Three IB Speysides of similar vintage and age, all in rather modern first fill Oloroso casks. Let’s see if distillate character comes through, or if the casks dominate.

Linkwood 15 year 2009 Gordon & Macphail Connoisseur’s Choice (53.8%, first fill Sherry, cask 22605907)

N: dark, sweet, spiced nuts, no mistaking which century or cask type produced this, with a small bit of ethanol or propane and (more characteristically) hints of basil and spring flowers

P: all that spicy-sweet Oloroso stuff, but also a nice line of freshness, following the basil-mint-dandelion notion. And finishing on lots of nuts, with just a bit of rust. This drinks well at cask strength, it doesn’t need water. The faintest remnant of spent coffee grounds on the finish

85

Dailuaine 17 year 2008 Signatory Vintage Cask Strength (57%, first fill Oloroso cask 5)

N: caramel and candied nuts are even more in control here, and there’s less complexity, basically smells like one of those Bavarian hot nuts vendors at American Oktoberfest celebrations (or shopping malls, if you remember those). But there is beeswax and grass, too

P: fuller presence than the Linkwood, but again simpler, with mostly just a blast of hot candied nuts. Quite a pleasant finish, if not a terribly long one. Where this distinguishes itself as Dailuaine is less the flavor notes, which all scream sherry wood, but the fullness of the body and waxiness of the mouthfeel, which you can’t take for granted among the legions of lighter sherried Speysides. A little hot, neat. A few drops of water help. The distillate is the vehicle here and the cask is the driver, but it’s good regardless

84

Craigellachie 18 year 2007 The Single Cask (58.9%, Oloroso octave 900075)

N: sweeter and more candied, but also heavier and more industrial. Leather and sulphur make appearances but don’t steal the spotlight. More swagger than the other two, more of everything really. With water there’s cream cheese, too, which I have to admit I like…

P: no cask can totally suppress the power of the Wormtub, and the dirty, leathery, sulphury, industrial notes are as much Campbeltown as Speyside, as is often the case with Craigellachie. Not to exaggerate though; this is still a big, sweet, modern, Oloroso-forward whisky rather than a funk bomb, it’s just a very tasty and self-sure one, with a dash of panache (and a dash of delicious cream cheese)

87

Three decidedly modern and and crowd-pleasing and cask-forward malts, but I enjoy them all, and all bear some trace of their origin and not just their journey in wood.