Tastes

Nose: Assertively oily and malty but enlivened by a brisk menthol note. Orange rind, hessian bags, tobacco, butter pastry and vanilla essence, and with water and some time to rest the nose produces floral aromas led by frangipani and honeysuckle. There is a smoky note but it's an oily, subtle, almost fruity kind of smoke - quite unlike most peat-reek. Palate: A sweet and spicy herbal arrival. Pepper and smoked lemon preserved in brine. Vanilla, apple and stone-fruits. As it develops, a sweet malty note emerges together with a brisk minty/aniseed tinge. A very satisfying texture. Finish: Medium/long. Hot gingery spices slowly fade into a sweet citric aftertaste. A fresh and lively malt with considerable muscle that only shows its youth through a lack of complexity. There is very little smoke or oak and what is there is soft and subtle. It's a distillate driven whisky and too young to have received much barrel influence, and I'm keenly interested to know what it will be like with another 6-8 years of maturation. The watered nose is notably different to the neat profile. This whisky swims very well (usually a good sign) and changes its character markedly as water is added. A small dash reveals greater spicy notes whilst adding only moderate softness, however you can take this right down to 50/50 strength (around 23%abv) without hurting it. At that point it is a delightfully easy summer drink that still retains a forceful character, and a host of fragrant and sweet floral notes are revealed. Most impressive, the official score here is much too mean. If Wolfburn can maintain this level of quality then in a couple of decades people will be speaking about them in the same respectful tone they currently reserve for Springbank. "Very Good” : 86/100 (4 stars)

Nose: Grain whisky with some light fruit and berry notes and a little bit of vanilla toffee, but it’s all rather thin and spirity. It reminds me of the nose on Red Label but with more sweetness. Palate: Disarmingly sweet, soft and easy right through the tasting. Notes of toffee, brown sugar, vanilla, and some stewed berries. There is no real arrival, development or finish to speak of – it just appears and then hangs about for a while without changing. Finish: Medium/short. I promised myself that I'd ignore everything to do with Diageo’s GoT tie-in whiskies, however at the liquor store today they were giving away tastings of this stuff so … what the hell. It is, obviously, a mass-market sipping blend specifically engineered to appeal to those who normally don't drink whisky neat, or maybe at all. At room temperature it is *very* sweet, which is of course intentional so that when it is served from the freezer (as per the marketing advice) it will still have flavour. I imagine it would also gain some density of texture that way. Diageo say it contains Cardhu and Clynelish, but I couldn’t detect any trace of Clynelish. It seemed to be mostly Cardhu and grain whisky. It’s not unpleasant, but rather banal and little more than a novelty. I'm amazed it isn't being packaged together with a bobble-head white walker for Christmas. If you like your whisky to have depth, breadth and an interesting character to explore then leave this on the shelf and look elsewhere. The core-range Johnnie Walker Red Label is way better than this. “Inferior” : 65/100 (1.5 stars)

Nose: A delicate woody presence with vanilla, corn syrup and honey notes. Some fruity and mild spice hints, a touch of mint and very subtle coconut. It's cask-driven but laid-back, the oak being firm and noticeable but not brash. A very pretty nose. [The dry glass aroma is sawdust and leather]. Palate: Oily and sweet arrival. The development brings out spicy flashes of rye and confirms the cask-driven heart of this spirit. In the mid palate a prominent spearmint note comes forward supported by clove oil and cinnamon. A nice balanced texture. Finish: Medium. Dry, but not sour, and mildly bitter (the bitterness of dark chocolate). The aftertaste is pleasantly sweet. This is a gentle bourbon - once you get your head around that it all falls into place. Some whiskey is sweet, some spicy, some hot and intense, some powerful and grippy - this one is gentle with a cooling mint character throughout that is balanced by just a little warm spice. The nose improves substantially once you let it stand and develop in the glass for 5 minutes - try it if you don't believe me. This one really blossoms and fills out with lots of rich honeyed wood spice notes. It's a good combination of elements overall, and given the very reasonable price this whisky represents value for money. It is acceptable to sip neat (very pleasant and easy, in fact) and it's a very good mixer. Just don't expect it to knock your socks off - that's not what it's all about. "Average" : 77/100 (2.5 stars)

Nose: Faint red berries and tropical fruit salad with a piece of Turkish delight. A malty cereal backing with a little vanilla and caramel. Some oak notes. It's pleasant and fragrant but also a little wispy and retiring, and there's an intrusive ethanol presence. It's more like the nose of a fruity sherry-tinged blend than a malt. Palate: A light arrival that turns spirity and hard in the development. Cereal is prominent on the palate but it's not malty and sweet - it's sour and more like burnt porridge. These sour notes eventually become quite bitter. The texture is light, dry and almost vodka-ish. Finish: Short. Fino sherry, hot spiky tannin and bitter cocoa. There is a very faint wine note in the aftertaste. The nose is the best part of this affordable malt but I would never have guessed from a blind tasting that it was port matured - it seems more like the influence of manzanilla casks. I also won't be using it as a sipping whisky - the bottle is going straight onto the mixing spirits shelf along with the mid-tier blended scotches. It's too hard and thin for my palate with an over-prominent ethanol profile. Water doesn't improve it - the good aspects become fainter and the negative ones get worse. Only cola can save this stuff, and does so by balancing out the hard, bitter characteristics quite successfully. None of the cheaper Glen Moray wood-finished whiskies has impressed me much. The more expensive age-statement wood-finished expressions are a different story, but if you're looking at their affordable bottom tier stuff then I'd recommend sticking with the basic Glen Moray Elgin Classic, which is very good value, and give this one a miss. "Adequate" : 74/100 (2.25 stars)

Nose: New-mown hay, barley, sage, rosemary, papaya, ghee, tinned fruit salad (you smell both the fruit and the tinned metal can), baked apples, green mangoes, fresh-ground coffee, pipe tobacco. After resting for a while some vanilla and surprisingly zappy, cedary oak emerges. Palate: Creamy, herbal, earthy and deep spice arrival - almost like mango chutney and raita. Sweet at first on the front of the tongue, it gains rich, but soft, spicy tones as it moves around the mouth - ginger, orange and some honey. Hugely expressive and satisfying - it reminds me of goat tagine with mint tea on the side. There is a bright intensity that is balanced by a deep spicy warmth and a grassy cereal presence that is never far away. Finish: Very long and lingering. The palate slowly segues into the finish and the herbal spices gradually ease away, replaced by a most refreshing sweet minty note in the aftertaste. Immediately after pouring, the nose is unruly and unusual but with a few minutes of rest everything starts to relax and merge. It never loses its dark herbal and fruity profile however (thankfully!). Don't add water - it just turns down the volume and this one should be enjoyed at full force. There is something about this that is uncannily like some Mortlach expressions. An earthy, meaty character that is here balanced by a very fine herbal-fruity presence. Maybe they should call it the "Beast of Midleton"? I enjoyed this immensely and it was a great way to finish today's tasting of Irish whiskey. The only problem is its high price. For the same money I can buy truly wonderful cask-strength independently bottled Scotch whisky that, as good as this is, far eclipses it. It's an excellent whiskey, nontheless, and recommended if you have deep pockets. "Excellent" : 88/100 (4.5 stars)

Nose: Complex malty cereal aromas conjoined spectacularly with old oak and a little dark honey and leather. Dark stewed fruits of an unexpected variety - flambée pineapple, prunes, dates and banana, sprinkled with tumeric. Rich, austerely sweet, subtle and relaxing. A very good nose. [The dry-glass aroma is simple brown sugar with an oaky hint]. Palate: Sweet and luscious oily arrival against a backdrop of oak. The development brings out complex flavours that are balanced with meticulous precision. The initial sweetness settles down to a dignified semi-sweet character with vanilla, blood orange, dark chocolate, sultanas, barley sugar, ginger, hot cinnamon, allspice, black cherry and dry sherry. The texture is full and poised but never loses a certain crisp freshness. There is a warm dusky heat in the late palate as it leads into the finish that is close to sublime. Finish: Long. Oily and fruity, with a lingering sweetness and an elusive hint of mint or anise in the aftertaste Bold but refined and with impeccable balance. This is wonderful whiskey and great value for the price - I don't know what more I can say. It is best taken neat if you wish to experience the full force of its personality, but if preferred it can take a dash of water to open and soften the experience. The nose is slightly diminished in the process, but the palate is thrown wide open. I'd recommend having two drams, one neat and one watered, so you can have the best of both worlds. "Very Good" : 86/100 (4 stars)

Nose: Buttery and grassy-cereal with orange peel, peach, apricot, nectarine, banana and plum against a subtle oak background. As it rests in the glass and opens, a lovely soft vanilla aroma emerges tinged with a hint of sherried-coconut. Palate: A full and clean, crisp arrival with cereal sweetness. It develops into a warming, faintly spicy palate which has some sour green apple and walnut flavours on the side and a flash of black pepper. It pulls a fast one on you because just when you think it has moved into the finish it surges again with very rounded dark fruity flavours and a touch of sweet fortified wine. The texture is excellent. Finish: Long. The rich winey cask presence lingers along with the fruity flavours. The aftertaste is sweet gristy cereal. This is a well balanced whiskey that leans just a little towards the sweet side of things. It is best neat, where its balance and complexity can be fully appreciated. A dash of water softens the profile and makes it more approachable but a little of its character is lost in the process. However if you prefer a softer profile then don't hold back because it does take water well. Yellow Spot is a more mature and complex whiskey than Green Spot, the more intricate sherry casking regime and several more years of age (almost twice as much) producing an easily superior result. Not that Green Spot is inferior as such, it's just that Yellow Spot is very, very good. Highly recommended. It's not cheap but it is worth the money and if you are looking to move up from the less expensive Irish blends to experience a premium Irish pot still whisky then you could not ask for a more ideal choice than this. "Very Good" : 87/100 (4.25 stars)