Origin: Lowlands (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Chillfiltered: No
Added colouring: No
Owner: Annandale Distillery
Official website: www.annandaledistillery.com
After trying a peated single cask bottled by Brave New Spirits, it’s time to go to the source with four single casks from the Annandale distillery, located in the Lowlands, which every year releases the Founder’s Selection, consisting of two single casks per malt type, peated and unpeated, respectively Man O’ Sword (in honour of Robert Bruce) and Man O’ Words (in honour of Robert Burns).
The tasting features the 2024 releases, which use the same types of casks (ex-bourbon and ex-sherry) for the two versions, currently still available on the market.
Annandale Man O’ Words 2017 Cask 1049 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 61.1%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Bourbon
Average price: € 70.00
Cask #1049 defined as “fresh” ex-bourbon, therefore first fill, with an unknown number of cask strength bottles and no manipulation, unpeated.
Tasting Notes
The nose combines springtime freshness with aromas of fruit and peach blossom (lots of it), apricot, pineapple, plum, gooseberry, kiwi and grapefruit, with elderflower and linden blossom. Corollary of peeled almonds, vanilla, eucalyptus honey, sugar paste and a slight hint of yoghurt plum cake. Vegetable and slightly balsamic base. The addition of water makes it warmer and more enveloping. Balanced.
Lively on the palate, with hints of ginger, white pepper and aniseed, emphasising the pungency of unripe fruit and citrus, with sweetness in the background. The vegetal aspects are more evident, between green tea and tobacco leaves, with a mineral vein that makes it sharp to drink. Water softens the dram, bringing out a slight salty note, which, combined with the acidic and mineral notes, makes it very drinkable.
Long and spicy finish, with ginger and pepper, sweet, vegetal and mineral notes intertwining with salty ones in a dangerous urge to refill the glass.
Review: Youthfulness becomes an asset here. Although lacking in complexity, it is a whisky that is very drinkable, with tartness and sweetness playing off each other and making the experience, if not unforgettable, certainly convivial.
Vote: 85/100
Annandale Man O’ Sword 2017 Cask 1086 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 60.8%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Sherry Oloroso
Average price: € 80.00
After Robert Burns, I move on to the peated whisky dedicated to Robert Bruce, single cask #1086, ex-Oloroso sherry.
Tasting Notes
Meaty on the nose, with notes of soy-glazed ribs sizzling on the barbecue, where aromatic herbs (rosemary, marjoram) also play their part. An abundance of red fruit, including prunes, blackberries, sour cherries and blood oranges, which come together on the grill in a dish with Norwegian connotations. Hints of dark chocolate and pecans. The smoke is also infused with vegetal notes, including burnt shrubs and grass, all while maintaining a certain constant balance, without any particular developments. The addition of water enhances the red parts, making them sweeter and more jam-like.
The palate is slightly spicy, with chilli and ginger combined with nutmeg and cinnamon to characterise dried red fruits (goji berries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries), orange and apricot, moving the carnivorous part into the background to highlight the savoury components of soy and teriyaki sauce. The smoke is increasingly vegetal, enveloping the bitter notes of cinchona, rhubarb and tamarind, with hints of Modica chocolate and sweet liquorice. Water brings out the spices and savouriness, to the detriment of the other flavours, so it is better without.
The finish is quite long, savoury and vegetal, with red and dried fruits, citrus, spices, liquorice and embers.
Review: The sherry goes well with the Lowland peat, showing more depth on the palate than on the nose, with an alcohol content that is significant but well-balanced. The ageing prospects are definitely good.
Vote: 85/100
Annandale Man O’ Sword 2016 Cask 264 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 61.1%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Bourbon
Average price: € 70.00
We remain on the battlefield of peat, but this time the cask is #264 with an extra year of ageing, and it is a fresh ex-bourbon, therefore first fill.
Tasting Notes
The first thought that comes to mind on the nose is biscuits, dry wholemeal breakfast biscuits, with a sprinkling of rosemary and nutmeg, accompanied by candied orange, chestnut cream, baked apple, vanilla extract and pecans. These aromas gradually become denser and darker, shifting to chestnut cake and Marmite cream with slightly balsamic undertones. The smoke is herbaceous, of burnt brushwood, placed in the background to close the bouquet. Compact.
In the mouth, it is slightly spicy, with chilli, ginger and black pepper, echoing the dark theme of the nose with savoury notes, in which nutmeg, baked apple, salted caramel, chinotto drink, toasted almonds and baked cream revel. In the background, the idea of chestnut cake returns along with the herbaceous part, with hints of burnt wood. The latter lead to peat, still vegetal and burnt, which closes the sip along with balsamic notes.
The finish is not very long, salty and vegetal, with various levels of toasted nuts, wood and grass, citrus, baked apple, aromatic herbs and chestnuts.
Review: Direct and without frills, with a strong savouriness that does not go unnoticed, even if it lacks a distinct personality to leave its mark.
Vote: 84/100
Annandale Man O’ Words 2017 Cask 1023 Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 61.1%ABV
Ageing cask: Ex-Sherry Oloroso
Average price: € 80.00
I conclude with Burns’ unpeated words in this single cask ex-oloroso sherry, #1023.
Tasting Notes
The remarkable alcohol content is evident on the nose, in an accentuated vinosity that leads to red fruits (raspberries, currants, wild strawberries), gooseberries, wild berry yoghurt and blackberry gummy sweets. Given time, the alcoholic sting subsides and the aromas become warmer and more welcoming, with the fruit also developing into jam (plum jam) accompanied by cocoa, sweet liquorice, cedar wood and a light sprinkling of spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger). The addition of water softens the alcohol and brings out notes of vanilla and caramel, with balsamic hints, making it more pleasant and rounded.
On the palate, the alcohol holds up better, enhancing the more pronounced and spicy notes of turmeric, while the fruit is still red, with a marked presence of black cherries and plums, together with the sweet notes of the nose with an intense contribution of wood (between pencil shavings and cedar) and vegetal notes (tobacco, tea leaves). A salty note characterises the dram, especially on the finish. Water maintains the spicy charge and enhances the vegetal part, with a balsamic touch.
The finish is quite long and spicy, salty, with red fruits, cocoa, wood, vegetal and balsamic notes.
Review: It definitely benefits from the addition of water, which helps to unleash its potential and invites you to drink it. Young but already structured, a classic sherried whisky with something to say.
Vote: 85/100