This months Regional Wines tasting was the indie bottler James Eadie which we haven't seen much (?any?) of in New Zealand. There's some history on their website, essentially mid 1800s, James Eadie was a distiller with a good rep, fast forward 100+ years, relative kicks off a indie bottling based on his ancestors ethos.
James Eadie Benrinnes 9yo First fill malaga hogshead finish 55%
- N: sweet, sherry, complex, zest, young, lemonade
- P: chocolate, rough, sweet, pineapple, lime, burnt orange
- F: long, hot
7/10 Nose promised much which was disappointing in the flavour, it came 6th with 7.34. Not a typical Benrinnes.
James Eadie Caol Ila 10yo 55.3% First fill amontillado hogshead finish
- N: dry, rubbery, rashuns, bacon, tasty, cigars
- P: rubber, ash, peat but subtle, fruity, salty
- F: med hot butter
8/10 I liked it, although it came 4th (7.44), for me it was the dram of the night. The fruity body to the normal Caol Ila flavour worked really well.
James Eadie Glen Elgin 12yo 56.6% Refill oloroso hogshead finish
- N: caramel, sweet, nutty, butterscotch, demarara sugar, old wet wool, sultanas
- P: sherbert, woody, oaky, sherry, tannin, sweet
- F: short. not much happening.
6/10. Had an amazing nose, but for me was lacking after that. It came first (8.19) but our table were not fans of it (two fails from a table of 6).
James Eadie Port Dundas 23yo 54.7% Refill PX Sherry hogshead finish
- N: complex, sweet, heavy sherry, rum, demarara/molasses, dark chocolate, hazelnuts, plums
- P: warm, engine oil, disappointing
- F: short
6/10 and I think I was being generous there, great nose but overall really disappointing. It came 5th (7.42).
James Eadie Teaninich 13yo Refill marsala hogshead finish
- N: light, wet dog, vomit, lemon, elderflower, sherbet, acetone
- P: damp washing, spicy paprika, pencil box
- F: bitter, long
7/10 and again, interesting nose, although a bit more happening in the flavour. Came last with 7.3
James Eadie Glen Ord 12yo refill hogshead 59.1%
- N: light sugar, very sweet, ash, liquid sugar, custard, tea
- P: dull, light peppery, salty, aniseed
- F: short
6.5/10, again a bit more happening, but not enough to drag it up for me. Came 2nd with 7.51
James Eadie Royal Brackla (mystery whisky) 58.9%
- N: marshmallow, weetbix, vomit, light, key lime pie, floral
- P: rubber, light ash, burnt sugar, wood
- F: pepper, medium
6/10 again good nose let down by the flavour. It came 3rd (7.5).
Overall, a disappointing tasting, at least in our group we were keen to try a new (to us) indie bottler, as the group is a fan of them. We had quite a long discussion about what didn't work for us on the table. There's a suggestion that the finishes were good, they certainly did some pretty magical things with the nose, but maybe the underlying whisky was a bit young? That's got to be a tough call for a indie when you've got 10 years or so before seeing any profits (unless they're buying casks already a few years old, then finishing them?). Looking at the bottles, most of the finishes were at least 18months which, depending on the size of the barrel, should be enough for flavour?
Ah well.
B
