Tullibardine - a vertical tasting

The Tullibardine new make is surprisingly clean and sweet with strawberry yoghurt, fruitiness and some citrus on the nose. The new make is unpeated and without the characteristic feinty sheep barn off-note. The new make should be a good base for wood maturation. Tullibardine has a nice concept for learning about the effect of maturation in different types of casks.

The base product Suvereign is matured for ten years in first fill bourbon barrels. Then we have the cask finishes 225 Sauterne, 228 Burgundy and 500 Sherry that are matured for one extra year in the respective casks. The number indicate the size of the cask.

The Suvereign has a nice clean vanilla, citrus and delicate oak nose. It is fruity with apple, pear and marzipan. Coconut is more prominent towards the finish which is relatively short.

The Sauterne finished is floral, sweeter and more intense than the Suvereign. It is creamy and citrusy with some orange and pineapple. It has a lot of vanilla and honey. It is perhaps too much, and I probably would prefer the Suvereign in the long run.

The Burgundy is finished in pinot noir casks. The Suvereign is increased with chocolate, spice and red berries. Surprisingly there is nail polish remover, new make and potato starch on the nose. It is a bit sour with vinegar, and it dies with water, turning into tannins. It is not my favourite, but neither as bad as the description should indicate.

The Sherry finished has some new make on the nose, but it is far less than the Burgundy. It has prunes, crème brulee, cinnamon and nutmeg on the nose, and it is a bit sour with a tiny bit of sulphur, and perhaps a bit metallic. It has a quite dry and salty finish. A nice whisky but I probably prefer the Suvereign. I can think of many sherry matured whiskies that I would prefer to this one.

The 20 year old matured in first fill and second fill bourbon barrels and the 25 year old matured in first fill and second fill Oloroso hogsheads seem interesting. The same does The Marray 2004 which is matured in first fill bourbon casks and bottled at 56.1%. I still have to try these.

Glenfarclas

This evening's vertical tasting was between the Glenfarclas 15, 21, 25 and 40 years old whiskies. The four whiskies are in many ways fairly similar, but also fairly different.
I must admit that Glenfarclas is not my favourite whisky, but among the four candidates I would prefer the 21 years old.The 15 years old is not to my tasting.
But if you like a light sherried, fruity, floral and butterscotch whisky, Glenfarclas is a good choice.

	Glenfarclas 15Y	Glenfarclas 21Y	Glenfarclas 25Y	Glenfarclas 40Y
Abv.	46 %	43 %	43 %	46 %
Colour	Gold (1)	Amber (3)	Dark gold (2)	Dark amber (4)
Light smoky	2	3	Lightest (1)	4
Sherry	Lightest (1)	Distinct (3)	2	Distinct (4)
First impression	Decay, butterscotch	Tropical fruit	Floral	Linoleum, dried fruit
Fruitiness	Light fruity, peach	Tropical fruit	Fruity, light peach	Dried fruit, prunes, raisins
Other	Light floral	Vanilla, light spice	Sweetness	Tobacco, leather, spice, furniture polish
Finish		Salt, wood		Dry, tannins