Balblair 7 Years Old Batch 1
Entertaining, nice sweet and herbal quality, very volatile in the glass, phenolic – that touch of peat is very present and prominent. Green fruits and waxy pine and herb leaves. 83/100
Bottled 2021
Bruichladdich Bere Barley 2011
Quite smooth, fruity and vanilla led, perhaps the cask influence at 10 years is just starting to make its presence felt against that thick and unctuous mealy cereal nature from the Bere. 85/100
Willowbank 18 Years Old Batch 2
Lots of old wood and fruit influence as you’d expect for its age and ex-red wine cask, hints of eucalyptus in places but overall a superb woody old whisky! 85/100
Whitlaw 15 Years Old Batch 1
Yum, classic HP, very light initially. This one is all about the subtleties, wisps of heathery smoke and a sprinkle of smoked sea salt crystals! 85/100
Teerenpeeli 5 Years Old Batch 1
Another great wine cask example from TBWC, I’ve no feeling for the original spirit but this felt like mostly sherry cask and perhaps not too much original spirit nature – certainly for a 5yo. The result is a very enjoyable sherried whisky. 84/100
Armorik 5 Years Old Batch 2
Very sweet on the nose but very balanced on the palate and eminently drinkable. Some sharp French oak tannins give a good edge or foil to the fruity Sauternes sweetness. 84/100
Kilkerran Heavily Peated Batch 4
Very peaty as expected, I felt this one was much better when reduced with water as lots of flavours were masked or locked away behind the wall of peat smoke. 87/100
Croftengea 14 Years Old Batch 3
A touch light in body and malt, perhaps I’m expecting more from comparison to similar smoky Islay whisky? Minimal cask influence suggestive of refill ex-Bourbon, just about tempers the smoke here plus a lovely fresh apple nature. 83/100
Irish Single Malt #2 15 Years Old Batch 6
Sweet and clean, creamy and with plenty of fruit suggestive of mostly spirit and ex-Bourbon maturation keeping things fairly straightforward and enjoyingly simple. A touch odd in the finish – perhaps indicative of the distillate source? 85/100
Glen Moray Warehouse 1 Barolo Finish
A touch tannic and spicy in places at full strength. This presents an unusual mixture of red fruits and toffee which is oddly harmonious. Another predictably excellent, wine cask influenced, Glen Moray. 85/100