Annandale Man O’Sword Oloroso Sherry Butt (Cask 776)

Annandale Man O’Sword Oloroso Sherry Butt (Cask 776)

Official bottling 
Single malt - Lowlands
Amber gold
60.3% ABV
Dram

Nose: Pears, lemon sweets, honey, germolene, leather, vitamin C tablets, hints of smoke. With water, honey, raisins, pears, leather, hints of cloves. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, hot, astringent, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Bitter sour. Peanuts, germolene, peat, leather, smoke, brass polish, honey, pears. With water, raisins, germolene, brass polish, honey. 
Finish: Short. Smoke, germolene, peanuts, malted grains. 

Comments: 

Quite smoky, the Sherry cask influence seems to have been buried under a lot of peaty, herbal, medicinal flavours. There’s some raisins and cloves that make a brief appearance if you add some water.

Verdict:

I like this.

Annandale Man O’Words Oloroso Sherry Butt (Cask 813)

Annandale Man O’Words Oloroso Sherry Butt (Cask 813)

Official bottling 
Single malt - Lowlands
Amber orange 
60.8% ABV
Dram

Nose: Orange peel, cream, oolong tea, pencil erasers, pomeloes, honey, vanilla. With water, orange peel, clay dust, buttermilk. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, thickens, hot, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sour. Orange peel, malted grains, vanilla, raisins, photocopy paper, white pepper, saffron. With water, orange peel, buttermilk, saffron, raisins. 
Finish: Medium. Orange peel, pomeloes, saffron, oolong tea, vanilla. 

Comments: 

Cask 813. Very smooth (not an adjective I like to use, but apt in this case). Lots of fruit and feinty notes, together with herbal saffron. A very faint hint of smoke around the tannins.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Annandale Man O’Sword STR Red Wine Cask (Cask 352)

Annandale Man O’Sword STR Red Wine Cask (Cask 352)

Official bottling 
Single malt - Lowlands 
Copper, hints of orange
61% ABV
Dram

Nose: Orange peel, peanuts, leather, tyre rubber, honey, red grapes, sea salt, hints of mint. With water, orange peel, honey, caramel, hints of tyre rubber. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, cool, tingly, astringent. 
Tasting:  Bitter sour. Orange peel, sea salt, peanuts, leather, peat, cigar ash, smoke, mint. With water, sweeter, black tea, orange peel, sea salt, caramel, peat, hints of smoke. 
Finish: Short. Mint, cigar ash, sea salt, smoke. 

Comments: 

I’m not entirely sure Man O’Sword works, but this one is certainly a good attempt. Ashy smoke devolves into caramel, orange peel and sea salt, but it sort of melts into just ash. 

Verdict:

I like this.

Annandale Man O’Words STR Red Wine Cask (Cask 320)

Annandale Man O’Words, STR Red Wine Cask (Cask 320)

Official bottling 
Single malt - Lowlands
Amber orange 
61.3% ABV
Dram

Nose: Honey, leather, orange peel, milk chocolate, sea salt, five spice powder, hints of roast beef. With water, honey, five spice powder, orange peel, hints of roast beef. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, hot, expands, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Orange peel, cream, red grapes, milk chocolate, cinnamon, black tea, hints of barley sugar. With water, black tea, red grapes, cinnamon, barley sugar. 
Finish: Long. Barley sugar, cinnamon, cream, red grapes, hints of roast beef. 

Comments: 

I like Annandale distillate, but red wine casks can be divisive. Turns out this one is quite luscious, plenty of sweet fruit and barley, with a meaty end note in the finish.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Annandale Man O’Sword Bourbon Cask (Cask 474)

Annandale Man O’Sword Bourbon Cask (Cask 474)

Official bottling 
Single malt - Lowlands
Bright gold 
54.3% ABV
Dram

Nose: Honey, driftwood smoke, peat, germolene, leather, hints of black tea. With water, honey, sugar cane, orange peel, hints of smoke. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, slippery, loosens, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Bitter. Driftwood smoke, sea salt, fresh baked bread, black tea, germolene, hints of honey. With water, sweeter, orange peel, pears, driftwood smoke, honey.
Finish: Long. Honey, vanilla, orange peel, toast. 

Comments: 

There’s a lot of peat in this, and it almost doesn’t go well when tasted neat. A bit of water opens it up nicely, lots of fruit and honey under a veil of antiseptic, medicinal peat. It will get better with aging, it’s already pretty good. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Annandale Man O’Words Bourbon Cask (Cask 152)

Annandale Man O’Words Bourbon Cask (Cask 152)

Official bottling 
Single malt - Lowlands
Pale gold
59.7% ABV
Dram

Nose: Vanilla, lemon sweets, greengages, milk, hints of bananas. With water, cream, bananas, vanilla. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, hot, thickens, expands slightly. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Milk, almonds, vanilla, lemon sweets, cream, hints of milk chocolate. With water, lemon sweets, fresh baked bread, vanilla, hints of cream. 
Finish: Medium. Fresh baked bread, vanilla, greengages, leather. 

Comments: 

This is young stuff, and it seems that the bourbon cask has imparted quite a lot of bourbon flavour to the spirit. On the nose it’s quite hard to discern the malt, but in the tongue it opens up quite nicely. Lots of cereal and chocolate flavours. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Annandale Man O'Sword Bourbon Cask (Cask 470)

Annandale Man O'Sword Bourbon Cask (Cask 470)

Official bottling
Single malt - Lowlands
Pale yellow
61.6% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peat, leather, germolene, sea salt, caramel, butterscotch, hints of kelp. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, warm, slightly slippery, loose. 
Tasting:  Bitter. Kelp, iodine, leather, smoke, peat, caramel, brown butter, hints of chocolate. 
Finish: Medium. Black tea, chocolate, germolene, sea salt, brown butter. 

Comments: 

This is the peated version of the previous Annandale spirit, both aged in bourbon casks. I tried to compare them. There is some resemblance, mainly in the estery fruity notes (like germolene antiseptic here), but in this whisky it is quite subdued. Instead, there is sea salt and iodine, leather, and seaweed. It's absolutely delicious, and needs no water (or at least, I didn't see fit to add it at the time).

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Annandale Man O'Words Bourbon Cask (Cask 149)

Annandale Man O'Words Bourbon Cask (Cask 149)

Official bottling
Single malt - Lowlands
Pale green
61% ABV
Dram

Nose: Lemon zest, maraschino cherries, milk chocolate, apples, hints of leather. With water, apples, leather, cedar. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, astringent, slippery. 
Tasting:  Bitter sour. Maraschino cherries, milk chocolate, kiwi fruit, apple juice, fresh baked bread, hints of rolled oats. With water, mint, milk chocolate, cedar. 
Finish: Long. Rolled oats, milk chocolate, kiwi fruit, fresh baked bread. 

Comments: 

So, a new Lowlands distillery, trying to make spirit in the style of decades past. This one is highly complex despite its youth (about 4 years old), with plenty of fruit and even chocolate. It opens up with water, turns fruity and woody.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.