Macallan, Speyside

The Macallan 12 YO – Triple Cask

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

Tasting notes
Nose: Dense and very sweet. There’s a thick mat of raisins and honey. Underneath there are liqueur soaked cherries, sweet liquorice and vanilla. There’s a thin layer of seaweed on top which brings the experience down a little. The cask influence (not the oak) completely covers the distillate. In the background there’s a note of wet clothes after a walk in the rain.

Mouth: Very sweet and mild. The vanilla is very much up front together with butterscotch and pure white sugar. There’s a thin note of violets sitting in the middle as a nice easter egg. The sherry notes are still very heavy on the raisins, but now the distillate shines through with some pears and lemons. It’s oily and it’s got a luxurious texture. There’s a black pepper in the surroundings but it’s not pronounced.

Finish: The sherry notes are now the main feature pushing everything else back. The violets are still to be found. It still got vanilla and raisins a-plenty together with a butterscotch note. The oak finally peeks through, but never takes over. The black pepper note is building up as a nice contrast to the thick sweetness. Overall it feels a bit over-engineered.

Additional information
This was renamed from ”Fine Oak” to ”Triple Cask” in 2018 and is a part of Macallan’s new core range. It’s aged in separate casks from european sherry seasoned casks, american white oak sherry seasoned casks and american ex-bourbon barrels and then married together before bottling.

Japan, Kurayoshi

The Kurayoshi 12 YO – Pure Malt

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ABV: 43 %
Origin: Japan
Type: Blended Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is very fruity and floral. There’s foremost green fruits. Pears and grapes are its main features. There’s not much of a cask influence at first but some notes of vanilla, honey and a dusty oak continuously move forward as time passes in the glass. The distillate is coming through and there’s a cardboardy note in the background. It feels a bit brittle but sweet and friendly.

Mouth: This is very mild and quite dusty. It’s got an immediate bitter baseline and the honey sweetness is up front together with the fruitiness, which now has turned more towards red juicy apples. The oak arrives early and the vanilla is a little more pronounced now. There’s a spicy touch to it but patience is needed to find it.

Finish: A bit ”boozy” at first. A big spike of green fruitiness comes back but quickly gets covered with vanilla and honey. After a while everything gets overpowered by the oak. The oakiness is very pleasant with a nuttiness to it. It’s a mix of walnuts and hazelnuts. There’s no astringency whatsoever even though the oak tastes like there should be. It’s a long and quite pleasant finish. It lacks some depth and character, but it’s a very nice experience overall.

Additional information
This is created by the Matsui distillery. The ”pure malt” statement refers to the fact that its content is a mix of Japanese and Scottish malts aged in american ex-bourbon oak barrels, in Japan.

Balvenie, Speyside

The Balvenie 16 YO – Triple Cask

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. There’s a mix of oranges, apples and pears together with syryp, vanilla and a hint of butterscotch and/or toffee. The sherry notes are also present, but it takes a while before it opens up. It adds dried druits and berries and gives the nose a great span from darker to lighter notes. There’s a slight bitterness coming from a mix of orange peel and the oakiness. This is very pleasant on the nose.

Mouth: A very mild and easy approach brings the vanilla up front together with oranges and grapefruits. The oak shows up early with a nice walnut bitterness to it. There’s chocolate and a touch of cinnamon. There’s also a salty note which helps the the butterscotch and toffee to change towards salted caramel. A tiny amount of spicyness and a speck of dust sits on top. It’s quite complex despite the low ABV.

Finish: The finish just brings more of the same notes with vanilla and both plums, raisins, citrus fruits and berries. The oak moves forward and a big bucket of assorted tropical fruits appear. It’s still slightly bitter with orange peel and walnuts. It’s a very mild experience all the way through.

Additional information
This was released in 2013 as a part of the 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.

Glenlivet, Speyside

The Glenlivet Triple Cask Matured – Distiller’s Reserve

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

Tasting notes
Nose: The first approach is fudge and vanilla heavy. The fruitiness, with ripe red apples and green grapes, is feint at first. The distillate shines through and gives it a slight cardboard note in the background. There’s a tiny hint of sherry, but it’s not sharp nor pronounced. The spicyness leans towards eucalyptos. It’s a bit uneventful on the nose.

Mouth: The vanilla spreads out and a nice spicyness follows. The fudge is now more of a toffee note and honey has joined the sweet side. The fruitiness is still way back and finally steps forward when the oak arrives. There’s a bitterness coming from the european oak and it brings a nice touch of hazelnuts. The sherry casks are basically nowhere to be found.

Finish: A mild start with the spicyness a bit muted at first, but then it quickly builds up. The toffee, vanilla and honey flare up and then settles again leaving the oakiness in charge. Finally a hint of the sherry reappears with some dark dried fruits. The hazelnuts are still in there and a pear note tags along down the road. This is not an adventure by any means, but still a decent dram.

Additional information
This was launched in 2019 as part of Glenlivet’s travel retail exclusive range. It’s aged in ex-sherry casks, traditional (refill) casks and american ex-bourbon barrels.

Independent bottlers, Lismore, Speyside

Lismore 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: A bit quiet and laid back at first. When it awakens it’s fruity and floral. There are fresh green apples and yellow pears and a hint of violets. The fruits are covered in a big dollop of vanilla cream. There’s a feint leather note sitting in the background. The fruitiness continuously moves forward. There’s a spicy black pepper touch to it on top of everything else.

Mouth: It takes a 180 degree turn and completely changes its character. It’s spicy with a hefty note of wet leather and it fills the mouth. The fruits turn darker and the apples are now baked together with some figs and raisins. The oakiness comes through after a while. A hint of dill is in there and maybe some oranges. It’s pretty astringent with a bitter tang.

Finish: Very oaky. The spices and the leather note is still the main feature. There’s a chalky note and a touch of dust on top of the oak. The fruity bits return down the line, but both the leather and the oak dominate the palate. There’s a marzipan note showing up near the end. It’s altogether a somewhat weird journey through the experience.

Additional information
Lismore doesn’t disclose the source of their single malt or the cask type used. They produce speyside whisky bottlings. The brand is owned by J & G Grant, which also owns Glenfarclas and Th Royal Heritage brand.

Glenmorangie, Highlands

Glenmorangie Legends – The Cadboll

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ABV: 43 %
Origin: Highlands
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 layer of vanilla and honey and a good amount of bright fruitiness. There are lemons, orange peel and a tiny hint of watermelons. A speck of dust is sitting on top and in the middle of everything there’s a sugary plum note, which sort of sits by itself surrounded by everything else. There’s also a mild menthol note in the background. It’s very rich and aromatic and very pleasant on the nose.

Mouth: It starts out sweet and dusty with a nice gentle spicyness to it. The flavour in the center gets wider and the plums are joined by raisins and red apples. The honey and vanilla is still very much in the forefront. The lemon and orange peel is still present and when the oak appears, the bitterness from the peel merge with the oakiness. The oak also brings bitter almonds and dark chocolate.

Finish: The fruitiness gets a little brighter and now there are tropical fruits mixed in. It’s still very sweet even though the oak arrives with a bitter tang. There are walnuts and freshly brewed coffee. There’s a tiny hint of leather and old dusty books coming through from the background. The oakiness is very nutty and the walnuts stay a long time in the finish. The sour lemon note returns in the tail end of the finish together with the remains of the tropical fruits. This is a very interesting yet easy sipper.

Additional information
The Cadboll is a part of Glenmorangie’s travel retail exclusive Legends series. It’s matured in american ex-bourbon barrels and then finished in ex-wine casks that preciously held Muscat and Sémillion wines.

Cardhu, Speyside

Cardhu 12 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: Very fruity and fresh up front and musty and dusty in the back. This results in baked apples with vanilla cream, yellow pears and a fudge note. There’s some oak notes peeking through and sweet black liquorice develop with time in the glass.

Mouth: Very mild. It’s still quite dusty and the vanilla and fudge move forward. The apples are still there, and so are the cream. There’s just a hint of spicyness. Very approachable and (dare I say it) smooth. The oak arrives early and creates a much needed baseline to the other flavours.

Finish: The oak comes through immediately pushing everything aside except a thin fruity green note. The oak is very bright and straight forward. It’s nice, not bitter nor astringent. After a while the oak changes towards assorted tropical fruits. This is not a very complex whisky but it serves well as an easy sipper.

Additional information
The Cardhu distillate is primarily used in Johnny Walker blends, but the single malt is also sold and it’s even the best selling whisky in Spain. They tried to change it to a blended malt somewhere around 2003 but had to change it back after a year or two. The cask type isn’t disclosed but the flavour profile suggest american ex-bourbon barrels.

Kentucky, Rackhouse

Rackhouse Kentucky Style Kentucky Straight Bourbon

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Kentucky, USA
Type: Straight Bourbon
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 2/5

Tasting notes
Nose: It’s mellow and a bit thin on approach. The vanilla stands out the most but there’s also a prominent chalky note. The fruitiness with mainly cherries resides in the background. There’s a hint of acetone and some rye spice on top. There is no oakiness present on the nose.

Mouth: It starts out a bit watery, with just a tiny amount of spicyness building up. It’s still vanilla heavy and the cherries and some dusty corn notes are in the backseat. It’s not overly sweet and there’s just a touch of brown sugar intertwined with the vanilla. There’s some liquorice root and anis seeds coming through but the oak is still missing.

Finish: A pop of the fruitiness soon gets replaced with vanilla, brown sugar sweetness and liquorice root. It doesn’t last to long before everything but the liquorice disappears. This finally leaves room for some oakiness. It’s not unpleasant but all the flavours are muted through everything creating a somewhat dull experience. The oak note is kind of clingy in the end.

Additional information
This is a whisky without much information to back it up. It’s a sourced straight bourbon, but nothing is disclosed on which distillery it gets the spirit from. It’s ”produced” by Bartizan BV, a company in the Netherlands.

Bulleit, Kentucky

Bulleit Bourbon

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ABV: 45 %
Origin: Kentucky, USA
Type: Straight Bourbon
Bottles in collection: 1
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: It’s rounded and quite calm. There’s dusty corn, chalk, cherries and a hint of ripe banana and raisins. It’s got vanilla and brown sugar sweetness and the oak is very much present from the start. There’s also a touch of salted peanuts coming through on top of everything else.

Mouth: It’s spicy on the toungue from the start. The dusty corn switches to fruit candies and rye. There’s still a bit of dust in there though. The vanilla and the brown sugar is taking a backseat to the other flavours. The oak is very fresh and slightly bitter and there’s an astringency building up after a few sips.

Finish: It’s still spicy. The fruitiness and sweetness die quickly and leave a fresh oak note all by itself. After a while the ripe banana peeks through. Other than that there’s not much else in the finish except the spicy rye notes. There’s a tiny hint of walnuts in the tail.

Additional information
This bourbon is aged for about 6 years. The mashbill contains 68 % corn, 28 % rye and 4 % barley. It’s made at the Four Roses Distillery. Newer versions will have a distillate from a different source.

Glenlivet, Speyside

The Glenlivet 12 YO

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

Tasting notes
Nose: Sweet and fruity notes of both green and red apples together with yellow pears, vanilla, honey and pie crust. The oak is noticable and there’s a feint grassy overtone. This is very easy on the nose.

Mouth: It starts out mild and a bit watery. The honey sweetness together with butterscotch, vanilla and baked apples gives it a dessert-like profile. There’s a slight oakiness and a spicyness on the tip of the toungue.

Finish: The fruitiness is at the center, but the vanilla comes through very strong giving it a warm rounded flavour. The rest of the flavours are still in there but subsides and gives room to the oak, which is dry but not astringent. There’s not very strong flavors in the finish, but they find a way to linger in the mouth. This is not very complex but well made as an accessible whisky.

Additional information
One of the most famous single malts in the world. It’s matured first in traditional (refill) oak casks, and then finished in first fill ex-bourbon barrels.

Glenlivet, Speyside

The Glenlivet 18 YO

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is a big bowl of fruits with vanilla on the side. It’s ripe red juicy apples, yellow pears and clementines. There’s also honey, vanilla and cinnamon. The oak is detectable and gives it a mature side. It’s very fragrant.

Mouth: It starts off dusty with some maltiness. There’s an immediate astringency and the oak is very much present from the start. It’s dry and slightly bitter and sits well with the fruits, which are now turning towards grapes and green apples. It’s got a white wine touch to it. The spicyness is feint and it’s a mild, but not bland, experience.

Finish: The big fruit bowl and the white wine note take lead. The oak is still astringent and dry. There’s dark chocolate covered hazelnuts, vanilla, cardemum and some peaches all peeking through. It’s a long and pleasant oaky finish.

Additional information
This 18 YO expression is matured in a combination of first and second Fill american Oak barrels and ex-Sherry european oak casks.

Singleton, Speyside

The Singleton of Dufftown 18 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: Very fruity and fresh. Green apples and pears take front seat and a hint of darker fruits make a baseline from behind. It’s not very sweet but gives honey and vanilla notes in between the fruits. The oak is present from the start. It’s a very dry wood feel to it. It’s very pleasant and easy to approach.

Mouth: Malty and a little dusty. The fruits takes a step back and it gets sweeter with more of the honey and vanilla up front. The oak is bitter and resides in the back. There’s not much of a spicyness. A little disappointing after that fantastic nose.

Finish: A whiff of the fruitiness and a hint of honey and vanilla, but it sort of just dies very quickly and leaves nothing but dry oak, walnuts and a hint of coffee. Very oak heavy bitter finish.

Additional information
This expression from Singleton is aged in a combination of european ex-sherry casks and american ex-bourbon barrels.

Islay, McClelland’s, McClelland’s (Islay)

McClelland’s Islay Single Malt

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

Tasting notes
Nose: At first, there’s a savory and grassy peat note coming through, but it’s quite thin on the nose overall. Some fruitiness can be found but it’s so feint it cannot specified. There are also hints of vanilla, honey and butterscotch.

Mouth: This a thin maltiness swimming in water together with vanilla and butterscotch notes. It almost feels like there’s grain spirit in it which can be connected to the presumed young age. An assorted fruit note comes through with a hint of cinnamon. The peat smoke is a bit toned down and it’s very mild.

Finish: Surprisingly, there are nice tropical fruit notes appearing, but they disappear quite quickly and leave a bland oak note and some ashy leftovers from the peat. Overall it’s not a bad array of flavours, it’s just muted, like listening to music through a wall.

Additional information
The content in this bottle isn’t disclosed, but the brand McClelland’s is owned by Morrison Bowmore, so it’s a good bet that the content comes from the Bowmore distillery.

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Big Peat, Independent bottlers, Islay

Douglas Laing’s Big Peat

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

Tasting notes
Nose: It starts with a heavy and dense smokiness with honeyglazed bacon and the ashy notes of a campfire just about to die out. When the first impact subsides there’s lemon juice and a whiff of the sea (like being on the shore on a cold, windy day) in the back.

Mouth: It starts out very sweet and ashy. It’s savory with a nice honey and vanilla touch to it. It’s surprisingly mild but still manages to give a big bold array of smoke flavours. Some spicyness arrive late and it’s not a big part of the experience.

Finish: The smoke notes change slightly towards tobacco and a hint of rubber. It’s still savory and ashy though. This is very much a peaty fanfare with just a touch of salt and lemon. The oak note is very well hidden, but shows up as a slight astringency in the tail of the finish.

Additional information
Big Peat is part of Douglas Laing’s ”Remarkable regional malts of Scotland” series. It’s a blend of malts from distilleries located on islay. Douglas Laing mentions Caol Ila, Bowmore, Ardbeg and Port Ellen as components. It has natural colour and it’s unchillfiltered.

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Independent bottlers, Islands, Rock Oyster

Douglas Laing’s Rock Oyster

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ABV: 46,8 %
Origin: Islands
Type: Blended Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: First thing that pops up is a savory, meaty note. Spicy and ashy, hints of lemon and lime. There’s a metallic note in the back. Quite powerful and unforgiving.

Mouth: Starts out mellow and sweet. The savory note takes over with notes of honey glazed barbecued meat. Still a little sour in the back. Spices build up after a couple of seconds. A bit underwhelming compared to the nose.

Finish: Sweet, savory and ashy. A complex array of ”funky” notes show up in the middle of the finish together with the honey and vanilla which makes it quite interresting. The oak note hides in the background and never really takes over.

Additional information
Rock Oyster is part of Douglas Laing’s ”Remarkable regional malts of Scotland” series. It’s a blend of malts from distilleries located on the islands. Douglas Laing mentions Arran, Islay, Orkney and Jura as Islands where the components come from. It has natural colour and it’s unchillfiltered.

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Independent bottlers, Scallywag, Speyside

Douglas Laing’s Scallywag

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

Tasting notes
Nose: It’s an easy approach with a malty and somewhat dusty baseline. There’s butterscotch, vanilla and a touch of cream. There’s also a fruitiness coming through with ripe red apples and juicy pears as the prominent notes. It’s very pleasant.

Mouth: It feels a bit flat and thin (which probably is a result of the blending of malts). There’s vanilla and honey mixed in with the fruity notes, which now lean towards apple juice. A touch of spicyness comes through after a couple of sips.

Finish: A big burst of mixed fruits. It has now shifted mainly towards pears but with a hint of assorted tropical fruits. The vanilla note comes back when the oak appears. A savory note shows up somewhere near the end and gives a little nice surprise to an otherwise nice finish.

Additional information
Scallywag is part of Douglas Laing’s ”Remarkable regional malts of Scotland” series. It’s a blend of malts from distilleries located in the Speyside region. Douglas Laing mentions Macallan, Mortlach and GlenRothes as components. It’s mainly consists of whisky matured in spanish ex-sherry casks. It has natural colour and it’s unchillfiltered.

Highlands, Tullibardine

Tullibardine The Murray Marsala Cask Finish 2006/2018 – The Marquess Collection

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

Tasting notes
Nose: Floral honey, vanilla, toffee, ripe red berries and plums. A nice funky complex note shows through. Reminds me of a liqueur soaked sponge cake.

Mouth: Sweet and dusty, astringent, spicy, ripe fruits mixed with custard. Very well balanced.

Finish: A spice burst turns into a tropical fruit note and a nice oak flavour. The ”funky” complex note follows all the way through to the finish. After a while the oak finish switch to coffee note.

Additional information
This version of The Murray is distilled in 2006 and aged in first fill american ex-bourbon barrels and then under a finishing period, about a year, in Sicilian Marsala wine casks. It’s bottled in 2018 which gives approximately 12 years of maturation. It’s a limited edition.

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Highlands, Independent bottlers, Timorous Beastie

Douglas Laing’s Timorous Beastie

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ABV: 46,8 %
Origin: Highlands
Type: Blended Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: It starts out with a nice vanilla and honey sweetness, yet it still is very bright and shiny. Green apples and a hint of raspberries creates a fruity center within the sweetness. The distillate seems a bit young and a tiny ”cardboardy” note comes through from behind.

Mouth: It’s very different than the nose. It switches from bright and shiny towards a darker fruitiness together with a funky complex note. It’s oily and turns slightly bitter when the oak appears. There’s also an overlay of lemon and lime.

Finish: The finish starts out very sweet with sugar coated ripe plums and vanilla. When the sweet fruitiness subsides the oak reappears. It ends with a nicely balanced bitterness with hints of coffee and hazelnuts.

Additional information
Timorous Beastie is part of Douglas Laing’s ”Remarkable regional malts of Scotland” series. It’s a blend of malts from distilleries located in the Highlands. Douglas Laing mentions Dalmore, Glengoyne and Glen Garioch as components. It has natural colour and it’s unchillfiltered.

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Douglas Laing, Epicurean, Independent bottlers, Lowlands

Douglas Laing’s The Epicurean

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ABV: 46,2 %
Origin: Lowland
Type: Blended Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: Floral and sweet with a touch of honey, vanilla and sweet liquorice. There’s a note of fresh garden soil and a hint of seaweed in the background.

Mouth: Lemon, vanilla and honey. Nice and friendly. Slightly spicy on second sip with the oak becoming more present. The sweet liquorice is still in the mix.

Finish: Vanilla, honey sweetness and fresh oak with a hint of coconut. Not very complex but nice throughout all steps.

Additional information
The Epicurean is part of Douglas Laing’s ”Remarkable regional malts of Scotland” series. It’s a blend of malts from distilleries located in the Lowlands. It has natural colour and it’s unchillfiltered.

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For the love of all things whisky/whiskey