Old Malt Cask

The full line-up

For our March tasting at the Seven Oaks, we had a selection of whiskies to enjoy from well-known whisky bottler Hunter Laing, all from their Old Malt Cask brand.

Royal Brackla 12yo

The Laing name has been associated with whisky for decades through Douglas Laing, the family business and its impressive catalogue of whisky splitting in two back in 2013, with the new Hunter Laing keeping Old Malt Cask as part of the bargain.

We got going with a 12-year-old Royal Brackla, which has had a royal warrant since 1833 and the days of William IV (Royal Lochnagar are the johnny come latelies in this particular battle, having won over Queen Victoria a little later on). This expression was from a single refill hogshead.

Sweet on the nose, we got Parma Violet and Fruit Salad sweeties, along with a creaminess and citrussy notes, like grapefruit. There was quite a strong and distinctive taste, more powerful than we might have expected. Water brought out the oiliness, as well as doses of apples and pears.

Old Pulteney 20yo

At £79 we thought this was a good start to the evening, although the jury's out on whether the extra expense over the distillery bottling would really be worth it.

Sticking with Highland whiskies, Old Pulteney is a distillery we've visited relatively rarely at the club. We've had a few over the years, but none for a while. This was a 20-year-old expression, which set us back a cool £150.

There perhaps wasn't much on the nose here but it had a great flavour. Citrussy again, oranges and grapefruit, the sorts of notes Old Pulteney is often noted for. There was also an oily element, almost like parmesan someone suggested. Lime marmalade was another shout (I can't say I've ever had lime marmalade by way of comparison, but I knew what they meant) as was a peachiness. A nice, easy drinker, but most members felt they wouldn't pay the price tag.

Mortlach 14yo

Off to Speyside for dram three and Mortlach, with a 14-year-old fully matured in cream sherry casks. Harvey's Bristol Cream? Almost certainly not. Besides, we cannot hope to match these levels of refinement in Manchester Whisky Club.

You could smell the sherry a mile off though. It should be sweet and it was. It should be creamy and it was all of that too. A "turbo sherry" as someone described it. A bit of coffee on the palate as well. One for your nan, or perhaps to keep to yourself. It was £100.

After a break to recharge our beer glasses downstairs, it was back for the second half.

Linkwood 22yo

The fourth whisky was a Linkwood, a distillery known for producing a relatively light spirit. We were intrigued by this bottling, which after 22 years of full maturation in refill Pedro Ximenez sherry, might offer something different.

Lots of people liked this one a lot. The PX was a good addition for many, with drinkers feeling it helped smooth things over and tie the dram together very well.

Others who knew Linkwood well reckoned it was a little bit overpowering and something was lost in the maturation. As someone else concluded: "It's not shit though". It was £159.

Ardmore 12yo

Time for peat with dram five and a 12-year-old Ardmore, from a refill bourbon cask, courtesy of Paul the brand ambassador (thanks Paul!), who had been due to join us for the tasting but sadly couldn't.

We liked this one. Subtle and easy to drink, but you got the peat on the nose and it carried through to the palate as well. A consistent drink throughout from the nose onwards. It was £79.

Whisky: model's own

Which brought us to the last dram of the night. A sherried 12-year-old Caol Ila, offering the always alluring promise of a blend of sherry and peat.

This was matured in a Manzanilla cask and certainly didn't taste like a normal Caol Ila. A little bit sweet with a consistent hit of peat throughout, this was well balanced and very nice all round. It cost £109.

The dram of the night voting was quite evenly split, with only the first whisky of the night not picking up at least four votes. But it was a win in the end for that Caol Ila, with ten votes, just one ahead of the Linkwood.

Thank you to Martin for leading us through the whiskies and to all club members and guests for attending another sold out evening.

Duty Free Drams

Our first tasting in August saw us play host to several famous whisky brands and examples of their Travel retail Exclusive whiskies.

These are bottles that can only be picked up in airports across the globe and provide an interesting look at different stock as well as providing good value for money in many cases due to the sheer size of the bottles with most being 1 litre in size.

Before we get started the club would like to say a huge thank you to Inverhouse Distillers, Jameson and Highland Park for providing us with the bottles for this evening.

Old Pulteney, Noss Head - 46%

The first Pulteney at the club and we have the Wick distillery's entry level in to their travel retail range, Noss Head'. Part of the Lighthouse Series' named after different lighthouses on the north Scottish coast, Noss head was matured exclusively in ex Bourbon casks and bottled with No Age Statement.

Light in colour, this appears to be a young whisky as from the nose it is light, spritely and spicy with green apple and what is often seen as the trademark Pulteney salt. The palate too features citrus, vanilla and spice with a surprisingly long finish.

This retails at £39.99 and for a litre of Pulteney, this is fantastic value for money and provides a step away from the usual house style.


Jameson Select Reserve - 40%

As we've had this little Irish beauty previously, the notes can be found here.

















Balblair 2004 - 46%

Balblair is a picturesque distillery nestled in the Highlands who are quickly (and quite rightly) becoming recognised as a leading player in the whsiky market. Balblair bucked the trend of the usual Age statement a few years back, rather than show '12 years old' they chose to show the vintage of the whisky, which is more akin to wine than whisky. In this case a 2004 vintage.

The 2004 is a 10 year old whisky bottled in 2014 and is matured solely in ex bourbon casks.

The nose is light, honey, vanilla, lemongrass alongside a savoury note and a touch of malt. The palate is fresh and comes back with the vanilla, brandy snap biscuits make an appearance before a dry medium length finish.

Retailing at £44.99 this Balblair provides a god chance to try a lighter highland style without breaking the bank.






Old Pulteney Duncansby Head - 46%

Next up, another Pulteney, this time though Duncansby Head which was matured in both Bourbon and sherry casks giving this a little more of a rounded edge.

The nose gives off the Pulteney salty sea air again, this time though with toffee, honey and hazelnut. The palate is warm with a good oily texture. Flavours include orange oil, raisins and herbs.

The finish is medium length with vanilla, oak and spice.

At £45.99 this gives an altogether more classic Pulteney experience with more depth and richness than the Noss Head.





Balblair 1991 - 46%

Ok now, next up is a bit of a curveball in that it wasn't a purely Travel retail bottling coupled with the
fact that it was only available for a 6 month period back in 2010 when a stand in was needed before the new 1990 bottling replaced the old 1989. However this gives the 1991 a rather unique edge.

A very bourbon affair with that Balblair honey again, orange peel and vanilla. A light and fragrant palate, thin mouthfeel but a long spicy finish.

Highland Park Svein - 40%

Highland Park's Warrior series has been one of the success stories of the modern Travel Retail market for whisky producers. Based on legendary Viking warriors due to Orkney's Viking past, this 1ltr offering is No Age Statement comes in at a very reasonable £39.99 but what did we make of it?

Nose gives some initial toffee and a very soft underlying smoke, oak and coal. The palate is somewhat mellowed due to the 40% but retains a robust cinnamon, dark chocolate and smoke influence. Maybe some tropical fruit back on the nose now too?

Overall? Good value for money at £40.




Highland Park Harald - 40%

Lastly we come fact to face with another Viking Warrior from Orkney. This time Harald. No not our
favourite tuba playing Australian neighbour, but another bottling in Highland Park's Warrior series.

Harald is named after Hrald Fairhair, a Viking King of Norway who first set up viking earldom on  Orkney. Bottled at 40% and using whiskies matured in both European and American oak casks, Harald gives nuts, orange peel and spice on the nose. The a palate is thick and almost clunky with toffee, vanilla and christmas spices.

A nice bottling here from Highland Park with an extra dimension compared to the Svein.

Harald retails at £70