Review by: The Muskox
Wow, what a mystery sample to have just been handed out of the blue. I have very little experience with single-grain scotch whiskies and none have really tickled my tastebuds the way I’d like. Then again, none of them were 50 years old.
As per my blind tasting policy, my tasting notes, score, thoughts, and guesses are all locked in before the reveal. For this dram, I had no idea what I was being poured, aside from that it was probably whisky of some kind.
Distillery: North of Scotland.
Bottler: Douglas Laing.
Region/Style: Lowlands/Single grain.
ABV: 40.7%.
Age: 50 years. Distilled December 1970. Bottled in January 2021.
Cask type: Cask #DL14548, a refill barrel.
Price: N/A, sample.
Color: Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: Dusty and sweet – lots of cotton candy, caramel, and vanilla. Could be corn. Buttery shortbread, buttered popcorn, and light molasses. Suede and oak too. A little plum and banana, as well as some dried oregano. Wait, maybe some mango too?
Palate: Proof seems low-to-moderate. Okay, I feel validated (in thinking this is a corn whisky). Arrives very sweet with buttercream, graham crackers, banana pudding, mango, and coffee liqueur. Slightly savoury-smoky, though definitely not in a peat way. Charred maple planks. Old wooden cabinets and musty couches. A sweet potpourri note and some garam masala.
Finish: Medium-length, very sweet. Chocolate fudge, gooey cookies, browned butter, Reese’s cups, cola, and sweet spices. Lingering oak.
Possible SMWS bottling name: “My grandma’s bequeathment of all her old furniture”
Conclusion: SMWS name based on an ongoing true story. This is pretty good for something that isn’t my usual jam. It’s very sweet, but rather drinkable and with decent depth. I like it.
As for what it is, I went back and forth at first from funky malt to brandy to rum. But there’s so little fruit… Now I’m thinking it’s corn-based. The lack of any rye or fruit notes is pushing my guess in a patriotic (Canadian) direction. Could it be a weird American whisky, an all-corn Balcones maybe? That’d sort of check out on the flavour profile, but the proof is too low. Also, it really reminds me of the ’74 Seagrams I tried a couple months ago, though it’s a lot tastier.
…Wait a minute, Baby Blue is bottled at 46%… and I think the colour looks about right. Am I allowed to hedge?
Guess: Canadian, mostly corn, 20+ years, 43%, used oak cask.
Shot in the dark: Balcones Baby Blue?
Final Score: 81.
Post-reveal thoughts: Okay then! Not an atrocious guess, actually. I picked out the corn at least. With this level of old-oak and sweetness, I knew this had to either be hot-climate or really old. Maybe that mango and oregano that started to come out on the nose should have tipped me further towards the “really old” side. I guess I need to change my expectations of just how old I should expect from mystery whiskies. Anyways, what a cool blind pour!
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 