Bowmore 15 yo 1996 / 2012 Douglas Laing #8034 52.2% vs Bowmore 16 yo 2001 / 2017 Cadenhead 175th Anniversary 54.8%
Bowmore 15 yo 1996 / 2012 Douglas Laing #8034 52.2% It’s what we want in a modern Bowmore. Sharp coastal notes like salt zing, sea air, open BBQ pits, and … Continue reading
Clynelish 36 yo 1971 / 2007 Murray McDavid 51.5% vs Clynelish 32 yo 1974 / 2006 The Whisky Fair 58.6%
Clynelish 36 yo 1971 / 2007 Murray McDavid 51.5% Brilliant whisky. Clynelish is a standalone great. Bathe in hot wax here, lots of it, and stinging sap. Minerals and clean … Continue reading
Clynelish 20 yo 1995 Gleann Mor #11308 53.9% vs Clynelish 21 yo 1995 Signatory #11228 55.7%
Clynelish 20 yo 1995 Gleann Mor #11308 53.9% I love these Clynelishes. Classic elements of flints and minerals, paraffin wax, clean clay pots, rubbed lime, fresh cut green fruit and … Continue reading
Longmorn 30 yo 1973 / 2004 Duncan Taylor 51.1% vs Longmorn-Glenlivet 12 yo Gordon & Macphail ‘Pure Malt’ 100 proof 57% ~80s bottling
Longmorn 30 yo 1973 / 2004 Duncan Taylor 51.1% Great distillery, great whisky. This period of Longmorn was marked by fruit and it shows here, warm sunny hues of green … Continue reading
Balblair 1964 James MacArthur 56.8% vs Balblair 1983 1st release 46%
Balblair 1964 James MacArthur 56.8% Right, start with the good – Salt air, wisps of smoke, black loamy earth, and then pine cones. Unfortunately this becomes stale violets, mothballs and … Continue reading
Bunnahabhain 26 yo 1989 Signatory #5811+5812 56.2% vs Bunnahabhain 24 yo 1990 Highland Laird 47.2% vs Driftwood 1997 Wemyss Malt 46% (Peated Bunnahabhain)
Bunnahabhain 26 yo 1989 Signatory #5811 + 5812 45.2% Full and weighty whisky with big oily, buttery, malty, nutty notes. Very typical for Bunnahabhain. Salt air, crushed spinach, honeyed cloves, … Continue reading
Laphroaig 30 yo 1966/1996 Signatory #560 48.7% vs Laphroaig 31 yo 1966/1997 Signatory #1094 49.3% vs Laphroaig 28 yo 1967/1996 Signatory #2201 50.2% vs Laphroaig 28 yo 1967/1995 Signatory #2205 50.3%
It’s my 40th birthday and I’m forced to have a stay at home party. Fortunately, I am amply stocked. Laphroaig 30 yo 1966 / 1996 Signatory #560 48.7% Myriad little … Continue reading
Arran 21 yo 1996 Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask 636 bottles 50% vs Benromach 10 yo 43% vs Cragganmore 1976 / 1991 Gordon & Macphail Cask #3583-3584 55.8%
Arran 21 yo 1996 Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask 636 bottles 50% A load of sweet cooked notes from butterscotch and boiled orange peel. Clove candy too. Flambed banana, brine, … Continue reading
Glen Garioch 21 yo 1995 Old Particular Douglas Laing #11471 51.5% vs Glen Garioch 21 yo 1993 Old Particular Douglas Laing #10776 57.7%
Glen Garioch 21 yo 1995 Old Particular Douglas Laing #11471 51.5% A very particular style I love coming back to recalibrate on. Bursting lime peel, battery acid, mineral oil, chalk … Continue reading
Caol Ila 15 yo Gold Jug decanter Zenith 43% vs Caol Ila 12 yo The Single Cask for Singapore Whisky Bars including The Swan Song #307362 2007/ 2019 58.7% vs Caol Ila 17 yo 1977 / 1994 Cadenhead 59.2%
Caol Ila 15 yo Gold Jug decanter Zenith 43% ~ mid 80s Lots of phenols and depth for a whisky that fells like its starting to shift down a gear. … Continue reading
Inchgower 12 yo 40% ‘Arthur Bell’ ~ mid 80s vs Inchgower 1993 / 2011 Connoisseurs Choice 43% vs Loch Lomond (Inchmurrin) 9 yo 1985/ 1994 Cadenhead 64%
Inchgower 12 yo 40% ‘Arthur Bell’ ~ mid 80s Very nice, some old soot laden grease, with dry bracken and crunching leaf litter underfoot. Cold coal stoves, burnt butter and … Continue reading
Springbank 21 yo 1996 / 2018 ‘peated type’ Whisky Agency 50.9% vs Springbank 23 yo 1994 / 2017 Nectar of the Daily Drams 50.6%
Springbank 21 yo 1996 / 2018 ‘peated type’ Whisky Agency 50.9% Why isn’t this Longrow then? Because Longrow is double distilled and this was made with the 2 plus distillation … Continue reading
Speyside Region Single Malt 40 yo 1975 Sansibar 50.6% vs Speyside Region Single Malt 43 yo 1973 / 2017 Liquid Treasures #9 46.5%
As unspoken a lockdown as these unspoken malts. Stay sane. Speyside Region Single Malt 40 yo 1975 Sansibar 50.6% As autumnal a whisky as can be. Heaps of parched brown … Continue reading
Balvenie 15 yo 1974 / 1990 Signatory #18103-18130 57.1% vs Balvenie SMWS 40.1 1976 / 1997 60.6%
It’s been a rocky 2 weeks with the pandemic control measures and all. May the whisky gods grant us, and all Singapore whisky bars, a second lease of life soon. … Continue reading
White Horse America’s Cup 43% vs Pillaged Malt 10 yo Vatted Malt 57.1% ~ 1st edition bottled 2003
This head to head comes courtesy of a friend who clearly loves Lagavulin. White Horse America’s Cup 43% ~ 1987 Note this qualifies as a 12 yo Scotch Whisky. It … Continue reading
Teaninich 19 yo That Boutique-y Whisky Company Batch 1 48.6% vs Teaninich 32 yo 1983 Adelphi #6738 47.8%
Teaninich 19 yo That Boutique-y Whisky Company Batch 1 48.6% A gentle nose and a light touch with lithe and somewhat spartan scents. Soft warm wax, green scrapings and off … Continue reading
Bowmore 24 yo 1991 Carn Mor #616 54.9% vs Bowmore 25 yo 1989 Douglas Laing Old Particular #10581 55.1%
Bowmore 24 yo 1991 Carn Mor #616 54.9% It’s a rebound style that leaves behind a decade best forgotten. Can something be both immaculate and peaty? Pure liquid smoke, salt … Continue reading
Irish Single Malt Whiskey 24 yo Batch 1 That Boutique-y Whisky Company 46.8% vs Limerick Slaney Malt Irish 23 yo 1991 / 2005 Adelphi #8585 59%
Irish Single Malt Whiskey 24 yo Batch 1 That Boutique-y Whisky Company 46.8% Brilliantly fruity with a real warmth; And shades of tropical-ness that hearken back to an older era … Continue reading
Isle of Jura 30 yo 1966 / 1996 Signatory #1868/69 52.6% vs Isle of Jura 30 yo 1966 / 1996 Kingsbury #1867 49.7%
Isle of Jura 30 yo 1966 / 1996 Signatory #1868/69 52.6% Love at first whiff. Unbelievable whisky. Deep resinous wood, coal, camphor, oily black leather harnesses, burning caramel, wet tobacco. … Continue reading
Rosebank 1991 / 2009 Gordon & Macphail #2119/2120/2121 55.3% vs Rosebank 21 yo 1989 / 2010 Lombard for Three Rivers #866 58.1%
Rosebank 1991 / 2009 Gordon & Macphail #2119/2120/2121 55.3% Simple, fresh and clean. What more do we need. Soft cream, white sugar, butter on rye bread, plain malt, lemon rind, … Continue reading
Ben Nevis 19 yo 1996 Distiller’s Art 48% vs Ben Nevis 20 yo 1995 Gleann Mor #11308 53.4% vs Ben Nevis 22 yo 1992 Cadenhead 53.5%
Ben Nevis 19 yo 1996 Distiller’s Art 48% Crystal clear and to the point. Poached pears, white wine, gentian root, ivy leaf syrup. An austere and mineral sort of Ben … Continue reading
Lagavulin 25 yo 200th Anniversary 51.7% ~2016 vs Lagavulin 30 yo 52.6% ~ 2006
Lagavulin 25 yo 200th Anniversary 51.7% ~2016 Big meaty nose with sear and burnt bits. A lot of wood in this Lagavulin so much so that its vaunted grizzled oiliness … Continue reading
Craigellachie 31 yo Batch Batch 04-6137 52.2% vs Cragganmore 29 yo 1973 / 2003 Special Release 52.5%
Craigellachie 31 yo Batch Batch 04-6137 52.2% Waxy to a Clynelish-esque extent. It beggared my belief to be sure. Chamomile, hay, sunny days and runny honey. Baked butter tarts and … Continue reading
Convalmore 36 yo 1977 / 2013 Special Release 58% vs Convalmore 36 yo 1977 / 2013 Cadenhead 58.2%
Convalmore 36 yo 1977 / 2013 Special Release 58% Orange chocolate, thick heavy marmalade, loads of cinnamon and cloves, dried apricot, preserved orange peel, touches of astringent and woody petitgrain. … Continue reading
Littlemill 24 yo 1989 / 2013 The Whisky Agency and Acla 52.9% vs Lochside 27yo Single Grain James MacArthur’s Old Master 60.5%
Littlemill 24 yo 1989 / 2013 The Whisky Agency and Acla 52.9% Classic fruity sort of littlemill, with grapefruit and citrons, peaches, passionfruit and rhubarb. More fresh, tart and … Continue reading
Springbank 10 yo 46% vs Springbank 26 yo 1992 / 2019 Whisky Kingdom #153b 47.7% vs Springbank 22 yo 1993 / 2015 The Bottlers #227 51.9%
Springbank 10 yo 46% ~ mid 2010s It’s a lean sort of whisky that’s all very unoffensive though somewhat dull. It’s vegetable peelings. brine, burning butane, working machinery and hot … Continue reading
Imperial 1979 / 1991 Gordon & Macphail 40% vs Imperial 1991 / 2008 Gordon & Macphail 43%
Imperial 1979 / 1991 Gordon & Macphail 40% Honestly a lovely fresh nose with white pepper, cut green fruit, browned grass, rubbed limes, clean clear oil and a touch of … Continue reading
Pulteney 1971 The Piper’s Preferred by Scotchconnection 55.3% vs Old Pulteney 26 yo 1990 / 2017 Cadenhead 175th Anniversary 52.6%
Pulteney 1971 The Piper’s Preferred by Scotchconnection 55.3% A minor German bottler. Nice! Heavily buttered poached pear frangipane. Salt, slight smoke, some engine oil, dried up book glue and pine … Continue reading
Clynelish 26 yo 1990 / 2016 Cadenhead 45.3% vs Highland Park 28 yo 1989 / 2018 Cadenhead 48.8%
Clynelish 26 yo 1990 / 2016 Cadenhead 45.3% Everyone knows 1982 and 1995 Clynelish. 1989 and 1990 were stellar too. Warm fuzzy yellow afternoon hues of hay, honey and toast, … Continue reading
Linkwood 29 yo 1989 / 2019 SMWS 39.180 51% vs Linkwood 11 yo 2007 / 2019 SMWS 39.176 58%
Linkwood 29 yo 1989 / 2019 SMWS 39.180 51% This is a lovely elegant Linkwood, refined by time and wood into a perfectly balanced whisky full of polished wood hues … Continue reading
Strathisla 1967 / 2004 Duncan Taylor 45.9% vs Strathisla 1965 James MacArthur 51.7%
Strathisla 1967 / 2004 Duncan Taylor 45.9% A lot here but its very subtle. Dry aromatic wood notes that can only come from old wood – old cedar panels, pine … Continue reading
Lagavulin 12 yo Carpano Import 43% vs Lagavulin 15 yo ceramic decanter 45%
Lagavulin 12 yo Carpano Import 43% ~ clear glass white label early 70s bottling Big whisky even at 43%. Salty, sooty and greasy. Chock full of little phenolic notes from … Continue reading
Eastern Highland 1975 / 1988 Samaroli Fragments of Scotland 50% (Glen Garioch) vs Glen Garioch 17 yo 1975 James MacArthur’s 54.2%
Eastern Highland 1975 / 1988 Samaroli Fragments of Scotland 50% (Glen Garioch) Just a note that Glen Garioch should not be compared to Islay. Peated with dry earth and chunks … Continue reading
Bowmore 10 yo Devil’s Cask Batch 1 56.9% vs Bowmore 10 yo Devils Cask Batch 2 56.3%
Bowmore 10 yo Devil’s Cask Batch 1 56.9% There’s the 90s Bowmore lime leaf, hot chalk and seared pans. Salt, also cypress and cedar, in fact it is very aromatically … Continue reading
Dalmore 10 yo 2006 46% vs Tomintoul 25 yo 40% ~2014 bottling vs Mackmyra Moments Ledin 48%
Because who says we need to start the year with great whisky? Dalmore 10 yo 2006 46% Fair amount of cask influence. Jammy in a marmalade sort of way, orange … Continue reading
Mortlach 21 yo 1957 / 1978 Cadenhead dumpy 80 proof vs Mortlach 22 yo 1969 / 1969 Cadenhead dumpy 50.5%
Mortlach 21 yo 1957 / 1978 Cadenhead dumpy 80 proof Aha. An ‘old’ nose if there was ever one. Meaning dried chrysanthemum and dried out herbal infusions, lubricants and cold … Continue reading
Ledaig 20 yo 1972 James MacArthur 53.8% vs Ledaig 21 yo 1972 James MacArthur 54.2% vs Ledaig 18 yo James MacArthur 54.4% vs Ledaig 18 yo James MacArthur 55.2% vs Ledaig 23 yo 1972 for LMdW 51.9%
Merry Christmas! Here’s a bunch of 1972 Ledaigs, the high water mark for this behemoth whisky. Ledaig 20 yo 1972 James MacArthur 53.8% This one is clean, maritime and … Continue reading
Aberlour 30 yo 1963 James MacArthur 55.2% vs Aberfeldy 17 yo 2002 / 2019 Distillery Special #20019 54.9%
Aberlour 30 yo 1963 James MacArthur 55.2% Well. An old home with a bit of a tired staleness: Dried lemon slices, old books, old glue pots, dusty dirty paraffin candles. … Continue reading
Dalwhinnie 15 43% ~ 2009 bottling vs Dalwhinnie 27 yo 1966 / 1993 Cadenhead 45.5%
Dalwhinnie 15 43% ~ 2009 bottling Textbook pleasing. Butter on overly burnt toast. Runny honey, fresh cut fruit, bittergourd, museli, the merest hint of snubbed matches that become oddly pronounced … Continue reading
Macallan 30 1963 / 1993 Cadenhead 54.7% vs Macallan 13 yo 1973 / 1987 SMWS 24.6 61.7%
More proof that vintage whisky (and a big name) is not automatically good whisky. Macallan 30 1963 / 1993 Cadenhead 54.7% Old books, dried up glue, even a little cardboard. … Continue reading
Highland Park 33 yo 1977 / 2010 Perfect Dram 52.3% vs Highland Park 10 yo 1973 /1984 SMWS 4.2 57% ~ destroyed label
Highland Park 33 yo 1977 / 2010 Perfect Dram 52.3% Camphor, thin waxes and vitreous resins spread thin and translucent, with a brittle quality to it. Wispy strands of white … Continue reading
Crown Vat 20 yo Blended 27th May 1966 Rotation 66/27 L.W. Cos 169 40% vs Macphail’s 10 yo Pure Malt Scotch Whisky Gold 106 60.5% Meregalli
Crown Vat 20 yo 61% Malt 39% Grain Blended 27th May 1966 Rotation 66/27 Sykes and Co. L.W. Cos 169 40% Retained its freshness despite the age and low abv. … Continue reading
Macduff 21 yo (1970) James MacArthur’s 55.5% bottled Aug 1991 vs Macduff 13 yo 1974 / 1987 SMWS 6.5 58.2%
Macduff 21 yo (1970) James MacArthur’s 55.5% bottled Aug 1991 Almost all the whiskies in this little pocket rocket mini collection have been pure rocket fuel, and this is no … Continue reading
Springbank 15 yo black label 46% vs Springbank 25 yo parchment label 46%
Springbank 15 yo black label 46% One of the cleaner Springbanks. This time some obvious waxy notes, clean sackcloth, a tiny bit of fermenting fruit, fried banana chips, honey, maybe … Continue reading
Bruichladdich 25 yo 1958 Cadenhead, Macallan 15 yo 1946 Securo, Macallan 1962, Springbank 1965 Moon Import The Birds #367, Glenfiddich 29 yo 1956 Intertrade, Clynelish 1974 Modern Masters, Caol Ila 21 yo 1968 for Intertrade, Glen moray 25 yo 1959 Samaroli, Glen Grant 21 yo 1972 Whyte & Whyte, Talisker 1979 Whyte & Whyte
Sample night! So short notes only. Bruichladdich 25 yo 1958 / 1984 Cadenhead Peated yes, but not hugely so. The sort of phenols that’s been transmuted to a secondary level. … Continue reading
Laphroaig 40 yo 1960 / 2001 42.4% vs Laphroaig 28 yo 44.4% (2018)
Laphroaig 40 yo 1960 / 2001 42.4% I avoid using the word smooth, but in this case it seems especially apt. Long age has weathered this whisky into a gentle … Continue reading
West Indies Dark Rum 1948 Samaroli 49% vs Lapalun Rhum Petit-Bourg Vieux Rhum dela Martinique 1952 / 1972 50%
West Indies Dark Rum 1948 / 1991 Samaroli 49% Probably the most nuanced rum I have had the pleasure to taste. In quick succession: molasses, licorice, cedar wood, sweet seaweed, … Continue reading
Dornoch New Make August 2019 60% vs Dornoch New Make 63.5% ~ circa April 2018
Dornoch New Make August 2019 60% ~ from Organic floor malted Plummage Archer, using spent brewers yeast, fermented in open top oak vats 7 – 10 days Thick and oily-sweet, … Continue reading
Tobermory 32 yo 1972 / 2005 49.5% vs Tormore 16 yo 1966 / 1982 Samaroli 57%
Tobermory 32 yo 1972 / 2005 49.5% At first I was taken aback to see that this was an oloroso cask finish, so comprehensively rich was the nose I had … Continue reading
Macallan 17 yo 1965 43% ~ bottled 1983 vs Macallan 29 yo 1965 / 1994 Signatory #1058 49%
Macallan 17 yo 1965 43% ~ bottled 1983 Right. So if you’ve had one of those old sherry matured whiskies where the balance between the sherry and spirit is seamless, … Continue reading
