Lagavulin 9 Game of Thrones (46%, OB 2019)
We all know about Diageo’s Game of Thrones range by now. Mostly repackaged NAS fare, it does however contain some interesting variants on distilleries’ standard expressions, of which the Lagavulin 9 year-old is an example. (the Clynelish is another, with a welcome high strength edition) After the success of the 8 year-old, a young Lagavulin … Continue reading Lagavulin 9 Game of Thrones (46%, OB 2019)
Lagavulin 8 (48%, OB 2016)
The Lagavulin 8 year-old was initially a limited release to celebrate the distillery’s 200th anniversary in 2016. Predictably, it was hugely successful and soon became part of the core range. The bottle I’m reviewing here is from the original batches. One thing to notice straight away is the extremely light colour – a very welcome … Continue reading Lagavulin 8 (48%, OB 2016)
Lagavulin 16 (43%, OB 2018)
Let’s taste a few peat monsters before the warm weather returns, starting with a classic. Like most whisky aficionados (I assume!), I always have a bottle of Lagavulin 16 in the cabinet. There often is chat about the quality fluctuating with different batches, but I’ve never noticed much variability from bottle to bottle. The prices … Continue reading Lagavulin 16 (43%, OB 2018)
Glenfarclas 105 (60%, OB 2018)
After the Aberlour A’bunadh more than doubled in price, the Glenfarclas 105 has become the undisputed leader in terms of bang-for-your-buck cask strength sherry bombs. Unlike the A’bunadh this one used to carry an age statement too, with earlier batches stating (quite discreetly at the back of the label for some reason) that they were … Continue reading Glenfarclas 105 (60%, OB 2018)
Glenfarclas 25 (43%, OB 2016)
Ah, Glenfarclas… The last bastion of sanity when it comes to whisky prices. If you happen to read this in the future when the Glenfarclas 25 costs more than your mortgage, it’s worth noting that this is still (sometimes) available for just under £100, when its similarly aged competitors are more than twice as much. … Continue reading Glenfarclas 25 (43%, OB 2016)
Glencadam 25 (46%, OB 2020)
The Glencadam 25 year-old was a limited release of 1600 bottles, presented in a sturdy wooden box. It will set you back a lot more than any other official Glencadam, and is still available at The Whisky Exchange at the time of writing. Like most Glencadams, it was matured exclusively in ex-bourbon casks, so we … Continue reading Glencadam 25 (46%, OB 2020)
Glencadam Reserva Andalucia (46%, OB 2020)
As the name suggests, the Reserva Andalucia is a rare foray into sherry cask maturation from Glencadam. There’s no age statement, but like almost all Glencadams it’s bottled without chill-filtration or additional colouring. I’m not 100% sure wherher it’s a marriage of fully Oloroso matured and Oloroso finished malt, or whether it’s all a finish … Continue reading Glencadam Reserva Andalucia (46%, OB 2020)
Glencadam 15 (46%, OB 2020)
The 15 year-old Glencadam has been around for a while now – almost a decade in fact, apart from a brief period of stock shortages that coincided with Ralfy naming it his whisky of the year. As usual for Glencadam, it’s bottled at 46% and without chill-filtration or added colouring. It’s matured in a combination … Continue reading Glencadam 15 (46%, OB 2020)
Tomintoul Seiridh (40%, OB 2020)
The Tomintoul Seiridh (pronounced ‘sherry’ after the Gaelic word for sherry, as the official website helpfully informs us!) is unsururisingly a sherried single malt. More specifically, it’s finished in Oloroso casks after spending the bulk of its maturation in ex-bourbon. It’s a limited edition – the first batch has 6,000 bottles available. (Sample provided by … Continue reading Tomintoul Seiridh (40%, OB 2020)
Tomintoul 25 (43%, OB 2020)
We continue the individual reviews of the Angus Dundee mystery dram tastings with the Tomintoul 25 year-old. This one was matured mostly in refill bourbon casks and is priced in the £200-250 range, which is quite expensive even for its age. I believe older versions used to be bottled at 40% ABV, but this has … Continue reading Tomintoul 25 (43%, OB 2020)
Tomintoul 14 (46%, OB 2020)
Unlike most other distilleries nowadays, Tomintoul has an abundance of age statements – the entry level 10 year-old, the staple 16, the various 12 and 15 year-old finishes and peated expressions, and the more high-end stuff at 18 years old and above. What they mostly have in common is the presentation – 40% ABV for … Continue reading Tomintoul 14 (46%, OB 2020)
Glen Garioch 1997 (56.7%, OB 2012)
This Glen Garioch was distilled in 1997, shortly after the distillery reopened after almost two years of inactivity. It was matured in a combination of first and second fill bourbon barrels, and was bottled in 2012 to commemorate that reopening. It’s still available at The Whisky Exchange and is not bad value for a cask … Continue reading Glen Garioch 1997 (56.7%, OB 2012)
Glen Scotia 14 Tawny Port Finish (52.8%, OB 2020)
This was released for the 2020 edition of the Campbeltown Malts Festival. It’s mostly heavily peated malt matured in refill and recharred American oak casks, along with some medium peated malt matured in first fill barrels. It was then finished in tawny port hogsheads for a small period. I’m not normally a fan of port … Continue reading Glen Scotia 14 Tawny Port Finish (52.8%, OB 2020)
Balblair 1991 3rd Release (46%, OB 2018)
My soft spot for young natural Balblairs is well-documented already, but I’ve been fortunate enough to try some of their older malts as well. Here we have the third release of the 1991 vintage, bottled at around 26-27 years of age. The bulk of its maturation was done in ex-bourbon casks, with the final 2-3 … Continue reading Balblair 1991 3rd Release (46%, OB 2018)
Blair Athol 2007 (55.2%, Berry Bros. & Rudd, 2019)
Blair Athol is one of those Diageo workhorses that focuses mainly on blends – it’s a major component of Bell’s. As a result, other than the odd special release and the Flora & Fauna 12 year-old, we never get to see an official bottling so we have to turn to independents like this one. There’s … Continue reading Blair Athol 2007 (55.2%, Berry Bros. & Rudd, 2019)
Glen Scotia 15 (46%, OB 2020)
Over the past few years, Glen Scotia has started to emerge from Springbank’s shadow, with a devoted fan base among whisky geeks. I had somehow missed its psychedelic cow phase, so this 15 year-old was my first proper encounter with this distillery. It’s matured in ex-bourbon casks, with a very quick (2 months) finishing period … Continue reading Glen Scotia 15 (46%, OB 2020)
Balblair 2000 (46%, OB 2018)
This Balblair – around 18 years old – was available for just under £70 before it was replaced by the age statement 18 year-old for almost twice that amount. I associate Balblair with bourbon casks but this one boasts significant sherry influence: it was matured initially for around 13 years in ex-bourbon before spending its … Continue reading Balblair 2000 (46%, OB 2018)
Balblair 2005 (46%, OB 2018)
Before Balblair replaced vintages with age statements and bumped up the prices to unreasonable amounts, I would have had no hesitation in naming it as my favourite distillery. My first encounter was the Balblair 2002 about six years ago, and it immediately grabbed me with its fresh, citrus-forward, eau-de-vie-like profile. Perhaps ‘grabbed’ is not the … Continue reading Balblair 2005 (46%, OB 2018)
Aberlour A’bunadh Batch 53 (59.7%, OB 2015)
Sometimes looking at past orders can make for depressing reading. I bought this bottle of Aberlour A’bunadh in November 2015, and paid £28.55 for it in a flash deal. Nowadays it retails for almost £100, and we’re lucky if we can find it at around £60 on offer. The whisky itself doesn’t need much of … Continue reading Aberlour A’bunadh Batch 53 (59.7%, OB 2015)
Glencadam Mystery Dram Tasting
After the Tomintoul tasting last month, Angus Dundee were generous enough to invite the same group to a Glencadam session with the same format. Three mystery drams were again provided, and the tasting was led by brand ambassador Iain Forteath. Iain has also been involved in the whisky-making process of late, having had a hand … Continue reading Glencadam Mystery Dram Tasting
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