Macallan 12 Fine Oak

Macallan 12 Fine Oak

A review by Tommy Byrne

Overall rating: 8/10 (Single Malt notation)

Macallan is one of the most famous distilleries in the world.  It is predominantly known for its special maturation process involving sherry casks. Even if Macallan has an extensive fan base, they keep aiming at new markets with many new ranges of products.  Macallan 12 years old Fine Oak, is part of that new range of 8 whiskies called Fine Oak, where bourbon, American and European oak casks are vatted together. It could not find any information backing this, but I believe this wide range is aimed, in my own opinion, at a younger and less experimented crowd.    

Macallan 12 Fine Oak is a pale gold whisky that takes quite a while to open up. At first I couldn’t find anything really complex and interesting in the nose, aside for the obvious oak and cereals, but after 10 minutes, it started to develop delicate sweet hints of honey and vanilla. The palate is dry, but quite soft with the same features than its nose. Some toffee and older wood casks are revealing themselves after a while.  The finish a little bit short, but not unpleasant at all.

Unlike the traditional Macallan sherry cask whiskies, the Fine Oak range, or at least its 12 years olds expression, is putting a greater emphasis on American oak and bourbon casks.  There are very little spices in that whisky, it hard to find any components of its sherry casks.   I seriously doubt any malt heads to drink this whisky on a regular basis, I see it more a whisky to offer as a gift to a novice drinker.  Overall, it’s a good whisky to start the apéro, but it’s too weak to follow a meal and act as a digestive.

Glenmorangie The Original

Glenmorangie The Original

A review by Tommy Byrne

Overall rating: 8,5/10

In the past 10 years, I have had a love/hate relationship with Glenmorangie The Original. Even if it’s the whisky that hooked me up to single malts in 2003, I abandoned it when I fell in love with Islay malts in 2010. It took me 3 years to reopen that Highlands golden bottle and since then we have started to flirt again. Being the top selling single malt brand in Scotland and the second in the world, after Glenfiddich, thanks to its acquisition by the LVMH group, Glenmorangie is a wonderful whisky not only for new malt head, but also for connoisseurs.  

This first 10 years old expression of the Glenmorangie range as a nice pale gold colour, but it’s a wee bit too dark for assuming it hasn’t been tainted with the magic touch of e150. On one side, the nose is sweet with hints of pears and peaches, brioche, cinnamon and some bubble-gum.  On the other side, it’s lightly smoked with a touch of toffee, vanilla and oak. Having been aged in white American oak and bourbon casks, the palate is very close to sour mash bourbon with notes of cereals, light smoke and oak.  It has a sour and bitter medium finish.

I was very surprised by this whisky; it was nothing as I expected and as I remembered. By having the highest stills in Scotland, Glenmorangie has to reputation of producing very light whiskies. For some reasons, I was expecting something like a sharper and rougher Speyside malt. Lke Glenfiddich 12, Glenmorangie The Original is a great whisky to get acquainted with single malts. The many extra matured versions of this whisky are great for experiencing various types of cask finishing, such as sherry, port and sauternes.  

Clynelish 14 years old

Clynelish 14 years old

A review by Tommy Byrne

Overall rating: 8/10 (Single Malt notation)

Clynelish is to Johnnie Walker’s Gold Label what Ardmore is to Teachers Highland Cream.  Both Highlands distilleries produce a lot of whisky, but bottles only around 5% of its production under its own name. Clynelish is present is most Johnny Walker Labels, but it is the main malt used blending the Gold Label.

Colour wise, Clyneslish 14 years old has a golden coat. This whisky is all about its nose, very close to a cognac. It’s very creamy, floral and delicate with subtle hints of a fruit market (and or basket!), vanilla, lemon ice tea and some smokiness. Very dry and oaky, the palate doesn’t follow up to the nose aside from the obvious bourbon cask. This is sad, but at least the finish is strong and persistent.

After nosing the whisky, while knowing what we know about its main use, I automatically made a strong sensorial connection between Clynelish and Johnnie Walker Gold Label.  It’s the almost exact same creamy delicate smoothness, but after tasting it, I understood why it’s usually blended with grain whisky. The palate of the two whiskies is very different. Even if apparently there’s a certain amount of people devoted to Clynelish arguing its masterful craftsmanship, I would only recommend this whisky to make the fun comparison with its Johnnie Walker’s cousin.   

Buchanan's 12 De Luxe

Buchanan's 12 De Luxe

A review by Tommy Byrne

Overall rating: 8,2/10 (Blended whisky notation)

It’s interesting to see how segmented blended whisky brands are.  A top selling European brand such as J&B is very little known in Latin America, while a top selling brand in Latin America, like Buchanan's, is hardly recognized in Europe and in the rest of the world.  I was absolutely amazed about the huge fad surrounding Buchanan’s blended whiskies when I moved to Mexico.  With ambassadors such as Sting, Elton John, Bon Jovi and many Latin artists, their promotional campaigns reaches a huge number of consumers.   I had never heard about this brand in Canada or in Europe, but I soon realized that in the Latin America upper classes (mainly Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela), Buchanan 12, 18, 21 or Red Seal is the posh drink of choice…with lots of ice and mineral water!  No comments!

Buchanan's 12, also called the De Luxe version, is a gold/light amber whisky.  At first, it has a sharp and floral nose with hints of green apple and pineapple. After opening up, it develops a smooth nose with notes of white chocolate, nutmeg, light caramel and toffee.  The palate is amazingly smooth, some oak, cereals and leather are the most recognizable notes Not much going on there, but I guess that’s exactly the point. It has a short to medium finish.

This 12 years old expression of Buchanan's is probably the best blend in its own category; smoother than the Johnnie Walker Black Label and way more refined than the vulgar Chivas Regal 12.  On the down side, I believe it is way overpriced for a product with no or very little personality. Glenfiddich 12 is probably the best alternative for a better experience at the same price.  To my own experience, this blended whisky is bought not for its actual intrinsic qualities, but rather for the statement it is making in its top markets.   

Glenfiddich 18 years old

Glenfiddich 18 years old

A review by Tommy Byrne

Overall rating: 8,8/10

Glenfiddich is the top selling single malt brand in the world. Even in remote areas of the globe, there is a good chance to find their start of the line green bottle. This means that it’s an industrial product, but also means it’s decently priced.  When so many single malts are overpriced these days, Glenfiddich stays an excellent value for money.  Having said so, today’s review is about the Glenfiddich 18 years, which is not so cheap.  Putting “ancient” after 18 years olds is a wee bit pompous, but I suppose the marketing department had its reasons.  

18 years in various casks, notably sherry casks in the end of the maturation process, gives a nice amber/copper colour to the final product. The nose is smooth and fresh with notes of pineapple, honey, vanilla, nutmeg and lemon zest.  It is also toasty and floral, nothing very complex, but very nice overall.  The palate is smooth, sweet and malty with notes of fruit cake, toffee and also vegetal with some cauliflower and celery. It has not an extravagant finish; it’s rather smooth and delicate.

I was very pleased with this whisky. Glenfiddich 18 may not have all the subtleties of the 15 years old Solera version, but it is a great product. What I like in general about this brand is the choice that it offers to the consumers.  Usually, every common liquor stores sells the 12, 15 and 18 years old versions and many speciality stores offers older bottles.  This gives single malts apprentices the chance to learn more about whisky maturation process in its many steps and always at a decent price.  I am pretty sure that there is no specific whisky drinker niche for the 18 years old bottle, but it is probably the safest choice for a very nice present to give to someone who likes whisky.  

Ardmore Traditional Cask

Ardmore Traditional Cask

A review by Tommy Byrne

Overall rating: 9/10 (Single Malt notation)

I have said it in the past and will say it again: Speyside malts are not my favourites.  Being a peat-head I often find Speysiders too light and too sharp for the standard 10-12 years old bottles.  Not being chill-filtered and with its 46% alcohol volume, Ardmore Traditional Cask is an outsider in the region, almost a Highlander and that’s why I am very fond of it.  With no age statement on the bottle, it is very similar to Laphroaig’s Quarter Cask finishing method.  Traditional cask means smaller cask for the last part of maturation process (see Laphroaig Quarter Cask review). 

With its nice gold colour, I highly doubt there is any e150 (caramel) added only for looks. The nose is intense. First, the peat and phenols kicks in with some spices.  Then, citruses appear with some notes of white grapefruit and green pineapple.  After adding a few drops of water, some sweetness emerges with chocolate notes in the end.  The palate is far dryer and bitter. Oak is omnipresent. Adding water will loosen its edges and more vegetal and cereal notes will appear.  The finish is medium-long.

This is a spectacular full body whisky leaving oily tears in the glass.  The bottle, label and packaging are also flawless, nothing flashy as we like it.  Ardmore Traditional Cask is a great alternative to Talisker in terms of character.  Being one of the biggest distilleries in Scotland, only a very small part of the production goes for crafting single malts, the vast majority of the production goes directly into the blend of Teacher’s Highland Cream, a great old school blend with a very high content of malt (around 40%, unlike the most blends at around 20-30%).    

Johnnie Walker Green Label

Johnnie Walker Green Label

A review by Tommy Byrne

Overall rating: 9/10 (Blended Malt notation) 

Having brought up the subject of blends in my last post, I’m going to stay in near waters by reviewing the now discontinued Johnnie Walker Green Label.  It is a blended whisky, but not in the traditional sense where grain whiskies are added to malt whiskies.  Green Label is what used to be called a “vatted malt” or a “pure malt”, i.e. a whisky made only out of malt whiskies, no grain, no junk. Nowadays, the whisky  inteligencia is calling this “blended malt” or “Malt Blend”.  This whisky, which appeared only in 2004, is no longer produced by JW since the end of 2011 due to poor sales and the launch of a new range of products.  Sadly, it was the best JW product in the market and every whisky enthusiasts will say to it was far superior to the Gold and Blue Label.

Where the Gold Label is a whisky mainly crafted with some 15 to 18 years old Clyneslish, the Green Label is the result of blend of at least 15 years old whiskies from only four distilleries: Talisker, Caol Ila, Cragganmore and Linkwood.  Knowing this, the tasting is even more fun, one trying to identify each of the characteristics of those 4 malts.  Talisker is the most noticeable whisky in this blended malt giving it most of the colour, nose and palate.  This amber whisky is very maritime in its nose; the iodine of Talisker does not fool anyone.  Hints of caramel, menthol, cooked peaches and pears are the first impressions. After a while it develops some peat and camphor. The palate is also Taliskeresque, a salt-water burned toffee first impression is combine with fresh menthol and bourbon casks. The finish is medium-long.

Warm and fresh does not really goes together, but Green Label is feeling like this! Talisker and Caol Ila on the winter side and Cragganmore and Linkwood on the summer side.  I do have to say that I was expecting more character coming from Caol Ila, peat-wise,  but this may be due to the use of sweeter casks such muscatel casks like in their 1995 Distillers Edition.  It is a shame that JW has stopped producing this whisky; however it as already became a collector’s bottle.  Since 2011, it has gained around 20$ in value in private sales.  As for myself, I bought a whole case just before it left the market! Hope to sell you a 150$ Green Label Bottle in the near future!

Some thoughts on blends

Some thoughts on blends

By Tommy Byrne

Many purists will flay me for this, but I recently had a change in attitude vis-à-vis blends in general. It is true that the majority of blends are produced industrially. It is also widely admitted that they generally do not offer as much complexity as the majority of single malts. Often too expensive, their prices are mainly based on a rigorous marketing strategy funded by millions of dollars. However, it is not right to say that blends are inferior products strictly aimed at a market of uninitiated consumers.

All blends are not intended to be drunk neat in a Glencairn glass. Raising your eyebrows when spotting someone pouring a J & B, Johnnie Walker Red Label or Ballantine’s on the rocks and then adding mineral water or cola is foolish, because these blends are specially designed for mixology. Now, doing the same with a Johnnie Walker Green Label or a Buchanan's Red Seal is pretty stupid and you may lecture that person on the do’s and don’ts of whisky etiquette!

How many times I wish I could have had a simple glass of Jameson’s or Johnnie Walker Black Label in a tumbler instead of a young  Speyside malt with too many hints of green fruit, such as a Balblair 2000. With the rising popularity of single malts since the mid-90s, it is important to stress that the majority of whisky production has declined in quality. Major brands of single malts are over playing the card of their glorious past in their marketing department, and many whiskies are no longer quite the same, the Macallan distillery is a perfect example illustrating this point. This gives blends an advantage with their impressive consistency toward single malts. After all, there is a time for everything. A time to enjoy complex single malts carefully matured in fine sherry casks, and a time for blends, on those evenings when you do not want to break your head analyzing the many subtleties of our drink.