Quite a few New Scottish Cats


January 16, 2024

Quite a few New Scottish Cats

Still house, Bonnington Distillery, Leith (Bonnington)

So a few new cats rom Scotland… This is what we've got on the tasting desk: Arbikie, Ardnamurchan, Bonnington, Dornoch, Glasgow Distillery, GlenWyvis, Holyrood, Kingsbarn, Lindores, Nc'Nean, Raasay and Torabhaig. I say not too bad.

Kingsbarn 'Falkland' (46%, OB, bourbon and STR, 2023)

A recent limited edition that's got strictly nothing to do with the Malvinas. They've used very local barley, while only 20% of the maturation took place in STR casks, so I suppose the localness of the raw ingredient were preserved. What's more, 20% wine or STR seems to work relatively well, isn't that what Waterford are doing too, for example? As always, it's simply a question of balance. Colour: straw. Nose: thankfully, no wine. Rather, limestone, malt, pancakes, apples, lemon, and bananas (on the nose, bananas always work, on the palate it's riskier). Hints of kiwi and orange blossom water, baklava... Mouth: really good, just a bit dominated by the fresh wood initially, then green apple, lemon, and a lot of greenery. Apple and grape seeds, coriander seeds, green pepper, green banana peel... Finish: quite long, green and spicy. Lovely bitter and green spices. Comments: the wood may not have had enough time to blend in completely, but the overall result is really nice, herbaceous, taut, a bit hot, less fruity than expected.
SGP:461 - 83 points.

Kingsbarn 'Bell Rock Cask Strength' (61.1%, OB, bourbon and oloroso, 3,600 bottles, 2023)

Mainly oloroso (70%) the remainder being first fill bourbon. The barley's local this time again. Colour: full gold. Nose: very fresh, mentholy, very earthy, and pretty strong. Nail polish remover. We're not taking any chances. When water is added: very pleasant, with notes of green walnuts, moss, earth, clay... Mouth (neat): very much to my liking, quite explosive, with pepper and very zesty citrus fruits. Here too, we'll quickly add water. With water: very fine spices, curry, paprika, assorted peppers, little touches of ginger, grated zest, chen-pi... Finish: long with flavours reminiscent of Thai and Indonesian cuisines. Our apologies to the oloroso casks. Williams pears emerge at the very end of the palate, reminding us that this is a very young malt. No worries. Comments: very fine spices. Clearly cask-driven, but that worked. I quite liked the pears, too.
SGP:561 - 86 points.

Nc'Nean 2017/2023 (57.3%, Berry Bros. & Rudd, The Pioneers, Single Malt, hogshead, cask #198)

Hurray for pure Nc'Nean! We're growing ever fonder of this new series by Berry Bros. Consequently, we'd quite like them to offer us some nuoc-nam sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Maggi, strawberry yoghurt, argan oil and, why not, some cod liver oil. Joking aside, how about some olive oil or mezcal? Colour: straw. Nose: there you have it, it's pure, it's precise, it's very straightforward, it's herbaceous and we're pleased. With water: chalk, raw wool and grist. In short, malt whisky in its natural state. Mouth (neat): green melon, apple, lemon, green pepper and fresh barley. We need nothing more. With water: bam, it opens up, with cider apples, rhubarb, gooseberries, serviceberries and rowanberries… It's all good. Finish: long, taut, pure, refined, with a very fine expression. Comments: It would have been a shame to mask this magnificent young malt, right? I love it.
SGP:561 - 88 points.

Come on, let's have another while we're in the area (seen from a great distance)…

Ardnamurchan 2017/2023 (59.7%, Berry Bros. & Rudd, The Pioneers, Single Malt, sherry hogshead, cask #374)

I'm not sure that Ardnamurchan isn't simply leading the new wave of Scottish distilleries. Let's say, of all those built after Arran, if you get my drift, including the new behemoths belonging to big groups and brands. Colour: deep gold. Nose: oh my goodness! Shoe polish, brass cleaner, pine smoke, used engine oil, well-used frying grease, hydrocarbon residues, fuel oil... Have they lost their minds? With water: I love it. Linoleum, ink, fresh paint, vinyl, brand new diving suit... Quite honestly, there's a BDSM edge to it. I hope no one in Scotland or London will hold this comment against me. Mouth (neat): magical. Seawater, Madras curries, waste oil, salty liquorice, thyme oil, yew, thuja, spruce, tar... What is this thing? With water: they are really crazy. Does the SWA know about this? Finish: very long, very resinous, very 'Indian' (told you about those Madras curries)... And full of chilli and peppers. Comments: a crazy thing, a real experimental art whisky. You expect Klaus Kinski to show up any minute – dead or alive, it makes no difference.
SGP:377 - 90 points.

This baby reminded us of a few extreme Dutch Millstones, which we of course love. Well, thank you BBR and thank you Ardnamurchan for prematurely ending this session. I can't see what could possibly follow this beast, apart from maybe the lost kerosene of a North Korean low-cost airliner. Well, I also think it's time to stop joking about North Koreans, although we must remember that the reigning dynasty seems to be at the head of an incredible collection of old wines and spirits, one of the most beautiful in the world.

Right, we'll get started on this again right tomorrow... Stay tuned and peace.

Check the index of all new distilleries we've tasted so far