Category Archives: Single Malt Whisky

Glengoyne 12yo 1994/2006 (43%, OB, SC, Rum Finish, Cask #909310, 348 bottles)

Just like the 10yo Edradour I just reviewed, Glengoyne also has a 1994 vintage, which was used for a lot of different cask finishes. Claret, Madeira, Manzanilla, Muscatel, Cornalin and a lot of Rum finishes were released between 2005 and 2008. Some were bottled at cask strength, and some were reduced to 43% ABV. All the other Rum finishes have a cask number of 5 digits, so this one was probably cask #90931. Maybe they have added an additional “0” to distinguish this bottling from the rest since this is the only one that has been reduced. Maybe an administrative mistake was made…

Glengoyne 12yo 1994/2006 (43%, OB, SC, Rum Finish, Cask #909310, 348 bottles)Color: Gold.

Nose: Excellent full-on Rum smell. Spicy, fatty dirty. I’m guessing high ester Rum. Jamaican? Hard to tell. Sugar cane and very leafy. For some this may be finished too long, but I’m not one of them. I love the synergy between Rum casks and Single Malt Whisky, but I may have said that before. Extremely deep. What a nice combination of smells. Wonderful depth and a wealth of complexity with lavas and balsamic vinegar. Where did that come from? The Whisky, The Rum or the wood? If it’s the wood, the wood turns to a more cleaner oaky note. Fresh windy forest and some warm butter on toast (not burnt). Even a slightly soapy note.

Taste: Well this is less complex than the nose is. Where the nose explodes with aroma, the taste is much simpler. Most definitely a sweet Whisky. Sugar water and yes, some nice leafy wood influence. Paper and floral cardboard, whatever that is. The taste is built around some different wood flavours, sugared tropical fruit, dried orange skim and cold black tea. The finish is quite long, but again pretty simple a bit bitter and buttery.

Not so long ago I reviewed a few Rum finished Whiskies and I said I have always liked them. This one is no different. Fantastic nose, and the taste is good. However, this one is not a daily drinker. For that it is too fatty and sweet.

Points: 84 (but with a 90’s nose, if you like Rum)

Thanks go out to René for providing the sample (a while back).

Linkwood 18yo 1991/2010 (52.9%, Bladnoch Forum, Hogshead #10346, 252 bottles)

Another Linkwood then. Linkwood is quite a difficult distillery for me. Somehow I don’t seem to like Linkwood that much, and I don’t buy any of Linkwood without tasting it first. This one I did buy blind. First of all I like Raymond Armstrong (the former owner of Bladnoch Distillery) and just like Dutch independent bottlers The Ultimate were/are able to bottle some great Whisky at very fair prices. Luckily a lot of my tasting is done blind, so it’s not the name that makes for a lower score. Don’t get me wrong, I did come across some good Linkwoods as well. So with an open mind let’s have a got at this 18yo Linkwood.

Linkwood 18yo 19912010 (52.9%, Bladnoch Forum, Hogshead #10346, 252 bottles)Color: Light gold.

Nose: Acetone, unmistakable. Nail polish remover. Lots of sappy leaves too. Quite nutty as well. Well not dull isn’t it. This spirit jumps right out of my glass. The acetone seems to “remove” itself, but it’s just me not smelling it anymore since it tries to anesthetize me. Put it away for a minute and smell it again, and you’ll be hit in the head again. Even though some might like it, it most definitely is flawed. Nice wood underneath it all. Coffee, cloves and some mocha-cream. Hazelnut pastry. Vanilla, hints of lemon and even a bit perfumy after a while. If you factor out the solvent, this is quite a bold body from a highly active and spicy cask. Quite nice but with a rather unusual defect. No I don’t hate it. Maybe this needs to oxidize a bit?

Taste: For a brief moment there is a solvent. It is quite hot, but the solvent (not ethanol) is quickly replaced by a more woody and leafy aroma. Woody and nutty. Sweet, with a lot of vanilla. Even though the solvent part seems to dissipate for a while, the whole stays quite hot and overpowering, just as it did with the nose. Freshly painted wood and freshly sawn, not entirely dry, oak. The feeling something other than Whisky is going down my throat. Medium finish.

In a way this was difficult to score (but not really). First of all I liked it maybe a bit more than I scored it, but I don’t think this isn’t one to finish quickly. Quality wise this couldn’t score very high since it has some obvious flaws, not exactly from the middle cut maybe? (although hard to imagine).

Points: 79

Linkwood 13yo 1990/2003 (43%, Jack Wiebers Whisky World, Castle Collection, Cask #1922, 120 bottles)

This time we will have a look at a Linkwood from the rather obscure Castle Collection by one of Germany’s finest: Jack Wiebers Whisky World. Not a lot of pictures can be found of any bottle from this series. I still have the Linkwood bottle, but it is rather empty, so not so nice for a picture. Alas no true picture of this particular Linkwood. Most Whiskies for this series were reduced to 43%, although the odd cask strength version does exist. Besides reduction it doesn’t seem to me, that the whole cask was bottled. Usually only around 105 to 120 bottles are bottled per bottling. Yes I did that on purpose. It’s rather hot today.

Castle CollectionColor: Light gold.

Nose: Spicy oak and vanilla. We know already what that means don’t we? Next aroma is quite meaty. Diluted gravy combined with a salty caramel or toffee note, Just like the previous Linkwood this has some sort of herbal smelling wood. This also has a freshness that borders on ozone. Have you ever been in an ozone cleaned pool? Right after that the Whisky becomes more floral and retains its freshness. Creamy, powdery, not spectacular but at least very decent and reliable.

Taste: Light, very light, slightly alcoholic and fatty. Still meaty though and right after that some water diluted licorice. The wood turns slightly acidic and even a bit bitter. A kind of bitterness that is not welcome every time around, if you ask me, especially when combined with a floral note. But hey, that’s Whisky. It’s spirit aged in wood, and sometimes the wood impairs wonderful flavours to the spirit and sometimes not so great. Vanilla and watered down, molten vanilla ice cream and flower-water. Spicy and herbal again. Simple, so not a big body on this one. Short finish too. For me a bit too light and weak, but I’m not convinced it would be better after less reduction, or even at cask strength.

This Linkwood is pretty simple and straightforward and it is sold that way in a reasonably priced series and reduced to 43% ABV, to cut the cost even more. Not great, even with this nice nose, but not bad either. I imagine this to be emptied in one evening over a game of poker. It beats a lot of overpriced NAS bottlings of today though.

Points: 78

Edradour 23yo 1983/2006 (52.1%, OB, Port Cask Finish, Cask #06/0554, 743 bottles)

Since Edradour is owned by Andrew Symington, this might as well have been a Signatory Vintage bottling. Lots and lots of Edradour have also been bottled as Signatory Vintage bottlings. 1983 is the oldest vintage of Edradour ever bottled by one of the owners, apart from two 1973 bottlings of which one was bottled by Andrew himself in 2003 (as an official Edradour). By the way, all the 1983 bottlings are Port Cask Finishes. Onder the flag of Signatory Vintage, Andrew bottled one 1968 Edradour and a small batch of 1976 bottlings, so the 1983 might not be the oldest Vintage after all.

Edradour 23yo 19832006 (52.1%, OB, Port Cask Finish, Cask #060554, 743 bottles)Color: Full Gold.

Nose: Dusty, flour and dry. Seems Sherried. Vanilla and cream. Powdered coffee creamer. Spicy oak. Spicy and fruity, but still with some hints of integrated wood. Cold butter, right out of the fridge and the fatty smell you get from a cold BBQ one month after its last use. So old fat and hints of burned stuff. Next are the first whiffs of baking white bread. Mixed with the odour of printed newspaper. Leafy and fresh. Small hints of (dark) chocolate with cherry liqueur, but not entirely black. This even has tiny hint of tar, giving the whole some depth. Not bad at all.

Taste: Much more fruity than the nose was. Creamy vanilla pudding with a red fruit acidic aftertaste. After that some bitter tree sap and bitter oak. The oak isn’t overpowering, but it’s there in broad strokes, making up the body of the Whisky. Quite complex wood, so it doesn’t come across as a young Whisky, which it in fact isn’t. Some hidden, fruity sweetness and again the paper of newspapers. Nice and well-integrated oaky bitters in the finish. It’s signature is carved in wood.

To sum things up. This is a wood driven old vintage Edradour finished in a Port pipe. The finish is done sparsely, since it isn’t an overpowering typical Port Finished Whisky. Nice, but not something I would go out of may way for to get it. Let’s call it an experience.

Points: 83

Edradour 10yo 1994/2004 (46%, Signatory Vintage, The Unchillfiltered Collection, Cask #349, 783 bottles)

In 2004, 2005 and 2006 most of the 1994 vintage were released by Signatory Vintage in the Straight from the cask series. You must remember the 50 cl bottles in the colored wooden boxes with all kinds of (fortified) wine finishes. However a few of those were rescued from that sometimes ill fait and released as is, under the unchillfiltered moniker, reduced to 46% ABV. Here we have one such cask that didn’t undergo a wine finish, simply because the Whisky at hand came from a Sherry cask.

Edradour 10yo Cask #402Color: Orange gold.

Nose: Quite creamy and already lots of aroma. Very dry with enough influence from the wood. It does remind me of cherry liqueur, without it being overly sweet. The Whisky also has a more vegetal side to it as well as some good Sherry funk. Fruity. Watered down red fruit juice, with toffee, chocolate butter and (milk) powder and some herbal smelling wood. Quite spicy when I come to think of it.

Taste: Paper, pepper and sometimes a bit hot. Artificial hard red candy juice. Remember those little raspberry ones? Warming and in the distance quite sweet. Candied citrus fruits (predominantly oranges) and the zestier note is provided by some lemon curd. After that the lengthy finish starts with some burnt newspaper ashes, cheap chocolate powder and some soft dark wood, not necessarily oak. Nutty coffee (Inca).

This is quite a Whisky, but I can’t help to feel that something is not quite right. That is probably personal, because I get that a lot with Edradour. Probably a typical Edradour marker, I still have to get used to. Still, this is quite quaffable. Go for one if you come across it. Maybe the 1994 vintage is sold out by now, but there should be still some 10yo’s from 2004 around. The picture is from one of the 2004 vintages, the 1994 looks the same.

Points: 82

Bruichladdich Classic Laddie Scottish Barley (50%, OB, 2014)

In the more recent past when Bruichladdich had different ownership, a lot of bottlings saw the light of day and a lot of bottlings comprised the standard range. Now that the distillery has changed hands and tries to be a fashion accessory, the stanf=dard range is reduced to only two NAS bottlings. Scottish Barley and Islay Barley. If my memory serves me well, all standard bottlings with an age statement have been dropped.

In 2013, this same Whisky was released with a somewhat different “label”. The first release had big lettering for “Scottish Barley”, whereas the 2014 release I’m about to try, has “Classic Laddie” in big lettering. I have tasted the 2013 version and scored that one 85 points. Let’s see if this newer version is equally as good.

Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie Scottish Barley 2014Color: Light gold.

Nose: Well this is a nose that screams Barley. Very young smelling and even has some Bladnoch-butter. Fatty, with a citrussy edge. Hints of new make spirit, and given some time to breathe, a more bread like, coffee and milk chocolate note appears. The whole is quite soft. Wet. fresh wood. Virgin oak. Nevertheless it is also recognizable as a Bruichladdich. It does remind me sometimes of the Cadenhead Bruichladdich 17yo I reviewed earlier.

Taste: Soft paper like wood and an extremely creamy taste. Coffee with a lot of milk. Chocolate milkshake. When the higher ABV flows down my throat a short flash of hotness flies by, but also dissipates quickly. Cream with a hint of ashes. Bourbon and vanilla, but also dark chocolate and a faint fruity note. Cherry liqueur bon-bon? Virgin oak again. Lots of barley (and sugar?) in the finish. Barley, oak and cream are the three words that describe this Whisky best I guess.

As consumers we are compensated. We get less ageing and less complexity, but we get more ABV. 50% to be precise.

Here we go again, another NAS bottling that will split the Whisky world in two. Definitely a young, crude and uncomplex Whisky, but at the same time a nice and designed sophisticated soft taste that a lot of people will like. The Bruichladdich spirit is a good spirit, but this spirit didn’t get a whole lot of time to develop. It’s like a child asked to drive a bus. Some would even say that this isn’t really Single Malt Whisky. If someone had invented this about a 1000 years ago, he or she, may have called it Barley Wine. Not bad, but not my NAS of choice.

Points: 81

Benromach 1976/2012 (46%, OB, First Fill & Refill Sherry Hogsheads)

This is a 1976 Benromach, bottled in 2012. So it’s either 35 or 36 years old. Said to be from First fill and refill Sherry hogsheads. Just compare it to the 1969 vintage, which is from refill Sherry hogsheads only. The 1969 is much darker in color. So what kind of Sherry was this from? Sherries exist in lots of different styles, and just like a “normal” wine, Sherry has lots of different colors, and aroma’s, too.

Benromach 1976-2012Color: Gold with a slight reddish glow.

Nose: Oak and vanilla. Spicy, dry and vegetal. The smell you get when you break a fresh twig. Slightly burnt wood and a tiny hint of peppermint. It smells younger than it actually is and despite the 100% Sherry statement it is not far away from an older Bourbon matured Whisky (at first). The isolated oak flavour is there, but when this is not from American oak, there is less vanilla to go around. That seems to be the case. So European oak it is. Lovely wood notes, elegant and fine. The wood seems to hold some bitter orange skins in its aroma. Also noticeable is a slight (white) winey note, but also some nuttiness which leads me to believe these casks also held some Fino’s and/or oxidized white Sherries. Not a lot of fruitiness which sets it apart from the famous Tomatin’s from the same vintage.

Taste: Well hello there. This starts with the fruits the nose lacks, but also the wood plays a nice role in here too. Even at 46% ABV, this is quite hot and peppery. Dark chocolate. Nice. The initial fruits quickly disperse which leaves more room for the wood. Not a lot of sweetness, and the wood brings a slight bitterness that suits this exercise in wood (and the nuttiness of dry white Sherries) well.  The finish carries hidden notes of flor. This one needs lots of air to settle and to get the balance right (Depeche Mode), but when it does, it shows you its high quality. Still not an easy one and this one will only reward you if you keep an open mind and work at it a bit.

The contrast between this lighter Sherry bottling and the darker 1969 Sherry bottling probably isn’t a coincidence. They go together like the Glengoyne Summer (dark) and Winter (light). Sure this is high quality stuff, and you have moments in your life when you really need a Whisky like this. The aforementioned Glengoyne Winter is a similar Whisky. (The only differences being that the Winter is more funky and less elegant, but slightly sweeter and much higher in ABV). Having said that, in my case, there just aren’t a lot of days like that, so a Whisky like this lasts very long. Every time I need it, I thoroughly enjoy it, but when I have it at the wrong moment, it’s a difficult Whisky. So choose wisely, first when you buy it, it’s quite expensive, and second when to sip it. One thing for sure, or actually two, its great stuff and it will last long.

Points: 87

The Benriach 18yo “Dunder” (46%, OB, Limited Production, Peated, Dark Rum Finish. 1888 bottles, 2015)

After the Irish Teeling Blend and the Old Malt Cask Clynelish, why not make it a trio and try this new release from Benriach, wich was also finished in Rum casks. Out of the closet it came and onto my lectern, where I popped the cork of this Benriach “Dunder”. Dunder is the name of the residue left behind in the still after distilling Rum in Jamaica. The Dark Rum finish was done in casks that once held Jamaican Rum. I love Jamaican Rum, so I’m very interested what the Rum casks did for this peated Whisky! Yes you’ve read this right, peated Benriach, finished in dark Rum.

This is the second release in Benriachs new series called “Limited Production”. The first release was another peated 18yo, finished in PX casks, which was called “Albariza”.

Benriach DunderColor: Full gold with a slight green tint.

Nose: Nicely vegetal, soft and peat, reminding me of black coal. Niiiiice. Good peat. Lots of depth and quite juicy. Smoke, earthy and full of spices. Meaty smoke and a minty/menthol note. Not a lot of Dark Rum is noticeable though. The peat is simply the main marker here. If anything, the Rum brings balance to the nose. The peat aroma is quite strong without being hit in the face with it. Its strong and laid back at the same time. Balanced. Behind the peat is a sweeter, more creamy note that acts as a vehicle for the peat. Big peat, small vehicle. Like an elephant on the roof of a mini (the original mini, not the BMW giant mini). This needs a lot of air, and I just opened the bottle. This will get better over time. Over time the peat retreats a bit, letting through more smoke and a more buttery, creamy smell as well as some fruity acidity. Citrus (but not the skins). This is getting better and better (but still no high ester Jamaican dark Rum).

Taste: Estery sweetness, thick, you can cut it with a knife, but it’s not as sweet as those sugary Rums, since the overall taste is pretty dry and smoky. Spicy. Hints of paper. Lots of smoke, licorice and a not completely integrated acidity (like drops of lemon juice on fresh butter). All of this is combined with hints of banana. Intriguing. Extremely well-balanced. Warming. The right amount of time was used for finishing this, although it may have benefitted from a little bit more Jamaican Rum (and sweetness) in the mix. Maybe it should have aged a little while longer. Vanilla and Demerara sugar are present, still not very sweet. The Rum does show itself, especially in the finish, without it being typically Jamaican, apart from the high ester entry mentioned above. Hints of red berries with vanilla and smoked almonds (without the salt). What a nice surprise this is.

Points: 88

Clynelish 14yo 1989/2003 (50%, Douglas Laing, Old Malt Cask, 6 Month Rum Finish, DL REF 3850, 312 bottles)

I’ve been reviewing more Rums lately, which is fun to do. back to Whisky for now, but I won’t have to let go of Rum altogether. To continue the Rum theme, my previous review was of a Teeling Blended Whiskey, finished in Rum casks. The Rum completely took over the Whiskey. Here is another Whisky, Scottish this time, that was finished in a Rum cask. Alas we don’t know where the Rum cask came from, nor do we know what kind of Rum it once held.

The title is correct, the picture is wrong. I found an old sample of this Clynelish on my attic, but it seems Whiskies were drunk in 2003 and not collected. I couldn’t even find one in an auction. No picture to be found of this particular 14yo rum finished Clynelish. All I could find was this picture of its 13yo sister bottling, also finished for 6 months in a Rum cask. For a brief time Fred Laing reserved the red lettering on OMC bottles for younger Whiskies in a time when  Douglas Laing was bottling almost only stellar and old bottlings. For one reason or another the red lettering, and the red tube, was soon abandoned. The bottle in the picture was bottled in February 2003, and the 14yo, I’ll be reviewing soon, later in that same year. It is therefore entirely possible the 14yo doesn’t even have red lettering.

Clynelish 14yo 1989/2003 (50%, Douglas Laing, Old Malt Cask, 6 Month Rum Finish, DL REF 3850, 312 bottles)Color: Light citrussy gold.

Nose: Wood and yes, it has some light golden Rum on the nose. This time the Rum didn’t overshadow the Whisky. You still can recognize a Single Malt Whisky in this. Flowery and soapy and hints of rhubarb. Soft young wood, leafy and fruity. Papaya, maracuja and a tiny hint of banana. In a blind tasting I would have said this was a Tomatin. Typical Bourbon cask notes and with tropical fruits, what else could it have been? Nice nose. Floral and fruity, but also damp earth and raisins. Hot butter. Sometimes whiffs of a Pinot Gris fly by. I like this. Well balanced and even though a lot can be picked up, the balance is so great and the aroma’s are so well-integrated it doesn’t even seem complex. The aroma’s show themselves in layers, but when an aroma is replaced by the next, it isn’t gone for good, everything comes back as a boomerang. Given some time a more burned note appears that wasn’t there before. I have always liked Rum finishes, maybe that’s where the interest in Rum comes from.

Taste: Recognizable as a Clynelish, with added yellow, tropical and red fruits. Quite hot, it bites back a bit. Sweet and more yellow fruits. Pineapple and white grapes, hints of unripe peach and unripe banana. After the initial sweetness, notes of paper and wood. Cheap wood, plywood maybe. This is less balanced than the nose is and the finish leaves a slightly bitter taste in your mouth. Burned wood and grape seeds. Nice stuff, just don’t expect a sweet Rum in this one.

Back in those times, it seems that Rum finishes were more common than today. Wine finishes were hardly available, and those that were around were not particularly good. Look around today, lots of finishes in casks that previously contained a Wine in all its guises. Rum finishes are still not done very often, apart from some Benriachs I guess. Speaking of which…

Points: 86

Springbank 18yo (46%, OB, 14/301)

Reviewing the utterly wonderful Glenfarclas 29yo I came across some notes and hints of coconut. Coconut is something I always found a lot of in old Springbanks, so Springbank stuck a bit in the back of mind, when I was tasting the Glenfarclas. Very conveniently, I have an open bottle of Springbank 18yo on my lectern, so lets see if this Springbank still has a hint of the old coconut up its sleeve. If I’m not mistaken, this Springbank is made from 80% Sherry casks and just 20% Bourbon. Lets hope the Springbank coconut is not (only) from the Bourbon casks.

Springbank 18yo (2014)Color: Gold.

Nose: Ferns and leafy. Garden bonfire (smoldering grass). Lots of forest floor aroma’s. Partly creamy. Sowing machine oil and slightly smoky. Sweet cold black tea. Give it some time and this actually is a beautiful nose. Red fruit juice and sweet red apples, but also some Golden Delicious, combined with hot metal. The smell of dead, old steam equipment. When given some more time to breathe some nice yellow fruits come through. Dried apricots combined with mint. Very fruity Sherry, almost a sweet white Sherry. It also reminds me a bit of Sauternes and sweet Moscato. Fabulous balance. Wonderful batch of Springbank 18yo. However, no coconut in the nose.

Taste: Sweet, oily and nutty. Fruity as well. Strange enough when the fruity part comes the sweetness hops into the back seat, so even though the fruity bit is highly aromatic, it isn’t sweet. So not a lot of fructose nor thick fruit, but a thin kind of yellow fruit. Slightly perfumy as well. Well balanced and everything stays in its place. Not a lot of development over time. Nice smoky note too and the sowing machine oil is present as well, but alas no coconut.

This is great stuff, but I still think this is not a Whisky for everybody. It’s not a lovely, fruity and soft Whisky. This is more a Whisky with muscles. A masculine dram with oil and smoke. Although almost three times distilled, it is miles apart from the typical triple distilled grassy and citrussy Lowlanders. Artisan Whisky from a lovely distillery.

Points: 88