with a twist of Lime. Very sweet and zesty. Spicy pepper and ginger, with the herby thyme alongside a little light menthol, vanilla, something green like pine needles and also sugar puff cereral.

Finish: The fruit and spices lasting into a long sweet finish, with a bite of wood.

4.174 Conflict between light and shade (Highland Park 1999, 13 years old)

Information

Distillery: Highland Park
Bottling: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 13
Distilled: 1999
Bottled: 2013
Strength: 53.0%
Cask: First fill ex-bourbon barrel.
Cask Code: 4.174 Conflict between light and shade

Nose: I immediately think I am drinking sweet pear cider at the beach. Lots of sweet ripe fruit. Pears, peaches and plums surrounded by salty sea air. Pineapple, lemon & lime and vanilla in "twister" ice cream lollies. I was discussing recently with someone that it must be a reflection of my West of Scotland diet that sweets, ice creams, and biscuits are more detectable than actual fruit! Creamy and honeyed. Lemon sherbet sweets, chocolate covered shortbread. Light and young but not harsh at all even at its higher strength with a lovely restrained smoke just contrasting all the lovely fruit and oak elements.

Palate: Lightly salted limes. Smooth, chewy and syrupy. The lemon and lime flavours really shining here with spicy pepper and nutmeg.

Finish: Long and biscuity, with the citrus coming through again. I have never tasted key lime pie, but I imagine in my head that this is how it tastes.

Comments: This is very delicious, highly drinkable and reminds me of some older Broras.The barrel unfortunately only yielded 84 bottles so there are only 84 bottles of this exact whisky in the world and they have all gone now.