Glen Keith 1985, 29 Year Old, Cadenhead

Tonight, a review of a 29 year old 1985 Glen Keith from Cadenhead's gold-emblazoned Single Cask range, following ever-so-quick on the heels of yesterday's Maltbarn bottling.

It's Glen Keith madness.

Chivas got Glen Keith back up and running in 2013, saved from the mothballs it had been wallowing in since 1999. Another interesting fact that I just gathered from Malt Madness is that up until the 1980s Glen Keith switched between double and triple distillation. This bottling from 1985, though, is - I am fairly certain - the product of double distillation.

Glen Keith 1985, 29 Year Old, Cadenhead Single Cask, 47.5%

Nose: A gorgeous nose right from the outset. There's honey and cinnamon, ripe peach and nectarine, and subtle oak spices. Water releases more yellow fruit, as well as something floral and lifting too - white flowers and mangoes.

Palate: Narrow and slightly sharp to begin with. Very ripe tropical fruits soon emerge, but are hidden somewhat by the heat. Water broadens the palate and improves things immensely. The fruit is still quite ripe - mangoes, papaya, melon  - but is now released from the alcohol slightly and accompanied by a slight waxiness. Something herbal there now too - sweet basil perhaps? - and it's lending a freshness, just as things threaten to become cloying.

Finish: A little oak-dominant at first, grippy and drying too. Air and water push back much of the oak and let the fruit and spice through too, completely transforming things. The now very long, lively finish becomes slightly acrid right at the death.

Superbly aged Glen Keith this. Just so juicy and alive despite its age. It did need just a touch of water though, for my tastes.
Fantastic.

Glen Keith 1992, 22 Year Old, Maltbarn

Today, a review of a 22 year old Glen Keith from the German bottler Maltbarn.

Maltbarn, I have come to learn, release some seriously good booze. I've recently enjoyed this awesome Clynelish, and have another couple of bottles of theirs still waiting to be opened. While I've purchased mine from Whiskybase, they also sell their own bottles through their website, along with a smattering of other bottles they consider worthy.

Glen Keith 1992, 22 Year Old, Maltbarn, 49.4%

Nose: Austere at first, but after a little while some chardonnay-like spice begins to emerge, soon followed by sweeter honey notes. The addition of water sees an immediate change as a bowlful of fruit is uncovered - tropical stuff like mango, passionfruit and maybe pineapple, along with some red fruit like strawberries and plums.

Palate: Quite a hot arrival. Starts out rather dry at the front but gets sweeter as it circles the back palate. After a little time in the glass the heat mellows somewhat. With water it becomes fruitier, although not as much as the amazing diluted nose promised. We do still get, though, the addition of some riper fruit like nectarine and peach drizzled with a hint of honey.

Finish: Shortish, dry finish at first, that gets a little fruitier as it lingers. Drying oak. Gets longer as it breathes. Water fans out and extends the finish greatly. While it remains slightly puckering and drying, the astringency is not unpleasant as it's accompanied by some warming spice and the emergent fruit from the watered-down palate.

To be honest, this isn't the best showing from this bottle. I have enjoyed it much, much more on previous occasions, but I can only describe it as I see it tonight I guess (I will check back in in the comments section below, though, as the bottle empties).

Still, it remains a lovely dram, one which I could - and just about have - happily enjoy every night. It has those lovely, classic, bourbon-matured notes that are so prominent in good Glen Keith and that I never tire of - particularly on the nose, which is absolutely bloody lovely, even tonight in what has proved to be a somewhat diminished outing.

It has, I think, simply suffered in comparison to another Glen Keith that I've had since, one that will - all going well - be reviewed here shortly as well.

Amrut Cask Strength

Amrut week continues (you can refresh your memory and relive the good times here and here for the earlier installments) with a review of the Amrut Cask Strength.

Now, I'm afraid, ashamed and alliterated to say that I've not had the standard strength Amrut Single Malt and thus don't strictly have a reference point for this - beyond the Fusion and the aforementioned "wine sandwich" malts. But hey, who gives a fat rat's clacker? Ignorance and stupidity are the foundations upon which this blog are built.

Amrut Cask Strength 61.8% (2014 release?)

Nose: After first pouring there's butter, banana and honey. Some lighter malt aromas develop with time in the glass. With the addition of water some oak spice comes out. Even later something like peanuts with skins on emerges.

Palate: Big arrival, with a blast of heat and serious penetration. It becomes a little maltier after a while, in a brioche bun kinda way, followed by dry spices and tannin. With water, some mild bourbon fruits emerge - sweet citrus, white peach - followed by a green, grassy note which seems to sit slightly sublingual.

Finish: A shortish finish as the huge arrival ebbs as rapidly as it flowed. Water lengthens the finish a little as the oak spices begin to dominate. It becomes increasingly acrid as it fades.

It's a good drink - mature beyond it's years (whatever they are - 6 or 7 maybe? I don't know, I should look it up), very drinkable - but it's a touch too inoffensive. Lacking in complexity I guess, and the finish lets it down I reckon. Not bad, but, for me, not a patch on the Portonova.

Amrut Intermediate Sherry

A review of the Amrut Intermediate Sherry today, following on from yesterday's review of the Portonova, its "sandwich" sibling.

I'm knackered, and have nothing else to say, so here 'tis.

Amrut Intermediate Sherry 57.1% (2014 release?)

Nose: Straight out of the bottle there's clove studded oranges, and some mild varnish, but it's pretty low key. After some time in the glass these aromas build and swirl and are joined by something sweeter and biscuit-like. Water releases some sweet soy sauce and a hint of spice.

Palate: A sweetish, fruitcake entry rapidly transitions into dry sherry notes. Water expands the entry and makes the mouthfeel increasingly grippy. Sherry spices - cloves, cardamom - join the fray. A little lighter in feel and texture to the Portonova.

Finish: Long, flowing back and forth in in waves. Drying, but with ripples of fruit running through as well. Water increases the dried fruit presence as the grippiness from the palate continues and serves to even further lengthen the finish.

The finish here is epic, and the sherry notes pristine, but I think I prefer the slightly more hedonistic and mouth-filling Portonova.

Amrut Portonova

The Amrut Portonova and Amrut Intermediate Sherry are (I believe) both newly arrived in Australia. Having previously tried only the Fusion - it's great value, fantastic for the price, and I bought two bottles only the other week when on special and probably should have bought more - I was very keen to try both, so purchased some samples (from smwhisky.com.au - they're selling samples, but not full bottles of this), along with a sample of the Amrut Cask Strength for good measure.

Today I review the Portonvova (with the Intermediate Sherry to soon follow), a whisky matured first in bourbon barrels, then in Port pipes, and then racked back into (the same? I don't know) bourbon barrels to make something that is now known, apparently, as a "port-pipe sandwich".
Mmmm, sandwich.

Amrut Portonova (NAS) 62.1% (2013, Batch 4)

Nose: Surprisingly, given the ABV, it's not super-aggressive first up out of the sample bottle - rather closed in fact and revealing only shortbread, vague malt aromas and a touch of butter. After fifteen minutes or so the wine has really come to the surface and begins to dominate - proper fortified fumes coming off it now. Water releases a bit of peat, as well as some spiced orange, dried apricot and sweet spices.

Palate: Powerful and invasive, clawing its way up the back of the throat. Hot and sweet on red fruits. Water expands and levels out the palate a fraction, bringing out spices, gentle peat, dried fruit, oranges and dark chocolate, while knocking back some of the fire. The port itself is now nowhere near as obvious as it was on the nose.

Finish: Emphatic, but short. Water both lengthens and broadens things, lengthening the dried fruit and spices from the palate while introducing some slightly drying cigar notes, which end up lingering longest and balancing out any residual sweetness.

I was a little late to the Amrut party, but now that I'm in I aint leaving anytime soon. This is an excellent (partially) Port-matured whisky. I'm buying.

Clynelish 1997, 17 Year Old, Maltbarn

Another Clynelish 1997, this time a 17 year old from German bottler Maltbarn.

It's been some time since my last post.

It's not like I haven't been drinking. Boy, have I been drinking. It's just that I've become so incredibly time-poor - with the newborn and toddler dominating us and our home like so many pint-sized tyrants - that I've had little time to record anything. Hopefully things will ease soon, though, and I'll be able to get to the rapidly expanding backlog.

Clynelish 1997, 17 Year Old, Maltbarn, 52.4%

Nose: Lemons, sugared fried pastries (farfallette dolci, if you know your festive fried Italian goodies), and sweet malt. Water releases lemon-talc, clementines, red berries and peaches, as the nose really explodes with dilution.

Palate: Sweet malt - that typically Clynelish tongue-coating maltiness. Pretty hot as it hits the back palate, and perhaps a tad metallic too. A burst of citrus immediately after swallowing. With water, really interesting layers of flavour develop. On top, there's a thin layer of rich malt, but underneath there's this lovely sharp-but-sweet fresh, yellow fruit thing going on. Sweet citrus, salt and spices.

Finish: Medium long. Spicy initially, but then it becomes quite dry and prickly. Water lengthens and broadens things considerably. The fruit is extended and the finish softened accordingly, as the stonefruit and citrus continue down the line as a gentle saltiness rises.

This bottle actually took some time to open up and grow on me. At first opening it presented as very  malty and quite one-dimensional. It wasn't until after four or five drams that the bottle's qualities began to appear and shine. Once they did, though, this whisky quickly became a firm favourite. It's absolutely delicious - once water has been added - in its lip-smacking goodness.

Two Quick Mini Reviews - Caol Ila 18 and Glen Keith 1992, Signatory Vintage

Two short and sweet whisky reviews today - the new(ish) Caol Ila 18 and a Glen Keith 1992 21 YO Signatory Vintage. Both from small sample bottles bought from Whiskybase.

Caol Ila 18 Year Old (OB, 2014 release) 43%

Nose: Some mild peat at first sniff, soon followed by brine and, after a little more time, light wafts of fruit.

Palate: Very soft arrival - almost a smooth caress. Light smoke, mild peat, salt and sweetish citrus fruit. [I didn't try adding any water to this as I didn't think the combination of small sample size and low ABV warranted it.]

Finish: Reasonably long. It's gentle throughout the finish, but it never feels too soft nor particularly dilute, despite the low ABV. The brine/salt combination continues to the mildly bitter end.

Such a soft and easy going aged Caol Ila. But it's an absolute pleasure to drink - I could imagine drinking a lot of this, very easily. I like it a lot.

Glen Keith 1992, 21 Year Old, Signatory Vintage 57.5% (Bourbon Casks 120566 + 120569)

Nose: Slightly invasive and hot at first sniff, but underneath there's some buttery fruit and a hint of spice. Water makes things much fruitier, bringing out a whole range of fresh yellow fruits, while also levelling out the wood spice a fraction too.

Palate: Prickly hot, but again some lovely fresh stone fruit hovering below. With water the heat dissipates allowing the fruit to come to the fore. Honey and perhaps even a hint of cream now too.

Finish: Medium long. The fruit lingers for a moment, before it becomes a touch woody and astringent. Water makes it both fruitier and broader. It also becomes much less astringent with the fruit now stretching out across the now-longer finish.

Really good drink this, particularly with water. Such lovely fruit. I wish I had a bottle.