Strathmill 1990 (Liquid Treasures)

Recently Liquid Treasures selected two bottlings for their importer S.Y.C. Vino & Cigar Company in Taiwan. A Tullibardine 1990 and this Strathmill 1990. We had some really good Strathmill expressions in the past few years, especially those produced in 1974, but it’s still a rare and sometimes unreliable name.

Strathmill 23 yo 1990 (50,5%, Liquid Treasures for SYC Vino & Cigar Taiwan 2014, hogshead, 189 btl.)

Nose: an intensely… neutral whisky. I get some yellow apples and oranges, but mostly malt and grains. Bread, beer, these things. Faint vanilla. Also wet gravel and hay.

Mouth: rounder at first, sweeter, slightly bubblegummy even, but still lots of cereal notes. Then it turns towards sweet liquorice and caramelized nuts. Herbal notes, a little cough syrup, increasing salty notes. More fruitiness with water, but I wouldn’t call this fruity whisky.

Finish: medium long, malty, peppery, with a light touch of peat.

A bit of a strange one. On the whole it is a little too malty for my taste, although it goes in different – sometimes interesting – directions. Far away from the lovely Strathmill 1991 I tried – it seems Strathmill has all sorts of profiles.

Score: 80/100