Scott_E
Kininvie 23 Year
Single Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed
May 21, 2022 (edited July 25, 2022)
Batch 3 / 42.6% abv.
Many moons ago, there were a band of tasting brothers that set forth to taste a scotch from every active Scottish distillery. The SDT. In that era, much was shared. This was provided by @LeeEvolved to the team. Tonight, this was pulled from the trove as it turned out to be an appropriate time to sample (the house to myself).
You may generally find that the older a whisky is, the more complexity it harbors. That is usually first indicated at introduction, the nose. This totally debunks that notion. There is practically no aromatic richness or a dynamic variety of aromas. It’s rather static. Woody-vanilla and diluted bourbon notes. Over time, sweet-ripened fruits of pears and pineapples hover.
The body is thin. Lighter in weight than water. What’s embedded, like the nose, is sparse and lacking complexity. Sweetness that turns bitter that starts with vanilla, light brown sugar with barely detectable hints of apples and toasted coconut. All of this (which is not much) quickly diminish and transforms to a slightly wooden spicy liquid with a youthful quality.
The finish is all wood and bitter lemon citrus that fades quickly but leaving the mouth woody dry.
If I was a gambling man, I would wager to say that this is a young 8 year old Speysider that’s on its way to being something more given six to eight years. That this is a 23 year old is shocking. It sips similar to Balvenie 12 but is not as rich. Is this a terrible pour and undrinkable? Absolutely not. But given the age and cost, your tasting time/cost is better spent elsewhere. [84/100][Tasted: 5/20/22]
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@LeeEvolved I think I’m barely one dram every 2 weeks or so, and reducing. Collection is still huge though…
@PBMichiganWolverine yeah, it seems as though the only lingering effects from Covid are the tasting issues- I used to love hot sauces and spicy food and now they seem almost bland to me. Smells seem back to normal, but the palate is still wrecked, but hey, silver lining is I’m drinking much less than before. Good to hear that you guys are all still fighting the good fight and seem healthy and happy. I hope your families are all doing well, too. Cheers to that!
@LeeEvolved Glad you both stay in touch. It was fun reading some of the back and forth between you. Stay well!
@Scott_E yes, I still hear from Paul every couple of months. We got in a habit of sending each other birthday bottles so we still do that and when we see bottles online that we think the other may be interested in we will shoot a few texts back and forth. He actually sent me a sample box a couple months ago that I’m still sipping through. He switched jobs and is a little more busy than he was during the SDT, but we do keep in touch
@LeeEvolved WOW! Blast from the past!!! Really good to hear from you. And really sorry about the long Covid effects.
@LeeEvolved good to hear from you. Sorry about your lost of taste. Just glad your well overall. You still stay in touch with @Generously_Paul?
Wow, imagine my surprise when I saw this notification pop up on my phone. The SDT, I remember that endeavor. So fun, so expensive. Great review and I can’t believe you saved this pour for this long. I’ve tried to reignite my love of scotch and bourbon recently, but alas, Covid 19 has done permanent damage to my taste buds and I can’t seem to detect the nuances like I once could. Glad to see others are still keeping the tasting team memory alive. Cheers Scott!