Secret Highland 35 yo 1985/2020 (47.4%, Mancarella for Scotch 88 Ukrainian Whisky Community, cask #13, hogshead, 88 bottles)
Thinking of, and sending solidarity to, all our friends in Ukraine. And wishing an eternity of Loch Dhu and tonic upon Mr Putin! Colour: gold. Nose: oils of the mineral and olive variety, plus waxed hessian, Barbour grease, lamp oil and citrus rinds. Continues with beeswax and linseed oil. Classically old school with these waxy and textural qualities but rounded out beautifully by age. Mouth: same characteristics, really on olive oil, sandalwood, copper coins, mineral oils, bouillon, camphor and wee hints of dried parsley, suet and ink. There's a fragile austerity that is very charming. Finish: medium, slightly herbal, and with a lovely crystalised honey note that brings a sudden feeling of late sweetness. Comments: excellent, extremely quaffable and charmingly old school, very 'old highlands' in a way that makes you think more of Clynelish than Glenmorangie - which this is rumoured to be. Also brings to mind some great, aged dry chenin. 
SGP: 451 - 89 points. 

Caperdonich 23 yo 1980/2004 (58%, Cadenhead 'Authentic Collection', bourbon hogshead, 252 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: paraffin, wet leaves, mossy bark and clay! Another nose that also suggests mineral and olive oil qualities. I fear this theory of 'lightest to heaviest' is DOA! This is superb though, some honeys, waxes, wee beery vibes and all manner of oils, varnish and green herbs. With water: herbs, nettles, oils and camphor galore! Mouth: herbal and flower teas, a lot more pure honey notes, flower honey, beeswax etc. Then back on these beery notes with hops, citrus peels, camphor and more mineral oil and clay. With water: much broader, fatter, sootier and drier, with a peppery side emerging that's really terrific. Finish: long, peppery, slightly salty and herbal, with more waxy and oily qualities. Comments: a very big and very excellent old Caperdonich! The love child of old Glen Grant and Convalmore - arguably. 
SGP: 562 - 90 points.

Dallas Dhu 18 yo 1977/1995 (59.7%, Cadenhead 'Authentic Collection' for USA)
Looks like I really enjoyed a sibling cask of this back in 2019 (WF90), and at that time declared my next Dallas Dhu tasting would be July 2025 - we're not actually that late by Whiskyfun standards! Colour: pale straw. Nose: once again, superb! A wonderful oiliness and sense of pure waxiness, there's also lots of putty, clay, white flowers, plasticine and some lovely coal scuttle and watercress impressions. Another of these old school 'highland' profiles that seems all about texture and fatness., only here there's an element of precision that elevates everything. With water: even fatter and waxier now, candle wax and Barbour grease galore, with honey roast parsnip, dried herbs, suet and cask aged mead. Wonderful! Mouth: full on mineral oils, tiger balm, sooty waxy qualities, pebbles, chalk, herbal tea, camphor, ink, waxed hessian and faint medicinal notes. Also a fantastic impression of freshly sheared sheep wool. Very impressive palate! With water: same feelings, an elevated sense of waxy and textural quality, but perfectly balanced by more of these mead and honey characteristics. Also slight vegetal and earthy notes bringing impressions of bouillon, mustard powder and petrichor. Finish: long, drying, waxy, slightly salty and back on leafy, earthy and mineral qualities. Comments: probably up there with the best Dallas Dhu ever bottled, I'll even go one point higher than its sibling from a few years ago, the fatness, oiliness and overall waxiness are superb! 
SGP: 462 - 91 points.

Convalmore 14 yo 1981 (61%, Whisky Connoisseur, cask #1150) 
Colour: pale white wine. Nose: a little compact and shy at first, some herbal impressions such as chives and parsley, also a little peppery but that may be the high ABV. A little time and it gets chalkier, some lemon powder, white mushroom - so far a tad austere. With water: gets heavy on the plasticine and a slight tinge of washing powder. Mouth: hmm, not too sure, also an austere profile, with these lemon powder notes returning in a slightly chemical way. Some funny impressions of concrete, cement and wet plaster. With water: it's fine, but we're some distance from Convalmore's usual stately excellence. A faint feeling of something chemical still lingers... Finish: medium, a little porridgey. Comments: an austere and funny profile that was far more common in the 1990s but that's hardly ever seen today. The great highs came with weird lows, and now both have arguably been ironed out. Make of that what you will... 
SGP: 531 - 75 points. 

Banff 23 yo 1976/2000 (54.5%, Signatory Vintage 'Silent Stills' for USA, cask #2250, 245 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: it's been a while since I had a Banff, but they really do immediately make you think of mustard and waxes! Mustard seed, powder, curry leaf, beeswax, church candles etc. This one also leads with tiger balm, tiny coastal inflections and beautiful savoury vibes that bring to mind white miso paste and peppery watercress. Power, but also elegance and beauty! With water: a little greener, a little fresher and more citric, also more mineral, more precise and more chiselled! Mouth: terrific! Superbly waxy, drenched in camphor, soft coastal notes, sandalwood, pollens, a drizzle of seawater in a jar of flower honey, more miso, hessian, coal dust and preserved lemon. Brings to mind some Broras of similar pedigree. With water: brilliant! Waxes, mustard powder, beach pebbles, mineral salts, hessian, herbal cough syrups and teas. Finish: long, beautifully drying, mineral, fat, waxy and peppery. Comments: somewhere between Brora and top tier Montrachet! I forget how much I love Banff!
SGP: 462 - 92 points. 

Brora 13 yo 1982/1995 (60.4%, Cadenhead 'Authentic Collection')
Colour: pale white wine. Nose: extremely typical. We're immediately all about sheep wool, beach pebbles, bone marrow, kerosine, clay, rainwater, bark, potting shed earthiness, and - of course - waxes! It's funny how these final vintages of Brora often closely recall some of the pre-Brora Clynelish in style, I suppose it makes sense that you would remove the peat and find the original still somewhat intact. With water: cut grass, muddled green herbs, lemon rind, grapefruit and more definite seawater impressions. Beach sand and faint hints of wood smoke and even some lapsing souchong tea. Mouth: it's really all about the texture, the sense of fatness, the weight of the distillate that really sings. Assertive peppery and waxy notes, softer coastal notes in the background, delicate salinity, cooking and mineral oils, more sheep wool impressions and things like ink, crushed nettle and salted honey. Even without peat, this was a huge whisky. With water: fatter and waxier still, but more singular and cohesive. Settles into a more honeyed, gentle profile, some lingering salt and pepper notes, some dried seaweed, some more sheep woold that keeps that farmyard personality alive. Finish: long, perfectly between drying coastal notes, dried out honeys and jumbled minerals. Comments: I suppose it’s very easy to overlook these younger 1980s Brora bottlings given they don't quite have the magisterial impact of the early 1970s vintages. But they have their own charm and this sense of coming full circle, back to something like 1960s Clynelish, is really wonderful and quite moving. I still prefer the Banff on this occasion though. 
SGP: 463 - 91 points.