Kategoriarkiv: Tobermory

Agitator, Selected Swedes, Sweden, Tobermory

Agitator Whiskymakare Bourbon Cask (Selected Swedes)

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ABV: 52.9 %
Origin: Sweden
Type: Single grain (four grain)
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is young and sweet. At first there’s a vanilla and honey center with a very pronouned oakiness from the start. It’s young and quite powerful which creates a menthol overlay and a slightly harsh spirit note underneath. There’s a dusty corn note floating by together with hints of liquorice and banana. With time in the glass a nice candy cane sweetness forms in the center. This is a decent nose with a good array of flavours to be found.

Mouth: It starts out very distillate heavy and very different from the nose. It’s harsh and spiky and it mostly delivers spicyness, a weird bitter background note and a dry oakiness. After a while there are some honey, vanilla and dusty corn notes arriving, but at this point the mouth is too overrun with oak and spirit notes to really appreciate what’s happening.

Finish: The finish starts out with a steep increase in the very dry oakiness, which luckily delivers some assorted nuts. The bitter background notes increase as well. Otherwise it’s mostly notes of a harsh distillate seeping through the cracks. The late finish is very oaky but the nutty side of it is a nice little addition, mainly because it refuses to go away. This is a not-so-good whisky with a surprisingly nice nose. Unfortunatley that only adds to the disappointment when it comes to taste.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in bourbon casks for just over 3 years (2018-09/2022-01). 719 bottled were released. It’s unchillfiltered and no colour was added.

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Agitator, Selected Swedes, Sweden, Tobermory

Agitator Whiskymakare PX Casks (Selected Swedes)

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ABV: 52.9 %
Origin: Sweden
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet fruits and sawdust. At first there’s a thick lid of fresh oak, very sweet dried fruits and mixed spices. There are liqeuer-soaked rasisns and figs with a hint of chocolate and heavy vanilla from the extreme oakiness (which grows even bigger with time). Underneath a young and slightly unpleasant and spiky distillate peeks through. The whole is extremely unbalanced and over-oaked. The sherry notes are strong but they haven’t had enough time to mix with the distillate, yet they still can’t compete with the oakiness. This is a manufactured nose typical to the new craft whisky era.

Mouth: It starts out with an immidiate oakiness and a hefty peppery spicyness. Soon after, a dark mix of raisins, figs and really dark chocolate arrives. Underneath lies the young distillate. It’s pointy and lacks refinement. Everything feels unbalanced and extremely top heavy. The oakiness is attacking the palate and ruins most of the other flavours. The vanilla is not as pronounced in taste as on the nose.

Finish: The transition elevates the young, harsh distillate for a second or two before the oak and sherry mask returns. The dark, dried fruits and dark chocolate is actually quite nice at this point but once again the oakiness return to overrun everything. The late finish is like chewing on a newly plained oak plank without the possibility to stop. This is a rather bad whisky. It’s too young, top heavy and over-oaked.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in PX sherry casks for just over 3 years (2018-10/2022-01). 719 bottled were released. It’s unchillfiltered and has no colour added.

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Islands, Ledaig, Tobermory

Ledaig 15 YO (2000) (Auld Rare)

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ABV: 57.0 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is peaty and sweet. At first there’s an ashy peatiness with floral character. It’s quite powerful from the start. Underneath lies a different, moist peatiness together with heather honey and vanilla. The background consists of a rather rowdy and gritty complexity. It feels a bit younger than its age statement with a fresh and vibrant character. Notes of liquorice and tar floats around within as well. This is a great nose. It’s missing some telltale signs of age though.

Mouth: It starts out with the ashy peat with the same floral notes found on the nose. Soon after the spicyness rushes in at full speed. The moist peatiness then arrives together with a peachy kind of fresh fruitiness and the gritty, ripe notes to create a nice backbone. It still feels fresh and vibrant but now there are notes of dust and old oak furniture coming through. The floral notes becomes heathery as it mixes with vanilla, a slight bitterness and a malty note.

Finish: The spicyness towers through the tranisiton and it’s very powerful. When it settles there are lemons and violets in the back together with a bitterness. The center part fills with notes of age and wet peat. It doesn’t take long before a grey, slightly nutty, oakiness start to come through. The late finish is filled with oak and floral notes and it takes a long time before everything dies down. This is a great whisky with a really interesting character. It’s not without its faults though.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in a single ex-bourbon barrel. The cask no. is 71. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Agitator, Selected Swedes, Sweden, Tobermory

Agitator Whiskymakare Ex-Islay Casks (Selected Swedes)

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ABV: 52.9 %
Origin: Sweden
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is young and peaty. At first there’s a mineral rich peatiness and a spiky ethanol spicyness. It’s somewhat sweet and there’s a malty and vanilla rich center. There’ also some coastal notes with seaweed and ocean air floating around. The sweetness grows with time in the glass. A mild fruitiness can be found but it’s not really definable. This is a decent nose. It feels quite simple and the peatiness rescues it from being too sharp and boring.

Mouth: It starts out with a peppery spicyness and it comes through as ethanol heavy. The vanilla sweetness is joined by a funky maltiness and creates a nice mid palate experience. There is a slightly metallic lemon sourness in the back. It’s not the greatest note but it does create a depth and makes the whole a bit more three dimensional. The peatiness is covering the outside of the palate and it comes through as mineral rich with a coastal character in taste too.

Finish: The transition doubles down on just about everything. When it starts to settle the peat, the lemon and a dry oakiness take over and creates a sour woody log fire. The funky center expands slightly but everything dies down rather quickly and a quite boring oakiness remains. This is a decent whisky with a nice enough set of flavours. It feels a bit brittle which contrasts the otherwise robust peaty character.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in ex-islay casks for just over 3 years (2018-12/2022-01). 719 bottled were released. It’s unchillfiltered and no colour was added.

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Claxton’s, Islands, Ledaig, Tobermory

Ledaig 14 YO Single Cask #C22037 (Claxton’s)

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ABV: 57.2 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is fruits, mint and peat. At first there’s a warm and sweet peatiness with a minty overlay and a dark red fruity base. Everything feels immidiately balanced and everything fits together. There are ripe plums and raisins which feel like they’re coated with a sweet liqueuer. The peatiness slowly fades over time, and that gives room for the other flavours. The peat comes through as a mildly burnt oakiness with a medicinal backside. There’s a spicyness from the ABV, but it’s not protruding in any way. This is a fantastic nose with both complexity and balance.

Mouth: It starts out with a ripe fruitiness up front and a lemon freshness in the back. The spicyness slowly builds up to a nice level and joins the minty overlay while the peatiness starts to emerge around the outside. It’s slightly astringent and it’s a big and rewarding start. There’s some coffee notes building up in the back as the fruitiness once again becomes liqueuer-soaked dark fruits. There’s a hint of age coming through in the back when a slight oakiness meets the peatiness. It’s almost got a dessert-like quality to it at this point.

Finish: The spicyness doesn’t spike, it just spreads out and leaves room for the fruitiness, which still consists of the dark fruits as well as lemon and coconut. The coffee note is still in there and is now joined by dark chocolate. The sweet minty layer is still coating everything, as do the peatiness. The finish is full of flavour and it’s full of complexity, with tiny things floating by like a speck of dust, a mineral note, raspberries and dry soil. The late finish is a nice hazelnut oakiness with a hint of the coffee note. The age shines through in the late finish as well. This is an absolutely fantastic whisky. It’s extremely balanced and complex and it’s full of flavour.

Additional information
This single cask whisky was distilled in 2008 and aged in a Merlot barriques. The bottle tried is no. 068/263. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Islands, Tobermory

Tobermory 17 YO – 2004 Oloroso Cask Matured

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ABV: 55.9 %
Origin: Islands
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 healthy serving of vanilla, toffee and soft red berries. There’s a mild layer of menthol floating around on top. Underneath the sweetness a darker character with dark chocolate, dried fruits and overripe plums creates a nice backplate. The fresher berries are joined by baked apples in the center and a rather translucent coastal note. With time in the glass everything seems to merge together to create a nice thick experience. This is a great, straight forward nose without any surprises. It delivers a solid profile which is nice overall.

Mouth: It starts out with a coastal note in the back and a quite peppery spicyness up front. There’s an immidiate increase in volume which makes the initial impact quite powerful. There are dark fruits and walnuts slowly emerging on the sides with notes of dark chocolate, overripe plums and leather. On top there’s a sprinkle of dust and some fresher fruits. The center is filled with vanilla and toffee. It still delivers a profile which is exactly on point with what to expect. After a few seconds it almost gets too spicy and forces a move on to the next step.

Finish: Surprisingly the transition almost immidiately reduces the intensity and the whole gets back to being powerful and spicy without being too aggressive. The dark fruits, chocolate and leather stay towards the edges while the center, still filled with vanilla and toffee, gets somewhat perfumey and aromatic. This seems to be connected to an oakiness which starts to build up in the back. The bitter note from the dark chocolate is now stronger and it really shows its age in the late finish. It takes a good while to get there but the late finish reveals a very nice and nutty oakiness with telltale signs of the 17 years spent in a cask. This is a great whisky which does everything by the book. It’s a solid creation (which, to be a bit picky, maybe lacks a bit of fun for the explorer).

Additional information
This whisky was distilled in 2004 and bottled 2021. It was aged in ex-Oloroso sherry casks. 11124 bottles were released. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Islands, Ledaig, Tobermory

Ledaig 19 YO – 1998 PX Cask Finish

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ABV: 55.7 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and peaty. At first there’s a sweet minty layer and a vanilla note mixed with a warm campfire peatiness. In the background there are coastal notes with a hint of salty air and seaweed. In between there are nuts, leather and a sticky liqeuer sweetness. It’s not overly sweet though, and the nose is very rich, pleasant and extremely well balanced. With some time in the glass everything sort of joins together. It’s a very unorthodox mix of flavours which works very well together. There’s a darker, gritty note showing up in the back with dried fruits attached to it, but the main focus stays on the sweet and minty wood fire peatiness. This is a fantastic and original nose.

Mouth: It starts out with a fresher fruitiness in the back with some assorted tropical fruits. The sweet and minty peatiness sits up front together with vanilla and honey. In between there are sweet dried fruits, leather and pipe tobacco. It’s salty and rowdy and it’s quite mineral rich. It’s not as sweet as on the nose but it’s got more complexity to it. It feels savory in the back and after a few seconds it becomes peppery as well. It still feels very original and interesting and it’s very lively for its age.

Finish: The center part with dried fruits, leather and tobacco really steps forward in the transition. The minty layer and the peppery spicyness just keep their levels and there are no sharp edges. There are notes of heather and honey sitting together with the warm peatiness out on the edges. The center part is still mineral rich and there’s still a savory note in the back. The finish is long and rewarding and it takes a long time before any flavour gives way. When the oakiness start to break through, it starts out directly from the peatiness and spreads inwards. It’s a nice, nutty oakiness with a sprinkle of dust and for the first time there are notes of age shining through. This is an amazing and original whisky with so many notes floating around that it’s impossible to catch them all.

Additional information
This whisky was distilled in 1998 and bottled 2018. It was aged in ex-bourbon barrels and finished in ex-PX sherry casks. It’s a limited release. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Islands, Ledaig, Tobermory

Ledaig 10 YO

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ABV: 46.3 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is vegetal and peaty. At first there’s a big vegetal and hebaceous peatiness with a medicinal and ashy background. There’s heather and iodine and also a thin menthol layer on top of everything else. The background is quite gritty and complex with a rubber note somewhere within. With time in the glass vanilla and honey start to emerge and makes the whole very approachable. There’s also a hint of green apples peeking through. This is a fantastic nose with a great array of flavours.

Mouth: It starts out with a slightly bitter background surrounding a very medicinal peat note. It’s not as vegetal as on the nose and it packs a nice punch from the get-go. The vanilla and honey are now out on the edges as well as the green apples but they play second fiddle to the rowdy and gritty flavours. The rubber note is still in the as well as the ashy notes. It mirrors the nose very well and it’s constantly evolving without changing the theme.

Finish: The finish starts out with a big push of heather, vanilla and honey. After a few seconds they once again get pushed back by the medicinal peat and the gritty background, which now has moved forward a bit. When everything settles the heather stays together with the medicinal peat and dry oakiness. It sort of feels like saw dust; Fresh yet dusty. This is a fantastic whisky which isn’t for the feint hearted. It’s very rowdy, yet it presents itself as sweet and flowery.

Additional information
This is made by the Tobermory Distillery. It’s not stated, but suggested that it’s aged in ex-bourbon barrels. The peat level i 37 ppm. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.