Tag: Bruichladdich

Whisky 2019 – 97-99

97 – Bruichladdich 2004 13yo by Silent Third Kyoto Cask 1543

Heavy maple and crispy bacon smoke on the nose, with heather and rich nori butter

Palate of wood smoke with a great heavy coating mouthfeel. The caramel and peat very fell integrated into orange zest scented Xmas pud.

The orange zest continues on the finish and turns dusty into date and date syrup.

****

98 – Tweeddale “Grain if Truth” 46%

Nose: Honey leads to jersey caramel and a slight earthy new make smell.

Palate: nicely sweet and then some nice chocolate milk notes but that’s about it. It’s simple.

Finish: Stays chocolate milk and hot and a little cream. Pretty flat on the finish though.

*

99 – Littlemill 1988 bottled in 2015 by Pearls of Scotland Cask #135

Nose is intensely over sherried wood, leather, maple syrup and hairspray.

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Initially sweet and spicy, it is rancio in the extreme. Some great plump raisins and cooked pastry but those old wood notes are a frontal assault. There is really clear fresh and dried figs.

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Finish is salty and woody, unsurprisingly.

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Love this dram for it’s uniqueness… but objectively it is only good as those woody rancio notes are ridiculous.

***

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Whisky 2019 – 91-96 – The Single Cask Tasting

91 – TSC Royal Brackla 2006 11yo Cask #310864

The nose was chocolate dipped pineapple with a side of sweet milky tea. Some nice woody notes.

Sweet and oily palate. Lemon tart, resin and chestnuts with spice. With water sweet jasmine tea

Simple sweet and salty finish.

***

92 – TSC Braeval 1994 22yo Cask #165641

Nice nose of snickers bars, stewed stone fruit and toasted coconut.

Simple and straightforward bourbon cask palate that is full of tropical fruit. It has nice creamy and woody notes.

Finish is really delicious salted coconut milk with fresh mango.

***

93 – TSC Deanston 1997 20yo Cask #1982

Curious nose with great earthiness like terrariums. Some chocolate and surprisingly gun powder. End notes of jasmine flowers.

Older Deanston are known to express waxiness on the palate and this certainly did. It was sweet and tropical like tinned pineapple and salty. The the earthy and mineral notes came.

The finish was salty sweetness with leather.

****

94 – TSC Tobermory 1994 23yo Cask #SA1294

Nose: roasted chestnuts, earthy, apricots and salt, vino cotto

Palate: hot and salty, peaches, really interesting and complex.

Finish: bitter and oily but in a good way.

Super confusing dram.

***

95 – TSC Ledaig 2008 10yo Cask #700076

Nose is gluey and oily, salty and maritime. Crisp green apple.

Palate is like licking a painters pallet splashed with fruit cordial.

Oily and maritime, standing in the sea spray.

****

96 – TSC Bruichladdich 2004 14yo Cask #12

Generous nose with apricots, crispy bacon, leather and carob. Reminiscent of old butter slathered on camp fire toast.

According to everyone at the tasting this is my type of palate – super sherried, super rancio with controlled sulfur. Great black fruit and proper maraschino sweetness. Loads of Christmas pudding!

A gentle finish which is dusty and has the umami of dried shiitake

****

Whisky 2018 – 164-162 – Whisky Agency 10th Anniversary Tasting

164 – Ben Nevis 1996 21yo Hogshead, 50.3%
Nose – lemon, citrus, cake mix, marzipan, orange fizz,
Palate – cream, salt, vines, bitter caramel
Finish – cream, sea salt, toffee

165 – The Perfect Dram Irish Whiskey 1989 28yo Barrel, 49.9%
Nose – leather, wooden boxes, rosemary, snickers bar
Palate – sun dried peaches, almond shells, salted butter, passion fruit
Finish – cream, butter, brown sugar, dried apricots

166 – Speyside Region 1979 38yo Barrel, 43.4%
Nose – caramels, stonefruit, glue, old paper, red apple skins, peach melba, orange jelly
Palate – sweat, sulphur, toffee, Xmas spice, juicy
Finish – cream, fruit syrup

167 – Speyside Region 1973 44yo Butt, 48.6%*
Nose – cream, glue, match heads, grilled peaches, mint, caramel, crystallized violets
Palate – apple crumble, ice cream, dried apricots, cold salted butter, mango ice, condensed milk
Finish – cream, cream, toffee apple, woody, fruit mince pie

168 – Highland Park 1999 18yo Hogshead, 51.7%
Nose – honey, salt, boiled oranges, green bananas
Palate – chalky, fire place, brown sugar, shortbread, salt, bitter caramel
Finish – match heads, rubber,

169 – Bruichladdich Heavily Peated (Port Charlotte) 2003 14yo Sherry, 52.9%
Nose – honey, smoked sweet paprika, melted butter, cheese and bacon Cheetos
Palate – pepper, smoked beef fat, rotten eggs, bruised apples
Finish – rock in a fire, chalk, medicinal

170 – Springbank 1996 21yo Hogshead, 50.3%
Nose – green peanuts, roses, roast chicken, caramels, apricot jam, cream, eggy pudding
Palate – cream, medicinal, Xmas minced fruit, salted butter, cloves, honeydew
Finish – matchsticks, brine, bruised apples

171 – Springbank Peated Type (Longrow) 1996 21yo Hogshead, 50.9%*
Nose – peanut butter icecream, glue, fresh dough, pepper, poached pear, chicken skin
Palate – smoked chicken, apricots, salt, nori, flowers in the country
Finish – brine, chicken skin, slight medicinal

172 – Irish Single Malt 28 Years “Black Irish” 42.4%
Nose – flat coke, cream, tropical fruit, woody, maple syrup on French toast
Palate – Maraschino cherries, liquorice, super dried out peaches, oden eggs
Finish – cream, loads of dried stone fruit and spice

Whisky 2018 – 115-119

115 – Bruichladdich 8 Years Maltbarn 2009 Lafite Cask
Nose – Honey, chlorine, salt, lemon balm, raspberry lollies
Palate – honey, lemon zest, sulphur, waxy vanilla pods
Finish – salt and a lick a peat, brown sugar, honey on crumpets

116 – Cadenhead blend bottled for Whisky and Alement 56.5%
Nose – apricots, bitter chocolate, leather, tobacco box
Palate – honey, salt, butter, marshmallow,
Finish – vanilla cream and salty butter

117 – Glenrothes 2006 by Wilson and Morgan casks 6160-61-62
Nose – leather, flinty, manuka honey
Palate – honey, prunes, salty butter, Xmas cake,
Finish – slight rubbery note, prune, dates, sulfur

118 – Glendronach 1995 for the Whisky Exchange PX Cask 4028 55.4%
Nose – plum jam, marshmallow, toasted hazelnuts, stewed apricots
Palate – sarsaparilla, cream, woody, light honey and butter
Finish – red wine tannins, woody

119 – Konigsmann Whisky Mortlach 1997 Cask 10092 Bourbon Cask 2015
Nose – tobacco, cream, kiwi fruit, weak green pepper and cream
Palate – eating tobacco, salt, cream, smoke(?), cream, rock melon
Finish – drying white wine tannins, malt cake, chewy

Whisky 2018 – 38-43, North Star Tasting

38 – North Star Cambus 1983 24yo Single Grain, PX Sherry Barrel, 52.7%
Nose – glue, wood, sherry funk, wheat, cherries, rum and raisins
Palate – cream, mushroom gravy, toffee, honey
Finish – cream, iced coffee, grapes

39 – North Star Benrinnes 10yo, Bourbon Hogshead / Sherry Barrel Finish, 49.1%
Nose – banana paddle pops, fruit leather, roses, metallic, green rockmelon
Palate – honey dumplings, tropical fruits, great mouthfeel, yeast, chocolate
Finish – coal, cake mix

40 – North Star Glen Moray 2007 9yo, Bourbon Hogshead, 57.7%
Nose – banana lollies, tropical fruit, glue
Palate – hazelnuts, banana pies, brown bread
Finish – cream, salt, tea tannins

41 – North Star Orkney 17yo, Bourbon Hogshead / PX Sherry Finish, 55.2%
Nose – rubber, dust, soy sauce, maple
Palate – rubber, apples, Cheetos, milk
Finish – burning rubber, old whisky

42 – North Star Bruichladdich 15yo, Bourbon Hogshead / French Oak Finish, 57.1%
Nose – rich woody stewed fruit, chlorine, butter, maple, dried anchovies
Palate – medicinal, red fruits, brown banana, honey, coconut rough
Finish – weak soy sauce, tea tannins

43 – North Star Islay Malt 12yo, Bourbon Hogshead, 52.3%
Nose – pork, sweat, tropical fruit, bananas, leaves, white cheese mould
Palate – coal, pepper, pepper, smoked fish, medicinal, oil paints
Finish – salt, oily fish, sugar syrup

Whisky 2017 – 166-171 – The Gresham, Brisbane

Back in Brisbane for work and I took the opportunity to visit The Gresham again. Fun place, not up to the standard of Mebourne’s biggies but a solid selection. The Octomore 7.3 was excellent! 

166 – Signatory Glenturret 1987 Hogshead Cask 374 50.1%
Short bread, preserved lemons, leather, caramel, Marion’s fruit buns, jelly fruits. Herbaceous, peaches, apricots, butter, cream, salt, tobacco, menthol, hobnobs, milk chocolate.

167 – SMWS 46.32 Glenlossie “Summertime and the whisky is easy” 1992 22 years
Toffees, Madeira cake, kiwi fruit, pineapple daiquiri, malty, macadamias, soapy, bubbling bicarb. Disappointing and confused on the palate the butter hits after a strange bitter note, stone fruits, sulfur, shortbread, slight iced coffee.

168 – Glendronach 2003 PX Puncheon Cask 4034
Wood shavings, marshmallows, pineapple upsidedown cake, lemon butter, chicos, peanut brittle and ozone. Whipped cream, wood, leather, salt, roasted peanuts, rose petals, melted butter, hazelnuts, loads of Manzanilla, weak raspberry cordial, still young and fresh, slightly dusty and green almonds, chestnut cake.

169 – Glendronach Peated
Cream, apples, band aids, imperial leather soap. A really pleasant dram fruity (peaches and apples) and friendly, some oaky and buttery notes and a touch of flinty smoke. Pretty simple but easy drinking.

170 – Ardbeg Kelpie
Heather, leather, cream, caps, salt, pink pepper corns, honey, plastic toys, ham on rye, apple snow. Earthy and leafy, flint, coals in a cold fire, cream, Guinness – better on the nose.

171 – Bruichladdich Octomore 7.3
Caramel toffees, plasticine, Eaton mess, smoke, wood glue, fake Parmesan, milk chocolate, leafy. Quite dry and smokey, bacon and HP sauce sandwich, dried apple rings, sulfur, salt, cream, tea tannins, burning leather and bracken.

Whisky 2016 – 65-67

65 – SMWS 127.44 Cantina Mexicana (Bruichladdich)
Plastic, sulphur, salt, pulled pork, roasted capsicum and pickled chilies, peppery. Taken aback by the initial sweetness, peppery and chilies, bitter cocoa, mustard fruits, toffee and rubber.

66 – Riverstown Ben Nevis 16 Years
Cream, bourbon, tiramisu, caramel, stewed apricots, candied orange, toasted coconut. Marmalade, toffee, cucumber, cream, pepper, yoghurt.

67 – White Oak Akashi 14 Years (White wine finish)
Beef stock, brown sugar, varnish, turps, leather. Brown sugar, maple, slightly floral, heavy and delicious.

Whisky 2016 – 57-64 Bruichladdich Tasting

57 – Laddie Classic Batch 16/004
Chicos, green herbs, wood, rubbery, toasted almonds, roses. Caramel, sea salt, leather, custard

58 – Micro Provenance 12YO Sherry Hogshead
Bitter cocoa, hand cream, slight clove cigarette, brown sugar, huge sherry, Chinese herbs. Rubber, dry white wine, brown sugar, rum, sarsaparilla. Lovely.

59 – Port Charlotte Scottish Barley
Fake Parmesan cheese, plastic, iodine, seaweed, boiled sweets, lemon zest. Salty, dry herbs, slight bacon.

60 – Port Charlotte Islay Barley 2008
Glue, new make, tequila, ozone, plastic. Sugary, herby, tobacco smoke, BBQ meats.

61 – Octomore 7.1 Scottish Barley
Butterscotch, caramel, salty sea. Sea weed, iodine, slight smoked meat, dry herbs and salty.

62 – Octomore 7.4 Virgin Oak
Hospital, iodine and clove, strawberry cheese cake. Dry cake spices, clove cigarette. Great!

63 – Arran Private Cask Milano Whisky Festival 2014 6 year sherry Hogshead
Crushed ants, dusty, salt, butter, grilled peaches. Butter, toasted, sarsaparilla, custard, peaches, woody and perfumed. Definitely in my top 5 for the year. 

64 – Adelphi Glenrothes 9 Years
Chicos, dusty, wood glue, cloves, pound cake, prunes, plums, tea. Caramel, custard, cloves, spiced biscuits, white pepper and cream.