Berry`s Blended Malt 1999 Cask #1

Tasting Notes

Evan’s Tasting Note

Nose: Like drinking a good, dark coffee while sitting around a campfire. Notes of soft smoke, chocolate coated espresso beans, roasted almonds, along with old and weathered leather, hay bales for sitting on, and underlying hints of raisins, dried apricots, and apple pie.

Palate: Silky yet spicy. More notes of chocolate, coffee, and roasted nuts along with salted caramel, seaweed salad with sesame seeds and oil, ginger and chili spices, pineapple slices with cayenne powder liberally sprinkled on, apple and cinnamon oatmeal, and a touch of ground black pepper.

Finish: Long and warming, full of chocolate and spice with orchard and tropical fruit quietly hiding in the background along with a soft but persistent smoke.

Comment: I don’t really care what is in this blend, I just want more of it.

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: creamy, chocolatey, and nutty with the promise of layered fruits; Caramilk Bar, Turtles, and chocolate truffles; nutty sherry with dried fruits and the faintest whiff of smoke... or is that just barrel char.

Palate: round, fruity, and sherried, with a very chocolatey palate; more Caramilk, Turtles, and chocolate truffles, but also something sweeter; maybe a chocolate old-fashioned cocktail with thick orange peels as garnish; raisins, dates, and figs, but also some more exotic fruits; Panda brand licorice, soft leather and fruity tobacco; later cloves and chocolate covered espresso beans.

Finish: rich, warming, and sherried with fading notes of sweet chocolate, dried fruits, and sweet spice. 

Comment: I have more questions than answers here... is this another mystery Edrington Blended Malt, an intentional creation, or a teaspooned single malt? I don't know, but it doesn't have the subtle smoke we often see in many of those Edrington Blended Malts; I have not often loved Glenrothes in sherry, but when it's good, it's kind of like this… I should pour another dram of this dangerously drinkable whisky and ponder the matter a little longer! 

Producer Tasting Note

"This fine blended malt offers lovely nutty notes with some delicate oak influence and enlivening citrus. The palate is round and lively, with some dried fruit and gentle wood coming through. The finish is lingering, with a hint of spice and orange citrus."

Independent Bottler

One of our favourite independent bottlers, Berry Bros. & Rudd is a stored London-based firm which has resided at #3 St. James Street, a stone's throw from St. James Palace, since 1698. Primarily a wine merchant, they have also played a prominent role in the Scotch whisky industry. In addition to founding the Cutty Sark Blend, and managing the Glenrothes brand for 30 years, BBR is also an independent bottler. We have long been impressed not only by the quality of their independent bottlings, but also their value! 

Berry Bros. & Rudd in Their Own Words

With two Royal Warrants and more than 300 years of history, Berry Bros. & Rudd is Britain’s original wine and spirits merchant. 

We can trace our history back to 1698, when an enterprising woman called the Widow Bourne started an “Italian grocer’s” at No.3 St James’s Street, selling tea, snuff, spices and the most fashionable drink of the day, coffee. The sign of the coffee mill still hangs outside our premises at No.3 today, in tribute to our roots.

In due course, our focus shifted to something a little bit stronger. As wine became important to the business, so too did spirits, and we started bottling casks under our label in the early 19th century, making us Britain’s oldest independent spirits bottler. Three centuries on, the family business continues to flourish, with its heart still very much at No.3.

While much has changed over the years, we are still owned and managed by members of the Berry and Rudd families, and we continue to supply the British Royal Family, as we have done since the reign of King George III. We still, from time to time, weigh customers on a giant set of coffee scales, a tradition which began in the 1760s, with Lord Byron, William Pitt and Beau Brummell among those who have had their weights recorded in our ledgers. Most importantly, we still believe that everything you should look for in a wine or spirit comes down to one simple question: “Is it good to drink?”