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| Hello, that is considered one of our (virtually) every day tastings. Santé! |
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January 29, 2025
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Whiskyfun’s blended baggage
Just a little bag of blended malts
A little bit of every little thing, we can also come upon secret single malts making an attempt to play hide-and-seek with us.
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Monkey Shoulder ‘Batch 27’ (40%, OB, William Grant & Sons, blended malt, +/-2024) 
This one is loved now and again, being a vital malt in France, a vatting of Glenfiddich, Balvenie, and Kininvie. Since its introduction in 2005, it has all the time been Batch 27—certainly the most important vatting tank on the earth! Jokes apart, I used to choose earlier variations, however issues can all the time evolve. Color: gold. Nostril: nicely, it’s pretty, ever so barely cardboardy, but in addition on shortbread, acacia honey, ripe mirabelles, and cinnamon cake. Actually, I actually like this nostril… Maybe they’ve elevated the Balvenie proportion? Mouth: sure, it’s good, not as mild as you would possibly anticipate, with flavours near the nostril, plus a contact of orange. It solely loses momentum after about thirty seconds—that’s the 40% for you. End: very brief, certainly, and that’s its important flaw. A return of cardboard. Feedback: a disgrace, I felt it was heading past 80 factors.
SGP:441 – 79 factors. |
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Since we had been speaking about France…
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Speyside Blended Malt 12 yo ‘Famille Dupont’ (52.7%, Mossburn, Cask Collaboration Sequence, calvados end, 2024) 
This intriguing child was completed in ex-calvados Pays d’Auge and ex-pommeau casks. Famille Dupont, famend calvados makers in Normandy, additionally produce pommeau—a sort of pineau or ratafia, basically apple juice fortified with calvados. Color: mild gold. Nostril: it’s not simple to detect the calvados in an apparent means, which is for the higher, as many aromas from calvados (together with apple, naturally) are additionally generally present in malt whiskies. This ends in a really coherent nostril, which I discover pretty, spherical, and well-balanced, with very mild muscat-like touches that will stem from the… pommeau. With water: very delicate earthy touches, that are pleasant. Mouth (neat): apple and even cider are much more obvious on the palate, with a barely fizzy character and hints of lemon. This makes the malt very refreshing—it may work fantastically with desserts. Mild liquorice and inexperienced pepper. With water: extra honey, heather, and linden blossom. It’s superb. End: quite lengthy, smooth but strong, and really enticing. Feedback: basically a ending that doesn’t really feel like a ending—proper up my alley. And I like apples. However beware, it goes down all too simply—you’ve been warned.
SGP:641 – 86 factors.
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The Dangerous Na H-Achlaise (46%, Badachro Distillery, Tuscan oak, +/-2024) 
A reputation even more durable to pronounce than Allt-A-Bhainne or Bruichladdich—fairly the achievement! However oops, this can be a single malt sourced elsewhere. My unhealthy, as Badachro seems to solely make gin and vodka. They’re positioned on the mainland, simply reverse the northern tip of Skye. We had beforehand tried a cask-strength Dangerous Na H-Achlaise, which was glorious. Color: gold. Nostril: oh, that is pretty! A medicinal smokiness, however not within the Islay fashion—maybe Ledaig? —with oysters, tarred ropes, resinous wooden ashes, cherries, oil paint, and recent tar… all very charming. Mouth: glorious recent peat, as soon as once more with a contact of cherry (maybe from the Tuscan oak?) and a great deal of maritime notes, together with hints of a neighbouring ship’s maintain. End: lengthy, extra lemony, completely ashy, and peaty. Feedback: the one subject goes to a whisky store, not talking Gaelic, and asking, ‘Have you ever acquired some Badnahashlez, by any probability?’… In the event that they don’t throw us out, we’re in luck. An excellent bottle.
SGP:564 – 88 factors. |
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Ben & Sherry 6 yo (57.1%, Watt Whisky, blended malt, butt, 282 bottles)
This hippy whisky combines fifty % Benrinnes and fifty % Glasgow Dist. Let’s attempt to keep away from overly frosty commentary. Color: Nostril: an uncommon begin, fairly fermentary, with notes of cooked greens, courgettes, and even Brussels sprouts. Then comes saltpetre, soot, cherry stalks (in natural tea), and roasted aubergines. It’s very polarising, as they are saying. With water: nonetheless these cooked greens, however now joined by honey and barely “advanced” dried figs. Mouth (neat): extra sherry-driven, however spicy and virtually fizzy. Suppose chilli-infused Schweppes, kirsch straight off the nonetheless, pink grapefruits, and braised cabbage. With water: it settles down, revealing walnuts, baked apples, marmalade, tobacco, honey, and candy peppers. End: comparable, and it lingers for a superb whereas, with a peppery aftertaste. Feedback: don’t be fooled—my notes could seem odd, however this little UFO is quite charming, taking you on a journey from Brussels sprouts to meadow honey. Nearly a thriller.
SGP:571 – 86 factors. |
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Crimson Casks (46%, Compass Field, blended malt, 2024) 
Sherry butts (yay) but in addition crimson wine casks (ouch). You would possibly say that in the event that they added Clynelish, as traditional, issues would work out. Let’s simply hope the proportion of “crimson wine” (what sort of wine?) stays modest. There are additionally tales of kings within the story—maybe a secret nod to Robert Fripp? You already know, King Crimson and all that. Color: reddish amber. There’s positively crimson wine right here. Nostril: nicely, I quite like this! As anticipated from Compass Field, it’s well-balanced, although there are many peonies, black cherries, tomato leaves, roasted peppers, raspberry ganache, and heaps of milk chocolate. Mouth: it’s extra of a combination on the palate, a “delicacies whisky” as some would possibly say. Darkish chocolate, morello cherries, crimson peppers, dates, prunes, marmalade, raisins, and hints of ginger… It’s remarkably structured, virtually like molecular delicacies. End: lengthy, jammy, and spicy, with a sure Turkish delight vibe. Candied orange zest lingers within the aftertaste. Feedback: it’s actually amusing, however please, Adrià and Veyrat, keep out of my glass!
SGP:551 – 82 factors. |
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Blended Malt 23 yo 2001/2024 (45.1%, Decadent Drams, Decadent Drinks)
Watch this one, it’s been completed for a yr in an ex-Ardbeg cask, which feels fairly decadent certainly. However right here we’re… Color: amber. Nostril: it appears the Ardbeg cask had been completely emptied—or rinsed—or steamed… Or maybe not? You do catch distant hints of burnt tyres (was there an F1 GP close by?) and a faint whiff of medicinal tincture, however that’s about it. Oh wait, a bit of menthol emerges too, together with maybe three or 4 whelks, a way of outdated dunnage warehouse, and a hint of dried kelp on the seaside. Proper then, this would possibly simply be the best technique to create a ‘lighter’ Ardbeg. A surprising nostril, really, so delicate and finely chiselled. However as we’ve mentioned earlier than, Ardbeg leaves its mark even at homeopathic doses, doesn’t it? Mouth: zut alors, that is improbable stuff! A faint Schorle-like vibe, with strawberry lemonade and chilli, but in addition a charmingly saline fruitiness. Blood oranges, pecans, and a barely earthy, soiled (slaggy) contact—certainly the Ardbeg’s doing. End: lengthy, with quinine and orange. Feedback: one easy query—can they make this in-cask blended malt precisely like this once more?
SGP:562 – 88 factors. |
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It’s time to cease; let’s have an outdated one as a digestif.
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Glen Avon 30 yo (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, Avonside, +/-1990)
Whoops, one other single malt in disguise. It’s price noting that nobody at G&M has ever admitted what Glen Avon actually was, not even below torture (even after being tied up and compelled to hearken to Mariah Carey’s complete discography). Predominant candidates, M. and GF. That mentioned, the vintages of Glen Avon that had been out there kind of coincided with these of Macallan, which had been additionally bottled by G&M. Nonetheless, it’s not set in stone that each one Glen Avons got here from the identical distillery… Identical goes for the Glen Gordons. Anyway, let’s merely style this child with none additional ado. Color: gold. Nostril: there’s this smokiness we by no means present in GF, however which was frequent in M. It’s additionally much less fruity than the GFs of the time. However, there are very good notes of shoe polish and tobacco. Roasted nuts of every kind full the profile fantastically. Mouth: it’s only a tiny bit drained, having develop into barely dry, pretty liquorice-y, mentholated, and meaty (bone broth), however the smokiness stays, and people roasted nuts are nonetheless doing their job within the background. All in all, it’s nonetheless magnificent, only a bit fragile and light-weight. End: brief to medium in size, with a contact of plasticine and a faint salty edge. There’s a touch of sorrel soup within the aftertaste, nevertheless it’s very elegant. Oh, and a bit of piece of grilled bacon. Feedback: it’s a bit like a classic sports activities automobile—you simply must deal with it gently. This resembles M. an excellent deal, however then once more, the river Avon flows into the river Spey proper subsequent to Ballindalloch, the house of GF. M. is far additional away, on the Spey. Proper, sufficient taking part in Sherlock Holmes…
SGP:452 – 89 factors. |
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