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Fahrenheit 173 - Aged Spirits
"If it's not good enough to drink slowly, then it's not worth drinking"
Cutty Sark | 12 Mar 2008 | ||
I recently bought the missing bottle to complete my set of expressions of the classic blend Cutty Sark. Well, ok - the 12 is just a mini! =) I retasted the four whiskies and here are my notes and scores:
Cutty Sark:
Nice nose with a note of wood sap and a hint of peat. Light, smooth palate with a refreshing
note of citrus fruits. The peaty note returns in the finish together with a hint of juniper.
(81 p)
Cutty Sark "Emerald" 12 y.o.:
Very nice nose with honey and a hint of heather. The palate is quite sweet and a little spicy
with honey, nice fruity notes and a note of peat. All in all quite nice but too sweet. Too heavy
on the Glenrothes, perhaps? =)
(84 p)
Cutty Sark "Discovery" 18 y.o.:
Wonderful nose with lovely sherry notes. Nice palate with dried fruits,
also fairly oaky and spicy. All in all subtle and restrained but nicely balanced.
(87 p)
Cutty Sark 25 y.o. 45.7%:
Shy yet very nice nose with notes of dried fruit and also lighter notes of citrus and vanilla.
Wonderful palate: rich, complex and balanced with notes of cinnamon and dried fruit.
Develops notes of oak and vanilla.
(90 p)
A little history: The Cutty Sark blend was created by Berry Bros & Rudd in 1923 and it was named after the famous clipper ship "Cutty Sark". The ship was built at Dumbarton, Scotland in 1869 and it in turn was named after a character in Robert Burns' poem Tam O'Shanter.
A footnote on the clipper ships: The clippers were designed for speed and they were the fastest sailing ships ever in commercial service. The American-built clipper "Champion of the Seas" set the 24 hour distance record in 1854 with an average speed of 19.4 knots - a record that stood for 130 years! It was finally broken by the racing catamaran "Formule Tag" in 1984. The monohull record stood until 2001(!) when "Armor Lux" recorded an average speed of 19.5 knots. Source: WSSRC
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