This will be a relatively brief post as I am being sucked into the maelstrom that is the week before Christmas. Brief is appropriate in one way as due to a series of coincidental misfortunes our numbers were reduced by half, albeit supplemented by an excellent guest. In another way it is not appropriate though given the excellence of the whisky selections and of the conversation.
Regular readers will recall that our last meeting of the year hews to no particular theme, but rather is thrown open to the membership who on rotation make the tasting selections. As we had a guest he was also invited to make a selection and that was what we began with. Without any prompting he ferreted out one of our favorites - the Mackinlay's Rare Old Highland (also called "the Shackleton"). From there we moved on to a series of 21 year olds. Those of you of a prurient turn of mind will have paused for a moment at that statement, but alas, it is whisky after all that we are talking about. Two were familiar and one was new, courtesy of Trevor's recent foray over the American border.
The familiar whiskies were the Glendronach "Parliament" 21 year old and the Old Pulteney 21 year old. A greater contrast could hardly be imagined. The effect of the wood over 21 years should in theory cause a degree of convergence in taste, but this was not the case. The Glendronach was alcohol and wood and nothing in between. The Old Pult, a longtime Cabinet favorite, was everything in between, or at least everything desireable in a single malt. It amusing to also highlight the contrast in the descriptions provided by the distilleries.
The Glendronach claims:
Appearance - Deep amber with a cherry wood sheen.Nose - A delicate mix of ripe autumnal fruits - notably blackberries and red plums. Rich Oloroso sherry and candied orange segments. Spiced oatmeal biscuits and toasted oak fragrances bring excellent weight and balance.
Palate - Resolute flavours of fine Oloroso sherry and bitter chocolate sauce, which has been spread liberally over homemade plum pudding. This is all infused with fabulous spicy notes - cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. Full bodied with smooth tannins.
Conclusions - Long and lingering.
They are more or less correct about the appearance.
The Old Pulteney states:Aroma - Full bodied with traces of fruits (apples and pears); slightly fragrant with spicy overtones.
Taste - Creamy, toffee, vanilla, baked red apple with a hint of smokiness and a dry finish.
All of this is correct.
Therefore we conclude that an inverse correlation exists between the length and elaborateness of the description and the enjoyability and complexity of the product. Take note.
The final whisky was the Aberfeldy 21 year old and it was excellent. The distiller's description is succinct as well. A full review and proper tasting and scoring will follow when more of the membership are available.
In closing, thank you to Trevor and Jason for bringing food, to Greg for joining us and to all for you for reading!
Slainte until 2016!
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