The Rum Dummy drinks Clarendon 37 year old 1984 Thompson Brothers

After being kicked off this site for trying to be funny and not being funny, I'm back!!!

And there's a good reason too. Kravitz found out that he wasn't very funny either. Last month, a woman left him because he thought he was sooooooo hilarious. Yes, she ditched him for it. He thought he got jokes, but instead he got dumped. It's true! [Ed. note: Dude.]

Also he has a lot of rum samples and, as you can tell, the guy can barely deliver his scotch reviews on time. So I figured I'd grab a 37 year old rum before I get kicked off this site again.

What is the difference between a Clarendon, a Clairin, and a Claritin? I don't know, I am the wrong person to ask. And if I came up with an actual punchline, I'd be sacked again.

Clarendon 37 year old 1984 Thompson Brothers for Auld Alliance, 62%abv

Hot stuff. I think it was aged for 34 years in Jamaica and three years in Scott Land. The Thompsons usually do whisky things, so I don't know where they got a rum cask from. Probably Jamaica.

Nose - Yummy. Milk chocolate, warm toffee, lots of vanilla extract. But there's also something good weird going on behind the pretty stuff. There are rotting black walnuts, olives, root beer, and chicory. And no, I did not add water. Because.

Palate - Mint leaves and black licorice rubbed in the dirt. Lemons. Something milky. It's not what I thought it was going to taste like. It also has a Clement (yes, the Rum Dummy drinks other rums and doesn't understand them either) herbal thing going on. It's very salty and has a kind of bitterness that I've never tasted before. I'd like to add that it doesn't burn like 62%abv. If everything this strong drank this easily I'd already be dead and Kravitz would be calling me The Dumb Rummy.

Finish - It's like licking stones. And there's that weird bitterness, which I kinda like. Burnt coffee and burnt grapefruit?

Yay old rum! But I'm very confused by the process that takes booze from one former brutalized British property, ages it some more in a current brutalized British property, only to sell it in another former brutalized British property. No wonder this liquor is so bitter.

Uh oh. I think that was a joke. Will Diving for Pearls allow me back? Gosh I hope so, because he has Uitvlugt. Uitvlugt! Funny, right? How about Uitvlugt bottled by Murray McDavid?

NOT WHISKY RATING: B

Old Perth 21 year old 1996 Blended Malt (54.9%abv)

One more sherried blended malt and then we can call it a week. Almost six years ago, I bought a bottle of Old Perth 21yo 1996 blindly. I'm not sure why I did that, but luckily the whisky was really good! A few years later, my friends, the Doctors Springbank, bought a 22yo 1996 Old Perth. Like the 21yo, it was a deeply hued sherry cask thing. The sample they provided has been sitting in my sample stash for nearly three years. Sorry, Doctors, for the delay!

pic source

Company: Morrison and Mackay
Brand: Old Perth

Type: Blended (or Vatted) Malt

Distilleries: ???

Age: 22 years (1996-2018)
Maturation: single sherry cask, maybe a hogshead?
Outturn: 283 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 54.9%

NEAT

A big nose on this one, with orange marmalade, honey, oregano, leather, and something metallic right up front. Walnuts and dried currants in the back. There's an industrial side to the palate, with coal smoke and that metallic note. Black walnuts and tart citrus fill the middle, heat and a subtle woodiness stay in the background. It finishes with sweeter citrus, dried cherries, a little bit of smoke, and a lot of heat.

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

The nose calms down and focuses on oranges, walnuts, applesauce, and canned peaches. Meanwhile the palate intensifies, now much oakier, pepperier, and sourer. And, curiously, hotter. It finishes with oranges, lemons, and tannins.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

My palate really prefers this one neat, thought it smells great either way. The whisky's lack of generic sherry cask notes, and the emphasis on citrus and walnuts, makes me think the vatting's ingredients were from bourbon casks, and the finishing vessel was seasoned with a particularly dry Oloroso. It's good, hearty stuff without water added, then gets consumed by the cask(s) once it's diluted. Keep it neat, and enjoy it during mild winter evenings!

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - was probably below £100 five years ago
Rating - 85 (neat only)

"Rich Fruity Sherry" 36 year old 1980 Cadenhead Creations

I had thought I'd scheduled three vatted (or blended) malts this week, but but lo and behold today's 36yo Cadenhead Creation is a blended whisky, which means the grain stuff is present. Though I don't know the ratio of malt to grain, the ingredients are known and I've listed them in the data below. (Hint: It's a Highland Distillers special!)

Ye olde Campbeltown bottler first produced a "Rich Fruity Sherry" blended whisky back in 2013, though that one was all of 20 years old. In 2016, this sequel materialized, darker, older, and more expensive. I matched it up against Monday's 40yo blended malt. Which one came out on top???

Bottler: Cadenhead

Range: Cadenhead Creations

Type: Blended Whisky

Distilleries: Highland Park, Macallan, Tamdhu, and Invergordon

Age: minimum 36 years (1980 - 2016)

Maturation: 2 sherry butts
Outturn: ???

Alcohol by Volume: 44.5%
(from a bottle split)

NOTES

The fresh, perky nose starts off with loads of bright citrus peels, mint leaf, and basil leaf. Some dates here, a hint of peach skin there. The cask influence expands slowly with coffee, maple syrup, and baking spices. It gets heavier and stickier with time until it's a mix of nocino and port.

Up front, the palate reads woodier and dustier than the nose. Combinations of stone fruits and honeys try to battle back the oak with mixed success as caramel and tingly oak spice rise from beneath. A few lemons appear in the final sip.

The same oak spice, and a puff of wood smoke, lead the finish. It doesn't get too bitter, and some tart citrus liven it up. Sweetness appears at the very end.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Unlike the exhausted casks of Cadenhead's 43yo blend, this whisky's oak stays plenty strong......to the point it makes me wonder how late into the game the two sherry butts were utilized for the four ingredients. Any lovely signs of those old Highland Distillers goodies evaded me. Invergordon may have been the loudest ingredient (aside from the oak), possibly because the malts were underproof. I didn't use any question marks in this paragraph, but this Cadenhead Creation left me with only questions. Stirk's 40yo vatted malt was the clear winner between the two oldies.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - also in the $300 range?
Rating - 84

The Exclusive Blended Malt 40 year old 1977 Creative Whisky Company

Some of David Stirk's best Creative Whisky Company releases were his blends — I'd still love to track down a bottle of the 20yo 1994 blended malt someday somehow — so I recently leapt at the opportunity to be part of a bottle split of CWC's 40 year old 1977 vatting. This oldie came from sherry butts and I'm not sure of its ingredients nor its outturn. At 42.9%abv, some elements needed bottling/blending before they were no longer "whisky", but that doesn't mean it those parts were bad, they just needed some TLC ASAP, and CWC was able to provide that service. And now it's time to run that whisky through my liver.

Bottler: The Creative Whisky Company

Range: Exclusive Blends

Type: Blended (or Vatted) Malt

Distilleries: ???

Age: minimum 40 years (1977 - 201?)

Maturation: sherry butts
Outturn: ???

Alcohol by Volume: 42.9%
(from a bottle split)

NEAT

It's like nosing the inside of a gorgeous old cask in a dunnage, an earthy, musty smell that cannot be rushed. The sherry leans towards Palo Cortado or drier Olorosos, so more nuts (walnuts, pecans, Brazils) are present than dried fruits. Candied orange peels sneak in around the edges.

Dunnage and mushroom-ish umami notes lead the palate, with yuzus and limes in the midground. Hints of dates, tobacco, and wormwood float through the background. Oak does edge in slowly over time, but it brings much more spice than generic bitterness.

The long finish offers cloves, dried mint, and yuzu juice, as well as hints of menthol and anise.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

This would have been another great bottle to own, and that's not just because the whisky was old. A blend can indeed go wrong when its ingredients have three or four decades on them. The structure may become frail and/or woody bitterness can take over. This vatting was bottled just in time, before those problems set in. So it's extremely drinkable, never too sweet, never too bitter, and a delight to nose.

Up next, a 36 year old blend from another indie bottler...

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - I don't think it was much more than $300
Rating - 88

Mannochmore 18 year old 1990, Special Release 2009

Enjoying a pair of great, young, spirity Mannochmores was one of this week's highlights. Drinking shouldn't be the highlight of a healthy person's week, but who said I was a healthy person?

Time to wrap up the fun with one of Diageo's Special Releases from back in the day when the releases were special. Though an 18-year-old Mannochmore was never going to leap off the shelves, it was nice for the braintrust behind Loch Dhu to offer a proper Mann to the masses.

Distillery: Mannochmore

Ownership: Diageo

Region: Speyside (Elgin)

Range: Special Relases

Age: 18 years (1990 - 23 April 2009)

Maturation: American oak and European oak casks

Outturn: 3210 bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 54.9%

(from a bottle split)

NEAT

In the nose, the fruits (peaches, apricots, honeydew) mix with florals and honey upfront. Dry sherry nuttiness stays just behind, with hazelnuts, walnuts, and almonds as highlights. The first sip offers a curious burst of Petite Sirah that never returns in subsequent sips. Then tart blueberries, citrus peels, almonds, ginger, and mint take over. French oak-style baking spices arrive later, slowly consuming all else, while also contributing a silky texture. It finishes with blood oranges, mint, lemons, those French oak spices, and a subtle creaminess.

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

Baking spices and apricots start the nose, followed by orange creamsicles, golden raisins, and a hint of sugary pastry. The palate matches the nose here. Oranges and oak spices (cloves and ginger powder) meet mild florals, with the whole thing turning into oranges+ginger after a while. It finishes with cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and lemon peels.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Ah, here are some double standards. You'll note references to oak oak oak oak oak. But I like French oak notes, within reason, so this whisky fits my palate better than all the contemporary US oak monsters. Yet, this isn't as thrilling this week's previous two Mannochmores. It's a very good easy drinker that I wouldn't mind owning at whatever its 2009 price was, but........yeah, it's ultimately all about the casks here, not the Mannochmore.

Availability - Secondary market
Pricing - ???
Rating - 86

Mannochmore 12 year old 2008 Lady of the Glen, cask 13959

I first tried today's Mannochmore at an event 2+ years ago, when Columbus Scotch Night started carefully phasing in in-person events post-Covid. This whisky was great, its price was not. But I did wind up taking home a generous sample. Two years later (last weekend), I enjoyed a Taste Off between two 2008 Mannochmores: this Lady of the Glen, and yesterday's Signatory.

pic source

Distillery: Mannochmore
Ownership: Diageo

Region: Speyside (Elgin)

Independent Bottler: Lady of the Glen

Age: 11 years (17 Oct 2008 - 12 Jul 2021)

Maturation: Hogshead
Cask number: 13959
Outturn: 328 bottles

Exclusive to: Dram Hunter

Alcohol by Volume: 55.3%
(from a paid event)

NEAT

Huzzah! Another fruity nose, with dried apricots, orange pixi stix, yuzu peel, and kiwi candy catching most of the attention. Subtler notes of lemongrass and roses linger behind. The brightly tart palate, leads with yuzus, grapefruits, and tart berries. The citrus turns a little bitterer with time as it tilts more towards the peels than the fruit. A little bit of toasted barley highlights the background. It finishes with tart and bitter citrus, with hints of cayenne pepper and salt.

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or 1¼ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Same fruits in the nose, though they seem more intense. The floral notes are gone. A hint of guava sneaks in later on. The palate comes in tarter, sharper, bitterer, more peppery. Less nuance, more violence. But still loaded with citrus. It finishes with peppercorns and citrus peels.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

A close relative to the Signatory UCF cask, this LotG hoggie reads a bit more forceful and less graceful, but it's still a great fruity single malt. In fact, this is a rare example of a fruity whisky that may drink better in winter than spring. Alas, I did not buy a bottle of this stuff because I didn't understand the price tag, which was twice what I, an actual Mannochmore fan, would pay. But if you want to drop two bills on something like this, I won't stop you.

Availability - Still available in the US
Pricing - $180-$200
Rating - 87 (neat only)

Mannochmore 11 year old 2008 Signatory UCF, cask 12243

For some of us who got into whisky 10-15 years ago, the Signatory Un-chillfiltered series may be the most influential whisky range. From the low-tech label to the "What is chillfiltered?" and "What do they mean, natural colour?" questions it encouraged, to the opportunity to try distilleries we couldn't otherwise find on the shelves, to the solid quality in every bottle, the UCFs propelled many whisky geeks forward. Sadly this range isn't as available in the US as it used to be, more cask-driven expressions have been introduced, and the metal tubes have been swapped out for more environmentally savvy cardboard replacements. Actually the last part is pretty sharp on Signatory's part, the other two factors less so.

I still snoop around the very few European retailers that offer the UCFs for something interesting, but rarely find anything that piques my whisky curiosity. But somehow, in the Covid-era, a Mannochmore UCF found its way to the United States, and it's very good.

Distillery: Mannochmore
Ownership: Diageo

Region: Speyside (Elgin)

Independent Bottler: Signatory
Range: Un-Chillfiltered Collection

Age: 11 years (17 Sept 2008 - 24 Jul 2020)

Maturation: Hogshead
Cask number: 12243
Outturn: ??? bottles

Alcohol by Volume: 46%
(from a bottle split)

NOTES

The nose starts off all fruits and barley: grapefruit, apricot, peach, and orange pixi stix. The barley element elevates with time, and minor notes of metal and anise drift in the background. It reminds me of late spring.

Lean and lemony, the palate possesses a nice balance of tart and sweet. No vanilla. Hints of horseradish, peppercorns, and barley stay in the back. A bright grapefruit note appears after 30+ minutes.

It finishes lemony, peppery, and warm, with just a hint of vanilla. Like on the palate, the grapefruit arrives later.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Had I lived in a more scotch-friendly state, I would have picked up a bottle or two of this Mannochmore when it arrived on our shores. It's a spirit-forward whisky, loaded with citrus and stone fruits, plenty of malted barley, and comfortable moreish charm. It's a quaint, though very welcome, style that feels almost mysterious and romantic at this point, and something that the scotch arena could use more of. I hope the Symington warehouses have plenty more of it.

Availability - Might still be around
Pricing - $70?
Rating - 88