The Pretty Lady was a little apprehensive, as she doesn't like peat or smoke at all, and she isn't a massive fan of whisky in the first place. So I took her along to the Classic Malts stand where the Diageo people were exhibiting their new expressions. We looked at Diageo's new Single Malts Flavour Map, and she pointed to the lower half as the one she wanted to focus on (image taken from www.malts.com). The Map is a useful tool for judging one's tastes, it really is.
Anyway, we started with 2 Glenkinchies (light and refreshing, you see) and a Clynelish (she likes Clynelish, as do I).
1. Glenkinchie 12 yo (OB) - 43%, Lowlands
The nose has citrus notes and cut flowers (violets?), as well beer and malt. Smooth and light in the mouth, with some slightly harsher leather and new plastic on the tongue. Short peanutty finish. The Pretty Lady was disappointed.
2. Clynelish 1991/2006 Distiller's Edition (OB) - 46%, North Highlands
Typical Clynelish toast and fig jam (I love this), hoppy beer, cinnamon nutmeg and cloves in the nose. Smooth in the mouth, with more jam and toast in the tasting, very pineappley with cloves. Bready and toasty notes which come through in the short spicy finish too. This should have been bottled at a higher strength.
3. Glenkinchie 1992/2007 Distiller's Edition (OB) - 43%, Lowlands
This one was recommended to us by one of Diageo's exhibitors, who also advised the Pretty Lady that she should have Maltesers with her whisky, which intrigued her. Anyway, the whisky had an interesting nose - chlorine, lime juice and fresh apples. It was sweet sour on the tongue, with butter and hazelnut syrup notes, and very light in flavour, as was promised. It was a medium bodied whisky though, a little more heavy than the 12 yo. Short, malty finish with hard fruits.
The Pretty Lady wasn't that impressed with the Glenkinchies. She liked the Clynelish better, and she went over to the glassware shop and got the orange flavoured chocolates that they were handing out to go with it. It went down well - note to self, buy more Clynelish to enjoy with my wife. The Pretty Lady then stopped by the Whisky Shop stand to buy something for my birthday this year, and I wandered off to see if I could find something she wouldn't be interested it.
4. Mackmyra Preludium 06 (OB) - 50.5%, Sweden
This one was interesting. I had the 06, which was made with barley smoked with peat and juniper twigs to give it a Swedish flavour. Very spirity nose, less peaty and smoky than I expected, with pears, pine and juniper quite evident. A little watery in body, should be thicker and more unctuous. Surprisingly little peat and smoke in the tasting, with coffee, gin and lime notes. After a while cloudberries and pork sausages began to appear - yes, quite Swedish. I did wish I'd tried the 04 instead though, as the consensus seemed to be that the older expression was better.
Then the Pretty Lady came back (with my birthday present!) and we went over to see what Douglas Laing had to offer. And they had a lot! 5 or 6 new expressions in their Old Malt Cask range, and another 3 or 4 new ones in their Provenance range, and they were kindly not taking any vouchers. We went back to the Douglas Laing stand twice, and here are the whiskies we tasted.
5. Port Ellen 25 yo 1982/2008 (Douglas Laing OMC) - 50%, Islay
The Pretty Lady stood about 10 feet away from me while I was drinking this - she really doesn't like peat and smoke. I loved the nose - smoky, peaty, coconut, soya sauce, salted popcorn and the sea. Smooth as velvet on the tongue, with the kind of syrupy heaviness that really appeals to me. The tasting brought up salty cigar smoke, oranges and peanuts, and what can only be described as fresh horse dung. But it wasn't unpleasant at all! The finish was interesting as well - long, with notes of fried onions and the bitterness of walnut skins.
6. Royal Lochnagar 9 yo 1998/2007 (Douglas Laing MacGibbon's Provenance) 46%, East Highlands
The Pretty Lady wasn't impressed, but I was (I did get the feeling that she was a little whiskied out by this point). Slight smoke and peat, with an unusual nose of pencil leads, grilled beef and applesauce. I was intrigued. A little watery around the edges of what should have been a medium body, with toast, lemon curd, and red fruits on the tongue. The beef in the nose disappeared, to be replaced with some sour plums. Short, malty, peachy finish.
After a cup of tea, we drifted over to the Chivas stand to try the Aberlour 10 yo. We discussed the Flavour Map, and the Pretty Lady wanted to try something rich and delicate. She enjoyed it, but wasn't impressed.
7. Aberlour 10 yo (OB) - 40%, Speyside
The Pretty Lady thought that it was quite rich, although not as delicate as she wanted. I found concentrations of tea, bread, honey and strawberry in the nose, with a fairly smooth and light body. I do believe that the heaviness or lightness of a whisky needs to match the nose - I would find a syrupy, heavy whisky that tasted of flowers a little jarring, for example. The Aberlour was salty sweet on the tongue, with notes of cherry brandy, salted popcorn and red fruits. Short finish, with sour cherries, plums and lemons.
We also had the new Longmorn:
8. Longmorn 16 yo (OB) - 48% ABV, Speyside
Lemons, thyme, beer and cinnamon in the nose. Smooth and syrupy texture on the tongue - very pleasant body, perfect in the mouth. In the tasting, I found a slight sourness, followed by notes of grapefruit, lemons and bubble gum, with hints of rose and floral soap. Medium finish, a little toasty. Very nice, but apparently the old 15 yo that was replaced by this expression was even better.
At this point I decided that I needed to try a Japanese whisky before we ran out of vouchers (and liver capacity), so I did. The chap at the Nikka stand was very friendly, but he hadn't brought enough leaflets so we had a conversation about what his best whiskies were. He recommended the Yoichi 15 yo, which comes from a distillery near Sapporo.
9. Yoichi 15 yo (OB) - 45%, Hokkaido
Musk, bubble gum, strawberry and plum in the nose. Sour mash, very bourbony. Smooth, medium bodied, not particularly heavy (surprising, given the amber colour). Sweet sour on the tongue, apples, cinnamon, and surprisingly, saffron! Really oaky and fruity, and followed up with a spicy finish (cloves, cinnamon and walnuts) of medium length. The Pretty Lady thought this was pretty decent too.
We were down to our last 3 vouchers, and we decided to blow them all on something good. We went to the Duncan Taylor stand to try their wares, which nearly all cost 3 vouchers each. It came down to a choice between an Inverleven 1979 and a Glenlivet 1970. We went for the Glenlivet.
10. Glenlivet 37 yo 1970/2007 (Duncan Taylor Rare Auld) - 51%, Speyside
Musk and oak in the nose, along with some very slight peat and smoke. Grapefruit and apples too. The heavy, syrupy body that I like, together with an unusual thickness, almost chewy. Very sweet on the tongue, with peaches, raspberry jam and sour plums. Lots of slightly overripe fruit. Long, wonderful finish, with peanuts, orange peel and spiced barley. The Pretty Lady liked this very much, and I bought a bottle for us to share.
We then made sure we had picked up whatever freebies we were looking for, gathered our stuff together and left. I was a little sad I'd missed some expressions, especially the Inverleven and a Laphroaig at the Douglas Laing stand, but I'll definitely be back next year. With the Pretty Lady too - she'll be interested in the Speysides and the sweeter Highlanders I hope.
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