I reviewed my own bottle of 29 year old Old Rhosdhu a few days ago, and found it to be a solid B grade whisky, no more, no less. That 1993 had two competitors lined up for its tasting: today's two 1990 Old Rhosdhus (possibly "Black Rose" in English). Daily Dram releases usually don't list the cask type, cask number, nor outturn, which is inconveniently odd these days. But they do have a history of good casks, so I was happy to chase down these two sibling cask samples. The 29 year old comes from my friend, Secret Agent Man, and 30 year old arrived via a bottle split. Going into the tasting, I had no idea what to expect.
| Old Rhosdhu 29 year old 1990 The Nectar of the Daily Drams 49.6%abv |
Old Rhosdhu 30 year old 1990 The Nectar of the Daily Drams 47.3%abv |
|---|---|
| Fermenting apples and fresh barley arrive first in the nose, followed by kirschwasser, anise, and floral hint. After 30 minutes, Granny Smith apple peels, cherry juice, and a touch of Loch Lomond funk show up. | It noses very young: new make, yeast, and kirschwasser. Then come pretzels, honey, pilsner, a hint of smoke, and LOTS of flowers. |
| The palate offers strawberries, pears, flowers, and burnt plastic. It gains lemon and mineral notes with time. | That burnt plastic note appears in this palate as well, but now it's wrapped in mango and lemons. Roses, cayenne pepper, and some curious phenols. It gets tangier and sweeter with time in the glass. |
| It finishes with lemon candy, peppery heat, and a bit of perfume. | The finish goes suddenly bland, nondescript. It's sweet, tangy, floral, and kinda short. |
| Comments: This one has a great sniffer, but the palate, and certainly the finish, cannot match it. Certainly its own creature, this Old Rhosdhu reads half its age. And, yes, the fruits are the best part! | Comments: Even odder than the 29yo, this 30 feels like it's ⅓ the stated age. It's also the rare whisky whose palate far surpasses its nose, while the finish's fall off is the most disappointing part. Had all the elements matched the initial flavor, this would be nearing a 90-point whisky. |
| Rating: 84 | Rating: 83 |
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Both inert vessels (hogsheads?) let the spirit do all the walking and talking, which can be a good thing. But there were times, for both whiskies, when there wasn't a whole lot of there there, especially in the finishes. The finish is the weakest part of my own bottle of 29 year old Old Rhosdhu as well. Could this have something to do with the spirit's unusual (1.5x?) distillation process? Does the Black Rose need four or five decades to wake up, much like a single grain? I don't know, but this particular style of Loch Lomond whisky doesn't inspire me to search much further.
