Ardbeg Uigeadail 54.2% OB L6 & Ardbeg Corryvreckan 57.1% OB 2012

Ardbeg Uigeadail 54.2% OB L6

Time for a mini vertical. L6 means it's a batch from 2006, the rest of the batch# reads 219 11 39 4ML, there, now you know which one it is! ;-). The color is golden auburn. It smells sulphur, acrylic, leather, nail polish, grenadine, cherry sauce, licorice, carraway, rhubarb, very subtle and pleasant, no peat-monster... The taste is old sherry, mellow citrus, orange juice and grapefruit, leather, tobacco, cherries in syrup, some nutmeg and caramel too. This is a very good young Ardbeg, though far from an expected one with these sweet notes. The finish is long on caramel, peat smoke and butter. Adding some water. Now it becomes lighter, some seaweed and sunflower oil. A strange one with water.

At full strength, this one is sublime: 8.5


Ardbeg Corryvreckan 57.1% OB 2012

One bottled six years later. And whilst Uigeadail very much consists of sherry-matured Ardbeg, this one is dominated by bourbon wood. This is just a slightly paler version than the Uigeadail. It smells stronger, smoky, peat, tar, iodine, sea salt, old ropes, cedar wood, rubber, charcoal, vanilla, camphor, tangerines, boiled cabbage. The taste is peaty, peppery, salt, hay, paraffin, charcoal, salmi, banana, lemon zest, vinegar, soap, furniture polish, sour beer. The finish is smoky, peppery, leather, black pepper, charcoal, iodine, cod liver, pineapple, cardamum. Adding water to this on makes for a more bitter and peppery whisky. I find it hard to believe the Uigeadail and the Corryvreckan comes from the same distillery.

A modern peat monster: 6.5



Next tasting: Talisker Distillery

Caol Ila 11yo 1997-2009 43% Gordon & Macphail Connoisseur's Choice

A young Caol Ila, from 1st fill and refill sherry casks. This could be stellar, but my assumption often is, that a Caol Ila from a sherried cask is a underprivileged Caol Ila. Yes, Caol Ila needs to be as natural as possible in my opinion. That being said, not as a new-make. The color is light amber. It smells peat, sulphur, rubber, glue, dry, pepper, varnish, rotting clothes. The taste is dried green peppers (black pepper), peat, grassy, sulphur, ginger, ashes, nuts, coffee beans. The finish is peaty, peppery, coastal, salty, ginger. With added water, this shows more of a nut and honey note. I do not recommend water as it takes away most of the Islay-side of this dram. But to be honest, it wasn't a very maritime malt in the first place.

An young Islayer that seems a bit older, and maybe from another region: 6



Next tasting: Ardbeg Distillery

Macallan 20yo 1990-2011 48.5% Hellmanns Naturextrakte cask#1032

IB Macallans are rare these days. Thankfully Hellmanns Naturextrakte have gotten hold of a cask. I have only had one HN before, that was an Arran bottling which was much to my liking. The color is golden. It smells sweet, perfumy, sweet malty notes, barley wine, a bit austere, heather, white wine vinegar, swiss cheese, most of all perfumy. The taste is rich, malty, licorice, aniseed, leather, waxy, earthy, a more robust Macallan so to speak. Some oily notes as well. Lets add some water. Now it turns more vinegary, burnt, spirity, not my cup of malt anymore. The finish is well rounded with some sweet malty notes.

Scored neat: 7



Next tasting: Caol Ila Distillery

Laphroaig 13yo 2000-2013 57.8% Malts of Scotland cask#13010

Peat and sherry, not always a great combination, crossing fingers... The color is auburn. It smells peaty, dry, sulphur, yeast, perfumy, soapy, paint thinner. A raw beast, maybe bit young, I believe... The taste is all peat and sulphur, some burnt rubber and raw rhubarb. I'll add water, if not this is just a crash between peat and sherry wood influence, no medicinal or coastal notes, no Laphroaig that is. With two teaspoons of water added to 3cl of spirit, it turns thicker, creamier, more cinnamon, black pepper, dandelions, crayfish or other shellfish marinated in mulled wine, fortified red wine, much more interesting now. I know some of these notes seems a bit out there, but its how I experience this whisky with water added. The finish is peppery and short.

With added water, this bottling makes more sense: 6.5



Next tasting: The Macallan Distillery

Blends and malts without distillery names...

I'm just clearing my archive a bit as I've recently found its been too long since this site exclusively focused on more or less available single malts. Here we go, a hotchpotch!



Bell's NAS 40% Blend Arthur Bell & Sons

No photo unfortunately, but you could easily find one online, no, I haven't tried, but I assume that would be possible. Another classic low-to-middle shelf blend, I must admit I haven't had one before. Let's explore. This one has some Caol Ila, Glenkinchie, Dufftown and even Inchgower in the mix, but most of all malts, there's Blair Athol. Ah, that just sounds confusing. The color is golden caramel. It smells grainy, wheat, turnips, hay, dried apricots, wet turf, earthy, rotting mascarpone, really basic blend stuff. And that just may be their goal, so whose to say its a miss? The taste is reluctant on stale beer, cocoa powder, ginger, raw garlic, yellow raisins and soap, quite a lot of soap in fact. I'm no blend expert, and neither will I ever be, but since I'm doing a blend review for mostly single malt drinkers, I guess my reference points can be verified. The finish is rather short, some stale beer yet again, and some nuances of cardamum. 

This is exactly why I prefer malts: 2

Peter Dawson Special NAS 40% Blend 

Back when I did some rather MOTR blends and other non-single malts, say The Fat Trout, Jim Beam, Tullamore Dew ad whatnot, I was many a time asked why I did these tastings. I responded to some that it was to reset my palate a bit, and update some of my referance points. Well, that was just partially true.  As it appears to me, the single malt whisky industry is heading down a bit of a slippery slope at the moment. Where the classic 12yo's and such are replaced by NAS-versions with make-up in form of different peat levels or cask finishings. Nothing new, mind you, but it's never been such a part of the norm as it seems nowadays. Therefore I'm having a go at some random blends, just to see what they can offer. Why? Well, although the age on the single malt are diminishing, the prices certainly aren't. Let's give the good old blends a go. I'll promise to try and stay objective. This one is one of the most popular i.e. most sold, but rather for its price tan the brand. Pter Dawson is a blending company in Glasgow and is named after a former distillery owner. Enough wikipedia. The color is tanned to golden brown. It smells light, grainy, some cloves and black pepper, old wooden boats, a certain zing of maritime, but thats about it. The taste is sweet, grainy, some lemon citric notes and maltiness. It's hard to detect much flavor in this, but its a flawless one, could be had as a cup of tea with a biscuit. It's a decent blend, but its not an alternative to single malt in my opinion. If there are any finish its a quick one on cardboard and nutmeg. 

If you find a pinch of salt in the soup just a bit excessive, this should be a whisky for you: 3

The Lord Balliol 20yo 40% 

The Lord Balliol is a commemoration malt after John Balliol, a king of Scots. Other than that I find no mention about him that leads to clues about what distillery this comes from other than it's a single cask single highland whisky. Cask#1 actually, not the distillery's reference, I'm sure. Maybe a Dalmore? King Alexander III was somehow related to John Balliol if I'm not wrong. The color is amber. It smells rich, heather, fresh thyme, chives, leeks, müesli, onions, caramel, dust, hay, leather, chalk, quite perfumy. The taste is thin, porridge, mushroom stew, wheat, rotten parsley, ginger beer, never unpleasant, though very light and mellow for its age. It should've been bottled at a higher strength, in my opinion. The finish is light on some licorice and basel leaves.

Comme ci comme ca: 4

Ferintosh 10yo 40% Invergordon Distillers

Ferintosh was a distillery, now long gone, that is used as a name for some undisclosed single malts these days. It's been known to be Fettercairn. Invergordon Distillers are a part of Whyte & Mackay who owns Fettercairn. The only problem is that Fettercairn is a highland distillery, not a speysider, and as of now, Whyte & Mackay have no speyside distillery in their portfolio. It could however be a Tomintoul, as they were owned by W&M not that long ago. The color is golden. It smells starchy, chlorophyll, paint, cardboard, gin, lemon juice and polyester. The taste is malty, smooth, caramel, honey, sauternes, sweet white wines, banana liqueur, a light and sweet palate with no off-notes and very little personality. The finish is short with some candy mints and plum chutney.

Utterly forgettable, well into blend territory this one: 4.5

"As We Get It " 8yo 59.4% J.G.Thomson & Co

Well, first of all, the screw cap tells me this whisky comes from a time when "pure malt" was thrown around a lot, and could very well be mentioned on a cask carrying single malt whisky. I know very little about this series and rarely see it anymore, but I remember a Balvenie that was rather spirity. This one is neither colored nor chill-filtered, and bottled at CS, hooray! The color is light golden, hinting at white wine. It smells citric, ginger, grapefruit, lime rind, chives, vanilla, glue, paint thinner, the alcohol is quite obvious. Remember this was most likely bottled at least 3 decades ago. It's a rougher and more demanding spirit than most youngsters these days. The taste is sweet, bananas, caramel, tart, oils, chili oil, kiwi, pistachio, strong rum, honey. A very sweet and spicy whisky, almost a bit of a crash here, some good flavors, but totally unbalanced. The finish is peppery and malty, rather gentle in comparison to the palate. Let's add some water. Now it turns more spirity, ammonium, chlorine, licorice, burnt oil, rubber, all these off-notes... Certainly one to enjoy bare.

I will not speculate in the origin of the spirit, but its a fine young whisky: 6

Intravagan'za NAS 50% Michel Couvreur Meldrum House

I've gotten a some complaints, 4 and still counting, on the matter that I stated the Clearach from same bottler as a 3yo, though that's not stated anywhere on the bottle. Better do a NAS this time. The information of this being 3yo I got from the seller, but he also told me it was bottled at CS. That might be true, but that reduction in only 3 years? Rather unlikely... This is a spirit from Glen Garioch that's been exclusively matured in a Burgundy Cave(a dry one), in France, and therefore cannot be called a Whisky. Old Meldrum is the town in which Glen Garioch Distillery stands. The reason that I'm doing this tasting of a non-whisky is that its a drink that probably won't be repeated for a very long time, if ever. First of all, Michel Couvreur sadly passed away last year, his sons will now keep bottling wine and brandy, but not malt. Also, exporting casks of spirit from Scotland is furthermore banned by law these days. The color is auburn/orange, from a sherry cask btw. It smells dry red wine, tannins, cigar smoke, cedar wood, roasted herring, sun-dried tomatoes, fish oil. It seems less malty than Glen Garioch, more like a dry Brandy. How strange... The taste is sweet, peppery, cinnamon cloves, parsnips, chestnuts, pine nuts, honey, chili, phenols. It's a rich one, and I'd say it makes for a great alternative to a brandy. The finish is sweet and perfumy with a kick of cinnamon. Oh yes, this seems much more matured than any 3-5yo from Scotland. Perhaps it's a result of the maturation terroir. I'm upping this 1.5 points from last tasting, seriously!

It's a great dram, I can't help wonder if the Scots maybe handicap their produce by law: 8.5

Next tasting: Laphroaig Distillery

Longmorn 12yo 1995-2008 46% The Warehouse Collection

From a bourbon hogshead. Longmorns seems more and more available at independent bottlers these days. I remember just a decade ago where there were almost only OB's and G&M-bottlings available. New owners? The color is pale white wine. It smells spicy, coriander, cinnamon, chili, red onions, peat, burnt, toasted oak, garlic. The taste is even spicier, dried onions, rhubarb, black pepper, chili, ginger, heather, smoke, vanilla, rich and powerful whisky. The finish is peppery, restrained, chillies, cedar oak, raw onions. This is a single cask, and thus a great selection by Whisky Warehouse #8. I wonder how it was at CS? I guess we'll never know...

Great Longmorn, as usual from them I'd say: 7



Next tasting: Bunch of blends and disguised malts.

Imperial 1991 40% Gordon & Macphail

Imperial Distillery is down for good it seems. But its one that's often fairly priced, still. I'm not sure when this was bottled, but I'm assuming its a young spirit, with coloring, chill-filtration and heavy amounts of added water prior to bottling. The color is golden. It smells grassy, herbal, notes of wet hay and rye bread. Also grind pumpkin and lemon seeds. It's a rater big whisky for what I expected. Some tart, spirity notes and heavy oak. Feinschmeckers beware! I think it portrays more realistically how Imperial used to be, with its highs and lows. But I really couldn't tell. Lets taste. Creamy malty notes on the palate, starchy, sawdust, layers of malt and raw oak. The finish is malty, peppery. Short. Let's add some water. Now it turns lighter, sweeter, more vanilla and yeast.

No wine finishing or heavy strength, there will soon be less and less of these around: 6.5



Next tasting: Longmorn Distillery

Slyrs NAS 46% OB No1 Sherry Edition

To be honest, I had to take a short break after that Old Hobart, I felt a bit disillusioned what comes to international malts. Let's have a sherried one at low strength. A young german single malt finished in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. So, its not a 100% sherried edition then. Remember its the superyoung, diluted, finished 1st edition, so we'll make no judgement of Slyrs based on this review alone. The color is amber orange. It smells sweet sherry, bitter vinegar, kirsch, orange peel, orange liqueur, sure its young, but this finish seems to have had its effect. The taste is sweet, raisins, plums, honey, sweet sherry, red onions, cinnamon, a really nice sherry finished youngster. The finish is on heather, turmeric and honey.

A nice surprise, I usually don't enjoy cask finishes as much as this: 6



Next tasting: Imperial Distillery