Tastes

Nose: Orchard fruit - pear, pear drop sweets, herbal Palate: Zesty, hoppy, pear drop sweets, vanilla Finish: Medium finish. Beer, caraway, nigella seeds, burnt seeds and herbs This is an obviously young whisky, stuck into a beer barrel. A bit burnt and herbal on the aftertaste, lots of fruity youthfulness upfront. It's OK, but nothing more than that.

Nose: Oak, cigar smoke, citrus, orange Palate: Light peat, tropical fruit - pineapple, wood/pine Finish: Short finish. Citrus peel, wood, pine resin 1 of 2,994 bottles Very easy drinking. Young and woody, orange and light peat. A decent young dram.

Nose: Dried fruit, nutty/almond Palate: Chocolate, vanilla, orchard fruit Finish: Long finish. Dried fruit, rum raisins, ginger, leather. Loads of sweet, toasted wood 75% rum casks from Barbados and Jamaica 25% Oloroso sherry casks Nice, quite an unusual profile from the rum casks, which is quite an interesting change of pace. Not a session dram, but easy drinking.

Nose: There's not much to report on the nose. Floral, toffee, menthol - all very light notes Palate: Orange, ginger/spicy, green, herbal, vanilla, peach Finish: Medium long finish. Fruity, spicy, coffee, milk chocolate, menthol. Slightly darker spiciness on the aftertaste. A light, easy drinking, fruity dram. Darker and spicier on the finish. There's a menthol note that builds as you drink it. Generally OK.

Nose: Orchard fruit (apple), toasted wood Palate: Spicy ginger, black pepper, wood, nuts, gristy Finish: Short finish. Nutty, cinnamon, toasted oak. Leathery and drying on the aftertaste. Creamy mouthfeel, gluggable but ultimately a bit nondescript and forgettable. Tasty enough, 'though.

2010/2020 Edition Nose: Berry fruit, honey, vanilla and a hint of peat. Green apple, saline, tobacco and a little green/herbal note Palate: Caramel and sugary sweet, fruit - apples, berries and plums. Salt, campfire, vanilla, dried fruit and more of the tobacco, peat and dry smoke. Finish: Long finish. Black and white pepper, salt/saline, earthy. There’s still a load of sherry fruitiness, oak and tobacco. OK, I’ve had the 2002 and the 2007 editions and both have been fantastic. This is a sweeter and fruitier dram than the earlier editions, but an absolute cracker of a sweet peaty dram. Punches above its weight and a complete bargain for the quality. A wee beauty!

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 12 August 2022). Nose: Sweet smoke, damp/earthy, black tea, salty/saline Palate: Tobacco, dried fruit, peat smoke, sweet, nutty, salt, seaweed, dark chocolate Finish: Medium long finish. Heather, wood smoke, wood ash, nutty, slightly herbal. Coats the mouth. Smoky and slightly youthful. Soft and gentle as a peaty dram. Quaffable - a session whisky. This is not a particularly complex whisky, it's a young peaty Islay, so you get what you expect - not a bad thing at all! It tastes to me that this is probably a peated Bunnahabhain. Came joint last out of the six drams, with 0% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 54% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 12 August 2022). Nose: Light sweet fruit, apricot, orange, gristy, hairspray and a wisps of farmyard Palate: Sherry! Ripe and dried fruit. Green herbs, mint, thyme and dill. Caramel. Slightly grassy. Finish: Medium long finish. Orange, citrus, floral, mineral, sherry and chocolate raisin 1 of 266 bottles Refill hogshead All about the sherry - described on the tasting as a sherry delivery system! Chocolate caramel and dried fruit. A great, very tasty sherry bomb. Came joint third out of the six drams, with 8% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 58% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 12 August 2022). Nose: Orchard fruit, sweet, baking spice, ginger Palate: Sweet, chocolate cherries, dates, dried figs, baking spices Finish: Long finish. Nutty, toasted oak, dates, raisins. Slightly burnt millionaire's shortbread. 10 years in 500L Oloroso sherry butts, followed by 2.5 years in Sauternes casks This is a cracker! Rich, chewy and heavy. Sweet dried fruit and an interesting slightly burned note (in a good way!) The Sauternes adds a little sweet fruitiness. Too dangerously drinkable for 58.2% ABV. Came second out of the six drams, with 15% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 77% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky.

(Good Spirits Co. Glasgow – Virtual Whisky Tasting, 12 August 2022). Nose: Orchard fruit, green, sweet, spearmint, apple, vanilla, melon Palate: Woody, floral/gorse, light spiciness / white pepper, coconut, caramel, grape, honeydew melon Finish: Medium long finish. Oak, malt, char/ash, tinned fruit, caramel sauce. Slightly souring on the aftertaste A bottling of 28 first fill ex-bourbon barrels. Chariot barley This is a lovely woody, spicy and caramel dram. There's a luxury feel to this dram. Warming and lightly numbing. This is a very tasty wee dram! Came runaway first out of the six drams, with 77% of the final vote for favourite of the night. 96% of those present said they enjoyed the whisky. There were 11 bottles available to buy through a ballot and I managed to secure a bottle.