Drumguish 5 Years Single Malt Review

Country: Scotland

Region: Highland/Speyside

Brand: Drumguish

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 5 Years

ABV: 40 %

Date: 07/02/2013

Colour: Light Amber

Nose: Musty Grain, Malt, Cooked Vegetables, Metallic, Margarine and Menthol. No significant Wood influence and only a very light hint of Earthy Peat. This is a very young whisky. Too young in fact. 

Palate: Light, Watery and Medium Dry. Again, only a very light Wood influence. A bit of Menthol, Grain and Earth with a pinch of Salt.

Finish: Short and Bitter Sweet. Dry and Salty towards the end. A bit of Menthol.

I added a couple of drops of water and you get a bit more Malt on the Nose and even a distant hint of Fruit. Palate and Finish are just watered down.

Rating: 69.5 (out of 100)

Nose: 17.5 - Taste:  17.5 - Finish:  17 - Overall: 17.5

General Remarks: The Drumguish is distilled at The Speyside Distillery at the banks of the river Tromie in Drumguish, near Kingussie. It started production in 1990 and is a private enterprise of Mr. George Christie. It  takes its name from the original Speyside Distillery that was also located in Kingussie and was only operational between 1895 and 1905. It was demolished in 1911. The whisky from the distillery gets its peaty flavour from the water that flows down from the Cairngorm Mountains. The distillery also produces its flagship, the Speyside Single Malt. The Drumguish 5 years maybe hard to find, even on line. It's very cheap at around 20 US Dollars. 

*You might wonder why not all whisky of this distillery is sold under the distillery name. The reason is that owner George Christie did not want to link the name The Speyside to very young whiskies. On the other hand, the distillery needed cash in the early years so the B-Mark Drumguish was created to be able to present these young whiskies to the market without prejudicing the valuable brand name The Speyside.

Drinking Experience Neat: Below Average.

Conclusion: I can understand some of the problems of a young distillery. You invest a lot of money and you want to make a good whisky. Making good whisky takes time and requires ample working capital. So while your whisky is maturing you need to pay interest and other expenses. In order to be able to do that you have to produce some cash flow and as a result you are forced to bring an unfinished product like the Drumguish 5 Years to the Market. So what can I say, the dram does not possess extremely distasteful off notes so you can mix it with something I suppose. But it's obvious that this whisky is much too young and not at all interesting enough to be enjoyed as a Single Malt. On the other hand, Mr. Christie's strategy seems to have worked. The distillery stayed in business during the difficult early years and in the end was able to proudly launch The Speyside 12 Years Single Malt. Would be nice to taste that one in comparison!

Jan van den Ende                                                                  February 2013

The Cairngorm Mountains

Tomintoul 12 Years Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish Review

Country: Scotland

Region: Speyside 

Brand: Tomintoul Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 12 Years

ABV: 40 %

Colour: Golden/Light Amber

Nose: I'm struggling a bit with the Nose of this Tomintoul. I get the Sherry notes for sure together with a very light impression of Sulphur. And some familiar stuff like Hay, Oak, Malt, Toffee, Lemon Zest and Dried Fruits. Some Floral tones as well. And I also get a pair of completely different flavour sensations from time to time. Mind you, I have nosed this dram for more than 60 minutes. Sometimes I am sitting at a breakfast table with Toast, Breakfast Cereals and Orange - and Apple Juice. And sometimes I get Oriental impressions such as Cardamom, Ginger and Soy Sauce. It's like Yin and Yang.The Nose is interesting enough but I can't say I find it extremely appealing.

Palate: Slightly Watery Delivery. I find Pralines, Sherry, Red Fruit, Malt, Toffee and Spices like Cardamom, Nutmeg, Ginger and Pepper.

Finish: Middle-Long with very recognisable Wine Gums (mostly the Red ones) as well as Sherry, Barley Sugar, Pepper, Orange, Oak and hints of Chocolate and Cardamom.

I added a bit of water and you get a bit more Fruit, Blossom, Toffee and Malt on the Nose. Palate and Finish are just washed down. The whisky does get a bit more smooth with water.

Rating: 82.5

Nose: 21 - Taste: 20.5  - Finish: 20.5  - Overall: 20.5

General Remarks: 

This distillery only started its operations in 1964 and released its first Single Malt only in 1973. Its nickname is The Gentle Dram. The distillery is located close to the river Avon, some 13 kilometres outside the village of Tomintoul, the highest village in the Highlands. Since 2000 the distillery is owned by Angus Dundee Distillers PLC, London. The whisky I'm tasting today is a so called Limited Edition. Limited quantities of regular Tomintoul 12 distilled in the autumn of 1995 were transferred to Oloroso Sherry Casks in January 2006 to finish maturation in order to enhance the whisky with some Sherry sweetness. The first bottles of this expression were presented to the market in October 2007. It costs around 50 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good 

Conclusion: Pfff, difficult this one. I don't think this is a bad dram. The Sherry is well integrated and does not dominate anywhere. But I simply don't manage to connect with this Whisky. I don't hear what it wants to say to me and, believe me, I've listened long enough. I've had the 10 Years before Tomintoul 10 and although I scored that a tad higher I did notice the absence of some Sherry Notes. That's of course not the case here. When comparing the two I did not find the regular 10 to be better but I did think it to be ever so slightly more appealing. In any case the two expressions were not able to turn me into a big fan of this distillery. Maybe the 16 and/or 33 Years, that I will review later on, can do that trick. 

Jan van den Ende                                                             February 5, 2013

Old St. Andrews Par 4 - Blended Scotch Whisky Review

Country: Scotland 

Brand: Old St.Andrews Par 4 

Type: Blended Scotch Whisky

Age: NAS (Probably 3-5 Years)

ABV: 40 %

Date: 02/02/2013

Colour: Amber

Nose: It's been a while since I tasted a rather basic Blend. Young Grain Alcohol, Slightly Bitter Wood, Malt, Caramel, a handful of Nuts and Dried Fruits like Raisins and Sultanas, hints of Lemon Peel and Honey. T'is not much but t'is all there's to it! 

Palate: Thin delivery. Sugary Sweet Grain, Caramel, slightly Bitter Tiger Wood(s) and some Spice (think of Nutmeg). Hints of Lemon, Dried Fruits and Honey. Again, it's not much but it is consistent with the Nose.

Finish: Short and Sugary Sweet with a bit of Spice.

I added a bit of water and the Nose becomes somewhat Sweeter, less Bitter and less Grainy. I get a distant hint of Leather as well. Palate and Finish however do not benefit from the added water.

Rating: 70.5 (out of 100)

Nose:  18 - Taste: 18  - Finish: 17   - Overall: 17.5 

General Remarks: The Old St. Andrews Par 4 (Clubhouse) Blended Whisky comes in unique Golf Ball-Shaped Bottles. The showstopper is the Miniature bottle, an exact lookalike of a real golf ball. More than 10 million of these little balls were sold already. It was made popular in the 80's by Dennis Thatcher, the husband of the Iron Lady, although it was originally created for the Japanese market. The Whisky is one of many that are bottled by Brand Owner St. Andrews of London, whisky blenders for more than 75 years. It contains Grain Whiskies and between 12 and 18 Single Malts, a.o. the Tomatin. Today's novelty blend matured in Oak casks previously used for Sweet Wines, Sherry and Port and got its name from one of the oldest golf courses in the world, the Old Course at St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It was established in 1552, has 18 holes and Par was set at 72. 

Drinking Experience Neat: Below Par.

Conclusion: A gimmick and a funky present for Golf-Players. The package and presentation are more important than the whisky I'm afraid. New balls please!

Jan van den Ende                                                                       February 2013