Glenkinchie 12 Years Review



“Not a Classic Malt in my Whisky Book”

Country: Scotland 
Region: Lowlands
Brand: Glenkinchie
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age:  12 Years
ABV:  43 % 
Date: 29/07/2014

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: Light, Floral and with quite some Citrus. I find Grass, Honey, Cereals, Toasted Oak, Buttered Toast, Orange, Lemon, Apricot, Marzipan, Vanilla and a good serving of Peanut Butter. Not bad but not much going on as well. 

Palate: Light and Mostly Sweet with Apple, Pear, Cereals, Slightly Bitter Orange, Lemon, Tangerine, Aniseed, light Honey, light Vanilla, Oak, Floral tones and Mint.

Finish: Short, Dry and Herbal with Grass, Oak, Cereals, Oat Porridge, Aniseed and Menthol.

I added a bit of Water and on the Nose you'll get more Grassy - and Floral tones. More Citrus as well. The Palate gets a bit of an Earthy kick. You can try this Glenkinchie both neat and with a couple of drops of Water.

Rating: 80.5

Nose: 21 - Taste: 20 - Finish: 19.5 - Overall: 20


General Remarks: The Glenkinchie Distillery was founded in 1837 by John & George Rate. It is located in Pencaitland, Tranent, East Lothian. It's close to Edinburgh hence Glenkinchie is nicknamed " The Edinburgh Malt ". Today it is owned by Diageo. The 12 Years I'm tasting today belongs to the small Core Range of the Distillery and is also a part of Diageo's Classic Malt Collection. It was released in 2007 to replace the 10 Years. It costs around 50 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay/Good

Conclusion: A bit understated. It's Light, Grassy and Floral with lots of Citrus and very clear Notes of Toasted Oak and Peanut Butter on the Nose. The Palate is quite forgettable while the Finish is surprisingly Dry. All in all however the Glenkinchie 12 Years can't convince me. It's not a bad whisky and it does present a certain balance and Lowland characteristics. But it's not good enough as a Single Malt to keep me interested for a long time.

Jan van den Ende                                                                   July 2014

Tormore 1984 Review



“Old and Wise”

Country: Scotland 
Region: Speyside
Brand: Tormore 1984 (Archives - The Fishes of Samoa)
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 29 Years
ABV: 51 %
Date: 26/07/2014

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: Sweet, a little Sour as well and Mature. Lots of Fruity Aromas like Apple, Pear, Orange, Pineapple and Mango. I also find Bourbon characteristics such as Vanilla and Cinnamon. Sweet Cake is there along with Toasted Barley, Salted Butter, Dusty Oak, Condensed Milk, Milk Chocolate, Grass, Straw, Mint, Herbal Tea and Lemon. You can still find some Alcohol but nevertheless the Nose of this Tormore is well-balanced and pleasant. Very nice interplay between Cask and Spirit.

Palate: Fruity, Floral, Malty and Spicy with Apple, Orange, Pineapple, Vanilla, Heather Honey, Milk Chocolate, Ginger-Flavoured Tea, Caramel, Cake, Pepper, Nutmeg and Aniseed.  

Finish: Quite Long, Sweet at first but Dry in the end. Lots of Fruit and Spices. I find Orange, Tropical Fruit, Sugared Nuts, Vanilla, Sweet Barley, Marzipan, Oak,  Pepper and Nutmeg.

No need to add Water to this Tormore.

Rating: 88.5

Nose: 22.5 - Taste: 22 - Finish: 22 - Overall: 22


General Remarks: The Tormore Distillery was founded in 1958 and is located in Grantown-on-Spey, Morayshire. Since 2005 it's part of Chivas Brothers/Pernod Ricard. The official Standard Bottling is the 12 Years. Most of the Spirit goes into Blends like Long John, Ballentine's and Cream of the Barley. The Tormore I'm reviewing today was distilled in 1984 when the Distillery still belonged to Whitbread.

The 1984 I am tasting today was distilled in February 1984 and was bottled at Cask Strength in March 2013. It matured in an Ex-Bourbon Barrel with Cask # 3669 out of which 90 bottles were commercialised via the Independent Whisky Bottler Whiskybase in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Archives is their relatively young own label. This Single Malt is naturally coloured and not Chill-Filtered. I'm not sure it's still available at Whiskybase. It quite expensive at around 200 US Dollars.

Drinking Experience Neat: Very Nice.

Conclusion: It's not everyday I taste a 29 Year Old Single Malt! It's also the first time I had a Tormore in my glass. And I liked it. The Nose is well-rounded, balanced and mature. A nice combination of Sweet and (slightly) Sour Fruit, Dairy and Vanilla. On the Palate, the Fruit is joined by Honey and Spices. The Finish is quite Long and remarkably Dry in the end. Cask and Spirit worked well together to create a very nice Single Malt. It is expensive of course but that can't be avoided with most older whiskies. If you like this Flavour profile, have the cash and can find this Tormore, go for it!

Jan van den Ende                                                                 July 2014

The Whiskybase Shop in Rotterdam.