2nd Grain Tasting!!!

Time to try some more single grain whiskies. I think that my last tasting of single grain whiskies proved to be somewhat of an eye opener, and I will not be surprised if there are some more winners in this tasting.


Caledonian 45yo 1965-2010 46.1% Clan Denny by Douglas Laing

Clan Denny is as far as I know a single grain only series by independent bottler Douglas Laing. Kinda pale for a 45yo, light orange hue. It smells vanilla, oak and polyester. Different unnatural fabric, different work clothes, polyester and acrylic. Weird and rather unpleasant. I have to add that this distillery were closed back in 1988 and there are as far as I'm aware of no official bottlings still around, and IB's are few and really far between. The taste is more bitter, again this rubbery, polyester notes, really weird, kind of reminds me of some younger Glen Scotia bottlings. It's not that its bad or anything, it just very short and very light, with some rubbery notes that I'm still not able to compare to those that are found in certain sherry bottlings. It has some nice rubber notes if such a thing exists.

Kind of boring and, well, unlikely for a whisky this age: 3


North British 26yo 1974-2000 50% Scott's Selection

I think that the founding of North British Distillery, britain's biggest Grain Distillery were over the years the demise for many other grain distilleries such as the aforementioned Caledonian Distillery. With a 1.25m liters capacity each week, it makes for enough grain whisky a year to satisfy the needs of many of the blends produced in Scotland altogether. But how is it when bottled single? The color is golden, the nose is licorice, spirity, oaky, vanilla, honey, diet milk, cardboard, turmeric, another grain that needs some "wood polish" to really shine. The taste is sour and bitter, lemon rind and herbal tea and some earthy notes. The aftertaste is sour fruity, grapefruit, kiwi juice, dark grapes.

A good palate, but not very interesting: 4


Cameronbridge 30yo 1979-2009 51.9% Duncan Taylor cask#3585 btl.114/206

The only Single Grain Distillery that has fetched a 8+score in my book is Cameronbridge. That were a dark sherried one, which is quite unusual for a grain as they're almost exclusively matured in bourbon casks. As is this one. Golden color. It smells thick, vanilla, butter, chocolate, pistachio, toffee, extremely well developed over its 30 years in #3585. The taste is thick and syrupy with an oaky and drying side that's perhaps needed in this one as it easily could get a bit too tame if lacking. It needs a bit of water I think. The taste is now more on the bittersweet and soapy side, I would not recommend adding water to this one, but I will score it only on the neat tasting.

A good one, seems Cameronbridge may be one of the most distinctive blends: 6


Carsebridge 28yo 54.7% James MacArthur's

From the Fine Grain Selection, another grain distillery that incidentally was a founded and operated as a single malt distillery, but later went on to producing single grain. I don't think I have seen to many distilleries going in the opposite direction. This is the darkest one so far, somewhere in between orange and brown hue. Probably from a sherry cask, but I couldn't say that for sure. The nose is rich and honeyed and spirity, the spirityness takes a leave after just a couple of minutes. More cinnamon, dried fruits, very good one. The taste is all on sweet cinnamon, honey, pineapple and green peppers. Sun-dried tomatoes alongside some bold and rich cinnamon, chilies, curry and sweet licorice. This one needs no water, it's just a perfectly smooth and sweet sherried whisky.

Beautiful stuff, one to be on the lookout for: 8.5


Lochside 31yo 1962-1994 Cadenhead's Single Grain

A rare single grain bottling from Lochside Distillery, a distillery that, when in business used to produce both single grain and single malt whisky. There's still two distilleries left that does this, Loch Lomond and Ben Nevis, but I think there's been a decade or two passing by since any grain spirit were produced at the Ben Nevis Distillery. Lochside has seen some of a revival since they closed, and perhaps this also will underline that the closure was a mistake. About the same color as the Carsebridge. The nose is spirity and foul, oaky and spirity, very much like paint thinner and nail polish remover. It is very spirity for such an old whisky. The taste is much better, again cinnamon, honey, leather, butter, burnt sugar, smoked ham, amazing, a really rich and mouth-filling grain whisky, although the nose prepared me for so much worse. The aftertaste is chili and gorgonzola, very dry.

Another one that makes me wonder why they closed this distillery down: 8

Doing some blends containing some Talisker(?)

I know I should have had the 18yo Isle of Skye blend in this tasting, but as I tried it just about 6 months back, and I found it hard to recognize any Talisker in that tasting. So I hope the younger ones I will be tasting today will have more of the smoky Talisker-style in it. But first of all, let's try something that I think is a first for me... A whisky liqueur... and I'll try giving it a fair chance of a good score although I'm not warming much to the idea of blending whisky in liqueurs.


Stag's Breath Liqueur 19.8%

It says its made of "Fine Whisky and Fermented Comb Honey Liqueur". Sounds like something old ladies would nip after a dry biscuit with some veggies in aspic. The color is nice, amber red, the nose is floral and sweet, not bad, reminds me of some honey wine that I purchased in a street fair in Hamburg, Germany, a few years ago. The taste is all on red apples and mango. Far from as sugary and thick as I'd suspect. You know, those old liqueurs that sticks like cling film to the roof of your mouth because of the heavy sugar content. This, I must say, is fresh and fruity, and while I cannot sense any whisky at all it's a fresh and fine liqueur to be served chilled on a hot summers day.
I won't score this one.



Auld Skye NAS 40% The Scottish Collection Edinburgh.

So, are there any Talisker involved in this blend? The name certainly suggests so. I think this is a rather old blend, probably from the 80's. Pale golden whisky. The nose shows there's floral notes, certainly some hints of Lowland ingredients, the grain part perhaps, and then there's also some hints of highland freshness, but not much Talisker yet. Small whiffs of peat and spice comes along after a while of breathing. It's a playful whisky for a 40%abv NAS blend, with more layers than what's usual for such a dram. The taste is like chalkdust and glue. No, thanks, this is not for me. Perhaps a small drop of water can help it just a bit? Water makes it a tad sweeter, but not much better. Stay away from this one!

Foul, one of many contributor's to the bad blend-reputation amongst malt-drinkers?: 1


Isle of Skye 8yo 40% Macleod's

Oddly, this seems much darker than the 12yo that I'm about to taste next, so 4 years younger and much darker, could this one be colored, or is it more older/darker/sherried whisky in the mix here? The nose is big, reminds me immediately of the subtle sherry notes that I usually find in the 18yo OB. I There's more peat in this than the Auld Skye, and even the 18yo IoS as I remember it. The taste is thick and peppery, extremely peppery, not unlike the pepperiness that I often find in younger Taliskers, but it lacks a bit of punch. I wish there'd be more coastal and spicy character to this, and more peaty notes on the palate. Time to try with some water. Now it turns sweeter, but also more spirity. Could there be some Tobermory in this one? I'm sorry, but this one just frustrates me, and I think there's one component (or more) that just cripples this otherwise fine blend. Could a higher bottling strength have done it more justice?

Like a ferrari without an engine, there's something massive missing here: 2


Isle of Skye 12yo 40% Macleod's

A more pale and "natural" color on this one. The nose is much fresher than the 12yo, more salty, more coastal, much more like Talisker, or even Bruichladdich, lightly peated, a wee bit spiced and salted and lots of nice coastal notes such as seaweed, fish stock, sea salt, smoked haddock, beautiful stuff. The taste is lighter, fruitiness, vanilla, honey, strawberry fruit gum, interesting. If not the best blend I've ever had, certainly one of the most distinctive ones. This is in single malt territory for sure. Makes me think of some unsherried indie HP's or Tobermory's or even Arran BC's. This is very good, not by any means perfect, but if you are ever to have a blend to compare single malts with, this could easily be one or your best choices.

Ian Macleod, drop the E150, bottle at CS, and keep the 12yo like it is: 6


Edit:

Isle of Skye 18yo 43% MacLeod's Private Stock #45

So, this one is tasted 2 days later, but since it's from the Isle of Skye range I might as well put it in here. I hope 3% more and extra aging will make this leap a bit in quality from the 8 and 12yo. Certainly much darker. Smells restrained, some old sherry notes way back in the background, but other than that a pretty tame whisky. The taste is caramel, wheat, licorice, a sweet treat that I think makes for an excellent aperitif to any hearty dinner. Really gets the tastebuds swinging. Although its on the more formal and light side of blend territory its a very smooth blend, and for that it deserves a high rating.

Nice and easy, a dram for every occasion: 6


Own blend

Just for fun, I've given myself a chance at doing some blending on my own. I know I'm far from a Richard Paterson, but hopefully, using my nose the best I can at putting together some blends and malt whiskies, and see if it could taste like some of the established blends out there? The components in the blend is as follows:

Long John blend 40%
Tobermory Treasure Blend 10yo 40%
Scots Grey blend 43%
King Edgar blend 40%
Ballantine's blend 40%
Glen Niven blend 40%
Something Special blend 40%
Isle of Skye 12yo blend 40%
Isle of Skye 8yo blend 40%
Scottish parliament 12yo 40% Single Malt
Speyburn 21yo 62.5% OB Single Malt
Cameron Brig 12yo 40% OB Single Grain

Well, the dreaded tasting notes then, remember, I haven't tried this one before up until now. The nose is rustic, drying, apple vinegar and cinnamon, very nice, much better than what I expected. The taste is spicy, a huge influence from the Speyburn, but I believe it lacks either some much peated whisky or some heavily sherried to put it a bit out of the blend neutrality which is now taunting it. And a bit higher strength wouldn't be refused. All in all I think I'd put this one in the middle of the road-range what blended whiskies are concerned: 3

One American Whisky

Fire Water Whiskey NAS 40% American blend Jose Estevez S.A.

"North American Blended Whisky" it says, does that mean it's a blend of Rye and Bourbon? Anyone have an idea? I didn't think the description blend was used much in america. However, an odd, yet historically sensed name for a whisky, which has a picture of a native american chief, not far from assembling the late and great Sitting Bull on the front label. This is also one of the most sold Supermarket Whiskies in Spain, where it is sold for around 10-15euros. So, as much, or little if you like, experience I have had with American Blends, or just American Whiskies in general, I will find it hard to give more than a description if it a preferable whisky to Jack or Jim and such. I know there are said to be many very good american whiskies out there, I just haven't come around to taste them yet. Let's try this one. So, orange E150 color I believe. The taste is oaky, burnt, vanilla, grape concentrate, brut white wine, not bad actually if not for some very spirity notes. The taste is intense and sweet, spirity at first before its all on burnt sugar and lemon rind. I think that's about it. It's all gone within a second or two, and it has no aftertaste no matter how hard I try to find some.

This might not be any better than what they gave old Sitting Bull back in the days: 2

One reason why never to purchase whiskies solely based on a good rating...

I know this is something like shooting myself in the foot, or throwing rocks in a glasshouse, but as I'm enjoying more and more different whiskies, and often afterwards comparing my notes with what other online spectators have found, I see that very often my combination of score and taste notes is very similar to that of others. But sometimes just one of the two basic factors in a whisky review (notes and scores) are similar. How is that possible?

Well, most recently I had as session of rather good Dailuaines, and one of those hitting a very solid score was this one:

Dailuaine 14 yo 1979 'Friars Carse' (59.7%, The Whisky Connoisseur, cask #8965)

All well, and I also remember my tasting notes including such as herbs, oranges and caramel. I then went to the only other online spectator that I could find which had also posted a review of this, you might have been to his site www.whiskyfun.com. And reading the surprisingly short notes at about 4 lines, he did also recognize herbs, oranges and caramel. So, I think we must have tasted the same whisky, no doubt. But when my score was 8.5/10 I think, which is quite excellent in my book, his score was 63/100, which on his side would be pretty close to rubbish I think as I rarely see scores below 50 there. So, what is the x-factor that makes my experience worth so much more than his with the same whisky? I believe, and this is far from revolutionary, it all comes down to a thing often described as "personal taste". So, when someone says "Oh, S**** gave this one 90, and this one 89, and this one that and that one this and so on..." No disrespect for Serge whatsoever, or any other online spectators, but please, if you find something in the notes that you reckon you would enjoy, I think that is a much better reason to purchase a whisky then just going by a whisky because it got a high number.


So, as I see many people online, and in the industry, namedropping (read. referring to) tasters, commentators and such with a "good" score behind their name quote, to attract the attention of punters. I believe, and I know I'm only talking for myself, if I were to visit the whiskyfun site, or wherever else, to find arguments for my considerations of what to buy, I'd never buy a whisky that had a good score if the tasting notes didn't fit my description of a good whisky.


In other words, and to put it rather blatantly, I'd be much more likely to buy a whisky that caught 63/100 points than a whisky that caught 96/100 points, as long as the notes mentioned herbs, oranges and caramel.

Grain tasting!!!

So, the third one in a row of alternative styles to scotch single malts. Many people alway tells me that really old single Grains can be really good. But young single grains are rarely spoken of, so today we'll have one young just for good measures, and the rest will be more or less old ones. Btw, I have only tried one single grain so far that was a winner, and it was a Cameronbridge from Adelphi. Maybe there will be some more winners in this tasting?


Blackbarrel/Girvan NAS 43% WM Grant's

So, a pretty young distillery, no age statement and bottled at 43%, I'm assuming this is a young whisky. If not I think they've put their old stock in an undeserving vat. But I could be wrong... Sort of the standard bottling from Girvan. Very light in color. Turns hazy immediately after being poured. It smells spirity and grainy, small oakiness, more in Vodka territory than whisky so far. The taste is light, sweet and burnt. soapy, phenolic, cigar smoke, tannins, seems to be some smokiness in this one, but I'm not aware of any peat being used in the production of Girvan. Anyway, its a lightweighter, and not something I'd enjoy more than as a light aperitif whisky. But there's little off-notes except some soapy notes on the palate.

Well made, but a bit boring whisky: 4


Girvan 45yo 1965-2010 47.3% The Clan Denny Douglas Laing

So, quite a jump in length of maturation between these two Girvans, and this one is also bottled at cask strength, but after such a long time in oak it's usually bound to be a significant loss of alcohol content in the spirit. Amber orange hue. Smells oaky and austere at first, needs some time to open up. Now, given about 20 minutes it shows to be a sweet and musty whisky, but far too oaky, I believe water will be added to this one, but let's try it neat first. Licorice, mint, walnuts, pine wood, a weird mixture, the oakiness is gone, and I don't think water is needed here, but it seems a bit too light for all those years in oak, so I'll add some anyway.With about 3 drops of water it opens up and becomes more bitter and gingery, not for the better in my opinion. It's fun to try such old grains, but I'm still not convinced that it's a fair alternative to single malts.

Okay stuff, quite interesting or peculiar if you like, when neat: 5.5


Dumbarton 26yo 1963-1989 40% Signatory Vintage cask#2012-2014 btl.240/1200

I believe this is my first whisky from Dumbarton Distillery, which I believe is now closed alongside many other grain distilleries. Many people discuss what flavors each single malt contributes to the different blends in which they're a part. But very seldom is the distinctiveness of the grain whiskies included in the mix discussed in the same manner. Maybe the reason there were more peatiness in the older bottlings from White Horse, is that the grain whisky in the vat is more demanding than before? Just a bit of thinking I do on rare occasions... The color in this one is amber. The smell is spirity, honey, lavender, caramel, rich, I like this one because the sweetness draws the spirityness aside. The taste is light and peppery, more in blend territory now, a small bitterness, some black pepper and nothing else. The lightest 20yo I've ever tried.

Hard to give points here since it's neither good or bad, just plain and boring: 3


Carsebridge 32yo 1962-1994 54.7% James MacArthur's

I rate J McA rather high as an IB, when compared to many others, but I think I'm still capable of looking past that when reviewing whiskies from that brand. Nice golden brown hue. It smells thick and sherried, cinnamon, cloves, cigar smoke, honey, leather, chalk dust, red curry, wow! The taste is sulphury, chili, apple pie, coriander, very good, but perhaps it needs a bit of water as the sulphure is a bit extreme. Water opens it up a lot, sweet chili, honey, sauteed onions, marzipan, nutmeg, cloves again, and ginger.

One of the best single grains I've had so far: 7


North British 20yo 1991-2011 55.8% Master of Malt

So, a rather new bottling, I have not tried many bottlings for/by Master of Malt, but the ones I've tried have all been recommendable. This one has a light hue, white wine, smells bitter and spirity, vanilla, old jeans, paint thinner, natural fertilizer :(. I'm hoping that the unpleasant start will be followed by a contradictory palate. The taste is sugary, plum juice, malt vinegar, syrup, you could use this one as a dressing, it's a playful and light-hearted whisky that, because of its rather high strength, shows to be a fulfilling alternative to the rather heavy malty notes that I think is the main character difference between single malts and single grains. Cause when push comes to show, there are many single malt whiskies that's way more pesky than this whisky.

Great palate, rubbish nose, well, rather that than the opposite: 7


Port Dundas 20yo 1991-2011 57.4% OB

So, this is an OB from Port Dundas Distillery, who'd knew.. But I do have an 40-something aged Port Dundas in my cabinet, so this might give me a small hint on what to expect? The color in this one is dark brown, must be some heavy oloroso casks involved here? It smells sulphury and peppery, and that's about it, kind of one-dimensional whisky. After a while it turns sweeter with honey, peppermint and sweet wine, sauternes style. The taste is The taste is all on thick, fat oloroso sherry, sweet as the sweetest grape and dry as the driest desert. Amazing on many levels, if you want the ultimate sherry-influenced whisky, I guess you could get it from other whisky mongers and more profiled distilleries, but this one from Port Dundas, that's sold at Master of malt, must be one of the best choices when it comes to value for money.

Maximum drying whisky that takes much water, but if you're a sherry-fan: 8

Foreign tasting!!!

While I'm at it, why not just go for a crazy tastng of whiskies from different countries with a clear emphasis on Ireland. So, I'll just throw in a Whyte & MacKay just for fun to get an indication how they compare to a rather ordinary scotch whisky. Here we go, strange times...


Whyte & MacKay Special NAS 40% OB late 70's

Allright, let's het to it. One from a small flat miniature, remember, I rarely, or never, purchase anything other than whiskies I highly desire in 70cl bottles. Btw thanks Miatakas, for the great Glenrothes nosing glass. The nose is light and bland, some wheat and perhaps old hay in this one. The taste is much better, soft licorice, malt syrup, caramel, hints of thyme and basil, Sumatra cigars, here's to mr Paterson! The aftertaste is light and sweet.

A nice one, perhaps a good benchmark for the rest: 5


Aass & Egge 3yo 2008-2011 40% Norwegian Single Malt eau de Biére btl.713/728

So, the first single malt ever produced on Norwegian soil, but why is it not a whisky? Well it's distilled from old christmas beers, which includes hops, so therefore it's not a single malt whisky, just a single malt. Well, let's try this historic piece of distillation however. And I do believe there are some real single malt whisky from Norway to come within a year or two. Light color, much lighter than christmas beer, but still a bit dark for just 3yo. The nose is floral, and herbal, very passive, hared to make up much more on the little information I get from the cent so far. But for a 3yo it's not spirity at all, which I suppose I would have expected it to be. The taste is light, green apples, vegetable stock, kiwi, unripe tomatoes, grape soda, a real lightweighter that doesn't taste much like whisky to me, more sort of a pre-dinner aperitif of some kind, Grappa or something? A light bitter perhaps.

Probably great for mixing cocktails: 4


Hammerhead 20yo 1989-2009 40.7% OB Czech Single Malt

Hammerhead? Not very authentic for a czech whisky? Not like Fettercairn or Bunnahabhain, but let's not judge one the name. 20yo is a good age for a whisky from a distillery that's established as late as 1980. I hope it's better than the 20yo Milford I had a while back. This one has that wool blanket scent, like old granny handbags and pencil glue. it needs some time to open up. It opens up on herbs and varnish. Let me try tasting this and see if it makes more sense. The taste is not bad, a bit burnt, some orange zest and floral notes in the beginning, pears and nectarines. A mixture of sweet succulent fruits and light citric notes. The aftertaste is gone within a tenth of a second, and leaves much to be desired from this otherwise quite alright whisky. I believe this one could, and should be saved by bottling at a higher &abv.

Light and short, there are far cheaper alternatives if you want this style: 3.5


Milford 10yo 43% OB New Zealand Single Malt

So, I wasn't too happy with the 20yo from this distillery, that's been talked warmly of on different forums. I hope that twice the age will mean twice as good, at least. The color is golden to orange. The nose shows hints of sulphur, orange, cinnamon, buttercups, peach tea, butter, melted chocolate... chocolate melted with salty butter... mmm. Well, taste then, more of a lowland style, floral, crisp, fresh, heather, fabric softener, choriander, juniper berries. A very good whisky, though it's not my kind of style, I can clearly see why many people are enjoying this lowlander styled whisky that I believe should be bottled at a higher strength. And, I think this style would fit perfect in some fresh wood, perhaps oloroso, or even amontillado for an extra kick. But more than anything else I hope there's some CS-Milford to go around.

A very good surprise, much better than the 20yo: 5.5


So... The irish ones...


Cooley 8yo 40% vom Fass

I think vom Fass is a chain of liqueur store, not only in Germany, but also worldwide, but I'm not sure, must investigate more. However, I had no idea they did IB's as well, or maybe it's another vom Fass? So, Cooley however they say they're Irelands only independent distillery, all well so far, and they make the Greenore single grain whisky that can be quite a treat. But it's now become quite official that Jim Beam is gonna buy Cooley Distillery, so we'll see what happens... So let's taste this whisky. The color is that of white wine. It smells too light, some wind, some water and all that stuff, but this one is light beyond any blends what scents are concerned. The taste is light and peppery, then it's over. Ever tried a light cream cheese the producers claims to be peppery, well this is about it. Why anyone would wanna purchase and bottle this one at the tender age of 8yo, and at only 40%abv. I will never know, well, maybe why they purchased it I will, but never why they bottled it as low-shelf blend or a bad cask, cause it's probably not. Like some 8yo Fettercairns or even Glen Gariochs from the 80's. Bottled way too soon.

So, that must be the most melodramatic note so far: 2.5


Daly's Tullamore Distillery 41yo 1949-1991 65.3% Cadenhead's

If this one is a blended whisky or a single malt I have no idea, but the Tullamore that we know today is a pretty mediocre blend that I tried yesterday and it was not something I will try again. But the label claims this one to be from the Tullamore Distillery, which means it must be a single malt? Well, according to online sources it seems this distillery was put to sleep in 1954, so this must be one of the oldest and most extraordinary whiskies I've ever tried, by the latter be on hold for a while. But, this is so dark, like a really brown dye, or some sherry casks? Or just the 41years in cask? I believe I should do an own session for this whisky only. But what would interest me even more is the extremely high %abv in this whisky. 65.3%abv. after 41 years. That is extraordinary. Well, the color has pretty much been described so far, rich red/brown hue. It smells extremely big, chili, raisins, cinnamon, cigars, honey, mint, barbecue sauce, dry rub, sherry all the way, both dry and sweet sherries combined, oakiness, after a while it gets warmer, toffee, shots of mulled wine, the list goes on and on, one of the richest whiskies I've nosed so far. The taste is intense on dark grapes and dark berries, enormously sweet, I'd even like to say that it's just a bit over the top. I believe it needs some water, but I'll let it hang around breathing for another 40 minutes, at least before I'll add water to this. Meanwhile I have to ask myself, If this is what we're going to get from distilleries like Brora, Glenugie, Glenlochy and so on 10-20 years from now, it's a silly thing that most of their leftovers are being bottled now. Alright, now I've waited like forever and the whisky seems just to be getting bigger one the nose. Time to add a small drop of water. Immediately it gets sweeter and more to my liking. Now it turns more honeyed and cinnamon, more straight sherried, more A'bunadh-style, but still a fragment apart as its a much cleaner spirit, raisins, tannins, just as sherried as it gets. Perfect if you ask me! I have to say, I feel downright sick with the people that decided to close this distillery, but in that time I think I would have done the same thing. This drink is never to be mixed with the poor Tullamore dew owned by Powell's, but to stand on its own for those of us that remember it, and strangely I am now one of them, a magnificent whisky.

Oh the sorrow, but then again, I never tried the standard 12yo OB...: 9.9 (10)


Connemara 2010 58.2% OB

So, why this after the more than excellent Tullamore? The reason is simple, it's peated! Which makes for a whole different spirit. Whilst the high %abv and the dry sherry notes let's go after some minutes, the peat will stay on your lips, so to speak, the evening out. Therefore I usually try to do my peated tastings as late in the tasting as possible, that meaning, I would never have an Ardmore or an Old Ballantruan after that sherry monster I had last now. The color on this one is white wine, the smell is flinty, peaty, burnt fabric, burnt hay, bonfire, really dry and burnt, aside a very nice sensation of cream cookies in the finish. The taste is sweet and burnt, peat, phenolic, a lot of heat in this one, maybe even more so than what I find in Islay malts. It's a good whisky no doubt, but it seems to lack a bit of personal character to oppose the rather harsh peaty notes. However, it's a great variation to Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Bowmore and that sort.

Sweets, then peat fueled with gasoline, one that's not to be taken lightly: 6.5

Blend tasting!!!

My first ever Blend-tasting I believe, and not a trend that I'm gonna follow longer than maybe 3 or 4 more tastings, not necessarily immediate successors to this one, but somewhere before summertime I think. So, to keep it really easy I will do one blend that's perhaps not a winner in many, if any people's books, one that has collected a bit more praise over the years and one that's one of the most popular blended whiskies in the world. Keep in mind, I'm totally new to this blend thing, and therefore my scores are probably to be read with that taken to consideration.


Robbie Burns NAS 40% R.H. Thompson & Co. 80's

A lot of dye in this whisky, if not they must have used some very dark whisky in the vat. I doubt it. The nose is light, burnt sugar, mild spirit, after a while it gets more dusty, leather-ish, stout, not bad actually. The taste is all on orange zest, wheat beer, grape fruit, honey, salty crackers, cream cheese, tamarinds, strawberries, a really nice one, sort of a high strength sweet liqueur. I find it hard to believe there's only grain and single malt whiskies included in the mix here.

Well, could it be some sweet sherried whisky in the vat?: 6


White Heather 8yo 43%

A more established brand White Heather, I have now, of course after the tasting, seen what others had to say about it, and the only one I could find notes from was Serge at www.whiskyfun.com, which awarded it a solid 86Points. But as said, I've already tried it and my tasting notes were as follows. The color is light golden, such as most whiskies at about 8yo should be. It smells more spirity, with some nice maltiness, oregano, parsley, sawdust, toasted bread, wheat, it's very pleasant, just a tad passive on the nose. The taste is licorice, honey, toffee, butter, cream, luxurious stuff. I didn't expect to find so much good in blends as I usually find little to no attraction in grain whiskies. Perhaps I need to try more blends from now on. Although I have on rare occasions, when offered, had some sips of Famous Grouse, Johnnie Walker, J&B and such, and the memories are far from as good as the ones I'll have from this one.

Remarkable, value for money like never seen before, at least not by me: 8


Tullamore Dew NAS 40%

So an irish whisky then, and by selling numbers measured, the most popular whisky in this session by far. So, it should be able to make for an interesting whisky. The color is golden light, it smells light and easy, grainy, biscuits, wheat, perfumy, floral, not very pleasant, but easy and probably a commercial success. The taste is light, easy, sort of lowland-style, young Glenkinchie perhaps. No aftertaste, just some sweet vanilla and floral notes on the palate. One to easily forget I'm afraid.

Scotch's still #1, but Irish will make for better competition in weeks to follow: 2

I'm moving!

Well, not to a new web-address, but as of yesterday, a part of my flat which I rented out for a while is again empty, so I'm going to move my bottles, samples and other whisky-related stash in there and create sort of my own small whisky storage/tasting room. So therefore, there will be little or no real whisky tastings from me in the coming months, maybe except some blend notes and general thoughts on things that has to do with whisky. Either way, as mentioned before I'll be doing some blends, non-scottish malts and single grains for my upcoming tastings. Very alternative, but fun stuff. Hopefully I'll finally be able to get my mind around to understand why some people prefer single grain whiskies to single malts.

Off the Beaten Path#10 Teaninich Distillery

So... Teaninich it is, or was, now that notes from this tasting is posted. The only pre-80's established distillery in Scotland that I am yet to try that's still in business. A funny coincident I think as there have been some Teaninichs around for as long as I remember, and I have never intentionally avoided it. The distillery was established as far back as 1817 and produces today only a 10yo that's very hard to find elsewhere than in the UK. It produces annually 3m liters of whisky. It's main reason for existing is as a major contributor too Johnnie Walker blends, some of it goes into Haig and Vat69 as well, and almost none of it is left for the 10yo Ob or is rarely bottled by IB's. So, my big question is, is it any good?


Teaninich 17yo 43% The Master of Malt cask#13984

A pale one, color of white wine, smells spirity, washer fluid, antifreeze, methylate, not pleasant at all. It softens given about 20 minutes in the glass, but still it's very unpleasant. I'll give it a shot just for fun, and sometimes there can be deviations of quality from nose to mouth. The taste is not that bad, rhubarb, ginger, hummus, lemon rind, sour apples, a surprisingly fresh and nicely bitter whisky, considering the horrific nose. All in all I think this is a whisky that lacks to give an overall impression, it's sort of going from bad on the nose, to much better on the palate before it shuts down way too early with some spirity and peppery notes in the aftertaste.

The palate alone made it score this high: 4.5


Teaninich 27yo 1982-2010 50.7% Bladnoch Distillery Forum cask#7698

This one is just as pale as the MoM, but 10 years older, my guess it's from a bourbon cask, or some much to much re-used wood, but unlikely as that kind of wood seldom stores the same whisky for 27 years. It smells burnt and bitter, oranges and lime, sweet and bitter, phenolic, perhaps a fino sherry cask? The taste is much lighter in this one, seems a bit more tired, not much fight left here. More bitter lime and some mustard notes, salty sparkling water and gin. Maybe a small splash of water will help it open up. Now it tastes more of yoghurt sourness and vanilla, lighter and sweeter, the bitter notes have all disappeared, but what's left is far from interesting. Light and easy now, more in blend territory.

Okay stuff I guess, how I maybe could've expected the 10yo OB to taste: 3


Teaninich 21yo 1973-1994 57.2% James MacArthur's

James McArthur's has the last year or so been an IB bringing me one good whisky after the other apart from some rather young 43%'s now and again. I so hope this great bottler returns with some CS whiskies again soon. But what can it do in this tasting? With Teaninich? I have no idea, as I said, I've never tried this distillery before, but if someone is going to concince me it's a distillery to try again, it could just as well be James McArthur's. Colour is golden honey. Smells sweet, sort of barbecue sauce and honey liqueur, It does taste insanely sweet, I'm thinking this might be one of those thick sugary whiskies from over-active bourbon wood? The taste is honeyed, bitter again, figs, bananas, dried fruits, very sweet once again. Red onions, chili flakes, tangerines, and cloves. The aftertaste is smoky, big on cigar smoke and fino sherry. I have no idea what cask this (these) could come from, but I know one thing:

It's a good whisky for those with an acquired taste: 7


Teaninich 18yo 1973-1991 58.4% James MacArthur's

Another one from James MacArthur's. A bit younger and way light in color, but I do not dare make any suggestions to what kind of cask it could be from this time. Maybe it's an oloroso cask? Who knows? The last one could be anything. White wine color, as in the first two tastings in this session. Smells fresh fruits, strawberry milk shake, mangos, watermelon, freshly baked marzipan, banana cream liqueur, vanilla, lemon tea and passion fruit. The taste is all on cigars, cedar wood, grounded coffee, sour leaves, cinnamon, earthy notes. A cracker of many flavors that usually would overpower each other, but in this they don't. It's a different kind of whisky, I have never tasted the, much used however, tasting note "earthy" with such confidence before, this is a whisky that I could have alongside anyone else, and it would stand out in some way.

Not perfect, but it has something many whiskies lacks these days, character!!!: 9


Teaninich 11yo 1983-1995 60% Cadenhead's

Finishing off with a whisky from another one of my favorite IB's cadenhead's. Which also has a nice array of cask strength whiskies. The only reason I'd prefer James MacArthur's to Cadenhead's is the simple fact that there are less bad bottlings, in my opinion, in James McaArthur's range, yet, the best of Cadenhead's is just as good as anywhere else, and there's quite a few of them around. At only 11years old this is by far the youngest whisky in this session. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Wow, this really is as pale as water. Smells all on dry-rub dark meat and coffee beans. Quite soapy and austere. Not great, but not as bad as my notes might suggest. Let's have a taste. The taste is flour sugar and bubble gum, a sweet and quite disturbing surprise, almost like drinking melted candy. It's hard to find anything good to say about this one, other than that it has a short and peppery aftertaste. It's like an 80%abv Stroh rum infused with syrup.

Oh no, what a sad ending to this increasingly good session: 2



Next tasting: some blends???

Off the Beaten Path#9 Edradour Distillery

Edradour surely is and oddball distillery, and I did say I wasn't gonna include any of these weird distilleries such as Mannochmore, Speyside or Loch Lomond for that matter in these tastings. My subject was to try whiskies that people, from what I experience, neither loves or hates (likes or dislikes). So, this is one of the smallest distilleries in all of scotland with an annual produce of only 90 000 litres. What else is funny is that it's currently owned by the independent bottler Signatory, so, as to no surprise, most available Edradours are bottled for and by Signatory. Except the 10yo standard and a small number of young cask strength with different finishing a couple years back. They do also have a peated variety called Ballechin that I haven't yet come around to try, so that must wait for a later tasting. Up until 1986 Edradour distillery produced only blends, such as King's Ransom and House of Lords. So it's a whisky that kind of new to the market from a distillery that's been around since 1837.
PS: Next tasting will be of single malts from the only distillery in Scotland founded pre-1970 and still operational, that I have not yet tasted one single drop of!


Edradour 11yo 1997-2008 43% Signatory Vintage cask#561

One from a sherry butt, kind of light bronze color. They do a lot of cask variations at Edradour, and sometimes they succeed and sometimes they don't. In my opinion. Sort of the same as Bruichladdich, Springbank and many others nowadays. It smells fresh, minty, cherry wine, balsamic reduction, creamy apple tart. A weird one that I think has been taken from the oak far too soon. The taste is all on cinnamon and dried coriander, a wee bit spirity and an aftertaste that's drying and a bit rough. But all in all it's far from a bad whisky. There's some orange peel in the rather short finish, and after a while it becomes a bit austere.

Quite alright: 5


Edradour 11yo 1997-2008 43% Signatory Vintage cask#353

Well, everything is the same as the last one except the cask# and a slightly darker hue. I hope the tasting will show bigger differences. The smell is sweeter, fuller and more perfumy in this one. Reminds me of some old Fahrenheit cologne I used to nip from my dad's bathroom shelf when I was much younger. Other than that they're very similar. It has some seriously slow legs, although I rarely check, as I feel it rarely provides me any significant information. The taste is more round and subtle than the #561, and it has this lingering vanilla and caramel pudding creamy flavor. There's some licorice and oakiness lurking in the background, but all in all it's just a light and easy sherried whisky that I actually think many sherry-lovers would find extremely good as there are no spirity notes or other off-notes. Seems the cask does all the talking in this small sherry delight.

Very well, probably a great value-for-money whisky, if you like them sherried: 6.5


Edradour 20yo 1983-2003 46% OB Port Cask Matured

A 20yo Port Cask matured Edradour, I believe this possibly is the oldest Port Cask Matured whisky I've ever tried, apart from finishings and such. The best port matured whisky I ever tried was a Laphroaig bottled for Whisky & Cigar, bought in Berlin. And that was without question a 10'er. Edradour is usually far off at the other side of the scale from Laphroaig what taste matters, so it'll be fun to see what the port cask can provide here. Orange hue, nice, looks a bit like those artificially colored diet caramel drops. It smells rich, toffee, tawny port, roasted lamb dishes, tzatziki, green peppers, earthy, some vegetabel stock and cod liver, a strange one. The taste is sweet and syrupy, honeyed, more like a sweet oloroso than port this one. It has some sweet licorice flavor and a short finish on butter and latex.

I think this one is too light and easy for a 20yo, but very drinkable: 5


Edradour 21yo 1976-1997 52.3% Signatory Vintage cask#137/138 btl.452/980

I have read elsewhere that this release is one that's helping create the sort of less than positive view many have on whisky from the Edradour Distillery. I must say this is the oldest Edradour I have ever come across, and by the looks of it it's not from a sherry cask either. So, if this doesn't make recent Edradour's justice, I'll just forget this one ever was bottled and move on and see what next bottling has to off. Also remember, this one was bottled in 1997, long before Signatory bought the distillery, and also the year that Signatory bought the two casks that I started this tasting with, so something must have triggered Signatory by this bottling, or? Lightest one so far, has the color of light beer, smells bitter, canned herring and nettles soup. It's not getting any better so I'll let it rest for a while. The only thin developing in this one is the spiritiness so I'll just skip right to my palative view. The taste is not so bad, but very herbal, some light vanilla but thats about it except the huge agriculture and detergent notes. I'll give it one last chance by adding some water. Now it becomes lighter, sweeter and more drinkable at first, but that spirity bitterness is soon to come. This one is fun for measuring past with recent times, but I would never recommend it as a whisky.

This one lacks just about everything to be bottled by S/V imho: 1.5


Edradour 10yo 1995-2006 57.4% OB cask#451

From the series "Straight from the Cask", which is a fancier expression of "cask strength & unchill-filtered without coloring". Who'd need it anyway, this one is as dark as any a'bunadh. Since this one is a 10yo, I'd like to make a comparison to #353's legs, and this one is much, much, much quicker and much thinner, so there you have it. Well, there is one year apart, but this much difference? The nose is spot on with dark grape juice, phenol, toasted rye bread and gasoline, beautiful in its very own way. I have to say this one reminds me a bit of some Aberlour A'bunadh so far. The taste is sweet, thick oloroso, honey, chewy cigars, more honey, red paprika, nutmeg, cumquats, dark grapes, roasted squash, lots of good stuff so far. The aftertaste is all on phenol and gunpowder.

A sherrybomb for sherry-lovers: 8



Next tasting: Off the Beaten Path#10

Off the Beaten Path#8 Dailuaine Distillery

Dailuaine is sort of a misfit in the category of less desired single malts, as its only original bottling, a 16yo sherried one at 43% are spoken fondly of. The only problem is that there's so little of it around. Also, lately, there's been s bunch of independently bottled Dailuaines hitting the market, but I think that's kind of a new trend. Back in the early 2000's I remember almost never seeing it anywhere. But there's a couple ones in this session. It produces no less than 3.375m a year and was built back in 1852. It is to be found in mainly Johnnie Walker Blends. Only about 2% goes to single malt bottlings.


Dailuaine 26yo 1974-2001 40% Gordon & Macphail Connoisseurs Choice

Certainly a dark color in this one, about the same as the 16yo OB which I'll be trying next. Sort of orange/brown. It smells mild, needs time to open up. Hits me with some vanilla and pear drops after a while, a sweet one? Melted butter, raw onions and grounded coffee beans. The taste is very good, peppery, sherried, cinnamon, honey, buttery, oily, garlic and dried prunes, a bit tannic as well. I think this one is a swimmer. With added water it turns more bitter, lemon peel, overripe avocado, oily, green bananas, water just made it into a bitter mix of unlikely fruits and veggies, only the oilyness was left from the rather great neat tasting.

Try it neat, it's a delicate sherried one for it's 40%: 6


Dailuaine 16yo 43% OB

The color in this one is already described in last tasting note. Perhaps a small notch darker. From what I've read online and heard from people that also read online(!), this one is all from sherry casks. Again a weak and sort of silent nose, needs to be left alone for a while before further investigation can continue. The taste is on licorice and honey, sweet and salty with a small bitterness. It's hardly complex like the CC-version, but the fragrances in this one is much more offensive and clearer in lack of better words. This is an easy-going sweet and sherried dram that's hardly challenging in any way, but it's a perfect enjoyable dram for any occasion where you just wanna relax. Tuxedo and cigar whisky.

Did I mention its thick spice and honey notes???: 6.5


Dailuaine 27yo 53.6% Master of Malt

Time for a cask strength, and so far this small encounter with whisky from the Dailuaine Distillery has been a very pleasant experience. This one has the lightest color so farsomething like light orange, sort of princeton orange. The smell is oaky, spicy, nutmeg, ammonia, not what I'd usually prefer in a whisky, but it makes for an interesting old style profile in this whisky so far. The taste is a bit citrussy, thick, syrup, honey, parmesan cheese, feta cheese, smoked sausages, dark chocolate and drying concentrated raspberry lemonade, you know the on proportioned 1-10 with water, without the water. The aftertaste is leather, peppery, chorizo and more peppery notes. If it weren't for all the peppery notes in the finish, it'd been the perfect "smoky-without-peat-whisky".

A rich and big whisky, the way I like it: 7


The Friars Carse/Dailuaine 14yo 59.7% The Whisky Connoisseur

One bottled for Arthur J. A. Bell. I'm not 100% sure this one is a Dailuain, but again, with so much information online, somebody's eventually gonna have to be right on something. So, as Dailuaine was the distillery with most hits referencing to this whisky, I believe it's a Dailuaine. Anyway, whiskyfun.com says so, and that guy plays by the book. Well, this is a Dailuaine as pale as any other young bourbon casked one. Smells nice and fresh, toffee, lavender, ginseng, parmesan cheese, dried and salted christmas ham, eggnog, ginger, cigars a lot going on here, like an exotic mix of spicy roots and vegetables besides this smoked comfort. The nose is sweet, oranges, caramel and honey alongside eggnog agin and cream liqueur. The sweetness is very powerful so far on the palate, which I think would usually make the hairs on my back raise a bit. But it shortly turns into a tannic and peppery aftertaste which again would make the hairs on my... well you know. And since I don't have any hairs on my back I'll rather just say that this might be one of the most unlikely, yet extremely pleasant whiskies I've ever come across. It smells great, nothing wrong there, but then it gets as thick and sweet as syrup when first hitting my palate just before that's all beaten down again by this extremely drying red wine, tannic and peppery aftertaste. By the way, this is definitively a Dailuaine!

Some say minus and minus becomes a plus, surely, sometimes maybe even more: 9


Dailuaine 12yo 1997-1989 62.2% James MacArthur's

I'll leave it all up to mr. James MacArthur's once again to have the final say, and what punchline he can draw. I mean, if this one is as good as the other two youngster (relatively speaking) that I've had in this session I must say that I'll also be looking for Dailuaine's from now on. Well, this one is pale as white wine, bourbon or fino if you ask me, but of course I could be wrong. The nose shows fruit gums, smoke and ammonium once again, a weird mixture that seems to fit quite perfectly, in Dailuaine only? The taste is smoky, peppery, peaty, again a bravado of heavy and rich influences, cinnamon, honey and butter en masse. Amazing, I don't think there's enough to be said about this one if I tried the whole evening so I rather just make a comparison. Try to imagine the richest, fattest, most luxuriously honeyed sherried Highland Park you've ever come across? Well, deduct some of the peat. There you go, it doesn't get much better than this, or even any better if you ask me.

See a bottle of this? Buy it and hold on to it as if your life depended on it: 10



Next tasting: Off the Beaten Path#9

Off the Beaten Path#7 Strathmill Distillery

Strathmill is one of the smallest distilleries I will try in these 10 sessions of unlikely single malts. It has a capacity of 1.7m a year and produces a 12yo single malt. It has no older official bottlings and is rarely seen bottled by independent bottlers. Most of its produce is used in the J&B blend, which is a light-colored and easy-drinking blend. I must say that this might be one of the distilleries that I have the least reference to what taste is concerned as I've had about one or two tastings so far. But there is still one distillery left in these tastings that I have never ever tasted single malt from yet. This tasting will mainly revolve around young whiskies that could be very similar to the 12yo OB, but since there's some single casks here, perhaps I'll be able to spot some small differences, and similarities that will form more of a narrowed opinion for what I could expect to find in future Strathmills.


Strathmill 11yo 1985-1997 43% James MacArthur's

Let's start off by saying this, all 3 whiskies in this tasting shares the almost exact same color, light golden. Two of them even shares the same vintage. The nose in this one is burnt and sweet, honey, dark chocolate, minty and floral, waxy, buttermilk cookies and glue. The taste is not bad, nice coconut and vanilla initially, then some blood oranges and bitter herbs, rhubarb and lime peel, but it's all very pleasant, I'm surprised how rustic and old style this is at such low strength. Could this come from some old and exexex-fino wood? The faftertaste certainly isn't the longest or the most complex, but a nice reek of pepper and honey is what I'm left with. It has a sort of Talisker-honey going on, not as prominent as the one you'll find in many Highland Parks, but a bit more subtle. Wow, surely the best Strathmill I've had so far, perhaps the best I'll ever have? We'll see.

One to surprise your friends with a blind taste of: 7


Strathmill 11yo 1985-1997 43% Signatory Vintage cask#2342 btl.1407/2460

So, same color, same vintage, same distillery (of course), as the JMcA. Could it be from one of those shared casks that I had some months ago with Glen Moray, I think it was..? Well, if so, I wouldn't be disappointed.. We'll this one is also subtle, not as sweet as the prior one, more on musty notes, root fruits, radishes, red onions, green bullet chilies, cigars, barbecue sauce, is there something wrong with me today? These Strathmills have blown my expectations out of the water so far, just shows once again that each whisky carries its own footprint on which it's travelled from malted barley to drinkable spirit. The taste is more on red onions, radishes, parsley, basil and other soft-tasting herbs. Honey, cumin, chicken stock, vanilla, coconut juice, blueberries, stearic, lots of different, and unusual flavors, but so good! The only letdown on this is the aftertaste which is a bit burnt and bitter, other than that it'd been the same score, or, yes, I think it's worth the same score.

Another one that surprises me in a good way: 7


Strathmill 16yo 1992-2008 43% Signatory Vintage cask#40709

Okay, this one was matured in a refill butt, which usually mean a pre-used sherry cask of some sort. This is however a younger, yet older whisky, so I think this one is going to show me a bit more of what I think I could be expecting from recent young Strathmills. A more dusty and chalky expression on the nose, and a better one for that matter, rustic is what I would go for, has some of the tendencies that the JMcA had, and I suggested that one to be an ex-fino, this one might be as well. It let's go after a while and turns into some fruit gums and freshly baked buns. But initially it was amazing. The taste is bitter and sweet, rhubarb, oakiness, struck matches, dry meatballs, over-cooked meat, more spirity, all in all far less rounded and gentle spirit. That wouldn't necessarily been a bad thing if the palate delievered something that I'd wanna enhance, but all in all this seems to be a more "processed and soulless" whisky, even if that isn't necessarily through what production is concerned.

All in all I'd say it's the prototype of a modern day middle-of-the-road malt: 5



Next tasting: Off the Beaten Path#8

Off the Beaten Path#6 Speyburn Distillery

Speyburn produces approximately 2.7m litres whisky every year, contributing to such blends as Inver House, which owns the distillery, Glen Talloch and King George IV, so not many big brands have cast their eyes on Speyburn yet. There is a 10yo and a 25yo Solera reserve of original bottlings on the market, and about the time of the millenium there was released a whole bunch of single cask bottlings at 21yo. One could wonder why this is such a little demanded whisky in europe, where as in the USA it is currently the 9th biggest selling single malt according to online resources. This should be fun!


Speyburn NAS 1971-? 40% Connoisseurs Choice Gordon & Macphail

This one I actually don't know how old is. It has the old brown and white label, that tells me this should be bottled before the 90's at least. The color is darker and hazier than what just E150 would make it. Can there be some sherry casks involved in the mix here? The nose is light and fresh, sawdust, woodchips, wall insulation, yarn fabric, hay, very light and fresh, reminds me somewhat of many of the scents I usually fin at construction sites or timber board factories. The taste is thick and layered with honey, mustard, chillies, syrup, indian spice mixes such as garam masala and tandoori. Once again it seems I have underestimated G&M. From what I can make up of the last tastings G&M CC-bottlings prior to the eighties and after the mid 2000's is to be ever so greatly expected of as any other whiskies. But I know that in the 80's, 90's and even early 2000's there's been some weird stuff going on in Elgin from time to time. The aftertaste is, fruity with bananas, pineapple, kiwi, strawberries, coconut milk, what? Is it the same whisky? Yes, this one is slightly rough, but not too much on the palate, and it lingers on with a nice and fruity finish. I could have this any day, but to avoid the stupidity I projected when adding water to yesterdays rather brilliant Benrinnes G&M-bottling, I will just keep enjoying this one neat. I wonder what would happen to the brand G&M if these old wonders were bottled at Cask Strength back then?

Sadly the demand for high strength whiskies was rather low back then: 8


Speyburn 10yo 40% OB

I seem to recall a 12yo 40% OB from Speyburn a while back, but I think this one is the most recent standard version. And being the 9th most popular single malt in all of America (or was it just USA???) I think I might be in for a treat (or will my northern european palate prove to have a different craving?). Anyway, here it goes, pale as apple-juice. The nose is extremely light, hard to find anything other than some light maltiness and gentle oakyness. Soapy notes pulls through after a while of breathing. The taste is light and easy again, some bitter stuff going on in the finish, but my initial reaction is candy floss, rose water, kale, sparkling water, no reason to get excited yet. Perhaps if I add just a little water, though it's already down to 40%abv. With water it becomes more peppery, but to say it gets better would be an overstatement. I think it's good that it's such a popular whisky in America because it helps keeping the Speyburn Distillery alive, and we might again in a few years see a boom of older single casks deriving from the distillery?

No real flaws, but it's just as interesting as yesterdays newspaper: 4


Speyburn 15yo 1975-1991 60% Cadenhead's

I don't know what's going on with these OTBP-sessions of mine, this is almost (only one screwed the statistics) the 4th session in a row without any whiskies between 46%-something and 60%abv. Once again I'm jumping quite some numbers on the alcohol content, but that's fine by me, as I know these old Cadenhead's bottling are usually brilliant. And the last Speyburn I had that was distilled in the 70's were a beauty (if you remember which, I know you've read well:)). Color is orange. Nice, needs to be a sherry cask. The nose is rough, sulphury, phenolic, peppery, fino-ish, drying, I can predict a drop of water will be added to this one somewhere along the way here. The taste is peppery and honeyed, like sweet chili mixed with mango sour. I'm surprised what this one delivers. Such a light and easy distillate really let's the cask have a big say here without even getting close to dry or oaky at this strength. The finish is rather spicy with some hints of cinnamon, coriander and sage, another one that shows of some spice hints, but here they're just a small background note.

A very good one, that possibly could do even better with more years in oak: 7


Speyburn 21yo 1978-1999 62.5% OB cask#1922 btl.375

To have such a strength intact after 21 years in oak, must be a tight cask. Even though a brilliant idea, I don't think all these single casks released generated as much of a following as the distillery would have hoped for. But looking back on what followed from other distilleries with weird retail only bottlings, different wine finishings, peat for peat's sake and all that other jazz to bring some fuzz about, I think Speyburn did a pretty amazing attempt. This one smells sweet, vanilla, cream, marzipan, elderflowers, roasted banana, caramel, cinnamon buns, fresh bakery, raisins, amazing stuff, like a dessert whisky with no spirity notes above 60%abv. The taste is rather drying and bitter, like chewing banana leaves mixed with lime juice, a quite opposite extreme now. Maybe some water will help. Now it shows even more bitter, big on green grapes and lime juice, actually a quite nice mixture of sweet and bitter. Some pears and dry oakiness as well. All in all it's not bad, but I'd expect just a wee bit more on the palate.

This one is sour, sweet and just a bit smoky: 5


Speyburn 12yo 63.1% James MacArthur's Fine Malt Selection

It's always nice to see IB's that doesn't just serve extremely old varieties of the likes of Bunnahabhain and Glengoyne, but instead takes a chance at some rather unusual malts and bottles them at an age and strength where rather few others would dare. Here's to James MacArthur's! I'm actually starting enjoying these crazy OTBP-tastings as the last two tastings have surprised me in many ways. And Speyburn has shown me that old in distillate is more important than how much time it spent in the in cask. Things were kind of magical in the 70's... Time to try this crazy one. Golden orange hue, smells minty, cinnamon again, cream cheese, fresh, vanilla, toasted oak, cuban cigars, flour sugar, wheat, rice, lots of light and somewhat discreet scents, but it's a pretty perfect performance anyway. The taste is Light, yet sour, like salty biscuits and overripe dark grapes. Parmesan cheese, burnt toffee, dark chocolate and prunes. This one has it all as far as I'm concerned, tastes that I'm used to find in much older whiskies, blended in with the charismatic, powerful rawness of the young aged whisky, I think buying great casks at this age is not only what more IB's should do, but the fact that there are many older bottlings around these days that just doesn't hold the standards, well, maybe they were like this when they were 12yo. I guess we'll never know.

Amazing stuff, JMcA, you've done it again: 8

Off the Beaten Path#5 Benrinnes Distillery

There is a 15yo OB currently on the market, but that is the only standard whisky from the distillery which has a capacity of 1.6m liters. There are quite some older, like 30-40yos sherried Benrinnes' around, but I don't think those casks portrays the core spirit of Benrinnes. So, as in most of these sessions there will be a majority of bottlings that were readily available at its time, and I think, shows the more average produce of this distillery. It is a contributor to, among others, Johnnie Walker and Justerini & Brooks.


Benrinnes 14yo 1968-1982 40% Gordon & Macphail Connoisseurs Choice

A whisky filled with E150 and a small evaporation, but not more than that it shouldn't harm the content. The nose is burnt and phenolic, something dry and sherried about this. I think I can already determine that it's gonna need some water. But at this strength I have to try it neat first. Interestingly enough it's a rather juicy, fruity, citric and sweet whisky, sort of red berries, oranges and coca-cola mixture. Pleasant, I don't think water is needed, but for personal research purposes I will add some anyway. Let's just add that its a mouth-filling dram for just 40%abv and at such a young age. When diluted, it gets more bitter and floral, not to my liking. Much better neat.

This one shows how a bad nose doesn't necessarily mean a bad palate: 7


Benrinnes 17yo 1978-1995 40% Gordon & Macphail Centenary Reserve

Celebrating 100 years as a distillery, or 100 years after opening the new Benrinnes Distillery, remember, the first Benrinnes Distillery was razed by a flood or something of that sort. The nose is light and peppery, cream cheese, smoked ham, very gentle and pleasant, yet rustic, on the nose. The taste has some vanilla, marshmallows, cloudberry jam, strawberries, follows the nice nose with even more pleasing treats. I'm finding it hard to criticize such a fine whisky, tuned to perfection it seems. It's just one of those whiskies that whenever offered you just say, one more can't hurt! Bu the finish, it is quite short, sort of a sweet aperitif malt, but in that sense, it's quite excellent.

Mouthwatering, the perfect starter whisky: 7


Benrinnes 23yo 46% Cadenhead's

Probably a bottling from late 70's or early 80's. Turns cloudy once it hits the glass. Golden color, again I think there's been some E150 involved. The nose is more assertive, spicy and peppery, burnt rubber, paint and fresh herbs like basel, cinnamon (I know its a spice) and turmeric. Give it time and it'll turn brilliant, it just needs a few more minutes than your average dram. The taste is light, cinnamon again, honey, beetroot juice, carrot juice, wheat beer, fresh parsley, another one that is perfectly rounded and mild, and ever so easily sip-able. My biggest problem with dividing the first three whiskies in this session is that there's hardly anything, if anything at all, to criticize.

Again, not challenging in any way, but just as enjoyable as it gets: 7


Benrinnes 21yo 1988-2009 46.3% Master of Malt cask#888

This one is from a bourbon hogshead and has the color of white wine, perhaps this can be a different twist on this otherwise so excellent spirit (it seems). And considering this is a cask strength, it seems this might not be the tightest cask around. It smells more withdrawn, some peppery notes, swiss cheese, sawdust, burnt oak, not very interesting. The taste is sweet, all on marzipan and vanilla, again a light and almost liqueur-like whisky, except a bitter and disturbing finish on some unripe blackberries.

A little less interesting, with a finish that pulls it down below five: 4


Benrinnes 26yo 1984-2010 51% Bladnoch Distillery Forum cask#2237

Again pale white wine color, This is more expressive, more robust, some coal and oak on the nose, not refined like the prior ones, more an old style whisky that plays on some rustic charm, but it's kind of a one string band. The taste is again oaky, and burnt. Alongside some cointreau, perfume, and some other nauseatingly sweet and citric notes. It's pretty much what I dreaded when nosing it. It seems that Benrinnes isn't capable of saving a less than splendid palate with a good finish, as it's finish in this session has shown to be in the likes of short-to-non-excistent.

Far too one-dimensional, and a bit boring, but perfectly sip-able though: 4



Next tasting: Off the Beaten Path#6

Off the Beaten path#4. Aultmore Distillery

Aultmore is another old distillery, established in 1895, production started two years later. A fairly big production of 2.4m litres a year, nearly all going to blends such as Dewar's, Vat69 and Johnnie Walker Black Label. There is currently a twelve year old OB on the market, but it's rarely seen and there's little or no fuzz about it as far as I've heard. And, it's probably one of the distilleries I have tried least of in these "Off the Beaten Path"-sessions, but if you keep following, there will actually later on be a vertical of a distillery that I've never ever tasted before.


Aultmore 12yo 1980-1992 43% Cadenhead's for The Mini Bottle Club

At first glance I thought this bottle was an OB, but with very tiny letters on the bottom of the label it says it's bottled by William Cadenhead Ltd. White wine color. Having been left in the bottle for 20 years, things could have happened, the spirit often keeps developing in the bottle, just at a very different pace. It smells spirity and burnt at first, but shortly turns into some rather nice wunderbaum, minty, glue, vanilla, creme liqueur, I like it a bit more than I thought I would. The taste is right on with mint (toothpaste), coconut, vanilla and ginger. Light, sweet and a nice bitter attack in the middle before it finishes off with even more mint in the end. Seriously, after drinking this I feel like I've just brushed my teeth.

The taste in this one is definitively off the beaten path: 6.5


Aultmore 12yo 1989-2001 43% Signatory Vintage cask#2394

This one comes from a sherry butt, although just as pale as the one from Cadenhead's. White sherry then, or a fourth or fifth refill? It smells much lighter, boiled carrots, leather, burnt polystyrène, green bananas, just very light and easy, perhaps it needs water to open up? Let's see. The taste is initially bitter and somewhat drying, caraway and leather, I'll give it some water. With additional water it turns sweeter, oranges, cucumbers, beets, kind of a citrussy and vegetal taste. the aftertaste is bitter and sour, lime and grape seeds.

A whisky that would be better off in a blend I think, light stuff: 3


Aultmore 14yo 1980-1995 43% Signatory Vintage cask#5635 btl.110/2040

Second one distilled in 1980 so far in this tasting, and that has been the superior vintage so far. But again, this is another one from Signatory so it could easily go both ways here. Actually this could just as well be a Signatory vertical as there's still one more Signatory bottling left to go after this one. This one has a more golden tone. The nose is much sweeter with again these vanilla and minty notes. It's not the talker around the table, just providing a very pleasant and gentle sweetness so far, and some licorice after a while. The taste is light and sweet, again, but it doesn't give much more, one of the lightest drams I've ever had. The aftertaste is also light, sweet, like butter caramel or even cotton candy.

Light, clean, sweet and well, bland, to be frank: 4


Aultmore 9yo 50% Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Cigar Malt

I have seen this "Cigar Malt"-expression before, used by Whyte & MacKay to label one of their bottlings from Dalmore Distillery, and I believe it's also been used by Macallan and some more. But what is a Cigar Malt? Well, according to online retailers Master of Malts it's "a whisky destined for pairing with a cigar." How will it stand on its own? It's the darkest one so far in this tasting, golden amber color. The nose screams of cinnamon, whipped cream, roasted onions and prosciutto ham. A nice smokiness over rich creaminess and sweet and spicy cinnamon. Best one so far, as it seems to lean on some heavy sherry influences. But the taste then? The taste is quite easy, once again light on the tongue, doesn't evolve much before it hits the back of your palate, turns sweet, parsley paste, ginger, raw hops, a weird and almost indefinite taste, just way to understated. It's hard to catch on to any real flavors here, except some floral notes. The nose was great, but after that it suddenly went steep downhill.

All in all delightful, but again on the bland side: 3.5


Aultmore 11yo 60.4% Master of Malt

As you might spot, by looking at the age and %abv. this could easily be from the same cask as the last Signatory was. But thankfully there is a difference that proves we're not talking about a shared cask. And it's not the vintage. It's just the fact that the Signatory is a shade or two darker in terms of color. And as the cask strength bottlings from Signatory are not color adjusted, and no whiskies are color adjusted to be paler (as far as I know) this one must come from a different cask, or it could even be a vatting of different casks. The color is white wine, similar to the Cadenhead's. The nose is peppery and reminds me a lot about the coastal air, a bit salty, licorice seems to be a common nominator for Aultmore, dark syrup and pine. The taste is thick and rich, ripe bananas, figs, dark grapes, watermelon, a both interesting and extremely "dark" whisky if you know what I mean. Have a cuban, put on a record of early Nick Cave and sip this drink. Wow! It's not the best I've had, but it's a monster that have earned the right to mingle with the beauties at 7+.

It's one of those honest drams that's easily forgotten: 7



Next tasting: Off the Beaten Path#5

Off the Beaten path#3. Craigellachie Distillery

Well, Craigellachie might not be as overlooked as the first two on this 10 distillery streak of "undesired/less produced as single malt"-whiskies. I think they have a small following, and I remember having one or two really good craigellachies a while back when my tastings were sort of mixed sessions with combinations that I never put much thought into. Anyway, mostly all of it's output has ever gone to blending. Time for a vertical then! Craigellachie puts out an estimated 2.8m litres a year and can be found in blends such as older White Horse bottling and more recently, Dewar's.


Craigellachie 12yo 1971-1983 40% Connoisseurs Choice Gordon & Macphail

An older bottling at a familiar age, 12yo, could this be an example as to what we could have found around on auctions and stuff if more Craigellachie were bottled as single malt back in the days? There's been a small evaporation in this container. Got some coloring going on. Clear orange hue. The nose suggests a spirity and burnt whisky, that despite the low age does need quite some time to settle down. After a while it gets more bitter and grainy. The taste is spirity and bitter, some tonic water and raw onions going on. The finish is over within a second. I have to give this some water just to see what happens. With 1/5 water it becomes gentler and lighter, but it still has this bitterness. Not a pleasant one, but if you want your whisky to taste like a bitter liqueur, this is the one for you!

Old and lousy stuff from G&M, in my opinion: 2.5


Craigellachie 17yo 1990-2007 43% Connoisseurs Choice Gordon & Macphail

As you probably will be able to spot, I have another one in my sampling library from same distillery and bottler, same age and same abv. distilled and bottled one year later. So this one must have made for a respectable produce for G&M to be pulling the same numbers two years in a row. Let's see. Pale/straw color, bottled by the time G&M stopped adding caramel? The nose is again bitter, but more on some rustic vegetables this time, chakra, aubergine, bobby beans, linseeds, bitter currants. More subtle than the 1971. The taste is much rounder, more peppery, cinnamon, jackfruit, green paprika, water chestnuts, peppery with a vegan dietary twist. It's more withdrawn and far more complex.

Give it time, and you'll be rewarded: 4.5


Craigellachie 20yo 46% Cadenheads

So, what could this be? Certainly bottled in the late 70's to early 80's, but it lacks the statement of such. There is however a 21yo bottled in 1984 from Cadenhead's with the same label. So it could be some really old distillate then. Again this lightly golden color, which turns quite hazy the minute it's poured, non-chill filtered? If so, Cadenhead's might been a bit more innovative than what I've given them credit for. This one smells peppery, minty, peppermints, herbal, lavender, thyme, oregano, caraway, nutmeg and linseed. The taste is rustic, again all these herbal notes, some old leather stuff, honey liqueur, sun-dried tomatoes, feta cheese, dried paprika, a nice one. Again one that needs both time and patience.

Best one so far, I'd have this one any day: 6.5


Craigellachie 18yo 1982-2000 61.9% Scott's Selection

Again it's time to jump straight from 46% to 60%+ in a tasting, as we did last time when tasting whisky from Glentauchers Distillery. And then there were a definite improvement, so hopefully we'll be able to see the same result with Craigellachie. This is the darkest one so far with a red amber hue. It smells sherried, phenols, roasted meat, barbecue sauce, cinnamon, old ropes, sea soaked wood, something very Islay-ish in this one so far. The taste is so intensely spicy with lots of burnt pine wood, chilies, pepper. It's totally dominating whatever else could be found in this one. Time for some water to the rescue. With added water it turns sweeter with some foul ammonium, burnt wood, stale coffee, raw red onions, radishes, rubber and tomato juice.

Well, the nose promised more than the palate could give: 3.5


Craigellachie 8yo 2002-2011 60.1% A.D. Rattray Cask Collection

Another one from a sherry cask, hopefully this one will turn out to be a bit more pleasant than the over-oaked 18yo. This one is much lighter in color, perhaps due to the young age, or could it be some sort of fino oak? It smells strong, spirity and bitter, it really burns the nostrils, I think I might have to do some Richard Paterson nosing on this one. Step away from the glass!!!:) After a while it shows sign of improvement with some heavy cinnamon and creamy notes. A dessert whisky in creation? The taste is burnt, toffee, spirity, kiwi, sour grapes, cinnamon, many nice and less nice tastes that keeps bouncing off each other. Even tually there is a tie, and I'm left with an interesting spirit which its cask has made it, with some vices from the distillate that it probably could've done well without. All in all a good effort.

Seems Craigellachie might be more depended on good casks than some others: 6



Next tasting: Off the Beaten path#4

Cask project: Bottling time!

As you might spot on the labels it's the amontillado sherry matured spirit on the right and fino matured spirit on the left. Both initially 69% Pure Pot Spirit from Tullibardine. As you also might conclude is the brazilian oak might not be as tight as the european or northern american. But the quite heavy evaporation might also be a result of a higher temperature in my small apartment than in the scottish warehouses. 22 days have given a nice color and hopefully a good whisky. And not been an oaky overkill such as my last attempt with the Glenglassaugh newmake.

Off the Beaten path#2. Glentauchers Distillery

Glentauchers is another one of those distilleries with a big capacity that you don't see much bottled as single malt, and much of that probably being due to a lack of demand. On the other hand, it is a big contributor to Black & White, Ballantine's and Chivas Regal amongst others. Time to find out how it makes it all on its own.


Glentaucher 10yo 43% OB for the Wee Dram Blackpool btl.104/250

This one was bottled to celebrate an english tennis effort back in 1991/1992. My expectations could have been higher, but that just leaves more room for a positive surprise. The colour is light yellow, it smells pretty aromatic, some green tea, forest fruits, wet grass, thin spring air, wet moss, one to have when camping outdoors. The taste is more citric and acidic, rubber, acrylic paint, leather. This is it for me, now I must say that this one seriously lacks some good flavors and reminds me more of reasonably bad grain whisky, like the Invergordon 10 amongst others. It seems so artificial, and more on the lines of Vodka if you ask me. Adding water doesn not help.

I can see why it's more of a blenders choice: 2


Glentauchers 28yo 1976-2005 46% MacKillop's Choice cask#7668 btl.177

This ought to be something a bit different, considering the vintage and coming from a single cask. The color is about the same, light yellow, maybe a tired cask, or some lightly toasted bourbon wood? It smells very refined, sort of a lighter grain style, vanilla, grassy, kiln fire, musty, hard to pick up on much on the nose as it's more subtle than a fart in a gas explosion. The taste is dry, musty, grainy, oat meal, agricultural greens, raw flower stalks, if you know what I mean. Ever tried chewing the stalk of a dandelion as a kid?This one needs some water I believe, just to open up. With water it turns more bitter and more on the musty stuff. Kind of disappointing fir such an old whisky, but if this taste is ever so not to my liking, it has a lot more going for it than the 10yo. But to like this I believe you need a palate accustomed to peculiar tastings.

The perfect Glentauchers intro dram, weird and all: 3.5


Glentauchers 18yo 1977-1996 60% Cadenhead's

I know that making the jump from 46-60%abv with no bridge in a vertical, might not seem as the smartest thing to do, but as the two first in this session were so unlikely, I need a break. And this might be just that. Many whiskies that falter when bottled at low strength can easily pick themselves up at CS. Examples for me are Fettercairn, Glenallachie and Laphroaig. Same color as the prior two. The nose is salty, almost peaty, smoky, cured ham, smoked turkey, roasted walnuts, a nice rustic introduction to this one. The taste is big on ginger and wasabi paste, quite simple and easy but still so original in it's own right. Next time I'll have sushi I'll drop the Sake and rather have this one. It also has a white wine dryness and instant smoked clay thing going on. Dry, but in a very good way. With a small addition of water it turns bitter and stale. Avoid water!!

At this strength, Glentauchers makes for an unusual and interesting whisky: 6.5


Glentauchers 16yo 1977-1994 63.8% Cadenhead's

Another one at crazy strength, the same color as the previous three ones, are all the casks at Glentauchers the same? Anyway, if the other one from W.M.C. were something to go by, this one could be a very nice one. The nose shows to be full of dark syrup, roasted almonds and honey, a much sweeter one than the others in this session. The taste is sweet, bitter and dry, balsamic vinegar, dry white port wine, onions and vegetable stock, this one needs some water. With water it becomes even more spirity, with these agricultural notes coming forth again. I wish we could get some of these Glentauchers matured in sherry casks once in a while, just to see what other styles they can produce. Maybe there are some around out there, but as far as I'm concerned, this is a whisky that's made for blending purposes.

The nose was amazing, but again the bitterness prevails: 3.5



Next tasting: Off the beaten path#3

Off the Beaten Path#1. Glendullan Distillery

First of all, these sessions will not include distilleries that are closed down, and not oddballs like Mannochmore, new distilleries like Abhainn Dearg or any Grain distilleries. What I'll try to discover in these sessions are the essence of rather big distilleries that's producing a lot of single malt for blends, but are easily overlooked by both IB's when sourcing new casks and connoisseurs when purchasing single malts. Glendullan produces 3.3m litres a year, but is rarely mentioned because of its single malt bottlings. It contributes to blends like Dewars, Bell's, Johnnie Walker, Old Parr and Black & White.


Singleton of Glendullan 12yo 40% OB

The Singleton, which is a prefix which I don't really know what stands for, but I remeber other ones such as the Singleton of Auchroisk and the Singleton of Dufftown. The first one being the most attractive one I think. This has sort of an orange hue, in between gold and bronze somewhere. The smell has some green tea, garam masala, spirity, oranges, light mango juice, sweet and a bit spicy, sort of indian spices, kind of nice, apart from the dusty and spirity notes. The taste is more bitter, reminds me a bit of tonic water and fusel. It does have a nice zesty citrussy orange and melon fruitiness to it. I kind of like this funny little whisky although I'd never put it on the top shelf. This I think would be a whisky I'd happily give away to quality concerned friends just to show them that there is quality to be found from Glendullan. And then I'd just go buy another bottle, cause it's an affordable one as well.

I'm pleasantly surprised, a balanced malt: 6


Glendullan 11yo 1984-1995 43% James MacArthur's Fine Malt Selection

This one is much lighter in color than the Singleton. Yellow straws. And it's 3%abv higher, which makes me think it might be able to overcome the expectations I now have. It smells of sweet licorice, onion soup, chalk, lavender and knit. The taste is light and peppery, a bit dull this time, maybe it needs some air to open up. After a while, say 7-8 minutes, it becomes more peppery, but no other tastes appears. This one isn't directly bad, like some Littlemills or Speysides can be, but it's more in light blend territory. If you wanna fool someone into believing you're serving blended whisky, try with this one. Or serve it alongside 4 bland blends and ask which's the single malt?

A nice and light youngster, probably not worth its money: 4


Glendullan 12yo 43% OB (Green bottle, cream label w. brown letters, 80's?)

This one says to be bottled by/for MacDonald Greenlee's which was the owners of Glendullan Distillery#1. I know that #2 is the only one still intact, so this could be distilled as far back as the late 50's or early 60's. This one has a nice golden copper hue. The nose again has this chalky and dusty aroma. This one needs a lot of breathin. Eventually it turns into some nice orange marmalade, rose-mary, ginger and a bit spirity notes. The taste is just plain burnt, not my favorite so far. Maybe it needs some water. one teaspoon and 2 minutes. Now its sweeter, some burnt sugar and acetone (not that I've ever drunk it, but it's the nuance I get). This is the downfall of Glendullan so far on my part, thankfully I have a sample or two left to go.

Boring, burnt and Spirity: 2


Glendullan 25yo 1965-1990 51.1% Cadenhead's

Now, this one should be a bit different, over twice the age older than the next oldest one in this session, and distilled about 47 years ago. Could be very interesting indeed. Also bottled at cask strength, which usually is a very good sign. The color is golden and has some cask sediments. It smells big, sherried, sweet, raisins, honey, paprika, coriander, sun-dried tomatoes, cinnamon, strawberries, malt syrup, creamy and not least dusty, like bookdust from old books at the library or Augustins coffin (again, not that I have read them), or old coats from granny's closet. This is way better than the prior ones so far. The taste has a warming, rich and spicy tomato feeling, hot tomato soup or even tomatoes and chili. This one needs some water to open up. Given some water and a couple minutes to cool of in my fridge it's time to try again (Many whiskies does improve at a bit lower than room temperature). Now it shows more peppery and bitter notes, adding water was not for the better, but it's still a pleasant treat. If you ever get your chance to try this, please down it slowly without addition of water.

When neat, a remarkable whisky, when diluted, average, I score neat: 7.5


Glendullan 12yo 1997-2009 56.1% James MacArthur's Old Master's

Again a pale one from James MacArthur's, maybe it's one of those "no coloring no chill-filtration" brands, but again, who isn't these days? And that is a good thing, I hate to see the old tradition of diluting everything down to 40% to see as much profit as possible, go into the history books, but quality again a subject of much bigger importance. This one was my big hope for this session, as it's forst of all, the most recent bottling of IB caliber, and also the one with the highest strength. So, if it's by chance any good, it will make me look for another recent CS Glendullan next time I'm out shopping for whiskies. The nose is buttery, burnt and toffee-ish, lots of caramel and bitter-schnaps in this one so far. The taste is biscuity, buttery, drying, salty, but agin a bit boring. Water, please! With additional water it turns sweeter, with black pepper and malty notes, again on the simple side.

I'm thinking this is a whisky that really needs a good casks to become popular: 4



Next tasting: Off the beaten path#2

What are they saying???

Advertising, commercialization, branding and so on... I know many people have commented on such as the broadened use of superlatives on labels and so on from distilleries describing their produce as mesmerizing, splendid, unique, excellent, perfect and so on.. But what if we were to take away all of those and see what's really being said about a whisky? Let's have a go at this with the new "Thor" from Highland Park Distillery. (All respect to HP, I just needed a recent bottling..)



Here is what they say:


2012

Highland Park Launches Whisky First

Mighty Thor remains one of the most renowned of all the Norse gods.

In honour of this great warrior and in celebration of its own unwavering Norse heritage, Highland Park brings you Thor. This stunning 16 year old single malt is believed to be the first whisky ever designed specifically around an individual’s character. With a natural strength like its namesake, drawing influence from the environment unique to Orkney, Thor is a truly elemental spirit. Distilled where sea turns to ocean, it represents a meeting point of nature’s forces, exuding a dynamic and bold character on the surface, but with an unexpected softer side at its heart

Thor represents the first coming for Highland Park’s stunning Valhalla Collection; a range of four unique whiskies, released annually, taking inspiration from the legendary Nordic gods of old. Not for the faint hearted, only those brave enough to accept the challenge of Thor shall be rewarded with the ultimate experience; a whisky of divine power.

Bottled at a robust 52.1% abv this limited edition whisky comes housed in a unique wooden frame, which echoes the fearsome contours of a traditional Viking long ship.



Here is what they "really" say:


2012

Highland Park Launches new Whisky

Mighty Thor remains one of the most renowned of all the Norse gods.

In honour of this great warrior and in celebration of its own Norse heritage, Highland Park brings you Thor. This 16 year old single malt is by us considered to be the first whisky ever designed around an individual’s character. At cask strength, drawing influence from the environment on Orkney, Thor is a spirit. Distilled where sea turns to ocean, it represents a meeting point of nature’s forces, exuding a bold character on the surface, but with a softer side at its heart

Thor represents the first coming for Highland Park’s Valhalla Collection; four different whiskies, released annually, named after the Nordic gods of old. Only those to drink Thor shall be rewarded with a whisky of power.

Bottled at 52.1% abv this whisky bottle comes in a wooden frame, which assembles a traditional Viking long ship.

Ending my peaty sessions with a vertical of Benromach

As some of you might have noticed, there are a new unopened list, #2, at the bottom of this site now, and the simple explanation why is this. "There weren't room for more names in list 1. And since I don't wanna swap whiskies back and forth between the two lists I will now full the #2 list until the first list is empty, and then trade names on the lists. Quite simple. Anyway, Benromach is a middle-peaty speysider at about 10ppm according to reliable online sources. A nice bridge between the peaty Islayers and so on, and the upcoming "10 Off the Beaten Path"-Sessions. I'm quite excited about this one as I feel Benromach is a distillery that I'm yet to really discover tastewise, hopefully this experience will show me what it has to offer.


Benromach 14yo 1968-1982 40% Gordon & Macphail Connoisseurs Choice

An older young one, bottled 2 years prior to my birth, impressive as it has little to no evaporation. Smells peaty, at first but also there's this hint of wet grass, wild mushrooms, moss, quite earthy, and a quite fresh end, sort of like the smell of freshly grounded mint or even eucalyptus. The taste is intense and rich, more floral then the nose and with some grape fruit, pickled cucumber, straw, bitter oranges, lime peel, let's add some water. These weird and bitter fruity notes just keeps coming. I wish I hadn't added that water as it's just the same as the initial palate, but with a more peppery aftertaste which makes the initial fruityness disappear a bit to quick to make more observations on it. All in all it's an interesting and quite extreme malt, in a bizarre way.

I wish I had a full bottle of this, a highly unusual and fun whisky: 6


Benromach 15yo 43% OB

As there are so many whiskies that I've now tried most OB expressions of, it's a joy when I discover some older untried standards in my whisky cabinet. This one is also bottled by G&M. The smell is of honey, coriander, parsley, cinnamon, cumin, lots of different herbs and lighter spices, with a subtle sweetness, I'm expecting a gentle dram. After a while the nose opens more up on some unexpected coastal and peaty odors, dried haddock and gasoline. Now it becomes a bit more appealing, for my taste at least. The taste is way lighter than on the 1968. cinnamon again and some oranges, a bit of oiled herrings and some mustard and lemon juice. You know, the ones you can get from stale mayonnaise and raw mustard (not mixed together fortunately). All in all a small disappointment, I was expecting a bit more of a growl than this small purrs.

An easily drinkable lightweighter, but that's about it: 4


Benromach 22yo 1978-2000 56% Scott's Selection

Time to play with the big lads now, a good strength 22yo from Scott's, which I have not yet come around to taste enough of to make an insightful comment, but I have more from them and I'm eager to try more. This one is filled with honey, licorice, eucalyptus, salt, peat and dry red wine on the palate. One of the better ones so far. The taste is sour and sweet, strawberries and lemon, honey and ginger, very concentrated flavors amongst a definite peaty touch. Maybe the best Benromach I've tried so far? It's longlasting and warming. This one I could easily have a couple bottles of and spread around so that the ones that haven't tried this distillery could be mighty impressed. Intense and peppery on the finish. A quite magnificent whisky as it has an old fino style that I really like. Bitter, sour, sweet, peppery, need I say more?

Well done Scott: 8


Benromach 9yo 2002-2011 50% OB for Premium Sprits Belgium

Why this one after the Scott's? Well, first of all it is way younger, and that often means less mellowed, second of all, and this is the most important reason. It says on the label that it's a "Benromach Peated", and with that kind of diction, I would assume it's a bit more peated than the usual Benromach? The smell is peaty, bitter and has some carrot and onion thing going on, half sweet, half bitter/sour. The taste is dry and peppery, which of course could do with the fact it's been maturing in a refill sherry hogshead. Not as interesting as I would've hoped, but a decent dram it is. There is a stronger, but not by far, peat impact in this one, but the lack of other components makes it pretty much a bystander after the fantastic Scott's.

Will deliver in any setting, but not the one you ask the bartender about: 6



Next distillery: Off the beaten path#1

4 Port Ellens to enjoy before its all gone...

There have been a lot of Port Ellen bottlings the last couple of years, and I know there won't be too many years before they'll seize to appear, as the youngest whisky soon will turn 30 and prices will become so extreme that it's close to ridiculous. Some might say it already is. The whiskies I'll try in this session are all bottled within the last couple of years.


Port Ellen 27yo 1982-2009 48.6% Murray McDavid

I think this is my first (and probably only) ever white wine (sauternes) finished Port Ellen. I'm trying not to be too skeptic, but its hard to wrap my mind around why someone would put a 20-something Port Ellen from a single bourbon-cask to finish for some time in wine-cask of such that shows very unstable results when used. I hope it'll be a success-story this time, much like the early batches of Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or, and not such failures as those I've come across when tasting Sauternes-finished Glendronach. Either way, I got to give credit to Murray McDavid for even daring such a dubious move. The color is that of honey. The nose is rich and floral, boiled lentils, apple cider, burnt rubber, not my fav Port Ellen so far. The taste is somewhat a salvation, with lots of good apple cider, sweet vinegar, vanilla and peat. Not as coastal as I'd think, more of a fruity surprise. But I like this style, and the Sauternes impact in this one is perhaps one of the best I've come across so far.

Fresh, fruity and sweet peat: 8.5


Port Ellen 26yo 1982-2009 50% Douglas Laing cask#5398

A small sample of approximately 2.5cl, which I'm hoping to enjoy as I have a full bottle of it unopened somewhere. Light golden color, smells way peatier than the Sauternes finished one, and more coastal as well, salty, peaty, cigar smoke and sea salt, flinty, a bit like old women perfume, you know the smell that old aunts and such bring to the family parties. Cedar wood, rubber and insulin (ever tried that? A peculiar scent). The taste is all on sweet licorice, peat, blueberries and mint cigarettes. It's like it's right on the border between brilliant and almost boring. The taste is perfect as it should be, but it's all so mild and gentle, the tastebuds is left longing for more. As if it's just a bit out of focus. But that sweet licorice taste however makes for a perfect little aperitif dram.

I believe this would be a winner if bottled at cask strength: 6.5


Port Ellen 30yo 1979-2010 52.6% Douglas Laing Platinum

I think this is the first ever bottling from the Platinum series of DL I've ever tried. Good new is that its bottled at cask strength. It smells sweet, cinnamon, caramel, dry roasted nuts and red paprika spice alongside parmesan cheese and honey. Hints of vanilla and dried clay are also present. The taste is way more burnt and bitter than the prior two, and I thinnk it's gonna need some water. With additional H2O it gets sweeter and peatier, but foremost a huge vanilla influence is coming through. This one is definitively a step or two behind the MM-version, and perhaps the OMC as well.

A boring PE, not many of those around: 5.5


Port Ellen 27yo 1983-2011 55.5% The Whiskyman "While my Guitar Gently Weeps"

An old whisky named after an even older Beatles song. And what a fitting name for this whisky as I think there are few, if none, distillery closings that have made as many men weep as the one of Port Ellen. This has a more salty and spicy nose, reminds me a bit of the 10yo Talisker somehow. Gunpowder, struck matches, thyme, mint, basil leaves, opens up nicely after a while. Goes on with vanilla, soap and woolen fabric. The taste is peaty and sour, lemon rind and rhubarb leaves. The peat is more bitter than smoky in this one, and the oakiness is far too overpowering. I think it's a nice way of showing of Port Ellen, but if I had it my way, I think they could've put this one into a Sauternes cask for finishing as well. Or bottled it way earlier for that matter.

This one lacks a certain degree of spirityness(?): 6.5



Next distillery: Benromach Distillery