Whisky Review: Alexander Murray Polly’s Casks Whisky

Grapefruit rind; unsweetened baking chocolate; Himalayan salt crystals; wheat grass juice; and, lastly, very young single malt, which almost produces the mouth-puckering effect of a new make spirit. Finish: Medium length; over-ripe citrus fruit, and a rubbery bitterness (no, I won’t stoop to a Firestone tire analogy) gives way to young malt spirit, along with a yeasty hint of ale barrels shipped across the Atlantic ocean from California. Final Thoughts Well, I suppose after typing the above tasting notes, there’s really not much more to say about the current batch of Polly’s Casks. The evidence speaks for itself. I just can’t get over the practically new make spirit presence, along with a bunch of yeasty casks, which seem to accentuate all of the wrong things in the whisky. It’s fair to say that this is a “failed experiment,” but that doesn’t mean I regret having the chance to taste the results. In fact, I found the experience quite interesting and educational. Unlike other creative whisky making concepts, this one probably would not benefit from further attempts, since there really is nothing to “fine tune.” I don’t think the problem with Polly’s Casks lies solely in the very young spirit that was used. Aging single malt Scotch whisky in ale casks just doesn’t seem like a winning concept, at least to me. Perhaps the folks at Tullibardine distillery tacitly agreed when they (begrudgingly?) poured a bunch of their wash into sixty ale barrels, which had been shipped all the way from California. I also don’t think it was a mistake that the whisky was only aged for a year. Any more time in ale casks probably would have made it nigh undrinkable. Now, as for using wine casks from Firestone Vineyard , or one of its many estates, to age some older and more venerable Tullibardine single malt…well, that idea totally sounds like a winner! Perhaps Polly’s name might be kept on future offerings made from a more conventional marriage of single malt Scotch whisky and wine casks. In like manner, Polly and her husband, David, might also consider using wine barrels to age a few of their beers, particularly those which hail from Curtis Winery, a maker of Rhone-style wines. The green olive and smoky bacon overtones of Northern Rhone reds could work their magick on soft and silky dark roasted brews, whereas sweeter white Viognier-style white wine barrels could create some favorable results with crisp, barrel-aged beers. Score: 73/100 [ SHOP FOR A BOTTLE OF ALEXANDER MURRAY POLLY’S CASKS ]