Speyside NAS 40% Marks & Spencer
This one must not be confused with the Speyside distillery as it is not confirmed to be distilled there. On the other hand I've read comments made about its similarities to Drumguish which I believe is a 3 year old single malt from Speyside Distillery. Smells liquorice and spirit, like some licorice flavored vodka. No thanks, this is just a young and impotent whisky. No flavors have really evolved in this one yet.
A bland experience: 1.5
Inverey NAS 40% Marks & Spencer
A Highland Single Malt bottled for Marks & Spencer by an anonymous distillery. I have tried some of the cheap Marks & Spencer whiskies before and I haven't been too impressed as I feel its if they try to choose safe whiskies with little flavors to not alienate the high street punters. This one is light and mild, creamy at first, then turns into a nice compote of cream, chives and black peppers. This is a traditional light whisky, very young and too diluted to catch my attention.
Light, easy, nothing more: 4
Old Elgin 8yo 40% Fine Old Malt Whisky
I'm doing a bag of alternative whiskies today. I don't know for sure that this sin't a single malt, but it's a bottling by Gordon and Macphail and they've been bottling some "singles" as "pure" back in the days. Caramel, colored by E150, smells of grain spirit and rotten wet wood. The taste is The taste is more mature, some green tea, herbal notes, grassy, some interesting dry notes and it turns pretty rustic in the end. Cigar? Add some water an it becomes a bit rounder and sweeter and even gets a longer finish of more cigar, burning the tongue like a good cuban's last two inches.
For a blend(I believe), it stands very well at 8 years: 5.5
The Bramley Grange Hotel NAS 40% Foremost Products
I know there's more of these Hotel malts around there, but I'm not sure if there's different malts for different hotels or it's all from a batch bought from same distillery. Some light herbal and minty scents, The taste is quite grainy, some soft notes of orange peel at first, then turns grainy and bitter. Finishes grassy and spirity, I hope the The Bramley Grange Hotel has more malts to offer in their bar than this one.
Not for me: 2
Pride of Islay 12yo 40% Malt Gordon & Macphail
I don't know whether this is a blend, a vatted or a single malt from an unknown distillery. Either way its an islayer with lots of E150, artificial colouring. Hmm.. this smells really sweet and sherried, a bit dry, oloroso? Could it be matured in some good old style sherry wood, could I be wrong about the E150? A hidden treasure? The taste is fresh, sweet, raisins, phenol, cinnamon, som very fine custard and honey. This is absolutely a hidden gem that I believe can be found at very low prices, even though the bottle probably is a couple decades old.
No peat or coastal character, just old style Oloroso, a beauty: 7
Auld Reekie 12yo 46% Duncan Taylor
I'm doing an IB peated vertical today, starting off with this one from Duncan Taylor, which some say is a Caol Ila, I really have no idea. Colourwise it's very pale, like white wine. It smells a bit rougher than the Caol Ila 12yo. It's peaty for sure, but there aren't much else to it. I'm getting a lot of peat on the palate and just some small hints of vanilla. The aftertaste is light and less peaty, some notes of black pepper and white wine vinegar.
This feels more like a Bruichladdich to me, a pretty poor one: 4
Poit Dhubh 12yo 46% IB(?)
A malt from an unknown still, I've read online somewhere that it's an illicit distillation. Probably from Islay somewhere I would guess, or an Island. Very sweet and balanced odors, freshly ground coffee, and newly washed linens. I could have guessed Highland Park, but the taste of peat, seasalt, and pepper makes me think of Islay.
Wonderful smokiness: 9
Cu Dhub NAS 40% Mannochmore Dist(?)
A young whisky packed to the max with artificial colouring. A danish project to resurrect the old Loch Dhu, or at least something similar. Reeks of bad Vodka, the ones you get at german bordershops. Needs some time, but nothing really helps, there's not much more than alcohol and water as to flavours in this one. What saves it from bottom place, is just the faintest hint of coffee in the aftertaste.
A disgrace: 1.5
Glenfoyles 12yo 40% OB/IB(?)
Strange whisky, produced in Glasgow, while the original Glenfoyles Distillery, which were in another part of the country shut down in 1928. Taste quite OK, but very sweet and a bit plastic, lots of artificial colouring and such.
Bizarre stuff: 2.5
Glen Avon 25yo 40% Gordon & MacPhail
Glen Avon is a bottle of, said to be, Glenfarclas. Hints of pine and air freshener on the nose, very sweet. Has a couple similarities with the 21yo Glenfarclas, but not as elegant nor good, perhaps a cask issue? Anyway, this isn't that bad, and pretty much what you could expect of a good 10 to 12 year old. But a 25 year old should show some more signs of age and uniqueness.
Pretty much like an everyday malt: 5.5
Smokehead 12yo 43% IB
On the box there's mentioned about fifty different fragrances, all recognizable in this bottle. This seems also to be the problem as it comes across quite undefinable and unbalanced. Besides this, Smokehead does have the typical whiffs of smoke that's typical for Islay.
A smoky apocalypse: 5.5
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