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November 11, 2026 |
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A round-the-world whisky tour for peace
On this anniversary of the First World War armistice, we find ourselves wondering what’s supposed to be so terribly old-fashioned, so frightfully uncool, about peace. And why some so-called leaders, the very excrement of humanity, still think nothing of killing children. May they burn in hell and may millions of lice make their own descendants’ arses itch for all eternity. Right, on to the whiskies.... |
We can safely say that ‘whiskies from the rest of the world’, an expression so often used by our Scottish friends, has had its day. It’s still accurate enough in the literal sense, but the whisky world has come a hell of a long way. Now I must admit we have so many ‘world whiskies’ in the queue that we’re completely snowed under, but we’ll pick a few that caught our attention for one reason or another. And we’ll go wherever we fancy, seeing as we’re not paying for the jet fuel…
At Feddie in Norway. They mean it. |
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Kythrea 2022/2026 (60.8%, OB, Aristides Distilling, Cyprus, single rye, cask #ASC24, 730 bottles) 
Hurrah, a new whisky country on Whiskyfun! Always an immense joy… Kythrea is a small town in the northern part of Cyprus, quite close to Nicosia. Lovely people, from what we’ve seen! Colour: full gold. Nose: firm yet fat, compact yet honeyed and aromatic, with that pumpernickel character we always enjoy so much. Honey spice cake with a little cumin and curry powder, crushed mustard seeds and mullein flowers. With water: wholemeal breads and candied citrus, plus citron liqueur (cédratine, which also makes a splendid spritz). Mouth (neat): superb citrus bread, cumin and aniseed, pink peppercorns, touches of juniper and, of course, our old friend pumpernickel. With water: honey and pink peppercorns take centre stage. A little more honey, too. Finish: long, splendidly sweet and spicy. Comments: this baby came as a very big surprise when we first tasted it, rather hurriedly, at Whisky Live Paris. And so it did again today. There’s a malt as well, which we’ll have next time.
SGP:651 - 88 points. |
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Thomson ‘Full Noise - Manuka Smoke’ (52%, OB, New Zealand, single malt, +/-2026) 
Was Nigel Tuffnell himself involved in this project? It’s New Zealand barley smoked over manuka wood, while manuka honey is known as far away as Alsace. That tells you something… Colour: pale gold. Nose: lovely and distinctive, with soft, very floral smoke and almost a touch of honey (manuka, naturally). Some pink grapefruit. Very pretty, a long way from peat. And from Nigel Tuffnell. With water: sandalwood and cedarwood. The smoke remains soft and floral. Mouth (neat): how funny, and how good! Peppery lemon zest, fir ash, little gherkins, a touch of baijiu and chlorophyll… With water: it gets even better. With all these advances in genetics, could we cross a fir tree with a lemon tree? Finish: fairly long and, above all, beautifully fresh. Ash and gherkins. Comments: very original and very good, I find. We may stop short of ordering a case of double magnums, but yes, it’s very, very good.
SGP:463 - 87 points. |
While we’re down that way… |
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Sullivans Cove ‘Double Cask’ (47.5%, OB, Australia, batch #DC127, ex-brandy, +/-2026)
And here we are back in Hobart, Tasmania! Colour: gold. Nose: I’m not sure what part the brandy plays in all this, but it’s stuffed to the gills with nougat and salted butter caramel to begin with, then there’s some fresh, rather distinguished wood (really) and peanut butter in quite unreasonable quantities. The trouble is that we adore peanut butter at WF, a well-documented sign of our tendency to revert to childhood. Mouth: much the same, with lashings of lemon juice and a young, sharp Sauvignon blanc. It all leads to Timut pepper and the return of the salted butter caramel. Finish: rather long, on milky coffee, pink peppercorns and… salted butter caramel. And fudge. Comments: it really does take us straight back to childhood. Adorable.
SGP:551 - 87 points. |
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Hellyers Road 23 yo ‘American Oak’ (55.6%, OB, Australia, first fill bourbon, cask 3114.4, 2026) 
Colour: gold. Nose: geranium flowers, fresh kumquats, quince, mango, lilac. Sublime. With water: little fruit sweets, Haribo’s finest and so on. Mouth (neat): wonderfully taut citrus, peppery honeys and cherry-stalk tea. With water: rooibos and blood orange. Finish: much the same, perhaps the quietest part. Comments: we used our ‘quick-express-de-la-muerte’ tasting method, as we already knew what was going to happen. The finish cost it a point, dura Lex, sed Lex.
SGP:651 – 90 points. |
To (try to) hold its own against that Hellyers Road, it’ll take at least… |
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Smögen 10 yo 2015/2026 (58.4%, The Whisky Blues, Sweden, oloroso sherry quarter cask, cask #37, 131 bottles)
More of those superb labels, immune to all the AI slop we see proliferating in certain quarters. I should add that, quite logically, quarter casks are half casks. Don’t ask. Colour: full gold. Nose: amusingly, there are echoes of the Thomson’s, probably down to the way the sherry and the spirit come together. Pine-cone ash, cedarwood, roast chestnuts, fir wood, a little varnish, grilled bacon, walnut wine… With water: little change to report, apart from the arrival of a little cider apple. Mouth (neat): much livelier, sharper, lemony and peppery… With water: back come the varnish and walnuts, with notes of smoky sake… Finish: long, with increasingly fermentary notes. Comments: excellent, of course, if perhaps a tiny bit less precise than usual.
SGP:555 - 87 points. |
While we’re up north and on the quarter casks… |
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Thy 4 yo 2020/2025 (50.5%, The Whisky Trail, Elixir Distillers, Denmark, malted rye, new American oak quarter casks, 645 bottles) 
Indeed, we’re late, but we did drag our feet a little, as ‘new American oak quarter cask’ sounded a bit like a double punishment. Then again, we adore Thy and we adore Elixir, so here we are… Colour: full gold. Nose: all the caramel of virgin oak, times two. In short, it noses like a box of fudge straight from Glasgow or Edinburgh airport. With water: the citrus arrives in droves. Mouth (neat): the rye comes through much more clearly, having managed to break through all that new wood from the little casks. Pink grapefruit, lime and country bread, all very lovely. With water: it loosens up, with flowers and citrus… Finish: much the same, though the wood makes itself more felt now. Comments: rather excellent, and probably about as good as you can make a four-year-old rye, malted or otherwise.
SGP:551 - 84 points. |
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Feddie 4 yo ‘Distillery Edition’ (57.2%, OB, Norway, +/-2026)
It’s ‘funded’ and ‘founded’ by women. Who could possibly object? Cardhu has taken much the same line in its advertising for a few years now (and there’s Nc’Nean, Penderyn and so on). Colour: pale white wine. Nose: fresh and lively, on apple, lemon, fruit sweets and fresh barley. With water: much the same, plus gooseberries. Mouth (neat): fresh and lively, on apple, lemon, fruit sweets and fresh barley. Yes, just as on the nose. With water: more of the same, plus candied peel. Lemon curd. Finish: likewise. Comments: it all hangs together beautifully, with no faults to speak of. Perhaps not terribly distinctive, but really very good in that young, fruity style.
SGP:650 - 84 points. |
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Millstone 9 yo 2016/2025 (54.2%, Dràm Mor, the Netherlands, PX sherry butt, cask #B0309, 688 bottles) 
It’s always an excellent sign when the indies, especially the Scots, pick a ‘world’ cask. It’s rather like being awarded the Légion d’honneur, seriously, even if everyone’s becoming a little more liberal these days. Colour: reddish amber. Nose: walnuts, Nutella (sorry), dark chocolate and milk chocolate. Brownies. No more, no less. With water: it gets sweeter, with sultanas, for instance. Typical PX progression. Mouth (neat): much livelier, with chilli heat and a little sulphur, all almost explosive. Tonnes of very bitter, salty oranges and some currants. With water: it won’t sit still, moving between raisins, pepper, tobacco, salty sherry and green walnuts… Finish: very long, peppery and a little ‘dirty’, such is the force of the cask. Comments: very good, though hardly easy going. A bit of a war in your glass.
SGP:661 - 82 points. |
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Säntis 8 yo 2017/2025 (70.1%, OB for Whisky Picnic Bar, Switzerland, beer cask, cask #2578, 138 bottles)
Just imagine, a Swiss whisky for a bar in Taiwan. Might the world be on its way to solving all its problems through a bit of give and take between cultures, whether they belong to individuals or whole communities? All we need to do is get rid of a few corrupt populist autocrats and whisky will take care of the rest. Hey, why not? Colour: red amber. Nose: we’d forgotten just how wonderful Säntis could be. These stories about old casks that held peated beer sound a little, er, daft on paper, but in practice it works wonderfully. Even at 70% vol. Bear in mind, though, that what’s legal in Switzerland isn’t necessarily legal in the EU or further afield. With water: blowtorched walnuts. We love it. Mouth (neat): explosive, immensely powerful, and superb in its rough, very earthy, spicy way, with clove-studded oranges and pipe tobacco. With water: exceptional, with essential oils, botanical extracts (Swiss gentian, ha) and bitter chocolate. Finish: likewise. Ristretissimo coffee (is that a word?). Comments: we adore this rather unlikely stuff. And remember, at 70% vol. you’re getting almost two whiskies for the price of one.
SGP:372 - 90 points. |
Tell you what, shall we go to Italy? We liked their first bottlings very much… |
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Exmu 2021/2024 (51.1%, OB for Milano Whisky Festival, Italy, 1st fill bourbon, cask #20100-020, 135 bottles)
And here we are back in Sardinia, with another expression we really ought to have tasted much sooner. When we go back to Italy, I suspect we’ll have to say 20 Our Fathers and 40 Hail Marys… Right at the border! Colour: gold. Nose: lovely fermentary notes, with beer, mirabelle plum tart, quince and white grapes. Let’s say Vermentino. With water: little fruit sweets, all very classic. Still a touch of barley eau-de-vie. Mouth (neat): simple but excellent, lemons, barley, lemons, barley, lemons, barley and a little green apple. A very faint Muscat note. With water: back come the little fruit sweets. Finish: medium in length, fresh, taut, precise and lemony. Comments: I haven’t checked, but I believe Sardinia is one of the great homes of citrus. An excellent little young Exmu.
SGP:641 - 86 points. |
Come on, let’s cross the Atlantic… |
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Off-brand Nordic Red Berry Gummies ‘Release #18’ (63.9%, Sons of Vancouver, Canada, 421 bottles, 2026)
Pure rye and a concept every bit as admirably deviant as that of their cousins out east, the Québécois band Angine de Poitrine. That’s right. Colour: gold. Nose: fresh wood, toasted grain, roasted buckwheat and plain old rye bread. With water: same again, much the same in fact, with the roasted buckwheat a little further forward. Mouth (neat): there are the promised gummies, along with rye and pepper, amber ale, IPA and orange zest… With water: pure rye whisky. It’s true that they make it all over the world and that it’s often very good, but it can also be rather similar from one place to the next, so it probably makes sense to focus on local drinkers. Rye isn’t quite so simple! Finish: long and precise, on rye, pepper and citrus. Comments: excellent, and it earns a fine place among the now countless ryes of the world.
SGP:651 - 86 points. |
Let’s end this infernal romp in the United Kingdom… |
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London Distillery Company ‘New Forms’ (60.7%, OB, England, single malt, ex-bourbon, cask #11190, 222 bottles, 2026)
We know this baby had a twelve-month finish, though we don’t know its total age. Does it really matter? Don’t we forgive young distilleries everything? Colour: gold. Nose: assorted little Haribo sweets (again) and sweet barley. And candied angelica, and Tagada strawberry sweets. Let’s say it’s very pretty, though I believe hundreds of distilleries around the world have been making this style for two years, or eight. With water: much the same. Mouth (neat): fresh and fruity, with a pronounced whack of cinnamon chewing gum and Juicy Fruit. Wrigley’s power! Boomers of all genders should love it. With water: still on fruit liqueurs, sweet cinnamon and little fruit sweets. The sort they give you at hotel reception desks the world over to keep you happy while you wait. Finish: likewise, fruit sweets and so on. Comments: very good.
SGP:641 - 83 points. |
With all this progress around the globe, we do end up wondering whether an awful lot of distilleries, from Vladivostok to Vancouver (going east), aren’t now making more or less the same whisky. |
And we insist on this rainy 11th of November, as the great Nick Lowe would say (cheers, Nick M.!), “What’s So Funny ’Bout Peace, Love, and Understanding?” |
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November 10, 2026 |
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The mandatory monthly Springbank (a quartet)
There, we’ve chosen our Springbanks for November. No new OBs around I’m afraid, but what follows should keep us more than happy… Hang on, unless we count this little private cask as an OB. It is one, after all, isn’t it? … |
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Springbank 23 yo (41.7%, Private Cask for 25th Anniversary Whisky Market Cologne, first fill sherry hogshead, cask #649, 288 bottles, 2026)
Colour: Americano. Nose: that slightly sulphury side we used to find in quite a few ex-sherry Springbanks, very much in check here, then roasted chestnuts, dark chocolate and the very same Americano suggested by the colour. That’s rather amusing. And cured meats, bresaola, Bündnerfleisch, biltong… Mouth: the nose carries straight through to the palate. Very dry, with coffee, cured meats, truffle, an earthy, salty, minty side and that same little idiosyncratic touch of sulphur. Finish: fairly short, with plenty of tobacco and black tea without sugar. Comments: I’m very fond of this style, even if it’s perhaps a little shy of top-flight Springbank.
SGP:361 - 87 points. |
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Springbank 30 yo 1992/2022 (46.1%, Single Malt Vault, Private Owners Cask, ex-bourbon, cask #314, 75 bottles)
Many of these vintage bottlings turn out to come from great vintages. Well, I know what I mean. Colour: light gold. Nose: the beauty of ex-bourbon Springbank of this age and from these vintages. Custard and olive oil, in other words, with beeswax, a mechanical touch of engine grease and light, elegant coastal notes. It’s all very tightly knit, actually. Mouth: in come the citrus fruits, mandarins and grapefruit, then orchard fruits, apples and pears, and finally shellfish and seaweed. We needn’t go on at length. It’s pretty much perfect and still very tightly knit. Finish: little touches of camphor, medicine and minerals, all very ‘Springbank’. Pepper and salt in the aftertaste. Comments: a short tasting note will do, so neatly does this baby hold together. We love it.
SGP:562 - 90 points. |
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Springbank 31 yo 1991/2022 (48.3%, Limited Whisky, Connoisseur Collection, refill bourbon, 166 bottles)
In theory, this baby ought to be much of the same barrel, if you’ll pardon this expression carried over from French. Colour: gold. Nose: more on vegetable oils, sunflower in particular, with sesame butter, beeswax and mild honey, nougat and menthol tobacco. Then the very ripe apples turn up, with purpose and determination (eh?). Mouth: more rustic and earthy, with plenty of bone-dry cider, a little ginger, some mead, then a trio of pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg. The earth and spices really come through. Finish: fairly long, on pepper and lemon zest, with a little oiled cardboard and ash in the aftertaste, vaguely reminiscent of Glenturret in some respects. Comments: excellent, though much less classic than the 1992.
SGP:562 - 88 points. |
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Springbank 1965/1992 (52.8%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, #27.21)
Still a twistcap! And a vintage that needs no introduction… Colour: full gold. Nose: tasting in progress, please do not disturb. Only joking. This little beauty certainly delivers, with sublime dried figs, equally sublime dried dates, marzipan (dates stuffed with marzipan are pretty sublime too), then a caffè latte that’s worth every extra-penny and a damson tart dusted with ground cinnamon, as it should be. These old Springbanks from the 1960s are less coastal, less salty and less mineral than the later vintages, and utterly legendary all the same. With water: an explosion of wax and furniture polish. Mouth (neat): beyond sublime. Take everything we’ve just listed and add lime juice and lemon juice. At this age it can still send delicious little electric shocks down your spine! Magnificent. With water: very little change. This is the finest citrus juice ever to cross a human being’s path. Finish: long, perhaps fresher and more lemony than most other 1965s or 1966s, including the Local Barleys. Comments: the maddest thing is that there’s something almost modest about it, almost understated.
SGP:552 - 93 points. |
We’ll have several other old SMWS Springbanks in our December instalment, so stay tuned. We’re also planning to put some old Springbanks up against some old Clynelishes, head-to-head. We’ll see if that works out… |
(Thank you, Angus, Bora & Gemma) |
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November 9, 2026 |
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WF's Little Duos,
today Strathmill once more |
Strathmill is one of those underdogs we make a point of tasting as often as possible. Perhaps we ought to seek professional help, what do you think? |
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Strathmill 14 yo 2011/2026 (54.3%, Single Cask Nation, 1st fill American oak oloroso hogshead, cask #192126, 224 bottles)
Colour: full gold. Nose: malt and wood glue to begin with, then geranium essence and fir needles, joined by those typically oloroso green walnuts. With water: very little change. A few drops of nuoc mam. Mouth (neat): a bourbon side, varnish, malt extract, brewer’s yeast, spruce wood, ginseng… One thing’s for sure, the cask kept itself busy. With water: in come the inevitable green walnuts, with some bitter orange peel in tow. Finish: rather long, a little resinous, bitter, thick… Comments: a rather Nigeltuffnellesque Strathmill, shall we say. It barely lets you catch your breath, but we’re happy to go along with it.
SGP:
361 - 84 points. |
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Strathmill 38 yo 1988/2026 (44.9%, The Whisky Agency, hogshead)
The label depicts, as you may know, TWA’s principal owner indulging in his favourite hobby, taming crocodiles with his bare hands. You might point out that some of us taste whisky in slightly excessive quantities. Such is the nature of hobbies, there’s no telling where they’ll end. Colour: gold. Nose: very lovely, with malt and resin in perfect balance, verbena, Chartreuse, fir needles, moss, ferns and a little piece of ham. For good measure. Mouth: an old malt that’s stayed fresh, flawless and vibrant, thanks to a generous helping of citrus and some very good fino. Assuming there’s any in there… It’s really very good. Finish: long, on lemon zest and green peppercorns, with fir bud liqueur doing its impression of the backing vocals on Pink Floyd’s Time. Comments: absolutely impeccable at this age, no doubt thanks to a cask that knew how to behave itself for 38 years.
SGP: 451 - 89 points. |
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November 8, 2026 |
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A word of caution
Let me please remind you that my humble assessments of any spirits are done from the point of view of a malt whisky enthusiast who, what's more, is aboslutely not an expert in rum, brandy, tequila, vodka, gin or any other spirits. Thank you – and peace! |
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The Rum Sessions,
today a few more rums, some very special |
After the grapes, the sugar cane! But before the heavy hitters, an apéritif, as usual… |
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Millonario ‘Numero 15 Reserva Especial’ (40%, OB, Peru, +/-2026) 
We first tasted this little Peruvian back when it was called ‘Solera 15’, at a time when the word solera meant next to nothing to the general public. Naturally, everyone assumed it was fifteen years old. These days, the word ‘numero’ appears in beige on beige. All rather clever… Anyway, when we last tried it ten years ago, we found it extremely sweet (S = 9 in SGP, the maximum). Colour: yellow gold (caramel). Nose: liquid caramel, the sort you buy in supermarkets to pour over your crème caramels and cakes. Still, it is not unpleasant at this stage, as there is a mixture of molasses and cane juice, and even a tiny earthy side. Mouth: pure sugar, flavoured with caramel. But do remember that these rums are intended to be served over ice, or at least in cocktails, and that the cold brings out bitterness while reducing the impression of sweetness. We may be the only people ‘tasting’ this baby at room temperature. Silly us. Finish: long, with almost suffocating sweetness. Bailey’s is less sweet. The aftertaste is so sugary that you immediately need 25cl of sparkling water to wash it down. Comments: a proper liqueur, difficult to appreciate as a potential malternative. We shall nevertheless keep the score reasonable, since we have not tasted it in its intended setting.
SGP: 920 – 50 points. |
You will understand that immediate countermeasures are required… |
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Trinidad 26 yo 1999 (57.9%, LMDW Flag Series, Les Anthologistes, Trinidad, cask # CR98/99BB1)
In all likelihood, this is Caroni. Colour: full gold. Nose: imagine somebody mixing crude oil with walnut stain and amontillado. Please note that I am not suggesting there is any amontillado in here. Nor crude oil, for that matter. With water: varnish and glue take to the stage, along with dark tobacco, what we used to call ‘scaferlati’ in the old days. Or those extraordinary Italian cigars, Toscano/Toscani. Mouth (neat): explosive, very saline, clearly in the ‘heavy’ camp, with black olives, touches of acetone, tar, horseradish and plenty of pepper, followed by a sensation of liquid paraffin. With water: a little fresher, with small lemons and quite a lot of eucalyptus bringing a medicinal touch. I doubt it would cure much, except perhaps as a rub. Hmm… Finish: long, still saline and oily, with varnish and dark tobacco. Comments: I must admit I love this extreme style, without the slightest wayward note here, and with something, er, military about it.
SGP: 363 - 91 points. |
Since we are in Trinidad… |
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T.D.L. 26 yo 2000/2026 (61.8%, Silver Seal & Bonded Hog Spirits Club, Trinidad, cask #2086-148)
Possibly the other side of Trinidad & Tobago’s great rums, the fruit bombs. Colour: gold. Nose: ah no, much more balanced than I had expected, somewhere between fresh fruit, cane and esters, although that may be down to the strength. Only one way to find out… With water: it remains rather gentle, with praline and cane honey, but also jasmine, vetiver and, above all, acacia blossom. Is there anything more innocent than acacia blossom? Mouth (neat): a barrage of syrup, cane syrup at first, before citrus and passion fruit emerge from their burrows, although once again the alcohol seems to be holding everything back a little. With water: much livelier now, saline and lemony, but built on a fairly light and, I insist, balanced foundation. Finish: the lemon keeps going, to the point where we almost have a blend of limoncello and mint leaves. We shall have to try that… next summer. Comments: it kept improving in the glass, becoming magnificent towards the finish, which is not such a common occurrence.
SGP: 451 - 89 points. |
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Shakara 21 yo (45.5%, OB, Thailand, +/-2026)
We rather liked the 12-year-old three or four years ago (WF 81). The molasses used here are produced locally, rather than shipped in from the other side of the world or the continent. Colour: amber. Nose: oh, this is lovely! Rose-flavoured Turkish delight, polished wood, hibiscus, touches of coconut milk, the tiniest hint of nutmeg and pineapple jam, followed by proper gingerbread with plenty of honey in it. Mouth: more spicy wood on the palate, spruce and cedar, also juniper and an amusing rye-like feeling. Add speculoos and cumin for good measure. A very lovely rum, in a different style from both Thailand’s finest (Chalong Bay etc.) and the ‘rums’ aimed at tourists (the terrifying SangSom etc.). Finish: still very delicately spicy. Comments: a real surprise, and an excellent one at that. The spices are wonderful, but then again, this is Thailand, is it not.
SGP: 551 - 86 points. |
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Cuban Rum 56 yo 1968/2024 (49.7%, Whisky Picnic Bar & Aren Trading, Cuba, barrel, cask #1, 66 bottles)
The reappearance of these very old Cuban rums among the independents has been one of the great recent developments in rum, at least here at WF. We were a little circumspect when the first ones arrived, but since then we have been stringing together marvels like pearls on Shakira’s necklace (it was the Shakara above that made me think of Shakira, I promise). Incidentally, this baby spent its entire maturation in Cuba. Colour: amber red. Nose: holy Fidel, holy Che! An absolute marvel on the nose, with precious tobaccos (Cuban, naturally), but also cooked fruits, exotic honeys, superlative liquorice and a sort of cumin-and-mint duet that may sound odd on paper (all right, on your screen) but is nothing of the sort. A splendid nose, almost enough to ruffle your hair. Mouth: another pure marvel, a whirlwind of chartreuse, genever, aquavit, palo cortado, pipe tobacco, cloves, coffee chocolate, chocolate coffee (clever chap, S.) and, once again, touches of black olive, rather like olive nougat. A killer, but shh, there is not much of it. Finish: long, still gentle and spicy, without the slightest sign of excessive oak after all those years. Juniper and honey in the aftertaste. Comments: what should we listen to while tasting this marvel? I suggest Santana Live at The Fillmore in ’68. Did you know we once played football with the band, Carlos included? But that is another story and those were the 70s…
SGP: 651 - 92 points. |
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TECA 2022/2026 (52%, Warehouse #1, Legendary Marques, Jamaica)
Here we are in the Czech Republic! And TECA, of course, means Long Pond, more precisely Long Pond with 1,000 to 1,300 grams of esters per HLPA, so the equivalent of an HGML at H. Colour: deep gold. Nose: four is a fine age for these rums. Here we have new Formica (does that still exist?), oilcloth, new wellingtons, olive oil, fresh fir needles (Christmas tree, in other words) and candle soot. There is also a ‘brand new Renault’ side. With water: a little smoked ham. Mouth (neat): very lovely, very fresh, much cleaner than expected, with this feeling of smoked, mentholated oranges. With water: the bitter oranges start strutting their stuff, great job. Finish: long and more bitter, but the bitterness is perfect, ideal, fully accomplished (what?). The salted orange fruit pastes that sign it off work beautifully. Comments: 52% is perfect, you can almost drink it without water, but it would be a shame not to try it with two or three drops of H2O.
SGP: 553 - 90 points. |
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Hampden 2 yo 2024/2026 ‘HLCF’ (57%, OB, Jamaica, cognac cask, cask #1759, 400 bottles)
500-700 gr esters/HLPA. As for the cognac cask, frankly, we would almost rather not know. Much more interesting is the butterfly on the label, a species endemic to Jamaica, the Jamaican Giant Swallowtail. It is difficult to resist a few unsuitable jokes, so let us move swiftly on… Colour: white wine. Nose: oh, those very emphatic roasted notes! Not so common in rum. Here it feels as though you are nosing a bowl of top-notch hojicha, before the eagerly awaited varnish, acetone and carbon dust make themselves known. Brake-pad dust, or the Paris Métro at rush hour. With water: gentler. Cedar and sandalwood. Mouth (neat): the perfect balance between new plastics and grapefruits. And, of course, seawater, resins, lemons… With water: the sardines and their friends the anchovies come charging in, all from tins. Brine. Finish: long, perfect. HLCF is an ideal marque for normal people who have not turned esters and peat into fetishes. Comments: already perfect at two years old, which is, of course, rather embarrassing.
SGP: 452 - 90 points. |
For the last one, we shall stay in Jamaica. Safer that way… |
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Jamaican Rum 20 yo 2005/2026 (53.5%, Frank McHardy’s Rum Series, for Planet Spirits Singapore, 180 bottles)
We could say that if you know how to make Springbank, you know how to select rum, could we not? Colour: full gold. Nose: a moderate marque, but very Jamaican of course, with lovely notes of twigs, freshly clipped privet, new rubber, damp earth and biofuel. We must move with the times. With water: lovely engine grease, ski wax (how un-Jamaican indeed, although do remember Cool Runnings), and even Barbour wax. Mouth (neat): sharper, peppery, lemony, with an almost unusual degree of liveliness at this age for the island. It is easy to see why the man who managed Springbank for so many years might have selected this cask, which is ultimately rather Campbeltown-like. Or very mineral Sancerre, take your pick. There is almost something of Longrow about it, I promise. With water: top-notch now, superb oneness, with little flashes of lychee and pink grapefruit. Finish: long, very distinguished, moving increasingly towards a modern, very dry gewurz and lemon juice. Comments: all right, we have not identified the distillery with any certainty, but do remember that, when it comes to rum, we are merely tourists here at WF. Great work, Frank.
SGP: 562 - 90 points. |
Could we squeeze in one very last one? What do you reckon? We have another very intriguing Jamaican… |
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R.A.S.C. 1954/2026 ‘3rd Release’ (53.9%, Velier, Jamaica, single rum)
From genuine historic stocks, rather in the manner of Elixir’s earlier Black Tot release. Except that this is not a blend, it is a ‘pure single rum’, and RASC stands for the Royal Army Service Corps, so the army, whose corps handled logistical support (including rum supplies), rather than the Royal Navy. But I am French, I probably have not grasped every detail here. Shall we concentrate on what really matters… Colour: not-so-bright amber. Nose: certainly Jamaican, but rounder, immediately suggesting Appleton rather than the high-ester gunslingers. Otherwise, there is quite a lot of liquorice, prunes, olives, coffee and minerals, leaning towards basalt. Then an increasing quantity of raisins, who knows how they put these rums together back then! With water: rather like an old oloroso. Mouth (neat): it really brings old Wedderburn marques to mind, with lovely citrus alongside the pronounced molasses character, tobacco, orange zest and peppermint. It feels very ‘blended’, but if it says ‘pure single’, then pure single it must be, must it not. With water: the balance remains much the same. Finish: it gradually fades away, without any particular lingering notes beyond cocoa, but then this baby was distilled in 1954. More than seventy years ago. Comments: I think its interest is more historical than anything else, and between us, old bottles of Martinique agricole hold up better and show more complexity, but total respect. All the same.
SGP: 561 - 85 points. |
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Neisson ‘Léritaj’ (48.5%, OB, Martinique, agricole, 2026)
Nothing too spectacular, just a little mid-range Neisson to finish this session on a different, more forthright and cheerful note… And we rather like their Creole. Léritaj, you will never guess, means L’héritage. In English, heritage. A small world indeed… Colour: gold. Nose: so typical, with cumin, an Indian spice mixture (what they call Indian chewing gum, the stuff they give you at the end of a meal in good restaurants), coriander, increasingly prominent aniseed, gingerbread… This spicy side of Neisson is wonderful because it always remains fresh and never takes over, however clearly present it may be. Increasing touches of fir buds. Mouth: liquorice and pink peppercorns, cedar, ginger (rather… Indian tonic), followed by candied citrons and clementines. This cannot be possible, they must have some secret method that keeps bringing us these magnificent spicy, candied citrus fruits. Finish: fairly long, without any major change, just a little salinity joining in. Comments: excellent. Probably young and involving some ‘wood technology’ particular to Neisson, but I find the whole thing immensely successful. I forgot to mention the return of mint liquorice in the aftertaste, apologies.
SGP: 562 - 88 points. |
 Check the index of all rum we've tasted
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November 6, 2026 |
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WF's Little Duos,
today Glentauchers |
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Glentauchers 17 yo 2008/2026 (53.5%, Duncan Taylor, Octave, mizunara finish)
Mizunara is a bit like vocoders or drum machines in the 80s, we’ve seen good and less good examples. Colour: full gold. Nose: the trouble is that mizunara often works, even if our Japanese friends maintain that it is better suited to long maturation than a quick finishing. Anyway, that’s none of our business, but here we have pretty notes of fir and cedar wood, all sitting atop some lovely apple juice seasoned with cinnamon. With water: pencil shavings and grated nutmeg. Mouth (neat): very good, spicy but not excessively so, like lemon marmalade with turmeric and cinnamon. Admittedly, it’s all a little ‘culinary’, but it’s rather good cooking. With water: go easy on the water, but added sparingly, it remains lovely, with coriander seeds joining in. Finish: fairly long but now a little drying and very spicy. Comments: it’s certainly wood-driven, especially in the finish, but it still seems to work.
SGP:451 - 84 points. |
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Glentauchers 1995/2026 ‘The Fairytale’ (57.2%, Gordon & MacPhail, Sir Kenny Dalglish’s Vintage Moments, cask #5076)
The youngest of the malts marking, in a manner of speaking, milestones in the career of Kenny Dalglish, that extraordinary Scottish footballer. The Longmorn 1967 in the same series, tasted a few days ago, was superb and so was the Glen Grant 1951. Colour: rich gold. Nose: it may not be totally part of their legend, but Glentauchers is certainly one of those malts that G&M did so much to champion through their semi-official/licensed bottlings. Fresh tobacco and apples, a little paraffin, a touch of vase water and plenty of farmhouse cider. All that without water… With water: grass and apple and pear peelings. Mouth: quite bitter, biting and herbaceous, water should loosen it up. With water: indeed, more expressive fruits emerge, green melon, grapefruit… Finish: medium in length. Herbs, lemon zest, unsweetened green tea. Comments: very probably the least extrovert, the most withdrawn of all these superb ‘Vintage Moments’. For the others really are magical…
SGP:351 - 85 points. |
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November 5, 2026 |
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A few Laphroaigs running wild
It had been quite a while since we last had some Laphroaig, and it was high time we put that right, as there are some rather exciting new arrivals. We’ll start with a little independent 10-year-old…
(With Iain Henderson, 2002, WF Archive. Iain is not the bloke on the right who's looking dazed, he's the other one.) |
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Laphroaig 10 yo (46%, Cadenhead, Original Collection, bourbon barrel, 2026)
A bottling from this summer, sporting the Original Collection’s new livery. Admittedly, the previous grey-green didn’t come across terribly well… on screen, while the liquids were often pretty perfect. Colour: pale white wine. Nose: so unmistakably Laphroaig! Sodden ashes, as if someone had put out the fireplace with seawater, then bandages, antiseptic, creosote, seaweed, beach sand, oysters, virgin wool, gherkins… Mouth: even more Laphroaig, really powerful, with grapefruit, smoked water (it does exist!) and seawater. Then cough syrup and eucalyptus lozenges. The peat certainly hasn’t gone missing. Finish: long, a little austere, but that’s part of this distillate’s charm. Seawater in the aftertaste, almost as if we’d swallowed a mouthful of the ocean without noticing. Comments: we almost get the impression that this independent baby is more ‘Laphroaig’ than the officials.
SGP: 367 - 87 points. |
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Laphroaig 15 yo (46%, OB, +/-2026)
Sorry, we still haven’t got a current 10-year-old. We haven’t tasted it for more than five years, which is a proper scandal, I’ll grant you. Colour: white wine. Nose: incredible, this is the same whisky as the Cadenhead, with just a whisker more oak, and barely that. Quite incredible, really. Mouth: same feeling, this is extremely close, while being stylistically rather far removed from the lovely official 15-year-old ‘200th Anniversary’ from ten years ago, the last official 15 we tasted. Finish: long, with a tiny touch of citrus, otherwise iodine, ashes, pepper and salt. Comments: very good, of course. I confess we’ve rather done the bare minimum here, but you understand, it was so close to the Cadenhead…
SGP: 467 - 87 points. |
Well, well, the famous Leapfrogs are back… |
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Leapfrog 14 yo 2011/2026 (55.3%, Murray McDavid, Benchmark, bourbon barrel, cask #875289, 223 bottles)
We remember the first Leapfrogs causing quite a stir in our little whisky world more than twenty years ago, as the distillery’s owners considered the name too close to the official one, which led to a court case. Poor frog! Although, if memory serves, it all ended well… Colour: white wine. Nose: predictably, we’re staying very close. Still that dry peat, mingling with ashes, seawater, antiseptic, soot and a mixture of camphor and eucalyptus. With water: it softens a little, bringing almond liqueur and green olive tapenade. Mouth (neat): very close again, ashes, peat, lemon zest, but more salted liquorice here too. With water: excellent now, utterly Laphroaig. Finish: long, very peaty, packed with ashes, brine and preserved lemons. Comments: we do love that salted liquorice.
SGP: 467 - 88 points. |
Come on, let’s take advantage of another Leapfrog and put together a lovely little verticale of much older Laphroaigs… Early 1990s, for example, although we’ll leave aside all those ‘Secret Islay’ bottlings from these vintages that are actually Laphroaig. Next time. |
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Leapfrog 33 yo 1992/2026 (50.3%, Murray McDavid, Mission, bourbon barrel, Islay Exclusive, 243 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: very lovely, more delicate and softened, but never woody, with a sort of smoked vanilla cream, equally smoky vanilla fudge, and a floral procession leading towards compost and samphire. With water: bandages and ashes, could anything be more ‘Laphroaig’? Touches of orange fruit paste. Mouth (neat): really very good, very smoky, very ‘young’ in spirit, without those tropical extravaganzas we sometimes find in other old Laphroaigs. No complaints, although there is a little pink grapefruit. With water: beautifully balanced above all, never tired, quite the opposite. As if someone had been smoking citrus fruit over peat… Finish: fairly long, and fairly gentle too. Bitter almonds and shellfish, our friends the whelks, naturally, then seawater that goes on, and on, and on... Comments: we’re moving up, although I don’t find the gap in quality over the excellent 14-year-old all that wide. Excellent, naturally.
SGP: 556 - 89 points. |
We did say a verticale, didn’t we? |
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Laphroaig 35 yo ‘Dugald Johnson’ (43.8%, OB, Strong Characters, American oak, 2026)
Lovely label, certainly. We rather like that ‘American oak’ mention, it takes me back to my first visit, when Iain Henderson was manager. When you asked him what types of casks they used, he would reply, ‘American or European’. And that was that. Dugald Johnson, meanwhile, was the son of one of the founders. Colour: gold. Nose: there we are, a more ‘antique’ Laphroaig, with furniture polish, mango, quince jelly and angelica, but also peat ash that remains firmly in place, alongside that typically coastal and medicinal character. And a drop of absinthe. The real stuff, from the Val de Travers. Mouth: magnificent, reminding me of the old 30-year-old that you could drink by the hearty swig. Really. Mango, light toffee, gentle brines, little oysters, iodine… This really bridges the legendary 10-year-olds of the 1960s and contemporary Laphroaig. By contemporary we mean, say, post-1990, you understand. Finish: not enormous, but very beautiful, superbly saline, as if we had an entire seafood platter in our glass. Complete with lemon and kelp. Comments: wonderful, this non-vintage 35-year-old. Quite a little affectation in itself, incidentally… Anyway, I clearly prefer it to the admittedly very lovely 33 yo ‘Donald Johnston’ from the same family series (WF 89).
SGP: 665 - 92 points. |
What shall we do? We have the official 38 and 39-year-olds on the table, and a stronger 36-year-old from Signatory. I know we said ‘a verticale’, but let’s bow to organisational contingencies (what?) and start with the officials. |
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Laphroaig 38 yo (41.3%, OB, Archive Collection, bourbon & 2nd fill oloroso sherry, 400 bottles, 2025)
In theory, we’re somewhere around the mid-1980s. I’d put my money on 1987, as there was rather a lot of it about. Colour: amber. Nose: sherry and ashes, dunnage warehouses, then a simple but dazzling combination of honey-like broom flowers, chocolate, camphor and mango. If the palate follows suit, we’ll be up at the same lofty altitude as the 35-year-old. Mouth: well, yes. Certainly drier, but if you enjoy tobacco, chocolate and coffee, and sherry of course, you can only bow in appreciation. Beautiful, rather subtle bitters. Finish: surprisingly long, with orange marmalade, mint and eucalyptus. We’re flying very high indeed. Comments: I was a little apprehensive about the low strength, which might have suggested a certain, shall we say, flatness on the palate, but nothing of the sort occurred.
SGP: 565 - 92 points. |
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Laphroaig 39 yo ‘Rope by Laura Carlin’ (42.4%, OB, The Wall Collection, oloroso hogshead & PX finish, 200 bottles, 2025)
The label, or rather the labels, are very beautiful, and Laura Carlin is clearly very talented. Wikipedia (bless ‘em) tells us she has worked for, no less, Vogue, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Observer, The Sunday Telegraph and The Independent. Still, it’s a PX finish. Colour: red amber. Nose: the sweet wine makes itself known, although it’s not unpleasant at all, it’s simply that Laphroaig’s usual markers have been softened a little. For instance, there’s a lot of rather lovely honey, which is quite unusual in Laphroaig, even at this venerable age. Let’s say chestnut honey, delicately smoked over wood, and ultimately something of an old cognac on the nose. Mouth: much the same feeling, especially alongside the wonderful 38-year-old, which was much purer and closer to the ‘phroaig spirit. Still very good, having said that. Notes of coffee and Cointreau. Finish: not very long, but hardly fleeting either. Currants, coffee, forest honey. Comments: viewed as an old whisky, this is magnificent. Viewed through a Laphroaig lover’s spectacles, perhaps a little less so. And the 35 and 38 have rather done for it, we have to admit. Blasted verticales!
SGP: 654 - 88 points. |
And here’s today’s last one, from Signatory. We’ll have plenty more Laphroaig before the festive season, rest assured. Not that I could sense you worrying… |
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Laphroaig 36 yo 1989/2026 (58%, Signatory Vintage, Cask Strength Collection, for LMDW Anthologie, hogshead, cask #9398, 93 bottles)
A simple hogshead, the equivalent of a high-quality blank canvas for a talented painter. All right, take that comparison for what it’s worth. Anyway, let it be said that Signatory’s 1966 and 1967 Laphroaigs rank among the greatest malt whiskies in the world, ever. Colour: gold. Nose: this radiates olive oil from fifteen metres away. Green olives too, just like that. Then a little new rubber and kelp drying on the beach. Incredible. With water: more classical, but none of that has entirely disappeared. Certainly not those wonderful olives. Mouth (neat): ashes steeped in a mixture of lemon juice and seawater. I’ll keep it brief. With water: sublime mangoes and passion fruit, with a tiny soapy touch that’s magnificent in this context, almond soap that leaves your skin softer, or so they say in he adverts. Finish: long, sharp, saline, with lemon, seawater and drum roll please, olives! Did someone tip a bottle of Hampden into the cask by mistake? Comments: selling such splendour when there are only a handful of bottles (93!) ought to be forbidden, it’s almost torture. You’ll tell me our Alsatian neighbours at Bugatti do much the same. Scores almost 93/100, but out of respect for the official 35 and 38, and those 210 years of history… and as the SGP is positively diabolical…
SGP: 666 - 92 points. |
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November 4, 2026 |
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WF's Little Duos, today sherried Aberlour OB vs. IB |
Nothing to add, let’s just hope we come across those extravagant orchard fruits so typical of Aberlour when it isn’t too heavily marked by sherry… |
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Aberlour 12 yo 2014/2026 (59.6%, Signatory Vintage, Cask Strength Collection, LMDW Anthologie, 1st fill oloroso butt, cask #3, 650 bottles)
Well, so much for that. Signatory have been doing a lot of sherry in recent years, generally with great success. It must be said that they know a thing or two about wine as well, and don’t spell Mourvèdre with an S, as in ‘Mourvèdres’, or Sauternes without one, as in ‘Sauterne’. Both spotted on Islay, but out of pure charity we shall refrain from naming the brand responsible for these two little blunders. Colour: amber. Nose: peppery chocolate, kirsch, touches of geranium flowers and mocha. And a fair amount of ethanol, naturally. With water: softer and gentler, the kirsch turning into candied cherries, although the kirsch’s almondy side remains, while the pepper gives way to fir buds. Mouth (neat): much punchier than expected. Kirsch, green pepper and blood oranges. Clears the airways a little, which is useful at this time of year. With water: it becomes almost delicate, with touches of woodruff, while the oranges now come rolling in, along with some lightly peppered orange marmalade. Finish: long, more bitter, with very dark chocolate, mocha and a touch of triple sec to round everything off again. Comments: as dry as the driest of… sherries. No wonder. Excellent, somewhat along the lines of certain batches of A’bunadh. Hardly a bad reference, then.
SGP:461 - 86 points. |
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Aberlour 15 yo 2010/2026 (63%, OB for LMDW The Anthologists, 1st fill sherry cask, cask #91958, 474 bottles)
We could be very close here, let’s see… Colour: amber. Nose: indeed, we’re very close, only this is a little softer and rounder, despite the higher strength. Crème brûlée, walnut cake, kougelhopf and panettone (nearly the season, hurrah!), followed by roasted chestnuts. A lovely nose, despite the, ahem, 63%. With water: artisan kirsch-flavoured marzipan and dark turrón, two favourites at WF Towers. Mouth (neat): the cherries, buds and peppers are back, but the alcohol seems to be holding the rest in check for now. With water: very good, everything relaxes, although the cherries and peppers continue to rule the roost, with a slightly saline sherry character suggesting a blend of fino and oloroso, or perhaps palo cortado. Finish: long, on bitter chocolate and cherry pipe tobacco. We used to smoke that as student, it was called Borkum Riff Sherry Cavendish. Not necessarily a recommendation… Comments: lovely sherry, very much… A’bunadh from the best batches. We’ve come full circle.
SGP:561 - 88 points. |
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November 3, 2026 |
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A trio of tasty Tullibardine
An idea for a session that came to me while listening to Bill Evans’ Twelve Tone Tune (TTT). Don't ask me why. Well not that I’m comparing myself to him, I’m just a lowly woodlouse by comparison.… Anyway. another distillery from the very far end of the alphabet that we enjoy tasting whenever the opportunity arises. (The Bill Evans Album, 1971) |
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Tullibardine 2013/2026 ‘The Murray’ (56.1%, OB, Cask Strength)
Apparently, the name ‘The Murray’ has nothing to do with a certain whisky writer of modest stature and a fondness for hats, who was rather active in previous decades. Colour: white wine. Nose: I believe Tullibardine continues to improve, retaining that beery, malty style while bringing in cooked fruits and a truly lovely mineral, slightly yeasty side. With water: sodden earth, limestone, clay… Mouth (neat): this is good, spicy, yeasty, fermentary, very close to bière de garde, overripe apples, sourdough, country bread and pepper… With water: very good indeed, with fresh apples arriving alongside hoppy touches. Does hopped cider exist? Finish: medium in length, gentle, a little honeyed, otherwise very much on farmhouse cider. Comments: the last versions of The Murray we tasted involved Port or Châteauneuf; this one follows a much cleaner, more precise line. Very, very good.
SGP:551 - 86 points. |
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Tullibardine 22 yo 2004/2026 (47.8%, The Whisky Agency, Ruby Port barrique)
I believe these casks are generally called ‘barrica’ in Portugal, rather than the very Bordelais ‘barrique’. But once again, we’re splitting hairs… Colour: clairet, or ‘blouge’. Nose: familiar with blouge? It’s a blend of red and white wine that’s becoming increasingly fashionable in France. Anyway, I cannot fathom by what miracle this ruby Port finish works so well. Raspberry cake, cherry tart, guignolet cherry liqueur: all of this ought to send our little Tullibardine straight off the road, yet it does nothing of the sort. They must employ wizards and shamans at TWA or even summon the spirits themselves. Perhaps hold German voodoo ceremonies (which involve currywurst, I’ve heard)… Mouth: the worst part is that it’s exactly the same on the palate. Pink peppercorns galore, violet liqueur by the dozen litres, liquorice juice and, above all, sweet cherries, both fresh and candied. As it happens, we love cherries at WF, especially those found in great Burgundies. But all right, we’re in Porto… Finish: not all that long but still infused with cherries. Lovely freshly ground pepper. Comments: granted, you do have to like cherries. We do, so we like this very much, but shh, don’t tell anyone…
SGP:751 - 86 points. |
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Tullibardine 21 yo 2005/2026 (55.6%, Decadent Drams, first fill sherry hogshead, 274 bottles)
Colour: mahogany. Nose: Viennese hot chocolate, tarmac, wood glue, black truffle juice, robusta coffee, pipe tobacco and meat extract. Bouillon Kub, Bovril… Incredible consistency between the colour of the dram and its aromatic profile. With water: practically a blend of nuoc mam and Maggi (we know DD’s boss is a Maggi enthusiast). Mouth (neat): there’s been a mix-up: this is old armagnac. We shall immediately send a fax to Scotland requesting a detailed explanation. With water: everything relaxes and becomes lovely, saline, very much on broths and bone marrow, but also prunes, with a little smokiness. Dark chocolate and bresaola, then tar. Finish: quite long, heading towards pears poached in wine. All’s well that ends well. Comments: rather out there, but we like it. Very much, even…
SGP:562 - 87 points. |
October 2026
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Serge's favourite recent bottling this month:
Talisker 32 yo 1993/2026 (58.4%, OB, for Kirsch Import 50th Years, new charred American oak, 156 bottles) - WF 92
Serge's favourite older bottling this month:
Ardbeg 1974/1988 (55.1%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, #33.8) - WF 94
Serge's favourite bang for your buck this month:
Glenfarclas ‘190 Anniversary’ (90° proof, OB, 15,000 bottles, 2026) - WF 88
Serge's favourite malternative this month:
Domaine Laoué 1985/2026 (48.6%, L’Encantada, The Silent Domains, for LMDW Les Anthologistes, Bas-Armagnac, cask #32) - WF 91
Serge's thumbs up this month:
Miraon (57.3%, OB, South Korea, single rice soju, cask #2604, 2026) - WF 87
Serge's Lemon Prize this month:
None this month |
We would like to remind you
that we do not take prices
into account, except for the
“bang for your buck” category. |
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November 2, 2026 |
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Half a dozen Clynelish
Perhaps you remember our solemn pledge: to taste Clynelish and Springbank at least once a month, every month. Well, today it’s Clynelish’s turn, with Springbank coming soon. We’ll pick them more or less at random, as I don’t think we have any really old vintages left in the pipeline. For now, at any rate.
(In Emmanuel Dron's stunning 12-kilo book 'Collecting Scotch Whisky', 2018) |
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Clynelish 13 yo 2013/2026 (48.8%, Whisky Picnic Bar, hogshead, cask #SR26024, 258 bottles)
I’m sure you couldn’t say it’s no picnic here, could you? (As you can see, my gift for cheap jokes is currently at its peak.) Colour: amber. Nose: strawberry liqueur! A refill red wine hoggie? Well, we rather doubt it, especially as it soon moves towards eucalyptus, fir buds, menthol and furniture polish. Rather unusual but very lovely, with the polish maintaining a connection with the distillate. If you like… Mouth: very rich, with pronounced propolis, echoing the fir buds on the nose and the wax. Then lemon marmalade, bitter orange zest and smoked oil, followed by fruit stones, kirsch… Finish: long, on glue and furniture polish, with yet another return of those fir buds. Comments: a rather unusual Clynelish, more full-bodied than the customary fruit-and-wax duets of other young expressions. These are the hardest to score, but when all’s said and done, it’s excellent…
SGP:361 - 86 points. |
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Clynelish 10 yo 2015/2026 (48.5%, Decadent Drinks, Equinox & Solstice, autumn release, refill hogshead, 361 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: fragrant, with roses, fruit sweets, marshmallows, barley sugar, ginger tonic, hairspray, lychees and, quite simply, Alsatian gewurztraminer. Not much wax this time. Mouth: more ‘Clynelish’ on the palate and less ‘Lowlands’, with lovely bitters, zests, more hints of propolis and lemon pepper. By the way, as you probably know, propolis is resin collected from conifers or other trees and mixed with beeswax. By the bees themselves, naturally. Finish: very close to the ‘Picnic’ here, just a little more lemony. Comments: a faint touch of gentian at the very end. Bang, another point.
SGP:451 - 86 points. |
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Clynelish 15 yo 2010/2026 (54.6%, The Single Malts of Scotland, Elixir Distillers for LMDW Collection Anthology, refill bourbon, cask # 800189, 185 bottles)
The bottle in the photograph says ‘From Speyside’, but that must be a mock-up. Or the result of slightly excessive consumption of their own products, which we can only understand, can’t we. Colour: gold. Nose: perhaps it’s the extra strength, but this time we’re almost entirely on orchard fruits, syrups, jellybeans, gooseberries, persimmons… It brings to mind those lovely Glencadams we tasted recently. Speyside indeed! With water: some fragrant wax emerges. Orange-blossom-scented candles. Mouth (neat): a mirror of the nose, fruits, fruit skins, stalks, stems, leaves (peach)… With water: apple tart, light IPA… Allow me to take this opportunity to lament the rising strength of modern IPAs. Soon they’ll be stronger than our whiskies. Almost. Finish: fairly long, fruity, closer to the DD E&S. Comments: I see no reason to give this baby a different score from the others.
SGP:551 - 86 points. |
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Clynelish 24 yo 2002/2025 (51.6%, Thompson Bros., Dornoch Castle, barrel, cask #SR26060, 143 bottles)
The Thompsons have a lot of Clynelish. We keep saying they can keep an eye on the distillery from their castle windows and, truth be told, they’ve never corrected us. Colour: full gold. Nose: the Clynelishness, expressed through beeswax but also pollen and honey, is much more pronounced here. Oranges, orange blossom and, above all, another Clynelish hallmark, mandarins, abound. How could we possibly object to that, I ask you? With water: a little tighter and grassier, but very prettily so. Mouth (neat): simply perfect. Still a tiny bit bitter and rough (Schweppes, Campari), but perfect. Especially as, alongside the citrus fruits, it becomes more mineral and almost salty. With water: I promise you there are even echoes of ‘Old’ Clynelish, so pre-Brora. Finish: fairly long, more bitter, but that’s to be expected. The fir buds return, along with something reminiscent of turpentine. Comments: actually, it isn’t entirely easy-going from start to finish, but for us it ticks almost every box. Then again, we are avowed and committed Clynelishophiles.
SGP:562 - 90 points. |
We could still try to dig out a few slightly older vintages (rummage, rummage…) |
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Clynelish 18 yo 1998/2016 (54.8%, Signatory Vintage, Un-chillfiltered Collection, for Vinothek Massen, hogshead, cask #7782, 249 bottles)
A version for Luxembourg. We rather like these SV UCFs at cask strength. There’s something tautological, or at least delightfully unnecessary, about the ‘Un-chillfiltered’ mention. It’s charming and amusing, and allows us to add a few perfectly pointless comments at the beginning of a tasting note. Like, er, these… Colour: pale gold. Nose: narrow, taut, grassy, then more on cider apples and paraffin. Water should both wake it all up and soften it a little. With water: pure wax, church candles, modelling clay, linseed oil… Mouth (neat): very lively, lemony, bitter, powerful, but we can see light at the end of the tunnel. With water: and boom, here come the mandarins, with their zests and hints of angelica. Finish: long and decidedly waxy now. A little pear reminds us that when this baby was bottled, it was still a relatively young Clynelish. Slightly salty aftertaste. Comments: very, very lovely Clynelish. Surely, they weren’t going to chill-filter such a little beauty!
SGP:462 - 87 points. |
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Clynelish 1996/2015 (56%, Berry Bros. & Rudd, cask #6423)
We love these replica/retro BB&R labels, the replica labels themselves having now become… retro. You follow us, don’t you? Aside from that, the sister casks were rather lovely. Colour: gold. Nose: this time we find that champagne/chablis side of some of these Clynelish vintages. Chalk, cider, fresh butter, lemon, mashed potatoes, a touch of wormwood… With water: we’re approaching a bakery early in the morning, still with butter, but also fresh bread and pastries. Mouth (neat): goodness, this is taut and powerful! No prisoners, as they say. With water: and there we have it, trumpets please, his majesty Clynelish. The propolis returns, the fruit stones, the waxes and, of course, the citrus fruits, especially the bitterest of them. Finish: long and austere, just as we like it. Green pepper comes along to deliver a few slaps right at the end. Comments: with a thought for Doug, another true Clynelish afficionado.
SGP:462 - 90 points. |
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November 1, 2026 |
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A merry band of cognacs
There’s quite a lot of lovely stuff around at the moment! So, after the rums and armagnacs, it’s the cognacs’ turn on WF this All Saints’ Sunday. We’ll begin with one of our traditional elderly apéritifs. |
The 1926 Tour de France through
the Pyrenees (Loucrup65) |
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Camus ‘XO’ (40%, OB, mid-1980s) 
We tasted a much more recent version, from eight or nine years ago, and found it very good (WF 84). This old decanter, shaped rather like a skittle, doesn’t mention it, but in theory there should be plenty of Borderies in this baby. Colour: amber. Nose: a distinctly drier style than the recent versions, although that may be the OBE, especially with a decanter, which is always more vulnerable to the passing years. Basaltic touches, coffee, old walnuts and what we shall simply have to call cardboardy notes. Mouth: still very dry, earthy, with dark tobacco, coffee, very black tea and a little very dry, rather discreet rancio. Finish: fairly long, and truly ‘extra dry’. Comments: I don’t think this supposedly rather prestigious Camus was quite like this forty years ago. Still, as we say, there’s life in the old dog yet.
SGP:261 - 74 points. |
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Vallein Tercinier ‘X.O Old Cigar Blend’ (46%, OB, for Kirsch Import 50 years, 2026)
It’s amusing to note that, in the finest French tradition, nothing is quite standardised, since you’ll find XO, X.O. and X.O on the shelves, as here. Colour: full gold. Nose: tough going for the old Camus, this is much livelier, both fruitier and more vegetal, with cooked peaches and sultanas, a little mentholated tobacco, tonka bean and perhaps a few lychees in syrup. All right, one lychee in syrup. Half a lychee in syrup. Mouth: fairly lively again, with a grassy fruitiness that makes us think of the ‘Bois’, white grapes, green tea, then the peaches return, accompanied by oranges, followed by a fairly classic coffee-and-chocolate duet. Finish: rather long, a little peppery, drier. Touches of pear afterwards. Comments: we imagine this profile, rather restrained compared with older VTs, would indeed go very nicely with a cigar. But what do we replace the cigar with when we gave those up ages ago?
SGP:461 - 87 points. |
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Vallein Tercinier ‘Hors d’Âge Very Old Cigar Blend’ (46%, OB, for Kirsch Import 50 years, 2026)
I forgot to mention that these cognacs are blends of several crus. Colour: full gold. Nose: rather surprising, this one seems more precise, almost narrow, certainly more elegant, and built more around quince tarte tatin. We’re always very fond of these spirits with such clean lines, especially as mango then appears, with touches of liquorice. And vineyard peaches, naturally. Mouth: it starts with a williams pear spirit that’s spent a hundred years in a demijohn, then develops on cracked pepper and bitter chocolate. Still plenty of precision, even though it’s a blend. Finish: fairly long, with that rather aristocratic old pear still spoiling for a fight, and a grassy side to the aftertaste. Comments: lovely freshness!
SGP:551 - 88 points. |
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Hine ‘Early Landed XO’ (40%, OB, Grande Champagne, 2026)
‘Born in Jarnac, raised in the United Kingdom’, they say. It seems the backbone of this blend comes from the 1985 vintage. I confess it’s difficult to understand why this prestigious edition, which ought to improve relations between our two countries still further, has been bottled at such a modest 40% vol., sending it straight into the entry-level category. The United Kingdom deserves better! Colour: deep gold. Nose: the trouble is that the spirit seems rather magnificent, with overripe apples, top-flight ciders, herbal teas that cure everything and the proverbial vineyard peach. Mouth: how good this is, and what a pity that the shortage of muscle, watts, volts and amps makes it fade rather quickly on the palate. Finish: short, but we saw that coming. Comments: I confess I understand very little of all this. But it is undoubtedly the finest… cider I’ve tasted this year. Especially as we’ve already tasted any number of superb Hines on these pages…
SGP:341 - 80 points. |
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Fanny Fougerat ‘Le Notoire Edition le Doyen Très Vieux Fins Bois’ (44.8%, OB, 414 bottles, 2026)
There was an excellent 40-year-old Le Notoire, 680 bottles (WF 91!), and here’s an even older version, 49 years old and 414 bottles. I don’t think I have a photograph, but we promise to update that as soon as the opportunity arises (picture added since we first published this). Colour: full gold. Nose: the freshness of age, we might almost say, certainly of careful and, as they say in the brochures, ‘patient’ maturation. Magnificent little apples and pears, the tarts made from them, a very light fudge, quince and yellow peach, then a bouquet of flowers, honeysuckle, acacia blossom, lily of the valley, jasmine, lilac, all very gentle and never becoming heady. Magnificent delicacy. Mouth: fresh and precise again, fairly lively, with more citrus (blood orange) and a little aniseed touch that almost brings back the summer’s pastis. Never does it feel nearly fifty years old. Then a little fresh turmeric and white pepper, but again, with elegance and discretion. Finish: not immensely long, but fresh and balanced. Comments: I regret to inform you that this is one of those cognacs that almost make us think of Clynelish. Enough said. And yes, now I come to think of it, there’s a little beeswax too.
SGP:551 - 91 points. |
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Prunier 2020/2026 (58.2%, Cognac Syndicate by LMDW, Fins Bois, folle blanche)
Indeed, we’re disregarding the order of ages and vintages once again. But it’s folle blanche, you understand… This also brings the Islay Syndicate to mind a little (and especially its Lagavulins), although we don’t really know what became of them… Colour: gold. Nose: buds, zests and flowers, then apple skins and walnut skins. Very compact, but water should change that. With water: perfect! Peach skins, nectarines, irises, jasmine tea. Mouth (neat): vanilla-flavoured, mentholated liquorice, we’d say. It’s straightforward, almost binary, simple, and perfect. We’re simple people too, after all. With water: even more straightforward, ultra-precise. Plain orange juice and liquorice. Finish: long and, dash it, there’s that Clynelish side again. It can’t be a ‘need’ for Clynelish, we tasted a whole new bunch only yesterday. Publication next week. Comments: absolutely excellent, and even surprising, since Maison Prunier had rather accustomed us, if we may put it that way, to very old cognacs.
SGP:561 - 89 points |
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François Voyer ‘Réserve Ancestrale’ (49%, OB, for Kirsch Import 50 years, Grande Champagne, 90 bottles, 2026)
A tiny bottling from a house that has treated us, in recent years, to cognacs positively crammed with every kind of fruit. Colour: full gold. Nose: who mentioned fruit? This is pure ripe bananas, mangoes, oranges, papayas and passion fruits, all drizzled with honey, drops of olive oil and half a drop of peppermint extract. And it’s bonkers. Mouth: exactly the same, just a shade more citrusy. Finish: same again. Magnificent mint-and-liquorice aftertaste. Comments: cognac could hardly get any fruitier. Or any more delicious, this is an absolute knockout. But is there a single bottle left?
SGP:641 - 90 points. |
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Audry ‘Lot 06’ (50%, Cognac Syndicate by LMDW, Grande Champagne, ugni blanc, 2026)
I humbly confess to knowing next to nothing about the house of Audry. Only Angus had tasted one a few years ago, an XO (WF 87). Colour: gold. Nose: fresh grapes and equally fresh butter, then orange cake and a cavalcade of little herbs and flowers, wormwood, genepy, woodruff, mullein… lovely! With water: a fatty side emerges, paraffin, candles… Mouth (neat): abundant fruit, a little in the style of the Voyer, passion fruit, mango, lemon, orange, but also lovely little mossy and earthy touches. With water: it doesn’t budge an inch. Finish: long, fruity, very citrusy, then just a little more peppery. Comments: well, there we are, now we know the house of Audry, delighted to have met you! Sometimes, even in France, syndicates do have their good points.
SGP:651 - 89 points. |
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Famille Cabanne 2001/2025 (53.8%, OB for Wine4You, Borderies)
Borderies seem to be very fashionable at the moment… Colour: full gold. Nose: a very different style of cognac, leaning more towards bourbon, varnish, oil paint, almond milk, even fresh grass, and certainly fruit peelings. The trouble is that it’s every bit as lovely as the previous ones, despite being diametrically opposed in style. With water: it falls into line a little, with yellow peaches and marzipan. Mouth (neat): citrus fruits running completely wild, plus equally unruly hops. I think we need water to calm all this madness down. With water: mint, peach, apple, liquorice. A little rustic touch. Finish: same again. Comments: very good, but we expected as much. For the solid silver hip flask bearing the family crest.
SGP:561 - 87 points. |
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Famille Hilaire ‘Lot N°L.H.86’ (48.9%, Jean-Luc Pasquet, A la Main, Grande Champagne, édition 3.1, 488 bottles, 2026)
‘By hand’, made by hand, another example of resistance gathering against dehumanised AIs producing ever more slop. Whether that resistance is futile and pointless, which might be the case, and whether we’d be better off fulling embracing the concepts of superintelligence, remains to be seen. Before settling this momentous debate, let’s taste this little baby, made entirely by hand. Colour: full gold. Nose: olive oil, Iberian ham, amontillado, Maggi, walnut wine, balsamic vinegar and parmesan cream. Different indeed! No AI would spontaneously produce a cognac like this. Mouth (neat): fairly marked oak and, above all, a very Andalusian character. There’s the amontillado again, walnuts, balsamic vinegar, then a little mustard, leather, tobacco and mocha. Remove the label here and nobody will believe we’re talking about cognac. Finish: long and dry, saline, still with plenty of walnuts, coffee, toasted pecans… Comments: who keeps going on about malternatives? Well, this time it certainly fits the bill. This baby is forty years old, give or take.
SGP:452 - 90 points. |
Come on, one last one, we’ll have plenty more over the coming weeks, including some as old as this final baby… |
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La Confiance ‘Lot 19.26 FB’ (43.2%, Malternative Belgium, Fins Bois, 245 bottles)
A lovely art deco label with an early Soviet bent! The cognac, apparently from that very period, was transferred to a demijohn in the early 2000s. Prices for cognacs of this age make absolutely no sense. Just imagine, €749 here, which is 3,337 times less than a M. from the same vintage at auction (€2,500,000, apparently). We’ve tasted that M. 1926 (okay, mixed with some 1928), and it’s very good, but there’s no need to go into raptures for ever, it’s hardly La Traviata. Anyway, before the brickwork starts weeping, let’s taste this Confiance from, I suppose, 1926… Colour: amber. Nose: I promise you this is lovelier than the aforementioned M. Sublime honeys, tarte tatin, very old rums (old spirits converge anyway), chestnut cream, top-notch darjeeling, prestige compost (what?), then little touches of mint, verbena, old forgotten liqueurs and… Japanese bean paste. Red beans, naturally. Mouth: a tiny bit rasping at first, but that’s normal, then it develops on teas of every description, eventually reaching old pu-ehr. Stewed fruits, toasted chestnuts and pecans, fig jam and pipe tobacco immediately come to the rescue. Finish: long, slightly meaty and decidedly on old Catalan rancio. Precious coffees in the aftertaste. Comments: never has the expression ‘a journey through time’ made so much sense. Let’s remember that 1926 was a hundred years ago. We’d still have to check whether our Belgian friends bottled this baby before or after the weeks of the 1926 harvest, when did they happen. Even if it was in a demijohn… Oh, and I checked, it really is €749, there isn’t a zero missing. They’re mad in Belgium, as we can plainly see when watching our favourite TV programme, Le Grand Cactus!
SGP:462 - 91 points. |
Anyway, see you soon, with more old cognacs to die for. |
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October 30, 2026 |
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A trio of official Balblairs
Would you be up for a quick revisit of the 15, 18 and 25? |
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Balblair 15 yo (46%, OB, +/-2026)
A version from +/-2019 had been very good (WF 86), although the 15-year-old does involve a first-fill sherry finish. Colour: full gold. Nose: green walnuts, thyme, bay leaves, potting soil and a little camphor emerge ahead of Balblair’s typically fruity notes, and I must admit there is undeniable elegance here, along with very obvious complexity. Mouth: raisins and cinnamon over an apple, pear and quince tart. There is admittedly a slightly drying stalky, walnutty side, but it remains very pleasant, if not terribly ‘Balblair’ now. Finish: not very long, with the sherry making things slightly drying and rather reminiscent of black tea. Comments: not one of the most exuberantly fruity Balblairs after all, but still very pleasant.
SGP:451 - 83 points. |
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Balblair 18 yo (46%, OB, +/-2026)
Once again, a finish in first-fill sherry butts. Colour: full gold. Nose: more vibrancy, figs, oranges and very ripe fresh quince, with sherry that has behaved itself, even if walnuts and menthol cigarettes are not entirely absent. Mouth: once again, livelier than the 15-year-old, with more fruit, but also leather, walnuts and pecans, pear studded with pistachios, and spiced chocolate. Finish: not very long, a little drying, but it remains balanced, if not terribly Balblair-like. Comments: I do hope we shall encounter that extraordinary fruitiness again one day, as found in the older bottlings, starting with those utterly superlative 33- and 38-year-olds from Edderton, released, ahem, twenty or thirty years ago.
SGP:451 - 84 points. |
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Balblair 25 yo (46%, OB, +/-2026)
Once again, a sherry-cask finish (or was this proper double maturation?). I must admit I find this obsession rather odd, especially when you have a distillate as fabulous as Balblair in its ‘natural’ state (refill HHD, bourbon etc.). Colour: full gold. Nose: ah, blood orange and even a touch of pineapple, now that is good news. You would almost think this was an ex-rum cask, but we know it is not. Passion fruit, quinces, earl grey, chamomile tea, and walnuts that have kept themselves in check here. Mouth: rather gentle, although there is that slightly drying tea-like side again. Dark honey, a little peanut butter, tobacco, citrus zest… Frankly, this is not bad at all. Finish: not very long, but pleasant. Pear, nougat, tea, herbal infusions, liquorice… Comments: we would love some pure, clean-lined Balblair, fresh and fruity as in the old days. And indeed, as in the comparatively recent vintage bottlings.
SGP:451 - 85 points. |
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October 29, 2026 |
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WF's Little Duos,
today Scapa (again) |
The other day, we tasted two Scapas that went down rather well. And since you don’t change a winning team, let’s try another two… |
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Scapa 16 yo (48%, OB, American oak, +/-2026)
We liked this very much when it first came out, as we did the 21. Let’s try a more recent version… Colour: deep gold. Nose: honey cake, camomile tea, pears poached in Sauternes, mirabelle liqueur, apricot liqueur… In short, positively sinful, although it could do with a little more of that lively coastal, maritime side. Mouth: quince jelly and mirabelle tart all the way, drizzled with a little gingered honey. It then becomes more citrusy, chiefly on pomelo. Finish: fairly long, with even more citrus, especially pink grapefruit now. Pink peppercorns sign things off. Comments: extremely well put together, and probably quite a crowd-pleaser. Our neighbours will love it, I’m sure.
SGP:651 - 87 points. |
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Scapa 2000/2026 (57.8%, Gordon & MacPhail, Distillery Labels, refill sherry hogshead, cask #1101, 231 bottles)
We mustn’t forget just how instrumental G&M have been in putting certain distilleries on the map, Scapa being a case in point. I’m sure they’ll reverse their decision to stop filling new casks and bottling independently, they’re far too important. It would be like Jimmy Page giving up the guitar, or Monet giving up painting. Impossible. Colour: full gold. Nose: roasted pistachios, peanut butter, roasted chestnuts, chicory, latte and pear liqueur. At this point, you find yourself thinking that Scapa really is the least coastal of all the coastal distilleries. With water: little basaltic touches, small berries (whitebeam, holly), green tea… Mouth (neat): indeed, it’s saltier now, more peppery too, certainly more vigorous. Lovely little tart apples. With water: everything falls into place, the shellfish arrive (about time too!) along with a slight hay-like note. Finish: long, with touches of menthol. Comments: in truth, it falters slightly towards the end, like a Rolex that’s lost its timing, but it remains a splendid Scapa.
SGP:551 - 87 points. |
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Scapa 1965/1988 (46%, Moon, ‘The Sea’, Hogshead, cask #2879, 240 bottles)
We weren’t entirely won over when we reviewed this legendary baby back in 2008 (WF 85), but here’s another bottle and another opportunity. Besides, only fools never change their minds, do they? Colour: gold. Nose: that combination of mango, banana, seawater and almond milk so typical of old bottles, to which you might add a few drops of tinned pineapple juice. It’s lovely, although hardly intergalactic. To tell you the truth, the current 16-year-old rather tramples all over it. Mouth: much the same feeling. Of course it’s very good, but there’s also a little too much bitterness and some green pepper that may no longer have much business being here at this stage. Finish: it turns cardboardy, with some rather unidentifiable herbal teas. As so often, though, the citrus fruits come to the rescue right at the end. Comments: perhaps we shouldn’t have tried it again. Certainly not the greatest Moon of all time, but it’s still very good indeed.
SGP:451 - 83 points. |
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October 28, 2026 |
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A trio of official Glencadams
We are very pleased to see more Glencadam in its ‘natural’ state again, without too many extraneous flavours from finishing casks. Or, rather, from their previous contents…
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Glencadam 15 yo (46%, OB, +/-2026)
‘Matured exclusively in bourbon barrels’, they say on the label, which we feel deserves a thunderous round of applause. Colour: pale gold. Nose: terrific, with apples, chartreuse, fennel, green pears, fresh barley and a packet of bubblegum. Mouth: marshmallows and unfiltered apple juice, followed by more lemon and angelica. Excellent, with a lovely, slightly oily, even waxy texture. Finish: long, with a thunderous return of the pear. Comments: fruity and excellent, in a slightly ‘Lowlands’ style. I hope they will forgive me for writing that.
SGP:651 - 87 points. |
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Glencadam 2016/2026 (62.4%, OB for 50th Anniversary of Kirsch Import, first fill bourbon, cask #2591, 238 bottles)
Let us rejoice, as everything is looking promising here... Colour: chardonnay. Nose: similar to the 15-year-old, at least on the surface, as the alcoholic strength seems to be holding back this baby’s irrepressible expressiveness a little (eh?). With water: Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum by the tonne. Our entire childhood… Also, a few glasses of nicely chilled verdelho/verdejo from the Iberian Peninsula. Boom, we are on holiday… Mouth (neat): varnish, a suggestion of hairspray and the complete Haribo assortment, especially the banana ones. Foam bananas. There we are… With water: in comes the pear, joining pineapple, apple, white grapes, banana, papaya… And all that. A very slight chalky, green-peppery side gives the whole thing a solid foundation. Finish: long, fresh and wonderfully fruity, with pear underpinning everything. Including the pips. Comments: well, we love this rather cheerful, even extravagant baby. Well played, Kirsch and Glencadam.
SGP:751 - 88 points. |
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Glencadam 27 yo 1996/2024 ‘Reserva de Jerez’ (46%, OB, 1,691 bottles)
This one has an oloroso finish from Jerez. Let us see whether it can hold its own against the cheeky exuberance of the younger, unadorned versions… Colour: full gold. Nose: the answer is yes, as everything remains balanced, and even the fruitiness is still there, albeit wrapped in walnut, hazelnut and sesame liqueurs. A little smoke, ashes, roasted chestnuts, toasted pine nuts… Mouth: well played! Mint and lemon, green walnuts, tobacco, and even a little brine and olives. Admittedly not Glencadam’s usual style, but the composition is pretty much perfect, almost more fino than oloroso in character. Finish: long and precise, without a false note, gunpowder, spent matches, overbearing walnuts, leather or vinegary touches… Anyway, you get the picture. Comments: why did I miss this very fine expression when it came out? There were 1,691 bottles, after all!
SGP:561 - 89 points. |
A perfect 'Himmelsleiter' today. |
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October 27, 2026 |
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Another verticale of official and semi-independent Benromach
When we say ‘semi-independent’, we mean Gordon & MacPhail, who have also owned the distillery since 1993. Production resumed in 1998, exactly a hundred years after its foundation in 1898. I freely admit to preferring these post-1998 distillates to the pre-1983 makes, 1983 being the year D.C.L. closed the place. Right then, onwards and upwards… |
Sir Kenny Dalglish admiring some treasures at Gordon & MacPhail.
(Gordon & MacPhail) |
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Benromach 11 yo ‘Traveller’s Edition’ (46%, OB, 1st fill cask, 2025)
Let’s admit that ‘travellers’ aren’t always treated terribly well by whisky companies, particularly at airports. I’m not talking about Benromach! Here we have first-fill casks, probably a combination of bourbon and sherry… Colour: gold. Nose: perfect apéritif material, with all the DNA of contemporary Benromach and admirable restraint on the oak front, despite that ‘first fill’ mention. Above all, fresh walnuts and almonds, very lightly smoked and caramelised. A few drops of Maggi or malt extract seem to have found their way into the proceedings. Mouth: ashes, pepper, leather, tobacco, mustard, walnut liqueur, light brine, ras-el-hanout, then yet more pepper. Bags of personality and quite a hefty bitterness, albeit a lovely one. Finish: long, peppery, bitter, you could almost replace Tabasco or Worcestershire sauce with this rather boisterous little Benromach. Comments: something of the Dobermann about it, if you see what I mean.
SGP: 372 - 86 points. |
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Benromach 12 yo (46%, OB, sherry cask matured, 2026)
‘Exclusively Sherry Cask Matured’, no less, perhaps a gentle kick in the shins for all those distilleries printing ‘sherry’ in enormous letters when they mean a finish or three years of re-racking. Colour: full gold. Nose: not far removed, just a little more walnut cake and pipe tobacco, with the rest much like the 11-year-old. Which we certainly aren’t complaining about, are we. Mouth: same comments, word for word. A little bitter orange joins the party, along with even more black pepper. Finish: much of a muchness. A touch of pine sap. Comments: six of one, half a dozen of the other.
SGP: 372 - 86 points. |
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Benromach 2012/2026 (46%, OB, Taiwan Exclusive, first fill sherry hogshead, 150 bottles)
Sorry, we only have a wee picture of the main label for now, we’ll put that right as soon as possible (yes, yes, of course we will) … |
Colour: dark amber. Nose: the previous one, only with more prunes, currants, fruitcake and very moist pipe tobacco, a few drops of armagnac and, above all, a pronounced Christmas cake character. Lovely touches of menthol and especially eucalyptus, perfect for some steam inhalations when you’ve caught a cold. Mouth: fairly massive sherry, packed with chocolate, tobacco and coffee, then prunes in armagnac and black pepper. Extremely classical, in that old-school Speyside style. Finish: long, at once jammy, mentholated and peppery. Prunes and orange marmalade rule the aftertaste. Comments: a profile which, we’ve always been told, goes down particularly well with our dear friends in Asia. Well played, then (and I suspect I have Asian ancestors myself, perhaps from the days of Genghis Khan…)
SGP:561 - 88 points. |
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Benromach 16 yo 2010/2026 (60.1%, OB, LMDW Collection Anthology, Golden Promise, first fill sherry hogshead, cask #270, 260 bottles)
This should deliver a few proper slaps… Thoroughly deserved ones, no doubt. Colour: deep gold. Nose: powerful, but elegant too, led by cedarwood, patchouli, tobacco, that eternal touch of mustard, fir wood, varnishes and apple tart drizzled with honey. Magnificent. With water: it draws in a little around fruit-and-honey bread. Things could be worse. Seriously, this is superb. Mouth (neat): incredible peppery, sappy, bitter power. I think we should fetch the water straight away… With water: an entire family of sultanas taking up residence in a cinnamon cake. Apricot jam wraps everything up and rounds it off. Finish: long, spicy yet gentle, yet spicy, yet gentle, yet… A more honeyed, smoky aftertaste. Comments: a Benromach in full battle dress. So far, we can hardly claim this vertical isn’t going well.
SGP: 662 - 91 points. |
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Benromach 23 yo ‘The Year of the Fire Goat’ (55.7%, OB, first fill bourbon and sherry, 2026)
I believe this baby won’t be officially launched until the very end of the year, but I could be wrong (who said ‘again!’, who?) The Year of the Fire Goat is 2027. Colour: deep gold. Nose: now this is more perfect than perfect. Cleaner than the others, more precise, more on nougat, honeysuckle, meadow honey, chen-pi, mandarin and citron liqueurs… Well, you get the picture. With water: it becomes almost ethereal, while recalling the intensely sweet wines of Egon Müller in Germany or Zind-Humbrecht here in Alsace. Let’s say Pinot Gris SGN Hengst with twenty years in bottle (a fresh memory, this one). Mouth (neat): exceptional bourbon. White pepper, orange, quince, mandarin, mullein syrup. The citrus fruits are fantastic, surprisingly so even. With water: would you believe me if I said this reminded me of early-1970s Clynelish? Finish: not that long, but with perfectly pure citrus. Lemon marmalade in the aftertaste, with a touch of pink pepper. Comments: this is getting awkward, we’re already at quite an altitude and still have three Benromachs to taste, all older, of course. We did say a verticale, didn’t we?
SGP: 651 - 91 points. |
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Benromach 25 yo (46%, OB, bourbon and sherry casks, 2026)
The latest arrival. Mind you, we’re dropping back to 46% vol., something we’ll have to allow for after the Goat Fur (the what?) Besides, we’re always wary of the death seat effect after a proper star such as that 23-year-old at over 55% vol. Colour: gold. Nose: lovely, of course, more classically Benromach, more coastal, taut and lemony, with more ashes, peat, wax, chalk… In short, less spectacular than the 23, certainly, but even closer to my personal tastes. Hey, it’s my ‘blog’, I’ll do and say what I like (LOL, as we used to say before Trump). Mouth: the most perfect demonstration of the validity of my personal theory about Scotch malt’s ‘main axis’. A reminder, from north to south: Highland Park, Clynelish, Benromach, Ben Nevis, Springbank. Here, spices, especially pepper, and salted citrus fruits, brined Italian-style, dominate this lovely picture, lively as an ermine in a hurry. Finish: long, more saline, maritime, lemony, and I swear a few oysters went past too. Comments: a relief, I confess, I was a little worried The Year of the Fur (come on) might have flattened it.
SGP: 452 - 91 points. |
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Benromach 26 yo 1999/2026 (53.8%, OB, LMDW Collection Anthology, first fill sherry hogshead, cask #21606501, 322 bottles)
First bit of good news, there are 322 bottles. Or rather, there were. You’ll also have noticed that this vintage comes from the year after the distillery restarted. Perhaps there was still a little trial and error period going on? I doubt it, but you never know… Colour: full gold. Nose: no, this is peatier, more coastal, waxier, almost more rubbery. Boot polish, new rubber bands, smoked almonds, charcoal, burnt pinecones, dried morels, a full ashtray… With water: practically Campbeltownian now. Mouth (neat): someone seems to have thought that taking lemons, peppering them and smoking them over fir wood might be an interesting idea. Bless that person. With water: back to basics, pepper, chalk, clay, and a certain dryness and bitterness from all those ashes. Finish: long and very dry. Comments: water needs handling carefully with slightly older malts from active wood, as it can heighten the feeling of tannicity. Now here, the citrus fruits keep things nicely afloat. Magnificent nose and palate without water, although water does tend to slightly upset the apple cart on the palate. In my humble opinion.
SGP: 572 - 89 points. |
Let’s finish with an ‘old Benromach’, if you will… |
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Benromach 1977/2026 ‘It’s not a Rehearsal’ (46.7%, Gordon & MacPhail, Sir Kenny Dalglish’s Vintage Moments, first-fill sherry hogshead)
Benromach’s style before the 1983 closure was different from the post-1998 ‘G&M’ profile, let’s say less distinctive, certainly less smoky, less coastal, less nervous, less thick and less textured too. Between ourselves, I even wondered whether we ought to have tasted this little 1977 first, ahead of the very lovely ‘modern’ 11-year-old. But a verticale is a verticale, as Monsieur de La Palice would have said… Colour: gold. Nose: phew, still very lovely indeed, with that light mustard already present, tarragon, liquorice wood, ripe plums, walnuts and even delicate touches of fennel seed. In short, it’s holding its own perfectly well so far. Mouth: very bitter, but these are magnificent bitters, chiefly Seville orange, green walnut, resin, lemon peel, then a whole host of distinguished, elegant peppers. Will you forgive me if I mention touches of tequila too? Did Sir Kenny ever play against Mexico? Finish: long, more antiseptic, herbal, on fruit skins, green walnuts, grapefruit… Yet everything is perfectly synchronised. Almost a surprise, really. Comments: I’m afraid you’ll think we’ve made all this up, but in memory of Frank Zappa, Miles Davis and John Coltrane, I certify with a light heart and a clear conscience that we haven’t. At all.
SGP: 461 - 91 points |
I’m beginning to think the differences between ‘old’ and ‘new’ Benromach aren’t quite as pronounced as I’d suggested. I shall therefore immediately withdraw from the world to an ashram in Tibet to meditate on the matter. I reckon I’ll need at least seven years (naturally). But what a session indeed. See ya. |
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October 26, 2026 |
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Another little trio
of Jura
As you may know, we always enjoy tasting Jura, as the malt often springs surprises, sometimes delightfully odd and sometimes rather magnificent. Except, perhaps, for the official wine-finished NAS versions bottled at 40%, which we shall probably manage to avoid today... Or shall we… |
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Jura 15 yo (46%, OB, sherry cask finish, 2026)
The last 15-year-olds we tasted, the ‘Paps’, had been finished in pinot noir, cabernet-sauvignon and Barolo. That was more than 15 years ago, and they hadn’t exactly set the Hebrides alight (WF 73 to 78). This time, however, it’s a manzanilla finish, which is quite another matter than red wine! I mean, in whisky… Colour: pale gold. Nose: wet stone, limestone, I was almost going to say albariza, porridge, green walnuts, slightly sweet-smelling seaweed… It does feel a little like a concoction, admittedly, but I think it works. We love manzanilla at WF, even in our whiskies. Mouth: lovely tension, very saline and delightfully bitter, with green walnuts returning alongside ashes and chalky notes, then a little candied lemon zest to round things off slightly, although there’s also more and more green pepper. Finish: long, holding its course. A little suggestion of peat in the aftertaste, but that may be the manzanilla. Comments: charming and clever! But we’re still waiting for a Jura with a Jura finish (vin jaune, ha).
SGP:352 - 86 points. |
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Jura 12 yo 2014/2026 (58.9%, Signatory Vintage, Cask Strength Collection, bourbon barrel, cask #700377, 211 bottles)
This ought to be proper Jura through and through. Colour: pale gold. Nose: very, very dry, with plenty of varnish and even touches of acetone, before custard with acacia honey gradually begins to coat it all. There’s also a slightly earthy side, which certainly recalls the limestone mentioned above. With water: quite surprising, we’re staying in the same taut, earthy vein as the official 15-year-old, with that little touch of mustard we sometimes unearth (right) in Jura... Mouth (neat): very lively, on pepper and vanilla, the pepper almost stinging your lips and the tip of your tongue. Unless that’s the high strength. With water: much fruitier now, but that mineral, almost prickly character remains. Finish: long and peppery, with a few liquorice allsorts in the background. Comments: a real Jura with character, more energetic than the official bottling but at the same (high) level for me.
SGP:562 - 86 points. |
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Jura 20 yo 2006/2026 ‘Pride of the Hebrides’ (52.2%, Thompson Bros. for The Whisky Show London, 2nd fill barrel)
The old G&M labels continue to inspire the younger top-flight independent bottlers, which, as they say, is probably the sincerest form of flattery. Or tribute. Colour: gold. Nose: this is a peated version, very heavily peated indeed, in a pure, very mineral style, with just touches of grilled bacon in the background and a little Ardbeg-like tar. With water: an abundance of flint and basalt. Are there volcanoes on Jura? Are the Paps ancient volcanoes? Having checked, no, not at all, for volcanoes you need to head to Skye or Mull. Some very lovely grapefruit too. Mouth (neat): very clean, peppery, very smoky, again on bacon but also Korean-style smoked oysters. Touches of horseradish and kimchi, since we were talking about Korea. With water: superb, saline, on a sort of mixture of gherkins and peppered lemon. Finish: long, fresh, peppery and lemony, and even medicinal (antiseptic). Comments: a peated Jura! With a little wave to Dawn, Dave and Sukhinder, my fellow conspirators in the ‘three blind men’ masterclass held each year at The Whisky Show in London. As it happens, we had a Peated Jura this year that was very close to this one. Not easy to identify blind… In any case, it’s rather magnificent and, in a way, something of a synthesis of the three distilleries on Islay’s south coast. Okay, four. Okay five, very soon, apparently…
SGP:467 - 90 points. |
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