We continue our exploration of older blends, this time with three bottlings from the 1960s and 1970s: two Cluny releases and a C&J McDonald’s. The Cluny pair consists of a no-age-statement bottling from the 1960s and a five-year-old from the 1970s, followed by a C&J blend from the same decade. Let’s see how they compare.
Cluny Scotch Whisky (1960s) Review
Cluny is a blended Scotch produced by John E. McPherson & Sons Ltd, historically marketed as combining over 30 malt whiskies from across Scotland’s regions with aged grain whisky, giving it an unusually high malt content for a commercial blend. John E. McPherson & Sons is a company within the holdings of the Alliance Global Group and is a subsidiary of its Whyte & Mackay Scotch whisky division. This particular bottling was imported specifically for the Italian market by D&C (Bologna), and carries no age statement, believed to date from around the 1960s based on bottle codes and label style. This bottling, featuring a bottle code UG SC203, was bottled in that era’s classic bottle size of 750 ml at 43% ABV, and was ‘bottled for D. & C. —Bologna’ for the Italian market.
Auction houses describe Cluny generally as ‘a relatively unknown blend’ that was nonetheless ‘hugely popular, particularly in America’, and known for its comparatively high malt content versus typical mass-market blends. Current auction and retail estimates for vintage D&C-imported bottles of this Cluny NAS are around €130, so it seems the age of this bottling did not raise its secondary market price through the roof.
Colour:
Burnished.
Nose:
Neat: Well, this doesn’t start well. Wet newspaper, damp cardboard, and dusty old books, in a damp and musty cellar. There is a musty and almost puke-like acidity of rotten fruits and some metallic notes, which could be a sign of OBE.
Palate:
Neat: The palate is grainy, with an artificial and slightly cloying sweetness, reminiscing of corn syrup and fructose syrup aged for a few years in a cask. Artificial caramel flavour, old coins and industrial toffee. The mouthfeel is a wee thin.
Finish:
The finish is surprisingly long, with strong OBE, dusty books, old coins and some pepper. There is also some cardboardy bitterness lingering.
Comments:
Well, there’s not much to save here except for the ‘historical’ value (meaning: trying an old blend probably from the 1960s) and the ‘scientific’ value (meaning trying something new – for me – and old – by its era, and comparing it to other blends from this decade). But regarding the whisky itself, it probably badly evolved over time, being plagued by bad OBE, but it might have not been great either from the start: that, I might never know.
Rating: 3/10
Cluny 5-year-old Blended Scotch Whisky (1970s) Review
Cluny 5 Year Old is an age stated blended Scotch, also from John E. McPherson & Sons Ltd, and part of the same Cluny range known for combining over 30 malt whiskies with aged grain whisky for a comparatively high malt content. This specific bottling was also imported for the Italian market by D&C, with dating estimated to the 1970s based on bottle style, at 40% ABV in a 75 cl bottle. It seems its average auction price is under €100.
Colour:
Deep gold.
Nose:
Neat: The nose has a good intensity and starts on grain whisky, hints of pears and peaches, with some medium oak notes and ginger. Some old copper coins show signs of OBE on this bottle as well. Blond tobacco, dried lemon peel and some oranges.
Palate:
Neat: The palate is in direct link with the nose, with grain whisky, pears and peaches, a little more oak and oak spices, ginger and copper coins. Black pepper and dried lemon peel give some additional spiciness and bitterness, and some chalk and milk chocolate make the mouthfeel thin but slightly raspy.
Finish:
The finish is surprisingly long, with citrusy and oaky bitterness lingering for quite some time, and the raspy feeling staying on the tongue.
Comments:
This Cluny 5-year-old is head and shoulders above its non-age statement counterpart. When the NAS was almost only off notes, this 5-year-old shows some nice intensity and range of flavour, but the grain components probably keep things down. But it’s definitely vastly superior to the NAS.
Rating: 5/10
C&J McDonald’s Special Blend (1970s) Review
C&J McDonald’s was a blended Scotch brand produced by C. & J. McDonald Ltd, a subsidiary of Arthur Bell & Sons, offering several blend tiers over the decades, including Fine Old, Special Blend, and Gold Label. Until the 1960s, the flagship was a 12-year-old blend labelled ‘Fine Old,’ presented in a distinctive stocky brown bottle with a white label; this expression disappeared in the 1970s, giving way to a younger, no-age or 5-year-old ‘Special Blend’ before the brand eventually dropped age statements altogether in the 1980s. Bottlings from this transitional 1960s–1970s period were produced at 43% ABV in 75 cl bottles. Seems to be still available at an Italian retailer full of oldies for just €56 and worth even half that at auction. Let’s be careful, then, that might not be a good sign.
Colour:
Burnished.
Nose:
Neat: Notes of grain whisky here as well, joined by figs and orange, old pinewood shelves, some oak spices, and citrus notes of lemon and grapefruit. The nose shows intensity and some harshness.
Palate:
Neat: The palate is velvety and surprisingly medium-bodied, with a thicker mouthfeel than what you’d expect from that ABV. It shows intensity as well, with vanilla and oak coming through as the primary flavours, joined by red apples and apricots, raspberries sprinkled with black pepper and forest honey.
Finish:
The finish is hot and long, with a strong pepperiness and some oak being quite present in the end. Not much else, though.
Comments:
Not bad at all, really. The nose is a little disappointing, but the palate more than makes up for it, with plenty of flavour, good intensity and a pleasing texture. It also avoids the grainy harshness that can sometimes show up in older blends.