Bruichladdich 24 yo 1965 / 1990 Turatello 54.2%
Bruichladdich 24 yo 1965 / 1990 Turatello 54.2% Fruity but in the overripe vine laden sense, meaning musky cantaloupe and honeydews, oranges and peaches left out to ripen too long … Continue reading
Strathisla 8 yo Gordon & MacPhail 100 proof 57%
Strathisla 8 yo Gordon & MacPhail 100 proof 57% It’s a mystery to me why some whiskies are upfront and approachable at 60+% but others are so locked in at … Continue reading
Bowmore 43 yo 1964 / 2008 ‘White Bowmore’ 42.8%
Bowmore 43 yo 1964 / 2008 ‘White Bowmore’ 42.8% Classic explosion of lush tropical fruit. Pure, juicy, fresh and dripping, now drizzled over searing white sand. This mineral and fruity … Continue reading
Bunnahabhain 1967 / 2010 Malts of Scotland #3315 41.1%
Bunnahabhain 1967 / 2010 Malts of Scotland #3315 41.1% Not many malts are commonly available at this sort of age. It’s a big deal for Macallan or Dalmore, not so … Continue reading
Convalmore 31 yo 1962 / 1994 Cadenhead 48.9%
Convalmore 31 yo 1962 / 1994 Cadenhead 48.9% Entirely cut, sewn and finished from that old school cloth. Old rusty iron tools, oiled and cleaned, in garden shacks with grimey, … Continue reading
Clynelish 1989 James MacArthur 59.1%
Clynelish 1989 James MacArthur 59.1% From the full bottle we know its bottled in 2002 from cask 1121. Potent as Clynelish comes, hot molten paraffin and thin honey. Robust! Hot … Continue reading
Ardbeg 1966 Moon Import The Birds #2445 46%
Ardbeg 1966 Moon Import The Birds #2445 46%This one is whispering. Old coal, salt crusted rock on rough sandy beaches. It’s phenolic in a dry and ashen manner with burnt … Continue reading
Laphroaig 10 yo Straight From The Wood green strip late 90s 55.7%
Laphroaig 10 yo Straight From The Wood green strip late 90s 55.7% And finally the powerhouse of the trio. Does exactly what it suggests it would, take the astounding phenolic … Continue reading
Laphroaig 15 yo The Laphroaig Collection 33.33cl circa late 90s 43%
Laphroaig 15 yo The Laphroaig Collection 33.33cl circa late 90s 43% Tasting this right after the 10 in the same box set, the effect of an extra 5 years is … Continue reading
Laphroaig 10 yo The Laphroaig Collection circa late 90s 33.33cl 43%
Laphroaig 10 yo The Laphroaig Collection circa late 90s 43% An old duty free exclusive. No crest on front label but present on rear label. Since the royal warrant was … Continue reading
Irish 24 yo 1993 / 2018 Whisky Agency for the Whisky Exchange 48.2%
Irish 24 yo 1993 / 2018 Whisky Agency for the Whisky Exchange 48.2% 93s were rather uncommon. Alright, not exuberantly fruity in the style of the best Irish but fruity, … Continue reading
Talisker 1956 ‘Cask’ Gordon & MacPhail 54.4%
Talisker 1956 ‘Cask’ Gordon & MacPhail 54.4% This one is cut from the big and old style of sherry cloth. Big, rich fruit, oxidized browns and condensed blacks, insanely complex. … Continue reading
Royal Lochnagar 12 yo 2000 / 2012 Distiller’s Edition 40%
Royal Lochnagar 12 yo 2000 / 2012 Distiller’s Edition 40% Firm and supple, also confectionary allusions to sponge cake, glaced red fruit and tablespoons of cinnamon and spices. A pinch … Continue reading
Benrinnes 23 yo 2000 / 2023 Maltbarn 51.8%
Benrinnes 23 yo 2000 / 2023 Maltbarn 51.8% A bourbon bomb, which suits Benrinnes especially well. Dry leather, heavy creams and oils, caramel and copious amounts of dry woodspice like … Continue reading
Ardbeg 32 yo 1967 / 1999 OMC 43.1%
Ardbeg 32 yo 1967 / 1999 OMC 43.1%So! Ancient teak wood, still oily and dark, thick black smoke acrid and dry, lampblack, tar and combusting coals along the shore, salt … Continue reading
Port Ellen 31 yo 1978 / 2010 10th Special Release 54.6%
Port Ellen 31 yo 1978 / 2010 10th Special Release 54.6% When Special Releases meant something. This nose. A panorama of elemental beauty. Sublime yet majestic. Face to face … Continue reading
Ben Nevis 23 yo 1996 / 2019 Single Malts of Scotland #1783 52.3%
Ben Nevis 23 yo 1996 / 2019 Single Malts of Scotland #1783 52.3% Possibly as clean as Ben Nevis can be, that is to say not nearly clean at all, … Continue reading
Cragganmore 10 yo 1993 / 2004 Special Release 60.1%
Cragganmore 10 yo 1993 / 2004 Special Release 60.1% Plenty of woodspice and oak riding a wave of alcohol, but a subtle floral bouquet in a manner like sweet violet … Continue reading
Glen Ord 33 yo 1970 / 2004 Douglas Laing Ref 526 50%
Glen Ord 33 yo 1970 / 2004 Douglas Laing Ref 526 50% An instant yes. Overflowing with amber and orange hues of dried apricots, marmalade, dark honey, ripe cantaloupe, marzipan … Continue reading
Highland Park 27 yo 1976 / 2003 ‘Sample 1327’ Signatory for Luca Gargano through Velier #1985 46%
Highland Park 27 yo 1976 / 2003 ‘Sample 1327’ Signatory for Luca Gargano #1985 46% It takes a hard look to get past the confusing numbers. The 70s were a … Continue reading
Glen Mhor 29 yo 1982 / 2011 Van Wees 80th Anniversary #1605 50.6%
Glen Mhor 29 yo 1982 / 2011 Van Wees 80th Anniversary #1605 50.6% A profile as unique as they come. Austere, leafy and petrochemical in turns. Chalk dust, turpentine and … Continue reading
An Irish Distillery 17 yo 2002 / 2020 Whisky Mercenary 51.6%
An Irish Distillery 17 yo 2002 / 2020 Whisky Mercenary 51.6% Fruity! But also sort of hot, and young, but unmistakably fruity and zingy fresh, redolent of ripe greens, bright … Continue reading
Port Ellen 12 yo James MacArthur 59%
Port Ellen 12 yo James MacArthur 59% This one is referred to as the dark sherried version, opposite the more common 62.7% pale by the same bottler, and comes with … Continue reading
Glen Grant 31 yo 1972 Kingsbury #697 56.5%
Glen Grant 31 yo 1972 Kingsbury #697 56.5% Expectations met and exceeded – deep purple fruit, boiling jam, cocoa, black tea, clove and cinnamon over date and walnut slices, baklava … Continue reading
Royal Lochnagar 37 yo 1972 / 2009 Whisky Fair 50.7%
Royal Lochnagar 37 yo 1972 / 2009 Whisky Fair 50.7%Gentle age and old malt, polished cedar and oak, aromatic, dry and woody-resinous. Sweet incense wafting over mint tea and dry … Continue reading
Ardbeg 1964 / 1995 Gordon & Macphail 40%
Ardbeg 1964 / 1995 Gordon & Macphail 40% No doubt bottle strength but what an utterly glorious whisky. A deep and murky amalgamation of peat, tar, smoke, ash, dried purple … Continue reading
Caol Ila 21 yo 1992 / 2013 Dun Eideann #8247 56.2%
Caol Ila 21 yo 1992 / 2013 Dun Eideann #8247 56.2% Expect quality, quality delivered. If anything I am surprised by how tarry and earthy this particular cask ended up. … Continue reading
Glen Mhor 34 yo 1982 / 2016 Cadenhead 50.3%
Glen Mhor 34 yo 1982 / 2016 Cadenhead 50.3% I came to this not knowing what to expect. Glen Mhors are just rare, but I didn’t leave disappointed. It is … Continue reading
Linlithgow 30 yo 1973 / 2004 Special Release 59.6%
Linlithgow 30 yo 1973 / 2004 Special Release 59.6% Can’t believe I haven’t put down thoughts on this one, a formative part of my earlier years. This is a stunning … Continue reading
Teaninich 20 yo 1999 / 2019 Archives #307938 55.7%
Teaninich 20 yo 1999 / 2019 Archives #307938 55.7% The lighter side of scotch. Clean and clear, like a crisp white wine, with the most fleeting sense of maltiness. Its … Continue reading
Lagavulin 16 yo Feis Ile 2017 56.1%
Lagavulin 16 yo Feis Ile 2017 56.1% No distillation date so this is at least 16 years old. As right as rain, this. The way I like it too, quiet … Continue reading
Cooley 12 yo 1989 / 2002 SMWS 117.1 49.5%
Cooley 12 yo 1989 / 2002 SMWS 117.1 49.5% Right, pardon the picture. A fruity Irish, the best sort of Irish, but carrying a fair amount of weight around its … Continue reading
Clynelish 24 yo 1989 / 2014 Carn Mor #5890 52%
Clynelish 24 yo 1989 / 2014 Carn Mor #5890 52% No need to say much, Clynelish is as Clynelish does. Everything you expect of the waxy and yellow fruity style … Continue reading
Linkwood 13yo 2008 / 2022 Whisky Age #305721 57.4%
Linkwood 13yo 2008 / 2022 Whisky Age #305721 57.4% Coming along nicely at 13 years. Malty, lemony, citric sharp but full of barley sugar and warm butter. Does have a … Continue reading
Irish 27 yo 1989 / 2016 Maltbarn 45.5%
Irish 27 yo 1989 / 2016 Maltbarn 45.5% Plenty of expectation when one of these is drunk. Yes, apricot jam tarts and a musk melon, quince and green grape compote. … Continue reading
Secret Islay 31 yo 1990 / 2022 Master of Malt release no. 112 52.6%
Secret Islay 31 yo 1990 / 2022 Master of Malt release no. 112 52.6%It’s what is becoming a classic style of well matured Islay where the sea and the peat … Continue reading
Lochside 29 yo 1981 / 2010 The Whisky Agency 52.7%
Lochside 29 yo 1981 / 2010 The Whisky Agency 52.7%As expected there’s a lot going on. Sour and ripe fruit evenly pace the dry woodspice, its fruitiness matching the dry … Continue reading
Jura 30yo 1991 / 2021 Thompson Bros 46.5%
Jura 30yo 1991 / 2021 Thompson Bros 46.5% An evident maturity. The old wood sits here as a polished frame of delicious soft spices, drops of caramel on the best … Continue reading
Highland Park 23yo 1978 / 2001 SMWS 4.83 58%
Highland Park 23yo 1978 / 2001 SMWS 4.83 58% One of the most peaty yet also most simple Highland Parks I’ve come across. The formula goes like this, focus on … Continue reading
Glenburgie 25yo 1998 Young Spirits #00-0055 for Friends With Drams and The 1980s Bar 54.7%
I may have ignore this site a little longer than normal, but that’s life. Glenburgie 25yo 1998 Young Spirits #00-0055 for Friends With Drams and The 1980s Bar 54.7% A … Continue reading
Highland 27 yo 1994 Thompson Bros 47.9%
Highland 27 yo 1994 Thompson Bros 47.9% Another unnamed Highlander. This time it seems we’ve stepped away from that little village of Brora. I find dust and ozone, and plenty … Continue reading
Clynelish 1992 / 2007 Die Abfullung #17243 58.2%
Clynelish 1992 / 2007 Die Abfullung #17243 58.2% Where did December go? As aggressive at it gets with Clynelish – Heady petrol fumes and the razor edged sharpness of acerbic … Continue reading
Highland 27 yo 1994 / 2021 Gleann Mor for Royal Mile Whiskies 50.1%
Highland 27 yo 1994 / 2021 Gleann Mor for Royal Mile Whiskies 50.1% This was represented to be from Clynelish by a well known auction house. Essentially they say they … Continue reading
Glenugie 27 yo 1966 / 1993 The Bottlers #GU838 61.4%
Glenugie 27 yo 1966 / 1993 The Bottlers #GU838 61.4% Here comes the fruit and its warm, dripping oranges and oozing yellows, full ripe technicolour in between. Passionfruit, blood orange, … Continue reading
Coleburn 47 yo 1972 / 2020 Gordon &Macphail #3511 62.4%
Coleburn 47 yo 1972 / 2020 Gordon &Macphail #3511 62.4% Who has had more than 3 Coleburns, raise your hand. The whisky though: Well! The product of great age and … Continue reading
Glen Garioch 32 yo 1988 / 2021 Whisky Mew ‘Masked Rider’ #1598 47.6%
Glen Garioch 32 yo 1988 / 2021 Whisky Mew ‘Masked Rider’ #1598 47.6%Dry sandy loam and crushed fern, violet leaf and coumarin. Aromatic-earthy. The old oak wakes with plenty of … Continue reading
Kanosuke 2020 Owners club for 61 Monarchy #OC2020025
Kanosuke 2020 Owners club for 61 Monarchy #OC2020025 Turn the darkness up to 10 – unlit tobacco, black tea no milk, pine panelling rubbed with dark oil stain, camphor, dry … Continue reading
Ord ‘bouquet’ 22 yo 1962 / 1984 Samaroli 58%
Ord ‘bouquet’ 22 yo 1962 / 1984 Samaroli 58% A stunning array of hardwood oils! Pine, cedar, blackwood, all aromatic and sharp, dry but sappy. Dark and resinous. Flecks of … Continue reading
Longmorn 39 yo 1969 / 2009 Gordon & Macphail Book of Kells Mash Tun Kask JIS #5298 58.9%
Longmorn 39 yo 1969 / 2009 Gordon & Macphail Book of Kells Mash Tun Kask JIS #5298 58.9% The product of marrying an excellent dry sherry with a top class … Continue reading
Springbank 18yo 1986 Fauchon Centenaire 1886 – 1986 46%
Springbank 18yo 1986 Fauchon Centenaire 1886 – 1986 46% Oh my, an exciting one. This is the ripe and earthy side of Springbank that’s been somewhat less of a thing … Continue reading
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