Don't stare too hard, it's out of focus. Or my bifocals aren't working. |
Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 83 (diluted only)
Don't stare too hard, it's out of focus. Or my bifocals aren't working. |
NEAT
The nose starts off with wet concrete, mossy peat, cocoa powder, and cheap plastic toys, which sounds like the beginning of a sad childhood tale. It brightens up later with notes of dates, honey, and honeydew. The palate reads peatier than the usual Ardmore, bold and punchy, bitter and peppery. Some grapefruit pith here, chlorophyl there, a dab of vanilla in between. It finishes smoky and tangy, growing both sweeter and bitterer with time.
DILUTED to ~46%abv, or 1¼ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
Adding water brings out the sunlight here. Now the nose is full of florals, confectioner's sugar, cinnamon, and dates, with hints of metallic smoke and shredded wheat. The milder palate remains peaty, but also has become sweeter, as the nose's shredded wheat gets frosted. It finishes with gently sweet citrus smoke.
WORDS WORDS WORDS
Solid, though unremarkable, this 18yo is a more of a winter warmer than the usual Ardmore at its age. I wouldn't have been able to pick this one out as an Ardmore had I tasted it blindly. That's not a bad thing, as long as the whisky is good. As noted above, dilution does soften it up, but I think I enjoy this one heavier. Thank you to Adelphi for not suffocating this spirit with a soaked sherry hoggie. As a result there's some actual whisky in this whisky.
Availability - Sold out
Pricing - was £180 in 2020
Rating - 85
I'm ending 2024 with a happy whisky story since much of the world, online and off, can be particularly joyless right now.
OHLQ, the state of Ohio's liquor control agency, decided to take the leap into single cask scotch whisky in 2022. They've been bringing in hoards of American whiskey single barrels, but never anything from the Scot Land. Then, with little hubbub, single sherry casks of Blair Athol, Craigellachie, and Tamdhu from Distiller's Art (a branch of Langside Distillers, which itself is a limb Douglas Laing & Co., a successful independent bottler of Scotch whisky) materialized on the shelves. Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, the bottle prices were prohibitive to the point that even those of us who've been begging Ohio to get in the game weren't buying the stuff.
But, like other state-run liquor agencies, OHLQ often offers clearance prices on products when it's time to empty the shelves to make room for other inventory. So we all waited. And waited. And waited. And then this fall, Last Call happened. Prices for these whiskies dropped below $100. The Doctors Springbank and I chose to split a bottle of the Tamdhu cask. I picked it up at the shop, brought it to the Doctors' house, and we each poured ourselves a glass.
I've spoken previously about the magical It Factor, "the eternally mysterious, inexplicable, undefinable "YES" quality." After the first sip, we all looked at it each. The Tamdhu had It. So much so, that this cheapskate immediately said he'd buy another bottle. The Doctors, NOT cheapskates, agreed to do the same. We drove directly to the liquor store upon finishing that first glass, and each bought our own bottles.
It was a discovery! A whisky deal for a whisky gem. The global whisky marketplace seemed to have banned the possibility for the forseeable future, and I lived in the middle of American whiskey country. This should have been the last place in the First World (outside of certain Orthodox religious areas) for the this old magic to occur. And yet, it happened. I hadn't had this feeling for nearly a decade, and here I was sharing it with friends.
I'm happy to report, several months later, the whisky still works.
Distillery: TamdhuNEAT
One immediately notices that there's a lot going on in the nose. It's very nutty and briny, with some dunnage funk, and a hint of toasted seaweed. Fresh cherries, dried raspberries, and a whiff of dark chocolate linger beneath. The palate is tangy, tart, and nutty, with equal hints of sweet and savory. There are walnuts, Brazil nuts, oranges, grapefruits, and Luxardo cherries over a base of nutmeg and cloves. It's neither hot, nor tannic. Gently (yes at 61.8%abv) sweet and tart, the finish dishes out dried apricots, dried blueberries, and nutmeg.
DILUTED to 46%abv, or 2 tsp of water per 30mL whisky
The nose has soften prettily, revealing orange blossoms, orange creamsicles, lime candy, marzipan, and ocean breezes. The palate is savorier and saltier, less sweet. Actual oloroso, Manuka honey, brightly tart limes, and some almost-peat phenolics. It finishes with lemons, limes, honey, walnuts, and almonds.
WORDS WORDS WORDS
If you chose to skip the above novel, I'll summarize it here. This Tamdhu is excellent. It is complex, it is delicious, it is honed yet a little dirty. It reaches back into my whisky past and reminds me of what I like about sherry cask whisky. It has It, and really I can't ask for more. I'll see you next year.
Availability - Sold out
Pricing - dropped from $164 to $98
Rating - 90
After reviewing two old fashioned, diluted Scapas, I am now going to dig into a new fashioned very high-ABV Scapa. Part of Pernod's long-running Distillery Reserve Collection (of which I still have never acquired a bottle), this nearly coffee-colored whiskey appears to be a sherried beast, though hopefully there will be some complexity to it. I advance with pipette in hand...
The nose starts well, with Cherry Coke, shoe polish, and marzipan. 15 minutes in, dried cherries and mulled wine appear, followed by beef stock and baklava, thirty minutes later. The palate is So. Damned. Hot. It tastes of grapes, anise, lime juice, and burning. Took a while to find the finish, thanks to my numbed tongue. But I eventually found oloroso and tart citrus.
Water please...
DILUTED to ~50%abv, or 1½ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
On the nose there are grapes and cherries, juices and jams, and a dose of Chambord. The palate feels thicker and is more approachable. It's very sweet, with Luxardo cherry syrup, oak spice, and oranges. It finishes tangy, tannic, and sweet.
More...
DILUTED to ~46%abv, or 2¼ total tsp of water per 30mL whisky at bottling strength
The nose shows cinnamon, cocoa powder, and toffee up top, almonds and brine underneath. The palate's becalmed sweetness makes way for more nuts, salt, and tartness. Ginger and in-season cherries also appear. That ginger+cherry note mixes with PX in the finish.
WORDS WORDS WORDS
Firstly, this isn't my preferred whisky style. Featureless spirit smothered by an aggressive cask, and bottled at an unpalatable strength, doesn't do it for me, but the style has been very prevalent on the market for several years now. So, people like it. You may like it, if you is people.
After my first sip of this stuff, I brought over another high-powered sherried beast that I actually like, and because its palate was very nuanced (and tasty), it whupped this Scapa. And I think I'll review that whisky next.
As for this Scapa, the nose registers well at all strengths. Water does rescue the palate, and further dilution may improve it more. But at no point does it set itself apart from hundreds (or thousands) of other distilleries casks bottled in the 2020s. Approach at your own risk.
Availability - Sold out?
Pricing - £90
Rating - 83 (with water)
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