Glenburgie 26 year old 1995 Gordon & MacPhail, cask 6349

Whether or not yesterday's whisky was a Glenburgie, I can tell you that today's is. Glenburgie, yes. Bourbon cask, no. I've never had a sherry puncheon from this distillery before, but as this series' single casks have been very reliable, I'm optimistic about the whisky.

Distillery: Glenburgie
Region: Speyside (Moray)
Owners: Pernod Ricard
Independent Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail
Range: Connoisseurs Choice
Age: 26 years (1995 - 27 April 2022)
Maturation: 1st fill sherry puncheon
Cask #: 6349
Bottles: 564
Alcohol by Volume: 56.8%
(from a bottle split)

NEAT

The nose delivers the sharp scent of actual Oloroso, which has become rather novel in sherry casks of late. Beyond that there's some raspberry jam, toasted almonds, toffee, and cherry gelatin. It picks up floral and saline notes after 30 minutes. The palate is slightly sweeter than Oloroso, with notes of blackberry and boysenberry jams up front, and salt + pepper + lime in the back. It finishes with the salt and pepper, while also adding notes of umeboshi and dark chocolate.

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or < 1½ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Things get more candied, but also earthier on the nose. The palate leans woodier, bitterer. Though some silky raspberry jam-filled dark chocolate waits behind. Its finish matches the palate.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Yesterday's whisky did not have Glenburgie's name, but it certainly smelled and tasted of that distillery. Today's whisky carried the Glenburgie's name, but I would never have guessed 'Burgie if blindfolded. This because the brown liquor was all cask, which is something that frustrates me three-quarters of the time. But I liked this one. Diluting it takes it too far over the edge, so I preferred it at full strength. This is a whisky for sherry drinkers, a tiny subset of boozers. If you are among that ilk, enjoy!

Availability - Still available in the EU, mostly Germany
Pricing - $250-$300
Rating - 87 (neat)

Black Friday 22 year old The Whisky Exchange, 2021 Edition

Glenburgie in its pre-2004 + bourbon cask form can be one of the prettiest, fruitiest single malts. In 2004-2005, Allied Lyons leveled and rebuilt the distillery in a larger form, and then expanded it further the next year to support the Ballantine's blends' needs. I'm not shading the new era's distillate because enough time hasn't yet passed to see how it'll turn out.

This week presents a trio of 1990s Glenburgie spirit, though I can't guarantee that any of these were bourbon-cask-only productions. Today's 'Burgie, The Whisky Exchange's Black Friday 2021 single malt, is probably falls in that catgeory, but Billy Abbott and crew were very hush-hush about the ingredients, even leaving the distillery's name off the label. In fact, I'm not 100% certain this is actually Glenburgie, but a pair of little birdies told me it was. Should I listen to the birds, those tricksy spies?

Distillery: Glenburgie?
Region: Speyside (Moray)
Owners: Pernod Ricard
Independent Bottler: Elixir Distillers
Range: Black Friday
Age: 22 years (???? - October 2021)
Maturation: ???
Outturn: 1800 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 49.2%
(from a bottle split)

NEAT

Plenty of happy youth left in this 22yo's nose. Apricots and limes join up with hazelnuts, rye seeds, and touch of malt. Notes of cardamom and baked peaches arrive after about 30 minutes. Similar apricot-lime-malt start to the palate, then turns towards kiwi candy, peach schnapps, and a dash of salt. It finishes with a mix of stone fruit liqueurs, yet never gets too sweet, perhaps because there's a nice salty foundation beneath.

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or <½ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Orange blossoms and cream puffs take over the nose now, with mellower notes of rye seeds and pine in the background. The palate gets extra fruity, with peaches, tangerines, and a mango moment or two. A slightly bitter bite gives it an extra angle. The finish matches the palate.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

It's probably Glenburgie, or at least one of its fruity Speyside cousins. Though the whisky is more complex when neat, I prefer how the diluted palate focuses directly on the fruit essences while easing up on the sweetness. As often happens, the small batch approach brings consistency and moderation to the whisky. So complexity isn't its strong suit, instead it's a comfy drinker without too much oak. There are evenings when such an elixir becomes necessary.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 85

Benriach 10 year old 2010 SMWS 12.49

Yes, Benriach week concludes with a young 60%abv whisky with a brief second maturation. It also isn't particularly lauded by the Whiskybase crowd. But today is Friday, so I shall embrace questionable choices. Meanwhile, the whisky's finish was in an IPA cask, which can work...

Distillery: Benriach
Current Ownership: Brown-Forman

Owner at time of distillation: Seagram Distillers
Region: Speyside (Lossie)

Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 10 years (18 March 2010 - 2021?)
Maturation: refill hogshead for nine years, then one year in a 2nd fill Tempest Old Fashioned IPA barrel
Cask#: 12.49, "Is this the way to Amarillo?"
Outturn: 235 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 60%
(from a bottle split)

NEAT

Vanilla and caramel form the top layer of the nose, with mint and eucalyptus in the middle, and weedy hops in the distance. The palate reads like cask strength Canadian Club, mostly ethyl and vanilla. Hints of ginger, lemon, and bitterness decorate the edges. It finishes hot and very sweet, with lots of caramel.

DILUTED to ~50%abv, or 1¼ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

Not much change in the nose, just a little more ginger, confectioner's sugar, and caramel. The palate is sweet and very woody, with tannins coating and drying the tongue. It finishes like a caramel-flavored whisky, with the occasional whiff of mint and tannin in the background.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

As referenced above, the whisky is like a high-strength Canadian blend aged in an aggressive first-fill barrel. It's missing the fun oddities of IPAs; instead it's just gooey sweet. It's better when neat because it sort of works as a dessert pour, but it's pretty bad once diluted. I guess something had to balance out all those recent 90-point malts.

Availability - Sold out, my condolences
Pricing - $100ish?
Rating - 73 (neat only, low 60s once diluted)

Benriach 32 year old 1987 Gordon & MacPhail, cask 19/005

What is going on here? Three 90-point whiskies in a row?! That's just weird, and totally irresponsible of me. Let's see if I can find the repressed curmudgeon in me.

Distilled during Benriach's Seagram era, today's whisky spent some or all of its 32 years in a refill sherry hoggie before it was conveyed into 213 of G&M's fancier thicker Connoisseurs Choice bottles, each secured within its own wooden casket. I don't have much more to add, and most of this information can be found below. Time to drink.

Distillery: Benriach
Current Ownership: Brown-Forman

Owner at time of distillation: Seagram Distillers
Region: Speyside (Lossie)

Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail

Range: Connoisseurs Choice Cask Strength

Age: 32 years (15 June 1987 - 26 July 2020)

Cask #: 19/005
Maturation: refill sherry hogshead
Outturn: 213 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 51.1%
(from a bottle split)

NEAT

In the nose, notes of orange oil, eucalyptus, and marzipan are framed by musty old oak and newspapers. The palate is neither too tannic nor bitter. Instead, sweet oranges and white cherries lead the way, followed by hints of walnuts, ginger powder, and vanilla. It finishes with tart plums, walnuts, nutmeg, caramel sauce, and slightly more obvious oak.

DILUTED to ~46%abv, or ¾ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

More caramel and marzipan appear in the nose, it also becomes more floral, while taking on hints of lychee, and limes. The palate is mostly toasty oak spices, with sweet citrus and honey in the background. The finish mostly mirrors the palate, but picks up a touch of woody bitterness.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

This is a very good whisky, a bit adventurous on the nose, but a model mellow modern Speyside in the palate, something to drink casually. Now, if that's what you want in a $600 whisky, then have at it. Perhaps if it wasn't paired with Monday's '71 Benriach, then this '87 may have shown brighter. But I can only write what I experienced in the tasting, and that is a Benriach Anytimer with a problematic QPR. The curmudgeon returns!

Availability - Still available in Europe more than 3 years later
Pricing - $575 to $625
Rating - 85

Benriach 42 year old 1971 Whiskybroker

Whiskybroker.co.uk has a throwback vibe (I think I know what those words mean). Their prices are fair, their packaging is minimal, and their labels rarely have more than three colors. Owner Martin Armstrong — yes of those Armstrongs — stays very transparent about his struggles and successes via that Bookface website, which allows many a whisky nerd to fantasize about what it'd be like to run their own indie scheme.

It's because of Whiskybroker's restrained pricing that I was able to participate in a bottle split of a FORTY TWO year old Benriach single cask. The spirit produced by this distillery during the Glenlivet Distillers years (1965-1978) has quite the fruity reputation. This is my sixth (probably last) opportunity to try Benriach from this era, so I'm looking forward to this!

Distillery: Benriach
Current Ownership: Brown-Forman

Owner at time of distillation: Glenlivet Distilleries
Region: Speyside (Lossie)

Bottler: Whiskybroker
Age: 42 years (1 September 1971 - 29 November 2013)
Maturation: ???
Outturn: 189 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 40.8% (close call!)
(from a bottle split)

NOTES

The nose delights with apricot preserves, mango juice, orange peel, and fig jam. Some dunnage here, something brothy there, and a pumpernickel note in the background.

The palate's apricot preserve note is remarkable. This is whisky, right? Bits of mango and lime float underneath; a hint of lychee, too. It gets tarter with time, also picking up some bitter citrus. Ah, and the mango expands too.

It finishes with a cocktail of mango, blood orange, cherry juice, and mint leaf.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Oh my. Yummy. The only thing preventing this whisky from being an all-timer is the ABV, which results in a conspicuous fragility and brief finish; though those factors only further contribute to my desire for seconds, thirds, and fourths on the whisky. Had the angels not picked away at this cask like vultures, I'm not sure how high this Benriach's ceiling would be. Maybe 1960s Longmorn? But I shall not ponder what could have been. This excellent pour results in the 3rd 90-pointer in a row, which I'm pretty sure has never happened here before.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - ???
Rating - 90

Red Bag #1 (Ardbeg) 16 year old 2006 Dramfool

Yesterday's indie Ardbeg was a hardy, tarry creature from a sherry butt. Today's older Ardbeg, er, Red Bag comes from an ex-bourbon hogshead and has a much lighter color. Not only do I know little else about it, but I can't remember when or why I went in on this bottle split. Anyhoo, I tried it alongside yesterday's excellent 12yo SMWS.

Distillery: Ardbeg

Owner: LVMH
Region: Southern Islay

Independent Bottler: Dramfool
Age: 16 years (9 Mar 2006 - 18 Mar 2022)
Maturation: bourbon hogshead
Cask#: 53rd release
Outturn: 260 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 57.7%
(from a bottle split)

NEAT

A quirky industrial note, paralleling older Loch Lomond and Ledaig, arrives first in the nose. It lifts to reveal apricots, peaches, overripe cantaloupe, wet sand, chocolate, and soot-free peat. Oh the palate, though. Guavas, limes, tart nectarines, sweet plums, and kiwis! Of course there's also moderate peat smoke, a dash of salt, and a whiff of manure. The tart and sweet stone fruits, as well as the kiwis, live on into the finish, where they're met by salty peat and a slight herbal bitter bite.

DILUTED to 46%abv, or 1½ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

The nose is a beachside car repair garage filled with ripening guavas. Extra tart limes lead the palate, with salty toffee, milder smoke, and a soft sweetness beneath. It finishes with a stellar balance of tart, salt, sweet, and smoke.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

Another fab single Ardbeg cask, showing a character opposite to yesterday's cask. In fact it's reminiscent of an older pre-LVMH Ardbeg style, where the peat supports all the other elements, rather than lording over them. The fruits were a very welcome surprise that won me over instantly. I would have never imagined fruity Ardbeg appearing in the 21st century. This would have been a stellar bottle to possess were it half (or a third) of its price.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - over $350
Rating - 90

Ardbeg 12 year old 2007 SMWS 33.139

That two-week Westland run was the least read cluster so far, and had the lowest weekly turnout since the last time I reviewed Japanese whisky. Sure enough, this week's first Ardbeg post's clicky count has already passed those Westlands. Scotch brings readers to the blog. Other countries' single malts appear to be of very little interest, while some bourbon fans aren't particularly happy with how I rate the oak juice. That's okay, single malt scotch is always served in my happy place, so I shall continue with the indie Ardbegs.

Today, it's a refill 'Beg butt bottled for the 2020 Feis Ile that never happened.

Distillery: Ardbeg

Owner: LVMH
Region: Southern Islay

Independent Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 12 years (24 May 2007 - 2020)
Maturation: 2nd fill Oloroso butt
Cask#: 33.139, "You would not believe!"
Outturn: 603 bottles
Alcohol by Volume: 61.3%
(from a bottle split)

NEAT

Mmmmm good nose. Oysters, herbal-tinged peat smoke, almond butter, and dried cherries live on top, with hints of charred and smoked meats linger below. The palate starts out with tar, umami, kiln, lime, and salt. It's gorgeously bitter. Charred green bell pepper and iodine arrive later on. It finishes tart, salty, and savory, with that herbal bitterness looming largest.

DILUTED to ~50%abv, or > 1¼ tsp of water per 30mL whisky

The nose keeps the oyster/beach note, but now there's a dirty boat dock too. Cinnamonny peat and pine needles stay in the midground. Dried cherries have joined the palate's excellent bitterness, while dark chocolate and kiln notes hug the edges. It finishes with kiln, dried savory and bitter herbs, as well as a little bit of basil syrup.

WORDS WORDS WORDS

"You would not believe!"? Ardbeg, I cannot believe you let this gem of a cask out of your sight! It knocks the current Oogie batches on their arses. Aren't you charging like $400-$800/bottle for these official single butts now? So I guess this a "thank you". Thank you for letting this cask slip out so that SMWS could charge a mere $285/bottle for it.

This whisky market sucks.

Anyway, 33.139 is how I like my peat monsters, full of savoriness and ocean and bitterness and a hint of fruit. Adding water to it felt almost tragic, but luckily it held together. To those of you who haven't flipped this bottle, just know that at least you received high quality in return for all those $$$€€€£££.

Availability - Sold out
Pricing - $285 (I think) in 2020
Rating - 90 (neat)