Mars Tsunuki 2017 Selected By La Maison du Whisky c. 124

 

 

 

60°

Distillery : Tsunuki - Japan

1st Fill Bourbon Barrel 

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask

Bottled in 2021

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

The Mars brand is operated by the Hombo Shuzo group. It's still the same brand, but the whisky can come from two different distilleries: Tsunuki or Shinshu. Here, we're dealing with a special project, the Project Single Cask. Each cask is distilled at Tsunuki and undergoes the same maturation process. But the ageing takes place at three different sites: Tsunuki, Shinshu and Yakushima. The idea is to see how the ageing site affects the quality of the whisky. As I understand it, this whisky was distilled and aged at Tsunuki for around 4 years. The cask was specially selected by La Maison du Whisky for its 65th anniversary, and yielded 200 bottles.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

The nose is quite fruity, with fresh fruits, green apples, ripe apricots, juicy pears. Wood and fig pulp. Slightly boggy, not quite balanced but complex and full. Smoky haze. On the palate, carrot and fruit purée, fresh cream, some herbaceous hints, dandelion, reeds. The spices are relatively strong, cloves, cumin, pepper. The finish is violent, a little aggressive I must say, charcoal and earth, dark chocolate, a few drops of honey and apricot juice. Limestone.

 

In Short, 

It's impressive for its maturity - you could easily give it 8 years rather than 3 or 4 - but also for its complexity. It's a very good product, but I didn't find it quite balanced. The price is far too high in my opinion, which is probably why it's still available two years later, despite the small number of bottles produced.

Score : 88

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           The Hu Band - The Wolf Totem

Imperial 1993 Connoisseurs Choice Cask Strength 28 yo

 

 

 

57,6°

Distillery : Imperial - Speyside

1st Fill Sherry Puncheon Cask 

Independent Bottling 

By Gordon & MacPhail

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2022

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

As time goes by, Imperial casks become rarer but also older. Here, Gordon & MacPhail has saved this one for a rainy day, 28 years old and bursting with Puncheon Sherry. It was released around a year ago in 544 bottles.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Dried fruits and a gentle coastal breeze, a touch of iodine, apple and grape chutney, dry bark. Sweet spices, cinnamon and cardamom, beeswax, thick honey. Blood oranges. On the palate, a few tiny flaws, but it's still very pleasant, beaten butter, cooked apple juice, very ripe apricots. A pinch of pepper and cloves. Fruit cake with a dollop of pastry cream. A hint of tobacco on the tongue. Well-crafted finish, long and persistent, but not explosive, with sultanas, morello cherries, but also some cereals. A touch of vanilla.

 

In Short, 

We're very close to an exceptional Imperial, but it lacks a little something on the palate. Some of the people I tasted it with found faults with the nose, but I did not. Others found no fault with it. In any case, it's a fine product, the Sherry is fairly discreet and gives way to the distillate, bringing out the fruits, the cinnamon and the sweetness. Very nice. It's still available, but the price hurts anyway.

Score : 90 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           The Hoax - Swallow my Pride

Balblair 1991 3d Release

 

 

 

46°

Distillery : Balblair - Highlands

Ex-Bourbon Barrels and 1st Fill Oloroso Sherry Butts Finish

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2018

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

There was a time when all Balblair bottlings were vintage. It's not that long ago. Some were young, some old, some very old, like this one, which certainly totals 26 years, bottled on 13 February 2018. It spent 24 years in Bourbon casks, before a two-year finish in Oloroso Sherry Butts. It is not known how many bottles were produced.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Intense, slightly charcoaled, coppery wood, powerful, slightly fermented, even candied fruits, morello cherries, berries of all kinds, blackberries and blackcurrants, raisins and dried apricots, banana. It's foresty, yet subtle, with undergrowth, humus and dark chocolate, cinnamon. On the palate, the fruits are more candied, peaches, mandarins, nectarines, quinces, crushed walnuts, hazelnuts. Intense spices. Rather violent finish despite the fairly low alcohol content, punchy but not aggressive, syrupy, fruit jellies, black tea, Christmas pudding. 

In Short, 

Nothing like the current expressions of Balblair, this one has much more character. It's fruity, but also coppery and spicy, with pudding at the end. It's really very good. And for this age, the release price was truly pleasant. That was 5 years ago. A lifetime ago. You can still find it today, but it's almost twice as expensive, so it's not really worth it any more.

Score : 89

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Melody Gardot - So We Meet Again My Heartache

Inchmurrin 2003 Limited Edition Specially Selected by WhiskyNerds 14 yo c. 17/171-1

 

 

 

54,6°

Distillery : Loch Lomond - Highlands

Refill Ex-Sherry Butt and 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Cask, Refill Sherry Finish

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2017 

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Almost Unpeated

Inchmurrin is one of the many brands used by the Loch Lomond distillery. Here it is the third part of a trio of bottlings selected in 2017 by WhiskyNerds, a Dutch bottler. The bottling is original though, WhiskyNerds only selected the two casks that produced the three expressions. The first two were the product of a Bourbon cask and a Sherry cask. For the third, they vatted what was left in the two previous casks, and put the whole thing to finish in a Refill Sherry cask. The result is these  495 bottles. Although it is designated as a Single Cask, that's what it says on the label, it's not a Single Cask! Only the finishing took place in a single cask.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Rather fruity, cherries and blackberries, blueberry tart, dark chocolate, peat with charcoal, slate, vegetal moss, old wood, cereals, it's quite country-like. Good soil for ploughing. On the palate, vegetable soup, turnip and green beans, garlic, liquorice and crushed figs, wild strawberries, intense and varied spices, black tea, artichoke heart. Freshly cut grass. Long, full finish, a bit explosive, damp undergrowth, bark, chestnut leaf, black earth. Forest berries. 

In Short, 

I found it very foresty and relatively smoky, despite the fact that there is virtually no peat. Others found it very fruity and expressive. In any case, there is no doubt that this is an extremely interesting one. It is no longer available, perhaps at auction, at what appears to be a fair price.

Score : 89

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Brendan Perry - Tree of Life

Cotswolds 2016 Single Cask Collection New Vibrations 6 yo

 

 

 

62,4°

Distillery : Cotswolds - England

2d Fill Bourbon Cask

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2023

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

Cotswolds is a young distillery founded in 2014, in Stourton, North London. They are being honoured with this bottling, which will be sold exclusively by La Maison du Whisky as part of its New Vibrations label. It is a 6-year-old aged in a second-fill Bourbon cask, which gives a fairly clear idea of the distillate. Only 213 bottles have been released.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It :  

Light cream, with just a hint of vanilla, and a light, iodised bourbon. It's as if it's windy, you can smell the swell, and dead leaves twirling around. White fruits and ginger, dill, it's slightly herbaceous. Honeyed notes which are echoed on the palate, where the fruits stand out, mirabelle plums and banana. Pastry-like, with flavours of mille-feuilles and whipped cream. The spices are perfectly controlled and the finish is fine, quite long and well-crafted. White grapes, truffles, some cereals, barley, millet, humus. A pinch of salt and a lemon zest.

 

In Short, 

Not bad at all, and very interesting. I haven't isolated any markers to this distillery, I'd have to practice it a bit more. But it's got personality and character. We're waiting to see what they can do next. As for this bottling, it's too expensive for what it is, so I suggest you skip it.

Score : 89 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Brimheim - Can't Hate Myself Into a Different Shape

Jura 1992 The Single Malts of Scotland A Marriage of Casks 29 yo

 

 

 

42,9°

Distillery : Isle of Jura - Islands

5 Bourbon Casks

Independent Bottling 

By Elixir Distillers

Limited Edition 

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2021

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Cask Strength

 

 

 

At Elixir Distillers, the A Marriage of Casks sub-range brings together the oldest bottlings from The Single Malts of Scotland, but they are not vintage. Here, however, we know that these are 5 Bourbon casks, distilled in 1991 and 1992, which aged for at least 29 years before yielding the precious distillate. They must have been small casks, because only 576 bottles were produced.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

The nose has a certain fullness, airy, costal, but with not much iodine. Chalk, bushes, some white fruits, vanilla with mineral hints, amber, quince jam. An impression of height. On the palate, the fruits are more present, from the orchard, Pink Lady apples, Comices pears, but it's also a little earthy, sandy. Quite present apricot. Measured spices, peanut butter, vergeoise. Pleasant and complex finish, long enough. Chestnuts, honey, shortbread biscuits. Molasses.

In Short, 

A very interesting Jura, this distillery is definitely full of surprises. Slightly costal and fruity, but also earthy, with pastry notes, all in nuances. However, the alcohol content is a bit low and lacks punch. The price is still pretty high, but that's the rule now.

Score : 89

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

                                           Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Necessary Evil

Ledaig 2011 Cuvée n°6 8 yo

 

 

 

60,9°

Distillery : Tobermory - Islands

Refill Spanish Butts and Refill Côtes de Provence Hogshead Finish

Independent Bottling 

By Signatory Vintage 

Limited Edition 

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2020

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 37 ppm

 

 

 

Always keen to try something new, Andrew Symington and his colleagues have attempted this series of 6 Ledaigs, first aged in Sherry Butts, then finished in different Hogsheads, French wine, Madeira or Port. To be precise, only half of the distillate follows the finishing process, the rest is left to rest in the Sherry Butts, so that the influence of the wine is not too strong. The result in the form of 672 bottles, in the case of Cuvée n°6, finished in a Hogshead of French Côtes de Provence wine, arrived after 29 months of finishing. Yes, it's original.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

It's dirty, as dirty as a Ledaig should be. Big, heavy peat, fuel oil and gas oil, tar, coal, a few vegetal and iodised fragrances, kelp, green algae. And in the background, the influence of rosé wine, a little sour but also gourmet, fermented cherries, candied fruits, goji seeds. On the palate, still fine peat with motor oil, but also lingonberry jam, semi-salted butter, before it all drowns in tar and spices. The finish is long, deep and charred, with burnt wood and still some fruits.

 

In Short, 

Frankly, I wouldn't have bet much on this type of bottling. But it works, the wine is not at all overpowering, complementing the distillate's abrasive palette of flavours. It can still be found on a few online sites at a price that was high at the time of its release, but is very reasonable today. Enthusiasts should get their hands on one, which is perhaps what I'm going to do.

Score : 88

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                            To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                            Switchblade Symphony - Clown

Tormore 2000 Connoisseurs Choice Cask Strength 22 yo c. 1252

 

 

 

59,1°

Distillery : Tormore - Speyside

1st Fill Sherry Butt

Independent Bottling 

By Gordon & McPhail

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2022

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

Tormore is an unjustly underrated distillery, as most of their production goes to supply Blends, and Long John in particular. It is therefore always interesting to taste a dram, especially this one, aged for 22 years in a single Sherry Butt, which produced 618 bottles.

Let's Taste It : 

Tasty nose, varied cereals and delicious pastries. Mille-feuilles, toasted wheat, muesli, vanilla and white fruits, it's mellow, on pastry cream, scrambled eggs, rum baba, candied cherries. Shortbread biscuits. On the palate, it's fruitier, woody, mirabelle plums, greengages, then the spices rise, rich and intense. A touch of honey and whipped cream. The finish returns to cereals full of indulgence, genoise, crunchy biscuits, a few dried fruits. Fresh figs, a touch of mustard.

In Short, 

Typical of the region, exactly what you'd expect from a Speyside of this age, and with a striking alcohol content. Without being brilliant, it's perfect in its way. Fruity, cereal-like, delicate. Enthusiasts will love it. What's more, the price is very reasonable given the current market, I'd recommend buying it.

Score : 89

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           The Etc Band - Just the Two of Us