Three recent Wemyss Malts reviewed

Edinburgh based boutique Spirits Company Wemyss Malts (pronounced ‘Weems’) comes from the Gaelic word for caves which stems from the rocky outcrop on the Firth of Forth on which our family home, Wemyss Castle, sits. They’re a well respected independent whisky bottler, and soon to be distillery owner with Kingsbarns Distillery in the building (as I write this).

I’ve been lucky enough to review three Wemyss Malts releases, a 1991 Glen Scotia a 1994 Aberfeldy and a 1997 Clynelish.

Salted Caramels (Glen Scotia) – 1991/22yo – 46%

Colour: Light gold.

Nose: Clean, fresh, lightly malty with citrus notes and touches of smooth oak. Slightly salted on the nose, but is that more through suggestion from the name or not?

Palate: Smooth, light and fresh, rather like the nose suggests, but even better. Sweet, easy, gently malty with vanilla notes and drops of summer tropical fruits.

Finish: Wood notes crop up a little more here, in what is a medium finish which is gently sweet, with just a tiny sour cask note.

Thoughts: This seems to be a dram that enjoys it’s age, and at 22 appears to be just right. It’s been a pleasure to try as I’m new to Glen Scotia, however it doesn’t quite set my world on fire. 84.

Melon Cocktail (Aberfeldy) – 1994/19yo – 46%

Colour: Straw to light gold.

Nose: A more familiar bourbon Speyside nose, which seems much younger than it’s actual age… Yeasty, malty, dunnagey. If you’ve been to a distillery you’ll identify with this. Bourbon cask notes with fresh summer fruits, red apples and melon (again with the power of suggestion?). Sweet with a handful of white marshmallows.

Palate: Smooth and beautifully woody, not too powerfully for those who aren’t wood note fans, but enough to impart rich summer fruits alongside the sweet malty goodness. It’s yummy with a good oily mouthfeel.

Finish: Medium to long, fairly subtle, warming and cuddley with oodles of malt.

Thoughts: Much more my kind of dram. It’s delish. I’m into my sherried whiskies lately, but as a bourbon whisky this is one of the best. I’m also into older whiskies and this has a great age to take off any rough spirity notes, ideal. 89.

Available from The Whisky Barrel for £76

Spiced Chocolate Cup (Clynelish) – 1997/16yo – 46%

Colour: Light gold.

Nose: Slightly salty malt with a touch of yeasty woodyness and grassy notes.

Palate: Slightly hot and certainly more than a little spicy on your tongue. Thoughts of big stewed cooking apples.

Finish: Full of flavour and fairly long.

Thoughts: A quality presentation of a well liked distillery. I would suggest this is a dram for a slightly more seasoned whisky drinker, it’s got a depth that a starter possibly wouldn’t appreciate. Personally I’d love to see what a sherry finish would give this, just to give it a touch more of a fruity sweet depth. A touch of water brings forward a wee bit more sweetness which works for me. At 16yo this still feels fairly youthful. 86.

Final Thoughts: Out of the three above my choice would be the Aberfeldy, a dram you could happily dram away with all night.

Thanks to Wemyss Malts for the samples.