Three key malts

Since my normal rate of tasting new whiskys has ground to a halt in the last months, partially due to a long lasting cold followed by some busy summer month traveling, I've decided to post some short tasting notes from an earlier set of bottle shares I did with some friends. The common theme of the three bottles shared was that they were alleged key malt components in Johnnie Walker Blends. The theme was mostly an afterthought and it was really just an excuse to sample some of the, at the time, available exclusive bottles by the California based retailer: K&L Wines.

These notes are shorter than usual and rating them now adds some inaccuracy.

1991 Linkwood 21 Year Old K&L Exclusive Sovereign (key malt in JW Green label):

Nose: Robertson's marmalades ("Lime Curd" or "Silver Shred"), sweet lemonade and then a hint of honey and fruit compote. With water the malt comes through a bit more, either as biscuits or as shortbreads. 

Taste: White toast bread with Swedish honey. Adding water gives a hint of hard fruit candy. It is warming and ends with a medium long finish that ends with some slight pepperiness.

Comment: After you tame the alcohol (with water), it becomes an easy drinking dram with malt and honey.

Rating: 6.5±1

1996 Caol Ila 15 Year Old K&L Exclusive Sovereign (smoke component in several JW Blends):

Nose: Peat and Smoke, in the form of soot and ash, then the nose transitions more towards campfire (burning light wood such as birch). Very faint nose of rubber and some floral notes can be detected. With water, the distillery character comes through more, a sense of lightness amidst the smoke.

Taste: Initial hit of peat and smoke, but with a distinct sweetness that transitions more into smoke in the finish. Also tastes of ash and soot. Water tames the taste and the sweetness becomes more fruity (raspberries and strawberries).

Comment: Well balanced.

Rating: 7±1

1990 Mortlach 22 Year Old K&L Exclusive Chieftain's (key malt in JW Black label):

Nose: Raisins and some kind of solvent or glue. Chocolate-covered raisins and hint of vanilla custard. Then lots of spices: cinnamon, cloves and other Christmas spices (we are at the dessert table at a Swedish Christmas smörgåsbord). The nose is complex and it keeps changing. With water the whisky shows its age and I detect some of the wood (cedar, teak or some other dark hard wood).

Taste: Sweet, spicy, warming and mouth-coating. Like a well-aged Caribbean rum. With water it becomes rounder, and you taste more dried fruits; raisins and prunes. The finish is long, spicy and drying.

Comment: Very complex and definitely needs its time in the glass.

Rating: 8±1

None of the three bottles are, unfortunately, available any longer. If the chance would happen that I would one day stumble upon a bottle of the Mortlach, I would not hesitate to buy it, assuming the price was within reason. It was the clear favorite among the people sharing the bottles. The Linkwood, in my opinion, was highly underrated among the other tasters. I found it to be solid and the type of dram that might have grown on me, had I had a full bottle to enjoy over time.