Aberlour, Speyside

Aberlour A’Bunadh Batch 072

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ABV: 59.1 %
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 sweet vanilla and red berry fruitiness surrounded by a fresh sawdust oakiness. There’s a nail polish remover sharpness floating around which really doesn’t match the other flavours. Underneath there’s a darker, more ripe plum and raisin note with leather, black liquorice and just a tiny hint of sulfur. When it settles in the glass it gets a bit more balanced and cohesive, but it basically stays the same way throughout and its main focus lies on the vanilla note. This is a nice nose, but it is a bit boring. It’s a lot of sherry, but it feels a bit forced to be a sherry bomb, instead of it naturally happening over time.

Mouth: It starts out with a hefty spicyness and a quite different character than on the nose. It’s dark and nowhere near as sweet as on the nose except for a thin sweet layer coating the front of the palate.. There are raisins, overripe plums, espresso, dark chocolate all pushing through to create a quite interesting sherry experience which more fits the premisses. There’s a black liquorice note surrounding everything else. This is not an easy access profile, but it’s quite fantastic at this point. After a few seconds the fresh oakiness starts to slightly break through and it sort of destroys the fun.

Finish: The transition starts with the oakiness and a floating coconut note before the sherry character once again pushes through. It has shifted again towards the sweeter flavours and now there’s a thin butterscotch note coming through together with the vanilla. The darker notes are still around, but are residing a bit further back. This includes dark chocolate and black liquorice which are the main flavours in the back. It doesn’t take long for the annoying oakiness to arrive and it soon outmanouvers the heavy sherry notes. It’s still a fresh sawdust oakiness which really doesn’t fit the rest of the character. This is a weird sherry bomb whisky. It really doesn’t feel genuine. It still is a decent dram though.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in first fill spanish ex-Oloroso sherry butts for an undisclosed amount of time. It’s unchillfiltered.

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Bergslagen, Sweden

Bergslagens Santa -18 Julmust Cask Finish

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ABV: 51 %
Origin: Sweden
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is somewhat fruity and very spicy. The first thing coming through is rye, with anise root and spices together with the sweetness of honey and vanilla. There’s a chalk note residing in the background. The ”julmust” is not detectable on the nose, but it makes the whisky very perfumey. This is not the greatest Nose in the world.

Mouth: It starts out very spicy and it still could pass off as a rye. The chalk note is still sitting on top of some vanilla and processed sugar sweetness. The oak makes an early entrance and it comes with a hefty astringency. The perfumey notes still come through and there’s a very small, (maybe even suggestive) note of Julmust.

Finish: Finally some of the sherry notes comes through with assorted red fruits and berries. It quickly goes back to the rye notes and the chalk. A hint of the ”julmust” is still peeking through with a slight bitterness. A pleasant oak finish follows with some freshly brewed coffee. After a while when everything else is gone some tropical fruits makes a late appearance. This is not the best whisky out there, but it’s a nice innovation, a fun and kind of weird experiment.

Additional information
This is first aged in american ex-bourbon oak barrels for about 6 years, then finished for 12 months in third fill american ex-Oloroso sherry casks, where the second fill of the cask was the swedish seasonal beverage ”Julmust” which is made from malt and hops (It sort of tastes like a mix of Coca-Cola and a stout).

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Agitator, Sweden

Sweden Rock 22 Kastanj och Sherry

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Sweden
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and spirity. At first there’s a sweet center part with a mix of brown sugar, cherry and raspberries. On the outside there’s a sharp ethanol layer which makes it slightly unpleasant. It has a very fruity character overall and it’s a bit sticky. It feels very engineered and lacks a bit of soul. The sharpness disappears after a while in the glass. When it settles in the glass it becomes vanilla rich, and there’s just a tiny hint of dark fruits and chocolate in the back. Everything feels a bit subdued and too mellow. The fruitiness stands out though. This is a decent nose which leaves a lot more to offer.

Mouth: It starts out with a hefty vanilla and brown sugar sweetness. It’s a bit bland and the volume is turned way down. The fruitiness is arriving quite fast but now, it’s just adding to the center sweetness. It’s not a bad set of flavours, but they are not interested in participating in creating a whole. A banana note floats around on top and some aromatic oak note is in there as well which creates a bit of complexity, but the whole is not interesting at all.

Finish: The transition is uneventful and at first there’s just vanilla, brown sugar and nothing else. After a while the oakiness starts to arrive and at this point none of the fruity flavours have appeared. It’s a nice enough oakiness and there’s still the aromatic side to the wood notes, but they deteriorate fast. This is a so-and-so whisky which becomes more and more bland the longer down the journey it travels. It makes a very easy mixer for those who doesn’t care about flavour intensity or taste.

Additional information
This whisky was made by the Agitator distillery for the Sweden Rock Festival. It was aged in mainly virgin oak casks, but ex-sherry and portoguese chesnut was also used. This is a limited edition.

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Bergslagen, Sweden

Bergslagens 8 YO Granit

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ABV: 48 %
Origin: Sweden
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and peaty. At first there’s a big sweet honey center with some ripe red berries sitting in a surrounding layer. The peatiness slowly increases in intensity towards the edges of the glass together with a vanilla note. The longer it stays in the glass the more the distillate becomes noticeable. It’s young and spirit driven and it feels quite mineral rich and has a nice power to it. With time a nice milk chocolate note can be found within the sweet core. This is a nice nose with a lot to offer but it do feel a bit shallow and it lacks some depth.

Mouth: It starts out with a peaty and sweet impact. The peatiness stays around the edges while the honey and vanilla resides in the middle. There’s a nice mix of liquorice and earthy peatiness slowly increasing in intensity in there as well. It feels rich and quite powerful. The sherry cask fruitiness mixes nicely with the peatiness and creates a nice outer layer. There is a complexity with tobacco, sulfur and a fresher fruitiness, but the background seems hollow and somewhat empty.

Finish: The finish starts with a mild spicyness. It’s not spiking but it fills the palate with a nice powerful sensation. The sweetness and the ripe berries are joined by dried fruits and a more sweet and haylike peatiness. The finish feels very warm and comforting. The vanilla notes slowly shifts into an oakiness and the casks give away a nice nuttiness as well. This is a very good whisky. It has a lot of nice flavours, but it seems a bit shallow overall.

Additional information
This is a limited edition whisky aged in first fill ex-bourbon barrels and ex-Oloroso sherry casks. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Finland, Teerenpeli

Teerenpeli Kaski

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet fruits and mild peat. At first there’s a round vanilla, liquorice and butterscotch sweetness with a mixed bag of dried fruits and the whole thing has a fruitcake vibe to it. When it settles a distinct, yet pleasantly approachable, peat start to appear around the edges and in the back. The peatiness is a mix of herbs and burning wood. A minty freshness sits on top and the whole feels extremely well balanced between the different elements. This is a great nose. It’s not the most adventurous experience and it’s a bit too mild, but it doesn’t need to be bold when it’s this well made.

Mouth: It starts out with a mild butterscotch and vanilla center with the peat in an outside layer. It has a very nice gritty complex note in the back and a nice and hefty sherry sweetness up front. There’s raisins and fresh red berries, tobacco and just a hint of sulfur. It does feel somewhat top heavy and a young distillate shines through the otherwise poised exterior. After a few seconds a black coffee note starts to shine through in the back as well as some wood spices and a fresh oakiness.

Finish: The menthol layer and the wood spices create a nice spread of spicyness through the transition and the dried fruits fills the center together with the vanilla and butterscotch. After a second or two the nice gritty complexity returns which creates a nice three-dimensional feel to it. It’s a slow finish and it takes quite a while before the oakiness start to take over. It’s a slightly boring oakiness which doesn’t match the rest of the dram. This is a great whisky with a lot to offer. It feels top heavy throughout but the complexity of the background notes makes up for it to a big degree.

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

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Mackmyra, Sweden

Mackmyra Limousin

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ABV: 49.2 %
Origin: Sweden
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is fruity and oaky. At first there’s a hefty fruitiness popping out of the glass which is quite acidic and sour at one hand, but mellow and round on another. In between there’s a fudge note and on the outside there’s an aromatic oakiness. It takes a good while in the glass before everything gets put together to a homogenous profile. At this point the mellow fruits gets more pronounced with some ripe berries. The aromatic oakiness is ever present and sort of gets in the way of the other flavours which is a bit sad, because underneath lies a very nice concoction of flavours. This is a nice nose which feels slightly unbalanced, but it’s really fun to explore.

Mouth: It starts out with a sour note in the back and a nice, mellow berry mix in the center. On top a peppery spicyness gives it just the right amount of power. It feels great and oily on the palate. After a few seconds there’s vanilla appearing in the center and a distinct oakiness out towards the edges. It feels way more balanced at this point compared to the nose and everything has it’s own space, yet seem to fit together. A small amount of orange zest and tropical fruits start to appear in the background.

Finish: The transition is logical without any spikes or dips. The berry fruitiness and the vanilla is constant and creates a very easy to follow center part. In the back there’s a slow increase of tropical fruits with pineapples and mangos sitting together with some zest and black coffee. The aromatic oakiness is still residing on the edges of the palate but soon joins the tropical fruitiness and when that happens they basically overrun everything else. The late finish is just the aromatic oakiness and the tropical fruits. This is not a bad thing. This is a really good whisky with a lot to offer to the explorer. It’s not an easy sipper by no means.

Additional information
This was first aged in limousin ex-cognac casks from 2008 and then finished in old ex-Oloroso sherry casks and saturated in both ex-raspberry wine casks.

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Campbeltown, Longrow, Springbank

Longrow Peated (2021 Release)

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

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

See the queue here.

Additional information
The Longrow Peated is a NAS core range release from Springbank. There’s no information about which casks are used. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Clan MacGregor, Scotland, Unspecified

Clan MacGregor

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Scotland Unspecified
Type: Blended
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 1/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and grainy. At first there’s a vanilla and butterscotch center with a big, unpleasant grain spirit layer surrounding it. It’s very ethanol forward despite its low ABV. It’s metallic and spirity which takes center stage. There’s a feint aura of a public urinal somewhere within. There’s not much of a fruitiness to be found, maybe a hint of baked apples. This is a bad nose which most certainly doesn’t promote the next steps of the journey.

Mouth: It starts out with a shell of very unpleasant ethanol forward grain spirit with a vanilla center part within. In the back there’s a bad bitterness and a metallic note. In the center the baked apple comes through after a few seconds. There’s a malty bisquit note within as well. It’s flat but not watery and there is a thin peppery note coming through for those who are brave enough to wait.

Finish: For a second or two it’s just the bad grain spirit notes which show up. The vanilla, butterscotch and red apples do appear but everything breaks down fast and leaves a very bitter and bad oakiness behind. The metallic notes in the back does shift slightly towards a lemon note but it’s barely noticable. This is a bad whisky. It’s on the cheapest end of the spectrum and rightly so. It should not be comsumed, at least not neat.

Additional information
This whisky is a blend of fifteen unnamed malts and grain whiskies from the highlands, lowlands and Speyside.

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Speyside, Tamnavulin

Tamnavulin Sherry Cask Edition

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is young and fruity. There are big buckets of fresh red berries, bananas and a hint of raisins. There’s a vanilla and caramel overlay sitting on top of the fruits. Behind, there’s a backdrop of a young and slightly harsh distillate with a green apple center. A small hint of rye bread comes through after a while on the glass.

Mouth: It’s watery at first, but then an ABV spicyness comes through from the young distillate. Luckily, the sherry notes come marching in quite fast. It’s dry and the sherry notes are more dark with plums, raisins and liquorice. There’s a slight bitterness sitting in the back but it’s not connected to an oak note. A butterscotch note appears after some time in the glass.

Finish: The harsh spirit notes come through once more. It’s quite unpleasant for a couple of seconds before the sherry notes kick back. Finally an oak note comes through and it’s a pretty nice and fresh oakiness. A hint of dustiness comes through in the late finish. This is a dram that is a step up from cheap blends. The cask finish hides a lot, but not everything.

Additional information
Being a distillate primarily used in blends this is now the second single malt release from the distillery in over 20 years. It’s first aged in ex-bourbon american oak and then finished in ex-sherry butts from three different cooperages in Spain.

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Highland Park, Islands

Highland Park Full Volume

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ABV: 47.2 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and floral. At first there’s a floral heathery core with a sweet honey and vanilla shell. Underneath lies a mild and herbaceous peatiness. Buried within there are notes of liquorice and oak. With time in the glass the sweetness retreats and the floral notes move forward. This is a nice nose but there’s not much more to discover outside the initial impression.

Mouth: It starts out sweet with liquorice and heather coming through once again. The peatiness is still extremely mild and it takes some time for it to increase in intensity. The peat never leaves the background but at its peak it creates a very nice three-dimensional experience. The oakiness do come through and brings a small hint of coconut but it takes a while to ger there.

Finish: There’s a spicyness which feels very balanced and gives the finish a nice send of. When it slowly subsides the floral notes and a hint of tropical fruits returns together with the sweetness. There’s a small and subtle bitterness in the back together with the peat. It stays consistant for a long time before the oak takes over. It’s a long and nice oakiness altough it’s generic flavourwise. This is a very good whisky although it feels quite far off from its heritage.

Additional information
Full Volume is a 1999 Vintage bottled in 2017. It’s aged in first fill ex-bourbon barrels and hogsheads. 481 casks were selected. It was filtered at +4 C and has natural colour.

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Campbeltown, Springbank

Springbank 12 YO – Cask Strength (2019 Release)

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ABV: 54,2 %
Origin: Campbeltown
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
(Old Scribbles)

Nose: Sweet Liquorice, vanilla, butterscotch, dark berries, raisins,and ripe red apples. A soft breeze of a campfire, leather and some maltiness.

Mouth: Honey, vanilla, chili fruit, oak, raisins and dades. Springbank’s ”funky” complex note is very much present, but a bit toned down.

Finish: Big puff of peat smoke, sweet sherry notes, mint that changes into a mild oakiness, walnuts. The finish is long and dry.

Additional information
This whisky is a 50/50 mix between american ex-bourbon oak barrels and ex-sherry casks (previous releases have had a 30/70 ratio). It’s distilled 2.5 times. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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azerbaijan, Tovuz

Tovuz 15 YO

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Azerbaijan
Type: Unknown
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 1/5

Tasting notes
(Needs to be revised)

Nose: Very sweet, rum, harsh spirit note in the back, dark fruits, raisins, Coca cola, vanilla, a feint reminiscense of raspberries.

Mouth: Prickly, Coca cola, very sweet, very bitter. It lacks malt, grain, rye or corn flavours.

Finish: Unpleasant, still taste like Coca cola aged in oak casks. Very long finish of wet cardboard and bitterness.

Additional information
Not much is known about this whisky. The company announced that they were going to start making whisky in 2010. This bottle was purchased in 2018. That means the age statement probably isn’t stating the correct aging time.

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Bruichladdich, Islay

Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie – Scottish Barley

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ABV: 50 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is a mix of sweet and salty. At first there’s a layer of honey and vanilla with a mild cloud of peppermint on top. The base consists of coastal notes, like seaweed and salty ocean air. It’s not especially fruity, but there is a hint of citrus fruits floating around somewhere in between together with a slightly perfumey floral notes. The nose is very consistant over time and it doesn’t evolve too much in the glass.

Mouth: It starts out with a sour tang, but soon becomes savory. It feels rowdy and a bit rough around the edges, but in a very good way. There’s tar, motoroil and coastal notes, which are still very much in focus. It’s not as sweet as on the nose and the honey and vanilla notes move out towards the edges. There’s a bitter oakiness coming through and after a few seconds there’s a black pepper spicyness starting to build up. With time there’s a bitter black liquorice emerging from the back.

Finish: The savory notes are first to appear and they are accompanied by peppermint and brine. It’s very salty, but it starts to lean away from the coastal notes and lean more towards a herbaceous character. It takes a second or two for the oakiness to arrive, but when it does it packs a punch. It becomes very pronounced in the finish. It’s a nice oakiness and it feels genuine and almost like it’s coming from a ship wreck, since it’s mixed with the savory and salty notes. This is a great, albeit young, whisky which doesn’t cater for people who want an easy sipping experience. This is rough around the edges, and that’s a very good thing.

Additional information
The Classic Laddie is mainly aged in first and second fill american ex-bourbon casks. There’s also a couple of ex-wine casks in the mix. The batch of the tested bottle is 19/192.

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Balvenie, Speyside

The Balvenie 21 YO – PortWood

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a very big bucket of mixed fruits. There are raisins, blackberries, cherries, oranges, lemons and ripe nectarines. The bucket sits on a dusty bookshelf together with som leather-bound old books. The whole thing seems to be wrapped up in a nice layer of honey and vanilla. There’s also a malty note in the background. This is a complex, wonderful nose. It really makes up for the lack of power with some big flavours.

Mouth: It starts out with vanilla, dust and a hint of lemon. After a few seconds it starts to grow and the maltiness together with honey and orange peel create a very nice core flavour. With time, the bitter side sort of takes over as the oakiness starts to come through. The red and darker fruits are not as present as on the nose and the orange peel note is very pronounced. It’s got a thick texture to it and it feels very rich.

Finish: It kind of starts out with a flavour arc where the sweetness starts out on a low level and then after increasing moves over to become a sweet orange peel bitter fruitiness. It then seemlessly turns over to a dusty oakiness as the flavour intensity decreases. The darker sweet fruits show up in the late finish and the oakiness becomes nutty and brings some hazelnuts down the road. This is a fantastic, quite complex whisky even though it lacks some power.

Additional information
This 21 YO was first released in 1996. It’s aged in ex-bourbon casks and then finished for a couple of months in 30 YO ex-port pipes. This version shouldn’t be mistaken for the travel retail version, which is sold with higher strength and is unchillfiltered.

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Glenallachie, Speyside

Glenallachie 10 YO Cask Strength Batch 7

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ABV: 56.8 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

See the queue here.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in ex-PX and ex-Oloroso sherry puncheons, ex-Rioja red wine barriques and virgin oak casks. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Highland Park, Islands

Highland Park Valfather

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ABV: 47 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is floral and peaty. At first there’s a honey sweetness surrounding a core of heathery peat with additional tobacco and coastal notes. There’s also a fruity layer which sits beneath everything else. It’s a fresher fruitiness with a mixed apple and pear juice vibe to it. A thin veil of oakiness can be detected around the edges of the glass as well as vanilla. This is a very nice nose with a variety of flavours coming through.

Mouth: It starts out with a generic sweetness and it takes a second of two before everything else starts to push through. The heathery peat is first, the honey and vanilla notes are second and lastly the fruits, which now lean more towards the apples. There’s a saltiness as well. The tobacco notes are not very prominent at this point. For those who are patient the oakiness builds up in an outer layer and becomes very noticable. The whole thing is very mild and easy on the palate.

Finish: The peat is first to push through with heather and tobacco within but they are subdued by a somewhat hard-to-pinpoint complex savory note. The floral notes swirl around and the heather is joined by a hint of violets and a feint taste of tropical fruits. The honey sweetness and the vanilla increase in intensity before the oakiness once again starts to take over. There’s bitter coffee note in the back and a pretty generic oakiness up front. This is a good whisky with a lot of good things within but it just doesn’t feel very well balanced overall.

Additional information
The Highland Park Valfather is made from 100 % peated barley. It’s aged in refill casks for an undisclosed amount of time.

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Highland Park, Islands

Highland Park 12 YO – Viking Honour

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet fruits and mild peat. Fresh red berries and vanilla create a thick layer up front. There’s also a lemon note in the middle and some dried fruits a bit further out. The mild peatiness seems to sit in between everything else and it brings notes of leather and a hint of tobacco. After a while all flavours seem to merge and agree on a sweet orange fruitiness. The vanilla stays out of it though and mellows out a bit. This is a mild and very pleasant nose.

Mouth: At first it’s just sweet vanilla for a second or two. The first thing arriving is a thin bitter note and the red berries and dried fruits, now presented as dried apricots with a hint of raisins. It soon changes towards oranges again and now the peel is included. The peat is much more noticable here and it now sits on the outer edges. It’s leather, tobacco and a hint of rubber. There’s no oakiness present yet and there’s no perticular change over time.

Finish: The peat slowly spreads out over the palate and then ends up towards the edges again. The frutiness is the same as before with red berries, dried apricots, raisins and orange peel. It takes a second or two for the oak to come through, but when it arrives it’s a great dry and nutty oak. It’s walnuts and a hint of assorted tropical fruits in there as well. The mild peaty aura with leather and tobacco is consistant through it all. This is mild but never boring. This is a great whisky for a tired brain.

Additional information
The 12 YO was first released in the 1970’s as a core range whisky. The ”Viking Honour” name was added in 2017. It’s mostly matured in european ex-sherry oak casks. It’s bottled with natural color.

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Glenfarclas, Speyside

Glenfarclas 1976 Family Casks #3111

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ABV: 49.4 %
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 thick layer of sticky sweet dried fruits and just a hint of nail polish remover. There are raisins and raspberries. There’s a complexity sitting within the dark fruitiness with notes of prunes, coffee and very dark chocolate. As it settles in the glass there’s a slightly chalky note floating around on top. The whole is quite rich and lively despite its age. There are some old wood notes coming through towards the sides. The red fruits are joined by strawberries and a squeeze of lemon as well. A hint of black liquorice can be found underneath everything else. This is a great nose with a lot to offer for lovers of sherry cask matured whisky.

Mouth: It starts out with fresh sherry notes with a floral note on top and a lemon sourness in the back. It’s very mild but there’s a thin peppery layer on top. It’s not as rich as on the nose. The age shines through with notes of leather and dust all over the palate. There’s an espresso bitterness in the back which sits together with an old grey oak note. The fruitiness is in there but it sort of falls back and becomes a secondary feature together with a cinnamon note. It’s quite complex even though it consists of very traditional sherry flavours.

Finish: The peppery spicyness spreads out over the palate. Underneath, the floral notes are first to come through and they spread out over the whole palate. The darker notes slowly rise from the back with coffee, raisins, leather and dust. The mix of fresh and dark stays balanced for quite a while before the oakiness starts to take over. It’s a slightly astringent old grey oakiness with a bitter side to it. It really feels old and dusty at this point. In the late finish there’s a lot of different spices popping up connected to the oak. The late finish is a very long continuious strong of old bookshelves and dust. This is a great whisky with a lot of subjective notes attached to it. The nose is quite different from the rest of the journey.

Additional information
This single cask release was distilled on 22nd of April 1976 and bottled on 28th of February 2007 which makes it ~30-31 years old. It was aged in a refill sherry butt. Cask No. 3111. 595 bottles were released.

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Bunnahabhain, Islay

Bunnahabhain Toiteach A Dhà

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ABV: 46.3 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is red fruits and sweet peat. The full impact is immidiate and it brings liqeuer-soaked red fruits, raisins and a sweet and smoky peatiness. The peatiness is coming through with notes of vanilla and pipe tobacco. There’s a background layer with dry soil and a touch of sea salt. It’s quite mild on the nose, yet very rich even though there’s a youthness shining through in the background. The nose remains very consistant and doesn’t change with time, except for it becoming slightly sweeter.

Mouth: It starts out with the liqeuer-soaked red berries and a hint of lemon but soon the peatiness starts to roll through to become the main feature. The dry soil is still found in the background. After a while a bitter note starts to emerge to, ever so slightly, take over the background together with a rubber/oily note. It’s still salty, but there’s no vanilla and the whole thing is less sweet than on the nose.

Finish: The rubbery/oily note is making an appearance before the sweet side of the peatiness comes through once more. A mild pepper spiciness spreads out and the red berry fruitiness is now residing in the back together with the bitter note. The oakiness arrives and steps forward after a few seconds. It’s a spicy oak and it brings a nutty quality to the finish. This is a great mix of sherry and peat, and a very nice overall experience.

Additional information
The Toiteach A Dhà is aged in a mix of ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks for an undisclosed amount of time. This is a sequel to the Toiteach expression. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Bunnahabhain, Islay

Bunnahabhain Stiùireadair

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ABV: 46.3 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is red fruits and salty ocean air. The first thing to come through is sweet red berries and vanilla with a coastal backdrop of salt, seaweed and driftwood. There’s also a grapefruit note somewhere in the middle. It’s not a sweet nose but there is a sweetness which seems connected to the sherry notes. It becomes brighter and fruitier with time in the glass and the grapefruit is soon accompanied with a squeeze of lime. There’s a small hint of cardboard coming through from behind, which probably is a sign of some younger malts used. This is an interesting nose, which brings two differences together to make one whole.

Mouth: It starts out oaky and malty. It’s dry and there’s a green pine youthness coming through. The outer layer is still very much a coastal thing with the salty notes and dry weathered oak. It’s honey sweet but the vanilla is barely noticable. The fruitiness is still coming from fresh red berries, but it’s not as pronounced as on the nose. There is a spicy side to it, but it takes a bit of time for it to show up. The fresher citrus notes is still in there and they create a much needed contrast to the other flavours. It becomes sweeter with time and a couple of sips.

Finish: It’s still malty with a bitter tone sitting in the middle. There’s a chili pepper spiciness building up as the other flavours arise. The pine note is all too present and the coastal notes is still residing in the outer layer. It’s a touch astringent and dry. When the oak starts to emerge it seems to be attached to the pine note. The fruitiness returns in the late finish and somewhat rescues the oak from the green, young pine note. The vanilla also make an appearance down the road. This is an interesting dram, but the pine note brings it down a notch or two.

Additional information
The Stiùireadair is aged in first- and second fill ex-sherry casks. The ages varies between the casks. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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