Tastes

Little break from the single casks. OK so this is a single barrel, 4698, bottled 7/30/2019. 130 bucks and required me to spend 900 at the store for the right. I've had some great EC18's so I went into this pretty excited. I'll go back to this after my notes but I did a blind tasting of this vs 2 knob creeks (the new 12 year, review coming, and a 9 year store pick). I'll save you the spoiler but it wasn't a good result. Nose - I think the whisky shines here. There's a lot of oak, vanilla, it's dry, a bit spicy, but there's a funky oak note here. I'm not sure that'll go over with everyone. Taste - The problem with the taste is that funk on the nose is all over the flavor. There's so much oak here and not a nice sweet fruity oak. Not a nice inviting one, but just funky dried up oak. Still, there's vanilla, caramel, light spice, a bit of sour dough perhaps. What's confusing me is that on past 18's have gotten so much fruit and all these nice flavors and here the oak is a bit over the top, but it's not the oak that's ruining this. It's the lack of other flavors. This is an uncorking and as such I'm super hopeful this will change in the bottle, but so far...this is not doing it for me. 1.75 stars. I don't think most people will enjoy this bottle as it is. I however don't think this is bad whisky, it's got some stuff going on and I"m hopeful it opens up into a better but still disappointing bottle.

Ending my reviews for today on this one - a bit lighter and frankly easier to review whisky. Nose - vanilla, sea salt, and nice oak. There's a light note of berry or fruit, likely from some very tired old sherry casks. There's a also a bit of a waxy vanilla, don't think clynelish but more just a muted and earthy vanilla. I almost get a juicy fruit element but not that exact note. Taste - I get vanilla, oak, and a bit of salt (got more on the nose). Having had some springbank, it's really nice to see a showcase of just salt as I was starting to question if it was peated, yes there is a difference in salty and light peat and this one correcting my confusion. I get a light green apple on the finish with some earthy and savory notes. if I were to describe this it would be a lot of discussion on vanilla, clean, and yet salty. I generally don't get a clean malt flavor with salt but that's kinda what makes old pulteney so good. The one thing I am coming back to is that I think the old 12 year 43% is a better whisky, I know crazy.This is more complex, the finish is longer, but man I miss that caramel and vanilla ice cream with cookie dough I got on the 12. It's a real shame this is no longer going to be made as well as the REAL 12 year. I really love what this distillery has been doing, but it's just a shame that we're going to see a decline in quality and an increase in price. Anyway 2.25, a bit higher score than the 12 as the age and finish are better here. I still think if I could find the 12, even if price weren't a factor (and this bottle is 90 dollar more than that 12 I last bought). I'd still likely take the 12. Still whisky quality is more than "do I like it more" and here the 17 is a better made product. I am wondering however if I got an off bottle as I had a sample of this a while back and it blew my mind. I'm about 25% through this bottle and it hasn't come close to what I remember in that sample. So apologies if it turns out this was a dud and I under valued this bottle, that sample would have likely been a 3.25.

OK so I screwed up, this is an 18 year, not 19 year. Stupid cell phone (OK I should have caught it). Anyway, apologies. nose - this is dark and dank. It's fruity but again all the fruits are so dark. There aren't those lighter even say raisin notes, it's more aged fruit, stuff left out in vat over night. Sweet, there's molasses and some grape notes, heavy caramel. There's oddly no real burnt elements. It's a very clean sweetness with just a lot of darker elements. It's actually really inviting and I feel like this would be popular at least the nose with even people who are new to scotch. Taste - the taste removes any chance of this being inviting to a newbie. This is insanely complex. It's bitter, sour, oaky, alcoholic, salty, funky...it's like being in a dank basement with port elements all over it. This is springbank malt with a cask made to showcase how funky springbank can get. The port cask is clearly dominating the malt but it's giving off so much funk that I brings me right back to springbank. I'm noticing in this, the fresh sherry, and even the 25 year I have, they all give off a bit of a grape like note on the nose. I'm getting this more and more with higher end bottlings, Deanston 30 year also gave me that note. I really dig it and it's coming through more and more often which I love. A common note in all these heavily cask influenced springbanks is a bit more oak than I find ideal and there's a harmony between that oak and the springbank slightly peated/salty character. I think I've gotten it on honestly on just about every age stated whisky they have done that was at least 18 years. It's not a bad thing by any means, but a distillery consistency that helps me identify that we're drinking springbank. I keep saying it but it's just so true. This is another extremely unique bottle. Rarely do we see 18 years in first fill port barrel. The results are really cool. FYI - water brings out some more sweetness but also really spices up the oak, the finish becomes really heavy tannins. I'm kinda digging it and I don't tend to want that much tannin. 4.0 - another killer single barrel from springbank. This one gets huge credit for how unique it is, I'm not sure if this will appeal to everyone, the intensity of the port finish and even the oak barrels is going to chase some away. For me though, this is a good time in a glass.

I don't often buy a backup bottle of anything, especially something at these prices points, but this one was a no brainer. Nose - Berries, figs, raisins, I get an almost deep mix of grape medicine and just grape juice, there's a salty brine, light alcohol notes. I really get this dessert wine meets a savory element thing going on. Really outstanding nose. Taste - this is springbank's malt but it is being hit with this huge really fresh fruit sherry note. No vanillas like I tend to get, it isn't overly funky or musty though there might be a bit of sulfur (I'm not sensitive so it's harder for me to pick that out.) The finish however is lightly peated, savory, has a really nice quality oak note, and just has this old whisky lingering feeling that I normally won't get on a whisky this young. This has me thinking about the Glengoyne 25 year I recently reviewed and i think it is about as perfect an expression of a classic sherry bomb as their is. The problem with that whisky is that it's really just a showcase of those fine european oak barrels, the natural malt is really been over powered and sent home and while you get some nice oak spices, the oak even feels like it was likely a second class citizen. I love all that, but it left me with a 4.0 score because it wasn't that complex. Here the springbank malt just can't be over powered easily. You still get that light peat and salt, you maybe no longer get the "funk" as it were, but you get springbank character on the finish, the oak barrels even seem to be contributing beyond their sherry and really giving a nice oak flavor at the end. This is an all time great dram. Small issues. 1. It's a bit too dry. Not a shocker with this age, abv, and first fill sherry casks. 2. I could see many wanting more dessert or more of an earthy bitter note, perhaps a refill sherry butt would help some, I'm not sure what they would need to make springbank's malt into a dessert. 3. There's a lot of stuff floating in the bottle and by the end of it, it kinda gets off putting (this is my second bottle). I'm not all about filtering and even like some raw casks but the sediment here isn't a winner for me. 4.5 - if you see a springbank fresh sherry, even if not cask strength, you will not be disappointed (and another fresh sherry bottle is going to be reviewed).

Nose - I get light grape, salt, vanilla, oak, and some kind of earthy putty. Taste - Sweet yet light, fruity but subtly so, salty and peated but refined and not austere but reserved. Even some lightly sour noted notes. This is complex, refined, and yet still bold enough to not shy away thanks to the 55% abv. The classic longrow profile is here, hearty dirty salty barely, but the 15 years has add a bit of refinement against a brand that mostly does 12 years or less (the 18 aside but remember that's 46%). The 9 year finishing in chardonnay casks adds an added final layer of not just complexity but truly refined notes. I'm not a big wine drinker and I frankly don't know anything about Chardonnay beyond I believe it is a white wine. It really is playing nicely with the longrow character and I think the 6 years in bourbon casks added a nice vanilla note here and that base is really what is letting the fruity nature of the chardonnay come through but perhaps keeping it from being overly sour or drying. I'm absolutely in search of future casks of any springbank product aged in white wine, I think it has been a huge success. I got this one in trade for a local barely 10 year but I've known a lot of people to get their hands on this one, with 330 bottles it's actually a huge single cask release from springbank. I feel crazy going here but I'm going 4 stars. I think this might be my favorite longrow. I'm not going to be held to that, nor do I require this to be my highest score for a longrow (I didn't check), but this I think edges out the rest for my top spot.

Just a quick baby rant - but it's rather tiring to have to add these with my phone only to of course write the reviews on a computer. I guess I'm turning into an old man, but good lord...phones are just not designed for writing more than a few sentences on. Why the internet has gone to completely catering to them is beyond me. Also, I'll be slowly going through more of my single casks and independent bottles for a while. On the one hand these aren't exactly easy to get bottles (though I know this one is available in multiple states in the US currently), but it has been my experience that if you like a distillery and you have an idea on the age and casks, you can make pretty good educated guesses based on experience on other's reviews so I don't think these are without merit. That in mind I will at least attempt to (when I can) discuss the distillery character and then cask character which I believe will be more consistent. Nose - i get what I'll call a red malt. Sweet, slightly fruity, more of the malt profile in perhaps an amber beer, then I get some salt, wax (almost a candle wax), and finally some lightly toasted oak barrels. Taste - Longrow's malt is always this very hearty funky, salty, unrefined, aggressive barely note. This is well on display with this younger cask. This is a super salty longrow, I believe this has to be coming from these first fill sauternes hogsheads. The overall impact is a very savory scotch profile that I can't say I've had before. I have had the springbank sauternes and I'm not sure if that was first fill, but I recall that one being a lot more on the sweet side and while springbank malt is a bit sweeter with less peat, I think these casks are playing the biggest role here. There is still a mid pallet sweetness of a wine in here, bringing some berries and vanilla up so don't think this is a pure savory bomb. *water - brings a bit more sweetness out but kinda kills the finish and gives off a bit more of the oak. Not a bad thing with a drop but I'll likely skip it going forward. This has to be one of the more unique longrow/springbanks and that is saying something from a brand that has a very unique character to start with. You still clearly get the classic longrow elements but the casks they used here is really interesting. 3.25. This is getting into the ranks of truly special stuff. I tend to find longrows in general are in that 2.5 to 3.75 range, the good to just short of greatness and this one is well within that context. Price - these are going for about 120-130 i believe, I however found this one for 80 bucks and yes, I bought backups.

Going back to the classics. Nose - vanilla, lemon/lime, light oak, salt, sea weed, and just that classic ardbeg peaty malty thing. I need better words lol. Taste - spicy oak, big peaty meaty notes, a bit of powdered sugar, citrus notes on the finish. This is a lot more spicy than I'd remembered and I guess that's the youth in the 10 years of aging. Love this whisky and I can still find it for less than 50 bucks. 2.75 and if we're talking price, this might be a 5 star whisky.

Stumbled upon a store with these still on the shelves and had a friend who wanted every bottle...so i grabbed 2 for myself and made the store owners a bit happy with the 7 total I left with. Nose - I get their classic vanilla and honey notes no the nose, there's light oak, bread, and I'm getting light notes of red fruits. These are all bourbon barrels but their malt is so sweet and fruity at times. I love it. Taste - Honey, complex vanilla pastries, oak. and the finish leaves me with some dark honey and oak tannins. A very nice complex take on what is an otherwise simple experience with bourbon barrels and classic Balvenie malt. 16 years old and bottled in 2012. These aren't yet endangered but they are getting pretty hard to find. I think I like the new sherry barrels better, but this is an awesome change of pace and really showcases the malt and it comes in at a much lower price than the 25 years and it's way better than the new 12 year. Edit, I'm upping the score to a 3.25, this is so good.

What can I say, I've become a bit hooked/obsessed with Kavalan and I finally broke down and made the less than smart financial decisions to pick this up for 417 bucks (ouch). Nose - At first I'm mostly getting vanilla over a fruity all be it on descriptive malt and a good bit of alcohol. I added water and to be honest it's not really opening up much. Time seems to be the magic on the nose. It's now fruity, very clearly a distinct sherry note with some vanilla. Taste - I'm not an expert on tehse manzanilla casks, I've really only had a few bottles with some maturation, that I'm aware of, with them. They are sweeter than Oloroso but they aren't the same kind of sweetness of a PX. The taste is sweet with some spice. I'm not getting a distinct sherry like note, just a general sweeter whisky with a lot of fruity elements but I'm not able to really drill in. Added water and I'm still struggling with this one. There's berries up front, then it moves into some spices. There's something here muting the whisky, it's like the sherry wants to explode into this sweet candy note and then there's a bready oaky element coming in and bringing the sweetness down, bringing in some spice, and then leaving it with a long, but bitter finish. I think the problem with this one is that I came in really hoping for a dessert dram and that isn't this at all. The sweetness is a bit muted, the barrels are giving off some oak, the natural malts are much more hearty than perhaps I realized, and while the cask finishing really does shine (this is a sherry bomb for sure) the other elements here are far more in play than I'd expected and really than I'd noticed on some other pours from this series. I'm going 4 stars here but I'm debating 3.75. This is great whisky but it's not truly special. Still the cask strength, single barrel, sherry bomb qualities are working very well for me here. Will re-review - but this is going higher up, it's opened up a lot in the bottle. Likely a 4.5 but maybe 4.25.

Nose - oh it's a dank warehouse, dark fruits...over ripe. This is old and yet the sherry dominates this, there's none of that oak bitterness coming through. Rich and fruity. Taste - rich, chocolate, butter, sherry, spicy oak. The finish is long, lingering, rich, complex. It isn't the most nuanced and detailed whisky to discuss. It's a sherry bomb and you can really tell this is using those european oak casks which gives it all kinds of spice flavors.