Whisky AGE is one of our favourite bottlers in Taiwan. Their list of releases reads like an overview of the nicest things that have been released in the past few years. Especially their Whisky Blues series contains a few gems.
Here we have two more 30+ year old single malts from them: Tormore 1992 and a Secret Islay 1990.
Tormore 30 yo 1992 (45,4%, The Whisky Blues 2022, barrel #101177, 259 btl.)
Nose: starts nicely waxy, with a beautiful dustiness, waxed papers, ancient oil lamps, sunflower oil and paraffin. Old books in a library. Then pears, yellow plums and hints of banana peels. Soft eucalyptus and walnuts, with whiffs of patchouli. Subtle hints of dunnage too.
Mouth: sweet and creamy. Brief hints of pears and mango, before it becomes wonderfully waxy again. Mineral oils, big malty notes, with just a few gritty and leafy elements. There’s this fragrant hint of potpourri again, which makes it almost soapy at times. Hay, grapefruits and mildly bitter herbs. Something lightly coastal even. Not a loud whisky, but a gentle, complex giant.
Finish: medium length, still waxy, leafy and beautifully old-school. Faint hints of mocha.
A slightly fragile profile with the most wonderful waxy character. Totally unmodern, with a slight funkiness and some fragrant notes. Still available here and there, check Whiskybase for instance.
Secret Islay 32 yo 1990 (51,3%, The Whisky Blues 2022, barrel #904404365, 247 btl.)
Mouth: still not a big peater. Instead there is salt water, hints of antiseptics and embrocations, drops of Lapsang, almonds and lemons. Then chalky and mineral notes, iodine, pine needles and herbal liqueurs.
Finish: long, slightly drier, with hints of dried thyme, mint and salt.
I’m not getting the level of tropical fruits that we got in sister casks, but that aside, this is excellent. Fresh, retained peaty notes with a perfect brightness and focus. Score: 91/100