Tamnavulin 15 Year (Berry Brothers and Rudd)

 

I haven't had a lot of Tamnavulin in all my years of drinking single malt. In fact, a look through my index indicates I haven't had *any* and this is the first (!). I don't think that's true, but I think the other Tamnavulin drams I've sampled were little pours had at Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") events, and didn't merit a full write-up. 

Unnamed Orkney (Highland Park) 15 Year (Berry Bros and Rudd)

 

Almost every time you see "Unnamed Orkney" or "Orkney Islands" on a bottle of independently bottled single malt Scotch, it's Highland Park. I don't know why The Edrington Group (who also owns Macallan and Glenrothes) are so weird about the name, it's an open secret, but there it is. I can't remember a single instance of "Orkney" meaning Scapa. 

Glen Moray 15 Year (Berry Bros and Rudd)

 

Some of the best single cask scotches I've had as a member of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society are from Glen Moray - another distillery who has lackluster (severely so) distillery bottlings but incredibly good independently bottled varities. 

While the official distillery releases are rather blandly sweet and have mostly little depth - at least the ones I've had - nearly every independent bottle I've had has been intensely rich (albeit also sweet) and full of complexity. So when I saw this 15 year bottling from Berry Brothers and Rudd, temptation gave way. 

Benrinnes 15 Year (Blackadder Raw Cask)

 

Benrinnes is a distillery from whom I've had very little. According to my records, in fact, I've only had a single bottle - from Single Cask Nation, no less - and I loved it. This one, a 15 year old that's finished in rum casks from Barbados, caught my eye immediately because of my lack of experience with the spirit. 

Ardmore 15 Year (SMWS 66.229 "Tarred and Re-feathered")

 

The previous Ardmore I had from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") was a super chocolate bomb due to a really potent finish in a Trinidadian rum cask. Lovely stuff. This Ardmore - sequentially, the next cask they picked up from Ardmore - is finished in a PX sherry cask, so I'm hopeful for another good marriage of flavors. 

Dailuaine 15 Year (SMWS 41.150 "A Voluptuous Vortex")

The fifth of six samples offered at the June 2023 outturn event of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS), at the Jack Rose Saloon in Washington DC. This was a 15 year sherry-finished Dailuaine, bottled at 60.9% ABV. 

Auchroisk 15 Year (SMWS 95.58 "Sunny Beach With Hot Sand")

The fourth of six samples offered at the June 2023 outturn event of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS), at the Jack Rose Saloon in Washington DC. This was a 15 year port-finished Auchroisk (a favorite of mine), bottled at 59.1% ABV. 

Mannochmore 15 Year (SMWS Rare Release, Spirit of Speyside Festival 2023, "Luscious Velvet")

 

Mannochmore is a very recent distillery - it only opened in 1971 - and was closed from '85 to '89. In the 1990s it became "known" for the jet-black Loch Dhu ("Black Lake") bottling, which was, frankly, a curiosity or novelty. It's owned by Diageo, which means it's usually consigned to blend fodder except through independent bottlers. 

Caol Ila 15 Year (Elixir Distillers)

 

I have taken a bit of a shine to older, more mature Islay expressions this last winter. They are softer, hazier, subtle, and complex. The peat punch to the face becomes a smoky breeze full of savory things and sweet things. So when I saw this 15 year Caol Ila while at a whisky tasting, I took a chance. It'll be the last bottle I get for a while (budget reasons) so I figured to make it something I could enjoy for some time to come. 

Dailuaine 15 Year (SMWS 41.143 "A Junior Suite at the Cask Resort")

 

Gee golly, I sure do like and respect Dailuaine! The word on Dailuaine has certainly spread rapidly in the internet age, and I have even heard the distillery mentioned by name at whisky-centric bars. One of the constellation of lesser known Diageo distilleries that gets used heavily for blends, the distillate is very well respected and makes for some lovely, delicate single malts. 

This is a single cask bottling from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), full sherry maturation: 12 years in an American oak ex-Oloroso butt, 3 years in a first fill Spanish oak ex-Oloroso butt, bottled at 59.1% ABV. Named by comedian/actor/influencer Neil Patrick Harris, who commented "I giggle when I think I'm sniffing a butt, but I get sober fast when I see it's 15 years old." Hahahah!

Croftongea 15 year (SMWS 122.46 "The Inland Shore")

 

Croftongea is the heavily peated imprint of distiller Loch Lomond, and the other ones I've had have been pretty funky indeed. This is easily the oldest I've seen in the wild, a 15 year from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") that I picked up as part of their Black Friday sale. Thought I'd give it a spin, the price was reasonable and I always appreciate the flavor risks that Loch Lomond takes. They aren't afraid of releasing some really crazy juice. 

Ben Nevis 15 Year (Blackadder Raw Cask 2003)

 

Blackadder is an independent bottler that tends to be very, very pricy where I am - so I have abstained from buying a bottle. That may change after tonight. At a restaurant bar I had a glass of one of the most remarkable Highland whiskies I've ever had - a 15 year Ben Nevis that would rival any Springbank (!). Truly amazing stuff.

Dailuaine 15 year (SMWS 41.147 "Brooding Armchair Dram")

 

Oh Dailuaine - I love you. What a great distillery! Every bottle I've ever had from them - all independent bottlers, because Diageo is foolish and won't invest in them as a single malt release - has been lovely, lovely. This is a single cask release from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), nicknamed Brooding Armchair Dram (alright!), and with a primarily bourbon maturation (13 years) but with a rich PX sherry finish (2 years). 

Tobermory 15 Year (SMWS 42.68 "An Atlantic Morning Dip")

 

This 15 year Tobermory, a single cask bottling from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") to celebrate Summer 2022, caught my attention right away because it's an older expression and categorized by the SMWS as "oily and coastal," which is probably my favorite of their categories. Tobermory, situated on the Isle of Mull, makes both peated and unpeated whiskies, and this is unpeated. The peated stuff, released under the name Ledaig, is uniformly excellent. 

Loch Lomond 15 Year (Alexander Murray)

 

Here is something of a mystery. A "Glenshiel" (which doesn't exist) from independent bottler Alexander Murray, aged 15 years. Whiskybase and Flaviar both indicate that Glenshiel in this case is a code word for Loch Lomond, a favorite distillery of mine in the last year or two. 

Alexander Murray is another independent bottler whose website waxes poetic about their incredible ability to pick exceptional casks. This particular bottle is aged 15 years in a bourbon hogshead and bottled at cask strength - 57.2% ABV. Very nice - let's see just how wild this "Glenshiel" proves to be...

Auchroisk 15 Year (SMWS 95.52 "Moorish and Moreish")

 The fifth of six drams served at the April outturn tasting for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") at the Jack Rose Saloon in Adams Morgan, Washington DC. At these events, you sit at a small table and one by one make guesses about the six scotches in front of you: age, type of cask, which distillery (multiple choice, out of five provided), along with a field to write notes. 

Glencadam 15 Year

Glencadam is a Highland distillery that was built in 1825 by one George Cooper, and has changed hands many, many times over the last 200 years. Most recently - and gloriously - it was purchased by Angus Dundee in 2003, who immediately improved every aspect of whisky. This 15 year expression is bottled at 46%, no coloring, no filtering. Huzzah for Angus Dundee! It's part of the blend recipe for Ballantine's, which is a blend I have enjoyed in the past. It's not far from Fettercairn, and also not super distant from Royal Lochnagar, Edradour, and Blair Athol. 

Mortlach "Game of Thrones" 15 Year

 

It's safe to say now that the Diageo "Game of Thrones" scotch experiment was - sadly - not a success. These attempts to lure your average HBO viewer to the world of expensive liquor was (perhaps) well intentioned, and maybe even well executed, but didn't really pay off. Most scotch drinkers I know considered it some kind of joke, and all the liquor store owners I chatted with said the bottled were hard as hell to move.

The original Game of Thrones collection had the following bottlings:

• Game of Thrones House Stark – Dalwhinnie Winter’s Frost
• Game of Thrones House Tully – Singleton of Glendullan Select
• Game of Thrones House Targaryen – Cardhu Gold Reserve
• Game of Thrones House Lannister – Lagavulin 9 Year Old
• Game of Thrones The Night’s Watch – Oban Bay Reserve
• Game of Thrones House Greyjoy – Talisker Select Reserve
• Game of Thrones House Baratheon – Royal Lochnagar 12 Year Old
• Game of Thrones House Tyrell – Clynelish Reserve

The final bottle was this - the "Six Kingdoms" Mortlach 15 Year

Balvenie 15 Year Single Barrel Sherry Cask

 

This is a bottle I've been eager to try for some time - thank you to Rob Martin for the final dram out of this one! Balvenie was one of the first "real" bottles of Scotch I had - one that made me realize the full flavor universe of Scotch. Specifically, it was probably the 14 year Caribbean Cask, back in 2014 or so. I've always respected the quality of their spirit. Therefore, it was only a matter of time and opportunity until I reviewed the 15 Year single barrel sherry cask release.

Tobermory 15 Year (SMWS 42.54 "Adventures by the Sea")

 

Purchased during the Scotch Malt Whisky Society's Highlands Festival 2021, this is a 15 Year Tobermory, a distillery I have before today never experienced in its unpeated form! Hailing from the Isle of Mull, Tobermory is perhaps better known by their peated imprint Ledaig, which I have quite enjoyed in the past, and that has a distinctive dry peat flavor I liked. Tobermory, the core distillery, is a real mystery to me.