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Old Blends 1936,1940, 1947 & late 1950's H2H

 
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lincoln imp
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Joined: 23 Dec 2007
Posts: 751
Location: Lincolnshire England

PostPosted: Wed Mar 11, 2020 7:51 pm    Post subject: Old Blends 1936,1940, 1947 & late 1950's H2H Reply with quote

I love old blends and after trying the early 40`s Malcolm Fraser I had to test it against 3 blends I know are real quality, up to now the Huntly is my favourite blend ever.

tasted in this order

Malcolm Fraser;s Twelve Ages 86 proof 1940
Haig Gold Label Liqueur Scotch Whisky 43% 1936
Huntly Fine Old Scotch Whisky 70 proof, Slater Rodger's & Company 1947
Bonnie Charlie 70 proof late 1950's

Result
1 - Malcom Fraser's
2 - Huntly
3 - Bonnie Charlie
4 - Haig

The nose on the Malcom Fraser is awesome, probably the best I have nosed ever, the Huntley is almost as good and offers a similar experience, the Bonnie Charlie is a little behind as is the Haig but they are all good.
The thing with a lot of the quality old blends is the fatness of the palate which in the case of the Malcolm Fraser and the Huntly is massive and indicative if the high malt content in the blend.
The Bonnie Charlie is not too far behind and has similar characteristics just not as prominent..
The Haig is a totally different animal on the nose and especially on the palate, it has an earthy, musty and almost dirty aspect to the nose which follows through to the palate, less refined for sre but still entertaining and very different to the other 3

Tasting notes (in order of ranking)

1 - Malcom Fraser Twelve Ages

Nose
The nose is beautiful, I cannot describe it as anything else.
It is buttery and creamy and fat, butter toffee, that's it toffee popcorn but a little lighter.
Stroop waffles (Dutch) made with caramel very sweet rum, notes of brandy

Taste
very rich, creamy and a full fat palate which is just how I like and old blend.
Mouth filling everything is here that the nose suggested bit like the 2nd time I tasted it I get a very faint bitter & dry note coming in which dampens the mood ever so slightly but is an old woody counter balance to the massive sweetness on show.
Taking my time with this one now some spice is kicking in, getting quite fizzy and some sweet peat is there also and yes to stop me running off with superlatives that slight bitterness checks it, otherwise it would be in the mid 90`s
As you go on the fatness fades a little but the spice increases as does the peat and also the I now get a metallic note which must be from the cap, 91 for the initial mouthfeel settling on 89 (90 average)

Finish
Quite long, buttery, getting fizzy with the peat going in the background

I would like to do a nose off between this and the Bowmore 66 Samaroli bouquet because this old fat blend has the best nose of anything I have tried.
even better then the Brora 1972 Rare Malts but the test will be the nosing of any empty glass, an hour after being emptied the Brora glass was even better.
I will leave the empty glass with a lid on it for an hour, taste some other old blends and check again.
I was told this had a malt content of around 80%, not sure if that is correct but I could well believe it judging by the initial fatness of the palate?

Huntly 1947

Nose
Creamy, slightly spicy and fruity with a little honey.
Wafer, biscuit and cream.
Various fruit peels, orange, lemon and lime with caramel cake with a slight manufactured note, similar to glue but I could also describe it similar to menthol, difficult to decide.
Very pleasant

Taste
great fat on the palate with bags of spice and a fair dose of peat.
Mango, plum, a little ginger and pastry.
It does get a little bitter but the peat and fruit keep it at bay and it seems to get creamier as the peat starts to take control.
Great Balance

Finish
Long finish remaining spicy and the peat warms your tongue.

Bonnie Charlie

Nose
Honey, toffee , a hint of lime, wood varnish, orange peel, hot buttered toast, pastry, Weetabix, fruits gums.
A positive start.
After 10 minutes in the glass Belgian waffles.

Taste
Creamy, syrupy jammy, a little spicy lips smacking, bingo Smile
A little menthol comes out, hint of barley sugar with the grain evident at the back of the tongue but this is not your average vanilla high grain content blend, there is plenty of malt on show here.
Gets even creamier with time and a little more spice and some white pepper, really good balance, absolutely no bitterness.

Finish
Good medium length, the spice lingers as does the cream/buttery notes but certainly not excessive as the fruit and spice keep it in check and more importantly balanced.

This bottle had a good fill level and when I took the screw cap of the inside seal was almost glued onto the bottle (a good sign)

Old blends are not for everyone but I can find no negatives with this, a quality old blend, my score will probably appear very high for malt heads but I appreciate an old blend that is well put together, just like the old Huntly blend I had from the 1940`s, and it is all about the enjoyment, not hype, price, brand, price, or anything else.
I bet very few members on here had ever heard of this bottle before let alone seen one, just an old crappy blend perhaps, hell no, it`s a winner and an indication of how good some old blends can be

Haig Gold Label Liqueur

Nose
Old , old, old and it smells like an old Islay whisky to me, much more peat than I was expecting and it is a nice peat, like some older Caol Ila offerings, great.
Treacle tart, caramel, hints of menthol and also of pernod.
Biscuit, brine and wave upon wave of soft peat mixed with farmyard smells, like a Brora OB without the steroids, so it is subtle and not overpowering.
I absolutely love this kind of smell.
Can the palate live up to my expectations?

Taste
Blimey, the peat is there in spades but mixed with a load of cake and biscuit, syrupy mouthfeel with some metallic notes, could be the OBE.
There are more biscuit notes with dried fruits like plum with hints of apricot.
There is also like a root taste that I cannot describe, what is it?
Slight gingery, orangey note mixed with cold tea.
Not as good as the nose but what an experience, I have never tasted anything blend wise remotely like this and I have had plenty.

Finish
Approaching medium, remaining peaty, with cake notes

The nose is awesome the palate cannot match it nor the finish but what an experience, a great,old blend from the 1930's and a pleasure for me.
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TheWM
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Joined: 26 Nov 2012
Posts: 2037
Location: Cheshire

PostPosted: Wed Mar 11, 2020 8:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Incredible experience to read again Cool

The only thing I could have to say is that I’ve managed to grab some haigs bottled in the 50s upto 80s. The metallic note has been noticeable throughout and like you I think it’s probably OBE possibly stored horizontally?
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lincoln imp
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Joined: 23 Dec 2007
Posts: 751
Location: Lincolnshire England

PostPosted: Wed Mar 11, 2020 9:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

TheWM wrote:
Incredible experience to read again Cool

The only thing I could have to say is that I’ve managed to grab some haigs bottled in the 50s upto 80s. The metallic note has been noticeable throughout and like you I think it’s probably OBE possibly stored horizontally?


That's Interesting, I have noticed it a few times in Haig but never thought it was a common theme through the decades.
I have a 70 proof 60`s bottle that I might open, just to see.
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