North British 23 Years Old 1990 – G1.12 Mouth puckering sweetness
Single grain scotch whisky
buy from SMWS
60.3% ABV
Score: 85/100
What they say:
Cask No. G1.12
The nose seemed delicate, yet also lively – gardens after rain, honey, vanilla, waffles, pepper and pine – but mainly fruit (melon, tangerine, grapefruit, strawberry, lemon, lime). The neat palate combined mouth-puckering citrus with pleasant sweetness (crème anglaise, honey nut cornflakes, lemon puffs) to balance; then leather, cocoa and dry woody spices (clove, cinnamon, nutmeg) on the finish. The reduced nose was a joy – lemon-scented candles, lemon drizzle cake, orange barley water, orange blossom and subtle shades of liquorice, cumin and tarragon. The palate now had lemon sherbet, lime zest and French fancies, with pencil shavings, gingerbread and star anise in the after-taste.
Drinking Tip: A summery dram, perfect for a pre-barbeque dram in the garden to get the juices flowing
Region: Grain
Date Distilled: December 1990
Colour: Apricot blush gold
Cask Type: Refill hogshead
What I say:
Many thanks to Tom of Toms Whisky Reviews for this sample, one of a bunch of swaps to help me on my way thorugh as many of the SMWS bottled distilleries. This one is from North British distillery in Edinburgh (SMWS Distillery #G1), distilled 14th December 1990 and matured for 23 years before bottling at cask strength of 60.3% for a 163 bottle outturn from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead.
Colour:
Light amber gold (8/20), medium-light quick tears
Nose:
Spirity and feinty, grainy cereals, wheat, rye, sweetened and salty popcorn, vanilla, caramel and toffee oak wood, sandalwood (soap), pine needles, refreshing, citrus fruits; grapefruit, orange, lemon and lime
Taste:
Sweet caramel and fudge, crystallized brown sugar, honey/golden syrup, spiced chilli heat, toffee oak wood, dry wood pencil shavings, lemon drizzle cake, herbal cumin
Finish:
Medium, sweet toffee oak, citric and zesty yellow grapefruit, bitter/sweet
Overall:
A lovely example of a well aged grain whisky, there is just the right amount of wood influence in this one for me as it has started to develop mild bitter and sour flavours but they are balanced beautifully by the citric fruit and cereal of the Grain spirit with just a touch of sweet ex-bourbon and woody vanilla thrown in for good measure. Equally as complex as many single malts half its age.
Don’t take my word for it:
See what Tom thought about SMWS G1.12
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Categories: North British
