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Recent releases, March 2007
Highland Park, Single Cask 1967 (Scotland) 
Last December we wrote (‘Whisky News’) about the release of a unique bottling of single cask Highland Park single malt from Orkney. Half of the cask was bottled as a 38-year-old in October 2006, and the remainder as a 39-year-old on 26th December. The latter will be available from April onwards. Just 200 bottles of each expression have been filled, and Whisky Pages recently got the opportunity to sample the 38-year-old.
The nose is magnificent! Rich, full and floral, with honey, barley sugar and heather. Some smoke develops with exposure to the air. The palate offers oranges, raisins, ginger, black pepper and fresh tobacco. Intriguing for a Highland Park. The finish is long and steadily drying, with more orange notes, leaving a smoked, buttery taste at the last. Once again, Highland Park has produced a superb, complex, characterful vintage whisky. Worth every penny…
55.0% ABV, 70cl, £650.00, Balthazar Ltd.  |  |
Jura, 40 Years Old (Scotland)
This Jura expression is part of Whyte & Mackay’s ‘Rare and Prestige Collection,’ which also includes two expressions of Dalmore and a 40-year-old Whyte & Mackay blend – reviewed here in December 2006. Distilled on 12th November 1966, it was matured in American White Oak and then finished in an Oloroso Sherry butt. Around 100 bottles have been filled, making this is the most exclusive ‘house’ bottling of Jura ever released.
Pine air freshener initially on the nose, which is remarkably fresh and vibrant for a whisky of this vintage. Heather and hazelnuts are also present, with developing marzipan notes. Medium-bodied, nutty and spicy on the palate, with liquorice and a hint of cinnamon. Complex and intriguing. The finish is pleasingly drying and oaky, showing clear evidence of that Oloroso Sherry butt. A rare delight, and arguably the best Jura ever to hit the shelves.
46.0% ABV, 70cl, £1,000, specialist whisky merchants.  |  |
Tullibardine, Sauterne Wood Finish (Scotland)
There has been no shortage of new releases from Tullibardine distillery at Blackford in Perthshire since production recommenced in 2003 after a decade’s silence, and the energetic Tullibardine team has been particularly keen to offer its spirit in a variety of ‘finished’ guises. The latest is a 1993 distillation, which has spent a period in a Sauterne cask. According to Tullibardine’s Doug Ross, “Our Sauterne cask finish bottling is superb – even if I say so myself! Bottles are very limited, approximately 260, and are only being sold through our shop and web site, though we will attempt to lay down more stock of this for a later date.”
Sauterne is a rich, sweet wine, often served with powerfully-flavoured, savoury food or with dessert, so its influence on the Tullibardine spirit is predictably significant. Sweet wine on the nose, fruity and spicy, with background notes of oak. Water releases fresh lemon and honey. Mouth-coating and bitter-sweet on the palate, with cooked fruits and spices. The finish is relatively long and steadily drying, with cocoa and Fry’s Chocolate Cream. ‘Finishing’ may sometimes be used as a means of disguising indifferently matured spirit, but when done responsibly and skilfully, as in this instance, it gives pleasing variations to the ‘house’ style.
46.0% ABV, 70cl, £38.00, distillery website.  |  |
Glenturret Single Cask releases
Glenturret is perhaps the lowest profile single malt in the Edrington Group portfolio, despite the Perthshire distillery being home to the award-winning The Famous Grouse Experience. It is therefore very pleasing to see the recent release of three single cask bottlings.
According to Glenturret's production manager Neil Cameron, “Choosing a single cask is a great honour, especially from as good a single malt as The Glenturret. I am delighted with these three new expressions, each different in their own way. While the 29-year-old has the distinctive light and floral aromas of a classic Glenturret single malt, the younger expressions, having matured in first-fill sherry oak casks, bring a lovely amber colour with a rich, spicy bouquet.”
These bottlings are available exclusively at The Famous Grouse Experience shop, (tel. + 44 (0) 1764 657 025) or via the website www.thefamousgrouse.com .
Glenturret, Single Cask 14-year-old (Scotland)
This expression presents a very attractive nose of Sherry, molasses and orange blossom, with developing fragrance as it warms in the glass. Mouth-coating, with gentle spices and Seville oranges on the palate. Smooth and elegant. The finish is long and nutty as it dries, with ginger and bitter orange notes persisting to the end. A big, confident Glenturret, well suited by its Sherry cask. 576 bottles. 59.7% ABV, 70cl, £65.00, distillery website. |  |
Glenturret, Single Cask 15-year-old (Scotland)
The nose is comparatively light, compared to the 14-year-old, with vanilla, ginger and wallpaper paste. However, time allows more overt Sherry notes to develop. Water encourages aromas of orange and brittle toffee. Initially fruity and warming on the palate, when diluted this Glenturret becomes ‘darker’ and slightly acrid, with a suggestion of bananas. The finish is shorter than that of the 14-year-old, again with oranges, plus later resin and vanilla notes. 582 bottles. 55.3% ABV, 70cl, £75.00, distillery website. |  |
Glenturret, Single Cask 29-year-old (Scotland)
A lovely, delicate nose, fragrant, with lemonade. Exposure to the air gives more overt notes of vanilla. Floral and quite sweet on the palate, but not too much time to analyse it before most of the flavour disappears. Water brings out slightly bitter notes. The finish is short, drying rapidly, with quite a lot of oak. The palate and finish are a slight surprise after the apparently sprightly nose. Just caught in time, perhaps. 246 bottles. 55.6% ABV, 70cl, £175, distillery website. |  |
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