Whisky Review: Signatory North British 16 Year 1997/2013 for Binny's

North British is a bit of an oddity for two reasons - first, ownership is shared between Diageo and Edrington. Second, it currently uses maize as its primary ingredient, unlike the bulk of other grain distilleries that use wheat. Additionally, it is the largest grain distillery in Scotland, churning out 65 million liters of spirit every year. While the bulk of that spirit goes to feed the blends of its respective owners, a few casks slip into the hands of independent bottlers that are chosen to be bottled unmixed with malt whisky.

This whisky was distilled on May 14th 1997, filled into an ex-bourbon barrel, then bottled on September 9th 2013 at 57.2% without coloring or chill filtration. It was hand picked as an exclusive for Binny's Beverage in Chicago.

Signatory North British 16 Year 1997/2013 Cask #246280

Nose: fresh wheat, vanilla, bourbon barrel (caramel, oak), berries, a touch of fresh vegetation. After adding a few drops of water the wheat gets a bit stronger while the barrel notes fade a bit, and a touch of something floral comes out

Taste: sweet wheat, honey, and oak up front, slowly transitioning into bittersweet chocolate as the tannins increase towards the back, berries and vanilla beginning around the middle and growing towards the back. After dilution the wheat and oak integrate - shifting it more towards a bittersweet mode, it has a more buttery mouthfeel, the berry notes become bigger and sync up with the oak, and some floral overtones come out around the middle.

Finish: bittersweet oak, dry wheat

Honestly, there's nothing terribly complex about this whisky. It reads a lot like a sweet and very smooth wheated bourbon due to the combination of (I think) being made largely from wheat and aged in what I'm guessing was a refill ex-bourbon barrel. Given that even older grain whiskies can often be somewhat flat and insipid, the bolder flavors here are a nice change of pace, especially as few of the flaws that can be found in young grain whiskies are in evidence.

North British 16 Year at 50%

Nose: relatively closed - wheat, maple syrup, vanilla, corn, raspberry

Taste: syrupy sweetness, grain-focused, berries in the middle, bittersweet near the back

Finish: alcohol, oak, dry grain

While not radically different than the other strengths, this one didn't offer much of anything new and the relatively closed aromas were a minus.

North British 16 Year at 45%

Nose: rather light - cream of wheat, berries, musky fruit, gentle oak

Taste: wheat and corn sweetness throughout, solid berry and muddled fruit notes in the middle, vanilla, herbal, bittersweet at the back with mild sherried tannins

Finish: vegetal, wheat, berries, gentle oak

With the exception of the alcohol burn and the intensity of the smells and flavors, this whisky remains remarkably consistent through different stages of dilution. Proofing the whisky down to this level didn't diminish its positive qualities, but did turn it into an exceptionally easy-drinking spirit. While I'm glad that it was released at full strength, doing it at 46% wouldn't have hurt too much.

In theory this should have been a really smart pick for Binny's - it hits a lot of the notes that appeal to bourbon drinkers while bringing big numbers at a very reasonable price. Unfortunately it appears to have taken several years to sell through, likely due to the lack of knowledge and interest in grain whisky. But more picks like this could really help to raise its profile in whisky geek circles if word gets out about the quality.

Experimental Whisky: Highland Park/North British Blend

An ongoing project is to explore blends that mimic the primary malts available to whisky conglomerates in Scotland. Edrington is the owner of two of the most iconic distilleries in Scotland, Macallan and Highland Park, as well as the less well-known Glenturret. They also own a stake in the North British grain distillery, which is shared with Diageo. Their primary blend, Famous Grouse, is one of the best selling in Scotland and is primarily based on their grain and malt distilleries.

While I didn't have any Macallan or Glenturret on hand, the different expressions of Highland Park provide a fairly broad palette of flavors. The 12 Year is smokier and has more European oak casks in its mix, while 15 Year is more refined and brings more American oak character.

•15 mL Signatory North British 16 Year CS
•5 mL Highland Park 12 Year
•5 mL Highland Park 15 Year
•3 mL water

Highland Park/North British Blend

Nose: well-integrated grain, sherry, and heathery peat, plus vanilla, burning twigs, malt, and something green. After adding a few drops of water, the sherry becomes brighter and the grain is more apparent.

Taste: sweet grain up front, quickly joined by solid sherry influence that carries through the palate, followed by dark chocolate, an undercurrent of earthy peat, and moderate oak tannins. After dilution, the sherry influence becomes brighter and stronger - spreading across the palate, with more grain and less peat showing up at the back.

Finish: solid oak, bittersweet grain, sherry residue, a touch of earthy peat

I was pleasantly surprised by just how good this was. The grain whisky reads almost like a bourbon cask malt, likely helped by the Highland Park 15 Year. The sherry character from the malts balances well and the smoke is more present than I would have expected. Admittedly, this would solidly qualify as a 'premium blend' if Edrington decided to put something similar out, but at the right price I would definitely buy it.

Experimental Whisky: Tamdhu 8 CS/Hazelburn 8 CS/Arran Bourbon Single Cask/North British 16 Year

After writing my post about blending whisky, I decided to try making a blend with a bit more precision.

This is a roughly even (a milliliter or so off in some cases) split between an Arran Bourbon Single Cask, Signatory Cask Strength Tamdhu 8 Year, Hazelburn 8 Year Cask Strength, and Signatory North British 16 Year for Binny's. All said and done should clock in around 58% and all of the component whiskies were uncolored and un-chill filtered.

Blended Whisky #1

Nose: a thick layer of sherry on top, sweet raisins, fresh malt core, a touch of grain, light vanilla, caramel/brown sugar, something a meaty/savory, a bit of Campbeltown brine, sawdust. After adding a splash of water, the sherry is toned down significantly, letting the dusty grain, brine, and meaty notes shine.

Taste: fruity/dank sherry rides on top of everything, green/lightly peaty/earthy/dirty with dried orange peel and a heavy seasoning of black pepper around the middle, slides into malt/grain, mild oak, and extra pepper. After dilution, the sherry becomes a lighter bottom note rather than a top note, with malt and grain dominating, while the oak almost disappears and the earthy peat becomes stronger at the back.

Finish: grainy bitterness, moderate oak, sherry dregs, hints of dirty peat

This fudges Alfred Barnard's classic recipe, but it's close. One Speysider, an Island distillery that hews fairly close to Speyside/Highland, a Campbeltown, and a well-aged grain. Something peated from Islay definitely would have given this more punch, though I was pleasantly surprised by how much of that the Hazelburn brought to the mix. Also surprising was how strongly the sherry from the Tamdhu came through over the other three bourbon cask whiskies. Trying the Tamdhu by itself I found it to not be very intensely sherried, but mixing it with the other three seems to bring that element to the fore. Goes to show that how a malt whisky behaves on its own is not necessarily indicative of how it will behave as part of a blend.