Inchgower 11 Year (1986), SMWS 18.6
Whisky: Inchgower 11 Year (1986), SMWS 18.6
Country/Region: Scotland/Speyside
ABV: 57.8%
Cask: Oak
Age: 11 Years (Distilled April 1986, Bottled May 1997)
Nose: Cream, butterscotch, caramel, rubber bands, salted butter, vanilla, birthday cake frosting, plastic.
Palate: Medium-bodied, creamy, refined sugar, vinyl, rubber bands, butterscotch, vanilla, paper, pepper, slightly bitter spice.
Finish: Medium-length and a touch drying with citrus pith, cream, pepper, and paper.
Score: 5 (75)
Mental Image: Cupcakes at the Gym
Narrative & Notes: Creamy and slightly chemical, the aroma danced from buttercream cake frosting and butterscotch to rubber bands. Caramel candies and nougat lingered with creamy salted butter until more vanilla and birthday cake frosting arrived. Hints of plastic bags and rubber bands lingered in the background giving the cream an occasional rancid quality, or a funk that struck me like a slightly used gym bag. Medium-bodied on the palate with a creamy, sweet profile that maintained a vinyl-plasticky edge to it. Candy corn and butterscotch candies offered a helping of refined sugars with birthday cupcake frosting. Mellow paper notes emerged, like used cupcake wrappers, before more rubber bands and freshly pressed vinyl joined. A touch of bitter spice and pepper popped at the end. The finish was medium-length and a touch drying with citrus pith, cream, pepper, and paper.
This had a clear evolution between distinct flavor groupings, but I did not care for those flavors which veered between refined sugars and rubbery plastic. It was also spirited at times, with a peppery quality that came out near the end with a bit of bitterness, though it was hardly a fatal flaw— just a bit raw, though in-keeping with the rougher 1980s distillations. These old releases are a delight to experience, and this had lost none of its vigor resting in the bottle for a quarter century before our tasting.;
Overall, I do not recall anyone picking this as their favorite of the evening— though some were more fond of the butterscotch and caramel elements. The intensity at which people picked up the rubber, plastic, or chemical elements varied a lot at the tasting— for some it was hard to miss, others found it barely perceptible.
