I have a comrade much more fond of whisky than I am. At least I can't taste 20-30 drams a day as he does during some festivals. I will work on that, I promise :)
September the 22-nd 2016, nice cozy place in Kiev, twenty whisky maniacs together, LVMH ambassador as moderator and very interesting line-up tonight: Dalmore 18 yo, 6 different van Wees bottlings, Longmorn 25 yo, Glenmorangie Signet and Glenglassaugh 41 yo (!) as a dessert... 10 drams, oh my goodness, plenty of work to be done.
Dalmore 18 yo 43% - quite new bottling from 2015, let's see... spicy nose, sherry and nuts on a palate. Short finish. Very-very simple and quite disappointing, you expect much more from 18 yo. Score = 21 20 21 20, 82/100!
Bunnahabhain 1997 vW 46% - smoke, vegetables, garden-stuff and some sulphur in the nose. On palate you get peat, minerals, salt and soot. Quite lively young Bunna. Score = 21 21 21 21, 84/100!
Imperial 1995 vW 46% - m-m-m, flowers in the nose, some grassy bitterness in the taste, could be mixed up with Lowland in blind tasting. Score depends on whether you like such style, though I'm ok with it. Score = 22 22 21 21, 86/100!
Glen Keith 1995 vW 46% - typical notes of warm milk in the nose (typical for Glen Keith I mean), wood and citrus. Quite inattractive though, score = 20 20 19 20, 79/100!
Balmenach 1988 vW 46% - fresh and clean nose with hints of sweetness, fruits, a bit of tar and soil. Body is well-framed, quite pungent and etheric. Not my favourite style, score = 22 21 20 21, 84/100!
Mortlach 1990 vW 46% - typical rubber and hints of sulphur in the nose. On palate you get red fruits, some cereals, light bitterness in the aftertaste. Also well-framed. A tad better than the previous sample, score = 21 22 21 21, 85/100!
Longmorn 1992 vW 46% - fresh and clean nose with grapes, berries and cream. Taste is quite tannic and woody. Could we have just nose?.. Score = 23 21 20 21, 85/100!
Longmorn 25 yo GM 40% - time for some nice stuff, aroma is delicate and fresh on sherry, citrus, peppermint and grass. Superb. On palate we have wood, sourness, nuts, citrus and nice type of light bitterness. I was afraid about 40% strength but this baby runs circles around all van Wees 46% bottles we had before. And again I have example how Longmorn from bottler can be better than official one, it's quite unusual in general, are they philanthropists there?.. Score = 23 23 22 23, 91/100!
Glenmorangie Signet 46% - quite interesting nose: coffee, chocolate, peppermint, leather and tobacco, but not in the way you get from some very old sherry casks, which is easily explained by the fact that "chocolate roasted barley" and American oak casks are used here. The taste is about chocolate and finish is about chocolate as well. Actually the gang was divided: some liked it (scores 86-89), some not (scores 82-84), that's a good sign because noone was indifferent. I do respect skill of the distiller in this case and the malt is very good imho despite all marketing fuss. Score = 23 22 21 22, 88/100!
Glenglassaugh 41 yo Massandra Sherry Puncheon Finish 44.5% - tasted this one a few weeks before together with Glenglassaugh 30 yo (will write a separate post some day). Let's make it once more: grapes and honey in a very smooth and elegant nose, maybe some hints of tobacco. Fruits and touches of humidor on a palate, vibrant finish, all components are just great. Score = 23 23 23 23, 92/100!
So today we have 2 winners: Longmorn 25 yo and Glenglassaugh 41 yo. Some people scored Longmorn 25 even higher than Gleglassaugh 41, actually a matter of taste, both were great and certainly 90+. Thanks to Valera for such a tasting!
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