Field Briefs June 2023: The Auld Alliance Singapore
Few whisky institutions came up as often as the Auld Alliance when I told people I was returning to Singapore for a spell. The bar had long been on my list of places to pop in, but the stars had never entirely aligned. I made sure it was on the schedule for this visit and met up with a whisky friend, though he might identify more as a rum head, for a visit.
The bar sits upstairs in a retail lobby attached to the Rendezvous Grand Hotel, and I admit the wife and I were a touch turned around until a friendly hotel doorman pointed us in the right direction. That was nothing compared to the feeling of being happily lost among whisky once we were ensconced inside the cozy interior of the Auld Alliance. The walls of whisky and the thick, very well-organized whisky binder gave us choice paralysis as there were so many options— so many temptations— and one can really only taste so many different whiskies on any given night.
The staff was amiable, and our whisky friend was immensely helpful in navigating all the possibilities while pointing out and ensuring we did not miss any of the absolute highlights. I ticked off a few distilleries I had never tried before and could have chased even more had I wanted. We did not do an organized flight during this visit. Still, we tried to slowly crescendo through cask, abv, and flavor intensity during the evening. The reviews are split between the three below that I spent the least time with and four more single reviews of bottles that received more focused attention.
Between the people and the whisky, the Auld Alliance was magical.
Whisky Details: Ardbeg 10 Year (1978) Oak 57.8%, Murray McDavid The Syndicate’s
Nose: Industrial and herbal, mint and Chinese medicinal spices, tar and motor oil, mellow brine, burlap sacs and flax fibers.
Palate: Medium-bodied, refined sugar, algae, nori chips, white pepper, subtle licorice and medicinal spice, hints of metallic iron and red dirt, maritime brine and tar.
Finish: Long and mellow with citrusy orange, burlap, and brine.
Score: 7-8
Mental Image: Harbor Side Medicine Shop
Narrative & Notes: This vintage Ardbeg had much in common with the modern incarnation of the 10 Year, but dialed up to 11 and with an herbal medicinal edge that reminded me of a traditional Chinese medicine shop. Classic tar and rope, or burlap sacks, stood out, while a more mellow iron and metallic industrial quality was slow to develop. The finish was mild with orange citrus and woven flax fibers for all the aggressive maritime port notes on the nose and palate. I reckon that modern Ardbeg often retains a lot of the tar and maritime elements but with less of the rope or burlap sac— a sort of fibrous quality.
I am happy to report that this malt was delicious, but I am further convinced that old Ardbeg and I do not seem to quite click as well as it does with other people. I still think the distillery has one of the better modern core ranges, but I seem to nearly always be on the low end of scores or reactions when it comes to independent releases of the distillery’s malt or even its special editions. I wish I could taste this against a cask-strength version of the modern ten.
Whisky Details: Springbank 25 Year (1994) Refill Hogshead 52.1%, North Star Spirits for The Auld Alliance
Nose: Apple blossom, vanilla, herbal tea, creamy vegetal fats, cedar and birch wood, charred citrus, cotton candy.
Palate: Medium-bodied, oily, charred lemon peel and fermented vegetables, orange rind and apple blossom, herbal grass and tea, wood char, wood oils toward the end.
Finish: Long and lingering with orange blossom, char, and sea brine.
Score: 8+
Mental Image: Orange-Shaped Wrecking Ball
Narrative & Notes: This Longrow was among the bottles a whisky friend told me I absolutely had to try, and he made sure we did. Good thing too as it turned out this was the last bottle in stock at the Auld Alliance. I have never seen a magnum bottle of Longrow— or any high-quality malt— but having one would be fun! For those wondering, the label does say distilled at Springbank, but the description of it as a double-distilled peated malt gives it away as a Longrow.
I am not particularly infatuated with Springbank or Longrow; sometimes, I feel like the only one. I am sure there are more of us out there that enjoy the malt but do not quite understand the incredible hype machine attached to it now. This superb bottle transcended the hype with a surprisingly delicate set of notes on the nose and a robust fermented quality on the palate. I would not have guessed this was a Longrow in a million years.
The wife described the aroma as soap— not the slightly off-putting quality of soapiness you might sometimes come across, but the combination of apple, vanilla, and cedar presented as fairly common soap aromatics. So not soap, really, but the common ingredients in a classy hand soap; perhaps comparable to pumpkin spice not actually being pumpkin, but the spices used to jazz up the squash.
Whisky Details: Laphroaig 31 Year (1989) Refill Barrel 42.3%, Thompson Brothers “Islay” for Auld Alliance
Nose: Maritime, beach grass on the dunes, sea shell collections, clean with a slight musty grassy decay, driftwood, palm fronds, tatami mats, roasted sesame, subtle apple.
Palate: Medium-bodied, clean and coastal, herbs with subtle tobacco and menthol, salted unagi over charcoal, citrus, driftwood, hints of vanilla and lemongrass, tatami mats.
Finish: Medium-length with sweet citrus and salt.
Score: 8
Mental Image: Sunny Day the Sea
Narrative & Notes: I had heard excellent things about the trio of mystery Islay malts that the Thompson Brothers bottled for the Auld Alliance. I was curious how they compared to the trio bottled for K&L and the handful of others I have tried. There is something charming about old Laphroaig, especially when its coastal iodine and pungency soften to dried palm fronds and the pleasant minerality of sea shells. I was told the bottle was quite a bit farmier when it was first opened, while only hints of that mustiness remained, primarily on the nose.
While the other whiskies we tried at the Auld Alliance overshadowed this one, it was no slouch. I enjoyed the clean, straightforward maritime profile and thought it stood out nicely against the other epic pours of the evening. It might even be one of the best of these ’89-91 Laphroaig. If I had more time, I would have loved to revisit and try the whole lineup, including the 1990 and 1991 vintages; I imagine they were all of a similar quality.
