Tastes

Nose: Stewed apple and mustard (!), grilled peaches, pineapple, menthol and white grape vinegar. With time there are buttery aromas of warm bread and vanilla, but there is a lot of blanketing white wine present. Over time it does relax and become more mellow. A dash of water makes the nose softer and more expansive. Palate: Sweet cereal with a little ginger and chili in the arrival. Croissants, black coffee and grapefruit in the development. The texture is good, but not outstanding, and the mouthfeel is spritzy with a drying quality. Water improves the palate by tempering the spices and elevating sweetness to give balance, and it also makes the texture creamy. Finish: Medium. Spicy cereals fading to tart grapes and gooseberries, with a hint of sweetness in the aftertaste. As with the nose and palate, the finish is softened and much improved by reduction. The nose on this is better than it sounds, but it does tend more towards the interesting side of things than the enticing, and much the same is true for the palate. I thought it was brittle and almost acetic when neat but a dash of water removed that and improved the whisky in many ways. Definitely water this one. I like the core range Original expression from Cape Byron a lot … I think it’s a genuine over-achiever and quiet hero in our local whisky scene, and the Chardonnay Cask expression they released a while back was even better. This expression does not impress me quite as much as it feels like the buttery tropical fruit character that is Cape Byron’s trademark profile has been overpowered by the ex-viognier casks. Viognier is a dry white and these particular casks imparted a flinty, hard edge to the distillate that is almost fizzy and sour at times. Tasted from a 30ml sample. “Above Average” : 81/100 (3 stars)

Nose: Grassy and grainy (hay, cut grass, green vegetables, crushed dandelions) with a lot of fresh-sawn wood. There’s a fruity note but it’s more like tinned apple slices than fresh apples and also an odd perfume-like note that I finally realized was vanilla trying to punch through a lot of cabbage water and yeasty bread dough. Water has little effect on the nose. Palate: Solventy-sweet arrival with aggressively sharp white pepper and a sweet grassy flavour. The texture is oily but as it develops the pepper builds to cancel the texture. Dandelions, sawdust and raw white flour. Again, water does virtually nothing to the palate. Finish: Medium/Short. Grassy cereal fading to weak black tea and a slightly sour aftertaste. This is very young whisky and while I don’t criticize a whisky just for being young (there are plenty of excellent 3-5 year old drams around) this one smells and tastes like it is barely out of the cradle even though it is apparently 4 years old. The fact that reduction has almost zero effect on it also says a lot about how young this is. There is a lot of potential here but this whisky needs way more time to rest and gain some maturity. I had the feeling that the distillate was fat and oily but the casks were ferociously raw and overpowering it. Nc’nean has received a lot of positive comments and to their credit they are serious about sustainability and artisan quality, but I think the distillery is being hyped a bit too much and that never does any good. Tasted from a 30ml sample, I’ll come back to their whisky in about 12 years and see what it's like when it has grown up. “Average” : 79/100 (2.75 stars)

Nose: Apples, pears, apricot, peach, pineapple, musk sweets, honeycomb, milk chocolate, vanilla nougat with cherries and almonds. There are also deep honeyed floral notes wafting around in the glass. It’s a very fresh-fruit nose with spice and floral accents. However it’s the addition of a little water that really unfurls the aromas with buttery baked bananas and crème brûlée showing up. Palate: The arrival is drying and woody, then opening to a little spice (cinnamon). The development brings orange, weak coffee and some oak tannins. The texture is creamy. Reduction improves the palate as much as it did the nose, the whisky retaining its neat balance but gaining a soft blanketing warmth that perseveres. Finish: Medium. Nutty, herbal and spicy fading to grapefruit. Water softens the finish and adds welcome barley-sugar sweetness to balance the grapefruit. A very enjoyable whisky that is both warm and comforting but also curiously refreshing. Tasted neat, the nose is a whole fruit-shop of aromas and the palate is a spicy treat, but it’s only when it is reduced just a touch that this whisky displays its elegance. The old Nàdurra 16 year olds that were botted at around 55%abv or more were excellent whiskies, and while this Travel Retail 48%abv First-Fill expression captures some of their profile there is a depth of character that only 16 years of maturation can bring, and I miss it in this dram. The 16 year old has not been produced since 2014 and although there are cask strength editions of Nàdurra First-Fill Selection available it’s worth keeping an eye on the auctions in case a 16 year old comes up. It would be well worth the extra expense. Tasted from a 30ml sample “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)

Nose: Light cereals, honey, fresh-cut grass, orange juice and orange zest. There is a little hint of vanilla but it’s fleeting and the main sensation is of a spritzy, crisp nose. When nosed neat there is an obvious alcohol nip but a dash of water clears that away and the nose gains a buttery note. Palate: Ginger and orange with Szechuan pepper and a pinch of hot cinnamon. Lots of zingy oak tannins and unripe fruit. The texture is creamy but masked by the spicy crispness. The palate is immediate and does not show much progression, which is to be expected from a blend (even a good one). Finish: Medium/Long. Zesty spices that recede to sourdough bread with an afterthought of bitter citrus oil. I’m feeling that 21 years was probably too much oak contact for this spirit, particularly the grain whisky component. Instead of mature softness it has a rock hard tannic personality and I’m not convinced that bottling it at 50%abv was a good idea. Lower alcohol content would have allowed it to speak more calmly, instead of shouting from start to finish, and it's hard to create the necessary poise by just adding water at tasting time. The other Black Bull blends I’ve tasted have displayed stewed fruits and fortified wine whereas this has crisp, tannic, almost astringent ex-bourbon cask traits. It’s interesting to taste but a bit one dimensional and it’s not a whisky I’d buy or recommend. Tasted from a 30ml sample. “Average” : 79/100 (2.75 stars)

Nose: Sweet grapes, white stone-fruit, lemon drops, green olive brine, mild peat smoke. There is a machine oil note, wet oily wool and a suggestion of a peat bog as you squelch through it on a rainy day. Adding a dash of water adds depth to the nose without changing the profile. Palate: Sweet, salty and smoky on the arrival in the classic Ardbeg manner with pears, barley sugar and honey on display, but this is a delicate, gentle dram with an initially diaphanous texture. As it develops it veers towards dryness, becomes briny (almost tequila-like for a moment!), more citric and the texture gains body, becoming silky. Reduction with a dash of water brings out more barley sugar but does not turn the palate sour or rubbery, as can often be the case with peated whiskies. Finish: Medium/Long. Salty, smoked citrus-fruit with some pepper. There is a dash of eucalyptus oil and a little bitterness in the aftertaste. This bitterness disappears when the whisky is reduced. Very easy to drink and quite mild in comparison to other peated whiskies, this could arguably be summed up as the subtle and pretty face of Ardbeg. It is definitely youthful but contrary to my expectation the peating level seems quite low. It is not bombastic or raw, which some young peaters can be, but instead it is contained and controlled. I was unsure what reducing it would do but fear not, it is capable of taking water with ease. It does not lose anything but becomes more gentle, soft and sweeter. I like this young Ardbeg a lot. For all its youth it’s quite charming and it would be a very good choice to pour for yourself and a novice to whom you are introducing peated whiskies. As for the name "Wee Beastie", don't assume that they are inferring that this whisky is a monstrous creature. On the contrary, it’s a cute little beastie like Robbie Burns' wee mouse, or the otters that are sometimes seen near the distillery. Tasted from a 30ml sample “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)

Nose (neat): Resinous wood, tobacco, raisins, figs, cloves, nutmeg. There is a very strong alcohol “nip” on the neat nose that intrudes on the nosing experience and prevents access to the more subtle aromas. Unfortunately one of these is the peat smoke which is very fragrant but subtle. The more this rests in the glass and the initial alcohol vapours dissipate the more smoke you notice and the less the wood notes intrude. Nose (reduced): The oak cask and smoke aromas blend to perfection once a dash of water is added. The rest of the nose is also softened a touch, gains golden syrup aromas and the final result is not unlike Glenfarclas 105. Huh, who knew? Palate (neat): The arrival is hot and huge with the 61% alcohol ransacking the palate. The heat does, however, fade fairly quickly into a development of semi-sweet dark fruits, spices and Christmas cake flavours (cherries, figs, dates, currants, treacle, dark sugars, walnuts, almonds, nutmeg, cinnamon). The texture is oily (this has mammoth legs when swirled) but on the mouth it is a little thin. Curious. Palate (reduced): As with the nose, a dash of water works miracles on the palate by melding everything together, reducing the alcohol hit and revealing more sweetness. It was not until I added water that I actually tasted smoke. Finish: Medium/Short. Treacle, dark fruit and a little smoke fading to a spicy aftertaste. Water lengthens the finish and leaves a trace of smoke as the final taste. This is the third of my three recently acquired tasting samples of high-strength Limeburners whiskies and once again there is that presence of resinous wood, but in this expression it is less intrusive as it melds with the peat smoke. Like with their Port Cask expression this whisky did not really wake up and perform until it was reduced, and I guess I reduced it to about 45% before it was dialed in to my taste. At that stage it is very good and the best Limeburners expression I have tasted. Looking back over old tasting notes (not recorded on Distiller) my previous favourite Limeburners was also a Peated Director’s Cut expression so there is clearly a pattern. What I’m taking away from these three recent tastings is that Limeburners whiskies typically betray their youth, except when peated, bottled at high strength and reduced. When those three factors are in play smoke combines with the youthful, woody house profile and adding water releases sugars and complexity. I’d note, however, that even this expression is still a rather simple dram and as tasty as it is, complexity is not a hallmark of Limeburners whisky. This is also expensive for what it is and I would never contemplate buying a bottle, but I’m pleased to have had a chance to try a sample, get to grips with the distillery style, and figure out exactly what it was that attracted me to the Director’s Cut expression I had several years ago at a show tasting. When tasted neat I was going to give this whisky 84/100 but after adding a dash of water that rating is going up to 85. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)

Nose (neat): Fortified wine, pipe tobacco, balsa wood, raisins, figs, cloves, nutmeg. There is a strong ethanol hit and an earthy quality but young resinous wood aromas tend to push everything else aside. Nose (reduced): Lots of berry notes, the wine aroma sweetened, the dark fruits deepened and the resinous wood all but disappeared. Much better. Palate (neat): Big, sweet and hot tannic arrival with raisins, dates and almost burnt molasses. Lots of chewing tobacco in the development along with dark fruitcake, but it has a sour edge like it has been overcooked and nearly burnt. Palate (reduced): More gently sweet with the hot alcohol tamed and the burnt fruitcake going away. The reduced palate is luscious and considerably more satisfying. It does not gain complexity, but it does achieve balance and poise. Finish: Medium. Toffee and sour apples fading to acidic cola. When water is added the palate lengthens and becomes sweeter and more gentle. This is the second of my recently acquired tasting samples of high-strength Limeburners whiskies. As with every Limeburners expression I have yet tasted there is a forceful presence of young, resinous wood, like a combination of balsa and pine. This is out of control in some expressions but in others, like this one, it’s not too intrusive. I don’t know whether it is the particular casks they use, or the climate, or the distillate itself that produces this woody quality but I’m just not a fan. However I was very pleased that adding a dash of water significantly changed this dram. On the nose everything instantly integrated and deepened with a lot of cherry and blackberry notes coming out. Most satisfyingly the intrusive woody quality I dislike retreated almost completely. The palate was likewise much improved with the fruitcake, molasses and tobacco melding and softening. Allowing the reduced dram to rest in the glass for a while improves it even more. When tasted neat I was going to give this whisky 79/100 but after adding a good dash of water that rating is going up to 83. This is the second best Limeburners whisky I've tasted to date, but IMHO reducing it is compulsory. “Good” : 83/100 (3.5 stars)

Nose (neat): Oranges, apricots, fresh timber, light malt (lager?). It’s a good but simple array of aromas. Nose(reduced): The nose is not improved with water, unless you add a lot. A small dash kills the fruity aromas leaving only alcohol and pencil shavings. Adding more balances it out but the nose becomes flat. Palate (neat): Big and alcoholic but somewhat thin on the arrival with oranges and light wood being the main characteristics. There is a sharp bitterness in the development as of spoiled fruit or over-dried raisins but there is some balance from brioche-like cereal notes. The texture is full but somehow it lacks weight. Palate (reduced): A little water tames the hefty arrival and develops a lot of sweetness but does not develop any more complexity – in fact if anything it simplifies the palate further into an orange and sweet chilli combination. Finish: Medium/Short. Sour fruit fading to resinous wood. Reduction lengthens the finish (which is expected) but adds little else. Spirity and woody at first, with time to relax in the glass the nose gains more character but it never rises to great heights. Adding water mellows everything out a lot but by the time the intense alcohol nip has gone you have reduced it to less than 40%abv and there is little left. The same is true of the palate – by the time it has gained balance it is almost devoid of character. I keep persevering with Limeburners and recently bought a set of three cask-strength (well, actually “high-strength”) samples of expressions I have not previously tried. This is the first and I’m not much impressed as it is a rather simple whisky. It’s perfectly quaffable and has no off-notes, but there are considerably better and more interesting whiskies being made in Australia for much less cost. At the asking price of AUD$259 I just can’t recommend this. Tasted from a 30ml sample “Average” : 79/100 (2.75 stars)

Nose: Oily cereal, peaches, vanilla, fresh wood, crushed dandelions, mustard, a trace of fortified wine. There is no peat smoke at all. Great nose 86/100 Palate: Spicy (ginger), very oily cereal and malt flavours. Grassy and herbaceous notes in the development (hay, tumeric, mustard greens, cress) together with a some bitter, astringent citrus pith and salinity. The texture is full and weighty. 83/100 Finish: Medium. Grassy cereal notes with chilli and ginger spice. There is a briny quality to the aftertaste. 83/100 This whisky is dynamically cask-driven, the mantilla fino finish contributing a great deal to its character. There is a grassy dryness and austerity on the palate that shouts “fino”, and after nosing the whisky several times this also comes through on the aromas. The nose has a pleasant woody note but it’s not as light and raw as pencil shavings nor as mature as old oak casks. It has sweetness and depth contributed by the fino but also a light, crisp character. It’s like a timberyard stacked with trimmed logs ready for the mill. In previous tastings of Oban Distillers Edition I’ve always found a subtle thread of smoke but that is completely absent here, and I can’t say I’m disappointed. It’s great to smell the bouquet without any occluding smoke. There is, however, a slight disconnect between the nose and palate as the nose is sweeter and deeper and it set you up to expect a particular palate profile that is then not delivered. What it does give is good, but unexpectedly spicy and dry. Still, it is a good whisky and one that would be particularly enjoyable as an aperitif. Tasted from a 30ml sample. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)