Etikettarkiv: speyside whisky review

Speyside, Strathisla

Strathisla 12 YO

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. Honey, red berries and ripe plums create a layer that sits on top of a very clean distillate. Sweet liquorice, vanilla and a hint of salted caramel comes through after some time in the glass. This is not complex and everything seems a bit muted and soft, which makes this very approachable.

Mouth: A very mild start with a thin line of bright fruits coming through. Butterscotch is dominating the whole thing together with vanilla, honey and a hint of darker fruits like ripe plums and black grapes. It’s got a quite thick texture and a nice touch of chili spicyness. Everything is still a bit muted though.

Finish: At first there’s nothing but the mild spicyness. When they finally return the flavours has become less sweet and fruity and more bitter. There are notes of pears and butterscotch in the back, but they are soon overrun by the oakiness. The oakiness follows the same low key profile as the rest of the flavours. This is extremely approachable and easy to drink, but that also means that it lacks complexity and power.

Additional information
Strathisla is one of the main components of the Chivas Regal blends. This 12 YO is matured in a combination of ex-sherry casks and ex-bourbon casks.

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Cragganmore, Speyside

Cragganmore 12 YO

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ABV: 40 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single Malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 2
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. It’s a center of vanilla, honey and toffee with a surrounding disc of fresh green grapes, white wine and a hint of elderflower. There’s also a hint of menthol surrounding everything. This is a one-layer, all-in-one experience. There’s no twist and turns nor changes and the presentation is very tasty in its own right. This is a great comforting easy accessible nose.

Mouth: It starts out with a mix of honey, lemon and vanilla. A speck of dust is present and the white wine note is now creating an aura around everything else. There’s still a toffee note within. The fresh green grapes are gone and the floral note has slightly changed. After a few seconds there’s a increase in spicyness. At the same time the oakiness starts to shine through. It also becomes more floral with time.

Finish: At first there’s a small gap where the floral and fruity white wine flashes by before the honey and vanilla return. They quickly subside and the white wine and elderflower once again take over together with a very pleasant, nutty oakiness. It brings some hazelnuts, but without the bitter tang. In the late finish there’s a lemon note and the oak and the sour note stays for a long finish. This is mild, but it’s still a fantastic malt. This is an easy sipper with a lot to offer.

Additional information
This is one of Diageo’s six bottlings in their classic malts of Scotland series. The cask type isn’t stated anywhere, but it’s suggested on many sites that It’s aged in 2nd fill and/or refill ex-bourbon casks.

Craigellachie, Speyside

Craigellachie 13 YO

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and malty. At first there’s an icing sugar sweetness and a sour maltiness coming through. There are green apples, toffee and a squeeze of lemon sitting in the middle. After a while the sweetness becomes honey and vanilla and merges with the toffee notes. It takes a while for the sherry fruits to arrive but when they do it’s a mix of fresh forest berries. There’s also a mild minty cloud hovering above everything. This is a great nose which highly benefits from time in the glass.

Mouth: It starts out with a round core of butterscotch and citrus fruits. It soon reveals a nice black pepper spicyness. The sherry notes are now much darker and have become a mix of dried raisins and dades together with notes of citrus fruits. Meanwhile the background gets filled with bitter zest and oak. It feels quite lively and produces a lot of flavours and sensations.

Finish: It starts out with the black pepper note and the butterscotch. The fruitiness is very subdued which leaves room for the oakiness to step forward early. It’s still connected to the bitter zesty lemon notes yet it feels quite dry and dusty. The maltiness is still coming through as the finish subsides. This is a great whisky which presents itself with standard flavours, but does so in a rich and engaging way.

Additional information
The 13 YO is the entry level to Craigellachie’s core range released in 2014. It’s aged in a mix of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

Speyside, Tamdhu

Tamdhu 12 YO

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a vanilla coating surrounding a mixed bag of fruits, with both fresh citrus fruits and ripe dark fruits. There are oranges, raisins and overripe plums. Cinnamon, honey sweetness and vanilla come from the edges and move inwards over time. The fruitiness turns a bit darker too. This is a nice nose with a mild, round character without any big outliers or surprises.

Mouth: It starts out very mild but with a direct impact of honey, vanilla and dried fruits. As the flavour impact increases the cinnamon shows up together with toffee and oranges. A very pleasant spicyness slowly rolls in over the palate and creates a much needed intensity to the whole. A nice bitter note shows up in the back which creates depth and complexity when it merges with the rest of the flavours.

Finish: The transition is quite uneventful and it sort of dips for a second before it once again produces mixed fresh and dry fruits together with a round toffee and honey sweetness. The oakiness shows up early and rolls in from the sides. The finish feels a lot brighter and fresher with the oranges and red berries coming through more clearly. The oakiness stays in an outer layer and in the back which gives the rest of the flavours a chance to come along throughout the finish. This is a really good whisky which just lacks the final little push towards greatness.

Additional information
This whisky is aged in a mix of first and second fill american and european ex-Oloroso sherry casks. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

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Glenlivet, Speyside

The Glenlivet Nàdurra – Oloroso Matured

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ABV: 60.2 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 0
Impression: 4/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is dark and spicy. Chili and black liquorice sit on top of a quite young and lively distillate. Raisins, dades and tobacco creep up along the inside of the glass. The longer it sits the sweeter it gets with notes of Amaretto, honey and a touch of vanilla. A tiny hint of green apples is in there somewhere. This is very powerful with great cask influence.

Mouth: At first there’s a tobacco note and a hefty ABV spicyness. After a few seconds some dried fruits come through together with a quite nice bitterness. There are still notes of raisins, dades and a now prominent honey sweetness. There’s a toffee note in the background. It feels more mature than on the nose and there’s some dustiness on top.

Finish: A strong menthol cloud goes by and it’s start out with quite low key flavours. After a few seconds the bitterness returns together with muted notes of the Oloroso with liquorice, raisins and honey up front. It takes quite the long time before some oakiness appear. It’s a very laid back oakiness that never picks up speed. It’s a short finish that is somewhat disappointing. It’s still a great dram overall.

Additional information
This cask strength release is aged in first fill ex-Oloroso sherry casks for an undisclosed amount of time. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour. The bottle tried was from batch OL0818.

Macallan, Speyside

The Macallan Amber

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is dark fruits and vanilla. At first there’s a thick layer of dark fruitiness with raisins, plums and liqeuer-soaked cherries together with a vanilla coating. There are also a fresher fruitiness within, as well as a hint of cinnamon. The sherry notes feel like a lid on top of the distillate. They do grow more three-dimensional and darker with time in the glass. There are hints of oak peeking through at times. There is also a heavy sweetness coming through and it feels very connected to the dark fruitiness. This is a nice nose, but it feels somewhat divided into two parts.

Mouth: It starts out with lemon in the back and assorted dry fruits up front. After a few seconds it shifts and turns towards a darker character with ripe blackberries and bitter black coffee notes in the back. It turns even darker with time and it’s not as sweet as on the nose. The vanilla and cinnamon are still in there together with a hint of toffee but they are subdued by the dark fruits and black coffee. It’s very mild and even though it’s flavourful it’s not producing any hard impact on the palate.

Finish: It starts out with a quick minty fresh sweep before the dark fruits and black coffee notes return. The vanilla and cinnamon is now really pushed back and that leaves room for the oakiness to emerge from within the coffee notes. It’s a nice oakiness which matches the profile very well. The contribution to the coffee notes aside it doesn’t deliver any other specific characteristics. The lemon note returns in the late finish which isn’t all too suitable. This is a good whisky which has a couple of flaws when scrutinized, but it’s still a nice and easy sipper.

Additional information
Amber is a part of Macallan’s 1824 series. It’s aged in a combination of refill ex-sherry american oak casks and first fill spanish ex-sherry casks. It contains whiskies from 8-18 years old.

Glenfiddich, Speyside

Glenfiddich Experimental Series – IPA Experiment

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is very fruity and friendly. There’s a rather strong cinnamon and apple cider vibe to it, with a sweetness from vanilla, toffee and honey. There’s also a layer of green grapes and together with the hops from the IPA gives notes of a sweet sparkling white wine. The hops note isn’t dominant. It gets richer and the hops move forward a little bit with time in the glass.

Mouth: Lots of honey, lemon, dustiness, butterscotch and red ripe apples. After a while the bitter hops note appears in the back of the mouth. When it settles, the vanilla and oak flavours take over, but it’s still hoppy. The oak is very nice and sits well between the fruitiness and the bitterness. It’s not very spicy and still friendly and easy on the palate.

Finish: It starts out very sweet, with the honey note up front. It soon becomes very oak forward with a butterscotch and vanilla baseline. The hops follow along with the oak. It’s a tiny bit astringent, but the bitterness is all about the IPA. The oak is dusty and dry and the IPA also releases a sour note. It’s an easy sipper and very approachable.

Additional information
The IPA experiment is the first release in the ”Experimental series”. It’s finished in american ex-bourbon barrels that previously held their single malt and then seasoned with Indian Pale Ale for a month. The finishing period is about 3 months.

Glen Moray, Speyside

Glen Moray Elgin Classic – Sherry Cask Finish

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is young and fruity. At first there’s a rather thin layer of dried mixed fruits and a very present ethanol cloud. There’s a vanilla background and a hint of cinnamon up front. The whole thing is very laid back and nothing pops from the glass. This is a very simple and thin nose. It’s not offensive in any way, but it comes through as a bit boring.

Mouth: It starts out with baked red apples and vanilla up front. It feels richer than what the nose offered. A spicy note builds up and a sulfury gritty note comes through from behind. After a second or two the dried fruits return and replaces the apples. The cinnamon note is still there and it still feels young and spirity. There’s a bitter oakiness coming through in the back and on the sides which isn’t all that nice.

Finish: It starts out a bit spicy and when the initial ethanol cloud settles down there’s a big blur of everything coming through in the center. There’s mixed dried fruits, a lemon note, vanilla and a bitter not so pleasant oakiness all rolled up in a small ball. It takes a while before everything separates and leaves room for the sulfury note and the bitter oak. There is a sort of weird savory note popping up in the back as well. The finish is longer than expected but that is not a very good thing. This is a so and so whisky with both good and bad sides.

Additional information
This version of the Elgin Classic is aged in american ex-bourbon oak barrels and is finished in ex-Oloroso sherry casks.

Ballantine’s, Glenburgie, Speyside

Ballantine’s Glenburgie 15 YO

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is fruity and sweet. At first there’s a fresh, fruity top note with yellow pears and green apples. Underneath there’s a sweet layer of honey and vanilla. The layers slowly shift and trade places with each other. The fruitiness settles in the back and a maltiness appear in the middle. It’s a pretty solid sweet core with all the flavours within. A hint of sweet liquorice also appears when this happens. This is a very approachable and mild nose with a straight forward flavour profile. There’s no sharp edges or surprises.

Mouth: It starts out quite flat and tasteless. It takes a while for the flavours to start coming through. First out is a thin layer of vanilla around the edges and a bitter note in the back. The center is a bit thin and the fruitiness is almost gone but there are malt and oak notes coming through. The sweetness found on the nose isn’t reflected in taste. There’s also a wet cardboard note coming through which isn’t all that pleasant.

Finish: The bitter notes rush forward and basically takes over everything. The fruitiness floats around within and it’s more of a ripe red apple fruitiness now. The maltiness is still there but it’s also thin. There’s vanilla, sweet honey and liquorice but they seem to disappear into the background. The oakiness comes through quite quickly which is a good thing. It’s a nice, dusty oakiness with a nutty character and a very thin tropical fruitiness within. This is a very easy sipper with too many corners cut. It’s thin and too mild at times, but produces an easy access experience for the mass market.

Additional information
The Glenburgie 15 YO was released in 2017 and it’s aged in a combination of refill and first fill american ex-bourbon casks.

Glen Moray, Speyside

Glen Moray Elgin Classic

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there are apples and pears with a honey and vanilla sweetness on top. The fruitiness is the main focal point though. There’s an ethanol cloud sitting on top which isn’t especially flattering. After some time in the glass it becomes a bit maltier and the fruitiness becomes less bright. This is very simple with an easily approachable nose. It’s nice enough, but it’s not an explorer’s whisky.

Mouth: It starts out with a generic sweetness and a somewhat unpleasant distillate. It’s very mild, bordering to flat. After a second or two the fruitiness and vanilla start to come through as well as a bitterness in the background. It’s not an especially nice bitterness and it seems to be connected to the oak notes. Over time the bitterness becomes very pronounced and takes over everything.

Finish: It starts out as mild as before and everything sort of dies except for the vanilla and the bitterness. The oakiness arrives within the bitter notes and the ethanol cloud makes itself known once again. When the oakiness finally takes over it’s almost a relief. It’s a nice enough oak which lacks some character. This is not a very good whisky. The nose is by far the best thing about it.

Additional information
This is the entry level in Glen Moray’s core range. It’s aged about 7 years in american ex-bourbon oak barrels.

Copper Dog, Speyside, Unspecified Distillery

Copper Dog

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is butterscotch and fruits. A thin layer of red apples and green pears sit on top of a base of butterscotch and vanilla. It’s quite young and ethanol driven. The butterscotch note is very prominent and keeps on growing with time in the glass. A fresh citrus perfumey note is filling the gaps between the other flavours. This is very straight forward on the nose.

Mouth: It starts out with the butterscotch up front and it feels very ”boozy” and young. A bitter tang switches the fruitiness from apples and pears to lemon peel and grapefruits. The oakiness comes in early and it’s somewhat astringent. It’s not as sweet as on the nose. Far in the back there are hints of assorted flowers.

Finish: A very uneventful first impact is soon replaced by the same butterscotch note as before. It almost tastes like a cheap blended scotch in the early stages of the finish. There is some apples in there, but they are overrun by everything else. After a few seconds the oak arrives and it’s a fantastic oakiness with peaches, plum kernels and a fresh juicy oak flavour. It lingers for a while and it’s by far the best part of the experience.

Additional information
This is a blend with 8 Speyside single malts matured in different cask varieties included. They are married together in american ex-bourbon oak barrels before bottling. It’s made in association with the Copper Dog Pub in the Craigellachie Hotel.

Glenlivet, Speyside

The Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is fruits and ethanol. At first there’s a mix of apples and pears with a vanilla coating. They are covered by a big cloud of ethanol. It takes a minute of two before it settles in the glass and become a little less spirity. When it does settle it becomes round and malty with hints of honey and sweet liquorice. There is a sour note coming through in the background. The fruits are still the main focal point through the nosing. This is a half-decent nose.

Mouth: It starts out with a sweet honey and vanilla layer sitting on top of the same fruits as on the nose. The background delivers quite a hefty and rather unpleasant bitterness coming through together with a prickly oakiness. It’s quite metallic to the taste and the ethanol cloud is still hovering over everything else.

Finish: A big surge of the unpleasant bitterness pops up before the oakiness pushes through. The fruitiness is much fresher here and it’s more like pears and assorted tropical fruits. It’s a nice fruitiness, but it is overrun by the bitter notes and the oak. The late finish is all about a mix of the oak and the fruits. There is a sharp metallic note and the ethanol makes itself known even in the long run. This is a budget whisky and it tastes exactly like the presets. It’s not too bad, but the corners cut are hard to ignore.

Additional information
This was launced in 2015 as the new entry level of Glenlivet’s core range. It’s aged for the most part in american first fill ex-bourbon casks.

Singleton, Speyside

The Singleton of Dufftown – Spey Cascade

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

Tasting notes
Sample in queue. Tasting notes pending.

See the queue here.

(Scribbles)

Nose: Pears and green apples, vanilla, malt, very friendly, citrus fruits.

Mouth: Honey, malt, dusty, no spicy notes, a bit thin and boring.

Finish: Bitter oak, astringent. A bit unpleasant after a while. A coffee note can be found in the midst of the bitterness.

Additional information
The Spey Cascade is a whisky matured in a mix of ex-bourbon barrels and ex-sherry casks.

Benromach, Speyside

Benromach Organic Special Edition

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ABV: 43 %
Origin: Speyside
Type: Single malt
Bottles in collection: 0
Emptied bottles: 1
Impression: 3/5

Tasting notes
Nose: This is young and sweet. At first there’s a mix of honey, oak and kitchen spices. A young spirity note is initially very protruding, but then it moves back and settles behind the main flavours. After a few seconds a citrus fruitiness moves forward and it sort of morphs into oranges and clementines. There’s a pine note sitting in the back, which doesn’t help. The whole very much reflects the pretences of this whisky very well.

Mouth: It starts out a bit bitter with the wood notes, both oak and pine, in front of everything. After a few seconds a savory, meaty note starts to emerge from behind, and it does so together with black liquorice and an overripe fruitiness. The honey is still in there and a vanilla note sits behind everything else. The bright citrus notes are not present at first, but a thin lemon note do come through after a while.

Finish: The oakiness fills the entire palate and even though the savory note and the honey sits in the center they are soon overshadowed by an extremely fresh oakiness. It’s basically planed, new oak. There’s a young green note coming through which isn’t all that pleasant and the young spirity note is still in there. The thin citrus note remains just that and the oranges arrive once again in the late finish. It becomes astringent over time. This is young and fresh, and it has an array of nice and not so nice flavours. It’s interesting for what it is.

Additional information
This release is a certified organic whisky aged in virgin american oak casks for approximately 6 years. It’s unchillfiltered and has natural colour.

Glenfarclas, Highlands

Glenfarclas 17 YO

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is dried fruits and sweet vanilla. At first there’s a mix of dried apricots and berries taking point. Beneath there’s a thick layer of vanilla, oak and honey. There’s also some darker fruits in there with some raisins and fresh plums. A tiny hint of seaweed can be detected but it sort of comes and goes. A sprinkle of cardemum and cinnamon on top makes this a very round and welcoming nose.

Mouth: It starts out mild and sweet. A spicyness is first to make itself known and shortly everything else follow. It’s still the same mix of dried and dark fruits and berries. The age really comes through with a middle layer of dusty oakiness and bitter liquorice. There’s an outer layer with lemon peel and coconut. The cardemum and cinnamon is still present and they create a thin veil above everything else. It’s not as sweet as on the nose and the vanilla notes are very low key.

Finish: It starts with a warm spicyness and vanilla. The fruitiness is now in the background and in the front there’s a nice coffee and walnuts bitterness coming from a spicy and dusty oakiness. When it starts to subside the fruitiness comes through once again, but now it’s leaning more towards the lemon peel and the dried fruit mix and not so much of the darker notes are left. This is a great whisky which produces a lot of interesting things, even though it feels a bit like it’s a ”in the middle of the ex-sherried scotches” road. The age really helps it along.

Additional information
The 17 YO was originally intended to be a travel retail exclusive mainly for the asian market. It’s aged in ex-Oloroso casks for the entire aging period. It has natural colour.

Benromach, Speyside

Benromach 10 YO

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is dark fruits and mild peat. At first there’s a warm campfire smokiness together with raisins, red berries and vanilla cream. The oakiness is detectable from the start and it sits nicely in the sweet center core together with black liquorice. The sherry notes increase in intensity with time in the glass and after a minute or two the different elements feel very balanced. There’s a Bassett’s allsorts kind of sweet, fruity and liquorice candy-like quality to it.

Mouth: It starts out with a herbaceous peatiness. It’s quite savory and it’s got a nice texture to it, even though it’s very mild. There’s soot and dark fruits in the center. After a second or two some sour red berries come through as well as a fresh, but slightly bitter oakiness. There’s black coffee and a dusty layer sitting on top of the oak. There is a sweeter side to it with some vanilla, honey and coconut, but it’s not as sweet nor as balanced as on the nose.

Finish: A quick spicyness pass by and then it immidiately moves back towards the black coffee bitterness and the darker sherry notes. There’s still a savory note in there. The peat has moved out towards the edges and it’s still quite herbaceous, but the campfire smoke has returned. After a while a tropical fruitiness start to emerge in the middle of it all and it also brings a lemon sourness with it. It takes a while for the oakiness to show up, but when it does, it stays for a long finish together with the peat and the fruitiness. This is a great whisky with a lot of possibility for exploration. It could have been fantastic with a higher ABV presentation.

Additional information
This 10 YO is aged in a mix of 80 % ex-bourbon barrels and 20 % ex-Oloroso sherry casks for 9 years and then married together in first fill ex-Oloroso sherry casks. The malt has a ppm value of 10-12.

Benromach, Speyside

Benromach Peat Smoke 2004

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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 bright and fresh. At first there’s a big bowl of lemons next to a burning woodfire. The character is lively and young and in this case, that’s a good thing. There’s vanilla and cream and, besides the lemons, a hint of green apples. The base is earthy with a base of dry soil. This isn’t very complex or interesting, but it is a very nice nose.

Mouth: At first there’s a dry earthy peatiness and a sweet honey baseline. It is a bit ”cardboardy” behind everything and it it still is young and lively. When the first impact settles the warm campfire peatiness returns together with the green apples and lemons. The vanilla and the cream notes can be found somewhere in the back, but it takes a few seconds before they arrive.

Finish: A peppermint cloud slowly passes by, but it soon turns into a young spirity note before the dry earthy peatiness takes over once again. The fruitiness is still in there with mainly lemons. The flavour profile is very consistant from nose to finish. The oakiness do come through but it’s not especially interesting. This is a very stringent whisky and that makes it a bit uneventful. A high ppm level doesn’t automatically make it interesting. It’s a nice enough experience overall.

Additional information
This peated release from Benromach was distilled in 2004 and aged in refill american hogsheads for an undisclosed amount of time. The malt has a ppm value of 53.

Glen Moray, Speyside

Glen Moray 12 YO – Elgin Heritage

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is fruity and sweet. At first there’s a honey sweetness and a maltiness on top and some fresh fruits in the back. There’s a lemon freshness surrounding everything and when the fruits start to move forward they reveal both oranges and apples. There’s a sprinkle of cinnamon and a vanilla creaminess appearing after a while. This is very pleasant and easy to nose.

Mouth: It starts out sweet and slightly dusty. A mix of honey, vanilla and malt creates a thick top layer. It’s a dense character, which contrasts the fresher aromas on the nose. The fruitiness is now leaning towards orange peel with the bitterness intertwined with both peel and the oak, which is coming through from behind. The cinnamon is still in there givning the whole a desserty overtone.

Finish: It starts out with a quick visit from a mild minty cloud and then returns to being sweet and malty with an orange peel fruitiness. It’s once again a bit more fresh and some yellow juicy pears appear together with the citrus fruits just before the oakiness arrive. It’s a nice enough oakiness with a savory note coming along for the ride. The oakiness doesn’t stay for too long and the late finish is just orange peel and a sprinkle of dust. This is a good whisky without any bells and whistles. You get what you see; A nice 12 YO speysider.

Additional information
This is the entry level expression in Glen Moray’s Elgin Heritage series. It’s matured for the full period in american ex-bourbon barrels.

Glen Moray, Speyside

Glen Moray Elgin Classic – Port Cask Finish

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

Tasting notes
Nose: This is sweet and fruity. At first there’s a layer of vanilla covering everything up. After a while there’s a soft core of berries and honey appearing. It’s a bit young and spirity, but the whole thing is very laid back. There’s a hint of cinnamon and it evolves towards being floral and a bit perfumey. This is a bit too mild and reclusive on the nose.

Mouth: It starts out with quite a hefty flavour rush compared to the nose. It’s liqeuer-soaked raisins, vanilla cream and black coffee. There’s hops and malt in a surrounding layer and the whole thing feels a bit ”hot”. The cinnamon is still in there. There is a touch of honey but the sweetness mainly comes from the port finish. It feels somewhat undecisive on what to bring to the table.

Finish: A spicy flare comes and goes before it returns to the sweetness and malt. There is a beer quality to the main flavour and it’s accompanied by oak and a fruity, floral aura. It doesn’t take very long for it to become oaky. It’s a nice oakiness with a slightly nutty quality to it. The black coffee note is still in there as well as the vanilla. This is a nice whisky with a bit of blemishes here and there.

Additional information
This expression was released in 2014. It’s first aged in american ex-bourbon barrels and then finished for 8 months in ex-Tawny Port casks before being bottled. It’s aged for 7-8 years.

Glen Grant, Speyside

Glen Grant The Major’s Reserve

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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 fruity and floral. At first there are unripe sour green apples and vanilla. There’s a thin maltiness coming from behind and an ethanol cloud on top. There’s a perfumey lemongrass aura surrounding everything and that’s what creates the floral notes. It almost smells like a scented soap. It gets sweeter and maltier with time and honey starts to show after a few minutes. It’s a nice enough nose but it’s not complex or especially interesting.

Mouth: It starts out with a surge of sweetness and then it turns very bitter with oak and malt as main flavours. It’s a bit unpleasant. There is a slight spiciness building up and the fruity and floral notes are still detectable, but the oak and the malt together with the bitterness beat them to the punch. The ethanol cloud is still circling around everything else. The vanilla and honey sweetness has taken a step back and it’s now just a part of the background.

Finish: It starts out where it left off without anything exiting happening in between. It’s still sweet, the ethanol cloud is still there and it’s still bitter from the oak. The maltiness is a bit toned down though. The fruitiness is still in the background and subsides fairly quick in the finish. All that is left in the mouth afterwards is an unpleasant oaky bitterness. This is not a bad whisky, there are just too many corners cut along the way.

Additional information
The Major’s Reserve is the entry level whisky in Glen Grant’s core range. There’s not much information about the content except that it’s aged in ex-bourbon barrels.