Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
The White Horse blend is pretty well known to have been largely Lagavulin back in the 50’s – 70’s at least, with the blend likely changing to include less and less since then, and probably none now. I have this 5cl mini of White Horse that is likely from the 80’s or 90’s, so why not try it head-to-head with a Lagavulin 16 White Horse bottling from the late 80’s? Will it taste similar?
Tasted on 10/14/2020, neat in a Glencairn.
White Horse Fine Old Scotch Whisky, 43% ABV in a 5cl flat mini. Fill level is low, well below the shoulder, indeed just below the top of the label. The cap is super-tight and I see no signs of leakage. No info on coloring or filtering, but it proudly proclaims “100% Scotch Whiskies” on the label so there’s that. I see lots of reviews saying that over the years this has included a lot of Lagavulin, Caol Ila, and Talisker. I got this bottle from auction in 2016 for, wait for it… 2eur. I do love a bargain.
I’ve tried to narrow down the bottling date, but the best I can do is 1978-ish to late 90’s. The best info I’ve found says that UK bottlers didn’t switch to metric units until 1977-78, and this labeling was in use then and up into the 90’s. It appears they stopped using the royal warrant sometime in the late 90’s. So I’m going with 80’s or 90’s on this one, a pretty wide range. If you’re a White Horse aficionado I’d be interested to get a tighter date range for this.
The label on the back indicates this bottle was for the Hong Kong market. I’m not sure if I should drink it or pour it on the curb for Hong Kong.
Distillery: Lagavulin
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Islay
ABV: 43.0%
Age: 16 years old. Bottled in 1990s.
Nose: peat smoke, nail polish remover, orange, lemon, seaweed, cut dry grass, a bit medicinal, tar, liquorice, seems hot for 43%.
Taste: peat, odd varnish note, bitter orange peel, pepper, thin mouthfeel, hot, tar, a bit of sea water, a bit medicinal.
Finish: smoke, orange, varnish remover, some light pepper, a bit of seawater, tar, short, bitter.
This is interesting. There are some good notes of peat, smoke, citrus, grass, with faint sea and medicinal touches. The nose has a lot of promise. But there’s also this hot, volatile, varnish remover scent and flavor that punches through and hides the good stuff a lot, and while you can get past it on the nose it’s pretty rough on the palate.
So, I’m disappointed because I had high hopes for this one. This seems like it could be good, but it’s got a pretty big off note that is bringing the whole thing down. I’m marking it fairly low for now, but I’d like to try some White Horse from the same era or newer to see if this is consistent, or just this little mini.
(I honestly wondered if I was getting some residual flavor of the glue off of the cap seal having degraded. Careful inspection suggests this isn’t the case, but who really knows with things like this.)
Final Score: 65.
Lagavulin 16 Year White Horse, bottled in the late 80’s, aka “sheep shit Laga”
I reviewed this previously, Lagavulin 16 Old vs. New, and this isn’t a re-review of the bottle. I’m tasting it alongside the White Horse for direct comparison, and my notes and score remain unchanged. Nice to drink this one again.
Comparison
Order: Lagavulin 16 WH > White Horse
I’m not surprised by the ordering, but as I said I had much higher hopes for this little bottle of White Horse. Shame.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 