Bunnahabhain 12 year old 2007 van Wees The Ultimate, cask 592

Here's the second Big Bunna Butt this week. At 58.1%abv, this Bunnahabhain is hot stuff compared to most single malts, but a pipsqueak compared to Monday's creature. Because The Ultimate is a pretty reliable range and the bottle's price was right, I almost bought this whisky blindly in 2020. As usual, I passed up the opportunity. Luckily I was able to get in on a bottle split last year. Time to see what I missed out on.

source

Distillery: Bunnahabhain

Owner: Distell Group Limited
Region: Islay

Independent Bottler: van Wees
Series: The Ultimate
Age: 12 years (13 Feb 2007 - 9 Jan 2020)
Maturation: 1st fill sherry butt
Cask #: 592

Outturn: 595 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 58.1%

(from a bottle split)

NEAT

Wow, mango on the nose! Mangoes, apples, and flowers. Milk chocolate in the midground; eucalyptus, ocean air, and pine in the background. Chocolate forms the palate's nucleus, everything else floats around it: tart oranges, dried cherries, dried cranberries, and a soft sweetness. It finishes with darker chocolate, caramel sauce, pine, and dried mango.

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or 1½ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

The nose's mango survives, though the milk chocolate pushes forward, as does an oceany brine. Mint, lemon, and smoke fill the background. Guava, limes, honey, and salt in the palate, and I can't complain. The lime note expands with time, as roasted almonds appear. There's a nice balance of tart, sweet, and salt in the finish.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

I missed out on a great one here. True, there's a lot of cask influence present, but that mango, tho. And that guava, tho. Curiously, the diluted whisky reads hotter than the full strength version on my palate, so maybe I'm totally delusional and the tropical fruits were a hallucination. If so, that's okay, it was a happy trip. If you've opened your bottle of this Bunnahabhain, please share your experience in the comments.

Availability - Might still be available in Europe
Pricing - around €90?
Rating - 89

Bunnahabhain 11 year old 2009 Signatory, cask 900087 (68%abv!)

After punishing my system last week with Jack Daniel's rocket fuel, I'm going to try three Big Bunna Butts this week, starting with the beast of them all, cask 900087, which weighs in at 68%abv.

Yes, sixty-eight. And it has at least eight sibling casks with slightly higher ABVs. Either the spirit from this parcel went into the cask not at the standard 63.5%abv Bunnahabhain filling strength, but at the distillery's 69%abv new make strength, or Signatory's warehouses have an ultra hot spot. If this isn't the highest ABV scotch whisky I've ever had, then it should be.

'Twas nice knowing all of you.

Distillery: Bunnahabhain
Region: Islay

Independent Bottler: Signatory

Age: 11 years (17 March 2009 - 12 November 2020)

Maturation: 1st fill sherry butt
Cask number: 900087
Outturn: 597 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 68.0%abv
(Sample from a buddy. Thank you, Secret Agent Man!)

NEAT

There's no burning of my nose, about which I am grateful. Dark chocolate, raisins, and ocean brine fill the middle, while walnuts, lox, and stones highlight around the edges. The palate is also very approachable, with very vibrant (albeit mostly cask-driven) flavors: dark chocolate and tart cranberries mixed in blackberry and currant jams, a fresh ginger zing, and a hint of minerals in the background. The long, warm finish holds chocolate, blueberries, some citrus, and a touch of umami.

I'm still alive. My esophagus seems to be intact. Dare I dilute the poison?

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or 1 tbl of water per 30mL whisky

The nose has two sides, toffee+almonds and nectarines+brine, that work together well. Red plums and yellow nectarines merge with peppery tannins in the palate, at first. Vanilla and limes appear later. It finishes with tart citrus, vanilla, and raisins.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

I'm shocked by how drinkable this is. I'm not surprised by the quality, nor am I astonished that this whisky is essentially cask juice. Sherry cask adoration societies will love this Bunnahabhain even more than I do, though I still think this is very good. Since I don't know the story behind this big butt, I'm not sure what more maturation time would have done to it, other than raise its price. I'd like to think that Signatory has moved a portion of this cask parcel to a different climate for more aging.

Here's what I'd do if I had bought the 700mL bottle: decant it into a 1-liter bottle, add 300mL of water, then let it sit for 3-6 months. The result would be a lot of 47.6%abv delightful Bunnahabhain! I'd feel safer and healthier even though I'd probably drink more of it that way.

Availability - Sold out?
Pricing - ???
Rating - 85

BARD Friday: Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof, 65.65%abv batch

Though I am aware that many of these Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof barrel barrels have approached, and occasionally exceeded, 140 US proof, I have very little interest in that level of abuse. Plus I couldn't source any them.

Instead, this 131.3 proof bottling will be my ethanol apex this week. Like Monday's meh barrel barrel and Wednesday's nicely nicely barrel barrel, I'm going to try this JDSBBP at four alcohol levels to see what develops with increasing dilution. So far the quality and style variance has been very broad. Will that continue here?

Brand: Jack Daniel's
Ownership: Brown-Forman Corporation
Region: Lynchburg, TN

Mashbill: 80% corn, 12% malted barley, 8% rye
Age: ?

Outturn: ???
Alcohol by Volume: 65.65%
(from a bottle split)

Full Strength 65.65%abv	Diluted to 50%abv	Diluted to 46%abv	Diluted to 43%abv
On one level the nose shows Luxardo cherries, orange peel, milk chocolate and caramel chews. But there's also plenty of nail polish remover and perfume present. It trends towards vanilla and banana peel after some time in the glass.	A big shift in the nose. Think pear-infused mead up front, vanilla and Luxardo cherries in the middle, and cologne in the background.	The nose has simplified and focused on vanilla frosting, caramel chews, and menthol.	Hmmm. Wet cardboard, sawdust, perfume in the nose's foreground. Vanilla, bananas, and black cherry soda in the back.
The palate is really hot, nearly unapproachably so. Barrel char, salt, vanilla syrup, limes, and tannins remain behind the fire.	Nice. The palate is loaded with oranges and coated with honey. A little bit of vanilla here, some cracked pepper there.	Like the nose, the palate has simplified. It's sweet and salty, with a menthol rinse and some drying tannins.	The palate is sweet, very oaky, with minor notes of pineapple and bitterness.
Once the burn subsides, one may find barrel char and peppercorns in the finish. Some savory smoke too, though that may be a cooked palate.	It finishes very sweetly, with a little bit of lemon and barrel char.	It finishes sweet, salty, and tannic.	The sweet and tannic finish doesn't last long.
Summary: Not a fan. Reminds me of the early batches of Stagg Junior, with two dimensions (raw ethyl and raw oak) destroying everything else.	Summary: What a change! I'd be happy to drink this again, at 50%abv. The honey + fruit is a nice combo.	Summary: I appreciate this spartan style. It ain't deep, but it is drinkable.	Summary: Again, the whiskey fell apart at this strength, collapsing into a thin mush.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

One can see via Wednesday's and today's barrel barrels why the standard 40%abv JD bottling is so disappointing. It's a drowning of potentially interesting and characterful whiskey. Though it could be argued that may be a flaw in the whiskey itself, I'm not sure what's to blame. In scotch, aggressive chillfiltration can be such a culprit, so perhaps the Lincoln County process could play a role?

These three JDSBBPs were never boring, and never sunk as low as the aforementioned Old No. 7. But due to the varying qualities between the JDSBBPs, I'm not going to buy one blindly. Also, these whiskies run VERY hot at full strength, so perhaps JD's Bonded whiskey may fit my palate best. I will report back if I buy a bottle.

Availability - Many batches/barrels around
Pricing - $55 - $85
Rating - 81 (carefully diluted)

BARD Wednesday: Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof, 65.45%abv batch

Monday's post may have come across a bit harsh. Mondays gotta Monday. So I'll try to soften it:

It has come to my attention that I also enjoyed the 2021 batch of Jack Daniel's 10-year-old, so that makes two Brown-Forman products that didn't cause my palate to jump out of my mouth. Also, the 76-point score I gave to Monday's JDSBBP barrel is a hell of a lot higher than I'd give to the current Old No. 7 (which would get something between a 36 and 56).

Does that provide some perspective? No? Okay, I kinda tried.

It's Wednesday now, and I'm trying another one of Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof barrel barrels. It's a teensy bit stronger, and I think it's a more recent release.

Brand: Jack Daniel's
Ownership: Brown-Forman Corporation
Region: Lynchburg, TN

Mashbill: 80% corn, 12% malted barley, 8% rye
Age: ?

Bottled: 2022

Barrel Barrel #: 22-04344

Outturn: ???
Alcohol by Volume: 65.45%
(from a bottle split)

Again, I tried this at four strengths:

Full Strength 65.45%abv	Diluted to 50%abv	Diluted to 46%abv	Diluted to 43%abv
The bourbony nose is loaded with cherries and caramels. Some raspberry jam, red bean paste, and a hint of brine as well. Not hot!	A desserty nose: butterscotch budino, pound cake, and dried blueberries.	The nose changes with each dilution. Now it has plum wine, blueberry pie, and a just a whiff of butterscotch.	Pretty nose. Stewed and baked berries, orange peel, and caramel up top, basic barrel char underneath.
The palate is hot, of course, but it doesn't hide the sweet cherries, candy corn, mild peppery tannins, and a slight umami note.	Ah, the bitter oak appears here in the palate. It's met by sweet oranges, mint leaf, and a hint of ginger. It gets pepperier with time.	Bitter oak is replaced by more palatable peppery tannins. Tart fresh cranberries + sweetened dried cranberries. Raspberries and ginger.	Not much left of the palate. It's lightly bitter, sweet, and peppery.
It finishes with sweet cherries and wood spice.	Bitter oak, tangy chiles, and little bit of sweetness in the finish.	It finishes with plum jam, ginger, and pepper.	Quiet finish made of pepper and salt.
Summary: Though it's big and oaky, I like it. Can imagine it as a hearty colder weather pour.	Summary: Delightful nose, less-than-delightful palate. The bitterness taints it.	Summary: Its parts are most in tune with each other at this strength. And its bitterness has vanished.	Summary: The whiskey ran out of steam here, with too much dilution being the culprit. It still smells great though.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

The new Brown-Forman king has been crowned! (Yes, I know it's American, but a significant portion of Americans want a king.) Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof barrel barrel 22-04344 is something I would buy and drink. 46%abv may be its sweet spot, but the whiskey works at full power. Bitter oak jumps out here and there, so be careful when adding water. Though really, how many people consuming JDSBBP are going to bust out the eyedropper? Please enjoy responsibly.

Availability - Many batches/barrels around
Pricing - $55 - $85
Rating - 85

BARD Monday: Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof, 64.9%abv batch

Once upon a time, circa 2015, Brown-Forman announced a new product called Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof (yes, more barrels in the name than in the whiskey). I saw the announcement on Twitter, and retweeted it with my always insightful analysis. I can't find the tweet, but I'm pretty sure it was:

#barf.

Some Twitter followers took umbrage to my observation and replied with similarly honed reflections along the lines of:

Y U mad bro.

There were three reasons Y I mad bro.

1. The quality of Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 is an embarrassment to all Americans, no matter one's political leanings.
2. I had never liked any American whiskey produced by JD's owners.
3. Everything Brown-Forman touches turns to brown.

Notice the "had", not "have", in point 2. That is because in 2019, I tried B-F's Old Forester Rye and found it to be waaaaaaaaay too good for its price point, a price point that has occasionally dropped here in Ohio.

Because I enjoy that completely unrelated product, that is a different whiskey type, from a different distillery, I have to decided to try THREE barrels of JDSBBP. Four years separated my brilliant JDSBBP tweet and my first sip of Old Forester Rye, and four years have now passed since that sip. So please figuratively join in me in three pours of JDSBBP this week, starting with the barrel with the wimpiest ABV:

Brand: Jack Daniel's
Ownership: Brown-Forman Corporation
Region: Lynchburg, TN

Mashbill: 80% corn, 12% malted barley, 8% rye
Age: ?

Bottled: ????
Outturn: ???
Alcohol by Volume: 64.9%
(from a bottle split)

I tried this Tennessee nectar at four strengths. Here's how it played out:

Full Strength 64.9%abv	Diluted to 50%abv	Diluted to 46%abv	Diluted to 43%abv
The nose is approachable! Peanut butter fudge, mint leaf, and carob arrive first, followed by sundae cherries and burnt tree bark.	The nose has more vanilla and pastry. A few dried apricots with a dash of clover honey and a splash of balsamic vinegar.	A straightforward mix of mint, menthol, lemon, and barrel char fills the nose.	Wood spice and a mix of citrus zests in the front, and jasmine blossoms in the back of the nose.
The palate is HOT, surprise! It's also peppery, sweet, and minty, with piles of burnt wood, and a hint of earth.	More approachable, but still very oaky, in fact here's where the bitter oak arrives, in the palate. Some decent tart limes mix with honey and cinnamon.	Like the nose, the palate is more focused: ginger, bitter oak, and sour citrus.	The bitter oak mellows out in the palate, which is now mildly sweet and filled with caramel and mint.
The finish is all hot char, menthol, and lime.	Hot char and limes again in the finish, but with some honey too.	It finishes with sour citrus, heat, and bitter oak.	It finishes tart, bitter, and woody.
Summary: The nose is kinda nice, but the mouth's oak and heat assault overwhelms all else, predictably.	Summary: I'm loving the nose here, and the palate improved...until the bitter oak appeared. The finish remains monolithic.	Summary: The citric acidity and woody bitterness were almost unpalatable. I considered dumping the rest at this point.	Summary: A big improvement over the 46%. The finish remains the weak point, but I could see how this would work for cocktails or casual summer sipping.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Good news first. This was MUCH better than Old No. 7, especially once reduced to 43%abv. Oak often imparts lovely noses at the same time it kills palates, and that's what happens to this whiskey at higher strengths. Overall, this was not as bad as I'd expected.

Now, the bad news. My Jack Daniel's standards are subterranean, so the above compliments all have qualifiers. Of course this is better than Old No. 7. A sinus infection is better than Old No. 7. This particular barrel is so woody there's no way to know if the problem with standard JD is the oak or the spirit.

But if you like hot bitter sour oak, you'll like this more than me.

Availability - Many batches/barrels around
Pricing - $55 - $85
Rating - 76 (heavily diluted only)

Mathilda Malt: Littlemill 10 year old 1989 Cadenhead's Authentic Collection

Yay! The annual Littlemill! Rather than pouring the usual 20+ year old thing, I have a 10yo 1989 with a punch-in-the-esophagus strength of 63.8%abv. Yeah, I should have saved this for Mathilda's 10th birthday, but I want the punishment now.

Does anyone know why Cadenhead single casks were often bottled young and outrageously hot in the 1990s? Was there a cask management issue? Or did they blow through their most fabulous stuff during the dumpy bottle era?

Because this whisky may require a lot of water, I'm going to drink it in the bathtub.

Distillery: Littlemill

Region: Lowlands

Independent Bottler: Cadenhead

Range: Authentic Collection

Age: 10 years (1989 - June 1999)

Maturation: Hogshead
Outturn: 312 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 63.8%

(from a bottle split)

I'm starting this tasting with a diluted pour so I don't burn my senses too early.

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or 2¼ tsp per 30mL whisky

The nose begins with grapefruit, cardamom, and ethyl up front and some OBE funk in the background. Across 30 minutes, it shifts to roses, orange peel, and moss. The palate also moves around over time. It starts with a surprising mix of coffee grounds, raw cocoa, and saltines.  Then it becomes floral and sweet, with a metallic hint in the corner. Vanilla and lemon zest appear later. It finishes with lemons and raw cocoa.

NEAT

Much brighter and more stable at full strength, the nose shows flower blossoms, plums, citronella, raspberry candy, and ginger ale, as well as an earthy hint in the background. There's the coffee and cocoa in the palate again, but now tart lemons, bitter melon rinds, and bitter herbs join in. Perhaps it's the 30+ minutes of breathing time (for the whisky), but it's very approachable at this strength. Coffee and limes fill the finish, along with hints of metal and bitter herbs.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Dear Cadenhead management of 24 years ago, why did you pull this bun out of the oven so early? Yeah, the whisky is kinda cool and funny, but was anyone really in a rush to buy super-high-proof 10 year old Lowland whisky in 1999? Sincerely, Some guy who could finally legally drink in 1999.

As noted above, I gave this Littlemill some time to air out, which may be why I liked it better at cask strength. It's still exhausting stuff, mostly of interest for educational purposes. Though I welcome all the tart citrus in this single malt, it actually makes me appreciate 20+ year old Littlemill even more, as that characteristic lives on for another decade or more in the cask, becoming better integrated and more complex.

Looking forward to next year's Littlemill...

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 83 (neat only)

Mathilda Malt: Mosstowie 29 year old 1975 Duncan Taylor Rarest of the Rare

I'm not going to top the intro from my other Mosstowie review, written when Mathilda was new to the world. So I'll just direct you to it here.

That three-month-old baby is now nine (going on fifteen) years of age. She already thinks she has enumerated all of her father's hypocrisies. But the joke's on her! I make up new ones every day.

In that spirit (wocka wocka), I shall now review a whisky with a secondary market price I'd never pay. The always sexy Mosstowie, isn't a dead distillery. It's not even a distillery at all. It's a defunct single malt style produced at Miltonduff distillery back when Hiram Walker thought it'd be brilliant to park Lomond stills at its Speyside distilleries for more than a decade.

The only other Mosstowie I've tried (see above) was one of those damned 40%abv Connoisseurs Choice creations. This 'Towie, though, flexes a 48.4% strength. That this is full strength, and the outturn was only 128 bottles, makes one wonder what was going on with the cask. Yes, "Rarest of the Rare" indeed, because the angels drank half of it already.

Distillery: Miltonduff
Single Malt: Mosstowie
Ownership at the time: Hiram Walker

Region: Speyside (Lossie)

Independent Bottler: Duncan Taylor

Range: Rarest of the Rare

Age: 29 years (May 1975 - March 2005)

Maturation: mystery cask!

Cask #: 5809

Outturn: 128 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 48.4%

(from a bottle split)

NOTES

The nose starts with almond butter and golden raisins on fresh rye bread. Bits of brick, raw walnuts, and miso offer even more entertainment. With time it takes on clementines and milk chocolate, holding onto only that rye bread note. The first sip has a salty, savory, sweet arrival that vanishes until the final sip, with nothing but big sweetness in between. Lemon candy, orange bubblegum, and almond roca. The late savory note is brothy and peppery. Nothing but sweets in the finish, though. Honey, honey, and more honey, with a touch of almond extract.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

One can probably thank both the Lomond still and the odd cask for this never-boring whisky. With shifting characteristics that always worked, the nose was my favorite part, though it was also a fun sipper throughout. And as much as I liked my sample, a full bottle might present a full journey of curiosities. Mosstowies are scarce now, but I look forward to trying another bottling someday.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 87

Mathilda Malt: Millburn 27 year old 1976 Gordon & MacPhail Reserve

After I spent two weeks in Japan, three weeks of semi-normalcy passed before the girls' mother left for an Asian business trip for two weeks. Yes, two weeks of pure, unfiltered single father life. My daughters survived and I occasionally succeeded at parenting. Laundry and dishes were washed nonstop, down in the creek. LOLz. Friday the 12th was my first night back on my own, so I planned to celebrate. And I did celebrate......by sleeping for 10.5 hours. Then napped throughout the weekend.

Work arrived on Monday, but so did Mathilda's NINTH birthday. She happily devoured sushi like a champ for her birthday dinner. Yes, she's a 9 year old who enjoys sushi. I didn't like the stuff until I was 22, and still required sake to power it down at the time, so she's really two decades ahead of me.

And now it's Tuesday, and I should probably start posting this week's whisky things, specifically this year's Mathilda Malts, a trio of long gone single malts, including one mandatory Littlemill!

First up, a Millburn, one of the trio Inverness distilleries murdered by DCL in the '80s. Though today's sample was from a recent bottle split, I allegedly tried this whisky eight years ago but left no notes behind. (Here's The Whiskey Jug's review of the bottle from that event.) Here's the label from that bottle:

Some of you folks may remember the G&M Reserve series from ye olden days. For those who found whisky after this range perished, just know that if G&M were to restart it today, every bottle would cost at least four figures, like the Private Collection but with cheaper packaging. Do I need to say that the Reserve bottles were barely three figures? No, I don't need to say that.

Alas, a Millburn.

Distillery: Millburn

Cradle to Grave: 1807-1985
Executioner: Distillers Company Limited

Region: Highlands (Inverness)

Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail

Series: Reserve





Age: 27 years (1976-2003)
Maturation: maybe a refill sherry butt?

Cask #: 1598

Outturn: 615 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 46%

(from a bottle split)

NOTES

Apple cider and pilsner arrive first in the nose, with honey right behind, followed by almond extract and late harvest Sauvignon Blanc. Hints of yeast, metal, and clove cigarettes drift across the background throughout. The palate comes in a bit hot, but time fixes that. Otherwise it's a harvest whisky, with apples, pears, nectarines, and cinnamon. Milder notes of coal, metal, and dunnage give it a slight devilish spark. A late hint of tart mango adds color. It finishes with pears. cinnamon, and a nice tartness. A little bit of coal and dunnage appear later.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

A spring whisky? An autumn whisky? An anytime whisky! Blessed by a polite, but not absentee, vessel for its twenty-seven years, this Millburn delivered the old school fruity goods in much better fashion than I'd expected.

I'm grateful that G&M didn't over-hydrate it with a 40%abv Connoisseurs Choice edition. Its bottling strength was pretty good, though I kinda wonder what this was like at 50%abv. Was there more fruit, more angles, more power? That doesn't really matter anymore. At least this existed. I thank all the people who helped bring this whisky to my face twice.

Availability - Sold out looooooooooong ago
Pricing - ???
Rating - 89

Glen Garioch 19 year old 2003 SMWS 19.88

With two more sibling barrels appearing in 2023, any remaining maturing members of this parcel are now 20 years old. Whether that's good or bad depends on cask management and personal palate preferences. It would be interesting to see what a less-active cask would be like at 30 years; but oak is all the rage now, so perhaps I found the best stuff when it was 18 years of age. The 14yo-18yo range is often my favorite for single malts, though sometimes old magical casks produce beautiful things.

Anyway, this Glen Garioch 2003 is only 19 years old, so I'll just get to the drinkin'.

18yo SMWS for Highland Whisky Festival 2022: 90

18yo SMWS 19.59, "Dates and Staves": 88

18yo SMWS 19.71, "Mad Wax: Fruity Load!": 89

18yo SMWS 19.73,  "A silky-smooth melody": 87

19yo SMWS 19.76, "A utopia of bananas and muffins": 84

19yo SMWS 19.84, "Under an apple tree - that's where I want to be": 87

Distillery: Glen Garioch
Owner: Beam Suntory
Region: Eastern Highlands

Independent Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 19 years (17 February 2003 - 2022)
Maturation: first-fill bourbon barrel
Cask #: 19.88, "Chewing gum in a bakery"
Outturn: 169 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 53.3%
(from a paid event)

NEAT

The nose has character aplenty. A dessert layer sits on top, offering cinnamon, dates, orange peel, and caramel chews. Dusty stones and wet dog fur rest beneath. Then calvados and mint leaf materialize 30+ minutes later. Much simpler, the palate shows apples, pears, oranges, and cinnamon, with notes of herbal bitterness and salt in the background. It finishes with apples, toasted oak, and pickled ginger,

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or < 1 tsp of water per 30mL whisky

I'm getting a spiced calvados in the nose, with lots of cardamom pods, cinnamon, and honey. It's quite floral too. The sticky sweet palate has candied lemon peels and mint leaves floating in vanilla simple syrup. It finishes the same way with maybe a hint of grapefruit.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

The crazy sibling, perhaps? There always has to be one. Its outturn was a bit low too, so maybe there was something physically different with this barrel. Your guess is as good as (and likely better) than mine.

I'll focus on the whisky when it's in full power mode because the less said about the diluted version the better. Calvados + dates + quirks = winning nose. It was a different whisky in the mouth, reading like an everyday drinker with a slight bite. Not bad, but a definite half-step down from the 19.84 with which it sparred. And no, I don't think another decade in oak would have improved this one.

Availability - UK only? Sold out, though
Pricing - it was £125
Rating - 84 (neat only)

Glen Garioch 19 year old 2003 SMWS 19.84

Two more sibling casks of Glen Garioch, distilled on 17th February 2003, aged in first-fill bourbon barrels, and bottled by SMWS. It has been a great group of whiskies, with only the last one showing some flaws:

18yo SMWS for Highland Whisky Festival 2022: 90

18yo SMWS 19.59, "Dates and Staves": 88

18yo SMWS 19.71, "Mad Wax: Fruity Load!": 89

18yo SMWS 19.73,  "A silky-smooth melody": 87

19yo SMWS 19.76, "A utopia of bananas and muffins": 84

Distillery: Glen Garioch
Owner: Beam Suntory
Region: Eastern Highlands

Independent Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 19 years (17 February 2003 - 2022)
Maturation: first-fill bourbon barrel
Cask #: 19.84, "Under an apple tree - that's where I want to be"
Outturn: 205 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 52.8%
(from a paid event)

NEAT

Another winning nose! Barley, dead leaves, and mushrooms right up front. Ocean air and cantaloupe in the midground. Toffee, green apple, and a hint of vanilla bean in the back. The softly sweet palate starts with apples, lemons, and malt. Hints of bitter orange peel and toasted oak spices appear after 30+ minutes. It finishes with some salt to go with the sweetness. Oranges, apple peels, and a little of caramel candy make up the details.

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or < 1 tsp of water per 30mL whisky

The nose picks up a variety of citrus fruits, some brown sugar, and a touch of malt, but the forest notes have vanished. Meanwhile, the palate gets burlier, tarter, bitterer, and more mineral. Truffle salt, black pepper, and zesty limes sing the loudest. Then the finish goes sweet, with oranges and vanilla.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

I adore the neat nose; if the neat palate took on that style (with some of the diluted palate's edge), then we'd have the GG03 winner. But the neat palate is merely comfy — look at that complaint! — with the oak starting to soften things up. Dilution flips the nose and palate around. Likely bottled at the right time, the barrel was loudest in the finish, but decently integrated elsewhere. That neat nose, though!

Availability - European Union
Pricing - €142
Rating - 87

Glen Garioch 19 year old 2003 SMWS 19.76

Oooooh, now the barrels are 19 years old. Ancient. Anyhoo, I should start these remaining GG03 single cask posts with a score tracker...

SMWS for Highland Whisky Festival 2022: 90

SMWS 19.59, "Dates and Staves": 88

SMWS 19.71, "Mad Wax: Fruity Load!": 89

SMWS 19.73,  "A silky-smooth melody": 87

I don't normally throw around scores like that. These are, in fact, B+/A- whiskies, and the world is a bit short on B+/A- whiskies. Can these sibling casks keep up this quality? Today's GG03 has a great ABV, but an unpromising cask name...

Distillery: Glen Garioch
Owner: Beam Suntory
Region: Eastern Highlands

Independent Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 19 years (17 February 2003 - 2022)
Maturation: first-fill bourbon barrel
Cask #: 19.76, "A utopia of bananas and muffins"
Outturn: 191 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 52.7%
(from a paid event)

NEAT

Apple peels, roses, pecans, and star anise meet the nose first, followed by oyster crackers in vegetable broth. This group's first real sign of oak appears, but it's more of a toasty style than charred. The palate comes in peppery, sweet, tangy, and very acidic. Mostly limes and hot sauce with a hint of vanilla. Thankfully the acidity mellows in the finish, and the limes and lemons are tart and sweet.

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or < 1 tsp of water per 30mL whisky

While the nose simplifies to vanilla marshmallows and orange creamsicles, the palate takes on more complexity. Though there's sweetness and vanilla aplenty, guavas, limes, roasted almonds, and jute provide needed facets. It finishes sweetly as a sort of guava-lime-vanilla candy.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Well hello, American oak. Welcome to the Glen Garioch party. Now if you could just make yourself scarce after this, I'd be much obliged.

Thankfully the fruit, flowers, and the occasional unconventional note hold off the encroaching Quercus alba. But this one did start to tilt toward a more contemporary style than the previous four. Dilution made it more pleasant, but also a bit sugary. No bananas to be found, 💛.

Next week, two more 19-year-old barrels...

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 84

Glen Garioch 18 year old 2003 SMWS 19.73

The 17/2/2003 SMWS Glen Gariochs keep going and keep shining! Clearly the stills were rocking that day, but where were these first-fill barrels from? With Beam Suntory in charge of the distillery, the barrels could have previously held Knob Creek, Booker's, Baker's, Basil Hayden, Makers, or regular ol' Beam. No matter what, I'm already much more interested in teenage bourbon barrel Glen Gariochs than I was before.

Today's single barrel has a strength and outturn similar to Tuesday's, so I tried them side-by-side. How identical were the whisky results?

Distillery: Glen Garioch
Owner: Beam Suntory
Region: Eastern Highlands

Independent Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 18 years (17 February 2003 - 2021?)
Maturation: first-fill bourbon barrel
Cask #: 19.73, "A silky-smooth melody"
Outturn: 222 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 53.7%
(from a paid event)

NEAT

"Fermenty/Fruity" reads my first nose note. Pineapple, mango, orange juice, and cloves on top. Sugar cookies fill the middle (do they not?), and a yeasty, bready character arrives later in the background. The palate nearly matches the nose at first with yeast, citrus, and sugar cookies. It progresses towards tart and malt with time. It finishes sweet, tart, and malty, with a minty curlicue in the back.

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or 1 tsp of water per 30mL whisky

It's as if the yeast has something else to say once the whisky is reduced. The nose is funkier now, with less fruit and more flowers, as well as industrial and aged cheese notes ascending from below. The palate reads more complex than the nose, with a balance of tart + sweet + bitter + salt, and plenty of citrus. Oranges, lemons, and a little bit of herbal bitterness finish it off.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Though spirit-forward like the others, this cask went its own path. It's the least "silky-smooth" one so far, plenty fruity, slightly hot, and a bit weird at times. This '03 Glen Garioch is the least complete of the first four, seeming like it could have used another 5-10 years in the warehouse to finish its journey toward becoming something remarkable. But I still adore its style, and would be happy to own a bottle.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 87

Glen Garioch 18 year old 2003 SMWS 19.71

Back to the Glen Garioch run!

To recap: SMWS obtained a large parcel of (at least three dozen?) first-fill bourbon barrels filled with Glen Garioch spirit distilled on the 17th of February 2003. I got my meat hooks into seven of these whiskies and the first two were great!

This one, named "Mad Wax: Fruity Load!" (mmhmm) by SMWS, arrives with a lighter ABV and a higher outturn than 19.59, thus the angels sought inebriation over hydration. But how's the whisky?

Distillery: Glen Garioch
Owner: Beam Suntory
Region: Eastern Highlands

Independent Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 18 years (17 February 2003 - 2021?)
Maturation: first-fill bourbon barrel
Cask #: 19.71, "Mad Wax: Fruity Load!" [Editor's note: 🙁]
Outturn: 230 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 54.4%
(from a paid event)

NEAT

More of the country style in the nose, huzzah! Hay, oats, apple peels, lemon peels, and a mineral Austrian Riesling (snob!). Hints of honey and brine, and okay maybe a little bit of hot wax. Oh, such barley on the palate. Some baked phyllo dough and witbier. Pickled ginger with sweet citrus. Limoncello and brown sugar. It finishes with a little combo of tingly citrus, pickled ginger, and witbier.

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or 1 tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Pears, apples, orange blossoms, and malt on the nose. The palate's become simpler, but crisp. A bright herbal bitterness blends flawlessly with clementines and toasted barley. The finish matches the palate, especially with that bitterness.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Wow. I know this style isn't a cash magnet, but it works wonders for my face. The first-fill barrels are very understated, and the spirit gleams. The way the casks keep all the lovely rustic youth while silencing the rawness makes me want to try the Oldmeldrum distillery's new make. And there are still four more of these to go...

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 89