New Glen Moray, Scallywag and Bladnoch; Collectable Spirits

Hello everyone

Various new expressions have been launched since last time but the only one for which I have a sample is the Glen Moray Smoky 12. This is a peated Glen Moray at 46.3% abv with natural colour and no chill-filtration, matured in US and European oak. Expect to find it at around £49.99 per bottle (UK pricing).

Appearance: Bright rich gold/light amber with amber and brass highlights. Tears initially slow then run faster and closer together than expected.

Nose: Gentle smokiness, dried vine fruit and sweet spices including vanilla – quite aromatic, a bit like a gewurztraminer wine so some subtle but heady florals. Indeed, the whole is rounded and subtle on the nose. Some sweetness and tropical fruit juices.

With water, a little waxiness comes in; orange blossom; soft, mellow oak and still those spices; Dolly Mixtures/icing sugar.

Palate: Slightly oily. More smoke than on the nose; oak and a peppery zing; spicy with a touch of chilli oil; barbecued fruits and some astringency.

Finish: Quite long and spicy; oak sweetness yet drying tannins and cask char/bonfire ember notes in the throat too.

Yes, Glen Moray does offer up the occasional peated expression and this is a decent dram. However, I do prefer my Glen Morays in the non-smoky, fruitier formats. It‘s personal taste as far as this distillery is concerned and plenty of people will enjoy this version. I‘ve never had a whisky I don‘t like from them, just some I prefer more than others.

Another new whisky from a range I usually like is Scallywag from Douglas Laing & Co. Ltd. Unfortunately, no sample of this one. It‘s Scallywag Noir, matured predominantly in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks, bottled at 52.8% abv (NCF/NAC). No indication of age and offered at around £65/bottle in the UK, it‘s a limited edition. It‘s also a cracking piece of packaging which Douglas Laing & Co. are rather good at. Their own notes say, “a symphony of deep velvety sweetness, dark fruits, and warming spices. Each sip reveals an enigmatic complexity, with whispers of dark chocolate, spiced oak, and sherry-soaked raisins unravelling on the palate. The long, lingering finish is utterly indulgent, delivering notes of molasses, ripe figs, and black cherries.” Even allowing for producer purple prose, it does sound rather attractive, to my palate at least. Find it online via the Douglas Laing website and in specialist retailers.

Just in today is news of the third expression in the Bladnoch Wave Series. It‘s Wave II: Distillery & Spirit single malt whisky, the second release in The Wave Master Distiller’s Collection. We‘re told this is „a five-part limited-edition series which walks through the marrying process of whiskies on a journey, that reveals the five whisky making pillars used by Bladnoch master distiller, Dr Nick Savage“. Dr. Savage has „…selected five Amontillado sherry tuns to be filled with whiskies from various combinations of cask types to marry together from the distillery’s 208-year-old bluestone warehouses for annual release. Each year the cask types will be revealed and depict another pillar of Bladnoch whisky making. The remaining whisky will be decanted into the following year’s tun, creating a common thread and a wave effect throughout the series, with the fifth and final release featuring components of the full collection“.  Rather like a sherry solera system, then. This expression comes from a combination of re-charred butts and barrels with first-fill ex-burbon barrel whisky in the second amontillado sherry tun. Certainly one I‘d like to try as their notes say there are pear drops, pineapples and ginger characteristics here. Definitely appeals. It‘s bottled at 57% abv (NCF/NAC) but no indication of age here either and is a limited run of „…1,817 bottles in tribute to the year the distillery was founded. It has an RRSP of £125 and is exclusively available to purchase at Bladnoch Distillery or via bladnoch.com from where it can be shipped to more than 30 countries“. Potentially not many for each of those countries but doubtless the bulk will go to certain key markets.

Lastly, I‘ve read recently that prices of whiskies at auction (including rare and collectable) are dropping though I‘m not sure the source of this is one I‘d go to for an informed opinion. In contrast, there is a new head of spirits in Scotland for Bonham‘s auction house Edinburgh premises – the highly qualified Patricia Byott who was previously head of private client department for The Macallan. The appointment, according to the piece in The Spirits Business, „…is said to underscore the auction house’s commitment to investing in expertise to meet the growing global demand for collectable spirits“. Now, of course, growing demand doesn‘t mean that prices are also growing but you‘d expect high demand to have some effect. So who‘s correct? I follow auction prices myself to see if I have anything worth selling and at what point so definitely a situation I‘ll be keeping an eye on.

That‘s all from me for this time and I‘ll be back later this month.

Till then, happy dramming,

Slainte,

Caroline