Bunnahabhain 1997-2010 (Murray McDavid)

Posted on May 22, 2020, 1:00 by My Annoying Opinions

Okay after two reviews of things that are not whisky, let’s get back to whisky. But this might be barely whisky. It’s a Murray McDavid red wine-bothered Bunnahabhain, and Murray McDavid wine-bothered anything is rarely a good idea (see, for example, this Bowmore from red wine casks and also this Bowmore from white wine casks). The only sign of hope is that this is one of those peated 1997 Bunnahabhains and that kind of heavy, organic peat (as opposed to Bowmore’s more delicate, floral variety) can theoretically stand up more successfully to the depredations of a red wine finish. Will that be the case here though? Let’s see.

This is another sample that I acquired a long time ago—from Jordan of Chemistry of the Cocktail—and am only getting around to opening now. Continue reading →

Bowmore 10, 1999 (Murray McDavid)

Posted on October 25, 2019, 1:00 by My Annoying Opinions

Let’s close out the week with another wine cask-finished whisky, another peated whisky, and yet another Bowmore bottled by Murray McDavid. This was distilled and released a few years after Wednesday’s Viognier finish. And unlike the other Bowmore and Monday’s Port Charlotte 13 the wine casks used for this whisky’s finish had previously held red wine—syrah to be exact. Even though I really liked that Port Charlotte and also thought the Viognier-finish Bowmore was quite pleasant, I am a bit apprehensive about this one as red wine finishes are the source of my prejudice against wine cask finished whisky. Anyway, let’s see what this is like.

Bowmore 10, 1999 (46%; Murray McDavid; bourbon and syrah casks; from a bottle split) Continue reading →

Bowmore 11, 1995 (Murray McDavid)

Posted on October 23, 2019, 1:00 by My Annoying Opinions

As I noted in passing in my review on Monday of a wine cask-finished Port Charlotte, I am not generally a fan of wine cask-finished whiskies. Most of the ones I have had—like that Port Charlotte—have emerged from Bruichladdich. So too in a sense has this Bowmore. It was bottled by Murray McDavid, the indie bottling arm of Mark Reynier-era Bruichladdich, and a label that put out a large number of wine cask- finished or, as they liked to call them, “ACE’d” whiskies. This particular release started out in bourbon casks and ended up in viognier casks. Well, Monday’s Port Charlotte was from French white wine casks as well and I unexpectedly quite liked it. Will the positivity continue with this one? Let’s see.

Bowmore 11, 1995 (46%; Murray McDavid; bourbon & viognier casks; from a bottle split) Continue reading →

Glen Moray 42, 1962 (Murray McDavid)

Posted on December 28, 2018, 1:00 by My Annoying Opinions

The Glen Moray 34, 1977 I had at the Dornoch Castle Hotel’s bar in June was then, by far, the oldest Glen Moray I’d ever had. I recently discovered, however, that at some point in the near past I’d acquired via a bottle split a sample of an even older one. In fact, this 42 yo Glen Moray is the oldest malt whisky I’ve had. Not in terms of length of maturation—this Longmorn 46 is the oldest in that sense—but in terms of year of distillation. Where the Longmorn 46 was distilled in 1964, this was distilled in 1962. Which puts it on par in those terms with the oldest whisky of any kind I’ve had—the Archives North British 50, which was also distilled in 1962. None of this is very fascinating information for you, and frankly is a bit sad when you compare with the careers of those who review whiskies from the 1960s and 1950s on a seemingly weekly basis. But let’s face it, if you are a regular reader of this blog then sadness is something you are familiar with. Continue reading →

Lagavulin 23, 1979 (Murray McDavid)

Posted on February 6, 2018, 1:00 by My Annoying Opinions

Here’s something you don’t see everyday: an independent bottling of Lagavulin. And it’s an older Lagavulin distilled in the 1970s, no less. I didn’t even know it existed until the ever-generous Sku gave me a sample of it when we had dinner together in December. This was bottled by Murray McDavid—the indie bottling concern of Mark Reynier that was most active in the early years of Bruichladdich (though I think it’s still a going concern). This was part of their Mission series, which means they didn’t “ACE” it in a shiraz cask. Unlike some other Mission releases, it was not put out at cask strength. I guess if you get your hands on a cask of 23 yo Lagavulin you try to put out as many bottles of it as you can. Anyway, I’m very excited to taste this. I’ve not had very many Lagavulins past the age of 20; I’ve also liked most of the Mission releases I’ve tried (this Old Rhosdhu is the only one I’ve reviewed). Let’s see what it’s like. Continue reading →

Old Rhosdhu 24, 1979 (Murray McDavid)

Posted on July 9, 2013, 23:21 by My Annoying Opinions

Image taken from the Tintin Wiki

Old Rhosdhu is not a distillery, it is a brand of whisky produced at the Loch Lomond distillery (alongside a host of others). Loch Lomond, as everyone who grew up reading Tintin comics knows, was the favourite whisky of both Captain Haddock and Tintin’s dog, Snowy (who is seen enjoying drops from leaking barrels of Loch Lomond in The Black Island in 1937, four years before Captain Haddock made his debut in The Crab with the Golden Claws). Or was it? Since the actual distillery named Loch Lomond was only founded in 1966 this may just be a coincidence. However, as per the Tintin Wiki (yes, there is such a thing) the early panels of The Black Island actually showed the well-known name of Johnnie Walker and were changed to show Loch Lomond only after 1966 (see the image above). I have no idea what occasioned the change but we might say that retconning does in fact make Loch Lomond the favourite whisky of Captain Haddock and Snowy.
Continue reading →