James E Pepper 3 yo Rye Whiskey ‘Batch 2’ (50%, That Boutique-y Whisky Co, PX sherry finish, 1077 bottles)
PX and Rye? I feel suddenly out of my depth… Colour: orange / amber. Nose: but what? This is rather lovely, a big mix of sticky dark fruits, jams and indeed, spicy rye / pumpernickel breads. Liquorice, aniseed, marmalade and even a little blood orange and some bitter herbs. Pretty good so far… With water: brown bread with treacle, caramelising brown sugars, toffee apple and some very gentle wood spices. Mouth: feels a little bit flatter in the mouth. Those nice stick fruit jam aspects have become a bit more like orange squash and various cheaper fruit liqueurs. Some mint tea, rose jelly and a little camphor note. But globally it’s very sweet. With water: again this caramelised sugar profile, and even some very sweet balsamic onion vibes which I find quite funny. Strawberry Haribo sweets and a little chocolate sauce. Finish: a bit short, brown breads, sweet fruit cordials and jams and some whispers of spice. Comments: the nose is very fine, but globally I found it a bit too confected and sugary for my tastes.
SGP: 751 - 76 points.

Balcones 3 yo Texas Single Malt ‘Batch 2’ (51.2%, That Boutique-y Whisky Co, ex-Tequila cask, 212 bottles)
I’m really in uncharted waters here, you’ll probably have to take my notes and score with a fistful of salt. Colour: polished rosewood. Nose: I don’t detect much in the way of Tequila, rather this is deeply concentrated, spicy and full of things like wood bark, sarsaparilla, birch beer, cloves and liquorice. Quite something! With water: spiced plums, tobacco, cola syrup, root beer, herbal toothpaste - indeed, it tends to veer more towards medicines and sweet fruits now. Mouth: you get the immediate impression that the heat has done a lot of the relationship management work between wood and distillate here. Everything feels sticky, dense, spicy and pretty well fused. There’s this jammy, wood spice ridden sweetness but it’s not totally over the top. Cola syrup, BBQ sauce, roast game meats, herbal bitters and natural tar. Pretty sure you could baste brisket and racks of ribs with this stuff. With water: sweeter, more syrupy in texture and with more obvious fruit notes of orange marmalade, plum jam, strawberry cordial and some figs. In time the spices come back, but remain warming and there’s a few breads, aniseed and natural tar. Finish: medium, getting more towards breads, toasted seeds, spices and aniseed. Comments: I had thought this would just be totally mental whisky for Chainsaw enthusiasts. However, it’s actually surprisingly complex and not without its subtleties. Having said that, I really wouldn’t read much into my score. I’m no expert in these styles.
SGP: 672 - 82 (pretty meaningless) points.

Heaven Hill 9 yo ‘Batch 1’ (48.4%, That Boutique-y Whisky Co, 1177 bottles)
This one was matured in second fill casks, hence why it isn’t technically a Bourbon. Colour: gold. Nose: a different style altogether, sweet pears glazed in honey, fresh cereals, pastries, breakfast cereals dusted with icing sugar, boiled lemon sweets and wee touches of camphor and putty. A very attractive nose that’s firmly on the lighter side of things. Mouth: here you feel the mix of different cereals in the mashbill. That lighter touch that corn brings with a thinner texture and notes of runny honey, toasted cereals, more icing sugar, sweet tea and crystallised orange peel. Finish: a bit on the short side. Lemon sherbet, Cointreau, more boiled sweets, corn syrup and more of these sugary tea vibes. Comments: All very fine, but it’s a tad light and thin at points. It’s a very instructive insight into the kick of adrenaline that virgin oak in hot climate ageing brings to these styles of distillate.
SGP: 741 - 78 points.

Heaven Hill 11 yo 2009/2020 (67.5%, C Dully Selection, cask #3440929, new oak barrel, 246 bottles)
You have to be careful with this kind of bottling, you spend so long reading the cask number you miss the ABV and are dead before you know it… this one was ‘early landed’ in the UK after an initial few years in Kentucky. Colour: bright gold. Nose: hot varnish at first nosing, a mighty wall of ethanol. Although, you do get that impression of tinned corn syrup and icing sugar sitting just behind it. But really, I think we require water…With water: cornflour, soda bread, starched linens, rice cakes and hot Bakelite. Probably about as pure and ‘distillate driven’ as this type of whiskey can be. Continues to evolve with many notes of rubbed lemon peel, citrons and lime curds. This high citrus note combined with sweetness is very attractive I have to say. Mouth: there’s a syrupy sweetness that masks the alcohol extremely impressively. There’s this impression of sweetened rapeseed oil, metal polish and even hints of rice pudding. Some herbal touches, light medical notes and more cereal-derived sweetness. I still think water is essential though… With water: much better! A clear evolution of texture as it becomes thicker, oilier on the palate and there are many more bitter citrus fruits and piths, spicy cereals, breads, cooking oils, camphor, putty and various spiced teas. Finish: medium and with this rather brittle spiciness, bitter orange peel, herbal teas, canvass and green pepper. Comments: Quite a fascinating variation on a style, and once again hot climate ageing’s characteristics speak volumes by their relative diminishment here. This one is a lot of fun provided you have time, patience and a pipette to hand, there’s probably about five different drams in here. Although, I wouldn’t say it was particularly ‘easy’.
SGP: 752 - 84 points.

Bourbon Whiskey 24 yo ‘Batch 1’ (48%, That Boutique-y Whisky Co, 8376 bottles)
Not sure what the maturation profile has been for this one, but a little bird has informed me it is likely a ‘half and half’ USA / UK mix. Colour: coppery amber. Nose: tinned peaches, spices oranges, graphite oil, cloves, putty, liquorice, sticky figs in syrup, damp tobacco leaf and coke floats with vanilla ice cream. Sweet, deep, easy and pretty brilliant. The kind of nose that shouts ‘America!’. Mouth: richly bready, spicy and with an even balance of sweetness. Lots of rye bread spices, warm toasted oakiness, creamy, syrupy sweetness and the usual things like cloves, liquorice and natural tarry and herbal bitter qualities. Mulling spices and orange peel come to the fore after a while. Finish: good length, again with these brown bread, toasted seeds and some more chunk dark fruits. Bitter marmalade, dried herbs and some crispy pancetta. Comments: balance is the key here. Richly spicy with a nicely variable sweetness that fades in and out without ever drifting into cloying.
SGP: 662 - 87 points.

Aultmore 9 yo (48%, The Single Malts of Scotland, Réserve Cask Parcel No.4, 2020)
A brand new one, I haven’t got any picture yet I’m afraid. I could put a picture of Kamala Harris instead, you’re right… Whoops no wait, just got one from La Maison (that was all so unnecessary, S.) Colour: white wine. Nose: zing! Roots, branches, grasses and white asparagus. A touch of tinned salsify, fern, fennel and sorrel, then white chocolate and coconut water; that’s the oak speaking out. Mouth: oh good, barley, roots, aniseed, citrons. It’s not a complicated malt at all, but everything’s clean and tidy, with good definition and freshness. So a little eau-de-vie-ish if you will, in the better sense. Finish: perhaps a little too much coconut from some freshish oak that would have been involved, but I’m also finding a little absinth. Which is fun. Comments: for your silver hipflask. I mean, solid silver.
SGP:551 - 85 points.

Bruichladdich 26 yo 1994/2020 ‘Black Art 8.1’ (45.1%, OB, 12000 bottles)
It seems that they have kept the ‘cask bill’ secret this year, but I suppose some wine was involved this time again. 1994 was Bruichladdich’s last vintage before it got mothballed… until 2001. It’s to be noted that vintages vary upon the websites/retailers, as some say 1996. Ha, zee Internet. Colour: gold. Nose: it does start rather leafier than usual, ‘blacker’ for sure even if the colour isn’t really dark, and pretty much on stems, chalk, bitter cherries, bitter almonds and green walnuts. A profile that may suggest French or European oak, at least partially. Some peonies and ginger too. Mouth: don’t I find something reminiscent of musty old wine cellars? Blood oranges too, more walnuts, bitters, dry sherry, stems and leaves, Seville oranges, curry and coriander seeds… The same feeling of European oak spices as on the nose. Finish: rather long with a little more fudge, but always some leafy spices, bitter oranges… Comments: I’ve always liked the ‘purer’ Bruichladdichs better than these – some have become extraordinary – but I have to say this new batch was surely well composed.
SGP:561 - 85 points.

Caperdonich 20 yo 2000/2020 (55.8%, LMDW, Artist #10, hogshead, cask #29488, 251 bottles)
This was selected at Signatory Vintage’s by the skilled noses of La Maison du Whisky. Remember Pernod-Ricard bought Caperdonich from Seagrams’ in 2001 and closed it almost immediately. So, this is one of the very last vintages. Who’s ever tried a 1972 Caperdonich? Utter glory, I agree. Oh and remember Seagrams had done some peaters at Caperdonich, as they were doing elsewhere, but I believe that had been done way before the year 2000. Colour: gold. Nose: sweet, easy American oak, with some vanilla and brioche, pancakes, drops of grape juice, some sour beer, apples and pears, flour and grist… It is very fresh and not that far from Glen Grant’s style indeed. Or Glenmo’s. With water: barley and beach sand, sesame oil, a little coconut water… Mouth (neat): creamy, vanilla-ed, barley-y, with quite some barley syrup, custard, acacia honey, a touch of beeswax… What’s immediately remarkable is how creamy and almost thick this is. With water: great malty and brioche-y profile, with some coconut balls, biscuits, sweet oils… It’s the texture that’s most impressive. A little white pepper for good measure. Finish: medium, sweet and oily for a few seconds (syrup), spicier then. Comments: you almost need a spoon to get this one out of your tulip glass, but it’s worth it. Barley in majesty.
SGP:451 - 86 points.

Chalong Bay ‘Wild Fermentation’ (49%, OB, Thailand, 2020)
I suppose wild fermentation means wild yeasts. This is pure sugarcane juice. I am a fan of Chalong Bay. Colour: white. Nose: lovable. New plastics, fresh cane juice, baker’s yeast, capers, new jumper, touches of juniper and nutmeg, oysters, pickled gherkins, a drop of tequila. I find this nose pretty superb and very deep. Do not overlook Chalong Bay just because they’re located in Phuket! Mouth: super-good, I remember I’ve tried some raw ‘peasant’s’ aguardientes in Cuba that were a bit like this. Muscovado, sugarcane syrup, artichokes and capers, a little tar… It really tastes of raw cane sugar, while being less grassy and olive-y than other Chalongs. We’ll try another one soon… Finish: medium, really all on cane sugar. That’s where it may all become a little ‘toom much’, but now quibbles, it’s still very good rum. Comments: as I said, I’m a fan, but this one’s perhaps a tad tiring because it’s so much on cane sugar. I suppose it’s stupid to blame it for that but I liked the ‘High Proof Batch 0001’ really better the other day (WF 85).
SGP:631 - 80 points.

Savanna 16 yo 2003/2020 (52.7%, OB, La Réunion, cask #987, 936 bottles)
We’ve loved their new Grand Arôme last week, but this is a traditional ex-molasses old rhum. Should be much rounder… Colour: amber. Nose: I love to be proven wrong when what we get is rather a full-blown agricole style. Superb menthol, oranges, plasticine, apricot pie, maple syrup, aniseed and liquorice, wild carrots… Well, this is a superb, full and complex nose that I would almost call Marie-Galante-y, if you see what I mean. That’s right, that’s around 20,000 kilometres away as the crow flies. With water: not that many changes. Probably more liquorice. Lovely. Mouth (neat): oh caraway and aniseed, sweet paprika sauce, maple syrup, black nougat, pancake sauce, caramel, fudge… Rather a sin this far, be careful. It’s a bit syrupy but I’m sure no one dared sauce this up. With water: of course no one did, it got dry when reduced, and much more on oranges, triple-sec, marmalade… Finish: not eternal but fresh and well balanced between orange juice and maple syrup. One should definitely try this one over pancakes. No, you go first. A drop of bottled orange juice too. Some coffee liqueur in the aftertaste. Comments: we’re almost in the French West Indies with this one. Excellent.
SGP:551 - 87 points.

An Irish Distillery 30 yo 1990/2020 (53.1%, Archives ‘Birds from the Orient’, cask #589, rum barrel, 148 bottles)
Not sure if this was a rum finish or full term maturation. What’s for sure is that my pitch of a ‘Kebabs of Glasgow’ themed Archives label series is just getting pushed further and further down the list! I know, I know, first world problems… Colour: gold. Nose: big, syrupy and full of tinned pineapple, golden syrup, coconut water - indeed there’s a sense of rum about it - and rather lovely notes of new leather, white pepper and mineral oil. With water: becomes ever so slightly salty now, more coconut, dried herbs, nettles, camphor, perhaps even a little waxy. Really good. Mouth: here comes the anticipated fruits but they’re very much wrapped up in various cooking oils, metal polish, lime zest and putty. The rum here is really well integrated, you get these wonderfully rich grassy notes, metal and shoe polishes and these nicely tart peppery notes. With water: resinous fruitiness now, guava, mango, lemon, pineapple, however it’s all rather dried, textural and nicely bitter. Still quite herbal and peppery. Finish: long, dried exotic fruits and exotic fruit teas, white pepper, olive oil, putty and an increasingly mechanical edge that almost takes in engine oil and seawater. Comments: the rum weaves in and out of this one in a really enchanting way. You certainly feel it’s very Irish, but it’s quite a departure from the more obvious and lusciously fruity examples. Still, quality remains high overall!
SGP: 641 - 88 points. 

Redbreast 30 yo 1989 (57.2%, OB for The Whisky Exchange, bourbon barrels / port pipe, 444 bottles)
This one was in bourbon until 1995 and then a port pipe since then, so well and truly a double maturation and not a finish in my book. Colour: bright orange / amber. Nose: many small fruits. Apricots, plums, melon, kiwi. The kind of aroma that immediately sounds the complexity alarm. Goes on with stewed figs, plum wine, blood orange and these wee leathery and camphor touches. More plums, did I mention there were plums already? With water: raspberry panna cotta, red liquorice, brown sugars, toffee apple and this rather precise aroma of crystallised exotic fruits and citrus peels. Also wee beery touches of fruity new world hops and IPAs as well. Mouth: you don’t have the obvious, luscious fruitiness of some of these other older Irish whiskeys. Instead, you’ve got a wonderfully bitter herbal and grassy profile, all wrapped up in dark, syrupy, stewed fruits and warm spices. Cinnamon, aniseed, paprika and eucalyptus bark. Bitter orange peels, old leather, spiced teas, pine resin and bitter marmalade. Extremely good and - what I love most of all - extremely Irish! With water: sticky fruits tinned in syrups, and darker stewed fruits in calvados and cognac. Some stodgy fruit cake, madeira sponge, cough medicines, herbal cordials and wee touches of mulchy tobacco and menthol sweets. Finish: long, perfectly bitter, herbal and converging on some old school Fernet Branca. Expensive liquorice, boiled cherry sweets, sticky fruit cake again and more of these elegant bitter orange notes. Some rather thick earthy and meaty notes in the aftertaste. Comments: The word here is ‘complexity’. A whiskey that first commands, then holds your attention, before opening up into many layers with patience and varying degrees of water. I also enjoy that it retains an extremely loud and clear Irish accent without necessarily aligning with other contemporary Irish bottlings of similar age.
SGP: 751 - 90 points.   

Tomintoul 14 yo 2005/2020 (55.8%, Lady Of The Glen, cask #19A, refill bourbon / Amontillado finish, 251 bottles)
Colour: copper. Nose: nice! First up, you really do get the Amontillado, lots of big, syrupy, salty, caramel and butterscotch notes. Some leafy and earthy notes, dried apples and then cigarette tobacco. Very good so far. With water: deeper earthiness, brown apples, muscovado sugar and cloves. Mouth: first there is a little heat and a nibble of tannin from the wood, you can feel this is a modern sherry cask style where they have louder staves. Charcoal, brown sugar, graphite, treacle and rosewater. With water: more chocolatey, more fudgey and now also rather peppery. Although you still have some rather punchy tannins, globally it’s a little leafier and creamier. Finish: medium, spicy, jammy, peppery and rather herbal in the aftertaste. Comments: I like that it’s a finishing where the additional cask is very clear and up front. Although, not sure Tomintoul is the world’s most distinctive distillate, rather a blank canvass, which makes sense for finishing I suppose. Anyway, the wood is a little sharp and modern for my tastes, but the overall quality is good I think.
SGP: 651 - 83 points.

Tomintoul 15 yo (56,1%, Dram Mor, cask #32, refill bourbon / Sauternes finish, 317 bottles)
This one spent only 4 months in an ex-Sauternes barrique so probably quite a light touch. Let’s see… Colour: white wine. Nose: it’s true that Tomintoul seems to work as a good ‘base’ malt for finishing, here you have the immediate light nectar and honeyed sweetness of the Sauternes. But it weaves nicely into cereal sweetness, honey-sweetened porridge and then some rather curious spice notes of things like cumin and paprika. Pumpkinseed oil too! With water: wet leaves, new cigarettes, cornflour, canvass and buttered toast. Rather drier and feeling much closer to the raw, natural ingredients now. Mouth: not sure what the Sauternes barrique added, but I find this much richer and ‘fuller’ than Tomintoul usually is. Sunflower oil, more of these wee cupboard spices, peach stones, caramelised oatmeal, dried herbs and wee hints of miso and white mushroom. With water: bigger, spicier and more towards breads and cereals now. Almost akin to some new world style whiskies with these notes of pumpernickel and corn chips. New leather, putty and again this slightly mushroomy earthiness. Finish: medium, cooked cereals, butter, parsley, rapeseed oil and putty. Comments: It’s funny how water all but obliterated any Sauternes influence here I think, whereas on the neat nose it was rather clear and apparent. Anyway, this one was pretty fun I think.
SGP: 651 - 84 points.

Bunnahabhain 12 yo (43%, OB, litre, 1990s)
I fondly recall being in Loch Fyne Whiskies and the inimitable Richard Joynson urging me to buy this because it was ‘currently actually a 19 year old’. I believe that was what they now call ‘the good old days’… Colour: gold. Nose: nutty, leathery sherry with a nicely saline and meaty edge. This kind of sinewed, chunky sherry / coastal profile is something I find extremely ‘Bunnahabhain’. Develops some beautiful notes of wet leaves, mushrooms, walnut oil and hessian. It certainly does come across as older than 12. Mouth: big, salty, earthy, robust sherry with plenty of tobacco, walnuts, leather and a persistent and wonderful saltiness. Salted almonds and some top quality old Amontillado. More of these meaty tones, bouillon stock, game meats, putty and some cough medicines. Finish: good length, still on these leathery, umami, salty, meaty and nutty sherried qualities. Comments: I suspect Richard was onto something…
SGP: 562 - 88 points.

Bunnahabhain 19 yo 1980 (46%, First Cask, cask #5647, sherry)
From a possible 19yo to an actual 19yo. These stocks for Direct Wines hailed from Signatory and were often excellent. I think I write a variation of that sentence literally every time I write notes for a First Cask bottling. Next time I won’t, I promise! Colour: pale amber. Nose: it’s true that Bunnahabhain and good sherry are a great pairing and that’s the case here, lots of moss, damp earth, black tea, tobacco leaf and hints of milk chocolate and praline. It’s this very particular collision of nuttiness, thickness and salinity that I keep returning to time and again with Bunna. You can often add honey to that triumvirate on occasion as well, especially from refill wood. But we’re getting distracted… Mouth: soft and squidgy dark fruits. Sultanas, prunes, chocolate sauce, damp earthiness, hessian, dry roast peanuts… much to admire! There’s that rather resinous saltiness coming at the back as well along with more hessian, leaf mulch and that slightly vegetal, bouillon vibe again. It’s to be wondered if this parcel of stock wasn’t very similar to that feeding the OB 12yo at the time? There’s a whole helix of shared DNA between these two. Finish: medium, some burnt raisins, caramelised brown sugar, toffee apples, petrichor and damp tobacco. Comments: Extremely close to the ‘12yo’, hard to discern much difference in overall quality. Although, I’d say the sherry is little more rugged and pronounced here.
SGP: 462 - 88 points.

Bunnahabhain 30 yo 1979/2009 (45.2%, The Whisky Talker, cask #9619, sherry butt, 554 bottles)
Colour: rosy amber. Nose: sherry + time in full swing here. Big notes of balsamic reduction, walnut wine, natural tar, hardwood resins, fir wood, pinecones and bitter dark chocolate. Wonderfully pure, clean and earthy with these rather sharper notes of dark fruits and sour cherries. Mouth: deeply earthy and ridden with tobacco, raspberry Belgian sour beers, bitter chocolate, cocoa, wild strawberry jam, muscovado and salty liquorice. Very powerful but superbly rich, punchy and clean earthy sherry. Now, I’m not too sure how much of the Bunna DNA has survived here, but this is undeniably delicious. Finish: medium, umami, savoury earthiness, black teas, green walnut liqueur, rancio and more balsamic. Comments: Extremely quaffable, the low abv seems to work and bend well with the sherry, although perhaps notch more power would have pushed this higher. But then, it’s a highly pleasurable old sherried Bunna and we’re splitting hairs.
SGP: 661 - 89 points.

Bruichladdich 15 yo 2005/2020 (60.6%, Archives ‘Birds of the Orient’, cask #806, barrel, 230 bottles)
Historians of the distant future will probably write some obscure thesis on the curious effects of that late 20th century phenomena when whisky lovers and bird watchers started breeding… Colour: pale gold. Nose: wooft! An un-peated Brora 1972! Seriously, all on pure farmyard, bailed hay, silage, paraffin, clay, ointments, mineral oils and camphor. Pretty spectacular in my view. With water: yup, chalk dusters, more paraffin, lamp oil, plush cereals, malt extract, barley sugar, stables and this increasingly fresh and elegant coastal note. Mouth: one of these styles that feels as though there is some peat lurking in the depths that’s extremely hard to pin down. Instead it sort of emerges as ink, carbon paper, olive oil, brake fluid, chalk, aspirin, struck flints and tar. It’s also superbly fat and textural. Brilliant distillate! With water: massively textural, fat, oily, buttery malted barley sweetness. Also these peppery notes and a more vivid coastal quality. Some greenery such as grass, parsley and crushed gorse bush too. Just superb! Finish: long, full of white pepper, chalky medicines, grassy olive oil, dry cereals, tarragon and a few glimmers of tart green acidity. Comments: Quite simply, brilliant distillate. It’s a big departure from the earlier eras, but it seems they were really doing something right at Bruichladdich in these post-2001 vintages.
SGP: 572 - 90 points.

Bruichladdich 26 yo 1992/2019 (54.9%, Elixir Distillers ‘The Single Malts Of Scotland’, cask #3841, hogshead, 228 bottles)
Colour: bright straw. Nose: another style entirely. One that’s globally much lighter and dominated by flower and heather honeys, light cereals, sunflower oil, sandalwood, canvass and various green and ripe orchard fruits like cut green apples, gooseberry and slightly overripe pears. Light, fresh, crisp and extremely elegant. With water: more opulent, honeyed, greener, riper fruits and more generous and sweet barley aroma. Beautifully pure and close to the natural ingredients. Mouth: rich and polished cereals, beautifully well-structured with pollens, light herbal teas, canvass, hessian, sandalwood and mineral oils. Wee camphory touches, sweet porridge and more background green fruits and lemon peel. With water: again with pollens, supple waxes, canvass, mineral oils, putty, delicate medical notes and soft cereal tones. Finish: good length, with artichokes in olive oil, white pepper, watercress, mustard powder and more of these rich, fatty cereal aspects. Comments: I feel like these vintages were, despite what was said about them in their younger days, very good distillate - they just needed time to emerge properly from their shell. This is a pretty exemplary and excellent example of that era I’d say, one captured at a perfect age.
SGP: 561 - 88 points.

Port Charlotte 13 yo 2005/2018 (58.4%, Scotch Single Malt Circle, cask #1590, madeira hogshead, 304 bottles)
This from the German language remake of the SMWS. Colour: pale gold. Nose: what’s funny is that there is an almost ‘Springbank’ vibe at first nosing, one that’s reminiscent of that distillery’s own forays into Madeira cask maturation. Perhaps that says something about the broader interactions between Madeira and peat? Anyway, I find a lot of seawater, salted almonds, anchovies and this rather brilliant hit of raw medicines, mercurochrome and smoked sea salt. Wonderfully rich, pure, fat and powerful. With water: deeply smoky, fishy, peppery, briny and peaty. The peat smoke becomes almost leathery and you get these real, palpable notes of hot smoked white fish and wood embers. Mouth: pure seawater cut with petrol, aniseed, sheep wool and industrial antiseptic. It’s this combination of power and control which is so compelling. The peat feels almost greasy and swollen in texture. Bacon lardons, natural tar and many medical notes of gauze, iodine and TCP. Also farmyard qualities. With water: wonderfully tarry, salty, peppery, fishy, peaty and with some almost metallic touches of metal polish, sooty, mechanical oils, heavy-weight medicines and camphor. Finish: superbly long, resinous, salty, greasy peats, grilled mackerel, black pepper, iodine, hessian, tar, mineral salts and smoked olive oil. Comments: I couldn’t tell you what the Madeira brought to this, other than that it was probably just a very good cask that sang in clear harmony with this brilliant Port Charlotte distillate. Raw, powerful and yet wonderful controlled, precise and evocative whisky. What’s also cool, is that despite the cask, the peating level and the age difference, the shared identity between this and the Archives bottling is loud and clear. Great distillate always triumphs!
SGP: 478 - 90 points.

Akkeshi ‘Sarorunkamuy’ 2016/2020 (55%, OB, Lightly peated)
This is the very first whisky from Akkeshi Distillery on Hokkaido – nothing to do with Akashi - and was matured in bourbon, sherry, red wine and mizunara casks. The Japanese too enjoy marquetry. Colour: straw. Nose: a very young spirit, with bready notes, a slightly feinty side, and quite some oak. Husk, sawdust, ale, hints of eucalyptus – the mizunara I suppose, sourdough… Nutshell, it feels young but that’s normal and you have to start from somewhere. With water: williams pears and white cherries, apple peel... Mouth (neat): more mature than on the nose, spicy, smoky and fruity, with curious notes of sake (I swear), fermentation, plantains… No red berries, that’s good. And I rather love sake. With water: even better. Smoked beer, kirsch, williams pear, barley and banana bread. Finish: medium, with a little more oak, cocoa and cereals, plus hints of bananas. Comments: please do not take my score too seriously, this is 3 years old malt whisky and many 3 yo malt whiskies are pretty undrinkable – or made-up. Not the case at all here, very well done Akkeshi.
SGP:552 - 80 points.

Mars Tsunuki 2016-2017/2020 ‘The First’ (59%, OB)
The very first Tsunuki distilled at Tsunuki, although I seem to have noticed that some single casks are also being launched. I have to say I have a rather high opinion of Mars/Hombo. Colour: straw. Nose: a proper fresh baguette around 6am, then crushed bananas, vanilla, croissants and muesli. Pristine malt whisky, pure and unvarnished. So no wine in sight, we are safe. With water: wonderfully barley-y. Splendid very honest young malt. Mouth (neat): high-power, tight, on dough, lemon liqueur and peppermint. That part is spectacular, let’s see if it’s still there once water’s been added. With water: rather some kind of lemon-mint? Melissa water? Lemongrass? Indeed, splendid drop at this age. Finish: medium, with a little sawdust – which was to be expected, with even more of that in the aftertaste, which was to be expected too. Comments: I don’t think you can do any better with some 3.5 years old malt whisky. The side of Nippon whisky that we love!
SGP:651 - 88 points.

Mars Komagate 2014/2020 (61%, OB, La Maison du Whisky, first fill bourbon, cask #1789, 192 bottles)
This ought to be a revolutionary barrel (you may google ‘France 1789’). Different distillery, this time we’re in Shinshu. Colour: white wine. Nose: less consensual, a little more metallic, with more chalk and prickly fruits, granny smith, perhaps green gooseberries… I find this nose perfectly acidulated, but remember, 61%, so water may make it way smoother (yes I’m part of the AWETKUWS, the association of whisky enthusiasts that keep using the word smooth). With water: a little menthol was added, perhaps eucalyptus, wondering if they haven’t used a little mizunara. Remember mizunara is like yuzu in food, ten years ago no one was even talking about them. Mouth (neat): a tad glue-y, but that’s the high strength. Otherwise it’s amyl diacetate galore! So pineapples and pears… With water: back to malt and sweet beer, phew. But almonds and varnish are still there, which is not unpleasant. Finish: medium, sweet and candy-like. Viket sweets in the aftertaste. Comments: excellent for sure, but I liked the new Tsunuki’s tighter and yet fatter style even better.
SGP:741 - 85 points.

Karuizawa 1999/2018 (58.8%, Artist #10, LMDW, sherry, cask #872, 313 bottles)
This bottle, although bottled in 2018, just came out as a 10th Anniversary bottling (anniversary of this very lovely and elegant series I suppose). Colour: mahogany. Nose: not all late-period Karuizawas have been out of this world, but it seems that this one’s sharing a few attributes with the earlier ‘sherried’ vintages, such as old tools, prunes, tar, black cherries, then ganache, rose wood, peonies and Turkish currants... I really cherish all this metal polish too, which reminds of some old motorbikes that I still have somewhere. With water: pipe tobacco joining in, earth, walnuts and raisins, more prunes, malmsey… I find this nose superlative. Mouth (neat): what? Tell me about some heavy whisky! Doesn’t quite feel like a proper sherry cask, rather some obscure fortified wine aged in pinewood or something. The thing is, the end result is rather superb. Ex-Soviet Republic ‘konjak’ without all the sugars and sauces. With water: more towards raw chocolate, raspberry jelly and camphor. Not a very usual combination, but one that wins. Finish: rather long, on pretty much the same flavours, plus just wee touches (how do you say wee in Japanese?) of sulphury and tarry rubber. Comments: the finish pulled it down a little bit, but otherwise, it’s rather a late-period-early-style Karuizawa I would say.
SGP:562 - 90 points.

Glenmorangie ‘A Tale of Cake’ (46%, OB, 2020)
With no age statement, a design made for kindergarten (or for Ronnie McDojnald) and a finishing in Tokaji, will this really be a piece of cake? In whisky, ex-Tokaji wood has been known for its capacity of wrecking even the most spectacular distillates, such as, err, Longrow. But I agree Glenmo isn’t Longrow, and that fun is much needed these days… Colour: light gold. Nose: fresher and zestier than expected, rather on pink grapefruits than on candied raisins or late-harvest furmint. Some peaches too, apricots, lemon biscuits, then longans and probably dried litchis, which would rather lead us towards gewurztraminer, but there, no harm done. Mouth: rather creamy, very easy, rather on oriental pastries, icewine or even ice cider, nougat and popcorn. Lemon drops and touches of mint liquorice. Finish: medium, rather on plum spirit. Rather damson eau-de-vie actually, which I’m about to distil again later in November, by the way, with my loyal 100-l hybrid copper still. A little coffee in the aftertaste. Comments: I think this is a success. The Tokaji was clean, the whisky smooth, and our friends valiant.
SGP:541 - 85 points.

Old Pulteney 2010/2020 ‘Flotilla’ (46%, OB, first fill bourbon)
A brand new Flotilla! Seriously, silly names do not bother me as long as there is a proper age statement, quite the contrary. So, ‘flotilla’, you say that’s Gaelic?* Colour: white wine. Nose: I’m falling in love already. Ten years old, a well-behaved wood, and a rather pure distillate, that’s the recipe for a winner in my book. Shall we call this baby ‘the HP 10 of the mainland’? Lovely sunflower oil, williams pear, gooseberries, candlewax, artisan cider, ale, bread, seaweed… What’s not to like?  Mouth: yeeppie! Sure it’s a little on ripe pears and juicy sultanas, so perhaps a tad ‘too easy’, but let's not deny ourselves our joy, this is excellent. Reminds me of those ripe jujubes that they sell in Chinese food markets (no, not next to pangolin meat). So loads of pears, but also vanilla, barley syrup, the said jujubes, a touch of turmeric and ginger… What I’m missing is a little more coastalness at this point, but there, it’s a fine dram. Finish: rather long, sweet, on pears, plums, grass, beer, hay… Comments: it lost a few points in the end, but I’m still relatively in love with this fresh little baby. Rather drink at 12°C, like a white wine, would I say. Ehhh?
SGP:551 - 85 points.

Ardbeg 19 yo ‘Traigh Bhan Batch 2’ (46,2%, OB, 2020)
This one’s matured in American oak and Oloroso sherry casks (which could be American oak too, no?) and is said to be pretty smooth. So new Wellies or not new Wellies? Colour: white wine. Nose: new Wellies indeed, but small size. Other than that, fresh almonds and fresh putty, a dollop of liquid tar, then whiffs of old shed, garden pit, kelp and really quite a lot of marzipan. I find it pretty light and gentle for Ardbeg, but well-balanced and rather admirably fresh. Mouth: it’s good that it wouldn’t be too modern (a.k.a. oak-influenced) and that both tar and lemon would play first fiddles, while more salty and coastal elements would chime in after three seconds, such as salted fudge and whelks. Always loved the humble whelks. No huge smoke here, rather cigar ashes, and perhaps touches of peaches, ala Ardmore. Finish: this is where you’re closest to ‘old’ Ardbeg – we’re meaning early 1970s – with this natural rubber, tar, smoke and a feeling of old cough syrup. Awesome finish. Comments: superb post-reopening Ardbeg and proof that they hadn’t changed much to the recipe. Thank you Stuart Thompson (and thanks anyone who’s not decided to dump this superb juice into whacky woods). Now, here’s that seminal question, was the purifier working or not?
SGP:466 - 91 points.

Ardbeg 18 yo 2001/2020 (54.5%, The Character of Islay for LMDW, The Stories of Wind and Wave, refill bourbon barrel, cask #257, 92 bottles)
We already tried the Port Ellen in this rather self-restrained new series and found it almost otherworldly. Colour: pale white wine. Nose: pretty similar to the OB at first, only a tad sharper and zestier, more vertical would I say, more mineral as well, more kilny, gristy, with more seaweed as well, new tyres, fresh rubber, seashells, hessian, tarry ropes… In fact I was wrong, it’s rather different, with even less cask influence. Pure Ardbeg. With water: exceptional and more Ardbeg than Ardbeg (no sense at all, S.) Metal polish, shoe polish, tar, old garage, old car… Mouth (neat): holy featherless crow, is this tense and tight! Tar, smoky oysters and salted lemons. Luminous and ‘evident’. With water: what’s brilliant here is that it doesn’t really get any more complex, just deeper and purer at the same time. To the point where the only descriptor you may use is ‘Ardbeg’. I agree, not very useful. Finish: long, superbly tarry, salty, lemony, and a little medicinal as well. Some camphor. Lemon zests and ashes. Comments: there isn’t much to add, except that I have the ravishing feeling of being back in the early 2000s, when all those stunning single casks were coming out.
SGP:467 - 92 points.

Enmore 25 yo 1994/2020 (51%, The Wild Parrot for LMDW, Guyana)
This baby was distilled at Diamond in Georgetown. According to the colour, it’s been matured in the tropics. Colour: coffee with red hues. Nose: exactly as expected, that is to say on liquorice, coffee and menthol, with tinier, more delicate floral notes arising, lilies, camphor, plasticine, also molasses, rotting wood, black tea, leather polish… With water: amazing, on liquorice and verbena, wormwood, very old Port, black raisins, some mentholy old cognac… Something reminds of the best Armenian brandies, mind you. This is such a small planet! Mouth (neat): extremely thick and concentrated, this is almost a blend of essential oils with fruit liqueurs. Violets (parfait amour) and heavy liquorice. Huge. With water: earth, sweet mushrooms, liquorice allsorts, blackberry jam, cassis, malbec… Finish: long, with this lovely menthol that always works in any finishes. Crème de menthe. Comments: not a lazy old Demerara. The relatively low strength does not hint at tropical aging, but the taste does. Got any clues?
SGP:472 - 89 points.

Clarendon 36 yo 1984/2020 (74.8%, Plantation Extreme for LMDW, Jamaica, 348 bottles)
Clarendon means Monymusk and 74.8% means attempted murder. Let me call my trusty lawyer… Colour: office coffee. Nose: varnish, nail polish remover, bourbon, acetone, black olives, murder. Why the hell do I love this? I think I need to call a shrink. With water: very high esters for sure (400?) so olives, glue, bakelite, new iPhone (not that very silly 12 that no one needs mind you), prunes, hoisin sauce… I think this is a beauty. A total brute but indeed, a beauty. I suppose no silly ‘dosage’ has been added, but let’s see…  Mouth (neat – am I not silly?): no, we’re beyond any limits. Walnut stain and rust inhibitor. NO sweetness whatsoever. With water: it would remain extremely dry and estery even at 40%, bone-dry, petroly, varnishy, very difficult at times, very acetic, with an extreme tannicity… and yet I’m tremendously (;-)) fond of this profile. I suppose it’s like these guys who just can’t quit bungee jumping or smoking unfiltered cigarettes. Some extremely delicate touches of raspberries and strawberries beneath all this panzer-like demonstration, well we know it’s a matter of funny molecules. Same with the heaviest peaters in whisky. Finish: quasi eternal and bone-dry. Over-infused thyme tea. Comments: total extreme fun. Well done Plantation, this was quite a statement. Hell, Donald-Trump and putrefaction, life’s way too short anyway! What’s more, I’m dead sure this kills COVID better than Trump’s Remdesivir and Chloroquine.
SGP:173 - 90 points.

Blended Malt 19 yo 2001/2020 (44.9%, Watt Whisky, sherry butt, 630 bottles)
I’m extremely happy to see Kate and Mark doing their own thing, the whisky world needs more anti-nonsense, pro-fun people. Colour: amber. Nose: a style of sherry I really enjoy, that is to say lean, clean and rather leafy and mineral. Given time to open it develops some nutty aromas, praline, milk chocolate and rolling tobacco while also retaining these highly pleasurable mulchy, earthy tones. Mouth: lovely arrival, full, soft, darkly fruity sherry. Lots of sultanas, fig jam, raisins, tobacco and some slightly mushroomy vibes. Perhaps a wee dollop of treacle as well, but globally it remains elegantly drying. Finish: good length, densely earthy, getting richer and more towards figs, tobacco, dunnage and walnuts. Comments: If you’d handed me this blind and said an old Glendronach 15yo from the 1990s I’m not sure I’d have blinked even once. Superbly fresh, clean and vivid sherry with an old school accent. Recommended!
SGP: 561 - 88 points.

Blended Scotch Whisky 38 yo 1980/2020 (48.6%, C Dully Selection, cask #23, sherry hogshead, 230 bottles)
This is one of these ex-Edrington ‘blended whisky’ casks that rarely seem to taste like actual blends… Colour: brownish amber. Nose: deep, raisiny and rather luscious with these thick notes of tobacco, walnut oil, treacle and various dark fruit jams and chutneys. Evolves along these rather thick, earthy lines with quite a bit of hessian and leather. Pretty superb! Mouth: nice arrival, all on rancio. treacle, cloves, spiced fig jam, mulling spices and walnut liqueur. If you like old school sherry then this will tickle your boat no doubt. There’s a thickness of texture and an earthiness that I find extremely satisfying. Finish: medium with figs, sultanas, more tobacco, leaf mulch, hessian and rancio. Comments: I couldn’t detect one iota of grain whisky in this. Make of that what you will. Either way, this is a rather simple but direct and excellent old school sherried dram. No doubt it will be pestering a few tumblers this Winter.
SGP: 661 - 89 points.

Royal Brackla 12 yo ‘Batch 1’ (47.9%, That Boutique-y Whisky Company, 1472 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: fresh, youthful and almost hyper-natural with these immediate notes of ripe green apples and pears. Also gooseberry, cut grass, sunflower oil, lemon rind… entirely the wrong time of year to be drinking such a whisky as it almost makes you look up and expect to see spring sunshine out of the window. Some rather dry and crisp cereals emerge in time. Mouth: a little more basic than the nose. Cooking oils, butter, oatcakes, water biscuits, plain breakfast cereals, freshly made porridge and a single barley sugar. Some green and grassy notes such as parsley persevere. Finish: medium, gently drying, lightly peppery, more cereals, sunflower oil and a wee bit of natural sweet maltiness. Comments: The nose was lovely, but I wonder if this isn’t rather blending backbone whisky. Now, I suspect it probably makes a very fine highball with this rather natural and pure style.
SGP: 451 - 81 points.

Royal Brackla 2011/2018 (68%, Whisky Illuminati ‘Solaria Series’, cask #900077, 1st fill sherry butt, 150 bottles)
This series seems to all have been filled at super high strength, hence such frightening ABVs in their youth. However, so far the sibling bottlings have been pretty good and no doubt such high strengths will be an asset as they age further. Colour: orangey amber. Nose: surprisingly light and citrusy at first nosing. Lots of orange peel and marmalades. Some kumquat, orange juice, toffee apple and barley sugar. Very nice. With water: gets nicely bready and autolytic now with notes of oatcakes, pollen, sweet cereals and even some fresh linens. Surprisingly approachable. Mouth: you do feel the alcohol and there is an initial impression that it’s masking quite a lot. Although there’s some nice notes of orgeat syrup, Battenberg cake and cherry cola. Hints of lychee, marzipan and rose water too. Quite floral, although the alcohol may well be emphasising the higher notes. With water: bigger and fatter now, notes of dark fruits in muesli, flapjack, sultana, orange cocktail bitters and mulling spices. Plain old chocolate orange as well. Finish: long and doubling down on these chocolate and orange notes with some wee glimmers of those earlier bready notes. Comments: I like this one quite a bit, you get a sense of the Brackla distillate in balance with the sherry.
SGP: 651 - 85 points.

Glenturret 12 yo 2006/2018 (48.4%, Douglas Laing Old Particular, refill sherry hogshead, 389 bottles)
I always feel nervously excited when trying Glenturret, it can just go in absolutely any direction… Colour: amber. Nose: a rather hot and modern style of sherry with wood embers, paprika, cherry stones and things like cask-aged porter and roast walnuts. Punchy and rather vivid, but in a good way. Also some chilli-infused dark chocolate, leather and game meats. Mouth: I think that in this instance the Glenturret itself is somewhat hidden by this big, weighty cloak of sherry. Lots of wood spices, dark fruit chutneys, ointments, graphite oil, black pepper, soot, earthy black teas and mineral oil. It’s clean but also rather on the woody and spicy side. Finish: medium, slightly tarry, lots of more black pepper, cola syrup, ointments and bitter herbal extracts. Comments: Technically pretty good I think, you just have to enjoy this rather hot and powerful style of sherry. I don’t think the poor Glenturret distillate survived (who said ‘phew!’ ??)
SGP: 572 - 84 points.

Glenturret 28 yo 1987/2016 (50.4%, Signatory Cask Strength Collection, cask #372, hogshead, 149 bottles)
These batches of casks by Signatory seem to provoke some division amongst whisky folk. However, I have to admit I usually really enjoy them. Colour: gold. Nose: yup, acrylic, bubblegum, ‘fruity’ waxes, new leather, white pepper, mineral oil and even some sort of sweetened olive oil. A very specific and pretty old style profile which Glenturret seems to exude when on form. With water: fresher, chalkier, more clean starchy fabrics, more medicines and a little pine resin. Mouth: a tad more unlikely perhaps, some notes of plasticine, clay, asparagus, honey roasted parsnip, juicy fruit chewing gum, aniseed, bouillon broth, canvass and overall a little more of this ‘chemical’ side of things. With water: again this goes drier with water and more towards fabrics, linens, camphor, hessian, putty, lemon oils, herbal throat medicines and vapour rubs. Still rather persistently waxy and with this chemically accented fruitiness. Finish: medium, with plenty plastic, clay, plasticine, red chilli, medicines, mineral oil and more umami and vegetal broths. Comments: These Glenturrets are just such funny, often whacky distillates. However, despite the fact they are clearly divisive and unusual, I cannot help but be charmed by them when they possess this style. Better this eccentricity than boring, oak-doped uniformity I say. The kind of bottle you can have a lot of fun with while dramming with friends - you know, socialising, remember that…? Anyway, please take my score with a pinch of salt.
SGP: 652 - 86 points.

Caol Ila 9 yo 2011/2020 (58.5%, C Dully Selection, cask #101, 1st fill barrel, 262 bottles)
Colour: pale straw. Nose: pure and hyper-fresh young Caol Ila, full of seawater, coastal flowers, lemon peel, grapefruit, lime juice and fresh linens with many wispy notes of pure peat smoke in the background. Also crushed seashells, dry chalky medicines, lemon cough drops and some savoury super salty pasta water. I just love this nose. With water: pure seawater, rockpools, wet seaweed, soy sauce and briny olives. Mouth: perfectly concise with the nose, except here the peat smoke is deeper and more raw and direct. Rather like you’re in direct communication with working kiln. There’s also charred shellfish, black olives in pickling juices, malt vinegar and tarry rope. Powerful but also balanced and wonderfully pure. With water: perfection now! Thick and wonderfully textural in the mouth, like tar mixed with petrol! Also seawater, fresh herbs, top quality olive oil, sandalwood and bonfire embers. Finish: long, briny, lots of umami paste, sardines in oil, black olive tapenade, smoked heather beers and again with this wonderfully petrolic, mineral and seawater fusion. Comments: I feel like I’m running out of things to say about Caol Ila after all these years. It’s just utterly impeccable spirit. Terrific selection by those cunning Swiss!
SGP: 367 - 90 points. 

Caol Ila 11 yo 2009/2020 (57.4%, Watt Whisky, hogshead, 303 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: a slightly lighter and breezier style. Lots of fresh sea air, crab sticks, wet beach pebbles, gorse, starched linens, bath salts and things like chalk, putty and antiseptic on gauze. Pristine, pure, almost irritatingly consistent Caol Ila. With water: deeper and sootier, more things like rope, puffer smoke, anchovies and a little kelp. Mouth: lemon juice, sheep wool oils, mineral oil, pink sea salt and kippers drizzled in brine and lemon juice. Oysters, ink, seawater… you get the picture. It’s basically one of these rather narrow Caol Ilas that displays an extremely pure and chiselled profile focussed on coastal and seashore aspects but with a quieter peat smoke influence. If I put on my ‘Serge Valentin moustache’ for a moment I’d probably say ‘millimetric!’. With water: creosote, black pepper, smoked teas with lemon, pasta water, smoked herbs and more medical things like gauze and TCP. Finish: long, more powerfully smoky, tarry, salty, peppery and with iodine and pure seawater again. Comments: This one rewards water with a little more complexity I think. Yet another superb and very pure Caol Ila, I like the unabashed ‘coastalness’ on display here.
SGP: 356 - 88 points.

Caol Ila 11 yo 2008/2020 (59.7%, The Single Cask, cask #318686, hogshead, 137 bottles)
Caol Ila is proof that you can produce enough whisky that your cask numbers run to the length of mobile phone numbers and still achieve amazing quality… Colour: lovely, a kind of mentholated, honeyed brininess with smoked olive oil, natural tar extract and wonderfully fragrant notes of heather flowers, gorse, sandalwood and smoked dark ales. This one brims with a sense of sweetness and an overall rather syrupy profile. With water: more salty, richly umami, soy sauce, ramen broth, herbal mouthwash, smoked teas. Superb! Mouth: wonderfully gentle and textural on arrival. Smoked mead, olive oil, tar, embrocations, oily peat, hessian and vapour rubs. Blind you’d probably say this was a few years older than 11. With water: just wonderful! Superbly oily, fatty peat, smoked meats, herbal medicines, tar, hessian, freshly kilned malt, brine, salt and vinegar crisps… great stuff! Finish: long, mentholated again with eucalyptus bark, fennel, hessian, ointments and some cured meats. Still this wonderful sense of texture and weight. Comments: This must have been a pretty awesome cask as you really feel it has added something ‘invisibly’ while retaining the full brilliance of the distillate. What is it they say about Caol Ila and independent bottling…
SGP: 566 - 90 points.

Caol Ila 28 yo 1990/2019 (48%, WhiskyNerds, cask #13129, refill oloroso, 192 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: you do indeed get the sense there has been some sherry afoot here. Lots of dense, leathery notes of camphor, tar, smoked olive oil, preserved lemons, black olives and a wee dash of seawater. While there’s also these herbal notes in addition and many coastal fragrances like sandalwood, white flowers and gorse. Beautiful! Mouth: this is starting to approach the same profile as these early 1980s casks. Only here I feel the sherry has added something deeper and more leathery and fatty. Smoky bacon, tarry notes, ointment, old rope, hessian, camphor, putty and various cured meats. An impressive and captivating level of complexity I would say. Finish: long, herbal, sooty, tarry, fragrantly coastal and with these wonderful fading medicinal qualities. Comments: a great cask captured at a perfect age. It’s a shame we don’t see more of these early 90s vintages from Caol Ila, I think they’re really becoming terrific.
SPG: 465 - 91 points.

Benriach ‘The Thirty’ (46%, OB, Four Cask Matured, 2020)
More woodwork and oenology, this time with some sherry, bourbon, virgin oak and ‘Douro Valley Port’ (but do they make Port anywhere else?) The ‘smoke level’ is said to be ‘complex’. Could be that they used some of their peated batches from the Seagram’s era, we’ll see… Colour: full gold. Nose: indeed this is really very complex right from the start, with notes of old copper (kettle) and many herbal teas, verbena, wormwood… There’s a little vegetal tar (fir), some camphor for sure, bitter almonds oil, fresh putty and paint, then a wee meaty side, bordering umami. No wait we said we’d now use the word osmazôme instead. What’s sure is that this is rather different from the regular older Benriachs, which usually rather burst with fresh fruits. Mouth: I think I’ve never quite tasted something like this, once again we’re far from the ‘usual’ Benriach, and rather on a kind of blend with some old amontillado, walnut wine, smoked meats and ham (Iberico), tobacco, game, bitter oranges (lots), artichokes, brown sugar, plus drops of Worcester sauce. A wee vinegary side too (Bull Dog sauce). I think I seem to remember a Karuizawa that was a bit like this strange Benriach. Finish: long, all on tobacco, ham, metal and walnuts. Some kind of bitter and sour sauce in the aftertaste. Comments: this one’s extremely unusual, hard to compare and even to score. A bit surrealistic, perhaps? Or historical? My score don’t mean a thing here, either you’ll hate this one or you’ll love it.
SGP:473 - 85 points.

Benriach 38 yo 1981/2020 (46.6%, OB, for The Nectar and La Maison du Whisky, bourbon barrel (phew), cask #522,  168 bottles)
This old glory is a peated Benriach, made when several distilleries on the mainland were trying to produce some ‘Islay’ for the blends, especially Seagram’s distilleries (Strathisla…). Colour: full gold. Nose: hold on, this is something. Not ‘a peater’ (in the sense that Caol Ila 1981 would be a peater), but these camphory notes are just out of this world, since they would lead us to myriads of tinier empyreumatical and pine-y touches, such as putty once again, oil paint as well, triple-sec, pinesap, a pack of menthol cigarettes, pine needles, carbolineum, new linoleum while we’re at it (remember?), bakelite, new LP (Van Halen, and why not?)… And just fresh thyme and mint leaves. Oh and honeydew. Masterful job here, unless the palate is a wreck… Mouth: of course it’s not. We’re finding a few unlikely bitterish notes that remind us of the Thirty, but all the rest is impeccable and very complex. Many herbs, saps, citrus, oils, roasted nuts, small berries… I’m particularly reminded of my favourite within the liquorice allsorts, the wee square one with a layer of some kind of lemon sugar paste sneaked between two layers of soft liquorice. Remember, all sorts love allsorts and I love this Benriach! Finish: medium, well on liquorice allsorts and various herbal liqueurs, first Chartreuse then all the others. Verveine du Velay (verbena liqueur). A little fir honeydew and mead in the aftertaste. Rather roots, bitter gentian in the aftertaste. Comments: clearly not a peat monster but I’m very fond of this old Benriach that’s almost as singular as the strange Thirty, but much better balanced. And almost refreshing.
SGP:463 - 91 points.