Wemyss Spice King Review



“King For A Day”
Country: Scotland 
Brand: Wemyss Spice King
Bottler: Wemyss Malts, Edinburgh
Type: Blended Malt Whisky
Age: 12 Years
ABV: 40 %

Colour: Amber 

Nose: Young, Sweet and Spicy. And, to my surprise, slightly Smoky. I find Bread Dough, Wet Earth, Straw, Nut Shells, Toffee, light Honey, Dried Fruit, Malt, Citrus Peel, Chili Pepper, Apple Vinegar, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Dried Herbs,  lightly Charred New Oak and some soft Mineral - and Maritime tones. I'm pretty sure there is Talisker in this Blend. The Alcohol is not fully integrated.

Palate: Slightly Thin on account of the weak ABV. Not too much going on here. I find Charred New Oak, Malt, Straw, Grass, Wet Earth, light Smoke, Lemon Peel, Toffee, Nuts, Nutmeg, Pepper and Cinnamon. The Palate would have greatly benefited from a higher ABV.

Finish: Middle-Long, Dry and Spicy with Malt, Nuts, Orange Peel, light Smoke, Charred Oak, Salty Licorice, Cinnamon, Pepper and Nutmeg.

I added some Water and found some slightly Sour Cooked Apples on the Nose. The Spices are mostly gone. Palate and Finish do not improve with Water. 

Rating: 82.5 

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

I Bought this Miniature in the Dallas Dhu Shop. 

General Remarks: The Spice King is part of a new range by Wemyss of Edinburgh, next to Hive and Peat Chimney. Each represents one of the three main Scottish production areas, respectively Highlands, Speyside and Islay. The Spice King is a Blend of 16 Single Malts. The heart is formed by a Highland distillery but some Island Malt is used as well. By the way, Wemyss is the old Gaelic word for Caves. The Whiskies for the Wemyss Blends are chosen by a Panel, chaired by the well-known whisky writer Charles MacLean. The Spice King is usually sold at around 55 US Dollars. A cheaper 8 year version is also available. Wemyss did a very nice job on Packaging and Presentation!

Drinking Experience Neat: Good. 

Conclusion: After having tasted close to 400 different Blends and Single Malts from all over the world I have found that I like drinking a nice Blend on the Rocks but that I truly enjoy tasting a Single Malt. Of course this does not mean that you can't enjoy sipping a good Blend or drinking a good Single Malt all night long. But I hope you'll get the general picture. Blends are produced to please as much people as possible and most of the times this leads to a perfectly drinkable but slightly boring Spirit. A Single Malt, or, even better, a Single Cask possesses its own Character, Strength and Weaknesses. It's almost like comparing an imperfect but colourful human being to a perfect robot. Take the Wemyss Spice King for instance. It's certainly not a bad Blend and it's pleasant enough. And the Talisker Touch gives it a little extra Punch. Still, I have tasted it today and will have forgotten it by tomorrow. Truly a King for a Day.

Jan van den Ende                                                         October 16, 2014

Dunes An Oir 1996 Review



“Bottled Oak”
Country: Scotland 
Region: Speyside
Brand: Dunes An Oir - Caperdonich 1996 (Malts of Scotland - Van Zuylen)
Type: Single Malt Whisky
Age: 17 Years
ABV: 58.6 %

Colour: Dark Gold

Nose: Mature and quite Oaky. The Alcohol is very strong so avoid smelling in the centre of the glass. I find Bourbon, Vanilla, Chocolate Bonbons filled with Cherry Liqueur, Dried Fruit, Nuts, Orange, Black Currants, Brown Sugar, Malt, Nutmeg, Cardamom and Cinnamon. The Nose is similar to a mature Bourbon. However I find the Oak a bit too dominant.

Palate: Very strong Delivery on account of the high ABV. This seems to beg for a bit of Water. I find Charred Oak, Dusty Roads, Dried Herbs, Licorice, Strong Black Tea, Orange, Nutmeg and Pepper. 

Finish: Quite Long and Spicy with Oak, Walnuts, Nutmeg, Pepper, Dried Herbs, Bitter Orange, Licorice and Dark Chocolate.  

I added a teaspoon of Water and the Alcohol backs off naturally. On the Nose I find more Dark Red Fruit tones and some Menthol. Palate and Finish do not improve with Water. I find some extra Licorice and Cardamom on the Palate. It is of course much easier to drink the Dunes An Oir this way. 

Rating: 82.5  

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


General Remarks: This Dunes An Oir (Gaelick for Dunes of Gold) was bottled at Cask Strength by Malts of Scotland for Van Zuylen, the Netherlands. The Spirit was distilled in March 1996 and bottled in June 2013. It matured in a Bourbon Hogshead with Cask # MoS 13025. This Single Malt is naturally coloured and not Chill-Filtered. Only 276 bottles were commercialised at around 110 US Dollars a piece. The Dunes An Oir was distilled by Caperdonich. This distillery was built in Rothes in 1898 by the founders of the Glen Grant distillery. Initially named Glen Grant # 2, it closed after only 4 years and was not operational until 1965 when it was rebuilt by Glenlivet Distilleries and renamed Caperdonich. It was sold to Seagram in 1977 and subsequently to Pernod Ricard in 2001. Caperdonich was closed in 2002 and demolished in 2010.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good 

Conclusion: The Dunes An Oir 1996 is certainly not your every day kinda dram. In principal it comes with all the right features such as Single Cask, Non Chill-Filtration, Cask Strength, Natural Colour and a high ABV. But despite all this I believe that the 17 years in the apparent active Cask # MoS 13025 were too much for this delicate Caperdonich Spirit. Additionally I think that the ABV is actually a tad too high. As a result, the Dunes An Oir is a heavy handed Single Malt with lots of Oak and Dark Aromas and Flavours. Almost the Scottish version of a mature Bourbon but lacking the Sweet tones of the latter. Hardly the type of Spirit I would reach out for on a regular basis. Interesting tasting experiment though!

Jan van den Ende                                                            October 12, 2014