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Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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August 25, 2025 |
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Eight more secret whiskies
All hailing from bonnie Scotland. We’ll be going in completely at random, following our noses, with a free and positive spirit... And we'll finish with a celebratory malt. |
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Glenlaird 12 yo ‘Batch #1’ (48%, Tri Carragh, Stravaig Spirits, +/-2023)
This is a highlander, shall we expect a Clynelish? Colour: light gold. Nose: not Clynelish, far too much peat, grilled bacon, soot and burnt wood, we might veer towards Ardmore, although we must confess, we always struggle mightily to pin down and properly identify Ardmore, humbly admitted. Mouth: I haven’t the faintest idea what this is, but it’s very good. A slight ‘dirty’ edge à la Ben Nevis, certain batches thereof, yet also Ardmore’s sootiness, not forgetting the myriad incarnations of Loch Lomond, towards which we’re now leaning after all, all things considered. Lovely grapefruit with smoked paprika. Inch-something. Finish: rather long, salty, peppery and smoky, with the bacon remaining very much present. Comments: I’m rather fond of this, it’s a truly singular malt. So, Loch Lomond?
SGP:456 - 85 points. |
Since we're already deep in peat... |

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Big Peat 2010/2025 ‘Feis Isle 2025’ (50%, Douglas Laing, refill hogshead) 
We do enjoy tasting all these releases signed by Captain Haddock. But is there still any Port Ellen inside? Colour: white wine. Nose: sunflower oil, seawater, lemon juice and ashes. Everything works like a charm. With water: no change whatsoever, other than the addition of a few old magazines soaked by the rain. Mouth (neat): flawless lemon, oysters, seawater, seaweed, gentian, ink and ashes. The precision of Caol Ila. With water: same again, it’s just so good. Finish: long, precise, salty but almost refreshing. Comments: very ‘clear line’, which is rather amusing for a blend. Well, they know exactly what they’re doing, and I must say I’m rather impressed…
SGP:457 - 88 points. |

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Wormtub 10 yo ‘Batch 5’ (56.1%, Atom Brands, sherry cask finish, 2024)
A secret single malt from Speyside, which of course means it could be just about anything. That said, given the name, we can probably rule out all Speysiders that don’t use wormtubs, can’t we? So, we’re likely down to Balmenach, Cragganmore, Glen Elgin and Mortlach, if I’m not mistaken. Colour: dark amber. Nose: ooh that’s lovely, a beautiful mix of caramel and maple syrup, with a stout-like undertone. Cracking nose. With water: sublime prunes and figs. Mouth (neat): perfect dark nougat, brandy, caramel, prunes, armagnac, Corinth raisins, toffee, millionaire shortbread… With water: in come the more tertiary notes, even a saline edge, coffee, broths, morels, pipe tobacco… Finish: much the same for quite some time, though it tightens up on a welcome vegetal acidity that keeps things fresh. Comments: Sam!?
SGP:561 - 88 points. |
Update, Ballindalloch, Balmenach, Benrinnes, Cragganmore, Craigellachie, Glen Elgin, Mortlach, and Speyburn all use wormtubs. Thanks Tim. |

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Nectar Grove ‘Madeira Finish’ (46%, Wemyss Malts, blended malt, limited edition, 3,000 bottles, 2023) 
Colour: pale gold. Nose: well, this is very lovely, somewhere between turrón and Nutella, or rather posh praline standing in effortlessly for that near-horror of a spread. Take 50g of almonds, 50g of hazelnuts and 100g of honey. Roast the nuts in the oven, then toss them in a pan with the honey. Finally, blitz the lot in a mixer. That’s it. Mouth: very, very good, more herbaceous, lively, nervy, with greater tension from citrus but also ‘Cointreau’. Don’t worry, I shan’t inflict a ‘Cointreau’ recipe on you. Finish: lovely finish on orange. The Madeira, whichever it was (Sercial? Malmsey? Others?) has remained discreetly in the background. Comments: really very, very good, indulgent yet elegant.
SGP:651 - 86 points. |

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Timorous Beastie ‘The Cheese Cellar Collection No. 03’ (46%, Douglas Laing, Moscatel finish, 4,200 bottles, 2025) 
Right then, a Moscatel finish, rather not the most reassuring prospect in my book, and expectations aren’t exactly high. I cannot not think either of Caol Ila DE, or perhaps the White House tastefully redecorated by you-know-whom! But we’ve also understood this bottling nods to the legendary pairing of whisky and cheese. Fair enough, let’s dive in… Colour: full gold. Nose: but of course, they were going to do it well, steering clear of those overly pushy muscat notes, and instead preserving the balance of the malt, pastries, citrus and the like. Mouth: I’m sorry to report it’s really quite good, leaning towards herbal infusions, thyme, fennel, dog rose and such, and also various honeys. Finish: fairly long, while the muscat remains restrained, though we’re brushing up against the limits of sweetness. The oranges rescue things in the dying embers, but it’s now getting perilously sugary. Comments: we rather flirted with the edges of cloying sweetness all the way through but all in all it remained graceful.
SGP:651 - 83 points. |

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The Perspective Series No.1 21 yo (43%, Berry Bros. & Rudd, blended Scotch, 6,300 bottles, 2019) 
Now this is a full-on blend. That said, it was created by Doug McIvor, easily one of the most distinguished, competent and elegant figures in the whisky business since at least the 18th century. All right, all right, others may be nipping at that enviable status, but the key is to never, under any circumstance, match your tie with your pocket square, something even Washington D.C. seems to have grasped these days. Colour: full gold. Nose: a very malty blend, in the vein of Macallan, let’s say. Lovely wee touches of potting soil and tobacco, with a discreet graininess, then more tobacco and some praline. Mouth: all gentle elegance, more ‘blend’ in character now, but top-drawer stuff. Honey, nougat, white chocolate, black tea. Finish: not very long, granted, but the coconut, though a tad insistent, stays within bounds. Comments: a blend, but truly a super-blend.
SGP:641 - 84 points. |

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Extra-Groovy Spirit Blend 1969–2017/2023 (40.1%, Thompson Bros., blended Scotch) 
An improbable blend that defies commentary, with a design so very ‘Cream’ it can only resonate with the quasi-boomers who worship Clapton. Or Austin Powers. Colour: deep gold. Nose: sublime opening salvo on mango and mustard. That may sound odd, but it works a treat. The rest shifts to old white wines, Burgundy or Graves. Let’s not dig too deeply. Mouth: inexplicably good. I’ll need to look into the composition, as apparently, it’s all detailed on the back label. We're a bit late to the party... Still, it’s excellent and packs far more punch than that frightful 40.1% would suggest. Finish: not even short in the end. The mustard from the nose returns gloriously in this setting. Only the rear palate dips a touch, but at 40%, that’s to be expected. Comments: as they say at the Jazz Club, ‘great!’
SGP:562 - 89 points. |
One last dram, then, it’s been such fun playing with these improbable blends and hidden malts… Let’s take a step back in time to end on a high note... |

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Pride of Strathspey 1959–1960/1986 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, Royal Marriage Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson) 
This was a special vetting for the marriage of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. The exegetes still seem to be locked in debate over the origins of this malt, Macallan or Strathisla? Naturally, G&M ‘couldn’t possibly comment’, but it's thought that the earlier versions of Pride of Strathspey were indeed Macallan. This one, I’m not so sure. Then again, I’m not sure Andrew and Fergie were exactly the crowning glory of the British monarchy, so frankly.... Colour: reddish amber. Nose: this strongly resembles classic Macallan from the distillery’s glory days, with sublime coffee, faint hints of yellow oyster mushrooms (really), pipe tobacco from Dunhill’s (not that it matters), and an incredible blend of figs and marrow. Wow. Mouth: at this point, strength hardly matters, it’s all about the molecules doing their thing. Let’s say flat-leaf parsley, chestnut honey, figs and dates, mushrooms (let’s go with Caesar’s this time), and several old white wines still full of verve. We shan’t name names, this isn’t winefun.com. Finish: right, this nips the nose just a little, but after being bottled at 40% and left for forty years, you expect chamber music rather than a full symphony. Still, it’s Mozart. The aftertaste is light yet superbly honeyed. Comments: of course, we’re not going to mention the Epstein affair (S., tsk…).
SGP:451 - 92 points. |
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