Tormore or Not Tomore

It's 2 years after LMdW's 60th Anniversary, and I'm still drinking stuff from back then. Got to up the pace!! 

Bought this at last year's private sale. I was looking for a non-sherried Speysider to add some variety to my drinking. Looked around, but many of the Speysiders were either too expensive, or too sherried. I think there were 2 options I narrowed down to eventually - a Sansibar bottled...Macallan(?) and this Tormore. Under $200 after discount, and the good people at LMdW (it was Mauricio, I think) were full of praise for this exceptional whisky. Very limited bottling, with only 251 bottles coming from a single cask.

Tormore 20 years old, for LMDW 60th Anniversary (46% abv)

Nose - This is pretty special. Pineapples and mozarella. Cinnamon and figs. Pears and lemons. Almonds and yeasty, malting barley. The pineapples stand out though. Big, juicy pineapples. I learnt recently that a pineapple is a cluster of berries. What. There's a hint of marzipan after a while, and a bit of paraffin as well. This is alluring. 

Palate - More pineapple juice, but there's a hint of bitterness here. Feels like black tea and charred oak. Not quite smokey territory, but almost. The bitterness is rounded out by some active wood, giving this whisky a rounded woody flavour. Lots of spice. I'm detecting a touch of salted butter, but this takes a backseat. Fruits come to the fore. Pineapples, passion fruit, coconut, almond (not a fruit), orange pith.

Finish - The spices grow and grow on you. A dash of pepper, clove, maybe a hint of cardamon...but the bitter note is there, more prominent than on the palate. That's sticking out like a small bit of cardboard.

Overall - I like this, all the way till the bitter end. Then the bitterness stays a bit longer than is welcomed.

Linkwood 12 Flora and Fauna

Linkwood 12 Flora and Fauna (43% abv)

Nose - Light smoke, strangely savoury in a nice way. Strange because I didn't expect it. Butter and oyster. There's a steamed oyster with butter on sushi thing at Genki. Never tried it though. And then a truckload of orange zest falls on your head. Some pears. Pretty grassy and herby on parsley.

Palate - Pears, oranges, quite a bit of barley sugar. There's a bit of yeastiness in this, giving it a touch of the malting barley. There's a light smoke on this still, and then turns a little rubbery too. The texture is fairly oily, and the parsley is still in the whisky. Probably should not have dipped it for so long. The oranges in this are very fresh and juicy, but these are combated by spices. I picked up ginger, pepper, and a bit of five spice powder.

Finish - Not very long, but quite a lot of wood comes out, with spiciness for a kick.

Overall - I quite liked this. There's a touch of the old-school Speysider with this, and the taste profile reminded me a little of the amazing Craigellachie 31 sans sherry. A new distillery for me. I think this is the first Linkwood I've ever had. Good start!!

Old Pulteney for the New Year

Finally went back to the Auld Alliance after 4 months away - the folks still remember where I usually sit and ushered me to the corner of the bar. Aww. Bless them. Decided to try something a little older this time.

Old Pulteney 21 (46% abv)

Nose - noses of salted butter - creamy, vanilla, sea-salt toffee. This is a very nice opening nose. Buttered croissants. A little more rye bread after a while, though the creaminess stays. Thick fruits too - some jackfruit, pears, a dollop of honey. This smells very inviting.

Palate - Mm. Sea-salt toffee and lots of rich caramel, the kind that you find inside a Cadbury chocolate bar. Fruits come out more prominently, though it tastes like overripe peaches. Mouth feel is somewhat syrupy. A hint of oak and vanilla, though these form more of a backdrop. Not very malt forward, but the suggestion of rye bread is still there. Some mint and pepper.

Finish - Not very long, but whatever lingers feels like oak, honey and a bit more salt.

Overall - Again, not something that I would agree with Jim Murray on, scoring wise, who rated it the best whisky in the world in 2012. But this is definitely good whisky, and its a pity that the rumours about its discontinuation turned out to be true. At last year's Whisky Live, the brand ambassador was trying to convince visitors that the shape of the bottle mouth influences the taste - I'm guessing she's referring to the stills used in Old Pulteney, which the bottle mouths are modeled after. The rich caramel and toffee gives this a fairly unique texture-and-taste mix, feeling quite luxurious, though it's not very complex or challenging. Told H about what I heard regarding the discontinuation, and he immediately said that they should seek to stock up on the OP 21. Guess it's fairly popular then? I can see why. Old, inviting, velvety. This should be a hit with most whisky drinkers, if a little unchallenging for those seeking something more complex. Will definitely be missed now that it's gone.