Tasting with social distancing and isolation is a bit difficult. Things have certainly slowed down. Thankfully some whisky bars have been sending samples.
40 – SMWS 63.49 (Glentauchers) In the dark of the abyss
Nose is intensely vanilla, with delightful citrus rind. Some caramelised figs and hazelnuts, toasted marshmallow and musk.
Palate is very sherried. Very woody and a slight sulfur note. Dry cooking spices, vanilla cream, dried apricots and dates.
Finish rubber, wood char, toasted nuts, brown sugar and praline
****
41 – Four Roses Single Barrel – Warehouse KE Barrel 64.3E
Nose vanilla cream, cracked pepper, cardamom, crushed ants, raspberry and raspberry leaf, pink marshmallow and orange zest. A lovely backbone of shoe polish and spice.
37 – SMWS 27.111 (Springbank) A coal bucket full of marshmallows
Nose unmistakably Springbank. Earthy, tobacco funk with a lattice of sweetness, leather and brandy snaps, dusty, roses
Palate sweet but not cloying, a heavy spirit. Leather bound books, orchard fruits. More fruit with water, start seeing beautiful waxiness, stone fruit and peanut brittle.
Nose is typical butter cake, apricots, brandy snaps, buttered toast with that metallic note. Also there is some menthol… with time in the glass it became waxy.
Palate apricot crumble with melty vanilla icecream – truly delicious. Some interesting waxy, ice coffee, and hay notes.
Finish green grass, coffee cream and saltiness
****
39 – Hazelburn 2003, 13 years Oloroso cask bottles March 2017
Nose fruit cake, buttered fruit toast, campbeltown funk
Palate is honey joys, fruit cake, bruised apples, wooden shelves, dried cranberries
31 – Cameronbridge 1984 35YO by Signatory cask 19300
Nose of caramel, leather, intense white stone fruit, crushed ants, grilled pineapple, bones, cola
Palate it tastes big for 49.6% butter cream, bourbon cream sticky buns, horlicks, milky coffee
Finish green pineapple and rose hips
****
32 – Linkwood 1996 22YO by Signatory casks 8731+8732
Nose pepper on steak, honey, stone fruit, green pears, kiwi fruit skin
Palate cooling and cold, but feels narrow and one dimensional, stewed pears, steel and honey
Finish mead and fennel seed
***
33 – Deanston 2008 11YO by Signatory cask 900072
Nose firecrackers, dried apricots – the nose is for me beautiful and promised so much.
Palate is sulfur, pop corn, soy sauce, honey and stone fruit but the sulphur tired cask notes overwhelm… it’s faulty to me and I love over done sherry.
Finish salt and heather and more sulfur.
*
34 – Bunnahabhain 2007 12YO by Signatory cask 586
Nose is pineapple upside down cake, steel, chocolate
Palate: honey, strawberry jam, sulfur
Finish green grass and melted butter
**^
35 – Clynelish 1995 23YO by Signatory cask 11242
Nose is pretty simple; malt, steely, honey, grape stems
Palate dusty, honey, soy, rocks and sand. With water old tired sherry is revealed and it is not pleasant.
Finish soy and old sherry cask
**^
36 – Caol Ila 2007 11YO by Signatory casks 322307+322308
Nose banana leaf, glue, salt, honey yoyo biscuits
Palate stones, sea, medicine cabinet, driftwood
Finish medicinal and the sou’wester of a brusque dockmen
19 – Glen Elgin 1995 by The Whisky Agency 23 years 48.2%
Nose is beautifully waxy and full of tropical fruits, river stones, marshmallow and green apricots. It is beautifully elegant.
Palate is initially sweet and pure and cheeky like raspberry lollies. Green grass, green mangos, cream which leads to riper mango flavours.
Finish is creamy and loooooong. Slight hints of salt, minerals and fruit.
****^
20 – Highland Park 2003, 14 years bottled for Duty Zero cask 6138
Nose is richly peated and sherried; like a beautiful smoked ham dipped in toffee. Walking through an orchard in autumn.
Loads of minerality on the palate, honey, toffee pecans and green sticks.
The finish is a lovely mix of charcoal and marshmallow
****
21 – Balblair 1990 by Kingsbury 23 years refill sherry cask 10116 52.9%
Nose honey, mandarin, leather, cloves, peanut shells. Very restrained.
Palate is powerful and eye opening. Honey and reserved citrus – like a citrus gel. Toffee and burnt caramel and apricots.
Finish waxy and gentle citrus.
****^
22 – Springbank 1991 by the whisky agency 27 years 46.4%
Nose is beautifully waxy and shows loads of fruit including apples, bananas and apricots. There is caramel and slight spice – some Springbank funk and old whisky smell.
The palate is rich and deep. Old apples, fruity, old and funky, waxy and pristine. Honey and super nutty. Wow there is some interplay between the elements.
But wow this finish is just nuts. It lasts for ever with mango and wax. Old whisky, candles and apples, dusty draws. It is elegant and pristine – the warmth of a smile from a girl in a summer dress.
*****
23 – SMWS 80.10 “Champagne and Roses” Glen Spey 11 years 55.8%
Nose is honey and floral, slightly nutty and toasted, pine resin
Palate is quite dry and hot … super biscuity, loads of shortbread. I understand why “roses” is in the title as it is slightly floral and rose hips.
Finish is green sticks, salt and slight cream
**^
24 – SMWS 9.167 “Part of the furniture” Glen Grant 23 years
I’m digging the nose apricots, hand cream and sticky date pud, maple walnuts
Palate is straightforward coffee, green grass, cream, green mango
13 – North Star Inchgower 11yo, Bourbon Hogshead, 52.5%
Interesting nose of honey, mandarin and menthol. Cold salted butter and Some steely notes.
Palate is consistent with the nose and shows loads of honey and dry spice, salty melted butter on toast. It’s quite hot.
Finish is surprisingly ashy, salty and woody.
***^
14 – North Star Girvan 26yo, Bourbon Barrel, 53.5%
Nose is bounty bars, marshmallow and woody which leads to pine resin, apricot brandy
Palate is initially light, loads of cream and vanilla hits and leads into saltiness and stone fruit.
Finish salty whipped cream, green plants, and some coconut cream
***^
15 – North Star English Whisky Co 11yo, Burgundy Barrel, 49.8%
Very sherry like nose woody, lpg, funky and tannic, honey, heather and medicinal, quite meaty. It promises a lot.
Palate is confused with intense green capsicum, some pepper. Late there is some old tired wine casks, tannin and some positive minerality.
Finish is rubbery
*^
16 – North Star Blended Grain 36yo, Bourbon barrel 52.5%
Nose is crushed ants, butter, and quite bourbon like with notes of vanillin and pancakes. Some lemon balm and cherry strudel adds some real intrigue.
The palate is all toffee and stewed fruits. Some varnish, melted butter and brown sugar. Interesting fatty nuttiness like Brazil nuts.
Finish is great fruit sweetness, salty and clear… and super juicy.
****^
17 – North Star Glenrothes 11yo for ralfy.com 10th Anniversary, Oloroso Butt, 51.4%
Nose is typically sherried Glenrothes that salty boiling caramel thing I really like. Then some prunes and muscat grapes, honey, maraschino cherries.
Palate is super honey, prunes with great minerality. Later there is cold sweet ice tea and apricot jam.
Finish is simple and a bit surprising with river stones and ash.
****
18 – North Star Caol Ila 9yo, PX Sherry Finish, 51.8%
I found the nose quite exciting with pine, tar and Cheetos and some fruitiness from prunes.
Palate is bushfire with some nice seaside elements like crushed prawn shells and seaweed. Some fruit with prunes again and then with water a wonderful cinnamon sugar donut.
Kicking off for 2020. For reference ^ is half a star.
1 – Glenlossie 22 Years 1997 by Maltbarn no. 117 bourbon cask
Nose is full of apricots and glacé ginger on top of a vanilla pound cake, layers of strawberry jam and hints of juniper.
Palate is dense with whipped cream, spice and salt. Reminds me of Ben Nevis with grassy notes, but was expecting more stone fruit.
Dried muscats and prunes on the finish
**^
2 – Old Pulteney 1983 American & Spanish Oak Casks 46%
Deep and brooding, loads of dried dark fruits like prunes and dates, lifted by orange zest. A clear but not unpleasant metallic and varnish element. With some time liquorice and chocolate. Surprisingly a few hints of watermelon and green plums.
Palate salty butter, sea spray, bitter caramel, tea tannins and almond shells. Quite layered and complex for a 46% whisky. Apple snow with a lick of cream leads to hay and malt.
Finish is lovely notes of tobacco, cream and candied apple.
****
3 – Craigellachie 2008 10 years by Battlehill, sherry cask finish no. 759000943
Ok super interesting Maggi chicken 2 minute noodles, butterscotch, prunes and wonderfully dusty.
Palate is intense dried prunes and figs. Fino sherry liveliness that lovely maritime and apple note. Slight ashiness.
The finish is long and fills your lungs, rubber, spice and terrariums.
****
4 – Glendronach 1992 26 years port pipe cask no. 5896 49.3%
Steel, zinc, metallic in the most wonderful way. Nail varnish, cocoa and orange zest, cloves, anise and plastic. Ice coffee mixed with melted butter!!! This nose just keeps giving – prunes and sun warmed plums. This is a glorious nose.
Palate was cooling initially and then really clear black fruit sweetness hits. Some interesting dry bones, black berry vines, nori butter flavours. Finally super nutty – caramelised pecans and walnuts.
Great finish of walnuts cooked in salty brown butter.
**** (mainly for the nose)
5 – Glendronach 2006 13 years Oloroso puncheon cask no. 3359 56.7%
Wow what a nose – cream, caramelised stone fruit, beautiful apricots and peaches, toasted brioche with mascarpone and hot toffee.
Palate has beautiful stone fruit and berries, some great toasty notes. Imagine brioche (again) with tinned pears cream and clove.
Finish is sweet and buttery… berry sweetness mixed with metallic elements not overwhelming at all but long and extremely pleasant.
