Glendullan 2008 12 Year Old SMWS 84.36

Nose: When nosed neat there are dark, rich aromas of dried fruit, waxed wooden furniture, old leather and pipe tobacco. In the background these are supported by sweeter fruity aromas and orange liqueur. With water the nose is sweeter, fruiter, fresher and quite delightful. Palate: Neat, the arrival is big, hefty and full of treacle tarts, date pudding, raisins and black coffee. Some orange and hot spice notes appear in the development but they are unusual and have an accompanying tannic, iron-like taste. It’s not unpleasant and @DrRHCMadden described this in his review below as being like an old school water fountain, which is bang on target. For me it brought to mind tasting “the waters” at Bath (which are iron oxide heavy). The alcohol presence is intense and makes the mouth water, and the texture is full. Dilution makes the palate much more gentle and brings out a lot of sweet citrus and white grape notes. It also tames the tannic/metallic character to the point where it is almost undetectable and transforms into a spicy ginger flavour. The texture becomes creamier with watering. Finish: Medium. Dark chocolate, orange zest and a drying aftertaste which fades to a pleasant sweetness. Dilution shortens the finish and emphasizes citrus sweetness even more. Glendullan is not a well known distillery as most of its output goes into Johnnie Walker blends. However it is also widely sold as a single malt under the Singleton brand, and there is also a Glendullan "Flora and Fauna" release. All of these single malts share a characteristic grassy, floral style. However this whisky is entirely unlike any Singleton expression I’ve ever tasted (thank goodness) which all comes down to the casking. This whisky was obtained by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society after 10 years in ex-bourbon and was then re-racked by them into a first-fill ex-sauternes barrique where it rested for another 2 years. The out-turn was 232 bottles at a cask-strength of 56.1%, un-chillfiltered and un-coloured. Personally I preferred this with a teaspoon of water as it mellows and integrates the profile very pleasantly, but you could argue that dilution highlights the sweet wine cask notes to the point that they take over the experience. "Very Good" : 85/100 (4 stars)

Glendullan 12 The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Cask No. 84.36 Fruits of Darkness Distilled on March 19th 2008 from a cask that produced 232 bottles. Matured initially  in ex bourbon hogsheads for 10 years and finished in a first fill ex-Sauternes barrique for a further 2 years before being bottled by SMWS at 56.1% ABV. N: Deep and dark, living up to the name already. There is a wonderful leathery and heavy wood furniture, and maybe a tobacco like aspect to the nose here that oozes toffee coated red fruits, plums, and dates. A light clove or nutmeg type of spice and enough citrus to get you into mulled Christmas like mulling mixes. A very slight ethanol burn slightly detracts, but I am likely nit picking. P: Heavy and gripping with a metallic note like an old school water fountain. Plenty of ABV presence. Big, really big, brown sugar, mocha, caramel over sticky date pudding, leather and a lighter honey evolves from the heavier caramel. Bright chocolate and cinnamon spiced orange zest and red fruit. F: Medium. Plenty of milk chocolate to go around, orange spritz, tannic leather, and maybe a little floral brightness right at the end. A surprisingly delicate exit. A drop of water calms the ABV sufficiently to round off the edges and unify the palate into an almost singular, creamy slightly fruity and spiced toffee. The calmness of the water drop is very drinkable, but I think this is objectively better when the zingy, every so slightly cluttered glass is allowed to do what it was bottled to do. This is undoubtedly a sherry forward profile, but the ten years in ex bourbon add a depth to the vanillin and tannins that keep this from being boring. Many thanks to @cascode for the generously shared dram. Well worth checking out if you’re in the mood for something just outside the ordinary. Distiller whisky taste #271 [Pictured here with a rock of darkness. This is a very gem looking lump of sphalerite crystals, a zinc sulphide, from the Rhodope Mountains of Bulgaria. Normally sphalerite looks orange to red and, well fruity, but here the high temperatures it formed in caused lots of iron uptake turning it black].