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Purveyors of the World's most Exclusive Range of Scotch Whiskies |
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A new addition to the 'family', review of Black Bull 40
whiskyforeveryone.blogspot.com, 2 Feb 2010
This is a very pleasant whisky and offers exceptionally good value for money, when you consider the age of the whiskies involved. It is remarkably fresh for a whisky of this age and maintains its intensity despite the relatively low ABV alcoholic strength. A lovely dram. more>
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Blind tasting of Black Bull 40yo, Batch 1 receives 91 points!
Whiskyfun.com, 30 Jan 2010
Colour: pale gold.
Nose: yeah! Starts on a lot of honey and other ‘beehivy’ notes, with many rich yet fresh fruity notes that are soon to turn up. Ripe apples, pineapples and bananas, then more caramel crème and nougat, then superb notes of liquorice and aniseed, and finally these slightly resinous notes that scream ‘old casks’. Those can sometimes be over the top but this time they really add depth and complexity to the whisky. Superb nose (where I might detect quite some old Glen Grant and/or Caperdonich and/or Glenlivet and/or Glenrothes and/or…).
Mouth: a wee oaky blast at very first sips (cinnamon, nutmeg) but then it just won’t stop unfolding, shooting flavours like arrows, one after the other. Dried oranges, coconuts, bananas, spearmint, liquorice, cloves, butter pears, marshmallows, lemon balm… It’s endless, both ‘old’ and juvenile in style, which I believe is a perfect combo.
Finish: maybe not the longest ever but the coconut stands out, as well as some banana skin and roasted bread. No drying tannins whatsoever.
Comments: fresh, mature, complex and entrancing to follow. more...
Caol Ila 26yo 1982/2009 (55.9%, Duncan Taylor, C # 2741)
Bert's Whisky Dagboek (Belgium), 19 April 2009
Nose: very fine peat nose, very mature Caol Ila, citrus, peppery, good: 23.
Mouth: light creamy and powerful, beautiful floral peat, beautiful evolution and drink very pleasant way: 23.
Finish: warm, complex, strong finish ... to Timbuktu: 23.
Comments: one of my best Caol Ila's: 23.
Total: 92/100
Highland Park 21 yo 1987/2008 (50.4%, Duncan Taylor Rare Auld, cask #1529)
Whiskyfun.com - 14 November 2008
A brand new bottling!
Colour: straw.
Nose: I had feared this one would have a hard time after the wonderful 1991 but greatest of news, it’s quite as superb. There’s less candy and coffee and more white fresh fruits (simply apples) but almost all the rest is there. Smoke, peat, tangerines, sea air, camphor, ‘resinous’ honey… Gets finally a tad farmier and rougher, with more wet hay, whiffs of farmyard… And quite some fresh mint as well. Great nose anyway, a little less ‘easy’ than the 1991.
Mouth: we’re closer to the 1991, just even bigger, thanks to the higher ABV. Wild, peaty, extremely smoky and peppery, with layers of candied lemons and oranges, ‘resinous honey’ again, waxes, smoked fish, salt… Wow, it’s almost a brute! (flog me baby!)
Finish: very long, all on orange zests and pepper now.
Comments: lots happening in this HP that has its eye on Skye or even Islay. A big dram, in the same league as the 1991 as far as quality is concerned. Highly recommended, especially since the quality of indie HPs can be very, say ‘uncertain’. SGP:475 – 91 points.
Tasting Glenrothes
whiskyfun.com - 06 October 2008
Glenrothes 39 yo 1969/2008 (45.5%, Duncan Taylor, Rare Auld, cask #12890, 183 bottles) Cask #12885 bottled in 2006, was quite superb so this must be nice as well.
Colour: amber.
Nose: it is somewhat similar to the 1978 as far as the general profile is concerned, only much more expressive and, to tell you the truth, exuberant. Loads of heather honey, prunes, bananas flambéed, raspberry jam, spices (mulled wine again) and oranges plus hints of wood smoke that sort of keep it ‘straight’. More huge notes of very ripe bananas and no obvious oakiness whatsoever. Very, very demonstrative and very, very appealing.
Mouth: exceptional attack, vibrant, uber-fruity yet perfectly structured thanks to a beautiful oakiness. The bananas are back with flying colours – I mean aromas – and so are the oranges. Also coconuts, then more oranges and more bananas, then nutmeg and white pepper, then a little mint and a little liquorice, then various strong honeys… Even more pepper after that, which gives this malt a wonderful strawberry jam/pepper signature.
Finish: a little more oak at this stage but at 39 years of age, that’s more than normal. Superb pepper and fruits again. Very, very long finish.
Comments: one of these IB’s that are OB killers. Indeed, the official 1978 doesn’t quite stand comparison with this 1969 but it’s true that it’s quite younger. Now, the latter is more than two times less expensive (+/- 150 Euros). Frankly, we don’t like to talk about prices too much but sometimes we just can’t avoid mentioning striking differences… SGP:751 - 92 points.
Tasting Dallas Dhu
whiskyfun.com - 15 September 2008
Dallas Dhu 27yo 1981/2008 (55.1%, Duncan Taylor Rare Auld, cask #389 - from a shery cask)
Colour: gold.
Nose: probably a tad less complex and refined that the 1970 at first nosing but the overall profile is still great. More chocolate and coffee at first nosing, and then much more fresh fruits (big lemony notes). Fruit salad, almost fizzy and very pleasantly so.
With water: gets even cleaner and zestier, all on lemons and grapefruits, with hints of coal smoke. Very beautiful, if you ask me, and stunningly fresh at 27yo.
Mouth (neat): big, very fresh and quite lemony again at first sips, but it gets then very spicy and very oaky, in a most excellent way (a lot of oak isn’t always a problem!) So we have the expected cloves, a lot of cardamom, notes of lemon balm, lime, ginger… Very, very zesty dram. Even hints of tequila (of which we have vivid memories as we tried three of them a few days ago.) Most interesting!
With water: zing! Clean, fresh, lemony, with also notes of green apples plus various mild spices from the wood.
Finish: long, an extension of the palate.
Comments: I wouldn’t say that this is exactly a surprise, but it sure isn’t a ‘regular’ Dallas Dhu, and one may wonder if they didn’t ‘mis-stenciled’ an old cask of Rosebank here. Come on, of course not! SGP:642 – 90 points.
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Recent Indie Bunnahabhain
whiskyfun.com - 3 September 2008 |
Bunnahabhain 38 yo 1970/2008 (40.3%, Duncan Taylor Rare Auld, cask #4073)
Colour: gold.
Nose: this is one of these uberfruity old Bunnahabhains it seems. Starts very assertively, on a hints of putty mixed with loads of fresh oranges and tangerines, bananas, acacia honey and whiffs of spearmint. Gets then a tad more ‘fudgy’, with also notes of cappuccino and vanilla as well as a little tea (earl grey – obvious notes of bergamots here) and toasted oak. Very fresh considering this one’s age, but not exactly a fruit bomb because there’s more than that. Usually the palates don’t match the noses in these old whiskies but you never know… Let’s see.
Mouth: starts rather similarly (citrus fruits) but – should I say ‘of course’ – the wood is much more obvious, albeit not too drying. Nicely integrated. The other obvious notes are of the resinous kind (pine candies, chlorophyll gum). Not too ripe bananas (tannins).
Finish: surprisingly long, half oaky, half orangey. Orange tea? Comments: very, very good, with a rather stunning nose and a pleasant palate. SGP:640 – 89 points.
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Whiskyfun by Malt Maniacs' Serge
11 June, 2008
Inverleven 29 yo 1978/2008 (45.5%, Duncan Taylor, Rarest of the Rare, cask #1878)
It’s now well known that Inverleven’s equipment has been bought by the Bruichladdich team and will be used at the new Port Charlotte.
Colour: straw.
Nose: as fresh and citrusy as a 30yo malt… can’t get. No traces of excessive woodiness at all, rather a big and complex zestiness: lemon pie, lemon balm, then wet stones and chalk, kiwi juice, then whiffs of raw wool, aniseed, oysters and other seashells, hints of wet dog (hi again, dogs), garden bonfire… An excellent surprise. Superb complexity, yet a perfect ‘compactness’. Let’s only hope the palate will match this beautiful nose.
Mouth: indeed, this is a beautiful old Lowlander, even if it’s just a little less zesty than on the nose here. Lemon with a little salt, lemon crème and, err, lemon pie. Goes on with more spices (Chinese – or star – anise, a little cardamom), a slight toffeeness, and then notes of coconut and dried ginger. Extremely good.
Finish: rather long, a tad drier now, with hints of oak coming through. Comments: Inverleven should never be forgotten when we’re talking about Lowlanders! Top notch and very ‘idiosyncratic’, highly recommended (but beware it’s drinkability.) SGP:642 – 90 points.
Malt Mission
Issue 294, 22 May 2008
Dr. Whisky of drwhisky.blogspot.com
Glenrothes 1968, cask 13498,
48.2% abv
It is ridiculous that I have not yet had a Glenrothes for the malt mission. I suppose it is a bit nuts to imagine that someone could have almost 300 whiskies and still have negelected a whole distillery. Well it is not my fault, I have visited Ronnie Cox et al at whisky tasting events and tried their old and new vintages, just never in the controlled environment of the malt mission. To be completely honest, this is mainly because I have never received any samples through the post, and its not cuz the owners don't know this whisky blog exists; I have see Berry Brothers and Rudd (or their server, anyways) and the Edrington Group reading Dr. Whisky many times over the past year. Oh well. I try not to solicit and this is getting to that point, so enough. Sorry, I'm writing like an idiot today. Just not feeling it.
Thanks to the nice folks at Duncan Taylor and Co. for sending the sampler of their Glenrothes bottling along. I might as well tell you that between them sending me the drop and me getting around to posting on it over the past few tumultuous months, all bottles have been sold out. Nonethless...
Rather than having only a graveyard of casks at the distillery, Glenrothes is unique in having a still house that overlooks a cemetery. The distillery was off to a shaky start when the initial investors behind the construction of Glenrothes withdrew (to open a neighbouring distillery and begin a dispute over the water source). The financial difficulties led to the construction of a distillery much smaller than had originally been planned. Joining forces with Bunnahabhain to become Highland Distillers in 1897 and doubling its size in 1898 created a more secure future for the distillery. Today it is one of the largest distilleries in the industry with much of its produce finding its way in to Famous Grouse and Cutty Sark blended whiskies. It was a year after a distillery fire in 1922 that Cutty Sark was created.
TASTING NOTES (Tasted with TF): Raspberry, strawberry-tinged baby power. Smells like a place, i just can't pinpoint where, but it fills me with guilt -associated feelings. A brothel? The ladies room? The apartment of the other woman? Oak, some sour sherry notes, butter and crepes. "Quite fruity, red apple, cheesecake base, do you know what I mean? Biscuity. There's a sort of... you know, Haribo fried eggs." Laughter. Totally, says I. "Green oak, broken twigs, less fruit as it develops." Time in the glass lets out more estery high notes again."I like the old mahogany church pew you get off these oldies."
Soft, then bright, cloves, Brio chinotto, sweet soda fountain syrup, butterscotch. Floral notes and then tons of oaky grip. A sugary (muscovado?) sweetness lingers low among ginger roots and twigs. "Pruny, sort of like old cognac, raisins. Ginger, or gingerbread maybe, baked apple. The oak comes out so much on the finish, it becomes slightly astringent, wood tannins, that sort of almost resiny taste that you get."
SUMMARY: A tasty mouthfull, with an emphasis on full. Less interesting on the nose, "yeah, but we've had it for like twenty minutes. Its still got it on the palate, maybe just a touch too woody. I like it." Tim was surpirsed to learn it was Glenrothes.
Malt Maniacs - New Bottlings
Issue 109, April 15, 2008
Bert Bruyneel, Belgium
Tomatin 42yo 1965/2008 (52.1%, DT, C# 20942, 211 Bts.)
Nose: herbal, a very 'old' nose, needs some time in the air, a bit 'dirty', very special but really pleasant.
Palate: surprisingly punchy, very nice drink, honey, a fruit basket, tropical. A powerful nice old Speyside-finish, really beautiful.
Verdict: 95 points - special, but an absolute winner to me.
Glen Grant 35yo 1972/2007 (53.5%, DT, C# 1641, 121 Bts.)
Nose: leather, orange, vanilla, nice maturity.
Palate: spicy, pretty dry, oak, vanilla, nice old Speyside, some citrus, a nice one. Enjoy a beautiful, full, long and complex finish.
Verdict: 92 points.
Glen Grant 35yo 1972/2008 (53.4%, DT, C# 1643, 104 Bts.)
Nose: oak, vanilla, a little sharpness, nice old Speyside.
Palate: spicy and rather dry, oak, orange, vanilla, more 'Speyside' in the second taste.
Finish opens beautifully with a nice old Speyside development.
Verdict: 91 points.
Caperdonich 37yo 1970/2008 (43.3%, DT 'Lonach')
Nose: waxy, lots of old Speyside, a nice sweetness/honey, slight floral notes, some vanilla.
Palate: starts smooth, gets to spicy, nice mouth feel, herbal, nice sweetness, honey, vanilla. Nice full finish, not to complex but very pleasant.
Verdict: 91 points - my kinda stuff ...
Caperdonich 39yo 1968/2008 (56%, DT, C# 2608, 167 Bts.)
Nose: nice old nose, a pinch of woodiness, dry leather, some vanilla.
Palate: spicy and some cream, slightly alcoholic, vanilla, malty sweet. Enjoy a full crafty old Speyside finish.
Verdict: 90 points - Still very punchy and fresh to be a 39yo whisky.
To view the full review click here.
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Whisky Guild - Dram of the Month June 2007
Auld Blended 38 year old
Duncan Taylor Where to start. Let’s just say that this dram may be one of the best blends you can buy today. As usual, the folks at Duncan Taylor have out done themselves on this one. Rich fruit in the nose that is dominated by banana. I also picked up mango and a wonderful spiciness. The body was silky smooth and the fruits came back in very subtle understated finish. Wonderfully smooth and deep.
Nose: Banana, mango, spice, rich fruit
Body: Silky smooth and fruity
Finish: Almost not there, very understated but still very flavorful, tropical fruit Incredible! Includes whiskies from: Bunnahabhain, Glenburgie, Highland Park, Miltonduff, and Springbank. and Invergordon (grain)
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Scottish Field Whisky Challenge - All-Time Best Whisky
Great respect from Scottish Field and our judging panel to all those who were brave enough to enter the last competition and congratulations to the whiskies that made the ‘All-Time Best Whisky’ charts (by price band).
The scores and full tasting notes are now online at: http://www.whiskychallenge.com/latestresults/index.htm
The top performers:
Whisky: Caperdonich33yo (Duncan Taylor ‘Lonach’ bottling):
Award: FIRST CLASS (takes 2nd place on all time best £30-£50 charts)
Whisky: Glen Elgin 12yo
Award: BEST BUY (takes 4th place on all time best under £30 chart)
Whisky: Benromach 21yo
Award: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (takes 4th place on all time best £30-£50 chart)
Whisky: Glenfarclas 105
Award: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (takes 5th= place on all time best £30-£50 chart)
Whisky: Old Pulteney 17yo
Award: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (takes 5th= place on all time best £30-£50 chart)
Whisky: Glengoyne 17yo
Award: RECOMMENDED (takes 15th= place on all time best £30-£50 chart)
Whisky: Balvenie Doublewood12yo
Award: RECOMMENDED (takes 7th place on all time best under £30chart)
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Highland Park 39yo 1968/2007 (41.8%, Duncan Taylor For The Nectar, Belgium, cask #3460, 183 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: ho-ho, but this is just as beautiful – maybe even more beautiful – yet completely different. It starts much more resinous, waxy and orangey (marmalade), with whiffs of fresh putty, cough syrup and even a little tar and rubber (bicycle inner tube). Then it starts to smell just like an orange cake that you just sliced, then it’s back to Vicks Vaporub, then tobacco, then fresh tropical fruits (bananas, passion, mangos), then old pu-erh tea, then old roses and Muscat wine... All that isn’t violent, rather subtle but very assertive with, good news, no excessive woodiness whatsoever. Extraordinary nose, but like with all these old casks, the true truth will lie on the palate… Let’s see… Mouth: just like the Hart’s, the attack is a little shy but certainly cleaner and fruitier… And just like the Hart, it does get livelier after a few seconds, although never bold. Subtly fruity (plantain, very ripe apples and pears), delicately spicy (nutmeg and cinnamon, white pepper), vanilled… It’s all slightly fragile but certainly not ‘broken’. There’s a little pipe tobacco in the background, notes of quince jelly, earl grey tea… The finish isn’t too long, as expected, but very elegant, still fresh, with a delicate oaky signature. In a nutshell, an old Highland Park that’s maybe a little diaphanous on the palate but that has got one of the most stunning noses I’ve encountered in the recent months. In other words, a HP by Chanel. 92 points.
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 Two highest scoring whiskies in Malt Advocate
Duncan Taylor topped the scores in the latest issue of the Malt Advocate - America's premium publication for all things beer and whisky related. In each issue the highly respected John Hansell tastes a large variety of whiskies and makes his comments - This month DTC had the two highest scoring whiskies - firstly in the Single Malt category with our Strathisla 1968 Cask 7009 scoring 93 points. This stunning score was only upstaged by a 94 scored by a Duncan Taylor Rare Auld Invergordon 1965. This was for cask 15510 which was exclusively selected by Park Avenue Liquor Shop in New York.
Hopefully this will help to further fuel Duncan Taylor's reputation for providing not just top quality single malt whiskies but also excellent single grain whiskies.
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Whiskyfun by Malt Maniacs' Serge - A fantastic 40 year old 1966 Bowmore
We all know that Duncan Taylor has loads of 60's Bowmore casks lied away in some warehouse in Scotland, but we thought they would have been gone by now, been bottled. But no, apparently they still have some stock. So they had 3 different casks bottled just recently, 2 for Europe (Casks 3316/3317) and one for the US (Cask 3312).
Today we feature Cask 3317 and if things work out we will feature the others soon......
Bowmore 40yo 1966/2006 (43,2%, DTC Peerless, 171 b., Cask 3317)
Nose : It starts on polished wood, like walking in an old bookstore with those polised shellfs, loads of grapefruit, some exotic notes too, a bit of a perfumy touch, quite some nutmeg, old white grapes, sweaty notes, a girl after having run a marathon, white chalc, even some Clynelish waxy notes in there, wet minerals, all together really fine and delicate, give it time in your glass to explore this one, you'll love it, not an easy dram for sure (23)
Taste : Medium bodied, quite some wood at the start wrapped in exotic notes, mango, guave and grapefruit pith, some great sourness-bitterness underneath keeping it all together, fresh polished oak and again with those sweaty notes, really nice again, although it gets kinda dirty in a way too (some rotten fruits even - or extremely over-ripe ones) (23)
Finish : Really long, and the exotic-ness explodes now, and integrates lovely with the wood tannins (that are there in a good way) with a nice bitter-grapefruit ending, great stuff (24)
Balance/complexity : Oh yes, a great oldie for sure, although you can taste the age (the wood), a real winner if you ask me, and it gets better at every sip you take, especially if you take larger sips (24)
Total points : 94 points
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