Part 3 of Reviews from La Maison du Whisky Singapore
Review by: Whiskery Turnip
One of my formative whisky experiences occurred at the La Maison du Whisky hub in Singapore. I was just getting into scotch and had developed a keen interest in Amrut while traveling to India for my sister-in-law’s wedding. My wife and I made a stopover at LMDW and ordered a flight each with help from the staff. As we chatted whisky with the bartender, and we knew very little at the time so I recall the conversation being him asking if we had tried lots of stuff and us replying no, bottles started to appear in front of us. I had never been to a whisky bar before, but the experience was revelatory; from an epic early Amrut Spectrum to a Hanyu, I had no idea how special some of those whiskies were until much later.
Whenever we return to Singapore, we make a pit stop at LMWD. The last time we made it by was 2019; at the time, it felt as though the whisky selection had been trimmed down quite a bit. Four years later, the amount of rum is now staggering, but the whisky selection felt much improved. Sure, old and rare stuff is not just going to magically reappear. Still, the variety of bottlers and casks available appeared more diverse. As we explored our flight, we gazed at the walls of whisky and found plenty more to try on another night.
Distillery: Edradour Ballechin
Bottler: Signatory Vintage
Region: Scotland/Highland Single Malt
ABV: 60.0%. Cask strength.
Age: 11 years. Distilled on 1 Oct. 2010. Bottled on 31 Aug. 2022.
Cask type: 2nd Fill Marsala Hogshead
Price: $14/20ml at LMDW Singapore
Nose: Sweet dirty smoke, mellow earth, dried grass, mellow farmy funk of dry cow paddies and grassy decay, hints of mint and savory salty cookies— mushroom shortbread anyone? More time brought forward roasted pork skin and dry autumn vegetation.
Palate: Medium-bodied, post-wild fire landscape of char and dry earth, dehydrated mushroom, burnt old rubber tire, sweet plasticine, acrid and industrial, tar, subtle sweet fruits and burnt marshmallows.
Finish: Long and lingering with mint, grass, and loads of ash.
Mental Image: Wildfire Wildlife Survey
Conclusion: As soon as my wife raised this glass for a sniff, she muttered nice and smiled; the first sip brought out a long mmmmm, and I knew the helpful staff at LMDW had pulled down an absolute winner in her books. This was perhaps the biggest surprise of our tasting flight that eventing, the second-fill marsala cask was barely present— perhaps accentuating some of the tar and industrial notes with a hint of sulfur— but the whisky felt balanced and refined in a way that Ballechin rarely does. Considering the sometimes aggressive casking that Signatory frequently employs at Edradour, I expected this to be much sweeter and more wine-driven.
I know the notes above might seem a bit odd, at least to anyone not already habituated to dirty industry and sweet plastic notes— they do not sound all that appetizing in a vacuum. But gosh, once you get a taste for some of these seemingly bizarre notes, there is nothing quite like them.
Final Score: 83.
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 