Highland Park 25 yo 1990 / 2015 Cadenhead 50.6% vs Glen Moray 30 yo 1991 / 2022 Hidden Spirits #GLM9122 50.1%
Highland Park 25 yo 1990 / 2015 Cadenhead 50.6% Right these Highland Parks needs to be left uncorked for a full day and night when opened, and eventually it will … Continue reading
Highland Park 30 yo 1987 2017 Mackillop’s #1532 46.3% vs Bowmore 17 yo 2004 / 2021 SMWS 3.327 Siren’s Song 57.1%
Been a while since my last. Plenty of things have kept me occupied but look its late March already! Highland Park 30 yo 1987 2017 Mackillop’s #1532 46.3% Another blazingly … Continue reading
Glen Ord 28 yo 1992 / 2020 SMWS 77.65 49.3% vs Caol Ila 27 yo 1983 / 2010 Spirit of Caledonia 51.5%
Glen Ord 28 yo 1992 / 2020 SMWS 77.65 49.3% Well aged Ord, but it doesn’t nose as a particularly mature whisky. Still we get a fair dose of butter, … Continue reading
Craigellachie 20 yo 1972 / 1992 Cadenhead 53.3% vs Craigellachie 22 yo 1973 / 1995 Rare Malts 60.2%
Craigellachie 20 yo 1972 / 1992 Cadenhead 53.3% These old Craigellachies could lean phenolic. Here its lamp oil, coils of rope and greasy garage floors. Plenty of leaf litter too, … Continue reading
TTomatin 40 yo 1962 / 2002 Douglas Laing 44% vs Tomatin 19 yo 1976 / 1996 Cadenhead 55.9%
Tomatin 40 yo 1962 / 2002 Douglas Laing 44% An old malt, elegant and understated. We have a fanfare of little polished nuggets like cold cream, half a digestive, old … Continue reading
Benrinnes 20 yo 1995 / 2018 La Maison du Whisky #6093 49.4% vs Benrinnes 20 yo 1997 / 2017 Cadenhead for Shinanoya #912 57.4%
Benrinnes 20 yo 1995 / 2018 La Maison du Whisky #6093 49.4% Lots of wonderful yellow hues, warm honey, fresh hay, baked apples and apricots with cream, golden syrup, toffee … Continue reading
Ireland 27 yo 1988 / 2015 Nectar of the Daily Drams for La Maison 49.5% vs Secret Highlands 24 yo 1996 / 2020 Batch no.7 Finest Whisky Berlin 54.8%
Ireland 27 yo 1988 / 2015 Nectar of the Daily Drams for La Maison 49.5% Part of a rather famous set of Irish done for La Maison du Whisky before … Continue reading
Single Malt Irish Whiskey 30 yo 1989 / 2019 The Whisky Cask Company #16044/16258 48.1% vs Single Malt Irish Whiskey 24 yo 1991 / 2016 The Whisky Cask Company #6847 55.8%
Single Malt Irish Whiskey 30 yo 1989 / 2019 The Whisky Cask Company #16044/16258 48.1%Certainly fruity, with a warm and musky peach juice and guava, yet again not explosively fruity … Continue reading
Teaninich 12 yo 2007 / 2019 Single Malts of Scotland #301262 57.5% vs Secret Orkney 15 yo 2005 / 2021 Cooper’s Choice #121 56%
Teaninich 12 yo 2007 / 2019 Single Malts of Scotland #301262 57.5% Well its young and hot. 12 years is just way too little for Teaninich. And too little for … Continue reading
Bunnahabhain 30 1989 / 2020 “Kinship” Hunter Laing 45.5% vs Laphroaig 24 1990 / 2014 Hunter Laing #HL14111 51.9%
Bunnahabhain 30 1989 / 2020 “Kinship” Hunter Laing 45.5% A subtle nose but a charming one. Quiet seaside and lapping waves. sun warmed sand and salty rocks, driftwood and fine … Continue reading
The Malt Affair: Michiel Wigman Masterclass tasting
Welcome Michiel and Jan to Singapore! We hope you’ve enjoyed our food and hospitality, and that you were never short of something to drink. Notes from the engaging Masterclass: Ardbeg … Continue reading
Longmorn 22 yo 1969 / 1991 Intertrade 61% vs Longmorn 23 yo 1969 / 1993 Gordon & Macphail #3721 and 5297 61.2%
Longmorn 22 yo 1969 / 1991 Intertrade 61% Liquefied summer dreams. Honey, apricots, sweet cinnamon and warm nutmeg. The ripest oranges in the sun, cantaloupe, golden raisins, so wondrously fruity … Continue reading
Caol Ila 19 yo 1974 / 1994 Signatory #12459 61.1% vs Caol Ila 1981 / 1996 Gordon & Macphail #2081-2086 63.4%
Caol Ila 19 yo 1974 / 1994 Signatory #12459 61.1%As expected, it’s one of those Caol Ilas, a potion of pristine power, crystal clear, diamond edged, narrow and incisive but … Continue reading
Clynelish 24 yo 1988 / 2013 Hepburn’s Resolution 48.8% vs Clynelish 12 yo 1989 / 2001 Gordon & Macphail #3248 57.9%
Clynelish 24 yo 1988 / 2013 Hepburn’s Resolution 48.8% An interesting Japan only bottle. Well Japan dreams of Clynelish it seems, with molten wax and hot cream slathered over bare … Continue reading
Bowmore 25 yo Blackadder 1973 / 1998 Blackadder #3174 51.2% vs Bowmore 20yo 1976 / 1996 Signatory 3548/49 52.6%
Bowmore 25 yo Blackadder 1973 / 1998 Blackadder #3174 51.2% Well it’s certainly not fruity. But it’s got hot engine room, blackened rags heavy with grime and salt spray on … Continue reading
Balblair 1975 / 2012 2nd Release 46% vs Balblair 10 yo Gordon & Macphail 100 proof
Balblair 1975 / 2012 2nd Release 46%Not quite the fruit explosion I hoped for, but wait a minute, it speaks like an old time highlander. Austere, with cold paraffin, chalk … Continue reading
Convalmore 24 yo 1978 /2003 Rare Malts 59.4% vs Convalmore 40 yo 1977 / 2017 Cadenhead 56.8%
Convalmore 24 yo 1978 /2003 Rare Malts 59.4% Bitter orange peels, zesty vibrant and aromatic. Tart yellow fruit, acidic juice and honey mixed in a tall glass. Bright mimosa and … Continue reading
Lochside 29 yo 1981 / 2010 The Perfect Dram 51.1% vs Lochside 31 yo 1966 / 1998 Silent Stills #3910 57.7%
Lochside 29 yo 1981 / 2010 The Perfect Dram 51.1% Yes yes and yes. It swirls languidly like a unctuous reduction of olive oil, chalk and tropical fruit puree. While … Continue reading
Royal Brackla 16 yo Zenith 57% vs Royal Brackla 17 yo Intertrade 63.9%~bottled 1987
Royal Brackla 16 yo Zenith 57%As much wax as a Clynelish, colour me enthralled. Gritty gravel and granny’s old sewing machines. Plenty of poached yellow fruit in honey water on … Continue reading
Laphroaig 30 yo 43% ~ early 2000s vs Lagavulin 30 yo 1976 / 2006 52.6%
Laphroaig 30 yo 43% ~ early 2000s Yes, as deeply tarry and anaerobic as peat comes, with a real old earthy funk. Old workbenches with a veneer of saturated grease … Continue reading
Highland Park 13 yo 2006 for Simplywhisky Singapore #1646 64.7% vs Highland Park 30 yo 1989 / 2019 Gordon & Macphail 19/003 51.1%
Highland Park 13 yo 2006 for Simplywhisky Singapore #1646 64.7% Great news, it’s a moderately sherried Highland Park, with just about enough of everything to be an all round pleaser, … Continue reading
Pulteney 13 yo 1967 / 1980 Cadenhead 46% vs Laphroaig 21 yo Cadenhead for Sestante 52.1% ‘White Label’
Pulteney 13 yo 1967 / 1980 Cadenhead 46% Might have said it before but Pulteney is great. Here we have dry earth, some hot coals and also an overripe fruitiness … Continue reading
Ben Nevis 21 yo 1996 / 2018 Whisky Doris #2028 52.2% vs Ben Nevis 21 yo Private Bottling #1407 48.8%
Ben Nevis 21 yo 1996 / 2018 Whisky Doris #2028 52.2%Full of culinary aromas that border on mustiness. Cold fry pans sitting unwashed on stained hobs sticky with grease. Firewood … Continue reading
Glen Ord 40 yo 1965 Royal Mile Whiskies 40.1% vs Glenury Royal 24 yo 1973 / 1997 Signatory #6851 53.7%
Glen Ord 40 yo 1965 Royal Mile Whiskies 40.1%The kind of magic one looks for in these old ones. Old lumps of beeswax, dusty pollen, a bit of amaretto and … Continue reading
Lagavulin 12yo Special Release 2019 56.5% vs Pulteney 12yo 2008 / 2020 Nectar 57.5%
In memory of those who went before their time. Pulteney 12yo 2008 / 2020 Nectar 57.5% I have questions on where the production of this unspeakably underrated malt goes, seeing … Continue reading
Millburn 18 yo 1978 / 1997 Gordon & MacPhail #3166 65.6%
Millburn 18 yo 1978 / 1997 Gordon & MacPhail #3166 65.6%I can count the number of Millburn experts with all the fingers on my feet. I know pitifully little myself, … Continue reading
Craigduff 40 yo 1973 / 2013 Signatory #2516 49.6% vs Ardmore 1991 / 2006 Gordon & Macphail #6158/59/60 57.9%
Craigduff 40 yo 1973 / 2013 Signatory #2516 49.6% What you get when you lightly peat an otherwise funky fruity malt. Warm honey and hay, spilt beer and wet cement, … Continue reading
Ledaig ‘Limited Edition for the Year 2000’ 42% vs Ledaig 1975 / 1995 Blackadder #65 56.5%
Ledaig ‘Limited Edition for the Year 2000’ 42% An unusual one. Zippy salt air, fresh seawater complete with seaweed. Newly pulled nets, fresh catch and fennel. Very seagoing. Now smoking … Continue reading
Laphroaig 1994 / 2016 Malts of Scotland #16032 49.6% vs Laphroaig 10 yo Cask Strength Red Stripe 55.7%
Laphroaig 1994 / 2016 Malts of Scotland #16032 49.6% Right on the money for 90s Laphroaig, I suppose we could call it a classic style now. Hefty proportions, with a … Continue reading
Glenugie 31 yo 1966 / 1998 Signatory #5082 53.9% vs Emerald Isle 26 yo 1989 Specialty Drinks #16244 59.2%
Glenugie 31 yo 1966 / 1998 Signatory #5082 53.9% A viscous salve vivid with glints of machine oil, industrial putty, factory floor, turpenic resins, dry bark, cough syrup and jujubes. … Continue reading
Mortlach 22 yo 1997 / 2019 ‘Dedicate to G.D’Ambrosio’ My Name is Whisky Selection 56.9% vs Ardmore 22 yo 1998 / 2020 Catawiki #7508092 49.2%
Mortlach 22 yo 1997 / 2019 ‘Dedicate to G.D’Ambrosio’ My Name is Whisky Selection 56.9% A gift from Signor D’Ambrosio, thank you Sir! Here we find a perfect example of … Continue reading
Springbank 10 yo 1977 / 1987 Sutti Import 57% 75 cl vs Springbank 33 yo 1970 / 2004 The Whisky Fair #2964 47.9%
Springbank 10 yo 1977 / 1987 Sutti Import 57% 75 cl Tense with a measured golden power. Nose it for an immediate bullseye: A woody, barky petitgrain followed by hot … Continue reading
Nanyang Peninsula Collection: Orkney Single Malt 22 yo 1999 / 2022 Nanyang Whisky 52.6% vs Ben Nevis 23 yo 1998 / 2022 Nanyang Whisky 54.1% Islay Single Malt 30 yo 1990 / 2022 51.3%
Orkney Single Malt 22 yo 1999 / 2022 Nanyang Whisky 52.6% Quite a dominant malty-cereal chord despite the advanced wood. It smells like hulled grains and toasted oatcakes with plenty … Continue reading
Ardbeg 15 yo 1973 / 1989 Signatory #4902 46% vs Ardbeg 16 yo 1974 / 1991 SMWS 33.11 56%
Ardbeg 15 yo 1973 / 1989 Signatory #4902 46% Hear, hear. Glorious whisky is glorious, even if watered down to 46%. And this Ardbeg is one of them. A particularly … Continue reading
Pittyvaich 14 yo James Macarthur’s bottled 1991 54.4% vs Highland Park 18 yo 1972 / 1991 Signatory #9017 56%
Pittyvaich 14 yo James Macarthur’s bottled 1991 54.4% So distilled circa 1977. Right so.. it’s quite an extreme one. Concentrated with a pungent and thick oil, vegetal and sour, like … Continue reading
Glenlivet 8 yo Gordon & Macphail 100 proof vs Glen Calder 100 proof / 57% ‘From The Glenlivet District’
Glenlivet 8 yo Gordon & Macphail 100 proofThere are many iterations of this particular label, and in varying shades of red. From what I can tell this appears to be … Continue reading
Talisker 16 yo 1979 / 1995 Cadenhead 62.8% vs Talisker 13 yo 1979 James MacArthur’s 64.9%
Talisker 16 yo 1979 / 1995 Cadenhead 62.8% Very few malts approach this sort of purity. This is as pristine and seagoing as it gets. A scalpel of cold salt, … Continue reading
Bowmore 36 yo 1969 / 2006 Duncan Taylor #6090 44% vs Bowmore 16 yo 1984 / 2000 Samaroli #61930 45%
Bowmore 36 yo 1969 / 2006 Duncan Taylor #6090 44% We’ve got those lovely tropical fruit hues, but regretfully it isn’t immense though make no mistake, the whole is still … Continue reading
Longmorn 1972 / 2005 Munchner Whisky-Festival 57.3% vs Longmorn 1973 / 2011 Gordon & Macphail #3228 for Whiskyfair Limburg 58%
Longmorn 1972 / 2005 Munchner Whisky-Festival 57.3% Is it fair to expect love for an old Longmorn? Expectations met. A delightful nose, Eden at harvest, slathered in bursting orange and … Continue reading
Milroy’s trio: Clynelish 23 yo 1997 / 2021 Milroy’s #12359 53.3% vs Ben Nevis 25 yo 1996 / 2021 Milroy’s #20 47.6% vs Springbank 28 yo 1992 / 2021 Milroy’s #185 50.9%
Check out our pals Friends With Drams, they’ve got good whisky. Clynelish 23 yo 1997 / 2021 Milroy’s #12359 53.3% The sort of Clynelish that’s big on oak, so we … Continue reading
Ardbeg ‘Over 10 years old’ for Scoma by Cadenhead 58.5%
A gem from the Whiskyfair Limburg 2022. Note the unique label and font for this series. Needless to say, it is phenomenonally rare to see one open. Here we get … Continue reading
Glen Elgin 25 yo 1995 / 2021 Signatory #3270 52.3% vs Glen Elgin 12 yo 2008 / 2020 The Whisky Exchange #805343 55.8%
Glen Elgin 25 yo 1995 / 2021 Signatory #3270 52.3% Full of that ripe orchard fruit character that Glen Elgin seems to be blessed with. Ripe pears and stonefruit are … Continue reading
Craigellachie 23 yo 1989 / 2014 SMWS 44.59 ‘Lime marinated grilled chicken’ 51.4% vs Teaninich 21 yo 1999 / 2021 Maltbarn 48.8%
Craigellachie 23 yo 1989 / 2014 SMWS 44.59 ‘Lime marinated grilled chicken’ 51.4% Craigellachie is, to me, in the same weight category as Ben Nevis and Mortlach, but consequentially I … Continue reading
Oban 24 yo 1989 / 2013 #748 47.8% vs Oban 12 yo Special Release 2021 56.2%
Oban 24 yo 1989 / 2013 #748 47.8% A naked Oban, with character shining though the glass. Light honey, a single green kiwi, toasted oatcakes and naked cereals. Unsurprisingly, a … Continue reading
Bruichladdich 21 yo 1964 / 1986 Intertrade 51.8% vs Bruichladdich 15 yo 1969 / 1985 Intertrade 54%
Bruichladdich 21 yo 1964 / 1986 Intertrade 51.8% Heavily fruit, in oily brown tones on the verge of ferment, presents a dense nose. The musky fruit, like overripe honeydew, buoys … Continue reading
Scapa 16 yo 1980 / 1996 Signatory #12085-86 43% vs Highland Park 27 yo 1984 / 2011 Whisky Agency 52.5%
Scapa 16 yo 1980 / 1996 Signatory #12085-86 43% The ideal comparison would have been the 25yo 1980 special release but for the reasons that follow, this turns out to … Continue reading
Caol Ila 1979 / 2010 Prenzlow Portfolio Collection #5294 57.9% vs Caol Ila 20 yo 1981 / 2001 Wilson & Morgan #276 59.2%
Caol Ila 1979 / 2010 Prenzlow Portfolio Collection #5294 57.9% Feels like the fire of wild youth has dissipated to a warm salty glow. Warm pastry from wood fired ovens. … Continue reading
Knappogue Castle 25 yo 1996 / 2021 LMdW #5629 ‘The Remarkable Rocket’ 53.1% vs Knappogue Castle 27 yo 1994 / 2021 LMdW #888139 ‘The Happy Prince’ 50.3% vs Knappogue Castle 25 yo 1995 / 2021 LMdW #888892 ‘The Devoted Friend’ 50.9%
Knappogue Castle 25 yo 1996 / 2021 LMdW #5629 ‘The Remarkable Rocket’ 53.1% vs Knappogue Castle 27 yo 1994 / 2021 LMdW #888139 ‘The Happy Prince’ 50.3% vs Knappogue Castle … Continue reading
Benriach 12 yo 1969 Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice 40% vs Benriach 36 yo 1976 / 2012 #963 for The Whisky Agency 49.6%
Benriach 12 yo 1969 Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice 40% Fruit in succulent tropical hues of reds and oranges, hazily spread over stony earth and hay like a worked field … Continue reading
Strathisla 18 yo 1974 / 1992 Gordon & Macphail #2206 + 2207 57.8% vs Strathisla 36 yo 1967 / 2003 Gordon & MacPhail Bar Metro 35th Anniversary #2063 54.3%
Strathisla 18 yo 1974 / 1992 Gordon & MacPhail #2206 + 2207 57.8% A meaty and ever lightly sulphurous sherry here. Not my thing. Vague mushroom notes, umami, black pepper, … Continue reading
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