Tastes

The nose is intense and fruity, dried apricot jam, juicy peaches, integrated wet soil-like earthy peat, musty, smoked vanilla, baking spice, smoked fruits like lemon and pineapple, shortbread, quality grape spirit, sweet mandarines/tangerines, old leather, sweet winter wood smoke and my mom’s roasted pork with prunes and grapes in brown souce. Lovely. The palate is a bit more simple but it has very nice oily but smooth texture with notes of umami, more peat than on the nose, sweet cigar tabacco, santalwood, black pepper, roasted peanut and candied oranges. Finish is medium to long, starts with creamy buttery peat and ends with mixed ripe fruits. Overall I might be sentimental about this whisky because it was my birthday present just after I have visited the city of Marsala in Sicily, but it is an amazing dessert whisky for the whole year. I have always loved finishing my flights with this one bcs of the sweet&peat factor and the complex but smooth character. The marsala is definitely there and adds to the experience with the highland peat and the speyside character. The nose is complex and exciting, notes like dried apricot jam, smoke vanilla, tangerines and my mom’s roasted pork with prunes and grapes in brown souce. Oily but smooth on the palate, musty and it tastes older than 12 years and after a subtle hit of peat you stay with mixed fruits on the finish. I will miss this bottle from my shelf and let’s see if i can replace it with something or i just have to buy another bottle of this. In comparison with • Tullibardine The Murray Marsala Cask Finish 2006-2018 - No peat here but still the marsala clearly works in both whiskies. This one maybe not that intense and smooth but it has its own lovely notes. • Ardmore 12 Port Wood Finish - This one is much darker, bit more funky, more youthful, less integrated wood finish and more chocolate. • W&M Ardmore 12 2009 Tokaj Cask Finish - This one is interestingly the most different, it is much brighter, sweeter, younger and punchier with less wood impact.

The nose is right away full on sherry, light sulfur, no youth, px sherry, dark anise bread, musty, butterscotch, raisins, fresh leather, dry autumn leaves, xmas spices, spekulaas or clove and cinnamon, licorice and Tatin - french caramelized apple cake. The palate has good body, fairly dark and sirupy, sweet with notes of oxidised sherry, dates, raisins, also spices, woodspice, black pepper, ginger bread, fresh gingery, lightly herbal. The finish is fairly long (4/5) and oily, rounded with notes of dried apricot, blackberries, dark bread, quaility chocolate/cocoa beans, cashew nuts, pain au chocolat/sweet pastry and oaky bitterness. Overall I liked this bottle from first drop to last but it did not make me a Glendronach fanboy. The nose is intensely sherried with a good balance of PX and Oloroso notes, also spekulaas/xmas spices and my favourite note here, the Tatin - french caramelized apple cake note. The palate is fairly sirupy and it delivers even with 43%, at first sweet like dates and raisins and then the spices arrive with notes like black pepper, woodspice, fresh ginger and ginger bread. The finish has good length, it is oily and rounded with notes of dried apricot, blackberries and a lovely pain au chocolat note. Even though I haven’t became a fanboy, as i mentioned, but still, I would be happy to replace this bottle for a fair price. It is a good introduction to the style of a well sherried highland scotch. *this was still the non chill filtered version In comparison with: • GlenAllachie 12 - much darker and denser in smell and taste, more parfumy, quite different • Glenrothes 12 - it has more like a loud seasoned cask style of sherry in here, also more vanilla, nuts and sulfur but less body and less oily • Bunnahabhain 12 - it is very different but this comparison unlocked some notes here I haven’t had before. More nutty, funky, cheesy, minerality and a lovely tabacco/cigar note.

The nose, citrus mix, funky and earthy well-integrated peat, watermelon, wooden shed, some youthness, vanilla, caramel, powder sugar, rubber, dark choco-raisins, fresh mint and brittle. The palate is bity, stronger earthy peat, vegetal notes (pumpkin?), sherry sweetness and black peppers. The finish, 3/5 length, chocolate malt, peated stout, later some cherry tabacco and dark chocolate (sherry) Overall, a bit difficult to break this one down because it is not super complex but also very much “glued” together. The nose is definitely peaty and earthy. The peat is very well integrated and even a bit funky with the mixed fruit and citrus notes. The peat is much more present on the palate with a nice warming bite with fresh vegetal notes and vanilla. The finish is medium long, not really oily but the peated malt note stays longer like in a chocolaty peated stout and some sherry influence appears as well in the form of tabacco and choco-raisins. It is an old-school style, rounded but young malt with a bit of everything in there. Not overly complex or unique but still, I could work myself through a bottle to see how it changes. In comparison with: • Glandronach 12 - not much in common, only the old school vibes • Kilkerran 12 - here i have actually found similarities (funky integrated peat and mixed fruits) but the KK12 is richer, much more complex and a lot more interesting •Ardnamurchan AD/07.21:05 - completely different, modern malt with parfumy, spirity notes. Lovely tho.

The nose is fairly interesting, it has good depth with notes of malt, mint, fudge and funny fresh, floral softener for washing. It is definitely young but not disturbing. The sherry maturation is also present along with a bit of an eggy sulfur note. The taste is unfortunatelly not as nice as the nose. It is quite empty and lifeless with notes of orangeade, powder sugar and bitterness. The finish is short but nicer again with an after eight sweet chocolate and creamy mint taste. Overall it has nice notes on the nose and finish but the taste does not deliver what the nose promises. Even though the fairly present and interesting sherry influence I prefered the Founder’s Reserve in comparison and the Illicit Still as well of course but that is a different league. I would not purchase this liter bottle for ~50€.

The Arran 14, for me, has a really intense barley forward nose with notes of floral yeast, loads of vanilla, some toffee, craft honey and a lovely minerality in the background. The palate has a good bite but still friendly with creamy barley and vanilla notes. Finish is medium-long with notes of musty grain and the signs of the sherry maturation appears as well with some darker dried fruit notes. It does remind me of the Arran 10 but it is much cleaner, more settled and peaceful taste profile. Lovely sipping whisky. I would love to work myself through a bottle, too bad you cannot buy this anymore.