Ardbeg 1998 Malts of Scotland c. 15009

 

 

 

58,4°

Distillery : Ardbeg - Islay

Bourbon Barrel 

Independent Bottling 

By Malts of Scotland 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2015

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 54 ppm 

It was in 2005 that the German trading company Malts of Scotland was founded by Thomas Ewers. Since then, success has only increased. Here we have an Ardbeg distilled in 1998 and bottled about 16 years later,185 bottles became reality, in honour of Whisky & Co. and Whisky Antique, the first being a French site dedicated to our favorite beverage, the second a very famous Italian point of sale. 

 

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Thick, rocky peat. Like a punch in the face. Sticky, gooey liquorice, a few white fruits, mirabelles, greengages. Nails, fuel oil and gravel. Metallic, chalky earth, fairly strong iodine, and at the same time airy, the tide is windy. The fruits return after a while, very ripe, almost candied. The palate is light, lemony, with a few spices, pepper, cumin, nutmeg, burnt plastic. The finish is pleasantly long, with charcoal, earth, sun-browned grass and cola.

 

In Short,

It's very Ardbeg, very peaty with liquorice and some white fruits. But despite the uncompromising violence of the product, I’m not very impressed, it lacks a little depth, variety. There's nothing particularly original here. And when I see the price, I think it’s inappropriate. 

Score : 89

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                          Social Distortion - Story of my Life

Ledaig 2001 A.D. Rattray Cask Collection 18 yo

 

 

 

57,1°

Distillery : Tobermory - Islands

Bourbon Hogshead

Independent Bottling 

By A.D. Rattray 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2019

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 37 ppm

 

 

 

This trading company was founded by Andrew Dewar Rattray in 1868. It subsequently acquired the Bowmore distillery, then Glen Garioch and Auchentoshan, before being bought by Beam Suntory. Which is to say that they know a little about whisky. Their Cask Collection range was launched in 2004, and is the best known of the portfolio if not the most prestigious. It includes a collection of Single Casks of good quality, but aged less than 23 years. For older whiskies, there is the Vintage Cask Collection. Here we have an 18 years old Ledaig, aged in a single bourbon cask. 262 copies went on sale at the end of 2019. Note that it is written on the label 'Distilled at Ledaig Distillery', a place which does not exist.  

 

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Heavy peat, burnt plastic, iodised breadth, white fruits, plum, vanilla, sour apple, between gravel, gas oil and industrial glue, leather, ointment, tiger balm, neoprene, medicinal touch, bandages, epinephrine, disinfectant, a few dubious products, TCP, modelling clay, fresh cement, elastic. On the palate, very plasticky, with a hint of vanilla and rather strong spices, pepper, cumin, nutmeg. Hints of honey and lemon tea. The peat hits. Thick and hard, with omnipresent smoke. Very long finish, dirty and charred, dusty, pebbly, sticky. Resin, not yet completely dry. Chalky. Rocky. Mirabelle and banana. Some sunny cereals. Wheat, hop.

In Short, 

Everything I love about Ledaig. They don’t go into detail. It’s very impressive, but also dividing. A small reservation, it seemed to me that the mouth lacked a little complexity. But the rest is pure wonder, for lovers of the genre. It is not completely sold out everywhere, you can still find some, certainly at an excessive price, but when you love you do not count. Well, not before bankruptcy in any case 

Score : 90

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

                                           Viagra Boys - Shrimp Shack

Longrow 18 yo 2008

 

 

 

46°

Distillery : Springbank - Campbeltown

Bourbon Casks 

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2008

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured 

Peated around 55 ppm

 

 

 

A little history: In 2008, these gentlemen at Springbank decided to renew the Longrow range. The CV Longrow was created, and the first batch of the 18 YO was released in 2100 bottles. I haven't found any information about the casks, but I assume they were Bourbon, although it's quite possible that Sherry was also used, albeit in small quantities. Of course, it's part of the legend now.

 

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Right away, iodine freshness, creamy cereals, damp leather. Then it becomes floral, with lavender, aniseed and strawberry gum. The peat is nevertheless present, dry earth, vigorous smoke. Candied ginger, and fruits, just as candied, cherries, angelica, marrons glacés. The palate is pleasant, with slightly sour apple, liquorice, spices, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, a pinch of cumin, and a return to origins in the finish, with hints of cattle, cowshed, hay, but still slightly fruity. Apricot, gooseberry.

 

In Short, 

Very Longrow, and yet very candy, a rather surprising mix of flavours. But I liked it, I wouldn't say it's beautifully balanced, it's not, but only Springbank is capable of making such alliances, it's daring, and it works very well in my opinion. All things considered, I much preferred the 2018 edition, which has a better finish and a slightly more coherent nose. The price of this bottle has skyrocketed over the years, now it's not really worth it unless you're a fanatical and wealthy collector.

Score : 90  

                                           à déguster en écoutant :

 

                                           Aurora - All is Soft Inside

Lagavulin 20 yo Feis Ile 2020

 

 

 

54°

Distillery : Lagavulin - Islay 

Refill Bourbon, Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso Seasoned Casks 

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2020

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 35 ppm

 

 

 

It's become mandatory to bring out a nice bottling for Feis Ile, otherwise collectors and fans don't break a sweat and nobody wants it. Lagavulin has been releasing bottlings for Feis Ile since 2007, giving everyone the opportunity to rush to the island and queue all day, sometimes all night, for the privilege of paying an obscene price to buy the new nectar. What can break the monotony is to release a bottle that is the same age as the year of its release, in 2018 they released an 18 year old, in 2019 it was a 19 year old, and in 2020, here is a small 20 year old, aged in Bourbon, Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez Sherry casks, out of 6,000 copies, obviously everyone is eager to taste it, including myself.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Pleasant, enticing peat, smooth and woody, deep. Fuel oil and varnish, slight astringency. Coarse salt and iodine, a dash of Bourbon, vanilla and honey. Very nice balance after a while. Wet sand on a northern beach, with sea spray and seaweed. White fruits, mirabelle plum, banana, almond powder. Peat returns, slightly ashy. Very appealing palate, lemony, followed by fairly intense spices, cumin, paprika, nutmeg. The caress of wood, rough and velvety at the same time. Some red fruits in the background, blueberries and raspberries, but this remains very discreet. Very long and pleasant finish, the wood becomes smoky, cereal sack, greasy coal. Encaustic, shoe polish. Clumps of earth.

In Short, 

As always with this distillery, it is very good, perfectly balanced, elegant, racy, noble. However, a small regret, because I barely felt the Sherry, it is rather very Bourbon. It’s not overwhelming, it’s just extremely well done. Only the final really impressed me. And when you see the price, you think maybe it’s better to settle for the classic 16 yo. 

Score : 90

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Haevn - We Are

Bowmore 2003 Cadenhead's Whisky Shop 15 yo

 

 

 

57,1°

Distillery : Bowmore - Islay 

Bourbon Hogshead and Burgundy Finish

Independent Bottling 

By William Cadenhead Limited

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2018

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 25 ppm

 

 

 

In 2017, on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the oldest Scottish trading company, a new range is launched, Cadenhead’s Whisky Shop, whose label will be adorned with an engraving of one of the Cadenhead stores across Europe, London, Edimburgh, but also Milan, Berlin, Köln, Odense. Since then, the range is doing well, there have been 10 different bottlings in 2020. It reminds me that there is no Cadenhead store in Paris, this is an indignity. This Bowmore has on its label an engraving of the Campbeltown store in Scotland, the Whisky was aged for 8 years in a unique Bourbon cask before following a finish in a Burgundy wine cask for 7 years. 264 bottles popped up.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Solid wood, beautiful framework wood with light peat, granite and iodine, pinch of fine salt, scorched earth, the peat becomes a little excessive, almost sickening, tempestuous smoke, gusts, facing a stormy sea. Sweet, honeyed, candied white fruits. Mirabelles, greengages. Tinplate. Very pleasant on the palate, with plums, bananas, pineapple and papaya, followed by fairly strong spices, cumin, pepper, paprika and nutmeg. Long, swirling finish, charcoal, earth, liquorice, dark chocolate chips.

 

In Short, 

A very fruity Bowmore, despite a rather intense smoke. The nose is not perfectly balanced, but I liked it. Same for the mouth, because the spices are really strong. All In all, it gives a very good juice, which should be tamed with a little water I think. It can still be found at acceptable prices at auction, you can be tempted if you are an aficionado. 

Score : 89

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                          The Alan Parsons Symphonic Project - Eye in the Sky

Glen Elgin The Manager's Dram 15 yo

 

 

 

60,2°

Distillery : Glen Elgin - Speyside

Sherry Butt

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 1988

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

On January 28, 1988, the Distillery Manager R.J. Grant blindly selected among a hundred others this Sherry cask distilled around 1972, and bottled it for his close collaborators at United Distillers, which later became Diageo. We do not know how many bottles were released, but there were few. Every year or so, The Manager’s Dram celebrates a distillery from Diageo, one of which was selected by the Distillery Manager for the group’s employees. It seems that 1988 was the year when this range was inaugurated.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Very woody Sherry, with hints of tinder, mahogany, Armenian paper, and a slight mineral note. The fruit moves towards ripe banana and white plum, and the wood seems to have been toasted, giving it charcoal overtones, a tiny amount of smoke, black tea, Russian-style, burnt rubber, leather, iron filings, biscuits. Gingerbread, with dried raisins and candied fruits. Farther back, it's more exotic, more tropical, pomegranate, papaya, passion fruit. The wood is heavy, rough, creamy, almost sweet but very intense. The palate is rich and spicy, with cumin, pepper, ginger, very fertile earth, mangroves, laurel, coconut and almonds. The finish is very long, pleasant, more luscious, almost syrupy, cola, gravel, black cherry and muscat grape, blueberry, heather.

 

In Short,

An absolutely outstanding nose, so much so that the mouth seemed disappointing in comparison, although it was very good. The result is a masterpiece of originality and intensity that can rarely be encountered. This dram will remain among my best memories of whiskies. However, the purchase is impossible, unless you have an extra car.  

Score : 92

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Louis Armstrong - Hello Dolly

Glenfarclas 1970 Cadenhead's Chairman's Stock 30 yo

 

 

 

53°

Distillery : Glenfarclas - Speyside

Bourbon Hogshead 

Independent Bottling 

By William Cadenhead Limited

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2001 

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength 

Totally Unpeated 

 

 

 

Apparently, Cadenhead acquired 4 Glenfarclas casks distilled in 1970. That was two years before the company was bought by the Mitchell family, owner of Springbank. These 4 casks were bottled successively, in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002. This one is the third, and the only one to have aged in a Bourbon cask. 132 bottles were filled and quickly sold. The Chairman's Stock range was around from 1994 to 2012, bringing together some outstanding bottlings, all single casks and over 25 years old.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Old library, plaster, soggy wood, it's liquorous, thick, very deep, almost swampy. Candied vanilla, crushed grapes, apricots, quinces, medlars, fermented a long time ago, crimson fruits, it's almost vinous, soup, banana, green tea, some vegetables, turnips, potatoes, paprika. Very sweet on the palate, like rose loukoum, liquid flower honey, then it becomes syrupy, dragee, almond, crushed hazelnut, heavy, spices that explode on the palate, nutmeg, cumin, curry, a whirlwind of flavours that lead to an incredible, sandy finish, mirabelle plum, exotic fruit nectar, mango, melon, maracuja. Slightly abrasive charcoal at the end. A creamy drop, meat juice. Melted butter.

 

In Short, 

Very intense, beautiful, explosive, fruity and deep like an old sherry, and complex, honeyed like a bourbon. I didn"t feel much the wood, it's as if the whisky had aged independently of it to give the total measure of the distillate. This gives quite incredible flavours. The prices are incredible too, so don’t be sensitive about your wallet.

Score : 92

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Ella Fitzgerald - How High is the Moon

Clynelish 1995 Kingsbury and Co. 21 yo

 

 

 

56,8°

Distillery : Clynelish - Highlands 

Bourbon Hogshead 

Independent Bottling 

By Kingsbury and Co. Ltd

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2017

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 8 ppm

 

 

 

Kingsbury and Co. is a trading company founded in Aberdeen in 1989. They also have offices in London, and their Single Casks are all hand-selected. Here, we have a 21-year-old Clynelish, released in 245 bottles, from the Celtic Series range.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Candied fruits, slightly mineral peat, fine gravel, yellow plum, mirabelle, prickly pear. Very mellow, even spongy, sticking to the fingers. Not very sweet, though. Cereals, grasses, muesli, terracotta. Gooey wax, sticky ointment, camphor, with a very nice fullness. Dried banana, fig, wood glue. Warm on the palate, initially balanced, still with yellow fruit, Chasselas grapes, forest berries, then lots of spices, cumin, nutmeg, black pepper. A beautiful whirlwind. Finally, a very long and violent finish, sparkling wood, a bit green, bay leaves, chocolate fondant, heather, damp earth. A few drops of motor oil at the end.

In Short, 

That’s exactly what I dream of when I dream of a great Clynelish. Very fruity, very waxy, which drifts over rather atypical fragrances, but it remains very balanced, solid, with a lot of breadth and an incomparable length in the mouth. As always, you can’t find it, you have to search the auction sites, and Feel free to put your savings account on the line.

Score : 91

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Elvis Costello and The Attractions - Watching the Detectives