Tasting notes: Speyside 1988 – Le Gus’t

Speyside 1988
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Today I have a Speyside 1988 on the menu! Now this is an interesting one.. As it is stated on the bottleĀ that this is a 29 year old blended malt, but I have heard (from reliable sources) that it is actually a Burnside, which is tea-spooned Balvenie.

It is also reasonably well known that this tea-spooning sometimes doesn’t even take place… Meaning this could well be a single malt Balvenie. But the name can’t be used and Burnside is also trademarked by Cadenheads. But still if you consider the fact that this is most likely a 29 yar old Balvenie for a fair 145 euro… Oh well, let’s just see what it will bring.

This Speyside 1988 has matured in a hogshead and is bottled at 49,7% ABV. Cask no. 403.

Speyside Region 1988 tasting notes:

Nose:Ā Floral notes, honey, pears andĀ  some woody notes too. Also quite some spices that appear after some time in the glass. With water: more fruity but there is still some cinnamon influence.

Taste: Beeswax, and floral but also some additional wood. It’s quite well integrated and there is a very nice sweetness with again these floral aspects. It’s not overly complex, but the age is showing with the wood influence. With water: It becomes honey flavoured but the spices remain. Some apples here as well.

Finish: Peppery, spices, cinnamon and woody tones followed by some honey. When I just openened the bottle there were quite a lot of spices which was almost overpowering the whole experience. But I re-tasted the whisky after the bottle was open for a fair amount of time, and the spices are a lot less prominent, which I think helps the whisky to become somewhat fresher. The wooden aspect in the finish is also less prominent now.

A very nice and typical Speysider, but only after a little while.Ā When the bottle was just open, the whisky was way too woody.Ā But after a few weeks the woody aspect disappears into the background and the sweet, floral and fruity notes take over. And then it becomes a solid whisky!

 


Rating:
88
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Ardbeg 1975

Tasting notes: Ardbeg 1975 Old Malt Cask

A golden oldie today with an Ardbeg 1975 from Douglas Laing.Ā And for me a rare opportunity to taste…

Comments2

  1. Thank you for your tasting notes, it’s always interesting for us to know what passionate people like you think

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