07/10/2019 Six whiskies with Charles Maclean

Tonight is the official launch of Cask Trade, a company that intends to provide casks of whisky to a varied clientele. The audience is made of investors, collectors, enthusiasts and everything in between. Little press that I can recognise and few bloggers, if any. The founder of the company (SA) and tOMoH happen to be on friendly terms, hence my being graciously invited. I do not believe said founder is aware of the existence of this blog, so it hardly seems an commercially-motivated move.

Now the disclaimers are out of the way, the evening starts out with SA presenting the company, its ethos and its mission, then switches to a tasting of six cask samples -- casks owned by the company and, presumably, up for grabs. Charles Maclean is the celebrity who has been invited to present this, joined by Colin Hampden-White.

I make a mental note that this is the first tasting I attend that is (co-)hosted by Maclean, despite having seen him countless times at festivals.
SW is here with me. JS was invited, but she has a clashing meeting. With Gwyneth Paltrow. You could not make it up.

The whiskies, then.

The label has a mistake, yes.
It is from 1978.

Glenlivet 40yo 1978/2019 (41.7%, Cask Trade cask sample, Bourbon Hogshead, C#13523, gauged at 115b): the presenters underline that most tastings would culminate with the oldest, most expensive and most desirable whisky, something that often falls flat for two reasons: 1) old whiskies tend to be low in alcohol and more subtle in taste; saving them for last sees them compete with much more powerful and youthful predecessors; 2) when bumped into dram number six, an old whisky finds tired taste buds in one's mouth. So we have this dram first, tonight. Nose: soft and delicate, it has the subtle grapes of an old brandy, perhaps sawdust, sandalwood (Maclean) and dried bramble. It is really shy. Mouth: amazingly soft, it soon starts fizzing on the tongue with some gentle spices (crushed cloves). Rehydrated, dried cranberries appear, custard powder and droplets of Alka-Seltzer, maybe. The wood is in check, if present. Finish: blackberry cough drops and very little wood: crushed bay leaves and a minute quantity of liquorice. This one is elegant and complex. I like it. Later, I will try one big gulp, chew on it for a long time and swallow it whole. That way, it becomes much more assertive, without the fierceness of a higher ABV -- interesting experience. 8/10

Aberlour 26yo d.1989 (51.1%, Cask Trade cask sample, Bourbon Hogshead, C#11040, gauged at 274b): not sure when the sample was drawn; clearly several years ago. Nose: putty, toothpaste, crushed-mint paste, meadow-flower stems (just the stems), then quite a kick of alcohol. Wax (neither candle nor furniture, though), pencil lead and crayons. Mouth: oooh! This is lively. It has some ginger shavings and hot apple pie. Later on, it turns waxy as hell. Finish: a bit green, here, strangely enough The alcohol is less well-integrated, with cut plants and dandelion stems. The second sip brings out sticky toffee pudding. Much later on, it turns out better, though it remains a bit bitter, behind the wax. 6/10

Charles Maclean puts on a monocle to read a label. I had never seen a monocle in the wild!

Glen Moray 9yo 2008/2017 (57.1%, Cask Trade cask sample, Bourbon Barrel, C#5796, gauged at 149b): nose: a pastry shoppe, with overripe pear, flan, vanilla pudding, then hard plastic. Mouth: similar notes of pastry; it has hot, sugar-sprinkled  apple turnover fused with warm croissant crust, lemon zest, and heat. Water helps integrate it more; the alcohol bite cools off. Finish: a touch more pepper, now, but the pastry is still glowing, augmented with a pinch of herbs (hawthorn and oregano). Water seems to mess up with the balance and turn the finish into alcohol-soaked chocolate. 7/10

Fettercairn 10yo 2008/2019 (56.6%, Cask Trade cask sample, Bourbon Barrel, C#5755, gauged at 227b): nose: lemon peel and white chocolate (SW, who loves white chocolate), lemon sage. It becomes very fruity, after a short while. Mouth: full-on white chocolate, now, with lashes of melted Mon Chéri praline thrown into it. It has a rather noticeable spiciness (galangal and crushed bay leaves) that is not overpowering in any way. Finish: huge, fruity at first, then becomes a little less impressive, with unripe-peach flesh. Much later on, it turns mellow and waxy, with plasticine and Blue Tack. 7/10

North British 12yo 2006/2019 (52.1%, Cask Trade cask sample, Sherry Hogshead, C#818392, gauged at 271b): nose: pastry ahoy, of course, with custard and unbaked croissant dough, as well as nougat. Mouth: big, it is reminiscent of the nose, with more croissant dough and crushed strawberry with some white pepper. Typical grain, not much altered by the sherry maturation -- a n-th refill, perhaps? Finish: paper paste, thick custard, flan. Very good. I like it. 7/10

Bunnahabhain 10yo 2009/2019 (56.2%, Cask Trade cask sample, Oloroso Sherry Butt, C#900034, gauged at 705b): nose: well, it is a huge sherry cask, with lots of wood varnish and a frankly meaty side as well. It does not dodge the sulphury note, yet it is tame. None of those notes are shouting too loudly, but they are all there. Mouth: big and chocolate-y, it has Mon Chéri and shovelfuls of earth. In fact, it is earthy, this! Finish: super-long, earthy and lightly meaty. Again, it does not try to hide its Oloroso maturation. This is not my personal favourite, but I can see people going mad for it. 6/10

An interesting selection and a very pleasant evening. Best wishes to Cask Trade!