Whisky 2016 – 110-113 Old Crow, Zurich 

110 – Swiss Highland Single Malt Whisky Classic
Malt, banana bread, warm coke and cloves. Nothing just slight cream and some bananas.

111 – Signatory Gottfried Koller Edition Glen Turret 1986 Cask 302
Cream, herbs, band-aids, yeast. Pencil shavings, melon, bitter herbs and salt. Really well put together.

112 – Bowmore Feis Ile 2006
Ozone, warm deep frying oil, panforte, Xmas pudding, dried pineapple, banana lollies, chocolate brownie fresh out of the oven, yeast. So fruity – peaches and apricots, vanilla custard, pencil and wood shavings and a medicinal heather finish.

113 – The Cross Hill 1990 Ben Nevis 2008 Bottling
Glue, pizza, fruit straps, rubber, maraschino cherries, red apple, lemon meringue. Rubber, sulphur, raisins, brown butter, salt and port. A-ma-zing!

Whisky 2016 – 107-110 Old Crow, Zurich

107 – The Arran Devils Punchbowl II
White peaches, cream, ice cream, clove, apple snow, apricots. Bitter herbs, cream, brown sugar and brandy snaps.

108 – Royal Island 30 Years Arran (but really Bunnahabhain and Bowmore)
Chalk, pencil shavings, manzanilla Sherry, apples, toffee, stone fruit. Pencil shavings, some cream, pepper, cloves, pop corn, green herbs, salty.

109 – Springbank 12 1990s bottling
Christmas cake, dusty and fruity, brandy, brown sugar, salty butter, rose hips, egg white, apricot . Huge butter, caramel and rubber, coffee, apricot delight, passion fruit. Brilliant, top 5 this year, easy.

Whisky 2016 – 106 Old Crow Bar, Zurich

So more traveling this time in Zurich. Jetlagged to hell, I decided that is was worth trying to find the Old Crow Bar. Bloody hell was it worth it! I’ll be going back again during my short stay. 

I had two drams; a Glendronach 15 Revival (geddit??) I’d had many times before but this Ben Nevis is up there with some of the best whisky I have had. Not the huge jammy apricots or marmalade that I associate with Ben Nevis but loads of cocoa and chocolate and so elegant. 

106 – Ben Nevis 1973 1999 Cask 750
Sarsaparilla, maple syrup, medicinal, vanilla, maraschino cherry. Cloves, cocoa, chocolate, vanilla, coffee, green herbs, musk, slight fruit. 

Whisky 2016 – 102-105 Campbelltoun Loch, Tokyo

The Campbelltoun Loch is small, cramped, run down (don’t expect suit jackets) and full of whisky gems. It’s serious whisky drinking business.102 – Ben Nevis The Whisky Agency 2013 1995 18 Years
Old leather, cake mix, almonds, green herbs, hazelnuts, as it opens up more and more cake mix – it is stunning. Slow to start but this amazingly long cake mix thing which lasts and lasts, apricot jam in a cake.

103 – The Prestonfield 1975 Ben Nevis Cask 7440 La Maison du Whisky 34 Years
Cake mix, crushed ants, hazelnuts, apricots and orange juice. Chocolate, tobacco and cigars, apricot jam on buttered toast, hazelnuts, chocolate. Smells like it is going to come alive in the glass?!?

104 – The Old Malt Cask Ben Nevis 19 Years 2013 Ref: HL12148
Pancakes, honey, oranges, stewed apricots, dark toffee and brown sugar. Apricots, green herbs, slightly bitter, crepes, vanilla, Fanta, malty.

105 – Kingsbury Glenrothes 2004 11 years
Rubber, sarsaparilla, smoked paprika, chicos, sulphur. Chocolate and vanilla, Xmas spices, ginger biscuits, cocoa powder on vanilla ice cream, roast chicken.

Whisky 2016 – 100-101 

Back in Tokyo! At the wonderful Mash Tun. Owner Suzuki-san is a wonderful host and has some very unique bottlings. I will be going back! 

100 – The Mash Tun and The Whisky Agency Ben Nevis 1998 Peated
Walnuts, ham, huge truffle nose. Meaty and sweet, typical Ben Nevis jammy apricot fruit but wow, such savory complexity. Simple but so well executed.

101 – The Whisky Agency Ben Nevis 1996 20 year Sherry butt
Honey, gunpowder, mushrooms, jersey caramel. Caramel, green herbs and apricots, churned butter, some slight earthiness. 

Whisky 2016 – 97-99

97 – Wilson & Morgan Ben Nevis 18 Year Old 1996
Huge rich honey nose, melted butter, rose petals, stewed apricots. Roasted bone marrow, fruit sweetness, some young sprightly herbs, citrus zest and pith, dusty.

98 – Adelphi Glenrothes 9 Year Old Cask 3532
Deep wood, leather, caramel, heavily perfumed. So big, dry wood, maple sugar, musk, buttery, apricot brandy, pancakes, sarsaparilla, plastics.

99 – Cragganmore Special Edition 14 years Bottle 0075
Grapes, turps, candle wax, apple, colored pencils, brown sugar. Pencil shavings, slight apricot and cream, wax.

Whisky 2016 – 91-96 (Westland Whiskey tasting)

91 – Westland American Oak 46%
Chicos, white peach, passionfruit, chocolate, pears. Didn’t enjoy the initial palate a bit plastic but coffee, peach, pears, vanilla, roasted barley tea.

92 – Westland Sherry Wood 46%
Honey, honey, honey, honey, honey, honey, butter, crumpets. Maraschino cherries, pears, cloves, toasted muesli.

93 – Westland Peated 46%
Medicinal, salted crisps, seaweed, honey, toffee, roast pork. Bracken, toffee, salt, apples – but that damn roasted note keeps coming back.

94 – Westland Garryana 56.2%
Banana split with caramel sauce, pound cake, chicos, pear, apricot, jammy. Rubber, spice, pound cake, strawberry jam, salty, stewed apricot, hazelnuts.

95 – Benromach Organic 2010
Green barley, mint, cold butter, malt, fresh garden peas cooked in butter, green bananas, cooked apples. Fresh and minty, malty, banana with cream.

96 – SMWS 66.81 Black Bun by a peaty hearth (Ardmore)
Oil paints, dry manzanilla sherry, beer nuts, toffee, pork crackling. Soy sauce, dry smoke, oily, sweetness, over ripe apple.

Whisky 2016 – 84-89 (Puni Whisky Tasting)

84 – Puni Nova First Edition 54% DISTILLERY ONLY RELEASE
Malt, cream, cold butter, salt, stewed apricot, toasted hazelnuts. Great mouth feel, poach pears and their liquid, salt, bit bitter on the finish

85 – Puni Alba First Edition 54% DISTILLERY ONLY RELEASE
Wood and tequila, pine, salt, slightly medicinal, over ripe apple, brandy snaps. Medicinal, cream and salty… not much else.

86 – Puni Nova Batch 1 43%
Fruit lollies, bananas, malt, malt bread, lemon balm, pear nectar. Slight malt, salty, loads of cream. Not much to it.

87 – Puni Alba Batch 1 43%
Smells like new make, malty and heady, wood, egg white, salty, dry sherry, Chinese cooking wine. Slightly green, herbaceous, slight smoke, green capsicum, pepper.

88 – Silver Seal Highland Park 28 Year Aida
Stewed apples, deep spices, all spice, pine, geraniums, spearmint. Cream, salt, tobacco, chocolate and apricot. The length is crazy on this thing… minutes after still getting stewed fruit.

89 – Spencer Collings & Co – The Founders Reserve
Brown sugar, dark toffee, honey comb, sarsaparilla, marshmallow, vanilla. Honey, toffee, caramel, dark malt cake. Stunning heavy whisky.

Whisky 2016 – 82-83

82 – Douglas Laing’s Old Particular Ben Nevis 18
Fruit tingles, fake vanilla, marshmallows, jersey caramel. Green grass, slight smoke(this is probably because a tasting is going on and they are burning something), caramel, mango, grilled pineapple, bitter orange zest.

83 – The Odd Whisky Coy Southern Coast 2011 American Oak
Wooden, chocolate milk, turps, salt, cloves, malted vanilla milkshake. Malted chocolate milk, salty, milky and malty (repeats), slight tropical fruit.