Does a Whiskey with added caramel deteriorate quicker than one without?

I asked myself this question while drinking from an old bottle of Glen Marnoch Speyside Single Malt.

Back in 2018 I reviewed this whisky.

It didn’t particularly suit my palate – I found the added caramel a bit heavy & ‘muddied’ any potential flavours the Speysider possessed.

4 years down the road – long past the 2 years maximum storage recommendations for an opened bottle – I dug it out from the back of my spirits shelf.

This time round I experienced a subtle hint of what I can only describe as ‘burnt’ coming through.

Could this be the caramel degrading?

If anything – age has improved this Glen Marnoch!

I found this ‘burntness’ a far more attractive quality than the rather sweet & sticky caramel experienced with the fresh bottle.

Still wouldn’t rate it however.

Sláinte

Web article on storing your open spirits bottles here.

Original Glen Marnoch blog here.

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Douglas Laing’s Scallywag, 46% vs Rock Oyster, 46.8%

I haven’t had a #ScotchSunday for a while – so this pair of Blended Malts from Douglas Laing fill that gap!

A pair of Laing’s c/othewhiskeynut

Blended Malts are a growing category.

These 2 do the honours for the regions – Speyside for Scallywag & the Islands for Rock Oyster.

Made up of single malts sourced from distilleries within their regions, both are presented non chill filtered & after checking on the whiskey.de website – appear to be natural colour – despite Scallywag being noticeably darker.

Scallywag c/othewhiskeynut

Scallywag 46%

Golden brown.

A honeyed nose with a bit of depth.

Scallywag back c/othewhiskeynut

Smooth & easy on the palate.

A touch of spice on the finish.

For someone that’s not generally into Speysiders – this is quite attractive.

Rock Oyster c/othewhiskeynut

Rock Oyster, 46.8%

Light straw.

A very gentle waft of seaweed. To be honest I was expecting more!

Light in colour – light on the palate – but it does open up on the finish with a comforting smoky fire by the seaside!

Oyster back c/othewhiskeynut

Both are easy going blended malts that only came alive on the finish for me.

Rock Oyster wins out – but I was a tad underwhelmed.

Whereas for a Speyside – Scallywag impressed.

The cheeky labeling & attractive presentation suitably entertained though & further exploration of the Douglas Laing stable is warranted.

Sláinte

Speyside Selection, Glenlivet v’s GlenAllachie.

Lockdown means opening & sampling my accumulated miniature collection.

A Speyside trio surfaced.

A trio of Glens. c/othewhiskeynut

How would the old established Glenlivet fare against the newly rebranded & refurbished GlenAllachie?

Now Speyside is single malt central.

The largest concentration of distilleries, the biggest sales & market leading brands – but I’m not a fan.

If smooth honeyed sweet, subtle & soft sherry influenced malt is your thing – heaven.

My tendency is for bold & exciting whiskey – but the GlenAllachie design caught my eye and I’d not encountered it before.

So with that caveat in mind – what did I find?

Glenlivet 12 c/othewhiskeynut

The archetypical Glenlivet 12 delivered it’s subtle sweet Speyside Malt signature statement.

Nothing here for me.

GlenAllachie 12 c/othewhiskeynut

GlenAllachie 12 was an immediate improvement. Cleaner, fresher & more pronounced flavours. Perhaps the 46% ABV, non chill-filtered & natural colour presentation helps. A nice little bite at the end & longer lasting bourbony notes too.

This raised my hopes for the GlenAllachie 10 Cask Strength.

GlenAllachie 10 CS c/othewhiskeynut

Oh dear!

The nose was inviting – but not overpowering.

The palate was just – well – empty!

I struggled to get anything here before the 54.8% ABV kicked in giving an alcoholic rush to the proceedings.

Even though I was disappointed with the Cask Strength – sampling this trio solidified 3 truisms of mine.

1 – Speyside doesn’t suit my palate.

2 – Anything without e150 & chill filtering is automatically more agreeable.

3 – If Cask Strength is your only character – something else is missing.

Stay safe & enjoy whatever your having.

Sláinte

 

Ben Bracken, Triple Pack, Single Malts, 40%

I’m a big fan of miniatures.

The opportunity to try out a range of styles – or in this case regions – before committing to a full bottle is always a treat.

Having said that. I’d already ruled out buying more supermarket own brand labels. They tend to be chill filtered with added caramel & whilst perfectly fine – they lack finesse.

But spotting these miniatures in my local Lidl.

A tasty trio! c/othewhiskeynut

I couldn’t pass them by.

Nosing the Speyside first – I choose to do Speyside – Highland – Islay starting from mildest to strongest flavours as recommended by many tasting journals – revealed a pleasant easy honeyed malt.

On a blind tasting this would sit well with any big label brand.

The palate was a bit watery & insignificant to begin with – common to all three malts – before a typical Speyside softly sweet & gentle flavour profile presented itself.

There was even a slight dry spice on the short finish.

Not bad at all.

Which region is your preference? c/othewhiskeynut

The Highland gave a bit more malt biscuity depth to the proceedings.

The Islay – which was my favourite – offered a straight forward satisfying smoky hit.

Each gave a perfectly decent snapshot of the regional styles – perhaps lacking in depth & complexity – but nonetheless an extremely enjoyable way of discerning your palates preferences.

Nice one Lidl!

Slàinte

Irish Reserve 12 Year Old, Single Malt, 40%

Aldi continue their well received own label Irish Reserve series with a 12 year old single malt.

Tastefully packaged in a light green bottle with a thick neck & cork stopper – Irish Reserve 12 uses the same attractive label design as previous 26yo and similar 4yo offerings.

Irish Reserve 12yo c/thewhiskeynut

At only €25 – I couldn’t resist.

A golden brown hue in the glass.

Sweet honeyed nose – delicate & restrained.

The palate was soft & warm. No real flavour explosion – just pleasant easy drinking with a gentle drying prickliness at the end.

After the richness & depth of the 26yo – or the fresh graininess of the 4yo – this 12yo left me a tad disappointed.

Basic info, basic single malt. c/othewhiskeynut

Like a decent Speyside – it was smooth & easy.  Just lacking a certain sparkle or character to engage me.

Having said that – it’s obviously a popular style.  My bottle was the last on the shelf.

Get it while you can!

Slàinte

Glenfiddich Reserve Cask & Select Cask, Travel Retail, Single Malt, 40%

I picked up these a while ago.

Travel retail miniatures c/othewhiskeynut

Travel retail NAS – non aged statement – offerings seem to be the ‘thing’ right now.

Being a category leader – I thought I’d give them a go.

Bad decision.

This is soft, sweet easy going malt for the masses.

Any sparkle of life & vitality has been sucked out by added caramel & chill filtration.

Glenfiddich Reserve Cask c/othewhiskeynut

The Reserve Cask did have a prickly spice on the finish to give it a lift – but the Select Cask was just sweet, honeyed, biscuity malt.

Glenfiddich Select Cask c/othewhiskeynut

Fine if you like that sort of thing – but no – they did nothing for me.

Sláinte

Glen Grant, Highland Malt Scotch Whisky, 43%

The label on this miniature bottle had me confused.

I always associated Grant’s with being a big selling Speyside blend with a distinctive triangular shaped bottle which hadn’t exactly set my palate alight.

Yet here was a round Glen Grant bottle proclaiming to be from the Highlands.

Turns out there were 2 or 3 Mr Grants who set up whisky distilleries in the 1800’s.

In the 1840’s brothers John & James Grant founded the Glen Grant Distillery. It has gone through many changes of ownership and is now in the hands of the Campari Group – which immediately takes me back to an old advert!

Later on a certain William Grant laid the stones for the Glenfiddich Distillery back in 1886. The company is still with the same family today and has gone on to great success. It is responsible for the Grant’s range of blended whiskies – as well as notable single malts and built the new Tullamore Distillery in Ireland.

So that’s one issue sorted.

Highland Malt when quite clearly it’s a Speyside distillery?

Well not so fast bucko.

Glen Grant Highland Malt c/othewhiskeynut

Scottish Whisky Regions are actually a fairly recent construct and in my opinion more tied in with clever marketing & branding rather than anything intrinsically connecting whiskies made in these regions. An internet search found an enjoyable explanation here.

Since my miniature seems to be an old bottling – the closest I could identify is offered on Whisky Exchange here – which pre-dates current Scotch Whiskey Region rules.

Courtesy Whisky Exchange

But I only found all this out after tasting  Glen Grant Highland Malt – as I fairly enjoyed it.

There was a slight funkiness on the nose – not overpowering & actually quite characterful – which I’d possibly allow as deterioration from the old bottling – yet otherwise fresh & light.

The palate was signature Speyside – soft, subtle fruits & easy sweet biscuity malt with a hint of spice towards the finish.

If anything the 43% presentation had boosted the flavours within & given an enhanced appeal to my palate.

Not bad at all.

It enticed me to unearth the information above – all from a mixed bag auction lot purchase.

A happy half hour drinking & internet searching.

Sláinte

 

 

 

 

 

 

SMWS 35.194, A Composition In Wood, 16 Year Old Single Malt

There’s an old saying,

‘You don’t want to start from here.’

And when it came to this Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) bottling – it was probably true.

The words were better than the content. c/othewhiskeynut

Even at 59.8% the nose was rather soft & sweet. It didn’t give much away.

The palate was more forthcoming.

Vanilla & caramel from the bourbon cask maturation with darker sweeter notes which dried out pleasingly from the Oloroso influence.

Standard Speyside stuff.

The promise of oaky tannins from the wood never developed to the extent I expected given the name – and ultimately I was left rather disappointed.

SMWS back label c/othewhiskeynut

Given Speyside Malts aren’t my favourite flavour profile – the best excitement I gained from this bottle was my own eager anticipation prior to the tasting.

The eloquent writing on the label proved far more attractive than the actual contents.

I shouldn’t have started my exploration of SMWS from here.

Sláinte

Tormore 12, Single Malt, 40% at The View

Wormit sits on the Fife side of the River Tay overlooking Dundee City.

Back in 1879 the recently built Tay Rail Bridge collapsed into the river taking a train and all the people inside with it.

A new memorial to the disaster sits on the peaceful foreshore with fine views of the current bridge beyond.

Wormit also has a fine restaurant in The View – the purpose of my visit – and a few choice whiskies to sample.

I chose Tormore 12 Year Old.

Tormore 12 c/othewhiskyexchange

My knowledge of this whisky was scant – but on tasting – it told me all I needed to know.

The nose is soft & subtle.

The palate started off weak & watery – bland & inoffensive – devoid of any strong flavours or character.

There was a suggestion of mild heat on the pleasant easy finish.

It’s how I experience many a malt from Speyside.

Soft, subtle, easy & approachable.

Ultimately dull to my tastes.

Unlike the rich flavoursome food served up by The View.

I’d particularly recommend the Haggis Fritters myself.

Sláinte

Glen Marnoch Speyside Single Malt, 40%.

As part of their Father’s Day promotions Aldi have brought to the Irish market the award winning Glen Marnoch range of Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

I’ve tried the Islay expression before here. The peat just managed to break through the caramelly sludge to make it a worthwhile bargain purchase – and the Highland bottle interested me next – but all that was on the shelves of my local Athlone store happened to be the Speyside Single Malt.

Now Speyside whiskies are among the biggest selling single malts in the world. They have universal appeal. They are approachable easy drinking & relatively mild. That equates to a lack of any bold flavours in my book and I wouldn’t be a fan.

With that caveat in mind – what did I find?

Caramel. Lots of it. The dominant note I got reminded me of a corn based blend – yet this is a 100% barley malt. Added caramel – or e150 if you like – is often made with dehydrated corn – so maybe that’s what I’m picking up.

It certainly is soft & approachable – no rough edges here – with a smidgen of fruity notes appearing towards the end.  A pleasing warm burn gently caresses the palate on the finish.

For the price – added caramel & chill filtration are the norm – the name of the distillery is also not stated either – you get what you pay for.

Supermarket whiskeys c/othewhiskeynut

Having said that – over in rivals Lidl – the Dundalgan Charred Cask Irish Whiskey sells for the same price.

It’s also soft & approachable. It has a far more warming – even inviting – bourbon vanilla & caramel nose  – and packs more flavour too. All this from a blend.

For a fiver more you get the Dundalgan 10 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey.

All you need to know. c/othewhiskeynut

Compared to the Speyside this is in a different league.

It’s cleaner, crisper, packs more flavour, more fruit & has a far more balanced appeal about it altogether.

Even in the bargain basement range there are enjoyable drinking experiences.

Not something I can say about the Glen Marnoch Speyside.

Slàinte.