...where distraction is the main attraction.

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Westport 16 year old 2005 Single Cask Nation, cask 2112

Monday's Westport Glenmorangie was from a refill hoggie, while today's is from a 2nd fill Oloroso butt. It has quite some color to it, so either the cask was re-seasoned and/or a bit charred. But the real news here is that I am writing about a whisky that was released this year. My sincerest apologies for reviewing something that may almost be of current interest. 


Distillery
: Glenmorangie
Ownership: LVMH
Region: Northern Highlands
Bottler: Single Cask Nation
Age: 16 years (March 2005 - May 2021)
Maturation: second-fill Oloroso butt
Cask #: 2112
Outturn: 577 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 50.6%
(from a bottle split)

NOTES

In its first burst the nose shows oats and bulgur, as well as plum wine and strawberry bubblegum. It gradually settles into a nice combination of toasted barley, orange peel and cassis. Once the whisky is reduced to 43%abv, there's a good middle ground of toasted grains and toasted oak, then nutty sherry and canned peaches. Very pretty.

The palate starts with citrus and malt, and some raw nuts in the background. It adds almond cookies and lime candy without ever getting too sweet. A little bit of toasted oak and cayenne in there as well. Things go the wrong direction once diluted to 43%abv, as sugar and bitter oak take over. Keep it neat.

It finishes with oranges, limes, cayenne and a dab of honey. See the palate note regarding the 43%abv level.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

I really enjoyed this one. It's not very complex, but it's a great drinker at full strength, big and friendly with just enough oak, never getting boring. It almost reads like a muscular version of the very good official 18yo. It's 50% more expensive than the 18, which is understandable since this is a single cask, but I'm still in no mood to dish out $150+ for a 16 year old whisky. If that is no problem for you, you can do a lot worse at this price.

Availability - The States
Pricing - $150 - $175
Rating - 87 (neat only)