Tastes

* Review transferred from the listing for the 2005 expression, now that one is available for the 2004. Nose: Soft smoke with floral and fresh damp earthy overtones. Imagine a campsite surrounded by wildflowers: it's just on dawn and there was a heavy dew last night, and the smell of damp campfire fills the area. The air is fresh and crisp and there's a breeze carrying pine pollen from the nearby trees. You relight the fire and throw bacon into the skillet. [The dry glass aroma is gentle bonfire smoke]. Palate: Light sweet smoke to start with on the arrival, then opening into citrus flavours and honey-cured bacon. The development has a bite of blue cheese and some soft berry notes with an emerging hint of creosote and the faintest briny touch. Finish: The palate softly segues into a smoky finish with a hint of meatiness and some pleasantly sour resin and lemon peel. Dry, mildly chilli-hot and lingering. An elegant and gracefully peated whisky - the very antithesis of a heavy-handed peat monster. A willowy, pale young thing with the confidence to take on the world and the talent to pull it off. I'd rather spend time with this than with some of the big-name Islays (many of which are getting somewhat self-satisfied and lazy these days). Benromach has been distilling a “Peat Smoke” expression since 2000, and the maturation has varied from 7-9 years. The batches differ slightly wth a slight change of profile each time. This 2004 expression was fairly typical. Benromach expressions have a different quality of smoke to those form Islay. It’s softer, warmer and less resinous – a little more like Orkney peat, but more woody than heathery. This whisky takes water well. The nose is not much changed, just a little more phenol aroma as oils are released, and the palate gains a sprightly honey and ginger edge that flows through into the finish to balance the citrus tang. Very enjoyable, this and the 15 year old are my favourite Benromach expressions so far. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)

Nose: Deep, earthy smoke. The peat-reek is like the smell of good sweet compost mixed with honey and vanilla. It’s a dark and moist fragrance with butter, caramel fudge and creamy dark chocolate highlights. Behind the rich tone there is a companion fresh aroma of maritime breeze carrying a different and more subtle oily and ashy smoke. The two threads are perfectly balanced and sing a faultless duet. In the backdrop there are faint heather and wildflower floral hints, like dried petals smelled from a distance, and a touch of fennel. Palate: A luxuriously soft and spicy arrival with no hint whatsoever of the alcohol volume. The development builds slowly and you can sense it nearing like a tsunami. First there is a wave of thick, warm vanilla cream, soft fruit and smoky oak. That wave retreats and then the second wave comes unexpectedly crashing in with a thunderous wall of smoked meats drenched in a chocolate, cardamom, paprika and licorice root mole. The slightest tinge of citrus salt seasons everything perfectly. Finish: Eternal. Angelic. Smoky, subtle briny licorice and tobacco. Spicy, sweet, umami salt at the end, with hints of smoky butterscotch. The aftertaste stays with you literally for hours. An amazing whisky, one of the best I’ve ever tasted, and certainly one of the finest Octomore expressions, if not the apex. Right up there with the 10 year old Second Edition, but whereas that is a perfect balance between smoky and fruity tones, this Octomore is all about the smoke, with a huge cast of other supporting aromas and flavours adding colour. Some Octomore expressions can be reticent and shy, their personality needs to be coaxed out of hiding. Not a bit of that here – this one commands the stage from the first sniff until the final resounding notes echo away. It is, however, also incredibly approachable – a gentle giant - and water is simply not needed for dilution. However if water is used a few drops are all that is needed to uncover even more body (!) and sweetness and enhance (!) the smoke even further. I was fortunate enough to find two 30ml tasting samples of this fine spirit but I'm pretty sure whole bottles are unobtainable now. However if you do run across a bottle do not pass up the opportunity. “Excellent” : 89/100 (4.75 stars)

* Review transferred from the listing for Naked Grouse, now that an appropriate listing has been made. Nose: Sherry, fruit and a tiny hint of smoke. Palate: A smooth but firm entry with a little bit of spice. In the development it becomes stronger with sweet and spicy flavours. Finish: Medium, sweet and lightly spiced. From mid-2017 The Naked Grouse has been a blended malt marketed as the Edrington Group’s answer to William Grant's Monkey Shoulder. Don’t confuse this with the older Naked Grouse, which was a scotch blend. The seal around the neck of the bottle will clearly say either “blended Scotch whisky” or “blended malt Scotch whisky”. Reformulating it as a blended malt did not change it a great deal as it is still based on Highland Park and Macallan malts, but of course previously it had a core of grain whisky. I’m not certain which one, but the Edrington Group owns North British, so it was probably that. There is honey, light fruit and a touch of smoke from the Highland Park, stronger fruitiness, spice and sherry from the Macallan. It’s not so much what the whisky has gained from becoming a blended malt but what it has lost, which is that typical “ethanol” and slightly bitter/metallic taste that comes from mass-produced column still grain whisky aged in tired casks. The removal of this has given the whisky a softer and more relaxed palate, and a better finish. It’s an OK malt blend, and for me it’s better than Monkey Shoulder (which has a more toffee character) at the same price. It lacks the delicacy and clarity of the lower range Compass Box blended malts, but is equal to their blended scotchs. The only fault I found was that after the level got down to half-way it started to oxidise strongly, and became a little sour and bitter. The honeyish tones disappeared. It’s one to use up fairly quickly as a mixer. “Average” : 77/100 (2.5 stars)

Nose: Mild, soft and almost floral smoke. Leather, sweet malt, brine, earth, seaweed/iodine, menthol, eucalyptus, deep rich but subtle soft fruit (apricot, peach, over-ripe orange). If 24 carat gold had an aroma, it would be like this. A great nose. Palate: A spicy and smoky arrival with cracked black pepper and chili that is balanced in the development by sweet cereal and stone fruit flavours, a little vanilla, and a touch of oak. It’s an earthy palate overall, but there is sweetness as well. Finish: Long, with smoky and sweet/salt notes, like a very mild salt licorice. Some lime zest in the finale. A really good whisky that is very similar to the Kilkerran 12 year old expression but turns up the amplitude of everything throughout. Being younger, there is a slight prominence to its smoky nature and the fruity, honey and vanilla characteristics that it shares with the 12 year old are not quite as developed. Altogether this gives it a more exuberantly fresh profile, but even so there is an elegance and assurance about it. However it’s not what I’d call a soft presentation - you engage with this whisky on its terms, not yours. Bottling it at cask strength ups the ante further, adding considerable drive to the expression. For what is a fully bourbon cask matured whisky I detected only a little vanilla, so I guess refill casks were used. It’s certainly very spirit-driven. I enjoyed this very much, but on the whole I enjoy the 12 year old 46% expression even more. Others might prefer the strength and vigour of this cask-strength version, but for me the balance in the 12 year old is perfect and more engaging. Sampled at a Sydney whisky shop tasting, January 2018. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)

* Sydney Balvenie whisky tasting night, 26 April 2018. Whisky #5. Nose: Ironbark honey, malt, apple conserve with cloves and cinnamon, warm Anzac biscuits (Google it if you’re not an Aussie), and a resinous thread of oak with some anise lurking in the corners. A much more cereal and earthy nose than any other Balvenie I’ve tried, with a whiff of sulphur (which I didn’t mind – it just added a funky soil note). Palate: A glorious arrival of chewy, fragrant oak. Vanilla and spices (ginger, cardamom, cinnamon), shortbread covered with milk chocolate. Dried fruit compote. A complex, multi-faceted development with heather honey, red cherries, raspberries, more spices (ginger) and some older leathery oak. A salivatingly firm, immense, mouth-coating texture. Finish: Long, long, long. Ginger spice, sweet malt balancing oak tannin. Some lighter fruity notes make a surprise appearance. It stays with you effortlessly. I was surprised by how different this whisky was to everything that had preceded it. Less of the classic Balvenie profile - woodier and muscular throughout. Another participant said she was surprised how different this was to the Batch 3 expression, which had more “juicy” characteristics. I enjoyed it a great deal and thought it to be the best whisky of the night. The 21 year old Port Wood was not far behind, but this had more complexity and was “interesting” rather than friendly. It’s a quite expensive whisky, but worth it if you have that sort of disposable income. “Excellent” : 88/100 (4.5 stars) Addendum: There was a 6th expression in the flyte but I can’t list it on Distiller. It was a hand-drawn cask sample of 35 year old Balvenie provided for us by the brand ambassador. Aged exclusively in refill bourbon and about 45% abv, it is one of the ingredients in the Tun 1509 Batch 4 and was stunning. The nose was astonishingly a return to the 12 year old doublewood, with fresh fruits and immense honey and vanilla, but also with an unmistakable maturity but hardly any oak character. The palate – well, it was like drinking liquid gold and probably the most mellow whisky I’ve ever tasted. Imagine a whisky that tastes almost like melomel and you’re getting there. It had something of a resemblance to Highland Park 18.

* Sydney Balvenie whisky tasting night, 26 April 2018. Whisky #4. Nose: The classic Balvenie dusky floral orange and honey nose appears here in a more mellow form. The orange note has almost completely transformed into apricot, peach and stewed plums, and the honey has softened into a velvety curtain. The port presence is restrained and elegant, giving the nose a lift of red grape and cherry aromas. The Balvenie vanilla is also present however this time it’s not vanilla flowers, but more like the smell of warm Portuguese pastéis de nata. Palate: A lush, sweet arrival with plums and berries is balanced by a malty note that saves it from being cloying. In the development there are cherries, raisins, honey, hazelnuts, dark Belgian chocolate and vanilla cream, but all very subdued and soft. Finish: Medium. A fruity chocolate/vanilla dream that fades in the most gentle and gradual manner imaginable. I’m always a little cautious with port or madeira finishes as the result can too often become a grotesque caricature. Sherry is somehow easier to manage and combines well with most distillates (PX can be surprisingly wonderful with heavily peated expressions), but other fortified wines can be a risk. However if there is anyone who can pull it off it’s Balvenie’s David Stewart. The result here is a very fine whisky that is all about velvety-soft subtlety. Seductive sweet fruity notes are layered with just enough complexity to add interest but keep the story straightforward and eminently approachable. The port finish avoids any obvious wine presence and instead contributes fruity notes and a muting of the the oak tannins. This is how port should be used – not as a simple flavouring but as a finishing agent – like giving a final polish with the finest grade of jewellers’ rouge. I enjoyed this whisky a lot but I can understand how other palates might find it too restrained and laid-back, and it is rather expensive. I liked it enough to buy a bottle at the tasting, but I don't think I'll replace it once it's finished. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)

* Sydney Balvenie whisky tasting night, 26 April 2018. Whisky #2. Nose: Vanilla and a light caramel fudge with fruity aromas jostling around the sides. A tiny coconut hint once it has developed in the glass for a while. Palate: A soft chewy cereal arrival. Malt, vanilla, cinnamon, caramelised white sugar, raisins, brown sugar and a somewhat "furry" ginger spice that appears in the development and is tingly rather than hot. A rich creamy texture. Finish: Medium/short. The warm ginger/cinnamon spice lingers but veers slightly towards bitter dryness at the end as a molasses/rum note becomes apparent. The profile is surprisingly similar to the 12 year old double-wood expression, but turned up in intensity and with fudge-toffee rather than honey, and tropical fruits instead of dusky orange throughout. The slightly spicy edge adds some interest but to be honest I didn't notice a particularly strong rum character to this anywhere except right at the end, where it lingers as a mild background flavour. A palatable whisky that is one step up from the 12 year double-wood, but quite a bit more expensive. Whether it is worth the expense is an individual choice, but personally I'd stick with the double-wood. I didn't think this expression offered all that much more for the money, and if you want to step up in quality you're better off jumping straight to the 17 year old. (It would be interesting to compare this with a 12 year old doublewood bottled at the same 43% abv - I think the gap between them would close even more). "Good" : 83/100 (3.5 stars)

* Sydney Balvenie whisky tasting night, 26 April 2018. Whisky #1. Nose: Vanilla, honey and dried fruits are immediately prominent. Behind these aromas there is a warm bouquet as of dusky orange blossoms or orange pomander balls in an old oak armoire. This is balanced by a light fragrance of fresh grapey sherry. It's a beautifully balanced and welcoming nose. Palate: A soft arrival that again features honey and vanilla, but this time leavened with sweet malt. Gentle warm spices appear throughout (cinnamon, nutmeg) and build in the development but there is no heat or nip at all - it's a very friendly palate. Dried fruits (sultanas, raisins) and sweet nuts (almonds, hazelnuts) appear against a background of mild oak. A very smooth and gentle mouthfeel like creamy milk chocolate. Finish: Short. Warm honey-malt that tails off fairly quickly, but not a trace of hot spice or bitterness - sweet to the end. A very pleasurable whisky that has been consistently good for a quarter of a century. Warm, comfortable and soft - like a favourite pair of slippers that are a little threadbare and plain but fit sooooo well. Impeccable balance and elegant simplicity. It's not a particularly complex or deep whisky, but it's not meant to be. Balvanie has a finishing philosophy of sewing things together neatly rather than attempting to fabricate complexity, and this is a fine example of that concept put into practice. The Balvenie new-make is delicate in flavour and robust in texture, and its character shines forth in all of their whiskies regardless of age or casking, from this one right through to the Tun expressions. It's an ideal second or third whisky for the novice or for relaxing with after a long day when you want a gentle companion rather than a challenging conversation. The only criticism I'd make is that it would benefit from bottling at a slightly higher proof. It's right at the boundary between 3 and 4 stars for me. "Good" : 83/100 (3.5 stars)

Nose: Light orchard fruit, mainly apple. Ethanol, light malty notes and the vaguest possible hint of smoke. Rather thin. Palate: A light smooth arrival but little character overall. Faint sweet apple cider. When used as a mixer it becomes quite sweet. Finish: Short. The cidery note trails off into slight bitterness from the grain component. This blend of Black Bottle is only available in the Australasian/Pacific region. It is bottled in a clear green round bottle of a style that has been used before in the UK for this blend, however the current UK bottling has reverted to the original style flat-oval opaque black glass bottle. Be warned: This blend bears no resemblance to the UK blend. This is a light bodied, fruity whisky somewhat like Cutty Sark and while it is pleasant it has little to recommend it, and at AUD$50 a bottle it is overpriced. Every online site I have seen that stocks this has a description that has obviously been cut-and-pasted from an overseas site that carries the UK blend, which is completely misleading. I have even been to liquor shop whisky tastings where this has been brought out and described as a “highly peated” blend by folks who have obviously never tasted it. I have tried to no avail to find out exactly why this blend is sold in our local market exclusively, and more importantly why we do not get the standard Black Bottle blend (which is available universally through travel retail). “Adequate” : 70/100 (2 stars)

Scotland, September 2017. Whisky #3. Nose: Floral sherry, fruit and smoke. A thick porridge-like cereal aroma. Hefty for a blend but a little ham-fisted. Palate: Smooth and sweet arrival, almost cloyingly floral and smoky. A definite cider-malt flavour like fermenting wort. Tobacco, nutmeg, toasted bread. Finish: Short/medium. Smooth but trailing into a touch of bitterness. An enjoyably rich blend that is best neat, over ice or with water. The only big fault is a tendency to become a little overbearing after the first dram. It is a self-consciously “masculine” blend that tries a little too hard. As a mixer it is almost too assertive. This is an old blend that has gone through many changes over the years. At one time it boasted all available Islay malts in the recipe, but today Bunnahabhain is the only remaining Islay component (it is quite smoky so either it’s peated Bunnahabhain, or the peat is coming from some other malt). John McDougall, who worked for many years with the company that owned the Black Label brand, says in his book “Wort, worms and washbacks” that it was always something of a mongrel blend, created from what was available at the time. Some years it was not produced at all if there was insufficient necessary malt available, and the character often varied. Apart from that it has changed hands many times and the overall profile has been completely altered several times, varying from light and fruity to deep and smoky. NOTE: Do not confuse this with the Australasian bottling of Black Bottle, which is totally different. See separate review for that blend. “Average” : 76/100 (2.5 stars)