LAWS Hangover Cure
Bottled 1993. 2,000 Bottles.
What happens in a blind tasting when nobody knows they are drinking this legend? Click here for the full report.
Notes from a blind tasting:
Nose: Heavy sherry notes with some sulfur.
Palate: Sweet sherry, very thick and syrupy mouthfeel
Finish: Dried apricots, sulfur, a tad bitter.
A very nice sherry bomb.
B+/A-
From the LAWS blind tasting 2/2014, and we were trying to guess the distillery, age and ABV.
Nose: The sherry on this one had me thinking Strathisla or Longmorn (oh how wrong I was), and though I got a little sulphur, it was definitely not bad. Papayas and sweet jam.
Palate: More sherry, of course, and just a light touch of peat, which had me thinking Bunnahabhain, but I still really felt this was a sherried speysider. Definitely coats the mouth and a bit sticky, nice citrus.
Finish: Nice finish with more papayas, lingers nicely.
I guessed 48% ABV, Strathisla at 24 years. WRONG, WRONG and WRONG. :(At first I said it was very enjoyable, maybe an 89/90, then when I heard it was Black Bowmore I thought, maybe 91...errr...stop. I'll keep it at my first score, and leave the bias of a legendary whisky out of this, but I'll select A- since that is part of my score.89/90 (B+/A-)
Well...after that write-up, this will seem self-serving. However, I assure you that this an honest assessment.
I loved it. I said I loved it at the time and I thought it was much older - around 39-40 years. Reminded me greatly of the 1972 Glendronachs in the 700 cask series (In the guessing-game portion of the event Glendronach, Glenfarclas, Longmorn were my distillery guesses). It was a lightly sulphered sherry thump. Complex and IMHO excellent. I do a considerable amount of blind tasting and this would fall into the 92+ category for me using the 100 scoring scale. However, I doubt that I would have gone above 95......
Having said that, I would never have pegged this for the cult-icon that it is (I didn't). Don't get me wrong, I thought it was great. But high-four-figures, must-have-before-you-die, if-you-find-one-at-any-price-you-must-buy-it whisky? Not at all. Spend less than $1,000 (well, at the time of this writing anyway) on some older Glendronach sherry monsters and you will get a similar experience.
The geek in me is very greatful for such an experience. I recommend this whisky to anyone who loves older sherry monsters with just the right amount of sulpher....just don't treat this - or any whisky - like it is the greatest thing to ever be put in a bottle.
[Adam adds: Verifying the above. Dave was a big fan of this during the blind tasting portion.]
Black-red color. Cigar ash, dried fruits, sherry, what a nose. I did like the nose a lot on this one. The palate was more dry sherry to me (I didn't get as much of the sweetness) with some tannins. I wrote down old library and I think I was trying to get at that it is a little stuffy malt. Great finish. It's weird, because from my notes, I'm like how did I not score this higher, but I gave it a B+ (A- nose). I will always wonder how I would have scored this both not blind and if it was later, like 4th or 5th in the lineup. The head games you play when drinking Blind -- very fun. [Blind - 2/21/14]
Guesses: 53% (vs 50); 25yr (vs 29); Longmorn or GlenDronach (vs Bowmore)
n: Magnificent. Slightly sulpherous. Fireplace ashes in a musty closet.
p: Great sherry, med sweet. Sulpher and bitter wood. Little bit of tin.
(If I knew what I was sampling,I'd have spent more time on notes and less time listening to Mole's Bora Bora story) Adam you are an evil bastard of the best variety.
n: dark black cherry juice, chocolate, black peppercorns, raw sour dough. Burnt wooden matchsticks and latex dress.
t: antique and deep sherry full of Tahitian vanilla, more black rubber, and raw peppercorns. Tease of charred/smoked walnuts and tanned leather. Completely balanced and full of scotch goodness.
*short notes due "Blind" Meeting newb pressure.
my guess: 48% | 22yr | Bunnahabhain
[A/A-]