Even more blends and even more secrets


August 28, 2026

Even more blends and even more secrets

We continue, we rather enjoy these sessions that are a little more unlikely than usual. We’ll try to have some older ones too…
(Candied angelica)

The Speyside Star 12 yo (50%, North Star Spirits, refill sherry butt, #BR 001, 600 bottles, 2018)

We had been wanting to taste this intriguingly named baby for quite some time. We’d had it waiting in the wings since it came out. Apparently, it’s Benrinnes, so neither GF nor M behind this particular ‘star’. Colour: pale gold. Nose: very ‘refill’ indeed, although the sherry does make itself known, it’s rather yeasty, close to a fine beer, with plums, flint and chalk. With water: we’re getting even closer to chalk and grape skins. In short, marc. Mouth (neat): lovely, mineral and lemony, rather taut and pretty fresh. With water: apples are coming through. Finish: fairly long, fresh, more lemony. Comments: a really lovely, very fresh little Speysider, to think it took me 8 years to open it.
SGP:451 - 85 points.

Secret Speyside 15 yo 2009/2024 (55.2%, Chin Chin Bar, Hong Kong, first-fill Oloroso quarter cask finish, 155 bottles)

Colour: deep gold. Nose: very lovely sherry, more vibrant, lemony and peppery, rather in the manner of a Sercial Madeira, with green walnuts and marmalade from a Scottish brand. Of course. With water: same, it barely moves. No problem. Mouth (neat): I think it’s the quarter cask that adds this layer that is both lemony and oily, and I also think we could easily mention a 50/50 mixture of limoncello and nocino. With water: a little less thrilling once water has been added, not that it falls apart, but we probably couldn’t say it’s the greatest swimmer of all time. Finish: long and very lovely without water. Comments: more active woods are often a little trickier to handle when you add water. It remains a very, very lovely bottle.
SGP:551 - 86 points.

Blended Malt ‘Over 17 Years’ (44.1%, Thompson Bros., sherry wood, 2026)

Colour: deep gold. Nose: how amusing, we were just mentioning Sercial Madeira, and here we are virtually facing a 5-year-old Blandy’s Sercial. A little acetic marvel, taut and oily at the same time, to be enjoyed with some scallops just given a quick sear. I mean both the Blandy’s AND this Thompson’s. Very lovely touches of basalt and fresh tobacco. Mouth: wow, well played. Just take what I’ve scribbled above about the nose and add a drop of seawater. Finish: long, saline, peppery, wonderfully acetic. Old balsamic vinegar. Comments: the finest alternative to Noilly. I imagine you could also use it to flambé your shellfish.
SGP:362 - 89 points.

CRN57° 18 yo (43%, Gordon & MacPhail for The Cairn, blended malt, 2025)

A range put together to keep us going until the first The Cairns finally come of age. We had absolutely loved the 30-year-old earlier this year (WF 90). Colour: full gold. Nose: if there isn’t any Benromach in there, I’ll eat my beret, my stripy sailor’s jersey, and my entire baguette. Enough said. Mouth: same comments. And I’ll even pledge to watch the French news channels with their constant moaning and endless lamentations, the cruellest of penances. Magnificent blended malt, even at 43%. Mustard, pepper, salt, turmeric, bitter almonds, a little aniseed, Seville oranges… Finish: same, and it’s certainly not short at 43% vol. Comments: simply terrific. So, do I have to eat my beret?
SGP:462 - 88 points.

A word of caution, when we speak of Benromach in such glowing terms, we mean the post-1998 distillates by G&M. The older Benromachs, while sometimes relatively charming, generally have very little to do with those.

CRN57° 25 yo (43%, Gordon & MacPhail for The Cairn, blended malt, 2025)

In theory, there could already be some G&M Benromach in this baby. Colour: deep gold. Nose: I think I slightly prefer the 18 for now, but this is very lovely too, with autumn leaves, cigars, boxwood, fig leaves, caraway and a slight touch of cork (not TCA, mind)… Mouth: no, forget that, this is magnificent. Sublime bitters, taut yet rich, old walnut liqueurs, and once again that dry Madeira side we found in the perfect 17-year-old from the Thompsons. Finish: same. A little tar, ashes, cigars, walnuts, jujubes, service berries... Comments: the bitters are superlative. It remains to be seen whether this superb range will survive once The Cairn has completely taken over the market (or almost).
SGP:362 - 89 points.

Right, we’ll carry on with two 30-year-olds and two 36-year-olds, then we’ll go and watch the French news channels with the sound off, JOMO-style. Good, let’s have a multi-vintage, in the manner of Mark Watt during his Cadenhead’s days, when he could blend two 85-point casks and come up with an 87-point ‘small batch’. Pure magic, albeit sacrificial at the altar of the ‘single cask’ totem.

Highland Single Malt 30 yo 1994-1995/2026 (47 .1%, Decadent Drams, refill hogshead, 250 bottles)

Handwritten labels in the style of old armagnacs or calvados have always set whisky independents dreaming, don’t ask me why… Colour: gold. Nose: buttercups, dandelions and mandarins, with one tiny spoonful, mocha-spoon-sized, of custard… The key is the mandarin. Mouth: excellent, waxy, still with an entire family of mandarins, a little green apple, and beeswax. And, while we’re at it, fresh pollen. Finish: not eternal but displaying the same very lovely notes. The wood starts to make itself felt at this stage (slightly over-infused green tea), but everything remains under control. One of the casks must be the culprit, but is it the 1994 or the 1995? Comments: we don’t care, it remains a very lovely whisky, classically Highland. It’s verging on perfection, with a slight Meursault side, only cheaper. Have-you-seen-the-price-of-Meursaults?
SGP:461 - 89 points.

Speyside Single Malt 30 yo 1990/2021 (50.4%, Thompson Bros., for the Netherlands, refill American barrel, 278 bottles)

Quite right, once again, we’re late. By the way, apparently that’s the Queen of the Netherlands on the label, is that true? Admittedly, we’re old republicans at WF, and we didn't mean to be disrespectful, naturally… Colour: light gold. Nose: green banana, vanilla, ‘pils’ beer and very ripe apple. With water: a little hay and straw. It retreats somewhat. Mouth (neat): very good, just not terribly distinctive. Go on, name the distillery… Cider apples, greengages, green pears, lemon and orange drops, green pepper… With water: we find that cold green tea side again, with a little lemon. Finish: medium in length, retreating towards beer and barley. Comments: I’m not sure it loves water. At any rate, not Vittel (Nestlé, where’s the bloody cheque? Remember we take bitcoins too, even US bonds…) They should add a sticker, ‘no water’. Or ‘keep water for Africa’. Anyway, you get the idea… In short, a fine example of a whisky that really ought to be tasted ‘naked’. Oh, come on…
SGP:341 - 85 points.

Enviable Blended Malt 36 yo 1989/2026 (46.5%, Thompson Bros., refill hogshead, Speyside)

Enviable? You only need to rearrange the letters to find the distillery, I think. Or to think of an old bottle of 50 years old. The brothers are certainly occupying the terrain, and very cleverly so, especially since the vast majority of their whiskies are of a very, very high standard. We love this permanent guerrilla approach, the sort of thing they used to teach us back in my business-school days. We’re also very fond of the rather Usher/OVG-esque label. Colour: white wine. Yep, at 36. Nose: a collection of little apples, wild, cultivated or forgotten varieties, complemented by touches of fresh mint. Behind all that, a barley field at sunset, after a scorching hot day followed by a sudden and joyfully abundant summer shower. Yep. Mouth: this is something else entirely, much more vibrant, like an old white Graves of interstellar quality that would have retained all its liveliness. Salted citrons, little white or pink olives, green peppercorns… Finish: long, briny, very lovely. Comments: I wouldn’t mind a few explanations, but in the meantime, this is quite dazzling. That combination of freshness and fine age, it’s almost like Sir Paul. S.u.p.e.r.b. bottle.
SGP:462 - 91 points.

And the last one, since we promised you…

Blended Malt Scotch Whisky 36 yo ‘Tun 89’ (52.4%, Milroy’s Vintage Reserve, Speyside, 2026)

I love these tun numbers, the equivalent of batch numbers in cognac. Or how to suggest a vintage without actually displaying it… Or to hint, more or less discreetly, at Balvenie too, famous for its… ‘tuns’… Or its alter ego Burnside, right. Colour: white wine. Nothing pleases me more than a 36-year-old that’s as pale as a 2025 pinot grigio. Or 2026, at the rate the harvests are going in these days of global warming… Nose: pinot grigio, ha. Hay, ripe apples, cider, dried flowers, patchouli, a little vetiver… then mirabelles and quince. With water: it remains a little restrained, it doesn’t exactly burst with aromas. Quince paste. Mouth (neat): a very lovely display of mirabelles, quinces, rhubarb paste and candied angelica. With water: once again it retreats a little, although less so than on the nose. Quinces and mirabelles are completely calling the shots. Finish: same. Fruity and herbal beer. Comments: very exquisite, but as almost always with these old ex-refill malts, use water with reverence and circumspection. Otherwise, some may remind you that originally, this was only barley, so nothing truly spectacular in aromatic terms.
SGP:451 - 88 points.

See you soon!

Check the index of all blended or secret malts we've tasted