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| Hi, you're in the Archives, July 2025 - Part 2 |
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July 31, 2025 |
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Secret Orkneys and Highland Park
We're not in a position here to confirm with complete certainty that it's the same thing, are we. However, the difference between Scapa and Highland Park isn't all that hard to spot. Let's get into it and let’s start by going to Frankfurt — but not Frankfurt, Kentucky, right?
St Magnus in Kirkwall, Britain's most northerly cathedral (AI slop) |
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Orkney Single Malt 18 yo 2006/2024 (53.2%, Whisky Spirits for Whisky Time Frankfurt 2025) 
With the city of Frankfurt printed upside down on the label! Thankfully, the distillery remains the right way up. Colour: white wine. Nose: unmistakable, with those maritime and mineral tones, followed by tart apples, lemon and olive oil we so adore yet which tend to elude the official expressions. With water: soot and paraffin, then brand new engine oil. Mouth (neat): squarely on the hallowed HPCBBNS axis (HP -> Clynelish -> Benromach -> Ben Nevis -> Springbank). Immensely saline! With water: how utterly delightful! Pure waxes, lemons, green apples and seawater. Finish: more of the same, and for a good while at that. Comments: it starts with a bang.
SGP:462 - 90 points. |
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Orkney 11 yo 2013/2025 (63.6%, Lady of the Glen, 1st fill bourbon, cask #10001, 203 bottles) 
They say it’s cask strength, good to know, knowing that unless I’m wrong, HP fill at 63.5% vol., which means we’ve earned some extra-0.1% within eleven years! Colour: white wine. Nose: a fairly similar style, though leaning more towards yellow fruits and pollen, with fewer coastal and mineral elements, but instead we do find some virgin wool. A few touches of vanilla and coconut, almost certainly from the 1st fill bourbon cask. With water: orange peel, or rather mandarin zest. Mouth (neat): straight into acidic fruits, fresh rhubarb, lemon, not-very-ripe gooseberry, then a touch of liquorice and vanilla, though the coconut is nowhere to be found this time. In fact, we shall not complain. With water: veering back towards the classic profile, coastal and mineral. Excellent. Finish: long, with the arrival of green pepper, waxes and hints of indeterminate petroly derivatives. The White House might be able to enlighten us… Comments: performs extremely well following the quite superlative 18-year-old from Frankfurt.
SGP:562 - 88 points. |
Update: HP seem to actually fill at some unusual 69.5% vol. (Thanks, Tim) |
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Orkney (HP) 14 yo 2010/2024 ‘Edition #30’ (57.1%, Signatory Vintage, 100 Proof, 1st fill oloroso sherry butt) 
I dare say the ‘HP’ on the label might stand for more than just ‘high potential’. Colour: amber. Nose: the typical sherry of this series, with roasted nuts and chocolate, hints of truffle, meatball soup, Maggi seasoning, toffee… With water: mushrooms and ferns, but above all lashings of chocolate fudge, even edging towards mole sauce. Mouth (neat): a marked oloroso sherry style, dry yet brimming with orange liqueur, heaps of black pepper and earth, and a few stouty touches. With water: in the same vein but increasingly dominated by old walnuts, while the salty edge becomes more pronounced too. Finish: long, on leek and chicken soup, grated dark chocolate and still plenty of pepper. Comments: very good, even if we've drifted from the cleaner style of the previous ones. A heavily sherried profile inevitably dials back a bit of distillate character.
SGP:461 - 84 points. |
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Secret Orkney 14 yo 2010/2024 ‘Edition #23’ (57.1%, Signatory Vintage, 100 Proof, 1st & 2nd fill oloroso sherry butt) 
Not quite the same designation here, we've gone from ‘Orkney (HP)’ to ‘Secret Orkney’. Rather mysterious, wouldn’t you say… Colour: gold. Nose: clearly straddling both worlds, the truffle and leek have vanished, replaced by more orange and leather, the whole appearing fresher, fruitier, and unmistakably more ‘HP’. Beeswax and a faint hint of camphor. With water: edging ever closer to the sea, with seaweed and saline manzanilla… Mouth (neat): touches of ginger and turmeric, spiced orange peel… With water: I like this a great deal, it’s lively despite the sherry, nicely taut, all on citrus, pepper and heather honey of course. This feels closer to the officials. Finish: a medicinal turn in the finish, cough syrup laced with black pepper, orange liqueur and honey. A lovely concoction that ought to cure anything. Wax in the aftertaste. Comments: refill really is a splendid thing.
SGP:562 - 86 points. |
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Orkney 10 yo 2013 (57%, The Whisky Exchange, Seasons: Winter, sherry hogshead)
Winter? Oops, looks like we’ve missed sherry monster season. Colour: dark amber. Nose: a cleaner, fruitier kind of sherry, perhaps more on the ‘PX’ side, with Corinth raisins, dried figs, Mars bars, bursts of forest floor (moss, old stumps) and fir honey. We absolutely adore fir honey at WF Towers. With water: pure official style, but official from the 1990s. Gentle smoke, dried fruits, woodland notes, honeys, everything’s in place. Well done! Mouth (neat): fairly rich, caramelised, loaded with three tonnes of raisins and a full lorry of figs and dried dates, plus a few glacé cherries. And yet it never goes ‘too much’, which is near miraculous. The distillate, quietly humming in the background, keeps its saline and mineral frame intact—perhaps that’s why. With water: perfect, saline, smoky, mineral, yet rich and honeyed at the same time. Finish: long, more on black pepper, rich but curiously fresh. We did not say refreshing, mind you. Comments: a smart move, this is pretty flawless—I do hope they won’t mind that I tasted this baby in summer.
SGP:552 - 88 points. |
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Secret Orkney 17 yo 2004/2022 (53.1%, Whisky-Doris, 20th Anniversary, sherry butt, cask #13, 240 bottles)
We’re a little late to the party, though we’ve already tasted some splendid HPs from Whisky-Doris in the past… And if they celebrated their twentieth in 2022, then they’re the same age as little Whiskyfun! Hurray! Colour: gold. Nose: though it’s a butt again, we’re right back into more traditional HP territory, with both softness and firmness, wax, honeys, baked apples, smoked paprika, crushed pepper… In a nutshell, it’s lovely stuff. With water: a few wafts of walnut skin, spent matches (just the one, fear not) and chocolate. Oddly, the water has brought out more sherry than distillate. Mouth (neat): excellently fruity and taut, smoky, saline, rich yet elegant, characterful, all on candied fruits and all manner of citrus. It’s excellent, I believe we’re in high-score country. With water: leather and tobacco, but all in fine balance. The salinity shines through. Finish: fairly long, elegant, firm and yet rather rich. A sensation of smoked sultanas and seawater in the aftertaste. Beware, it wakes up! Comments: very, very charming and quite fascinating to follow, especially if you practise progressive reduction (not a new neo-eco-Trotskyist political theory, rest assured).
SGP:652 - 89 points. |
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Old Orkney Malt 25 yo 1999/2025 (50.3%, Decadent Drinks, HHD + sherry butt)
Aged first in refill hogshead then finished in a sherry butt. Decadent Drinks now own the ‘Double O’ or ‘O.O.’ marque, once held by Stromness Distillery and later by Gordon & MacPhail. It’s genuinely part of Scotland’s, and particularly Orkney’s, whisky heritage, so hats off to D.D. for keeping O.O. alive! And who knows, maybe one day they’ll unearth an old cask of Stromness, long forgotten in some derelict warehouse? That could well be the plot of ‘The Angel’s Share 2’, no? Someone ought to mention it to Ken Loach... Colour: deep gold. Nose: rooted in the earth, with last year’s fruits, pipe tobacco, Thai broth, a box of Cuban cigars, and the exhaust of a sports car (so, no Tesla), more mead than honey. With water: leather and bay leaf coming to the fore. Mouth (neat): firmer than expected, roasted and grilled, almost slightly burnt, all on chocolate and lightly salted coffee, with a surprise appearance from prunes in Armagnac. Well, fancy that… With water: back to dry sherry, almost mustardy, and particularly on damp earth, dried meat, black pepper and pine needles. Finish: we’re now in the realm of very old Madeira, Marsala or dry sherries. Comments: it’s not the destination that matters, it’s the journey, and here’s a perfect illustration. That said, I imagine this bottle may divide opinion a little; it’s like free jazz, not everyone’s cup of tea (least of all ‘the neighbours’).
SGP:463 - 91 points. |
NB: The two Signatory bottlings that are heavily sherried might seem slightly below the others at first glance, but that’s not really the case. First, we always tend to favour the cleaner versions, and secondly, these SigVs are offered at much more accessible prices than the others. So hats off to them, they’re excellent HPs! |
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July 30, 2025 |
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It’s Highland Park’s turn, back on WF
Careful now, there’ll be no Whitlaw, no Magnus’s Own Stuff, nor any Secret Orkney today, but we will have some soon… For now, let’s see what we’ve got under the proper label, chosen a bit at random for the sake of, shall we say, fun. Still, these Brownian sessions always end up falling into the right order in the end… |
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Highland Park ‘The Dolphins 2nd Release’ (40%, OB, 2018) 
An expression that’s an officially licensed product for the Royal Navy Submarine Service. At a modest 40% vol., Her/His Majesty’s submariners aren’t exactly at risk of descending into delirium tremens mid-dive. Just jesting of course, though we do know that HP can gracefully handle very low strength and still shine, which isn’t something all malts can claim. Colour: pale gold. Nose: well then, it’s certainly very light, but far from unpleasant, rather it’s quite charming actually, with a whisper of faintly smoked hay and delicate honey, a splash of Bellini (Champagne with peach purée), the faintest demitasse of lapsang souchong, and a satchel of liquorice wood. Lovely nose, just exceedingly gentle, though not without a certain quiet complexity. Right. Mouth: the low strength does let it down somewhat, rather on the dry side, with the lapsang souchong suddenly pushing to the fore. Not quite what we were hoping for. Wee salty touches and a bite of toasted bread. Finish: short, nearly incidental. Comments: I dare say at 46% vol., this might have made quite the splash, but as it stands, it rather dives off into the depths due to a lack of… propulsion. The nose is a hundred times better than the palate, in my most humble opinion.
SGP:452 - 80 points. |
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Highland Park 21 yo ‘2024 Release’ (46%, OB)
This isn’t yet the new livery, the one that’s supposedly more ‘organic’. Quite the elaborate recipe all the same, as this baby was assembled from, and I quote, ‘48 casks: 25 first-fill, sherry-seasoned American oak quarter casks, 15 refill butts and 8 first-fill, sherry-seasoned European hogsheads, all hand-selected and laid down in 2001 and 2002’. Right then, let’s dive in. Colour: full gold. Nose: straightaway those hallmark notes of polish and honey (they say heather honey, though one’s not entirely certain) which are truly lovely, then we’re onto pecan pie drizzled with maple syrup. Delicate minty glimmers flicker in the background. A very attractive nose, not overly complex but distinctly ‘HP’. Mouth: there is peat here, and a drier profile than on the nose, more along the lines of chocolate, tobacco and black tea, with surprisingly restrained fruit, while the whole shifts steadily towards salted liquorice. Perhaps that’s the Viking edge of HP showing through. Finish: not particularly long but displaying charming notes of walnut cake. The aftertaste holds faint touches of gunpowder and artichoke, plus a whisper of violet sweet. Comments: not monumental, yet it’s still quite beautiful. We shall see whether the next batch veers towards the ‘fruit and honey’ side, presumably under that much-talked-about new label, ‘less Viking and more organic’ (my words).
SGP:562 - 87 points. |
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Highland Park 2013/2024 (65.5%, OB, Ten Years of the Highland Park Appreciation Society, first fill European oak sherry puncheon, cask #3655, 663 bottles)
At this strength, here’s an HP that could well take our heads off like Thor with his hammer. Yes, one does adjust to brand environments, as you can see… Colour: rich gold. Nose: maple syrup, maple syrup and maple syrup. That’ll be the strength at play. So, with water: the maple syrup remains front and centre, but we’re now joined by all manner of honey cakes, jams (apricot, mirabelle plum), and then, gradually, a growing smokiness, led as ever by its faithful emissary, lapsang souchong tea. Also flint, and a few puffs of brake pad. Mouth (neat): this seems excellent—smoky, candied, salty, smoky again, with some extreme grilled bacon… But we shan’t probe any further without adding water. With water: everything calms down a touch, thankfully. Chestnut jam, and even onion jam, then increasingly more ashes. One does wonder whether these ashes come from heavily charred casks (come on!) or from an especially peaty distillate. Or both, perhaps… Finish: long, rather on tobacco, leather, a hint of spent matches, and some candied orange peel. Comments: a bit of a brute, but we’re very fond of it. Many whisky lovers are ever so slightly masochistic, did you know?
SGP:562 - 88 points. |
Since we’re already taking a bit of a beating... |
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Highland Park ‘Cask Strength Release No.4’ (64.3%, OB, 2023)
And bang, we’re behind again. In any case, it’s amusing, don’t you find that some brands seem to believe that as long as they’re bottling at very high strength, in the style of ‘farclas 105 back in its glory days, they can merrily abandon age statements? And ‘Robust and Intense’, that’s what the wee label says. No kidding… Colour: gold. Nose: the alcohol is quite prominent, naturally, but it’s much cleaner than the previous one, with far less smoke and rather more on cooked fruits, jams, soft honey, orange marmalade, sweet sherry (perhaps PX) and even a hint of patchouli… With water: it’s clean, ultimately rather easy, well balanced, on raisins, jams and roasted peanuts. Mouth (neat): ah indeed, rustic stuff, clearly very young, malty and blazing hot. Rather like moonshiner’s eau-de-vie from some forgotten valley where the state never sets foot ‘because they’ve neither the time nor the budget’. With water: quite nice! Sweet roots, spices, various honeys, and a gentle saline smokiness pushing through… Finish: lemon jam splashed with just a trace of pine liqueur takes the helm. The aftertaste stays faintly smoky and salty. Comments: we found batch #3 a bit middling (WF 83) but this #4 is clearly an improvement.
SGP:651 - 85 points. |
Let’s move on to the indies, their casks are generally a bit cleaner… |
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Highland Park 19 yo 2004/2024 (54.7%, Duncan Taylor, Single Cask Collection, sherry cask, cask #50171094, 311 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: this one’s more mineral, more on chalk and crushed limestone, but also fresh bread, raisin rolls, brioche with sultanas… It feels almost like a more old-school HP than the recent OBs we’ve just tried. With water: chalk and clay marls after a summer thunderstorm (what?) then a fresh baguette at six in the morning. Mouth (neat): much tauter and more nervous than the OB C/S #4, lemony, on pink grapefruit, sharp riesling, lime, and ginger tonic… We’re huge fans of all that, let’s not pretend otherwise. With water: perfect—fresh yet full-bodied, with a very discreet and wonderfully elegant sherry, giving full expression to a distillate firmly driven by citrus. We’ve said it before, citrus—and honey—will save the world. Finish: long, flawless, precise, not a single off-note, and heading straight towards that most conclusive of flavours: beeswax. Comments: this is surprisingly excellent, though I’m not surprised. I know exactly what I mean. A magnificent cask, provided you let it breathe and find just the right amount of water.
SGP:651 - 90 points. |
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Highland Park 2015/2024 (58.3%, Swell de Spirits, Pop’ Series, for Inter Caves France, first fill tawny porto butt, cask #560, 424 bottles)
Careful now, this is full maturation in a port cask, not just a cheap two-month finishing job (in French, ‘porto’ means ‘Port’). Colour: gold. Nose: I regret to inform you that the nose is magnificent, one even wonders whether this might have been an old white port cask from Niepoort or other good ones (S., they say tawny, t.a.w.n.y.) . Wild mirabelles and bergamots, then clover honey. With water: out come mineral elements, flint, crushed slate, and then bread dough. Mouth (neat): classic young HP, with all the usual attributes, citrusy and mineral tension, various honeys, peach skins, apple and pear peel, and then a burst of grey pepper suddenly taking charge… With water: everything falls into place, fine peat, citrus, precise honeys, soft spices, raisins… In fact, the gentler side of the port is now beginning to make itself known. Finish: as is often the case, it’s the dry notes (leather and tobacco) that bring balance and prevent it veering too far into jammy territory. Not that we have anything against jam. Comments: a round of hearty applause. Not even ten years old, mind you!
SGP:652 - 89 points. |
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Highland Park 10 yo 2014/2024 (51.5%, The House of McCallum, Auld Alliance, bourbon and Margaux, cask #279, 343 bottles)
We assume this underwent a finishing in a Margaux cask, so red Bordeaux. There are indeed white Margaux wines, but they’re exceedingly rare and as yet not granted the Margaux blanc designation. That said, Médoc blanc is reportedly in the works… Colour: pale gold. Nose: no blackcurrant, no cherry, the Margaux keeps its distance, save for a few tell-tale green pepper notes typical of cabernet. The rest is quite attractive, with orange liqueur and those ‘mineral maritime citrus fruits’. A dash of barley syrup. With water: it turns more coastal and even medicinal. A faint touch of iodine tincture and a couple of small oysters. Mouth (neat): once again, the wine remains discreet, though there is some blood orange. Fruity brioche, panettone, marmalade, a few salty and earthy touches, and liquorice. With water: fresher, more lemony, and more saline. Finish: long and refreshing, with bitter almond notes. Tiny drops of seawater in the aftertaste. Comments: we went looking for the Margaux, but truth be told, it was well hidden. That may not be such a bad thing.
SGP:562 - 86 points. |
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Highland Park 18 yo (57.1%, Dràm Mor, 5th birthday release, refill hogshead, cask #3535, 292 bottles)
Is it pure affectation that they’ve chosen not to mention the vintage? We imagine so, and we rather like that. Colour: white wine. Nose: a lovely idea to draw from casks quite different to the usual official house style, here we’ve got a profile that’s very fresh, vertical, maritime, on sourdough bread, seaweed, grist, ground almonds, and cooked whelks… How delightful. With water: ink appears, along with a pile of books and magazines, then baker’s yeast. Someone really ought to establish an aroma conservatory, because at the rate things are going, soon everything will smell like plastic, cocaine and gunpowder (come on!) Mouth (neat): firm, powerful, candied, citric, salty, peaty, compact. Will that do? With water: as excellent as it gets, salty, fresh, maritime, like a plate of smoked cockles drizzled with lemon juice. Finish: fairly long, still fresh and saline. A truly coastal HP, splendidly austere into the bargain. Comments: who could possibly object to this style, which catapults you straight to the edge of the North Sea?
SGP:563 - 88 points. |
I think one last wee dram will do for today… |
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Highland Park 18 yo 2006/2024 (59.2%, C. Dully Selection, bourbon hogshead, cask #3571, 232 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: the magic of true refill, close to the distillate, which makes perfect sense when you’re dealing with a superb make like HP. Top 5 material, without question. That said, it’s a discreet, sensitive nose—summer rain, foliage, I almost want to say cucumber—the very definition of aromatic understatement. A porcini carpaccio like the one I had at L’Ambroisie in Paris, one of my greatest gastronomic memories. But I digress. With water: fresh plaster, a rain-dampened wool jumper, and small cider apples. Mouth (neat): this time we’re close to newmake—you almost feel like there’s been little or no maturation over these 18 years. Unusual and utterly charming! But careful—it’s still 59.2% vol. Yup. With water: beautifully balanced, apple, pear, barley, green melon, faint ashes… Finish: fairly long, more on herbs. Artisanal kirsch in the aftertaste, and the finest kirsch belong among the greatest spirits on Earth! Comments: full of charm, but it’s an austere sort of charm, unadorned, natural, probably not one for ‘the neighbours’.
SGP:462 - 88 points. |
Heads up, the ‘Secret Orkneys’ are coming soon, and I can tell you there are some real beasts among them. Stay tuned. |
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July 29, 2025 |
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A wee duo, or perhaps is it a trio of Daftmill
There’s this fantastic ‘Project 1927’ by James Eadie, which brings together six newmakes from some rather avant-garde young Scottish distilleries. Despite their modernity, all of them were keen to experiment with production techniques from the 1920s—yeasts, fermentation methods, and so on. Proof, if ever it were needed, that tradition can be forward-thinking, don’t you think?
Among these six distilleries is an ‘Unnamed Farm Distillery in the Heart of the Kingdom of Fife’, whose newmake we’ll be tasting today. And to round off the session in a way that’s perhaps a little coherent, we’ll also have two Daftmills. |
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Unnamed Farm Distillery in the Heart of the Kingdom of Fife 2023-2024/2024 (63.4%, James Eadie, Project 1927, spirit drink)
This one was distilled from homegrown Golden Promise barley, floor-malted on site and fermented for approx. 100 hours using brewer’s yeast. Colour: white. Nose: explosive indeed, far more estery than anticipated, with an immediate slap of green olive (a somewhat rare creature in the Kingdom of Fife) and copper polish. The intensely fermentary aspect is, of course, well to the fore as well, bringing thoughts of sourdough bread, but care must be taken as this is seriously potent stuff that could in no time incinerate our nostrils. With water: now we enter the world of small fruits, all either in the process of fermentation or recently caught in the act. Cherries, plums, raspberries, little berries of indeterminate origin, and even a glimmer of shochu. Mouth (neat): with due caution, pear eau-de-vie comes as no surprise, nor does the limoncello, but the damp earthiness, salty flashes and fresh woodland mushrooms are rather unexpected in a newmake. With water: this calls to mind wild cherry eau-de-vie as produced by the finest Alsatian distillers, such as Marcel Windholtz in Ribeauvillé. Which is to say, ‘they could bottle this as is’. Finish: long, now properly salty, though there can’t be a gram of actual sodium in the dram. Clearly, it’s a question of certain papillae being activated, presumably by ions or some such, but we’ll admit the chemistry of the palate is not quite our domain. Comments: yes, they could absolutely bottle this and I’m certain it would make smashing martinis. We shall test that theory forthwith this very evening.
SGP:662 - between 85 and 90 points (we don’t really score newmakes, after all). |
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Daftmill 2009/2025 (55%, OB for Aquavitae, bourbon cask, casks #03+055/2009, 362 bottles)
This is a ‘double single cask’, you understand. Oh, and he-ha, the Daftmill label does indeed specify that they are located ‘in the Heart of the Kingdom of Fife’, which surely cannot be mere coincidence. That said, several new distilleries now reside within the Kingdom of Fife but let us move on… Colour: pale gold. Nose: typically very taut, mineral, and uncompromisingly herbaceous, as though it had been infused with grapefruit peel, which suits us marvellously as we’re rather partial to such aromas. There’s also woodruff, lashings of it, along with a little lemon verbena. With water: virtually unchanged, save for the appearance of slate and chalk, both delightfully pulverised. Mouth (neat): splendidly pure and textural for an ex-bourbon, all vanilla, lemon, and exceedingly lively wee herbs, with the soaring elegance of the driest white wines. One might even say it’s ‘Sauvignoning’. With water: it takes a turn for the rootier, now evoking sweet gentian, celery stalk… Always a happy place in my book. Finish: long, pure, indefatigable yet never fatiguing (if that makes sense). A rather startling umami quality right at the end. Comments: it borders more on watchmaking than mere distilling, so precise it is.
SGP:661 - 90 points. |
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Daftmill 2011/2024 (56.3%, OB for the Milano Whisky Festival, first fill bourbon barrel, cask #094-98-99/2011, 615 bottles)
There’s also a first fill oloroso version from an earlier Milan festival, but let’s stay focused on the bourbon today… Colour: white wine. Nose: naturally it’s very close, though this one’s a tad cleaner, a touch fruitier, but everything else is near-identical. Let’s say we’ve moved from Sancerre’s Sauvignon to Chablis’ Chardonnay. With water: ah, a few faint petroly notes, but we soon return to a far more civilised lemon custard. Mouth (neat): rather fatty, even oily, with limoncello making a triumphant comeback (Italy, of course), along with a proper chalkiness. And it’s just so good, it’s frankly getting a little embarrassing. With water: touches of pine liqueur, orange blossom and a pinch of paprika, all layered over the classic chalk-vanilla-lemon-fresh bread combo. Finish: lovely, pure, and downright moreish. Another bottle that really ought to come with a warning label. Comments: absolutely superb, albeit with just a fraction less of the previous one’s surgical precision. Still flying very high indeed.
SGP: 661 - 89 points. |
In any case, here’s hoping Daftmill has laid down a bit of that ‘James Eadie-style’ newmake for ageing! As freshwater anglers like to say, good things come to those who wait. We simply can’t wait… |
(Merci, Martin and thanks to The Whisky Lodge) |
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July 28, 2025 |
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Six Broras – or nearly – for Whiskyfun's 23rd anniversary
A tasting session with all the slow build-up of a climb up the stairs—if you catch my drift. You’ll see. |
So indeed, it is today, 28th July.
Twenty-three years, and a selection of malts that won’t surprise many, but it’s true that tracking down Broras we haven’t already tasted over all these years isn’t exactly easy, especially since they’re inevitably rare bottlings, often very rare. Not that rarity guarantees quality, of course, that goes without saying! So, let’s see what we’ve got. We’ll focus on the ‘gentle’ years – 1981 and 1982 – tasting them in order of increasing strength. By the way, if you haven’t seen it yet, I’ll be trying to host a small Brora and Clynelish tasting at this year’s Whisky Show in London (they’re calling it a “masterclass”, ha), like we did back in… erm, 2010. Blimey, fifteen years…
(Part of the box from a 5-year-old Old Clynelish/Brora, featuring the amusing “extra light” mention, which we’ll come back to shortly...) |
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Brora 23 yo 1981/2005 (46%, Signatory Vintage, Un-Chillfiltered Collection, refill sherry butt, cask #05/372, 314 bottles)
We’ve always had a soft spot for this Un-Chillfiltered Collection, which brought some rather precious malts within reach of the enthusiast’s wallet, never compromising on quality. Even if a few sister casks of this very one weren’t quite stellar, if memory serves, certainly not superior to their cousins from the same era just across the street up there, though they could resemble them rather a lot. By 1981, Brora’s ‘Islay-style’ years were already history… Colour: straw. Nose: that good old porridge is back, something sorely lacking in most of today’s malts, along with hints of ink, slightly overripe apples, saltpetre and soot, paraffin, hay, and proper farmhouse cider (not that pub-dispensed fizz, mind you) … No peat, or barely any, but a style that already feels bygone, which turns out to be rather moving after all these years. In short, none of that modern jiggery-pokery in these bottlings. Mouth: the sherry cask’s a little more vocal here, bringing along our old chums, aged walnuts and oxidised apples, along green banana, a few touches of bay leaf, a salty tang and a touch of seaside white plonk that, as they say, calls for oysters. Hints of edible flowers too—pansies, borage… Finish: not the longest, slightly dusty and ashy, but lovely and honest, with a salty amontillado-like quality emerging right at the end. Perhaps it’s in the finish that it shines the brightest. Forgot to mention mandarins, which is pretty Clynelish from those years too. Comments: scoring these Broras is becoming rather like trying to rank Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck. You always end up looking a bit daft, don’t you?
SGP:453 - 88 points. |
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Brora 23 yo 1981/2005 (46%, Chieftain’s Choice, sherry butt, cask #1514, 846 bottles)
Clearly a proper butt, given the generous outturn! We could almost recycle the remarks made about the SigV UCF for this Chieftain’s Choice by Ian Macleod. By the way, do keep an eye on their old Springbanks at auction now that the air’s a little clearer in that particularly peculiar market. Colour: gold. Nose: the sherry’s more assertive here, so we’re getting walnuts, even sweet mustard, autumn leaves, with a slight metallic touch leading us to paraffin oil, hay once again, fireplace smoke, a lit pipe, more beeswax, then those good old apples, farmhouse cider and wee notes of patchouli. Mouth: very lovely, earthier, fuller-bodied, that was clearly a fine butt. Hints of mandarin peel, wax, even olive oil, a few touches of aged white wine veering towards dry Madeira, then a beautifully Jerez-like interplay of mustard and tobacco, which is quite charming indeed. Finish: becomes increasingly ‘Brora’, one might even be reminded of slightly older vintages such as 1975. Porridge ‘with a nip’ in the aftertaste, which takes us right back to… 1981. Comments: Brora loved sherry, and the feeling was mutual. And perhaps these vintages even needed it, come to think of it.
SGP:564 - 89 points. |
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Brora 1981/2004 (58.2%, The Dalriada Whisky Co., Modern Masters of Scotland, for Japan, butt, 239 bottles)
The Dalriada Whisky Co. was a now-defunct outfit founded by David Croll. This happens to be one of the bottles I had the hardest time tracking down back in my Brora-hoarding days, would you believe. And yet, I never tasted it until now, though one suspects a ‘SigV’ origin. Just to clarify, the ‘Modern Masters of Scotland’ moniker refers, of course, not to the whisky, but to the painter who illustrated the label. Colour: gold. Nose: we’re actually exceedingly close to the Chieftain’s, with that firm dry sherry profile, walnuts, mustard, dried leaves, garden bonfire smoke, paraffin, soot… Let’s see if a little water stirs things up. With water: hints of braised cabbage, perhaps a touch of sulphur… but indeed, it leans more and more towards spent matches. Mouth (neat): entirely and squarely in the Chieftain’s camp, only cranked up a notch, which manifests in a bolder, more pronounced plug tobacco character. Indeed. With water: bitter chocolate and gunpowder, heading towards salted truffle. In truth, not my favourite. Finish: long, very dry, with an assertive note of gunpowder that shifts into tar and leek. Over-infused lapsang souchong and a leathery new-shoe note in the aftertaste. Comments: reminiscent of those sherried Clynelishes that sometimes also veered into the sulphury zone. To think we bent over backwards to get hold of a bottle!
SGP:475 - 82 points. |
Right, no more messing about now… |
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Brora 13 yo 1982/1995 (60.4%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection)
One of the earliest Broras, along with that Blackadder version offered at a rather underwhelming 43% vol.; previously, there had only been the SMWS, including the highly lauded 1976 61.1 released as early as 1989. We’d already tasted this 1982 CAD but had never actually penned any notes. Imagine, that was before the dawn of WF! At any rate, high time to put this wrong to rights… Colour: white wine. Nose: absolutely in the style of that era’s output from this series, with rich texture and natural power showing straight away, followed by a rather stunning minerality (wet pebbles, first rain in a big city, so petrichor, limestone) and some slightly underripe exotic fruits, banana skin, then the proverbial Clynelish wax. With water: immediate lift-off! Gorgeous fresh exotic fruits, coriander, Thai basil, beeswax, nectar, pollen, straw smoke… Mouth (neat): it’s like olive oil mixed with grapefruit and freshly cut grass. The octane level is high, mind you. With water: superb, and to be honest, very Clynelish indeed. There were quite a few Clynelishes in the early ’70s that felt rather ‘Brora’, and several Broras from the early ’80s that felt rather ‘Clynelish’. Finish: same story, perfect, saltier. Comments: I suspect that twenty-five years ago or more, I may have tasted this without water, but I honestly don’t recall. As the old joke goes, there are three things I struggle to remember: the whiskies I’ve tasted, people’s names, and the whiskies I’ve tasted.
SGP:565 - 92 points. |
Speaking of which, just hold on a sec… |
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Clynelish 5 yo (43%, OB, Di Chiano, long golden cap, Italy, +/-1970)
Of course we’ve already tasted this little chap with the ‘bulky neck’ and those charming individual yellow cartons (we do love yellow at WF, surely it’ll come back into fashion one day), but here’s a fresh bottle, and what’s more, the label printing is finer than on some others. Yes, I know, any excuse will do in such cases. I believe—though can’t say with absolute certainty—that this is pre-floor maltings decommissioning distillate, so pre-1965. In short, even more so than with the 12-year-olds under the same label, one could argue this is the seminal Old Clynelish/Brora. Colour: white wine. Nose: ink and soot, cold ashes in the hearth of an old bothy, ham fat, apple peelings, motor oil, some new plastics and old books from the cellar or the attic. And an oyster and a langoustine. Mouth: impossibly maritime in purity, yet somehow as fat as a monk. This richness and breadth are spectacular in a five-year-old, just as it was in those old Springbank 5s of the era. But were they really only five years old? A sticky sweet mystery… Anyway, the rest shall remain between this wee one and me. Finish: incredible length, fat, lemon, ashes, soot, seawater, seaweed… Comments: absolutely on par with the 12-year-olds, barring the Giaccone 100° proof versions, which lived in a class of their own. As for the texture, it’s something that’s plainly vanished from virtually all modern malts, no matter their origin.
SGP:462 - 93 points (verging on 94). |
What’s really funny is that indeed, on the box of this 5-year-old Clynelish, there’s the mention “EXTRA LIGHT”, which is of course completely at odds with the style of the whisky. But we have to remember that at the time, “light”, just like "smooth", was a huge selling proposition for spirits. In fact, very young age statements, whether genuine or made-up, that is to say lowered on the label, served the same purpose, since the public believed that the older and darker a whisky was, the more full-bodied and rich it would be. It’s worth knowing that some were even artificially decolouring their whiskies. Well that's what we've heard on numerous occasions. As Japanese chefs would say, O tempora, o mores! (yeah like, that's funny, S.) |
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Angus's Corner
From our correspondent and
skilled taster Angus MacRaild in Scotland
Sadly, I don't have a suitable sparring partner for this Brora, but then again, 23rd birthdays aren't usually that big a deal, are they? Having said that, I think it would be fair to say that, in the case of funny little whisky tasting blogs such as this one, when you've been going strong for twenty years, every extra year is a worthy milestone. Happy birthday, Whiskyfun. And congratulations to Serge. Speaking as someone who now also has two companies to run and a young family, I do not know how you manage to keep the Whiskyfun fires burning day in day out the way you do. The motivating powers of foie gras, Riesling and jazz must be truly formidable... |
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Brora 25 yo 1977/2002 (56.5%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society 61.12 'Honey, porridge, peat and iodine') 
Colour: bright straw. Nose: magnifique! Heather honey cut with sea salt, animal fats, mineral oils, sheep wool, mustard powder, church candles, assorted forest mushrooms, wild garlic and this stunning medley of citrus fruits, seawater, waxed hessian and some very graceful, bone dry peat smoke notes. With water: citrus juices, petrol, greasy toolboxes and more pure waxes and sea salt. Mouth: it's the texture that is so fantastic and impressive. Fully mouthcoating, like slugging petrol that has been centrifuged with pure honeycomb, molten wax and lamp oil. There's also tiger balm, suet, chalky beach pebble vibes and then just getting more and more coastal and saline. With water: a tad softer, some more tantalising glimmers of peat, but it's really not a big peaty Brora, this remains all about the seashore, those stunning waxes, oils, animal fats, umami and that astonishing, mouth-slathering textural quality. Finish: very long, on shellfish, preserved lemon, dried thyme, smoked sea salt and all manner of waxes, petrol and camphor. Comments: I don't taste Brora too often these days, but most times one crosses my path, it's a stark reminder of just what a monolithic and monumental distillate it was (is?). Happy birthday Whiskyfun!
SGP: 463 - 93 points. |
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So, thank you for your attention! We're starting to think about how we'll celebrate our 25th anniversary in 2027—provided the countless Gods of Spirits let us live that long. Hasta la vista! |
(Thank you mucho, KC and Massimo!) |
 Check the index of all Brora we've tasted so far
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July 27, 2025 |
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A word of caution
Let me please remind you that my humble assessments of any spirits are done from the point of view of a malt whisky enthusiast who, what's more, is aboslutely not an expert in rum, brandy, tequila, vodka, gin or any other spirits. Thank you – and peace! |
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Even more rums on WF, incuding a 1834, for our 23rd anniversary
(just slightly early)
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Tomorrow marks the 23rd anniversary of this pitiful little ultra-advanced website, and we’re getting ever so slightly ahead of ourselves with a very special rum we had set aside for the occasion. We're even going to enjoy it as an ‘apéritif’, because it simply wouldn’t do to have it after those sickly-sweet sugar bombs followed by high-ester bazookas from Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana... or Fiji. Are we all agreed on that?
Recent photo of the former Bellows headquarters just south of the New York Stock Exchange. |
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Jamaica Rum 1834 (+/-40%, M.E. Bellows‘ Son of New York via The Colours of Rum, Guyana)
According to rum specialists—or at the very least those more versed than yours truly—this would likely be a rum of Guyanese origin, crafted in the Jamaican style (which rather brings to mind those American champagnes or Russian cognacs) and distributed by M.E. Bellows, wine and spirits importers and merchants based at 50 Broad St., New York. We’ve already had the pleasure of tasting a splendid American Old Medford Rum from 1876 as well as some whisky from these same people. This sample was kindly shared by Wealth Solutions, a thousand thanks to them. I presume it came from a venerable old bottle that was carefully transferred into tiny vials, no doubt destined for refined noses and palates such as our own (modesty, S.?) So once again, many thanks to Wealth Solutions. Colour: reddish amber. Nose: well, rum it remains, with prominent molasses, corn syrup, lashings of liquorice, hints of orange liqueur, and perhaps an overarching ‘El Dorado’ profile if one had to name it. It does not come across as tired in the least, nor does it feel recent or cloyingly syrupy. After nearly two centuries, one suspects the sugars have mellowed and ‘digested’ themselves, much as seen in very old Hungarian Tokaji. Mouth: I find this rather good, almost like a liquorice liqueur, the texture being oily and near thick, with minute touches of salt, mint, and anise sneaking in. Quite lovely, and honestly, rather moving. Finish: fairly short but soft, still brimming with liquorice, veering gently into coffee grounds. Comments: I do wonder whether these bottles might have been ‘topped up’ or ‘ullaged’ along the way. It’s known that when, for instance, a case of twelve is unearthed, certain enthusiasts might sacrifice a bottle to bring the others up to level, not unlike the practices of Bordeaux châteaux with their ancient vintages. Anyway, this was most enjoyable.
SGP:551 - 85 points (but please, do not take this score too seriously). |
Let’s move on to more recent things… |
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Banqero ‘Copper’ (40%, OB, Switzerland, +/-2023) 
Yes indeed, ladies and gentlemen, Swiss rum has landed on WF for the very first time. Well, we’re not entirely certain it’s genuinely Swiss—one website claims it’s actually of Cuban origin and the result of a ‘quadruple distillation in a column still’, which is rather amusing unless we’re talking about tiny pot stills linked to some sort of tray system, though I rather doubt it. Colour: golden straw. Nose: a touch odd, somewhere between genepy, vanilla yoghurt, and a faintly dusty cupboard, but it’s all rather entertaining. Mouth: not too sure what to make of this, with light molasses, green pepper, pear eau-de-vie, and caramel showing up here and there… there’s clearly a sugariness lurking beneath the whole affair. Finish: short and earthier, this time bringing in notes of curry and plum spirit. Comments: amusing and honest, hoppla.
SGP:730 - 60 points. |
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Rivière du Mât ‘Grande Réserve’ (40%, OB, La Réunion, +/-2024) 
We’d already tried this one many years ago and it was rather good. This is a traditional rum, so molasses-based rather than pure cane juice. Colour: gold. Nose: lovely freshness, almost maritime in nature, with liquorice and anise making an appearance, as well as a floral touch (honeysuckle), and above all, gallons of freshly squeezed oranges with a drizzle of multifloral honey. From La Réunion, of course. Their pink peppercorn honey is splendid, by the way. Mouth: still sweet, with spices that clearly evoke the region, almost like a very, very mild rougail. This then veers towards something drier, with a touch of chocolate and chilli, a splendid combination. Finish: alas, it’s rather short—I fear the 40% really doesn’t do it justice, which is a pity. Comments: very pleasant juice, but their slightly stronger versions, such as the XO, have far more oomph.
SGP:640 - 78 points. |
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Mhoba ‘Bourbon Cask’ (48%, OB, Navigate World Whisky, South Africa, 300 bottles, +/-2024)
Let’s keep this brief as we all know Mhoba is excellent. Colour: gold. Nose: no surprises here, it’s very good indeed, brimming with those hallmark wafts of waxed cardboard, fresh tar, seawater, then hints of acetone and varnish. A touch of caraway adds a lovely idiosyncratic twist. Mouth: the most Jamaican of African rums, and quite possibly the finest. A perfect harmony of liquorice and tar, mingling with citrus and wee petroly and basaltic touches. It then shifts towards saltiness, which is simply delightful. Finish: long, with both black and green olives making a proud appearance. Comments: best enjoyed while listening to Abdullah Ibrahim. We adore this rum—and the great Abdullah Ibrahim aka Dollar Brand every bit as much.
SGP:452 - 89 points. |
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Fiji 23 yo 2001/2024 (51%, Planteray for LMDW Foundations, Prestige Cellar, 258 bottles)
A juice from Rum & Co. of Fiji (aka South Pacific Distillery), finished for four years in Ferrand cognac casks. One hopes the influence was minimal, naturally. Colour: amber. Nose: picture mango juice, peach liqueur, seawater, a drop of rose liqueur, and a splash of furniture polish all shaken together—and somehow, it doesn’t clash at all. With water: oh, it shuts down. That’s rare, and we are indeed using our official Vittel water (Nestlé, where’s that cheque?) Mouth (neat): this is charming, the cognac remains discreet and lets exotic fruits preserved in liquorice, olive oil, and Nordic fir tar liqueur take centre stage. With water: much the same, just a touch brinier. A lovely drop, and a cognac cask that knew how to behave. Finish: long, saltier, and more on petrol. Comments: really very good, and it seems just a little oilier than your average South Pacific.
SGP:553 - 87 points. |
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A Panama Distillery 2004/2017 (61.6%, L’Esprit, cask #BB 71, 256 bottles)
About time we gave this baby a go, we’re always on the hunt for great Panamanians. And we do so love when bottlers inform us, at 61.6% vol., that it’s cask strength. Don’t we just. Colour: gold. Nose: textbook stuff, corn syrup, a bag of sweets, hay, fresh grass, and cane syrup. With water: lovely natural vanilla and a selection of herbal teas, including the obligatory chamomile. Mouth (neat): the sweetie aspect is even more pronounced on the palate. Honey lozenges and maple syrup galore. Plus a fair bit of ethanol, let’s be honest. With water: soft, sugary, syrupy, with banana and pear liqueurs front and centre. Finish: much the same. A little pepper creeps in. Comments: not exactly my preferred style, far from it, but within this somewhat ‘hollow’ profile, I’d say it’s top-tier.
SGP:640 – 82 points. |
Well now, let’s return to the Fiji Islands… |
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South Pacific Distillery 21 yo 2001/2023 (47.3%, The Colours of Rum, Fiji, cask #17, 222 bottles)
No reduction here, so one might presume either the ageing took place beyond the Arctic Circle—which we rather doubt—or the cask was a touch, let’s say, porous. Often the source of great surprises, as we've seen with many a sublimely aged Scottish malt. Colour: gold. Nose: well now, olive oil with a touch of acetone and almond milk. In the background, a curious mix of ink, saltpetre, soot, and guava juice. And I’m afraid to say it all comes together rather perfectly. Mouth: a little less precise on the palate, a touch rougher (like a Fijian rugby prop), yet naturally still excellent. The wood feels more present than usual, which might be down to the (relatively) low strength. Finish: long, salty, austere, fairly dry. Comments: not the easiest of drams… but still top class, much like Fiji’s national rugby team.
SGP:463 - 87 points. |
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Clarendon 17 yo 2004/2022 (57.1%, Precious Liquors, Jamaica, cask #433877)
Colour: amber. Nose: at first sniff, this is a soft and fruity Monymusk/Clarendon, low-ester, leaning towards hazelnut oil and hay. There’s something rather enigmatic about it. A pronounced note of mint as well. With water: resinous woods begin to push forward, particularly thuja, evoking the scent of a Moroccan tourist souk—Marrakech, Agadir… Mouth (neat): more assertive on the palate, but the cask was fairly aggressive, with plenty of fir resin, green pepper, and frankly, a lot of green tannins. With water: we’ve managed to tame it somewhat, guiding it towards citrus peel and budding shoots. But what a wild beast it is. Finish: long, green, astringent. Comments: goodness, what a battle. We like it a great deal, but this is truly a Clarendon for those who enjoy a proper scrap.
SGP:272 - 85 points. |
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Enmore 1991/2024 ‘KFM Versailles’ (48.3%, The Colours of Rum for LMDW Foundations, Guyana)
Beautiful label, very MoMA, and we’ve no doubt the substance will match the style. As for the acronym KFM, I’m afraid we’ve forgotten what it stands for. Colour: mahogany. Nose: we’re stepping into a fifth dimension here, with rosewood and amourette, almond milk, toasted pine nuts, nectarines, Dior beauty creams (whatever, forget), prickly pear liqueur… all of this is sublimely beautiful and antique, as if one had wandered into old Florence. A massive surprise for me, I had never tasted this incredible baby before. Mouth: stop everything, this is Coltrane. To think America gave us both John Coltrane and Donald Trump. The oak is very pronounced, but it’s a most sublime sort of woodiness, veering into the realm of the noblest conifers. Douglas fir, perhaps? Finish: long and intensely fir-driven. Comments: totally unbalanced and deeply spiritual at the same time. Let’s be honest, this is pretty much liquid wood, but the aesthetic is faultless.
SGP:272 - 90 points. |
Let’s see if we can find another top-notch rum that’s not so heavily wooded… |
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Clarendon 15 yo 2007/2022 ‘Early Landed’ (57.1%, Rum Sponge, Jamaica, refill barrel, 262 bottles)
Once again we’re very late to the party. I confess, we’ve far more rum than we can possibly taste at our usual pace. Colour: full gold. Nose: well blast, this is spot on—diesel, seawater, apricot and mango all playing together beautifully. With water: in come the Ikea plywood and brand-new Adidas trainers. Mouth (neat): razor sharp—olives, capers, tar and pink grapefruit, with just two drops of orange blossom water. With water: the salt and varnish charge in and take over your palate. But caution—add too much water and it all falls apart. Three drops, no more. Finish: at +/-45%, it’s pure, fresh, saline, maritime, and ready for oysters or caviar. No need to chill it, unlike those vodkas. Comments: magnificent Clarendon—I’d guess an ‘MLC’ marque, but I’m no expert.
SGP:563 - 90 points. |
The last one — well, we had to finish somewhere… |
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TDL 22 yo 2002/2025 (56.1%, The Whisky Jury, The Many Faces of Rum, Trinidad, refill barrel, cask #16, 229 bottles)
As our friends at the Jury remind us on the label, it’s not just Trinidad—it’s Trinidad and Tobago. Colour: deep gold. Nose: good heavens, mirabelles, mangoes, and apricots, drenched in gentle varnish and the softest, fruitiest pink olive oil. One simply bows before such beauty and purity. With water: sandalwood and cedar rise above all the rest we’ve just mentioned. Mouth (neat): this should almost be outlawed. Citrus juice and concentrate. Let’s press on… With water: who slipped in the toasted sesame oil? Truth be told, water’s entirely unnecessary; don’t bother, this one’s terribly hard to dilute properly. Best is to spritz the faintest droplets using an atomiser. I mean it. Finish: very salty, citric, petroly, superb. Liquorice reigns in the aftertaste. It has grown more and more extreme, frankly. Comments: if memory serves, there was once another distillery doing rather fine things in Trinidad (and Tobago!) Cirano? Carino? (hey, José Feliciano) … Ah yes, right, Caroni.
SGP:573 - 90 points. |
(One thousand mercis to The Colours of Rum) |
Check the index of all rums we've tasted so far |
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July 26, 2025 |
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Angus's Corner
From our correspondent and
skilled taster Angus MacRaild in Scotland
Six Dornoch single casks
There’s more and more of these Dornoch single casks out there these days, which is great as many are very good and it’s very satisfying to see independent, quality-focused businesses like this succeed. Especially as they add much needed colour (and character) to Scotch Whisky’s all too often monochrome marketplace. Let’s catch up and try six of them from last year. |
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Dornoch 6 yo 2018/2024 (50.2%, OB, cask #67, 1st fill bourbon octave, 77 bottles) 
Colour: gold. Nose: syrupy green and exotic fruits with a nibble of wood spice behind. Green pepper, sandalwood, pulped pineapple and mango juice. This one feels like a very careful balance between the fruitiness of the distillate and the obvious power of that tiny cask. With water: a pina colada, really dominated by coconut water, fruit pulp and hints of hot climate rums. Mouth: a nicely concentrated feel upon arrival, with tropical fruit juices and teas leading the charge. Although, you do get a bit more assertion from the wood here, with more green pepper, wood spice, cedar and sandalwood notes. More impressions of pineapple juice and some greener hints of crushed nettle. Makes me think a little of some very good Inchmurrin. With water: more peppery heat and power from the wood, but the general fruity structure still holds true. Finish: medium, on white pepper, fruit salad chewy sweets and sunflower oil. Comments: I would say balance has just about been struck. On one had it shows the superbly concentrative power of these wee bourbon casks, but on the other, they have a short lifespan.
SGP: 651 – 86 points. |
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Dornoch 6 yo 2017/2024 (55.2%, OB, cask #22, 1st fill bourbon octave, 69 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: leaner, greener and grassier. More on cooking oils, crushed green herbs, grasses, nettles, lime leaf, lemongrass and hints of ginger – would make a good Dark N Stormy cocktail! With water: peaches and cream with some pink marshmallow, gorse flower, sandalwood and rapeseed oil. Mouth: this one also has quite a bit of American oak coconutty vibes up front, also some hints of new leather shoes, condensed milk, mineral oils, tinned peaches and fruit salad juices. Again, pretty spicy and peppery. With water: some sort of spiced limoncello, with tiny hints of fruity red chili, more cedar wood notes, lanolin, cooking oils and lemon oil. Finish: rather long, with some more exotic notes coming through, along with cannabis resin and pineapple jellybeans. Comments: they are a lot of fun these young Dornoch single casks, you just have to be in the mood to get your chops around a bit of wood spice.
SGP: 651 – 87 points. |
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Dornoch 6 yo 2018/2024 (55.8%, OB, cask #82, bourbon octave, 80 bottles) 
Colour: deep gold. Nose: banana chips, herbal teas with honey, fruity muesli, crushed nettles, mango chunks, more cannabis resin and a nicely aromatic waxiness emerging. With water: lemon verbena, hot house flowers, vapour rub and tea tree oil. Mouth: another very syrupy and spicy one, but I find here that the fruitiness keeps pace a bit more, it’s also got an even more pronounced grassy and olive oil vibe. Crushed nettles, cider apple, mint, jasmine flower and spicy, exotic fruit teas. With water: juicy fruit chewing gum, lemon curd, fruit salad juices and cooking oils. Finish: long, quite fruity, even a bit estery with some green banana in the aftertaste. Comments: I enjoy the distillate character that seems to dominate a little more assertively here. Was it a refill octave?
SGP: 641 – 88 points. |
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Dornoch 6 yo 2018/2024 (56.3%, OB, cask #94, 1st fill bourbon octave, 93 bottles) 
Colour: gold. Nose: resinous fir woods, menthol characteristics, rolling tobacco, even toothpaste. This one is off to a slightly more unlikely start. There’s also some foam banana sweets and even a bit of banoffee pie. With water: caraway, coconut shavings, ground ginger, nutmeg and baked plantain. Mouth: coconut cream, retsina, green peppercorns, banana liqueur, some rather strong mead and sweet cider. It’s a bit dominated by the wood for me, I’m afraid. With water: café latte, stout ale, pumpernickel bread and flambeed banana. Finish: quite long and very spicy. You definitely feel the wood closing in. Comments: a good example of what happens when these wee casks cook the whisky a tad too intensely.
SGP: 561 – 84 points. |
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Dornoch 7 yo 2017/2024 (56%, OB, cask #38, 1st fill bourbon octave, 74 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: another tenser and sharper one, immediately quite refreshing after the previous one in that it’s much more about cut grass, olive oil, lemon rind, bay leaf, crushed nettles, gooseberry and lime. Also an elegant and fresh herbaceous quality emerges with a little time. With water: lemongrass, wool, peppery watercress, juniper and hint of pineapple. A much more unusual profile than the others, but I like this more distillate-driven and sharp profile. Mouth: rather citric, sharp and even with quite a bit of acidity. Again, very tense and precise in profile, perhaps even slightly austere. A little chalky, some lemon juice, wool, dry waxy notes, mineral oils and, with time, some underlying green and yellow fruits emerge. With water: grassy, oily, drying, waxy and mineral. A more classical old school profile finally emerges and brings a greater sense of coherence. Finish: long, mineral, even slightly salty, with olive oil, grass, petrol and wax. Comments: complex, grown-up whisky for distillate geeks! Obviously, that includes me.
SGP: 461 – 88 points. |
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Dornoch 5 yo 2019/2024 (60.7%, OB for The WhiskyFind 10th Anniversary, cask #160, ex-Islay quarter cask, 164 bottles)
Presumably an ex-Laphroaig quarter. Colour: deep orangey gold. Nose: It’s a good job we saved this one till last, the peat comes through loud and clear, but with some Dornoch fruit character at play as well. Sandalwood shaving foam, tangerines, charred pineapple rings, slightly sooty and waxy notes, bonfire embers and unlit cigars. With water: aromatic wood smoke, anchovies in brine, miso paste, smoked olive oil, a bit more complex and settled now I would say. Mouth: really quite peaty, big wood spice notes, hot BBQ sauce, TCP and black olive tapenade. Also, a lot of tar, old rope, hessian and malt vinegar. With water: still a massive dram, very salty, umami and with a dense, thick, slightly ashy smokiness. Finish: long, tarry, dry and full of raw peat and bonfire smoke. Comments: Dorphroaig? The peat has really dominated here and produced an immensely potent, slightly monolithic wee dram. One of those clever and very fun whiskies that would lead you endlessly in circles if tasted blind.
SGP: 466 – 86 points. |
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July 25, 2025 |
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Indie Allt-A-Bhainne in a duo |
We really enjoy these little low-key sessions, and this time we'll steer well clear of any debates or controversies about the various spellings of this very modern distillery's name. Well, it was modern when it was built by Seagram back in the 1970s. |
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Allt-A-Bhainne 7 yo 2016/2024 (61.7%, DH Global Spirits, 1st fill oloroso octave, cask #1031738C, 57 bottles)
A small outturn, very young, but that means nothing. I mean it could be very good… Colour: red macassar (if such a hue truly exists). Nose: straight onto prunes in Armagnac and orange liqueur, then chocolate leaning towards artisanal Nutella (if such a thing exists). We’re then onto millionaire’s shortbread and a cashew tart doused in maple syrup. You see where this is going. With water: pecans and roasted peanuts, slathered in chestnut honey. Mouth (neat): red fruits cooked in honey and Spanish mandarin liqueur, all on a bed of chocolate sauce. With water: we’re back with all manner of roasted oily nuts glazed in honey and caramel, the whole lot splashed with triple sec. Finish: long, more chocolatey. Comments: you could say this little Allt-A-Bhainne is doggedly ploughing its own furrow! We do enjoy this style of young little beast, very well put together…
SGP:641 - 85 points. |
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Allt-A-Bhainne 27 yo 1995/2024 (52.6%, Milroy’s, Vintage Reserve, 1st Fill Bourbon Barrel)
It’s not every day one gets to taste a fairly old Allt-A-Bhainne, and let us hope, at least, that it’s close to the distillate. Colour: gold. Nose: this is very much ‘natural Speyside’, imagine baked apples and pears gently placed atop a bed of custard. Fair enough, you may add a bit of meringue if you like. With water: banana foam of the highest pedigree and marshmallow, with even a faint whiff of 1970s Jell-O – I swear I’m not making this up. Mouth (neat): this is lovely, quite ‘high definition’, curiously but charmingly mentholated, then we’re off with lemon balm and a whole medley of wee citrus fruits, starting with bergamot. We a.d.o.r.e. bergamot at WF. With water: more fresh malt now and a very citrus-forward hop character. In short, it’s like a top-notch, high-ABV IPA. Has someone distilled and aged an IPA already, or am I dreaming? Perhaps our Californian friends? Finish: long and brimming with freshness, which might be slightly dangerous, all things considered. Comments: these two Allt-A-Bhainnes were quite different, yet they both had this shared fruity vibrancy. Honestly, I swear, we really must go and have a word about A-A-B’s house style with the blenders at Pernod Ricard.
SGP:641 - 88 points. |
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July 24, 2025 |
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A variety of very different Bowmores on the table, till '69
Bowmore firmly holds a spot in our top five in terms of the number of different expressions we've tasted, and today we're going to mix things up a bit. For instance, we mentioned the partnership between Aston Martin and Glenfiddich the other day, so it’s now time to sample a Bowmore that also happens to be the result of a collaboration with this iconic car brand. We'll just avoid bringing up any issues with electronics, clutches, overheating, or sluggish gearboxes. Right... |
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Bowmore 21 yo ‘Aston Martin’ (51.4%, OB, Master’s Selection Edition 4, 2024)
The 22-year-old from 2022 had been decent (WF 83). The trouble with this recent 21 is that it was hurled into some Tawny Port, which doesn’t exactly scream ‘Aston Martin’ if you ask me. But let’s set aside all prejudice and press on… Colour: bronze gold. Nose: hmm, stock cube, mead, spent fireworks, boot polish, leather, stewed red fruit, buds, and dried raisins… With water: the more ‘Bowmorian’ traits emerge—sea water, peat, oysters, liquorice… In short, it’s better with water. Mouth (neat): in the vein of those early wine-finished Bowmores, starting with the inexpressible ‘Claret’. It clashes in a Miles Davis circa 1970 kind of way—the resemblance ends there, alas for this Bowmore. Smoked prunes, scorched orchard leaves, and lashings of umeshu as served in a sushi joint. With water: again, slightly improved, though there’s lavender and violet poking through. Oops, just like the old days. Finish: medium in length, on smoked red fruit jam with a slightly soapy edge. Comments: one really wonders whether it wasn’t the Aston Martin mechanics who cobbled this together, a serviceable dram, but entirely far-fetched. Not for us, really, they ought to try Toyota next time…
SGP:664 - 78 points. |
Quick, let’s try to pull ourselves together—with a barrel… After all, when it comes to casks, according to our theory, less is more, isn’t it? |
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Bowmore 26 yo 1997/2023 (51.1%, The Whisky Agency, 15th anniversary, The Perfect Dram, barrel, 124 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: lovely age, splendid vintage, pristine purity, gorgeous exotic fruits, and a magnificent coastal profile—it couldn’t have turned out any better, especially after the 21 AM. With water: about three litres of Loch Indaal water, lemons, clams, pinewood smoke, and a splash of Sauvignon Blanc… Mouth (neat): on those creamy citrus notes Bowmore does so well, both fresh and oily, with a lemony, salty peat of the highest order. And let us not forget the oysters. With water: same again, it’s utterly delightful. Finish: likewise, only even saltier, as is often the case towards the end. Comments: even before our nose hovered over the tulip glass, we knew this was going to be a 90. There must be some kind of energy at play…
SGP:565 - 90 points. |
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Bowmore 2002/2025 (58.2%, Malts of Scotland, Rare Casks, for The Whisky Dreamers, bourbon hogshead, cask #MoS25014, 146 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: we’re back in the more tropical, fruitier, and downright seductive vintages, yet the whole remains very pure and taut—in short, it’s lovely, almost effortlessly so, and in the best possible sense. But do watch those watts (ha, up to 59.9% we tell ourselves it’s manageable, past 60.0% and it’s playing with fire). With water: the mango bursts wide open. Mouth (neat): this one meets the 1997s in sheer clarity and precision, very ‘clear line’ style, though with added iodine and a feeling of petrichor. With water: Bowmore in high definition—mango, lemon, sea water, beechwood-smoked salmon, and do pass the Riesling, please. Finish: no real shift, which is a good thing, though once again, it gets a tad saltier. Comments: we went in hunting for flaws and came back empty-handed. So, according to our patented system stretching as far as Kamchatka and beyond, this will be, once more…
SGP:655 - 90 points. |
How about revisiting some past glories? No heatwave in Alsace these days, so let’s make the most of it, we’ve got a clear run ahead… |
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Bowmore 30 yo 1990/2020 (53.7%, Kingsbury for Club Qing, hogshead, cask #3971)
Angus has already tasted it. And of course, he liked it a lot, but let’s not allow ourselves to be swayed, eh… Colour: pale gold. Nose: there’s a whiff of paraffin oil, or a parcel from Temu to start with, though in this context, that’s not necessarily a bad omen, as gradually fresh fruits begin to sneak in, especially wee citrus ones, then metal polish, varnish, glues, and more and more oyster juice, petrol, rhubarb, green tomatoes… In fact, the complexity only grows from there. With water: still a little chaotic, as if the cask had sprung a leak or been on a few escapades. Wool, chalk, sourdough, and the like. Mouth (neat): salty pear eau-de-vie, in an old Bowmore? Water ought to straighten out all those molecules… With water: ah yes, there we are, it all falls into place, a 90% manzanilla blend with 5% seawater, 5% lemon juice, and 5% pear juice. I do hope those figures add up… perhaps not. Finish: long, very slightly acetic, always very salty, maritime, and still a tad unruly. Comments: quite a different old Bowmore, perhaps with some discreet remnants of the 1980s, and something of a fascinating puzzle piece. But do set aside some time if you're going to tackle it…
SGP:565 - 89 points. |
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Largiemeanoch 20 yo 1974 (50.6%, The Whisky Connoisseur, Arthur J.A. Bell, cask #2087, +/-1995)
No need, surely, to remind anyone that these Bowmore/Largiemeanoch bottlings belong in the pantheon of malt whisky, ever since that head-turning 12-year-old 1967. So, let’s remain humble… Colour: white wine. Nose: the early Largiemeanoch were loaded with intergalactic sherry, but here we’re faced with something of unfathomable purity—passion fruit, peanut butter (pure, naturally), and gently salted pink grapefruit. Dazzling. With water: that old tweed jacket, the one that’s seen countless downpours and tempests, and yes, even a wet dog. A very small dog, a Yorkshire. Mouth (neat): please summon the Anti-Maltoporn Brigade sofort! Never before had we imagined smoked and salted bergamot jelly. With water: the austerity returns, citrus peels and high-grade Italian bitters. Forget anything too crimson in colour… Finish: long, with the emergence of meaty and fishy notes that only serve to amplify the overall complexity. There's even a drop of nuoc-mam and a hint of bitter almond right at the death. Comments: none, except that we no longer recall what became of The Whisky Connoisseur. Must dig into that one day. Reminder, the Largiemeanoch 1967/1979, credited to Howgate Wine Co., was WF 97. Not that it matters in the slightest, of course.
SGP:666 - 93 points. |
We continue, going back through the years, with one final dram… |
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Bowmore 36 yo 1969/2006 (44.0%, Duncan Taylor, Peerless, cask #6090, 233 bottles)
There were many sublime Bowmores from the 1960s in the stocks of Abe Rosenberg/Duncan Taylor, and here’s an example, likely a proper fruit bomb. Colour: white wine. Nose: a genuine fruit bomb. One still wonders why Bowmore (and Laphroaig too) threw away the recipe! It’s really just an astonishing fruit salad from every continent, with mango, passion fruit and those dainty pink bananas taking the lead, before—slightly fashionably late, we must say—mineral and ashy touches stroll in ‘for the glory’, as it were. There’s also fresh mint, lavender honey, a touch of candle wax, and a whisper of new fabric. That’ll do, we’ve not got all day, but just to note, the minerality builds in stature, though it never dares unseat the fruit salad, which sits proudly on the throne… Mouth: this is getting embarrassing. We’re moving into citrus overload territory, layered with all sorts of ashes and those wonderfully salty Bowmore notes said—after a few drams—to come from the barrels having been rolled through Loch Indaal to reach the puffers when they couldn’t dock at the pier. Aye well, take that as you will. Finish: long, even saltier, with a touch of ultra-premium margarita, grapefruit and salt in the dying embers. Comments: must dig out those old Malt Maniacs articles that, if memory serves, spoke of peat ‘transmuting’ into tropical fruit with age. This is right up there with the stellar Largiemeanoch. Worth mentioning though, some of the sister casks were less robust, less spectacular, possibly down to natural ABVs nudging closer to 40%.
SGP:754 - 93 points. |
Now that was what you’d call a proper tasting session at WF. |
(Thank you, KC and Steffen) |
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July 23, 2025 |
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It had been a while since we last tasted Glenfiddich! Hard to believe that when I first sampled single malts – in an “American-style” bar in Burgundy – the only ones available were Cardhu (with the white label) and Glenfiddich; the rest were still virtually unknown! But I know, that was ages ago... Anyway, today we’re going to taste a recent version of the famous 12-year-old, followed by a more prestigious release that did come out last year. Sound good? By the way, no Wardhead (teaspooned Glenfiddich) in the stash at the moment, are they still circulating? Oh and Glenfiddich are apparently sponsoring Aston Martin in F1 these days, they have even just launched a celebratory co-branded 65 yo 1959 into Harrods, 79,000.00 £GB (I mean a bottle of whisky, not a car). After Bowmore, it would seem Aston Martin have taken quite a liking to a broad selection of whisky brands lately… |
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Glenfiddich 12 yo ‘Our Original Twelve’ (40%, OB, +/-2025)
We last sampled this humble 12 back in 2018, and it wasn’t bad at all (WF 83). Colour: gold. Nose: maltier and greener than expected, with sharp wee green apples all over the place—utterly unmistakable. Then come the expected pears, melon rind, buttery croissants (mais bien sûr), and a touch of freshly cut grass. Hints of young oak and a whisper of liquorice wood flicker in the background. All very pleasant, really, with a rather charming Proustian quality about it. Mouth: yes, fresh again, with a delightful wee acidity, rather fine light oak, and once more those just-under-ripe apples and pears. These add a welcome brightness, lifting the whole and keeping any sluggishness well at bay. A dainty shard of shortbread too. Finish: not exactly the longest of finishes, but in this case the modest 40% vol. isn’t too much of a handicap. A few zesty notes help bridge the gap left by the missing watts. Some clean peppermint in the aftertaste. Comments: I see no reason to downgrade this fresh and chirpy little malt—utterly easy-going and faultless in its own right. Still very pleased with it, even… decades on from my first ‘fiddich!
SGP:551 - 83 points. |
Just as an anecdote, on my first trip to Scotland, I was also served Glenfiddich, but at the time it was almost mandatory to drown it in ginger tonic or other questionable fizzy drinks. Anyway... |
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Glenfiddich 31 yo ‘Grand Château’ (47.6, OB, 2024)
Roughly 2,000 bottles, according to an AI—I know, I know. Oddly enough, this elderly wee creature was finished in Bordeaux rouge casks for no fewer than 9 years, so technically we’re looking at proper double-maturation. At nearly 2,000 Euros a bo', one sincerely hopes said Bordeaux—labelled ‘rare’ by the brand—was from a 1st Grand Cru Classé. Colour: somewhere between salmon and apricot. Nose: the wine’s influence makes itself known straight away, with vineyard peaches, upmarket sangria (but of course), blackcurrant jelly and blackberry jam, all neatly draped over a tray of pastries, scones, blueberry muffins and the like. Gentle touches of liquorice and mint lend a civilised air to the whole. It’s very much a winesky, but one of the haute-couture kind on the nose, no doubt. But when, oh when, will the invasion of red fruits in malt whisky finally come to an end? Mouth: here we drift a little closer to the malt again, with blood oranges, a touch of gunpowder (presumably from a bit of S******, quite unobtrusive), reminiscent of many an ex-sherry. Then come cherry pie with honey, pepper, cinnamon, and something frankly akin to mulled wine, with brown sugar, star anise, cloves, and more cinnamon. Finish: rounded and pâtissier, with a surprising rum-raisin and old ratafia character in the afterglow. Comments: there’s clearly a broad blended aspect here, or even something mildly trans in character, but one cannot deny it’s very well put together, and of course a bit of open-mindedness goes a long way. Now then, which Grand Château was it really?
SGP:651 - 86 points. |
The question, naturally, remains: is a bottle of Grand Château really worth forty-five bottles of the 12-year-old? I’ll let you decide... Oh and after thorough research, it turns out that the name of the Bordeaux château used to finish the Glenfiddich 31-year-old "Grand Château" has not been publicly disclosed, neither by the brand, nor by the château. |
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July 22, 2025 |
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Deanston, we have a problem…
Indeed, yet another serious contender for the SHOTY Award in San Francisco (Stupidest Headline Of The Year). In any case, the issue is that we don’t have enough Deanston, even though improbable versions have been multiplying over the past few years, but still, it’s a name that’s practically come back from the dead within those years. We like Deanston, let’s see what we’ve got…
(AI slop) |
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Deanston 17 yo 2002/2020 ‘Organic PX Finish’ (49.3%, OB, 3,102 bottles)
A finishing in organic PX, do admit that’s rather amusing. You might say we’ve taken five years to finally crack open this baby. Colour: gold. Nose: it’s not earth-shattering, but it’s well-balanced, on cake, walnuts, sultanas and amber ale. Some toasted hazelnuts and dried goji berries. Nothing further to declare. Mouth: a notch greener, a little wobblier, with a bitterness one wouldn’t quite expect from an ex-PX—perhaps that’s the organic angle at work (only teasing, mind). A faint note of bell pepper and green walnut sneaks in unannounced. Finish: long, leaning towards a dry bitterness, Noilly Prat, Fernet Branca, bitter chocolate, and a touch of rubber… The aftertaste is slightly astringent. Comments: we didn’t start with the easiest dram, that much is clear, but it does have its merits. For instance, the organic character of the wine, though aren’t all the great wines organic nowadays?
SGP:461 - 80 points. |
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Deanston 15 yo ‘Tequila Cask Finish’ (52.5%, OB, 2023)
I know, yet another tequila finish, but I implore you, let us not be afraid! Mind you, the finishing did indeed take place in casks sourced from the highlands of Jalisco, which had previously held 100% blue agave tequila made from plants aged 7 to 8 years. Said casks had already been used four to five times prior. Right, we know the lot now, don’t we? Colour: white wine. Nose: not much in the way of tequilaness or agaveness at this point, rather a malty malt, leaning towards bruised apples and candlewax. With water: hints of paraffin and a subtle note of olive oil. We rather like that. Mouth (neat): odder, fairly rubbery, with lime peel and a distinctly offbeat edge. The addition of water should do it a world of good. With water: indeed, much improved, becoming saltier, the olive oil makes a comeback, a faint smokiness emerges (think pine wood smoke), and the tequila finally begins to show itself. Finish: medium in length and a tad more earthy. Green walnuts. Comments: we’re not exactly doing cartwheels, but it’s not bad at all. I nearly added a ‘caramba!’ (it’s getting worse, S.)
SGP:551 - 81 points. |
Let’s move on to the indies, if you don’t mind… |
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Deanston 17 yo 2008/2025 (50.3%, The Whisky Agency, ruby Port barrel, 164 bottles)
Hurrah, The Whisky Agency! But oops, ruby Port? What happened there? Let's have a look… Colour: reddish amber. Nose: frankly, I’ve no idea where this is coming from, but there’s a tomato sauce aspect (a serious case of synaesthesia?) mixed with shoe polish and a hint of peat that… well, actually works. Do you believe in miracles? These little blackberries and that salted butter caramel go together rather splendidly, it reminds me of one of the finest puddings ever served by the late André Parra at the Ermitage de Corton in Chorey-les-Beaune, though I really don’t know why I’m telling you that. With water: more polish and cherry eau-de-vie. Mouth (neat): this is proper supercharged Port, seriously. Blackberries and candied cherries, both preserved and jammy, along with stewed bell pepper and a fair amount of blackcurrant bud. With water: the blackcurrant bud takes centre stage. Finish: similar story. Bitter oranges and blood oranges in the aftertaste. Cherry clafoutis right at the very end. Comments: utterly improbable, yet it works. I was bracing for disaster, but it is The Whisky Agency after all!
SGP:561 - 83 points. |
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Deanston 2008/2023 (60.2%, Douglas Laing, Old Particular, the Midnight Series, refill butt, cask #DL1854, 662 bottles)
Why Midnight Series, I’m not entirely sure. Perhaps slightly darker casks than usual? Colour: gold. Nose: there’s a little rubber here, possibly from the sherry cask, but mostly it’s all about chocolate and Ethiopian mocha. That said, at this strength one had better add water without delay. With water: this leans a bit towards old plum brandy, even a touch of rustic Armagnac. Mouth (neat): very much young eau-de-vie, tutti-frutti straight from the still, or indeed plums, especially after a second run through. In short, it’s a tad ‘hot’… With water: not much development, really, we remain in plum and cherry jam territory. May I recommend the one from Itxassou in the Basque Country? Finish: good length, still plummy and, above all, that rubbery note we already encountered earlier in this session. Comments: in short, I think this is pretty good, but perhaps not quite essential.
SGP:551 - 81 points. |
Promise, next time we’ll have some ex-bourbon or ex-refill hoggie Deanston. In the meantime, see you soon, stay tuned. |
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July 21, 2025 |
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A little trio from Dufftown |
We’re talking about the Dufftown distillery here, not the small town of Dufftown itself, which, as you know and as far as I’m aware, is home to Glenfiddich (William Grant & Sons), Balvenie (William Grant & Sons), Mortlach (Diageo), Dufftown (Diageo), Glendullan (Diageo), and Kininvie (William Grant & Sons). Convalmore and Pittyvaich are no longer operational, as you’ll also be aware. |
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Singleton of Dufftown 12 yo ‘Luscious Nectar’ (40%, OB, +/-2025)
It’s curious, this recent need among distillers to tack names onto age statements, as they’ve done here with ‘Luscious Nectar’, which does sound a little like ‘slop’, doesn’t it? Colour: gold. Nose: light and pleasant, in the style of its same-aged neighbour whose name ends in ‘fiddich’. Malt, bruised apples, multifloral honey, a touch of custard. A slight sense of überblend, if you see what I mean. Mouth: fully consistent, light, malty, faintly herbal, otherwise on nicely ripe apples and a hint of Earl Grey tea. Finish: fairly short, on fruity beer. Comments: woosh, it almost slipped by without notice. Nectar, I’m not so sure. Luscious, certainly not.
SGP:441 - 76 points. |
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Singleton of Dufftown 18 yo ‘Sublimely Smooth’ (40%, OB, +/-2025)
The last time we tasted the 18 was back in 2013, and it hadn’t exactly blown us away (WF 79). Let’s see if there’s been any progress, even though the word ‘smooth’ tends to send half the malt aficionados running for the hills. But not ‘the neighbours’... Colour: gold. Nose: still rather gentle, though seemingly a notch fuller than the 12, with discreet touches of beeswax, candied orange peel, and the subtlest suggestions of coriander seed and garden-fresh mint leaves. It’s an attractive nose, not exactly a bomb, but undeniably charming in its soft-spoken way. Mouth: alas, the 40% strength no longer quite does the trick, even if the profile holds together with notes of orchard apples and Valencia oranges lightly steeped in honey, along with a barely-there hint of mild Espelette pepper. One might dream of this elegant arrangement being issued at a more conversational 45% vol. Finish: shortish but by no means hollow, with lovely, warming spices and a rather endearing finale on lemon and orange marmalade toast. Comments: appears to have fared better than last time, though after twelve years, such judgments inevitably carry a dash of speculative romance.
SGP:451 - 80 points. |
Come on, let’s call on the good old days… |
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Dufftown-Glenlivet ‘Over 8 Years Old’ (80° proof, OB, Arthur Bell for Sposetti Genoa, cork stopper, 1960s)
Attention, there have been sublimely stellar versions of this 8-year-old, such as the one for Ghirlanda in Italy around 1968 (WF 92). 80° UK proof equates roughly to 46% vol., as you know. Colour: gold, very slightly bronzed. Nose: and here we are, metal polish, bone marrow quenelle soup, braised chicory, top-flight mead, antique orange liqueur and the faintest, most discreet trace of cork, almost imaginary. Mouth: a hint of peat smoke, old raisins in a tin box that clearly predate the moon landing (they do last forever), ancient herbal liqueurs, and without doubt a touch of tiredness that veers into pine resin territory more than it ought to. Finish: long, though slightly bitter, remaining on fir bud liqueur and resinous notes throughout. The aftertaste leans towards salted honey. Comments: it’s always a bit of Russian roulette with these old bottles, and timeworn corks rarely do favours, but there’s still a clear glimmer here, after sixty years or more, of the intergalactic calibre this juice once possessed, even if it’s now re-entered Earth’s atmosphere. Right.
SGP:571 - 85 points. |
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July 20, 2025 |
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A few more rums, some extreme
First, the usual apéritif, and probably quite a bit of sugar...
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Dictador 16 yo (40%, OB, Colombia, +/-2024) 
Fruit of the inexpressible ‘solera system’. They told me this 16 wasn’t too bad, but let’s remain cautious… Colour: deep gold. Nose: well, this isn’t dreadful, it’s got a developed edge yet remains rather fresh, on dead leaves and bay, nori, then praline and ginger liqueur. It’s that latter element that’s a bit troubling, truth be told. Mouth: oops, this is still terribly sweet, even if it doesn’t immediately trigger rejection, even at room temperature. Still, it’s not good, the flavours are unpleasant, with burnt sugar and rubber. Finish: fairly long, and that’s precisely the issue. Very ‘burnt sugar’. Comments: unpleasant at 20°C, though I imagine it might go down more acceptably at 5°C. A rather poor wee thing, really; the ‘Capítulo I’ we tasted last time was far better, in our opinion.
SGP:720 - 39 points. |
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TDL 2006-2008/2024 ‘Harmony’ (57%, Vagabond Spirits for Takumi Spirit, ex-bourbon, Trinidad)
TDL, essentially, is the new Caroni, isn’t it? Colour: amber. Nose: it’s fruity, the texture feels of the ‘light’ kind, with orange liqueur, acacia honey, candyfloss, and a whole bag of sugary Easter eggs. With water: tar and shoe polish come out first, then wafts of fresh plywood and a decidedly Ikea-like character. Mouth (neat): there’s a rough, bagasse-like edge to it, gritty yet sweet at the same time, with rather striking acidity. Belize does spring to mind… With water: everything seems to gather around preserved lemons, olives, and honey. It’s very sweet-salty and gently bitter-sweet at once. Finish: same. Comments: not easy to pigeonhole, but I rather enjoy this gently improbable ‘self-blend’.
SGP:552 - 85 points. |
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Saint James 12 yo 2010/2023 (45%, La Maison & Velier, Magnum Series #2, Alex Webb Edition, Martinique, agricole)
This is the Magnum Series linked to the famous photo agency, though these aren’t magnums. I think this is going to be good. Colour: full gold. Nose: oh yes, cassata, strawberry muesli, white clover honey, fresh turmeric, fennel and star anise. Bright as the lens on an old Leica (eh?). Mouth: terrifyingly beautiful and distinguished, it truly resembles nothing else. Delicate hints of coconut cream, then all those spices we just mentioned, especially the aniseed. It’s rare to find this much anise, even chez Pernod Ricard (ahem), but as it happens we adore anise. In short, this is a true Martiniquan pastis. Finish: very long and now very bitter. Extreme liquorice and extreme anise. Comments: love it or loathe it – your call. There’s something properly bonkers about it.
SGP:471 - 89 points. |
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T.D.L. 8 yo 2016/2025 (67.5%, The Colours of Rum, ex-bourbon, Trinidad, cask #4, 314 bottles)
Yet another blatant assassination attempt at 67.5% – where are the authorities when you need them? Colour: gold. Nose: at this stage, we’re not far from the Vagabond, both estery (glues) and fresh and fruity (pineapple, pear, amyl diacetate and so on). With water: quite remarkable how it falls into line, becoming soft and fruity (pear liqueur), but also showing lovely and elegant touches of fresh tyres, engine oil, plus honeysuckle, iris, jasmine… All of this is rather fascinating to follow. Mouth (neat): it hits hard, all glue and pear indeed, so let’s not linger – water, quickly… With water: bang on, quite amazing how water smooths everything out, even if some notes of sticking plaster start to emerge, alongside lemons and lemon balm. Finish: long and surprisingly salty. Comments: a real treasure hunt, as one gradually tames it down from 67.5% to around 45%.
SGP:562 - 88 points. |
We're heading straight to Jamaica... |
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HD 9 yo 2015/2025 ‘DOK’ (68.9%, The Colours of Rum, Jamaica, Edition #17, cask #2, 297 bottles)
I trust you know that in rum, ‘HD’ doesn’t stand for Harley-Davidson, right? But ‘DOK’ means 1,500 to 1,700 gr esters/hlpa, which is roughly the ‘eleven’ on Nigel Tufnel’s Spinal Tap scale. Colour: deep gold. Nose: at such strength, there’s barely anything perceptible, one simply wants to save her/his nose and olfactory bulb. Let’s say there’s a bit of acetone, Formica, and balsa. With water: dried pears, jujubes, bicycle patches, an old moped, worn tyres, and a genuine heap of dried flowers, which is rather unusual. Mouth (neat): well, this isn’t really ‘enjoyable’ at this strength, it’s almost, say kind of vulgar (Everclear is near) and ‘industrial’. Let’s move on… With water: much better, though it remains a touch odd, jumbled, rounded, curious, and not all that ‘DOK’ in the end. These beasts are truly difficult to bring down to an ideal drinking strength, it seems we rather failed here, to be perfectly honest. Finish: same. Comments: I think we somewhat botched this one, frankly. Mea Culpa.
SGP:552 - 82 points. |
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Hampden 1 yo 2023/2025 ‘Oloroso’ (62.3%, The Colours of Rum for Catawiki, Jamaica, cask #135, 75 bottles)
1,300–1,400 gr esters/hlpa here, so a proper C<>H. One must say, the ultra-young HDs from this series we’ve tasted so far have been nothing short of interstellar. Colour: full gold. Nose: UHU glue, formic acid, gherkin brine, and garlicky mussels in white wine. With water: more petrichor, fresh tar and black garlic. I find it utterly brilliant, I fear. Mouth (neat): as for the oloroso, who knows, but the rest – glue and salted liquorice galore – is utterly gorgeous. One just needs to enjoy this rather, let’s say, excessive style. With water: superb saline tension, marked by whiffs of acetone and ammonia. It’s absolutely mad, really. Finish: massive salty and ‘chemical’ bitterness, which inevitably pushes the drinker into a bout of introspection, something along the lines of, do I really like this, and if so, why do I like it, am I normal, will society judge me, etc, etc, etc. Comments: pure madness, the kind you simply won’t find in malt whisky; bacterial fermentation has clearly become the flavour of the day. Just saying…
SGP:374 - 90 points. |
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HD 15 yo 2009/2025 ‘DOK’ (55.9%, The Whisky Jury, The Ester Hunter, Jamaica, refill cask, cask #3, 173 bottles)
Just to remind you, that’s 1,500 to 1,700 gr esters/hlpa. Octomore looks like a lemonade in comparison. Colour: pale gold. Nose: it’s rather immaculate yet far from simple, on seawater, citrus, oysters, tyres, clams, cigarette ash, seaweed, and peat smoke… Peat smoke? With water: you've just opened a massive jar of pickled gherkins – congratulations! Mouth (neat): massive indeed, mezcal and burnt tyres, cocoa, ashes, hyper-intense coffee… With water: a great deal of salinity, which slightly upsets the rest, though we happen to adore saline (formerly ‘mineral’, formerly ‘salty’, occasionally ‘vertical’) wines and spirits. Finish: very long but a little mad, let’s be honest. It feels a bit like you’ve just drunk the entire Mediterranean Sea, from Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun. Comments: what a beauty, this is the manzanilla of rum! But beware, if ultra-salty spirits aren’t your thing, step aside and leave the bottles for those of us who are into it. Us, for instance.
SGP:364 - 91 points. |
Check the index of all rums we've tasted so far |
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July 19, 2025 |
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Happy Birthday to Angus!
We've got two or three things to celebrate this month on WF, for instance, our 23rd anniversary on 27th July, and I believe we'll be tasting a few Broras we've never tried before. We're also celebrating Angus's birthday – today he's joining us a day early to mark his fortieth with some of his favourite distilleries, all in legendary bottlings. - S. |
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Angus's Corner
From our correspondent andskilled taster Angus MacRaild in Scotland |
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Old Laphroaig for my 40th plus suitable aperitifs
It's my 40th birthday this weekend. As such, I thought it would be as good an occasion as any to write notes for all these rather tasty old Laphroaig 10s that have accumulated here at Whiskyfun's Scotland office. It's also true that I tend to mark every major milestone in life with a large Laphroaig session on WF, so why break this enjoyable tradition now. |
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UPDATE: I also just became an Uncle for the first time last night, courtesy of my sister. The best possible 40th birthday present, so this session is really for my beautiful new niece. Like an independent bottling of a heavily protected, top level malt whisky brand, she remains, for now, unnamed. |
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Apart from Laphroaig, I am a Glen Grant lover as well, and this being my 40th, it seems like the sensible course of action to prime our palates with some old Glen Grant. Now, since we are starting out with an aperitif that would ordinarily put the brakes on just about any session, it seems only fitting that we have a strategic 'pre-aperitif aperitif'. Is there a name for that? An amuse-dram? |
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Glen Grant 1948/1960 (70 proof, Berry Brothers, bottled 1960)
A bottle I opened with recently with good friends in London, Serge already beat me to penning notes for this baby. Colour: pale amber. Nose: some kind of astonishing and miraculous old sherry cask influence that no longer exists. A whole forest of mushrooms, petrichor, damp earths, mosses, aged tobacco, cigars in an ancient and well-kept humidor, peat embers in a cast iron hearth, dried orange rinds, bergamot, cough syrup and more old furniture and library aromas than Downton Abbey (I've never watched it I'm afraid, not sure how accurate that is). Mouth: two parts ancient sauternes, one part herbal cough syrup, two parts green Chartreuse and one part black miso paste. Broths, earth, embrocations, wax, totally dried out honey, herbal teas and peaty camphor (what?). Finish: medium but dazzlingly waxy, earthy, full of dry peat smoke, dried out old herbal liqueurs, very old tobacco and more umami vibes of soy sauce, miso and Maggi! Comments: pretty much as expected. This at even 43% would have been incredible, as things stand, it'll be a mere...
SGP: 562 - 92 points. |
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Glen Grant 27 yo (100 US proof, Gordon & MacPhail, Esquin Import for USA, securo cap, c1963)
I'm not only a Glen Grant fanatic, but a total securo cap geek too, so this is very much 'birthday appropriate'... Colour: deep gold. Nose: one of those aromas that is totally laden with honeys, fir wood resin, pure honeycomb, cask aged mead, exotic hardwoods, herbal tinctures, medicinal embrocations and pure beeswax. Astonishing density - like a black hole for honey and wax! Also tiny salty edges begin to creep in, umami seasonings, broths, waxed hessian, paraffin. With water: just a couple of drops here, but the nose becomes immediately fresher and more balanced by many crystalised and dried exotic fruits, also melon and the impression of a blend of ancient Benedictine and Drambuie (need to try that sometime!). Mouth: you remember 100 proof USA = 50% ABV and we are quite some way from the usual experience of old G&M bottle + 100 proof (which usually equates to around 57% ABV. Not that it isn't immense whisky, and in fact it probably benefitted from that targeted reduction, it's alive with mechanical and workshop oils, vapour rubs, old dried out flower honeys, pure camphor, crystalised lemon slices and endless things like putty, sheep wool, dry herbal notes. The faintest suggestion of dry peat smoke, or perhaps just coal smoke, in the background. With water: more powerful now, more of a gravelly mineral character: struck flints, pebbles and chalk etc. Then hints of natural tar, wormwood, pine resin, salted honey and more mead and herbal liqueurs. Finish: long, herbal, elegantly spicy, some drying turmeric earthiness and more of these dazzlingly dense honey and wax vibes. Comments: as we often observe when tasting these very old Glen Grants: this is pure, effortless class! Perhaps one of the reasons I love Glen Grant so much, apart from its obviously pleasurable qualities, is that there are just so many amazing old bottlings of it to be unearthed, even after many years of searching for and tasting these old rarities. As a whisky it was bottled consistently by the owners but also by so many different merchants, bottlers, importers and private entities. That's easy to understand when you taste these amazing old Glen Grants, but it means there are so many to taste and they document a changing malt whisky over the best part of a century in a remarkable and endlessly entertaining way.
SGP: 662 - 93 points. |
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OK, on with the main act. I will attempt to do this in an order that, more or less, goes backwards in time. If I get it wrong, please complain directly to Serge. |
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Laphroaig 10 yo (43%, OB, litre, c1988)
Colour: gold. Nose: soft, quilty, aromatic peat smoke, sea air and abundant mangos. Really this trademark balance of dry and elegant, yet distinctive peat with medicinal embrocations and exotic fruits. I get the feeling we are going to be really pushing the boundaries of how to describe this profile during the course of this session... Mouth: superb arrival, an almost jelly-like textural exotic fruit, like tropical fruit salad juices pooling in the base of the bowl, all muddled up with some peat embers, a sloosh of seawater and some iodine drops. Stunningly juicy and moreish palate! Finish: medium, but gloriously on peated mangos, passionfruit, dried guava and coal smoke. Comments: pretty emblematic and a perfect jumping off point for this session. No wonder they sold this in litre bottles, utterly lethal!
SGP: 655 - 92 points. |
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Laphroaig 10 yo 'Single Islay Malt Scotch Whisky' (40%, OB, Rossi Import, cork, 75cl, late 1980s)
The first of a few by this importer... Colour: pale gold. Nose: very proximate to the litre, but perhaps a noticeable softness which we're assuming is due to the lower ABV. Still, we're in a comfortable world of embrocations, delicate exotic fruits, smoked teas, mineral salts and seashore aromas. Mouth: still shines very brightly at this slightly measly bottling strength. Perhaps a slightly more even balance between peat and fruit here, plus a little more lean towards citrus on the latter. Finish: longer in fact, more lemony, more on smoked teas, seawater, grapefruit and fragile peat smoke. Comments: same as for the litre, but we just lose one point for the slightly softer presentation...
SGP: 554 - 91 points. |
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Laphroaig 10 yo 'Unblended Islay Malt Scotch Whisky' (43%, OB, Japanese Import, cork, late 1980s)
Love the line on this label 'Genuine 10 Years Old'... Colour: deep gold. Nose: a significant leap up! This is really a much deeper, richer and more emphatically peaty profile, with strong waxiness, more complex coastal inclusions and even more luscious exotic fruit notes. Fir wood resins, coal smoke, engine grease and sheep wool. Amazing sense of texture. Mouth: just brilliant, immediately enveloping and powerfully peaty, with dried and ripe exotic fruits in harmony, lemon cordial, iodine drops, Umbongo and crystalised mango. Finish: immense, a big, generous and effortless swell of arid peat smoke, sea salt, tar, iodine and jellied tropical fruits. Comments: even if you are highly familiar with these old Laphroaigs, they can still come out of the shadows and mug your socks off if you're not careful. Totally astonishing old whisky of immense character, poise, power and depth that just leaves you a little speechless. This is the quality that I have sometimes referred to as whisky that goes beyond just technical accomplishment and also has 'soul' - even if that does sound like some kind of grasping, latter day marketing doublespeak.
SGP: 655 - 94 points. |
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Laphroaig 10 yo 'Unblended Islay Malt Scotch Whisky' (40%, OB, UK market, screw cap, c1985)
We have always assumed that the wee codes in the lower corners of the labels on these old 10 and 15yo bottlings, denoted the year of bottling. In this case it's 85264. Not sure anyone has ever been able to confirm for certain if that's the case though. The first two numbers do generally seem to correspond with the evolution in design and packaging (screw caps to corks etc) throughout the course of the 80s into early 90s. Although, the codes only seem to have been in use from around 84-88? If there are more learned Laphroaig lore wizards out there on the internet, please step forth... Colour: gold. Nose: soft medicinal embrocations, that familiar sense of gentle, yet thick peat smoke, and all the usual underlying dried and preserved tropical fruits. I would add some beautiful heather honey and waxes into the bargain with this one too. Mouth: beautifully luscious with the fruits really up front on this one, supported by stunningly fresh and pristine coastal qualities. Beach pebbles, drying seaweed, rock pools, sand and iodine all muddled in there. Some bitter lemon and grapefruit too. Finish: long, harmoniously fruity once again, on salted honey, delicate peat smoke, some TCP and waxiness. Comments: at first I felt this one was in trouble after that immense Japan import, however, while on the lighter side, it's still gorgeous and commendably stands firm!
SGP: 654 - 92 points. |
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Laphroaig 10 yo 'Unblended Islay Malt Scotch Whisky' (43%, OB, Rossi Import, screw cap, -/+ 1985)
I have no doubt there are plenty of you out there who know a lot more than me about precisely dating these old bottles nowadays, so please forgive my highly 'ballpark' school of bottle dating for these notes... Colour: gold. Nose: We are back to similar Japan import territory. This is similarly rich, deep, much more vivid, immediate and impactful than those later 80s examples. The profile is dense and peaty, with more sherry influence than on the Japan version and a totally stunning salty, umami and earthy profile that brings in nori, seaweed, soy sauce and then goes more towards these tropical fruit notes, only they're more focussed around specifically dried exotic fruits and exotic fruit teas. You really feel the shift in eras here towards 'old' Laphroaig. Mouth: absolutely stunning! Call the anti-maltoporn brigade! Totally beautiful, powerful but simultaneously dry and slightly brittle peat smoke, natural tar, hints of bone-dry Fino en rama, crystalised guava, lapsing souchong, iodine drops and a stunning waxiness, both in flavour and texture. Finish: astonishing, a glorious burst of pure kiln peat smoke, tar, wood resins, camphor, iodine and smoked honey! Comments: I cannot decide between this or the Japanese import, although I find this one a shade drier and peatier.
SGP: 566 - 94 points. |
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Laphroaig 10 yo 'Unblended Islay Malt Scotch Whisky' (43%, OB, St Raphael Import, France, screw cap, c1984)
We are going to be having a bit of a battle of the nations in this tasting, I probably should have mentioned previously... Colour: gold. Nose: it's so funny (and amazing) how these various batches / vattings of old Laphroaig 10yo seem to teeter between fruitier versions and peatier versions. This one is really leaning more towards exotic and really rather embarrassingly opulent fruits. A rich medley of passionfruit, guava, papaya and mango. All backed up by wafts of delicate peat smoke, bitter grapefruit, seawater and preserved lemons in brine. No messing about here. Mouth: similarly amazing. These old 10s remind me of the old Lagavulin 12 year old cream label bottlings, in that there are many versions with wonderful, often subtle variations, and most will blow your cotton socks off! Lusciously fruity and getting richer and peatier, gathering power as it goes along. Perhaps a notch sweeter with some subtle honey notes too. Finish: another gloriously long, fruity finish that's compellingly balanced by elegant peat, salted honey, waxes and tiny salty notes. Comments: I would also say that there are probably many more batches of the old Laphroaig 10s compared to the Lagavulin 12s. Anyway, we probably shouldn't score everything 94 points in this session, so, for sake of variety, we'll say a measly 93 for France ;)
SGP: 654 - 93 points. |
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Laphroaig 10 yo 'Unblended Islay Malt Scotch Whisky' (43%, OB, Seager's Australian Import, screw cap, -/+ 1985)
Here comes Australia... Colour: pale gold. Nose: first the Ghillie's Club, and now this! Whose underback did those Aussie's smooch to deserve this! Despicably fruity, an upturned tropical fruit market. Pure exotic fruit smoothies, sandalwood, distant sandy beaches, coal smoke, tar, lemon oil, seaweed and a single drop of iodine. I'd say this profile feels more driven by lighter, more refill profile wood influence, but that's pure speculation. Given time there's an utterly beautiful and pretty subtle peat note coming through. Mouth: same comments as on the nose, but the palate is saltier and earthier and much more rugged and powerful than expected. Once again, your mind cannot help but think about more refill moulded, distillate driven characteristics. Stunning salinity, hypnotic tropical fruit, perfect, bone-dry peat. Finish: gah, you don't need to know. Whole goonbags full of juicy fruity peaty old Laphroaig! Comments: I'm afraid we have no choice but to return to...
SGP: 655 - 94 points. |
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Laphroaig 10 yo 'Unblended Islay Malt Scotch Whisky' (43%, OB, South Africa import, screw cap, -/+ 1985)
South Africa's turn... Colour: gold. Nose: perhaps ever so slightly more discreet, that is, on bone dry, beautiful peat smoke, wood smoke, smoked teas, camphor, hessian, salted liquorice, seaweed, coastal aromatics and beach pebbles. A gorgeous profile, but you notice the slight absence of fruits after the previous ones. Now, of course, if we were tasting this after the present batch of 10yo, we'd be veritably gushing about all the fruit on display! Mouth: aligned with the nose, in that it's more dominated and driven by saltiness, coastal qualities, waxes, petrol, medicine, pure peat smoke, tar and camphor. In time there are some glimmers of grapefruit, guava, mango and citrons, but they're all on the subtle and background side of things. Finish: long, glorious, stunningly dry, salty, mouthwatering, would give the greatest Manzanillas and Finos a serious run for their money. Stunning traces of tropical fruit teas in the aftertaste. Comments: we are nit picking, but I suppose we have to. I adore this drier, leaner profile of old Laphroaig, but I also think just a notch more exoticism does elevate things even higher.
SGP: 466 - 93 points. |
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Laphroaig 10 yo 'Unblended Islay Malt Scotch Whisky' (90 US proof, OB, Buckingham Wile import, USA, screw cap, early 1980s)
There are notes for this one multiple times on WF already, to the point that it’s becoming silly. However, as already observed in aforementioned notes, there must be batch variations for these bottlings, which means we always have to record notes whenever a new bottle crosses our path. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it. Colour: pale gold (there are certainly darker vattings under this label, so the whole batches argument does bear some weight). Nose: South Africa's salinity + Australia's fruitiness, all given oomph by these extra degrees of alcohol = a totally incredible nose. This goes really into even more exotic and vividly fruity territory, pure, ripe, exotic fruit medleys. Fruit salad juices, seawater, pink grapefruit, waxes - utterly exquisite and mind blowing. Mouth: it's the peat and salty, coastal qualities that dominate and take the lead from the arrival. Amazing precision, power and intense fusion of all these influences. The fruits are still there but they're sharper, more crystalised, drier and even showing a tiny hint of acidity. Indeed, the whole thing is astonishingly fresh, vibrant and immense. Finish: glorious, extremely long, everything all at once but with perfect cohesion and sense of purpose. Comments: mesmerising old Laphroaig. Almost makes you a bit melancholy, imagine if all Laphroaig 10s over the decades had been bottled at 45%... Anyway, I stand by my excuse that there are many batch variations of these old 10s and as such, they are always worth revisiting from bottle to bottle. This one is really quite extraordinary.
SGP: 766 - 95 points. |
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Laphroaig 10 yo 'Islay Malt Scotch Whisky' (43%, OB, Rossi Import, screw cap, 1970s)
Let's see if this one can climb over the USA import. It's entirely possible we did these final two in the wrong order... Colour: deep gold. Nose: deep, fat, earthy peat smoke, layered with dried exotic fruits, tropical fruit teas, dried herbs, ancient medicinal ointments and tinctures, old rope, creel nets, mineral oils, ideas of old leather, beeswax and camphor. You do get the sense that you are going back a step even further into Laphroaig's history. There's a depth, a breadth and fatness of character and texture here that really speaks with the accent of direct coal firing, worm tubs, floor maltings and brewers yeast! With time it's really this stunningly dense, fat, dry, old style peat that totally dominates the nose. Mouth: actually, we needn't have worried at all about whether this one would suffer by comparison. This is really in the same league as other old famous Italian imports such as Bonfanti. What's amazing is, after all those amazing later bottlings, how much you notice the dominance of the peat here and how the character of the peat has shifted so decisively. I would say those 1980s bottlings are on whole fruitier and lighter than this. Finish: very long, extremely peaty, perfectly dry, saline, with delicate tropical inclusions and just a general sense of utter, spellbinding perfection. Comments: I am probably far too generous, far too emotionally bound up in these whiskies and not particularly analytical or professional in the slightest. But, lest we forget, this is WhiskyFUN, and I am turning 40, and I don't care ;)
SGP: 565 - 95 points. |
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I owe hugs to KC and eternal gratitude to Yan for this session. |
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PS: In case you are wondering, 'did he make a megaphroaig blend of all of them?' Yes, of course I did. I'm not an idiot! And you'd be correct, it's pretty sublime. Cheers! |
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July 18, 2025 |
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A mini selection of seriously
boosted Brackla |
No doubt this will be an adventure, as at least the official ones, like their mates over at Aberfeldy, can be finished in some rather unexpected casks. In short, we’ll see what’s in the stash... |
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Royal Brackla 10 yo 2014/2024 (46%, James Eadie, first fill barrel and refill butt, casks #1598-303564, 1155 bottles)
We had tasted an excellent 2013 in the same series (WF 87). Colour: apricot. Nose: curiously winey to begin with, with poached peaches in red wine, stewed cherries, strawberry jam... But where on earth is that coming from? Mind you, it’s most enjoyable, especially as we then veer off towards Battenberg cake (like), chocolate mousse and rosehip herbal tea. Amusing and very pleasant, with vanilla appearing a little later on. Mouth: those surprising winey notes return on the palate, though less pronounced, together with blood orange, bay leaf, cherry stems tea, and a hint of ginger tonic… Finish: same composition lingering for quite some time, with a slightly bitter aftertaste (Seville oranges). Comments: a pretty good wee Brackla, though it feels somewhat less compact, polished and coherent than what James Eadie usually proposes, or so it seems to me. For once.
SGP:561 - 82 points. |
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Royal Brackla 10 yo 2014/2025 (48.2%, Signatory Vintage, Small Batch Edition #17, first fill sherry PX hogshead finish)
Another young malt that's fairly ‘budget’, which we’ve absolutely no quarrel with. Colour: full gold. Nose: oh, how funny, we've just popped open a fresh tin of shoe polish while a teapot of lapsang souchong sits nearby, along with a hefty walnut and raisin loaf. You get the picture. Mouth: quite close to the previous one, with a certain tension, but also spiced herbal infusions, salmiak, dark honeys, and even the usual black turrón, here bolstered by black pepper and a wee lick of tar. Finish: fairly long, more peppery still. Peppermint and black pepper as the signature. Comments: again, this wee Brackla was far from typical, but the combination with PX worked rather well.
SGP:562 - 84 points. |
We’ll finish with an official bottling that’s also had a bit of a boost for a few months: |
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Royal Brackla 22 yo ‘Exceptional Cask - Tokaji’ (53%, OB, casks #50,000-50,004, 1380 bottles)
The label doesn’t seem to make it clear, but once again, this is just a finishing, although in the case of Tokaji, that might actually be good news. Incidentally, we’ve never quite understood why Sauternes finishings tend to work fairly well, while those in Tokaji have given us, over the past 25 years, some perfect little monsters. Longrow 1995, anyone? Right then, let’s get to work… Colour: gold. Nose: immediately dissonant, a bit like Ozzy singing Bach, but in the end, I think it sort of works, even if the apricot tart and banana cake notes are wildly ‘over the top’. Masses of cake batter too, pre-oven, already packed with sultanas steeped in kirsch. With water: notes of nougat with a heavy dose of honey. Mouth (neat): it’s like we’re sipping a very sweet muscat, say from Samos. Except this is stronger, of course. With water: imagine a mix of viognier, gewurztraminer and muscat. That’s rather fun too, though I reckon it could use a good deal of ice. Finish: same again, very fruity, almost sweet without quite crossing the line. Comments: perhaps best enjoyed over a Japanese ice ball? We do like it, though maybe not €300-like—it’s a pricey little muscat, ha.
SGP:741 - 84 points. |
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July 17, 2025 |
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A Fettercairn trio, formerly Old Fettercairn
Quite simply because it’s been a good while since we last tasted Fettercairn, which we consider to be one of the few truly transformed malts of recent years. Generally speaking, they’ve become very good — which isn’t something you can say about everyone, is it? |
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It's worth noting that Fettercairn celebrated its 200th anniversary in 1824, as it was the second Scottish distillery to receive an official licence. A series of limited and vintage editions was released, but we've never seen them anywhere. We probably just haven’t looked properly. (Picture Fettercairn) |
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Fettercairn 14 yo (47%, OB, ex-bourbon, travel retail, 2024)
According to the owners, this is an expression where ‘tropical and orchard fruits intertwine with delicate sweet spice’ Let’s have a look then… Colour: white wine. Nose: there’s still a bit of that yeasty, slightly dirty/funky side found in older bottlings, which is exactly what makes Fettercairn a truly distinctive malt. A malt that isn’t at least somewhat distinctive is of no interest, is it? Anyway, it smells of bière de garde, crêpe batter, cider, pear, damp chalk, and indeed there’s a touch of tropicality, though more in the shape of not-quite-ripe bananas than anything properly exuberant. Mouth: much the same on the palate, it’s a little bittersweet, still fairly yeasty, peppery, leaning more towards pear juice than mango, if you catch my drift. Apple juice mixed with mirabelle plum juice, plus a little white pepper and a touch of paprika. Nice enough. Finish: fairly long, with a return of the bière de garde and pepper, and a marked gueuze-like character. Comments: in short, a very good Fettercairn that hasn’t let go of its dirtiness, nor its pepper, nor that very faint soapy edge. Applause!
SGP:662 - 86 points. |
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Fettercairn 17 yo (47%, OB, travel retail, 2024)
One learns from an airport website that this wee dram contains 259.7 kcal per 100 grams, which adds up to a rather staggering 1,817.7 kcal per bottle, thus explaining why it’s wiser to sip our whiskies in moderation if we don’t want to be upsized too quickly. Amongst other reasons, naturally. Colour: chardonnay. Nose: very honestly (I know, that never sounds like much when you open with that), this isn’t far off the 14-year-old, just more focused on citrus, tangerines, zest, old-school triple sec… Which means it’s less ‘dirty’, but still quite lovely all the same. Mouth: very good, all on mint and citrus, you could almost believe it was a Metropolitan French mojito with a splash of Cognac. Nothing more to add, except that the little combo of wax, ginger, pepper, and paraffin remains tucked away in the background. Finish: fairly long, with no major shifts other than a few touches of bitter orange liqueur. Comments: I like both versions.
SGP:661 - 86 points. |
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Fettercairn 28 yo (42%, OB, first fill bourbon, +/-2024?) 
Let’s be upfront: we weren’t particularly fond of the first version of this 28, some seven or eight years ago. The price was rather high too, though back then all the Scots seemed to believe anything around 30 years old was worth 1,000 Euros. Colour: deep gold. Nose: er… this is somewhere between new trainers, feints, bruised apples, cider vinegar and farmhouse yoghurt! It’s actually kind of likeable, eminently different from anything you’ll find elsewhere, and remarkably easy to intellectualise, if you see what I mean, though it’s a long way from being remotely crowd-pleasing. Right then… Mouth: oof, this is tough, honestly. Like the leftovers of a Swiss or Savoyard fondue from last week, diluted with Calvados by a vindictive soul. Finish: difficult, cheesy, yeasty, peppery, but again, kind of likeable in its sheer strangeness. Comments: a manzanilla gone wrong, without even passing through the amontillado or palo cortado stage. In fact, it’s the extreme oddness of this old juice that gives it charm, though it’s most definitely not one for ‘the neighbours’. Right, that’s enough politically correct commentary.
SGP:372 - 70 points. |
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July 16, 2025 |
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A small sack of grains
We do this from time to time, taste the few grains we've received over the past weeks or months. Note that we’ll be staying in Scotland and avoiding column-distilled malts, which because of that become grains up there. However, if you distil grains in a pot still, they still won’t count as single malts (ooh, S.). Let’s pick one at random... |
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Girvan 33 yo 1991/2024 (46.0%, Cadenhead, Original Collection, barrels)
Colour: light gold. Nose: light and pleasant, on corn syrup, sweetshop treats, vanilla and coconut liqueur. A little chamomile as well. Mouth: still light, sugary, all on sweets and more coconut. A kind of sugary English tea with a good deal too much sugar. Finish: medium in length, no particular development. Sweet and rather narrow. Comments: no wonder it’s not very ‘malty’ at all (I know what I'm tryng to say), and no matter how hard I try, I shall never truly manage to enjoy these ultra-light whiskies originally designed to tame malts and cut costs. Unless we stumble upon some stellar sherry casks, but we shall see…
SGP:630 - 78 points. |
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North British 32 yo 1991/2024 (46.6%, Whisky for Leiden, first fill bourbon, cask #264532, 185 bottles)
In theory, it was corn. Colour: white wine. Nose: I find this much better on the nose, it’s less sweet and more herbal, with a much more restrained coconut and vanilla combo, along with lovely green teas and a touch of blond tobacco. Very pleasant at this stage. Mouth: it really makes a difference on the palate, with admittedly some notes that are a little too sugary for me but also touches of gentian and wild carrot. In short, some rootiness, and that’s something we quite enjoy. Finish: it gets sweeter but remains fairly under control. One just shouldn’t linger too long on the finish, perhaps by quickly reaching for a wee glass of water. Comments: not bad at all, I think.
SGP:540 - 83 points. |
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Invergordon 18 yo 2006/2024 (62.3%, Wilson & Morgan, sherry, cask #446)
Let’s be honest, slipping an ex-sherry Invergordon into a grain line-up is almost unfair to the others. Colour: dark amber. Nose: immediately high-grade old bourbon territory, with varnish and wood glue, maple syrup, toffee, chocolate, chestnut cream and green walnut liqueur. With water: bouillons, cigars and leather! Mouth (neat): are we absolutely sure this isn’t Enmore in disguise? Though do mind the strength… With water: aggressive in a rather charming way, quickly turning ‘Japanese’, with umami, soy sauce and, to be honest, MSG. Frankly, it’s pretty extreme, but we’re not here to do embroidery (our warmest regards to embroiderers everywhere). Finish: varnish returns, alongside chestnuts and walnuts. Comments: top grain, and there really isn’t that much of it about, at least in my humble opinion. One barely even noticed that the aftertaste was actually a tad sugary.
SGP:661 - 88 points. |
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Butterscotch & Vanilla & Toast & a Generation 30 yo (40%, Atom Brands, blended grain, +/-2023)
Blimey, they really went for it! I shall taste this blended grain discreetly; I’d be far too worried someone might see me… Colour: light gold. Nose: well, blow me, it’s not bad at all, with touches of sesame, hay, white chocolate filled with grated coconut, and candy apples… Mouth: it’s light but not weak, featuring sweet herbal teas with rock sugar, still that white chocolate with coconut that might evoke childhood memories for some, roasted peanuts rolled in sugar… All rather pleasant. Finish: not long but as soft as a sunset over a Greek island (really?) A surprising little salty touch. Comments: charming and very understated, almost a no-lo whisky. Indeed, there are good ones!
SGP:330 - 84 points. |
Since we're on the topic of blended grains… |
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Compass Box ‘Hedonism 2024’ (43%, Compass Box, blended grain, 1st fill bourbon barrel, 7746 bottles)
Big effort on the label, very ‘Gustav Klimt’, with a decent budget clearly devoted to the gilding. Colour: straw. Nose: I rather like this, with vegetable oils, leaves, soft little resins, even a faint smoky touch, and above all, mercifully little of that deafening vanilla and coconut duo. Doesn’t feel too weak at 43% vol. Mouth: well, it’s still grain, but it’s neither too hollow, nor too mute, nor overly sweet. A sort of popcorn-in-the-haybarn with a squeeze of lemon, if such a thing existed. Finish: a bit short, but the lemony side saves the day. Not bad. Comments: does the warbling live up to the plumage? Perhaps…
SGP:440 - 82 points. |
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Strathclyde 20 yo (52.9%, James Eadie, Distilleries of Great Britain & Ireland, 1st and 2nd fill marsala hogsheads, 364 bottles)
Unlike malt, grain is really all about the cask, end of debate… And we’re rather chuffed, turns out we were in Marsala barely a month ago, I may have told you before. Yes indeed, that’s Sicily, southwest coast. Colour: full gold. Nose: very smart indeed, the grain has drawn in the earthy fudgey tones of the marsala, even the faint fermentary edge and a whiff of fire-baked bread. With water: gentian! Where on earth did that come from? Mouth (neat): still recognisably grain, the texture remains a little soft, but there are unsweet raisins stepping in to lend a hand. With water: and boom, the gentian returns to the rescue, more discreetly than on the nose. Gentian cordial (do you know Suze?) Finish: medium in length but pleasant, thanks to its earthy, rooty profile. Comments: very fine grain, and a rather unusual one at that.
SGP:451 - 84 points. |
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Girvan 9 yo 2015/2024 (59.3%, Single Cask Nation, 1st fill bourbon hogshead finish, cask #193413, 280 bottles)
Great Scott, they dared bottle a 9-year-old Girvan! Either the windows at Single Cask Nation HQ were already spotless, or this is actually very good… Colour: light gold. Nose: I’d wager it’s the latter, peanut oil and sunflower oil, with this unexpectedly fatty side, plus faint puffs of ink and light herbal teas. With water: proper popcorn and vanilla cream, then most of all, metal polish and motor oil. Hurrah! Mouth (neat): highly entertaining, it rather feels like swallowing a mix of limoncello and nail varnish—not exactly recommended, mind you. With water: it gets even funnier, with some asparagus, soft soap, varnish and paraffin. Finish: gentler, but marked by almonds, pistachios, and still that vegetable oil. And hey, a bit of pear on the aftertaste. Comments: this is great fun while still managing to be a bit intellectual. Do remember, this is 9-year-old Girvan we’re talking about.
SGP:550 - 85 points. |
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Strathclyde 34 yo 1989/2023 (51.1%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, oloroso hogshead finish, 366 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: not bad, the sherry does its job, with roasted peanuts, turrón, praline, a pack of blond cigarettes, honey, glacé cherries and raisins. With water: pu-ehr tea, earthy and almost smoky, which is rather nice. Mouth (neat): chocolate, chicory, dried raisins, salted butter caramel. With water: it loses a bit of stamina here, a pity, perhaps best not to add water. Some coconut begins to show, and in this particular context and only in this context, coconut is the enemy IMHO. Finish: not very long but reasonably pleasant, except for the aftertaste which leans a little too far toward stale tea. As usual, it lacks just a touch of texture. Comments: started off very well. Save the water, it’s better, and together, we’ll save the planet.
SGP:550 - 80 points. |
One last quick one, nicely done, hopefully… |
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Port Dundas 24 yo 1999/2024 (51.8%, Whisky Age, hogshead, cask #711825, 247 bottles)
Always those very handsome labels, perhaps just a little too handsome for plain old grain whisky. Alright then, I exaggerate. Colour: white wine. Nose: hold on, something’s gone terribly wrong, they must’ve blended mezcal and nail varnish and bottled the result. Glorious nose, but is this really mere grain whisky? I rather doubt it. That said, let’s not forget Port Dundas was the seminal grain distillery. With water: just glorious milk chocolate. Mouth (neat): crème brûlée and varnish, butter cream, orgeat, pistachio syrup, macadamia nuts… What sort of sorcery is this? With water: no, skip the water, it falls apart a little on the palate. Best forgotten… Finish: coffee storms in, mocha, all pairing beautifully with the crème brûlée. Comments: one might almost call this the perfect 5 o’clock whisky.
SGP:551 - 86 points. |
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July 15, 2025 |
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WF’s Little Duos, today peace, love and Tullibardine
Often a rather unusual malt, in the best possible sense. Let’s see what we’ve got…
(Tullibardine Distillery) |
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Tullibardine 13 yo 2012/2025 (53.5%, Liquid Treasures, The love and peace series, 1st fill palo cortado quarter cask, 117 bottles)
Now then, just like last time, this label feels tailor-made for us boomers. Colour: deep gold. Nose: indeed, it’s the palo cortado speaking loud and clear, and we’re not the least bit displeased. Gorgeous Andalusian vinosity, all on walnuts, mustard, herbs, bitter oranges, but also old cellar, ancient casks, mushrooms, saltpetre… We’re very much into this… With water: splendid walnut and raisin cake with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Already mouth-watering. Mouth (neat): very fine bitterness, just like in a true palo cortado, followed by those bitterish oranges, a bit of tobacco, and a rather surprising basaltic edge. Some preserved lemon too. With water: it rounds out and mellows nicely, though black pepper also makes an entrance. Let’s call it peppered and honeyed orange liqueur. Finish: long, attractively spiced and, above all, thoroughly Jerezian. Aftertaste on crushed pepper and dark chocolate. Comments: we may be closer to Jerez than to Blackford, but that suits us just fine.
SGP:561 - 86 points. |
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Tullibardine 12 yo 2012/2024 (55.8%, Alister Walker’s Infrequent Flyers, virgin oak finish, cask #804984, 227 bottles)
Well now, one can’t help wondering whether the next use of this cask will be a ‘2nd fill virgin oak finish’, even though that’s clearly an oxymoron, isn’t it. Colour: full gold. Nose: this is rather the polar opposite of the palo cortado version, even if there’s a shared DNA, on baker’s yeast and pepper. Banana skins, mandarin liqueur, sourdough, a drop of shampoo, and a little church candle (votive)… With water: pizza dough and oregano. I’ll have a napoletana, if you don’t mind. Mouth (neat): this is good, defined by pink pepper and a notably lemony hop. With water: that citrusy aspect from the fresh oak really bursts forth and does risk overwhelming the palate a touch. Finish: long, all on citrus syrups and liqueurs. Aftertaste somewhat liqueur-like, then oddly saline. Comments: the sherry version did rather outshine this baby, but it remains a fine little dram. So then, can one actually mature whisky in 2nd-fill virgin oak? Answers on a proper postcard, please.
SGP:551 - 83 points. |
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Best spirits Serge tried those weeks, 90+ points only
Bowmore 36 yo 1969/2006 (44.0%, Duncan Taylor, Peerless, cask #6090, 233 bottles)
Bowmore 26 yo 1997/2023 (51.1%, The Whisky Agency, 15th anniversary, The Perfect Dram, barrel, 124 bottles)
Bowmore 2002/2025 (58.2%, Malts of Scotland, Rare Casks, for The Whisky Dreamers, bourbon hogshead, cask #MoS25014, 146 bottles)
Largiemeanoch 20 yo 1974 (50.6%, The Whisky Connoisseur, Arthur J.A. Bell, cask #2087, +/-1995)
Brora 13 yo 1982/1995 (60.4%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection)
Clynelish 5 yo (43%, OB, Di Chiano, long golden cap, Italy, +/-1970)
Daftmill 2009/2025 (55%, OB for Aquavitae, bourbon cask, casks #03+055/2009, 362 bottles)
Highland Park 19 yo 2004/2024 (54.7%, Duncan Taylor, Single Cask Collection, sherry cask, cask #50171094, 311 bottles)
Orkney Single Malt 18 yo 2006/2024 (53.2%, Whisky Spirits for Whisky Time Frankfurt 2025)
Old Orkney Malt 25 yo 1999/2025 (50.3%, Decadent Drinks, HHD + sherry butt)
Clarendon 15 yo 2007/2022 ‘Early Landed’ (57.1%, Rum Sponge, Jamaica, refill barrel, 262 bottles)
Enmore 1991/2024 ‘KFM Versailles’ (48.3%, The Colours of Rum for LMDW Foundations, Guyana)
Hampden 1 yo 2023/2025 ‘Oloroso’ (62.3%, The Colours of Rum for Catawiki, Jamaica, cask #135, 75 bottles)
HD 15 yo 2009/2025 ‘DOK’ (55.9%, The Whisky Jury, The Ester Hunter, Jamaica, refill cask, cask #3, 173 bottles)
TDL 22 yo 2002/2025 (56.1%, The Whisky Jury, The Many Faces of Rum, Trinidad, refill barrel, cask #16, 229 bottles)
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