Knockando 21 Year Master Reserve (1994)

Rating: 16/23 A lot of stuff happened today. I'll skip the details. You just want to know about the whisky, right? N: Some bitter tannins with ethanol, then some malty sweetness comes out, with wort and wood behind it. Citrus peel and oils. Orange, tangerine, and lemon. An oiliness with very faint chestnuts. P: Sweet and malty, but with some surprising vegetal flavor the leads into bitterness and has a frankly shocking sort of worty sourness to it. White pepper burn. The malt is a little on the light side with some minerality to it. It's good, but I'm not loving this character. There's a fair amount going on, but it isn't decadent like a teenage Longmorn or similar dram. This is an odd one - I get kind of stewed agave flavors even. F: The vegetal flavors are here, but they've taken a more herbal slant. There's a dryness. Not a ton of the sweet side. Not a ton going on here either. - Conclusion - This is good, but a bit messy. I like it, but I certainly wouldn't have guessed that it was 21 years old. I'm guessing a 16 right now, but I could see 15. A 14 seems a bit out there, about as believable as a 17. A 13 is out of the picture. This dram leaves me disappointed and confused. It's not that I expected it to blow my mind, but I though that this would be a solid offering demonstrating maturity and it really tastes pretty young. Coming back to this, I'm leaning toward a 17, but it still isn't tasting super mature. It could be a 16. Rating it right now, I'd have to give this a 16.

Walnut, toffee, slightly floral. A lil bit too spicy and rough in the mouth though

Nose - spices and tropical fruit, caramel and creamy vanilla, honey, perfume and a bit of chocolate Palette - oily texture that clings, light and delicate flavors, honey and fruit, some oak slices and tannins, the caramel and vanilla are more muted Finish - long lasting, fruity and tannic, medium burn