Glenmorangie 15 year old (bottled in 2005)

A certain portion of the whisky-buying populace takes an abundance of photos of purchased whisky bottles, then peppers social media platforms with evidence of conspicuous consumption.

I have the opposite problem. Often, I take no photos of a purchased bottle. When I finish the whisky and dispose of its vessel I then have NO PICTURES for the damned review blog posts. Like today's.

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One afternoon, 5 years ago, I came upon a corner liquor store in Los Angeles Proper with at least three bottles of the now defunct Glenmorangie 15 for its original price. I've always tried not to be the sort of asshole who cleans out a dusty find, so I bought one bottle.

The 15 year old (without a silly name) was retired in 2007 when Glenmorangie's owners, LVMH, chose to revamp the current range and sexify the remaining expressions. Now, before we go all "Ahhh, how Glenmorangie used to be!", remember the 15 spent an unspecified amount of time being finished in "NEW OAK" (all caps courtesy of the bottle's tube). So yes, Mr. Bill was going Full Carpenter at an early age.

Anyway, I found this to be a fair whisky when I drank it leisurely. Let's see how it reviews...

Distillery: Glenmorangie
Ownership: Louis Vuitton Moet-Hennessy (accents and umlauts still not included)
Region: Highlands (Northern)
Age: at least 15 years
Maturation: ex-bourbon casks then a "NEW OAK" finish
Bottling date: 2005 (code: L5 023)
Alcohol by Volume: 43%
Chill-filtered? ???
Colorant added? ???

Its nose is light and pretty. Roses, lychees and peaches. Hibiscus tea. Pencil shavings and envelope glue. There's also musty dunnage whiff here and there. It picks up much more vanilla with time, as well as a slight cherry candy note.

The palate begins with the nose's gentle fruitiness. And that moment of funky cask. But back to the fruits: acidic citrus and peach candy. It all gets tarter with time. Meanwhile, there are also hints of pepper, grass and cardboard. Moderate sweetness and a touch of woody bitterness.

The warm finish has flowers and tart apples. More tangy than bitter. Black pepper and a wee bit of wort.

I liked this better when I was consuming it casually. Once the inspection began, it didn't hold up as well, especially next to the 18 year old. While it shares the 18's gentleness and fruits, the 15's wood speaks much louder here than the elder's sherry casks.

Taking the current Scotch scene into consideration, this whisky would probably be an utter sawdust and vanilla bomb if produced in 2018, so I'm not that sad this expression was retired. Still, it's fun and it provides a different whisky experience than the 10 and 18. And perhaps it's more of a drinker than a thinker.

Availability - Happy hunting!
Pricing - dunno, but I bought mine for $65 five years ago
Rating - 83

Glenmorangie 18 year old "Extremely Rare" (current bottling)

As I write this the fourth day of spring comes to a close, yet this grim winter refuses to piss off. But I'm going to pretend the sun is warming the ground, leaves are beginning to peek through the branches and my HVAC system is getting a rest. And I'm going to review three whiskies from Glenmorangie, a distillery that produces a light fruity malt that suits warm weather.

I've devoted too many posts decrying the utter silliness of LVMH distilleries' (Ardbeg and Glenmorangie) limited releases. So this time I've chosen three 'Morangie malts that (I hope) are some of the more thoughtful Lumsden productions.

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To begin the week, I am reviewing the current official 18 year old. It's officially called "Extremely Rare" because it is available at every specialty liquor retailer in the world. But aside from the name, there's a minimum of goofiness going on in this single malt.

Its contents are pretty straightforward. 70% of the whisky spent all 18 years in American oak, while the other 30% spent 15 years in American oak and 3 years in "Spanish Oloroso" casks. I'm pretty sure "Spanish Oloroso" is redundant, but it may be a way to distract from the likelihood that the Oloroso-seasoned casks were also made out of American oak. I really cannot make it through a single paragraph without this cynical flatulence, can I?

Yes, I can. See.

Distillery: Glenmorangie
Ownership: Louis Vuitton Moet-Hennessy (accents and umlauts still not included)
Region: Highlands (Northern)
Age: at least 18 years
Maturation: see above
Alcohol by Volume: 43%
Chill-filtered? ???
Colorant added? ???
(Thank you to Monsieur Brett for the sample!)

Hmmmm, a happy >1 ratio of spirit to wood in the nose. Dried apricots, peach candy and a little bit of lawn. Very moderate vanilla. The subtle sherry element is MUCH better integrated than Lasanta. In fact it's a mild nutty thing that weaves amongst the rest of the characteristics. The nose improves with time, picking up more lemon, apple, honey and grapefruit.

The palate starts off with tangy citrus and tart stone fruit. The sherry wood is toasty, as opposed to grapey. A peppery oomph makes the whole thing a little brisker than expected. Apples, pears, a whiff of flowers. Its citrus side expands with time.

Its finish has a tart, but not acidic, bite. White fruits and almonds. Limes and grapefruits.

Gotta say, this is tremendously pleasant. And well made, especially compared to almost everything else by Glenmo. It also fits in with the other two Big Glens, Fiddich and Livet, whose 18 year olds are (or at least were as of three years ago) the best part of their regular ranges. If you don't go into this whisky expecting bags of complexity, you may just find it terribly nice.

Availability - Nearly every specialty Scotch retailer in the known world
Pricing - $85 - $125
Rating - 86

MAO Mix: Tomatin Cuatro flavour

MAO mao mao mao
MAO mao mao mao
MAO mao mao Mao
MAO Mao mao mao
MAO mao mao mao
MAO mao mao mao
MAO mao mao Mao
MAO Mao mao mao

I'm going to get so many clicks now! That's how SEO works, right?

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Upon opening a parcel recently sent to me by Comrade My Annoying Opinions, I found this:

Oh, and also this:

For those who've drifted on to more pleasant non-whisky pastures (such as brandy, rum, politics, carving out your eyeballs with a teaspoon, etc.) since 2014, Tomatin distillery simultaneously released four (cuatro!) 12 year old single malts, with each having spent nine years in ex-bourbon casks and 3 years in a specific type of sherry cask. Fino, Manzanilla, Oloroso and Smuckers Pedro X each received its own release.

MAO took a hit for the team and bought all four. He reviewed them. Then he mixed them. And reviewed his mix (see Blend A). Now I will review his mix.

MAO Mix: Tomatin Cuarto flavour - 46% abv
1:1:1:1 (Fino : Manzanilla : Oloroso : Pedro Ximenez cask releases)

At first the sherry is quite reserved in the nose, letting the malt stand out. There's also hint of something smoky and industrial. The sherry element grows with time, showing up as both nutty and (berry) jammy. Fresh pears and white peaches. Those fruits pick up a funky fermenting note after the whisky sits in the glass for 30 minutes.

Some moderate fruity sherry in the palate, which is more sherried than the nose. Tart fruits and raisins. A hint of woody bitterness that gradually turns into an almost eucalyptus-like zing. There's a dark, almost tarry, note underneath.

On the finish it's raisins and star anise, then hints of bitterness and sweetness. A solid salty note. A good length.

I'd choose this 12 year old Tomatin mix over the official Macallan 12. Of course, that's not as hot of a take as it would have been five years ago. But let that not be a strike against this MAO Mix, which is a well-balanced combo with good fruit stuff that reins in the excitable oak. It's a good winter drink, someone should bottle it.

Rating - 元元元习 (3 yuan and 1 Xí)

Mission: Mars concludes

Here are the Mission: Mars whiskies I reviewed:

--Shinshu 12 year old 1986, cask 452 - 43%abv - Rating: 90

--Shinshu 12 year old 1992, cask 1125  - 43%abv - Rating: 88

--Shinshu 20 year old 1989, cask 618 - 58%abv - Rating: 82

--Shinshu Komagatake Nature of Shinshu - Kohiganzakura - 52%abv - Rating: 83

--Shinshu Komagatake 2012 "Super Heavy Peated", cask 1492 - 58%abv - Rating: 80

--Shinshu Mars 3 year old 2013 Blackadder, cask 1647 - 61%abv - Rating: 78

--Shinshu Mars 3 year old 2013 Tsunuki Aging, cask 5108 - 58%abv - Rating: 81

--Tsunuki New Pot Heavily Peated new make - 60%abv - Rating: 63

Before

What Was versus What Is

At first glance, it appears as if the scores are saying, "The stuff from back in the day was better." But that's not necessarily true. The current era of Mars whiskies are barely legal, while the malts I tried from the previous era had much longer maturation periods (and were unpeated). Also, that 20 year old single cask was overoaked and uninspiring.

The last four whiskies were substantially peated, so the era was different, the maturation periods were different and the spirits themselves were different. That being said, I am not motivated to try any current Shinshu/Tsunuki whisky until it gets 8+ years on it. It's nearly impossible to produce an excellent 3 year old whisky, but Mars does get respect points for not oak-doping these whisky toddlers. But will any of us be able to afford 8 year old Shinshu, because...

These whiskies are crazy expensive

My conservative estimate for the price of the first seven bottles is $3000. Yes, some of that pricing is due to the secondary market. But if you think Mars is going to sell their upcoming single casks for less than what they know they can get, then I want to give you a smooch because you're adorbs.

Perhaps the "Nature of Shinshu" series provides a good estimate of Mars's current pricing plans. Those whiskies range from $150-$200 or so, and they're almost entirely 3-5 year old stuff. Though the company claims there's some 25+ year old malt in the mix, I doubt it's more than a sprinkle. Unless those old casks fell below 40%abv, they're tremendously valuable. Do you know what 25-30yo cask strength Japanese single malt is worth? If you don't, that's okay because it barely exists in the present market. Those would be multi-thousand-dollar bottles.

Speaking of cask strength

My favorite whiskies of the bunch were bottled at 43%abv. My least favorite whiskies were 60+%abv. Part of that probably has to do with my current palate. But, again, I'm comparing Satsuma plums to Satsuma oranges here.

By the way, Satsuma oranges aren't actually from Satsuma. They're from Zhejiang, China. They acquired their name because the fruits were originally exported to America through Satsuma. A Satsuma (or unshiu) variety is now grown in Gulf states, like Louisiana and Florida. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

After

Is there hope?

Probably not.

Oh, you mean for the current era of Mars whiskies? Maybe. The "Nature of Shinshu" Kohiganzakura was decent, and the Komagatake Sherry & American White Oak was very good. By producing four kinds of malts at each of their distilleries, Hombo Spirits is bound to find at least one or two successful combos. I just hope they give their casks some time. And then underprice Chichibu. Please.

Tsunuki New Pot Heavily Peated new make

The Mission: Mars whiskies:

--Shinshu 12 year old 1986, cask 452 (two Tuesdays ago)

--Shinshu 12 year old 1992, cask 1125 (last Monday)

--Shinshu 20 year old 1989, cask 618 (last Tuesday)

--Shinshu Komagatake Nature of Shinshu - Kohiganzakura (last Wednesday)
--Shinshu Komagatake 2012 "Super Heavy Peated", cask 1492 (last Thursday)
--Shinshu Mars 3 year old 2013 Blackadder, cask 1647 (last Friday)
--Shinshu Mars 3 year old 2013 Tsunuki Aging, cask 5108 (Tuesday)
--Tsunuki New Pot Heavily Peated new make (today)

So this is where the most recent reviews were trending: new make. And, as a wee surprise, this stuff is NOT from Shinshu distillery, but rather from Tsunuki distillery, Hombo Spirits's new Mars facility.

photo from Kagoshima's official tourism website

While Shinshu distillery perches up in the Japanese Alps in Nagano, Tsunuki was built in Satsuma (in Kagoshima prefecture) at the southern tip of Kyūshū. While it's not technically on the coast (about 10 miles away), it does sit in a basin near sea level. And it's at the same latitude (32ºN) as Algeria, Morocco, Texas, Sonora and Punjab. So yeah, it can be warm down there.

Tsunuki was built on the former site of Hombo's Kagoshima distillery, which closed in 1984. Production started at the new distillery in late 2016 with the intent of having a single malt ready in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Just like Shinshu, Tsunuki distills four new makes, from malted barley with peating levels of 0ppm, 3.5ppm, 20ppm and 50ppm.

In 2017, Mars released a four Tsunuki spirits: non-peated new make, heavily-peated new make, 47 days aged and 244 days aged. I'm ending this series with a review of the heavily-peated unaged spirit.

source

Brand: Mars
Distillery: Tsunuki
Ownership: Hombo Shuzo Co. Ltd.
Region: Japan, Kagoshima Prefecture
Age: 0
Maturation: none
Distilled: May 2017
Peat level: 50ppm
Bottle size: 250mL
Bottles: 4000
Alcohol by Volume: 60%
(from a purchased sample)

NEAT
Color? None. One rip at the nose and WOO! Peat eau de vie. Burnt earth smoke. Wet sheep. Gunpowder and the old charred bits stuck to the grill tray. New sneakers. Ocean-soaked stones. The palate is indeed peaty, but less punishing than the nose. It has the nose's sulphuric note, though it's more like struck matches. Salty and savory. A hint of sweetness. More fabric and rubber than earth. It finishes peaty and salty. Peppercorns and cigarettes.

Gonna water it way down,

DILUTED TO ~40%abv
The nose loses none of its violence. Mostly the same notes as before. More focus on rubber, metal and saline. Intensely salty peat on the palate. A sharp bitterness. Clove cigarettes and struck matches. Maybe some sweetness. The finish is salty, bitter and smoky.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
Well, it ain't whisky. Keep that in mind when you see the score. New make that rates over 60 is a success, since it's already preferable to cheap blends. New make that hits 80 is super duper because it's more complete/complex/delicious than most matured whiskies. Anyhoo...

I really enjoy new make, though I prefer the unpeated sort. This particular spirit shows why peated new make can be a bit difficult, even ugly at times. It's close to new Ledaig, but it's also close to Lost Spirits's whisky-ish things. Though its sulphuric edge is fascinating, it doesn't fatten things up like some sulphuric Scotch new make, rather it sorta makes things more......chancy? I can see this Tsunuki spirit turning into some socko crazy single malt some day. It certainly won't be a diplomatic beverage in 2020.

Availability - Japan, maybe
Pricing - the 250mL bottle was around $20
Rating - 63 (again, it's new make)

Shinshu Mars 3 year old 2013 Tsunuki Aging, cask 5108

The Mission: Mars whiskies thus far:

--Shinshu 12 year old 1986, cask 452 (two Tuesdays ago)

--Shinshu 12 year old 1992, cask 1125 (last Monday)

--Shinshu 20 year old 1989, cask 618 (last Tuesday)

--Shinshu Komagatake Nature of Shinshu - Kohiganzakura (last Wednesday)
--Shinshu Komagatake 2012 "Super Heavy Peated", cask 1492 (last Thursday)
--Shinshu Mars 3 year old 2013 Blackadder, cask 1647 (last Friday)
--Shinshu Mars 3 year old 2013 Tsunuki Aging, cask 5108 (today)

Tsunuki distillery, opened by Hombo Spirits in 2016, was built at sea level on the Kagoshima coast, far from its sibling distillery, Shinshu, up in the Japanese Alps. Hombo established some warehouse space near Tsunuki before the distillery was complete, and has been maturing some casks there.

More on this in the next post. Right now lemme see how this 3 year old — distilled at Shinshu — fares after spending its life near the sea, as opposed to on the mountaintop.

source

Brand: Mars
Distillery: Shinshu
Ownership: Hombo Shuzo Co. Ltd.
Distillation Region: Japan, Nagano Prefecture
Maturation Region: Japan, Kagoshima Prefecture
Age: 3 years (September 2013 - February 2017)
Maturation: ex-bourbon barrel
Peat level: ???
Cask #: 5108
Bottles: 210
Bottled for: Yamakataya
Alcohol by Volume: 58%
(from a purchased sample)

NEAT
Its color is light gold, though it's darker than the previous 3yos I reviewed. The nose frames everything with light sugary peat. Apple-y calvados, lychee gummy candy, vanilla, soil and brine sit in the middle. The palate is HAWT. Jeez. It's fruity, though. Sweet white fruits and very tart berries. Puckeringly tart. Ocean water (don't drink ocean water, people) and cinnamon. More salt than peat, really. Lots of ethyl heat in the finish, as well. It's mostly salt, bitterness and char.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv
Ah, the nose is very pretty, all fruits and flowers. Bananas, plums and apples. The palate is much more approachable at this strength. Pepper, salt and sugar. Pears and vanilla. Donut glaze. Not much peat. Some of the pears remain in the warm, peppery, sweet finish.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
I'm sensing a theme here. Three consecutive 3 year old peated whiskies that all smell and taste like 3 year old peated whiskies, no matter where they've matured. This is the hottest of the three, but once diluted down to 46%abv, it's the best of the trio. While the nose has its delights, the whisky's palate (like the previous two) is limited by its youth. As I've said before, I'd be interested in tasting this stuff when it hits eight years old. At that point, I wouldn't doubt if it gives Hakushu a run for its money. Speaking of money, this thing is priced all over the map (as it were).

Availability - Japan, Europe and USA
Pricing - Japan: around $80 if you can find it; Europe: $200ish; USA: $200-$250
Rating - 81 (with water only)

Shinshu Mars 3 year old 2013 Blackadder, cask 1647

The Mission: Mars whiskies thus far:

--Shinshu 12 year old 1986, cask 452 (last Tuesday)

--Shinshu 12 year old 1992, cask 1125 (this Monday)

--Shinshu 20 year old 1989, cask 618 (Tuesday)

--Shinshu Komagatake Nature of Shinshu - Kohiganzakura (Wednesday)
--Shinshu Komagatake 2012 "Super Heavy Peated", cask 1492 (Thursday)
--Shinshu Mars 3 year old 2013 Blackadder, cask 1647 (today)

Like yesterday's whisky, this is a peated three year old Martian. I don't know which of Shinshu's three peated distillates were used here, but since it's supposed to be noticeably peaty, I'd say it's either the 20ppm or 50ppm spirit.

This time it's not an official bottling, but rather one from the independent company, Blackadder. Though, curiously, the official bottle shape was used.

The cask description makes me smile: "first refill bourbon barrel". So.....is it a second fill? On a side note, "first fill" is a misleading term because technically a "first fill" ex-bourbon barrel's real first fill is bourbon, not single malt. A true "first fill" would be a virgin oak cask, meanwhile a virgin oak cask is no longer "virginal" once it's been filled. And you have now wasted five seconds of your life reading this paragraph.

source

Brand: Mars
Distillery: Shinshu
Ownership: Hombo Shuzo Co. Ltd.
Region: Japan, Nagano Prefecture
Independent bottler: Blackadder
Age: 3 years (May 2013 - September 2016)
Maturation: "first refill bourbon barrel"
Peat level: either 20ppm or 50ppm
Cask #: 1647
Bottles: 239
Alcohol by Volume: 61%

NEAT
Oooh, there's fruit in the nose. I mean, it's subtle but there be peaches and pineapple here. There's also very polite peat and concrete. Sugar cookies and cinnamon candy. And the ocean/beach note found in many of these Martians. The palate has peppery peat, dried thyme, charred beef, berry syrup, brown sugar and little bit of heat. There's sweet peat, salt, pepper and heat in the finish.

DILUTED TO ~46%abv
Twix bars and cinnamon candy on the nose. Ocean. The peat has gotten quieter but ashier. Not much happening in the palate. Peppercorns and fresh ginger. Tart lemons and mild peat. Peat, ginger and pepper in the finish.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
The nose is a lot of fun but the palate is a snooze. There are no outright flaws here, unless bottling a whisky before it's ready equates to a flaw. The heat is calmer than I expected from a 3yo 61% whisky, and, again, the sniffer's fruit is much appreciated. I'm leaning towards this being a second fill barrel holding the 20ppm spirit.

Next week, the tour takes another turn, thank goodness. No the whiskies don't get older, but they do get different. As for this whisky:

Availability - ???
Pricing - ???
Rating - 78 (neat)