Inverleven 31yo 1977/2008

Inverleven 31yo 1977/2008

Cask Strength, Signatory
Single malt - Lowlands
Light amber
47.6% ABV
Dram

Nose: Leather, pencil lead, wet stones, raisins, white grapes, honey, hints of plums. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, tingly, cool, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Camphor, wet stones, raisins, honey, lohan fruit, pencil lead, orange peel, pears. 
Finish: Long. Ginseng, pears, pencil lead, lohan fruit, honey. 

Comments: 

Cask 3606. Leathery and minerally with bitter herbal accents. Very Chinese - lots of oriental fruit and the requisite orange and pear. Plenty of honey as well, it’s quite sweet. A very good dram.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Inverleven 11yo 1989/2001

Inverleven 11yo 1989/2001

Mackillop’s Choice
Single malt - Lowlands
Bright yellow 
64.1% ABV

Dram

Nose: Malted grains, lemon zest, pears, white grapes, cream, peanuts, persimmons, hints of creme fraiche. With water, lemon zest, malted grains, peanuts. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, hot, volatile, astringent. 
Tasting:  Sour sweet. Malted grains, fresh baked bread, pears, honey, orange blossom, cream, persimmons. With water, malted grains, peanuts, pears, hints of fresh baked bread. 
Finish: Medium. Malted grains, walnut skins, lemon zest, creme fraiche. 

Comments: 

Nutty and fruity. There’s a bitterness coming through, but it’s still quite floral. The high ABV makes it heavy and oily, and a fair amount of water is needed to bring out maltiness and other cereally flavours. A great chance to drink a rare whisky.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Dumbarton 27yo 1987/2015 Inverleven Stills

Dumbarton 27yo 1987/2015 Inverleven Stills

Closed Distilleries, WM Cadenhead 
Single malt - Lowlands
Sunshine gold  
53.9% ABV
Dram

Nose: Cola nuts, cotton sheets, sandalwood, white pepper, sarsaparilla, hints of lychees. With water, peaches, orange peel, cotton sheets. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, astringent, turns oily. 
Tasting:  Sour salty. Cola nuts, sandalwood, sarsaparilla, fresh baked bread, sea salt, jasmine, peaches, hints of lychees. With water, fresh baked bread, oats, cotton sheets, jasmine. 
Finish: Long. White pepper, jasmine, sea salt, cola nuts, cornflakes. 

Comments: 

An austere Dumbarton, lots of cereal notes, a little floral jasmine and some fruit. A long savoury, spicy finish. Very well balanced, almost perfect old grain whisky. 

Edit: turns out this is actually an Inverleven, and it’s a single malt (of course, since Inverleven was Dumbarton’s malt distillery). Whatever it was, it’s delicious. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Inverleven 1991(21yo 1991/2012)

Inverleven 1991 (21yo 1991/2012)

Distillery Labels, Gordon & Macphail
Single malt - Lowlands
Golden
40% ABV
Dram

Nose: Malted grains, honey, bananas, starfruit, lemon zest, hints of toffee. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, tingly, airy. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Lemon zest, toffee, butterscotch, honey, bananas, vanilla, hints of orange peel. 
Finish: Short. Bananas, orange peel, ginseng, hints of butterscotch. 

Comments: 

Light, delicate, everything you’d expect a lowlands whisky to be - but a little over-oaked, perhaps even tired. It’s not very often that I get to taste Inverleven though, so it was a treat. I did wish that it wasn’t so bourbon-like. 

Verdict:

I like this.

Inverleven 15 yo 1991/2005

Inverleven 15 yo 1991/2005

Distillery Labels, Gordon & Macphail
Single malt - Lowlands
Pale copper
40% ABV
Dram

Nose: Grapefruit, honey, rhubarb and custard, lemon peel, hints of caramel. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, chewy. 
Tasting: Sour. Vanilla, honey, chocolate, grapefruit, hints of lemon peel. 
Finish: Medium. Chocolate, vanilla, grapefruit, lemon peel. 

Comments: 

Refreshing and light, this is relaxing and pleasant in a glass with lots of soda. But it's from a closed distillery, and it would be a waste to dilute the flavours like this. Dilemmas, dilemmas... Any how, very nice on a hot summer's day.

 Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Inverleven 16 yo 1990/2007

Inverleven 16 yo 1990/2007

Distillery Labels, Gordon & Macphail
Single malt - Lowlands
White wine
40% ABV
Sampler

Nose: Grapefruit, brine, malty beer, grass, salted fish, hints of leather, hints of raisins.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, turns watery, slippery, smooth.
Tasting: Salty sour. Grapefruit, brine, lemons, vanilla, salted fish, malty beer, hints of raisins.
Finish: Long. Brine, grass, grapefruit, raisins, demerara sugar.

Comments:

Very clean, smooth and easy to drink. Salty and sour on the nose and tongue, but then turns to salty and sweet in the finish. I've not had Inverleven before, but I find it quite interesting. Time to go and find more expressions before they run out.

Verdict:

I like this.