Kategoriarkiv: Speyside

Tamnavulin Port Cask Edition

ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 3
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a spirity, quite harsh top note with a very sweet and fruity center part underneath. It smells a bit off and the distille is covered by a weird cask influence. There are notes of butterscotch and oranges, as well as a minty overlay. The overall character is perfectly fine, but the offer note really brings it down. A slight oakiness peeks through as well. This is a weid nose. It doesn’t feel like a port cask influenced nose.

Mouth: It starts out with a bland generic sweetness with a bitter background note. There’s toffee a plenty as well as a hasrh distillate note. It feels young and watered down. The palate is dry and a lemon note sits in the back, but leans towards being metallic. It feels slightly dusty and the oakiness is clearly present. It’s still weird and something feels off. It’s hard to pinpoint the exakt source.

Finish: The transition is uneventful and really shows the lack of power. The butterscotch note increases over rine and so does the weird note. The lemon switches back to oranges and the oakiness starts to take over as time passes. It’s a fairy decent oak with a mix of old, new and nutty. This is a half-decent budget whisky. It has it’s weirdness but it’s easy to drink and should satisfy less picky customers.

Additional information
This whisky was first aged for in ex-bourbon barrels and then finished in ex-port casks.

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Aberlour – 12 YO Double Cask

ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first, vanilla and red berries rub shoulders in the center. It’s a very fresh fruitiness with raspberries, cherries and a laid back lemon sourness. In their surroundings there are notes of anise, liquorice and honey. In the background there’s just a touch of baking spices. This is easy to nose and the different cask types are easily detected.

Mouth: It starts out extremely soft and mild. After a few second the vanilla and honey come through. The fruitiness is not as pronounced as on the nose and it’s a slightly darker ripe fruitiness. There’s not much left of the anise and liquorice, but they are detectable around the edges. The oak shines through after a few seconds, and it comes off a bit perfumey.

Finish: The fruitiness changes once again and the first thing to appear is a nice note of gooseberries. The vanilla and honey are still in there, but they just act as fillers. The oakiness is still perfumey, and it feels like fresh oak. In the late finish the sour lemon note reappears. It’s not a long finish. Overall this is a low impact, sweet desserty kind of whisky. It feels like it’s missing a red thread and it’s not complex at all. It’s still quite tasty and this ought to be a good beginner’s dram.

Additional information
Aberlour is owned by Chivas Regal. This 12 YO is double cask matured, which means that it’s matured in ”traditional” ex-bourbon barrels and ex-sherry casks. The traditional part often means ”refill”.

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Glenallachie 9 YO Amontadillo Sherry Cask Finish

ABV: 48 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a honey sweetness, heather and oak. When it settles in the glass the sweetness thickens and vanilla replaces the oakiness. There’s a slight nuttiness and just a small hint of lemon in the back. A thin layer of leathery tobacco sits on top and it grows bigger with time. There are mixed sweet fruits and dark berries but they are not indentifiable. This is a nice nose which changes a lot over time. It feels a bit top heavy overall.

Mouth: It starts out with cracked black pepper up front and lemon and peaches in the back. In between there’s a mix of vanilla, honey and a small hint of fruits. The palate gets dry and there’s a bitter and nutty background emerging with hazelnuts and dark chocolate. The oakiness peeks through as well and it comes with some tobacco notes as well. It’s quite intense and gets very spicy after a while.

Finish: The spicyness flares up through the transition and takes over for a second or two. When it spreads out over the palate the darker notes are first to return. Dark chocolate, fruits and tobacco makes a quick visit before the oak and the hazelnuts return. It’s a nice oakiness which feels like a mix of old and new. There’s a slight dustiness to it and the nuttiness follows along. This is a great whisky. It’s young and needs a lot of air, but for those who wait it’s a great experience.

Additional information
This whisky was first aged in ex-bourbon barrels and then finished in ex-Amontadillo sherry hogsheads. It’s a limited release. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Glen Moray 15 YO – Elgin Heritage

ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a mix of fresh fruits, lemon and a malty vanilla sweetness. There’s honey mixed with green apples and a hint of cinnamon. There’s also a small floral side to it and, as it settles in the glass, ginger and a mild sweet mint slowly settles on top. The nose feels a lot younger than its age and it feels slightly spirity. This is a very good and easily to access nose though. It’s fresh, sweet and very uncomplicated.

Mouth: It starts out with the maltiness on top together with vanilla and honey. The fruitiness is in there but it’s not as fresh and bright as on the nose. It’s now more like baked red apples with some toffee on the side. The oakiness is present and contributes to finally a showing of age. The ginger is still in there and a marzipan note floats around as well. It’s very mild and lacks power which really does it a disservice.

Finish: The transition is quite uneventful and the sweet flavours carry over without any dips or spikes. The flavours stay a surprisingly long time even though the power is missing. The oakiness feels quite nice. It feels like a mix of old and new with hazelnuts and vanilla attached to the late finish. This is a very good whisky and it’s ought to be a very good beginner’s choice. For the seasoned explorer it lacks complexity and power.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in a mix of ex-bourbon barrels and ex-Oloroso sherry casks.

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Auchroisk 13 YO 2010 – Full Proof Edition #12 (Signatory Vintage)

ABV: 57.1 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
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Additional information
This whisky was aged for 13 years in an ex-Oloroso sherry butt. It’s a single cask independent release. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Linkwood 26 YO Port Finish (Special Release 2008)

ABV: 56.9 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
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Additional information
This whisky was first aged in ex-bourbon barrels for 12 years and then finished in ex-port casks for 14 years. It’s a 1981 vintage. 1260 bottles were released.

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Aberlour Casg Annamh Batch 0009

ABV: 48 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a vanilla rich sweetness with honey, fruits and oak spices within. There are fresh red berries on top as well as a thin menthol layer. The overall character is fresh and underneath lies some apples and oranges. Everything feels logical and well placed overall. With time it slightly changes character and delivers some raisins and just a hint of ginger. This is a great nose with a very welcoming and rich character.

Mouth: It starts out mild and sweet for a second or two before there’s an increase in flavour and power. It comes through as slighly different in taste than on the nose. Most of the flavours are at first situated back on the palate and it’s has a more ripe and unpolished fruitiness with overripe plums which almost feels savory. It does change after a while and the oranges and apples come back together with the oak spices, vanilla and a speck of dust. The brighter notes sit on top though.

Finish: The transition starts out with some cracked black peppers and a nice mellow increase in power. The ripe fruits stay in the back while the fresher fruits mix with oak up front. The vanilla sees a slight increase as well. The late finish becomes rather dry and slightly astringent as the oakiness reveals a very fresh woodshop oakiness, which really doesn’t match the overall character at first. After a while it sort of shifts and becomes more nutty and interesting. This is a great whisky with a lot to offer to the Explorer. It feels slightly unbalanced overall though.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in ex-bourbon and both american and european oak ex-sherry casks for an undisclosed amount of time. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Cragganmore Distiller’s Edition (2023)

ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
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Additional information
The Distiller’s Edition is part of the Diageo series ”The classic malts of Scotland” finished in special ways. This is matured in american ex-bourbon barrels and finished in Port pipes. It no longer discloses the vintages.

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Glenallachie 8 YO

ABV: 46 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a big and bold vanilla and red fresh berries. When it settles everything becomes more ripe and the whole becomes a lot darker. There’s a fresh oakiness within which is noticable almost from the get-go. A hint of tobacco and raisins with a fresh top note of raspberries finds its way into th pushing out the oakiness towards the edges. Butterscotch can be found deep within as well. This is a very good nose. The fresh oakiness seems a bit out of place and the whole thing seems a bit engineered.

Mouth: It starts out with the oakiness on the edges demanding a big part of the palate. The center part slowly becomes dark ripe raisins and overripe plums with a bitter dark chocolate in the back. There’s a speck of dust on top and a mix of butterscotch and tobacco within, but everything is obscured by the new fresh oakiness which makes the experience utterly unbalanced at this point. A black pepper spicyness comes for those who wait.

Finish: The finish starts out dry and full of new oak. The peppery spicy note mixes with the oak spices and increases in intensity. The bitter dark chocolate and the ripe fruits reappears for a short while but they can’t compete with the oakiness. The late part of the finish is just like chewing on an oak plank with a bit of dark chocolate smeared on it. This is a good whisky. It’s way over-oaked which makes it unbalanced and a bit boring though. It’s a pity because the other flavours are really nice.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in a mix of ex-PX/ex-Oloroso sherry casks and a small amount of red wine barriques and virgin oak casks. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Glenfiddich 18 YO – Small Batch Reserve

ABV: 40 %
Origin:
Speyside
Type:
Single Malt
Bottles in collection:
1
Emptied bottles:
0
Impression:
4/5

Tasting notes
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Additional information
This whisky is matured for 18 years in a mix of one part ex-Oloroso sherry european oak casks and two parts ex-bourbon barrels before being married in oak marrying tuns for at least 3 months. A batch consists of 150 casks. This is batch 8950.

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Glenfiddich 12 YO

ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 4
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s apple juice with a layer of lemon sourness surrounding it. Underneath there’s a sweet layer with malt, honey and vanilla. After a few seconds fresh berries start to peek through. A sprinkle of cinnamon and a nice oakiness create a nice mild spicy touch. This is a very approachable and recognizable nose.

Mouth: It starts out with vanilla and sweet liquorice on top of a nice round maltiness. The lemon note arrives first and resides in an outside layer while the apple juice, together with mixed dried fruits and a hint of sulfur, stays in the center. The oakiness and the cinnamon is still creating a nice spicyness. With time butterscotch shows up within the sweet layer.

Finish: A lemon sourness, with the sulfur note as close second, starts off the finish. The cinnamon and oakiness are next and after that the mixed dried fruits and the apple juice come through once again. The oakiness is very nice and it’s got a savory side to it. The oakiness is all by itself in the late finish, but it does a nice job on its own. This is just a classic, well made, run of the mill Speyside whisky. It’s doing a great job of delivering flavour even though it’s a low ABV, fairly cheap single malt.

Additional information
This whisky is matured for 12 years in ex-sherry (Oloroso) european oak casks and american oak casks before being married in oak marrying tuns for 9 months.

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Mannochmore 13 YO 2008 – The Single Malts of Scotland Reserve Cask Series Parcel No. 7 (Elixir Distillers)

ABV: 48 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
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Additional information
This whisky is a vatting of 6 hogsheads. It was distilled in 2008 and bottled in 2021. It’s part of the Reserve Casks series from SMS.

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Aberlour 14 YO Double Cask

ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
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Additional information
This whisky was aged in ex-bourbon barrels and ex-Oloroso sherry casks. It’s a limited release. The batch tried is no. 0008.

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Speyburn 18 YO

ABV: 46 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
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Additional information
This whisky was aged in ex-bourbon barrels and spanish oak casks. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Glenallachie 2009 Single Cask

ABV: 56.2 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
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Additional information
This whisky was distilled in 2009 and aged in an ex-PX puncheon (#5709) for ~13 years. It was bottled in 2022 and released in Sweden. It’s limited to 699 bottles. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Glen Moray Elgin Classic – Chardonnay Cask Finish

ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and sour. At first there’s a layer of malt and honey up front and a candy sourness in the back. The sweet front slowly evolves into a butterscotch note, while the sour background eventually turns more into a green fruit sourness, like sour green apples, but the candy-esque feel to it remains. There is a sprinkle of dust and just a hint of liquorice coming through near the edges of the glass. This is a very nice and easy approachable nose.

Mouth: It starts out a little less sweet than on the nose but still has honey and malt up front. A tiny spicyness slowly buildsup but never really amounts to anything. There’s vanilla and a sour note, but the sourness is slightly different in taste and it’s somewhat complex. A thin line of something that isn’t so pleasant accompanies the sourness. There are grapes and the candy notes are still in there and with time it comes floral. In the background a metallic note is coating the back of the mouth.

Finish: A quick visit from the sweetness pass by and then it becomes very sour. It’s sour green apples and grapes. There’s a lemon note as well and it’s attached to the metallic note in the back which lingers all the way through the finish. It’s an ethanol driven finish and the oakiness fight to come through. It’s a dry oakiness and it somewhat lacks in character, but it’s not bad at all. The metallic note stays long after everything else dies down. This is a decent whisky, but the Chardonnay finish isn’t the best companion to this single malt.

Additional information
This expression has been double matured, first in ex-bourbon american oak barrels for an unknown period, then finished for 8 months in Chardonnay casks. This version of the Elgin Classic was released in January 2016.

Glenlivet 18 YO – Single Cask Edition (13091)

ABV: 56.9 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a dessert-like mix of vanilla and baked apples with a hint of cinnamon on top. It’s very fresh and lively despite its age and the distillate is clearly shining through. With time in the glass it grows to be sweet and sour with the sweetness on top with vanilla and honey and sour lemon in the back. A hint of marzipan can be found in the center part. It’s a very easy and accessable nose. It’s quite pleasant but not especially complex.

Mouth: It starts out with a honey sweetness in front and a sour green apple note in the back. There’s a nice power to it and it’s quite peppery which helps it along. The flavours need the boost. It feels a lot more mature than on the nose with an old dusty, grey wood note in the background. After a second or two it turns towards the sour note and shifts from Green apples to lemon. It’s still not especially complex or evolving but it’s a nice experience nontheless.

Finish: The peppery spicyness spikes through the transition but it settles down quite quick. It stays as a background spicyness for the duration of the finish though. It then reveals the same flavour combinations as before. It’s still a sweet and sour experience with vanilla, honey and baked red apples in contrast to green, sour apples and lemon. There are notes of butterscotch, coconut and marzipan floating in and out. The oakiness is an old and dusty one and it takes over in a nice and mellow way. It’s a walnuts and chalk oakiness which is very nice and it feels like a logical way to finish. This is a great whisky. It borders on being too spicy for a delicate dram but it just about works.

Additional information
This whisky was bottled 11/2020. It was aged in an american oak hogshead. The cask number is 13091. The bottle tried is no. 87/252.

Inchgower 27 YO – Limited Release (2018)

ABV: 55.3 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a malty sweetness with vanilla and honey attached to it. There’s a minty overlay and a musty background note as well. The fruitiness leans towards baked apples with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top. The nose is quite straight forward and there seem to be lacking signs of age. There’s also a nail polish remover note somewhere within. With time in the glass the vanilla note becomes a lot more pronounced. It greatly improves with time in the glass and the signs of age do show up after about 20 minutes. This is a nice and rich nose, but it seems to be a bit one-dimensional.

Mouth: It starts out with a big hit of ABV spicyness. It soon settles and the spicyness becomes a nice outer layer of black pepper. In the middle, it feels quite green and herbal as well as lemon sour. The vanilla and the sweetness are nowhere near what was presented on the nose. There are notes of pine and anis root. In the back there’s a small bitter note slowly increasing over time. The fruitiness do come through with a mixed variety. It still lacks some of the telltale signs of age, but they do show up after a few sips. It’s very fresh and lively.

Finish: The ABV increases in intensity through the transition. The first things popping up after it settles are the pine note and the bitterness. It takes a few seconds but then the fruitiness reappears as well as the lemon note. It doesn’t take long for the oakiness to take over though and it delivers a mix of pine, oak, tropical fruits and a very nice nuttiness. It’s a very aggressive oakiness and it brings the first clear signs of the long maturation period. The finish is the best part of the journey. This is a very good whisky. It’s a really weird one which gives it a nice exploration quality. It really needs time in the glass.

Additional information
This whisky was distilled in 1990 and aged in refill american oak hogsheads. It’s one of Diageo’s special releases for 2018. The Bottle tried is 0067/8544.

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Benromach 15 YO

ABV: 43 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and peaty. At first there’s a honey and vanilla sweetness surrounded by sweet red fruits, coconut and a mild peat. After a while the different parts start to merge and becomes very rich and three dimensional. The peatiness has a seaside character which balances out the otherwise overly sweet cask maturation. Raspberries give a freshness on top, the center part is vanilla, honey and comes through as fudge. There’s white chocolate note as well. This is a very good nose. It lacks notes of age and comes through as way to simple for its age.

Mouth: It starts out with black pepper and fudge center with a peatiness which is a lot more potent than on the nose. There’s dark chocolate, tobacco and overripe fruits. It’s not as rich, but it comes through as more complex in taste. There’s a hint of oak in the back and a dusty note on top. The sweetness is in there, but everything feels more balanced at this point. The fresh red berries are gone. There’s a small hint of oranges and some sort of roasted malt.

Finish: The transition is gentle and just seems to increase the existing flavours. It does add a bit more acidity to the mix which refreshes the palate. The peatiness is coating the palate while the dark chocolate and the dark fruits slowly give room for the oak to shine through. It’s a nice oakiness which brings some dust, tobacco and coconut with it. The late finish does have a slightly weird flowery note lingering which doesn’t give it the best send-off. This is a great whisky overall though with a nice array of flavours to discover.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels and first-fill ex-sherry casks. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Meikle Tòir 5 YO The Original

ABV: 50 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and peaty. At first there’s a wood driven peatiness with notes of vanilla and honey. Underneath is a small gritty note as well as a fresh lemon sourness. When it starts to settle everything merges and creates a very nice, solid character. Unfortunatley this means that the complexity takes a hit and the gritty notes disappear. It’s a great nose, but it feels somewhat like it could benefit by being a bit more rowdy.

Mouth: It starts out with a bitterness in the back and some salty and rubbery notes in the center together with burning wood. The sweetness has come way down and it feels young and spirity. There’s a big contrast between the nose and the mouth and the surprise isn’t all that great. The lack of rowdy notes on the nose is definitely not a problem anymore, but it replaces a lot of the nice flavours in the process. It has a nice power and presence though. The bitterness become dark chocolate after a while. After a few sips the lemon sourness start to appear in the taste as well.

Finish: The transition starts with an increase in spicyness, but it’s a nicely curved one. The lemon notes in the back are very pronounced throughout the finish. The peatiness and the gritty note stays and an undefined ripe note is added. There’s still chocolate in the back. The character shifts back and is now matching the nose and somewhere along the line everything sort of comes together. The late finish is very satisfactory. The oakiness is quite laid back and brings a nutty side to the mix. This is a very good whisky. It has its ups and downs but in the end comes through as a solid experience.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in first fill ex-bourbon, rye and virgin oak casks. The peat level is 35 PPM. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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