Tastes

I'm a huge fan of Springbank 12, and this – unsurprisingly – tastes like a smoother, less peaty version. As such, it's inherently a bit less interesting and alluring, but it's a finely made malt with a lot of Campbeltown character.

Gorgeous, rich nose: vanilla, creosote, an old leather armchair, cloves... the mouthfeel is amazing, fills your palate while toasting it with a pretty intense burn. Almost like it doesn't think you got enough up your nose already, so it tries the back door. Takes a couple of sips (or a bit of dilution) before the underlying flavours start to come through, but it's really all about the fire and spice. The finish is long, hot and full of flavours that you didn't even know were there: ginger biscuits, flamed orange peel, spiced mince pies, brandy soaked pannetone – there's nothing subtle about this whisky, it's a big rye-heavy punch on the nose; and its tremendous.

Massive nose, dominated by leather, play doh and a sweet menthol. Along with all the lovely sweet, caramel and vanilla aromas you'd expect from a (minimum) 10 year old whiskey. The palate is equally huge, filling your senses with oak, a touch of smoke, herbs and a big hit of warmth without fire. The finish goes on for ever. This stuff is dee-licious.

It's an interesting beast. Initially all the nose gives you is fire, acrid smoke and peat; but after a while it either edges off or your nose gets used to it and it mellows out into what I can only describe as marmite – salt, umami, a hint of sticky sweetness – spread on burnt toast. The palate is a bit disappointing, again, completely dominated by the smoke but with none of the interesting saltiness and sweetness that hung around in the wake of it all on the nose. A rather short and rough finish leaves the whole experience a bit flat. Not an unpleasant dram by any measure, it's definitely interesting, but not sure I'd be shelling out a ton for a bottle.

The nose took a little while to open up, but five minutes after pouring, its full of sweet wine notes (reminiscent of the Jefferson Groth cask bourbon), toffee, candied orange peel, big fat, juicy, dark berries and I'm getting a touch of fresh mint – of all things – hovering around the top notes. It's just shy of 50% so it's lovely and warming on the palate, the second sip is laced with juicy currants and almost a touch of cherry brandy. There's something almost sweet vermouth like about it - almost like 'essence of a manhattan'. The finish is fairly snappy, but with feeling.

The nose is like freshly baked shortbread spread with green chilli jam. In the mouth it's Big, incredible mouthfeel for such a pale whisky, peppery, a bit medicinal. It has a lovely subtle peatiness (perfect for those nights where you want a bit of smoke, but not a bonfire). Massive finish. Up there with the best whisky I've tasted in 2016.

Pretty lean nose: allspice, cloves, orange peel. Needed a bit of time to open up, was all acetone and alcohol to begin with. Ten minutes later it gets into vanilla and fudge. Twenty minutes in and I'm getting a lot of tobacco on the nose. Very odd. Palate: pretty firey (surprisingly so for 92 proof), cherry boiled sweets, rye spice, cinnamon and those cloves again. Finish: raisins, soft but lingering. Verdict: it's interesting alright, tastes very young though. All the interesting flavour is pretty superficial. Decent.

The nose is full of pink wafer biscuits – vanilla, cream, a tiny bit of something more medicinal, like rising bread dough. In the mouth, I'm finding it hard to believe that this is 46% – not that 46 is particularly fiery, but this juice is so smooth it's like drinking honey syrup. A bit of spice, but the texture mellows it out. There's sweetness there for sure though, reminds me of the time I tipped a glass of 20yr tawny over a sticky toffee pudding. The alcohol cutting through the caramel. It's got an amazing finish. For something so smooth it hangs around for ages: the pepper and maybe some cloves tickling the back of your nostrils for what feels like forever. Worth savouring every mouthful.