Four Roses Limited Edition 2025

Four Roses Limited Edition 2025

Official bottling 
Single bourbon - Kentucky
Amber 
54.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Caramel, toast, pear drops, ink, popcorn, honey. With water, blueberries, acetone, black tea. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, mouth coating, oily, hot. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Toast, pear drops, ink, acetone, popcorn, blueberries, mint, toast. With water, blueberries, acetone, popcorn. 
Finish: Medium. Black tea, mint, acetone, ink. 

Comments: 

Interesting bourbon, with a blueberries and nail varnish vibe that’s really quite alluring. There’s mint, and even toast, and it takes water rather well.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Torabhaig Sound of Sleat Legacy Series Chapter 4

Torabhaig Sound of Sleat Legacy Series Chapter 4

Official bottling 
Single malt - Islands
Pale orange 
60.2% ABV

Dram

Nose: Honey, roast pork, smoke, bacon, apples, barley sugar, sea salt, peat, tarry rope. With water, lemon curd, sea salt, barley sugar, germolene. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, tingly, syrupy. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Bacon, dill, apples, smoke, tarry rope, lemon curd, apples, barley sugar, peat. With water, lemon curd, tarry rope, barley sugar, smoke. 
Finish: Short. Apples, smoke, barley sugar, dill, peat. 

Comments: 

Meaty, smoky and even slightly herbal, all over a core of apples and lemon curd. Water brings out more sweetness and more earthiness. A very unbalanced, interesting dram.

Verdict:

I like this.

Scallywag Winter Edition

Scallywag Winter Edition

Douglas Laing
Blended malt
Golden brown
52.4% ABV
Dram

Nose: Apple juice, cloves, raisins, golden syrup, fresh baked bread, black pepper, nutmeg. With water, vanilla sponge, butter, raisins, apple juice. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, tingly, hot, astringent. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Apple juice, damson jam, raisins, honey, golden syrup, nutmeg, cloves. With water, raisins, prunes, damson jam, black pepper. 
Finish: Medium. Black pepper, fresh baked bread, nutmeg, golden syrup. 

Comments: 

A very appley blend, from Douglas Laing. Not sure what’s in here but it tastes quite a lot like mulled apple cider. A perfect winter dram, as it says on the bottle.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Clonakilty Single Pot Still

Clonakilty Single Pot Still

Official bottling
Single pot still - Munster
Golden
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Ink, magic marker, sour cream, cooked rice, raisins, white grapes, hints of icing sugar. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, astringent, warm, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sour sweet. Magic marker, cooked rice, malted grains, white grapes, honey, dark chocolate, white pepper, hints of orange blossom. 
Finish: Medium. Ink, molasses, sour cream, cooked rice, white grapes. 

Comments: 

A rather funky distillate, lots of fermented notes, particularly sour cream. But there is also a deep sweetness, with floral notes overlaying it. I’m still not sure about pot still whisky but it’s certainly something that stands out.

Verdict:

I like this.

Clonakilty Port Cask

Clonakilty Port Cask

Official bottling
Single malt - Munster
Golden, hints of pink
43.6% ABV
Dram

Nose: White chocolate, fresh cut grass, straw, raisins, raspberry jam, orange blossom, hints of white pepper. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, warm, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Fresh cut grass, straw, raisins, honey, black tea, white chocolate, orange blossom, hints of toffee. 
Finish: Short. Malted grains, white chocolate, orange blossom, straw, hints of toffee. 

Comments: 

Batch 44. Nice sweet notes of white chocolate and a very floral and fruity orange note too. It’s clearly malt, but it’s not very apparent till the finish. Sweet and luscious.

Verdict:

I like this.

Tomintoul Small Batch PX Cask Finish

Tomintoul Small Batch PX Cask Finish

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Amber red
40% ABV
Dram

Nose: Strawberry jam, molasses, raisins, malted grains, apricot jam, hints of cinnamon. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, expands, tingly. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Malted grains, strawberry jam, black pepper, vanilla, cinnamon, hints of aluminium foil. 
Finish: Medium. Molasses, malted grains, apricot jam, cinnamon, hints of aluminium foil. 

Comments: 

Quite spicy and sweet, almost bourbony in that sense, but without the grain sweetness (coconut, vanilla, popcorn). There’s some spiciness on the palate as well as the finish.

Verdict:

I like this.

Belmont Farm Kopper Kettle

Belmont Farm Kopper Kettle

Official bottling
Single bourbon - Virginia
Amber
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Desiccated coconut, vanilla, bananas, rum and raisin ice cream, caramel, toffee. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, cool, tingly, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Vanilla fudge, desiccated coconut, toffee, milk chocolate, cream, raisins, hints of white pepper. 
Finish: Short. Rum and raisin ice cream, desiccated coconut, milk chocolate, vanilla fudge. 

Comments: 

Quite an ice cream-y bourbon, lots of fudgy chocolatey notes.  The desiccated coconut speaks to a lot of grain in the mash bill, perhaps some wheat. Unfortunately the finish is a little short.

Verdict:

I like this.

Scapegrace Vanguard

Scapegrace Vanguard

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

Nose: Molasses, papayas, peaches, apple juice, charcoal ash, smoke, hints of tobacco leaf. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, thickens, tingly, astringent. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Matches, peaches, molasses, smoke, charcoal ash, petrol exhaust, apple juice. 
Finish: Long. Black pepper, matches, vanilla, peaches, charcoal ash. 

Comments: 

Ashy and sulphurous, even a smidgen of tobacco. But underneath that there’s Kentucky of apples and tropical fruit. Quite an interesting dram, not had smoky Scapegrace before.

Verdict:

I like this.