Speyside Region 1973 (TWA vs. Sansibar)

The Whisky Fair in Limburg is coming up (April 22-23) so it’s not surprising that new releases are being prepared at The Whisky Agency. The theme of this batch is Art Nouveau Ladies.

The series includes an Irish single malt 1990, a Tennessee bourbon 2003, a Cragganmore 1989, Glen Keith 1993 and this Speyside Region 1973. We’re putting it head-to-head against a sister cask bottled by Sansibar in their new Chinese Mask series.

 

 

Speyside Region 1973
(46,9%, The Whisky Agency ‘Art Nouveau Ladies’ 2017, sherry butt)

Nose: almost entirely on precious woods, a little turpentine, paraffin and big, big beehive notes, beeswax, pollen. Quite spectacular. Hints of icing sugar. Hay. All this leaves less place for fruity notes, although there are orange peels, bananas and apricots. A little mango perhaps.

Mouth: sweet and spicy oak, with more fruity notes now. Stewed orchard fruits, apricots, bananas, kumquats, covered in honey and soft spices. Always lots of beehive notes. Fresh spearmint. Some resinous notes but always quite sweet. Rather perfect.

Finish: long, fresh, fruity, with citrus, honey and mint.

I thought the TWA Good Vibes 1973 was outstanding but this is just as excellent. Also, the slightly lower strength makes it perfectly drinkable and slightly more luscious than the Sansibar offering. Highly recommended.

Score: 93/100

 

 

 

Speyside Malt 1973 (52%, Sansibar ‘Chinese Mask label’ 2016, sherry cask, 240 btl.)

Nose: this one shows a bit more peach aromas, papaya and more honey as well, and definitely a little more vanilla and hints of coconut marshmallow. It’s just a tad rounder and warmer, perhaps more balanced, though this also takes away part of the ‘wow’ effect.

Mouth: still sweet and fruity (apricots, cassis), but also more spicy notes, perhaps because of the higher strength. More of an oaky feeling. Pepper, cinnamon, aniseed. Fruit tea. Floral notes. More towards toffee and liquorice in the end.

Finish: long, on oaky spices like cinnamon and mint. Still some dried fruits.

This time the nose was rounder and the palate slightly more oak-driven. Superb whisky, no doubt, but in a direct comparison I prefer the perfect easy-going profile of the TWA bottling. That said, this comes highly recommended as well. Around € 430.

Score: 92/100