Kategoriarkiv: Speyside

Balvenie, Speyside

The Balvenie 12 YO – Triple Cask

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and very fruity. A big bowl of yellow pears, grapes and oranges with vanilla cream and a touch of honey on top. It’s a very fresh and vibrant nose. As time passes the sweetness move forward and a bitter note comes through. The oranges together with the sweetness and the bitterness create a marmelade note. Some apricots are also coming through as well as a thin layer of menthol. The oakiness can be found within the vanilla note, but it takes a few minutes in the glass.

Mouth: The orange marmelade is dominating the palate together with apricots and honey. A touch of spicyness is present but it never really amount to anything special. The oak comes through pretty fast with vanilla, coffee and a feint nuttiness in the back. A distant note of black liquorice resides in the back and sort of adds another dimension to the palate. There’s no astringency and it’s a very juicy dram.

Finish: An immidiate oakiness brings a freshly brewed coffee note. The fruitiness comes slowly and builds up over time, but the oak is just too strong to let it through completely. It’s a quite bitter oakiness with coffee and a touch of hazelnuts. The thin layer of menthol returns and creates an aura surrounding the finish. This is a decent and flavourful whisky.

Additional information
The 12 YO Triple Cask was released in 2013 as the entry level malt in Balvenie’s travel retail range. It’s aged in three different cask types individually; First fill and refill american ex-bourbon oak barrels and first fill ex-Oloroso sherry casks. It’s then married together in a tun.

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Mortlach, Speyside

Mortlach 21 YO – 2020 Special Release

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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 very fruity. At first there’s a fruitiness coming through with mainly green pears and red apples. The fruitiness is surrounded by a sweet layer of vanilla and honey. As it opens up in the glass the sweetness increases in intensity and baking spices start to emerge. It takes a long time before it reaches its peak but when it does, it’s very rich, sweet and pleasant on the nose. It’s very dessert-like with vanilla cream on top of the fresh fruits. There are also notes of age within but it feels very fresh and sprawly. This is a great nose. It’s not especially complex but there’s a lot of easy access flavours to enjoy.

Mouth: It starts out with a bitterness in the back and the fruitiness up front. It’s really powerful and the age shines through from the get-go with dust, leather and old oak floating around in the middle. It’s thick and malty and it has a complex array of flavours in between the easy access ones. It delivers a fantastic mix of fresh juicy fruits, vanilla sweetness and old casks. There are floral notes as well as spices and even an umami note in the back. There’s also a hint of lemon in the back which takes the edge of the sweetness and creates nice contrasts between sensations.

Finish: The fruitiness surges through the transition together with the ABV spicyness, but it never gets too powerful. It just adds to the experience. When the spicyness starts to fade the juicy pears and apples take over and become the main attraction. There are still baking spices and floral notes floating around and orange peel is now added to the mix, which lead the finish into the oakiness. It’s an old oakiness which is bitter and fragrant. There’s almost a perfumey note attached to it. This is a fantastic and complex whisky as long as it’s given enough time in the glass.

Additional information
This whisky is a cask strength release. It was finished in a mix of ex-PX and ex-Oloroso casks. 7692 bottles were filled. The bottle tried has No. 0129/7644.

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Glenlivet, Speyside

Glenlivet 12 YO – Licensed Dram

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ABV: 48 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a mix of cinnamon, vanilla and nail polish remover all sitting in the center with an oakiness surrounding it from the get-go. Underneath lies a ripe fruitiness (mainly red apples) which comes through together with some honey and marzipan. It has a very dessert-like quality and the baking spices are very pronounced. With time in the glass it settles and reveals milk chocolate, toffee and red berries in the back. It becomes sweeter as well. This is a great nose. It’s not the most interesting experience, but delivers a nice solid character.

Mouth: It starts out with a spicyness around the edges. There’s not a lot of flavour coming through at first and it feels slightly spirity. When something finally appears, it’s a mix of oak, malt and vanilla. There’s also an anise note floating around. There’s a mild fruitiness but the whole feels a bit empty and lacks a lot of what the nose offers. It almost feels a bit hot and rushed. With time in the glass it does deliver a bit more of the flavours and mirrors the nose fairly well.

Finish: The spicyness spikes through the transition and when it settles it goes back to being quite empty on the palate. There’s a savory note in the back as well as a bitterness. There are toffee and fruit notes and lemon peel in the back. When the oak starts to take over there’s a perfumey layer attached to it. It’s a bit weird and hard to make sense of. The oakiness has a quite bitter character and without any nuttiness it really doesn’t deliver the best of notes. This is a decent whisky. It has a great nose and lacks a bit in taste. Time in the glass is of the essence.

Additional information
This is the second release from ”The Original Stories” series. It’s matured in a mix of first fill ex-bourbon barrels and first fill european ex-sherry casks. It’s unchillfiltered.

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Glenlivet, Speyside

The Glenlivet 15 YO – The French Oak Reserve

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

Tasting notes
Sample in queue. Tasting notes pending.

See the queue here.

(Scribbles)

Nose: Soft sweet fruits, vanilla, dust, pleasant and rounded, feint smell of Apple juice.

Taste: Smooth, a bit dusty, some spices on the tip of the toungue, sweetness, dry oak.

Finish: Spices intensify, nice lasting dry oak flavour, hint of vanilla intertwined with the oak. A hint of apple comes and goes.

Additional information
The Glenlivet 15 YO is matured for 12 years in ex-bourbon barrels and ex-sherry casks and then finished for 3 years in new limousin french oak barrels.

Glenlivet, Speyside

Glenlivet 12 YO – Illicit Still

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is fruity and floral. At first there’s a thick layer of red apples, vanilla and marzipan. On top there’s a cloud of menthol and flowers. There’s a honey sweetness starting out in the back but then moves forward on the edges as time goes by in the glass. There’s a sweet liquorice note coming through as well. Overall it feels very rich and mild without any sharp or pointy edges. This is a fairly straight forward nose but it’s very pleasant and welcoming.

Mouth: It starts out with a lemon note in the back and a sweet maltiness up front. The fruity and floral elements are still in there but they are reduced and have left the spotlight. It’s a sweet and sour mix with a bitter tang in the back. It’s quite mild even though it presents a slight ABV spicyness after a few seconds. It’s just as sweet as on the nose and there’s nothing especially interesting happening at this point except for the sweetness moving forward a bit.

Finish: The honey sweetness flare up out on the edges before the center core starts to come through. Here the apples and the floral notes return as well as the maltiness. It’s still mild with a soft layer of menthol hovering above everything else. It stays consistant for quite a while before everything dies down and leave room for the oakiness. It’s a nice enough oak but it’s quite generic. In the tail end of the finish the marzipan note makes a quick revisit. This is a great whisky with a lot of nice flavours. It’s not a whisky to explore, it’s a whisky to enjoy.

Additional information
This is the first release from ”The Original Stories” series. It’s matured for in a mix of ex-bourbon barrels and european ex-sherry casks. It’s unchillfiltered.

BenRiach, Speyside

Benriach Smoke Season – Double Cask Matured

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ABV: 52,8 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

See the queue here.

Additional information
This whisky was released in 2021 as a part of Benriach’s new core range. It was aged in a mix of first fill ex-bourbon barrels and virgin oak casks for an undisclosed amount of time. It has natural colour.

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Glenlossie, Speyside

Glenlossie 8 YO (Lady of the Glen)

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ABV: 56.8 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
This was tasted at a whisky festival. No tasting notes were recorded. The impression was that this is a sweet and round whisky with a lot of dark and dried fruit notes from the port cask mixed of toffee, honey and vanilla together with a hint of seaweed. It felt a bit top heavy and unbalanced.

Additional information
This whisky was distilled in 2010 and bottled in 2019. It’s aged in an ex-bourbon hogshead and finished in a first fill ex-Ruby port cask. Cask No 8645. The bottle tried was 214/282. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Glen Keith, Speyside

Glen Keith 22 YO (Lady of the Glen)

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ABV: 52 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
This was tasted at a whisky festival. No tasting notes were recorded. The impression was that this is a sweet, fruity and quite floral whisky with a mix of malt, honey and vanilla together with violets and a tropical fruitiness. It felt younger and fresher than the age spent in the cask.

Additional information
This whisky was distilled in 1998 and bottled in 2021. It’s aged in a refill barrel; No 167096. The bottle tried was 101/155. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Glenallachie, Speyside

Glenallachie 12 YO – Ruby Port Wood Finish

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

Tasting notes
This was tasted at a whisky festival. No tasting notes were recorded. The impression was that this is a sweet and fruity whisky with a mix of honey, vanilla, ginger and dark grape notes. There’s also notes of oranges, milk chocolate and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Additional information
This whisky was first aged for ten years in american oak barrels and then finished in ex-Ruby Port pipes. This is from batch 3 of the Wood Finish Range. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Glenallachie, Speyside

Glenallachie 15 YO

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

Tasting notes
This was tasted at a whisky festival. No tasting notes were recorded. The impression was that this is a sweet, dark and fruity whisky with a mix of raisins, overripe plums and fresher fruits like apples and pears. Notes of coffee, leather and tobacco was in there as well as a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in ex-Oloroso and ex-PX sherry hogsheads and puncheons. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Mortlach, Speyside

Mortlach 20 YO – Cowie’s Blue Seal

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ABV: 43.4 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
This was tasted at a whisky festival. No tasting notes were recorded. The impression was that this is a malty and rich whisky with a mix of dark fruits and butterscotch with a nice texture to it. It has a lot of notes which come from spending 20 years in casks.

Additional information
This whisky is aged in ex-sherry casks for the full maturation. It’s distilled ~2.81 times. The bottle tried was No. 2019/29656.

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Speyside, Strathmill

Strathmill 1991 Gordon & MacPhail Connosseur’s Choice

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ABV: 43 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a mix of sweetness and cooking spices with a base of baked fruits. There are sweet apples and yellow pears and a hint of lemon in the background. The distillate is very much the main event. It’s a nice one with both a fruity and malty side to it. There’s also marzipan as well as a hint of butterscotch. This is a nice nose. It’s not complex nor especially Interesting, but it feels nicely balanced.

Mouth: It starts out a bit watery before a mix of mild white pepper up front and a fruity and zesty bitter background note arrives. There’s a big hole in the middle. It feels a bit hot and rushed and the mouthfeel isn’t the greatest. After a while the hole gets filled with a shy butterscotch note and the baked apples and pears. It’s not as sweet as on the nose and it feels really unbalanced and different compared to the nose. There’s still a big focus on the distillate.

Finish: The transition is a bit uneventful and the same character just remains. There’s a bitterness in the back and mixed spices up front. The middle part is still mild butterscotch and now maybe a hint of milk chocolate. The baked fruits seem to return after a while and the oakiness shines through rather quickly. It’s not a great oakiness and it clings to the bitter notes at first. The late finish brings a bit of dusty notes and becomes a relief from the otherwise rather unpleasant finish.

Additional information
This whisky was distilled in 1991 and bottled in 2007 making it 15-16 YO. It’s aged in refill ex-bourbon barrels.

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Glenfiddich, Speyside

Glenfiddich 14 YO – Rich Oak

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and malty. At first there’s a heavy vanilla and honey sweetness sitting on top of baked red apples and malt. A mild oakiness floats around out on the edges. It comes with some baking spices, and it’s mainly cinnamon. After a while in the glass the whole seems to merge together and it becomes more balanced and the fruitiness becomes a bit fresher with some yellow pears added. The oakiness becomes more noticable over time. This is a nice nose which doesn’t feel flat or too mild even though it only has a low ABV to back it up.

Mouth: It starts out a bit flat with a slight astringency and a clear cut oakiness coating the palate. In the center it’s malty and sweet and the age shines through. There’s a black coffee bitterness spreading out slowly but steadily as well. The whole is not as fruity as on the nose and the main focus lies on the oak. Tofee and oak spices do take over for those who decides to wait around for them.

Finish: There’s no spikes during the transition and the toffee and oak mix continue to dominate the palate. It still has a lot of oak spices floating around and the bitterness, albeit a bit subdued, is clinging on in the back. The fruitiness is very dull and doesn’t contribute much to the whole at this point. The oakiness is slightly nutty but it takes up too much space from the start. This is a decent whisky which has too much oak influence and low ABV, which makes it unbalanced in taste and in sensation. It does deliver what the name implies though.

Additional information
The Glenfiddich 14 Rich Oak was released in 2010. It has first been matured for 14 years in american ex-bourbon barrels, then finished for 12 weeks in new European oak and six weeks in new American oak.

Cragganmore, Speyside

Cragganmore Distiller’s Edition 2005/2017

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and very fruity. At first there are raspberries and strawberries and a hint of liquorice,honey and vanilla. Underneath lies a sweet white wine note as well as a tiny, leathery mix of smokiness and oak. There’s also an outside layer of citrus fruits, with both oranges and lemons surrounding the edges. This is a mild nose with a pretty decent array of things to be found.

Mouth: It starts out with vanilla, caramel and a funky ripe note of red berries and a nice and bright fruity layer on the outside. It’s very mild and slightly smoky. It’s still leather and now also a hint of pipe tobacco. It feels like it contributes to the funky ripeness as well. The oakiness is detectable as a top note throughout.

Finish: The transition passes without spikes and the malty vanilla and caramel center is first to come through. A hint of the dark fruits mixed with oak is in there as well, but the fresher, brighter fruits are dulled down. The oak eventually takes over and brings a nutty touch with hazelnuts which makes the tail somewhat dry. The smokiness gets more noticable in the later part of the finish. This is a good whisky. It’s a bit too round and mild to be interesting but it’s a nice and easy sipper.

Additional information
The Distiller’s Edition is a limited yearly release 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.

Macallan, Speyside

The Macallan Sienna

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is ripe fruits and berries. A thick layer of vanilla, overripe plums and raisins stretch out over a fresh fruity base. In the back there are green grapes and red apples. There’s a gentle spicyness surrounding everything and in the background the oakiness peek through. There’s also a ginger note binding everything together. This is most certainly a sherry bomb, even though it’s quite mild to the nose.

Mouth: It starts out very thick and creamy. It’s vanilla heavy and the ripe fruitiness is still prominent, but it has taken a small step back. A sour lemon note is now sitting in the background. There is a floral note floating around in the middle. The spicyness builds up and it’s coming from the oak, not the ABV. It becomes slightly astringent after a while. The oakiness has a nutty side to it with walnuts coming through and they bring along a nice bitterness.

Finish: The bitterness is joining the vanilla and the sherry fruitiness as the main attraction. The spicyness travels on a downward slope and gets further and further away. It’s a very nice spicyness and it feels more powerful than it is. The oakiness is somewhat ananomous and just push forward the walnuts as a representative. It’s a very nice, nutty flavour though. The finish is long and rewarding. This is surprisingly good.

Additional information
This expression is a part of the Macallan 1824 series. It’s aged in a mix of first fill ex-sherry casks made from american and european oak. It has natural colour.

Macallan, Speyside

The Macallan 12 YO – Sherry Oak Cask

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and dark sherry fruity. At first there’s a mix of vanilla and sweet liquorice together with liqueur-soaked cherries, raisins, ripe plums and just a small hint of marzipan. Some fresh berries come through on the edges and maybe a hint of red apples too. The cask influence really covers most of the distillate. There’s a seeweedy note on top that brings it down a few notches. This is not complex, just mild and sherry-driven.

Mouth: The intro is quite flat and watery and it takes a while to get to the flavours. First out are vanilla and cherries, then a bitterness builds up and leads way directly to the oakiness. The sweet liquorice is still prominent in the mix as well as raisins. Some dried figs are now also detectable. A tiny spice note and a hint of cinnamon tries to fight the bitter oak for attention. It’s somewhat astringent, but it only shows after a few sips.

Finish: A dry oak almost immediately takes front seat. Plums, figs and raisins are creating a baseline together with the sweet liquorice. There are coffee, cinnamon and brown syryp notes. It’s quite dry and astringent. There is a spicyness but it starts out on a low level and then moves on a downslope through the entire finish. The oak is wet, grey wooden planks. This is a decent dram but the nose is much better than the rest.

Additional information
This expression is matured exclusively in Oloroso sherry seasoned oak casks from Jerez, Spain. It rests in the same cask for the entire maturation period.

Mortlach, Speyside

Mortlach 16 YO – Distiller’s Dram

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ABV: 43.4 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is rich and fruity. At first there are dark and dried fruits overpowering everything else. There are raisins, dades, prunes and a dried tropical fruit mix with pineapples and nectarines. After a few second a top layer forms with oak, vanilla and a sprinkle of dust. It feels very thick and it almost feels savory behind the fruity exterior. This is a fruitcake whisky and there are baking spices coming through to accentuate that. This is a lovely nose, but it lacks a tiny bit of depth.

Mouth: It starts out with a sweet and malty core and a fruity outer layer. The dried tropical fruits remain, but they are more integrated in the sweet core with vanilla and honey. The darker fruit notes have moves towards the edges where they interact with notes which could be described as leather-bound books on a dusty shelf. There is a hint of butterscotch coming through for those who are patient. The spices are more and more leaning towards cinnamon.

Finish: The first thing to pop up is the leather-bound books and dust. There’s now also a hint of tobacco. Inside it’s now a much fresher fruitiness with the dried tropical fruit mix very much in focus. It stays like that until the oakiness arrives. It’s a dry and quite pleasant oakiness which isn’t making a big impact, but brings a soft nuttiness and a mild bitterness to the otherwise fruity finish. This is really a great whisky, but all the flavours feels like they are sitting close to the front and it leaves a slightly empty space in the background.

Additional information
This ”Distiller’s dram” is a part of the Mortlach core range. It was released in 2018. It’s aged in a mix of first fill and refill ex-sherry casks.

Glen Grant, Speyside

Glen Grant 10 YO

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a hefty amount of citrus notes with a vanilla and honey cover surrounding them. There’s also a maltiness coming through quite early. When it settles there are green apples as well as a minty overtone and the sweet surrounding layer grows a bit over time. It ends up being a nice sweet dessert. This is a very good nose. It feels quite balanced between the sweet and sour notes and albeit it’s not complex, it’s nice to nose and the shifts are logical.

Mouth: It starts out a bit too mild and slightly watery with a bit of sweetness at the start. There is a spicyness slowly arriving up front and the sweetness evolves into vanilla, malt, oak and honey after a while, which again feels quite logical. There’s a slight bitterness in the back and the citrus notes are still in there, but they are pushed back by the sweetness. The whole thing is a bit underwhelming and it lacks the nice balance which the nose offered.

Finish: The transition is quite uneventful and it still feels a bit bland. All the flavours carries over but nothing really stands out. After a while the minty layer starts to emerge, but the rest is just fading away in the background except for the oak and the bitter note. It’s a nice enough oakiness but there’s just not much to explore about it. This is a good whisky but it really lacks the nice flavours the nose offered. It’s an easy sipper and there’s no bad sides to it; It’s just a bit too mild and unpretentious.

Additional information
There’s not much information to be found on this whisky. It was presumably aged in ex-bourbon barrels for the full maturation period.

Speyside, Tamnavulin

Tamnavulin Red Wine Cask Edition – Cabernet Sauvignon

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and sour. At first there’s a mix of vanilla, sour red berries and a small amount of honey. It feels fresh and very approachable. There’s a nice sweet center part underneath with malt and butterscotch. The distillate shines through but it’s not protruding. When it settles in the glass there’s a nice and rich outer layer forming with darker fruit notes from the cask finish as well as a gooseberry fruitiness in the center. This is a nice nose with a lot to offer even though it’s a bit too mild.

Mouth: It starts out with a rounded off butterscotch and malt note. There’s a honey and vanilla sweetness as well. It’s a lot sweeter than on the nose and becomes even sweeter with time in the glass. There’s an immidiate oakiness forming around the edges together with a sour lemon note, which unfortunatly is slightly metallic. The whole is extremely mild and easy on the palate. It’s very different in taste compared to what the nose presented and it lacks a bit of balance. It becomes slightly spicy after a few sips which is a much needed feature.

Finish: There’s an increase in darker fruit notes and sweetness through the transition and when it settles those notes lie on top while the oakiness overruns everything else underneath. There’s an almond note somewhere in between. It becomes slightly astringent and the oak feels like a mix of fresh oak and a nutty, bitter grey oak. The finish ends rather quickly, but the fresh oak note stays behind and gives somewhat of an interesting fade out in the end. This is a pretty decent whisky for what it is; A budget single malt.

Additional information
This is a single malt first aged in american ex-bourbon casks and then finished in Cabernet Sauvignon red wine casks. There is no information on aging time. This bottle is from batch 001243.

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Speyside, Tamnavulin

Tamnavulin Red Wine Cask Edition – Pinot Noir

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a mix of butterscotch and overripe red berries. There’s a strawberry and vanilla cream note within which gives it a dessert-like quality. Underneath a rather young distillate and a not so great bitter oak note are found. The whole feels top heavy. There’s a shiny sour lemon/metallic note peeking through from behind. This is a decent, uncomplicated nose with a nice cover from the cask influence. The corners cut shows through though.

Mouth: It starts out very mild with a heavy vanilla and butterscotch center. The same shiny lemon and metallic note is filling up the background and makes it a bit unpleasant. After a few seconds some spicy notes appear which seem to come from the oak rather than the alcohol which gives it a small, but much needed, boost. The red berries are still creating a small coating over the vanilla and butterscotch and it’s still mainly strawberries, but also a hint of more ripe berries. The longer it stays in the mouth the more of the young distillate comes through and a bitterness starts to appear.

Finish: The finish starts out pretty flat and the sweet center deteriates rather quickly. The fruitiness and the metallic note stays a bit longer and they reside mainly towards the edges. Left in the center is a rather astringent and simple oakiness which struggles to decide whether it’s raw oak or a bitter black coffee oakiness. It still seems to be connected to the spicyness. It’s not a long finish. This is a so-and-so whisky which delivers just about what’s expected from a budget single malt.

Additional information
This is a single malt first aged in american ex-bourbon casks and then finished in Pinot Noir red wine casks. There is no information on aging time. This bottle is from batch 000164.

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