Tastes

Stop number 87 on the SDT is Mannochmore. For a detailed rundown on the Mannochmore distillery please see Lee’s review of this single malt. He did all the hard work as far as that goes. Bottled at 43% ABV and is chill filtered and has colorant added making it a yellow gold. The nose is strong bourbony oak, clearly this was bourbon matured. Honey, strong floral notes, mint, vanilla and tobacco. Leathery, brown sugar, almonds and more bourbon notes. Light cinnamon, fennel, hay and dry grasses. A touch salty, caramel, toffee and peanut brittle. It becomes chalky with a mineral note towards the bottom of the glass. Not bad, but not enough strength to carry the flavors adequately. The palate begins quite fruity. Nectarines, peaches, apricots, and orange oil. Slightly bitter oak, dark chocolate or cocoa powder and some leather. A bit of a BBQ note, floral and earthy. I suspect there may be more to this one, but family duties distracted me through much of the tasting and I wasn’t able to fully focus. A medium bodied mouthfeel that is fairly dry. The finish is medium long, fruity, earthy, floral with light oak. This is decent stuff if not on the light side. Nice orchard fruits on the palate, but a tad bitter (I’ve had much worse though). At $55 it’s a reasonable price for a 12 year old, but for a middle of the road malt I think is rather spend my money elsewhere. 3.25 and thanks to @PBMichiganWolverine for the sample. Cheers

Stop number 86 on the SDT is Dailuaine. Another relatively unknown Speyside distillery brought to light thanks to @LeeEvolved and the SDT group. As precious few official bottles are available, this sample is from a 12 year old Gordon and MacPhail independent bottle. Distilled in 1995, bottled at 43% ABV and appears to be natural color of pale straw. Because it’s 43% I have a feeling it is chill filtered. The nose has plenty of honey, hay and grass. Even at 43% it has a nip of alcohol when first nosed. Light fruits, apricots, green grapes, oranges, plums and very light raisins. Faint cinnamon and allspice. A light earthiness and just the barest hint of smoke. Weak oak, ex bourbon probably, malty and a sort of brown sugar sweetness. Some vanilla and coconut and a bit of a mineral note. Overall very light. The palate starts with some pepper, earthy and what could be a very light peat. Orchard and tropical fruits, apricots, mangos, oranges and raisins. Astringent oak, a slight metallic note and some bitter almonds. A medium light bodied mouthfeel, lightly oily and dry. The finish is medium long, slightly bitter oak, earthy and fruity, all very light. On a side note, I took the last 1/2oz I had and dropped in some water and a small ice cube. I let it sit and checked for any scotch mist. None to be found, further evidence that it is chill filtered. While this is not what I would call a bad scotch, it’s certainly not a good one either at $78 it’s quite expensive for a 12 year old Speysider with light generic flavors. Thanks for the sample Lee, but it’s time to move on. 3 stars Cheers

Stop number 85 on the SDT is Ailsa Bay. This single malt newcomer to the Lowland region is actually owned by Girvan and the entire distillery is located within the Girvan facility. Ailsa Bay was created mostly to be used in blends so that Balvenie could be freed up for more single malt releases. This NAS is their inaugural release and is peated to a level of 21ppm. Bottled at 48.9% ABV and is most likely non chill filtered and natural color of golden straw. Matured in a combination of refill American oak, first fill bourbon and smaller barrels (possibly quarter casks) to speed maturation. The nose is sweet lemony peat smoke, typical of many young bourbon matured scotches. Smoky lemon bars dusted with powdered sugar. Lots of melted butter drizzled over dried apricots and tangerines. Chimney ashes, a mix of fresh cut oak and pine, vanilla custard, buttercream and faint caramel apples. The palate hits hard initially with strong smoky pepper and sharp oak. More smoky than peaty. Light lemons and vanilla, white grapes, plums and faint almonds. Ashes and campfire remnants. Not much else sadly. A fairly simple palate. A medium bodied mouthfeel that is fairly dry. The finish is long and short. Everything but the smoke is pretty much gone a few seconds after you swallow it, but the smoke lingers on a while. This needs a few more years in the cask, but it shows promise. Not very complex and the palate and finish leave much to be desired. It’s also on the pricy side for what you get. At $65 (plus international shipping as this isn’t available in the US), it’s not a great buy when you can get a good Kilchoman or BenRiach for the same price and get better quality. 3.25 and a thanks to @PBMichiganWolverine for the sample. Cheers

Stop number 84 on the SDT Strathclyde. This Lowland grain distillery is mostly used in blends and I’m not really sure if it releases anything under its own name. This particular bottle is from the Old Particular line from the independent bottlers at Douglas Laing. Cask #11952 was distilled in November 2005 and bottled in July 2017. The information given says that it was finished in a sherry butt, however I suspect the primary maturation was a refill bourbon cask. One of 638 bottles, bottled at cask strength (or close to it) of 55.5% ABV and is non chill filtered and natural color of amber honey. The nose begins with a typical grain profile but with a nice sherry influence. Lots of vanilla and oak. Toffee, sulphur and weak coffee. Apples & cinnamon, buttercream. A strange pencil eraser and rubber band note. A little cherry and a bit nutty - almonds and cashews. Grassy/hay and a little mint. A very faint cola note with a brief perfume/musk cologne feel. I added a bit of water because of the strength and it yielded a nice confectionary quality. Powdered sugar and more creamy notes. A little coconut, red berries, biscuits and nutmeg. A bit malty/bread like and a touch of honey. Really nice complexity for an 11 year old grain whisky. I’m impressed. The palate is rich and full flavored. Sherry, cherry and red grapes. A strong grain taste, but not harsh like many others I’ve had. Oak, creamy, honeydew, buttery and some sulphur. Toffee, brown sugar/molasses, spice cake and coffee. Medium to full bodied mouthfeel. Dry and mouthwatering at the same time. A medium length finish with caramel, coffee, oak and dry sherry. Well, I must say I went into this one with the mindset that I would be dealing with drain cleaner, but I came out being very much surprised and delighted with a quality offering from Douglas Laing. Incredible depth of flavor given the age of the spirit. The sulphur notes were a little off putting but nothing I couldn’t get past, as were the grainy notes. Otherwise it was very enjoyable. It’s a bit overpriced for its age at $82, but I would recommend it to anyone that likes a strong characterful whisky. I initially thought equated it to a cask strength, sherried version of Hedonism, but after finishing it I do not believe it is as refined. I’ll give it a 3.75 and a big thanks to @Scott_E for the sample. Cheers

Stop number 83 on the SDT is Pittyvaich. This is my first review of a distillery that is currently closed (and I do not believe this one is slated for a comeback). Pittyvaich was a Diageo owned Speyside distillery and this 12 year old was part of the Flora and Fauna series. Bottled at 43%, chill filtered and has colorant added making it a mahogany color. At first the nose is fairly closed off with some light minty sherry notes. Some sweet cinnamon, a touch of clove and some raisins. After some time the nose really comes to life. Strong maple/coffee/roasted malt notes come bursting forward. A sort of bourbon-esque note emerges, or maybe a sort of Canadian profile. Toffee, burnt sugar. A strange brown sugar/bubblegum combo. Mixed nuts, red apple skins and a little bit of an herbal note. It’s really all over the place, but really quite good. The palate is...well it’s different. Honestly my first thought was “Is this a scotch or a flavorful Canadian whisky?” It really has that distinctive Canadian profile. Butterscotch, caramel and toffee. A little cinnamon, coffee and a strong nutty taste- pecans and walnuts. Raisins and dates. Very rich, but not in a sweet way. A light to medium light bodied mouthfeel, dry but mouth coating. The finish is medium short with a coffee/chocolate malt, caramel, butterscotch and walnuts. Thoughts...well it’s different, that’s for sure. I could easily believe this is a sherry matured Canadian whisky, which makes it difficult to score. The price of this bottle was ridiculously high due to the fact that it’s a closed distillery. I believe @PBMichiganWolverine paid $420 for it. So we’ll just go ahead and take that out of the equation. I’ll say it’s a 3.5 but give it a bump up to 3.75 because of the rarity and very unique nature it presented. Round up to 4 because it’s really closer to a 4 than a 3. Cheers

Stop number 82 on the SDT is Glen Elgin. This is a little known Diageo owned Speyside distillery. I’m sure the majority of their production goes into blends but alas Wikipedia did not have this info and I didn’t bother to look any further. I’m not sure if this bottle is available in the USA because this bottle was ordered via Master of Malt by fellow tour member @Scott_E. It’s bottled at 43% ABV and being a Diageo brand I’m sure it’s colored, a yellow gold in this case, and it’s chill filtered. The nose is very sweet with blackberry jam, raspberries, orange or tangerine marmalade. Honey, malty/buttery biscuits and blueberry muffins. Crisp green apples, slightly floral, earthy and vegetal. A few drops of water brings out more honey with some vanilla and cherries. Not a bad nose at all. The palate unfortunately veers away as if it were driving on the road and a deer jumped out in from the car. Berry notes at first, followed by cough syrup, bitter oak, very bitter dark chocolate and bitter almonds. A little spicy and there seems to be some very underripe pineapple. Water washes out the spice and brings out a soapy note and strong floral qualities. A light bodied mouthfeel. A bit thin but mouthwatering. A medium length finish...bitter, bitter, bitter. Cough syrup, oak, fruits, a touch of florals and almonds. The nose here started off so promising and never really had any problems other than maybe being a little on the light side. The palate and finish really were a disappointment. Almost none of the nose translated and the bitterness was overwhelming at times. At $46 before international shipping it’s not a terrible price, but still not one I would want to pay. Based on the nose alone I would have given at least a 3.5, based on the palate and finish it would have been at most a 2.5. So let’s call this an even 3. Cheers

Another of the bonus samples from this current round of the SDT. This release from Kilkerran (Glengyle distillery) is part of their Work in Progress line that lead up to the release of their new(ish) 12 year old. This one is a cask strength matured in ex bourbon casks. Bottled at 54.1% ABV and is non chill filtered and natural color of dark gold. The nose is most powerful with a huge alcohol hit up front. Once it settles down a little some vanilla and cherries come to the forefront with a little buttercream. I had to add a fair amount of water to get past those first few notes. Mineral notes and an occasional waft of smoke. Cherry lozenges and some floral notes, lavender, honeysuckle and cherry blossoms. Fresh cut oak, lightly fruity, apples and pears. Slightly vegetal and a dusty/musty cardboard. The palate is all heat and spice without water. I added 4mL to the 30 that I poured and it toned down nicely. I picked up something in a scotch I never expected to find, the very strange and unique profile of Detroit based Two James Spirits peated whiskey J. Riddle. It’s a very mineral and earthy type of peat. Chalky, a light smoke. Light vanilla and cherries/ cherry cough syrup. Medium to full bodied, HOT and quite oily. The finish is medium long, vegetal, herbal and lightly peaty. A very strange dram and quite different than what I remembered from the WIP 7th release sherry wood I had way back at the beginning of the SDT. I can’t say that I like it and I can’t say that I didn’t. Campbeltown profiles are so very different than the rest of Scotland. Not sure yet if they are my type of dram. I suppose I will need more to form a better option. Thanks to @Telex for the sample. 3.75 Cheers

Stop number 81 on the SDT is Glenlossie. Another relatively unknown Speyside distillery. This 19 year old single malt comes to us from the independent bottlers at Alexander Murray. Distilled in 1997 and bottled at cask strength of 53.3% ABV and is non chill filtered and natural color of golden straw. The nose is strong and sweet. Honey, honeysuckle and vanilla. Clear ex bourbon notes. Light leather and tobacco with some oaky sawdust. Perfumed with a vague fruitiness and vegetal. A bit of candle wax and a hint of cherries. Water brings out white grapes, peaches and oranges. It sounds like I was able to pick out these flavors like all of the others I have reviewed, but this was quite difficult to work out. The palate has some heat, but more than manageable. Sweet, but a bit odd. Light oak, apricots, nectarines and mango. A slight bitterness. If the nose was tough, the palate was impossible to figure out. A medium to full bodied mouthfeel that was very oily and mouthwatering. The saving grace of this dram. A medium length finish. Fruity, waxy and a touch bitter. I have to say this dram was like a pistachio that I just couldn’t pry open. I know there is deliciousness inside but damned if I know how to get it out. Water helped a little bit not enough. I can say this, at $120 it’s not worth the price. Not a bad whisky, but not that great either. I’ll give it a 3.25 and concede that it got the better of me. Thanks to @Telex for the sample. Cheers

Stop number 80 on the SDT is Strathmill. This Speyside distillery is Diageo owned and the vast majority of their whisky goes into J&B blends. This 10 year old comes by way of the independent bottlers of Gordon and MacPhail and is part of their Connoisseurs Choice line. Bottled at 46% ABV and is non chill filtered and natural color of pale gold. I gave this whisky a good 10 minutes rest in the glass before nosing, but still I was met with a blast of alcohol. Not a good start. A very light nose, almost nonexistent. Latex paint, alcohol and a faint lemony citrus. Pine resin, faint oak and furniture polish. After a while some decent notes came in. Vanilla, buttercream, custard, orange rinds and floral notes. A little water brought out a soapy/detergent note and an old ashtray. Neither one was good. The palate was honestly worse. Metallic, weak oak and harsh. Pepper and faint vanilla. I might have been able to get more but I didn’t want to subject my tongue to any more so I added in about 35% water. This took away most of the harshness and added a little orange oil. Nothing more than that though. The mouthfeel was light to medium bodied, a bit thin but creamy. The finish was medium short, vanilla and weak oak. This was bad. Another example of a terrible independent bottling. They seem to be much more prevalent than the good ones. At $84 this was money wasted. The only redeeming quality is that you can get a buzz if you can drink enough. Drown it in Coke or with a bunch of ice and water, but avoid it neat. Glad I only had 2oz to suffer through. 2 stars and I think that’s generous. Thanks for the sample @Telex, and I’m sorry that you have to deal with the remainder of your bottle. Cheers

Stop number 79 on the SDT is Glenturret. This 11 year old Highland single malt comes to us by way of the independent bottlers at Gordon & MacPhail. Bottled at 46% ABV and even though I don’t have definitive proof, I do believe it is both non chill filtered and natural color of yellow gold. The nose begins with green apples and pears and green oak. Fresh would be the best way to describe it. Grainy/malty with some honey, very floral. Light orchard fruits, oranges, lemons, nectarines. Slightly vegetal, hay and grasses. Vanilla, very light toffee and nuts. Not super complex but good regardless. The palate is strong on the honey up front. Vanilla and orchard fruits, apricots, oranges and nectarines. The fruits move to the tropical zone and then bursts with flavor. Pineapple, coconut, papaya, mango and melons. No real oak to speak of but a fair bit of spice. Medium bodied mouthfeel that is quite oily and mouthwatering. A medium length finish. Fruity with a touch of bitterness. Mouthwatering throughout. I have to say this was a very good example of an independent bottling done right. Not the pinnacle of depth and complexity but it can hold its own against more than a few official bottlings out there. Easy drinking but not lacking in power. At around $70 it’s not a bad value for money. I’m not sure how many bottles were released but I would recommend picking one up should the opportunity present itself. 3.75 and thanks to @Telex for the sample. Cheers