Whisky Review: Cadenhead's Classic Highland Pure Malt

This is a blast from the past in a number of ways. While the blended malts from Cadenhead's various shops are reasonably well-known, they also released a line regional blended malts somewhere during the 2000s. While I can't date them precisely, the "Pure Malt" moniker is a clue since the phrase was banned after 2009.

This whisky was aged in what I'm guessing were refill ex-bourbon casks (maybe Nth refill sherry?), then bottled at 50% without coloring or chill filtration.

Cadenhead's Classic Highland Pure Malt

Nose: rather malty, shortbread, graham crackers, honey, butter, lightly floral. After adding a few drops of water it gets a little brighter, the honey notes are stronger, and the malt gets less grainy.

Taste: rather hot up front - opens with sweet malt and cask notes, a little vinous in the middle. After dilution the sweetness spreads out, the the oak and vinous notes expand, but it doesn't ever become tannic.

Finish: polished oak, sweet malt, almost sherried, a touch of something floral (rose?)

This is kind of an odd duck. I wasn't sure what to expect given the almost complete lack of information, though I want to say I had read somewhere that it might be teaspooned Highland Park? This reads much closer to Balvenie to me, albeit fairly young and at a much higher proof. If we're sticking to the Highlands, I guess Dalwhinnie could also fit the bill, but I've never seen that as an IB, so I can't imagine they'd be throwing casks of it into a no-name blended malt. Either way, there's not a lot to peg this as being from any particular distillery.

While it took me a while to warm up to it, in the end it was a perfectly pleasant, uncomplicated malt. Would I buy it again if I saw it at MSRP? Probably not. There's nothing here that I couldn't find from other sources. That's also to say that I don't see any reason to pick this one up at auction, especially if it goes for over the odds. But if you happen to find a dusty bottle for under $50, it's not a bad idea, just make sure to set your expectations accordingly.

Whisky Review: The Gauldrons Small Batch #1

Douglas Laing has been putting out a series of regional blended malts for a number of years now, which entry-level NAS releases and more limited (though generally affordable) limited age dated releases. With the release of The Gauldrons they have completed their range with a blended malt from Campbeltown.

This whisky was aged in what I presume were refill ex-bourbon casks, then bottled at 46.2% without coloring or chill filtration.

I purchased this sample from WhiskySite.

The Gauldrons Small Batch #1

Nose: lots of fresh malt with a green edge (reminds me a bit of younger Auchentoshan), dry hay, hints of Campbeltown funk in the background. After adding a few drops of water the aromas are more closed off, but a bit of peat comes out.

Taste: clean malt sweetness up front that carries through to the back with hints of unripe fruit and rum-my Campbeltown funk swirling around it, rose petals going into the finish. After dilution it remains largely the same, but the sweetness is thicker and there's some fresh hay at the back.

Finish: clean malt, fresh hay, roses, vague fruitiness, very mild peat

Given that this isn't particularly peated, my best guess is that this is largely Glen Scotia with a little Springbank. I have yet to see any IB Kilkerrans, so I have to assume that all of Glengyle's production has stayed in house. My only other theory would be an inadequate cask of Hazelburn that Springbank passed on because it reads almost more like a Lowland malt than something out of Campbeltown.

Much like the Timorous Beastie 10 Year I tried, this is pretty lackluster. While it somehow reads as less overtly youthful, I'm struggling to find much that's particularly Campbeltown about it. I managed to dig out a bit of funk, but there was no peat, nothing industrial, and no leather. While this isn't bad, per se, there's nothing here that makes me want more. While I could keep trying the Laing's series, nothing so far has really drawn me in so far.

Whisky Review: Timorous Beastie 21 Year Sherry Edition

While much of Douglas Laing's regional blended malts series is NAS, there have been a number of limited edition releases with bigger numbers on them. While many sell out quickly, this one has hung around.

This is composed of Highland malts that have been, as the name suggests, aged in sherry casks for at least 21 years then bottled at 46.8% without coloring or chill filtration.

I purchased this sample from Dramtime.nl

Timorous Beastie 21 Year Sherry Edition

Nose: rich, moderately sweet sherry, juicy raisins, thick malt, green herbs, a little vanilla and American oak, cinnamon, sulfur. After adding a few drops of water the sherry becomes creamier, but it remains mostly the same.

Taste: a little hot up front, sweet sherry, fading into bittersweet with some vanilla and a little bit of oak near the back, with a light sulfurous overlay throughout. After dilution the flavors become a little brighter and the alcohol heat retreats, but it's otherwise much the same.

Finish: lingering alcohol heat, sherry residue, light American oak, following by a fairly long sulfurous note

While this is a big step up from the 10 Year, there's nothing here that makes me want a whole bottle. It's a reasonably competent, older sherry-driven malt, but it lacks the complexity I would want at this price point. While there's nothing explicitly wrong with it, with the possible exception of the sulfur (which tastes to me more like it's coming from the casks than from the spirit), there's also nothing pulling me in. Douglas Laing has also put out an 18 Year Sherry Edition out that is still available right now, but given what I've gotten from the two samples this week I'm in no rush to try it.

Whisky Review: Timorous Beastie 10 Year

Douglas Laing has been releasing a range of regional blended malts with fanciful names over the last handful of years, joining their more established Big Peat. These cover the Highlands (Timorous Beastie), the Lowlands (Epicurian), Speyside (Scallywag), the Islands (Rock Oyster), and Campbeltown (Gauldrons). While most have started out as NAS malts, they have expanded the range to include core and limited edition age dated expressions.

This whisky was aged in what I would guess were exclusively refill ex-bourbon hogsheads, then bottled at 46.8% without coloring or chill filtration.

I purchased this sample from Dramtime.

Timorous Beastie 10 Year

Nose: honey, vanilla, clean malt, fairly green, almost no oak, a little floral bubblegum, a smidge of orange creamsicle. After adding a few drops of water the floral character is amplified, the green notes shift a bit towards apple, and the vanilla integrates with the malt.

Taste: sweet up front with a lot of green malt carrying through, vague fruity/floral notes around the middle, bittersweet fade out. After dilution it becomes a little washed out and grainy, but with more cask-influenced roundness at the back.

Finish: bittersweet grain and oak, green malt, vague floral notes

Part of me wonders if this sample was mislabeled and it's actually the NAS version, but it's been suggested that it's not likely to be the case. If everything in here is 10 years old, they're using pretty mediocre casks. The malt itself doesn't seem to be of poor quality, but it needs more time to properly mature. Water helped to round it out a bit, so this might have been better off bottled at 43%, but even then it was nothing spectacular. Overall I would give this a miss.

Whisky Review: Rattray's Selection No. 1 19 Year Blended Malt

A.D. Rattray, an independent bottler whose owner is part of the family that used to own Bowmore, released a number of blended malts in the early-2010s that more or less slipped under the radar. Most of this has to do with the fact that anything with the word 'blend' in front tends to get a lot less traction with whisky geeks unless it comes from Compass Box, which in this case means that they really missed out. Getting a full strength whisky at almost two decades old composed entirely from sherry butts for under $100 would be almost unthinkable right now and was still a steal when it was released in 2010.

This whisky was constructed from four sherry butts - Auchentoshan 1991 (Cask 495), Balblair 1990 (Cask #1142), Benriach 1989 (Cask #50064), and Bowmore 1991 (Cask #2073) - that were married together and bottled at 55.8% without coloring or chill filtration.

Thanks to Michael Kravitz for this sample.

Rattray's Selection No. 1 19 Year Blended Malt

Nose: balanced sherry and mossy/ashy peat with solid intensity, savory malt, fresh baked bread, caramel, mild oak, and floral perfume. After adding a few drops of water the sherry is toned down, allowing the malt to becoming roughly equal, vanilla comes out, and it is much more savory overall.

Taste: a fair amount of alcohol heat through, sweet sherry up front, syrupy/salty with green fruit (apples, pears) and floral overtones in the middle, slowly transitioning into bittersweet with a prickle of peat and savory oak at the back. After dilution it becomes bittersweet throughout with more savory sherry and peat up front plus some ashes and stronger near the back.

Finish: lingering sherry residue, balanced malt and oak, wood ash

I really wish I had more time with this one. Even when I have a hard time teasing out the details, it's a really enjoyable whisky that neatly balances its constituent parts. It would be great if we could get more of these kinds of blended malts where peat is an element, but not as strongly as a full Islay single malt. With so few distilleries currently producing medium peated malts, this is one of the few avenues we have for enjoying those kinds of whiskies.