1973-75, 41-44 yrs old undisclosed Speyside malts x 10

[lincoln imp]

I had very high expectations for this tasting and that was hardly surprising as the average scores were between 91-93 points.
Most people think they are all Glenfarclas and they must be at least 3rd fill possibly 4th fill judging by the quality on show here.
In my view I do not think they are all Glenfarclas, it looks like that a few bottles that came out first of this age were rumoured to be Glenfarclas and possibly people have just assumed all the others were also?
The Whisky Association bottled at least 10 bottles of these and there must be 30 + bottles in total of great age undisclosed Speyside malts if you include all the other independent bottlers.
Alas I was disappointed and the high scores on these malts given by some punters were not justified, some people score them 97/98 points or even higher?
I only scored 3 over 90 points and if i was honest with myself the rest could easily have been a few points lower than the average scores i gave them.
The Maltbarn was the best, the Daily Dram and the Whisky Fassle gave a good account of themselves and the TWA whisky exchange gets a mention but it was hardly exciting.
The other 6 were disappointing with weakish noses and a palate that was the wrong side of woody which at times the wood stopped the fruit in its tracks which was a shame.
They were also a bit thin and in final summary insipid, uninteresting and boring to me.

The top 3 i would not pay more than £200 for, the rest I would not buy, the prices people want for these is stupid, just becuse something is old they are not better and if they are indeed Glenfarclas then in most cases they were not up to the quality that the distillery needed to keep them as an official bottling, the Maltbarn and Daily Dram were good enough, so a shout out to those two IB bottlers.
My comments will be disagreed with I am sure but this is where H2H tastings come into their own, and let you score accordingly matched to quality, you always have a reference point to place your scores around. In isolation i can sort of understand some of the high scores and my sensitivity to bitterness will always be a factor but apart from the top 3 there was nothing to get excited about here, that said the scores are respectable so decent aged single malts without in most cases approaching real quality.

1-Speyside 43 year 1973 47.7% sherry cask 149 bottles Maltbarn
92/92/93
2-Speyside Region 1973 43 year 49.7% celebrating 10th anniversary of Daily Dram
87/91/91
3-Speyside Region 41 year fino sherry 1975 47.4% Whisky Fassle
91/90/91
4-Speyside Region The Whisky Agency 1973 43 year 47.4% TWE Exclusive
87/90/90
5-A Speyside distillery Cask 12 43 year 1973 52.2% 221 bottles Whisky Doris
88/88/89
6-Speyside Region 44 year sherry cask 1973 51.6% sherry cask 372 bottles Antique Lions
87/86/88
7-A Speyside Distillery 41 year fino sherry 1975 46.9% 220 bottles Whisky Doris
88/87/86
8-Speyside Region, The Whisky Agency 1973 44 year 48.6% 10 years of TWA
86/86/87
9-Speyside Region The Whisky Agency 1973 43 year 52.4% Art Nouveau Ladies sherry wood
88/84/85
10-Speyside Region The Whisky Agency 1973 43 year 46.9% Art Nouveau Ladies sherry butt
89/82/85

Brief notes , in order tasted

A Speyside distillery Cask 12 43 year 1973 52.2% 221 bottles Whisky Doris-
88/88/89
On first nosing for some reason I was reminded of the lowlander Daftmill, strange?
A full oN fruit nose of mango, pineapple and lemon with a hint of lemoncello so it smells more like a bourbon cask than a sherry.
The fruit is there that the nose hinted at but this is slightly bitter.
if you add a little water is definitely gets sweeter, it is crisp and fresh which is good but it needs something else to get it over 90 points.

Speyside Region 44 year sherry cask 51.6% sherry cask 372 bottles Antique Lions
87/86/88
Another one that smells more like a bourbon cask than a sherry to me?
Crisp and clean on the nose with white fruits and white pepper followed by gooseberry and icing sugar.
Like the 73 WD before it, this is everything so slightly bitter so water is added.
More sweetness does Co everyone out but I just cannot get excited about this, a bit on the bland side, that sided the finish is decent

A Speyside Distillery 41 year fino sherry 46.9% 220 bottles Whisky Doris
88/87/86
I would not say the nose is particularly expressive but it is decent enough.
The palate is better than the nose, pretty sweet but again like the last two undisclosed Speyside, not very exciting

Speyside region Whisky Fassle, 41 year fino sherry butt 47.4%
91/90/91
I can tell by the nose this has slot going on, the Sherry is mixing with a slight Smokey bacon note which I like.
The palate is nicely spicy with a little peat mixing with the sherry.
Water adds some sweetness and the balance is very good also.

speyside-1973 Maltbarn 43 year 47.7% sherry cask 149 bottles
92/92/93
The nose, has slot going on, fruit, sherry, hint of peat, and pepper.
There is a nice icing sugar sweetness to the palate, and an abundance of fruit gums flavours followed by a long finish


1973 43 year 49.7% celebrating 10th anniversary of Daily Dram
87/91/91
There is some fruit on the nose but also an industrial smell, like a chemical off note?
The palate is sweet at first and has some depth to it with an almost medicinal quality but the sweetness is checked now by tart/sour fruit, not too bad but it does affect the sweetness.
The mouth feel gets quite spicy and the fruits increase like pineapple and lemon amongst some honey.
The nose is the weakest part but the palate and finish are very good, this is really tasty, harsh to knock it down for the nose score and average of 90 points is fair.


The Whisky Agency 1973 43 year 46.9% Art Nouveau Ladies sherry butt
89/82/85
This one is a bit different on the nose, very aromatic and flowery mixed with white fruits, I like it.
The initial fruit taste is nice but it is blunted rather quickly by a slightly bitter fruit note which then increases and invades the palate with sourness, shame because the initial mouth feel was nice.
yeah as you go on the bitterness increases and basically ruins the promising start

Speyside Region The Whisky Agency 1973 43 year 52.4% Art Nouveau Ladies sherry wood
88/84/85
another flowery fragrant nose like TWA 94857, here's hoping the palate is better on this one?
White fruits and chemicals on the nose, stewed white fruits, pear, mango and some apricots I think?
Tart white fruits that get a little sour, another 40+ speyside region where the sweet fruit is checked by a slight bitter tart fruit note.
water does little to check the bitter off note.
another one that promised much more than it delivered.


Speyside Region, The Whisky Agency 1973 44 year 48.6% 10 years of TWA
86/86/87
The nose is ok, the palate is not so good and I look at all the high scores on here and wonder if I am tasting something different?
The nose is light and fresh almost flowery, the palate has a nice initial fruit nose but once again like many of these old Speyside region offerings is checked by a sour/bitter note.
As you go on your wait for things to improve, they do start to even up with the fruit gaining headway but it never overcomes the bitter note (i am really sensitive to bitterness) this is also a little woody.
This is no 9 Speyside ages offering , unfortunately another one that could not live up to it's average score, not sure what I am missing compared to everyone else?
Water does release a little more sweetness but not enough to get it a high score.


Speyside Region The Whisky Agency 1973 43 year 47.4% The Whisky Exchange Exclusive
8790/90
The last of the 10 unnamed Speysider's and the nose is a good one.
Another flowery fragrant nose but again you get this sour fruit note, not massively sour but you notice it.
As you go on the fruit fights back, and there is a decent balance on show but not particularly interesting?
The finish is quite long with a nice warming burn in your throat.
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[Quaich1]

Cheers. I have to say that you give very in-depth, enjoyable and thoughtful reviews of the whiskies you taste. The more brand, age and strength varieties one tries over many years builds an acute sensitivity to quality though palates do differ but some exceptional whiskies taste exceptional to others.

Ratings are ultimately subjective but I find that my scores lately are perhaps more cautious and measured than during my reviews even a decade ago. I strongly agree with the point you make regarding whiskies that spend a very long time in the cask not always translating to taste quality. This is something that is not just evident with single malts but particularly with some bourbons.

Your own contribution to the Taste Note section of this Forum is most meaningful IMO and well-received. Keep it up. It is creating a "liquid library" of repute.

Best,
Murray
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"Always carry a large flagon of whisky in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."
W.C. Fields (1880-1946)

[lincoln imp]

Thanks Murray, much appreciated.

I try to do H2H of all whisky over various price points. I have long held the view that some of the best Whiskies bottled are under 20 years old.

I totally agree about your palate changing and I can narrow that down to the last 5 years possibly even 3 for myself. I am very sensitive to woody bitterness and that is definitely more of an issue for me at the moment, I notice it more and more and some of those very old bottlings that have been in the cask far too long are a case in point, some of them are like licking a plank of wood.

Hopefully the odd time someone will find a tasting note of mine useful, I for one love reading other people's tasting notes and head to head sessions.
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Pour me a glass please.