Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome back to the long-awaited instalment of Two Drams A Day, which, for one reason or another, has been something more akin to Two Drams a Month these days because, well, I’ve just been busy with my life. But don’t you worry, I have been drinking Scotch! I may not have been “tasting”, but I have been “drinking” and enjoying it, possibly even more on occasion or two. Today, I wanted to pick up where I have left off, which is with the 11th dram of That Boutique-y Whisky Company (TBWC) Advent Calendar from 2022, that I’ve been v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y making my way through. Lo and behold, it’s an unnamed 21-year-old from Speyside, which is exclusive to this calendar, so I won’t even be able to find the speculations online. I’ll pair it with The Balvenie 21-year-old, which is also from Speyside and see if I can then pick out a winner (and maybe even guess as to the origin of Speyside #1). But first, you know that we need music! Now Playing: Dub Phizix – Senka Mixtape, Volume 1.

The only clue as to what we have inside this mystery bottling of Speyside #1 is the phrase “So richness. Such mystery. Rancio. What is? Wow!” imprinted on the label. Now, I couldn’t figure out what that is, but the trustworthy AI has detected it to be a broken English phrase associated with the Doge meme. So, it could be a 21-year-old GlenDronach because it sounds a bit like that. I would have possibly attributed it to Wolfburn, but that’s a Highland distillery. So is Lone Wolf, owned by BrewDog. What else could the dog reference be? I don’t know. What I do know is that this is an integrity bottling, uncoloured and non-chill filtered, bottled at 49.4% ABV (I don’t know if it’s cask strength). So this will be a blind tasting, after all! And, hey, I won’t even be able to buy a whole bottle of this if I like it. Well, let’s get to it now, shall we? It’s somewhat darker in colour than the regular ex-bourbon malt… and… ooh, it’s good! It’s sweet and sherried, viscous, deep in umami, with a lovely glowing on my tongue. I’ll add some water just to let the alcohol release the locked-in flavour. Let’s see now. Right, that’s a tasty dram, for sure! The image I’m including in this write-up is the closest match. There is another Speyside #1 bottling, but it’s 50 years old, and it’s extremely dark in colour. A 50-year-old Speyside for under a grand? Okay, wait, I know what it is! It’s a Glenfarclas!

The Balvenie is a 21-year-old Single Barrel (cask number 3837, to be more precise) bottled on February 25, 2022. It’s also uncoloured and non-chill filtered (finally, Balvenie!), bottled at a lovely cask strength of 47.9% ABV. It’s an unknown barrel, but it says the cask is made from “traditional oak”. I suppose it’s just ex-bourbon. I’ve had this dram before more than a couple of times. It’s almost candied cognac on the palate, but if I really think about it very hard, I can pick out the notes of a particular sweet bourbon. It must have been a pretty wet cask because this whisky is juicy, like a cotton candy grape. The Balvenie does not disclose the origin of its ex-bourbon casks, and so the guess is moot here once again. But it’s a tasty dram, especially after it has mellowed out in the bottle and has married with the water for a bit. Let’s go back to that Speyside #1 again. Yes, it’s definitely from an ex-sherry cask and has those dark, deep, lovely tones with an extensive, lovely finish. The very tiny bitterness is very pleasant with each sip, and yes, I wish I knew the origin because I’d drink another bottle. But, just like that, it’s gone! Poof! With that said, The Balvenie is unique as well! I see a ton of 21-year-old Single Barrels on whiskybase, and not a single entry is from the same cask number.

Name	Speyside #1	The Balvenie Single Barrel
Distillery / Region	Unknown (Glenfarclas!) / Speyside	The Balvenie / Speyside
Bottler	That Boutique Whisky Company	Distillery bottling
Stated Age / Vintage	21 years old / unknown	21 years old / 1999
Cask type	Unknown – most likely ex-sherry	“traditional oak” – ex-bourbon
ABV / Cask Strength	49.4% / Maybe	47.8% ABV / Yes!
Non-chill filtered/ Uncoloured	Yes / Yes 🌟	Yes / Yes 🌟
Price	N/A – part of a set	£212
Did it win? / Did I like it?	Yes / Yes	Yes / Yes
Would I buy it?	Yes, but can’t	Yes, but another barrel?

So, there you have it, folks. Another fantastic tasting. I’m happy that I have been able to spend some time, research, and finally confirm that Speyside #1 is from Glenfarclas! Does that make it taste better? No, not at all. Does it make me feel better? Yes, absolutely does. I’m not a fan of undisclosed bottlings lately, but I understand why a distillery may be protective of its name. The Balvenie was also fantastic, finally releasing 21-year-old liquid at cask strength without filtering and colouring the product. It’s slightly more pungent than I’d wish for it to be, but it’s an incredible dram, especially with water. With that, I think I’ll call a draw between the two. I would have given it to Speyside #1, but hate that it is hidden (and plus, you cannot buy it anyway).