Something about Strathmill doesn't add up.

April 25th, 2008 | Posted in:

1992 Strathmill Signatory 13YR, Speyside, Highlands ($50)

Right from the get-go, this bottle jumped out at me.

Last week, looking for a bottle on the affordable side, I stumbled across a tasting note for the 13YR Strathmill that sold the hell out of it, calling it "The whisky world's answer to Orange Muscat". Intriguing. Additionally, I've been looking to try more distilleries that don't produce Scotch under their own label often called "Hidden Distillaries", so I thought I'd give it a try. My tasting note for the 13YR Signatory Strathmill follows below, with some discussion. Notice also that I do not give scores. That's just how I roll.

1992 Strathmill 13YR Signatory*

Smoky
Fruity	X
Floral	X
Vanilla	X
Pungent
Cereal
Musty
Harsh
Soapy	X
Sulfur	X
Caramel
Woody
Nutty
Sour	X
Sweet

At bottle strength, the Strathmill 13-year opens with the round fruitiness of pear and baked apple with a touch of vanilla and a slight lingering mustiness. With water, the Scotch takes on an oily appearance and added soapiness, neither in this case being particularly welcomed. Nevertheless, as one adjusts, the backbone of fruit steps aside to express softer notes of lavender and honey, with a definite, mostly unpleasant sulfur component. The Scotch stops short with the sulfur and slight sourness at the finish.

Despite the note above, this isn't too bad a Scotch. To be honest, for $50 I didn't expect a mind-blowing experience and really--this whisky isn't going to change your world. The sulfur is the largest detractor, but is tolerable enough. The real payoff is the fruit, the intermingling of blanched pears and lavender that just hits the spot after a long day.

The last thing I want to stress is just the sheer inaccuracy of the tasting note provided for the Scotch. Check this out:

"The Whisky world's answer to orange muscat. This expression, although lighter in color, has the aroma of orange peel, and raisins. It is very oily with a mouth coating sweet sugar cane complexity."

Excuse me? Orange Muscat? What little acidity I found in the Scotch was unpleasant. Raisins? Sweet sugar cane complexity? Nowhere to be found. This is one of those tasting notes that I look at in retrospect and am just shocked by how different an experience I had with it from the review that inspired the purchase. Regardless, despite some short comings, the Scotch shaped up to be okay. If you find yourself staring at a Whisky shelf, bored with ten-year big distillery flag bearers and are looking to try a distillery you only see once in a blue moon, go for it. Single malts which are available only under independant labels are the final frontier of Scotch. There are plenty of pitfalls and unexpected surprises--just don't believe everything you read.

Stats

Aged: 13 Years
Matured in Sherry Butt
Cask No: 40705
Bottle No: ***
No Caramel added

Other Facts

- The converted corn mill opened as a distillery in 1891, opening with the name Glenisla-Glenlivet
- Doubled production with two, new stills in 1969. Capacity today is approx. 1.7 million litres per year
- Although primarily it is used as a component of J&B blends and Dunhill Blends, it does not produce a distillery label single malt.

* I am entirely indebted to Phillip Hills and his book, "Appreciating Whisky" (Harper Collins 2000) for this chart.

By Tom Smith