Whisky 2019 – 80-82

80 – SMWS 27.97 (Springbank) Glazed cashews and lemon lollies

Loads of Campbelltown funk on the nose. A super zingy lemon and honey drive the nose. It’s met by green almonds and the seaside salt of a good sherry.

On the palate lemon zest and gun powder flooded by red plums and tea cake followed by almond butter.

An interesting finish of oil paints, glue and red grapes.

****

81 – Ben Nevis 1992 17 Years by High Spirits cask 2624

Nose: Lemon, peaches steeped in champagne, prunes and apricots

Palate: Grassy and loads of dried pineapple, honey and salted butter smeared on rye bread, loads of funky cask spiciness

Finish: super juicy citrus and stone fruit

****

82 – Ben Nevis 10 Years cask strength Batch 1 distilled 21 April 2008 62.4%

Crisp and clear nose with overwhelming honey with such beautiful fruit sugar brightness, a twist of coffee and toffee.

The palate features loads of tea cake (as expected with Ben Nevis), butter and honey. Some great mineral flinty and coal like, late reminiscent of soft liquorice.

Wine like tannins and stonefruit really pushes through on the finish, honey, maple syrup.

****

Whisky 2019 – 74-79, Glendronach tasting

74 – GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 3
I really loved the simple nose a cross between a lemon eggy pudding and tiramisu.

Great sweet jasmine tea and fig on the palate leading to white peaches and cocoa, green almonds.

The finish has loads of cream and stewed fruit.

***

75 – GlenDronach Single Cask Oloroso #392 1993 26yo for The Whisky List
The nose was woody with loads of dried dark fruit, an interesting but not unpleasant plasticine note, candle wax and finally the Glendronach hallmark orange zest.

Sweet and nutty on the palate, some expressive stone fruit and orange zest, flinty stones and pencil shavings, great umami with dried mushrooms and coffee grounds. Was looking for maple syrup and caramel but was very muted there.

The finish was a bit muted for with old apples and nuts.
****

76 – GlendDronach Grandeur Batch 10 27yo
A real spritely nose with apricots with loads honey, and cake, cake and more cake.

Initial sweetness and a citrus zip, followed by spiced stewed stone fruit with cream. Later on the palate the sharpness of passionfruit with some sun drenched sultanas.

The passionfruit returns for the finish almost a passionfruit pavlova with loads of cream served with a glass of cola

****

77 – GlenDronach Single Cask Maderia #4761 1995 19yo for Whisk-E
The nose has great depth and complexity, hold on to your hats for this! Like I’ve shoved my face into a chiffon cake. Eating prunes and dates dipped in candle wax from a balsa wood box while taking a stroll through a rose garden.

A super sweet syrupy palate to begin with. Prunes and figs, sponge cake, peanut butter and honey sandwiches stuffed with orange zest and pencil shavings.

The finish is friendly prune cake made by my grand mother with day old cream and butter.

****

78 – Glendronach 12 (2011 bottling whisky would be from before the 1996 closing)

Nose: Pencil shavings, waxy and stone fruit

Palate: Pencil shavings, orange zest, figs, cocoa, flinty and honey

Finish: Flinty rocks and honey, dusty.

***

79 – Glendronach Handfilled distilled 05/06/92 bottled 27/02/19 58.9%
Dark, black, brooding… it looks like motor oil.

The nose is quite restrained with dried and dusty coconut but with some time with loads of fat raisins almost like Madeira and peanut butter on toast. Menthol and spearmint appear and after about 30 minutes in the glass real maple syrup on flapjacks.

The palate is packed with cocoa and dark dark dried fruit (dates, figs and prunes) but has relief from red apple skin tannins. Prunes reappears leading to honey, salted butter and finally pencil shavings.

A strong leather and chocolate glazed almond finish.

****

Whisky 2019 – 68-73, North Star Tasting

68 – North Star Fettercairn 12yo, Bourbon Barrel, 54.3%
Nose: Banana split!! Banana cake, peaches and cream. A freaking fruit bomb with freshly cut wood.

Palate: Chocolate ice cream dusted with cinnamon. Really rich with water, creamy.

Finish: A touch of butter and the spice really lingers

***

69 – North Star Invergordon 31yo, Bourbon Barrel, 63.1%
Nose: orange zest, donuts, orange blossoms, pound cake, glue

Palate: great intense sweetness, cream, tiramisu, dusty shelf, vanilla slice

Finish: melted butter, plasticine and woody but still pleasant.

****

70 – North Star Orkney 12yo, Bourbon Barrel, 56.4%
Nose: honey… loads of honey, aspirin, new leather footballs

Palate: heavy mouthfeel initially honey and fire ash hits immediately, dripping with bacon fat, what seems like high acid cleans the heaviness of the spirit.

Finish: Nan Cooper’s malt loaf, cold salted butter, almond shells

****

71 – North Star Spica 29yo, Sherry Butt, 44.1%
Nose: Grapes, caramels, spicy, chico lollies,

Palate: A bit flat and tired, chocolate, black berry

Finish: Cream and wood

**

72 – North Star Vega Blended Malt 1990 28yo, Sherry Butt, 44.5%
Nose: Asian corn snacks, leather and spice, green peas, ham and mustard sandwich, sulfur

Palate: Gas bottles, coffee grounds, Jaffa, red plums, dates, pop corn, integrated sulfur

Finish: old bicycles tires, port, pop corn

Loads of fun ****

73 – North Star Vega Blended Malt 1985 33yo, Sherry Butt, 44.5%
Nose: Old apples and red apple skin, heather, caramel, chocolate

Palate: Creamy, pencil shavings, orange zest, fat raisins, muscat, red apple, caramel

Finish: cream, salt, bracken

****

Whisky 2019 – 61-67, Fleurieu Tasting

61 – Springbank 15 (early 2000s bottle)
Nose: Nose of a wax dipped brown banana, caramel dipped old apples, pencil shavings and a hot chocolate on a dusty shelf, hit of my mother’s apricot jam on a honey joy biscuit.

Palate: Beautiful mouth feel, cooling even. A very gentle whisky Honey, burnt rocks and old cream. Green leaves about to smoke.

Finish: Old wood, green leaf smoke and apple snow.

*****

62 – Fleurieu New Make
Nose: Apricot kernels, raw dough, apricots, raisins

Palate: Super intense fruit sugar, raisins, pastry

Finish: Gentle citrus

(No score as new make)

63 – Fleurieu Fountain of Youth 53.3%
Nose: Chestnut flower honey, rubber, salt water taffy

Palate: Raisins, old butter, golden syrup, green figs

Finish: Prunes and muscat grapes

***

64 – Fleurieu single port cask, selected by Whisky and Alement 49.7%
Nose: Super intense sweet honey and again the metallic taste of chestnut honey, white cheese mould, lemsip, grape seed

Palate: Plum cake, salt, cold butter, sweet jasmine tea

Finish: Prunes in maple syrup

Still a bit young for me

***

65 – Fleurieu Cartoon Lourve peated port and sherry cask (Not released)
Nose: Spicy rubber, honey and plums, smells very sweet

Palate: Chocolate, ash and madarin

Finish: Honeycomb and cream

****

66 – Fleurieu 7 Banger blend of 7 105L casks (Not released)
Nose: Cake, cake, cake and more cake, chocolate mousse, pepper and grape seed, cardamom

Palate: Creamy, salt, prunes, plums with a great mouthful, chalky and marshmallow, spicey cake

Finish: Salty butter, plums

***

67 – Fleurieu We’ll Always Have Paris – peated cask strength
Nose: Leaves, caramel, blue vein cheese, grapes and prunes

Palate: Burnt chocolate cake, ashy rocks, prunes, with some great mineral elements

Finish: Old leaves, prunes, grape seed

***

Whisky 2019 – 58-60

58 – Cambus 1991 25 years by Liquid Treasures “Faces on Angkor”
Nose: Initially the sweetness of jaffa cakes and strongly reminiscent of tiramisu. Bolstered by marzipan sweets and green apricots fallen in a rocky orchard. Orange zest grated over cold butter, the power of the cask (which I assume is PX) is evident.

Palate: There is a tiny influence of sulfur but that settles quickly to reveal an intense coffee, molasses, liquorice and chocolate backbone. Tropical fruits, specifically rock melon and kiwi smothered in whipped cream and drops of Manuka honey. It has a heavy and interesting mouthfeel – doesn’t seem like a grain whisky.

Finish: Lots of cocoa and that tiramisu makes a comeback.

****

59 – Daftmill 2006 “Winter batch” 5 first fill bourbon casks limited 1265 bottles
Nose: Really heavy on the nose deep biscuity notes and lemon drops, peaches with fresh cream and eggy pudding, obviously bourbon cask.

Palate: Much lighter spirit than I expected but the biscuit and cream note hits late and heavily and has pound cake smothered in almond cream.

Finish: Butter poached stone fruits show up wrapped in salty grape vines.

****

60 – Daftmill 2006 Cask 039/2006 57.4%

Nose: Heady toffee and dark caramel leads to flat coke and milk chocolate, dates and figs. Deep and heavy.

Palate: Tannic but well controlled … but but but … where’s anything else? Maybe some dark chocolate and dried fruit but I’m struggling to identify much else. With water it settles quite a bit, but only to reveal musk, meringue, spice and white pepper.

Finish: Woody, maybe a bit too old.

***

Whisky 2019 – 55-57

55 – Craigellachie 1980, 16 years by Cadenhead 59.3%
Nose: wax, tropical fruit, vanilla candles, lemon balm, white peaches with cream, aspirin

Palate: autumn leaves, sweet and ripe tropical fruit, ash, stones, caramel

Finish: shaving cream, old leather, dry spice, apple skins, olive brine

****

56 – Port Charlotte 2001 bottled 2016 by Eld Vatten sherry hogshead #901
Nose: Chocolate, prunes, liquorice, bacon and cheese Cheetos, vanilla extract, wax

Palate: Baked apples, ashy, creme caramel, salty, brown sugar

Finish: Camp fireplace, cream

****

57 – Nikka Black Aromatic Fruity & Sweet limited edition 2017
Nose: melon, pears, wax

Palate: cream, apricots, old apples, pear juice, tropical fruit

Finish: cream and coffee

***

Whisky 2019 – 51-54 – Silver Seal Tasting

51 – Glen Elgin 1995 by Silver Seal – Madame Butterfly 51.9%
Nose: Cake mix, lemon zest, glacé fruit, milk coffee, kiwi fruit, pineapple, cherries

Palate: hot, heavy dough, salty, biscuits, marzipan, kiwi

Finish: pepper, spice, toasty eggy cakes

****

52 – Glen Garioch 1990 by Silver Seal – La Norma
Nose: Toasted coconut, white peach, leather, sea salt caramel, cream

Palate: Toffee, almonds, orange zest, nashi pear, nectarines, dry leaves

Finish: Old papayas, cream

****

53 – Glenburgie 1989 by Silver Seal – Cavalleria Rusticania
Nose: Grilled pineapple, mango, cream, caramel, cake mix, formic acid, yeast, stone fruit, malty

Palate: Brown sugar, grilled tropical fruits, cream, spices, dried cherries, tobacco

Finish: Cream, spice, salt

****

54 – Bowmore 1990 by Silver Seal – Pagliacci
Nose: Cream, pencil shavings, caramel, pound cake, dry leaves, prunes, paprika

Palate: Kiwi, beautifully clean sugars, salted lemon drops,

Finish: Beautiful clean tropical fruit, flinty, minerally

*****