VAN WINKLE Family reserve rye 1985 50%

Nose:
Big vanilla thrust eventually letting through some ultra-inviting spices. Cinnamon, black peppers and anise are some that I can pick out. Moderate doses of cherry and even blueberries augment the complexity.




Palate:
Creamy and mouthfilling. Cherry interweaved with hedonistic vanilla and just a little cocoa. Spices present but a bit more subdued compared to the nose. Certainly shows its age but the sappiness is on an entirely acceptable level.



Finish:
Estery fruitiness and spicy oak. Very long.


Comment:
Alas! The last drops of this no longer available bottling (made for the French market, I believe). Unlike most Van Winkle products, this is, I understand it, not from the sleeping Stitzel-Weller distillery in Louisville. No matter its origin, this is a true whiskey beauty. If you happen to see it on an auction or in a dusty corner, make sure you´ll get it. Or better still, tell me so I can grab it. :) In retrospect, I should have bunkered up on this one but I have to be grateful that I managed to own two bottles.

Rating: 8,5/10

OLD HICKORY Seven years old 43%

Nose:
Seductively sweet. Lightly roasted almonds swimming around in a sea of sugared oranges. Hints of nail varnish and flavoured tea. At its most vigorous before it reaches body temperature.




Palate:
Blistering pepperiness to begin with. Then juicy fruitiness accompanied by a pleasant tang of cloves. Falls away rather swiftly though with vanilla and cream toffee becoming too dominant.




Finish:
Short-ish and rather dry. Oak with a dash of burnt toffee and just a faint echo of fruit.



Comment:
One of the lost distilleries of America, Old Hickory was based in Philadelphia. This is a whisky that is great in parts only. Still, could be worth it for the delicious nose, alone or if you are a distillery completist, like me.

Rating: 7,5/10

ARDMORE Vintage 1994 12 years old 46%

Nose:
Modest yet confident peat backed up by a marked oiliness and an almost tobacco-like sweetness. A faint echo of apples.




Palate:
Quite oily as indicated by the nose. Superb peat of a gentle and sweet nature partly counterbalanced by murky and rather mushroom-like malt.




Finish:
Initially more of that sweet peat but eventually the malt gets a bigger say with delicious spices and smoke.

Comment:
Bottled by Speciality Drinks aka The Whisky Exchange. This is an unusually heavily peated Speysider. If you manage to steer clear of the notion of this as a surrogate for your Ardbegs and Laphroaigs (this is nowhere near as powerful), then you will reap a rich harvest here.

Rating: 8/10

DEWAR´S Special Reserve 12 years old 43%

Nose:
Dried fruit with mango-ish traits. Spiciness that almost borders on something burnt. Semi-sharp grains vie for attention at the back.




Palate:
Heavy spices, sweet maltiness and blackberries merges into something quite akin to burnt treacle toffee. Rather nice, actually!Something citrus-ey tries to join the fun but fail and remains in a submissive position.



Finish:
Ozone fresh with light spices. The treacle re-emerges at the back of the throat for the final bye-bye.


Comment:
An individual style for this one. I bumped into another Dewar´s 12 at the Munich airport the other week. That one had a different label and was 700 ml (mine is 750). I actually had the chance to try it for free but instead opted for 12yo Aberfeldy. In retrospect I regret this since it had been interesting to compare it to my bottling.

Rating: 8/10

WILD TURKEY Russell´s Reserve 10 years old 50,5%

Nose:
A dark brooding beast. Cherries, rye and cinnamon rumbles on a field of sturdy but pleasant oak.




Palate:
Heavy oak stomps all over the opposition, to begin with. Gradually a delicate rye fruitiness enters the stage followed by lovely cocoa, cherry sweetness and prickly spices.





Finish:
Extremely long. Outstanding balance between sweet fragmented corn and dry chewy oak.


Comment:
Apparently no longer in production. It has been replaced by a 45% version which I have yet to try. Surely there must be something amiss at the distillery if they kill off something like this? One of the true greats of the last 10 years or so.


Rating: 8,5/10