Campbeltown, Kilkerran

Kilkerran 8 YO Cask Strength (2019)

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is dark and dirty. At first it’s just a thick layer of dark fruits and high ABV. When it settles a gritty background noise of oil, rubber and soot reveals itself and creates a nice complexity. The dark fruits, overripe plums, blueberries and raisins, are joined by vanilla and black liquorice. The high ABV turns into a pleasant menthol cloud with time in the glass. There’s also an oakiness floating around outside of the core. This is a wonderful nose which offers more the longer it’s explored.

Mouth: It starts out with a heavy dose of black liquorice and liqeuer-soaked raisins. The ABV then hits the mouth hard as the base flavour changes to vanilla and the oily, sooty rubber notes. When it settles a slightly fresher fruitiness ends up on top, but it still consists of dark fruits. There’s a complex correlation between all the parts and it creates a fantasticly rich experience.

Finish: Once again the ABV makes its presence known. After it once again settles, the sherry notes completely takes over and everything else takes a step back. After a few seconds the soot and rubber starts to grow and brings the oakiness along. It’s slightly astringent and there’s a slight hint of tropical fruits connected to the oakiness. There’s also a black coffee bitterness and some hazelnuts showing up in the late finish. The entire finish is kept together by a black liquorice ceiling. This is absolutely amazing from start to finish.

Additional information
The Kilkerran is made by the Glengyle distillery. This was released in november 2019 and this is aged in re-charred ex-Oloroso casks. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

Bowmore, Islay

Bowmore 15 YO – Golden & Elegant

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and peaty. At first, there’s a sour lemon note and a gentle smoke coming from a hot, burning campfire. After a few whiffs it changes slighty towards leather and tobacco and the lemons become a big bowl of tropical fruits. There’s ripe mangos, pineapple and peaches accompanied by honey, a hint of menthol and vanilla. It’s very pleasant on the nose.

Mouth: It’s sweet and sour with honey, lemons and fresh tropical fruits. The leather and tobacco notes represent the peat and resides around the edges. The oak is there, but it’s not overpowering or bitter. It shows a little astringency after a few sips.

Finish: A big burst of the tropical fruitiness together with a peppermint spicyness. The peat notes are still present and create a nice backdrop. The tropical fruits stays all the way to the end together with a pleasant oakiness. A ”funky” note shows up somewhere in the middle of the finish. There’s some hazelnuts coming through as a dusty, nutty note at the tail end.

Additional information
This is a part of Bowmore’s travel retail exclusive range that was released in 2017. It’s aged in first fill american ex-bourbon barrels.

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Islay, Lagavulin

Lagavulin 16 YO

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

Tasting notes
Nose: The fruity and sweet notes from the sherry is well balanced with a very refined yet thick vegetable peat smoke. There’s an array of dark fruits with ripe plums and raisins up front combined with vanilla. The smoke is ashy with a touch of rubber, tobacco and leather. There’s also notes of seashore, salt and a whiff of smoked salmon coming through.

Mouth: Fresh red berries, raspberries and strawberries, is first in line in this crowded space. A speck of dust is detected just before the big burst of peat smoke takes over with ash, tobacco and leather. There’s vanilla, chili fruits, rubber and salt and an astringent oakiness. It’s a complex and very very interresting mouthful.

Finish: Sweet chili fruits mixed with both ripe and fresh red fruits. They stand up very well to the thick, ashy leather and tobacco smoke. The oak comes off as very astringent and somewhere in the middle there’s a hint of hazelnuts, but the peaty and ashy flavours cover the mouth. The sweetness from the sherry, vanilla and the complexity follows through all the way to the end.

Additional information
This is a part of Diageo’s ”The classic malts of Scotland” series. It’s aged in american ex-bourbon barrels and finished in european ex-sherry casks. The peat level sits around 40 ppm.

Elijah Craig, Kentucky, USA

Elijah Craig Small Batch

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ABV: 51.4 %
Origin: Campbeltown
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

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Additional information
This whisky was aged for 8-12 years in virgin oak. The mashbill consists of 78 % corn, 12 % rye and 10 % malt. A batch is 200 barrels.

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Islands, Talisker

Talisker Dark Storm

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ABV: 45,8 %
Origin: Islands
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 deep sweetness with a fresh tropical fruitiness attached to it. There’s a nice dollop of peat which feels very integrated with the other flavours. It’s a mix of coastal notes, tobacco and leather. The charred oak comes through after a few seconds and adds vanilla and a hint of cocnut to the mix. With time in the glass the fruitiness becomes more and more noticable. This is a great nose with a lot of dimensions to it even though they all seem to fit nicely together.

Mouth: It starts out a lot less sweet. The peat is now much more dominant and rowdy with salty coastal notes as the main feature. The fruitiness is pushed back and becomes lemon and orange peel in the background. It still feels vibrant and fresh without feeling too young. In the middle there seem to be a textured and dusty vanilla with some cask char and a hint of honey floating around. There’s a spicyness slowly increasing in intensity over time as well.

Finish: The finish starts out with vanilla and oak in the back together with the orange peel bitterness. The spicyness and the peat sit on top. For the first time it doesn’t feel quite as balanced and most of the notes stay far back on the palate. The only thing happening in the later parts of the finish is that the oakiness increases in intensity and it almost feels too oaky after a while. It’s a fresh sawdust oakiness and the char notes are certainly present. The coconut flashes by briefly but it just feels like chewing on a piece of wood in the end. This is a very good whisky but it’s not without flaws. The nose is by far the best part of the journey.

Additional information
This is a travel retail exclusive release first launched in 2013. It’s aged for an undisclosed time in heavily charred oak casks.

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Bankhall, England

Bankhall

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

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

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Additional information
This whisky was aged in a mix of ex-bourbon barrels and american virgin oak casks.

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Islands, Jura

Jura 21 YO

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ABV: 44 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: A very dark and rich approach with an overlay of vanilla and honey. Raisins and ripe plums, sweet thick syryp and grey weathered oak planks makes it very dense. There’s also a brighter fruitiness with some red apples and berries. Dark chocolate sits between the oak and a dusty old leather note. It really shows its age. The sherry notes increases with time in the glass and black liquorice will show up after a while.

Mouth: It starts out mild with a fresh fruitiness but soon it turns very dusty and spicy on the tip of the toungue. This has a complex array of flavours. There’s a funky note of almost molten plums together with vanilla, honey and raisins. A hint of raspberries sits on top. The oak is astringent and the bitterness is just right to give this a nice balance to everything.

Finish: Quite surprisingly the tone changes and a big burst of tropical fruits suddenly appear. There’s mango and pineapple together with nice rich oak flavour with sweetened coffee. It takes a second or two before the dustiness and the darker notes reappear, but when they do, they stay way back on the palate. The wethered oak together with the dark chocolate keep the tropical fruitiness company all the way down this absolutely fantastic finish.

Additional information
First released in 2010 as a 200 year old celebration to the distillery. This 21 YO is a replica and a continuation of that expression. This is aged in ex-bourbon american oak for most of the maturation period and then finished in vintage european ex-sherry oak casks.

Glenallachie, Speyside

Glenallachie 8 YO

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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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Glendronach, Highlands

Glendronach Port Wood

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

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

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Additional information
This whisky is aged in ex-Oloroso and PX sherry casks and finished in ex-port pipes from Duoro valley in Portugal. It has natural colour.

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Glendronach, Highlands

Glendronach Traditionally Peated

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

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

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Additional information
This whisky is aged in ex-Oloroso and PX sherry casks and ex-port pipes. It has natural colour.

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Ardbeg, Islay

Ardbeg Ardcore Committee Release

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ABV: 50.1 %
Origin: Islay
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sharp and peaty. At first there’s a spiky ethanol layer attacking the nose. It feels slightly acidic while the center part presents a mix between heavy peat notes, sweetness and vanilla cream. The peat is a mix of soot, burning wood and iodine. There is a coastal side to the whole, but it’s pushed out towards the edges. It feels like it’s a bit two-dimensional and lacks a lot of complexity and depth. It’s just a sharp layer with hardly anything behind it. This is a so-and-so nose which is a bit disappointing coming from Ardbeg.

Mouth: It starts out with a peppery overtone and heavy, sooty peat. Underneath there are thin notes of toffee, liquorice, vanilla and some green apples sprinkled within. It’s very mouth forward and it feels quite unbalanced, very young and extremely spirit driven. After a while it becomes slightly dry and astringent. There’s just nothing in the background except for a bitter note, which doesn’t seem to fit in. It’s just quite poorly put together. After a few seconds there’s a miniscule floral note starting to float around on top but it’s too little, too late.

Finish: The peppery spicyness continues over the transition, as well as the peatiness. There are no surprises when the center notes reappear. It’s mainly toffee, vanilla and sweet liquorice. The apple bits are gone and the background fills with a mix of lemon and a metallic note. It’s still dry and astringent and the bitter note is ever so present. The oakiness comes through late and it’s a rather boring fresh sawdust oakiness. This is not a great whisky. It’s shallow and lacks complexity. This is the worst Ardbeg release in a long time.

Additional information
This whisky was made with heavily roasted black malt. There’s no information regarding casks used or aging period. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Auchentoshan, Lowlands

Auchentoshan 21 YO – Limited Release

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

Tasting notes
(Needs to be revised)

Nose: Fruity with a mix of green apples, gooseberries, ripe plums and figs, vanilla, a hint of cola, honey, butterscotch and marzipan. Complex but very approachable.

Mouth: Musty with dust, old wood, honey, vanilla, a mixed fruit note leaning towards tropical fruits, espresso, a hint of walnuts and rye. It’s dry but not astringent.

Finish: Gooseberries, tropical fruits and raspberries surrounded by old dusty wood. There’s cola, coffee, walnuts, almonds, rye and a perfumey note that sits on top. It’s a long dry oak finish that eventually brings astringency.

Additional information
Every year Auchentoshan releases a limited number of bottles of this expression. It’s triple distilled and aged in american ex-bourbon oak barrels and second fill ex-sherry casks. It’s part of the core range.

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Glenfiddich, Speyside

Glenfiddich 18 YO – Small Batch Reserve

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

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

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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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Kavalan, Taiwan

Kavalan Solist Port Cask

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ABV: 57.8 %
Origin: Taiwan
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

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Additional information
This whisky was aged in a single Port barrique with Cask No. 011111807. The bottle tried is No. 074/199. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Glenfiddich, Speyside

Glenfiddich 12 YO

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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, Speyside

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

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

Tasting notes
Sample added to queue. Tasting notes pending.

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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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Islay, Laphroaig

Laphroaig Lore

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is medicinal peat and dry oak. At first there’s a mineral rich medicinal peatiness in the center with a mix of dry oak and ash on the outside. The oak brings notes of vanilla and honey but it’s not especially sweet overall. Underneath the medicinal peat is a layer of assorted red fruits and bitter chocolate. With time all the different flavour profiles seem to move closer together. It also seems to become more oaky with time in the glass. This is a very interesting nose with a lot of nuances to discover.

Mouth: It starts out with honey and dry oak up front but those are soon overridden by chili flakes, bitter chocolate and a rowdy peat with a lot of complexity within. It’s medicinal iodine with salt, rubber and pipe tobacco within. There’s even an ashy side to it. The bitter chocolate moves back and becomes more of a strong coffee note over time. The fruitiness is found on top and it’s a darker more ripe fruitiness than before.

Finish: The chili spicyness, the coffee and the chocolate notes arrives first but are soon pushed back by the medicinal peat and a very dry and in-your-face oakiness. There’s still a hint of tobacco within and it feels like there’s a nuttiness somewhere within. The fruitiness is once again noticable just around the edges. In the late finish it’s just the oak, the peat and the bitterness left behind, and they stay for a long time. This is a great whisky with a unique character. It’s a very interesting journey throughout.

Additional information
The Lore is aged between 7-21 years in 5 different cask types. Named are 19th century quarter casks, european oak, ex-Bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Islay, Laphroaig

Laphroaig Quarter Cask

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and very peaty. A powerful mix of smoke and ashes from a burnt out campfire, iodine, salt and menthol fills the nose (and the entire room). When it calms down a little notes of vanilla, butterscotch, toffee, honey and oak peek through but are more like straws floating around in this liquid hurricane. This is a fantastic nose with a big peat punch.

Mouth: It starts out very medicinal and rowdy. A ton of menthol and some chili fruits sits on the edges and the center is filled with burning rubber, iodine, and a mouthful of dry soil and gravel. The oak is dry and the whole mouth fills with a slight bitterness. There’s no fruitiness whatsoever to be found behind the peat.

Finish: The transition creates a very spicy and bitter hit with the peat and the medicinal notes still as relentless as before. Vanilla and butterscotch can be found far away in the background, like they’re sitting in another glass nearby. The dry earthy notes with the soil and gravel accompanies the oak a long way down to the finish line. This is a fantastic whisky. It’s rowdy and very peaty.

Additional information
This expression was launched in 2004 as a part of Laphroaig’s core range. It’s aged for about 5 years in american ex-bourbon barrels and then finished for several months in smaller 130L quarter casks. It’s supposedly a recreation of how Laphroig tasted some 200 years ago.

Islay, Laphroaig

Laphroaig 10 YO Sherry Oak Finish

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and medicinal. At first theres’s a rounded sweetness with vanilla, honey and liqueuer-soaked berries in the center with a hefty medicinal and ashy peat on the outside. There’s an oakiness in between and as time passes everything merges and fit together nicely together like a quilt. There are minerals and pipe tobacco as well. The berries are slightly fading with time in the glass but they fortunately never disappear. The oakiness turns into a campfire smoke. This is a great nose with a lot of small nuances as well which is nice to explore.

Mouth: It starts out with a mild sweetness and a hint of bitterness before the full medicinal and mineral peat charges in together with a nice black pepper spicyness. It’s not as sweet as on the nose and the berries are covered in tobacco, high percentage dark chocolate as well as the peatiness. It feels a little less balanced but it delivers a big array of flavours. There’s iodine and ginger which gives it an extra rowdy touch. There’s some almonds hidden within as well.

Finish: The Black pepper spicyness spreads out over the palate before the main flavours return. It once again gives a tobacco vibe with bitter chocolate and iodine. When it starts to settle there are some fresh berries floating around on top while the oakiness emerges from the peat. It stays very peaty throughout and holds up against a slightly dry oakiness. This is a great whisky. It’s rowdy and it’s not easy accessible, yet very interesting to explore.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in a mix of refill ex-sherry casks and refill ex-bourbon casks and then finished in european oak ex-Oloroso sherry casks.

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Campbeltown, Springbank

Springbank 15 YO – Rum Wood (2019)

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ABV: 51 %
Origin: Campbeltown
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 5/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is fruity and sweet. The first impact is a lemon and vanilla sponge cake. Honey and icing sugar together with a mild peatiness sit at the edges of the glass. The normal Springbank oily/rubbery note is there, but it’s extremely toned down and overrun by the rum influence. It becomes sweeter with time which also changes the fruitiness slightly. It’s a very round, warm and welcoming nose.

Mouth: It starts out with a big hit of the rubbery/oily peatiness before the fruitiness and a hint of dust return. It’s still vanilla, lemon and honey, but the main focus is now steered towards the peatiness. It’s not as sweet as on the nose. The oakiness is already making an impact and creates a nice backdrop. After a few seconds the sour lemon really takes on a more leading role. The whole thing is now sort of surrounded by a floral and perfumey cloud.

Finish: A dusty and malty thick note leads way before the ABV spiciness slowly increases in intencity. The lemon and vanilla sponge cake is still there and when the oak starts to come through the lemon note changes and becomes pineapple syryp. The peatiness has now moved back towards the edges. The oakiness shows some age and it feels like grey weathered wood planks. The floral note is still sitting as a top layer through the entire finish. This is per usual a great expression from Springbank.

Additional information
This Springbank was distilled in december 2003 and bottled in August 2019. The release is limited to 9000 bottles. It’s been aged in ex-rum casks for the whole aging period. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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For the love of all things whisky/whiskey