A couple of months ago, MV and AV transformed an open invitation into a specific event, with the precise programme one should expect from Teutonic organisers. Thus, MV, AV, JS, Port Ardbeg, MBbn, OHH, MHH and tOMoH meet in a remote location in Franconia for a few drams. Tonight, the first night, is dedicated to everyone's favourite (or not) distillery: Macallan.
AV has been busy manning the grill and keeping everyone out of the kitchen: her territory. The evening starts with a welcome drink (a glass of bubbly) and canapés (a homemade cheese-and-onion mixture, and a finely-ground-sausage-meat spread; the original names escape me). Yum!
Not long thereafter, we are ushered in for dinner. but before that, we build the line-up and open the bottles to let them breathe.
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| Port Ardbeg gets to show off his cork-extracting skills... |
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| ...several times |
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| Many times |
Port Ardbeg: "Since MV is from 1966, we will have a whisky from 1966. You tell me what you think it is."
He will give several clues ("It is an old distillery"), but one sniff and JS and I recognise the provenance.
tOMoH: "Well, the distillery obviously dates from 1779, but the question is: which cask is it? 3316, 3317, or 3318?"
OHH and MBbn are particularly incredulous. They are too polite to call me the cocky ignorant I probably come across as. When, at last, I say 'Bowmore', Port Ardbeg pulls the sheet of paper and reads the cask number: 3318. My co-tasters go from incredulous to dumbfounded. I succumbed to the appeal of showing off at the first dram. Ahem.
Bowmore 40yo 1966/2006 (43.9%, Duncan Taylor, C#3318, 164b, b#121) (Port Ardbeg): nose: nail varnish, lacquer, and... Well, it is bursting with mango, papaya, and smashed apricot, is it not? I have a sip, and, of course, I love it. However, I do not want to peak too early, so I put it to the side for later. I cannot resist coming back to it once in a while -- neither can JS, who dips her nose in the glass between all the drams. Nose (again): calamansi, yuzu, and a whiff of tar, in the back. Mouth: a sour, vinegar-y note, tarry rubber, and petrol barely conceal ridiculously-ripe mangoes and citrus peel, as if liquorice boot laces had been sunk in fruit nectar. Finish: a humbling balance, despite the modest ABV. It is a mix of rubbery tar and barbecued fruit, augmented with a dollop of nail lacquer. But the fruit!... Mangoes, jack fruits, greengages... Phwoar! We start with this? Provisional 10/10
Not one to be defeated, MV pulls out another 1966 bottle from his game bag -- one that we know from last year. In fact, we tried it one year ago to the day.
Glen Mhor 44yo 1966/2011 (52.1%, Gordon & MacPhail Reserve exclusively bottled for van Wees, Refill Sherry Hogshead, C#3690, 133b, b#102, AA/JGIF) (MV): nose: it is much more austere, with flint and shiny metal, but also putty, lemon menthol, Scotch-Brite pads, and washing-up liquid. Madly, it all works, and the overall impression is very positive. Mouth: rocky, gravel-y. Here are pebbles, flint, Verdigris, and oxidised copper, as well as orchard fruits turning green. Strangely enough, it carries on with crushed Aspirin, or Alka-Seltzer. Finish: big, long, in the same line as the nose and the palate, with Verdigris, lichen, old staves, and clear wood spices: ginger, grated lemongrass, and hot cinnamon (eh?) There is cedar wood, in the long run. Phwoar! What an excellent drop! I like it even better than last year, I think. 10/10
Then, we eat: artisanal sausages and pork steaks from the barbecue, augmented with homemade, whisky-cured barbecue sauce, courtesy of OHH. Finger-licking good, if perhaps poor in vegetables.
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| Delicious bread, too |
Finally, we attack the Macallans.
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| Some call this: work |
To start off, MV tells how, some years ago, Macallan obtained very old bottles and replicated the taste of the liquid inside. I point out that those very old bottles have been certified as fake, and so the whole Replica range reproduces fake whiskies (post-1950s liquid). There always has to be a smartarse, and one can count on the Old Man of Huy to be that person.
The Macallan 1841 Replica (41.7%, OB Replica, 43 x Sherry Butts, 27402b, b.2002) (MV): nose: balsamic vinegar, pickled onions, cured meat with herbes de Provence, unroasted peanuts, and hairy sherry. I find this not very refined. Mouth: more pickled onions, then pressed grapes mixed with prunes, and a lick of blackcurrant. Yes, that means a mild bitterness. Finish: it is sweeter, here, with more of those prunes, and blackcurrants, now augmented with the bitterness of vine. The balsamic vinegar is still there. 6/10
vs.
The Macallan 1861 Replica (42.7%, OB Replica, 17000b, b.2002) (Port Ardbeg): nose: we have some faintly-smoky fresh fruits, such as red apple, or candied apple. In the distance, a whiff of squashed raspberries is a welcome addition. Mouth: prunes, unripe dates, a chewy blueberry paste, and currants. It is so chewy it is too much, in my opinion. Finish: earthy, chocolate-y, full of chewy dark currants. A clear step-up from the 1841, but still no winner. 7/10
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| How does it smell in a dickhead glass, then? |
MV: "Erm, one of them is yours..."
Port Ardbeg: "Yes, but if it were not for the experiment, I would never buy this sort of bottles."
The Macallan 18yo 1979/1997 (40%, OB Gran Reserva, Sherry Casks) (MV): nose: ah! Another league. We have a superb rancio, relating to an outstanding sherry. Earth, cocoa powder, staves, once soaked in wine, now dried to a dusty piece of wood. It is pretty musky too. It turns and swirls on its way up the nostrils to reveal balsamico, fruit tea, or fruity tobacco. Mouth: in the attack, we see chocolate-covered lychee and orange marmalade, part bitter, part sweet, part juicy. Finish: prunes, oily tobacco, earth, and a spoonful of coffee grounds, which stops this scoring higher for me. At last, blackberry preserve, and elderberry cordial. Great Macallan. I have been curious about those Gran Reserva bottlings for a bit; this one did not disappoint. 8/10
vs.
Macallan 1975/2001 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Speymalt, JA/CEE) (Port Ardbeg): nose: it is the most complex, so far, with char, soot, and washing-up liquid (in a good way) joining caramelised pastry. Beside that, we have oilskins, liquorice bootlaces, and even lychee and blueberry. Mouth: sweet sherry through and through. Sweetened currants, dried figs, sweet wine -- it seems too light for Pedro Ximénez, and too sweet for Fino; I am inclined to say Manzanilla. The second sip bursts with lychee and green grapefruit, or pomelo. Finish: long and sweet, it is ripe with raspberry preserve and soot by the shovelful. The ping-pong from sweet to sooty is impressive. 9/10
The Macallan 18yo 1971/1989 (43%, OB imported and distributed by Giovinetti & Figli, Sherry Oak Casks) (Port Ardbeg): nose: this one has a pronounced woodiness, with tree bark, but also old oilskins, and mocha custard. It gets fruitier with time -- a chewy, chemically-fruity paste. Mouth: maple syrup, cypress sap, dark honey from mountain evergreen. Finish: dark honey, caramelised maple syrup, pine cones, and earthy-sweet tones. 8/10
Macallan 1972/2008 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail Speymalt, JH/ACB) (MV): nose: gingerbread, dark earth, black cardamom, though less intense, soft liquorice, then dark, dried fruits (prunes, dates, currants). Mouth: cinnamon powder in fortified wine. Tawny Port and flat cola. Surprisingly enough, I have never tried them together. This is potent, sweet and earthy. Finish: long and dark, it has this indescribable blend of sweet, fortified wine and earth, which probably spells elderberry, prunes, liquorice... and candied black cardamom. This is another killer. 9/10
Macallan 1966/2014 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail Speymalt, AC/AGIF) (MV): nose: leather belts, dark woods, somewhere between cypress and ebony (iroko? Ipe?), jasmine, black cumin, lychee. It becomes more flowery with time, unveiling forsythia and honeysuckle, which pushes this nose closer to that of an old Cognac. Green grapes is next, then sandalwood, and bone-dry orange peels. The second nose brings out orange juice spilled onto dark earth. And suet. Unless that is the men's sweat? It is effing hot, after all, on this Monday night. Mouth: dark marmalade, stem ginger, poached or stewed oranges. The second sip has set sycamore honey, spiced up with ground black cumin. :-O Finish: earthy, intense, it presents a pinch of coffee grounds and distant leather amidst an unhealthy dose of caramelised marmalade. Perhaps we have crème brûlée too (MV keeps mentioning it, so it may be mere suggestion). Cough syrup is here too (JS). This one walks a tight rope, yet stays on the right side of woody. I cannot claim familiarity with this GMP collection, but the three tonight blow me away. 9/10
The Macallan 10yo Full Proof (57%, OB imported and distributed by Giovinetti & Figli, Sherry Casks, b.1980s) (Port Ardbeg): nose: we are back on the same territory as that of dram #1, with pickled onions and vinegar, dried-out cornichons. Further nosing does not change this much. Sour as fook. Mouth: this is full-on sherry on the palate, sickly-sweet Manzanilla, or orange wine. Further sips are more acidic, but also sweet. JS notes cough syrup. Finish: reasonably sweet at first, it soon becomes overly so, sickly and hairy like a ball of wool dipped into cough syrup. This one is definitely not for me. 6/10
vs.
The Macallan 10yo 100 Proof (57%, OB, Sherry Casks, MDF 023, b.1990s) (MV): nose: it is very similar, yet it seems to have more earth and less vinegar, which is good news, as far as tOMoH is concerned. It is a bit cleaner a nose, in summary. Mouth: dry and bitter, like chocolate powder. Desiccating, in fact, and without virtually none of that sickly sweetness the previous one had. Finish: following a string of drams all with a modest ABV, this one has no problem showing its true colour: bulldozer yellow. Sure, the finish has cola, but above all, it punches one in the kisser. I prefer this one. 7/10
Port Ardbeg: "We've drunk lots of sherry and dark-sherry whiskies. We haven't yet had a very-dark-sherry whisky tonight. And I happen to have one here, from Glen Grant."
Glen Grant 33yo 1975/2019 (50.5%, Jack Wiebers Whisky World, Very Dark Sherry Cask, 230b, b#214) (Port Ardbeg): nose: intense sherry, with dark-wood splinters, cut cypress, and iroko shavings. It is woody and a half, and rich in spices that come with said wood (cassia bark, bay leaves, ground cloves). Mouth: sweet, it has blackberries, blackcurrant jam, yet also a fearsome intensity, akin to biting into a black cardamom pod. Finish: dark honey, liquorice, black cumin. It stops short of nigella seeds, venturing instead on chocolate ground -- dark chocolate, at least 95% cocoa. It turns earthy and bitter over time. It stays good, but it is not for the faint of heart. 8/10
Out of a bag comes the next bottle. It is a big one.
Karuizawa Multi-Vintages #1 b.2011 (59.1%, Number One Drinks Company Noh Whisky selected by La Maison du Whisky, Sherry Butts & Bourbon Casks, C#6405+4973+8184+6437, 1500b) (Port Ardbeg): nose: in typical Karuizawa style, this is super concentrated, frighteningly intense, and overly extractive, with tons of splinters, and ladles of shoe polish. The second nose adds a lick of soft smoke and waxy apricot paste. Mouth: it is surprisingly approachable, with prunes, dates, and figs (dried, of course). Keeping it on the tongue for a few seconds guarantees a hole in the muscle, however: this is like (purple) Listerine, after all. Later on, we have molten blueberry-scented plasticine, then a type of wood paste. Finish: it prolongs the palate (and then some) with a similar intensity, and added fruits (blueberries and blackberries). This is so intense! There is clearly some fierce cough syrup to be found, a mix of cough drops and cassis liqueur. 8/10
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| Look at that colour! |
It is late. The Karuizawa was a definite line-up closer. But of course, I still have a full glass, and I do not want it to go to waste.
Bowmore 40yo 1966/2006 (43.9%, Duncan Taylor, C#3318, 164b, b#121) (Port Ardbeg): six hours later, and this Bowmore still pisses on all the preceding drams from a comfortable altitude. It is incredible that something so much lower in ABV just crushes even the monstrous Karuizawa. It is total mango and apricot debauchery, more powerful than before, and a buttery-mango texture precedes a very long and fruity finish. Succinct notes, but all the same, I have to increase my score. 11/10
MV will finish his own dram of Bowmore tomorrow evening, and, even more than twenty-four hours after being poured, it still rocks, with more petrolic notes to make up for the (sadly) dissipating fruit.
In the meantime, the Teutons are singing Schlager at the top of their lungs, and the good mood is communicative to say the least.
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| Even insects want to join in |
We disband around 1:30. Tomorrow is another fun-packed day, and we do not want to jeopardise it by overdoing it on day one.
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