Old Perth 21 year old 1996 Blended Malt (55.1%abv)

I first saw Old Perth whisky at Shinanoya in Tokyo last summer. There were a half dozen bottlings, all blended malts, most hitting 46%abv, others cask strength. None had an age statement. I'd never heard of Old Perth before, and thought they might be a brand produced specifically for the Asian market.

Then I came back to the states to find European retailers selling Old Perth, many of which had age statements and vintages. And according to Morrison and Mackay, the brand owners, that brand has been kicking since 2013. So I'm behind on this, like most current whisky news.

I'd read heresay that one of the 21 year old sherry cask Perths was mostly Glen Grant with a little bit of peaty Islay malt. But it was unclear which release that pertained to. There were 55.1%abv, 55.2%abv and 55.4%abv 21yo releases, as well as a 55.4%abv 20yo release.

As some of you may know, I do NOT like buying whisky blindly. But I wanted something that was twenty years old, deeply sherried, cask strength and under $100. Hah! Good luck, right? But the 55.1%abv 21yo Old Perth fit the bill.

Company: Morrison and Mackay
Brand: Old Perth

Type: Blended (or Vatted) Malt

Distilleries: Scottish, and that's all I know

Age: 21 years (1996-2017)
Maturation: a single sherry something
Outturn: 335
Alcohol by Volume: 55.1%
Chillfiltered? No
Color added? No

NEAT
This thing has the one of the darkest colors of any whisky I've owned. What will that mean for the rest of it? Unexpectedly, the nose leads with honey, green apples, cantaloupe and orange oil. Then comes toffee, Hershey's milk chocolate and a moderate bit of toasted oak. Salty almonds in caramel. It gets a tiny bit woodier with time, while picking up hints of both vanilla and ground mustard seed. The INTENSE palate starts off with ginger, lemon candy and wood smoke. But its spiciness takes the fore throughout. There's black pepper, lemon pepper, cloves and something savory. In the mid- to background, there are limes, tropical fruit juice and Cherry Coke. No generic raisins or prunes. Plenty of spiciness (cloves and dried ginger) carries through the long, warm finish; as does the non-specific tropical fruit stuff. A few wisps of the wood smoke too.

Hoo, that's a big drink. Time to water it down.

DILUTED TO 46%ABV, or 1.25tsp water per 30mL whisky
The nose keeps much of its intensity, but shifts focus. There are dried apricots, lemons, vanilla and the same measure of toasted oak. Now there's cocoa powder, musty basement and a salty seaweedy note. The palate calms and simplifies. Less smoke. A mild fruity sweetness. More tangy citrus. Bitter chocolate, ginger, limes and a whack of chili oil. It finishes smoky, tangy and a little sweet. Ginger and pepper. Lots of limes.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
No, you're not imagining things. All three of my reviews this week were of my own bottles. I don't think I've ever done that, and probably never will again due to how many months it takes me to drink through a single bottle. But wow! Okay, moving on.

Can't tell if this was the batch that was Glen Grant + Islay. The smoke/peat comes across more Highland or Island, but that could just be the mix. Other than the arrival of a seaweed note in the diluted version, the phenolics read more like wisps of wood smoke more than anything else.

I like the lack of raisins and prunes. Not that those particular dried fruits are a problem, but they can be over-prevalent in the bottlings of many popular official sherried whiskies. The cask shows its activity in other ways, specifically with all those spices. But there's no sawdust, no woody bitterness and vanilla levels stay low.

No complaints about the nose, at all. The is palate is quite good, but had it had a bigger fruit nose to lift it out of the darkness, then it'd be looking at a 90+ (or A or 4-star) grade. As it stands it's a dark, intense thing, more suitable for colder weather than the summer. The 20+ year old cask strength sherry options are nearly nil at this price point, so I'm pretty happy with my purchase.

Availability - Europe
Pricing - Still kinda possible to put it in a good-sized order and keep its per-bottle price near or below $100
Rating - 87

Knappogue Castle 12 year old Irish Single Malt, Single Barrel for The Party Source

I used to say that Knappogue Castle (KC) was the only Cooley single malt that I consistently enjoyed. And then I discovered that Knappogue Castle is often sourced from Bushmills. Like today's whisky.

Knappogue Castle has been producing exclusive single barrels for US retailers over the past couple of years. They're 12 years old, 46%abv, non-chillfiltered, and about $35-$40/bottle. That's a combo one doesn't see much anymore. I bought this bottle at The Party Source last year, then I went back a picked up another this year, which tells you what I think of the stuff. TPS had them on sale for $33.99 both times. They're sold out now, but I hope this inspires another single barrel to roll through TPS's door sometime soon.

It performed just as well on the rocks as it did as a hot whiskey. In both forms, its fruity elements came to the fore. Time to type up some actual tasting notes of the whiskey at room temperature.

Brand: Knappogue County
Distillery: Old Bushmills Distillery
Location: County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Type: Single Malt
Distillations: Three
Age: minimum 12 years
Maturation: first-fill bourbon barrel
Bottle: 77 of 216
Alcohol by Volume: 46%
Chillfiltered? No
Colorant added? Maybe

NEAT
The nose leads with anise and grass. Then the clementines come rolling in. Lime juice, vanilla extract, lemongrass and a touch o' malt. In the palate I find peach ice cream, lemons and tart limes. Toasted sunflower seeds and zippy jalapeños. The long finish balances peaches, lemons and limes with tomatillo-like pepper sauce.

DILUTED TO 40%abv, or <1 tsp water per 30mL whiskey
More grain and vanilla in the nose. Lemons and nectarines. A late note of paprika! The palate picks up some fudge and ginger notes. The pepper note is subtler. Tart lemons and yellow nectarines. The finish is noticeably shorter, but it holds onto the ginger and nectarines, which makes for a pleasant combo.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Whew, after two disappointing Lowland single malt scotches in a row, it's nice to review a good drinker from right across the North Channel. This is an example of a first-fill bourbon barrel single malt that isn't all vanilla, caramel and lumber. See, it can be done!

The fruit element makes this a pleasure in warmer months. And colder months. As I mentioned above, it's a drinker not a thinker. Midleton's single pot still whiskies are more complex. But this single barrel is a very friendly thing, and carries a high quality-to-price ratio.

Availability - was exclusive to The Party Source, sold out now
Pricing - ranged from $34-$40 at TPS, other retailers' editions have similar pricing
Rating - 86

Life of a Whisky Bottle: Auchentoshan 20 year old 1991 AD Rattray

No one will remember this post. But I will never forget this whisky.

I first tried it at an OC Scotch Club event almost six(!) years ago. Its palate was unlike anything I'd tried up to that point in my life. The shock of its vegetal, sandy ugliness startled me into giving it a high rating afterwards. It was a punk whisky. The guitarist didn't even know three chords and the drummer had been snorting NoDoz so the rhythm was shit.

At the end of that post, I wrote: "It's so strange. Kind of haunting actually. I need some closure. I need a whole bottle of this stuff to sort things out."

So I promptly bought a bottle, and it sat in the dark until I opened it 18 months ago. I set aside a sample from the very first pour, mid-bottle and the bottom of the bottle. And now I'll tasted them side-by-side. Will this help me sort things out? Like, things in general. Life, the universe and everything?

Distillery: Auchentoshan
Ownership: Beam Suntory
Region: Lowlands
Bottler: AD Rattray
Age: 20 years (February 20, 1991 - September 15, 2011)
Maturation: Sherry Butt What
Cask#: 484
Outturn: 545 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 57.5%
Chillfiltered? No
Colorant added? Absolutely not

This bottle's usage:
I forgot to keep track of the percentages this time, but 0% was for casual drinking.

FIRST POUR, February 2017

NEAT:
Nose - Barley and roses. Burnt (hazel)nuts, rice vinegar, fried plantains, bark and cabbage.
Palate - Hot and burnt. Sand, bark and cabbage. Dirt and rubber. A weird artificial nut note.
Finish - Vinegar, salt, sand, ash and terrifyingly bitter.

DILUTED TO 46%abv:
Nose - Pool and beach. Chlorine and bleach. Ashy and floral (Kristen says: tar and banana). Cucumber skins. New make.
Palate - Very sweet, very bitter, very ashy. Vinegar and weird nut note.
Finish - Ash, salt and palate-ruining sweetness.

---

MID BOTTLE, November 2017

NEAT:
Nose - Bright young barley note, as if this were 8 years or younger. Vanilla, soil, raw cocoa and mint gum. Roses, ash and rice vinegar.
Palate - Hot and ashy. Intensely grassy. Urine. Soap.
Finish - Dried grass, ash, salt, urine, heat and Nutrasweet.

DILUTED TO 46%abv:
Nose - Bananas, dogs, orange blossoms soaked in white vinegar. Burnt things. Vanilla, cotton candy, sand and urine.
Palate - Burnt and ashy to the point that it feels unsafe. Weird bitterness. Simple syrup and soap.
Finish - Heat, ash, bitterness, soap and Diet Sprite.

---

BOTTOM OF THE BOTTLE, July 2018

NEAT:
Nose - Cabbage or garbage? Loch Lomond, is that you? Rotting stone fruits buried under burnt hair. Peanuts and fruity handsoap. And honeydew, because WTF.
Palate - Hot. Grass, mint, sand and vinegar. Brussels sprouts and Nutrasweet. Hint of ginger powder.
Finish - Burnt bark, burnt Brussels sprouts. Salty and grassy. Burning. Terrifyingly rancid aftertaste.

DILUTED TO 46%abv:
Nose - Loch Lomond's fermenting garbage note. Old cauliflower (aka sewage). But also fruity handsoap. Mint, lemons and vinegar.
Palate - Bitter, hot, salty and tangy. Very veggie. But also very very very sweet.
Finish - Burnt kale, ash, vinegar and Nutrasweet.

---

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Life is too short, and I just shortened it.

I thought this would be a philosophical tasting. It wasn't. The use of this cask was a crime.

There are difficult whiskies that serve as studies of the vast range of matured spirits. Then there are whiskies that are inexcusable cockups. Six years ago, I thought this was the former. It's the latter.

The only thing that kept me from punching in a lower rating was the at times approachable nose. The palate would be tragic were it not so foul. The finish will ruin your face and your evening. I'm embarrassed I ever graded this whisky positively, and I'm pissed off that I suffered through a bottle.

At least I found closure.

Availability - Mercifully, it is now unavailable
Pricing - This should not have cost money
Rating - 56

Inverleven 1991-2010 Gordon & MacPhail

Inverleven? Yeah, Inverleven. What the hell, why not. My first, and probably last, Inverleven review.

Dumbarton distillery, or the Brick Behemoth by the Beach (can I copyright this?), was assembled by Hiram Walker & Co. during wartime (1938) because soldiers need their whisky or acetate, or both simultaneously. There was a column still for Dumbarton grain whisky, a pot still for Inverleven single malt and a Lomond still for fun.

The Inverleven section of the distillery was closed in 1991, while the rest of the facility was retired in 2003. The Lomond still (pot still + rectifier plates) is now parked in Bruichladdich distillery, where it farts out gin.

Not much Inverleven whisky out there. Most of it was released by Duncan Taylor, SMWS and Gordon & MacPhail. In fact, G&M cranked out five batches of the 1991 vintage. This was the only one that was bottled above 40%. In fact this is one was a single cask, bottled for The Party Source, back when that place was truly the whisky source.

See those last two sentences there? That's what I thought I was going to be tasting. Then I did the tasting and something didn't seem right. Then I actually looked my sample label and looked at the actual bottles online, realizing that I'd tasted this 40%abv Inverleven and not this 46%abv Inverleven.

Yes, I originally spelled it "Interleven"
on the label.

Distillery: Dumbarton
Brand: Inverleven
Ownership: Chivas Regal, at time of distillation
Region: At the top of the Lowlands
Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail
Age: 18ish years (1991-2010)
Maturation: likely American oak
Alcohol by Volume: 40%
Chillfiltered? Yes
Colorant added? Probably
(Sample comes from a whisky event)

NEAT
The nose starts with black licorice, cardboard and chlorine. And that's it, for a while. Gradually, notes of nectarines and vanilla show up. Then roasted cashews and pecans. White bread. The palate begins very metallic and industrial. Then burlap, Werther's Originals and spoiled milk. The mouthfeel is very watery. Maybe the thinnest 46%abv whisky I've ever tried. [Ed. Because it's not 46%abv, you idiot.] It finishes with metal and spoiled milk. Vanilla and Werther's Originals.

DILUTED TO 40%abv, or <1tsp water per 30mL whisky
Or so I thought.
This was the actual dilution:
DILUTED TO <35%abv, or <1tsp water per 30mL whisky
Old milk, lemonade, vanilla and cardboard in the nose. Somehow the palate is thinner. [Ed. Imagine that.] Caramel and Loch Lomond-esque funk. Black pepper. Late sweetness. Very watery. The finish is sour and peppery. Notebook paper. It's slightly bitter, with an odd sweetness.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
This whisky lands right where C-grades and D-grades meet. The palate's industrial side and the nose's occasional charm pull it up a few points. But its thinness and papery notes and spoiled milk drag it down. In any case, don't add water. There's too much of Loch Lomond or Chapelton Spring in it already. At least the secondary market hasn't gotten the hots for this bottle. Yet.

Availability - Auctions
Pricing - €100ish
Rating - 71

Glenfiddich Project XX

I'm going to start with Monday's intro because I'm lazy:

...Glenfiddich has an Experimental Series. These whiskies seem to sit somewhere in the hazy territory between gimmickry and brand expansion....Unlike most gimmickry, these two whiskies have piqued my interest a tad. I believe Glenfiddich creates a solid malt whisky that could do with a little less water and a little more excitement. And by excitement, I do not mean marketing. I mean something more like their Distillery Edition and less like the Bourbon Barrel Reserve. Now, which side the Experimental Series lands on...well, we shall see....

On Monday I reviewed Glenfiddich IPA Experiment, and it was a success!

While I understand the experimental side of that whisky, I don't really see it with today's Project XX. Glenfiddich's whiskymaker Brian Kinsman describes the whisky's thesis thusly:

I wanted to create an unexpected whisky. Traditionally every malt whisky is chosen and vatted by one Malt Master to their taste, but what if there were 20 Malt Masters?

But that's not how this whisky works. Yes, he selected twenty "whisky experts" to choose his or her own preferred cask from a warehouse. But then Kinsman blends them "in the perfect ratio" of his choosing. He gets to choose the whisky's texture, nose, palate and entire character. Thus there remains only one Malt Master for this whisky.

So I'm not sold on the idea behind it. Also, it's NAS. But it has been bottled at 47%abv, and there are two sherry butts + 1 port pipe in the mix, so what the hell, I'll try it.

Brand: Glenfiddich

Ownership: William Grant & Sons

Region: Speyside (Dufftown)

Maturation: 17 ex-bourbon casks, 2 sherry butts and 1 port pipe

Age: ???

Alcohol by Volume: 47%  ← Glenfiddich goin' crazy!

Colored? Maybe

Chillfiltered? Maybe not

NEAT
The nose is a little louder and wilder than your usual Glenfiddich. There's berries, milky coffee, yeast, white peaches, gumballs and a whiff of dunnage. The palate is almost smoky. Some nice bold herbal bitterness. Raw cocoa. Cassis and dried cranberries. A hint of petite sirah? Nectarines. It finishes long and loud. Bitter cocoa, cayenne pepper, tart stone fruits, yeast and currants.

DILUTED TO 40%abv, or >1 tsp water per 30mL whisky
The nose still has the gumballs, coffee, yeast and dunnage (quite a combo). But now there's lemon, apple juice and room temperature pilsner. The palate has tart berries and citrus up front. Roasted nuts and coffee beans beneath. Orange peel and nutty brittle. The roasted note stands out most in the finish, where it's met with bitter chocolate, orange peel and lemon candy.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
While I find the logic behind the experiment suspect, I like the whisky. The fortified wine casks are present throughout. Even though they make up 15% of the casks, they probably accounted for 30-35% of the potential ingredients due to their volume. And, of course the one Malt Master blended everything as he wished, so the sherry and port elements could have played an even larger role than 35%.

The higher abv gives the whisky a burst of life when neat, and then allows for more tinkering with dilution by the drinker/customer. Do those elements go well together? In the nose, sometimes. In the palate, usually. But it's nice to have a perky Glenfiddich.

I was going to score it higher than the IPA Experiment, but then I drank them each casually, and found the IPA Experiment to be more pleasurable. The tartness and bitterness of Project XX didn't stand up as well over the hour. Still, I'd choose this over Snow Phoenix.

Availability - Most whisky specialty retailers in US and Europe
Pricing - $65-$90 (US), $50-$70 (Europe, ex-VAT)
Rating - 85

Glenfiddich IPA Experiment

As I mentioned in last Wednesday's review, Glenfiddich has an Experimental Series. These whiskies seem to sit somewhere in the hazy territory between gimmickry and brand expansion. I'm going to review two of these whiskies. One today and one on Wednesday.

Unlike most gimmickry, these two whiskies have piqued my interest a tad. I believe Glenfiddich creates a solid malt whisky that could do with a little less water and a little more excitement. And by excitement, I do not mean marketing. I mean something more like their Distillery Edition and less like the Bourbon Barrel Reserve. Now, which side the Experimental Series lands on...well, we shall see.

For the IPA Experiement, 'Fiddich's malt man Brian Kinsman worked with a Seb Jones, a Speyside craft brewer, to create an India Pale Ale which would then be used to season a slew of American oak barrels. The idea was to soak those casks so that the hoppiness would get deep into the staves. Kinsman used a freight container, which likely locked in the heat and humidity, for four weeks. These casks were then used to finish American oak barrel-matured Glenfiddich for 12 weeks.

Yes, this is a NAS release. But I'm intrigued by the interplay of whisky and beer — more so than that of whisky and wine — due to the similarity of their (metaphorical) DNA. And because I don't mind enjoying a whisky and beer side by side, from time to time.

Brand: Glenfiddich

Ownership: William Grant & Sons

Region: Speyside (Dufftown)

Maturation: Round 1: ex-bourbon barrels. Round 2: twelve weeks in IPA-season US oak

Age: ???

Alcohol by Volume: 43%

Colored? Probably

Chillfiltered? Probably

NEAT

It really does have a fizzy beer nose. A good dose of maltiness. Oatmeal and vanilla pudding. Curiously its grapefruit note reads more like Sauvignon Blanc than IPA. 1/1000th the hops of your average Charbay whiskey. With some time in the glass, the whisky releases lemon peel and roses. For the palate, take the 12yo, make it brighter and creamier. Add a gingery fizziness. Some coffee beans and oranges. And a brief whiff of hops. It's neither too sweet nor too vanilla-ed. It has a long fizzy finish as well. Black coffee bitterness. Wort. A hint of orange-y citrus.

DILUTED to 40%abv, or 1/2 tsp per 30mL whisky

The nose remains potent. Lots of grains. Almond extract, vanilla fudge and grapefruit. The palate feels thickened and malty. Fresh ginger and limes. Hints of sugar and vanilla. On the finish, it's ginger, coffee and roasted nuts.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

I like it. Maybe, I'm a sucker for beer-barrel single malt. Mackmyra Vinterrök clicked, though New Holland's beered bourbon did not. I have a bottle of Sänits's beer cask stuff awaiting an opening this year.

Anyway, back to this stuff. It has Glenfiddich's usual restraint (something missing from the Bourbon Barrel Reserve), which works well here. All those beer-ish characteristics I list in the notes are quite soft and amicable. And I think that whatever IPA elements made it into the whisky actually heighten or frame the spirit's barley notes.

I'm not going to say this changed my life, but I'll buy into this experiment, like literally, someday soon. To make a confusing comparison, it's more of a session beer than a whompin' ten-percenter. And I'm more of a session guy nowadays.

Availability - Most whisky specialty retailers in US and Europe
Pricing - $60-$80 (US), $45-$65 (Europe, ex-VAT)
Rating - 86

Killing Whisky History, Episode 14 - Three Decades of Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon

Submitted for your approval or at least your analysis: The legacy of Austin, Nichols & Company, three ways.

--Wild Turkey 8 year old 101 bourbon, bottled in 1983

--Wild Turkey Old No. 8 Brand 101 bourbon, bottled in 1996

--Wild Turkey 101 bourbon, bottled in 2010


I wish that beard well. It went bye-bye after filming. *sniff* Oh sweet beard, I will never be able to grow you again. At least not until tomorrow.