51,9°
Distilleries Officially Unknown - Speyside
Sherry and Boubon Casks
Independent Bottling
By The Cairn Distillery
Limited Edition
Blended Malt
Bottled in 2023
Totally Unpeated
The Cairn is a Speyside distillery launched in 2022 by Gordon & MacPhail, it's their second distillery after Benromach. They plan not to release a single single malt for another ten years or so, so to keep us waiting, they've launched a whole range, CRN57°, which is supposed to look like what The Cairn single malts will be like. It goes up to 70 years, so I'll never know if the real 70 year old The Cairn will actually be anything like the 70 year old Blend currently on the market. In fact, they're not taking many risks! More reasonable is this 30 year old Blend from various Speyside distilleries, the name of which is being kept secret, hopefully I'll be able to compare, if my doctor lets me, between two rations of vegetable soup and a plain yoghurt. The problem is that we know very little about this Blend, apart from its age and region of origin. Nothing about the maturation process, the number of bottles produced, the colouring or the cold filtration. Nor do we know whether it is Cask Strength.
Let's Taste It :
It's very coppery, woody, with a lovely old library effect, yellowed paper, damp cellar, old sherry, sour notes, but candied grapes, ripe apricot, blood oranges, dried banana, dates. Vanilla extract, pastry cream, coconut, a grain or two of salt. Bay leaves, thyme. On the palate, it's lighter, not quite balanced, but tasty. Plums and pears, ratatouille, aubergines, courgettes and hints of pepper, all delicately crunchy. Light spices. Long but not explosive finish, quince, barely burnt caramel, it runs down the throat, candied apricots. Icing sugar. Chamonix biscuits.
In Short,
A very well-made old school Blend, with a very slight acidity and a clearly recognisable OBE. Well, to be honest, it's very good, but it's no masterpiece either, and value for money is a slight problem. Nevertheless, it's an excellent marketing product for teasing out a distillery's future, decades in advance. A touch of genius.
Score : 89
To Be Listened While Sipping :
Brittany Davis - Mirrors
