Tag: 90+
Here we go again with the Wemyss Malts Cream of the Crop tasting notes. The Wemyss family has a passion for whiskey since the beginning of the 19th century when Haig’s founded its first distillery on the island of Wemyss. They make their own blends but are especially appreciated for their job as independent bottlers. Each bottle name has a special name to guide the buyer to its favorite flavors. So what about this “Cream of the Crop”? This one is a Glen Garioch, from the Garioch Valley’s distillery in the Highlands, founded in a very small village at the end of the 18th century. Distilled in 1989 and bottled in 2016 (it’s a 27 or 26 years old whisky, we do not have precise dates, 261 bottles). Let’s see this Wemyss Malts whisky!
North Star Spirits is an independent bottler who started bottling whisky in 2016 but has already gained a great reputation, thanks to its series Vega and that I will introduce here with the second pretty baby, the Vega 40yo ( 43.1% – 2018). After a 23 years old blend (of excellent quality), whisky lovers were impatiently waiting for this 40 years old blend! Not only because they (and I) had some hope to taste a whisky of even higher quality but also because of the incredibly low prices asked for these bottles. And nobody was disappointed, regarding the price and the quality of this whisky. Here come the tasting notes 😀
Today I am sharing my impressions about the excellent Aultmore 25yo AD Rattray, a whisky distilled in 1990, aged in sherry casks and bottled in 2015. The Aultmore distillery, located in Speyside, is highly renowned for the quality of its single malts. No need to say that the expectations for one of his whiskys, especially of this age (and even more because you’ll not often find independant bottlings from this distillery and this age), are particularly important 😀 And, super bonus, it has aged in sherry casks and it is a combination that has already proved its worth, some pleasure moments in sight!
Here are the tasting notes of one of my favorite bottles, namely the fabulous Highland Park Thor! First whisky from the Valhalla collection, followed by Loki, Freya and Odin (in this order). Highland Park has found the vein to tickle lovers of pretty boxes and, by the way, fans of Nordic mythology. I have to admit that I also bought this box as soon as it was released, without tasting it first… If I have regrets? Only one: not having bought 3 bottles at once.
For your next sunless day, I suggest you to discover a whisky that will brighten your day, the Macduff 33yo by… Macduff. Have to say it’s not the same Macduff as the one from the distillery, maybe they’re from the same family but this one is an independent bottler. Well, we don’t care, there are certainly a lot of Macduff in Scotland. This whisky (47.5%), from the collection “The Golden Cask Reserve”, is a limited edition of 125 bottles and comes from the CM210 cask. Here we go for the tasting notes 😀
We continue with another vintage gem, a Balmenach 32 years old (53.1%) by Maltbarn. Maltbarn is one of those independent bottlers who have the nose to select exceptional casks. Most of their bottles are sold out in a few days or even a few hours.