Strathisla 27 yo 1992/2020 (55.1%, OB 'Distillery Reserve Collection', cask #84667, 2nd fill hogshead, 300 bottles)
This series shelters some excellent, usually pretty under the radar drams, I'm just not a fan of the whole 50cl thing I'm afraid. Colour: gold. Nose: slightly dusty, like old wooden malt bins, also some fuzzy peach skin, dried apricot and very light beeswax. With a little time it really develops along milk chocolate and honeycomb lines: a proper Crunchie bar! This 'aromatic dustiness' remains in the background in the form of talcum powder. With water: peaches and cream! Brandy snaps, pure caramel, tinned fruit salad syrups. Mouth: much more classically on flower nectars, baked apples slathered in custard, Australian muscat wines, limoncello and lime cordial. Fairly emblematic, luscious modern Speyside at maturity. With water: extremely easy, full of assorted honey and mead impressions, vanilla custard, glazed pastries, pistachio ice cream etc. Finish: good length, on chamois leather, cedar wood, tiny notes of varnish and pine resin, and also quite a lot of crystalised fruits. Comments: as we often declare in relation to such Speyside malts: how could anyone be against such a profile! SGP: 641 - 88 points.

Strathisla 28 yo 1997/2025 (51%, OB 'Distillery Exclusive', 1st fill barrel, 174 bottles)
Colour: bright straw. Nose: extremely luscious, an immediate beehive with associated mead, lillies full of pollen, nectars, fruit salad juices and then more delicate notes of bergamot, lemon oil, vanilla panna cotta and gorse flower. A beautiful profile. With water: pumpkinseed oil, sun lotion and meadow flowers. Also a touch of green pepper and pine sap. Mouth: the same feeling of lusciousness and sweetness comes upon arrival, although with it just a tiny nibble of American oak giving a tingle of peppery quality to the mouth. Same as the nose but just a little warmer, spicier and with more things like earthy turmeric and dark grained breads. With water: becomes a little greener, more herbal, more on verbena, camphor, pinecones and spiced creme brulée. Finish: long, perfectly balanced between crystalised honey, wee earthy and peppery notes, hardwood resins and tea tree oil. Comments: gorgeous start, then the wood started to assert itself a little more forcefully. Yet, I feel balance just about remained struck throughout I was around 89/98 to begin, but in the end I feel it's the equal of the 1992. SGP: 661 - 88 points.

Strathisla 40 yo 1977/2017 'Book of Kells' (46.6%, Gordon & MacPhail for Japan Import System, cask #389, refill hogshead, 163 bottles)
As has been observed many times before on the pages of wee WF: we love the Book of Kells labels! Colour: another level up! A broader spectrum fruitiness that is both much softer but also much more complex and finely detailed. Immediate notes of dried banana chips, green banana, star fruit, yellow plums, waxy green apple, eucalyptus, passionflower, heather honey and delicate impressions of mint tea, bergamot, dried parsley and lovage. Graceful, elegant and beautiful, everything we love about the aroma profiles of older, refill matured malts. Mouth: many teas of the fruit and herbal varieties, along with fennel seed, kumquat, many dried and crystalised fruits and emergent hints of herbal liqueurs, aniseed, woodruff and cheng pi dried citrus rinds. Also a little liquorice root, wormwood and old honey liqueur such as Drambuie. The lower ABV feels a tad on the soft side at times, but overall the pleasure factor is extremely high. Finish: medium, gently waxy, on dried fruits and flowers, some feelings of fruity muesli and flapjacks with honey and oatmeal qualities. Comments: certainly not without its fragilities, and probably captured in the nick of time, but it's undoubtedly a gorgeous, extremely quaffable and pleasurable old malt. The nose alone was 91/92, but in the end a solid... SGP: 651 - 90 points.