
June 20, 2025

Another little bag of unknown malts and sometimes incongruous blends

We really enjoy these slightly off-the-wall sessions, you never quite know what to expect… Especially the first one, which already had us in stitches given its name…

Dewar’s 8 yo ‘French Cask Smooth’ (40%, OB, blended Scotch, apple spirit cask finish, +/-2024)

On the brand’s website they claim this one’s seen some Calvados wood, and that it ‘reveals the unexpected flavours that are crafted when Scotland meets France’. How utterly delightful, though I daresay they weren’t referring to rugby! Colour: pale gold. Nose: the most surprising part is that it actually seems to work, the Calvados appears to have quashed the grain whisky and lent it greater texture and a sense of depth. Vanilla, damp earth, woodruff, apple ice wine… This is honestly rather lovely. Mouth: indeed, it is good, pity they didn’t bottle it at a slightly higher strength. Frozen apples, vanilla, honeyed compote, touches of fresh mint, then a more herbaceous side emerging, which is most agreeable as well. Finish: a tad short, but that’s solely down to the low strength. Comments: surprising indeed. Beware, over ice this one goes down like a charm. Long live the Auld Alliance!
SGP:541 - 83 points.

Velvet Fig (46%, Wemyss Malt, blended malt, +/-2024)

Another intriguing bottle with packaging that’s been increasingly jazzed up in recent years, sporting a palette that leans rather ecclesiastical. We were quite fond of the early versions, well over a decade ago now. Colour: gold. Nose: naturally, there are dried figs front and centre, along with dates, barley and cane syrups, charming herbal teas, a few notes of wicker, and rather a lot of Earl Grey tea, with some golden sultanas in tow. This nose cannot be faulted, it is simply disarmingly seductive. Mouth: I daresay this could be the pinnacle of NAS blended malts, though admittedly I haven’t tried that many. The raisins seize control from the outset and never let go, even when confronted by those celebrated dried figs so proudly advertised on the label. Finish: long, with a trio of honey, raisins and marmalade. Let us not forget the figs. Comments: I’m not sure whether they’ve changed the recipe, but I’m just as fond of it now as I was back in… 2014.
SGP:651 - 86 points.

Milroy’s Heavily Peated 13 yo (48%, Milroy’s, 60th anniversary, Jamaican rum barrels, 2024)

This appears to be a peated Jura, finished in Monymusk casks. It’s been ages since we last came across a properly peated Jura, though there were some marvellous ones back in the day. I should add we’ve often toyed with the idea of finishing Islay whisky in Jamaican casks, or the other way round. Mind you, it’s already been done... Colour: white wine. Nose: oh yes. Yeast, ashes, lemon and chalk. As they say, it’s got its ducks in a row. Given a little time, there’s carbon, olives, seawater, petroly Riesling and wee touches of glue. For our purposes it ticks all the boxes. Mouth: I’m not saying it’s flawless, but I am saying it’s absolutely up my street. You may as well copy and paste what I just wrote about the nose. Finish: long, and there’s one element that takes the lead, and it’s not the peat. It’s the olives! Comments: this improbable concoction impresses me greatly. I do hope they’ll be releasing further batches on a regular basis – and while we’re at it, how about Ardbeg plus Hampden?
SGP:566 - 89 points.

Seaweed & Aeons Digging & Fire 18 yo (40%, Atom Brands, peated Highland, 2022)

A secret single malt from the Highlands, though it does feel a touch peculiar presenting this sort of thing at 40% vol. Ex-Seagram/Pernod Ricard stock, perhaps? Ardmore, maybe? Colour: light gold. Nose: well yes, it’s charming, fresh yet peaty, with notes of bacon, lemon zest, engine oil and tar, and above all a good deal of toasted sesame oil. Mouth: it holds its own at 40%, smoky, bordering on sooty, yet indeed there’s not the faintest whiff of the sea, not even the shyest of periwinkles. Thoroughbred peated Highlands, in short. Finish: surprisingly long, with smoked tea and lemon... Comments: no, this is both lovely and delicious, it’s just that I can’t quite locate the ‘seaweed’ element, but no complaints otherwise.
SGP:456 - 87 points.

The Huntly 27 yo 1996/2024 (52.8%, Duncan Taylor, The Single Cask Collection, blended malt, cask #227408, 220 bottles)

No speculation here, let’s just get on with the tasting, shall we? Colour: gold. Nose: there’s a bit of ham fat, peanut oil, cigarette smoke (nightclub at 4am), then a full-on parade of barleys, beers and all manner of fresh breads. Any guesses? With water: still very much on barley and beer. Hardly something to complain about. Mouth (neat): apples, plums, waxes, grapefruits and fats. This thick, textured profile is really quite striking. Pink grapefruit and blanc de noirs Champagne. With water: it’s starting to bug me that I can’t quite pin down what this is, but it does have a bit of an east coast air. Finish: long, fairly austere now, more on herbs and yeast. Paraffin. Comments: I did think of Glenturret but that’s a good 200km from Huntly, surely they wouldn’t do that to us. Glen Garioch’s much closer, though Glen Garioch tends to show more fruit in these vintages. Anyway, we said we wouldn’t speculate…
SGP:451 - 89 points.

Update: it can't have been Glen Garioch, which was mothballed from late 1995 until mid-1997. Thanks, Thijs.

Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 8 yo (41.5%, Kirk & Bright, +/-2025)

This bottle, from The Whisky Lodge in Lyon, is aimed, I quote, at ‘beginners with high standards, particularly attuned to current trends.’ That’s us to a tee! Colour: pale white wine. Nose: pear and lemon juice, chalk, apple peel, sunflower oil, grist, young Chardonnay… What more could one reasonably ask for? Mouth: pear eau-de-vie, vanilla, candied lychees, white peaches, buttery croissants, and that ever-charming Chardonnay still in the mix. Finish: much the same, with pear still taking the lead. Comments: it’s rather striking how much extra oomph those 1.5% bring to a young malt. A delightful barley eau-de-vie character throughout.
SGP:631 - 85 points.

Blended Scotch 25 yo 1999/2024 (44.3%, C. Dully Selection, sherry butt, cask #24, 639 bottles)

Very likely another of those Edrington-style blended malts/scotches, led by the unmistakable ‘M’. Let’s see what we’ve got here… Colour: gold. Nose: heavy on praline, nougat, fudge, Calvados (really), and the sherry’s sultanas. Then we veer a little towards milk chocolate and that famous country’s ice wine—the one that, by all fervent accounts, will never join the United States of America, it seems. A touch of quince jelly too. Mouth: it’s really rather good, with a slightly more assertive woodiness and notes of cooked wines, PX, and again that ice wine. Finish: fairly long, with hints of lemon nougat. Lemon nougat is, as it happens, a lovely thing. Comments: delightful stuff, and the price is equally pleasing.
SGP:541 - 87 points.

A last one…

St Bridget’s Kirk ‘N.A.S. Solera Batch #4’ (48.5%, Hannah Whisky Merchants, fino/oloroso finish, 142 bottles)

Goodness me, I still remember when we first started tossing around the acronym ‘NAS’ with the Malt Maniacs, the entire industry practically reached for their rifles. Colour: gold. Nose: this leans towards a rather fermentary style of sherry, with notes of bread, pasta, sourdough, walnuts and citrus zest, along with whiffs of smoked teas... Mouth: it’s got more punch on the palate, despite a fairly prominent paraffin note. Old-fashioned orange cordials, wax, ginger, saline touches, and slivers of candied zest... Finish: fairly long, and rather ‘mixed’, with a floral and perfumed streak, a saline, herbaceous peatiness, and then a medley of plums in all shapes and colours. Hints of lavender in the aftertaste. Comments: this takes me back to those trendy ‘living casks’ from twenty years ago. A very charming rusticity.
SGP:451 - 84 points.