Imperial 1989 Carn Mor [Road to #1000, Review #983]

Hi everyone,

Last year I was working a lot in Germany, which meant tasting a lot of cool German exclusives that are only released there. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to spend a lot of time there this year as I really like it there.

Despite being a closed distillery, Imperial was more affordable and pretty readily available when I first started in whisky. There were Signatory Cask Strength 1995’s for about £85 then.

Now it’s a different story but I know there are plenty of casks out there because I visited some warehouses of a certain independent bottler and they have racks of the stuff.

Imperial 1989 Carn Mor 44.7%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Tropical fruit along with the classically Imperial dusty dunnage and leather, some pear, lemon peel, cigar box, green and red apple, particularly dusty this one. Oh, also beeswax.

Taste: Soft, dusty and old, leather, dunnage, then more fruity with red and green apple, some lemon, sour oak. Not as much complexity as I would have expected for almost 30yo.

Finish: Medium length. Very soft. Green apple, some lemon and dusty something?! Dust?

Bourbon barrel, bottled 2018 at 28yo as an exclusive for Schlumberger in Germany. Good but it is quite dusty. Perhaps too much. This dusty note is normally encounter with Glen Scotia so it’s interesting to see it here with Imperial. Not sure if it’s something coming from the spirit or cask but I might guess the cask in this case as it isn’t something I’ve had with an Imperial before or since.

75/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #825

Whisky Network Review #983

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as the Global Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Glen Scotia 1989 Manager's Tour Sample [Road to #1000, Review #975]

Hi everyone,

Welcome. I while back I realised that I had hit #1000 whiskies that I had tasted and written notes on and decided to keep some in reserve for an epic build up of insane, rare and crazy whiskies that I had tasted. 26 whiskies in fact.

1972 Brora cask sample, Hibiki 30, Yamazaki 25, Cadenhead’s Sherry cask Talisker, Longmorn 1964, Scotia 1969 and two 1968 whiskies, some bourbons, Karuizawa, my first Convalmore. You’ve got it all to look forward to.

To kick things off I’ve got an almost 30yo Glen Scotia from the most expensive tour you can do there, the Manager’s Tour. (Yep, we’re starting with that)

Many thanks go to the ever amazing Ibon for the sample.

Glen Scotia 1989 Cask Sample 53.1%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Fruity and very interesting, orange chewing gum, banana, cold dunnage, dried leaves, leather, some lime, wonderful balance though. I don’t normally like chewing gum as a note in whisky as it can be quite artificial but it works here.

Taste: Soft and oily, soot, dunnage wood then more fruity with banana, some pineapple, a little cream soda. Pretty fresh for 30yo without too much oak at all. I expected it to be much darker.

Finish: Medium length. Very soft, oils again, not a massive amount of complexity here.

Cask sample from the managers tour at Glen Scotia, refill American oak cask 316. I was probably expecting too much from this. I thought 30yo Campbeltown and the red mist of OMGITMUSTBEAMAZING descended. The taste is a little flat with the quite simple finish. Still it should be said that this is great whisky.

82/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #818

Whisky Network Review #975

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as the Global Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Glentauchers 1989 Cadenheads Cask Ends Review

Hi everyone,

Another whisky review today, again coming in the form of a crazy exclusive, you’ll probably never get to try. A single cask sample from the Cadenheads warehouse.

I think these ‘cask end’ bottlings are from when they’ve emptied the cask into bottles and there is an awkward amount left over that they leave for visitors. Could be completely off on that though, I don’t know everything it turns out.

 

Glentauchers 1989 CA Cask Ends 52.4%

Colour: Dark Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: A lactic oak note hits first, green apple, really fresh fruit, a little tropical, mango, quite complex, quite delicious too, a little fresh leather and a tiny hint of ash.

Taste: Soft and very tasty with plenty of red apple, oak, then slightly tropical mango building, some dry oak, some white florals, a little honey, quite a complex one while still managing to be very delicious.

Finish: Long. Tropical mango, milk bottle sweets, oak and some green apple peel.

26yo HHD. This one is very good, but the lactic note holds it back a tad on the nose. These Glentauchers do seem to do well with some age to ‘em.

81/100

Distillery: Glentauchers

Average Score: 78

Distillery Ranking: 17th/ 62 places

Up/Down: 24>17 (Up 7)

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #631

Whisky Network Review #751

Network Average: 74.9

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Imperial 1989 Carn Mor Review

Hi everyone,

I did hear from an industry insider, that the source of the casks for Carn Mor is different to most independent bottlers. The quality is meant to be higher and that tends to be why they are slightly more expensive than other indies. I haven’t really seen any evidence from that in terms of taste, although I’ve only had a few, but it has made me curious to try more from their celebration of the cask range.

Imperial is a closed distillery that we are seeing less and less from. There were a lot of casks from 1995 that have made it out into the world, but not much from before that, making this one quite intriguing. Especially as I’ve always found Imperial to taste older than its years anyway.

 

Imperial 1989 Carn Mor 43%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Classically Imperial, dunnage, dusty fruit, lovely tropical Old Laphroaig-like pineapple and cinnamon, candied lemon peel, more herbal as it develops.

Taste: Dry, lots of oak, classy leather and tobacco, then the tropical pineapple and mango, wool, woody, slightly musty orange (in a good way).

Finish: Long length. Dry, wool, apple and orange, a little elastic rubber (which is a shame!) holding it back.

12/1989-07/2017, so 27yo from a Bourbon barrel. A lovely Imperial but the finish is just a bit out. The strength works though, despite looking quite low.

83/100

Distillery: Imperial

Average Score: 79.7

Distillery Ranking: 10th/64 places

Up/Down: 17>10- Up 7

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #595

Whisky Network Review #705

Network Average: 74.6

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Irish Single Malt 1989 Whisky Agency for TWE Review [London has Fallen]

Hi everyone,

A last one from London today. And also the oldest Irish whiskey I've tried!

To be perfectly honest, I'm not a massive fan of Irish whiskey in general. The natural tasting ones are great but often there's an artificial sweetie note that I don't particularly enjoy. This is a great example.

These 1989 Irish single malts have been building a solid reputation, so I was excited to finally try some.

Irish Single Malt 1989 Whisky Agency for TWE 46.8%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Lovely fruit juice/fruity chewy sweets, tropical mango, mango bubblegum.

Taste: Soft, grows with lovely tropical mango chewy sweets, soft spice and dry oak. Lovely balance. Oily.

Finish: Medium/Long length. A little too much oak, a little tropical fruit.

If you like tropical chewy sweets then you'll love this but it's masking the complexity. Still, second best Irish I've tried so far.

79/100

Thanks for reading!

Irish Review #17

Whisky Network Review #558

Irish Average: 67.3

Network Average: 74.5

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

3x Old Bowmore Reviews: 1994, 1991 & 1989 [From Paris with Love]

Hi everyone,

Today I’ve got some older Bowmore’s.

Bowmore is a variable distillery from the indie’s. The 1980’s being the classic example, but the style can change hugely. This trio exemplify this pretty perfectly.

I tried the 1991 at Whisky Live Paris recently, although I can’t remember the name of the bottler. The other two were from Whisky Exchange Show in London.

Bowmore 1991 Butterfly Label 48.7%

Colour: Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Does Bowmore get MORE peaty as it ages?! Very peaty and mineral, sooty chimney, coal, tar, none of the floral notes I was expecting.

Taste: Sweet start, vanilla, honey, then very peaty for old Bowmore, layers of minerality. Sooty with a little orange.

Finish: Long length. Dry, sooty, some oak. A little tropical fruit right at the end. Mango.

25yo, bottled 2017. An old peaty one but not hugely complex. Seems like the peat is covering up the flavours beneath.

79/100

 

Bowmore 1989 'BBQ Mango Salsa' 46%

Colour: Dark Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Slightly rubbery maltiness, cigarette ash, lots of lemon sponge cake.

Taste: Sweet, malt, orange, spicy ginger, Bowmore's malty smoke, lemon then sooty.

Finish: Long length. Smoke kicks up a notch with more soot and slight florals.

Think this was 26 years old. Not nearly as complex or balanced the 87 Wemyss I had, that you might remember got 92.

78/100

 

Bowmore 1994 Single malts of Scotland 52.8%

Colour: Gold

Body: Full

Nose: An oily, buttery SMWS style, meaty for a Bowmore, also slightly tropical, BBQ and mango. Lovely nose. Slightly Ardbeggian.

Taste: Sweet, tropical, meaty, BBQ ham, pineapple, slightly chalky. A bit of chilli too.

Finish: Medium length. A little spice, oak and chilli.

A really good Bowmore, quite a different style to usual.

83/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Reviews #465-#467

Whisky Network Reviews #530-#532

Network Average: 74.3

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Highland Park 21 + 1989 G&M: TWE Show Report

Hello, hello

I’ve got some Highland Park reviews for you today. Some older ones actually. Highland Park is probably one of my favourite distilleries. The 12 is good and can be a pretty good deal, the 18 is great and the range just logically progresses with age. I’ve got some reviews coming up actually of a huge Highland Park vertical (all the way up to the 40yo!), but first I’ll finish with these TWE Show Reports.

So, this first one is from Gordon & MacPhail. This is the new 2016 release and is pretty cheap for old Highland Park.

Highland Park 1989 G&M 43%

Colour: Gold

Body: Light/Medium

Nose: Soft, obvious age with refill oak, light for Highland Park though, malt and some coal.

Taste: Softly spiced at first, then wonderful tropical fruit after a second, it keeps building with pineapple and mango with more oak coming in behind.

Finish: Medium length. Very light, the tropical notes fade with oak stepping forward.

A lovely natural one at 27 years old. I imagine this is from refill Hogsheads.

76/100

The 21 year old is the only Highland Park that I haven’t tasted in their normal age stated range now. So, I had to have a taste at the whisky show to complete my set of notes.

Highland Park 21 47.5%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Deep, rich and decadent. 1st fill Sherry notes, raisin and stewed fruit.

Taste: Spicy! Intense Sherry, lovely smoke going through it, cooling ash, raisin, fig and date. Really rich and just great.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Coffee and dark chocolate.

A really great one. The higher Abv is really helping this and it is a really nice step up from the 18. These are getting more expensive these days though.

84/100

Thanks for reading!

Reviews #235-#236

Network Average: 75.9

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 44

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just about OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Great

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Bunnahabhain 25 + 1989 First Editions: TWE Show Report

Hi everyone,

I’m back today with two more Bunnahabhain’s. I’m not ashamed to say it’s not my favourite distillery really, there tends to be a harsh oiliness that just doesn’t sing in tune.

So why did I go seek it out at the whisky show?

Well, because I want to be proved wrong. I really loved the 12yo actually, but not the 18yo. What is great is that older expressions are relatively available in official or independent variants. So, these two are older ones, 25 years plus actually.

First let’s have the official:

Bunnahabhain 25 46.3% 

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: Sweet, Sherry maturation is apparent from the off. Syrupy Sherry, like PX, slight pepper spice, sea salt fudge.

Taste: Very sweet Sherry, complex spices, it is lovely actually. Builds with time in the mouth.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Lots of Sherry with peppery spice.

Colour me impressed, this takes the flavours of the 12yo and amps them up with complexity and balance. Same greatness as Glengoyne 25 and Glenfarclas 25, same mark.

81/100

Now an indie bottling to compare against. This one is a 26 year old newish one from Hunter Laing for their First Editions range. The Laphroaig was brilliant, so I hoped this would follow the same path.

Bunnahabhain 1989 First Editions 49.8%

Colour: Straw

Body: Medium

Nose: Oh, a natural fruity one. Very tropical fruit based with pineapple and sea salt.

Taste: Again, more of the same. Salty pineapple, tropical.

Finish: Medium length. Fruit.

I didn’t spend much time with this but managed to scribble some notes. This lacked the oiliness or the peppery-ness that I have come to expect from Bunna, but it detracted from the experience. Paled in comparison to the 25OB really.

76/100

Thanks for reading! More to come of course.

Reviews #232-#233

Network Average: 75.9

Worst Score: 44

Best Score: 92

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just about OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent