When it comes to Scotch whisky there are many brands that offer roughly the same age ranges, 10-year, 12, 15, 18, and 21 with the occasional 25-year or older. But there are very few brands that ONLY offer high-age Scotches, and that’s where House of Hazelwood shines. They offer two collections of exclusively luxury-age statement whisky. We’re going to discuss the collections below, but before we do let’s break down the different classifications of Scotch Whisky.
Everyone has heard of single malt and blended Scotch, but did you know that there are actually five different “styles” of Scotch?
Starting off with Single Malt – this is a whisky distilled in a pot still from 100% malted barley, and then matured for at least 3 years before being bottled at a minimum ABV of 40%.
Next up we have Single Grain Scotch Whisky – this is distilled in a column still from 100% malted cereal grains (which can be all barley). It’s commonly thought that single grain needs a long maturation time to really show the character of the spirit.
Next up, let’s start the blended train rolling with Blended MALT Scotch – This is when you have single malt from at least two different distilleries and blend them together. Common examples include Johnnie Walker Green label, or Compass Box Peat Monster.
Next up we have Blended Grain Scotch Whisky – simply put this is when you combine grain whiskey from two or more distilleries.
Let’s end with the one most people are familiar with from big brands like Dewar’s and Johnnie Walker – Blended Scotch Whisky. This is when you take single malt whisky and single grain whisky from at least one distillery and blend them together to create a new product.
Quick side note, there are VERY few distilleries still in operation today that produce both Malt and Grain Whisky.
Hazelwood’s Charles Gordon collection contains 8 High-Aged Scotch Whiskies:
The Unknown: a 44-year-old Blended Scotch that was distilled in 1978 and blended in 1989 before being matured for 33 more years.
The Old Confectioner’s Blend: a 44-year-old Blended Malt
A Singular Blend: a 1963 vintage blended Scotch whisky
The First Drop: a 1964 vintage Single Grain Scotch whisky
The Next Chapter: a 50-year-old Blended Scotch
The Long Marriage: A 56-year-old Blended Scotch Whisky
Blended at Birth: A 1965 vintage Blended scotch whisky that was “married as new-make spirit; this unusual combination of malt and grain whisky has spent the following 56 years maturing in American oak…”
The Cask Trials: A 1968 Vintage, 53-year-old Sherry cask matured Single Grain Scotch Whisky
The Legacy Collection contains 9 high-aged Scotch whiskies:
The Accelerator & The Brake: a 33-year-old Blended Scotch Whisky that according to HoH takes “the majority of its flavour from the grain as opposed to the malt.”
The Tops: a 33-year-old Speyside Blended Malt
The Lowlander: a 36 year old Blended Scotch Whisky
A Breath of Fresh Air: a 37-year-old Blended Grain Scotch Whisky that HoH describe as “A rare grain whisky of unmatched character that can transport the drinker immediately into a lush, verdant, fresh, mentholic landscape redolent of the Scottish countryside in spring.”
Sunshine on Speyside: a 39-year-old Blended Scotch
The Eight Grain: a 40-year-old Blended Grain that “celebrates all the glorious diversity found within the grain whisky category” according to HoH
A Trail of Smoke: a 42-year-old Blended Malt that is “[a] showcase for the balanced use of smoke, this perfectly poised Blended Malt allows the distillery character and wood influence to take us on a journey with a whiff of smoke ever-present in the background. An evocative release redolent of the remarkable islands from which it hails.”
The Lost Estate: a 43-year-old Blended Grain scotch whisky that HoH describes as “[a] rare and compelling blend of well-matured grain whiskies from two of Scotland’s late, great grain whisky distilleries”
The Spirit of Scotland: a 46-year-old Blended Scotch “[f]irst created in 1994 to commemorate the 500th Anniversary of the oldest recorded reference to Scotch whisky within the 1494 Exchequer rolls of Scotland”
Today we’re tasting one expression from each collection, The Eight Grain and The Old Confectioner’s.
The Eight Grain from House of Hazelwood is clocking in at 48.5% ABV or 97 proof, which is impressively strong for something of this age! In the glass it presents as a delicious honey gold with thin but viscous “tears”. The nose is filled with fresh baked bread and salted caramel while the palate is deceptively smoky. It makes you think this is a peated spirit, when actually there’s probably just some peat-dried grain in the blend. It’s a very well balanced whisky with notes of Fuji Apples, fresh bread, lemon, caramel, green peppers, and it finishes with warm vanilla. With the exception of the slight peatiness, all of these are in line with what I would expect from a high-age grain whisky.
The Old Confectioner’s is coming in at 46.3% which again, for a Scotch of this age, is a really respectable proof. In the glass it presents as a nice brown leather with amber highlights. The nose is soft with a delicate note of smoked sea salt followed by more prominent aromas of milk chocolate, french bread, and toffee. The palate is fruit forward – bananas, apples, and maybe a hint of orange, while also being slightly salinic. Flavours of toffee, butterscotch, and sugar cookies finish out the palate on this 44-year-old Scotch.
This brings me to an important bit of housekeeping: I received this sample compliments of House of Hazelwood in exchange for my honest feedback and review. While life might be easier if I were on the take like a dirty cop (I’m not), all of my reviews are honest. The presence (or lack thereof) of a media sample will never affect the outcome of my review.
Tag: diploma in single malt
It’s always a special day when I get to taste old Scotch whisky, but it’s truly a special day when I get to taste 46-year-old Scotch! To say I’m excited and grateful for my friends at Brown Forman is an understatement. Their portfolio is awesome, and I’m so grateful for the relationship I have with their PR agency, and their ambassador teams!
One bit of housekeeping before we move on: I received this sample compliments of Glenglassaugh and their PR agency in exchange for my honest feedback and review. While life would be much easier if I were on the take like a dirty cop, I’m not, and all my reviews are honest. The presence or absence of a media sample never affects the outcome. That said, I need a drink…
First and foremost, allow me to once again just say “WOW”… Seriously, pinch me ‘cuz, like, am I dreaming?! This stuff is older than I am! With that out of the way, let’s get down to brass tacks, shall we?
Glenglassaugh, in English “Valley of the Gray-Green Place” is a distillery in the Highlands of Scotland and was founded in 1875 by Scottish Reservist Colonel and philanthropist, James Moir, who, according to Glenglassaugh Brand Ambassador Rory Glasgow, helped bring electricity and railway to the town of Portsoy.
The Glenglassaugh 46 was distilled in 1975, roughly 100 years after the distillery was first opened, but was mothballed shortly thereafter in 1986. In December 2008 production was restarted and in 2013 BenRiach bought Glenglassaugh.
Appearance: in glass this is a beautiful copper honey tone.
Nose: I’m greeted with rich notes of fruit leather, vanilla, marzipan, and oak. There are notes of cherry, orange, cinnamon, and a touch of brininess and black pepper.
Palate: lots of cherry, cinnamon, and orange on the front pallet. Moving into notes of vanilla, chocolate, and marzipan as well as a touch of coconut on the mid-palate. The back of the pallet has notes of leather and tobacco, as well as a rich fruitiness.
All in all, an absolutely stunning dram and not particularly oaky for a 46-year-old single malt.
The below review originally appeared on a Whisk(e)y Review Website I am no longer affiliated with, and as such I wanted to repost it here:
In April (of 2020) I got an email from The Last Drop Distillers, the subject line of which read “Release XVIII: The 1970 Glenrothes Single Malt Scotch Whisky”. I was intrigued and excited because TLD puts out some delicious liquid. So I opened it up and read that while things had been rough of late, they wanted to share some good news. They were releasing a trio of single cask Glenrothes Scotch whiskies!
A particularly important part of the email says “In many ways, this is a particularly special release: the completion of a trilogy of superb releases from one of the most revered distilleries in Scotland, it also represents the trilogy of friends who founded the company. There is a sense of completion in arriving at the final piece in the set. Many of you will already have received your bottles of the 1968 and the 1969. We can promise you that the 1970 is every bit as good”.
So I reached out to them and asked if it would be possible to get hold of a sample of the 1970’s cask. Rebecca, the company’s (at the time) Managing Director, wrote me back a few days later saying that they would love to get me a sample and they wouldl speak with the US team to determine how best to get samples out (they’re based in the UK). After a few emails back and forth and delays because of COVID and the nature of the whisky business, I received a parcel. Contained inside was a box embossed with the logo for The Last Drop Distillers, and upon opening it I found not one, but three single cask Glenrothes samples for me to taste.
All three single casks were filled on December 6th 1970 and bottled in 2019, making them just shy of 50 years old and some of the oldest whiskey I’ve tasted to date… All three are in Ex-Bourbon casks. There are no sherry casks in this release.
Glenrothes 1970 Cask # 10586: 45.3% ABV
Appearance: Dark straw, and golden honey. The legs on this glass of scotch are very unimpressive.
Nose: On the nose I get prevalent notes of black pepper, followed by notes of ash, and subtle notes of extinguished campfire the day after. While not extremely powerful there are still noticeable notes of ethanol, almost like a cleaner. Ripe cherry, followed by notes of butterscotch and toffee. Surprising lack of vanilla for an ex-bourbon matured scotch, especially one of this age. There is a present, but not overpowering note of malt.
Flavour: Refreshingly cool on the palate, with notes of vanilla, malt, caramel, oak, cherry and peach. As you enjoy it the liquid warms on your tongue, leaving a nice peppery and malty finish.
4.5/5 – while this is clearly an exceptional Scotch whisky, it is by no means the best in class.
Glenrothes 1970 Cask # 10588: 44.1% ABV
Appearance: Deep amber, honey. Legs leave much to the imagination.
Nose: Sweet cherries, very mellow nose with a lack of depth. Notes of vanilla, caramel, and molasses.
Flavour: Stark contrast to barrel 10586. This single cask, while still rich, is not as flavourful. Notes of char, vanilla, almond, lead a slight taste of mocha, and chocolate malt. Very spice forward, with notes of chili pepper, black pepper, and of all things, raw white onion!
4/5 – Still delicious though, in my opinion, not as good as cask 10586.
Glenrothes 1970 Cask # 10589: 45% ABV
Appearance: The lightest of the trio of single casks with slightly darkened straw and a gorgeous golden hue. The legs on this particular scotch leave much to be desired in that while they are present, they’re fairly minuscule and close to the surface of the liquid.
Nose: This has the most bizarre nose as I get notes of rubber, smoke, and iodine. It’s slightly reminiscent of Baijiu with a very sweet “bubble gum”-esque aroma. I do get some subtle notes of oak and vanilla but not much.
Flavour: Much like the other two casks in this release (though I did not mention it in my notes for #10588), this whisky has a unique “cooling” or refreshing aspect. I found a similar note in a Glenfiddich I tried recently. The flavours on this cask are much more subdued, I mostly get malt, followed by the taste of a stone fruit that I can’t quite put my finger on. There is some granny smith apple, both baked and fresh, leading into a flavour of lightly toasted bread.
4/5 – A delicious scotch, and if you like Glenrothes or the Speyside style, one you certainly will enjoy. But not something that I feel is a “you must go and purchase this RIGHT NOW” type of bottle.
This trio of single cask Glenrothes Scotch whiskies is unique, tasty, and are literally liquid history. While they are not the oldest Glenrothes released to date, they are certainly a close second.