Summertime... and the living is easy. Malts are jumping and the mood is high.
This time we decided to have trip to Lowlands. The whole line-up:
Auchentoshan 1992/2013 Maltbarn №44 52.0% - 134 bottles released.
Nose: quite sharp at the beginning, cologne, green apples and soaked cucumbers, then it becomes fruitier and rounder.
Taste: spicy and piercing with grassy and citrus notes.
Finish: long one with bitterness (of herbal origin) and tons of citrus fruits.
Overall: needs some time, nose and finish become definitely better after 20 min in a glass.
Score = 22 21 22 21, 86/100!
Bladnoch 1992/2010 cask #2608 55.0% - not often you get lowland malt aged in a sherry cask, so this one should be very interesting.
Nose: lowland grassiness polished by sherry cask, strong tea, lollipops, touch of cough syrup. Later on drifts towards dark sulphur side of power sherry - struck matches and so on.
Taste: similar to nose + hint of Aperol.
Finish: long, oaky and coating.
Overall: liked it a bit more than previous sample, interesting combo of lowland tenderness and sherry cask.
Score = 22 21 22 22, 87/100!
Littlemill 1989/2014 TWA Liquid Library 48.7% - 199 bottles released.
Nose: wow, that's what I call a Nose, wet grass, malted barley, nuts, sunflower oil, vanilla, flowers, citrus notes and creamy sweetness on top.
Taste: oily, sweet, hints of oak and vanilla. Not so complex as the nose, but utterly drinkable.
Finish: long, grassy, oak and vanilla again, tropical fruits as coup-de-grace.
Overall: great malt, I haven't tasted a lot of Littlemills so far, though what I do like about them is powerful creaminess and fruitiness in addition to typical tenderness of Lowlands.
Score = 23 22 23 23, 91/100!
St Magdalene 1982/2009 Chieftain's Choice cask #2219 55.0% - 348 bottles released.
Nose: starts on dry grass (imagine sunny day in the meadows), whiffs of citrus, earthy and mineral tones.
Taste: smooth and oily, citrus, liquorice, resin and wood dominate.
Finish: oaky and lemony with little waxiness.
Overall: last time I tried it it was well worth 91/100, now it's only 88/100 and I don't really know why. Could be Littlemill influence.
Score = 22 22 22 22, 88/100!
Inverleven 1973/2011 Deoch An Doras 49.0% - semi-official bottling from Chivas brothers.
Nose: light and fragrant starting on cucumber (again!), then some pleasant butter and orange notes appear.
Taste: oily and sweet body with grass, citrus and soft spices.
Finish: quite delicate and long, precious wood, flowers and adorable waxiness.
Overall: not so expressive as Littlemill, but certainly very good aged lowlander.
Score = 22 23 23 22, 90/100!
Auchentoshan 1966/1997 cask #1005 46.1% - almost extinct single cask bottling from 60-s.
Nose: starts on grass and cucumber (hello again), then we have old cologne and whiffs of wood.
Taste: creamy, floral honey and soft spices.
Finish: medium-long, sweet, oaky and some strange note of soluble anti-flu pills :)
Overall: it's nice, though I'd go with Inverleven if I had to choose one and only lowland whisky over 30 yo.
Score = 22 22 22 22, 88/100!
No comments:
Post a Comment