Lark Distiller's Selection (Sherry Matured Cask 449)

Lark Distiller's Selection (Sherry Matured Cask 449)

Official bottling
Single malt - Tasmania
Amber
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Orange peel, cotton candy, plums, walnuts, hints of cherries, hints of ginseng. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, static, slippery, slightly oily. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Red grapes, plums, walnuts, vanilla, black tea, hints of coffee. 
Finish: Medium. Black tea, toast, vanilla, cotton candy. 

Comments: 

Sweet and lush, just like all the Larks I've ever tasted. Slight bitter notes in the background, ginseng, coffee, really quite toasty and adds to the lushness. Sweet sugary cotton candy notes wreathed throughout.

Verdict:

I like this.

Paul John Bold

Paul John Bold

Official bottling
Single malt - Goa
Amber gold
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Red grapes, roast pork, charred orange peel, hints of green tea, hints of peat. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, watery, airy. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Red grapes, charred orange peel, roast pork, raspberry jam, hints of red wine. 
Finish: Medium. Red wine, ripe damsons, roast pork, hints of green tea. 

Comments: 

Sherried Paul John! This is fruity, rather sweet whisky, but with a nice hint of charred orange peel. It reminds me of the rather good old-fashioneds that the chaps in the Milroy's of Soho bar do. Very nice indeed.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Armorik Double Maturation

Armorik Double Maturation

Official bottling
Single malt - Brittany
Dark gold
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Sea salt, red grapes, stewed apples, vanilla, black tea, hints of salt caramel. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, thickens slightly, slippery. 
Tasting:  Bitter salty. Stewed apples, sea salt, peat, black tea, vanilla, hints of burning driftwood. 
Finish: Short. Black tea, salt caramel, sea salt, hints of iron filings. 

Comments: 

Matured in sherry casks and fresh oak. Briney and salty, heaped with peat, some hints of smoke, but with a sweet edge. Appley and fresh, slightly tannic. This is what I always imagined Brittany tastes like.

Verdict:

I like this.

Amrut Kadhambam

Amrut Kadhambam

Official bottling
Single malt - Bangalore
Amber
50% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, pears, red grapes, chocolate, orange peel, hints of chillies. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, slippery, thickens slightly, astringent. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Brown paper, red grapes, chocolate, raisins, hints of raspberry jam. 
Finish: Long. Brown paper, red grapes, raisins, hints of toast. 

Comments: 

Kadhambam means 'mixture' apparently. This is a mixture of peated and unpeated Amrut, but it's fair to say that the sherry influence of the cask has overpowered most of the peat. Besides a hint of toast in the finish, it's all jammy, chocolatey sherry notes. This is good stuff though.

Verdict:

I like this.

Ma1

Ma1

Elements of Islay, Specialty Drinks
Single malt - Islay
Golden
54.2% ABV
Dram

Nose: Malted grains, apricots, cookie dough, vanilla, tangerines, hints of peat. With water, applesauce, pink peppercorns. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loose, airy, slightly fizzy. 
Tasting:  Sour. Burning leaves, apricots, tangerines, lemon zest, hints of vanilla. With water, pink peppercorns, applesauce, tangerine marmalade. 
Finish: Long. Burning leaves, tangerine marmalade, peat, lemon zest, vanilla. 

Comments: 

Margadale, which Ma stands for, is apparently what we call peated Bunnahabhain. This wasn't too peaty though, gentle hints of burning leaves maybe. That note overlays jammy fruit, with touches of vanilla, and with water, turns slightly peppery and spicy.

Verdict:

I like this.

Ledaig 18 yo 1997/2016

Ledaig 18 yo 1997/2016

Celebration of the Cask, Carn Mor
Single malt - Islands
Light gold
55.6% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peat, raisins, chocolate, maraschino cherries, ink, panko breadcrumbs. With water, oranges, caramel, cherry jam. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, oily, sticky, syrupy . 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Peat, cherry brandy, ink, chocolate, iron filings. With water, cherry jam, candied oranges. 
Finish: Medium. Chocolate, cherry brandy, ink, hints of coffee. 

Comments: 

Cherry bomb! This tastes like ginja, the Portuguese cherry brandy. There are only a few whiskies that taste like that. I'm lucky to have found this one. It's metallic and inky on the tongue, with floral notes of maraschino. Delicious, turns jammy with water.

Cask #643023.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Teerenpeli 10 yo

Teerenpeli 10 yo

Official bottling
Single malt - Southern Finland
Gold, tinge of green
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Lemon zest, chocolate, grapefruits, cream, malted grains, hints of cotton sheets. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens slightly, oily, slightly sticky. 
Tasting:  Salty sour . Chocolate, cotton sheets, grapefruits, white grapes, rolled oats, hints of peanuts. 
Finish: Medium. White grapes, rolled oats, vanilla, lemon zest. 

Comments: 

It's taken me a while to get round to another one of these, from Southern Finland. This is an older expression. It's tart and slightly sticky, complementing those sour notes with a comforting veil of freshly laundered cotton sheets, even a tad cardboardy (but in a good way). Plenty of tart fruits on the tongue and the finish.

Verdict:

I like this.

Smögen 3 yo 2011/2015 (Cask 20/2011)

Smögen 3 yo 2011/2015 (Cask 20/2011)

Official bottling
Single malt - Bohuslän
Golden
60.9% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peat, smoke, blueberries, toffee, vanilla, hints of orange peel. With water, lemon zest, stewed apples, blueberries.
Mouthfeel: Light body, thickens, oily, warming. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Orange peel, chocolate, toffee, vanilla fudge, peat, hints of stewed apples. With water, sweeter, chocolate, salt caramel, blueberries. 
Finish: Long. Stewed apples, vanilla, tamarind, hints of lemon zest. 

Comments: 

Oof. This is pretty uncompromising, and to tell you the truth I wasn't looking forward to it. But it's quite good, with notes of orange peel and blueberries wreathed through with smoke. Quite a sour finish though.

Verdict:

I like this.

Redbreast 15 yo

Redbreast 15 yo

Official landing
Single malt - Southern Ireland
Gold, tinge of green
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Chocolate, raisins, lemon zest, brown paper, rhubarb and custard sweets. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, thickens slightly, oily. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Orange peel, raisins, brown paper, dark chocolate, lemon zest, apricots. 
Finish: Short. Dark chocolate, raisins, lemon zest, apricots. 

Comments: 

Finishing the Redbreast official bottling trinity! I've had the 12 and the 21, and this is the last one. It's fruity like the others, a bit more chocolatey and raisiny perhaps. Plenty of fruit and chocolate in the finish too.

Verdict:

I like this.

Strathclyde 28 yo 1987/2015

Strathclyde 28 yo 1987/2015

Old Particular, Douglas Laing
Single grain - Lowlands
Golden
51.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Salt caramel, chocolate, coffee, orange peel, magic marker, hints of soy sauce. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loose, oily, volatile. 
Tasting:  Salty sweet. Coffee, magic marker, soy sauce, lemon zest, hints of coffee. 
Finish: Short. Coffee, magic marker, lemon zest, hints of cinnamon. 

Comments: 

Cask no DL 10982. Another aged grain, and like the previous one, it has picked up a lot of savoury, and in this case, slightly bitter notes from the wood. Soy sauce, coffee, even some cinnamony spiciness. Very nice indeed.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.