Tastes

Speyburn Distillery post-tour masterclass, 2nd May 2024, whisky #4 Nose: Hefty notes of ale, malt, toffee, fudge and vanilla. There's nothing shy or retiring about this nose. Palate: Soft and creamy arrival centred on malt and dried fruits. Buttery vanilla shows up in the development and the whisky progresses into a very sweet character with coconut, peanut brittle and caramel highlighted. These notes are balanced by ginger and walnut skin astringency. The texture is creamy. Finish: Medium. The sweet notes give way to oak, green apple skins and weak black tea. This was a single-cask distillery-door exclusive expression, uncoloured, un-chillfiltered and aged entirely in one ex bourbon barrel (distillery cask #438). The cask was filled in 2012 and disgorged in 2023 producing 264 bottles. Our tasting was from bottle #117. Overall it was a singularly malty whisky, not the most subtle thing I’ve ever tasted but with enormous verve and presence. Although the age is not specified on the bottle (apart from the distillation and bottling years) we were told that this was 10 years old and the profile certainly made me imagine Speyburn’s 10 year old core-range expression on a massive dose of steroids. "Good" : 83/100 (3.5 stars)

Speyburn Distillery post-tour masterclass, 2nd May 2024, whisky #3 Nose: Lots of dark malt extract and Christmas cake aromas (dried fruit, cherries, raisins), oloroso sherry and rosewater. Beneath this there is a subtle foundation of fresh rye bread, tobacco and leather which expands when a little water is added. Palate: The arrival is soft but the mouth-feel gains a drying quality as the palate progresses. Dark chocolate, dried fruit, chewing tobacco and cinnamon appear in the development. There are spicy notes but despite its dry and slightly bitter qualities it always retains a touch of sweetness. High cocoa dark chocolate is a very good comparison. The texture is pleasant but not particularly full. Finish: Medium. The sweet notes from the palate win out in the end with milk chocolate, some orange oil, mild spices and a touch of gentle tannin in the aftertaste. Water adds a touch of hardness and I preferred this one neat. Although Strathisla is widely considered the most attractive distillery in Speyside, I think Speyburn is at least as pretty. It's located in a pleasant wooded valley below the road just north of Rothes and like Strathisla it retains its original pagoda-roofed kiln (although that is no longer operational). The old malting equipment is still in situ and it's a fascinating piece of industrial history. They also provide an excellent tour and tasting options. This 18 year old was my favourite dram of the tasting, as it was for a couple of the other participants, and it is usually around AUS$200 a bottle or less, which makes it good value. “Very Good” : 85/100 (4 stars)

Strathisla Distillery post-tour tasting, 1st May 2024, whisky#4 Nose: Old polished furniture, pipe tobacco, leather car seats, dark honey, sherry, malt extract, black tea. Over time the nose gets bigger and bigger … it never stops expanding. Palate: The arrival is sweet and plush with dark fruits, tobacco and red berries. It is captivating, almost mesmerising from the first sip. In the development there is fudge and vanilla, dark chocolate and a touch of orange rind. Following this both milk and more dark chocolate emerge to control the palate into the finish. The texture is creamy, seductive and mouth-wateringly juicy. Finish: Long. Good oak, pipe tobacco, chocolate and red berries with everything fading into an aftertaste of sherry and malt. Distilled in 2005 and bottled in 2023, this distillery-exclusive whisky was matured entirely in 1st-fill sherry casks. The batch produced 750 bottles at the reduced strength of 48% abv. This is a huge, commanding sherried whisky that proclaims the virtues of excellent oak casks but is not at all wood-dominated. Its fragrant aromas are reminiscent of all facets of a dunnage warehouse containing hogsheads and the palate is a landscape of lush fruit and malt. It’s one of those whiskies you wish would last forever. In several ways this reminded me of the exquisite pre-2016 GlenDronach 15 Revival, except this is softer, sweeter and fruitier. It was delectable neat and just as good with water, which transformed the profile slightly but did no harm at all. It was different when reduced, softer, but just as good and my preference for taking it neat or watered would change with context. However the best time for this whisky in my opinion would be as a dessert dram. I was surprised to see this whisky on the tasting table as I had no idea that there was an official Strathisla 18 year old, even as an exclusive. The distillery rep who conducted the tour hinted that this may become a core-range expression in the future but I would not hold out strong hopes. However if it did and the local price was not too crazy I would obtain a bottle for sure. “Very Good” : 87/100 (4.25 stars)

Strathisla Distillery post-tour tasting, 1st May 2024, whisky#3 Nose: Chocolate pudding, malted milk, grape jelly, honey, caramel sauce, vanilla, cinnamon, tropical fruit juice concentrate. Palate: Sweet arrival with grapes, raisins and dark chocolate being the main flavours. In the development there was toffee, prunes and coffee with a resurgence of grape and fortified wine in the late palate. The texture was oily. Finish: Medium/Long. Sweet grapes, raisins, hazelnuts and a pinch of mixed spices leading into a dry aftertaste. This distillery exclusive expression was distilled and filled into ex-bourbon barrels on February 9th, 2006. It was matured for most of its 16 years in those casks before being re-racked into one ex-cognac butt. This was discharged on December 1st, 2022 and produced 840 half-litre bottles of which my tasting was from bottle 753. The whisky was not chill-filtered and although I cannot say for certain that it was uncoloured, I think that was the case. A very fine whisky that showcases good cognac cask finishing, the cognac heritage being just discernable but at no time taking centre stage or overturning the malty heart of the whisky. It is opulently sweet and rich when neat but adding water added a touch of ginger and allspice that provided excellent balance. I preferred it with slight dilution. When declaring our favourite drams of the tasting our group of 8 were split between this and the distillery exclusive 15 year old (also reviewed here). I thought they were equally delightful, but if forced to choose I’d go for the 15 year old. Like the 15 year old this was a cellar door exclusive but I don’t think it is still available. “Very good” : 86/100 (4 stars)

Strathisla Distillery post-tour tasting, 1st May 2024, whisky#2 Nose: Raspberries, cranberry juice, strawberries, red apples, green apples, pear juice, vanilla, cinnamon. Palate: Sweet, rich and creamy when neat. Huge strawberry note, milk chocolate, white chocolate, stewed red plums. The texture is creamy and oily. Finish: Medium/Short. Berries stewed with mild spices and served with chocolate. This distillery exclusive expression was distilled and filled into an ex-bourbon barrel (cask 211804) on February 29th, 2008 and discharged on September 11th, 2023. The barrel produced 312 half-litre bottles of which my tasting was from bottle 157. The whisky was not chill-filtered and although I cannot say if it had any artificial colouring added, given the pale straw colour I don’t think it did. It is a deliciously luscious and decadent whisky with impressively contained alcohol. I would never guess this had mid-50s strength abv. It does not need water but a drop or two brings out white pepper and ginger and makes the texture even creamier. It is delicious either way. I was a just a fraction disappointed in the new 11 year old expression (the first we tasted) but this cask-strength 15, the second tasting in the lineup, completely restored my faith in Strathisla. It is simply delicious and more importantly … fun. It is a cellar-door exclusive but you can buy it online as well. When it came to our favourite dram of the afternoon the tasting group of 8 from my tour were split between this and the distillery exclusive 16 year old (which I’ll be reviewing next). Personally, I thought they were equally delightful. “Very Good” : 86/100 (4 stars)

Tasted at Blair Athol Distillery Whisky Bar, 25 April 2024 Nose: A big, expansive nose that showcases caramel, malt, dried fruits, woody aromas and hints of baking spices. It’s like fruitcake, but not as aromatic as Christmas cake. Adding water makes it softer and quite plush, less intense but still full and satisfying. There is a puff of ashen smoke in the background. Palate: The arrival is balanced between sweet fruits and spices and it has good body that you immediately notice. Malty notes come forward on the mid-palate along with clove, cinnamon and allspice but these are soft and warm, not spiky. With water the palate, like the nose, becomes considerably sweeter with caramel, dried dates, strawberries and toffee dominating. It has that elusive meaty depth of all Mortlach whiskies. Finish: Medium/Long. The late palate spices segue into to lingering chocolate-covered toffee sweetness. Water shortens the finish but does not otherwise change or spoil it. I swore that I’d never engage with the Diageo GoT franchise tie-in whiskies, it being such a blatant marketing exercise. I had the feeling at the time that even Diageo were a bit blasé about the whole thing, given that some of the series releases were nothing more than core-range expressions in special labels. Eventually, I did try a taste of the vile Johnnie Walker “White Walker” blend at a pop-up stall and that was enough to confirm my suspicions so I avoided the rest of the series. However after the initial eight expressions Diageo released this final ninth installment, which received widespread approval. In summary it is a very agreeable whisky and probably the pinnacle of the franchise tie-ins. You can still find this in some stores and via online sellers, but it will be overpriced and poor value. Buy the Gordon and Macphail Mortlach 15 year old Official Label bottling instead. It will be half the price, easier to find and a better whisky all round. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)

Tasted most recently on the Keith and Dufftown Railway “Dram Tram”, Sunday 5th May 2024 and also from a bottle of Batch L2060 07:51 P/013142. Several prior tastings. Nose: Honey, malt, floral bouquet, sherry, banana, vanilla. Over time the nose opens and gains a nice, rich malty depth. Palate: The arrival is sweet and very soft, like butter cookies and caramel. Sultanas, raisins, dark honey, red fruits and absolute truckloads of milk chocolate appear in the development. The texture is silky and luxurious, but not oily. Finish: Short. Leafy, apples, pears and a little honey and pepper ham glaze. Tamnavulin does not get a lot of attention outside of Scotland (outside of Speyside, for that matter) which is a shame as it’s a great session whisky. The core Double Cask Expression is a pleasant, gentle whisky that deserves to be more popular, but this Sherry Cask Edition takes things up a step. It’s a simple, linear whisky with little progression that focuses on sweet fruity malt. It fades quickly but there is absolutely nothing bad going on here and although it might sound a bit dull it’s a delicious and very easy everyday dram. It also expands nicely in the glass with both the nose and palate showing more chocolate over time. It's one of those whiskies you can share with a complete novice and you will both be happy. The label says “Batch 30502” but this has been there on all bottlings since 2019 when it was introduced, so it’s just marketing guff. The heel L2060 code on my bottle indicates it was a 2022 bottling but I’ve had this a number of times and it has been very consistent. This is good whisky and very good value. “Good” : 83/100 (3.5 stars)

Nose: Very shy and mild. Hints of malt and a quick flash of ashy smoke but it lacks presence. Over time in the glass as it warms up the nose improves, but only a little. Palate: Sweet malt on the arrival with smoky ash on the side. The ash note enlarges in the development, but that’s the only change. The texture is neutral but silky and the palate has more presence than the nose. Finish: Very Short. Sweet ashy malt. So, the only interesting thing about this whisky is the story behind its botched marketing campaign. Diageo released the “Explorer’s Club Collection” in 2012 but did not account for the fact that there is a real Explorer’s Club based in New York. The club took legal action for trademark infringement, and won, making the existing bottles of this whisky a collector’s item. As for the whisky, it’s OK but nothing special. It resembles regular Red Label but has a more pleasing, soothing character and is a little more smoky. The grain whisky component is strikingly obvious but thankfully it is sweet and has a nice silky texture. I’d bet good money it is sourced from North British as it has that slick quality of Scottish grain whisky distilled from corn mash. It’s pleasant, insanely easy to quaff, but ultimately forgettable and poor value for money. I should maybe have left this bottle sealed and auctioned it, but meh. “Average (just barely)” : 75/100 (2.5 stars)

Nose: When nosed neat there are dark, rich aromas of dried fruit, waxed wooden furniture, old leather and pipe tobacco. In the background these are supported by sweeter fruity aromas and orange liqueur. With water the nose is sweeter, fruiter, fresher and quite delightful. Palate: Neat, the arrival is big, hefty and full of treacle tarts, date pudding, raisins and black coffee. Some orange and hot spice notes appear in the development but they are unusual and have an accompanying tannic, iron-like taste. It’s not unpleasant and @DrRHCMadden described this in his review below as being like an old school water fountain, which is bang on target. For me it brought to mind tasting “the waters” at Bath (which are iron oxide heavy). The alcohol presence is intense and makes the mouth water, and the texture is full. Dilution makes the palate much more gentle and brings out a lot of sweet citrus and white grape notes. It also tames the tannic/metallic character to the point where it is almost undetectable and transforms into a spicy ginger flavour. The texture becomes creamier with watering. Finish: Medium. Dark chocolate, orange zest and a drying aftertaste which fades to a pleasant sweetness. Dilution shortens the finish and emphasizes citrus sweetness even more. Glendullan is not a well known distillery as most of its output goes into Johnnie Walker blends. However it is also widely sold as a single malt under the Singleton brand, and there is also a Glendullan "Flora and Fauna" release. All of these single malts share a characteristic grassy, floral style. However this whisky is entirely unlike any Singleton expression I’ve ever tasted (thank goodness) which all comes down to the casking. This whisky was obtained by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society after 10 years in ex-bourbon and was then re-racked by them into a first-fill ex-sauternes barrique where it rested for another 2 years. The out-turn was 232 bottles at a cask-strength of 56.1%, un-chillfiltered and un-coloured. Personally I preferred this with a teaspoon of water as it mellows and integrates the profile very pleasantly, but you could argue that dilution highlights the sweet wine cask notes to the point that they take over the experience. "Very Good" : 85/100 (4 stars)