Fred Laing a le don de dénicher des Islays de toute beauté. Le Laphroaig 16 ans distillé en 1997 de notre Collection 2014 est ainsi resté gravé dans les mémoires de ceux qui l’ont dégusté. Cette année, Fred a mis le cap sur Caol Ila et nous propose une version particulièrement originale, qui n’hésite pas à prendre des chemins inhabituels. Au final, le style Caol Ila est parfaitement restitué, et c’est bien là l’essentiel. Superbe.

Glendronach 15 yo 'Revival' (46%, OB, 2009)   This one is the brand new version under new owners and Billy Walker’s management. 100% oloroso matured.
Colour: amber.
Nose: except for the oloroso notes, this new one simply hasn’t much to do with the old 15, but it sort of kept the best parts (balsamico, mushrooms, raisins, parsley). Much cleaner but certainly not monodimensional, beautifully sherried, developing all on walnut liqueur, beef stock, hints of Madeira at some point (rather than straight sherry), soy sauce, mint sauce, a little camphor, maraschino (very obvious after a while), horse stable, coal smoke… Very complex in fact, and pretty brilliant so far. ‘Wow’.
Mouth: big, rich, nervous and wonderfully sherried, immediately remind us of some older Macallan 18s (Gran Reservas). Coffee, chocolate, prunes, dates, beef jerky, dried bananas, figs, orange liqueurs… And a very nice rancio in the background. As for spices, we have cloves, cinnamon and just a little star anise.
Finish: rather long, with the spices getting bigger and just a faint dustiness. Fades away on blackcurrant jam. Comments: the fact that some distilleries still have such old style sherried whiskies may well be the best of recent news from the whisky world. Adorable whisky.
SGP:462 - 92 points.
 
Glendronach 18 yo 'Allardice' (46%, OB, 2009)   100% oloroso matured. Allardice was the name of the founder of the distillery in 1826 but some other sources claim that the name was rather Allardes. Well, that shouldn’t change anything to this new baby’s aromas and flavours…
Colour: amber.
Nose: less aromatic and playful than the new 15, with a sherry that’s kind of subdued and straighter malty/nutty notes. It’s also a tad grassier (walnut skins, apple peelings, cut grass). Picks up steam after a few minutes, with beautiful whiffs of wet earth and just hints of old roses (surprise!). Keeps developing for a long time, more and more on roses and Turkish delights, which was unexpected. Orange blossom water.
Mouth: curiously ‘younger’ than the 15, and a tad more on fruit eaux-de-vie (kirsch, raspberry). Maybe the percentage of first fill casks was lower than in the 15 – or maybe not. Very good but less complex.
Finish: medium long, on oak-matured raspberry eau-de-vie (or something like that) Comments: once again, a very good whisky but the 15 is in a different league in my view.
SGP:651 - 87 points.

Glendronach 18 yo 'Allardice' (46%, OB, 2015) Four stars I had thought I’ve tried this 18 very recently, and then I checked Whiskyfun, and noticed that that was in 2009. I had liked it, but thought the 15 ‘Revival’ just killed it. But then again, that happened in 2009. Time to do some kind of revisionism…
Colour: amber.
Nose: it’s not the first time that a whisky reminds me of the first pack of cigarettes I ever bought. I do not smoke anymore, but I remember very well that pack of Camels that I had bought in Dusseldorf when I was 13 or 14. Taking out the cellophane and smelling the pack was like… nosing the most complex malt whisky ever. On the stereo, there was ELP’s brand new LP, Tarkus. But why am I telling you this? Why would you care? So, this Glendronach smells like a 1970’s pack of untipped Camels (while Keith Emerson’s doing his riffs on his half-destroyed organ).
Mouth: no, this is seriously good. Dry sherry, figs, dates, something mineral, a touch of cologne – nothing to worry about-, marmalade, a little nutmeg… What strikes me is that it’s a fairly dry drop.
Finish: long, perhaps a notch too mineral and flinty, with some quinine and pepper. Comments: is it really a Macallan-killer? What’s sure is that it got that style, but I’m not 100% fond of the flinty, grassy, almost metallic side. But it’s a very great sherried drop anyway. I’m sure it got drier than earlier batches, what would Carl Palmer think?
SGP:561 - 86 points.

Hélas c'est des batchs février 2015 qui est parait il en dessous de 2014 ou 2013.