Independent Bottlers sure get a bad rap, don’t they?
People often wonder what the point of an independent is. Diehard fans question the need for an “outsider” to sell bottles of their favourite brand’s whisky. Others assume that the bottler only gets the dregs left behind after the distilleries get first pick.
Personally, we think that these questions miss the point. Why not just judge the contents of the bottle, instead of the contents of the label?
Recently, we were invited to taste four different Cadenheads by our good friends at Quaich Bar, in conjunction with The Writing Club, The Swan Song and New Ubin Seafood (this last one was quite unexpected).
Now, the significance of this session might not be immediately clear, so let’s unpack it.
The first: this list includes some of the finest whisky bars in Singapore. These bars are run by passionate folks who have made whisky their life. They’re not looking for quick profits, nor big brands to fill the shelves, but to sell the best drams they can get their hands on. So, we respect them- and more to the point, trust their taste in whisky.
The second: these bars and restaurants are owned by Singaporeans. If the whiskies tasted were good, then it’s a little proof that we on the little red dot know our whisky- and are willing to put our money where our mouths are. That they work together is a pleasant surprise!
The third: Cadenheads is the oldest independent bottler in the world, and has been operating since 1842. That does, indeed, mean that it has outlasted a good number of distilleries- all that without producing a drop of its own malt. What we should probably mention is that the very last whisky in the list below was bottled exclusively by Cadenheads for the four bars and restaurants on the list.
So, let’s see how the Cadenheads fared.
Littlemill 1990, 24 Years Old
Nose: We catch a strong scent of peach and apricot immediately, followed by a nice hint of fresh-mown grass and bit of peanut. The aroma develops into very light pine, vanilla, and interestingly- a sprinkle of mint and cloves.
Palate: It begins light and sweet, with a grain flavour that evolves quickly into fruit. We get ripe peaches, apricots, mango, and even a hint of lemon. There’s an interesting grassy note that presents itself in the middle. We also find a tiny pinch of spice here.
Finish: It’s fairly long, with wood flavours dominating. We taste oak, vanilla and a mild flavour of clothes.
We’d say that this is quite a fair example of a Littlemill. There’s some of the light Lowland style coming through, and if you enjoy an easy drinking dram (despite its 53.7% ABV), then this will be a splendid choice. As for us, we find it pleasant but wish there was a little more interplay of flavours.
Clynelish 1992, 21 Years Old
Nose: Fruit dominates. We get ripe peaches and apricots immediately, with honey also coming into play. We scent almonds, the tangy-sweet aroma of dried oranges and green apples.
Palate: A very sweet one. There’s the sweetness of honey, dried apricots, kumquats and green apples, and there’s also the distillery’s signature waxy mineral flavour.
Finish: A touch herbal, with a very light dab of spice and nuts.
A nice Clynelish. We admit to being fans of the distillery, so the waxy flavour is something we quite enjoy. Your mileages might vary, but in this case, the fruit definitely takes the limelight. Overall, very pleasant. We’d have no qualms about drinking this daily.
Bowmore 2002, 12 Years Old
Nose: A light-medium peatiness, of course. We don’t get the…lavender, but there’s vanilla, lemons, limes, saline and some wood.
Palate: It’s actually a little floral- is that the infamous FWP? We don’t think so, but we don’t know any FWs- let us know if you do! There’s some literal breakfast cereal sweetness here- barley and honey. The peat is subtle and quite understated- a calling card of the recent 12 year Bowmores.
Finish: It’s fairly lengthy, but also subtle and elegant- something that one does not often say of peaty whisky. It’s mostly a light peat -reminiscent of a Dominican cigar.
A balanced Bowmore, which manages to be elegant without straying into listless. Yet, we feel that there’s not much “wow” factor to it. Solid- but not splendid.
Linkwood- Glenlivet 1989 28 Years Old
A collaborative bottling between Quaich Bar, The Swan Song, The Writing Club and New Ubin Seafood. It’s a first for Singapore- so how does it do flavourwise?
Nose: We get caramel, raisins and dried strawberries- the winelike characteristics of a sherried whisky. We get the uncommon note of kyoho grapes- rich and sweet. There’s a persistent (and delicious) aroma of red apples wafting into the nose- apple crumble or apple pie, perhaps. There’s some dry nuts, pine and spice in here for good measure. apple crumble, baked apple
Palate: Plummy and jammy to start. It then exhibits flavours of sweet honey, mandarin and red berries. Underneath it all is the apple pie we caught in the nosing, with both the sweet and the tart elements present. We really enjoy the way that the tartness comes through- it cuts the sweetness and yet, accentuates it. There’s a flavour of pu-erh in here too to bring everything down to earth, with the tannins to match.
Finish: Dry tannins reminiscent of an aged pu-erh, oak, and a heavy dose of spice, including cloves and cinnamon.
Wow! We really like this one. It feels like it’s got flavours bursting from the bottle. The interplay of sweet, sour and bitter-earthy certainly make it very interesting indeed. The combination of power, depth and approachability is quite rare- and we can wholeheartedly recommend it.
In Summary…
Well, we can say that in a blind tasting, we’d be hard pressed to tell these Cadenhead bottlings from their Original Bottling counterparts.
They’re all good drams, but the Linkwood in particular stands out as a winner. It deserves a place on the shelf for those who can afford it. For those keeping a tight hand on the pursestrings, it’s worth investing in a tasting portion. At the very least, it will put to rest the debate about independent bottlings!
If that’s a sign of the quality of the collaborative bottlings coming out of Singapore going forward, then the future looks bright indeed!
You can pick up the Linkwood-Glenlivet 1989 at Quaich Bar, The Writing Club, The Swan Song and New Ubin Seafood. The other drams might be subject to availability at the moment.
