OLD SCOTCH SINGLE MALTS

A MIXED BAG OF OLDER GOODIES

Prelude: A mixed bag of malts forms this whisky review of a select a trio of obscure curiosities that broadly sit within the traditional definitions of three of Scotland’s classic whisky regions. 

Glenlossie First up is a 1978 Glenlossie, bottled in 2003 at 25 years of age by Duncan Taylor. There’s much to commend about this dram, even if it does feel a little inconsistent and ‘patchy’ at times. A solid example of how Speyside whisky was supposed to taste 20 or so years ago.

A delicacy of character has always defined this rarely seen single malt. From the outset, Glenlossie’s stills were fitted with purifier pipes which carry any heavier alcohols which have refluxed out in the lyne arm back into the body of the still to be redistilled. It is the use of these purifiers which adds a certain oily textural quality to the spirit, while a long fermentation also helps to promote a grassiness in the new make.

It remains a major contributor to its parent company’s blends, one of the Speyside blending powerhouses, its four stills were increased to six in 1962 and since 1971 it has shared its site with Mannochmore. Other than Diageo’s Flora & Fauna series – where it is bottled as a 10-year-old – it is only seen off and on as a single malt bottling, mainly from independents.

Jura: Following on from that is a rather idiosyncratic and charismatic young Jura. It might be reasonably assumed that Jura would make a peaty whisky. After all, the island is smothered in the stuff. It was, however, built in the 1960s with backing from a major blender, Mackinlay, and at that time light whisky was what was needed. Jura, therefore, conformed to the requirements of the market.

Inside, Jura is a classic 1960s distillery – large rooms, a clear flow from a semi-lauter tun, stainless steel washbacks, and a capacious stillhouse with very tall (7.7m) stills with a capacity of more than 20,000 litres. Clearly it was not built solely to satisfy the thirst of the local populace. Relatively short ferments give Jura background rigidity – meaning that this is a whisky that needs time (or active casks) to open fully.

Peated malt began to be run for a small period annually from the late 1990s onwards. This was blended with unpeated in some expressions, as well as on its own. From 2018, the core range of Jura has a subtly smoky character, from incorporating a small amount of peated spirit into the vattings.

The distillery went through a number of names: Craighouse, Small Isles, Caol nan Eilean, Jura, and various owners without garnering any great fame until 1901 when it was among many to close in whisky’s first great sales slump. The cost in running a remote island site is always expensive, and a lack of direct transport to the mainland (all ferry traffic still has to go via Islay) also counted against its survival.

It was these economics which ruled Jura out of the distilling equation for over six decades. Then, in 1963, two of the island’s landowners, Robin Fletcher and Tony Riley-Smith, decided to start whisky-making once more – predominantly as an incentive to stop any further decline in the island’s population. With financial backing from Leith-based blender Charles Mackinlay & Co, the famous designer William Delme-Evans was hired and a large, modern distillery was built which was further expanded in 1978 to its current size. In 1985, Invergordon Distillers bought Mackinlay and from there the firms were folded into Whyte & Mackay.

As for the bottle under review, distilled in 1983 and bottled at 13 years old by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS), this is a funky, austere, coastal and strange wee Island dram – one that might not tick all the boxes technically, but is never short of entertaining.

Laphroaig: Another of the Kildalton triumvirate, Laphroaig is a substantial distillery with seven stills and a capacity of over 3m litres per annum (that’s 1m more than Lagavulin and 2m more than Ardbeg).

Unusually for a distillery of this size Laphroaig has retained its own floor maltings which still account for 20% of its requirements. They have been retained specifically because it is believed that the Laphroaig kiln produces a more creosote-like phenolic character than the malt the distillery receives from the Port Ellen maltings. Certainly, a tarry iodine note is one of the signatures of the spirit.

The odd number of stills includes a spirit still which is double the size of its neighbours. As this produces a different character new make it is always blended in with those from the smaller ones.

A very long fore shot run means there are less estery notes in the new make, while a deeper cut means that heavier phenolics are captured compared to Ardbeg and Lagavulin. Its distinct sweet note therefore comes from the preferred cask type used – ex-Bourbon barrels. These, the distillery says, became the norm at Laphroaig post-Prohibition when Ian Hunter began travelling to the US. The effect of this type of oak is showcased in the Quarter Cask release where a vatting of younger Laphroaigs is finished in small casks. Some Sherry casks are in the inventory and are mostly used for longer-term maturation.

Finally, we have a 1985 Laphroaig, bottled at 15 years of age by Douglas Laing for the independent bottler’s Old Malt Cask range in 2000. While this one sits comfortably in the ‘southern Islay’ category, it still displays some charmingly subtle and lighter qualities, which  mark it out as an interim example of Laphroaig from a period when the distillery character was transitioning away from over fruitiness and more towards peat smoke and seashore characteristics.

THE WHISKY

GLENLOSSIE 25 YEARS OLD, 1978, Duncan Taylor

 Speyside Single Malt Whisky, 54 % ABV, Un-Chill-filtered, Natural Colour

Nose: A rather nice mix of soft, buttery cereals and easy, ripe green fruits. Lots of apples, kiwi, gooseberry, pears and star fruit. Also touches of green banana and pomegranate. Some heather honey, melon and lemon rind. The kind of super-easy, enticing, mature Speysider that no whisky aficionado would kick out of a tumbler. Water gives a slightly sharper, almost acrylic edge. Some light, freshly chopped herb notes and a lick of cardboard.

Palate: The ABV shows. A tad more aggressive on arrival in the mouth. Grassy, a little varnishy, notes of olive oil, hot cross buns, shortbread and slightly damp barley. Really feels like how malt whisky tasted in the 1990s – if you get what I mean? Rather a lot of milky tea notes as well. Some putty, cloves and digestive biscuits. Again, this is a profoundly inoffensive, easy and enjoyable old malt. It’s perhaps just not totally thrilling either. Water brings sunflower oil, cereals, plain toast and more tea notes. A tad grassy and more assertive as well.

Finish: Good length, lots of cereals, cooking oils, pollen, toast, buttermilk and more soft garden fruits.

Assessment: A dram of two halves. On one side it’s a little flat and flabby in places; on the other, it has some very retro and pleasingly nostalgic aspects which make you feel like you’re sipping an expensive bottle of whisky back in the rosy innocence of 1998. Right place, right time

JURA 13 YEARS OLD, 1983

Islands Single Malt Whisky 57.2% ABV, Un-Chill-filtered, Natural Colour

Nose: A curious and very ‘Jura-esque’ jumble of ginger biscuits, gorse flowers, chalk, beach pebbles and a rather grumbly and austere minerality. Hints of daisies, lychee, sandalwood, petrol and starched linen. Funny and nicely funky. With water it gets a little more floral and herbaceous. Verbena, lemon thyme, wormwood, marjoram and seaweed crackers.

Palate: Extremely oily and grassy. Lots of sugary wort, hot grist, kiln air, mustard powder, flint smoke and lemon cough drops. Punchy, sweet, peppery and slightly minty. Water loosens things up a bit with notes of lemon tea, bergamot, hessian, lamp oil and yellow plums.

Finish: Medium and rather fresh, grassy, oily and herbal. Olive oil with a touch of brine running through it.

Assessment: A pleasingly strange wee Jura. One that cleaves closely to the distillery’s undefinable sense of strangeness while also retaining a clear coastal aspect.

LAPHROAIG 15 YEARS OLD, 1985, OLD MALT CASK, Douglas Laing

Islay Single Malt Whisky 50% ABV, Un-Chill-filtered, Natural Colour

Nose: A pure and soft smokiness. Bonfire smoke, crab sticks, beach pebbles, mineral salts and hot steel wool. More of these suggestions of fresh shellfish, iodine drops, seawater and preserved lemons in brine. A rather direct and straightforward Laphroaig that leans towards modernity as opposed to older, fruitier styles. Water brings out sea greens, gorse, lime juice, disinfectant and slightly farmy qualities.

Palate: Very briny and full of sea salt and malt vinegar. Squid ink, seaweed, rock salt and newspaper ash. A slightly lemony and herbal peat flavour emerges over time. There’s a tiny glimmer of malty sweetness trying to escape. Direct and bold flavours overall, but the feeling that emerges is that this is a lighter Laphroaig. Water brings more of these notes of metal polish, soot, dusty malt bins, Mercurochrome and white pepper.

Finish: Long, ashy, lemony, smoky and with some mineral notes of clay, pebbles and seawater.

Assessment: A perfectly serviceable, medium-bodied old Laphroaig. The mid-1980s weren’t Scotch whisky’s finest era, but it seems there are still a few worthy examples kicking about. I like the overall sense of softness.