Tastes

Nose: Citrus, orange, pears, sweet Palate: Sweet, vanilla, light oak, summer fruit, cherry sweets Finish: Long finish. Vanilla, oak, a little white pepper We dropped in to visit the distillery when driving home from a visit to my in-laws. They were just about to close the shop and visits for the year but they kindly chatted to us for a good while before they closed the doors. Bottle number: 178 Distilled: 2007 Bottled: 20th December 2021 This is a lovely dram. It has the usual Balblair notes of orange, vanilla and cherry, but adds a layer of oak and spice. The higher ABV also gives it a more luxurious mouthfeel. Delicious!

Nose: Salt/saline, funky, citrus, caramel sweet, seaside, iodine Palate: lemon / citrus, tropical fruit, iodine, salt, chlorine, light smoke, herbal/floral/minty Finish: Medium short finish. More citrus and light sweet smoke. Hints of cigar and leather, with a little BBQ sweetness on the aftertaste. This is quite a light dram for all its 53.6%. There’s a depth of flavour that you’d expect from an older Glen Scotia that edges on the coastal and funky, but with more citrus and lemon than I’d typically expect from their spirit. Very drinkable! Glen Scotia Distilled: 7 February 2003 1 of 223 bottles

Nose: Sour, baby sick, turned milk, barley, berries, citrus Palate: Woody, black pepper, chili, artificial sweetener, honey Finish: Medium long finish. Sweet, wood, white pepper 1 of 157 bottles 50cl bottle Woody, sweet and spicy. Unremarkable, but a decent spicy dram.

Nose: Petrol, farmyard, sulfur Palate: Smoke, oil/butter, ash, tobacco, earth, mud Finish: Long finish. Muddy/dirty, ashy Matured in a single refill hogshead Distilled: 2002 Bottled: 2015 1 of 378 bottles This is a genuinely unpleasant whisky. Dirty, ashy and oily, with -sadly!- a long finish. Pretty rank!

Nose: Citrus/lemon, nutty, oak, black pepper, ash Palate: Citrus/tart, chocolate, coffee, liquorice Finish: Short finish. Leather, nutty, oak, malty 1 of 199 bottles 50cl bottle This is a very tasty, gristy and nutty dram. Waves of chocolate, coffee and nuts. A great, easy drinking dram.

Nose: Chocolate cherries, dark dried fruit, Christmas spices/ Christmas cake, baking spice, malt Palate: Chocolate, latte, caramel, raisins, dates, prunes, malt loaf Finish: Medium long finish. Sherry, Marsala, raisins, sweet dried fruit, Christmas cake Matured in American oak casks Finished in Sherry oak casks 1 of 375 bottles Malt loaf/ Soreen. Unctuous and tasty. A great, Christmassy whisky. Delicious!

Nose: Tequila, lemon, icing sugar, sulfur Palate: Chocolate, malt, gristy, oak, liquorice, icing sugar, light dessert, candy apple Finish: Short finish. Spicy white pepper, floral, tropical, fruit, ginger Spirit & Cask Range - selected by Whiskymax Distilled: April 2008 Bottled: 2015 1 of 455 bottles Creamy mouthfeel. Obviously young, uncomplicated but overall a pretty decent dram. Easy to drink.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Premium Whisky Tasting, 19 November 2021). Nose: Bacon Frazzles crisps, light sweet peat, pineapple, golden syrup Palate: Sweet BBQ, smoky bacon crisps, light wood smoke, toffee, salt/saline, iodine, dark fruit notes Finish: Medium finish. Tannins, black pepper, peat smoke, citrus and saline. Drying on the aftertaste. Great intense and integrated smoke. Sweeter and fruitier than the standard 16y/o. Undoubtedly meaty and leathery, but somehow also zingy and citrusy throughout. Lovely dram! Came joint fourth out of the six drams, with 9% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 68% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Premium Whisky Tasting, 19 November 2021). Nose: Gristy, hairspray, sweet, concentrated, gorse, grape, redcurrant Palate: Numbing, rich, unctuous, butterscotch, burnt caramel, treacle, dried prunes, dates & figs, toffee Finish: Long finish. Sweet, sherried, leather, dried dark fruit, more dates/prunes 1 of 700 bottles Made with Optic barley grown on Daftmill’s south fields. Aged in an ex-Oloroso sherry butt Quite a heavy, concentrated and unctuous spirit. There’s a beautiful toffee note, with loads of berries and dried dark fruit. I could drink a lot of this! Came second out of the six drams, with 27% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 82% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky. This got my vote for favourite.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Premium Whisky Tasting, 19 November 2021). Nose: Cedar & sandalwood, floral, perfumed, white wine, pears, citrus Palate: Orange, sweet summer fruit, gristy. Warm and rich. Finish: Medium long finish. Warming, light baking spices, sweet/candied orange. Wood, leather and cigars, making for a funky aftertaste. This is a hugely fruity and woody dram. There are notes of honey and leather on the aftertaste, but overall this is all about the rich fruit. A decadent dram. 1 of 3,060 bottles Full maturation in casks from the Argonne Forest in the north-east of France. Previously used to mature still wines from a winemaker based near the village of Ay. Came first out of the six drams, with 32% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 86% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.