Etikettarkiv: Highland whisky review

Glenmorangie, Highlands

Glenmorangie 12 YO – The Quinta Ruban Port Cask Finish

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ABV: 46 %
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 sweet layer of honey and malt mixed with black and red berries sitting on top of a fresh lemon sourness. The whole feels very cohesive and there are no sharp edges at all. There are som mild baking spices present as well as a more ripe raisiny fruitiness. With time in the glass vanilla starts to get noticed. The main focus lies on the berries and lemon though. This is a very nice nose. It’s not complex but it delivers everything in a very pleasant way.

Mouth: It starts out with a mild dark raisin and coffee note before the sweetness comes creeping up around the edges. After a second or two the sour lemon note starts to take over the background. It creates a nice contrast between the sweet, sour and bitter notes. It’s not as fruity as on the nose and it takes a while for the whole to reach its potential. It’s slightly dusty and the fresh berries do arrive for those who decides to wait. The fruitiness shifts towards liqeuer-soaked cherries after a while as well.

Finish: The dark raisin note shows up in the middle while the coffee bitterness now move to the back of the palate where it meets up with the lemon. All along the sides there’s a nice nutty oak increasing in intensity as well as a honey sweetness. It becomes slightly astringent. The oakiness brings hazelnuts and vanilla to the finish. The cross-section between the oak and the lemon produces a touch of tropical fruits with mango and pineapple. There’s a mild spicyness following along the finish but it never interferes with the rest of the flavours.

Additional information
This is one out of three expressions in the Glenmorangie ”extra matured” series. It’s aged 10 years in ex-bourbon casks and finished for 2 years in ruby port pipes. It’s now replaced by a 14 YO.

Dalmore, Highlands

The Dalmore 10 YO – Vintage 2004

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ABV: 46 %
Origin: Highlands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. There’s honey, malt and a sort of in-between circle of toffee, caramel, butterscotch and fudge. The fruitiness is also very much in focus, with dried oranges, grapefruit and raisins. There’s also a somewhat odd seaweed note laying on top. This is a decent nose, but it lacks a bit of umpf.

Mouth: It starts out with a sweetness up front and the vanilla is very pronounced and up front. Beneath is the butterscotchy fudge note coming through with a fruity tang to it. There’s dried apples, orange marmelade and lime. The oak is a bit bitter and somewhere in there are cacao and black coffee notes.

Finish: The vanilla is still in charge and behind the sweet front there’s orange marmelade and the butterscotchy fudge note. It disappears quickly and leaves room for a dry and slightly astringent oak. It’s bitter, almost like there’s a dash of tonic water in there. The cacao is still present even though it’s not especially strong. This is a decent whisky which is a bit too mild and a tiny bit uninteresting.

Additional information
This Dalmore expression is matured in american ex-bourbon barrels. For most of its time it rests in refill barrels and then in first fills during a finishing period.

Highlands, Tullibardine

Tullibardine Sovereign

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a layer of sweet vanilla and honey. Underneath lies a young and fruity distillate which gives notes of green apples and pears. The fruitiness increases in intensity over time and a lemon sourness is slowly getting more and more attention. There’s also a floral side to it with a hint of violets coming through after a while. This is a good nose but it feels a bit shallow and lacks a bit of texture and complexity.

Mouth: It starts out with a very mild vanilla and the start is slightly underwhelming. It’s quite ethanol driven and gets a bit prickly and metallic after a few seconds. The honey sweetness is pushed out on the edges. The fruitiness is pushed back and it feels like there’s a cardboard note connected to a chewy oakiness in the back. There’s a savory note somewhere in the back which adds a much needed extra dimension to the whole.

Finish: The fruitiness with vanilla increase in intensity for a second or two before it returns to the previous state, once again with the young and metallic distillate up front and the cardboard, oak and the savory note in the back. It disintegrates rather quickly and leaves the oakiness to fend for itself. The metallic sour note is still in there for the late finish and it doesn’t help the rather uninteresting oakiness along. This is a so-and-so whisky with a nice nose.

Additional information
This whisky is the entry level in the Tullibardine core range. It was aged in ex-bourbon barrels for about 5 years. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Dalmore, Highlands

The Dalmore 12 YO

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is dark, fruity and sweet. It’s full of raisins and honey. The sweetness is very pronounced. There’s also a savory note in the back. The fruitiness consists of ripe plums, red apples and liqueur-soaked cherries and a bittersweet marmelade. There are hints of leather and oak in the background creating a complex backdrop. It grows sweeter with time in the glass.

Mouth: There’s an immediate bitterness hitting the palate but it’s still filled with honey and fruits. After a second or two it becomes vanilla heavy and marmelade with orange peel becomes the common denominator between the sweetness, bitterness and the fruitiness. There’s still a handful of raisins and the oak comes through pretty quick bringing a cup of coffee and some walnuts to the table. There’s no astringency and just a smidge of spicyness.

Finish: It starts out very mild and a touch waxy. The oak is in front with bitter notes of cocoa, walnuts and coffee. The sweetness is not as pronounced in the finish as in the mouth but notes of honey, raisins and orange peel still persist. In the end, the oak is left all by itself. There’s still no astringency and the somewhat hefty bitterness is still very nice. It’s a very pleasant finish.

Additional information
This version of the Dalmore 12 YO was released in 2008. It’s aged for 9 years in american ex-bourbon barrels. Half of the whisky is then moved into ex-Matusalem Oloroso sherry casks. After being aged for an additional 3 years the two parts are remarried.

Ballechin, Edradour, Highlands

Ballechin 15 YO – Small Batch Cask Strength

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ABV: 59.4 %
Origin: Highlands
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 sweet, burnt oak with vanilla and caramel attached to it. On top there’s a nail polish remover sharpness and underneath there’s a mixed fruitiness. There are baked red apples, ripe red berries and a mild lime sourness. There’s a chalky/ashy note within as well but it takes a few seconds before it arrives. There are also notes of cinnamon and almond floating around. This is a nice but rather sharp nose with a nice balance underneath.

Mouth: It starts out with an immidiate spicyness and an ashy peat covering the outside of the palate. In the center part it’s a mix of fresh mango, apples, honey and milk chocolate. It’s slightly soapy. The burnt vanilla oakiness is acting like a bridge between the ashy peat and the fruitiness. There’s also a rounded maltiness as well as bitter notes and black liquorice. It still feels quite sharp, but underneath the balance is very nice between the flavour components.

Finish: The nail polish remover note slowly transitions into a menthol cloud while the fruitiness in the center slowly turns a bit darker and riper. It feels quite soapy at this point. There’s still a burnt vanilla oakiness as well as a bitterness. The liquorice note is still in the mix. It’s astringent and when the oak starts to take over it brings the soapy note along for the late finish. This is a good, but somewhat weird, whisky. The soapy note and the sharpness brings it down a notch or two.

Additional information
This whisky was aged in a mix of first fill ex-bourbon barrels and second fill ex-sherry casks. 3126 bottles were released. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

Glenmorangie, Highlands

Glenmorangie X

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is mild and sweet. At first there’s just a gentle and sweet vanilla and honey oakiness coming through. There’s also a tiny maltiness in the center. After a while a fresher fruitiness with lemon and a hint of pears starts to emerge but it’s very afraid to make its precence known. The whole is very flat and nothing pops out of the glass in anyway. There’s not much of a journey either. This is not offensive, it’s just a bit boring and uninteresting to explore.

Mouth: It starts out a bit flat and watery with a slight bitterness in the back. A mild and sweet butterscotch and toasted oak arrives almost immidiately though. The butterscotch resides in the center and there is a mild oak spicyness out on the edges. The fruitiness returns and it’s the same lemon and pear notes as on the nose. The fruitiness joins the oak spice on the edges. A honey sweetness comes forward for those who wait.

Finish: The finish is at first sweet and minty. After a few seconds the fruitiness returns as well as the butterscotch but it’s too little, too late. The oakiness takes over and the last part of the finish just gives a toasted oakiness and a gentle minty note which, together with the sweetness, has a tooth paste feel to it. This is a decent whisky with a ”made for mixing” tag on the bottle, which feels accurate. This is not the best neat pour out there, but it can hold its own against a lot of cheap entry malts.

Additional information
This is a whisky made for drinks and cocktails. It’s aged for an undisclosed amount of time in a mix of ex-bourbon and new charred oak casks.

Glencadam, Highlands

Glencadam 13 YO – The Re-awakening (Batch 2)

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ABV: 46 %
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, honey sweetness and a thick maltiness create a sweet layer on top of a lot of fresh fruits. Watermelon, yellow pears and green apples come through, but it feels like there are more to be found. With time in the glass vanilla arrives, but it never take over from the original flavours. This is a sweet dessert whisky and it’s a very pleasant nose.

Mouth: It starts out sweet and dusty and it feels older than its 13 years. After a few seconds a spicyness prickles the toungue. It’s still malty and fruity. The fruitiness makes it very juicy and it’s now leaning towards sweet ripe clementines, but the fruitiness is now further back than on the nose. The honey and vanilla are slightly toned down which leave room for the oakiness to come through early.

Finish: The finish starts out very bright and spicy. The sweetness starts in the center and then slowly rolls out towards the edges. There’s marzipan and a floral note coming through just before the oak and the fruitiness return. The clementines are still in there but take a background role to a very nice oakiness. There’s just a hint of bitterness coming from the oak, but it’s enough to add some zest to the fruitiness. There are hazelnuts at the tail end and the floral notes survive for a long time. This is a very nice whisky all the way through.

Additional information
This expression is a limited edition bottling. This is batch 2 which consists of 5994 bottles. The bottle tried had no bottle number printed on the label. It’s aged in american ex-Bourbon barrels and it’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

Highlands, Tullibardine

Tullibardine 15 YO

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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 rich layer of honey and vanilla with notes of liquorice and baking spices within. It sits on top of a fresh red juicy apple fruitiness. With time it becomes more malty and fruity as the sweet layer seems to mellow down. It feels like a natural progression and when it reaches its final form it feels very well balanced. This is a great nose. It’s not especially complex but still offers a nice journey.

Mouth: It starts out with a very sweet and round center part with butterscotch, vanilla and honey. A thin outer layer offers a fresher lemon but it disappears when the core expands from the center outwards. It’s nicely textured and there’s a mild peppermint cloud floating around on top. It feels somewhat flat due to the rather low ABV, but it never feels watery. It’s still malty all the way through as well. For those who wait there’s liquorice emerging from the back which then moves forwards on the edges of the palate.

Finish: The red apples and sweet liquorice starts the finish from the back of the palate moving forward. The sweet honey, butterscotch and vanilla mix isn’t far behind and neither is the maltiness. The peppermint increases in intensity as the finish progresses and follows along until the oakiness makes a late entrance. It’s a nice fresh oakiness with a nutty hazelnuts quality to it. This is a great whisky with a lot to offer, especially for a sweet tooth.

Additional information
The Tullibardine 15 YO is part of the distillery’s core range. It’s aged exclusively in first-fill american ex-bourbon casks.

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Highlands, Tullibardine

Tullibardine 225 – Sauternes Finish

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ABV: 43 %
Origin: Highlands
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is very sweet. There are notes of butterscotch, caramel and honey up front with vanilla as a baseplate. This sort of gives it a sponge cake vibe. A hint of seaweed is present and it really doesn’t belong with the other flavours. There’s a fresh distillate with a hint of green fruits coming through from behind. There’s also a salty, buttered popcorn note on top. Altogether it’s very warm and welcoming on the nose.

Mouth: Sweet and Spicy. It’s a little bit different than on the nose. There’s a new fruitiness with oranges and grapefruits. The sweetness is still there with honey and vanilla, but now with some orange marmelade added. The oakiness is quite bitter with some cocoa powder and the orange peel from the marmelade mixed in. It’s an astringent oak that sort of surrounds everything.

Finish: A very fresh burst of cirtrus fruits and peppery spices fade away as quickly as it arrives. The finish is all about the astringent oak. It’s a bright and heavy fresh oak, like newly cut oak boards. A hint of grapefruit peeks through somewhere down the line. The astringency increases with every sip. The sweetness is overpowered by the oak all the way through, but when it finally subsides the honey and vanilla notes remind you that they were there all along.

Additional information
The 225 in the name stands for the size of the barrique used for the ex-sauternes cask finish. It starts out for an undisclosed number of years in american ex-bourbon barrels before the 12 months of finishing.

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Highlands, Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond Signature Blended Scotch Whisky

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Highlands
Type: Blended
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a very round vanilla, butterscotch and toffee note with an apple fruitiness within. The grain spirit contributes to the sweetness but it’s not protruding. There’s a mild spicyness hovering above everything else. With time the fruitiness turns to baked apples and it sort of smells like an apple pastry. This is not complex but it’s still a great nose considering it coming from a blended whisky.

Mouth: It starts out with a honey and vanilla sweetness with a black pepper shell around it. It takes a while before other flavours catch up. First one through is the apple fruitiness. It’s back to a fresher profile and there’s a lemon note coming through from the back. The mix between malt and grain spirit feels very balanced. A hint of oak is peeking through as well but it’s not revealing anything special at this point.

Finish: It’s back to the baked apples and the toffee notes. The finish starts out as a pastry but soon turns a bit bitter towards the edges. The grain spirit is for the first time a bit unpleasant on the palate but fortunatley it soon subsides and leaves room for the oakiness which actually is rather nice. It feels like a mix of old and new with a hint of walnuts. It becomes somewhat astringent towards the late finish. This is a good whisky. It’s not complex but it offers a nice array of sweet flavours.

Additional information
This is a blend made from putting both malt and grain spirit through a solera system of 100 casks. The types used are ex-Oloroso casks and recharred american ex-bourbon barrels.

Glen Deveron, Highlands, MacDuff

Glen Deveron 16 YO – Royal Burgh Collection

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Highlands
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is dark fruits and honey. At first there’s a dense sweetness with malt, vanilla and honey with a thick layer of dark ripe fruits on the outside. It’s raisins and overripe, almost molten plums together with a black liquorice note. It’s got a dusty and damp feel to it and after it settles it also produces a slightly fresher fruitiness as a nice contrast. It’s fresh, but still dark, berries like blueberries. This is a really nice and rich nose, but it presents itself a bit too mild due to the low ABV.

Mouth: It starts out with a mild and sweet approach. The sherry notes with raisins and plums are next to arrive and they bring a thin layer of sulfur along. After that some kitchen spices and a nice bitter note come through. The dusty feel is still in there, but it’ not as dense as on the nose. The oakiness is detectable and it brings a hint of walnuts to the table. The fresh fruits are not present anymore.

Finish: The first impact is somewhat muted and it’s a seemless trasition to the finish. There is a mild spicyness on top but the main flavours are still the sweet honey and vanilla mix in the middle and the dark fruitiness and sulfur on the outside. It stays that way until the oakiness starts to push through. It’s a nice, slightly astringent oak with hints of walnuts and black coffee. It never turns over to become bitter though and the finish is quite long and rewarding. This is a fantastic whisky, but it’s hurting a little bit by the low ABV. It puts up a fight against it though and delivers quite a lot of flavours.

Additional information
This is made by the Macduff distillery and was released in 2013 as a part of their travel retail exclusive range ”The Royal Burgh Collection”. It’s aged in ex-sherry casks.

Highlands, Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond 15 YO

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is fruity and mildly peated. At first there’s a center of mixed red fruits with a soft and sweet layer of honey, vanilla and malt surrounding it. The peat is creating an outer layer which also covers the background. It’s a herbaceous peat with a back note of assorted flowers. When it settles it also reveals a lemon note in the back. With time in the glass everything slowly merges together to create a very nice and interesting nose.

Mouth: It starts out with a nutty bitterness in the back and the herbaceaous peatiness on the sides. It takes a second or two for the fruitiness and the sweetness to arrive and when they do, they’re a bit more subdued than on the nose. The fruitiness is a mix of darker dried fruits with a twist of lemon and the sweetness is somewhat undefinable. There’s also a slightly dusty note coming through from behind. A thin butterscotch note makes for a nice surprise for those who are patient.

Finish: It starts out quite dusty with a mild toffee and vanilla sweetness. The fruitiness is still a bag of mixed dried fruits, now with an orange peel bitterness attached to it. The peatiness is still present in the background but it’s a bit less noticable. The oakiness comes through in a very subtle way, emerging through the dust and orange peel. It’s a very pleasant nutty oakiness which never overshadows the other flavours. This is a great whisky with a lot of flavours to find.

Additional information
The Loch Lomond 15 YO was launched in september 2018 as a swedish market exclusive. It’s created by a mix of different unpeated and peated distillates. It’s aged in a mix of refill barrels, refill hogsheads and recharred hogsheads.

Dalmore, Highlands

The Dalmore Gran Reserva

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is dense, sweet and fruity. Honey, liquorice and vanilla fight for attention against a fruitiness from both dark and dried fruits. There’s rum-soaked raisins and sultanas, liqueur-soaked cherries and a fruity red wine. There’s also some dark chocolate with a hint of cinnamon sprinkled on top. The oak is already noticable. The fruity red wine notes, now leaning towards fresh berries, move forward a bit with time in the glass and so does the dark chocolate.

Mouth: At first it’s just sweet but soon the other flavours join in. It’s dark and bitter with raisins, dark chocolate, oak, walnuts and coffee. The vanilla is still in there and so is the red wine note. A touch of spicyness lies on the top of the toungue. The bitterness increase with each sip. It’s slightly astringent.

Finish: The oakiness flare up and basically hogs all the attention from everything else. When it makes way for other flavours a savory note shows up in the middle of the palate. The vanilla reappears but resides in the back. A tropical fruitiness arrives late and comes through within the oakiness creating a nice break from the otherwise dark and bitter flavours. The dark chocolate, liquorice, honey and coffee notes are clinging on to the finish before the oak takes over again.

Additional information
The Gran Reserva is an expression aged for somewhere around 10-15 years. 40 % of its content is aged in first fill american ex-bourbon barrels and 60 % in first fill european ex-Oloroso sherry casks. The marriage period is about 6 months. It’s now discontinued.

Highlands, Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond Inchmurrin 12 YO – The Island Collection

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a mix of honey, vanilla and malt with an apple and pear fruitiness. After a few seconds a nice subtle peatiness starts to show up together with red berries, oranges and a hint of sulfur. With time the fruitiness becomes the main focal point. It is a very well balanced and pleasant nose with a lot of subtle nuances.

Mouth: It starts out with lemons and oranges in the back and a big bunch of apricots and dried tropical fruits up front. In between there’s a sweet malty layer with vanilla and honey. The oak is detectable and sits together with the peat and the sulfur towards the sides. It’s got a nice rich texture to it. A hint of butterscotch and a tiny amount of oak spices appear after a while.

Finish: It starts out with the apricots and oranges up front. Another fruity layer with dried tropical fruits and pears sits in the back and vanilla and oak is floating around in between. The peatiness is now covering the edges and the sulfur is still sitting in the back. The finish is long and the fruitiness follows along a long way down the line. When the oak finally gets to come through it’s a nice oakiness but it’s a bit generic. This is a great whisky with a lot of things to discover.

Additional information
This was rebranded and relaunched in 2015. It’s aged in a combination of first fill, second fill and refurbished newly toasted american ex-bourbon barrels.

Speyside, Tomintoul

Tomintoul With a Peaty Tang

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and peaty. At first there’s a pleasant mix of butterscotch, vanilla and a toned down savory peat smoke coming through as a cohesive center. When the initial impact resides a hint of marzipan and a slightly metallic note is also detectable. It feels young and slightly harsh. The butterscotch note increases in intensity over time. This is a decent nose for a budget whisky.

Taste: It starts out very mild and approachable with the sweetness, with notes of honey, butter and toffee as the most prominent feature. There’s also fresh oak and a heathery peat layer that covers the mouth. Some oak spices show up after a short while and bring some walnuts along. It’s still coming through as quite young.

Finish: A very mild mint develops over the sweetness. Some assorted green fruits shows up quite unexpectedly underneath. The vanilla and butterscotch notes follow along but die rather quickly. A hint of bitterness shows up in late in the finish together with the oakiness. It’s a short finish with a mild floral peat note lingering when everything else disappears. This is a decent budget whisky. It’s a bit flat and uneventful but There are som nice flavours presented.

Additional information
The peaty tang is a mix between 6 YO peated whisky (55ppm) and older unpeated whiskies. It’s matured in refill ex-bourbon barrels.

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Glen Garioch, Highlands

Glen Garioch 12 YO

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. Vanilla and honey creates a warm and comforting center. On the outside there’s a combination of black liquorice and anise root. Dark and dried fruit notes from the sherry, mainly raisins and ripe plums, sit all the way out on the edges. It’s quite dusty and the maltiness comes through as a bread note somewhere in the back. This is a quite complex and interesting nose.

Mouth: The first thing to come up is a bright fruitiness. Red berries and lemon are followed by a nice spicyness. It’s still quite dusty and the vanilla is still in there. The honey sweetness is reduced compared to the nose. It’a quite dense and malty. The raisins comes through after a while when the fruitiness becomes darker. A bitterness grows slowly on the edges and after a while it reveals the oakiness. The sherry notes move forward with time in the glass.

Finish: A layer of dust lies on top of the now clear dark sherry notes. It’s black grapes, ripe plums and raisins together with black liquorice. It’s still malty and dense and the bread note reappears. The oak arrives late, but when it does it comes with some great flavours such as walnuts and dark chocolate. There’s even a nice little touch of tropical fruits.

Additional information
This 12 YO was released as a core range whisky in 2010. It’s aged in a combination of american ex-bourbon oak barrels and ex-sherry casks. It’s unchillfilitered and has natural colour.

Ben Nevis, Highlands

Ben Nevis 10 YO

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and acidic. At first there’s a strong vinegar note with a honey and vanilla base close behind. There’s a floral quality to it, but it’s like a generic air freshener scent. There is a dirty rubbery peatiness covering the edges of the glass which gives it an interesting touch. There’s also an IPA note to be found as well as notes of lemon peel. This is kind of an odd nose. It’s not bad, but it’s kind of protruding and sharp. It does settle a bit with time in the glass.

Mouth: It starts out sweet and malty with bitter and sour notes coming through. In the middle sits a speck of dust, wet hay, honey and vanilla. On the edges there are lemon peel and in between the IPA maltiness and the dirty rubbery note reside. A touch of chilli spicyness builds up after a few seconds. The vinegar and the floral notes are not as pronounced as on the nose, but the floral notes do sit like a thin cloud over everything else.

Finish: Honey and dry soil are immidiately pushed forward and covers most of the other flavours for a couple of seconds. When they settle the rubbery note reveals itself together with lemon and a very nice oakiness. It’s grey and old sun-dried wood with a touch of hazelnuts. The finish is very long and when everything else settle there’s a realization that the floral notes are still creating a thin cloud above everything else. This is a great whisky with a so-and-so nose.

Additional information
The cask types used in this 10 YO from Ben Nevis aren’t disclosed and there’s not much information to be had regarding this whisky.

Highlands, Tomatin

Tomatin 14 YO – Port Casks

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweetness and dark fruits. There are raisins and vanilla with a minty overlay. Behind that there are notes of honey and sweet liquorice which create a nice depth and richness. Black grapes show up after a while and they come through somewhere in the middle of the vanilla note. The liquorice is moving forward and becomes darker and more concentrated. There is a brighter fruitiness showing up in the back with a hint of green apples. This is nice and quite complex.

Mouth: It starts out very sweet and peppery. The fruitiness comes through, at first bright then moving towards the dark side. Ripe plums are now added to the raisins and black grapes. The sweetness is dark syryp. A savory and ”rubbery” note is sitting in the dead center of everything and it’s surrounded by vanilla and raisins. After a few seconds it turns a bit bitter when the dry oak comes through.

Finish: A minty breeze pass by before a thick sweetness with syryp and honey takes over. The fruitiness is consistant throughout with the same notes coming through. There’s still a savory note in the middle. The oak is dry and dusty with a chalky texture and taste. There’s a nice amount of bitterness and some hazelnuts. And as a surprise, a tobacco note is found at the very end.

Additional information
This was added to the core range in 2014 and is matured in american ex-bourbon oak barrels for 12-13 years and finished in first fill Tawny port pipes for up to 2 years.

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Deveron, Highlands, MacDuff

The Deveron 12 YO

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Highlands
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 2
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is fruits and soft toffee. There’s a bright fresh fruitiness with apples, pears, green grapes and just a slight hint of grapefruits. It rests on a base of toffee and/or butterscotch. Vanilla and honey is in there, but they are just fillers in between the other flavours. The whole thing is covered in a thin aura of eucalyptus.

Mouth: It starts out very mild but quickly turns to a sour lemon and a small spicy note. Butterscotch comes rolling in and it brings some oakiness along. The fruitiness is a long way back and it’s not as bright as on the nose. The oakiness and the butterscotch are divided equally and it makes it a bit bland. It turns more towards honey as time passes in the glass. This is a bit disappointing compared to the nose.

Finish: It sort of just disappears. After a few seconds the eucalyptos note returns and the oakiness comes through again. The oakiness is nice and there’s no astringency. There’s a thin note of walnuts and a touch of anise coming through. After a while the butterscotch and honey start to make themselves noticed and it somewhat changes character. In the end, there’s a chalk note covering the oak. This is very mild and an easy sipper.

Additional information
This is an expression from the MacDuff Distillery released in 2015 as a part of Dewar’s ”Last Great Malts of Scotland” series. It’s aged in american ex-bourbon oak barrels”.

Highlands, Independent bottlers, Staile Uisge

Staile Uisge – The Drum

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sour and young. At first, there’s a big basket of lemons and a splash of vinegar. There’s also green grapes and a white wine aura surrounding everything. In the background there is a honey and vanilla sweetness, but it’s very discreet. This is very fresh and the sourness is the main character throughout. It becomes sweeter with time in the glass.

Mouth: It starts out a bit watery and then it becomes very sweet and malty. There are vanilla and honey notes as well as sweet liquorice all mixed up in the center. The white wine notes are still in there but the lemons are now reciding in the background. It needs time in the mouth to reach its potential and when it does it’s actually pretty rich and tasty.

Finish: It starts out with the sweet liquorice and the lemon notes return to the front. It’s not as sweet anymore and there’s not much happening in the finish. The liquorice stays all the way through and an anonymous and rather flat oakiness appears for a short time, but it disappears rather quick. This is a nice whisky for its price, but it feels a bit incomplete and ambigous.

Additional information
Staile Uisge is a brand of the swedish independent bottler Granqvist Beverage House. The Drum is a NAS whisky sourced from an undisclosed highland distillery.

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