Aultmore 12yo

Aultmore 12yo

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Very pale gold
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: White grapes, malted grains, green tea, raisins, hazelnuts. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, turns watery, astringent, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sweet salty. White grapes, apples vanilla, raisins, green tea, hints of sea salt. 
Finish: Long. Apples, vanilla, white grapes, green tea. 

Comments: 

Finally, an official Aultmore! The indies are interesting but I've never been able to compare against the 'official' distillery character. First off, it's a very odd colour, the palest of golds, as if it spent a couple of years in wood rather than 12. It's sweet savoury, plenty of fruit and tannins, like a good white wine, with a long appley finish.

Verdict:

I like this.

Bakery Hill Peated Malt

Bakery Hill Peated Malt

Official bottling
Single malt - Victoria
Light amber
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, dried cranberries, vanilla, peat, smoke, hints of soy sauce. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens slightly, sticky, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Bitter. Black tea, peat, vanilla, dried cranberries, hints of gooseberries. 
Finish: Medium. Black tea, gooseberries, orange peel, peat. 

Comments: 

A very gentle peated malt. There's barely any smoke, instead there's plenty of fruity eatery notes, maybe some savoury hints of the nose. Tannic bitter notes predominate once I take a sip, in fact it's a little astringent while somehow reaching all the crevices in my mouth. Decent finish, could be longer.

Verdict:

I like this.

Kininvie 23yo 1991 (Batch 3)

Kininvie 23yo 1991 (Batch 3)

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Orange gold
42.6% ABV
Dram

Nose: Honey, orange peel, stewed apples, vanilla, raisins, hints of allspice. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, slippery, thickens, slightly oily. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Orange peel, honey, raisins, cinnamon, hints of allspice, hints of dried cranberries. 
Finish: Long. Vanilla, stewed apples, honey, cinnamon. 

Comments: 

Bottled 2015. I was lucky to be able to get hold of this - spirit from the rarest of open distilleries. It's definitely got a fair amount of sherry cask in it, the rich colour tells a story. Plenty of scrumptious fruity notes, with alluring hints of spicy heat mixed in.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky

Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky

Official bottling
Single grain - Western Cape
Amber
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Vanilla, cardamom, figs, sandalwood, white pepper. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loose, slightly astringent, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. White pepper, vanilla, cream, lemon zest, cloves, hints of figs. 
Finish: Medium. Cream, vanilla, figs, hints of cardamom. 

Comments: 

Highly spicy, highly fragrant grain whisky from South Africa. I believe this expression, bottled at 43%, has been discontinued in favour of a 40% version. That's a shame - this is complex grain whisky, and is redolent of the spice islands.

Verdict:

I like this.

Kilchoman Red Wine Cask Matured

Kilchoman Red Wine Cask Matured

Official bottling
Single malt - Islay
Red gold
50% ABV
Dram

Nose: Orange peel, raisins, smoke, peat, hints of jasmine. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loose, slippery, thickens slightly. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Red grapes, white grapes, smoke, green tea, jasmine, peat. 
Finish: Medium. Red grapes, jasmine, orange peel, apple juice, peat. 

Comments: 

Smoky, but gently floral, plenty of red fruit. The anticipated peat was a restrained influence in the background, and didn't overwhelm the whisky. I missed the usual date notes that I find in Kilchoman though. Nevertheless, good whisky.

Verdict:

I like this.

Paul John 6yo Batch 3

Paul John 6yo Batch 3

That Boutique-y Whisky Company, Master of Malt
Single malt - Goa
Amber gold
52.9% ABV
Dram

Nose: Green tea, apples, raisins, vanilla, honey. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, watery, loose, airy. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Black tea, green tea, apples, orange peel, honey. 
Finish: Long. Vanilla, green tea, apples, orange peel, white grapes. 

Comments: 

Young, tastes older than it actually is, like most Indian whiskies. This one is complex and tannic, with heaps of fruity notes on the nose and on the tongue. Really comes into its own at the finish, where the esters concentrate on the tongue and last forever.

Verdict:

I like this.

Kinclaith 1967 (bottled 1991)

Kinclaith 1967 (bottled 1991)

Connoisseur's Choice, Gordon and Macphail
Single malt - Lowlands
Amber
40% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, red grapes, caramel, blackcurrant cordial, vanilla, black tea, fried eggs. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, lightens, watery, slippery. 
Tasting: Sweet. Grape skins, red grapes, black tea, fried eggs, hints of raspberries. 
Finish: Long. Black tea, white grapes, blackcurrant cordial, vanilla. 

Comments: 

This is a unicorn I've chased for such a long time, and to be honest I'd probably given up. It's mostly lived up to the hype. It's got such a complex nose, and has some sulphury notes that more recent whiskies don't have. Some people dislike sulphur, but in moderation it adds complexity and savour, as it does here. I was sniffing the empty glass all evening.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Teeling Small Batch 09/15

Teeling Small Batch 09/15

Teeling
Blended malt
Golden
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Toasted coconut, honey, photocopy paper, milk chocolate, hints of coffee. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, slippery, oily, thick. 
Tasting:  Bitter. Fresh baked bread, toasted coconut, honey, coffee, vanilla. 
Finish: Short. Honey, coffee, fresh baked bread, hints of raisins. 

Comments: 

Matured in rum casks. It's got wonderful toasty notes, something like dry-toasted coconut in a frying pan, on the nose. Once in the tongue, this morphs into fresh baked bread, while all the time producing a great hit of honey and coffee. Very nice whisky.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Ardmore Legacy

Ardmore Legacy

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Pale green
40% ABV
Dram

Nose: Apples, dried pears, peat, raisins, hints of cardamom. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, slippery, loosens, watery. 
Tasting:  Salty bitter. Apples, raisins, salt caramel, smoked ham, hints of cardamom. 
Finish: Medium. Sea salt, smoked ham, peat, dried pears. 

Comments: 

Made from 20% peated malt and 80% unpeated malt. It's a bit odd, there's some subtle complexity here, and very pleasant hints of cardamom, but it's covered with a great whopping layer of peat, and you have to work quite hard to get to the fruity gentle notes. A strange combination, and frankly, I could have done without the peat.

Verdict:

Not bad.

Glendronach 8yo Hielan

Glendronach 8yo Hielan

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

Nose: Raisins, coffee, red grapes, orange peel, hints of vanilla. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, thick, syrupy, sticky. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Dark chocolate, red grapes, vanilla, custard, hints of coffee. 
Finish: Medium. Custard, raisins, dried blueberries, coffee. 

Comments: 

This is a younger version of the Glendronach sherry bombs, pitched at entry level. It's decent, with good complex combinations of bitterness wreathed through with fragrant threads of vanilla and grape. It's exactly what you'd guess a younger version of, say, the Allardice or Parliament would taste like.

Verdict:

I like this.

Longmorn 28yo 1984/2013 (Cask 3213)

Longmorn 28yo 1984/2013 (Cask 3213)

Rare Select, Montgomerie's
Single malt - Speyside
Silvery sunshine
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, vanilla, cola nuts, apples, hints of peppermint, hints of jackfruit. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, slippery, mouth coating. 
Tasting: Sweet. Apples, raisins, jackfruit, milk, hints of brown paper. 
Finish: Long. Cream, jackfruit, peppermint, brass polish. 

Comments: 

This whisky apparently spent 28 years in a sherry cask, yet never deepened in colour beyond a silvery early dawn sunshine yellow. It tastes sherries though, plenty of fruit, even tropical fruit, yet overlaid with a strong peppermint note that lasts and lasts. Delicious.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Teeling Single Malt (2014)

Teeling Single Malt (2014)

Teeling Reserves, Teeling
Single malt - Unknown
Sunshine yellow
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, lemon zest, rhubarb and custard sweets, brass polish, lemon juice. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, static, loose, watery. 
Tasting: Sweet sour. Milk, lemon zest, rhubarb and custard sweets, cream, vanilla. 
Finish: Long. Cream, lemon zest, apples. 

Comments: 

This is probably Cooley spirit, but I can't tell from a quick Google. It's fruity and complex like Cooley though, and is a good stand-in until the Teeling distillery malt is old enough. It's bold and brassy, almost Rosebank-ey, and rather refreshing.

Verdict:

I like this.

Glenturret 28yo 1986/2015

Glenturret 28yo 1986/2015

Cask Strength, Signatory
Single malt - Central Highlands
Dark gold
51.8% ABV
Dram

Nose: Hay, chocolate, smoked ham, lemons, sour cream, hints of sea salt. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, slippery, loosens, turns watery. 
Tasting:  Sour. Lemon zest, limes, sour cream, stewed apples, hay, hints of sea salt. 
Finish: Short. Lemon zest, stewed apples, orange peel, sea salt, limes. 

Comments: 

Aged Glenturret from cask 296. It's nicely tart with some sweet fruity notes. There's a not-unpleasant thread of sour cream that runs through the whisky, along with some bracing sea air. Complicated but tasty.

Verdict:

I like this.

Imperial 20yo 1995/2016

Imperial 20 yo 1995/2016

Vintage, bottled for the Whisky Exchange, Signatory
Single malt - Speyside
Green gold
50.8% ABV
Dram

Nose: malted grains, milk, fresh cut grass, blackberry jam, plums. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, slippery, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sweet salty. Fresh cut grass, orange peel, plums, milk, hints of lemon zest. 
Finish: Short. Orange peel, cream, pomelo, malted grains. 

Comments: 

A great chance to try something from the closed Imperial distillery. This one is sweet-savoury, slightly one dimensional on first taste, but deepens into multi-layered citrus notes, grass and creamy milk. Good stuff, and there's not much of this left.

Verdict:

I like this.

Nikka Yoichi Single Malt

Nikka Yoichi Single Malt

Official bottling
Single malt - Hokkaido 
Golden
45% ABV
Dram

Nose: Chocolate, raisins, bitter gourd, coffee, hints of sandalwood. 
Mouthfeel: light body, loose, turns watery, airy. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Chocolate, custard, coffee, raisins, hints of fried eggs, hints of bitter gourd . 
Finish: Short. Malted grains, sandalwood, coffee, hints of fried eggs. 

Comments: 

My first taste of the new Japanese single malts since they ran out of the aged stock. It's different, more robust and bitter than the previous iterations of Yoichi, with a pleasing egginess, almost rubberiness, alongside fragrant bitter notes.

Verdict:

I like this.