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April 26, 2026 |
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The Rum Sessions,
today just a few more rums, some funny |
After quite a few cognacs over these past Sundays, which, incidentally, we thoroughly enjoyed, let’s set off with the wind in our sails… Choosing, as an aperitif, a little Guatemalan number that we hope won’t be too sweet. At least it isn’t adorned with a ‘fake’ age statement—you know, those big numbers that actually correspond to solera numbers, vat numbers, brand anniversaries, the captain’s age, or just about anything else. |
(Clairin The Spirit of Haiti)
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Miracielo ‘Reserva Especial’ (38%, OB, Guatemala, +/-2025) 
A mildly amusing one to begin with, this rum from the makers of Botran sports a name that rather suggests a new model from Lamborghini, would you not agree, although with an octane rating of 38, the beast is unlikely to start. Colour: gold. Nose: gentle, leaning towards pepper liqueur, apricot jam and molasses honey, the touch of fresh pepper is rather playful, indeed this is by no means an unpleasant nose, let us say it plainly, with also a little tinned pineapple. Mouth: well yes it is sweet, a pity, it immediately turns somewhat vulgar, quite at odds with the nose, but we should remember these rums are intended to be taken over ice, and that the cold tempers the sweeter sensations. Yet in these conditions, at room temperature, it becomes disagreeable, even if worse exists. Finish: medium length, very sugary. Comments: we shall remain reasonable on account of the rather pretty nose, in our humbleopinion, with our apologies to the house of Lamborghini.
SGP:720 (on the palate) - 65 points. |
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Santiago de Cuba 11 yo (40%, OB, Cuba, +/-2025) 
The last time we were in Cuba, ten years ago or so, Santiago de Cuba 11 had been our favourite rum among the dozens we tasted, we had even found it superior to the older Santiagos. But this is not quite the same packaging we find here, and we are not entirely sure it is the same style of juice either, the brand having been launched in France rather recently. Colour: honey. Nose: oh how pretty this is, most unusual, with hints of the seaside, jasmine, heather honey, blood orange liqueur and rather a lot of lemongrass, one even wonders whether we might use it as a lotion to keep the mosquitoes at bay. Although that would be wasteful, and the mosquitoes might end up enjoying it as much as we do. Mouth: still magnificent, a touch burnt, roasted, with a very fine caramel, then a duet of café latte and limoncello, followed by a marked cumin note, the only issue being the strength, not quite matching the quality of the spirit. Finish: this is where it shows, it snaps a little and becomes drier, almost cardboardy. Comments: let us start a petition for them to release this at 43%, hoping the restless neighbours do not begin sending Patriots towards the distilleries.
SGP:561 - 85 points. |
Well then, for those of us who were complaining about the strength being too low, we’re in for a treat… |
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Mainland Rum ‘Barrel Number 01’ (80.5%, OB, USA, virgin white oak, 30 bottles, 2025) 
A micro-batch straight out of California, pot distilled from molasses, and, do guess, bottled at barrel proof, we might not have noticed, huh. We shall be tasting several of these Mainland Rums over the coming weeks, so we shall have ample opportunity to return to the subject. Colour: pure gold. Nose: the set-up is the opposite of that of an agricole (cane juice, creole column) and yet it noses rather like an agricole, with a pleasing combination of varnish and vanilla in the manner of a young bourbon, with some earthiness and dried flowers, but we shall go no further without water. With water: very nice indeed, poppy seeds, pumpernickel, caraway, salted butter caramel, a small mix of liquorice and pine tar. Mouth (neat): this time we are sent straight to Jamaica (molasses, pot still) but it is frankly far too strong to be enjoyed as such, unless one wishes to show off in company. With water: clearly Jamaican in style, with that acetone, brine and black pepper, and above all a wealth of bitterness that will delight all lovers of such profiles, among whom we gladly count ourselves. Finish: long, with also a slight Guyanese edge, candied oranges and freshly ground pepper in the aftertaste. Comments: for now we have tasted a young one from the range, next time we shall dig deeper into the matters. We always seem to do everything the wrong way round at WF.
SGP:562 - 88 points. |
Since we were talking about agricole… |
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Bielle 2014/2025 (53.5%, Swell de Spirits and Passion Rhums Bielle, Marie-Galante, #19, 300 bottles) 
Entirely tropical ageing. We shall have to discuss this rather controversial topic one day, not from a political standpoint of course, it is always preferable that the added value remains in the country of origin, but let us not forget that higher temperatures do influence esters. One day we shall talk about the acceleration of ester hydrolysis above 20-25°C and the consequences for the complexity of rums, but not just now. Colour: full gold. Nose: oh how beautiful this is, on geranium and caraway, bergamot, fennel, sweet woodruff, a magnificent nose. With water: it does not move an inch and that is just as well, the cane juice speaks quietly in the background. Mouth (neat): a mirror of the nose, caraway, anise, liquorice wood, small aromatic herbs, borage, we scarcely dare mention a faint pastis side. With water: the liquorice comes to the fore, with mint and eucalyptus as well, the whole displaying superb freshness. Finish: very long, taken over by small citrus fruits, we simply go along with it. Comments: in French there is a small play on words which is untranslatable, ‘what if we let a Bielle flow’ (et si on se faisait couler une Bielle), something perhaps best kept for the end of an evening at the bistro or restaurant, that said.
SGP:462 - 90 points. |
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Barbados 18 yo 2006 (48%, Elixir Distillers, The Rum Trail, ex-bourbon, 500 bottles, 2025)
This is the well-known column and pot still duo from Foursquare, we would suppose, an assemblage of two casks. Colour: full gold. Nose: yes indeed, burnt wood, cedar, melted butter, a charming little Swiss cheese note, touches of white balsamic (with apologies to our Italian friends) and even whiffs of fino sherry, we rather get the impression that the proportion of pot still is fairly high this time, in any case the gentler side of Foursquare seems somewhat distant. Mouth (neat): more classical, more on cane and fudge, white pepper and vanilla, with a lighter texture than one might have expected after the nose, to the point where we now wonder whether it might not also be Mount Gay. Finish: pleasant, soft, gently spicy, still with that rather light texture, with a floral side, almost rose jelly and orange blossom, alongside praline and liquorice. Comments: it must be Foursquare, thus excellent. I mean, the other way ‘round.
SGP:651 - 88 points. |
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Beenleigh 16 yo ‘Yowie’ (68.3%, Raising Glasses, Heavy Metal Edition, Australia, 324 half bottles, +/-2026)
It would seem they shot the picture on the label in D.C., would they not, although the Yowie rather appears to be Australia’s Bigfoot. In any case we do love Beenleigh, and it is worth noting that 5% of the profits go to the North Queensland Animal Rescue here, which is rather splendid. I don’t think the latter is dealing with the Yowie issues, having said that. Colour: full gold. Nose: delightfully dirty and as acetic as one could wish, with old leather and humidor notes, alongside various umbelliferous touches that bring plenty of freshness and complexity, but let us not get carried away and let us remember the high strength. With water: elegant, like a white Hermitage, we assure you. Mouth (neat): absolutely beautiful, imagine now a young bourbon in the style of Willett, to which one has added pepper, brown tobacco, peppermint liqueur and lemon, quite the cocktail. With water: fresh turmeric and pickled ginger come through, one could almost pour it over sushi. Finish: long, with several peppers jostling for attention, then a touch of mango. Comments: truth be told it is probably not the most precise or orderly rum, yet that is precisely one of the reasons why we enjoy it so much. Jumble and chaos, that is life.
SGP:562 - 88 points. |
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Savanna 17 yo ‘RumX’ (68.7%, OB, La Réunion, grand arôme, cognac then armagnac casks, cask #991, 445 bottles, 2026)
This one is uniquely for the RumX web community, it’s a grand arôme from the old Savalle column, with 664.6 grams of esters per HLPA. On the Hampden scale this would be HLCF, while for those who might be unsettled by the large X on the label, rest assured this is not Bumbu, you may put away the pistols and catapults. Colour: full gold. Nose: it starts at full throttle on acetone and Jerez vinegar, then moves towards shoe polish and softwood smoke, before olives and pata negra ham emerge, all this at nearly 70% vol. With water: it bursts with eucalyptus and brine, you could almost use it as an inhalation to clear the airways. Mouth (neat): a true Réunion meets Jamaica style, for let us be honest, only Savanna can achieve this sort of profile on the island. Sharp, acidic, lively, packed with tar, varnish and brine, yet it still leads you by the nose, it is even a little tiring at natural strength, though that’s a healthy sort of fatigue (S., healthy?) With water: a massive arrival of salt, in the form of seawater or brine, with also a touch of new rubber and lime peel. Finish: very long, as they say, like a day without bread, with the return of acetone and even hints of ammonia, while black olives come in to keep order in the aftertaste. Comments: what a beast, that signature on black olives is magnificent.
SGP:463 - 90 points. |
I was planning to finish with a Jamaican, as usual, but you could almost say we’ve just had one, in a way. A Franco-Jamaican that might even bring Serge Gainsbourg to mind back when he was dabbling in reggae. Alright, perhaps that comparison is a bit of a stretch. Anyway, let’s look for something truly different to round off this little session in style, yet something that can still hold its own against that crazy Savanna… This one, perhaps? … |
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Vieux Casimir 8 yo 2018/2026 (50.8%, Velier, Haiti, clairin, ex-Caroni cask)
This baby is brand new, and we are not entirely convinced there is much point in the ex-Caroni thingy, for what matters to us is the distillate, not how the chef has seasoned it afterwards, nor how empty casks are being recycled. But you understand, we are sure, Casimir is the present, Caroni is the past. Colour: gold. Nose: it is always a great pleasure to speak about clairin with taxi drivers, in Paris or in New York, as many are Haitian. In any case here we find smoked banana, spruce, a rather surprising Ardbeg-like side, and an irresistible mix of menthol and anise, and this is pure cane juice. With a little water: one can almost sense the Atlantic, would you believe it. Mouth (neat): a marvellous rum, earthy, briny and packed with small herbs and flowers, especially dill and elderflower, with tarry notes keeping watch in the background. With water: smoke, tar, bitterness and overripe fruits, what more could one ask for. Finish: long, saline, earthy. Comments: the other appeal of these clairins is their ‘countryside’ side. As President Chirac might have said, it smells of the cowshed. Haitian cows of course. Oh and that was a positive thing coming from Chirac.
SGP:363 - 90 points. |
 Check the index of all rums we've tasted
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April 24, 2026 |
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Sadly no Limburg this year for me, have fun each and everyone!
- S.
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The Time Warp Sessions,
today Longmorn 2009 vs 1964
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Well then, that’s a 45-year gap, if I’m not mistaken. We’ve got quite a few old Longmorns in the pipeline, which of course delights us immensely, but let’s just say this is a small aperitif session. After all, days only have thirty-six hours and weeks twelve days… Yet little WF Towers is overflowing. In any case, this time we’re going to start with the older one, since the strength is much lower than that of the younger… |
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Longmorn 1964/2014 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail, licensed label, first fill sherry hogshead, cask #1036)
Longmorn in a good sherry, it ages extremely well, especially at G&M. The examples are countless, and we shall admit that in this precise case, the lowly 43% vol. do not frighten us in the slightest. Colour: dark mahogany. Nose: sublime, on rosewood, the aromas wafting from old Dunhill or Benson & Hedges shops in London, thus very classy pipe tobacco, bresaola, marrow dumplings, and simply immense cognacs and armagnacs, to cut a long story short. Add a few touches of mint, parsley and chives. It is a dazzling nose. Mouth: incredibly lively, almost smoky, with a perfect bitter oak, brown tobacco, prunes, old Corinth raisins turned dry, black teas of great pedigree, chocolates of the same ilk, and there we are, we stop here but we could go on for ages. Finish: had we not said we would stop there? Comments: this old baby has almost floored us, being at once precise and complex, which is rare. We bow with deference before this pure jewel. The only thing that troubles us a little is that we expected this.
SGP:561 - 93 points. |
We’ll take a break before moving on to the youngster, otherwise it wouldn’t be fair… |
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Longmorn 15 yo 2009/2025 (55.8%, The WhiskyFind for HNWS 20th Anniversary, bourbon barrel, cask #334, 186 bottles)
By the way, a little bird tells me that HNWS stands for Hong Niang Whisky Shop. Good to know, cheers to Taiwan! Colour: very pale white wine. Nose: it is pretty, soft, on vanillaed apple compote, custard, mashed banana, ripe mirabelle, and even white chocolate. This is the very gentle side of Longmorn. With water: it is truly the complete opposite of the old G&M, it is almost purely on fresh fruit salad and barley. Mouth (neat): all the fruits from an orchard in a northern region, small tart apples, greengages, gooseberries, quinces, all wrapped in just a hint of acacia honey and vanilla. With water: it does not really move, we might just add a little green tea and barley syrup. Finish: of medium length, essentially on syrups, barley, agave, cane… just a touch of lemon in the aftertaste. Comments: utterly elementary, in the very best sense of the term.
SGP:641 - 87 points. |
(Thousands mercis, Aaron) |
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April 23, 2026 |
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Let’s try to treat our Bennevissitis with three 1996s
You know, Bennevissitis, an affliction that affects many of us and leads us to try to taste Ben Nevis as often as possible. Here, we’re trying a new approach: treatment through exposure to the virus, a bit like how vaccines work. You might say that with 1996s, there’s no guarantee it will work… Well, let’s reconvene at the end of the year to see how many Ben Nevis we’ll have tasted in 2026. In short, we’ll rank these three 1996s in ascending order.
PS: WF certainly does not encourage smoking. |
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Ben Nevis 29 yo 1996/2026 (42.3%, The Wealth Spirit, hogshead, cask #1398, 250 bottles)
Old malts at very low natural strength are often rather fascinating, especially when we are dealing with corpulent and well-textured distillates, such as Ben Nevis. Colour: white wine. Nose: do forget it. Old paint pots, brine and seawater, slag, saltpetre, sodden ashes… Then gradually, exotic fruits begin to emerge, mango first, then pink banana and papaya. The development is perfect and textbook, as though a film director had been at work on this cask. Perhaps the one behind Braveheart, since I believe the film was shot around Ben Nevis around those years, at least in part? Mouth: this time, a complete reversal, with exotic fruits arriving straight away, while ashes, oils, seaweed and waxes follow only afterwards. It is a touch less corpulent than others, though that will be the strength. Finish: medium in length, with a return of maritime elements. Pepper and salt in the aftertaste, along with a bitterness. Comments: more flawless than Mel Gibson’s performance in that movie.
SGP:662 - 90 points. |
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Ben Nevis 29 yo 1996/2026 (47.6%, Maltbarn, bourbon cask, 152 bottles)
What is that on the pretty label, micro-vegetation, or plankton under a microscope? Colour: white wine. Nose: it is more metallic than the first, with wafts of an old purse filled with copper and brass pennies and centimes. We then move on to hay and freshly cut grass, then paraffin, engine oil, but also toasted sesame oil, before witnessing the subtle arrival of vineyard peaches and mangoes, accompanied by grist. It is a little more austere than the previous one, but it is a magnificent austerity. Mouth: fruity yet a little more toasted. Gueuze, apple juice, guava, then green pepper and touches of propolis, with that resinous edge. The saltier aspects then begin to assert themselves, we cannot help but think of fairly peppered baked oysters. Finish: long and more herbaceous. Pine needles and above all some splendid old bitter cordials. That, we do love. Aftertaste distinctly salty. Comments: perhaps not one of the most extravagant Ben Nevis 1996s, but the finish was perfect. That is well worth one extra point.
SGP:562 - 91 points. |
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Ben Nevis 28 yo 1996/2025 (49%, The Wealth Spirits & Milroy’s of Soho ‘Future Legends’, hogshead #758, 120 bottles)
What do you mean ‘future legends’, when the BN ’96s are already legends of the present day! Colour: pale gold. Nose: this style we do love as well, it is more acetic, with apple vinegar, manzanilla, then crushed clay and natural Champagne, Selosse-style. We shall not say more, yet on the nose it is truly a ‘white wine malt’, which is the exact opposite of a winesky. Mouth: sharp, earthy, with cactus, mezcal, chalk, ashes, lemon zest, oysters, basalt, propolis… Finish: very long, more bitter, more peppery, more waxy, more perfect still. Comments: this is not a Ben Nevis for everyone. Right, let us drop that rather unsubtle manoeuvre, it is simply a universally appealing Ben Nevis
SGP:463 - 92 points. |
I rather fear we’ll never recover. Proof of that: we’ve got a little bonus, no doubt quite different (vintage, sherry) … |
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Ben Nevis 21 yo 2002/2024 (56.1%, Signatory Vintage for Waldhaus World of Whisky, 1st fill sherry butt, cask #327, 560 bottles)
Directly from the Engadin. Colour: caramel. Not meaning there’s any in there, mind. Nose: we had to expect this, the sherry dominates at first, with chocolate, coffee, leather, pipe tobacco… then, little by little, the distillate emerges from this shell, rather like Michael Jackson in Thriller. Right. The tobacco becomes more aromatic, the balsamic begins to hum, the walnut liqueur too… you will say that all this is probably also the sherry at work. Let us try water. With water: pure brown tobacco. An old pack of Gauloises or Gitanes. Or if you wish to be even more extreme, Gitanes maize paper (papier maïs). Mouth (neat): Mon Chéri, balsamic, pepper liqueur, tobacco, leather, bitter orange liqueur… it is also particularly thick. With water: it grates and sticks, but we like this very much, there is a lot going on, between old walnuts, ultra-dry amontillado, Seville oranges, and above all that leather side, always very present. Finish: long, on tobacco and leather. Slight touches of new rubber, this does not bother us in the slightest. Comments: it certainly cannot rival the 1996s, but in its category, it sure is a top trigger.
SGP:362 - 88 points. |
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April 22, 2026 |
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The Time Warp Sessions,
today Mortlach 2006 vs 1969
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Regarding these two vintages, we’ll avoid mentioning rock and roll artists, that would be wiser. Except, of course, for those who were active in both years. Right then: Jeff Beck (RIP), Robert Plant, The Rolling Stones, Engelbert Humperdinck (spot the odd one out) … There’s still a gap of 37 years between them… |
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Mortlach 18 yo 2006/2025 (56%, The First Editions, for HNWS Taiwan, refill hogshead, cask #HL21494, 126 bottes)
Let us go in search of sulphur ‘from the distillate’… Colour: pale gold. Nose: and here it is straight away, that famous paraffin and lanolin side, quickly joined by fresh apple and fresh plaster. It is really not common to come across Mortlachs this close to nature, in any case to their natural style… With water: a mix of chalk, clay, apple juice and lemon zest. It is very taut, we do like this. Mouth (neat): this really is a great distillate. Hold tight, we find some slightly odd things here, such as black garlic, cider apples, baker’s yeast, green pepper, very bitter orange, olive brine… In short, it has plenty to say. With water: it carries on along the saline side, one would think of a seaside distillery. But an old Scotsman once told me that in any case, all of Scotland is by the sea. Hmm… Finish: long, sharp, lemony, saline, with ashes. Comments: quite frankly, blind I would n.e.v.e.r. have said Mortlach. Benromach, perhaps? Who did the stencilling, an intern student?
SGP:362 - 87 points. |
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Mortlach 22 yo 1969/1991 (50.5%, Cadenhead, Black Dumpy)
from the end of the black dumpies, before moving to the Authentic Collection in the classic green bottles, now actively sought after, or so I was told in a bar in a moment of distraction, by the US Army to use as fuel. I do not know whether that is true… Colour: full gold. Nose: there is quite clearly a kerosene side, and I am not joking. Basalt rocks, paraffin, wild mint, wild garlic, smoked meats… This is very unusual in these times of PX, Mizunara, red Bordeaux, virgin oak and suchlike, but it is rather magnificent, if a little disconcerting. With water: it becomes more civilised, with overripe apples, banana cake, blueberry muffins… Mouth (neat): a smoky Mortlach, waxy, but also with strawberry liqueur, dried meat, pink pepper… It has been a long time since anyone has produced such a profile. With water: are we quite sure Mortlach is not by the sea? This salted stewed strawberry side is most unusual, and in truth magnificent. Soya sauce, dried jujubes. Finish: long, with stewed strawberries that do not take any nonsense. Comments: strawberries! I am sure that a large part of these unusual aromas comes from bottle ageing that must have proceeded perfectly. We shall not discuss here the role of glass and caps, we shall do that another time.
SGP:562 - 90 points. |
(Thanks to the Absolutely Nuts!) |
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April 21, 2026 |
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The World Sessions,
today just a few more whiskies from around the world |
As we all need to reconcile ourselves with the world, wouldn’t you agree? Let’s begin with France, as usual… |
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Warenghem 2019/2026 ‘Silvae’ (46%, Version Française, LMDW) 
Warenghem is Armorik. Here we have a vatting put together by La Maison du Whisky from the same malt, yet doubly matured in four singular oaks (if that makes any sense), Breton oak, mizunara, American oak, French oak. Do not worry, Breton oak is French as well. We also happen to have each of these expressions separately, though we shall taste them later. Colour: gold. Nose: a bakery at six in the morning, with baguettes but also country loaves, brie with kirsch, croissants, mochis, Paris-Brest, that’s of course even more buttercream… And in this bakery, they also sell you bananas and apples. Mouth: the wood dominates in a young bourbon style, there is plenty of curry, hay, sawdust, green banana, even plantain and perhaps cassava. The impact of the wood is maximal, so this is not quite balanced, yet as they say, it is through imbalance that we move forward. Right. Finish: long, with a few notes of pear juice that come to reassure us. Fir buds in the aftertaste, just as they are. Comments: they have pushed the sliders to the maximum, rather in a heavy metal style. I suspect there are enthusiasts for this extreme style, not only amateur carpenters. Seriously, it is really good, but it needs to settle down. Let us put a few bottles in the cellar for future generations…
SGP:450 - 80 points. |
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TER 5 yo ‘Lignum’ (40%, OB, Italy, triple wood cask aged, 2025) 
A whisky from the house of Roner, in Trentino Alto Adige. It is true that 40% vol. does not send a very encouraging message, yet the truth is in the glass… Not entirely sure this is barley malt. Colour: gold. Nose: extremely light, fleeting, with touches of vanilla and fresh wood. A little apple juice. Mouth: a little better, there is some texture, yet we remain on fresh wood, vanilla and apple juice. Finish: same. Comments: a ‘world whisky’ in the style we used to encounter twenty-five years ago. I am sure they will improve, all the more so as Trentino Alto Adige is one of Europe’s high places of distillation.
SGP:231 - 56 points. |
Come on, let’s have some German-Mexican fun… |
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Beverbach ‘Tequila Cask Finish’ (43%, OB, Germany, +/-2024) 
We had always made fun of tequila casks, yet since Lagavulin did it, we laugh rather less. Indeed, L.a.g.a.v.u.l.i.n. Colour: white wine. Nose: very light as well, yet there are rather pretty rooty notes, carrot, celery, then vanilla… Then some curious notes of anchovy and tinned sardines appear, that must be the tequila. The worst part is that we are not against it. Mouth: it is pleasant, we find that briny side again, anchovy, but also some light manzanilla and a few capers. Finish: of medium length and surprisingly saline. The carrots return in the aftertaste. Comments: it is genuinely pleasant, even if we would not be downing a double magnum while pondering the future of the world.
SGP:451 - 78 points. |
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La Roja ‘Melquiades Lot #2’ (44.6%, OB, Switzerland, +/- 2025)
A mix of barley malt and maize, organic to boot. In these times when everyone rather does not care about organic, especially in whisky, this ought to be applauded, despite the PX finish, was it organic PX by the way? What is more interesting is the six months in stainless steel that followed. Colour: full gold. Nose: shortbread, damp earth, vanilla, bread dough, fresh barley, porridge. No PX detected, I repeat, no PX detected, unless perhaps in those marzipan notes that appear later. Mouth: it is a good whisky, rather in the style of the newer American malts, yet this time the PX asserts itself, with a somewhat marked bittersweet side. Finish: fairly long, more saline and fermentary. Indeed, we find notes of sweetcorn topped with salted butter, as well as peanut butter. Comments: I would have left it one more year in stainless steel, or better still, in concrete. I am not joking. This is a very pretty whisky.
SGP:351 - 79 points. |
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Ki One 2021/2025 (57 .1%, OB, The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show exclusive, Korea, new American oak, cask #21-0200, 243 bottles)
The brand positions itself as the first Korean malt, yet according to my notes, it may rather be Kimchangsoo. At least Kimchangsoo was the first one I, ever saw. No matter… It is really very young. Colour: full gold. Nose: sawdust, vanilla, light coconut, semi-ripe bananas, clay and carbon dust. This latter part is interesting. With water: porridge. It even folded in on itself, like a frightened oyster. Mouth (neat): much better on the palate than on the nose, with a rather unusual side of bananas roasted with pepper and curry bread. Very good, very unusual indeed. With water: bread, pepper, cardamom, chilli… The kimchi of malt. Finish: long, dry, peppery, yet we then find curry cookies, or cod fritters. Comments: the nose is anecdotal, there has to be one, yet the palate is very, very interesting. Not just the PC word here.
SGP:362 - 85 points. |
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Millstone 11 yo 2014/2025 (51.1%, Decadent Drams, Netherlands, 1st fill ex-bodega PX sherry hogshead, 320 bottles)
Since when have proper maturing bodegas had hogsheads. Not sure we want to know, yet on the other hand, the label is very pretty. And then, it is Millstone… Between us, when indies such as DD and a few others select one or another world whisky, it is the equivalent of the kiss of love. Colour: dark amber. Nose: these Millstones is the blending of a great bourbon and a great Scottish malt, figuratively, and here is further proof. Fudge, varnish, charcoal, roasted bananas, milk chocolate, seeded bread, toasted sesame… With water: fresh paint. Mouth (neat): it is so good! You take a great bourbon, you add pastis and pepper liqueur, bitter orange, and there you are. With water: superb spices. Where do they come from. I do not know, in any case this is a very fine liquid gingerbread. Finish: long, on spiced fruitcake, Christmas style. Comments: all the world-trade and Hanseatic (well) side of our friends the Dutch, you find all the spices of the world in this magnificent young whisky.
SGP:361 - 88 points. |
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Taichung 2013/2023 ‘Sorghum’ (55.5%, OB, Taiwan, bourbon, cask # 12131328, 92 bottles)
Brilliant, sorghum! Here it is TTL at the helm, also known as Nantou, also known as Omar, and I should add that the brand’s representatives are charming. There, that is said. Colour: gold. Nose: we are clearly in the realm of grain, yet there is this damp earth and geranium side that is really rather pretty, even if we are extremely far from the nosing texture of a malt. Touches of pineapple. With water: delicate, fruity and floral, moving towards coconutty white chocolate. Mouth (neat): a very fruity grain that does not rely solely on coconut. That said, it could also be a light rum, it is not so different. With water: back to a whisky side, rather in a wheated bourbon style. Pleasant flavours, very light texture. Finish: like a comet’s tail, on syrups. Comments: the Omars and Nantous can be grand, indeed we have had a large session waiting in the wings for quite some time, yet this much lighter version is not bad at all either.
SGP:630 - 82 points. |
Go on then, while we’re at it… |
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Nantou 6 yo 2018/2025 (57.6%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, Taiwan, ‘Thrills, gills and skills with grills’, 1st fill bourbon barrel, #138.28, 180 bottles)
It would seem that the people responsible for finding names for new SMWS releases continue to consume twenty percent of the production before settling on said name. Colour: gold. Nose: a very fine combination of small apples and camphor, plus fresh mushrooms. With water: rubber boots and linseed oil. Mouth (neat): green bananas, mint sweets, toasted sesame and very gentle olive oil. Very pretty. With water: oh very lovely, with the arrival of small apples and crème de menthe. Finish: long, creamy, on mint, apples and lemon, in rather perfect synchronisation. Touches of aniseed in the aftertaste. Comments: it is astonishing that the Scotch Malt Whisky Society have already bottled 28 casks of Nantou, and no doubt more as we speak. Astonishing, yet not surprising…
SGP:561 - 87 points. |
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Penderyn 20 yo 2004/2024 (59%, OB, LMDW Foundations, Wales, bourbon barrel, cask #37, 115 bottles) 
Indeed we are late once more, yet the days when Penderyn was boosted with Madeira to the point where it was hard to detect the character of the distillate are long gone. Indeed, we have had some very fine ones since those slightly darker times… Colour: gold. Nose: pure banana juice with oats and white chocolate. With water: even more banana. Mouth (neat): pure and elegant, fruity like some lighter Japanese, yet it then becomes then frankly herbaceous, with moreover a coconut that seems keen to take charge as well. But perhaps it is the high strength that gives this impression. With water: the balance returns, on green banana and green tea, with a saline touch. Finish: of medium length, without major change. Rather herbaceous aftertaste. Comments: a pretty bottle, actually pleasantly shy.
SGP:451 - 84 points. |
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April 20, 2026 |
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A cheerful bunch of thirteen Chichibu
in no particular order |
It’s a bit like attempting a motorbike jump over the Grand Canyon (think Evel Knievel) or climbing Everest without oxygen (think Reinhold Messner). Or even polishing off an entire bottle of Loch Dhu 10-year-old in under a year!
Pair of horns at Chichibu (Chichibu)
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As a reminder, little Chichibu was the first of the “new” Japanese distilleries in over thirty years, built in 2008. Its founder, Ichiro Akuto, then went on to build Chichibu No. 2 in 2019, which is much larger and more modern. I’m not sure whether we’ll already have any Chichibu 2 on the table today; in any case, we’re going to proceed entirely at random. In short, this isn’t a blind tasting, but rather a blind selection.
Enough chatter, let’s get started… |
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Chichibu 7 yo 2017/2025 ‘Code’ (65.8%, Spirits of Salud, first fill bourbon barrel, cask #8274, 180 bottles)
Distilled from heavily peated Odyssey barley. In theory, all this is our favourite set-up, so this is off to a fine start. Colour: gold. Nose: obviously. It begins on gravel, wet chalk, fireplace ash and ashtray, then a touch of lemon and some seawater arrive, immediately bringing tension, although the whole remains curiously gentle for now. Freshly sawn fir wood then starts to creep in. With water: even more fir, fir ashes, some fresh putty and smoked sesame cream. Mouth (neat): citrus, brine and pinpoint ashes. A very slight medicinal alcohol side. Nothing else at this stage, but at these strengths, that is normal. It is nonetheless very lovely. With water: forget that medicinal alcohol business, this is a very pure expression of peat and smoked barley, in the vein of Kornog and Smögen. What a trio! The citrus is more prominent, and the fir resin and lemon duo works perfectly. Finish: long and precise. Comments: it was to be expected, and indeed we expected it.
SGP:467 - 91 points. |
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Chichibu ‘Paris Edition 2025’ (50.5%, OB, for La Maison du Whisky, Edition Asakusa, 2,484 bottles)
We usually taste these upon release, but this time we’ve been dragging our heels a wee bit, as you can see. This baby, which reached us under various very pretty labels, here we simply picked one at random, was assembled from seventeen casks, namely: four new French oak casks, one Spanish oak cask that had held sherry, three French oak casks that had held Bordeaux red wine, one American oak hogshead, six bourbon barrels as well as two bourbon barrels that had held a very peated whisky. At least, no single style ought to dominate… Colour: gold. Nose: we do nonetheless feel the influence of the French oak and the Bordeaux, if only by contrast with the previous one. Notes of green walnuts, a very slight rubbery touch, blood oranges, piperade, Aperol… With water: it folds back onto the distillate, and that is all to the good. The ‘red’ notes have faded away, while mastics and fresh paint are now to the fore. Mouth (neat): it is obviously excellent, but it is gentle. Blood oranges again, and again some Aperol, unless it is Campari. In short, the taste is ‘red’ as well. With water: here it continues along the same pattern, pink pepper, gentle bitters, raspberry, light salinity, light peat, bell pepper… Finish: fairly long, rather supple for Chichibu. Comments: it is excellent, there is a genuinely amusing puzzle side to it, but it is hard to compete with a heavily peated single bourbon cask.
SGP:553 - 88 points. |
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Chichibu 7 yo 2017/2025 (65.4%, OB for LMDW, Itinéraires, 1st fill bourbon barrel, cask #8282, 176 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: we could almost attempt to beat the world record for the shortest tasting note ever, as we are so close to the ‘2017 Code’. We could simply have written ‘same’. With water: same. Mouth (neat): well then, same. With water: same. Finish: same. Comments: we shall never beat the record of Victor Hugo, then in exile in Guernsey, who had sent his publisher in Paris, just after the launch of a new novel, a telegram reading ‘?’. His publisher had replied thus: ‘!’. That was Whiskyfun’s cultural minute. For once!
SGP:467 - 91 points. |
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Chichibu 7 yo 2017/2025 (61.4%, OB for LMDW, Itinéraires, Yoshiya Hongo, cider cask, cask #14329, 219 bottles)
I think it was the who Scots used to say, though everyone has forgotten it: ‘Grape or grain, but never the twain.’ Yet we have never heard anything about grain and apple, and even less about cider. Colour: orange. Nose: enough joking, we know that apple and whisky go perfectly together, and here is a fine example. It is rich and a little rounded, yet the coherence of the whole is perfect, on apple indeed but without that calvados side one may find elsewhere, while touches of pine resin and fresh mint then join in. Lovely! With water: the water brings out the liveliness of the whole, removes the initial fattiness, yet reveals clay and plasticine. Mouth (neat): much livelier on the palate, the apple is green and lemon joins in subito presto. It almost sends a shiver down the spine as it goes down. With water: same, it is excellent. Finish: long, very lively, racy, with indeed notes of green apple. Comments: can we learn more about this cider? Our cider stocks are depleted…
SGP:465 - 90 points. |
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Chichibu ‘The Ultimate Spirits’ (51%, OB for the Whisky Hoop Japan, 391 bottles, 2023)
A vatting, hold tight, of refill bourbon barrel, mizunara heads chibidaru, and mizunara heads hogshead. The barley was Concerto. We no longer quite recall what ‘chibidaru’ is, please refer to a reliable source. Colour: pale gold. Nose: perfectly balanced, waxier than the previous ones, closer to barley, bread, earth, little aromatic herbs, mint, dill, fennel seeds… We find this magnificent, Mister Hoop of Japan. With water: superb. Spruce needles, linseed oil… Mouth (neat): mint and lemon in perfect tango, then fresh pepper and eucalyptus. That must be the mizunara. With water: it does not move, yet it is perfect. Perhaps more grapefruit? Finish: long and once again closer to earth and conifers. Fir honey, cough syrup and finger lime. Comments: this is utterly impeccable, here at WF Towers we bow with deference.
SGP:463 - 91 points. |
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Chichibu 2015/2025 (58%, OB, mizunara heads quarter cask, for Rudder & Club Qing, Hong Kong, cask #16865, 176 bottles)
Some mizunara head quarter cask in action again. It does look like the smartest set-up involving mizu, does it not. Colour: full gold. Nose: amusing that we are finding bananas here, beyond the fresh resinous wood, cedarwood and temple incense. In any case this is very lovely, let us see what happens after adding water. After all, the heads only represent 23.7489% of the wood contact in a quarter cask, we have just made that up, sorry, but you get the picture. With water: well then, the coniferous woods come out even more, and we do rather like that. Very fine work on balance, as always with Chichibu. Mouth (neat): an explosion of tropical fruits, coated in fir honey. Orange, mango, cedarwood… With water: the barley and lemon come back in force. Finish: long, very fresh, perfect. The bananas from the start return a little, but on tiptoe. Comments: we rather think we are beginning to suffer from Chichibuitis, another serious condition that had long been brewing at WF-a-Lago.
SGP:562 - 91 points. |
Let’s get to the bottom of this whole mizunara story, with a full-mizunara from a few years back that we’d never tasted before. Tell me about a whisky blogger… |
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Chichibu 2010/2018 (62.2%, OB, Number One Drinks, mizunara hogshead, cask #1000, 278 bottles)
Do we not rather miss those days when labels were more humorous, not to mention these wretched AIs. Colour: gold. Nose: pure mint tea, eucalyptus inhalations, fresh pine sawdust, but also fresh grist and proper pizza dough. One cannot say they got it wrong, at the start of the distillery. With water: cedarwood. It reminds us of Cedros de Luxe cases, back when we still smoked cigars, some twenty years ago. Mouth (neat): it does seem there is already a tiny touch of bottle ageing, and if we are not mistaken, that is very good news. In short, a perfect combination of lime, mint, fir buds and eucalyptus syrup. With water: same, merely in a slightly different order. Let us not elaborate, if you please. Finish: barley and earth come knocking at the door, wax signs off the whole. Comments: grand as an old Scottish malt from the 1960s, in the style of G&M.
SGP:562 - 92 points. |
A genuinely tricky session, we just can’t seem to drop below the 90-point mark (or 90%). Perhaps with a sherried one? … |
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Chichibu 10 yo 2014/2025 (62.3%, OB for LMDW, Itinéraires, Yoshiya Hongo, oloroso sherry, cask #10416, 246 bottles)
Right then, let us not mock sherry, it was after all what propelled Japanese whisky onto the world stage, with the famous Yamazakis, including the 1984 that won the now defunct Malt Maniacs Awards (de profundis), before a diminutive whisky writer with a slight obsession started promoting it himself. The PR agencies did the rest but let us move on… Colour: copper amber. Nose: it needs water, it is a little brutal at cask strength. Wine vinegar? That cannot be right… With water: sulphury puffs, though they do not last too long, then basalt, green pepper and leather. Mouth (neat): utterly explosive, extreme, too much, as acidic and bitter as one could imagine. A decoction of walnut skins and chilli. With water: better, yet it jars and feels dissonant, ultra-vegetal, bitter, resinous and truly extreme. Finish: very long, green, bitter, prickly, vinegary. Plenty of leather, green pepper and bay leaf. Comments: let us say it, we expected this, it clashes. Yet this is entirely a personal view, and, in the end, it remains a very good Japanese whisky.
SGP:272 - 82 points. |
We can’t possibly leave it there… |
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Chichibu 8 yo 2016/2024 (63%, OB for Rudder, mizunara heads hogshead, cask #5826, 195 bottles)
Concerto barley and always this clever way of using mizunara with restraint. Colour: plain gold. Nose: all in gentleness, vanilla, bananas and mangoes, even three drops of yellow Chartreuse, the gentlest one, yet let us not be fooled by the very high strength, which inevitably distorts our dear spirits. With water: mint and mango. Mouth (neat): rounded, soft, citrusy and tropical, rather like a Lochside. Do we remember Lochside? With water: very coated, very fruity, very much on citrus, grapefruits, oranges, then pink pepper. Touches of vineyard peaches. The mizunara is ultimately rather discreet. Finish: long and fruity, nicely defined, on citrus. Then notes of peach skin. Comments: major fruitiness, extremely discreet peat, we are not even sure there was any. The mizunara too was discreet.
SGP:651 - 90 points. |
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Chichibu 2018/2025 (62.2%, OB for Spirits Shop' Selection Taiwan, 1st fill barrel, cask #10986, 215 bottles)
This is the Taiwan Edition 2025, it works rather like Cuban cigars, with special editions per country, or so it seems to us. Yet nothing here feels remotely frightening… Colour: gold. Nose: pure barley, banana, barley syrup, acacia honey, mirabelle liqueur, apricot liqueur… It is very gentle for now; we are far from the peated versions. With water: banana juice blended with guava. Mouth (neat): fresher and more playful, tropical, had you served this blind, we would have said Amrut. Honestly. Or Nantou Omar ex-bourbon. With water: even more tropical. Finish: same. Comments: a fruit bomb that is excellent, though it perhaps strays a little from the distillery’s DNA, you see what we mean.
SGP:741 - 87 points. |
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Chichibu 2014/2025 (61.2%, OB for Spirits Shop' Selection Taiwan, 2nd fill bourbon barrel, cask #3548, 164 bottles)
This time it is heavily peated, so it should be different… Colour: gold. Nose: pretty, on almond milk, pistachio syrup, patchouli, fresh putty, brand new rubber boots, yet without truly massive peat. With water: lime, scuba diving suit, linseed oil… Mouth (neat): we find again the razor-sharp freshness of this style, limes and ashes, sorrel, zests… Yet indeed, at cask strength, the peat remains measured. With water: it is the fruitiness that wins the day, the peat remains decorative, at least compared to the 2017s. Finish: fairly long, on lime and fir buds. Comments: this seems to sit at an intermediate level between the ‘heavily peated’ and the unpeated versions. Of course, it is very good, just not entirely magical, in our very humble opinion.
SGP:553 - 87 points. |
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Chichibu ‘Taiwan Edition 2025’ (53.5%, OB, bourbon barrel and virgin oak hogshead, 840 bottles)
Very well then, there are several editions per country, that is at least how we understand it. Colour: full gold. Nose: this is rather pretty, the virgin oak does not show too much, virgin oak can be vulgar, yet there is still plenty of vanilla, mirabelles, orange cake, apricot jam… With water: touches of beeswax arrive, the whole remaining fairly simple, and therefore coherent. Mouth (neat): very good, on lemons and yellow plums, litres of barley syrup, some lemongrass, even a touch of limoncello… With water: this is truly a very good fruity malt, very much in the style of young Benriach or Balblair, though not especially distinctive. Finish: good length, on yellow fruit jellies, with a notable arrival of quince. Comments: perhaps not masses of Chichibuness, yet it remains rather excellent, of course.
SGP:641 - 85 points. |
I think it’s high time to bring this extravagant session to a close. We had others lined up—most notably an intriguing blend of Chichibu and Ardnamurchan (The Glover)—but we’ll save all that for next time.
Right then, the last one… |
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Chichibu 2018/2025 (66.7%, OB, Taiwan Edition, red wine barrel, cask #9793, 223 bottles)
With a portrait of the owner on the label. Ichiro, we are joking! That said, a nice malt in a red wine barrel is more or less the equivalent of Milli Vanilli singing JS Bach, it does seem a little dubious. Let us see… And well, have you noticed the strength? Colour: copper gold. Nose: this seems rather good, it clashes less than Milli Vanilli tackling Bach, yet that mix of very fruity barley, strawberry and green pepper remains a little concerning. For now. With water: pleasant, though somewhat dispensable. We perhaps should not have started this session with the bourbons… Mouth (neat): on the palate, it works rather well, with notes of pepper, bay leaf, tomato and raspberry, quite surprising yet not unpleasant. And plenty of alcohol. With water: it is fine, it is fine… Green pepper. Finish: long, vegetal, on green pepper sauce and green tomatoes. Pesto, ketchup… Comments: we are in the realm of the unusual.
SGP:561 - 82 points. |
I humbly think that you can have one of the finest distillates in the world, but if you put it into casks that don’t necessarily make much sense, red wine casks in particular, you can only lose out. I know, I go on about it, but that’s my personal view and I stand by it.
Until next time, we’ll have plenty more Chichibu, but I suspect we’ll be pouring the red wine cask versions straight down the sink, without a second thought. Life’s too short. Now let me insist, it’s always a matter of personal taste. I don’t deny, for instance, that the two expressions that ‘only’ scored 82 points are excellent whiskies, and I’m quite sure they have their die-hard aficionados. No problemo. |
(Thanks Aaron, thanks KC) |
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April 19, 2026 |
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Third and final spring session of our cognacs
This time, we’ll be featuring some particularly well-aged cognacs, and shall, naturally, begin with a small aperitif blend…
'In the foreground, success. In the background, the secret." Aren’t those slightly cryptic 1970s adverts something we all love? |
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Baron Otard ‘V.S.O.P.’ (40%, OB, Fine Champagne, +/-1975)
These large-production bottles are still very easy to come by for a few bucks on the market, say €70 to €80 at the very most, but of course, after so many years, the contents can be a bit hit and miss, you will tell me it is much the same with Scotch. We had tasted a more recent version of this ‘black label’ three or four years ago, it had been rather good (+/-1995, WF 80). Colour: deep gold. Nose: classic cognac of the era, very much marked by raisins, though not excessively so, while there is also a gentle touch of pepper, very pleasant, then it carries on towards the usual pairing of peaches in syrup and honey. Mouth: rather more nervous than expected, even if, once again, the raisins are a little too forward for our liking, it then moves on to honey cake, with a slight molasses and corn syrup side, which is a tad unfortunate. Finish: fairly long, now a little too sweet for our taste. Comments: these cognacs were often rather doctored or darkened/obscured, and here it eventually shows, which is a pity.
SGP:741 - 77 points. |
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A. de Fussigny ‘Supérieur’ (45%, OB, Fine Champagne, +/-2025)
A boosted version of the house’s regular gem. We rather like the word ‘supérieur’, it smacks nicely of the 1960s. We also quite like the mention ‘spiced and distinctive’ on the label, I suppose our friends really meant to say ‘spicy’. In any case, this is not doctored cognac! Colour: full gold. Nose: much more herbal than the old Otard, much closer to small herbs, autumn leaves, even white asparagus and aubergines, all things we adore. The base at the back is provided by a combination of orange peel, herbal infusions, liquorice and white pepper. Mouth: a little softer but above all eminently malternative. Saline touches, thyme, camomile, lime blossom honey, vineyard peaches. Finish: long, rather youthful and rustic, with also more liquorice wood. Comments: here is a baby that ticks all the boxes for a malt lover.
SGP:551 - 85 points. |
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Delamain & Cie 1985/2026 ‘Les Tarins Verts’ (51%, Malternative Belgium, Petite Champagne)
The greenfinch or tarin vert in French is a splendid little bird, and we kindly ask our French-speaking friends not to confuse it with the slang word ‘tarin’, meaning ‘big nose’, although we do not doubt that an excess of cognac might indeed grant you a rather large nose of a faintly green hue. As for the house of Delamain, it is sufficiently renowned, no need to labour the point. Colour: full gold. Nose: quince paste and candied orange zest, then a very fine Rhône white wine, think marsanne and roussanne from a top house, with touches of honeysuckle, the balance is perfect. With water: incense and jasmine! Mouth (neat): a very lovely oakiness, slightly green indeed, close to balsa and cedar, whose faintly drying side works perfectly, rather like the second or third infusion of a grand Pu-erh tea, then it develops towards clay and pine sap and lemon sweets, from the Vosges of course, that is to say, the pine sap. With water: all this remains, with the addition of fir honey and a drop of verbena liqueur. Finish: long, ultimately rather fresh, more on lemon, quince and lemon again, nothing to complain about. Comments: rarely has a spirits house so aptly borne its name, we mean ‘Malternative’.
SGP:451 - 90 points. |
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Petite Champagne ‘Lot 19.70 La Signature’ (51.2%, Malternative Belgium, 167 bottles)
A bouilleur de cru’s cognac from the village of Archiac. We are not far from Jonzac, not far from Jarnac, and not far from Cognac either, all of it within a handkerchief, as we say. Colour: full gold. Nose: fruitier, less oriental than the Delamain, more on prunes and currants, dried figs and dates, then a few touches of millionaire’s shortbread and Darjeeling. With water: the wood elements come out elegantly, dried mint, patchouli, eucalyptus, Earl Grey, grey pepper… Mouth (neat): really very fruity, very classic, and we would dare add that it does indeed feel very much like a ‘bouilleur de cru’ thing. Small touches of Italian bitterness beyond the currants. With water: we find the same woody notes as on the nose, especially an Earl Grey and pepper duo, with some chen-pi. Finish: long and really quite spicy at this stage, with several peppers and a hint of black cherry jam, rather like in Itxassou, with a fairly woody aftertaste. Comments: superb, that said, the Delamain had set such an elegant pace. Do not speak to us about the construction of line-ups, and that’s why we often like to do things randomly.
SGP:551 - 88 points. |
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François Voyer ‘Lot 19.60’ (48%, Malternative Belgium, private bottling, 42 bottles, 2026)
Straight from a demi-john, and let us say it, very often that is for the better. If the owners once decided to take a spirit out of wood, it was certainly not without reason. Colour: amber gold. Nose: stop, let us pause, this is another league, that of very great bourbons, with a magnificent varnish, mango, vineyard peach, mint, Timut pepper, broom… We shall not overdo it, on the nose this is a magnificent cognac. Mouth: top of the game. An immense fruit salad drenched in sublime honey, orange juice, a few mint leaves and a hint of olive oil. Ite Missa est. Finish: fairly long, with the arrival of a very soft and subtle liquorice, sometimes liquorice can be overwhelming, but not here. Comments: it is almost embarrassing that it should be so good, when there are, or rather were, only forty-two bottles. It must be said that 1960 is a great year, as all our friends like to say whenever you mention their birth vintage on Facebook. Yet, in wine and aside from sweet wines such as certain Sauternes, 1960 was a very small year, it must be said it was framed by the magical 1959 and 1961.
SGP:651 - 92 points. |
We’ll finish with a pre-war vintage. Though, as you rightly think, these days the term has rather lost its meaning as all vintages are pre-war, sadly. |
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Prunier ‘Lot 23’ (57.2%, Ferrer, Collection Dame-Jeanne, Grande Champagne, +/-2026)
If this were an official Scottish malt, it would be sold to you at one hundred times the price (this 1923 Cognac is tagged at €1,250, one must be dreaming) in Bohemian crystal, complete with a private appointment and a photograph with the master blender, a nickel silver pin badge, two diamond-engraved Glencairns and a numbered certificate of ownership, hand-signed by that very same master blender, plus a CD of Harry Lauder’s greatest hits. By the way, the strength is rather impressive for a 1923, though we do not know how long it had been resting quietly in its demi-john. Colour: red amber. Nose: at this stage we are somewhere between a very old cognac, a very old malt and a very old PX from Malaga, the sort of solera started in the previous century, that is to say the 19th century. An immense combination of very ripe peaches and fresh, juicy prunes, with rose petals and a light touch of incense, it is really rather beautiful. With water: the saps and resins come to the fore, fir, pine, fig tree, even tomato bush, yet it remains balanced, and the incense keeps watch. Mouth (neat): a perfect echo of the nose, with polished woods, very dark chocolate, Russian tea, brown tobacco… The tannins are very present, we are rather curious to see what will happen after the addition of water. With water: do we believe in miracles? Here comes a cavalcade of all manner of candied citrus fruits, alongside all sorts of mints that bring a great deal of freshness to the tannins. Finish: long, more woody, more marked by pine and fir needles, with a very fine bitterness, while the zests continue to keep things in check. Three drops of rose liqueur and pepper in the aftertaste. Comments: it is moving to taste a spirit distilled more than a hundred years ago, in the days of Harry Lauder (ha), yet our score will remain purely organoleptic, naturally, that is the deal.
SGP:471 - 90 points. |
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April 18, 2026 |
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Angus's Corner
From our correspondent and
skilled taster Angus MacRaild in Scotland
Ardmore Times Four
Ardmore persistently refuses to break into either a mainstream or cult following. Perhaps that can be explained by many years of various owners doing little with it other than using its weighty and gently peaty Highland distillate to fatten up blends. |
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I find it odd, as it's undoubtedly a distinctive and charismatic make that maintained an older style personality far beyond many of its contemporaries. Partly due to its gentle peated profile, and up until the late 1990s, also thanks to direct fired distilling. That being said, in recent years there are many much peatier examples on the market thanks to a longstanding use of ex-Laphroaig casks for maturation. Something which, conversely, has somewhat obscured Ardmore's own charming medium peat profile. Today we'll just have four assorted examples, all from the 1990s when I would say the more classical (and charming) Ardmore profile was in full swing. |
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Ardmore 25 yo 1997 (48.6%, Elixir Distillers, The Single Malts of Scotland) 
Colour: pale gold. Nose: gently lemony, sooty and on bailed hay, anthracite and things like crushed oatcakes and laundered fabrics. Slightly muddy too, in that peculiar farmyard way that Ardmore often displays. I also find a wee hint of olive brine. Mouth: typically rather fat and with a slowly unfurling peat smoke profile. Drying peat, with a lot of turfy vibes, mineral oils, many more sooty impressions, clay, metal polish, baked potato skins, boiled cereals that suggest pure mash water and hot draff! I also find it really quite earthy and vegetal, with impressions of baked artichoke and parsnip! Finish: medium, some threads of honey, smoked mead, more putty, clay and coal smoke. Comments: charismatic whisky, but perhaps a tad tough and slightly austere in this instance. Feels a bit younger than 25yo.
SGP: 463 - 85 points. |
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Ardmore 26 yo 1997/2024 (50.3%, The Whisky Exchange 'Seasons', cask #901299, de-char, re-char hogshead)
Colour: gold. Nose: a more honeyed profile here, with sweeter cereal notes, lightly smoked olive oil, caramelised banana and some classical touches of camphor and hessian. With water: tiger balm, soot, camphor and putty, with a little sheep wool oil as well. Mouth: again, it's a similar sort of experience, but a slightly sweeter profile with more mead, honeys and some rather lovely waxy notes coming through. A little herbal as well, with bay leaf and mint tea. With water: chalkier, drier, more earthy, more peppery and a little more decidedly peaty! Finish: good length, nicely sooty, smoky and peaty in a highly classical and positive Ardmorian way. A very impressive finish! Comments: I would say water is obligatory here. It's also more of a palate whisky than a nose whisky for me. Gathered one or two extra points with that lovely, peaty finish.
SGP:463 - 87 points. |
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Ardmore 25 yo 1997/2023 (50.1%, Gordon & MacPhail 'Connoisseur's Choice' for Kensington Wine Market, cask #5564, refill sherry hogshead, 232 bottles) 
Ardmore plus sherry makes us think of some utterly sublime old, very scarce official bottlings. Admittedly, they were decades ago, but modern Ardmore can also work very well in sherry... Colour: amber. Nose: a different ballgame altogether. Old leather pipe tobacco pouches, dark chocolate with sea salt, black miso paste, soy sauce and some excellent beef bourguignon. This fusion of old-style refill sherry plus older style soft peaty distillate is just impossible to resist I'm afraid. With water: black tea, olive tapenade and woodruff. This combination of earthy and umami qualities persists beautifully. Mouth: earthy, umami and with many more notes of miso, salted liquorice, dark chocolate and camphor. I'd also add into the bargain some black truffle, fig jam and prune eau de vie. With water: a continuation of this earthy / umami profile, but with a little more presence from the darker fruit notes. Goes towards some old Armagnac and walnut wine. Finish: long, full of bitter herbs, medicinal roots and impressions of old herbal liqueurs and aniseed. Comments: Makes you wonder what the first fill of this lovely old sherry cask would have been? I am a sucker for this profile that manages rich sherry and soft peat but everything in easy balance.
SGP: 462 - 90 points. |
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Ardmore 20 yo 1992/2013 (51.3%, The Auld Alliance, refill barrel, 218 bottles)
We are very, very late... Colour: pale gold. Nose: very different again, this is going decidedly more old school with immediate notes of exotic fruits, sharp gooseberry, waxes, pepper, mineral oil and various medicinal impressions such as tiger balm and cough medicine. Excellent! With water: lemon oil, sheep wool, orange blossom and a very delicate, lightly ashy peat smoke. Mouth: an immediate and superb mix of soft exotic notes, bandages, sheep wool, wet rocks and mineral oils. One of those whiskies that also makes you think of great white wines (unsurprising given who selected it). It's also got that much more pronounced and older style waxy, textural profile that feels so satisfying. With water: becomes amazingly salty and peppery, developing with celery salt, toasted fennel seed, miso, seaweed crackers and many wee briny and lemony touches. Finish: long, pristinely drying, full of coastal notes, brittle peat smoke and some very sharp and delicate exotic fruit notes that bring us full circle. Comments: a terrific wee Ardmore, totally old school, precise, entertaining and impeccably charming. A great selection and I would say a very emblematic example of how this can be such a wonderful distillate.
SGP: 463 - 90 points. |
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April 17, 2026 |
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The World Sessions,
Another small world tour of whisky |
Always a pleasure, all the more so as there are plenty about at the moment. We’ll begin in France, then wander wherever the mood takes us, with no real logic to it. All we know so far is that we’ll start with France and finish with South Korea, if you agree.
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Domaine des Hautes Glaces 2017/2025 ‘Episteme B17P25 Gabert’ (45%, OB, single malt, France)
A parcellaire whisky offered at a rather civilised strength, which is just the ticket to begin this session. Colour: white wine. Nose: pear, fresh marzipan and hay speak first, which is altogether logical, then we move towards fresh bread dough, which is no less logical. Finally, a few touches of caraway and anise appear, is there caraway in the fields of the parcelle Gabert? Mouth: very lively, very much on white fruits and lemon, almond milk, earth, chalk, while the pear remains, which we rather like of course. Barley too, it is all pure and fresh. Finish: good length, on similar notes, always fresh and ultimately rather mountain-like. Right. Comments: it is the purity that we like most here, along with those slightly earthy pear notes. We are great fans of DHG in any case.
SGP:551 - 88 points. |
On the subject of fields… |
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London Distillery ‘Release No.1: a field in England’ (50%, OB, England, The Golden Union, hogshead and barrel, 973 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: it is perhaps no surprise that there are similarities with the DHG, yet here we are closer to barley, cereals, damp earth. It is true that in England the earth is often wet (clever that, S.) A little coconut from the American oak. With water: touches of very fruity varnish and a family-sized bag of liquorice allsorts. Mouth (neat): pear of course, but also little fruit sweets of all kinds, especially citrus. Lemon drops. With water: it continues on a pleasing balance of fruit sweets and slightly earthy barley. The pear lingers around. Finish: not immense but balanced, still on those fruity notes. Comments: typical of a very young malt, rather light yet very well made. It will gain in complexity with time, but it will not necessarily require many years for that.
SGP:641 - 84 points. |
Let’s linger in England a bit longer… |
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London Rye 2018/2023 ‘Chardonnay’ (57.6%, OB, East London, England, cask #57)
45% malted rye and the rest is Maris Otter barley, both from Norfolk. We learn a great many details about the production on the bottle, except the origin of that famous chardonnay. English chardonnay? Colour: gold. Nose: earthier than the others, more rustic, with a slight rubbery side and flint. The rye is not hugely expressive for now, apart from a very faint curry note. It may be the high strength. With water: flint and vanilla with menthol touches. Mouth (neat): we prefer it by far on the palate, thanks to this very fine mix of lemon and pepper that takes the lead for now. With water: there we are, the rye asserts itself, the chardonnay remains relatively discreet, the whole becomes really rather lovely and more streamlined. Finish: fairly long and really quite pretty with water. Comments: it adores water. You will tell me, this is England (now that was even poorer, S.)
SGP:561 - 85 points. |
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Smögen 11 yo 2014/2025 (60%, OB for The Whisky Blues, Sweden, cask #12, 280 bottles)
There is probably not much to say at this precise moment, so we shall tell the tale of the Swede from the far north sawing wood, when a Native American chief arrives and… forget all that, we believe it is rather a Canadian joke. Colour: white wine. Nose: olives and smoked almonds, well now! Then a fireplace full of yesterday’s ashes, early in the morning. At this strength, we do not push too far. With water: a little fresh paint and fresh putty, linseed oil, and above all that peat as precise as a Swiss watch. Mouth (neat): the perfect Smögen peat, sharp as a blade. The olives linger around. With water: everything maritime comes rushing in, oysters, whelks, seaweed, plus a tiny touch of chilli. Finish: the same for quite a while. Lime. Comments: top European peater, but everyone knows that by now. We must admit we had our score in mind even before the first sniff, all the more so as this was a classic cask, not P’X in mizunara’. Right.
SGP:466 - 91 points. |
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Amrut 8 yo 2016/2025 ‘Triple Distilled’ (60%, OB, for LMDW, India, bourbon barrel, cask #3976, 120 bottles)
Colour: full gold. Nose: very pretty, curiously rich on the nose, then it starts firing off very ripe mangoes coated in vanilla cream, and even a rather lovely mix of white mulberries, white chocolate and pink pepper. With water: more vanilla, quite simply. Mouth (neat): a real treat, filled to the brim with ripe sweet mango, passion fruit, pink pepper, blood orange… all of it rather concentrated in fact. With water: a little livelier, less, shall we say, liqueur-like, and more on citrus. Pink grapefruit arrives. Finish: fairly long, with unexpected saline notes, probably triggered by some molecule or other. Comments: what a magnificent and rather explosive fruitiness, typically Amrutian.
SGP:751 - 88 points. |
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A little break before moving on to the next, bottled at a significantly lower strength… |
Puni ‘Vina’ (43%, OB, Italy, Marsala, +/-2025)
Here we are in the Italian Alps, with one of the most extravagant packaging of recent decades, apart from the decanters of those super-deluxe-premium-de-la-muerte malts by pushy brands, of course. Colour: light gold. Nose: improving, that is certain. Cakes, breads, barley, stewed apples, fresh walnuts, a touch of liquorice, in short all is well. Mouth: apple cake, with touches of lemon juice and a small bowl of porridge alongside. The wine is here a dry and fortified ‘vergine’ Marsala, so all is well on that front. Finish: not immense but consistent with the rest. Comments: we even find a slight dry grillo character from a great house, such as De Bartoli, right. Well, it is really rather good now, nothing to complain about, bravo Italy.
SGP:451 - 85 points. |
| Let’s go a bit further north… |
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Heiligenbergfeld 4 yo 2021/2025 (58.7%, OB, for Whisky Blibliothek, Germany, 1st fill amontillado, cask #1, 238 bottles)
A new whisky from Bavaria! And bravo, the name is even more complicated than those of Bunnahabhain and Bruichladdich combined, which must surely be a good sign. To simplify matters further, the distillery is located in Herrsching-am-Ammersee, on the shores of the eponymous lake, to the west of Munich. Colour: deep gold. Nose: enough joking, here is a very fine nose, on toasted hazelnuts, Breton-style butter cake (kouign amann) and walnut liqueur. Nothing to complain about at this stage. With water: more of the distillate emerges, on cereals, bread and even, dare we say, pumpernickel. Since we are in Germany, after all… Also touches of leather polish, for the lederhosen perhaps. Mouth (neat): the amontillado does its job and does it well. A great deal of green walnut liqueur (nocino) with a serious dose of crushed pepper and very dark chocolate, at least 80% cocoa. With water: more singular, with touches of curry, pepper sauce, roots… Enzian? Finish: long and a fine summary of all that came before. Comments: the level is really rising everywhere, it is splendid.
SGP:361 - 86 points. |
We’ll end in Korea, though we’ll quite literally have plenty more whiskies from around the world in the weeks ahead. Indeed, whiskies ‘from the rest of the world’, as our dear Scottish friends would have said only twenty years ago… |
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Kimchangsoo 2021/2025 (50.8%, OB, Korea, travel exclusive, 1st fill European oloroso sherry quarter cask, 138 bottles)
71% malted barley, 29% malted rye. We very much enjoyed the first whiskies from the small distillery in Gimpo, South Korea, so let us try this new K-whisky. Colour: copper gold. Nose: do not ask us why, we immediately think of Millstone, this one being only a little lighter. Metal polish, walnuts, orange peel, farmhouse bread, grapeseed oil, then once again pumpernickel. An extremely fine nose indeed. With water: fresh walnuts take control. The rye seems relatively discreet to us, yet it is there, let us not forget it has been malted. Mouth (neat): excellent, on chocolate with pepper and walnuts, then a gentle arabica note but also some cardamom. Toasted pine nuts. With water: absolutely superb. Bitters, walnuts, amaro and so on. Finish: long, with a return of the metal polish and the arrival of touches of fresh strawberries. Never underestimate strawberries; they are often there, subtly, discretely. Comments: it does not absolutely require water to be enjoyed, yet in any case it is a little beauty crafted with care. It would of course be sacrilege, but we rather fancy trying it as a Campari-orange. We mean, as a Kimchangsoo-orange. Perhaps this evening… In any case, we absolutely love it. We shall have more Kimchangsoo soon and we already look forward to it.
SGP:562 - 90 points. |
The days when we tasted ‘world whiskies’ with our noses pinched, knocking back litres of water between each dram just to get it down, are well and truly behind us. A very long way behind. |
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April 16, 2026 |
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A mini verticale of indie Glen Moray |
We’re rather fond of Glen Moray, which was, a long time ago, one of the entry-level malts in France, thanks to its very reasonable prices under the stewardship of Glenmorangie. As ever, we also tend to prefer versions that are not finished or flavoured, particularly with table wine, and that is precisely what we’re going to be tasting today. I mean, no wine. |
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Glen Moray 15 yo 2010/2025 (57.2%, Archives, the Fishes of Samoa, barrel, cask #800570, 104 bottles)
Ah, the return of the Samoa fishes, I must say we had grown rather accustomed to them and even developed a certain affection for them. Colour: white wine. Nose: pure and even massive chalk, apple juice, cut grass and vanilla. A slight touch of hand cream. With water: even more hand cream, plasticine, guacamole and still that rather massive chalky side. Mouth (neat): very lively, sharp, very much in keeping with the nose, in the style of a zero-dosage champagne from a modern house. Some grated lemon zest behind all that vigour. With water: arrival of green pepper. Finish: long, taut, ultra-precise, on chalk, concentrated lemon and green pepper. The vanilla barely rounds things off a little in the aftertaste. Comments: with sushi or a seafood platter!
SGP:371 - 87 points. |
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Glen Moray 21 yo 2003/2025 (53%, Maltbarn, bourbon, No. 249, 181 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: well this is exactly the same malt, with seven additional years of ageing. This means here that the aromatic profile is identical, simply more rounded and more vanilla-led, with apples that are a little older, almost bruised. It is simple and very beautiful, like a… let us say like an old blues. With water: the same. Notes of green melon and fresh barley. Mouth (neat): exactly the same again, but the gap with the 2010 is even smaller, in short it is lemony to one’s heart’s content, very lively, marked by wee pears and green apples as well as a very slight ‘Clynelish’ side, fleeting but recognisable. With water: little change, apart from the arrival of the expected lime and green pepper. A tiny touch of coconut, most certainly coming from the bourbon cask. Finish: it unfolds on apple tart, sprinkled with a little lemon and green pepper. Comments: an elemental malt, in the noblest sense of the term. Excellent.
SGP:461 - 88 points. |
Right then, a little eleven-year-old (give or take) to finish… |
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Glen Moray 1975/1986 (61.2%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, #35.2)
So the second Glen Moray ever bottled by the society. We are expecting rocket fuel with fruity touches, are we not… Colour: very, very pale white wine. Nose: a mix of melon, apricot, peach and guava juices, in just the right proportions. It would also seem that someone at the SWMS added a little tequila to this mix, which was not necessarily a bad idea. Joking. With water: a few fermentary notes, cider, even old chardonnay, then a return of melon, only riper. Mouth (with water): the purest expression possible of a malt whisky, in the vein of the recent youngsters but even more marked. Plums, lemon, plaster, mango, assorted leafy notes… we have the impression of being at the very heart of the barley. With water: wax bursts forth, who mentioned Clynelish barely a few minutes ago? Finish: long, with lemon coming in to bring order to it all and leaving the palate fresh as an alpine torrent. The green pepper already mentioned in the younger ones makes itself known right at the very end, accompanied by mango, just imagine that. Comments: I am convinced that forty years in bottle have refined this little monster, it is a neat example of a perfect 10 + 40, as we find at Laphroaig, or indeed at Tormore. I mean 10 years in cask plus 40 years under glass, right.
SGP:561 - 90 points. |
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April 15, 2026 |
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A few Ardnahoe on the table (many Swiss) |
Thinking of Stewart Laing, who passed away only recently, and of course of all his family and the staff at Hunter Laing and, more specifically, Ardnahoe.
That said, it is not very easy for this wretched website known as WF to keep up with the incredible number of new distilleries opening all over the world since roughly seven or eight years, because weeks still have 7 days and years 52 weeks, but we are doing our best. But even so, Ardnahoe is something else, it is Islay! Let us see what we have on the table… |
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Ardnahoe 5 yo (59.1%, OB for Members of the Ardnahoe Society 2024, PX + oloroso, 3,000 bottles)
We might perhaps have started with a refill or a bourbon, but since we are here, let’s go for it… Colour: full gold. Nose: pemmican, beef jerky, Grisons meat, sulphury tar, then bitter oranges and seawater, but also with plenty of dried kelp and fish sauce. In short, it talks. With water: leather, clay and crushed slate are added, yet the massive side remains. Mouth (neat): a big box of used matches and bitter orange, followed by walnut liqueur, salt and camphor. The dry ham side is very present as well, Spanish ham of course. With water: leather comes to the fore, accompanied by crushed pepper. Finish: very long, with very fine smoky bitters, then it ends on ginger and fresh turmeric. Comments: very, very corpulent and explosive, a proper MMA fight in your glass.
SGP:466 - 86 points. |
Right then, on to bourbon… |
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Ardnahoe 7 yo 2019/2026 (59.3%, OB for Switzerland, bourbon barrel, cask #572, 224 bottles)
A selection from our friend Reto, ever faithful to the task. Colour: very pale white wine. Nose: it immediately makes us want to downgrade the previous one, but we shall not. This is immaculate, pure, mineral, slightly fermentary, with flowers from the Swiss alpine meadows (we exaggerate) and a smoke of great elegance. Small apples on the fruit side and a Ricola touch (S., come on!) With water: whiffs of petrol (expensive these days) and fresh bread dough. Mouth (neat): a blade. Pure peat, lemon, pepper, oysters and clams. And Ricola. With water: no change, it moves even less than the Matterhorn. Finish: long, chiselled, even more saline, towards oysters. Artichokes. Comments: we do love this purity, it is a magnificent distillate in its natural state that perhaps just needs a few more years and we are certain it will reach 90 in no time at all.
SGP:467 - 89 points. |
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Ardnahoe 5 yo ‘Cask Strength Batch #2’ (61%, OB, first fill bourbon, 2026)
Colour: white wine. Nose: very fine but dominated by the purity of the previous Swiss one, which did not bother with quite so much vanilla, if you see what we mean. With water: the pure peat comes out more, yet it still lacks a bit the superb nerviness and irresistibility of the previous one. Mouth (neat): the sweetness of the bourbon, the vanilla, the mango and the banana for instance, coat this little beast, despite it remaining taut as a bow and as salty as the waters of the Sound of Islay. In truth, on the palate it is excellent, the gap is far less marked on the palate. With water: yes, it is good, it is very good, it becomes more rooty. Finish: long, fresher, purer, freed from its coating. Green apple. Comments: it will have made up almost all of its delay on the ‘Swiss’ one on the palate, in the manner of an Alpine stage of the Tour de France. But the Swiss still keeps the yellow jersey for now.
SGP:557 - 87 points. |
Right then, let’s tackle the more difficult stages… |
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Ardnahoe 6 yo 2019/2025 (60.1%, OB for Switzerland, PX quarter casks, small batch, 325 bottles)
Would you believe that two quarter casks amount to as much as one full cask. There is never any real logic in the world of whisky, is there? And who has ever come across a ‘half cask’? I know, imperial sizes and measures… Colour: full gold. Nose: we have arrived in a territory right between young bourbon, Jamaican rum and indeed Islay whisky. To tell the truth it loses us a little with these green walnuts mixed with shoe polish and acetone, but the peat still manages to tie everything together. Yet it does hit a bit at this strength. So, with water: it is leather and tobacco that come out. Mouth (neat): walnut liqueur, dry ham and shoe polish. There we are. With water: candied citrus comes in to bring a little order, and pepper quickly arrives to the rescue. Finish: long, with a return of leather accompanied by pepper. Comments: of course it is very good, but we find the bourbons do rule the session, especially in terms of precision. In any case, peat plus sherry can work wonders but also produce notable misfires. Well, here we are very, very far from any misfires.
SGP:567 - 85 points. |
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Ardnahoe 6 yo 2019/2026 (60.4%, OB for Switzerland, oloroso quarter casks, small batch, 683 bottles)
It is not that we wish to be pitied, far from it, but tasting a flight of very young malts from the same distillery is not an easy task, as in truth only the casks really make the difference, whereas we are philosophically more drawn to the distillates themselves. Come on, let us drop these rather rambling comments and move on… Colour: full gold. Nose: a metallic side to begin, old copper implements, then cherry stalk, then vegetal earthiness and walnut wine. The walnut wine, that was expected. Pipe tobacco and leather as well, for that matter. With water: a rather unusual duo of coal tar and ginger. Mouth (neat): no, this is really good, it does not clash, with a pairing of green walnut and black pepper leading the dance, followed by bitter oranges and bay leaves. With water: tighter, good news, even if the oloroso does not quite give way. Leather, green walnut, green pepper, bitter orange and so on. Finish: likewise, plus a slightly earthy side and a pepper that ultimately steals the show without restraint, DJT style. Comments: we hesitated for a long time but in the end we prefer this oloroso, a little less soothing.
SGP:567 - 86 points. |
Bourbon all the way! Switzerland too, of course. And Ricola sweets. |
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April 13, 2026 |
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WF's Little Duos,
today just some small extra drams of Highland Park |
Always a pleasure to enjoy a quick taste of Highland Park (rather an unnecessary introduction, S.) |
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Highland Park 19 yo 2006/2025 (59.8%, Signatory Vintage for World of Whisky by Waldhaus, 1st fill palo cortado finish, cask #4563, 250 bottles)
The question remains, is it better to have a full maturation in second fill or a finishing in first fill? Answer on a postcard, please. In any case, we do love palo cortado, here it feels like a proper solera butt! But we have no proof of that, I grant you… Colour: full gold. Nose: HP and a good sherry, they always tango to perfection. Here there is truly plenty of shoe polish, church candles, walnut skins, almond milk, curry and sourdough. All in all, a very natural side. With water: we go down to the cellar, with old hessian sacks, saltpetre, mushrooms, discreet moulds, coal… Mouth (neat): it is very rich, yet very dry, with very fine bitters, somewhere between Noilly-Prat and Fernet-Branca. All that is missing are scallops. With water: herbal, dry, green walnuts, tobacco, asparagus, and still that Noilly… Finish: long, saline, samphire, shellfish, then a little dance of mustard and green walnut. Comments: for lovers of very dry sherry, of which we are of course part. Well done Waldhaus (alliteration alert!)
SGP:362 - 89 points. |
Which brings us neatly to a refill… |
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Highland Park 14 yo (63.8%, OB, Distillery Exclusive, refill butt, cask #6571, 638 bottles, +/-2022)
Cask strength, really? Colour: deep gold. Nose: different, yet not so different after all, rounder, more on shoe polish, but after two minutes they converge rather seriously, to the point where we are no longer quite sure who is what and what is who. This one is just a little spicier, but that is no doubt the fairly higher strength all the same. With water: no, the Waldhaus dominates it on the aromatic complexity front. Mouth (neat): it hits a bit at these strengths, but beyond that it is clearly a powerful HP in style, herbal, perhaps a little brutal. With water: let us say it, it is very good, it just remains a little basic, only the very marked salinity adds some edge. Finish: long, herbal, narrow, austere. Comments: a very lovely bottle, but the Waldhaus really dominated it. Such are the joys of comparative tastings, they can be merciless.
SGP:361 - 83 points. |
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Highland Park 20 yo 2003/2024 (54.5%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Beach Beckons, #4.384)
I think this is a bottling for the SMWS Switzerland. Great guys! Colour: gold. Nose: it is on grape marc, lawn, hay, husk and wort, it needs water… With water: pencil lead. It is much prettier than it first appeared. Mouth (neat): very green, austere, dry, still on lawn, then lemon and cider apple. With water: it remains tight, a little herbal, a little on cedar wood, but it is very pleasant. Finish: long, a little woody. Comments: we do not think it is conceivable to taste this very lovely baby without water. It is often the case that malts are literally transformed by the addition of a little water, but here it is rather spectacular. 80 -> 84 points.
SGP:362 - 84 points. |
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April 12, 2026 |
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A couple more cognacs
We’re simply carrying on as before, beginning this new session with the traditional ‘old-style’ apéritif, from a house that seems to be relatively little known…
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Castillon ‘Le Choix de la Maison V.S.O.P.’ (40%, OB, Fine Champagne, 1960s)
A brand that had been absorbed by Renault cognacs in the 1960s, which was later acquired by Pernod Ricard via Bisquit in 1991, before being transferred to new Finnish owners. As such, Castillon, aka Pinet Castillon, disappeared in the 1970s. Let us taste it. Colour: copper. Nose: a charming nose, very traditional, between sultanas, iris, a touch of black earth and the familiar well-ripened peach. Very slight menthol. Hardly any OBE here, it has remained lively like a dace, or almost. Mouth: same impressions, rather full-bodied, with light bitterness that remains fairly noticeable, a faint pine resin side that could be typical of a ‘taste of glass’, yet the base of fruitcake, raisins and orange zest has stayed firmly in place. Finish: long and curiously peppery. Comments: there is no doubt a touch of Old Bottle Effect, yet it has remained truly charming and nicely full-bodied, should you ever come across a bottle at auction… Besides you can indeed find very old vintages of Castillon, 19th century and so forth.
SGP:451 - 80 points. |
Shall we move on to the moderns? |
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Larsen ‘VS’ (40%, OB, Single Grape, +/-2025)
Pure ugni blanc. All distillers in the world do love to use the word ‘single’ at the slightest opportunity, do they not? Colour: gold. Nose: this is very gentle, soft as a lamb, or rather like acacia honey enriched with a little natural vanilla, before apricot and wafts of broom come along to join the party. Very light touches of eucalyptus, most pleasant. Mouth: no one could object to this light, fresh, floral palate, though it then moves more towards slightly burnt nuts and black tea. The somewhat feinty and spirity side suggests that this is nonetheless a very young cognac. Finish: rather short, softer again, with fruit juices, apple and then pear, for instance. A touch of quince eau-de-vie as a signature. Comments: we rather like these very young cognacs that are probably more often enjoyed in cocktails. Truly, we do like this.
SGP:541 - 80 points. |
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A. de Fussigny ‘Sélection’ (40%, OB, Fine Cognac, +/-2026)
A young blend from several crus, described as summery on the brand’s website. We should therefore be in territory close to that of the previous one. Colour: full gold. Nose: indeed, this remains on the light side, yet the whole leans more towards flowers and small herbs, before moving on to yellow melon and, above all, woodruff and honeysuckle. Little touches of freshly cut hay, right in the middle of summer indeed. Mouth: closer to the previous one, soft, very slightly sweet, with orange liqueur and heather honey. It is fresh and cheerful, the raisins behaving with commendable restraint. Finish: of medium length, still very slightly liqueur-like, rather marked by orange blossom and pink pepper. Williams pear liqueur and a light touch of anise thereafter. Comments: we are beginning to wonder whether, overall, we might not prefer the cheerful freshness of a good VS to the slightly more ‘caramel’ side of many VSOPs. But let us move on…
SGP:641 - 82 points. |
So, let’s move straight to their XO (we’ll skip the VSOPs for now) … |
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A. de Fussigny ‘XO’ (40%, OB, Fine Champagne, +/-2026)
A blend of Petite and Grande Champagne aged between 10 and 25 years. The flat, square decanter is very, very handsome, we do rather think it may never find its way to the recycling bins, ha. Not joking here. Colour: copper amber. Nose: it is not easy following a charming VS, for by contrast the roasted hazelnuts, nougat, tobaccos and dried figs are almost, let us say, rather boisterous. Still, after a few minutes of adjustment, everything settles into place, fresh praline takes control, accompanied by jasmine and oolong tea. Very light wafts of dunnage. Mouth: something of a bridge between the floral and fruity freshness of a young cognac and the tobaccos of older versions. A slightly oriental side, with cedarwood, bidis, then liquorice and above all plenty of teas, for instance Earl Grey with bergamot. A most surprising saline edge, it must come from some wandering ‘triggering’ molecule. Finish: fairly long, more kind of matte, on oak, chocolate and tobacco, with a fine clarity, while the Williams pear from the VS returns to bid us farewell at the very end. Comments: we might almost add one point for the handsome decanter, but we do not indulge in that sort of thing at WF HQ, of course.
SGP:551 - 87 points. |
Let’s move on to the older vintages… |
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Marie Foucher ‘Lot 19.79 Le Prullepie’ (54.1%, Malternative Belgium, Fins Bois, 366 bottles)
We have absolutely no idea what a prullepie might be, in any case, in French it is neither a bird nor an accordion. But let us move on… Colour: full gold. Nose: admirably taut, yet also admirably fruity, as if it were a blend of small plums just on the verge of reaching maturity. A few chalky touches in the background, in the style of a very good champagne (the sparkling wine, that is). Very light green pepper. With water: cut grass, fruit skins, almond milk, before pink grapefruit comes bursting through. Mouth (neat): one could call it frank, direct, honest and straight at this strength, in any case it is more marked by yellow citrus than many cognacs. Between ourselves, a cognac at 53% behaves on the palate like a malt whisky at 63%, honestly. So… With water: gentler, yet it remains taut, with a marked rustic side. Touches of bitter beer and flint. Finish: long and truly very beautiful, it is almost the best part, with citrus of superb freshness. Comments: very much malternative, and at times also rather close to an old marc (from the Jura, for instance). We do love this.
SGP:551 - 90 points. |
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Prunier 1979 (53.7%, Ferrer, Collection Dame Jeanne, Petite Champagne, +/-2026)
We do find Ferrer’s labels eminently soothing, and never do we wonder which AI was used for a token costing €0.03. What class! Their rums that we have already tasted were really rather very good as well. Colour: amber gold. Nose: do forget it, this is top Prunier. Fruit in a pure, clean-lined style, chiselled, on peaches and old-varietal pears, then mango and guava. It is not complicated, yet in this context all the better, a thousand times better. With water: peanut, pistachio and sesame oils to complete and round the whole a little. It works perfectly. Mouth (neat): dash it, how good this is! A cocktail of exotic fruits, including citrus, with a few peppermint leaves. In short, a Charentais daiquiri. With water: let us give up, we are defeated, it is magnificent on every level. Finish: even the sublimely herbaceous and lemony signature is of interstellar level. Comments: in the end, this is a fairly simple cognac, almost ‘pop’, yet not a single molecule has gone astray.
SGP:661 - 92 points. |
Well, we love this Prunier and really ought to stop there. But this is Whiskyfun, after all… |
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Jean-Luc Pasquet ‘L79’ (49.1%, Swell de Spirits, Wild Card #6, Petite Champagne, 2025)
Apparently, this baby was sold alongside a Monymusk, rather as if a London record shop had put together bundles of LPs with a Beatles and a Stones around 1969, would it not? Or a bundle of books, D.J. Trump + S. Kierkegaard. With our belated apologies to Søren Kierkegaard. Colour: full gold. Nose: somewhat the opposite of the Prunier from the same year, in that it is more oily, more herbaceous, almost waxy like a Springbank, rather than simply joyously fruity. As a result, it is far more intellectual, like one of the authors we have just mentioned (do guess which). Yet those wafts of syrup and almost Sicilian pistachio oil are sublime as well. Mouth: forget everything we have just told you, we are much closer to the Prunier on the palate, with explosive fruitiness, just a shade more on old apples, even farmhouse cider. Finish: very long and incredibly marked by pink peppers, especially Timut pepper. Comments: just a shade less ‘easy’ than the previous one, but we are truly splitting hairs. Another rather extraordinary Pasquet, though that was to be expected.
SGP:561 - 91 points. |
Hang on, we’ve just mentioned the Stones (have you seen they’ve got a new LP???) and the Beatles, as well as the year 1969, so we might as well strike while the iron is hot, quick as you like… |
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Prunier 1969 (49.7%, Ferrer, Collection Dame Jeanne, Grande Champagne, +/-2026)
No chit-chat, let us taste it straight away… Well, alright then, a very handsome red label, is this a bottling for our very dear Chinese friends? (whom we love, whom we adore…) Colour: amber copper. Nose: here we are more in the realm of polishes, old waxes, apple juice with honey, putty and oil paint, English cigarettes, you even find a Darjeeling side. It is very beautiful, though perhaps somewhat less, let us say, boisterous, extroverted and expansive than the 1979s. Mouth: a massive arrival of apples in all their forms. In juice, in jelly, flattened as they do in the Loire Valley (pommes tapées), dried, in cider, in liqueur, in eau-de-vie as in Rochelt’s… In short, you see what we mean. We then remain within this universe, with just the arrival of touches of orange and grape. After all, it is grape that we have in our glass. Finish: long, rather straight, a little herbaceous which is perfectly normal, and ending on fruity peppers. Comments: quite magnificent, though perhaps we ought to have stopped after the very extravagant 1979s. Our apologies.
SGP:561 - 89 points. |
More cognac coming very soon on WF, including considerably older vintages, pre-rock and roll, and even pre-jazz. |
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April 11, 2026 |
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Angus's Corner
From our correspondent and
skilled taster Angus MacRaild in Scotland
Glen Keith & Macallan: times two
A couple of not particularly related pairs for this weekend: recent(ish) Glen Keiths, followed by two old Macallan. |
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Glen Keith 25 yo 1998/2024 (49.7%, Club Qing 'Happy Loner', cask #149567, 1st fill bourbon barrel, 191 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: abundant fruits! Plenty of ripe pineapple, mango, assorted fruit salad juice vibes, lychee, star fruit and kiwi. Behind that a few hints of beeswax and wee peppery hints. But it remains dominated by the fruits in a highly luscious and utterly splendid way! Mouth: same feeling of fruit salad goo! Syrupy and textural, with flower honeys, beeswax, more gentle peppery touches and then evolving impressions of sweet cereals, herbal teas and dried exotic fruit chunks. Finish: long, with persistent green and exotic fruits, also a little miso and pepper in the aftertaste. Comments: I feel like Glen Keith specialises in surprise fruit bombs that come at you, Ninja-style like this. Although, after a few such bottlings, should we really continue to be surprised? Anyway, a luscious and embarrassingly enjoyable wee Glen Keith.
SGP: 751 - 90 points. |
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Glen Keith 29 yo 1993/2022 (54.3%, Signatory Vintage for The Whisky Exchange 50th Anniversary, cask #82789, refill hogshead, 236 bottles) 
Colour: deep gold. Nose: dominated by orchard fruits and runny honey, also some flower nectars and pollens, sweetened porridge, some slightly over-stewed fruit teas and things like mirabelle, eucalyptus and a light earthy note that make me think of white mushroom. Quite typical, characterful early 1990s, mature Glen Keith. Although, I would say this one noticeably lacks some of the more opulent exotic characteristics of QC bottling. With water: typically easy, honeyed, rich and showing this lovely, fruit-forward mature Speyside profile. More green fruits now, overripe banana, some mango and star fruit. Mouth: nice level of honeyed sweetness on arrival, that also incorporates those lovely flower nectars, honeycomb, golden syrup on toast, dried mint and pine wood. Tiny notes of tobacco leaf, some lemon-infused olive oil and bergamot. With water: once again, it gets even fruiter with reduction, lemon syrup, tinned pineapple, rhubarb and custard boiled sweets and apple pie with custard. Delicious, fun and easy whisky. Finish: good length, a little sharper and more peppery and waxier, but the fruits stand guard to the very end. Comments: Maybe suffers ever so slightly after the QC 1998, but it's the same feeling of fruit-induced surprise and pleasure. Do we talk enough about how good Glen Keith can be? Probably.
SGP: 651 - 89 points. |
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Macallan Special Reserve (43%, OB, mid 1980s)
This is an early NAS bottling released to mark the opening of Easter Elchies house by Princess Margaret (presumably Andrew was otherwise engaged at the time). It is reputed to be the same liquid as the Charles and Di Royal Marriage bottling, but left in cask a couple of years longer; let us hope it has withstood time better than the royal family's reputation... Now, Serge tried this one back in 2015 and wasn't 'too' impressed (WF86), but with old bottles from bottle to bottle over the decades you just never know... Colour: amber. Nose: dark honeys, wet leaves, pollens, beeswax, golden sultanas and some wonderfully leafy and 'cakey' old sherry. Proper old school tobacco leaf, mushroom powder and figs soaking in old armagnac. Gorgeous nose, dominated by old sherry and a sense of fat, old school distillate beneath. Mouth: pretty impressive heft and delivery for 43%! Rather a lot of wood spices, tarragon, dried herbs, fig jam, mincemeat, old Cointreau and spiced quince jelly. Feels pretty peppery and even a little mustardy. Finish: quite long, on figs, sultana, raisins and bitter dark chocolate with hints of walnut liqueur and vielle prune. Comments: impressive old sherried Macallan, and I can believe it may well have been the same juice as the Charles and Di bottling with a couple of extra years. Although, the punch and peppery power on the palate suggest something still rather vital and fresh - so, the opposite of the royal family in that sense. I feel more generously inclined towards this one than Serge did a decade previously...
SGP: 662 - 89 points. |
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Macallan 1950 (43%, OB for Toshikazu Koyanagi, Japan, 1980s)
Serge also tried this one (WF87), but it was a short note recorded for the French market version (no idea if all these various market specific versions were the same juice or separate vattings) at that famously analytical nosing laboratory in Paris: Harry's Bar! And those notes were recorded back in... 2007! Ooft! Colour: deep gold. Nose: a glorious medley of old honeys, beeswax, lamp oils, paraffin, linseed oil, tiger balm, the subtlest of medicinal embrocations, metal polish, cedar wood and gorse flower. Indeed that gorse flower note goes more towards coconut with time, then dried out exotic fruit pieces and some dusty hessian rag. There’s also even some sublime notes that recall very old Sauternes with these stunning honeyed and nectar notes that stray towards botrytis. An amazing nose. Mouth: very waxy and peppery up front, drying as well, with old wood, camphor, putty, fir resins, natural tar and very delicate, peppery suggestion of peat. Also medicinal things like gauze, then more of these big linseed oil and beeswax impressions, and even a little funky cider apple tinge. Finish: medium, possibly just a suggestion of tiredness, but it’s still got this stupendous, old school waxy, honeyed, syrupy quality going on. With final tropical glimmers in the aftertaste. Comments: I wonder how many more years these old bottlings at 40% and 43% will continue to impress us with the same vividness and directness that they have in recent decades? This is still stunning old whisky, but it has an undeniable fragility about it that doesn’t feel like it would have been there at time of bottling. Anyway, this is still magnificent old style malt whisky with a depth and intensity of character that modern malts just don’t compare to.
SGP: 653 - 91 points. |
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April 10, 2026 |
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The Time Warp Sessions,
Benrinnes, nearly forty years apart
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Another distillery we really ought to do a proper, large-scale tasting of soon, but for now we’ll make do with this little comparison: 2010s vs 1970s. |
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Benrinnes 12 yo (53.5%, Elixir Distillers, Macbeth Act Two, Soldier, refill sherry butt, 2400 bottles, 2025)
Perhaps the most beautiful label in the whole series, that is a good start. Colour: pale gold. Nose: ultra-classical, on barley, fresh scones, English breakfast tea, fresh potting soil, tourist fudge and freshly baked shortbread for travel retail. With water: the potting soil takes control, coffee grounds, the everlasting walnuts… Mouth (neat): more powerful on the palate, more marked by the sherry, walnut liqueur, brandy de Jerez, tobacco… we would almost say it is not the same whisky, it seems much ‘darker’ on the palate, despite its rather pale true colour. With water: pastries and malted breads to the hilt. Spelt bread, rye, barley… Finish: rather long, dry, rye bread and very malty beer. Comments: it is firm, demonstrative, for your friends who want to know what malt plus dry sherry means. We like this.
SGP:361 - 86 points. |
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Benrinnes 1974/1987 (56.2%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, #36.1)
Thus, the very first Benrinnes by the honourable Society. In those glorious days, they did not fuss about telling you it was semi-Spanish oak toasted to level 3 that had held palo cortado from Lustau for six years, three months, twenty-seven days and six hours, did they. Colour: light gold. Nose: even the nose is oily, on peanut oil and sunflower oil, then it develops on chalk and clay, towards a world we would more readily expect from a seaside malt. Indeed, we know all that is rather controversial. Lovely touches of petrol and green tea. With water: old tweed, new tweed, Woolite and oolong tea. Indeed. Mouth (neat): oh this is good! Zest, grapefruit, toasted pine nuts, very salty cured ham, vegetable oils… but where does all this salt come from? With water: what a beauty! We are almost embarrassed to be so surprised. Finish: long, perhaps more compact again, less expansive, yet still very beautiful. Comments: sometimes there are these little surprises that lift both the spirit and the morale. A small gift, from the heavens and from the old distillers, bless them. And from the SMWS.
SGP:451 - 90 points. |
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April 9, 2026 |
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The Time Warp Sessions,
Ben Nevis, IB vs OB, 27 years apart
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As a reminder, we suffer from a rare affliction known as bennevissitis, a condition that drives one to drink Ben Nevis whenever the opportunity presents itself. And, rather inconveniently, the opportunity presents itself rather often. This time, we’re going for a full-on Time Warp configuration: an old official bottling versus a very recent indie. But let’s not descend into complete savagery, we haven’t picked just any random vintages. We’ll be kicking things off with the youngster… |
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Ben Nevis 27 yo 1997/2024 (48.2%, The Collaboration, Whiskshop Neumarkt, Switzerland, 258 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: pure Ben Nevis, all on green walnuts, tobacco, leather, mustard, slag, frying oil, then papayas and guavas. That ‘dirty’ side is nonetheless extraordinary, we absolutely adore it. Of course, bennevissitis… Mouth: fat, almost soapy, but in a magnificent way, then it goes even further towards plasticine, zests, citrus peels, tobacco… And myriads of micro-elements. For example, smoked ham. Finish: long, with very handsome bitters, hops, Seville oranges… Comments: sometimes Ben Nevis really does come close to Springbank, unless it’s the other way round? That is the case here. Horribly good, with very restrained cask impact, despite that green walnut side. All that remains is to go prowling around Zurich to see whether there are any bottles left…
SGP:462 - 91 points. |
And thus we come to the venerable old OB, bottled before the previous one had even seen the inside of a still… |
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Ben Nevis 1970/1996 (53.1%, OB, cask #4534, 238 bottles)
After all, back then it wasn’t all that common for distillers to print cask numbers on the labels of their single casks. Colour: full gold. Nose: let’s say it, all those old official Ben Nevis bottlings had not exactly been superlative, but here, from the very first sniff, we understand that we’re dealing with a very fine bottle indeed, with masterful polishes and, of course, walnut liqueur. There are traces of slag as well, at any rate an earthy side, Bakelite, old orange liqueurs, and even a walnut cake glazed with gewurztraminer marc, just like Mrs Whiskyfun makes them so well. A few touches of dried wrack on the beach. With water: immense and very unexpected bursts of yellow melon! Mouth (neat): this is rather deviant, but that is precisely what we like. A bottle of Campari not properly closed for weeks, paraffin, blood orange that has seen better days, then a little olive and a drop of Scandinavian tar liqueur. With water: Thai broth, only cold. Basil, peppers, chillies, and even prawns. Yes. Finish: back to little tars and slightly bitter oranges, with clear notes of plastic and chen-pi in the aftertaste. Comments: this artist does lead you a bit of a dance, but we go along with it. I’ve always hated writing this: perhaps this is simply not exactly a malt for beginners. In any case, perhaps the finest official BN from the 1960s-early 1970s. I do mean perhaps.
SGP:462 - 92 points. |
I fear our bennevissitis will only continue to worsen, but according to the latest medical updates, it is not, apparently, a fatal condition. A relief. |
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April 8, 2026 |
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Two wee independent Pulteney |
For it is always a pleasure to head up the coast beyond Brora, towards Wick, in the company of quality independent bottlers… |
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Pulteney 18 yo 2008/2026 (49.5%, Dràm Mor, cask #Z084)
We had tasted an excellent sister cask of 17 years earlier in January, here is a new one. We do not yet have the label for this new release, so we are temporarily using that of the previous cask. Colour: gold. Nose: a fresh bourbon profile, a touch rooty, with apple and slightly underripe mango, then increasingly orange. The light coastal salinity of Pulteney is present too, then fairly fresh oak begins to develop. With water: it rounds out, rather on orange cheesecake, with some freshly grated zest if you please. Mouth (neat): very much on the malt, orange and grey pepper, with a certain lemony and herbal tension. Hints of ginger and nutmeg. With water: the pepper and ginger take control. Finish: long, both rich and lively, on lemon and pepper this time. Woody echoes in the aftertaste. Comments: the cask has played a rather marked role, but we have avoided vanillin. All very very good.
SGP:551 - 86 points. |
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Pulteney 22 yo 2003/2026 (52.2%, The First Editions for dram4you, bourbon, cask #HL21992, 150 bottles)
A release for our dear neighbours in Switzerland. Colour: chardonnay. Swiss, of course. Nose: rather less wood, and rather even more citrus, with little touches of eucalyptus. A Pulteney that is somewhat more medicinal than usual, we would say. With water: apples, pears, quinces, all of it with lovely freshness, then clementines. Mouth (neat): very lovely freshness, we could almost believe we were by the seaside ourselves. Lemon, seaweed, light peppermint. With water: other little citrus fruits join our lemony friends, along with a fine amount of lemongrass. Finish: long, zippy, rather like a very good sauvignon blanc. Swiss as well. Comments: we do prefer this one a little, but that is entirely because we tend to prefer casks that leave a lighter imprint. Another taster might very well take the completely opposite view, but in any case both Pulteneys are excellent.
SGP:551 - 88 points. |
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April 7, 2026 |
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The Time Warp Sessions,
bizarre Tullibardine 40 years apart
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Indeed, this time, we’re going all in and tasting two malts distilled forty years apart, sound good? It might feel a bit like pitting Bad Bunny against The Yardbirds, or Taylor Swift against Helen Merrill, but why not? What’s more, they were both bottled at very similar strengths… |
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Tullibardine 1966/1987 (52.1%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, #28.2) 
Indeed, this is only the second Tullibardine ever offered by the very honourable SMWS. This vintage still dates from the Brodie Hepburn era, before the takeover by Invergordon. Thanks to scotchwhisky.com, always a seminal website, we continue to pray that it may remain online forever, even if it has no doubt already been entirely pillaged by the asthmatic coyotes of ChatGPT and company. Long live scotchwhisky.com! Colour: pale gold. Nose: really on frying oil at first, after many rounds of frying to boot, but it rather quickly moves towards strawberry yoghurt, cottage cheese, pine needles and new rubber. Wellingtons. All the oddness of old Tullibardines is here. With water: it goes towards carbon paper and Tipp-Ex. Do you remember Tipp-Ex? (A silly joke from forty years ago had it that peroxide-blonde secretaries used to put some on their computer screens. Silly times.) Mouth (neat): truly a malt apart. Tart apples, farmhouse cider, rice vinegar, porridge and a few unknown bitter herbs, sucked or chewed absent-mindedly during a walk in the forest. Which we should never do, should we. With water: as so often, citrus comes to the rescue, but the whole remains really rather bizarre. At least we can say that this is a singular malt. Finish: same again. Quite a strong fermentary acidity. Comments: for those who insist on having tasted every style. We do, for instance. Not easy all the same…
SGP:372 - 72 points. |
That should make things easier for the next one… |
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Tullibardine 19 yo 2006/2025 (52.5%, Thompson Bros., 194 bottles)
With a nine-year second maturation in a PX hogshead. Colour: copper gold. Nose: let’s admit it, this is rather bizarre too, but perhaps we’ve never been quite so fond of a PX finishing or second maturation. Sultanas and pecans, chestnut honey, pipe tobacco, slight hints of old comté or gouda… With water: it opens up, it lightens, it heads towards old Madeiras or dry sherries. More amontillado in style than PX, unless it was PX seco. Mouth (neat): trans-spirit, somewhere between malt, rum, armagnac and herbal liqueurs, Mitteleuropa-style. Old walnuts set the tempo, raisins play first and second fiddle, while a combo invloving brown tobacco and balsamic vinegar handle the bass. Continuo bass, naturally. With water: it’s incredible how much good the water does it. Superb old walnut wines, sercials from Madeira, zibibbos from Marsala, etc… Finish: same again, with touches of dry ham and ginger tonic. Comments: frankly, we’re somewhere between malt and old oxidative wines. Which suits us perfectly, as we adore both. Very well played, Thompson Bros.
SGP:272 - 88 points. |
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April 6, 2026 |
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The Time Warp Sessions,
today Ledaig, 32 years apart
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Just a heads-up, we still have zillions of Ledaigs to publish, but today we’ve chosen to take a closer look at the stylistic differences between the earliest vintages (alongside Longrow, so roughly 1972–1975) and a much more recent version. I’d remind you that, in the early 1970s, a number of distilleries began, or resumed, producing peated whisky, as blenders were in great need of it. Tobermory was one of them with its Ledaig, as was Clynelish at the other end of Scotland with Brora. |
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Ledaig Tobermory 14 yo 1973/1987 (40%, Sestante)
We had loved the 56.3% version, some… er, twenty years ago (WF 92). We used to call it ‘the Wehrmacht Ledaig’ because of the label, but we were afraid of nothing in those days. As it happens, we had never tasted this more civilised version, so it is time to set things straight. Colour: gold. Nose: extraordinary. Please forgive me if I use military analogies, but here we are deep into boot polish and gun oil, flint too, then, very gradually, we shift towards oysters and an old fisherman’s net stranded on the beach while someone is grilling fish a little further away. And there is tar that comes along with it. What a nose! Mouth: it hesitates a little right at the start, gathers its strength (only 40%, do not forget), then charges towards smoked fish and equally smoked meats. This ultra-kippery side is nonetheless rather rare, even on Islay. It then develops a little further, on engine oils and a few delicately petroly and waxy notes. It is not powerful, but it is never weak. Finish: certainly not immense, but there is a veritable avalanche of ashes and polishes. Comments: superbly singular. With a thought for Roland P.
SGP:356 - 91 points. |
Let’s go to the other end of the spectrum… |
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Ledaig 19 yo 2005/2025 (65.5%, Scout Drinks, butt, cask #900002, 170 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: the lineage is not quite so obvious, but do watch the strength, we are not dealing with the same ABV at all. It seems extremely fine, but to appreciate it at this strength, one has to employ the Big Jim McEwan method. Outdoors, facing the wind, letting the latter carry the aromas up towards your nose, without ever ‘sniffing’ yourself. Under those conditions, it is fresh and very coastal, you are by the seaside, dressed in an old oilskin and absolutely brand-new rubber boots. With water: an avalanche of new plastics, practically an entire bulk delivery from Tupperware. Do you remember? While we are at it, there are also a few pots and bottles from Avon. Do you remember as well? Mouth (neat): tremendously sharp. Salted lemon juice, like some competition-grade margarita. But here, even the McEwan method will not do, you really must add water rather quickly… With water: it remains a little brutal, rather in the style of a very young ueber-Ardbeg, but if pepper, tar, plastic and salt do not bother you, you are going to have a ball. Finish: as if that were not enough, now chilli comes storming in. Comments: fruit? You may look for it for quite a while, but we adore it.
SGP:267 - 90 points. |
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