Glen Coe piper.
Distilleries:
Ben Nevis | Glengoyne | Glenlochy | Loch Lomand | Oban
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| Ben Nevis |
| Distillery Bottlings: |
Until recently, distillery bottlings were unavailable in the US. Ben Nevis is well known in the UK, and as the distillery is owned by the Nikka Company of Japan, the whisky is distributed there also. |
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The 10-year-old distillery release is an interesting malt. Released at 46 vol., it has a light gold color with greenish orange highlights. The nose has a strong element of dark chocolate and hints of fruit and fresh cut tobacco. There is an underlying nutty aroma. The palate is rich, with dark chocolate, nuts, and some creamy caramel. The finish is somewhat dry and smoky. A very pleasant after dinner malt. 86 |
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The 26-year-old (1973-99, 53.9 vol., cask number 756), is a rich amber color. The nose has lots of smoke with dark chocolate, peat, flowers, cedar, and a soft nuttiness. The palate is slightly dry with chocolate, orange and sherry notes. There's a soft peaty, nutty undercurrent. The finish is very long, moderately dry, and has lingering smoky, leather, tobacco leaf notes. Delicious, a Grand Old Malt. 88 |
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| Merchant Bottlings: |
A Mackillop's Choice single cask bottling of a 31-year-old (1968-99, 43 vol.) is a light gold color with a very fragrant nose exhibiting elements of over-ripe bananas, dark chocolate, oak, and sherry. The palate is almost banana-split like with a delicious, creamy chocolate, banana, fruit, and nutty richness. The rich flavors continue, finally ending in a long, smoky finish. Very liqueur-like. 87 |
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A Signatory single cask 9-year-old (1990-2000, 43 vol.) is a light gold color with a reddish cast. The nose has dry, somewhat grainy, peaty notes with hints of tobacco and chocolate. The palate is faintly malty-sweet at first, then nutty, then dry with notes of unsweetned chocolate and tobacco leaf. The finish is relatively brief, dry and smoky. 82 |
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| Information: |
Ownership: Ben Nevis Distillery (Fort William) Ltd
Telephone: 01397-702476
From US: 011-44-1397-702476
Tours: Visitor center with scheduled tours, |
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| Glengoyne |
| Comments: |
At the southern Highland line, Glengoyne is only a few miles away from the Lowland distilleries Littlemill and Inverleven, and only 12 miles from the center of Glasgow. Glengoyne uses unpeated malt, and there is little peat in the source water which leaves Glengoyne with almost no peat flavor at all |
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| Distillery Bottlings: |
Glengoyne Bottles a wide range of "normal" releases, including a 10, 17, 21, and 30-year-old. Unfortunately, they are not widely distributed in the US (though they can be found).
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| Special Bottlings: |
There are numerous special bottlings of Glengoyne: vintage-dated expressions from 1967 through 1972, single cask bottlings -- even a single cask case edition (six single cask bottles). Two special bottlings are worth mentioning as much for their presentation as their contents.
Millennium: This release is unique in that the casks used to produce this expression had a combined age of 2,000 years (all casks were over 30 years old). The bottle is shipped in the heart of a working grandfather clock and comes in a limited edition of 2,000 bottles.
Middle Cut: This 30-year-old release (1967-97), comes housed in a bottle-sized reproduction of a brass and glass spirit safe. The middle cut is the expression used to describe the best new spirit taken from the center of a distillation run. |
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| Merchant Bottlings: |
My experience of merchant bottlings of Glengoyne has been limited to one sample, but it is a magnificent sample -- a 26-year-old "Chairman's Stock" bottling from Cadenhead (1969-96, 62.2 vol.). It has a deep amber gold color, and a creamy oak, peppermint, butter and sherry nose. The body is rich, viscous, luxurious. On the palate the oak is omnipresent, but never overpowers the creamy, buttery, fruitiness, and marmalade-like sweetness. The finish is long and complex. Quite wonderful. 90 |
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| Information: |
Ownership: The Edrington Group Ltd
Telephone: 01360-550254
From the US: 011-44-1360-550254
Tours: Visitor center with scheduled tours. |
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| Link: |
www.glengoynedistillery.co.uk |
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| Glenlochy |
| Dismantled |
One of two distilleries in Fort William (Ben Nevis is the other), Glenlochy had a spotty existence, closing, reopening, and changing hands several times after its opening in 1898. It was closed permanently in 1983. Since then the stills have been removed and the buildings partially dismantled. |
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| Distillery Bottlings: |
There are no distillery bottlings. |
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| Merchant Bottlings: |
Over the years there have been numerous independent bottlings available. Recently they have become less frequent though there are currently several good bottlings to be had.
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A 1977 Gordon & MacPhail's Connoisseurs Choice (40 vol.), is full gold and has a vanilla nose with cedar and smoky notes. The body is somewhat thick The palate is sweet and very smooth, with a creamy vanilla flavor. The finish is somewhat abrupt after a creamy, dry, and a slight citric tanginess. 73 |
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A Rare Malts 25-year-old (1969, 62.2 vol.) has a pale, white wine color. The nose is smoky, nutty, and faintly fruity. The palate is sweet, fruity, and softly creamy. A bit oily. The finish is dry, somewhat peppery, and has a lemony tanginess. Very pleasant. 75 |
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Cadenhead 21-year-old (1977-99, 57.4 vol.) is a pale, white wine color. It has a nutty, smoky nose, with hints of perfume, oak, and anise. The palate is dry, a bit lemony, and grassy. The finish is nutty, smoky, a little spicy. 74 |
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A 29-year-old Silent Stills bottling from Signatory (1970-2000, 57.2 vol.) is currently available. |
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| Information: |
Ownership: Diageo |
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| Loch Lomond |
aka Old Rhosdhu
aka Inchmurrin |
| Comments: |
The distillery is named Loch Lomond and is unique in that it can produce many different weights of malts by varying the way it combines its pot stills and the method of operating them. The distillery bottles different malts under the labels of Inchmurrin and Old Rhosdhu, and also produces the malts Glen Douglas, Craiglodge, Inchmoan, and Croftengea (which are not currently released as single malts).
There is understandably much confusion as the different names are assigned to both distillery releases and independent bottlings. The distillery has even released a blended whisky under the name Loch Lomand.
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| Distillery Bottlings: |
This 12-year-old Inchmurrin distillery release is quite pleasant. Malty nose with toffee notes, slightly grassy with peaty undertones. The palate is smooth and somewhat chewy. Malty sweet at first then becomes dry. 70
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I've recently come across a 28-year-old Inchmurrin (43 vol.), with a full, bright gold color. The nose is powerfully aromatic, unfortunately marred by an overwhelming cedary, varnish-like woodiness. The palate fares a little better, with a malty sweetness, a thick, rich creaminess, and spicy, herbal notes. The finish is long and astringent with lingering acidic tannins.
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An example of how age, in and of itself, is not the determining factor in the quality of a whisky. 68
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A 5-year-old Old Rhosdhu (40 vol.) release is very interesting. It is an orangy-gold color, with a powerful, perfumy, Lowland-like (marshmallow, creme brulee) nose. The palate is a little oily, dry, and perfumy. The finish has a minty quality. A pleasant malt, but a bit spirity at the youthful age. 68 |
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| Merchant Bottlings: |
A very good 10-year-old bottling (1998) from Hart Brothers, under the Loch Lomond name is available. It's light gold in color with a sweet, raw sugar nose combined with a leafy, earthiness. The body is somewhat thick, and the palate has a sweet honey-like character with hints of licorice and spice. The finish is dry with light earthy notes and a cleansing, minty-fresh quality. 76 |
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| Information: |
Ownership: Loch Lomand Distillery Company
Telephone: 01389-752781
From the US: 011-44-1389-752781
No visitors. |
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| Oban |
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Looking out to sea from the town of Oban. The distillery is in the middle foreground.
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| Comments: |
Oban is a town bustling with coastal traffic, fishing boats, ferries, and tourists embarking on excursions along the west coast of Scotland. I knew the distillery is located near the waterfront so I parked my car and went for a stroll. Finally I had to ask for directions and was thoroughly embarrassed to learn that I had been walking back and forth in front of the distillery! (The storefronts tend to obscure the view from the street.) |
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| Distillery Bottlings: |
The sole distillery release in the US has no age statement (until recently it was labeled as a 14-year-old), an enjoyable malt with a distinctive seaside, sherry and salt character. It has a gold/amber color with an aromatic nose with elements of peat, smoke and salt-spray. The palate is creamy, slightly thick and has a malty sweetness with fruity undertones balanced by a soft peatiness. The finish has a dry smokiness with salty notes. 83 |
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In the UK a "Double Matured", Oban 1980 Distillers Edition has been released. The whisky is finished in Montilla fino wood.
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The color is slightly darker than the 14-year-old, and the nose is much sweeter with a rich "grape jam" fruitiness. There's a crispness in the fruity notes that tends to mask the softness of the peat and salt in the 14-year-old. The palate is exceptionally smooth, sweet at first then becoming a bit drier as notes of peat and salt emerge. The finish lingers with toffee and salt notes. 85
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| Merchant Bottlings: |
I haven't encountered any merchant bottlings. |
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| Information: |
Ownership: Diageo
Telephone: 01478-640314
From the US: 011-441478-640314
Tours: Visitor center with scheduled tours. |
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