Second Single malts Festival that took place on 12.11.2016 in Kiev. Possibly the best whisky event in Ukraine so far. Over 60 brands available for tasting, lectures from whisky ambassadors, rare bottlings and so on, and so on. Though let's start from the very beginning.
Most of whisky guys had list of available malts in advance. Me also of course. So I tried to build up a sort of my whisky trail for the festival following such general patterns:
1. from lower strength to higher;
2. from bourbon casks to sherry;
3. from Speyside/Highland/Lowland to Islay;
Of course when you're drinking tasting for 6 hours in a row and your mood is great it's a bit difficult to be strict, so please don't take the scores too serious, most likely they will be different if I sit with 2-3 samples instead of 20. My aim was to taste some rare malts I would hardly buy without tasting and still keep fresh. So let's go:
Benriach 35 yo 42.5% - is that an attempt to make it look more cask strength with 42.5% strength? :) Great nose developing on sherry, honey and tropical fruits. Body is elegant, balancing between fruits and oak. A bit watery aftertaste as for me. Sometimes the strength does matter. Nevertheless it's very good, score = 23 23 21 23, 90/100!
Benromach 35 yo 43% - 2016 release from Gordon & MacPhail owned small but proud distillery. I liked 30 yo version (88/100), so it should be interesting to see how the spirit evolved. Great nose again on sherry and fruits, what I get is ripe squashed pears, wax, honey, oranges emphasized by old dusty oak. Tobacco leaves and dark chocolate after a while. Taste is about bitter oranges and herbs. A bit longer and more assertive finish than in previous sample dwelling on oak, pepper, spices and perhaps some mint and cinnamon. Score = 23 22 23 23, 91/100!
Banff 1966/2015 Rare Old GM 45.2% - you don't meet Banff so often these days, so despite the second highest price per dram I decided to taste it. Nose: vanilla, oak barrel soaked vegetables, tons of spices and precious resins. Overall it's very delicate, should have started with it, I quess. You definitely get more oak than before (39 years), though it's not the oak tincture but a symphony of different precious woods singing in harmony. Score = 23 22 23 23, 91/100!
Small pause with a sandwich and water to get ready to the 2-nd part:
Glenglassaugh 35 yo 1978/2014 Massandra Madeira Finish 41.7% - time for sweets before we go to higher strength. Nose is very intense even with this strength: sherry, sweet wine and tobacco leaves dominate. Palate is sweet and fruity with all red fruits you can imagine. Score = 22 23 22 22, 90/100!
Glenglassaugh 40 yo 1975/2015 Massandra Madeira Puncheon 43.9% - more elegant on the nose and not so overwhelmingly sweet, I like this nose more. Typical tobacco and leather notes are here. Grapes notes as well. Finish is complex and suggests to sit with it and think. Score = 23 23 23 23, 92/100!
Burnside 25 yo 1989/2014 Maltbarn 50.9% - it seems there is more than one teaspoon of Balvenie inside :) Starts on propolis, apitoxin and honey pollen. Some meadow grass and oak afterwards. Taste and finish are again of honey, by honey and for honey. Lots of oranges also. Balvenie after navy seals course: powerful and convincing. Score = 23 22 22 22, 89/100!
Braes of Glenlivet 22 yo 1994/2016 Maltbarn 51.7% - have tasted it before, though it's damn tasty malt, just couldn't pass by. Grass, sagebrush and vanilla in the nose, the palate is dense, both bitter and sweet combining bitter oranges, grass, cream and oak. Finish is long and spicy. Love this style. Score = 23 23 22 22, 90/100! My previous score was 88/100, so the average of 89/100 should be closer to reality, but I enjoyed it so much yesterday. In terms of pleasure to money ration this one rules!
Bunnahabhain 28 yo 1987/2015 Maltbarn 48.6% - didn't manage to grab a bottle, will grab a dram at least. Nose: ha, wouldn't call it Islay at first nosing :) Lots of apples, very fresh, some waxy and salty notes. I've even rechecked type of cask, it doesn't smell like sherry maturation, should be some 2-nd or 3-rd fill. Taste: apples and grass decorated with sea and light peat (at last!). Long and salty finish. Very nice floral Bunna, score = 23 22 22 23, 90/100!
Glengoyne 25 yo 48.0% - very intense on the nose. You can call it sherry monster! Coffee notes, figs, raisins, chocolate, no need for dessert if you have this one :) Quite sharp body on chocolate and coffee again. Rich and balanced sherry malt, a must for those who like this style. Score = 23 22 23 23, 91/100!
Lunch break with chicken soup to prepare receptors for the final part:
Brora 30 yo 9-th release (2010) 54.3% - a sheep is trying to dry its wool being wet after sea bathing on a peat fire near the farm. Almost everything you need to know about Brora :) Ok, I will add lemons, almonds and kippers on a palate, some wax and tobacco smoke in the aftertaste. Seriously speaking it's amazingly complex and powerful in every component. Score = 23 24 23 23, 93/100!
Ledaig 9 yo Maltbarn 48.1% - have missed the bottle when it was available in Ukraine, so at least will taste it. Sweet burnt rubber, sea and raw potatoes in the nose, zesty peaty taste with ashes and brine in the aftertaste. Very nice young and fresh Ledaig being quite similar to Ardbeg. Score = 22 22 22 22, 88/100!
Glendronach 23 yo 1993/2016 58.5% - one more sherry monster to finish mandatory program. Chocolate, dry sherry and brown sugar in the nose. The palate is strong and dry with definite mint note. Long finish on bitter chocolate. It's also very well made sherried malt (meaning Glengoyne 25 yo here), perhaps not my favourite style, though sherry lovers should taste it. Score = 22 23 22 22, 89/100!
Whisky trail finished so it's time for improvisation.
Strathisla 1957/2007 43% - don't even ask me how I got it :) Nose: lots of fruits, grass and honey followed by a gentle oak layer. Sherry is obvious but not dominating, hints of nougat and mint. Great old-style nose which is unexpectedly fruity for a 49 yo malt! Taste: oak is more active here, great mouth feel for 43% strength (especially after dozen of drams before), apricots and sultanas, orange jam, fruit cake, cinnamon and cloves. M-m-m-m... Finish is long on oak, chocolate and oranges, the whole is beautifully balanced. I'm afraid to think what it could be at cask strength... Score = 23 23 23 23, 92/100!
Fettercairn 35 yo bottled for Ukrainian Whisky Connoisseurs Club 53.5% - usually Fettercairns are... let's say boring. And you don't meet them every day also. So at first I was quite skeptical about this one, though I was totally wrong. This very cask was selected last year, bottled in nice decanters and brought to Ukraine. Nose: wow... herbs, honey, all kinds of tropical fruits, some waxy and spicy notes as well. Really big mouth feel at cask strength with long finish. Will get my thoughts together and write more detailed report, though this beauty can compete with Brora. Great cask choice, congratulations to Whisky Corner! Score = 24 23 24 24, 95/100!
Ardbeg Supernova 2014 Committee Release 55.0% - holy Jesus sweet peat! Followed by oysters and lemons. Small sip and it bursts out on a palate: ashes, brine, peat, minerals. Finish is long and continues on sweet peat and smoked ham. It's quite extreme malt, though very well chiselled and harmonious in its wildness. Score = 22 23 22 23, 90/100!
Bruichladdich Super Heavily Peated bottled for Savchenko Family 46% - vatting of 4 casks selected by Jim McEwan. Superb peat in the nose, the body is a bit weak comparing to cask strength Ardbeg or Ledaig, though it's pretty excellent young 5 yo Bruichladdich! Score = 22 21 21 22, 86/100!
Conclusions: great event indeed. Hoping for even more the next year. My top-3 would be the following: Fettercairn 35 yo, Brora 30 yo 9-th release, Strathisla 49 yo 1957/2007.
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