Following on from Part 1 [WLP], we continue with that Imperial.
Imperial 26yo [2022] Elixir Whisky Show 2022 51.5% WN90
As things stand with [The] Whisky Show’s [commendable] rules, whiskies will be on free pour until bottles reach the £500 rrp mark. This release is priced at £375 [TWE], so let’s enjoy every drop whilst we still can.
- N: Consolidated oak & malt, pepper-seasoned light caramel sweetness with a tasteful squeeze of orange & lime. From limited experience, this is quintessential Imperial through & through.
- T&F: The arrival is a little woody [given the age, and acceptably so] but comes good again at the finish in line with the nose.
- C: Imperial = consistency of quality, at least from the parcels we’ve seen in the last few years and this is yet another excellent example.
Scores 90 points
.
Oh, there’s another one!
Imperial 32yo Elixir SMoS Director’s Special 42.7%
- C: We’re in a similar ballpark to the 26yo though this one seems a tad less exciting/engaging,.. or perhaps my palate is as tired as my legs?
Scores 89 points
.
Rather merry, I ask Robbie for “something I might have missed”. Robbie comes through.
Scapa 2003/2022 19yo Ob. for TWE 56.7% WB89.75[8] TWE
I’m told this is the first Scapa ever bottled on behalf of someone else. “They don’t do that”, says Billy – until now that is, now that Pernod Ricard owns both Scapa and TWE.
- C: I’m told peeps are raving about this and I’m not surprised. It’s one of the best Scapa’s I’ve tried. I’d say ‘buy’, but at £225, it’s a totally different prospect. Certainly £100-good.
Scores 88 points
.
Speyside Distillery 25yo [2022] Elixir SMoS ‘A Marriage Of Casks’ 52.6% WB88.44[12]
- C: Speyside Distillery, really? Ben Nevis meets Clynelish, more like. Regardless, this is simply delicious juice bottled in good time.
Scores 89 points
.
Glenrothes 31yo Elixir SMoS A Marriage of Casks 53.2%
- C: Glenrothes of old with a contemporary touch. Somewhat of a one-trick pony, to love this, you have to love Glenrothes’ particular sulphury/rubbery sherried character [which I do].
Scores 88 points
.
Time to pull up a pew. I’ve been on my feet all weekend. Who knew Elements Of Islay-based cocktails would/could refresh the palate so.
.
Port Askaig 28yo [2019] Ob. [3000 bts] 45.8% WB88.46[135] WF90
- C: What a distillery Caol Ila [purely an assumption] is, that Diageo’s peated [for blend] workhorse continually churns out consistent quality single malt in volume and at any age. Here’s an excellent example. Furthermore, how can a 28yo seem so fresh and youthful [and when you think of the official 25yo too [WLP188 WLP290 WLP389]. Careful with that pipette though.
Scores 89 points
.
[Bunnahabhain] Port Askaig 1968 45yo Ob./SMS/Speciality Drinks [1200] 40.8% WB90.62[105] WF91
The story goes that Sukhinder spotted five refill sherry butts up for sale as sharing the same year & distillation dates as Bunna’s legendary Auld Acquaintance [WB92.96[205] / WF93]. Sukhinder then sat on those casks for a few years until the whisky inside turned 45. Note, the abv of 40.8% is the natural cask strength, so there may have been a few nail-biting years of waiting.
This was bottled around 2013-14 when prices were far less extreme. With the current asking price in excess of £1800, bottles aren’t shifting as they once might have. Indeed, you may even find an original/official Old Acquaintance on the secondary market [Feb’21:£1700] for similar money as this independent bottling, still available from numerous retailers eight years on.
- N: Top gear fruity jammy tincture, similar to the 40yo Caol Ila in many ways [up next] but without the peatiness. Imagine being able to enjoy a whole bottle carefree.
- T: Perfectly adept at the grand age of 45, we’ve a joyous moreishness arrival and delivery.
- F: With no change of direction nor intent, we remain in the pleasure zone to the last.
- C: Right up my street, this is especially magical at this stage of the day. Realising I’ve had this before [WLP90] helps my perspective somewhat. Still, easily an extra point today. Another for my desert island list.
Scores 91 points
.
Caol Ila 40yo Elixir SMoS Director’s Special [108 bts] 49.1% WB91.20[13]
Holding back from delivering an essay, I’ll be brief:
- N: Boundless.
- T: Plenty of spirits divergence, I simply can’t get enough of this style.
- F: Clean antiseptic finish.
- C: Fabulous whisky, the price less so [£1850].
Scores 91 points
.
How about another 40yo Caol Ila? What a wonderful show this is.
Caol Ila 1982/2022 40yo TWE 49.5?%
2 dream drams for this 40yo Caol Ila, I’m reliably told, is well worth it for the experience.
- N: Subtle nutty fruity barley bouquet. Phenols are stood back and bound up within those intoxicating barley oils. Again, I’ll spare you an essay. I believe there’s a special number one can ring.
- T: The attributes displayed here simply don’t occur in young whisky, and the vast majority of malts can’t/won’t display these qualities at any age, let alone making it this far down the line. Sharp, focused, chiselled, citrusy, the peat again soft, initially. Floating in between jams and tinctures, it holds on to its oily barley-based roots, the abv helping this one’s cause enormously.
- F: Long mature~fresh finish with unravelling layers after unravelling layers and lingering allsorts.
- C: Worth it indeed. In a special class of its own, this trumps many many whiskies in & out of its class.
Scores 92 points
.
.
whiskylovingpianist.wordpress.com 