Field Brief: New Year, New Drams!
What better way to start the New Year and celebrate the accomplishments of good whisky friends than with a few drams? Here we go!
Whisky Details: Aberfeldy 15 Year (2001), Cask 21439
Nose: Crisp and bright with chopped orchard fruits, apples and pears, grassy and fresh with clovers, honey, and wooden model trains.
Palate: Medium-bodied, crisp and well-defined, mineral, apples and pears, slightly floral apple blossom at times, subtle lacquered wood, malty pastries with floral tea and honey.
Finish: Medium to long with pepper, wood resin, and orchard fruit.
Score: 7 (82)
Mental Image: Whisky for the Spring Equinox
Narrative & Notes: Bright and refreshing, this was the ultimate spring time whisky and a perfect break from the winter winds and rain. It was all green and alive with remarkably clarity of flavor and balance across the palate. The flavor profile was simple and fairly shallow, but the notes were well-defined. Sometimes simplicity is best, and if a whisky can do one thing well, that is more than enough. Overall, a fairly emblematic dram for the sort of whisky produced at Aberfeldy the last several decades.
Whisky Details: Mortlach 28 Year (1987), SMWS76.127 “Funky massage whisky”
Nose: Funky massage oils and wood resins, fruity and then meatier over time with cured ham and floral spice, pomegranate, ginger, nutty olive oil around the edges.
Palate: Medium-bodied, orange rind and dried papaya, metallic tinned pineapple, purple rice, mineral oil, sweet cured ham, acorns and nuts, slightly bitter end like the dregs of a dim sum tea pot.
Finish: Long and lingering with fruit skins and mellow tea.
Score: 7-8 (85)
Mental Image: Bushy Squirrel Bake Shop
Narrative & Notes: SMWS did well naming this cask. Its funky blend of fruits, oils, minerals, spices, and meatiness coalesced and broke down in the vapors or on the palate pushing me in the direction of a sensual goods shop or a purveyor of fine cured meats. The malt was a bit of a chameleon with different layers slowly emerging— though some prized acorn fed cured ham remained near the top. I could see this coming off as a touch soapy for those sensitive to floral spices and accents, though I found them well-balanced against the nuttier aspects. Overall, a fascinating Mortlach with loads of depth and a great balance between the meatier and floral character of the whisky— often you only get one or the other, but they came together nicely here.
Whisky Details: Blair Athol 26 Year (1997), Hunter Laing Cask 56886
Nose: Flinty with gunpowder and cordite, chlorine and slightly chemical like paper cement or glue, subtle fruit and rose appeared, more rubber erasures with time.
Palate: Medium-bodied, paper cement and slightly chemical, flinty, charcoal and earth, desiccated coconut led to chocolate, more shave ice syrups with hibiscus and watermelon gradually came to the fore.
Finish: Long and lingering with fruit and earth, rolling in a flower bed.
Score: 8 (89)
Mental Image: Shave Ice in the Revolutionary War
Narrative & Notes: My love of dirty, odd whiskies came through here— though everyone at the table who tasted it was a fan. The whisky felt old-fashioned and almost peated at times with earthy and dirty notes that ranged from gunpowder to charcoal and flint. The flavor combination was more 1970s than 1997, and I credit much of that to what was surely a slightly sulfurous sherry cask which matched beautifully with some of the more unusual fruit and floral qualities of the malt. I know adhesives and chemicals do not sound appealing, but they found their balance here sitting around the edges of sweeter, creamier notions— though maybe I was always a glue eater in elementary school.
Whisky Details: Mars Malt Duo Tsunuki x Akkeshi (2018) Blended Malt
Nose: Soft smoke and maritime brine, heather with hints of lavender, creamy salted caramel crème brûlée custard, tinned fruits— peaches in syrup, hints of mentholated tobacco smoke.
Palate: Medium-bodied, sweet, fruity, and salty; caramel custard and crème brûlée, glazed berries with mint, heather with hints of lavender, wispy smoke, holy 1980s Bowmore.
Finish: Long and lingering with fruits and maritime breezes.
Score: 8 (88)
Mental Image: Hello, 1980s? I have your Bowmore.
Narrative & Notes: The previous releases in this multi-distillery series featured whiskies from Mars Shinshu and Chichibu, with each distillery releasing its own version. Now back again, this time with casks from Akkeshi and Mars Tsunuki, two new wave Japanese distilleries with an emphasis on peat. I thought this was a more successful coming together than the previous releases, which occasionally felt a bit muddled and maintained enough of the Shinshu bubble gum note that I had trouble really enjoying them. This was equally as sweet, but the flavors were better structured and more diverse. If you had told me this was an old seagull label Bowmore, or some of 1980s stock, I would have absolutely believed you. Though it lacked parma violets, it had hints of classic lavender and mellow florals with wispy smoke and a touch of maritime brine. Overall, delicious.
