I promised "considerably older" Teaninichs in my last Teaninich Cluster post, and thus it begins here with a 29 year old 1983 single hogshead bottled by The Scotch Malt Whisky Society for their 30th Anniversary outturn. Back in 1983 there was a Teaninich "A" and a Teaninich "B" distillery on site. SMWS doesn't specific which one this cask came from, though I don't know if any indie bottlers ever had that inside information. This specific Teaninich was dubbed "Jellybean dream", and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad omen...
Distillery: Teaninich
Ownership: Diageo
Region: Northern-ish Highlands
Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 29 years old (8 November 1983 - 2013)
Maturation: refill hogshead
Cask number: 59.46, "Jellybean dream"
Outturn: 194 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 52.4%
(from a bottle split)
NEAT
The nose starts off very pretty and promising with mangoes, apricots, rosewater, and amaretto. Pencil shavings and aloe appear after 30 minutes and remain somewhere in the middle, while a citronella candle burns in the background. On the other side of things, the palate is intensely woody, loaded with lumber and barrel char. All bitter and peppery. Tart limes, vanilla, tobacco, and Midori liqueur never fully break into the foreground. The tannin-loaded finish numbs the tongue, with cardboard, limes, serrano chiles, and Midori liqueur occasionally peeking through.
DILUTED to ~46%abv, or >¾ tsp of water per 30mL whisky
The nose takes a curious turn towards maple syrup, cantaloupe, candied orange peel, barrel char, and jalapeños. But, thankfully, the palate has been rescued, with more limes and oranges, less tobacco, fewer chiles, and a splash of coconut milk. It finishes like caipirinha before the cachaça is added, all limes muddled with sugar.
WORDS WORDS WORDS
Dilution saves the whisky! The neat palate and finish are, frankly, not good. Any balance or complexity has been beaten to death with 2x4s, which is a shame because the nose hints at something excellent within. Dropping the ABV down to 46% awakens the fruits, and brings some depth to the oak notes, lifting a C-grade gremlin to a B-grade sipper. Still, this whisky was probably much more fun when it was 10 years younger, just like me!
Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 84 (Diluted only. It's in the 70s when neat.)
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