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March 9, 2026 |
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The Maclean Foundation’s recent Auchroisk, plus a few others |
The Maclean Foundation was established by the Maclean brothers and their father, star whisky writer Charles Maclean. In August 2025, the brothers completed their row across the Pacific Ocean, raising more than £1 million for clean water initiatives. These funds help provide safe drinking water to over 40,000 people in Madagascar. After some dazzling Ardnamurchan and Isle of Raasay releases, this Auchroisk continues the Maclean family’s commitment to supporting these efforts and is available at Royal Mile Whiskies.
Moreover, Auchroisk Distillery is one of the core malts used in J&B Scotch Whisky. When it was built in the early 1970s, as the label reminds us, it was the largest distillery in Speyside. |
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Sharing a wee old Clynelish with Charlie in WF's cellar, quite some moons ago |
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Auchroisk 34 yo 1991/2025 (44.4%, The Maclean Foundation, virgin oak, cask #572002, 248 bottles) 
This is Diageo stock, while the cask was donated for the cause, I almost added ‘naturally’. The mention of virgin oak suggests a re-racking, but nothing is certain. Colour: full gold. Nose: we do feel the boost from the wood, yet the whole remains very elegant, rather on camphor, orange zests and pretty much every dried fruit imaginable, all with good liveliness. Whiffs of freshly sawn spruce wood, and, to go all the way, of Christmas tree. Very light touches of gingerbread and coconut macaroons. Alas it is a little late to sing Oh Tannenbaum. Mouth: entirely in line with the nose, just with a slightly different balance, here even more marked by resinous softwood while the candied orange and the famous macaroons remain a little in the background. Notes of amaretti and small butter and pepper biscuits. Finish: medium length, with the duo of fir liqueur and triple sec calling the shots. Elegant signature of coconut milk, with restraint. Comments: very surprising, and quite magnificent, perhaps even a welcome adjustment of the famous conflict between the old and the modern styles. It is both.
SGP:561 - 90 points. |
As you know, we never taste a malt entirely on its own, so we’ll take the opportunity to add a few other Auchroisks to the line-up, some rescued from the back of the shelves. Sadly, our last bottle of The Singleton of Auchroisk 1983 is buried at the bottom of a box. At least, I think it is… |
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Auchroisk 12 yo 2006/2018 (46%, Cadenhead, Small Batch, two hogsheads, 690 bottles) 
It was about time we tried this one, I agree… Colour: very pale white wine. Nose: cider apples, fresh barley, bread dough, vanilla cream. We could hardly make it more elemental, but because of that it is really very pleasant. Mouth: it suffers a little after the Maclean, but that is normal. More rustic, with touches of medicinal alcohol, even hints of barbecue firelighter (not that we swallow that everyday), and plenty of barley and slightly sweet beer. Chalky touches. Finish: of medium length, with a tiny hint of pineapple that slips in quietly. Comments: frankly, it is very pleasant and with absolutely no flaws. Truly.
SGP:551 - 80 points. |
While we’re in Campbeltown… |
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Auchroisk 14 yo 2008/2023 (56.7%, Watt Whisky, Denmark exclusive, 27 months red wine cask) 
Watt&Co, brilliant, red wine cask, let’s see, if you please. Colour: full gold. No pinkish hues, phew. Nose: obviously, when a red wine finishing does not smell of red wine (wine dregs, little red and black berries) it is necessarily much better. In fact we rather move towards Banyuls, Rivesaltes, but also country fruit bread and ripe apricots. Very pleasant! With water: potting soil, geraniums, black earth, Brussels sprouts. Mouth (neat): blast, it works, notwithstanding the slight soapy and waxy side at the start. Bitter oranges, pink pepper, green pepper, a touch of chilli, then bell pepper, with this time a little more rather dry red wine. With water: the balance has been found, thanks to the intervention of our closest friends, at least during tastings, oranges. Come on, since the season is truly approaching, Campari-orange. Finish: I promise you it becomes more and more about Campari-orange. Comments: a truly obvious fun side here.
SGP:661 - 84 points. |
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Auchroisk 11 yo 2007/2018 (59.5%, James Eadie, first fill bourbon, cask #805594, 282 bottles) 
2018? You see to what extent we have neglected our Auchroisks over these past years? We ought to be ashamed! Colour: white wine. Nose: light shoe polish at first, then barley, apple, lemon and vanilla. Elementary, my dear Watson. With water: very lovely, so close to barley, apple and chalk. Mouth (neat): it is simply very good, still just as elementary, yet still very good if you enjoy nature, especially grapefruit peel and, this time, mirabelles. With water: the purity of a great abstract work. Grapefruits and apples run wild. Finish: long, rather elementary, yet of great beauty. Comments: I must admit this unassuming little Auchroisk is a very pleasant surprise. Superb barley.
SGP:551 - 86 points. |
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Auchroisk 8 yo (60.6%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, European Whisky Festivals 2021, #95.47, ‘Red Bread’, 289 bottles, 2021) 
Sometimes we keep rather odd things on our shelves, do we not. Colour: gold. Nose: it suffers a little after the James Eadie on the nose, as it is the same style, just executed a little less well. A little yeastier and, above all, rather burning on the nose. With water: a little too young, a little too simple, and without any real singularities. Mouth (neat): it is good, but it burns. In fact we are almost entirely on Williams pear straight from the still, just after the heads. With water: a little better, yet still simple and basic. On a desert island, and if there were only this, we would drink it without batting an eyelid, but here... Finish: simple, on green fruits and leaves coated in simple caramel and nougat. Comments: I do not find it very motivating, but it remains genuinely rather good. On a desert island...
SGP:551 - 75 points. |
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Auchroisk 13 yo 2008/2021 (59%, Fable Whisky, Chapter 9, hogshead, cask #806196, 264 bottles) 
One of the most successful brandings of the past ten years, at least from an aesthetic point of view. Colour: very pale white wine. Come on, shall we bet, barley and apple juice? Nose: barley, chalk, slightly fruity beer (IPA) and apple juice. Of course we love that. With water: the same again, with chalk leading the pack this time. Mouth (neat): barley eau-de-vie and Williams pear eau-de-vie, 50/50. Basta così. With water: a touch more complex, mandarins, lemons, quinces, but the whole remains pleasantly basic. Finish: fairly long, with a little more green pepper and still plenty of IPA. Did you see that, BrewDog? Comments: it is cool, though perhaps it does not quite set the world on fire, as they say in the south-west of France.
SGP:451 - 78 points. |
Careful, this is different… |
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Auchroisk 37 yo 1982/2019 (48.3%, Thompson Bros., refill sherry, 212 bottles) 
Colour: full gold. Nose: incredible how close we come to the semi-official Maclean from the start of this session, here we simply feel there has been no boost, and consequently it is a little gentler, perhaps a little more fragile, yet in the end just as beautiful, and above all a little more complex. In short, at this age fragility and complexity seem to go hand in hand. Apart from that there are all sorts of apples here and all sorts of plums, and that is more than enough for our happiness. Mouth: livelier, almost taut, surprisingly mineral, and above all more marked by fresh walnuts, and that is the sherry speaking. Yet the apples continue to dominate the whole. Finish: fairly long, tangier, which is rather crazy at 37 years of age. The famous cider apples, or quite simply cider. I mean the real cider, not the rubbish they serve on tap in pubs. Comments: it is truly excellent, with dazzling freshness at nearly forty years of age. Okay, give or take a few years.
SGP:651 - 88 points. |
While we’re with the Thompsons… |
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Auchroisk 31 yo 1989/2020 (44.9%, Thompson Bros., ex-refill sherry puncheon, 122 bottles)
Colour: full gold. Nose: much rounder and fuller, on nougat and praline, walnut cake, menthol tobacco (Kool) and a whole box of eucalyptus lozenges. I find this perfect. Mouth: I love it, we are extremely close to the sherry, the malt hardly has a say anymore, yet we do not really mind because the sherry was perfect. Sublime walnuts, very fine tobacco. Finish: long, completed by the everlasting orange marmalade. Have I ever told you the story of Mary Queen of Scots and marmalade? Well, that will be for later. Raisins in the aftertaste. Comments: simply a superb bottle, and the raisins that rather rudely crept in at the end are certainly not going to change our opinion.
SGP:661 - 89 points. |
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Auchroisk 25 yo 1996/2022 (48%, First Editions, Hunter Laing, PX sherry butt finish, USA)
Colour: gold. Nose: we remain here on the classic notes, nougat, banana and pear cake, honey, barley syrup, stout, then more and more pear. Mouth: it is very good, despite the slight sulphury touches from the sherry. Fir wood, gunpowder, bitter orange, honey, dulce de leche. Finish: the same, plus a little pepper and bell pepper. The gunpowder remains rather present and twists the finish a little. Comments: it is good, though the finish is a little more difficult.
SGP:561 - 78 points. |
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Auchroisk 13 yo 2008/2022 (54.9%, Watt Whisky, 3 months in tawny Port, 318 bottles)
What 90 days in a cask of Tawny can truly bring to a malt whisky, I honestly do not know. Strawberries and blackcurrants? Let us see… Colour: gold, no pink hues, hurray. Nose: pleasant, bourbon, varnish, nougat, crème brûlée, cinnamon roll, custard, toasted sesame. With water: add a little praline. Mouth (neat): it is winey but a pleasant kind of wineyness, driven by sultanas and goji berries. Long story short, there is only that, yet it is good. With water: the same. Corinth raisins. Finish: long, even more on the raisins. Comments: very good, though the sweetness of the raisins might call for a little refreshing. Okay, two or three ice cubes.
SGP:641 - 82 points. |
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Auchroisk 2007/2023 (57.2%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, ‘Spice Surprise’, #95.100, 494 bottles)
This baby has been rather fiddled with, with 1st fill oloroso but also ‘New Oak HTMC Hogshead’. In truth we would rather not know, please keep that sort of rather frightening detail to yourselves, thank you. Colour: full gold. Nose: a young bourbon side, not really unexpected to be fair. Varnish, vanilla and coconut, not necessarily in that order. Maple syrup. With water: new leather and paint, never quite the most charming combo. Mouth (neat): not bad, just a little heavy and very much on fruity varnish and black pepper. Not easy, in fact. With water: perfectly acceptable, yet the leather and pepper remain in our way. Finish: well, it becomes bitter. Comments: I believe we shall pass. Spice surprise, bad surprise.
SGP:371 - 70 points. |
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Auchroisk 11 yo 2011/2023 (57.1%, Whisky is the Limit, 1st fill St.Estèphe barrique, cask #22074021, 470 bottles)
My goodness, St-Estèphe in my whisky! Calon? Cos? Rauzan?... Colour: light gold. It is fine. Nose: a miracle, no dissonance, sesame praline, malt extract, dried figs, argan oil. Now that really is miraculous, I think I shall put my pistol away. With water: sweet beer, and not really much St-Estèphe. Mouth (neat): earth and peppers, but also bitter oranges. Very bitter. With water: careful, water makes it snap, which often happens with red wine finishes. Keep that in mind. Finish: medium length, an overall bitter and salty profile, very much on bell pepper, very cabernet. Comments: WITL is a magnificent little house, that said this experiment was perhaps a little more difficult, in my view.
SGP:461 - 77 points. |
Right, we need to pick up the pace… |
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Auchroisk 8 yo 2010/2019 (59.7%, Brachadair, 1st fill oloroso hogshead finish, cask #79, 75 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: nougat coated with liquid caramel, maple syrup, peanut butter. With water: herbal infusions of buds, stems and flowers. Cherry. Mouth (neat): very powerful, very good, bitter oranges, praline, pumpernickel, truffle, dark chocolate. With water: walnut arrives and shakes everything up. Finish: the same. Bitter chocolate in the aftertaste. Comments: it is only a finish, but it has been well done.
SGP:451 - 84 points. |
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Auchroisk 1996/2018 (51.8%, Malts of Scotland, bourbon hogshead, cask #MoS18018, 267 bottles)
This baby is more than twenty years old after all. Colour: white wine. Nose: truly a fine Speyside in its natural state, very much on barley, overripe apples, small dried fruits, jujubes, longans, apples and beers. With water: ripe apples. Mouth (neat): lovely, fairly mineral and fermentary, with lemon and grapefruit and a touch of grey pepper. With water: it is good, moving towards overripe orchard fruits, yet quite frankly it is not immensely deep. Finish: medium length, a little cardboardy. Comments: difficult finish. It is a little odd, generally Malts of Scotland is rather vastly superior.
SGP:451 - 78 points. |
Well, we still have plenty of other Auchroisks, but we’ll keep them for another time. Perhaps early 2027… Because, truth be told, beyond the superb Auchroisk Maclean and two or three others, Auchroisk can sometimes be a bit of a bore… Zzz zzz zzz… |
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March 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! |
A couple more rums
A bit of everything today, Barbados, Jamaica, Thailand, Guyana, Guadeloupe, Trinidad… And quite a lot of fumes too, as well as spent engine oil and burnt tyres, petrol, carbon dust, acetone… |
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Planteray ‘XO 20th Anniversary’ (40%, Planteray, Barbados, 2025)
Rums aged between 12 and 20 years, probably based on W.I.R.D., if not entirely W.I.R.D. The presentation is particularly polished, it would not look out of place alongside the current décor of the Oval Office. We are joking… Colour: deep gold. Nose: pleasant, very close to the cane, with charming little metallic and liquorice touches, as well as coconut, dried apricot, thyme and brown sugar. Mouth: less light than we feared, even a little warm, very marked by liquorice, orange zest and a small handful of sultanas. Not very complicated, but simply ‘really good’, which is already quite a lot. Finish: medium in length, with surprising touches of goji and maple syrup. A saline note in the aftertaste. Comments: truly a lovely composition, rather cognac-like in spirit, which will surprise no one.
SGP:641 - 85 points. |
On the subject of cognac… |
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Captain Flint 8 yo ‘Extra’ (43%, Famille Cabanne, Guyana, cognac cask, 2025)
We had rather enjoyed the 12-year-old Dominican in the same series, but in theory this 8-year-old ought to be superior, given its origin. Colour: white wine. Nose: very metallic, with carbon paper and charcoal as well, the whole is really very dry despite the cognac cask, but we rather like this style. Hay, apple peelings, even a little dry cider. Pleasant. Mouth: it gains breadth on the palate, rather fatter, with peanut butter and a few touches of tar, there must well be a few esters wandering about here. Then it moves towards more classic territory, vanilla, honey, cane syrup… Finish: medium in length, rather fresh, finishing on soft liquorice with a faint touch of salt. Comments: a lovely little Guyanese rum in a natural style.
SGP:551 - 83 points. |
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Chalong Bay ‘American Double Barrel’ (51%, OB, Thailand, +/-2025)
A version probably rather boosted by vanilla-ed wood, but with natural fermentation without added yeast, matured for 28 months and not chill-filtered. Nor flavoured of course. Colour: white wine. Nose: we do find those slightly metallic touches again, old copper, sugar cane, marzipan… But we find it really rather gentle for Chalong, at least for now. With water: much the same, bagasse and beer, but softly. Mouth (neat): the saline power is found here, sardines and anchovies, salmiak, and above all black olive. All that, we do adore. With water: it becomes drier, very prettily so. Finish: fairly long, with lovely bitters. Comments: very discreet on the nose but rather explosive on the palate, which is not so common. We are not quite at the level of their splendid ‘Lunar Series’, but it remains excellent nonetheless, in our humble opinion.
SGP:462 - 85 points. |
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Père Labat ‘Le Rhum Soleil’ (55%, OB, Marie-Galante, agricole, +/-2025)
This is amber rum, therefore lightly aged, hence the very pretty name they bestow upon these batches. We had already tasted a version from three years ago, but we never neglect any excuse to taste this expression again, quickly and efficiently. Do note, it makes perfect ti-punches. Colour: very pale white wine, almost white. Nose: pure cane juice, chalk, star anise, olives, fennel, liquorice. Irresistible. With water: damp earth and seawater. Mouth (neat): aniseed, lemon, chalk and olive. It is already a cocktail in itself. With water: the damp and salty earth returns. Coastal soil, salt meadows… Finish: long, both rich and taut at once, with a dangerously fresh character. Olives and oysters marinated in limoncello. Comments: careful, this goes down all too easily, so just imagine it in a ti-punch…
SGP:562 - 87 points. |
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Ten Cane 17 yo 2008/2025 (55.7%, Whisky Picnic Bar + Rum & Whisky + Bar Tre, Trinidad, cask #2901, 254 bottles)
Founded in 2005 in Trinidad by Moët Hennessy (perhaps to create the Ardbeg of rum?) Ten Cane Distillery aimed to produce a distinctive rum from fresh local sugarcane juice, using first-press juice and pot still distillation. The project ultimately failed to achieve the success it had hoped for and was stopped. The name came from the fact that ten sugar canes were said to be needed to produce one bottle. Colour: dark amber. Nose: this is lovely, somewhere between rum and bourbon, marked by oak, varnish, liquorice wood, pipe tobacco, toasted pecans, but also a little brine… With water: tar, new leatherette, Barbour grease… Mouth (neat): really very beautiful, very woody, but here everything works, it rather reminds us of an old Willett, we are not joking. Plenty of varnish, paint, glue, vanilla, salted liquorice, walnut liqueur, old Dutch genever… It somewhat recalls rums from the years before Keith Richards. With water: it becomes a mixture of rum, armagnac and nocino, frankly. Explosive. Finish: long, on pine tar liqueur. Comments: we do love this rather extreme thing, one simply needs to be at peace with wood, and not only oak.
SGP:372 - 90 points. |
Since we’re in Trinidad, and to save on transport (what?) … |
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Caroni 24 yo 1996-2019/2024 (62.4%, Velier, Rum Paradise #6, Trinidad, heavy, cask #5619, 115 bottles)
As usual we are doing nothing in order, we had already tasted more recent ‘Paradise’ versions. In short, this baby matured for 12 years in Trinidad, then was moved to Guyana at Demerara Dist. for 10 years, before joining the Cognac cellars in 2019 for a slow finishing in demijohn. Some say ‘to stop the ageing’ but everyone knows that, alas, in no field can ageing truly be stopped. Colour: amber. Nose: one may criticise the ‘inflated’ side of Caroni, yet here we must simply bow with the proper deference when approaching a very great spirit. In short, we oscillate between new Pirelli tyres, Iberian ham, chestnut honey, coal tar and naphtha, patchouli and roasted chestnuts. All that at more than 62% vol… With water: sublime. The greatest pu-ehr tea from China, we imagine this is what citizen Xi drinks. Mouth (neat): simply perfect. Sublime resins, tars, little lemons, forgotten herbal liqueurs, notably pre-war Chartreuse. You are right, in these times the expression ‘pre-war’ no longer carries much meaning. With water: incredible. Tars and precious oils, and above all massive doses of propolis. Finish: very long, increasingly on propolis. Propolis is not the easiest thing to enjoy, but it also boosts your immune system. Does it not? Comments: of course, you may prefer white chocolate and coconut dessert cream. For this is very extreme…
SGP:473 - 93 points. |
In theory we should stop there, but our spirits are still high and our throats still dry (now we really are joking) …. |
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Clarendon 14 yo 2011/2025 ‘MBS’ (60%, Velier, Jamaica, bourbon barrel, 172 bottles)
The MBS marque signifies a very low level of esters, almost non-existent. But we always say it, none of this is linear once it is in your tasting glass. That said, this rum seems to come from the distillery’s multi-column still rather than the pot stills. Right, let us hold on… Colour: amber. Nose: the strict opposite of the Caroni, we believe we may just have made a misstep. You see, we had spotted ‘Jamaica’… Roasted peanuts, multifloral honey, Nutella, slightly meaty molasses, ham fat… But wait, it remains interesting, nonetheless. Beef jerky, old paint, feathered game… Very strange, very amusing. With water: even more on game, haggis, wild boar ham cooked with honey… Mouth (neat): very surprising, candied, strongly infused with wood, very resinous yet the resins are loosened by lime juice… Between us, we believe we have tasted things like this in Cuba, at someone’s home… With water: really very funny, very much ‘to the fore’, with a light texture yet an imposing presence on the palate, almost minty and mustardy at the same time. Finish: not that long, almost short but rescued by citrus, as often. Comments: never tasted anything quite like this, once the surprise has passed you find it very good indeed. In short, it is a little brief but it goes quickly, like a dragster. See what I mean?
SGP:561 - 87 points. |
Right then, tradition says we finish with a Hampden, while we do respect tradition… |
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HD 2018/2025 ‘C<>H’ (64.3%, The Whisky Jury, Jamaica, The Ester Hunter Catch 5, bourbon barrel, cask #CH-56, 201 bottles)
Of course, in the manner of WF we have already tasted ‘Catch 6’. Do not ask the French to respect any kind of order, not even us the Alsatians (smile). In short, C<>H means 1,300-1,400 gr ester/HLPA, but that is small beer, is it not? Err… Colour: straw. Nose: you have just opened the bonnet of your Porsche (this also works with Dacia, Toyota or Skoda, simply not with electric cars) after driving the Nürburgring twenty times flat out. Tar, burnt plastics, petrol, hot oil, brake dust and so on. And it is splendid, all the more so as a few olives happen to join the party. With water: it grips the road even better than your Porsche if it is properly shod. Perhaps a little formic acid, have you ever disturbed an anthill? Mouth (neat): massive, chemical, petroly, salty, acidic, bitter, relentless. With water: incredibly saline, acidic, rough, vegetal, grassy and… chemical. And above all more peppery than usual, almost jalapeño-like. Finish: almost eternal. Comments: even more extreme than usual, and therefore outstanding. We shall truly need to make an appointment with a good psychiatrist, provided he is not a rum enthusiast, naturally.
SGP:363 - 92 points. |
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March 6, 2026 |
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WF’s little duos, some young Knockdhu
We’re fond of Knockdhu, even if it’s never been easy to keep track of the changes, between Knockdhu (sometimes mistaken for Knockando), An Cnoc, AnCnoc… In any case, we’re going to taste two of them today, hoping to see many more appear on our table in the coming months or years. We shall see, it’s not exactly a seminal malt either… |
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AnCnoc 12 yo (40%, OB, +/-2025)
Inevitably, at 40%, it feels a tad cheap and bit stingy. The last time we tasted the ‘12’, it was in 2020, and it had been perfectly respectable all the same (WF 83) At this strength, really… And here we are, five years later… Colour: white wine. Nose: pear juice, cider, pineapple liqueur, hairspray, mid-range IPA… In short, amyl acetate. Mouth: it is a charming malt, very close to the raw ingredients, barley, pear, green tea, melon, jellybeans, then yet more pear… Finish: touches of caramel and nougat, followed by a very light soapy note afterwards. Comments: truly a lovely malt whisky that reminds us that, in the end, we are in the presence of a barley eau-de-vie. The lack of oomph is nevertheless slightly problematic, these 40% do feel rather cheap indeed. The new Whisky Loch should encourage the brands to raise their game a little. I know, taxes and all that, remember I am French…
SGP:441 - 81 points. |
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Knockdhu 10 yo 2012/2022 (54.9%, Whisky Picnic Bar, cask #11534843)
Colour: full gold. Nose: we find a side of fresh bread and pear cake, but there is inevitably rather more conversation here, with a marquetry note, rosewood, pear cider (poiré), fig… With water: orange cake, with grated zest and ginger. More or less… Mouth (neat): lively, fermentary, peppery, in short this is not joking. Ginger cake, grey pepper… With water: no major change. Some rather bitter ales and walnut liqueurs, and in any case distinctly artisanal. Finish: long, even more bitter still. Comments: in general, these independent versions literally outshine the official ones, all distilleries taken together, but perhaps not this time because of the bitterness. Let he who has never sinned cast the first stone, eh?
SGP:461 - 80 points. |
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March 5, 2026 |
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Three barrelled Imperial of similar age
Despite its grand-sounding name, Imperial has never struck me as a particularly important, or indeed imperial, malt, despite a few very great ones here and there. Sadly the distilery,was demolished and replaced with Dalmunach. But perhaps our perception will change today… |
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Imperial 27 yo 1998/2025 (42.2%, Living Souls, refill bourbon barrel)
Colour: gold. Nose: an avalanche of jellybeans, then banana wine and pineapple juice. Behind this very fruity arrival, some very fine green teas, cold brew of course. Magnificent notes of lime blossom infusion. Mouth: very fine oak, delicate, on balsa wood, followed by dandelion jelly, camomile and quince. This is a very slow malt, it simply keeps developing over the minutes, on very gentle spices and numerous herbal infusions, one after the other. Finish: not especially long but beautifully balanced, very much on herbal teas and dried fruits. Touches of lemon balm. Comments: it murmurs and it whispers, it is discreet, yet it is very, very elegant. Lemongrass in the aftertaste.
SGP:441 - 86 points. |
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Imperial 26 yo 1998/2025 (44.4%, Whiskyland, Decadent Drinks, refill barrel, 134 bottles)
I have a vague feeling that we are heading towards similar territories… Colour: pale gold. Nose: it is virtually the same whisky, gentle, fresh, elegant, discreet, almost shy. Little fruit sweets and floral and pectoral herbal infusions. Mouth: frankly, it is the same again, just a shade more nervous, but consequently a little less, say grand siècle. Finish: not especially long, with a light sweet pepper, then rather subdued dried fruits and a touch of earth. Comments: casks that are not tired, but which may perhaps already have said all that they had to tell us.
SGP:441 - 86 points. |
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Imperial 27 yo 1998/2025 (53%, Whisky Picnic Bar, bourbon barrel, cask #9, 120 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: we are obviously in the same territories, it is just a shade more mentholated, closer to fruit peelings and herbal infusions. With water: herbal teas in abundance, but rather little energy. Mouth (neat): very good now, fruity, peppery, but a little dry. Fewer sweets, more herbal teas and infusions. With water: even more herbal teas and teas. Finish: medium, lovely notes of ripe bananas. Comments: we have strictly no reason to score this cask, most certainly from the same batch, differently, even if there is a little more grip. And grip is important, as they say in the Himalayas (S., come on).
SGP:441 - 86 points. |
I’m not sure this was the most important tasting session we’ve ever held, but life is made up of small things, as poor Benjamin Franklin once said (good heavens, what a legacy!). |
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March 4, 2026 |
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Three 16-year-old Craigellachie |
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It’s quite an original theme, don’t you think? What’s more, we’re even going to pit refill bourbon against first-fill Madeira and first-fill oloroso, just to make things interesting… |
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Craigellachie 16 yo 2009/2025 (54.4%, Tri Carragh, 2nd fill bourbon barrel, 125 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: beautiful, very pure, on vanilla, vanilla yoghurt, and vanilla custard. A few touches of quince and apricot compote in the background. With water: a small slice of lemon cake also emerges in the background. A little chalk as well. Otherwise it does not move an inch. Mouth (neat): fine tension from the arrival, on lemon and green apple, with touches of acacia honey to soften the whole, some pilsner-style beer, and of course our friend vanilla. With water: teas and herbal infusions from the cask begin to show. Finish: medium length but with a greater variety of fruits, quince returns, accompanied by peach and apricot. Comments: this cask was re-racked recently. Re-racking into a 2nd fill, that suits me perfectly. Very much to my taste indeed, even if it is not ultra-distinctive.
SGP:551 - 86 points. |
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Craigellachie 16 yo 2009/2025 (55.6%, Signatory Vintage, Cask Strength Collection, 1st fill Madeira hogshead finish, cask #211, 306 bottles)
A sister cask, #205, had been very good (WF 86). Colour: partridge eye, very slightly pinkish. Nose: the vinosity is pronounced, with blackcurrant, crushed pepper, leather, tobacco, mustard and bay leaf. Then a little saltpetre and fig leaf. With water: it is really much drier than the bourbon version, we are heading towards a very dry amontillado. Mouth (neat): walnut rules the roost, alongside tobacco and mustard. It is very marked, but we like it a great deal. With water: raisins come to the fore, the pepper is still there, the tobacco too, some paprika… And walnuts and bitter almonds. Finish: long, on exactly the same notes. Comments: I find that it has emerged very well after the very good refill bourbon. I reread my notes for the sister cask and realise that they are truly very close, no reason to assign a different score.
SGP:561 - 86 points. |
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Craigellachie 16 yo 2007/2024 ‘100 proof edition #4’ (57.1%, Signatory Vintage, Exceptional Cask, 1st fill oloroso sherry butt)
Colour: gold. Nose: earth, potting soil, nocino, brown tobacco, dark chocolate, molasses, toffee and orange blossom water. Not much to discard. With water: I know that soon I may no longer be able to risk this kind of descriptor without ending up in gaol for ten years, but I do find notes here of English cigarette packs from the 1980s, such as Senior Service or Craven “A”. Mouth (neat): rich, almost heavy, yet with a pepper, tobacco and walnut liqueur combination that is just perfect. All the more so as the expected notes of very bitter orange marmalade and fir honey join in. With water: softer, fruitier, more on raisins and, truth be told, more PX than oloroso. Perhaps some old-style ‘cream’? I doubt it, in any case it is excellent. Finish: long, rich, yet also fresh and joyful, a small miracle indeed. Comments: a shade above the others for me. It should behave very well in the cellar, for two or three decades.
SGP:661 - 87 points. |
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March 3, 2026 |
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A few Inchdairnie
(or Finglassie, Ryelaw, Balgothrie, Strathenry, Kinglassie…)
(Inchdairnie) |
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Indeed these fairly recent Lowlanders are not so easy to keep track of, as they appear under different names here and there, particularly among the independents, and they distil both malted barley and rye, using a Lomond still in addition to traditional pot stills. What we understand is that Kinglassie (OB) and Finglassie (IB) are peated, whereas Inchdairnie (OB) and Strathenry (IB) are not.
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Inchdairnie ‘Ryelaw’ (46.3%, OB, 2022)
At more than 120€, that stings a little, as we say. 53% rye, the rest malted barley. Colour: gold. Nose: a very handsome rye, we do adore rye, with lavender, violet, pumpernickel, fresh fir sawdust and gingerbread. Mouth: soft, almost sweet, yet very much to my liking. Violet sweets, pink peppercorn, salted butter caramel, liquorice marshmallow and blood orange. Finish: not especially long but fresh and very much in line with the rest. Comments: I regret not having tasted it earlier, but I confess that we have been somewhat caught off guard by the explosion of new distilleries in recent years.
SGP:750 - 85 points. |
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Inchdairnie ‘Strathenry’ 6 yo 2018/2025 ‘Tropical Fruit Salad’ (50%, Elevenses, 1st fill bourbon barrel, 589 bottles)
This time it is indeed a single malt. Colour: chardonnay. Nose: light on the nose, not so much on that famous tropical fruit salad, rather more on apples, pears and greengages. But that is just as well, is it not? A fairly discreet nose for the moment. With water: a very slight smoky touch, flint, otherwise orchard fruits. Mouth (neat): cane syrup, pear juice, barley eau-de-vie, a hint of banana, sponge cake. Nothing much to add, it is very simple, but it is good. With water: little change. Finish: of medium length, very clean, fruity and on barley. Comments: I like it a lot, but it of course does not quite have the slightly exuberant personality of the rye.
SGP:541 - 80 points. |
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Inchdairnie ‘Finglassie’ 8 yo 2017/2025 (57.9%, James Eadie, Malaga cask finish, cask #374467)
A finishing of 19 months, all the same. Colour: deep gold. Nose: here we are absolutely on flint, gunflint, coriander seed, even juniper, charcoal, barbecue and chimney smoke, the ‘good’ exhaust fumes, I am not saying that it is good for the planet, mind you… With water: very lovely, toothpaste, patchouli, cedarwood, lit cigar, linoleum… Mouth (neat): powerful, jammy, very smoky, very much on resinous wood and tar liqueur. With water: peppermint arrives and brings it all smartly to heel. Notes of briarwood and old pipe… Finish: long, rather jammy and infused, grapefruit and mint, yet it all works. Comments: the Malaga has done a splendid job. I like this baby very much, especially its originality… A true wee beastie that does not copy Islay, if you see what I mean.
SGP:565 - 87 points. |
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Inchdairnie ‘Kinglassie’ 8 yo 2017/2025 ‘RAW Edition’ (46.3%, OB, ex-bourbon)
Peated malt at 50ppm and a design in the style of Arlen Ness, circa 1990. I say that for the Harley enthusiasts, if any remain. Not Steve Harley, mind. Colour: pale white wine. Nose: gherkin juice and carbon and marble dust, it is truly very original and we rather like it. That briny edge is quite spectacular, let us see what it does on the palate… Mouth: ah this is pleasant, very cross-category, with notes of pisco and tequila, even gin. It is rather disconcerting, but I rather enjoy it. Ginger liqueur, miso, brine, oysters… Finish: fairly long, on those same notes. Comments: a great deal of fun and you know, we are in this game solely for the fun. Obviously, the question that will arise is what to do with the bottle once it is empty. Perhaps make chilli oil in it for your pizzas or pasta?
SGP:555 - 85 points. |
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Inchdairnie ‘Kinglassie’ 8 yo 2017/2025 ‘Double Matured’ (46.3%, OB, ex-amontillado)
50ppm once again. In the RAW one did not quite feel it as much, we were not entirely in Ardbeggian territory... Colour: gold. Nose: a slightly ‘American’ nose, if you see what I mean, fairly wood-driven yet coherent. Fir, liquorice, rye… And not an enormous amount of amontillado. Mouth (neat): very good, not hugely amontillado indeed, but nicely taut where it needs to be, with fresh and slightly resinous smoke, well-controlled tannins, and that faintly jammy side found in many modern young malts that rely rather heavily on their… casks. Here, it is well played, certainly. Finish: fairly long, a touch resinous, yet elegant. Comments: please do not ask me to choose between this and the previous one, both are handsome modern beasts. It is very good, without any doubt, and to be honest, I think it could wake up quite a few old distilleries that are resting somewhat on their laurels. No, no names.
SGP:555 - 85 points. |
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Inchdairnie ‘Balgothrie’ (63.4%, James Eadie, Project 1927, spirit drink, 2025)
We have already a-do-red all the new makes from this series that we have tasted. But really, yet another new name for Inchdairnie! … Colour: white as proper water. Nose: here we are absolutely on Williams pear eau-de-vie, though there are still lovely touches of dill and, of course, fresh bread. That said, it may not have quite the full dimension that the others possessed… With water: little whiffs of smoke. Mouth (neat): perfect eau-de-vie, 75% pear, 25% sour cherry. Nothing to add. With water: pear to the fore, forget the cherry. Finish: long, still on pear, with just a small salty touch. Comments: as always, we wonder whether it might not be possible to sell these new makes, but of course the name British Plain Spirit has nothing attractive about it. Perhaps for a punk band, circa 1978?
SGP:740 - 82 points. |
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March 2, 2026 |
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Charles C. Doig's sketch for the recently rebuilt Dail-Uaine Distillery,
in The Building News, Dec. 6, 1889 (Whiskyfun Archive, republished) |
And so we find ourselves back near Aberlour… |
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Dailuaine 11 yo 2014/2025 (57.9%, Lady of the Glen, recoopered US oak barrique finish, cask #309560, 262 bottles)
Pst, do our American friends really use the term ‘barrique’? Perhaps for their Bordeaux blends from Napa or Sonoma? Or is it American oak used to make barriques elsewhere? Colour: very ripe apricot. Nose: the colour does seem to corroborate the idea that it was a red wine cask, recoopered or not. But this nose is not overly about red fruits; still, there are indeed notes of cooked green pepper or even ratatouille, which would suggest cabernet. Blood oranges. With water: blood orange and pink grapefruit, plus a few drops of rum and liquid shoe polish. Mouth (neat): redcurrant jam and plenty of green pepper, plus touches of café latte. By the way, as we used to say fifteen years ago, the recipe for a latte is a normal coffee plus £5. It must be rather more by now. With water: we return to more amusing things, closer to the world of whisky, such as mint liquorice. Finish: long, with a coffee that does not abandon the fight, but into which you might have poured your glass of kirsch or plum eau-de-vie, as the old fellows used to do (who would then go off for a nap). Comments: really not very orthodox, but very well made and very pleasant. One ought to ask what the young guard thinks.
SGP:651 - 84 points. |
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Dailuaine 15 yo 2010/2025 (54.9%, The Whisky Blues, for BAM and Barrel Malt Bar, 1st fill bourbon barrel, cask #302844, 258 bottles)
If someone could one day explain to me the meaning of this very Taiwanese label, I should be most grateful. No, forget it, you have better things to do… Colour: pale gold. Nose: we are in hay, straw, paraffin oil, banana skin, bread dough… Could one be more natural than this? In any case, on the nose it is very textural, very ‘Dailuaine’. With water: exactly the same, no change. Mouth (neat): a perfect illustration of the fact that whisky is distilled beer. Ales and pilsners, under-ripe apples, artichokes, breads of all sorts… With water: … and shoe polishes and pistachio oil. Finish: long, oily, fat, with very handsome bitters. Comments: a rather demanding malt but one hundred per cent on the distillate’s style. That is well worth a small handful of extra points.
SGP:361 - 86 points. |
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Dailuaine 16 yo 2007/2024 (57.4%, Artful Dodger, Ardbeg sherry butt finish, cask #149, 732 bottles)
As far as the number of bottles is concerned, and before you start wondering what sort of sorcery this may be, do note that these are 50cl bottles. Still, this Ardbeg story is most intriguing… (we have dozens of Ardbeg or Kildalton to taste but I confess we are struggling to get down to them). Colour: lightish gold. Nose: difficult to categorise. Damp earth, pizza dough, rye bread, modelling clay, metal polish, little Italian-style preserved lemons… For the moment it feels slightly uncertain, slightly hesitant. With water: it reminds me of the Ardbeg 17-year-old from years ago, with that mix of strength and softness. Old tweed soaked through by repeated rains. We jest, but we probably have had far more rain lately than Scotland. Drill, baby, drill… yeah right. Mouth (neat): the Ardbeg is a thousand times more present, with a trio of peat, lemon and seawater that sweeps everything along in its wake. Even this little Dailuaine, which was probably fairly fat to begin with. That tells you something… With water: it rises to the occasion, with a touch of vinegar and above all gherkin brine. The acidity wipes out part of the fatness. Finish: long and much tenser, peaty, lively and lemony, yet without Ardbeg’s tar. Comments: rather a rollercoaster, this baby asks you to put in some work. It is for a good cause.
SGP:364 - 85 points. |
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March 1, 2026 |
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Rums make a triumphant return on WF
(Right.)
Shall we start by finding a little aperitif, if you don’t mind… Perhaps this one? ... |
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Savanna ‘Le Must’ (45%, OB, La Réunion, +/-2025)
This is a traditional rum, therefore from molasses, partly grand arôme, therefore with plenty of esters; we do not, however, know the exact proportions, but we do know that the maturation took place in ex-cognac casks. Colour: gold. Nose: fresh, marked by liquorice flavoured with fruits, especially orange and orange blossom, with light petroleum and mineral touches, all kept in fine balance. A few gentle, softer notes and perhaps a handful of sultanas, no doubt stemming from the cognac wood. Mouth: rather rounded, in any case not at all a grand arôme ‘that tears your head off’, as I think you sometimes read on the forums, with a honeyed side, still liquorice-led, still on candied orange zest, with just a slight salinity in the background, which in fact only grows. Finish: fairly long, genuinely very good, even if the cask is a little assertive to my taste. A small liqueur-like touch of strawberry and cherry right at the end. Comments: very good, just a little cask-driven.
SGP: 651 - 83 points. |
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Maurice ‘Very Special Coffee Product’ (55.7%, Vagabond Spirits, Mauritius, +/-2024)
Well then, here is a rum from Gray’s, infused with coffee beans. It probably has no real place in a session such as this one, but since we are here… Coffee, as you know, is in any case a perfect resetter of both nose and palate. Colour: gold, in no way dark like coffee. Nose: rather surprising, above all very floral, somewhere between rose and nuts, coconut and Brazil nuts… For the moment, however, no very obvious coffee that we can clearly detect. Yet it is rather pleasant indeed. With water: an explosion of buttery coconut. We could almost be on a beach in the Balearic Islands, circa 1970. Mouth (neat): we find exactly that toasted coconut character again, which is quite disconcerting. Some orange liqueurs as well. With water: the same profile remains, although the orange steadily takes on more prominence as we add water. Finish: of medium length, with no notable change. Comments: all that remains is to put Aphrodite’s Child or early Pink Floyd on the stereo. Do take my score with a pinch of salt, it is out of category in any case.
SGP: 630- 78 points. |
Since we were talking about the Balearic Islands… |
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La Palma Suave 17 yo (40.5%, Tres Hombres, Canary Islands, 2086 bottles)
It is from Aldea, of course. The casks were brought back to France by boat, seasoned with PX and Pineau des Charentes. They call this dynamic ageing, how amusing! We wait to see what Elon M. will make of the idea… All this may sound a little improbable, but the truth lies in the glass, does it not. Colour: deep gold. Nose: well now, this is far more pleasant than the Aldeas we have already tasted, no doubt thanks to the casks, and perhaps to the ageing at sea. It is particularly the pineau that seems to assert itself, peaches, sultanas, dandelion, soft honey… Suave indeed. Mouth: the pineau returns, with white nougat, tobacco, peanut butter, gingerbread, ginger biscuits. It is genuinely very good, even if the ‘rum’ aspect sits somewhat in the background. Acacia blossom liqueur. Finish: not so short, and more or less on the same notes. Vanilla and pretty aniseed touches right at the end. Comments: a very good surprise for me, even if a few ice cubes might be welcome. This summer perhaps?
SGP:430 - 82 points. |
Since we stayed in Spain… |
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El Ron del Artesano 10 yo (57.6%, OB, Panama, Tobia Reserve Tinto Cask finish, cask #351-25, 150 bottles, 2026)
This baby was only just bottled in February 2026. We are dealing with a finishing in a Rioja cask, therefore Tempranillo. As they say, it either works or it fails, and we do love great Rioja… I am not entirely sure that a little Panamanian can withstand such treatment, but perhaps that is precisely the good news… Colour: apricot gold. Nose: no marked vinosity, I repeat, no marked vinosity. Certainly there is candied cherry and clafoutis, but also sugar cane, honeys, a few earthy puffs, even zucchini flowers… With water: cherry pipe tobacco! Mouth (neat): rich, very smooth, very much on cherry and orange liqueurs, but also almond and maraschino… With water: fried doughnuts, elderflower liqueur, do prepare the Hugos… Finish: fairly long and, above all, not overly sweet, which is a blessing for us. Comments: you see, when you are a whisky chap and you taste rum, what I have learnt is that you need a much more open mind. Goodness me, I feel as though I am speaking like Frank Zappa. A very lovely rum, surprising and very well made.
SGP:641 - 85 points. |
We’d quite like some mineral rums, actually. Maybe this one? (no joke!) |
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Captain Flint 12 yo ‘Extra’ (52%, Famille Cabanne, Dominican Republic, cognac cask, 2025)
A brand bottled in France, in keeping with the age-old tradition of our harbours. We had rather a poor image of Dominican rums, owing to all those brands that fiddle extensively with their juice, but we have recently tasted a few versions from independent bottlers that were not bad at all. Colour: pale gold. Oh! Nose: of great softness, with a marked lightness, on vanilla, hay, herbal infusions, dried flowers, mandarin peel… In short, at this stage, we are rather taken with it. With water: a touch of metal polish and linseed oil, which is rather pleasant. Mouth (neat): a present yet fairly restrained sweetness, bagasse, hay, cold tea, lime blossom, a little mint… Truly nothing to complain about. With water: a few roots and a little earth, that too is pleasant. Finish: short but fresh and without a false note. Comments: perhaps not immense in expressiveness, but for once here is a Dominican that is balanced and not ‘doctored’ to the point of nausea, I may exaggerate again. In short, it is light, and it is good.
SGP:331 - 80 points. |
A little jaunt to South Africa… |
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Mhoba ‘Imbasha’ (61.5%, OB, South Africa, LMDW Foundations, bourbon cask, cask #WRD6, 289 bottles, 2024)
We have already had ample opportunity, on many occasions, to say all the good we think of Mhoba. Colour: gold. Nose: forget it, I love it. Sea water, old leather, ointments, fresh paint, and myriads of other molecules. And what is more, I am sure that with water it will go fractal. With water: indeed it does, in a rather meta-Jamaican style. Mouth (neat): they are a nuisance, they were already beating us at rugby, now they are beating us at rum as well. Incredible freshness and razor-sharp precision, Sicilian lemons, brine and tar, salmiak… With water: magnificent. At 3°C, with proper caviar, alas no more Russian and no more Iranian… Finish: long, with plenty of little lemons coming to joust with all that brine and those notes of paint. Comments: enough said.
SGP:463 - 90 points. |
At that stage, you’re more or less obliged to turn to Jamaica… |
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Jamaica Blend 3 yo 2022/2026 (55.4%, Fadandel, new virgin oak, cask #RUM001, 390 bottles)
It is a blend of Clarendon and Long Pond, and the mere mention of ‘new virgin oak’ already makes us smile. If any distinguished linguists are kind enough to read Whiskyfun, then tell us, pleonasm or not pleonasm? Colour: very deep gold. Nose: this combination of pencil shavings, graphite and above all cedarwood, together with the varnished and briny side of the Jamaicans, works very well on the nose. A little coconut and peanut butter coat the whole. Goodness me, for the moment, it works. With water: we move towards new rubber, the Nike corner and a parcel from Temu. The worst of it is that we adore these aromas. Mouth (neat): you are drinking a pot of paint, loosened with varnish, sea water, almond milk, lemon juice and Ardbeg. That last part is important. With water: cedarwood and speculoos come in to seal the deal. Finish: long, with the arrival of orange marmalade with ginger and pepper. Salty aftertaste, as it should be, and candy sugar to finish. Comments: I love this little brute which, in the end, we managed to tame rather easily. Very high score to age ratio.
SGP:563 - 87 points. |
Given that we had some Long Pond… |
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Long Pond 26 yo 1998/2024 (58.3%, The Whisky Blues, Jamaica, barrel, cask #10272, 143 bottles)
Parrots rule the roost on many rum bottles, and that is perfectly fine. Colour: straw. Nose: this appears to be a very gentle version, almost cosmetic, with a mixture of almond milk, face cream, a few ashes of resinous wood, and lanolin. The esters here are extremely civilised. With water: what is this, apple juice? Dry cider? Perhaps a marque such as CRV or LRM. Mouth (neat): well now, that is quite something, there is far more punch on the palate, ashes mingled with lemon juice, cider vinegar, concentrated lemon juice, petrol… With water: it is bitter almond that comes along to settle the matter. Finish: long and soft. Amaretti, Campari and limoncello. It could hardly be more Italian. Comments: beware, water makes it snap, best avoided, or just a drop.
SGP:452 - 86 points. |
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Monymusk 25 yo 2000/2025 (53.5%, Thompson Bros., Jamaica, 126 bottles)
Well, we can already guess what is going to happen, can we not. As they say on the curling rink, it ticks all the boxes. Colour: white wine. Nose: who had the wild idea of smoking a mixture of pineapple and lemon juice over beechwood? With water: and of adding carbolineum and anti-rust? Mouth (neat): it is so good that you could almost forgive the design of the label. You will retort that at least the label makes it clear that it is what is IN the bottle that truly matters. You are quite right. With water: it fans out in all directions, on medicinal notes, mineral notes, smoky notes and fruity notes. We could attempt to list them all, but we do not have all day, do we. Finish: not especially long, almost discreet, in any case possessed of impeccable politeness now. A very fine soft brine and Atlantic water. Comments: very limited impact from the cask, infinite charm from the distillate. In short, it evolves like a quality Islay.
SGP:463 - 90 points. |
Inevitably, some Hampden… |
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HD 2019/2025 ‘HGML’ (65.8%, The Whisky Jury, Jamaica, The Ester Hunter Catch 6, refill barrel, cask #HG-ML-8, 231 bottles)
Okay, HGML means 1000 to 1300 grams of esters per HLPA, so that guarantees aromas of puncture repair glue and acetone. Colour: gold. Nose: puncture repair glue and acetone. No, seriously. Behind that, oysters perhaps not of the first freshness and a sort of ammoniated peach juice. I know this may sound highly improbable, even off-putting, but in reality it is very beautiful. With water: small glues and varnishes, a medium-sized IKEA warehouse, and all that. No, not the meatballs, oh no. Mouth (neat): a Tyson of rum. Forget it, we are not reckless, we add water immediately, given that our lawyer is still unreachable and probably on a golf course where ‘there is no signal’. Yeah, right. With water: carbon, ashes, pure lemon juice, varnish and glue. No compromise, no mercy. Finish: long and taut, very saline and petroleum-like. Comments: to think that some marques from Hampden are even more ester-driven. This one is already quite extreme, to be honest… But we love it.
SGP:364 - 90 points. |
Right then, just one more, no point overdoing it (right)… |
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Hampden 41 yo 1983/2025 (55.1%, The Colours of Rum & Absolutely Nuts, Jamaica, This Time No Colours, Edition No.1)
This is what is terrifying about spirits such as Hampden, there is absolutely no guarantee that a very old version, such as this one, will be superior to a very young one, or even to a white simply rested with care for a few months in stainless steel. That is both the fate and the glory of the very greatest distillates. Colour: gold. Nose: let us be frank, at this stage it could be 10, 20, 30 or indeed 40 years old. This distillate defies time. Bitter almonds and varnish, sea water, lemon zests, linseed oil, shoe polish, olive oil. With water: add wafts of beeswax polish, old libraries, a brand-new vinyl record, let us say Bad Bunny… Mouth (neat): frankly, this is marvellous. Not a gram of fatigue, superlative bitters, though you must enjoy that style, and a mixture of olives, capers, samphire and ashes. With water: simply incredible. A cold soup of miso, chervil, parsley, oregano and parmesan. Indeed, parmesan. Finish: an incredible dryness, you might think of one of the very greatest finos. Comments: it would be extraordinary were Hampden to team up with Equipos or Tradicion to fino-ise some of these rums. But I do not wish to meddle in what is not my business.
SGP:373 - 92 points. |
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February 28, 2026 |
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Angus's Corner
From our correspondent and
skilled taster Angus MacRaild in Scotland
Benthreeach
As you can see, the quest for silly titles at Whiskyfun knows no bounds!
This weekend, a trio of Benriach, if you please. We'll be looking out for fruits of all shades and variety... |
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Benriach 15 yo 2008/2023 'Summer' (51.9%, The Whisky Exchange 'The Seasons', hogshead, cask #47387) 
Colour: bright straw. Nose: pretty straight, modern and classical Speyside profile, with some nice up-front notes of mashed banana, runny honey, flower nectars and soft cereal qualities. With water: goes towards shoe leather, cooking oils and clay, even a slightly ashy component emerging. Also a little quinine and orange zest. Mouth: lovely arrival, full of easy charms, natural sweetness, barley sugars, sweet wines, custard and some background waxy notes. The easiness is pretty disarming. With water: as on the nose, it gathers a little oiliness and a slightly fatter, drier and earthier profile. Some cereals, sunflower seed oil, putty and muesli. Finish: medium, slightly drying, pressed flowers full of pollen, some miso, some butterscotch. Comments: very pleasurable, perhaps thanks to the slightly lower bottling (cask?) strength, also entertaining in the way it goes from sweeter to drier with water.
SGP: 552 - 85 points. |
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Benriach 31 yo (53.1%, Elixir Distillers 'Macbeth Act I - The Thanes', bourbon barrels, 650 bottles) 
Colour: deep gold. Nose: plasticine, brake fluid, agricole rhum and flower honey - go figure! It certainly feels like a fusion of a classically honeyed, mature Speyside profile with some funny mechanical aspects. With some time, it's the honeys and fruits that take the lead, with green banana, gooseberry and lemon curd emerging. With water: hothouse flowers, dried fruits including mango, banana chips and apple rings. Also some slightly sharper impressions of fruit eau de vies (kirsch and mirabelle). Mouth: a richer and slightly drier than expected profile. Some lovely waxiness, some cedar wood, dried flowers full of pollen, dried mint, subtle impressions of herbal liqueurs and herbal teas, along with a slightly spicy and sappy element from the wood. I like it a lot. With water: again, it becomes drier, more sappy, slightly more astringent, piney, waxy, more bitterly herbal, along with camphor and feelings of dried out old dessert wines. Finish: quite long, maintaining these themes of dried flowers, pollens, cedar wood, along with light sappy and herbal combinations. Comments: for me, the fact that it deviates from this more common (but usually lovely) modern, mature Speyside profile of green fruits and honeys, is really an asset here. It plays with being woody, without every actually tipping over into being too woody. A rather compelling dram to follow.
SGP: 561 - 89 points. |
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Benriach 28 yo 1997/2025 (58%, Auld Alliance '15th Anniversary', 59 bottles)
A special anniversary bottling selected by the Auld Alliance's amazing bar chief in Singapore, Natasha! Colour: deep orangey gold. Nose: a far more concentrated profile than the previous two, really on orange oils, tangerine liqueur, sweet muscat, hardwood resins and flower honeys. Even so, it also retains and slightly tight and compact profile at full strength. With water: green fruits and altogether a more luscious and classical profile now, with bergamot, aged orange peel (cheng pi) and hints of quince jelly. Mouth: very spicy! This is what happens when you only have 59 bottles left in a cask! Orgeat syrup, top class marzipan, varnished hardwoods, camphor, bay leaf, tiger balm and beeswax. I'd also add some rather extractive and exotic teas. With water: lovely tension between the spices and the waxier textures of the spirit itself. Some juniper, pineapple jelly and cedar wood. Finish: long, spicy, lots of concentrated citrus oils and zests, fruit liqueurs and spiced fruit teas. Comments: an excellent selection and an unusually powerful profile that teeters on the brink of being too woody but always manages to pull back. I love the overall sense of concentration and intensity. Happy 15th birthday Auld Alliance (even if I am late!).
SGP: 661 - 88 points. |
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February 2026 |
Serge's favourite recent bottling this month:
Ben Nevis 1996/2025 (45.7%, The Whisky Jury, refill hogshead, cask #1648, 260 bottles) - WF 92
Serge's favourite older bottling this month:
Highland Park 20 yo 1966/1986 (86° US Proof, Duthie for Corti Bros., USA) - WF 92
Serge's favourite bang for your buck this month:
Secret Lowland 11 yo (57.1%, Dràm Mor, refill oloroso sherry hogshead finish, cask #105, 324 bottles, 2025) - WF 88
Serge's favourite malternative this month:
Vallein Tercinier ‘Grande Rue 34’ (42%, OB, bottled in 2014) - WF 93
Serge's thumbs up this month:
Orkney Island Distillery 25 yo 1999/2025 (51.5%, Scotch88 & Scyfion, Ukrainian Troyanda Karpat Barrique from Château Chizay, cask #Z20/07061, 187 bottles) - WF 90
Serge's Lemon Prize this month:
None (phew!) |
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February 27, 2026 |
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WF’s Little Duos, today: young Tamnavulin in red wine
A Speyside distillery and brand that seems to have become more discreet, it strikes us. Not that it was ever particularly flamboyant. But we have tasted some truly excellent ones from it in the past. (Tamnavulin) |
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Tamnavulin ‘Port Cask Edition’ (40%, OB, +/-2024)
A version finished in tawny port. Why, I do not know, I confess, but I do know that it is very much ‘budget’, at under 30 euros just about everywhere. Colour: apricot. Nose: a little sour at first, yet on rather pretty notes of fruit brioche dough and, above all, a vast bag of tiny jellybeans and jelly babies in shades ranging from pale pink to deep violet. Strawberry, cherry, blackcurrant, raspberry, you name it. In short, it is slightly ueberfruity on the nose, but not unpleasant, we ought to be able to turn it into some sort of spritz. Mouth: glacé cherry cake and orange loaf, with a few drops of triple sec and blackcurrant liqueur. Finish: fairly short, still fruity and slightly fermentary. That Belgian ‘Kriek’ beer that we mention from time to time. Comments: really not too bad if you enjoy red fruits and sweets. And cherry beer! Very light salinity.
SGP:641 - 78 points. |
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Tamnavulin 10 yo (46%, Living Souls, ex-Chianti wine cask, 2025)
I confess that we are rather fond of Sangiovese, though not necessarily in our whiskies, so let us see about this one. Colour: very ripe apricot. Nose: more malt than in the little ex-Port, cassata, guignolet (cherry liqueur), poppy sweets, geranium (the flower, not the stems or leaves) … Mouth: I find this rather good, it starts with a little Thai broth, with a touch of chilli, quite a lot of salt, some coconut milk, coriander… Then it tilts more and more towards blood orange. Everyone likes blood oranges, do they not? Finish: fairly long, with touches of cranberry juice and once again that little Thai broth in the aftertaste. Comments: more presence and complexity than in the official ex-Port. Lovely tension brought by the blood orange.
SGP:651 - 83 points. |
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Whisky and Red Wine
(oh, no, not again!) |
There are so many new expressions finished in red wine casks that we’re receiving more and more questions — perfectly legitimate ones, of course — about why we don’t particularly care for these combinations, even though our friends among the distillers and bottlers are making them better and better. All the more so as we also profess a love of wine, red wine included. |
| So indeed, given that we’re very fond of red wine, why is it that we generally don’t much enjoy whisky finished in red wine casks? |
| First of all, it is, of course, as always, a matter of personal taste. But for my part, I would answer with an analogy: I adore coffee and I adore mustard, but I can assure you that mustard in coffee is, frankly… rather vomit-inducing. Or take this: I love Led Zeppelin and I love Gustav Holst, like everyone does, but I can’t imagine Led Zeppelin playing Holst. What’s that you say, they’ve actually done it? |
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February 26, 2026 |
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A new Highland Park craze, part three
And last. Old ones, young ones, old bottles...
(Any resemblance to Hägar the Horrible is, naturally, purely coincidental. And sorry about the accents.) |
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Old Orkney 21 yo 1999-2003/2024 (52.9%, Decadent Drinks, bodega sherry butt and refill hogshead, 300 bottles)
Another O.O. and possibly another ooh… Colour: deep gold. Nose: we can clearly feel the complementarity, rather than any fight between the two casks, with on one side chocolate, coffee and tobacco, and on the other lemon, chalk and waxes. This duality is adorable, I do not believe I have ever truly experienced two malts eyeing each other quite like that, almost suspiciously, within a blend. With water: new wool, earth and paraffin come along and reconcile the whole crowd. Mouth (neat): we find that same sense of duality again, but it is as though the pepper, rather assertive here, were playing the diplomat this time, indeed bringing everyone together around the table. I mean, in the glass. With water: and there we are, the distillate has the last word. A great deal of fun in this proposition. Finish: long, more waxy, even rather oily, yet lemon and seaweed step in to temper it all. Bitter beer and dark chocolate in the aftertaste. Comments: a proper puzzle in your glass.
SGP:462 - 87 points. |
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Old Orkney 20 yo 1997-2005/2025 (55.5%, Whiskyland, Decadent Drinks, refill and 1st fill sherry hogsheads, 332 bottles)
All right then, the owners have just rid themselves of all their Viking paraphernalia, and Whiskyland promptly puts it back in the saddle on their label. Even if we are rather more in the territory of Hägar the Horrible here. At least he did not, unlike Olaf the Hairy, order 10,000 battle helmets with the horns on the inside. Colour: full gold. Nose: we are closer here to the old-style OBs, including the famous 12-year-olds with the screen-printed bottles. The celebrated heather honey appears at once, followed by dried figs, beeswax and purée of quince and apple. This is classic HP and we are certainly not complaining. With water: just perfect, luminous, all on citrus marmalades and seaweed. Quite beautiful. Mouth (neat): gentle, almost sweet at first, before utterly unbridled citrus fruits stage a veritable coup d’état, you-know-whom-style. A superb duo of citrus and honeys. With water: magnificent freshness, salinity, with touches of angelica and verbena, then bitters of extraordinary elegance. Finish: long, citrus-led, almost refreshing. A magnificent saline after-finish. Comments: this really does feel like one of the top single cask OBs from fifteen or twenty years ago.
SGP:561 - 90 points. |
Here you are, a little something we’ve had sitting on the shelves for twenty years or more… |
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Highland Park 8 yo (43%, De Young’s, +/-2000)
A bottle for the Netherlands, I must confess I have not seen many of these about. Colour: gold. Nose: pretty, gentle, light, on hay and beeswax, fir wood, heather honey indeed, and figs… To be honest, we might well think this was an official young bottling from that era. Mouth: truly soft, yet lifted by small oranges and a touch of Campari. The famous heather honey does the rest of the job. Finish: not very long, it falters a little at this stage, yet there is a pleasing pepperiness and some lovely orange zest. And a touch of mentholated peat, or perhaps peaty mint. Comments: probably a vintage from the late 1970s or the early 1980s. Really very, very lovely.
SGP:562 - 87 points. |
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Secret Orkney 21 yo 1999/2021 (54.7%, PK Spirits, Four Seasons, sherry cask, 68 bottles)
A lovely little micro-bottling, perhaps an octave? In any case, a very handsome label, straight from Vietnam. Colour: straw. Nose: at last, we are back to the pure distillate, even if this was a sherry cask, doubtless a very lazy one, to our greatest delight. Waxes, oils, small garden apples, tiny citrus fruits that are lively and slightly defiant, plaster and chalk… all of this is more than perfect. With water: new wool, bread dough, lemon peel, all of it riiiiiiiight up my alley. Mouth (neat): but how good this is! Lemon as sharp as a blade, oysters, liquorice wood… I find this absolutely perfect, I know, I do go on. With water: touches of eucalyptus and mentholated tobacco. Finish: yes, alas, herbaceous, bitter, perfect. Comments: seriously, this is a killer bottle, but what an absolute scandal that there are, or rather were, only sixty-eight of them. When is the next Vietnam Airlines flight from Paris to Hanoi?
SGP:562 - 91 points. |
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Secret Orkney Distillery (HP) 25 yo 1999/2025 (50.9%, Wu Dram Clan, American oak hogshead, cask #120)
Colour: white wine. Nose: this is virtually the same whisky as the PK, only even sharper. In short, even more on lime, a veritable bayonet. Well, not entirely certain about that descriptor, but there we are, onwards… With water: twenty-five years of maturation in a cask more motionless than a French customs officer assigned to DHL have, here, worked wonders. Absolute freshness and unfathomable maritime aromas. Mouth (neat): perfection, seawater, lemons, seaweed, oysters, fresh mint leaf, grey pepper… With water: more perfect than perfection, this is Michelangelo. Finish: a very great sake, that is rather what it resembles at this stage. Comments: this is probably a whisky that would frighten 99% of humanity, including cats, dogs, horses and all the wretched staff currently in power you-know-where. It’s probably also one of the reasons why we love it so much – it’s our malt whisky hermit side.
SGP:562 - 91 points. |
Oh, tell you what, we could quickly revisit some Highland Parks we tasted nearly twenty years ago, couldn’t we? We could call it, as architects say, “gaining a bit of historical perspective”, sounds alright to you? |
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Highland Park 37 yo 1966/2003 (41.3%, Duncan Taylor Peerless, cask #4644, 135 bottles)
Date of last tasting, 6 August 2008 (WF 87). Colour: gold. Nose: these bottles do grow a little tired, it has to be said. The notion that a whisky in bottle no longer moves is a dangerous myth, it may improve, but it may just as well deteriorate, especially at these lower strengths. Metal polish, banana, apple juice, dust, old furniture wax and not much else. Mouth: no, it has not improved, it has lost a little stamina, become slightly cardboardy, yet behind all that the heather honey and beeswax continue to charm us. A little. Finish: short, dusty and cardboardy, yet there are pleasant honeys and some orange that keep it afloat like an American aircraft carrier, if you please. Comments: let us say it has been losing its fruit at great speed.
SGP:452 - 82 points. |
Go on then, shall we do this sort of thing again? … |
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Highland Park 20 yo 1966/1986 (86° US Proof, Duthie for Corti Bros., USA)
Date of last tasting, 15 March 2006 (WF 89). Let us say that the Corti brothers in Sacramento are legendary… Cadenhead/Duthie’s as well, of course. Colour: white wine. Nose: wait, here the opposite occurs, we are faced with an immense sauvignon blanc, fresh tar, equally fresh concrete, chalk of great beauty, almost Champagne-like, along with bandages and embrocations. It is beautiful, very beautiful, and the passing years have had no hold over it, quite the contrary. Mouth: incredibly Asian in style, on very great sake and aged wild pu-ehr tea from even before Mao Zedong. Quite. This is grand, very grand indeed, even if austere and almost philosophical. Finish: extraordinarily long, packed with carbon, liquorice, tar and small salted lemons. Do not resist, it would be futile. Comments: this time we are raising our score, with joy, delight and confidence. What a creature! Corti Bros., that truly was something. For us, that was America before you-know-who, before the great cultural decline, before the advent of vulgarity, before the exclusive rule of money (S., that will do, perhaps?) But it’s temporary, they’ll be back in dazzling form eventually, to our delight.
SGP:562 - 92 points. |
We might as well stop there, with an old HP that, as it happens, we’ve never actually tasted before… |
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Highland Park 16 yo 1970/1986 (53%, Intertrade, 258 bottles)
But what a marvel! It should be noted that Nadi Fiori, the head of Intertrade, is undoubtedly the most elegant, the most refined and the best-mannered of all the figures in the whisky world. An absolute star, a modesty alas gone out of fashion, and simply someone we would miss terribly if he did not exist. In short, we love him with a deep and sincere affection, he is the Major Italian. And on this occasion, we are reminded that whisky is, in the end, merely a matter of people, the rest is sheer trumpery. Well then, shall we taste this little HP?... Colour: full gold. Nose: as elegant as its proprietor, waxy, laden with overripe and less overripe apples, bergamots and kumquats, mead and cider. There is a rustic side of great beauty. With water: honeys of every stripe and slightly sharp dried fruits take command. Mouth (neat): grand, still rustic, bitter, combative, rugged, full of chlorophyll and… seawater. In truth, this is not exactly playing about. With water: waxes and polishes, farmhouse ciders, unexpected touches of strawberries, yet strawberries do often surprise us during tastings, even in the heaviest of peat monsters. Herbal infusions. Finish: long and more earthy. One would gladly drink this with Parma ham. The strawberry refuses to yield in the aftertaste. Comments: this sort of rich and slightly improbable profile, not so easily placed within a modern aromatic cluster, puts texture to the fore, a dimension that does seem to be fading somewhat from contemporary whiskies.
SGP:561 - 91 points. |
Bye-bye, that’s quite enough Highland Parks. See you soon with something else… |
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February 25, 2026 |
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A new Highland Park craze, part dos
After all, no one can make do with just seven HPs, can they?
Château Chizay, Transcarpathia, Ukraine (Château Chizay) |
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Orkney (HP) 14 yo 2010/2024 ‘Edition #30’ (57.1%, Signatory Vintage, 100 Proof, 1st fill oloroso sherry butt)
At 50€, this may well be a serious contender for the title of best Bang-For-Your-Buck of the month on Whiskyfun. I would add that the definition of ‘100 proof’ does not seem entirely precise to us, as we have seen plenty at 57%, at 57.1% as here, but also at 56.9%, as with Giaccone a few decades ago. Might we obtain a firm and definitive opinion from the British Crown? Colour: deep gold. Nose: walnut liqueur, bitter orange liqueur, sweet pepper, paraffin oil, lapsang souchong, roasted chestnuts. And there we are. With water: it does not move a millimetre. Perhaps a few dried flowers? Mouth (neat): perfect lemon honey, pepper liqueur, ras el hanout, fresh turmeric, wasabi and marmalade. With water: despite being first fill, this is no sherry monster that would have absorbed, indeed erased, all the HP markers. Including the famous heather honey, but also the shellfish. Finish: long and distinctly spicier. Ginger and turmeric rather lay down the law, yet the saline touches in the aftertaste are perfect. Black pepper too. Comments: superb young HP, slightly rustic but in these times, is the future not in the meadows and the fields?
SGP:562 - 86 points. |
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Old Orkney 19 yo (52%, Decadent Drinks, refill hogsheads married in 3rd fill butt, 375 bottles, 2025)
What troubles us slightly here is that we know, by hearsay, that this little OO is excellent. Colour: gold. Nose: yes, of course, the fatty sharpness, if you see what we mean, of the distillate is there from the very first sniffs, with, to put it briefly, an obvious kinship with Clynelish, early 1980s style. Waxes and citrus peels. With water: a notable emergence of virgin wool, chalk and cement. Mouth (neat): forget it, it is simply magnificent. White pepper, citrons, oysters, horseradish, pistachio oil… And what is more, it wakes you up, should you ever have needed it. With water: the little waxes, candle, pollens, mandarins… Finish: of good length, yet without any marked change, it has already told us what it had to say. A very, very slight toothpaste side. Comments: pointless. It is our favourite style of malt.
SGP:561 - 90 points. |
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Whitlaw 2003/2025 (46.6%, The Whisky Jury, refill hogshead, cask #981, 268 bottles)
Colour: deep gold. Nose: sublime, right on the magical path that runs from Orkney to Campbeltown. You know, HP-Cly-BR-BN-Spr. Paraffin, banana liqueur, custard, sesame oil, beeswax, pollen, apricots and quinces. It is a profile that would suit a great rum, or a cognac, perfectly. Since when have they been cultivating folle blanche on Orkney? Mouth: if our friends at the Jury have bottled an HP here rather than a mid-1990s Ben Nevis, of which they are great specialists, it may be because it rather fiercely resembles a mid-1990s Ben Nevis. Finish: same comments, word for word, it is almost unsettling. Are we dreaming? Comments: to be honest, it is rather brutal, even at 46.6%. Yet a few drops of Vittel (cheque from Nestlé unlikely ever to arrive) will reveal even more resemblance to a BN 1996, for example. We have just tasted a good dozen of them, if not more. Granted, it is a little softer. We mean, this HP.
SGP:562 - 90 points. |
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Pride of Orkney 12 yo (57%, Gordon & MacPhail, twist cap, 1980s)
Adorable label with a small engraving of St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall. To us, the label forms an integral part of a whisky, it is sometimes a promise, sometimes a threat, yet it always carries great importance, whatever the wretched street drinkers of the forums may say. Obviously, one is left to wonder whether Pride of Orkney was HP or Scapa, given that even bound hand and foot and forced to listen to a complete speech by DJT, thus the most vicious form of torture, the charming people at G&M would never, ever spill the beans. Colour: deep gold. Nose: so much honey allied to such gentle minerality and such a maritime edge could hardly mislead us. With water: as very often, once diluted, G&M malts become as cloudy as the aforementioned speeches of poor DJT. Superb little herbal infusions, mint, lime blossom, thyme, wormwood… Mouth (neat): magnificent lemons, angelica, peppermint and honeys. A superb creature, clean-lined, neither complicated nor complex, simply perfect. With water: richness, herbal infusions, mandarins, earth and salted seaweed. It is still very, very ‘HP’. Finish: same again. Comments: those 100 proof were really something. ‘Pride’, indeed.
SGP:562 - 90 points. |
Right then, let’s try handing over to the proprietors… |
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Highland Park 33 yo 1974/2009 (44.8%, OB, The Ambassador’s Cask #3, cask #9035, 372 bottles)
They were half-bottles, actually. Well then, we know it is going to be very good, so this is purely for the glory… Colour: full gold. Nose: varnishes and glues, quinces, almond milk, acacia and chestnut blossom, green melons, multiflower pollen, rice pudding, double-cream milk chocolate and whatnot from Rodolphe Lindt… But how beautiful this is! Bravo Mr Ambassador, bravo Martin, you are the brand, at 100%. Mouth: oh the little honeys and the little flower and citrus jellies, all of it of a quite mad simplicity and elegance. There is of course, behind all that, a whole procession of secondary and tertiary flavours, including a superb minerality, yet in a moment of empathy and kindness almost incongruous in these times, we shall refrain from listing them now and here. Finish: not so long perhaps, yet of just perfect elegance and breeding. Medicinal touches. Comments: I have just noticed that we had already tasted this baby in May 2008. Re-reading my notes, it had been a little more cheerful, let us say, yet at a wholly equivalent level. We like to calibrate ourselves from time to time, generally by chance, for if one wishes to remain consistent, it is of course important. In any case, a superb HP from the greater years.
SGP:652 - 92 points. |
And now, let us also commemorate the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine and celebrate the resilience of the Ukrainian people! |
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Orkney Island Distillery 25 yo 1999/2025 (51.5%, Scotch88 & Scyfion, Ukrainian Troyanda Karpat Barrique from Château Chizay, cask #Z20/07061, 187 bottles)
This baby was first matured by Berry Bros. in a bourbon hogshead, then in some sweet Ukrainian white wine made from ‘pink traminer’, not entirely sure whether that might in fact be gewurztraminer. Ukraine? 99 points! Quite. Colour: it is actually rather pink, which may suggest macerated traminer, though we are not entirely certain. Nose: very pretty peppers, raisins, goji berries, mosses, peonies, strawberry white chocolate, rosehips, then increasingly Orkneyish notes, mineral and waxy, if not yet saline. With water: much more on the distillate, even lemon, chalk, oyster shells, with touches of lovage. Mouth (neat): well, it withstands the sublime 1974 remarkably well, much as the Ukrainians withstand the poor hordes of V.P.. Pink peppercorns, grey pepper, blood oranges, cough syrup, herbal syrups, leeks… With water: sweetness holds the reins this time, while candied ginger makes an appearance. Finish: long and more bitter, also more saline, while the peppers, mints and dried fruits sign off the whole. A touch of fudge. Comments: it is truly different yet very, very good, quite independently of the context. And I find it splendid that our Ukrainian friends continue to make this kind of selection and finishing, that too is a graceful two fingers to the barbarians. Slava Ukraini!
SGP:661 - 90 points. |
More HP right tomorrow, stay tuned... |
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February 24, 2026 |
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About twenty Highland Park, split over three sessions |
With so many new releases and whiskies from every corner of the globe – not to mention the more obscure Scottish distilleries we love to sample as often as possible – we might end up overlooking the heavy hitters, the safe bets, the big names if we’re not careful. That’s why today we’re embarking on a large-scale ‘Highland Park’ operation, throwing in, from time to time, that ingredient we’re so fond of: chance. Because at Whiskyfun, the only thing we’re truly afraid of is boredom… |
OB vs G&M: Can you spot the differences? |
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Highland Park 8 yo (70°proof, OB, James Grant for Hepburn & Ross, Malt Scotch Whisky, UK, cork stopper, +/-1970)
The famous ‘official’ label also used by Gordon & MacPhail. This was before the ‘view of Orkney’ label but after the ‘St. Magnus’ label with its lovely vivid yellow. We do adore vivid yellow at WF. Colour: amber. Nose: caramel, earth, tobacco, mosses, mushrooms and camphor in perfect synchronisation. All of this murmurs rather gently, yet without being weak or in any way frustrating, at least for now. Mouth: initially very much a mirror of the nose, then the saline and smoky notes begin to assert themselves, with more richness than expected, although we could hardly call this baby a heavyweight wrestler. Finish: long and even more coastal, while damp earth returns to try to sign off the whole, but a touch of caramel and powdered coffee remains in the aftertaste. Comments: almost the power of an old white wine, truth be told. We begin to dream of a 100° proof version, which we know did exist, did it not…
SGP:462 - 89 points. |
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Highland Park 8 yo (70°proof, OB, Gordon & MacPhail, Scotch Malt Whisky, UK, +/-1975)
The attentive observer will have noticed that the proprietors’ version stated, ‘Malt Scotch Whisky’, whereas this G&M version declared ‘Scotch Malt Whisky’. Do we not say that all these details are useless, yet when they are removed, everything collapses? Colour: amber. Nose: we are less close than we had expected, this one is livelier, tauter, fruitier, packed with candied oranges and the proverbial heather honey, before moving towards blond tobacco, chalk and slate. Easier, more seductive, and more… for us. Mouth: same impressions, it feels more ‘80° proof’, oranges, honey, beeswax, all delivered with rare elegance yet without forgetting its coastal origins, as a few notes of seaweed appear, three drops of seawater, and even, perhaps, a small oyster. Finish: rather long and now frankly peaty, with magnificent bitters, on ale and amontillado. Comments: here we are already very high indeed. Bravo to everyone at G&M, or rather, to their predecessors.
SGP:563 - 91 points. |
Let’s return to more recent expressions… |
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An Orkney Distillery 12 yo 2006/2019 (48%, The Single Malts of Scotland, Elixir Distillers, US exclusive, Parcel No.1)
A vatting of five casks. And yes, we are terribly late. Colour: reddish amber. Nose: lovely sherry, lovely fresh walnuts, lovely tobacco, impeccable new leather, wafts of mosses and pine needles, hints of citrus zest, in short everything is well and truly in its place here and now. Bitter almond and orgeat… Then chalk and fresh country bread. Mouth: smoked brown bread and rather salty seaweed. There is truly a sense of place. Finish: long, smoky, citrus-led, jammy, yet nervy. Comments: a rather dominant HP, but in a way that commands respect. Excellent, and it held up very well after the old 8-year-olds. I have absolutely no idea why I had not tasted it before.
SGP:563 - 87 points. |
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Highland Park 9 yo 2015/2025 (50%, The Cooper’s Choice, The Golden Cut Collection, Malaga finish, 342 bottles)
What type of Malaga are we dealing with? Very sweet PX or, on the contrary, bone dry as a truncheon blow, which we rather adore… Colour: deep gold. Nose: it is rich and it is rounded, this is sweet Malaga, all maple syrup and sultanas gone wild. The cask’s impact is significant, yet that does not mean it fails to work. It continues towards Cointreau further enriched with honey… With water: the honey takes flight and joins forces with lime blossom infusion. Mouth (neat): strictly identical to the nose, Cointreau, honey, candied oranges, raisins etc. etc. etc. With water: pretty herbal infusions and little earthy touches join in and increase the overall complexity. Finish: of medium length, a little less demonstrative, it settles down somewhat. Comments: rounded and ultimately all about softness. A lovely bottle, assuredly.
SGP:641 - 84 points. |
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Old Orkney 15 yo ‘For Auld Reekie‘ (48.5%, Decadent Drinks for Royal Mile Whiskies, sherrywood, 396 bottles, 2025)
An old brand redolent of Stromness and then G&M, recovered in a very clever fashion by Angus’s Decadent Drinks. Roots matter, do they not. Auld Reekie is of course one of the nicknames of Edinburgh, while we are also great admirers of these rather Spinal Tap-esque decimal bottling strengths: 48.5% is not 48%, is it. Colour: full gold. Nose: oh that is clever indeed. Remarkable how it recalls the two 8-year-olds we tasted at the start of this little session, earth, mead, walnut, also tobacco, Iberian ham and even marrow broth. And as so often, orange then comes along to bring order to this joyful chaos, an ultra-positive term in our mouth. Mouth: sulphur from the distillate, paraffin, green walnut, gunpowder, aubergine, bitter orange… It almost makes me think of the copyists at the Louvre who reproduce, some a Van Gogh, others a Renoir. Finish: long and bitter, earthy, antique. Comments: formidable, you simply have to love bitters and gunpowder as much as your humble servant does.
SGP:372 - 87 points. |
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Whitlaw 10 yo 2015/2025 (56.9%, Brothers in Malt, refill sherry butt, cask #22, 550 bottles)
Whitlaw is HP. Colour: gold. Nose: the exact opposite of the OO, it is packed with bubblegum and coconut milk, hairspray, banana foam, stewed rhubarb… It is genuinely very cheerful and playful for HP. In any case, for now, one might think it was first-fill bourbon. With water: much the same, more lemongrass and lemon balm water. Mouth (neat): limoncello at full throttle and little assorted fruit sweets. Including lemon, of course. With water: much the same, plus plenty of barley syrup and, at last, a few more maritime touches. Finish: rather long, still incredibly fruity yet balanced by green tea and seaweed. And beeswax. Comments: an HP that makes one think of Littlemill, that is quite something, is it not? Or of Scapa? In theory, no. But it is tremendous fun, spectacular and very good. It is simply not very ‘HP’…
SGP:751 - 85 points. |
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Single Malt Scotch Whisky from Orkney 8 yo 2016/2025 (57.5%, Cadenhead, Enigma, bourbon barrels, 888 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: this is astonishing, here we are headlong into chervil and tarragon, bay leaf, then sauna oils and lemons. It is most unusual, very much in a clear-line style, very cold-brew green tea in fact. And I find it simple, yet magnificent. With water: fresh barley joins the festivities. Mouth (neat): ex-bourbon to the hilt, lemon, green pepper, vanilla, all in that order. And nothing else, yet that is quite enough for us. With water: always that very beautiful lightness which, to tell you the truth, does not feel terribly ‘HP’ either. Finish: of medium length, fresh, almost floral at this stage. Shortbread. Comments: it should not be Scapa, yet it could be Scapa. And so it might not be HP, but that was also the case with the previous one, truth be told, even if it was called Whitlaw.
SGP:651 - 85 points. |
We may have had enough of these ‘secret’ single malts, haven’t we? Can’t the EU compel distillers to allow the use of the original single malt names, if only in the interests of transparency? Ah well, perhaps not. In any case, see you soon — seven HPs or near-HPs per session is quite enough; we’ll have more tomorrow. Promise. |
(Thanks ever so much, Angus, Morten and Olivier) |
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February 23, 2026 |
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Young Tamdhu in wine vs old Tamdhu al natural
You’re going to tell me the fight will be very one-sided, but that’s not so certain… And besides, isn’t the important thing simply to take part? (Tamdhu) |
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Tamdhu 9 yo 2015/2025 (50%, The Cooper’s Choice, Golden Cut Collection, Marsala finish, cask #044, 396 bottles)
The fact is that we know Marsala can work just as well as sherry, it is simply a matter of knowing which type of Marsala was involved. Colour: deep gold. Nose: oh lovely! Mirabelles and apricots, both tinned and in jam form, coated in caramel and honey and followed by a few very juicy sultanas. With water: finger biscuits and little sponge cakes filled with orange and mandarin jam (Marsala, Sicily, get it?) Mouth (neat): very good, on walnut cake and bitter orange, preserved lemon, earthy vegetal notes… With water: we could almost believe we are in Marsala, right at the far western tip of the southern coast. A wonderful place, I warmly recommend it. Finish: long, fresh, with a slightly tangy edge that perfectly balances the whole. Comments: excellent and therefore perfectly balanced, at this age and with this treatment.
SGP:551 - 86 points. |
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Tamdhu 10 yo 2013/2024 (57.9%, Infrequent Flyers, Pedro Ximenez puncheon finish, cask #800069, 698 bottles)
I was about to begin by saying that PX is more traditional than Marsala, but in truth, not that much. And it may not be entirely easy after the very fine Cooper’s Choice. Colour: ripe apricot. Nose: fudge, soft molasses, pancake syrup, chestnut cream, honey. Nothing to add. With water: well yes, stewed figs and fig jam. Mouth (neat): more or less at the same level as the 2015, simply more peppery and even slightly spicy, with additional tension provided by lemon and Seville orange. With water: it rather loves water, which brings out small herbs, herbal teas, and even a few oven-roasted vegetables in a gentle sauce. Courgettes, for example. And while we are at it, syrup of courgette flowers and elderflower. I assure you. Finish: long, a little more earthy and on notes of leather, therefore less sweet and syrupy. Comments: I am afraid it is impossible to choose between the Sicilian and the Andalusian. Both kind of reconcile me with finishes.
SGP:551 - 86 points. |
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Tamdhu-Glenlivet 13 yo 1981/1995 (59.9%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection)
In what type of cask was this baby matured? That’s right, ‘an Oak Cask’, as stated on the label. That mention has already made several generations of Scottish malt enthusiasts chuckle, it must be said. Colour: amber. Nose: this time there is flint and sulphur from the outset, brake pads (after a few laps of the Nürburgring, as we used to say in those days), cooked aubergine and artichoke… In short, it is not easy, even if there are also some very pretty notes of tobacco. Wafts of fig leaf, not entirely easy either. With water: rice pudding, shortbread, maple syrup, Barbour grease and ski wax. As the Olympic Games are drawing to a close… Mouth (neat): much fruitier, still a little dirty but the sulphur has vanished, while candied oranges and peppery marmalades now reign supreme over this blessed little beast. Touches of salmiak. With water: dried and candied fruits come charging in, first dates and figs, I was about to say as usual. Then all manner of raisins, though never excessively sweet. Finish: rather long but perhaps very slightly dusty, even faintly cardboardy. Comments: perhaps not one of the stars of this magical series, but it was nonetheless very, very beautiful.
SGP:462 - 85 points. |
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Tamdhu 20 yo 1981/2002 (56.2%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, #8.32)
Colour: mahogany/chestnut. Nose: incredible, it smells exactly like its colour, chestnut purée and precious wood freshly sawn by a talented cabinetmaker. Then toffee, hot chocolate and café latte. Very, very beautiful. With water: a slight touch of sulphur this time again (Brussels sprouts, aubergine) but absolutely nothing troublesome, quite the contrary. We find ourselves somewhat in the territory of old Mortlach, or indeed, since it just comes to mind, Pittyvaich. Who remembers Pittyvaich? Mouth (neat): superb, on dark chocolate and orange marmalade, then crushed pepper and brown tobacco. Also chestnut honey. Magnificent. With water: the honey takes the upper hand, and it is superb. Finish: long, drier, slightly mentholated, still on dark honey and high-quality black tea. No milk in this tea! Also a little propolis, some resin… Comments: in the end, and despite the magnificent honeyed notes, the whole remains rather dry. A very fine bottle in any case.
SGP:461 - 90 points. |
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