Whiskybroker is a rather small company started by Martin Armstrong, the son of Bladnoch’s Raymond Armstrong. He seem to be doing well, regularly bottling interesting whiskies and always under the market value. Whether or not selling under the market value is a good thing is prone to discussion, but a lot of aficionados are happy to find such good value in days of price levels set by marketing departments.
This Macallan 1990 is a quirky little whisky. Except, it’s not whisky. It only contains 34,9% of alcohol so it’s technically underproof “spirit”. Probably a leaking cask.
Macallan 23 yo 1990 (34,9%, Whiskybroker 2013, hogshead, 20cl.)
Macallan 23 yo 1990 (34,9%, Whiskybroker 2013, hogshead, 20cl.)Nose: very odd. It shows a nicely sweet (but also slightly youngish, after 23 years?) fruitiness of apricot, whitecurrant and pineapple. Honey glazing and some vanilla. It quickly gets overpowered by bags of sawdust and hints of pine tree air refresher. A carpenter’s workshop really. Some eucalyptus, up to the point where the oak gives you a slightly soapy smell, if you know what I mean.
Mouth: watered down whisky with a generous dash of pine sap. Completely overtaken by oak flavours. Totally flat, with some of the harshness of grain whisky. Ginger maybe, nutmeg, and some sweetness of soaked white bread. Takes water well (just kidding).
Finish: very short, and the wood is all that comes out.
Have you ever left a bit of whisky in a glass and tried to drink it the morning after? That’s more or less what this is. Apart from the fact that it’s not whisky, it’s obviously from a defective cask that let essential flavours disappear and let excessive amounts of wood juices get into the spirit.
Very weak (in different ways) and a self-respecting bottler should have poured it away. Still available from Whiskybroker. Around £ 18.
Score: 18/100