Longmorn-Glenlivet 10 yo ‘Straight Malt’ (OB, Hill Thompson & Co Ltd, -/+1970)
The ABV isn’t stated here, but usually when the strength is blocked out in black ink like on this example, it means it was a smaller batch deviation from the standard 70 proof (40%). So, most likely 43% for export I would guess. But let’s try it… Colour: white wine. Nose: beautiful! Pure barley eau de vie. A harmonious blend of citrons, waxed lemon peels, mineral salts, putty, dried herbs, ink, old, dried out herbal liqueurs and things like oily bike chains, hessian cloth and medical vapour rubs. Rather raw and powerful in some ways, but luminously aromatic and elegant. Pure old style distillate. Mouth: definitely 43%! Wonderfully sharp, powerful and direct. Peppery waxiness, pink grapefruit juice, chopped tarragon drizzled with petrol and olive oil cut with briny pickling juices. Remains hyper clear, bright and fresh; no OBE to be found. Something like salty limoncello with freshly malted barley, sourdough starter and pure lemon juice. Brilliantly sharp, it’s almost like a slap in the face. Finish: long, citric and full of salinity, a lean and nervous flintiness and wee notes of soot, chopped herbs, balsamic onions and mineral oil. Comments: Almost industrial or mechanical in some ways, but then these were effectively big, dirty Victorian factories churning out these sublime distillates during the 1950s and 1960s. I’ve tired quite a number of these old Hill Thompson bottlings - there are many variants - and they never disappoint. Absolutely what Serge calls ‘old highland style’ malt whisky. And thrillingly lively and sharp.
SGP: 453 - 91 points.

Longmorn 10 yo (48.3%, That Boutique-y Whisky Co ‘Batch 3’, 1793 bottles)
This may be a death seat after the old OB… Colour: white wine. Nose: so different. Sweet barley, a light, almost playful cereal profile and all these very fresh grassy and buttery notes. Some lemon bonbons and hints of vinaigrette. I find it very pure, easy and classically modern. A far cry from the tsunami of character in the old OB, but this is still very easy and pleasurable. Mouth: creamy texture on arrival with some vanilla sponge, pineapple jelly and white pepper. Feels lighter in the mouth than the OB, even at 48.3%! Some pastry, dried herbs and orange Fanta. Rather sweet and still pretty cereal. Finish: medium, with some spicy warmth, more sweet vanilla custard and wee hints of raspberry and white chocolate. Comments: It’s perfectly fine, clean and quaffable. But it certainly struggles a bit after the 10 yo. Another fun comparison for anyone who still thinks Scotch whisky did not utterly change in character since the early 1970s.
SGP: 631 - 83 points.

Glenmorangie 27 yo 1991/2019 (55.9%, OB, Rare Cask for 10th Anniversary Loza Dzentelmenow, Poland, oloroso cask finish, 230 bottles)
We rarely get to try Glenmorangie at this kind of age, which is a great shame as, in my wee opinion, it’s a distillate which really sings with a few years behind it. What’s also cool is that this is really more of a double maturation than a finish, having been 15 years in bourbon then 12 years in oloroso. Colour: deep gold. Nose: sweet orange wines, aged sauternes and glazed pastries, brioche and a few darker breads such as rye. There’s also this wonderfully herbal, eucalyptus aroma, mint julep, acacia honey and rosewater. Aromatically complex and wonderfully captivating. I love that it feels like it’s own thing, you wouldn’t necessarily peg this is just another good old Speysider if you had it blind. Further wee hints of juniper, hardwood resins and aged citrus peels - like the chen pi they have in China. With water: gets more tertiary, deeper and drier. Notes of heather ales, more spicy rye bread, dark grains, bitter chocolate, cigar boxes, fruity muesli and treacle pudding. Mouth: you feel the wood with all these warming spices but it is well matched by this wonderfully layered and textural sweetness. Big, gloopy spoonfuls of fruit jellies, tinned fruit syrups, sweetened herbal cough syrups, chamomile tea and fig jam. You also have some strawberry flavoured pipe tobacco, quince, mint tea, moist earthiness and some boozy dark fruit cake. Feels like they captured this one really at peak maturity. Balance, texture, complexity and flavour: everything is in its place. With water: more exotically spicy now with five spice, cloves, more eucalyptus, lemongrass, bay leaf, aniseed and herbal cough medicines. Finish: long, nicely bitter, herbal, mentholated, tobacco, chocolate, many wee spices and more of these mixed dark and crystallised fruits. Comments: Glenmorangie, where have you been all my life Goddammit! Dear Professor Jill Bumsd… sorry, I mean Dear Dr Bill Lumsden, please can we have more stuff like this for us civilians. Hugs, Angus. Seriously, this is very worth trying if it every crosses your path. I love that it still feels very ‘Glenmorangie’, and I really think this is the smartest kind of juggling with different casks - the kind where patience is the key.
SGP: 662 - 91 points.

Secret Highland 34 yo 1985/2019 (47%, The Whisky Agency, hogshead)
There are whispers abound that this parcel of stock is from a certain northern highland distillery that may or may not employ somewhere between 15 and 17 male workers from a nearby town. The trouble is, who really has experience with mid-80s, 34+ yo examples of this distillery to say what it should taste like? There’s a few of these casks floating about at the moment, no doubt more will soon begin to emerge in bottled form. Colour: deep gold. Nose: It can of course be the mind playing tricks, but this doesn’t feel like just another Speysider / modern highlander. It has something rather charismatic and gently old school about it. A rather dry, leathery and slightly dusty beeswax and furniture polish note, gentle waxes, soots, roots and herbs. Ink, fennel seed, caraway, hessian, olive oil, boot polish, dried mint - very tertiary, earthy, elegantly drying and complex. Mouth: wonderfully rich and biscuity in the mouth. Layered, cakey sweetness with cafe latte, milk bottle sweets, cough medicines, old green Chartreuse and mineral oils. There’s a nice stodginess to the texture as well, the flavours and light and playful, but you get the sense you could stand a spoon upright in a large glass of it. Finish: good length, lemon cough drops, hessian, candied peel, wintergreen, eucalyptus, sweetened medicines and some soft, savoury spiciness. Comments: Your guess is as good as mine. But I would hazard that this very well could be from ‘that’ distillery. It’s singular but rather unlike anything else from that era that I can think of. I would also add that it’s a very good and charismatic wee drop.
SGP: 561 - 90 points.

Ardmore 9yo 2009/2019 (53.4%, Archives ‘The Fishes of Samoa’, cask #706473, refill barrel, 234 bottles)
Seriously, Whiskybase dudes, when are we getting ‘The Sheep of Perthshire’, or ‘The Herons of Strachur’, or how about ‘The Fish & Chip vans of Drumnadrochit’? Those ideas you can have for free, but others will cost you! Colour: pale straw. Nose: really quite sharp, peaty, medicinal and powerful. But then, what can you expect from an Ardmore matured in an ex-Laphroaig barrel (as most of this 09 parcel is)? It just has this extra layer of very specific Ardmore farminess. Although it’s a style that could also lead your mind down the A83 to Glen Scotia. Petrol, sheep wool, chalk, aspirin dissolved in fizzy water, muddy brine and perhaps even some kind of lightly burn dung (what do you mean you’ve never tried it?!) With water: water really works a trick here. Much more settled and gentle now. A more harmonious balance between seashore, hospital and farmyard. Lightly chalky, lemony, medical, peaty and lots of ink, crushed seashells and bandages. Mouth: peppery, rubbery smoke, engine oil, charcoal and some rather industrial antiseptic, brine and camphor. More sheep wool, but also bits of sheep along with it now. Smoky mutton ramen with iodine and old school cough medicines. With water: once again water works a treat. It just lifts everything nicely and cleans it up a notch. Still a bit more farmy, gamey and muddy on the palate but also thickly textured and with a punchy salinity keeping everything fresh. Finish: long with a rather deep smokiness, tarry, kippery, some olive oil, brine and a very slight vegetal note. Comments: I would say water is obligatory here. But there’s a lot of fun and pleasure to be had if you have a little patience. Although, I feel these parcels of Ardmore could arguably be labelled as ‘blended malt’ given the wallop of Laphroaig that seems to inhabit them.
SGP: 375 - 86 points.

Ardmore 10 yo 2010/2020 (55.6%, Thompson Brothers, refill barrel, 253 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: a much breezier and more naturally ‘Ardmore’ style, which leads me to suspect this is not an ex-Laphroaig cask. A much softer, more mineral peatiness with these gentle wafts of crisp smoke, crushed seashells, diluted petrol, freshly laundered fabrics and warm milled grist. Also quite a bit of ink, cough medicine and a few dried herbs. With water: dusty, a bit more coal smoke and chimney grime, some dusty malt bins and damp cereals. Mouth: immediately close to the raw ingredients with lots of fresh, lightly smoked malt, buttery toast, yeasty sourdough starter, lemon juice and crushed aspirin. Slightly sharp, citric acidity, white pepper and some hints of waxed canvass. With water: sooty, lightly vegetal, earthy, medicinal and with a little more pure, peaty oomph. Finish: long with a peculiar leathery smoke, antiseptic, medicines, chalk, seawater, ink and lemon oil. Comments: There’s no doubt that this is impeccable, charismatic distillate. I just think it’s a tad young is all really. These casks in another five years should really start to sing.
SGP: 363 - 85 points.

Ardmore 21 yo 1998/2020 (50.9%, Thompson Brothers / The Whisky Agency, 162 bottles)
Love the label for this one. Colour: straw. Nose: quite a striking first aroma of fabric softener, dried herbs, lemon rind and citronella wax. Also some very gentle notes of freshly baked breads, pollen, chamomile tea, wildflowers and some slightly coastal-accented greenery such as myrtle and gorse bush. In time it becomes more clearly coastal with a rather crisp saltiness, plain dry cereals and heather flowers. Calm, subtle and very charming; you can use at least one of those words to describe Dornoch Castle I would say. With water: drier, chalkier, leaner, more towards fabrics, linens, crushed green leaves, trampled greenery, moss and earthy potting sheds. Mouth: wonderfully herbal upon arrival, lots of crushed nettles, dried mint, thyme, gorse and also things like gooseberry acidity - it’s almost a sauvignon blanc - more lemon peel, chalk and hibiscus. These herbal qualities become rather medical as well with cough sweet notes. Wee mineral touches, hessian, paraffin, sheep wool, vitamin tablets in soda water, aspirin, ink and an almost effervescent, ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ sweetness. With water: a more concentrated herbal quality. Mineral salts, lemon jelly, aspirin again - there’s a really thready, deft medical quality running through this one. Some soft notes of sandalwood and dried thyme. Finish: long and again very gentle and cohesive. In that it’s hard to pull it apart into separate components. It feels very together as a whisky. Lots of herbs, medicines, roots, soot, chalk, minerals and an almost threadbare peat all folded in on each other. Comments: What I love here is the overall sense of softness, charm and effortless complexity that really makes you work to seek out its core characteristics. Although, it never feels like work, this is an extremely pleasurable whisky that demands some quiet attention.
SGP: 463 - 90 points. 

Glen Garioch 8 yo (43%, OB, Gasperoni Alberto import Italy, 1970s)
Colour: gold. Nose: can you smoke vegetables? This really is like a big mash up of scorched bonfire earth, distant peat embers, the gloopiest, most syrupy of old school, herbal cough medicines and parsnips roasted in honey. Really another world entirely. There’s also plasters, ointments, old herbal liqueurs, muddy sheep wool and a wee gallon of camphor. Malt whisky for Aberdeenshire farmers that somehow found itself in Italy. Mouth: extremely fat, syrupy and herbal. Sooty, muddy peat, black olives mashed in their own pickling juices, herbal toothpaste, mysterious old ointments, tractor engine grease and various medical embrocations. Wild, bonkers and, quite frankly, brilliant! Finish: long, drying, getting increasingly peaty, peppery, greasy, fatty, smoked bacon lardons, herbal jelly, smoked jasmine tea, putty, anthracite, tar and gentian. Comments: Sheer, utter, brilliant madness. Now, having said that, there does feel like some kind of OBE witchcraft has occurred while in bottle, but I would place this firmly in the category of ‘great OBE’. Which is to say the basic flavours of peat and barely have broken down and meandered off in various tertiary and tangential ways creating a fascinating look at the undercarriage of this distillate. It’s well known that some of these old official Glen Garioch dumpy bottlings can be utter soap bombs, but when you get a good one like this… what a joyous treat!
SGP: 465 - 91 points.

Glen Garioch 18 yo 1974/1992 (54.9%, Cadenhead 150th Anniversary)
Glen Garioch was peated up until 1975, so theoretically this should be within that peaty timeline. However, I don’t think I ever tried any other 1974s, so let’s find out… Colour: white wine. Nose: indeed, this is raw, greasy, grassy, almost rubbery, peat smoke! There’s almost a nod towards Port Ellen with this kind of grubby, fatty, bloated peatiness. Smouldering anthracite embers, natural tar, kippers drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil, muddy sheep wool, caraway eau de vie, camphor, cod live oil and pure seawater. Brilliant and extremely brutal and powerful. With water: pure and extremely sharp. All on lemon juice, smoked malt, plain peat smoke, seawater, petrol and some fusion of muddy brine and bike chain grease. Mouth: monolithic peatiness. Sharp, pure, petrolic, mineral, saline and almost drenched in malt vinegar. Really close in style to some of the various 1975s by Samaroli I would say. Creosote, kerosene, pure tar, roof pitch, fisherman’s wellies and bitter herbal extracts. With water: wow! Really evolves with water to become wider, fatter and deeper. Terrifically thick and greasy in the mouth. Slathered in grungy peat, dirty martini juices, green olives in brine, tar, iodine, herbal toothpaste and carbolic wash. Finish: long, deeply tarry, saline, medical, peaty and superbly farmy. Comments: Not really a surprise, but seeing as this is pretty much the only 1974 Glen Garioch out there, it’s extremely satisfying to tick it off the list and also rather comforting to know that it sings in the same key as its 1975 siblings. It’s certainly closer to them than to the 1973s I could try.
SGP: 477 - 93 points.

Laphroaig 10 yo (40%, OB, miniature, -/+2015)
Sadly, I don’t have a current 10yo to hand, however, I do have this wee mini which has been sitting around my flat for a few years now. I cannot remember for the life of me how I came to possess it but it’s probably from around 5 years ago. Colour: gold. Nose: seawater, hessian, dried seaweed, iodine, pure peat smoke, bonfire ashes and wee touches of ink, canvass and light herbal touches. Modern Laphroaig for sure, but it remains indomitably ‘Laphroaig!’ - probably why this distillery continues to hold such sway over many a mind. Mouth: as with the nose I would say it’s a drier and rather more saline batch. Sooty, briny, camphory and rather oily with lots of black pepper, iodine, dried seaweed, tar and rather punchy medicines. There’s also a rather emphatic smokiness that’s tinged with heather and kilned malt. Finish: medium but with a lot of plain peat smoke lingering, and a notch more wood sweetness. Comments: I would love to compare this to a bottling just off the shelf. But it still reeks of ‘Laphroaig 10’, perhaps why this remains so stubbornly a brilliant and unequivocal classic bottling. Having said that, it’s also an extremely changeable bottling from batch to batch, perhaps why we geeks cannot help but continue to love it. It remains, at the end of the day, fun. And what would whisky be without fun.
SGP: 467 - 86 points.

Laphroaig 10 yo (43%, OB, US import Hiram Walker, late 1980s)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: there’s a definite ancestry to the mini, but we’re in another time really. The fruits come first - mango, pineapple, passion fruit - then the peat kind of eases itself from the glass slowly. Everything about this feels gentle, unhurried and easy going, which is whisky really translates into pleasure. There’s these wee touches of engine oil, sheep wool, coal smoke, natural tar, herbal cough medicines and iodine drops. In time it evolves a slightly more punchy grassy smokiness, which feels like a step in the direction of modernity and adds an extra layer of complexity. Mouth: beautiful arrival, all on smoked olive oil, natural tar, hessian, seawater and things like lemon rind, underripe green apples, mineral oil and bath salts. Hints of salted almonds, pastis and dried exotic fruit chunks. Finish: long, mineral, dryly smoky, gently herbal, peaty and getting very saline in the aftertaste. Comments: There’s never really been anything else quite like this flavour in Scotch Whisky. ‘Old Laphroaig’ can go alongside something like ‘garlic’ or ‘coffee’ in terms of singular distinctiveness I would argue. Anyway, it’s a great one as expected. I’m also very happy as it was from this very bottle that Dad and I last shared a Laphroaig 10.
SGP: 555 - 91 points.

Laphroaig 10 yo (43%, OB, Vinalda import for Portugal, -/+ 1980)
A rather rare Portuguese import. Colour: gold. Nose: gah! We are deep in Bonfanti territory. Lashings of sheep wool, dried exotic fruits, leathery peat, cough medicines and wee tertiary hints of salty sherry - even rancio! Just exquisite. I’d also add that it feels rather more like a 60s style of distillate and indeed this could be a late 70s bottling so entirely possible. Earthy, herbal, leafy, briny and fruity. Stunningly complex and harmoniously balanced. Mouth: even at 43% the whisky feels huge. That sense of restrained, coiled power. Oily peat, boiler smoke, kiln air, natural tar, syrupy herbal cough medicines, iodine, dried mango, passion fruit sours, preserved lemons, citronella wax and gently smoked malt. Close to the raw ingredients while also managing to be otherworldly. A flavour and style that sits beyond obvious metrics of ‘maturity’ or ‘age’. Finish: immense, long, deeply oily, peaty and full of lingering, elegantly wispy peat smoke, dried seaweed, game meats, leather, herbal liqueur and things like bouillon and umami broths. Comments: Again, not entirely unexpected. But no matter how many of these very old 10s you try, it is almost impossible not to be flabbergasted anew every time.
SGP: 656 - 94 points.

Laphroaig 17 yo 1999/2016 (58.1%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, #29.190 ‘Divine dark temptation’, refill sherry butt, 582 bottles)
Colour: rosy gold. Nose: big, oily and freshly coastal at first. Crab sticks, smoky BBQ sauce, smoked mint, paprika, squid ink, tar, iodine, balsamic and seaweed in ramen broth. Gets increasingly tarry and medial with plenty hessian and black pepper. Powerful yet well composed and restrained. With water: gets much saltier and rather prickly. Lots of cured meats such as spicy salami. Also miso, soy sauce and anchovy butter. Mouth: a big spoonful of textually oily, greasy peat. Turf, burning heather, black olives in brine, tar, coal smoke, sandalwood, grilled oysters with garlic and herbal ointments. Also some wee hints of lavender and some kind of smoked honey. An excellent and very clean cask I’d say. With water: kippers, olive oil mixed with pure brine, lemon juice, wood ash and camphor. Syrupy in texture and almost like molten bacon fat. Finish: wonderfully long and full of grilling meats, shellfish, iodine, tar, coal smoke, peaty kiln air and fish sauce. Comments: I rather think these 1990s vintages of Laphroaig are still a wee bit overlooked. The character is certainly different from the old 80s official bottlings. But, between the pre-90s and post-2000 style I think it increasingly stands alone as its own decade with its own hallmarks. I’d also add that they seem to only be improving with age. This one was a terrific wee powerhouse of a dram.
SGP: 377 - 90 points.

Laphroaig 21 yo 1998/2019 (54.4%, The Whisky Exchange, cask #117, oloroso sherry finish, 322 bottles)
This one was re-racked into an oloroso sherry cask in 2010, so really a double maturation rather than a finish I suppose. Colour: amber. Nose: fruits, game meats, leather, damp earthen wine cellars, leaf mulch and gentle wafts of hessian, natural tar and herbal teas. Unequivocally beautiful on the nose, nodding to the past in fact with these rather overt fruity qualities. Coal dust, lanolin, wee vegetal touches and things like bacon jam, black olives and very old Fernet Branca. With water: gets leaner, more salty and more nervous. All these quivering coastal touches, lemon peel, pebbles, sheep wool, aspirin, winter spices and more dense meaty aspects. Mouth: terrifically tarry, jammy and densely textural on arrival. Bags of expensive dark chocolate, fruity black coffee, pure hessian cloth, dunnage, prunes, aged armagnac, salty old oloroso sherry and things like mutton soup and praline. All manner of complexities pinging and popping here and there. Goes to show, re-racking can do wonders if you leave it long enough. With water: more of everything but it becomes wider, easier, more open and a little deeper with more notes of bitter chocolate, a heavier earthiness, more meats, coffee, herbal bitters and smoked chilli. Finish: superbly long, meaty, chocolatey and showing this rather peppery peat flavour. Bitter mint in the aftertaste with miso and soy sauce. Comments: To think, I tried this at the Old & Rare show but didn’t buy a bottle. I’m am, it would seem, an idiot. A total thrill ride of a Laphroaig that nods in more than a few ways to the past. Hats off to whoever at Elixir was responsible for this.
SGP: 566 - 92 points.

Laphroaig 28 yo 1989 (90 proof / 51.4%, Private bottling for Club Qing and friends)
Colour: gold. Nose: we’re not a million miles away from the 1998 with this rather ethereal, encroaching fruitiness that meanders about the top of the glass. Salted mead, trampled dandelions, lemon peel, pineapple syrup and some rather more tertiary notes of carbon paper and old ink wells. In time it becomes more saline, gently tarry and showing more hessian and earth. In some ways it really follows a similar progression as the old 80s 10 year olds often do. With water: an impression of creaminess and a much more direct herbal quality, some coconutty gorse flower, mineral oil, bath salts and smoked sea salt. Really quite impressive complexity and elegance now. Mouth: initially much sweeter and oilier than the nose suggested, with more hessian, vegetables and biscuity richness up front. Some lovely notes of smoked cereals, stout beers, heather ales and malt extract. A lightly briny peaty flavour and an elegantly textural oiliness. Starts to really feel like a bigger version of a 1990s OB 10 year old - which is no bad thing! With water: superb now! Fruity, floral, salty, complex smokiness and lots of wee herbal inclusions. Also meaty aspects and a rather syrupy, fruity sweetness. Finish: long, gently peaty, soft smokiness, olive oil, gorse, coal tar soap, herbal teas, camphor and even a kind of sooty waxiness. Comments: What I love here is the feeling of constant evolution, every step feels connected and yet distinct in and of itself. There’s also a wonderfully elegant complexity and a strong sense of distillery identity. Highly pleasurable.
SGP: 656 - 91 points.

Laphroaig 14 yo 1973/1987 (40%, Avery’s of Bristol)
Avery’s were one of several Bristol wine and spirits merchants who imported, sold and bottled many fine spirits in their day. Colour: coppery amber. Nose: 40%? Really, are you sure? Huge notes of turfy peat mingling with pure, resinous, ancient sherry. Piles of old leather, furniture polish, sultanas and raisins soaked in brandy, dark chocolate riddled with sea salt and things like long-cured game meats, animal furs and soy sauce. Thrillingly complex, the kind of aroma you could dissect for hours. Dried mushrooms, aged pu era tea, damp pipe tobaccos - just brilliant. There’s also this pervasive, dark thread of herbal peat knitting everything together, like an organic bass-thrum sitting beneath everything. Mouth: Stunning! Amazing concentration of flavours. Rich, dense, herbal, turfy, rooty, sweet peat - like peat cordial. Then a lattice of preserved and dried exotic fruits. Olive oil sweetened with ancient herbal liqueurs, a few drops of pure iodine and all manner of tertiary notes of pumpernickel bread, black olive, wood spices, stewed dark fruits, smoked chocolate, bitter espresso and precious hardwood resins. As big as whisky can really be at 40%. In time the peat becomes almost dusty and palpably brittle and crunchy. Finish: long, leathery, drying, slightly minty, deep but gently smoky, meaty, tarry and profoundly medical and herbal. Still all these wee glimmers of dark and exotic fruits - all dried out and preserved. A smoky warmth lingers for an age in the aftertaste. Comments: totally, utterly stunning whisky. Just the epitome of pure, easy, guzzable pleasure in Scotch Whisky. Makes you weep over the size of the sample! Kills most modern whiskies stone dead with the sheer force of its classiness alone.
SGP: 566 - 94 points.

Laphroaig 1968/1983 (43%, Berry Brothers)
There was also a 1963 and a 1964 bottled around this time, both of which are pretty incredible. Colour: amber. Nose: we’re not a million miles away from the 1973, except here the peat is bigger and more concentrated. It’s more dominated by this divine saline and leathery density. You really know you are wading deep into 60s Laphroaig when you nose this. Profoundly concentrated, brimming with old style herbaceous, earthy peaty smoke. Meats, coffee, preserved dark fruits, liquorice, black pepper and tar liqueur. Umami, salty, meaty, herbal and superbly medical. A total masterclass. Mouth: majestic arrival! Immensely dry, earthy, sooty, chocolatey and brimming with this wonderfully dry herbal peat smoke. Sooty, waxy, tarry, medical and wonderfully fat and punchy. The peat becomes almost grizzly but it's wrapped perfectly in a dense quilt of very resinous and salty old sherry, there’s also quite a sizzling bacon note and bags of rancio and salted walnuts. Another one that just seems to evolve and go on forever. Finish: endlessly long, fatty, almost greased with old school peat, tinned exotic fruit syrups, rancio, tar, black olive… you get the picture by now right? Comments: You have to cut these things short sometimes otherwise you just go off the rails like a maniac. Anyway, stuff like this is why we’re into whisky in the first place. And, perhaps more specifically, still in love with Laphroaig after all these years. There is black magic at work here…
SGP: 667 - 94 points.

Laphroaig 12 yo (80 proof, Cadenhead, 1960s)
This was bottled by the old Cadenhead company when it was run by that mad woman in Aberdeen before Hedley Wright purchased it. These bottlings are of course extremely hard to come by now, and understandably spoken of in hushed tones. However, in my experience they can also be quite changeable too. I’ve seen a number of these old 12yo Laphroaigs and it seems that Cadenhead at the time issued it over a number of years in multiple batches. I’ve had one in Japan which I found good but arguably a disappointment (WF: 89), however some can be totally out of this galaxy (see Serge’s own notes: WF:96). This one comes from a bottle opened by Sukhinder for the Old & Rare show earlier this year. Colour: pale gold. Nose: it’s a good one. The power and the salinity of the distillate are immediate and pretty devastating. Whelks slapped on a hot grill, lemon juice mixed with brine, mineral salts, petrol, tar and, in time, many tiny exotic fruits emerging. Passion fruit, mango, guava, kiwi, all wrapped in this immense coastal character and something like salted wax. Power, precision, poise and stunning beauty. Mouth: the saltiness remains the dominant force. Leathery, tarry, inky and showing lots of putty, camphor, olive oil and even cereals and raw vegetables. There’s also a hint of OBE as well with these notes of metal polish and steel wool, but it’s a pleasing OBE and the distillate still dominates. Coal smoke, lanolin, sandalwood and many, many gentle notes of ointment. Finish: long, very saline and full of shellfish meats, light tarry notes, more sandalwood, green pepper, dried seaweed and nervous exotic fruit notes. Comments: Stunning, but not one of the hyper-glorious batches. Having said that, it’s also probably ever so slightly tired. I’m not sure what the level in the bottle was at the time of opening, but it remains a technically stunning whisky. And beyond that, it’s also historically fascinating as this is 1950s Laphroaig, and indeed the style is divergent from the 60s bottlings. Somewhere out there, there’s probably a version at 100 proof. In magnum!
SGP: 456 - 93 points.

Laphroaig 30 yo 1966/1996 (48.9%, Signatory Vintage, cask #561, hogshead, 142 bottles)
These two casks from a legendary parcel of stock that Andrew Symington acquired in the mid-90s from John Gross. Mr Gross had held the license to import Laphroaig in America many years previously. They’ve since gone on to become deservedly legendary bottlings. Colour: gold. Nose: pure and exquisitely coastal. Pink sea salt, waxy lemon rind and many touches of camphor, brine and even more menthol touches like eucalyptus oils and mint tea. Given a little time the fruits emerge: passion fruit, papaya, mango, pineapple. Almost quivers with this gelatinous mix of fruits and beautifully delicate peat smoke. A harmonious, deeply complex and almost poetically beautiful nose that feels pristinely structured, poised and in total control of itself. With water: seawater mixed with limoncello, salted liquorice, beeswax, hessian, vapour rubs and globally drier, leaner and more ruthlessly precise. Mouth: wonderful attack, all on nervous, brittle coastal and saline complexities. Dried seaweed, ink, aged tar liqueurs, bundled dried herbs and mineral oil. The fruits are here too but they feel waxier, dried out and rather desiccated, things like banana chips, dried mango chunks and passion fruit seeds. The peat is oily, tarry and drying with this rather waspish smokiness. Could be anywhere from 15 - 35 years old in some ways, there’s this ethereal ‘out of time’ feel about it. With water: gah! Just astonishing power, richness of smoke, deeper peat notes, a broader, sparser fruitiness and the impression of many exotic teas. Some lighter wood spice and white pepper notes too. Finish: luminous, endless, impeccably saline, citric, inky, herbal, lightly tarry and delivering all these silky smoky and mineral notes. Comments: One of these old Islay whiskies that feels like it comes from another galaxy entirely. Quite simply, an impeccable collaboration between barley, yeast, water, oak and time. This is why I love whisky.
SGP: 566 - 94 points.

Laphroaig 30 yo 1966/1997 (50.6%, Signatory Vintage, cask #1089, hogshead, 130 bottles)
I am indebted to Emmanuel for the chance to try this one head to head with cask 561. Merci beaucoup Manu! Colour: gold, a shade darker. Nose: the same, but a little ‘darker’ in its fruitiness. A notch sweeter and giving the impression of a more syrupy texture. A softer salinity and a more herbal accent emerging over time. Still the same stunning, poetically mesmeric quality of whisky. With water: the fruits really start to push to the fore now. Takes on a more ‘jellied’ fruit style akin to 561, only here there’s an added layer of petroleum jelly and citronella wax. Mouth: more tarry, a bigger sense of fattiness and meatiness. Cured meats and salt cured white fish. But also herbal teas, umami broths and, once again, this rather dried exotic fruit style with many bitter and pithy citrus peels. With water: wider, fruitier, fatter in texture, oilier and with a more gutsy coastal and petrol quality. Draws you and takes total control. Finish: same story, long enough to just lose yourself in amongst all these wee flashes of fruits, herbs, pure peat smoke, earth, wax, seashore, citrus and minerals. Comments: The extra strength and textural sweetness give this one the edge for me. But they are both amongst the most pleasurable spirits ever made by man, we are skimming within a whisper of 96 points here.
SGP: 666 - 95 points.

Irish Single Malt 16 yo 2003/2019 (51.9%, The Whisky Agency, barrel)
Colour: pale straw. Nose: pure grass! Very much one of these light and gently austere profiles which is all about cut grass, chopped herbs, lemon peel, wet plaster, fabrics, sunflower seeds and the faintest wee buttery note. Super-fresh and very pleasantly summery - if a tad simplistic. With water: even leaner, drier and more austere now. Notes of fur, cream crackers, chalk, white flowers and talcum powder. Mouth: there’s a surprising richness on arrival that wasn’t at all betrayed by the nose. There’s a more assertive texture of cooking oils, some buttery flavours, cookie dough, vanilla cream, cactus flesh and white chocolate. Very appealing. With water: again it becomes drier and leaner with water. More cereal driven, buttered toast, more sunflower seeds, cooking oils and lemon rind. Finish: a tad short but clean, crisp and dry with notes of sunflower oil and oatcakes. Comments: It’s funny how these youngsters are ridden with this very specific grassiness, while the older ones reek of exotic fruits. I wonder at what point and by what alchemy the former evolves into the latter?
SGP: 441 - 82 points.

Irish Single Malt 21 yo 1998/2019 (51.3%, The Whisky Agency, barrel)
Colour: gold. Nose: a fascinating kind of halfway house between those two styles. All on runny honeys, glazed pastries, heather flowers, gentle notes of hessian, duster cloth and canvass. There’s also these quite rich characters of putty, rapeseed oil and pollen. A style unto its own and quite distinct from many of these other Irish doing the rounds these days. I find it impressively complex and compelling - almost old highlands style in some ways. With water: a tad more whacky, gloopy and oily. Some hints of cheese curd, farmyard, oily sheep wool, mineral oils and shoe polish. Really quite an industrial / mechanical style. Mouth: Here the Irish accent really sings! Much more towards light sootiness, old metal polish, oily rags, old toolboxes, copper coins, steel wood, sunflower oil, pot pourri and lighter notes of waxed canvass. You can really spot some shared DNA with these very old pure pot still bottlings of things like Redbreast and Green Spot from the 60s and 50s. In the background you also get wee glimmers of dried mango which nods to these more recent exotic stylings. With water: drier but still retaining this oiliness of texture and weight in the mouth, along with this rather mechanical profile. More metal polish, camphor, green herbs, light menthol tobacco notes and chamois leather. Finish: good length and featuring some impressively funky overripe exotic fruits, olive oil, aniseed and a little plain fresh white bread. Comments: Very unusual, really harks back to quite a specific old school Irish style I would say. Is this pure pot still? You certainly get that impression from all these mechanical, oily and weirdly flabby fruit qualities. Anyway, worth trying if it crosses your path, it’s quite the entertainer.
SGP: 651 - 87 points.

Irish Single Malt 29 yo 1990/2019 (48.5%, The Whisky Agency, barrel)
Colour: light gold. Nose: Not the immediate fruit bomb as expected. This one is more on fresh linens, breads, lime zest, wild flowers and tiny wee glimmers of camphor, glazed pastries, white stone fruits and kumquat. Develops an extremely elegant and fragile honeyed quality after a few minutes. Some putty, chalk, limestone and motor oil with a scattering of mixed seeds too. Something of a departure I would say, but still quite beautiful. Mouth: there are fruits but it’s really more tart green fruits such as apple, gooseberry and star fruit. Then nettles, cat piss, New Zealand sauvignon and pine resin. Also some rather grassy olive oil, more toasted seeds, brown bread, sourdough and mineral oil. Definitely a more austere example from these vintages but you still feel there’s a rather expressive and outlandish core personality on display here. The texture is also nicely gentle and buttery. Finish: medium and on pollens, bay leaf, green herbs, bitter lemon, olive oil and wee camphory touches. Comments: Really could be a glass of cask strength sauvignon blanc with all this crisp, nettley greenery on display. Another one for summery afternoons with a good book. Quite a different beast if you’re expecting one of these more overt fruit bombs. I would hazard this is more Cooley than Bushmills, but don’t quote me!
SGP: 651 - 88 points.

Ben Nevis 7 yo 2012/2019 (48%, Thompson Brothers, refill hogshead, 382 bottles)
Colour: pale white wine. Nose: what’s good about these kinds of bottlings is that you can really dig down deep into the beating heart of the distillate. And Ben Nevis distillate is something we’re all paying much more attention to these days isn’t it? I find it extremely oily, yeasty, fat and almost greasy with these notes of industrial cooking oils, oily sheep wool and mineral oils. You also get this slightly coastal edge of bath salts, lemons preserved in brine and then oily rags and toolboxes. A few rather chalky medical tinctures and impressions of crushed aspirin too. It’s one of these whiskies that it’s just impossible not to think ‘barley eau de vie’ when you nose it. Mouth: what I love is that there are glimmers of the 1996s in here. There’s this kind of mashed fruits mixed with sweet porridge profile, along with soft waxes and more tertiary things like ink and carbon paper. Again this is hyper pure and really all about the raw ingredients. Which is no problem when the distillate is so impeccably made. The texture remains rather fat and nicely greasy as well. Finish: long and all on mashed fruits, green banana, lemon, wax, lamp oil, hessian and cooking oils. Comments: I have to say, I’m super impressed by this wee youthful Ben Nevis. A few observations: I think it was quite smart to bottle at 48%, it feels just perfect here. Most importantly though, I really think this kind of bottling is such a rarity in this day and age. A rather young whisky from relatively inactive wood which works superbly without any doping up with oak sugars, wine finishing or any other tinkering. A paean to careful, skilled whisky making that produces top quality distillate which shines when young or old and in 1st or 3rd fill. As ever, an eternal doth of the cap to Mr Colin Ross! This is the kind of bottle I would buy to stick in a cupboard for 20-30 years and let time in glass round it out perfectly.
SGP: 562 - 88 points.

Ben Nevis 23 yo 1996/2019 (47.6%, The Whisky Agency, hogshead, 264 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: a beautiful kind of creamy waxiness mixed with ripe white and green fruits which now feels so particular to these vintages of Ben Nevis. Lemon jelly, white marshmallow, juicy fruit chewing gum, chalk, freshly laundered fabrics and pineapple syrup. Rather straight, pure, exuberant with these fruity notes and perfectly balancing these mineral, oily and fruity qualities. Mouth: wonderful concentration on arrival. You really feel like you’re getting pure fruit salad juices from the bottom of the bowl. There’s also this beautifully textural honeyed waxiness that’s laced with salinity. Then mineral salts, dried herbs, wee hints of medicine and more, rather complex, waxiness. Finish: long, lemon balm, cough sweets, fruit pastilles, mead, herbal liqueurs and a little mint tea. Comments: Yet another magical 96 Ben Nevis. It was the concentration on the palate here that impressed the most.
SGP: 762 - 91 points.

Ben Nevis 22 yo 1996/2019 (53.4%, The Single Malts of Scotland for Kensington Wine Market, butt, cask #1659, 440 bottles)
Colour: deep gold. Nose: leaner, more mineral more dominated by pebbles, chalk, flints, fabrics and a medicines. It’s a rather elegant and leafy style of sherry which melds well with the Ben Nevis distillery character. Beyond that there’s lots of balsamico, tobaccos, putty, camphor, leather and some nice notes of musty wine cellars and leaf mulch - going all the way to rancio in time. Some elegant notes of pu erh tea in the background. With water: more overly fruity now, even showing some slightly jammy red fruit notes, which I rarely get in these Ben Nevis (Ben Nevi?). However, the overall development is towards more classical qualities of waxes, ripe green fruits, mineral oil and citrus jellies. Mouth: big, punchy, more boisterous and with more of these nicely sharp winey sherry notes. Salty, a lean ‘cured’ meatiness, some sharp black coffee and salted dark chocolate. Gets earthier over time with black pepper and some umami seasoning sauces. Not forgetting the usual soft waxiness that is creeping in. With water: I still get these quite sharp and prickly notes of wine must, funky bodega saltiness, salted almonds, other assorted toasted nuts, cured meats and sheep wool. Also slightly minty as well. Finish: long and on aniseed, bitter herbal notes, game meats, leather, miso, fruit chutney and soft medical tones. Comments: It’s really teetering on the 90 mark in my book, just a tad unusual and ‘wobbly’ to get over the line. But this is still richly flavoursome and hugely enjoyable Ben Nevis of the high calibre.
SGP: 562 - 89 points.

Clynelish 14 yo (46%, OB, 2019)
This from one of those smart wee 20cl bottles that Diageo like to offer. It’s been quite some time since I tried the 14, much to my shame! Colour: gold. Nose: we’re in safe territories. Waxes, canvass, mustard powder, wet pebbles, sunflower oil, gorse and these nice camphor and hessian notes. Feels big, direct, increasingly coastal and satisfyingly ‘Clynelish’. A light acetic tang in the background which feels fresh and slightly sherryish - but that may be my imagination. Mouth: impressively bold, full-bodied and nicely salty. Salted peanut brittle, some sharp raisin notes, new leather, camphor, putty, olive oil and black olives. A kind of briny waxiness which, even for Clynelish, feels rather big and emphatically coastal. Finish: surprisingly long, heathery, coastal, fresh, nicely bitter, lightly briny, lemony and medical. Comments: I hear quite a lot of folk complain about the 14 year old these days (“It’s not what it used to be… a disappointment…” etc etc). I have to say, based on this example, I think it’s still one of the top standard distillery expressions out there. Feels subversively uncommercial in some ways, which is kind of impossible to say about almost any other core Diageo distillery bottling.
SGP: 462 - 88 points.

Clynelish 36 yo (47.1%, The Single Malts of Scotland for The Whisky Show Old & Rare, Director’s Cut, 2020)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: exquisitely mineral, waxy, lemony, honeyed, coastal and full of these wee notes of white flowers, pollens, honeycomb, heather ale, new world IPA and waxed canvass. Age seems to have doubled down on everything that is ‘Clynelish’ so you get this hugely honed distillery character the gives the impression even from the nose of being hyper syrupy in texture. There’s also sweetened herbal medicines, some distant high quality cannabis and pineapple jelly. Just beautiful! Mouth: that impression of concentration rings true, only it’s surprisingly drier than expected. Salted mead, green olives in brine, dried herbs, many thick waxy notes, olive oil, medical vapour rubs and these dried out notes of tangerine, crystallised orange peel and then warmer tones of earthy turmeric, nutmeg and fennel seed. Becomes also elegantly vegetal with these notes of honey roast roots, celeriac and then more medical vibes such as aspirin, herbal cough syrup and some salted walnuts. Finish: wonderfully long, oily, honeyed, heathery, slightly beery, fat waxes, citronella, lime oils and more of these terrific saline mead notes. Comments: I love the concentration here, everything feels like it has doubled down on distillery character attributes and created some kind of Clynelish cubed. Also the evolution from nose through to finish keeps you on the edge of your seat. Reminds you why this distillery is just so devastating to all in its path when it’s on form.
SGP: 662 - 93 points.

Clynelish 30 yo 1972/2003 (50%, Douglas Laing ‘Old Malt Cask’, cask #14747, 126 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: streamlined and coastal-fresh waxes, herbs and pebbles. Direct, pure and extremely ‘Clynelish’ - the kind of profile that screams early 70s with this honey-infused waxiness and plush mineral underbelly. Some further notes of lemon cough drops, barley water and a rather heathery aspect. With water: develops towards white flowers, chalk, crushed seashells and a more crystalline minerality. Mouth: it’s a rather boisterous and slightly ‘dirty’ one in some ways with these impressions of oily mechanical rags and a waxiness that nods towards engine grease. Slightly minty, lactic and peppery too. With water: very medical and coastal with a rather fatty, gungey texture that fills the mouth. Finish: long, fresh, citric, surprisingly cereal and with notes of dried flowers and gorse. Comments: Not the greatest early 1970s Clynelish but then we’re still in flavour and quality territory that very few contemporary malts ever approach.
SGP: 462 - 92 points.

Ledaig 11 yo 2008/2019 (55.2%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection, hogshead, 270 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: it’s one these rather fatty and greasy profiles featuring lots of gasoline, muddy peat, yeasty notes, lemon juice, sheep wool and a rather gutsy carbolic acidity. In terms of direct, modern, youthful peated malt you can’t get much straighter than this. Becomes a little cleaner and chiselled with time evolving more towards seawater and lemon juice. With water: a rather grassy smokiness emerges now, still rather punchy, brusque and a tad harsh. Mouth: very ashy and all on antiseptic, gauze, brine and some rather hot medicines. Also rather extremely saline as well with pure sea salt and brined fish. With water: hot plastic, smoked clay, olive oil mixed with antiseptic and some kind of industrial herbal mouthwash. Hot, salty, slightly earthy peat and more sharp lemon juice. Finish: long and full of raw smoke, seawater, diesel fumes and tar. Comments: Some folk will love this for it’s ‘bigness’ but I find these rather stark modern peaters a tad too monolithic and brutal for my tastes.
SGP: 367 - 81 points.

Ledaig 13 yo 2005/2019 (57.4%, The Whisky Exchange, cask #900174, sherry butt, 622 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: soot and menthol cigarettes to begin. This very attractive leathery and camphor mix of peat and gentle sherry which works very well. You can also add some walnut skins, mineral oils, smoked mint tea and smouldering pinecones. Really impressive nose so far I have to say. In time there’s also some hints of shoe polish and game meats. With water: an added layer of treacle sweetness, then caraway, cinnamon buns and smoked olive oil. Mouth: wonderfully rich, complex smokiness. Leathery, gamey and full of ink, soy sauce, miso and camphor. Also this wonderfully tarry side along with black pepper, smoked black teas and rather a lot of hessian. Quite beautiful and there are even these wee moments where you could almost get glimmers of 70s Ardbeg. With water: gets fatter, brinier and there’s this lightness of touch from the mouthfeel that keeps everything very easy and pleasurable. Goes full circle back to ink, tar, mentholated notes and medical notes of TCP and iodine drops. Finish: long and bristling with leathery smoke, stout beers, liquorice, antiseptic, dried herbs and a kind of sweet and rooty peatiness. Comments: Terrific wee sherried Ledaig that feels modern in the very best of ways while also nodding slyly at the past. And the balance between sherry and peat is pitch perfect here. Recommended!
SGP: 566 - 90 points.

Ledaig 25 yo 1995/2020 (48.5%, The Whisky Agency, hogshead)
Colour: straw. snapped twigs along with a very gentle kind of ‘green’ bonfire smoke that comes through wispily and elegantly. Also lemon cough drops, anthracite embers, Marmite on brown toast, some crushed pink peppercorns and things like lanolin, sourdough starter and orange vitamin tablets fizzing in soda water. Light, bright, elegant and nicely complex. There’s also this sense of yeastiness which feels rather like a Tobermory accept encroaching upon this pretty gentle Ledaig. Which seems too often be the case with 90s Ledaigs. Mouth: indeed, it’s not a particularly peaty one. This is more on wet rocks, crushed aspirin, wet grains, raw cereal, fresh butter with chopped chives and parsley, plain toast, ink, carbon paper and lemon barley water. Cleaves close to the raw ingredients which is always good, but also has that elegant veil of age. And the mouthful has a robustness that carries everything nicely. More soft yeasty tones, grass, freshly muddled herbs, some mouthwash and more of these gentle lemony notes. Finish: good length but rather light and cereal driven, also some olive oil, sunflower seeds and hints of canvass and new leather. Comments: A tad whacky but also pretty charming and, most importantly, clean and never straying far from the raw ingredients. Indeed, the whole thing feels very natural. Although, I would say this is something of a departure from other Ledaigs from the mid-90s or earlier, most of those remain very ‘unlikely’ in my experience; perhaps time is the key ingredient with this baby.
SGP: 453 - 87 points.