Tastes

Nose: Sweet, berry and dried fruit, milk chocolate, wisps of light smoke Palate: Sweet, green apple, ginger, orange peel, spices (black pepper, chillies, clove). Dry oak. Finish: Long finish. Still sweet The spices from the palate become more pronounced on the finish, the fruit fades a little into rhe background, and there’s a souring note on the dry finish. I don’t tend to add water to my whisky, bit this does benefit from a couple of drops. It doesnt really change the tasting notes, but just smooths out some of the edges. You notice the 56.5% ABV, so a few drops of water also reduce the slight burn on the palate. I’m a big Glen Scotia fan, I think they produce some great, well priced whiskies, but are often overshadowed by their Campbeltown neighbours, Springbank. This one has a slightly unusual profile compared to their standard range, I picked this up in Glasgow Airport en-route to Heraklion in Crete. At £67.50 for a litre, this is a bit of a bargain. I dont take price into account when I’m scoring a whisky, but its worth stating that this is well worth the price.

Nose: dried apricot, vanilla, malty, dried banana, Palate: Toffee, barley, ginger biscuits, white pepper, grass/hay, nutty Finish: Medium finish. Vanilla, caramel, malt. Tropical fruits/ coconut on the aftertaste. This is a very pleasant, but difficult to place whisky. Lots of layers, but very well integrated until the slightly jarring fruitiness on the aftertaste. Creamy mouthfeel. A solid, interesting and pretty tasty dram.

Nose: Branston pickle, funky, sulphur, nutty, dried dark fruit, baking spices Palate: More pleasantly earthy, dirty, funky notes. Nutty, oak, dark fruit, baked apples, spices (cinnamon, white pepper, ginger), orange zest, dark chocolate, liquorice. Finish: Long finish. More of the same notes, but heading further into spiced Christmas cake and burnt raisins. Pleasantly bitter and leathery on the aftertaste. Water doesn’t really change anything other than to bring out more of the dark fruit and orange notes. I dont often add water to a malt, but this one is perfectly pleasnt with or without - although the high ABV has meant I usually add a few drops to mellow it out a little. Distillery: Ben Nevis Age: 9y/o Distilled date: 5/11/2013 Cask: 2nd fill ex-oloroso butt ABV: 67.3% I’m a big fan of a high ABV Ben Nevis, and this is one of the better ones I’ve tried recently. I first tried this at the SMWS in Glasgow and immediately boight a bottle - it made a great first impression! It’s a punchy, dirty, fruity and nutty wee dram. The ABV is evident, but not overly jarring - if you like a cask strenth, you’ll appreciate this dram. I really like this dirty whisky.

Nose: Very light on the nose. Werther’s Originals butterscotch, woody, floral Palate: Fudge, honey, vanilla, caramel, summer fruit (berries), butter, herbal/floral. Finish: Medium short finish. Buttery, rich, sweet and a little floral. Woody on the aftertaste. First off, this is a quaffable dram. It’s uncomplicated, sweet, caramel-y, and vanilla. It has a nice, mellow and fairly rich mouthfeel. There are no sharp edges at all, it’s sweet, and it’s very light and buttery. However, it’s mostly one note, overly sweet and ultimately not sufficiently complex to hold your interest for long. This whisky has a particular resonance with me. My mum passed away last year. Before i was born, she worked for an insurance broker, and one of her employer’s clients was Grand Macnish. She used to get Grand Macnish offered as a discount - a perk she often took advantage of! Many years after leaving the broker, this was still a regular tipple for her and she always enjoyed it. Yesterday would have been my mum’s 84th birthday. I toasted her a happy birthday with this whisky last night, and I’m sure she’d have loved to be having a dram of it with me. Slàinte Mhaith, mum! I miss you terribly.

Nose: Light cream sherry, herbal, hints of overripe fruit and butter Palate: Sherry, Christmas cake, orange zest, walnut, dark dried fruits Finish: Medium long. More sherry, dried fruit, orange peel, dates, walnuts and almonds. The aftertaste has a pleasantly souring note. For many years, Glenfarclas 15 has been a front of shelf dram. In my opinion, this is the star of the core range (although probably tied with the 25). It’s an easy drinking 46% and doesn’t need any dilution. A strongly Oloroso sherried, slightly herbal, nutty dram. My only, fairly minor, criticisms are that it’s a little thin on the palate and, while it has some complexity on the finish, it’s a one trick pony on the nose and palate. However, that’s really just nitpicking - this is a very pleasant wee dram.

Nose: Orange, sherry, chocolate, nutmeg, Palate: Sherry, chocolate, cacao nibs, orange zest, nutty, caramel Finish: Long finish. Dark sherry notes, christmas cake, honey, sour dried fruits (cranberries and cherries), leather. Hints of char. Full bodied, rich and beautifully oily. This is a bit of a sherry bomb, but with a punchy, oily body to it. It seems to have some heft to it, but very well structured and balanced. It’s a little ‘one-note’ with all the sherry, but the oily slightly funky body really lifts the dram. It has a punchy ABV, but its so well balanced you don’t really notice - until youve had a couple! Nice wee dram.

Nose: Orchard fruit, summer berries, hairspray, sweet, nutty Palate: Sweet stone and orchard fruit, ginger, honey, golden syrup, vanilla, oak, citrus/lemon Finish: Medium long finish. Dark, woody and leathery. Still a load of sweet fruit, but edging more towards lemon and lime, with some fruitcake at the very end. This was a great wee SMWS bottling. Glen Moray has a bit of a reputation for being cheap and cheerful, but this edition shows that it's a really solid whisky in its own right, and particularly good as a cask strength in the hands of an indie. The main profile is sweet and fruity, it moves from very berry and orchard fruit, through to stone fruit and a little dry fruit on the palate. Well balanced, but quite unassuming for its 58.4%. Doesn't need any water to mellow it out - at cask strength it's very accessible. I really enjoyed this as a summer sipper. Definitely front of cabinet, but it was a nice wee dram.

Nose: Orange, summer berries, jam, cinnamon, caramel, honey and dry roasted nuts Palate: Fresh jammy fruit, plums, cherries strawberry. Malty and a little fragrant - Earl Grey, oak, vanilla, maple syrup and Demerara sugar Finish: Medium finish. Liquorice, leather and black tea. More of the plummy jam and roasted nuts. Creamy mouthfeel and very sherried. Fettercairn Distillery Distilled: 05-08-2007 Cask: 1st fill ex-Pedro Ximenes hogshead 1 of 263 bottles I really like this dram. OB Fettercairn’s can be a very tasty, light dram, but they are often a little thin to my palate. This has all of the flavour of the PX Cask OB, but adding a layer of creamy, unctuous, caramel and thickening the berry jam. Lovely structure. Wisps of spice and a backbone of oak. A wee cracker!

Nose: Sherry, vanilla, oak, caramel, dried fruit (raisins), dried orange peel Palate: Sweet. Sherry, caramel, dried fruit (oranges, dates, raisins). Wisps of peat. Finish: Medium finish. Cinnamon, clove, black pepper, orange peel, vanilla. Hints of coffee and cocoa. Overall, this is a pretty drinkable sherried and sipicy dram that changes throughout thr layers; swert and sherried, then into caramel and chocolate and finishing on thr spice. A pretty decent sipper.

Nose: Kids sweets, pear drops, wet wood smoke, damp peat Palate: Sweet and peaty, salt/saline, treacle, honey, liquorice, toasted oak, black pepper, aniseed Finish: Long finish. Light smoke, nutty, chocolate, chilli, toasted oak. Aftertaste brings out salt, oak, burnt caramel, millionaire shortbread and leather. This is a fantastic dram. Creamy, unctuous, salty, smoky, woody... I could go on! This is complex, layered and, above all, tasty as hell! For the price point this is a bargain, too - just watch out for its 63.9% ABV - ouch! An absolute cracker of a dram.