Randy Brandy drinks Chateau de Pellehaut Armagnac twice

Wow, that was riveting.

Diving for Kravitz spent an entire month on Glenfiddich 12. Have you ever seen someone try so hard to lose his readership? Well, hold my brandy (or whatever it is that the idiot-adults-who-want-to-be-cool-like-the-idiot-kids say).

After many trips to France on the company dime, K&L's Didactic Duo brought Armagnac to this great country to slake the thirst of their destitute devotees during the Obama years. Two "blog" posts later, every whisky nut with a chile in his ass bought every bottle because they were told to do so by Jesus Driscoll. Or was it "Jesus, Driscoll"?

Now Randy Brandy's going to rewrite the Chateau de Pellehaut introduction that the ginger cartoon formerly known as Sku once composed:

In France there's a place called Armagnac. In Armagnac there are three places called Bas-Armagnac Tenareze, and Haut-Armagnac. In Tenareze there is a brandy producer known as Chateau de Pellehaut. Tenareze is near Condom.

Florin, the Pappy of Armagnac sample givers, sent Kravitz two samples of CdP because he wants him to go Haut'ing. Don't tell me that's not how it's pronounced. Both Armagnacs were distilled from the Folle Blanche grape emissions and were both K&L blue light specials.

Photos of sample bottles are very important

Here are my notes.

Chateau de Pellehaut 16 year old 2001, 48.6%abv

Nose - Dark chocolate, black cherry ice cream, lemon, cinnamon, toffee. That's the first glass. The second glass smells like milk chocolate, vanilla bean, apples and anise.
Palate - Cherries, oranges, toffee and cloves. Kinda sweet. Lots of cask, but good cask. More ginger powder and black cherry soda in the second glass.
Finish - Cherries, mint, oranges, oak spice and dirt.

More Notes - This is brandy for bourbon drinkers, and I'm definitely the first person who has ever said that. But you can keep your bourbon, I'll take this instead. It tastes good, it smells good. The oak knows its place. Meanwhile 16 year old bourbon costs as much as John Edwards' haircut. Remember that? That was great and it's still funny.

Chateau de Pellehaut 17 year old 1996, 50.4%abv

Nose - Dried cherries, apple skins, peach skins, flowers, cinnamon, almond fudge and brine.
Palate - Dominican cigars, almonds and lemon cake. Salted caramel candy, candied peels and candied ginger. There's something between cocoa and leather going on in the second glass.
Finish - Warm baked orchard fruits, oak spice, mint. It's long. Long as......well, you've seen the pictures.

More Notes - Pour this for your whisky friends and tell them it's a 30 year old sherry cask single malt. Or don't pour it for them and keep it for yourself because it's better than whisky.

There were my notes.

How whisky were these armagnacs? My wife, Brandy, walked into my man cave after this tasting was over and said, "Gross. It smells like whisky in here." That's how whisky they were. Jesus Driscoll knew his market.

RATINGS:
Chateau de Pellehaut 16 year old 2001: B/B+
Chateau de Pellehaut 17 year old 1996: B+/A-   (the A- is for the whisky people who didn't buy this bottle)

7 Thoughts About Glenfiddich Month

1. I am forever cured of Glenfiddich 12 and its ancestry

Trying many versions of the same whisky expression over a period of three weeks is the most direct route for this writer to lose all interest in the subject matter. Though other whisky writers/bloggers would knock out all eight whiskies in one night, I am not in a social position wherein that behavior is appropriate. Also, I wouldn't trust my compromised senses after the fourth whisky. It's not that I judge those who choose that approach.

Who I am kidding? Of course I judge those people. Look at this website. I rate inanimate objects.

2. I am forever cured of Glenfiddich 12 and its ancestry

The trouble began when the current version of Glenfiddich 12 turned out to be mediocre. Then four out of seven of its predecessors proved to be at the same level or worse. The palate's the problem. The eight palates average out to a C- range of ratings.

Lessons #1 and #2 should have been taken to heart years ago when I spent a month reviewing nothing but middle-shelf blends. In fact, that month permanently changed my approach to this blog. You don't see me searching for bargains in sub-$20 dollar scotch anymore.

3. Bad fill-levels were not the source of the problem

All eight bottles had excellent fill levels. None of the bottles had the faded label tell-tale signs of sun damage. All, except the 2017 bottle, had screwtops, so there was no damage caused by warped corks. And every bottle came from a different source.

4. Mini bottles were not the problem

In my Killing Whisky History series I've consumed the contents of numerous minis much older and with worse fill levels than this month's whiskies, and none — except, perhaps, one from 70 years ago — were as off in the palate as 3/4s of the 'Fiddich minis.

5. Where's the pears?

Pear is (or was) my favorite nose/palate characteristic of young Glenfiddich. It was the one way I could pick Glenfiddich out in a blind tasting. You'll find that note listed just once in my reviews of the eight Glenfiddichs. Was that note getting filtered out by better (or worse?) maturation? Or was it all psychosomatic in the first place?

6. Whisky from decades past wasn't always better than whisky made now

Yes, I have often been a Luddite when it comes to whisky. Hell, that's why I keep seeking out dusties. But my real experience, as often demonstrated in many Killing Whisky History videos, is that a lot of the old stuff wasn't always great either. Mediocrity is timeless.

7. This has nothing to do with Glenfiddich. Or does it?

I did a Taste-Off between Jeppson's Malort and high-strength baiju.

Notes:
Malort - Tire-smoked turpentine
Jin Liu Fu baiju - Urine-soaked rotting socks filled with hazmat garbage and banana candy.

Malort wins. I lose.

— Resting Kravitz Face (@kravitz_hubris) February 24, 2019

Glenfiddich 8 year old Pure Malt, bottled 1979

I end this Glenfiddich voyage forty years ago. Alas, we finally have a bottle date on the bottom.

Glenfiddich Pure Malt had an 8 year age statement from near the brand's birth until the end of the 1970s. After that it went NAS for nearly two decades of darkness, aside from a short stint as a 10-year-old in Japan.

I obtained this mini as some point within the past two years, but I don't know how or when. But as you can see from that top photo, the fill level is money. I'm fairly excited about this.

Distillery: Glenfiddich
Owner: William Grant & Sons
Region: Speyside (Dufftown)
Age: at least 8 years old
Maturation: ???
Bottle Date: 79

Alcohol by Volume: 43%

Dunnage, malt, limes, peaches, smoked almonds, salty pork, sesame oil and a hint of butterscotch on the nose. The palate is different. Burlap, soap, greasy rags, chalk dust, limes, vanilla simple syrup and a lot of metal. There's some dingy smoke in there, among the acids and peppercorns. It gets violently, chemically sweet by the 20 minute mark. Soap, burlap and metal in the finish. Again, it gets so cloying so quickly.

What a nose. What a palate. What a mess. It's not often I find a Grade A scent attached to a Grade D- taste. When I first smelled the whisky, I thought, "My god, there's going to be a 90-point Glenfiddich on Diving for Pearls!" I was mistaken.

Unlike Wednesday's whisky, it didn't take time for the soap to take over. It was there from the start. So was a literally bloody amount of metal. It was a matter of *sniff* "Awesome" *sip* "Awful", *sniff* "Awesome" *sip* "Awful", and so on until I dumped a quarter of it down the sink. And that is how Glenfiddich Month ended.

Availability - one can find these minis at auctions
Pricing - ???
Rating - 72 (once again, the nose is all that keeps it out of the 60s)

Glenfiddich Pure Malt, bottled early 1980s

Before it was Our Signature Malt, it was Special Reserve; before it was Special Reserve, it was Special Old Reserve; and before it was Special Old Reserve, it was Pure Malt.

There was a short phase of Pure Malt when Glenfiddich removed some color and texture from the label resulting in a flatter, though aged, look. Within this period, there was even briefer moment when the abv dropped to 40%. How lucky am I to get to experience it?

Distillery: Glenfiddich
Owner: William Grant & Sons
Region: Speyside (Dufftown)
Age: no age statement
Maturation: ???
Bottle Code: none?

Alcohol by Volume: 40%

At first burst, the nose is all moldy clothes, sand, clay and metal. Some chemical reaction begins at the 20 minute mark and the nose keeps opening further and further with time, in approximately this fashion: vanilla, whipped cream, mixed berry jam, roses, fruity cinnamon, lemon zest and fermenting apples. Twenty minutes later the musty notes are gone. The palate begins rugged as well. Cork (though the bottle has a screwtop), dust, metal, ethyl, black pepper and tobacco. Beneath that is a simple sweetness and tartness. It gets sweeter and soapier with time, picking up some plastic notes. With the first couple of sips, the finish is cleaner than the palate with a lemon and funky honey combination. But then comes the cork. And the soap. It keeps some sweetness and lemon. But the soap.

With time in the glass the whisky's nose ascended, while the palate crumbled completely. The palate was challenging to begin with, but the soap and plastic notes that start to take over become unnerving. This mini had a perfect fill level so I didn't anticipate this problem. Perhaps the whisky wasn't great when it was bottled? It's certainly a different creature than the 1986 bottling. I have no idea what to expect from Friday's whisky.

Availability - Auctions
Pricing - ???
Rating - 75 (but don't linger over the stuff)

Glenfiddich Special Old Reserve, bottled circa 1986

In the mid-to-late 1980's Glenfiddich removed the "Old" from their whisky's name, Special Old Reserve. That 'Old' was around for only a few years, while Special (not Old) Reserve had its place on the label for nearly two decades. Once again, I somehow wound up with a bottle that was caught in the transition:

At least this time the design was mostly coordinated. It's just the 'Old' that's missing from the tube.

Placing the exact year of bottling is difficult. At least Whiskybase has a matching 1000mL bottle from 1986 to use as a reference. Was Special Reserve actually younger than Special Old Reserve? Probably not. But here's to hoping there's some maturity in the Olds.

Distillery: Glenfiddich
Owner: William Grant & Sons
Region: Speyside (Dufftown)
Age: no age statement
Maturation: ???
Bottle Code: LE4675281143

Alcohol by Volume: 43%

The color is back to a pale hue. The nose has some lovely old dunnage stink to it. Beneath that is a series of bright fruity, floral notes: peaches in honey, clementines, lemons, apples and vanilla bean. Lots of fresh ginger in the palate. Sweet citrus and a little bit of raspberry jam. There are smaller notes of molasses, burlap, herbal bitterness, salt and wood smoke. It gets maltier with time. It finishes with fresh ginger, limes, honey, salt and smoke, with the limes holding on the longest.

A pair of pliers was required to get the cap off this mini. That tight seal may have helped keep this whisky fresh and fruity, similar in quality to my bottle of early '90s Special Reserve. The citrus and ginger notes also formed a bit of a link between the two whiskies. This one is a little simpler than the early '90s version, and the extra 3 three alcohol points neither add nor subtract anything. No, it doesn't seem to be any older than the Special Reserves I've reviewed, but it's still a comfy starter single malt. That touch of smoke doesn't hurt either.

Availability - Auctions
Pricing - ???
Rating - 82

Glenfiddich Special Reserve, bottled 1990ish @ 43%abv!

We have reached the 43%abv era of Glenfiddich Special Reserve!

*trumpets trumpet*

*sun shines*

*dog licks his balls*

But does it matter? Will that little bit of extra alcohol and less water result in more flavor and better texture? I hope so.

Today's Glenfiddich Special Reserve is from the early-er '90s. It's a 50mL, bottled for the USA. Its label nearly identical to the that of the 750mL reviewed on Wednesday, except for one factor:

There's that extra 3 points of poison. And now there's a listing of "(86 Proof)". As of 1990, liquor bottles were required to list alcohol content in %. Some companies listed both proof and abv for the first year or two in the transition. Others possibly started doing so before 1990.

In 1989, the Surgeon General's warning became an added requirement. This mini's got it:

So I lined this whisky up with Wednesday's Glenfiddich and the 2017 bottling. It was the first time in these tastings that I had a slightly higher than moderate expectations.

Distillery: Glenfiddich
Owner: William Grant & Sons
Region: Speyside (Dufftown)
Age: no age statement
Maturation: ???
Bottle Code: LD....and then a string of smudged, vanishing numbers

Alcohol by Volume: 43%

Its color is actually darker than the other early 1990s bottling. There's yeast, dough, honey, white bread, salt and burlap at the core of the whisky's nose. Mint and strawberry candies at the edges. Small highlights of apples and smoked meat appear occasionally. The palate is vanilla cardboard and sugar. Tangy limes and a hint of cigars in the far back. Gradually the limes and vanilla push forward. It takes an hour before the cardboard flavor dissipates. The lightly sweet finish has limes, vanilla and cardboard.

The nose is full of promise. The palate is full of disappointment. Okay, that's polite. The palate is crap. The 50mL bottle had an excellent fill level, so it's not an oxidation issue. It's just a very flat batch, possibly assembled from used-up casks. It even underperformed the 2017 bottling. Having an extra 3 points of alcohol doesn't help if the whisky is flawed.

Next week, we go back to the '80s and early '70s....

Availability - one can find these minis at auctions
Pricing - ???, I think I paid less than $10 for it
Rating - 74 (only the nose keeps this out of the 60s)

Glenfiddich Special Reserve, bottled early 1990s

Traveling back in time, we're now in the era when Glenfiddich was transitioning away from the "Pure Malt" nomenclature. As a result there are some design inconsistencies between the bottle label and the tube, where one will see both the Pure Malt and Single Malt titles.

When I tried this whisky up against the 2017 bottling in the most recent Killing Whisky History, this 'Fiddich came out on top. That made me happy because this bottle is 750mL, and it's sad to have 750mLs of bleh.

I found the bottle at a random liquor store somewhere in Orange County in the spring of 2016. There were at least four more bottles on the shelf, and the gent behind the counter wanted to sell me all of them. I didn't take him up on it because I wasn't sure if I knew what the whisky was like. He was a nice guy, though, and kinda desperate to get rid of someone crap no one else wanted. All four bottles are probably still there. Ready, set, go, find it!

Distillery: Glenfiddich
Owner: William Grant & Sons
Region: Speyside (Dufftown)
Age: no age statement
Maturation: bourbon casks, probably

Alcohol by Volume: 40%
Chillfiltered? ???
Caramel Colorant? ???

First thing to note is the color which is much lighter than the three Glenfiddichs that preceded it this month. In fact, I wouldn't be shocked if no e150a was applied. The nose is vibrant for 40%abv. Lots of barley, flowers and orange juice. A mix of honey mustard and ground mustard seed. With some time in the glass, the whisky develops notes of butterscotch and key lime pie. The palate feels much thicker than the 2017's. The sweeter notes — butterscotch, confectioner's sugar, vanilla bean — are balanced with some zippy notes of horseradish and ginger. After a while it gains peach nectar and flower notes without losing anything along the way. The finish has a decent length. It's mildly sweet with lots of citrus and ginger, and smaller notes of mint and vanilla bean.

This is very pleasant without being generic. It's textured and tasty with a little bit of complexity. I don't think there's longer-aged whisky in the mix, but the bourbon casks are doing their job without overwhelming the spirit. There's no sherry cask influence to be found, but that's not a bad thing here. It's the most enjoyable Glenfiddich of the group so far, by far.

Availability - ???
Pricing - bought it for $37.99 in 2016
Rating - 84