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Bunnahabhain 1979 28yo
Single Malts of Scotland
Islay Single Malt Whisky
46% abv
£80
The northernmost distillery on Islay (map), Bunnahabhain is also arguably the least well known. That is not to say it doesn't deserve to be better known but rather that the distillery has for generations been a quiet workhouse for some of the greatest blended whiskies in the world while consistently producing a well-loved 12yo without the backing of million-dolalr marketing campaigns or promotional pushes.
Hey, BUNNAHABHAIN is pronounced BOONAHAWVIN
For more distillery information and to see all Bunnahabhains had on the mission, click HERE.
TASTING NOTES:
Butter and bread, celery and butterscotch. Damp cloths, maybe even sweaty socks.
Luscious old American oak influences that absolutely hit the spot. Creamy, sweet and savoury, croissants, almonds, and red grapefruit. Hot finish with more of the Italian sugared almond Ending on wood, like resiny pine.
SUMMARY:
A whisky that exists in two clear dimensions, or at least across two extremes: the sweet and the sour. And all the more fun for it as not a single note is "off", although most are "odd". Great discussion dram to share with friends. And the speed at which it seems to have sold out is a testament to its quality.
Malt Mission #336Malt Mission #338 Malt Mission #339
Malt Mission #340
Malt Mission HOME
Highland Park 23yo (1984)
SMWS 4.128
"Bruised pears on a ground sheet"
Single Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky
52.1% abv
£83
Another "week" here on the mission. Even though I am no longer able to keep posting at a Monday-Friday daily rate, I still enjoy bundling them in groups of five by theme as I have done since the beginning of this mission; sort of mini tastings or flights that help me arrage the order here on the mission.
Now begins a week of independent bottlings.
Although the SMWS website indicates that this is from the region of Campbeltown, I assure you that Highland Park is in the Orkney islands. But that it is only error on an otherwise beautiful revamped website. The re-branding of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society began just before I became their Ambassador in 2007 and they seem to have done an outstanding job recreating the look of the SMWS with new bottles, new fonts, new website and images. Of course, one whisky nerd's opinion is not enough (sorry, brothers and sisters) and only they know if it has been a successful investment of creativity, time, and of course, money.
For all Highland Parks had on the Malt Mission click HERE. TASTING NOTES:
Musty and humid, earthy and fruity like apples on the orchard floor. A very perfumy peat, floral and musky.
Begins sweet like some kind of syrup or sweet fruit vinegar reduction. Candied plums and extinguished candles. Turns smoky, or more like exhaust from a generator at a fair. Ends juicy and nutty leaving a real desire for me to have another sip.
SUMMARY:
Even at 52% abv this dram demanded no water before allowing me to fully inhale its aromas. It was also completely palatable at full strength. With a wonderful spread of flavours from cold musty cellars to humid days at the sea balanced with fruit and flowers this initially nosed like an aged blend. To taste, however, showed an utterly unique style of peatiness only available at one distillery, the one the Emperor of Russia and the King of Denmark in 1883 "pronounced it to be the finest they had ever tasted."
Malt Mission #335
Malt Mission #337Malt Mission #338 Malt Mission #339
Malt Mission #340
Malt Mission HOME
Crazy Glen 1976
Highland (Blended) Malt Scotch Whisky
43% abv
$¢£ PRICE UNKNOWN
The bottle has a fantastic image of a wild-eyed horse and proudly states "Over 5 Years Old". Ah, what a surefire promise of quality.
Crazy Glen was featured in our crazy whisky bar at our crazy Canadian Norwegian Jewish Scottish Burns Night Wedding in London last month and was one of the few bottles completely drained (and, from what I understand, dumped into a trashcan in Hyde Park) by the end of the night. There can be no better whisky review than that, really. Nonetheless...
TASTING NOTES:
Waxy and full of apricot sweetness, and some leather. Clementines and shortbread, vanilla, apples, and still some leathery element. Shockingly complex and very pleasant.
Big wave of vanilla and lemons, buttery oak and a touch of smoke. Finish offers the first hints that the bottle might have been sitting around for over nearly 30 years with plastic or a dusty wrapping-paper drawer smell. Still, very full-flavoured and satisfying.
SUMMARY:
Overall, a crazy surprise that I am only too glad I managed to win at www.whiskyauction.com almost two years ago. An old-school, highland style whisky rarely found these days, especially at such a ripe young age. Perhaps whisky DOES mature in the bottle as a recent article in Malt Advocate First Quarter 2009 suggests...
Malt Mission #331
Malt Mission #332
Malt Mission #333
Malt Mission #334
Malt Mission HOME
Perhaps a bit late for me to call this an "announcement," but Kevin Erskine has announced the reader-nominated candidates in the 2008 Drammies.
Go have a look and vote!
Last year Dr. Whisky himself was voted BY YOU as the Best New Product (non-whisky) and this year the contenders include Richard Paterson's Goodness Nose, the blog of whisky lovers I left back in London, and my absolutely favourite resource (in ANY given year), The Malt Whisky Yearbook 2009.
Other categories of note are the Best Packaging/Marketing Campaign (which remain very distinct categories in my mind, but even King Erskine cannot be perfect) which include both the monolithic Glenmorangie Signet from the mind of Dr. Bill Lumsden (the man largely responsible for his company's nomination in the Distiller of the Year category) and the scientifictional Elements of Islay from the clever bastards at Speciality Drinks.
Finally, one of my favourite categories in the Drammies, The Bang for Buck award has five nominations including the £50/$80 (bang for buck?) Highland Park 18yo, a longtime personal favourite budget tipple Black Bottle, and finally the everyman dram designed by David Stewart, The Balvenie Signature (Malt Mission #297).
Voting ends March 6, 2009
The Balvenie Rose 16yo
Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
53.4% abv
£100
I will follow on the Valentine's theme with a back-to-back post (a year after our friends at Whisky Grotto) partly to make up for the lack of activity on Dr. Whisky as of late, partly cuz the romantic back story suits the theme of the day, but also to get through the backlog of tasting notes I have from treats I have tasted.
The Balvenie Castle sits on a hill above the two distilleries William Grant built in the 19th century, Glenfiddich and The Balvenie. The Balvenie Rose takes its name from a 15th century story that surrounds one of the castle's most storied inhabitants, the Fair Maid of Galloway, Margaret Douglas.
Famously beautiful, Margaret married the Eighth Earl of Douglas, a man eventually thrown out a window to his death. She later wed his brother, the last of the Black Douglas line, who continued his family's rebellion against King James II and eventually found himself defeated, his title, estate, and hot wife taken from him. Margaret had no problem finding someone else to love her in the First Earl of Atholl (John Stewart). And so taken with her beauty was the King that he reinstated her in Balvenie Castle for the annual rent of one red rose.
The Balvenie Rose is much coveted by whisky lovers and was only available at the distillery in very limited amounts: it was selected from four casks from 1991 and finished in port pipes, giving it a rosey pink hue. The whisky has not been coloured, chill-filtered, and was released at cask strength.
For all Balvenie had on the mission, click HERE.
TASTING NOTES:
Strong and sweet, a touch of earth and a busy array of fruits and flowers. A touch of water complicates matters by adding sour notes, fruits like plums and cranberries, and unleashing a spice of caraway seeds and a dairy element like milk.
Berries and bubblegum, spice and oak, hot and excited at bottle strength. Water unravels the tight array of spice revealing grassy elements, corn syrup and winey oak. Patience (and water) allow this puppy to show what it's made of.
SUMMARY:
An unusual Balvenie that surprises most with whom I have shared it. But what it lacks in the characteristic Balvenie-honeyed flavours it makes up for with suprises of fruit and smoke and a kick-ass abv%. Beautiful packaging, in my mind, and a real treat for the scotch hunter, malt advocate, malt maniac, or for those of us on continuing malt missions. Another modest marvel from the modest marvel of the industry himself, The Balvenie Malt Master David Stewart.
Malt Mission #331
Malt Mission #332
Malt Mission #333
Malt Mission #335
Malt Mission HOME
Ballantine's 17yo
Blended Scotch Whisky
43% abv
£45
$100 (USD)
Happy Ballantine's Day!
Have received some very sweet emails of encouragement in Dr. Whisky's absence (hasn't been a post here since Jan 19!), so I thank you all. I promise to try some interesting drops in the coming days and share them with you and hope it makes up for my lack of consistent posting.
So I come back with a bottle poured at our wedding whisky bar, a blend from a company that has re-focused their approach to market in the wake of diminishing sales in recent years. I have posted in the past about how much I enjoy this family of blends and wish them the best of luck in the complicated blended whisky market that single malt nerdom and a splash of economic downturn has created. Since the late fifties when this whisky was #1 in the USA, Ballantine's has slipped position and focused more in Europe and the Far East. It has always been held in high regard by the Dr., especially at mature ages.
For all Ballantine's had on the mission, click HERE.
TASTING NOTES:
Fresh and appetising. Red plums and apples, vanilla and white wine. Chestnuts over a mineral note, salt and a touch of soot.
Starts with a gentle puff of smoke followed by a rich and creamy mid-palate with raspberries and vanilla yogurt. Spices emerge and each sip becomes a wondefully well-integrated mouthful of whisky happiness. Really hitting the spot for me today.
SUMMARY:
With a touch of alcohol prickle in the nose, time in the glass or a generous cut of water really opens this puppy up where a fresh fruitiness intermingles with earthy coastal elements. The palate only delivers more of the latter in the lead with a creamy baked fruit complexity making this blend so enjoyable. Cinnamon and burnt sugar add a dessert element that gives final evidence of the quality of blending at the world's #3 blending house.
Malt Mission #331
Malt Mission #332
Malt Mission #334
Malt Mission #335
Malt Mission HOME
Bunnahabhain 1979 28yo
