Tag Archives: 30yo

Tamdhu 30 Year Old – The MacPhail’s Collection (2009)

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This is an independent bottling of Tamdhu, a speyside distillery in Scotland. Like many Scottish distilleries, Tamdhu has gone through multiple periods of production and shuttering over the years. Most recently, it was re-opened after a brief hiatus by Ian MacLeod Distillers, who are responsible for the new branding and official bottlings out there. But this independent bottling is based on stocks laid down in the late 1970s, while they were controlled by the Edrington Group.

Historically, Tamdhu production has been used mainly for blended scotch whiskies, like Famous Grouse, J&B and Cutty Sark. Aside from a limited range of current single malt official bottlings, there have been some independent bottlings over the years. This review is of one by Gordon & MacPhail, who have released a number of aged Tamdhu’s under their higher-end “The MacPhail’s Collection” label over the years. This bottling is from a 2009 release, featuring a heavily-sherried 30 year old Tamdhu (I believe it was fully aged in first-fill sherry casks).

Bottled at 43% ABV. Not sure of the original list price, but I believe it was quite reasonable for the age (going by what I recently paid for a glass at Brevings whisky bar in Riga, Latvia). I don’t do a lot of reviews of independent bottlings, but I couldn’t resist the chance to try this one. I don’t expect it would be too easy to track down a bottle of this one now, however.

I don’t have a lot to compare it to in this age range, but let’s see how it does against similarly aged malts in my Meta-Critic Whisky Database:

Brora 30yo: 9.30 ± 0.21 on 18 reviews ($$$$$+)
Caol Ila 30yo: 9.31 ± 0.20 on 12 reviews ($$$$$+)
Glencadam 30yo: 8.80 ± 0.20 on 3 reviews ($$$$$+)
Glenfiddich 30yo: 9.05 ± 0.13 on 3 reviews ($$$$$+)
Highland Park 30yo: 9.14 ± 0.42 on 12 reviews ($$$$$+)
Macallan 30yo Fine Oak: 8.56 ± 0.36 on 6 reviews ($$$$$+)
Talisker 30yo: 9.19 ± 0.32 on 13 reviews ($$$$$+)
Tamdhu 30yo (MacPhail Collection 2009): 9.11 ± 0.10 on 3 reviews ($$$$$)
Tamdhu Batch Strength (both batches): 8.54 ± 0.72 on 10 reviews ($$$$)
Tamdhu 10yo: 8.30 ± 0.58 on 18 reviews ($$$$)

There are very few reviews out there, but all seem to rank this whisky quite highly.  And now what I find in the glass:

Colour: Rich mahogany, red gold

Nose: Sweet tarts to start, followed by rich figs, raisins, and sultanas. Cherries and grapes. Some lighter berries, plus pear. Get the feeling there’s a lot of fruit? Tons of brown sugar, honey and caramel as well. Slightly herbal. No off notes. A powerful dram.

Palate: Cherry cough syrup on overdrive – the herbal note turns definitely medicinal (think Buckleys). Thick and syrupy mouthfeel adds to the effect, as does some eucalyptus. Cherry cola. Orange syrup. Honey nectar and dark brown sugar (demarara sugar). Vanilla. Earthy, with dark chocolate and coffee notes. Wood spice. Something slightly musty, but it works.

Finish: Long and lingering. Herbal liqueur. Oak spice picks up, with cinnamon. Dried fruits comes back at the end, along with a slight bitterness – but not bad at all. Cherry cola lasts the longest.

This is a powerful dram. A true sherry-bomb, nectar-of-the-gods type of offering. Interestingly enough, I had just tried the standard bottling of Macallan 18yo Fine Oak before this one, and couldn’t help thinking this is what a fully sherry-matured Macallan of comparable age and vintage would likely taste like. Like Aberlour, Tamdhu might be considered a good source for relatively inexpensive classic Macallan-like heavy sherry oak malts.

This independent bottling gets a very good review from Serge of Whisky Fun, and from a couple of the other Malt Maniacs. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find any other reviews of this vintage.  A nice dram, to be sure – and worth keeping an eye out for any new releases.

Caol Ila 30 Year Old

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This is a review of the official bottling of a vintage 1983 Caol Ila, released by Diageo in 2014. Only 7,638 bottles of this 30yo bottling were produced.

Normally, I only review whiskies where I have a significant sample on hand for tasting (typically sampled at home, in a controlled environment). In this case, I got to enjoy a generous pour from a bottle at a flagship LCBO store, and had a chance to record my notes in a quiet corner.

At $750 CAD, this is the most expensive whisky I’ve reviewed yet.  It is also the oldest, at 30 years of barrel aging. This is thus an interesting opportunity to see what effect extended aging has on the so-called “lightly peated” flavour profile of Caol Ila (see my recent 12yo review for a discussion of the house style).

First, here are the Meta-critic scores for some other popular aged smokey/peaty single malt original bottlings:

Ardbeg 17yo: 9.05 ± 0.29 on 6 reviews ($$$$$+)
Caol Ila 18yo: 8.66 ± 0.54 on 13 reviews ($$$$$)
Caol Ila 30yo: 9.38 ± 0.28 on 7 reviews ($$$$$+)
Highland Park 18yo: 9.18 ± 0.27 on 20 reviews ($$$$$)
Highland Park 21yo :8.89 ± 0.41 on 14 reviews ($$$$$+)
Highland Park 25yo: 9.20 ± 0.25 on 12 reviews ($$$$$+)
Highland Park 30yo: 9.06 ± 0.42 on 9 reviews ($$$$$+)
Highland Park 40yo: 9.07 ± 0.39 on 8 reviews ($$$$$+)
Lagavulin 16yo: 9.30 ± 0.25 on 23 reviews ($$$$)
Laphroaig 18yo: 9.09 ± 0.30 on 16 reviews ($$$$$)
Laphroaig 25yo: 9.21 ± 0.31 on 11 reviews ($$$$$+)
Old Pulteney 21yo: 8.67 ± 0.62 on 12 reviews ($$$$$)
Talisker 18yo: 9.25 ± 0.21 on 14 reviews ($$$$$)
Talisker 25yo: 8.95 ± 0.26 on 13 reviews ($$$$$+)

The 30yo Caol Ila certainly tops the Meta-Critic scores for this class. Note that it is rare to see original bottlings of this age, given the limited availability of stock (i.e., more commonly found as small batches with independent bottlers).

Here’s what I find in the glass:

Nose: Fragrant nose, with a lot going on. I don’t get the wet peat of the younger Caol Ilas, but lots of extinguished smoke and ash (more the latter). Some distinctive medicinal/briny notes, plus well-worn leather. A faint nutty aroma, with a creamy overall feel. There is a fair amount of sweet fruit as well, like honeydew melon, along with a touch of citrus. Complex, yet elegant – you will want to spend a lot of time exploring this nose.

Palate: The salty and medicinal iodine notes come through up front, but they aren’t overwhelming. Same for the smoke/ash notes – present, but not as intense as the younger Coal Ilas. Some moist, earthy peat showing up now. Still getting the melon and some sort of pulpy fruit (papaya?). There is a spiciness as well, like anise – balanced with just the right level of sweetness (i.e., low- to mid-sweet black licorice, as I’ve only found in specialty shops in the UK). Definite oaky elements coming through, with clear vanilla. It is nowhere near as hot as you would expect for a 55.1% ABV whisky – shockingly easy to drink at this level. It has an incredibly luxurious mouthfeel.

Caol.Ila30Finish: Very long, with lingering smoke and ash. That balance of spicy and sweet (e.g., black licorice) persists as well.

This is a stunner!  It’s hard to express in words just how well this whisky works. Note that despite the descriptions above, a lot of the classic peaty notes have been attenuated by the extended barrel aging. Think of this one as a nice meal over an extinguished campfire.

I made the mistake of sampling the Highland Park 21yo after this whisky, and it just couldn’t compare on any level (and that’s coming from a big HP 18yo fan). Certainly not fair to the HP – I will need to try it again before I can fairly review it.

The Meta-Critic score for the Caol Ila 30yo seems reasonable to me – it is certainly one of the best whiskies I’ve ever had. While I would not pay the going rate for a bottle, I do recommend you try it if given the chance. For detailed reviews by reviewers who share my enthusiasm, you can try Serge at Whisky Fun, Ruben of Whisky Notes and Tone of Whisky Saga. Dave Broom of Whisky Advocate is also fairly positive.