Tag: duncan taylor

Whisky 2021 – 10 – 13

10 – Tamdhu 1991 24yrs 54.4% by Cadenhead

Nose is fruity and full of fruit jelly. Jersey caramels, cream and grassy. Orange blossoms.

Wow the weight on the palate it is thick and rich. Intense apple, grassy, egg white and spice. Cream and caramel.

Finish more spice and a touch of creme patisserie.

3.5/5 Stars

11 – Irish 21yr 1998 by TWA 51.3%

Nose is peach tea and mango. Almonds and milk chocolate. Liquorice and interestingly the slight saltiness of soy sauce?!

Palate is all juicy dried peaches and peach ice tea. Leads to green grass, LPG and cream.

Finish is like sitting under an almond tree in the sun eating toast with peach jam.

4/5 Stars

12 – Port Ellen 1983 27yrs by Duncan Taylor cask 672 49.4%

Nose is seawater and plums. Bruised apples and seaweed. Flinty. Pineapple jelly, pear juice and caramel.

Palate is super complex. Beautiful Fruit and peat and minerality. Iodine, burnt bacon and juicy tropical fruit.

Finish is long… seaweed, iodine, and bacon and scallop sandwiches with lingering diluted stone fruit.

4.5/5 stars

13 – Springbank 25 2020 bottling

Nose is peppery and fruity (topical and stone fruit). Burnt butter porridge and pineapple. Seaside pier wood.

Palate is fresh cut apricots and bruised apples, brambles. It has leather and salt. It’s pretty flinty, and has good oyster shell. I wanted a little more it felt a touch light.

Finish is buttery and funky in only the way Springbank can do with wood and spice.

4.5/5 Stars

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Whisky 2019 – 124-127

124 – Craigellachie 12 for Quaich Bar Cask #39215 PX
Nose that is strongly honeyed, with cold butter and minerality. Some liquorice and caramel, slight ozone and green hills. Palate has honey continuing, deep woody notes and controlled sulfur there is a lovely puff of marshmallow. That honey note is even in the finish and there is some real earthy soil.

****

125 – Springbank 12, 1996 NC2 by Duncan Taylor 46%
Nose of honey, hay and (unpleasantly) plasticine but the apricots and tropical fruits are positive. The palate is gentle and tropical with dried salted mango and a hint of peanut brittle. Simple finish of grape vines. Hmmm… disappointing.

**

126 – Ichiro’s Malt & Grain 2019 bourbon barrel for The Whisky Plus cask 7172 59%
Delicious grilled bananas with brown sugar on the nose followed by raspberry lollies, dried pineapple, vanilla and crushed ants. Palate is very bourbon like toasted pound cake with vanilla cream, butter, some stone fruit, waffle cones. Lovely long but simple finish of tropical fruits and rancio.

****

127 – Longrow 1993 10 year old
Nose of lemon barley! Some old bottle effect is there but it blows away with time to revea caramel, hay, salt and pepper. The palate has some Campbeltown funk, bruised apples in light caramel sauce with toasted sesame seeds. The finish has more bruised apple then apricot seeds and green grass.

****

Whisky 2018 – 105-111 – Shinanoya Tasting

Massive Shinanoya whisky tasting thanks to the Elysian in Melbourne. Some real cracking drams, the Coopers Choice wasn’t on the tasting, just felt like an extra.

105 – DOUGLAS LAING OP CRAIGELLACHIE 1995 SHERRY BUTT 20YO 700ml 59%
Nose – rubber, chocolate, mint, dust, honey, red wine cask
Palate – brown sugar, roasted almonds, hay, sherry, dark caramel, musk, caramelized apples
Finish – musk, brown sugar, cream

106 – DUNCAN TAYLOR DIMENSIONS LAPHROAIG 1997 HOGSHEAD – 18YO 700ml 52.8%
Nose – ham and pineapple pizza, custard, oysters, barnyard
Palate – leaves, nuts, green sticks, honey, butter, roasted garlic
Finish – medicinal, glue, salt

107 – GLENDRONACH 1995 PX SHERRY PUNCHEON #4029- 20YO 700ml 55.2%
Nose – heavy brown sugar, dried apricots and peaches, old butter, green pepper, tobacco
Palate – caramel fudge, brown sugar, musk sticks, manuka honey, salt
Finish – melted butter and caramel sauce

108 – HUNTER LAING OMC BOWMORE 2001 REFILL HOGSHEAD – 13YO 700ml 57.3%
Nose – honey, old leaves, glue, yeasty dough, rosemary crackers, lemon pith
Palate – tropical fruit, kiwi fruit, ash, medicinal, minerals
Finish – heather, salty, burnt matches

109 – BERRY BROS RETRO LABEL CLYNELISH 1997 HOGSHEAD – 17YO 700ml 47.1%
Nose – honey, aspirin, mandarin zest, passion fruit jelly, granita biscuits, waxy
Palate – fruity, waxy, red frogs, apricots, pear juice, chicos, peaches, honey
Finish – grapefruit pith, salt, slight smoked ham

110 – KILCHOMAN 2009-2015 OLOROSO SHERRY BUTT FOR SHIMAJI PEN – 5YO 700ml 59.9
Nose – corn chips, smoked fish, barn yard, pickled onions, honey, dusty, lemon zest
Palate – honey, great mouth feel, ashy, pepper, sushi rice, blown out candle
Finish – old apples, pencil shavings, chlorine, melted cheese

111 – The Coopers Choice 1995 Benrinnes port finished 18 years cask 9547
Nose – cream, tropical fruit, toast and honey, wax, apples, raspberries, rock melon
Palate – waxy, chewy, fennel, cream, apricots, egg whites
Finish – salt, cream, old apples, slight woody,

Whisky 2017 – 126-128

Was at Melbourne institution and grand dame of whisky bars; Whisky and Alement with a few of my watch nerd friends. When the owner Julian found out we were drinking IB Clynelish he pulled out a Wilson and Morgan 18 year old Tokaji cask – wow what a dram. Not enough for me to make some notes but very intense clear stone fruit – pure and fresh. That said these bottlings were excellent too – no shame there. 


126 – Duncan Taylor Dimensions Clynelish 19 Years 1995 Cask #4676
Freshly cut stone fruit, apricot log, milk chocolate, corrugated fence on a hot day, pepper, rose hip jelly, strawberries. Cream, salt, licking a knife, slight herbal butter note, stewed apricots with clove and cardamom.


127 – Signatory Clynelish 1996 for The Whisky Exchange, Cask 6509
Red apples, toffee, metallic, stone fruit, peanut brittle, clover, stewed apricots. Brown butter, pancakes, old apples, rubber, cream, orange zest and pith, glacé orange, dark chocolate.

128 – Acorn Clynelish 1997 18 years Homage to Caledonia Cask 6934
Apricots, metallic, yeast, brandy snaps, light honey. Brown bread with butter and honey, stewed stone fruit, very elegant and refined. 

Whisky 2017 – 73-74

73 – Duncan Taylor Hemp Sparrow Islay blended malt 1997
Crushed sea shells, almonds, light and fruity, slight glue and barn yard, honey jumbles, apple pie, pizza. Crushed prawn heads, Christmas cake, salt, slight dusty.

74 – Bowmore 2001 by Whisk-e for Nippon Bartenders Association Ginza Branch bourbon Barrel Cask no 31928
Wood glue, pine wood shavings, fruit and soft caramel, dusty. Fruit, autumn leaves, salt, such fruity length with smoked salmon and vanilla cream, underripe apples, peanut brittle. Thick and chewy.