Category Archives: Whisky from Master Quills Lectern

Glenburgie 20yo 1998/2019 (58.6%, Elixir Distillers, The Single Malts of Scotland, Hogshead #751403, 246 bottles)

Glenburgie is one of those Malts with a profile that just suits me well. Most of it is used for blending, and not a lot of official bottlings exist. The owners are definitely not putting it in the spotlight I personally feel it deserves. Sure, the quality is there, but maybe Glenburgie is just too unknown to the general public and therefore hard to market. There are two bottlings released under the Ballantines label, a 15yo “Ballantine’s series no. 001” and a 18yo “Ballantine’s series no. 001”. Both are bottled at a whopping 40% ABV, so definitely targeted at the (adventurous) Ballantine’s drinker. For a Single Malt, 40% ABV was very nice in the seventies and before, but is not very 21st century if you ask me. Both bottlings seem rather obsolete (apart for the group mentioned earlier). I guess Pernod Ricard (Chivas Bros.), the owners, like, for instance, Aberlour a lot more. That “brand” definitely receives a lot more love from the company. Rightly so, it is an excellent Single Malt (but so is Glenburgie). The blend where most of Glenburgie goes into, is obviously Ballantine’s but also Old Smuggler and Teacher’s contain a lot of Glenburgie. For Anoraks there are some pretty rare 500 ml single cask bottlings or Distillery Reserve’s. Nope, If we want to have a serious taste and get a feel for Glenburgie, we are yet again saved by the ever so important independent bottlers (all hail to them all!), who luckily are able to put out Glenburgie for you and I to enjoy. In this case in comes Elixir Distillers of London…

Color: White Wine.

Nose: Creamy and lemony, yet also dusty and waxy. Soft mocha and slightly funky. Initially quite closed and smells a little bit dull, dusty and something like a wood shop. Old sawdust though, not the fresh stuff, that has been lying around for quite some time. Trodden down. Perfumy, and somewhat elegant, yet different than the elegance of the Macduff 10yo from the previous review. Actually typical for a refill hogshead. I expected more of a fruity nose to be honest. Slightly smoky nose, ever so slightly, maybe this comes from the toasted insides of the cask. Some dry kitchen spices come next, as well as some honey, hints of pine and fresh rain. Still closed, yet some well balanced beautiful details come up from the liquid. It seems a bit shy.

Taste: Quite sweet on entry and definitely way more fruity than the nose. Again some smoke and toasty bits, as well as some cannabis I sometimes also get in Bunnahabhain. This, plus the detailed nose, make the Whisky special. Quite tasty, even at this ABV. Sure, it is a bit hot going down, but the onset and the body are very nice. Where the nose was a bit closed, no problem like that here. Tastes open and ready to please you, me, us, the drinker(s). The cannabis bit returns in the finish where the aftertaste shows us some more of the wood the cask was made of. The roof of my mouth clearly shows this is a high ABV Malt, something that didn’t come to mind when tasting it initially. By the way, ripe, sweet yellow fruits also pop up in the aftertaste. The finish, as well as the aftertaste are the best traits of this Malt. When this is bottle is gone (and it almost is), I’m going to miss it. Glenburgie spirit is wonderful, both in Ex-Sherry and Ex-Bourbon casks. I have a soft spot for it.

I have said it before and I am going to say it again. This is yet another Whisky that really needed (a lot of) time to breathe. The second half of the bottle was better than the first half. A very laid back Malt, or so it seemed just by smelling it. Still, having spent some time with this in my glass, I do have a late found fondness for this Glenburgie. I like Glenburgie so I was a bit disappointed with this one at first. Not so much now, yet I think it is a bit of a shame that it wasn’t as good as it is now, from the moment you open the bottle. If decanting would work for a Whisky, this would be one to experiment with. The beauty of this one is also in the details, because it has those almost hidden elements that make it special. So, good for analysing and anoraks, not so much for casual sipping. It is certainly not an easy one. If you are new to Single Malt Whisky and you have this, keep it, don’t open it all to soon.

Points: 90

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MacDuff 10yo 2000/2010 (56.5%, The Creative Whisky Co, The Exclusive Malts, First Fill Sherry Butt #3525)

Just like the Dailuaine from the previous review, Macduff is featured quite some times on Master Quill already, twice in 2012 and twice in 2014. That’s certainly a while back. What also isn’t new on these pages is a Whisky featured from David Stirk’s old company: The Creative Whisky Company. Earlier I tried a 20yo Bunnahabhain and much later a quite quaffable 10 yo Girvan and not so long ago a very good 14yo Highland Park, I had to work hard for to get the most out if it. The Bunnahabhain was bottled in 2011, the last two mentioned offerings bottled somewhere around 2017.

This time we’ll have a look at a 10 yo Macduff distilled in 2000, and bottled in 2010, in a different style bottle than the Girvan and Highland Park yet the same as the Bunnahabhain. The bottle I bought is an example with an over-glued back label. The original back label mentions that the Whisky was selected by our Belgian friends of The Bonding Dram (200 bottles for them) and that this Whisky shows what can happen when a great Malt Spirit is put in an excellent Sherry cask. The rest of the cask was bottled probably at the same time, with some of them (or the rest of them) with the over-glued label. The label also learns us that the bird on the label is a Eurasian Jay (Vlaamse Gaai, a bird common to Belgium). See the bottle on the right here. The over-glued label that’s on the bottle I have, mentions non of this all, not even what kind of bird is on its label, yet it does mention that Macduff produces a strong Spirit used in major Blends. From my label we can also find out that the Sherry Butt is a First Fill, hardly a surprise looking at the colour of this Whisky. David would never tamper with his Whisky, so the colour does say something in this case. The label promised that the Whisky will have rich stewed fruits, raisins and plums and sweet syrupy-flavours. Knowing The Bonding Dram (a very knowledgeable bunch) as well as David (an even more knowledgeable man), I’m sure I will be in for a treat with this one! (I know I am, I’ve had this one several times before…).

Color: dark orange, almost brown.

Nose: Soft and sometimes a bit harsh at the same time. Soft fruits with vanilla and some harsh fresh oak. Harsh might be a slightly too big of a word to describe what I am smelling here. Smells very tasty and red fruity. Dusty and chilly fruits still in the cold shop. Cold cooked vegetables, cold dishwater, Rhum Agricole (closest to J.M from Martinique). In a way also a bit floral, like a nice floral perfume in a fine detergent. Well kept in check, so not a problem (I know, it may sound horrible, but believe me it isn’t). It’s not soapy. Sometimes even hints of honey, pine, horseradish and cola. Well masked wood spice. Sometimes animalesk and sometimes farmy. How’s that for complexity. What a wonderful combination. The wood smells like pencil shavings and after a while more green and leafy. After this, whiffs of fresh air. Starts to smell somewhat elegant after breathing. A rich and wonderful nose. Definitely more special than a hard hitting all-overpowering Sherry monster. Quality stuff this one, with amazing complexity.

Taste: Big, sweet and sour. Tasty! Big, yet also lively and fresh. Fruity cherries, black coal and some tar (woody bitterness). Chewy (not always though, it seemed thinner when tasted late in the evening) and some late, mouthwatering, spicy and prickly bits with just enough oaky bitterness. A good kind of bitterness. Tarry and toasted oak. Unlit cigarette tobacco. Slightly minty feel. Ever so slightly soapy, masked well by dark syrupy fruit. This is a big one, but not a monster. This is, as well as the nose is, and the whole of the Whisky, very well balanced. Very nice spirit and a very nice cask did come together in this one. This is better than many 10yo Whiskies from first fill Oloroso Sherry casks that see the light of day these days. Whiskies that taste like they only are used to season the cask for use as a refill, where the refill is more important than the first fill. This one tastes fantastic. It just stays on the right side of being over the top. With some notes it hints at the past, yet in an entirely different way than the old skoolness of Dailuaine 16yo and Strathisla 25yo mentioned in the previous review.

By the way, I mentioned the knowledge of David in the intro. He has a new book out, and if you are interested in independent bottlers please check it out, since it is about… well… independent bottlers (he should know, he is one). Here is a link, but there are many others that are selling his crowdfunded book as well.

I originally planned to compare this one to the Flora and Fauna Dailuaine 16yo of the previous review, still some drops left in that one, but this wouldn’t work, both are so different and actually incomparable. The difference in ABV’s also wouldn’t help. As a whole, both Whiskies are entirely different. Yet again the Macduff is a whisky that smells really good but tasted even better. Dirt cheap when it came out, now worth looking for at an auction.

Points: 89

Dailuaine 16yo “Flora & Fauna” (43%, OB, L5042CR000, Circa 2005)

I feel that nothing from the Flora & Fauna series will ever surpass the legendary Mortlach 16yo. But hey, we can never be sure, so we have to regularly test this “feeling”. An interesting journey all by itself. Apart from the aforementioned Mortlach, one can also find reviews of Teaninich 10yo and two, yes, two batches of the Benrinnes 15yo here at Master Quill. One from 2001 and one from 2008. The two Benrinnes reviews showed that there can be substantial batch variation within this series. Both similar yet one “bigger” than the other. From memory, I also compared once, head to head, two different batches of Blair Athol 12yo (both batches some ten years apart) that also had a staggering difference of 10 points. Both essentially different from one another.

Mortlach, Benrinnnes, Dailuaine and Blair Athol are the most prominently Sherried expressions within the Flora & Fauna series, and the Teaninich, in comparison, was a very light (probably Bourbon only) offering and to be honest quite underwhelming as well. Mind you, I have a soft spot for Teaninich, just not this particular Flora and Fauna bottling. Alas. But hey, it might only just be a lesser batch. Considering the cost, and being official bottlings, the Flora and Fauna series are quite popular with seasoned Whisky aficionado’s. I’m not even sure the general public even knows what the Flora and Fauna series is. If you want to know a bit more of its history, please have a look at the intro of the Teaninich review.

Color: Copper brown.

Nose: Very, very old skool Sherry bottling, instant reminder of, for instance, the Gordon & MacPhail Strathisla 25yo I reviewed earlier and also an old skool Sherry bottling (@ 40% ABV). Mind you, that Strathisla scored 94 Points in the end, so that’s saying something. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, we all know that ones Whisky-experience is more than the nose alone. Beautiful sweaty and funky Sherried Whisky with chocolate powder, tar and coal dust. A true classic nose. I can hardly imagine this was distilled at the end of the eighties, surely there must be some (much) older Whisky in here? Chances are slim though, with such a large general release. Old Sherry, slightly tarry with spicy old toasted wet oak and sweet mocha. Haagsche Hopjes (a Dutch coffee candy, pictured here to the right). Dusty, coal dust, paper dust and hot clear machine oil. Slightly spicy. Old oil-based half dried out paint. Lots of ripe red fruits mixed in with the coal. Tarry even. After all of this, some more wood emerges, still wet and more of the paper note, yet also slightly more modern now. A quality like this from the end of the eighties is in fact possible, the nose of the very first Hazelburn 12yo (Rotation 09/335) is similarly good, as well as its predecessor, the first edition of the Hazelburn 8yo. Reviews of both are already in the works. Maybe all three came from the same sort of casks? What was in these casks previously I wonder. I’m looking at this bottle, and still I can’t believe this smells like it does. Amazing, really. A fresh pour has some farmy elements to it that dissipates very quickly. The only beef I have with this Whisky is that it smells a wee bit too sweet, so I did have some worries about the taste.

Taste: Sweet and very syrupy right out of the gate. Yes the old skool is here too, or is it still my extensive sniffing that does this trick? This syrupy thickness doesn’t have a long life though. It becomes thin quite quickly and some unexpected bitterness emerges. Tarry, licorice and coal, as well as some hot plastic from burning cables. The sweetness does pop up now and again with a new sip taken. Taste wise definitely not as stellar as the nose. Less complex, not that big any more and also somewhat less balanced. But tasty it still is and warming as well. Right now the sweetness is kept in check, but I know from carelessly sipping the first half of the bottle, this Whisky can also be quite sweet. By now its not as sweet as the nose seemed to have promised. Actually the sweetness itself is quite well balanced by now. Strange enough the nose now seems even sweeter than it is on my palate. Especially late in the evening. (Sniffing it, the nose is still stellar, and still evolving a bit). I know, you can’t smell “the sweet”. It has bitter and astringent notes, yet right after these notes seem to dominate, the whisky lets free some creamy vanilla notes as well, which fit the steam punk industrial notes quite nicely. Nice. The finish does let it down a bit, the balance also suffers a bit in the finish. To be honest, they are not the nicest aromas that manage to stay behind the longest. More wood, spice and bitterness. All of a sudden a hint of oaked Chardonnay. Didn’t see that coming.

This one really benefited from extended breathing, the emptier the bottle the better the Whisky became. Even though the taste is definitely less special than the nose, the Whisky is still a cracker. On par with the quality of the Mortlach I would say. I enjoyed both thoroughly, and for the price you pay,,this one can be considered as dirt cheap, whereas the Mortlach is getting more and more expensive on the secondary market with every passing month. Supply (none, the Mortlach F&F is discontinued) and demand (high). I wonder how newer batches of this Dailuaine are (the label has been changed from 2017 onwards). Nice smell from the empty glass as well. Definitely recommended. I wonder if newer batches of Dailuaine manage to maintain the style of this older one. Only time will tell.

Points: 88 points (again)

Arran 16yo 1997/2014 “The Un-Official almost 17th” (52.1%, OB, Private Cask, Sherry Hogshead #1997/525, 270 bottles)

Some 10 years ago, I reviewed the official 16yo (bottled at 46% ABV) and quite liked it. Back then it scored 87 points which is quite a good score. Here we have another 16yo from the distillery itself. The Un-Official almost 17th? Surely they mean The Un-Official almost 17yo? Nevermind. Since the 2013 review, I also came across some reasonable Arran’s but nothing really cached my eye and for me personally Arran slipped into the darkness of oblivion a bit. Fast forward some years and in comes this Arran Batch 3, I reviewed a year ago. That one did the trick of bringing Arran back into the (lime)light again. Batch 3 made me look into Arran again, and in stead of going to the shops, I went for some single cask versions at my favourite German auction. Sherry Hogshead #1997/525 is one of those auction lots…

Color: Copper gold, slightly hazy.

Nose: Nutty Sherry. Freshly made alcoholic toffee or runny caramel used for ice-cream. Toffee backed up by super ripe yellow fruits and still green, starting to become yellow, banana’s. So not really unripe banana’s then. Peaches also come to mind a lot. Dusty. Fresh oak. Well balanced, It may be simple (is it?), yet all these aroma’s go together quite well. Also, it smells like it will taste quite sweet and fruity. We’ll see about that later. Hints of polished furniture. Again fruity and sweet smelling. Cocktail cherries. Diluted red fruit syrup. Sometimes a whiff of a more fresh and minty aroma passes by. Come to think of it, this one does have an aura of old skool Sherried Whisky about it, which I quite like. Hmmm, I also got some old skool in Batch 4. More soft, actually very soft wood and some cardboard. Almost no cask toast, I mention this because there can be a lot of this in Sherried Whiskies. More syrup and now a fresh butter note, adding to the balance, because this is a pleasant smelling Whisky. Sometimes a whiff of sea-air and after some extensive sipping, a more friendly and nice floral detergent note pops up, not a really soapy note, which usually is somewhat more negatively perceived (by me). Yup, nice stuff. Very nice indeed.

Taste: Sweet Sherry and vanilla. Apple pastry, very much so. This surprises me a bit, since I didn’t pick up on apples in the nose (and still don’t). Apple compote. Apple beignets, including the dough. Luckily not to sweet. Nutty and waxy. Some wood in the beginning, but only the more astringent bit of it stays behind on my tongue, the rest of the woody notes are soon overpowered by the vanilla and the toffee ice-cream note, as well as the aforementioned fruit and some freshly baked cookies. After a while the astringent bit I just mentioned, turns into something somewhat bitter. Medium bitterness from wood, as well as from some licorice notes. After some proper tasting, and smelling, this does remind me of old skool (making me feel melancholic) Whisky. In the review of Arran 16yo I mentioned the potential Arran has and that I hope it would someday really show it, well here it is. What a wonderful Arran this turned out to be.

Arran seems to me to be a Malt that shows what it’s got right out of the gate. Well balanced and nice, yet less of a layered kind of malt or one with a substantial development in your glass. This one is no exception. It shows you what its got and thus lacking some development and complexity. Nevertheless, what it does have is very good. So I’m not complaining. There is definitely room for instant gratification Malts on my lectern. It might be me again, but for me, the second half of the bottle seemed better than the first half, so again one that needs to breathe a lot. Usually I review a Whisky I own myself halfway through, this is again a Whisky that went quicker than I thought, so I had to review it before it’s gone. Ain’t that a recommendation for ya!?

This Arran, in a way, seems to be a companion to the Highland Park 14yo I just reviewed. The Highland Park is almost overly complex, whereas this Arran is not. They differ a lot yet also have quite some similarities. Due to the complexity, the Highland Parks scores slightly better, but Arran isn’t any worse. The Highland Park you have to work, this one is as laid back and easy as they come. This Arran will always welcome you with open arms, where the Highland Park is essentially a grumpy git. Arran by now has gained yet another fan. I love the melancholy around this one, reminding me of Whiskies I tasted a long time ago…

Points: 89

Highland Park 14yo 2003 (52.9%, The Creative Whisky Company, The Exclusive Malts, Refill Hogshead #751, 235 bottles)

This Highland Park was a bit hard to review. The rule of thumb is usually, when reviewing a Whisky I have a full bottle off: open a bottle, let it breathe a bit, try it several times and when it’s about half full, (or half empty), review it, A review not only based on the tasting experience when analysing and writing, but also from memory of the first half of the bottle. Well, this bottle has now only 20% left in it and from memory alone, I would have a hard time writing something up, not because I killed off most of my brain cells, no, more because this is a very particular Whisky, one that seems to have an attitude, grumpy if you will. One that needs all your attention, and if not, sod it; “I’m not opening up to you drinker!” “I will keep most of my secrets to myself!” I have no clue how this Whisky really is, after an evening on my couch watching something or reading, thus giving less attention to the Whisky it requires. This was not an instant gratification Malt and I might have told you it is a disappointing Malt. Only when I took it with me to a friends house for a dedicated evening of a lot of great Whiskies and music, thus giving it the attention the Whisky itself feels it deserves, it finally did shine. What a moody piece of work! I could pick a fight with this Highland Park, telling it to behave or grow up or just… (pardon my French).

Color: Light gold (not pale).

Nose: Creamy toffee. Bourbon hogshead alright. Fatty and big. Quite aromatic. Fruity with some nice smoke to it, as well as slightly nutty (oak). Soft bonfire and waxy oak. Right out of the gate it smells quite complex, with a lot of creamy, toffee and caramel notes, but also a lot of ripe yellow fruit notes and on top if this, the smoky bit. A very clean smelling Highland Park, big and aromatic, so clean and in a way also modern. Sweet smelling. Very ripe and sweet white peach. Dried apricots. Pineapple syrup. After a while the soft oak comes forward, smelling almost as if the wood was painted white on the outside, because of the tiny chemical aroma this Whisky has. The small chemical bit smells thus of white paint but also whiffs of moped (warm oil, exhaust fumes) and polyester (probably from inside the saddle of the moped), otherwise clean oak (it still matured in a hogshead) and a wee bit of horseradish and unlit tobacco. All of this is so minutely present, that it only adds to the complexity without putting you off. See how strangely complex this one is? This must be why it does need your full attention. Do you also see what is happening here, I give the damn thing the attention it wants and it gives me all these complex and wonderful big aroma’s in return, however if I carelessly sip it away…nothing much! What a piece of work this is. This one seems to be alive and having a personality. There is just too much (happening) in the nose, and it is just too complex for casual sipping, and if you don’t understand its components, it will tell you off. I guess this is one of those Malts not for novices (yet again). I’ll get back to that later.

Taste: (Heathery) sweet, waxy, nutty and woody and pretty smoky on entry, fatty smoke with again some minor hints of plastics and/or polyester. Creamy fruit, mixed with some woody bitterness that not always pops up. In fact all the chemical bits mentioned above are here, yet not causing any problems. The entry is fantastic. It is not entirely similar to the nose, but seems to build on it, extending it. It is chewy and stays moderately sweet. With enough wood and smoke (and peat) to balance this out. Its certainly prickly on my tongue. White pepper? Apart from the heathery sweetness of the initial taste, this could have been a Talisker. Amazing complexity and a wonderful balance. Also some green notes, like dried out leaves and garden waste in autumn (dry, so the pre-rot phase, although close to it). Since I found the pre-rot here, I now also detect it on the nose. These green notes I mentioned earlier, also show up in the nose, after it showed up in the taste. That’s the workings of your oral cavity for you! Warming, The finish is long, complex and warming, and the aftertaste is an extension of the finish. Great balance! After a while the finish shows some bitterness from the wood paired with some licorice and the tiniest hint of some soapiness on the back of my tongue. The amount of bitterness seems different from day to day and is definitely saying something about the taster and not entirely about the Whisky.

A wonderful piece of work. Complex and of very high quality. Ranking very, very high on the interesting Whiskies list as well. Amazing how this Whisky manages to takes some off-notes (The bitter, the soap, the paint, the polyester and the moped for instance) and turns them around into something nice in the balancing-out-department. You as a consumer better be a skilled and an experienced taster, if not, this most definitely is not for you. It will sense that and will try to piss you off, making you think this is a mediocre and not so nice Whisky. It is not. It’s amazing. It really is. If anything, it might be slightly too sweet in the beginning and slightly too bitter at the end. If you try this on a couch or a reclining seat, you will miss the point. You need to try it sitting upright on a chair at the table, alert, without being distracted, giving it a lot of time, and then, if you’re “lucky” (actually luck has nothing to do with it), and the planets align as well, you will finally get it, like I just did. This one will not stop giving. It’s special stuff, ’nuff said…

Points: 90

Springbank 10yo (46%, OB, 14.10.21, 21/159, 2021)

When I wrote the previous review of an older 18yo Springbank (one from 2011), Springbank was readily available in Europe in many guises. Enough to choose from, with decent prices. Today I can paint an entirely different picture. If I would go to several shops I would probably find nothing at all, and with some luck, maybe, and I stress this word, maybe I would be able to buy a 10yo like this, but that’s about it. If I want another Springbank, secondary market is the way to go these days, with secondary market prices as well. Accessibility is low, demand has risen dramatically. Springbank doesn’t have to bother advertising their product anymore, nor do they attend Whisky shows and packaging isn’t necessary as well. It all sells itself. Where does it all go? US, Asia? Well, since this was the only normal buy in recent times, let’s see how the 10yo is doing…

Color: Clear light gold.

Nose: Cardboard and fruity. Slightly creamy and nutty. Recognizable Campbeltown oily funk. A memory of peat, but it is most definitely not up front. Cleaner than I remember other Springbank 10yo’s to be, like for instance the 2003 and 10/342 (2010) editions, yet in the greater scheme of Whisky, clean this is not. Somewhat dusty and waxy. Peaches with a hint of banana, maybe some apricots and a wee backbone of something smoky. A lighter and fruitier take on the 10yo. Sweet fruit yoghurt with more dust and fresh almonds (without their skins). Sometimes I pick up on faint pine resin and/or camphor, or do I fool myself? Band-aids are another strange note that sometimes whiffs by. Very well balanced though. Springbank is just such a good distillery. Amazing smelling 10yo again. As often with Springbank, give it time to breathe. Oxidation is almost always Springbank’s friend. After sipping it for a while, a more green and leafy note emerges adding a little bit to the complexity of this Malt. This is very nice for an affordable 10yo, still one of the best you can get, but wait a minute, before you get carried away, how does it taste?

Taste: Nutty again. Because here there is more wood upfront, it seems less fruity. Very tasty but also a bit thin and rather simple (the nose shows more complexity), still, the balance is here, as well as it is in the taste. However, I expected something more oily or fatty, at least the feel of that, because the oily taste is present, yet the texture isn’t. This is also not very warming going down, so I guess this is more a summer type of Whisky. After swallowing you can pinpoint quite a sharp (woody) bitter note in your mouth, that doesn’t go away for a while. It actually tastes like less than 46% ABV (more like 40% ABV). So the rather thin texture doesn’t help the Whisky along. Nevertheless, this a highly drinkable Malt. Where in the start the wood was masking the fruit a bit, I’m happy to report this has a nice and fruity finish that carries well into the aftertaste (along with the creamy bits).

This isn’t one of the best batches of the 10yo around, yet if I would find myself stranded on a sunny deserted island with a case of this, it still is one of the best you could wish for in a situation like that. Other than that, this is a decent and pretty straightforward and as mentioned earlier, highly drinkable Malt. Just don’t decide for yourself how this one is right after opening the bottle, this really needs some time to properly open up, like most Springbanks do. Drink this too fast is not a good idea, just give it time, put it on your shelf for a day or two without a cork (mind the fruit flies) and you will be rewarded. As said this is definitely not the best batch of the 10yo, but there is still enough here to have fun with or grow a fondness for. I did.

Points: 85 (almost 86)

Aberlour 13yo (58%, OB, First Fill Sherry Butt #34595)

So what do you do after a few reviews of mostly Ex-Bourbon cask matured Whiskies? Yep, you’ve got it, you try to find a Sherry bomb to review, and as luck would have it, I just have such a thing still waiting on my lectern to be reviewed. Back in the day when one wanted a very good Sherried Whisky, one would turn to the likes of Longmorn, Strathisla and Macallan. After that, I remember Glendronach 15yo, (not the Revival one, no the one before that), was a nice alternative to Macallan 18yo (and the 15yo when it existed in some years). In more recent years, Macallan changed direction somewhat, so, Glendronach, Tamdhu and even more recently Glenallachie seem to be the, more affordable, go to Sherry bombs these days. Glenallachie 15yo seems to be rather popular, although it didn’t really convince me (yet).

Many independent bottlers are coming out with a lot of young first fill Sherry bottlings as well. Parallel to all this Sherry Bomb activity, there has always been Aberlour, especially with their A’Bunadh bottlings, and to a somewhat lesser extent with some single cask bottlings, which are less available and more expensive. Simply because they aren’t flooding the market with those, it’s giving me the feeling that if they do release a single cask bottling, it must be something of an exceptional single cask, a stunner so to speak. So when this was sold locally, I just couldn’t resist the looks of it, and bought it. I’m a sucker for those dumpy bottles, I just had to have it. Now the time has come to find out if this is an exceptional single cask or not, and if #13330 and #4934 are anything to go by, both are first fills as well by the way,…well you’ll understand that expectations run high by now.

Color: Orange-red-brown.

Nose: Sherry alright. Dusty oak and meaty. Cold gravy and animal fat. Quite heavy Sherry and a cellar type smell, yet also vibrant and fresh. Dull dishwater and fresh air, here a wonderful combination. Rhum Agricole from Martinique, not funky enough for Réunion. Very aromatic and again a well balanced nose. The stars seem aligned a bit in my house, since a lot of the previously reviewed Whiskies showed some really good balance as well. Seems a bit syrupy and muddy at times, but not all the time. Quite clean otherwise, due to its freshness and lemony aroma’s. Old dry nuts still in their shell, lying in a bowl on the table, not touched for a while since the nutcracker broke. Still fresh with sometimes a more organic (slightly farty) whiff flying by. Almonds and Sinaspril (an artificial smell of old orange powder). This is a Whisky that needs the warmth of your hand to unlock all the fine aroma’s. So don’t hold your glass by the stem of foot, but just keep it in your hand, moving it around a bit. If anything, this lacks the promise of a wee bit of sweetness or creaminess, although some of this is emerging, (honey notes now), if you keep the glass around for half an hour or so. Only after sipping a tiny hint of spicy sulphur comes forth, mixed in with licorice (Bassett’s, which emerges even later). It’s a bit strict, like teachers used to be. In comes Pink Floyd now…

Taste: Medium syrupy and hot, woody, spicy start. Tarry vanilla powder, somewhat soapy and some artificial cherries, making it less exceptional on entry, but still quite good, don’t get me wrong here. Let’s say right of the bat, that this is not recommended for novices. Next, fruity syrup, some spices and some good old wood. Cinnamon, cola, star anise and a light to medium, (depends on the moment), and soft, woody bitterness, in this case maybe taking away even some more from the exceptionalness (if that’s a word). Still, I have to mention this doesn’t bother me all that much every time around and on some days my perception of this differs from other days. Some hidden sweetness. On entry this might be a bit strange, not exactly perfectly balanced, the body is good though, but the finish shows a sort of fruity acidity which doesn’t fit the Whisky all that much, hurting the balance some more. Maybe the Sherry that was previously in this Butt wasn’t the best? I notice a slight soapy edge (again) on the sides of my tongue some time after swallowing. Medium length finish with some soap to it and this lingers on even longer in a long warming aftertaste. Seems older than 13yo.

This is a bit of a chameleon Malt, on some days I like it more and get something else out of it than on other days, yet another point why this might not be for novices. I wouldn’t even recommend an A’Bunadh for novices though, all of the batches, especially with these kinds of ABV. It definitely has quite a few good sides, but to be honest, when looking at the wonky bits, I’m not entirely sure why this cask was picked out for a single cask bottling, not for the general public I guess. It’s just not exceptional, although it is most definitely a very interesting bottling for anoraks. Sure it has its strange bits, but in a way I do like it, it is another take on Aberlour. Case closed.

Points: 86

Paul John (59.7%, OB, Single Cask #1444, 2014)

While we’re at it, why not continue with yet another Paul John. In the previous two reviews we first had an Amrut finished in cask that previously held peated Whisky and the second Whisky, a Cadenhead Paul John, consists for 40% of Peated Whisky. This time around, we’ll be looking into a single cask of Paul John, a totally unpeated one. Personally I believe Paul John in its peated variant is often at its best. However, like I claimed in the review of the Cadenhead Paul John, there are very good unpeated expressions as well, so lets see if #1444 is one of them.

Color: Light copper gold.

Nose: Very nice entry, with Paul John’s trademark horseradish. A good Springbank has cocos, and a good Paul John has horseradish. Dusty horseradish in this case, like dried out horseradish cream (from a jar). Prickly and spicy, with trace amounts of smoke and floral soap. Appetizing. Cola flavoured wood, and a zesty oak flavour. Appealing in this zesty soda kind of way. Maybe they should carbonate this particular expression of Paul John? The wood now turns a bit vegetal, somewhat virgin, although it is highly unlikely this came from a virgin oak cask. Cold tea. Complex. This has pencil shavings which is also quite normal for a Paul John, but much less than other unpeated expressions, which is a good thing in my book, since that aroma can often dominate the Whisky, masking the complexity it might have and thus resulting in a lower score. So it seems this is a better balanced unpeated single cask than the ones reviewed earlier. The nose benefits hugely from sipping, showing yet more layers. Wow. Sometimes I smell some creamy fruits from an Alsatian Gewürztraminer (not the lychee by the way). How is that for complexity.

Taste: Wood, mocha, ashes and horseradish toffee. Prickly (white pepper?) and somewhat sweet. Again showing great balance. The next wave concentrates more around the sweet bit, now showing a ripe fruitiness. Yet also quite some wood without ever getting bitter. Hints of virgin oak again, but also some dusty old dried out leather books. Classy. A slight lemony acidity (lemon meringue) at the end of the body and well into the finish, which is nice, nutty and long. Walnuts without the bitter skin, the flesh of walnuts only, so to speak. Warming finish and thus this nutty and woody aftertaste with again quite some length.

I have to say this is a very nice dram, and may very well be the best of the unpeated Paul John’s I tried up ’till now. Just compare this one to the other unpeated official single casks: #1906 (87 points) and #1051 (84 points). Great balance and it all works together quite nicely. The aromas in the nose are nice, as well as on the palate, and both the nose and the taste fit together well. Nice finish and a good lengthy aftertaste. Very good example this one, definitely my favourite of the unpeated ones. Funny really, all these single casks look alike especially because a lot of information is lacking. What kind of cask it is, how many bottles, distillation year and so on. So they all look the same, they seem to come all from Bourbon barrels, but the difference between the different casks can still be really great.

Points: 89

Paul John 6yo 2011/2018 (56.6%, Cadenhead, Bourbon Hogshead & Bourbon Barrel, 564 bottles)

Since the last review was of an Amrut Indian Whisky finished in a cask that held peated Whisky, why not review another Indian Whisky I have on my lectern that came into contact with peat. Here we have a Cadenhead’s bottling of a Whisky that originally came from three casks that previously held peated Whisky and two casks that held unpeated Whisky. Since Indian Whisky, due to the local climate, suffers from a lot of evaporation, all this Whisky was vatted together and then transferred to only one hogshead and one barrel. My guess would be 5 years of maturation in India and one year in Scotland. Both casks were dumped together and then bottled. The label doesn’t say anything about a marrying period before bottling, there probably was, we only don’t know how long that was.

Color: Copper gold.

Nose: Slightly peaty and quite fruity (especially in the beginning). Sharp fresh air with a hint of horseradish, which is quite common for a Paul John. Some leather, wood (pencil shavings, yes) and sweet licorice. Bonfire and smoke. Somewhat creamy, nutty and green as well. Vegetal. Cold chimney and it seems a bit salty. Salty custard. Dry vanilla powder and molten ice-cream. Smells tasty and compared to the Blackadder Amrut, a bit more modern (distant hint of warm plastic) and less, definitely less complex, not a lot of evolution as well, but there is some. It reaches a certain point, and stays there. The aforementioned Amrut was putting out layer after layer, but needed a lot of time to do so. This Paul John shows its colours right away. It’s not a very big Malt but the experience I have with it now, when analysing, is the same as when casually nipping it, which is a good thing. Well, again quite a good balance. I have nothing to complain about in this department for the last few reviews, good! Yes. this is again a very nice nose. A wonderful Malt to smell. The two unpeated casks did bring the peat down a little bit, without adding to much of the nutty and waxy pencil shavings note, most unpeated Paul John’s have in abundance. Sometimes exactly this can be overwhelming, which is why I prefer peated Paul Johns yet there are examples of good unpeated expressions as well. No off notes whatsoever. Good stuff.

Taste: Nutty and peaty. Sugared fruits (pineapple) without being too sweet. Some bitter oak and hops, both with staying power on my tongue. Still, very nice on entry. Different than expected considering the nose. Here the pencil shavings have more to say than it had in the nose. Where on entry it was pleasant, now that the body starts to develop inside your mouth, a lack in balance starts to be apparent, making it less pleasant. Ice-cream combined with a funky organic note as well as some burnt plastic. Where the nose was already not all too complex, the taste is even less complex and less balanced to boot. There is something not quite right when balancing the acidic notes with the bitterness this has on offer. Nice almond-like finish though and also quite warming, but it also has a quite short aftertaste, with a bit of bitterness, cinnamon, horseradish and plastic again. Definitely not for novices, I would say. Drink this in big gulps, and nip it often to counter the somewhat short finish. Thus, definitely one for a more experienced drinker. The bitterness stays behind on my tongue for longer than the actual aftertaste. Drying it out a bit.

In the end, this still is a nice Paul John, with an interesting history to it, and an interesting palate, (plastic) warts and all. Alas it’s definitely not the best you can get, but nevertheless a good one. Good, but not great.

Points: 86

Amrut (61.3%, Blackadder, Raw Cask, Peated Cask Finish, BA26/2016, 165 bottles, 2016)

This isn’t the first Amrut on these pages, (it’s the ninth), nor is it the first Blackadder (it’s the fifth). Looking at Blackadder, this Amrut finds itself in good company with a 26yo Port Ellen, a 28yo Royal Lochnagar, a 28yo Lochside and a 40yo Glenfarclas. All scoring 88 or 91 points. I don’t think this Amrut is as old as these other ones. After 26 years an Amrut cask would probably be empty, all evaporated in the hot and humid local climate. So, this is not the first Amrut on these pages, but it most certainly is the first one bottled by an independent bottler, and somehow this bottler felt the need to finish this Whisky in a peated cask, or did Amrut already do that themselves? Was the original cask a bit tired, the Whisky a bit bland and/or did the Whisky need something of a booster, or did it just seem to be a neat experiment, a great idea? Well there is only one way to find out, and have a go at it ourselves and see if it’s any good. By the way, if you see some black cask sediment on the bottom of your bottle, don’t bring the bottle back to your retailer, it’s supposed to be there, hence the name Raw Cask.

Color: Copper gold (with black dandruff, the bigger chunks of cask sediment are still in the bottle).

Nose: Buttery with vanilla. Creamy, pudding-like, big and bold. Citrus freshness and some nice fresh oak mixed with some fresh air, sometimes even a bit sweet smelling. After the Ledaig, yet another well balanced nose, just much less peated. Green, black tea and somewhat floral with only the tiniest hint of peat, typical Indian barley smell, you can also get from a Paul John, (reminiscent of nutty pencil shavings). Definitely no smoke, but there is a dusty and dry side to it, even though this has this sweetish and chewy cream note. Crème brûlée and some licorice. The green notes are moving into the realm of wood, tree sap with a hint of pencil shavings. Somewhat spicy, as well as spices you get from a nice (oak aged) Chardonnay. Nice whiff of eucalyptus you can smell in a sauna (I only picked up on this after sipping) and unlit Cuban cigar notes. If you put some time into it, it is actually an excellent smelling Malt. It just needs quite some time and air. A nose built around green wood and the many guises of cream. Not a very complex nose at first, but a very nice one indeed, and near perfect after half an hour or so. Works well outside. The fresher the air it gets to breathe, the bigger the reward.

Taste: Sweet, fruity, nutty and somewhat waxy and yes, peaty it is this time. Sweet, wet wood, licorice and white pepper. Cold cigarette ashes and sweet fatty smoke. Menthos and a distant hint of hard red fruit (raspberry) candy. At times quite spicy and almost hot. Still creamy, although masked. Toffee. Behind this is some acidic fruit. Not only citrus, but also some acidity from (red) berries. Some white pepper. Long finish (in the wood realm again) and a nice similar aftertaste, now with a slight bitter (and soapy) edge to it. The perception of bitterness was different from one day to the other. All in all, slightly less balanced than the nose. After a few drams, I managed to anaesthetize the roof of my mouth a bit, so this really is a 60%+ ABV Malt in the end.

Yet another example of a Whisky that needs your attention to “get” everything it has. So maybe this is, in a way, a delicate Malt. For instance, the previously reviewed Ledaig, well, that one doesn’t need your attention. That one will make sure it will get your attention, by leaping out of your glass, and coming after you(r nose). Yup, the beauty of this Amrut lies in the details and the time you are willing to give it. Just leave it in your glass, move it around a bit, take the occasional sip, and only then you will find out what it’s got. I think this is wonderful stuff, but when carelessly sipping it, I didn’t think all that much of it to be honest (and alas I drammed right through most of this bottle that way). So beware how you treat it (and thus yourself). I don’t know why this was finished in a peated cask, but it clearly worked. Kudo’s!

Points: 89