Gordon & MacPhail ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ Mosstowie 1979 (23 year old) 40%
Refill Sherry/ Dist: 1979 Btl: 2002/ Tasted: Sept 2004
A clean, mature nose of dried xmas fruit cake, a touch of vanilla oak, raisins, figs and a lovely sweetness of citrus fruit (orange, nectarines) plus a touch of sherry.
Med sweet, medium bodied with mature dried fruit, figs, deep oloroso notes, oat meal biscuits. Smooth and balanced. Long and very complex with soft syrup notes and a touch of wood spice in the finish.
Duncan Taylor Rarest of the Rare Mosstowie 1975 (32 year old) 48.5%
Cask 5811/ Dist: 1975 Btl: 2007/ Tasted: Jan 2008
Amazingly rich and aromatic. Absolutley oodles of earthy, liquid orange and toffee, vanilla oak, and soft, sweet spices. There’s a lovely hard barley note in the background which stops it being to fluffy (technical term there!) with hints of liquid honey and ginger.
The palate is wonderfully soft and inviting, with ginger spices, vanilla, mature apricot, banana, white fleshy fruit, a touch of raisins and finishing with a cinnamon flourish. Its sounds amazingly complex, and the nose is but the palate is a bit linear, maybe I’m being a bit picky and the alcohol is more intrusive than one would expect.
Water mutes the nose a bit, making it a bit oilier, and on the palate homogenises it, emphasising the spiciness and definitely lengthening, leaving behind a fleshy, white fruit after taste. Although I’ve not tasted many Mosstowies in my time, the ones I have tried have tended to be all mature dried fruit, but one thing I can say about this one is that it is definitely not showing its age!
Duncan Taylor Rarest of the Rare Mosstowie 1975 (33 year old) 48.4%
Cask 5816/ Dist: 1975 Btl: 2008/ Tasted: Aug 2008
The nose opens with a lovely crisp, earthy barley note followed by orange, liquorice and very intense vanilla oak. It’s ever so slightly spirity initially, but it soon passes as a huge dollop of mature honey arrives. Over time the oak really begins to take over and it becomes very buttery.
The palate begins much like the nose with the crisp barley. It’s full of rounded, soft apricot and orange fruit. The alcohol is a bit intrusive as is the oak, however the length is sensational with buckets of gorgeous summer fruits and a slight soupcon of tannins at the death.
Adding a drop of water ramps up the wow factor considerably bringing out the most delightful liquid honey character and soft, dusty, dry spice notes. The palate becomes quiet unctuous again emphasising the spice, however the finish becomes a tad dry. Like the previous bottling (Cask 5811) I reviewed awhile back it has its flaws but I’m quiet happy to accept them as the overall quality is pretty damn good!
Whisky According to Chris Whiskyman 