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| Hi, you're in the Archives, September 2026 - Part 1 |
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September 6, 2026 |
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A word of caution
Let me please remind you that my humble assessments of any spirits are done from the point of view of a malt whisky enthusiast who, what's more, is aboslutely not an expert in rum, brandy, tequila, vodka, gin or any other spirits. Thank you – and peace! |
Just a few more rums
We continue our exploration of sugarcane spirit, its various derivatives, and the occasional unmentionable organic substance, which, by some pure miracle, we usually manage to dodge. Sugars, syrups, fruits, infusions and other acts of botanical (in the most favourable cases) vandalism here… Anyway, let’s begin with our traditional aperitif and try to raise the bar straight away… |
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Jamaica & Guyana 1995/2025 (45.5%, The Whisky Jury, The Many Faces of Rum, blended rum, cask #1, 216 bottles) 
The distinguished bottlers tell us that this baby was ‘blended many years ago’, which does not rule out some blending at birth, am I wrong? Or immediate post-import blending? In any case, we are firmly in an English style… Colour: gold. Nose: that combination of olives, liquorice and anti-rust paint that is so typical of Royal Navy rums. Black olive biscuits, coffee caramel, the engine of an old motor car, lemon, ultra-ripe bananas… In short, there is some very lovely complexity here and we cannot help thinking of certain versions of Black Tot. Mouth: very fine woodiness, with balsa and cedar, then salted liquorice and grapefruit, the whole being gentler and more civilised than on the nose. A little charcoal, pencil lead… Finish: fairly long, with more brine and even seawater. Comments: excellent, even more so as an apéritif. A votre santé.
SGP:462 - 87 points. |
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Mainland Rum 8 yo 2017 (61.1%, Superlative Spirits, USA, California, Hawaiian molasses, ex-bourbon cask, 240 bottles, +/-2026) 
There had been a 10-year-old for K&L that had been excellent (WF 87). Colour: light gold. Nose: wood glue, marzipan and whiffs of brand-new Tupperware, could you make it any more American? Then thuja wood and cedar, a new humidor etc. With water: it retreats a little towards white turrón, fudge, peanut butter… Mouth (neat): much gentler on the palate, with oranges and roasted nuts, but also cedar wood once again. With water: a little ginger and some salty touches. Finish: same. A little rubber. Comments: perhaps less distinctive (and mad) than the K&L, but this remains very much to my taste.
SGP:441 - 81 points. |
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Ten Cane 12 yo 2012/2025 (59%, Holmes Cay Rum, Trinidad, The Whisky Exchange exclusive, cask #128)
I must confess I hadn’t heard of Holmes Cay, but they seem to have been around for several years, which proves once again just what an expert on rum I am. Apparently this is from an ex-cognac cask, while I should remind you that Ten Cane was an LVMH distillery that was active for only a few years in the early 2000s. Colour: deep gold. Nose: very lovely precision, simple and effective, with triple sec, very ripe mango and a few touches of peaches in syrup, perhaps coming from the cognac? No high esters so far. With water: a little wet cardboard, carbon, fir smoke… Mouth (neat): rather more salmiak than on the nose. We also find the trio of lemon, mango and pink peppercorn. Very light varnish. With water: it remains salty and lemony, but also rather fat on the palate. Finish: long, rather on lapsang souchong tea with a little lemon inside. But who would do that? Comments: very, very, very presentable, this little Ten Cane.
SGP:442 - 85 points. |
Since we’re in Trinidad & Tobago… |
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T.D.L. 22 yo 2003/2025 (57.8%, Lucky Choice for The Good Spirits & Picnic Bar, Trinidad, barrel) 
With TDL, the question is always the same: few esters? A moderate amount of esters? Loads of esters? Quite a Jamaican question, when all is said and done. Colour: golden amber. Nose: that monstrous and oh-so-typical assortment of ripe bananas, mango liqueur, passion fruit and fir honeydew. This is going to be quick. With water: a little rubber, tar, lanolin… Mouth (neat): sublime salty exotic fruits and a lime that gradually takes over, together with fresh mint. Rest assured, we’re not heading towards some beach mojito. With water: goodness, this is good! What’s more, some superb bitters come rushing in and rebalance the whole thing. Finish: long, clean, on ultra-premium-quality liquorice allsorts, with salty touches. Tar in the aftertaste. Comments: the only flaw is that there are precisely zero surprises.
SGP:652 - 90 points. |
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The Scarlet Ibis 18 yo (55%, The Whisky Exchange, Trinidad, ex-bourbon barrels, 2026) 
We’re duly warned that this is a ‘Single Modernist Rum’. Mind you, Modernism in art gave us Art Nouveau, did it not, so perhaps ‘Modernist’ is already splendidly old-fashioned. Colour: deep gold. Nose: TDL through and through, ripe bananas, mangoes, honey, melon, pineapple, liquorice allsorts… With water: there seem to be a few more esters than in the 2003 and, to be fair, a little touch of Ten Cane as well. Mouth (neat): kiwi, melon, banana, light camphor, mint, heather honey, slightly salty liquorice… There really is nothing to throw away here. With water: much the same, while the mint grows more prominent, with even a slight touch of aniseed or pastis. Finish: fairly long, fresh, and even more liquorice-driven. Lime in the signature. Comments: I’ve just seen the price of this bottle and almost sent them a fax to tell them they’d forgotten a zero.
SGP:662 - 89 points. |
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French West Indies 2019/2026 (58%, Kirsch Import, Journal des Kirsch, Martinique, agricole, bourbon cask, N°14, 140 bottles)
Almost everyone says this is La Favorite, but should we really believe everyone? Especially since others say it’s Neisson… Colour: amber. Nose: it’s really interesting to taste this Martinique after the Trinidads, something we wouldn’t normally have done, as it really brings out the spicy, toasted side, cinnamon rolls, eucalyptus, wet earth, even potting soil, balsamic notes, toasted walnuts… With water: ras el hanout from an old tin box. Mouth (neat): really excellent, camphor, liquorice, even more eucalyptus, throat lozenges, honey… It almost makes you want to pretend you’ve got a sore throat just so you can have some more. Or buy six bottles, if there are any left. With water: perfect, now with a surprising rye-like side that doesn’t feel out of place at all. Finish: not that long, but complex, with magnificent spices. Violet liquorice. Comments: this is certainly a slightly different agricole, and I love it. As for the prices, I almost sent Kirsch a fax too, about those missing zeroes. There really are some terrific bargains to be had.
SGP:561 - 90 points. |
We’re off to Jamaica. You know the rule, no WF session without a Jamaican! |
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Jamaïque ‘STR BDX TDJ’ (55%, Landier & Vingtier, Jamaica, 2026)
If you know what ‘STR BDX TDJ’ means, please send me a telegram or a telex. Right, STR Bordeaux cask it must be, but TDJ? Trelawny Distillery Jamaica, perhaps? We shall await the telex. Colour: rich gold. Nose: esters turned up to eleven, formic acid, olive oil, diesel fuel, acetone, this positively reeks of Trelawny Distillery Jamaica. Right, Hampden or Long Pond. The very ripe apples now coming to the fore aren’t giving away any further secrets. With water: those caramelised Brussels sprouts (indeed) aren’t telling us any more either. Mouth (neat): absolutely perfect, anchovies, olives, pepper, cider vinegar, salmiak, capers… With water: tapenade loosened with seawater and lemon. Finish: same. Comments: it’s very young, but it’s already excellent. I should add that I found strictly nothing Bordeaux-like in here, and I’m certainly not complaining, quite the opposite. While just like everyone, I adore Bordeaux.
SGP:463 - 87 points. |
 Check the index of all rums we've tasted
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September 4, 2026 |
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The Time Warp Sessions,
today a pair of high-strength independent Aberlours, bottled almost twenty years apart |
The headline rather gives the game away, does it not…You'll have noticed, though, that we’re still resisting the wave of clickbait titles so fashionable among the new generations. The sort of thing along the lines of: ‘The Two Greatest Independent Aberlours Ever Bottled??? You Won’t Believe the Score of the Last One!!! Read to the End, and Don’t Forget to Tell Us Your Favourite Aberlour in the Comments!!!!!!’ |
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Aberlour 12 yo 1994/2007 (60.4%, C&S Dram Collection, hogshead, cask #8863, 245 bottles) 
We’ve had this baby waiting in the wings since it came out, so it’s well past time we gave it a proper tasting. Colour: pale gold. Nose: textbook Aberlour in its natural state, full of orchard fruits, wild strawberries, peaches and melon ice cream. With water: a few delicate floral touches emerge, along with wormwood, peonies and the like. Mouth (neat): the very same fruits return, this time as compotes and sweets. With water: still very much on sweets and fruit syrups, with plenty of pear and peach. Finish: fairly long, slightly rustic, with leafy herbal infusions made from leaves, stalks and stems. Cherry stalk tea, for example. Comments: this is really rather lovely, close to the distillate, entirely natural, yet without too many rough edges. In short, we do like this pretty much indeed, despite its relative rusticity.
SGP:641 - 84 points. |
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Aberlour 14 yo 2012/2026 (61.9%, Signatory Vintage, Cask Strength Collection, 1st fill oloroso sherry butt, cask #4, 660 bottles)
We ought to be much closer to the official bottlings here, such as the A’bunadhs. Which reminds me that it’s been almost two years since we last tasted any of the newer A’bunadhs, some whisky blogger we are! Colour: dark reddish amber. Nose: Armagnac-filled chocolate truffles, that’s how we’d sum this nose up for the time being. Add to that a few drops of good old family kirsch and a touch of fresh rubber. With water: chocolate, brown tobacco and light hints of Marmite, perhaps even Maggi, that liquid we either loathe or adore, depending on our family background and cultural upbringing. Honestly. Mouth (neat): once again that very kirsch-driven profile, very much in the style of well-aged fruit eau-de-vie matured in oak (not always the greatest idea), with plenty of Marc de Bourgogne as well. With water: this time it’s genuinely impossible not to think of A’bunadh, surely because of the oloroso. Finish: much the same. Long and punchy, packed with kirsch once again, together with touches of brandy, from Jerez this time. Bitter oranges in the aftertaste. Comments: ‘A’bunadh Indie’.
SGP:561 - 87 points. |
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September 3, 2026 |
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Here we are, back on the Isle of Jura
We’ve always had a soft spot for Jura, for its ever-so-different character, those fabulous peated expressions from a few years back, and also some rather improbable finishings… Not to mention those Orwellian dystopias that seem to be cropping up more and more often in real life (are you sure about that, S.?) … |
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Jura ‘French Cognac Casks’ (40%, OB, Cask Editions, 2026)
A simple finishing, NAS, and above all a dazzling pleonasm if you only take the words ‘French Cognac’ (the equivalent of Scottish Scotch). Nit-pickers may always argue that in the expression ‘French Cognac Casks’, it’s the casks that are French, or indeed the oak, but the oak has to be French anyway. Although even more dedicated nit-pickers may point out that it’s only the years required to qualify for the appellation, so the first two years, that have to be spent in French oak (we do see cognacs finished in mizunara), but does an XO, for example, have to be entirely matured in French oak? This is the moment when I realise that we’re doing a whisky tasting, not a cognac tasting. And so… Colour: gold. Nose: you can smell peach skins, elderflower liqueur and mild honey from miles away, I promise you. Which isn’t remotely unpleasant… Mouth: the malt regains a little control, with even that amusing combination of walnuts (lots) and mustard (a little) that’s so typically Jura, the whole lot liberally sprinkled with mead. Finish: not that short, with the walnut-and-mustard duo now joined by pepper and other spices. The cognac no longer has much to say, unless some of those spices come from the… French oak. Comments: mystery upon mystery, but I rather like the whole thing.
SGP:551 - 82 points. |
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Isle of Jura 16 yo 2009/2025 (51%, The Whisky Agency, Wave Farewell to 2025, Tawny Port barrique, 292 bottles)
The Roaring Twenties again… Right, port or cognac for the digestif? Colour: red amber. Nose: there really is this blood-orange and very fruity tomato-sauce side, and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like that. Then pumpernickel and Läckerli, a few prunes, and amber beer, bière de garde of course. With water: a whole tray of winachts bredalas, fig cakes, Armagnac liqueur (pousse-rapière) … Mouth (neat): the port is massive, but for once I find this excellent, even if it’s very deviant. Back come the pumpernickel, fruitcakes, very thick pepper liqueur, genever, cloves, and that famous rich and thick beer too… With water: it’s become almost a liqueur. I’m not saying I won’t have a little of this as a misuwari this very evening. Finish: long, but this is where it does a complete U-turn, becoming much drier and more bitter, in the style of ultra-dry Italian bitters and 95% cocoa chocolate. Comments: it’s a little crazy and, indeed, rather Roaring Twenties.
SGP:671 - 85 points. |
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Isle of Jura 17 yo 2009/2026 (51.8%, The Whisky Agency & Sansibar, Artists, Tawny Port barrique)
So, the same or not the same? In any case, the colours are similar… Colour: red amber. Nose: no, this is even fruitier, with morello cherries in eau-de-vie, Black Forest gâteau, guignolet… But I must say I adore cherries, there’s even a large cherry tree in the garden at WF Towers. Some very lovely whiffs of very dark and very moist pipe tobacco too. With water: a gigantic Black Forest gâteau for twelve people. Or six people like us. Mouth (neat): we’re getting very close to the 16 yo, but once again candied cherries and cherries in alcohol rule the roost, then kirsch, black pepper, cloves… With water: we’re heading straight towards black cherry jam, Basque-style. With pepper… Finish: same… Comments: I ought to hate this, but in fact I love it. What on earth is happening? In any case, those people at TWA are mad, but that was already an established fact.
SGP:661 - 87 points. |
We imagine the fourth and last one will be much more ‘natural’… |
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Old Jura 17 yo 2009/2026 (54.8%, Decadent Drinks, refill barrel, 125 bottles)
With, of course, George Orwell on the label. Old Jura also brings to mind Vieux Jura, a cheese rather close to Comté that comes, for its part, from the French Jura. I should point out here, without wishing to give anyone any ideas, that a Jura whisky matured in a Jura wine cask could be fun. In France, finishing in Jura vin jaune casks is not totally uncommon. Mind you, I’m not saying it always works particularly well… Anyway, let’s forget all that and taste this baby. Colour: white wine. There. Nose: obviously. Flint, riesling, paraffin, yellow apple. With water: and crushed mustard seeds. A slight fino or… vin jaune side. Flor, at any rate. Mouth (neat): this version perfectly captures Jura’s coastal side, too often erased by the maturation in my humble opinion. We find that little mustard note already mentioned, green apple, green walnut, seaweed, perhaps paprika… Or there, oysters with paprika. Yes. With water: peppered apple juice mixed with pinot gris. I promise you. Finish: fairly long, more saline yet. A very typical sour side, this would probably work extremely well with a top-notch gin in a championship-level martini. Comments: forget that!
SGP:462 - 88 points. |
A lovely little session today. We should NEVER underestimate Jura. |
Check the index of all Jura we've tasted |
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September 2, 2026 |
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A little trio of Tullibardine
We’ve always had a certain fondness for Tullibardine, alphabetically speaking, the last of the distilleries we’re fond of. |
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Tullibardine 9 yo 2016/2026 (55.6%, Maltbarn, bourbon, 154 bottles)
A young Tullibardine au naturel from an excellent house, this should be interesting… Colour: white wine. Nose: rather hot and very much on young eaux-de-vie, especially kirsch straight from the still. A light coating of barley syrup and custard. Hard to get much closer to nature than this. With water: even more ‘kirsch’, with fresh almond joining in. Mouth (neat): more herbal and lemony, then increasingly salty. Very taut and… natural. With water: same combination. I must say the saltiness is rather surprising. Finish: nicely long, with the barley syrup returning… salted. Comments: I don’t know whether this is actually salty or whether it simply triggers a sensation of saltiness on the palate, but it’s quite spectacular.
SGP:362 - 83 points. |
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Tullibardine 13 yo 2012/2025 (54%, Cadenhead, Chairman’s Stock, tawny Port hogshead finish, 210 bottles) 
Two years in Port, so this is indeed a finishing here. Colour: apricot. Nose: a curious mixture of metal polish and blackcurrants, raspberries and grenadine, before even some shoe polish starts to show. The influence of the Port is very obvious. With water: earth, old cask, dunnage, wet hessian, saltpetre, all that on top of the grenadine… Mouth (neat): blood orange, paraffin, black pepper and… some rather dry Port. Let’s say it’s rather adventurous. With water: this works better, although there’s also a wee shampoo-like side, amusing, I should add. Finish: long, on, shall we say, some very peppery raspberry liqueur. Red pepper sauce. Comments: this is rather amusing but quite deviant. The Port really makes its mark.
SGP:371 - 78 points. |
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Tullibardine 32 yo 1993/2026 (47.1%, Maltbarn, bourbon and Madeira, 158 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: this is slightly strange too, but Madeira works a thousand times better than tawny Port in my humble opinion, and you can certainly feel that here. Lovely walnuts, artichoke, aubergine, a little mustard, tobacco, nutmeg, basalt… You cannot help thinking of some lovely, bone-dry and assertive Sercial. Mouth: yes, very good, with chocolate and toasted hazelnuts, plus once again a salty, mustardy side that works beautifully here. Touches of sage and olive. Finish: nicely long, earthy, close to Madeira at its finest. A little ‘fino’ side. Comments: a very fine counterpoint to the previous one, with a lovely dryness.
SGP:361 - 85 points. |
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September 1, 2026 |
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Quite a few Australian whiskies
We’ve been seeing some very fine things coming out of Australia for years now. For us, it all started with ‘The Great Outback’, a whisky that really wasn’t very good, then came Lark, Sullivans Cove, Hellyers Road and a few others, and our opinion began to change… Right, let’s start with one of the pioneers… |
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Lark ‘Cask Strength’ (58%, OB, Australia, Small Cask Aged, sherry, cask #486, 2013)
A strong contender at the Malt Maniacs Awards 2013, for which we never actually wrote any tasting notes. It was about time! Oh and indeed, here we are in Tasmania… Colour: golden amber. Nose: it’s powerful, marked by resinous wood and really quite extractive overall, while the sherry is more about a mixture of walnuts and raisins for now. With water: it shifts towards chocolate and tea with a cloud of milk, so rather British in style. So to speak. Mouth (neat): very rich, very much marked by the wood and sherry, in a style that’s fairly close to a young high-quality bourbon, but with some subtle je ne sais quoi, a kind of balance. With water: the raisins have taken over, PX, currants… Finish: long, still rich and raisiny, with more and more pepper coming through afterwards, as often happens when the wood is prominent. Comments: almost fifteen years later, this remains very lovely. It had won a high Bronze medal.
SGP:651 - 85 points. |
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Kinglake 2021/2025 ‘Goodbye Popeye’ (OB, Australia, 800 bottles)
Here we are in the province of Victoria with an astonishing distillery from which we’ve already tasted some very fine bottles in the past. This baby was secondarily matured in American rye, then in Australian tawny. Quite some cooking, let’s see how that worked out… Mind you, this baby is nevertheless ‘carbon neutral’. Colour: reddish amber. Nose: it kicks off with a rather surprising combination of black truffle and blackcurrants that works remarkably well, then comes liquorice, while the truffle keeps growing and growing, but careful, this has absolutely nothing to do with sulphury whiffs, strictly nothing. With water: beef broth, Thai sauce, hoisin, always with great elegance. Mouth (neat): very lovely, smoky and marked by juniper, then chocolate and, once again, truffle (tuber melanosporum). With water: pure truffle and foie gras soup, Bocuse-style. I swear. Finish: long, even meatier, leeks, truffles, chives, dark chocolate… This is superb. Comments: lovely mastery of maturation and casks! We can also find a kind of kinship with Lark, I hope we’re not offending anyone by saying that…
SGP:562 - 88 points. |
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Kinglake 2021/2024 (46%, OB for Whisky Abbey Festival, Australia, ex-rye, 206 bottles, 2024)
The Whisky Abbey Festival takes place in Melbourne, I hope we’ll get the chance to go there one day. Colour: white wine. Nose: lovely stuff! Green apple, whitecurrants, sesame, sourdough, aniseed bread… Mouth: … and wee lemons, rye bread, juniper, with a slight shochu side, grey pepper, cinnamon… Finish: fairly long, with touches of lemon that ‘lift’ the finish and freshen up the aftertaste. Comments: this really is very successful, with a surprising Scandinavian side. In Australia!
SGP:462 - 87 points. |
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Lawrenny Estate ‘Heritage’ (46.2%, OB, Australia, 2024)
No age statement, so very young. Here we are back in Tasmania. This single malt was matured in an apera cask, so Australian ‘sherry’, then ‘real’ PX and oloroso sherry, in a solera-style system. Colour: deep gold. Nose: once again, plenty of loveliness, this time around tapioca and walnuts, without any particularly assertive sherry, let alone the slightly exuberant side of some PX. A square and coherent style. Chocolate. Mouth: the sherries are much more pronounced on the palate, with raisins, chocolate and pepper, then walnut wine, naturally. Finish: fairly long, on country bread with figs and raisins. Black pepper marks the aftertaste. Comments: the casks do leave their mark on the whole thing, but I like the result rather a lot.
SGP:451 - 84 points. |
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Lawrenny Estate ‘Tarkine’ (50%, OB, Australia, Port & sherry, 2025)
The label mentions the influence of ‘Huon’ pine but doesn’t say whether they actually used any for maturation. We shall see, I’m not sure whether the definition of Australian malt allows that kind of gymnastics… Colour: deep gold. Nose: I like this a lot right from the start, there’s rusk, toasted bread, some very lovely slightly metallic notes, fig leaf, grey pepper… With water: orange wine. I mean wine made with oranges. Mouth (neat): very lovely. Oranges, peppers, cinnamon, turmeric, sultanas in moderation, grapefruit… With water: wee figs and even more orange. Finish: long, with some adorable little green spices. Green pepper, grated zest… Comments: we didn’t really detect the Huon pine, but then we wouldn’t know how to recognise it anyway. Apart from that, we love this little Tarkine.
SGP:561 - 87 points. |
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Timboon Railway Shed 2011/2015 (41.5%, OB, Australia, Port expression)
Here we are back in the state of Victoria. An expression that’s still in production these days. This is the first time we’ve tasted anything from this distillery! Colour: Australian chardonnay (but naturally...) Nose: the Port doesn’t show at all, or perhaps it was a very young white Port? On the other hand, there are some charming notes of aniseed and fresh barley, as well as touches of pineapple. Nothing to complain about, this is very pretty. Mouth: amusing, with aniseed and liquorice allsorts, semolina, light yoghurt, grey pepper, a touch of lavender and olive… All this is a little unlikely, but it remains very pleasant and, above all, original. Finish: not very long and slightly cardboardy, but the grey pepper and aniseed hold the line nicely. Comments: I find this very likeable, and above all much less technical than the previous ones.
SGP:441 - 80 points. |
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Sullivans Cove 16 yo 2008/2025 (47.5%, OB, Australia, Mizunara’s 10th Anniversary, Hong Kong, American oak, cask #TDO331, 215 bottles)
Back in Tasmania. Colour: white wine. Nose: lots of fresh, lemony oak, a slight cucumber side, then aniseed bread and yellow and green plums. A little beeswax and certainly something rather ‘northern east coast of Scotland’. Mouth: more modern, with some very gorgeous fresh and sharp spices, lime and, above all, green pepper that comes to complete a bed of candied citrus fruits. Candied angelica. Finish: long and still just as fresh. The candied citrus and green pepper dominate proceedings. Comments: a very very nice bottle. Sullivans Cove has been at the top of its game for a few years now.
SGP:561 - 88 points. |
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Hellyers Road 21 yo 2003/2025 ‘Waking Dreams’ (62.5%, La Maison du Whisky, Ex Libris, Australia, 1st fill American oak, cask #3352.08, 147 bottles)
We’re still in Tasmania, of course… And a little bit in Paris too. Colour: gold. Nose: the precision of mango, wee banana, custard, thyme and melon. It’s not very complicated, but it’s superb. With water: leaves, stems, herbs and, above all, sorrel. Mouth (neat): very powerful, perhaps a little too much so, with coconut and peppery tannins becoming a little dominant. Water seems compulsory to me. With water: everything relaxes and becomes fruitier, a real joy. The mango and lime are back, although the coconut hasn’t completely disappeared. Finish: long, peppery, herbal, even with quite a lot of water. Green banana then puts everything back in order. Comments: don’t even think of tasting this rather combative little wonder without water.
SGP:371 - 87 points. |
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Hellyers Road 8 yo 2016/2025 ‘Seize the Fire’ (63.7%, La Maison du Whisky, Ex Libris, Australia, 1st fill American oak, cask #16322.01, 206 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: this is more medicinal, there must be peat in there, quite a lot of peat in fact. Camphor and Mercurochrome, over lemon and seaweed. As for the rest, we won’t insist, given the strength… With water: hugely elegant, very fresh, with an utterly clear profile, plus a little fresh plaster and virgin wool. Brand-new jumper. Mouth (neat): roots, lemons, ginseng, turmeric, peppermint, light tar and rubber. With water: lemons with tar, mint and aniseed. High definition. Finish: long, almost refreshing, provided you don’t taste this baby at its lethal original strength. Comments: I hate giving this sublime 8-year-old a higher score than the very fine 21-year-old, I’m almost ashamed of myself. Peat may well work like nicotine or ethanol, it can get you addicted.
SGP:466 - 89 points. |
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Hellyers Road 9 yo ‘Richly Peated’ (48.3%, OB, Australia, 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel, 2026)
This baby is brand new, and what’s more, bottled at a strength that lets you put away your competition-grade pipette and bottle of mineral water without the slightest remorse. Colour: gold. Nose: this won’t take long, someone Downunda had the bright idea of smoking bananas and mangoes, then adding a few drops of mint essence and olive oil. A success, I’m afraid, and quite a resounding one. Mouth: rather surprisingly, it’s the fruitiness that dominates, especially mentholated passion fruit. Also chervil, verbena, mugwort, woodruff… It’s crazy what grows in Tasmania (ha). Finish: very long and, let’s not beat about the bush, very peppery, in the style of some herbal liqueur from a small republic of the former Soviet Union. Love you. The aftertaste is dominated by fir extract (same comment) and lovage. Comments: a very impressive little beast, don’t be fooled by the relatively low strength, this has almost the power of a cask strength.
SGP:466 - 88 points. |
I’d like, to round off this already slightly overlong session, to take just a wee sideways step towards New Zealand. Seen from WF Towers, it’s next door… |
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Scapegrace ‘Anthem’ (46%, OB, New Zealand, French oak + Manuka smoke, 2025)
I don’t think I’ve quite understood everything about this manuka smoke business, but never mind, let’s press on… Colour: gold. Nose: spruce at full blast, kelp, rubber, capers. There, that should give you an idea. Mouth: a carbon copy of the nose, herbal, very fermentary, acetic, with wee pickled onions, pickled mushrooms, and an impression of charcoal ashes. Finish: fairly long, yeasty, briny, with some somewhat lovely acidity. Comments: it’s weird and therefore interesting, even very interesting. Bravo!
SGP:363 - 80 points. |
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Best spirits Serge tried those weeks, 90+ points only
French West Indies 2019/2026 (58%, Kirsch Import, Journal des Kirsch, Martinique, agricole, bourbon cask, N°14, 140 bottles)
T.D.L. 22 yo 2003/2025 (57.8%, Lucky Choice for The Good Spirits & Picnic Bar, Trinidad, barrel)
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