Some crazy independents here – thanks to my buddies Kelvin and Yao at The Elysian Whisky Bar. The Bowmore and Tomatin were my picks.
92 – Berry Brothers 1992 Dailuaine 22 for Shinanoya
Apricots, dried fruit, orange zest, vanilla cake, light Xmas spice. Creamy, grilled stone fruit, green grass, roasted shallots.
93 – Three Rivers Whisky Talk Fukuoka “The Statue” Bunnahabhain 22 Years
Vanilla cake, apricots, slight meaty, ice cream, cloves, handcream. Gentle, fruit cake, hazlenut oil, really nutty, buttery.
94 – Kingsbury Auchroisk 1991 Sherry Butt Cask 2555
Dry ginger, orange rind, leather, sarsaparilla, cloves, wood, salted peanuts, plastic. Hairspray, old butter, leather, beef broth, stewed apples, coffee grounds.
95 – Three Rivers Bowmore 1996 Hogshead Cask 960039
Wet cardboard, caramel, LPG, steak and kidney pie, pepper and honey. Green grass, loads of honey, leaves, hot volcanic rocks, cream, ash, green plums, kiwi fruits, gooseberry, pencils shavings, band-aids.
96 – Glenflorres 12 Years 1970/80s bottling
Warm short bread, eggy pudding, mango, orange zest, slight licorice, wood resin. Soap, lavender, lemon balm, air freshener, slight creamy finish… soooo freaking weird.
97 – Tomatin 8 Years Limburg Dramclub 2015 Club Bottling 5
Chocolate dipped bananas, white chocolate mouse, cloves, cinnamon sticks, cherry ripe. Sweet tomato paste, caramel, banana lollies, pepper candy (is that a thing), musk lollies, clove and quince jam. Huge amounts of vanilla cream and spice with water, old butter finish.
98 – Chieftain’s Mortlach 1997 19 Years, Cask 5245 for Drunken Master Bar
Chicos, powdered gravy, Terry’s chocolate orange, vanilla beans, roasted pumpkin, mushrooms and earth. Sarsaparilla, woody, tea and wine tannin, cream, rubber, dusty, dried cherries and old prunes.
99 – Kingsbury Laphroaig 2000 16 Years Cask 3621
Jersey caramel, bacon on a campfire, sweet autumn leaves, plastic. Bone, mulch, burnt bacon, clear sugars, lemon pith, stones in a fire, banana leaf, slight rubbery.