MacNair's
Lum Reek
Small Batch
In the magnificent tasting basket that the society offered
me for my 61st birthday, there was this bottle that was totally unknown to me, but
which according to Denis Delporte would be more than certainly in my tastes.
Harvey Macnair, a renowned Master Blender of his time who
was also known as an alchemist, developed his brand of whisky in 1837. I skip all
the ups and downs of buying the distillery, the troubles of the two wars, to
arrive in 2018 when another renowned Master Blender was needed to revive it, and
even better to remake it in phase with the spirit of its founder. And who else
than the famous Walker to accomplish this task, not John, he went through the
looking glass in 1857, but Billy.
So here I am with a blend from the GlenAllachie distillery,
a brand that I appreciate as the article on the 15 year old testifies (and the
one on the 18 year old is in preparation).
The originality of the label fascinates me with this
portrait of Harvay in front of a fire in which burns ardently slices of peat.
It seems that the chimney's draught is in trouble as the room fills with smoke
that envelops the glass of whisky. If you haven't figured it out yet, there is the
peaty inscription in red on the smoke as well as in big letters the name of the
brandy: Lum Reek. This one comes from an old Gaelic saying: Lang may yer lum reek (May your chimney
smoke well), a way to wish someone long life and prosperity.
So this packaging sums up the legend well: the Victorian
distiller is said to have discovered his love for smoked whiskey by chance
after having a drink in an old stone cabin near GlenAllachie. Due to a blocked
chimney (or lum), the room filled with smoke, and MacNair said it had a transformative effect on my dram
Before going to the tasting, I have to continue my research
in my paper documentation and on the net. That's how I learn that this range
includes a whisky without age (the one I detail for you), a 12 years old and a
21 years old.
My digging in my archives also reveals that this whisky is a
blend of peated malt from Islay and Speyside, mixed with an older GlenAllachie,
and that the Master Blender chose to mature this unaged whisky in a variety of
casks including first fill bourbon, oloroso sherry, virgin oak and red wine.
And finally that it was bottled at 46% Alc. without adding
coloring or cold filtration. This is confirmed by the inscriptions on the
bottle.
While I was turning over my boxes of magazines and journals,
I came across one of my Texas ties with a turquoise. I immediately wondered how
much silver jewelry decorated with beautiful turquoise, the Chiricahuas of
Cochise or Geronimo would give for this Water of Life, when we see how they
spent the money and the blue stone for generally adulterated firewater. Ah,
turquoise which varies from azure blue to deep green, which is both the
combination of fire and water and a great protection, which is a fine sensitive
stone and at the same time not easy to work with... A bit like My Turquoise
that magic has put on my way... But I digress, it's high time to help ourselves
to a dram.
Its color is a beautiful well-balanced gold, not too light
nor too dark.
Nose: Oily, malty, smoky and vegetal. One does not feel too
much the intensity of the alcohol. I detect a touch of honey, vanilla, malt
(fortunately) and a little diluted acidity.
In the mouth: it gives me an impression of lightness at the
level of the power, nevertheless we have 46%. The flavors are fat with a nice
presence of peat as well as a sweet sensation of barley sugar, honey and white
pepper accompanied by vegetal and wood notes.
In the finish: we are still in the peat but it passes for a
moment in the background to give way to fruits like apple & green currant
when ripe; it also smells good grapes and wood fire. The length of mouth is not
exceptional but more than acceptable.
In conclusion: here is a pleasant discovery that can be
drunk, it is certainly not a top whisky but it opens the doors to the desire to
discover the older ranges. And frankly, I have a good deal between quality and
price (± 40 euros).
So thank you to the friends of the Tic, Tac, Toc Society for
this gift and I invite you to go to your local civet shop or wine shop to taste
it. And give me your feedback or opinion under this article.