I've been drinking malts since about 1980, and one of the absolute wonders is how very distinctive individual distillery products are. It's incredible how a Caol Ila is a Caol Ila and a Laphroiag is a Laphroaig--and they could NEVER manage to assume the flavor of the other.
How remarkable this is, is illustrated by the two thingies I opened tonight: I picked these up a liquor store I had once read about on the beer newsgroup, but just now actually stumbled upon on south Howell street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (it's very close to the airport). In addition to a Caol Ila Signatory Unchillfiltered for under $40 they had a Signatory Aultmore (distilled 1989) for about $33, and a Dallas Dhu 18yrs (Coopers Choice; distilled 1978) for $49.99. I had thought this Dallas Dhu (nice age, silent distillery that is now a museum) was the steal of the century, but then I saw that Wine&LiquorDepot online has it for about $10 less!
It is STILL the steal of the century. But the remarkable thing about having this Dallas Dhu and Aultmore tonight is how perfectly they match memory--these products are simply incredibly consistent--scotch whisky is simply a miracle.
The other time I had Dallas Dhu was when I picked up a couple of miniatures at the Aberdeen airport in 1997. I loved it. And this current version has the same pretty, perfect balance of rich, gentle graininess and immaculate sweetness--and though it is only 43%, and so very "light" in character, it is big and brilliant. It is as if every honeybee in Scotland chose only the purest pollen and swirling semi-cocoanutty essence of native gorse and created a honey-blonde nectar that is as clean and delicate in flavor as it is gently golden in color. And it is exactly the same, in every meaningful sense, as the whisky I had in 1997 (when this 18yr old just happens to have been bottled). It is simply amazing that impressions and flavors as distinctive and inimitable as these can be so highly consistent over time.
The other--the Aultmore--is a revelation in the same way. When I bought it, I was confused. I couldn't "place" Aultmore in my memory. Was it a whisky I had never had? Was I confusing it with Ardmore? But a sip or two and everything falls into place. About a decade ago I had bought a bottle of Aultmore--and it suddenly comes flooding in that the bottling had rainbow-like colors on the label--and it was a mild but delicious dram. It was one of those Highlands that COULD turn out to be too faint in character--if it didn't manage to have such a full and pleasing flavor! And this Aultmore--although the Signatory expression is obviously not the same--has the same virtues--and is the SAME whisky (for all intents and purposes) as the one from yore. This Aultmore--just like the last one--is wonderful for a flavor that is simply unique (neither experienced in another whisky, nor in another fruit, nor candy, nor anything else that ever passed over the palate--which is what makes describing flavors in whisky so difficult). The Aultmore is a mix of figs, apricots, rock candy, and fresh autumn leaves after a gentle rain--but that is just an approximation. It is a terrific flavor--and the remarkable thing is that nothing else on earth can ever mimic it.
It is the wonder of single malts (I'm TRYING bourbons, but they tend to be too ploddingly big) that malts have such incredible subtle and SO very distinct flavors. And these flavors--whether it be from the shape of the stills or WHO knows what--seem to remain consistent over decades. Great stuff for those of us who enjoy memories, and enjoy things that could never be imitated(!).
P.S. The Caol Ila unchillfiltered is great too. Side-by-side it overwhelms the Dallas Dhu and the Aultmore. Which simply suggests that there is a time and a place for everything.