TWE Show 2017: Day 2, Part 1

As planned [DAY 1], I headed straight to the Port Ellen for breakfast and quite a few more from TBWC i imagine.

 

Port Ellen 33yo [2017] TBWC batch 6 [250 bts] 47.5% [50cl] WB93[1]

I have to pinch myself when i see the beautiful guys at TBWC stand pouring Port Ellen. Puts some stands to shame. I forgot i’d had this already at Whiskylive 2017 [Blog], and loved it.

• N: Probably too early for me to get into all this has to offer. Salty bourbon, a few mussels, squeezed lemon…
• T: Bitter woody honeyed arrival. Adding water coaxes [light] lemons, lifts the wood and promotes the grain.
• F: Smoked honeyed oak with aniseed later on. Love the sweet wood smoke on the tail.
• C: A totally different experience to when i tried it in March, but as i said, it’s early on day 2 and Day 1 was action-packed. Feels a tad overaged today or is that me?

Scores 86 points

 

Allt-a-Bhainne 22yo [2017] TBWC Batch 3 [btl #29/175] 49%

• N: A distillate-led profile that changes subtly all the time.
• T: A beautiful sophisticated 28yo, going on new make/young NAS.
• F: Clean tempered spirit – bizarre.
• C: Uniquely mature youthfulness – like a child prodigy of the silver screen? A great example of super aged distillate-led whisky that still appears like young spirit. After all those years, is it actually something you could arrive at in 5?

Scores 83 points

 

Mortlach 22yo [2017] TBWC Batch #4 [btl #32/200] 52.6% WB80[1]

• N: Clynelish/Brora vibe with lemonade and floury=fimo.
• T: Arrives well. Moves to sweet oaky peat. Rounded.
• F: Continues well to the end.
• C: A pretty one that becomes more sophisticated with water. I thought this might be an affordable ‘Broralternative’, but it’s still £260 [for 50cl].

Scores 88 points

 

Langatun 5yo [2017] TBWC [btl #245/314] 49.4% WB0

C: Sweet tempered moderately polished corn-like whisky from Switzerland.

Scores 80 points

 

Miltonduff 28yo [2017] TBWC Batch 3 [btl 69/149] 46.1%

• N: Light pear drop barley malt with whipped cream. Soft & light and referencing some 70’s bourbon-cask masterpieces.
• T: Instantly beautiful thickish mouthfeel.
• F: Light putty & waxy-sweet with a chew on the finish.
• C: Super delicious light refill action that appears keen on promotion to the premier league.

Scores 88 points

 

A quick run over to TWE Festival stand finds me another Miltonduff for some kind of comparison.

Miltonduff 17yo [2017] Elixir/TWE ‘Art of Whisky Fermenting’ [276 bts] 54.5% WB88[1]

• N: Youthful distillate with a mineral pong.
• T: Some spiciness for sure.
• F: Super refill action leaks out information simply and steadily.
• C: The spirit is still fresh after 17 years.

[Not scored]

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Next door,  a dark [1972] Tomatin sunk into a garish, lacquered, coffin-like, three-tier display unit catches my eye and draws me in whilst appaling me in equal measure. A three-tier Tomatin flight is available too, made up of a 36yo and two other mature vintages.

 

Tomatin 1988/2016 27yo Ob. Batch #3 [1800 bts] 50% WB87.73[13] tomatin.com

• C: [No notes]

Scores 85 points

 

Tomatin 36yo [2016] Ob. batch 3 [3800 bts] 46% WB92.50[4]

• N: Beautiful bourbon fungal style, but unlike the Pappy [coming up], it comes with a subtle bourbon honeyed barley/dunnage sweetness.
• T: Honeyed putty with gentle spice.
• F: Short but lovely pancake grain finish.
• C: A beautiful one you can easily quaff.

Scores 88 points

 

Tomatin 1972/2014 41yo Ob. Warehouse 6 cask #23404-06 [280 bts] 42.1% WB0

• N: A big sherried number so heavy handed that the distillate struggles to make it through.
• T: Squashed puttied sherry.
• F: Saturated soft finish.
• C: Sherry appears wasted on Tomatin. It seems to do very little for the distillate and in this case has trounced it. I’ve had far better Tomatin without such pompous presentation.

Scores 85 points

 

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Two Octomore then, before lunch.

 

[Bruichladdich] Octomore 8.1 [2009/2017] 8yo Ob. [42000 bts] 59.3% WB87.57[25] SW89 MR7/10

• C: There are nice touches throughout including a reoccurring note of hot cross buns. [No other notes]. Don’t go rushing out to buy these bottles. There are 42000 of them.

Scores 86 points

[Bruichladdich] Octomore 8.3 [2011/2017] 5yo Ob. [18000 bts] 61.2% WB89.07[56] SW85 MR7/10

• N: Sweet creamy herbal.
• T: A more focused/concise hit than the 8.1.
• F: Unravels in its own time.
• C: I’ve missed a few of the Octomore releases in the last few years and find this one excellent.

Scores 89 points

 

Back soon with Day 2, Part 2