VAT 69 (1970s bottling)

VAT 69 (1970s bottling)

Diageo
Blended malt
Pale gold 
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Smoke, peat, toffee, sausages, baked beans, candle wax, hints of lemon juice. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, cool, loosens, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sour bitter. Candle wax, toffee, smoke, baked beans, fresh baked bread, hints of tyre rubber. 
Finish: Short. Toffee, fresh baked bread, candle wax, smoke, honey. 

Comments: 

Bitter but fragrant, lots of complexity, including some unique sausages and baked beans notes! It turns sulphurous at the back of the tongue, and waxy on the finish. Can’t beat old blends.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Collectivum XXVIII (Special Releases 2017)

Collectivum XXVIII (Special Releases 2017)

Official bottling
Blended malt
Amber
57.3% ABV
Dram

Nose: Lemon juice, smoke, roast pork, iron filings, candle wax, black tea. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, mouth coating, cool. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Smoke, olives, roast pork, raisins, chocolate, white grapes, hints of coffee. 
Finish: Medium. Orange peel, black tea, candle wax, chocolate, white grapes. 

Comments: 

Diageo had never released a blend as one of their special releases until this one. It had to be something special, and indeed so it proved. This is eminently drinkable at cask strength, and I felt no need to add water. There's Clynelish in this, and Caol Ila, and something very much like Alisa Bay (which it can't be of course, since Alisa Bay is owned by William Grant - thanks Eddie). And there's plenty more, perhaps even Roseisle.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Johnnie Walker Black Label (bottled 1970s)

Johnnie Walker Black Label (bottled 1970s)

Blended malt
Amber
35% ABV
Dram

Nose: Honey, malted grains, plums, black tea, hints of pineapples. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, sticky, loose, airy. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Honey, caramel,leather, orange peel, toast, hints of tobacco leaf. 
Finish: Long. Sea salt, orange peel, tobacco leaf, raisins, red grapes. 

Comments: 

I don't normally review a whisky twice, but this one is so old and so different from its current incarnation that it merits one. Firstly, it's under proof compared to 'real' whisky, and secondly, it's got plenty of old bottle effect, manifesting in this instance as funky tobacco. It's glorious, and waxy and fruity, and lacks that touch of smokiness that characterises today's Black Label. There's probably loads of Brora in it!

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Glen Ord 23 yo 1974/1997 Rare Malts

Glen Ord 23 yo 1974/1997 Rare Malts 

Rare Malts, Diageo
Single malt - North Highlands
Pale gold
60.8% ABV
Dram

Nose: Honey, photocopy paper, papaya, vanilla, hints of strawberries. With water, mangoes, strawberry jam, hints of palm sugar. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, slippery, loose, evaporates. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Papaya, preserved guava, honey, strawberries, fresh cut grass, hints of brown paper. With water, mangoes, palm sugar, burnt caramel.
Finish: Long. Papaya, fresh cut grass, guava, vanilla. 

Comments: 

Wow! Felt truly blessed to be able to obtain a wee dram of this amazing whisky. It was complex and sweet, redolent with tropical fruits. It was even better with water, with the fruity notes deepening into jammy notes, and scarily drinkable even though I daren't add too much.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label

Johnnie Walker Blue Label

Official bottling
Blend
Dark amber
40% ABV
Dram

Nose: Honey, raisins, chocolate, pears, mint, hints of leather, hints of sea salt. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, slightly watery around the edges. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Honey, chocolate, bananas, pears, vanilla, hints of leather. 
Finish: Short. Honey, mint, pears, apples. 

Comments: 

It's taken me a long time to try this, the jewel in the Johnnie Walker range. I remember gazing at the bottle when I first started drinking whisky (maybe 1 or 2 drams into this series of tasting notes), and wondering when I would finally get around to it. Well, here we are, dram #731 is Johnnie Walker Blue Label. It's sweet, unctuously so, with a kind of Diageo greatest hits. There's Teaninich, Cardhu, Glen Elgin, perhaps some Talisker, if I'm any judge. There's a great huge backbone of pear, which I'd normally identify as Glenfiddich, but of course that's a Wm Grant distillery. I wonder what that is. Still quite good, and it's indeed a jewel of a whisky.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Johnnie Walker Red Label

Johnnie Walker Red Label

Official bottling
Blended malt
Orange
40% ABV
Dram

Nose: Vanilla, egg custard, raisins, diesel exhaust, toffee, new plastic, peanuts, hints of lemon juice.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, tingly, slippery, mouth coating.
Tasting: Bitter sweet. Vanilla, egg custard, peat, leather, raisins, new plastic, hints of lemon juice.
Finish: Medium. Walnut skins, diesel exhaust, raisins.

Comments:

I suppose that the hint of smoke in the nose and the taste is done on purpose, with the idea of making a sweeter version of Black Label. Unfortunately it deteriorates somewhat into diesel exhaust and new plastic. Drinkable.

Verdict:

Not bad.

Johnnie Walker Black Label

Johnnie Walker Black Label

Official bottling
Blended malt
Dark gold
40% ABV
Dram

Nose: Lemons, peat, caramel, orange peel, smoke.
Mouthfeel: Light body, thickens, cool.
Tasting: Bitter sweet. Peat, orange peel, lemons, raisins, hints of smoke.
Finish: Short. Peat, orange peel, walnuts.

Comments:

Simple whisky, great in its simplicity. A classic. Pretty good neat, but really comes into its own with ice and soda.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.