It's fair to say, at this point, that I love Bruichladdich. They are so clean, so crisp, the flavors are so warm and wonderful. Their Bere Barley 2010 is my whisky-of-the-year so far. I could drink it all day and night (and have!). So when my friend Rob Martin gave me a dram of the Port Charlotte (heavily peated Bruichladdich imprint) OLC:01 2010, I was ecstatic.
Another new one to me - Glen Grant, a Speyside distillery that has the distinction of being the biggest selling Scotch whisky in Italy! It's owned by Campari. This is their 15 year, bottled at a luscious, beautiful 50% ABV, spending all its time in ex-bourbon casks. 50%! I am so delighted. Let's get right into it...
Another nod of thanks to Rob Martin for supplying me with this sample of the new Glenlivet Caribbean Reserve, the no-age-statement rum-cask-finished variant of Glenlivet. Bottled at 40% (c'mon Glenlivet!), probably colored, probably chill filtered. I am not a giant fan of rum finished whiskies, but I'm willing to give this a fair shake. Let's see how it does.
This is a blend of Springbank and Longrow whiskies, from Campbeltown distillery Springbank, bottled at 40%, and priced aggressively. I love Springbank, and have never once had a bad pour from any of their offerings. Supposedly this is aged about 5 years. Let's get right down to it:
I have never had anything by Diageo-owned Speyside distillery Glendullan, which they place under their "Singleton" umbrella, and aim squarely at the United States market - and so I'm most curious to try this 15 year expression. Glendullan is most often found as part of blends like Old Parr and William's. Coming in at a rather tepid 40% ABV, mostly ex-bourbon, a little bit ex-French oak. Probably colored, probably chill-filtered. How is Glendullan?
Laphroaig's Quarter Cask is aged for 5 years in ex-bourbon casks, then transferred to quarter casks - which, just as they sound like, are casks a quarter the size of a normal cask - for about 7 months. Making this quite a young whisky indeed, but also a powerful, muscular one... yet not without nuance. Bottled at a very pleasing 48%, barrier filtered but not chill filtered, and colored with E150 (!?), let's see how it does 7 years after my last review...
This is my first experience with Glenturret, a distillery fairly south in the Highlands. An independent bottle presented by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS), this is peated, aged for 6 years in a re-charred hogshead and bottled at a very stiff 64.9%. Nicknamed "Cooking on a Rusty Grill." Let's see what I can find...
I've taken quite a liking to Bruichladdich. I really enjoyed their Port Charlotte 10 Year, as well as their Rockside Farm, and their Islay Barley (which was both challenging and rewarding). I once had The Classic Laddie when it was a 10 year age statement.
It's been a LONG time since I've had a non-cask strength Aberlour - I don't even remember what the signature notes are. The last Aberlour I had was the 10 Year (now discontinued), which I had in Madagascar (!). This 12 year offering, bottled at a disappointing 40%, is matured by "double cask" - sherry casks and bourbon casks married together after 12 years apart. As for the taste... well, let's find out:
Ah.... my beloved Dailuaine. Right up there with Ardmore on my pantheon of "my favorite underdog drams." This bottle comes from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) and is bottle code 41.139, nicknamed "A Complex Character." 12 years matured in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels, bottled at a wonderful 60.9% ABV. Let's see how the usual Dailuaine "watermelon" note comes across...
I jumped on this the moment I heard about it - a Glen Scotia (from Campbeltown) lightly peated and nicknamed "Members Remember Embers" by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS)?? Automatic purchase. This is aged for 10 years in 1st fill ex-bourbon casks, no chill filtration, no coloring. Let's see how delectable Glen Scotia comes across when peated...
It's been some time since I reviewed anything from Bruichladdich's heavily peated Port Charlotte imprint. I've had their Scottish Barley and the now-discontinued Peat Project (which I didn't care for). This time around it's their core 10 year bottling, which is peated to about 40 ppm, according to their website. Also from their website: 65% 1st fill American whiskey, 25% 2nd fill French wine, and 10% 2nd fill American whiskey. Bourbon? Rye? 100% malted? Who knows what they mean by that. Bottled at a nice 50% ABV (take notes, competitors!) with no chill filtration or coloring. Let's see what we have here...
I haven't had an original bottling of Edradour in a long time, which seems impossible, but it's true. My old review is from 7 years ago, and is bottled at a thinner 40% (boo). This bottle of 10 Year (and thanks to Rob Martin for the sample) is 43%, a little more robust. Ex-sherry and ex-bourbon casks. Let's take another look.
I have a particular fondness for certain malts - Glenfarclas is one, Ardmore is another, and Craigellachie is still another. Craigellachie has a certain distillation process that results in a noticeably "funky" flavor on the back end of a spirit that normally is all apples, all the time... and that funky flavor, you either love or hate. I love it.
This is the 2020 release of the venerated Springbank cask strength release, which has quite a prominent wine finish: matured for 12 years in 45% sherry cask, 25% bourbon cask, 25% Burgundy casks (!), and 5% port (!!). Very interesting. Bottled without coloring or chill-filtration at 56.1% ABV. I basically adore everything Springbank does, so let's see how this release stacks up.
I like Bruichladdich - I have had too little of it. I need to rectify this. Thanks to my friend Rob Martin, who donated this sample of 2011's Islay Barley. Since the sample I've had two more bottles - that's how much I liked this.
Big Peat is a blend from independent bottler Douglas Laing that delivers exactly what you think it does: big, peated whisky. An Islay blend (including Ardbeg! as well as Bowmore, Caol Ila, and Port Ellen - yes, THAT Port Ellen), delivered with craft presentation at 53.7% ABV (Christmas edition only) with no filtration and no coloring. Let's see how Mr. Laing delivers his big peated whisky:
Here is a blend I know very little about - Teacher's Highland Cream, made with an usually high amount of single malt - predominantly my beloved Ardmore, owned by the same parent company. Bottled at 43%, and purportedly 45% single malt and 55% grain whisky. Let's explore:
Another interesting kooky bottle from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS). This one is from Braeval, a distillery that funnels most of its spirit into Chivas Regal. This is aged 8 years in a second-fill barrel, and bottled at an eye-watered 63.8%. Let's explore this young and sprightly spirit that is deemed to be "A sheep in wolf's clothing."
Another Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) bottling of a rather underrated distillery, Glen Moray. The last bottle I had was most interesting, even if it wasn't quite my cup of tea (or scones, as the case may be). But this one got rave reviews during the release video (shout out to Jenna Elie), and I'm super curious. It's aged 14 years in a refill ex-bourbon hogshead, and bottled at 53.7% ABV. Nicknamed "Waffle Stacking Ecstasy." Let's see what Glen Moray and SMWS have for us today:
I bought this on a whim because it was new to me and on sale. No idea what to expect - a blend made with 100% malted grain, a combination of bourbon, sherry, and Mizunara oak casks, 46% ABV, combination of import spirit (!) and native Japanese, named after a lighthouse. And yes, Japanese whisky is in a weird sort of gray zone wherein they can import whisky from other places, age it in Japan, and then export it as Japanese whisky. It's not exactly a secret, but they don't shout it from the roof either.
Here is a delightful bottle of BenRiach, aged 9 years in 2nd fill ex-Bourbon barrels, offered as "Cutting the Cake" from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS). I have no previous experience with BenRiach, but after sampling this I definitely will look into them more deeply. The core spirit here is obvious high quality and full of flavor. Offered at 58.5% ABV, part of the SMWS "Sweet, Fruity, and Mellow" series... Let's explore...
Another great expression of Caol Ila to review - always a treat. This is another Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottling, nicknamed "Industrial Chimney Soot," and aged for 11 years in refill ex-bourbon hogsheads. Bottled at 58.1%. Here are the facts (and impressions):
This is easily the weirdest, kookiest, strangest Scotch I've ever had the pleasure of tasting. And it was a pleasure - I actually enjoyed this bottle quite a bit - but I admit, this is definitely not for everyone. This is a Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) bottling of Chivas blend mainstay Allt-a-Bhainne (alta ven?)... you can tell it's SMWS from the absolutely terrible pun "Nice to Meat You." It's a peated Speyside (lightly peated, I'd say), bottled at a VERY stiff 66.3% ABV, and aged for 7 years in 2nd fill ex-bourbon barrels. Let's explore this wild young little thing:
Another lottery bottle (for Burns Night 2021) from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS), this one is from the Inchmurrin imprint of Loch Lomond distillery (as near as I can tell). I know nothing about Loch Lomond or any of its imprints, but I learned when researching this review that they are the only distillery that makes both single malt and grain whisky at the same facility. Inchmurrin-branded bottles seem to review better than the core Loch Lomond bottles.
My last review of the cursed, haunted, evil year that was 2020! So I saved an interesting one - an independent bottling of Laphroaig, which don't seem to come up on the market very often. This one is aged in bourbon barrels (no funny business with reracking into sherry casks, wine casks, etc.) for 9 years and bottled at a healthy 57.5%. Laphroaig is Laphroaig... right? This comes from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, is coded 29.272, and nicknamed Fire Your Engines.
Another curious offering from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society - an Old Pulteney which spent 11 years in ex-bourbon barrels, only to be re-racked into first fill PX casks (!), resulting in a most unusual 13 year Scotch. Old Pulteney is generally known for its high salinity, a rather salty dram. How will this combine with the sherry influence? Let's find out. Bottled at 58.9% and nicknamed "North Meets South."
Here is another curiosity from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS). This one is a Bunnahabhain that has spent 6 years in a re-charred hogshead, and was bottled at 58.5%. I always think of Bunnahabhain as one of the delicate Islay offerings, so it was strange to see it married to a re-charred cask. The SMWS nicknamed this one "Maritime Marshmallows." Let's see what the result was.
I've always wanted to try Yellow Spot, but never had the opportunity until I picked up some when leaving Dublin after a wonderful trip. Triple distilled, aged 12 years in a combination of bourbon, sherry, and Malaga casks, single pot still, and bottled at 46% ABV. The vaunted Yellow Spot - how does it measure up?
At the same Scotch tasting where I had my beloved Tomintoul, I also had a delightful 9 year Glen Moray that was my girlfriend's favorite - full of waxy oranges and delicious tea notes. So I was delighted to find that the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) featured several offerings from Glen Moray. I chose the one coded 35.266, named "Traditional Butterscotch Fudge," and aged for 12 years in first-fill bourbon barrel. No coloring, no filtering. Bottled at 57.4% ABV.
One of my favorite drams of all time was a Tomintoul - an independent bottling (Exclusive Malts, RIP) that I sampled at a tasting in Washington DC. That Tomintoul, a 10 year, oozed honey and marshmallow for days, and was outrageously tasty.
