I'm realizing now that at least 10 out of 16 of the whiskies in this Teaninich cluster are from ex-bourbon hogsheads, many of which are refills. That means more spirit-driven whisky, a good thing! But I hope the tastings don't get boring. Discovering a distillery's spirit character may be fun, but variety is the spice of whisky. Yeah, it's late over here.
Today's Teaninich comes from a hoggie, but its sparring partner, Friday's whisky, is not! Could this pairing offer some perspective???
Ownership: Diageo
Region: Northern-ish Highlands
Region: Northern-ish Highlands
Independent Bottler: Elixir Drinks
Series: Single Malts of Scotland
Series: Single Malts of Scotland
Age: 12 years old (9 October 2008 - 17 December 2020)
Maturation: Hogshead
Cask #: 715786
Cask #: 715786
Outturn: 296 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 57.7%
(from a bottle split)
NEAT
The nose is very grainy, as in toasted cereals, but also grain whisky with a dose of rye spirit too. Anise, cherry lollipops, mint extract, and citronella linger behind. It gets VERY floral as it opens, becoming all potpourri after 20 minutes. Raging with raw heat and aggressive sweetness, the palate needs a lot of time to open up, even the notes are parked in the background: cherry lollies, bitter carob, cassia, and white nectarine. It finishes hot and sweet as well, with cassia and cayenne pepper nipping here and there.
DILUTED to 46%abv, or 1½ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
Water subdues much of the nose's graininess, but doesn't mask the potpourri, which almost masks some potentially nice notes of apple butter, tinned peaches, and brine. The palate gets weirder. There's something thin and grainy about it now. It has a dosed rum sweetness and rooty bitterness. Some tangy citrus and fresh cherries appear around the edges. It finishes dissonantly bitter, metallic, and sweet.
WORDS WORDS WORDS
Had I tried it blindly, I could have been convinced that this was a single grain aged in a rye cask. It's odd and, frequently, not in a fun way. Though I'm not always a fan of secondary maturations, this 12yo could have used a rebooting in a different cask type, or maybe just a different cask. Clearly, not all spirit-forward pours are life affirming. Perspective!
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