Ruadh Maor 14yo 2011/2026

Ruadh Maor 14yo 2011/2026

Chorlton Whisky
Single malt - Central Highlands
Golden yellow
57.3% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, smoke, peat, orange peel, gooseberries, sandalwood, pine, hints of sawdust. With water, honey, sandalwood, germolene. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, astringent, hot, expands. 

Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Smoke, orange peel, raisins, gooseberries, soot, sandalwood, sawdust, coffee, dark chocolate. With water, raisins, honey, soot, dark chocolate. 
Finish: Medium. Dark chocolate, peat, soot, orange peel, hints of pine. 

Comments: 

Chunky, sweet smoke, lots of herbal and incense notes, but with plenty of dried fruit and fragrant coffee. Water expands the range of flavours, bringing in notes of honey  and dark chocolate.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Glenturret 10yo Peat Smoked 2023

Glenturret 10yo Peat Smoked 2023

Official bottling 
Single malt - Central Highlands
Amber
48.4% ABV
Dram

Nose: Smoke, peat, leather, roast beef, damson jam, honey, malted grains, pencil lead, black pepper. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, mouth coating, expands, tingly. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Smoke, peat, leather, mint, orange peel, damson jam, malted grains, pencil lead, vanilla, hints of black pepper. 
Finish: Medium. Brown paper, black pepper, leather, orange peel. 

Comments: 

Technically this is Ruadh Mor, but it’s an OB peated Glenturret. There’s plenty of jammy orange peel, but there’s a feinty, slightly sulphurous note of pencil leaned lifts this dram and keeps it interesting.

Verdict:

I like this.

Ruadh Maor 8yo 2012/2021

Ruadh Maor 8yo 2012/2021

Strictly Limited, Carn Mor
Single malt - Central Highlands
Yellow gold
47.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Smoke, leather, lemon zest, peat, white chocolate, iodine, hints of limes. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, loosens, slightly oily, cool. 
Tasting:  Salty sweet. Lemon zest, limes, white chocolate, white pepper, fresh baked bread, smoke, leather, hints of vanilla. 
Finish: Short. Leather, tobacco leaf, smoke, iodine, lemon zest. 

Comments: 

Peated Glenturret. It’s really quite peaty, smoky leather notes dominate citrus and sweet white chocolate. There’s a malty spine to this as well. Quite drinkable and enjoyable.

Verdict:

I like this.

Glenturret 28yo 1987/2016

Glenturret 28yo 1987/2016

Authentic Collection, WM Cadenhead 
Single malt - Central Highlands

White wine
44% ABV
Dram

Nose: Lemon zest, barley sugar, roast chicken, fresh baked bread, leather, hints of honey. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, tingly, cool. 
Tasting:  Sour sweet. Lemon zest, honey, barley sugar, vanilla custard, fresh baked bread, peaches, magic marker. 
Finish: Medium. Fresh baked bread, leather, peaches, barley sugar, hints of vanilla custard. 

Comments: 

Quite a delicate whisky, lots of malty grain notes, but also plenty of fragrant estery fruit. It’s sweet, yet bright and zesty, and does not show its age. It’s very well balanced and rewards patience and introspection.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

SMWS 16.47 (Glenturret 6yo 2013/2020)

SMWS 16.47 (Glenturret 6yo 2013/2020)

2020, SMWS
Single malt - Central Highlands 
Buttercup yellow
63.9% ABV
Dram

Nose: Apple juice, leather, driftwood smoke, peat, greengages, pear drops, hints of roast beef. With water, pear drops, apple juice, fresh baked bread. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, hot, syrupy, expands. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Apple juice, pear drops, driftwood smoke, germolene, peat, fresh baked bread, hints of tobacco leaf. With water, sweeter, peanuts, fresh baked bread, hints of pear drops. 
Finish: Medium. Driftwood smoke, germolene, fresh baked bread, honey, hints of roast beef. 

Comments: 

Meaty and sweet, there’s a lot of complexity in this Glenturret. Plenty of smoky, leathery notes too. These open up a lot with a few drops of water (ok, more than a few) and turn into bready, nutty apples. Quite tasty.

Verdict:

I like this.

SMWS 16.44 (Glenturret 8yo 2010/2019)

SMWS 16.44 (Glenturret 8yo 2010/2019)

2019, SMWS 
Single malt - Central Highlands
Dark gold
64.1% ABV
Dram

Nose: Leather, peat, grilled meat, sea salt, honey, hints of smoke. With water, lemon zest, grilled meat, malted grains, hints of tomato paste. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, syrupy, astringent. 
Tasting:  Bitter sour. Lemon zest, sea salt, cream, butterscotch, pear, hints of tobacco. With water, sweeter, toffee, ginseng, lemon zest. 
Finish: Long. Mint, malted grains, lemon zest, hints of grilled meat. 

Comments: 

High strength single cask Glenturret. It’s a little bit atypical, quite bitter and citrusy, with some smoke. The sweet notes are relegated to the background. It’s quite wild, unbalanced even, but it does work. 

Verdict:

I like this.

SMWS 16.50 (Glenturret 6yo 2013/2020)

SMWS 16.50 (Glenturret 6yo 2013/2020)

2020, SMWS 
Single malt - Central Highlands
Dark gold

64.1% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peat, orange peel, chocolate, smoke, white grapes, tar, sea salt. With water, leather, salt caramel, sour cream. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, hot, tingly, astringent, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Sour salty. Smoke, peat, green walnuts, chocolate, orange peel, vanilla, tar, sea salt, hints of lemon zest. With water, saltier, lemon zest, sea salt, malted grains, sour cream.  
Finish: Short. Green walnuts, orange peel, chilli flakes, lemon zest. 

Comments: 

This is a hearty, high strength peaty Glenturret. It’s not a whisky I’m very familiar with, but this one was unusual even so. It’s a very unbalanced style, lots of oddly clashing flavours, salty, sour and sweet at the same time. But it works, I think. 

Verdict:

I like this.

Glenturret 14yo 2005/2019

Glenturret 14yo 20015/2019

Connoisseur's Choice, Gordon & Macphail
Single malt - Central Highlands
Amber
54.2% ABV
Dram

Nose: Honey, toffee, smoked bacon, chocolate, oak, coffee. With water, bananas, maple syrup, toffee. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, astringent, warm, tingly. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Bacon, chocolate, bananas, liquorice, raisins, hints of maple syrup. With water, liquorice, maple syrup, tobacco leaf. 
Finish: Medium. Baked apples, maple syrup, bacon, coffee. 

Comments: 

Lovely cask strength Glenturret, full of maple syrup and toffee. There's something meaty too, almost smoky, and this adds heft and savour to a very intense whisky. There's some herbal bitterness on the palate, but this is so wreathed through with sweet notes that I think it's more liquorice than black tea or ginseng. I really enjoyed this dram.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Glenturret 12yo 2006/2018

Glenturret 12yo 2006/2018

Old Particular, Douglas Laing
Single malt - Central Highlands
Chinese tea
48.4% ABV
Dram

Nose: Leather, raisins, miso, pecans, honey, dried blueberries, hints of treacle. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, slippery, airy, astringent. 
Tasting:  Sweet salty. Plums, raisins, fresh baked bread, dried blueberries, treacle, leather, hints of miso. 
Finish: Medium. Black tea, plums, fresh baked bread, orange peel, porridge oats. 

Comments: 

Cask DL 12759. This is lovely stuff, dark and rich, plenty of fruit, and an alluring savoury fermented note that I interpret as miso. Lots of cereally notes on the tongue and the finish too. This is better than many whiskies twice as old.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Glenturret 23yo 1994/2018

Glenturret 23yo 1994/2018

Artful Dodger Whisky Collective, Woolf Sung
Single malt - Central Highlands
Amber red
50.7% ABV
Dram

Nose: Black tea, peat, leather, dried apples, pomegranate molasses. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loose, slippery, airy. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Toast, shortbread, dried apples, pomegranate molasses, leather. 
Finish: Long. Dried apples, lemon zest, leather, honey. 

Comments: 

Cask 618, apparently a Pedro Ximenez octave. This isn't a sherry bomb in the true sense of the term, there's plenty of other flavours that make this whisky oh-so glorious. Waves of leather, gentle peat, toasty smoke mingle with sweet dried apples and sweet-tart pomegranate molasses. I was tasting this whisky the next day.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

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.

Glenturret 20 yo 1987/2008

Glenturret 20 yo 1987/2008

Authentic Collection, WM Cadenhead
Single malt - Central Highlands
Lemon yellow
51.6% ABV
Sampler

Nose: Leather, brine, iodine, peanuts, pineapple, palm sugar. With water, loses its saltiness, becomes more tart - lemons, hints of green apple appear.
Mouthfeel: Light body, watery, slippery, loose.
Tasting: Sweet salty. Vanilla, peanuts, iodine, pineapple, leather, brine, honey, hints of palm sugar. With water, less salty, more sour - lemons and more pineapple appear.
Finish: Long. Palm sugar, leather, vanilla, pineapple.

Comments:

Quite salty straight out of the bottle, but loses this. Not just with the addition of water either - left alone for a while, the whisky develops, becoming tarter and more acidic. The leathery briney notes soften to lemons and pineapple. Something that requires concentration and patience.

Verdict:

I like this.

SMWS 16.29 (Glenturret 21 yo 1988/2010)

SMWS 16.29 (Glenturret 21 yo 1988/2010)

2010, SMWS
Single malt - Central Highlands
Golden
46.9% ABV
Dram

Nose: Vanilla, honey, plums, lemons, cardamom, ginger, cloves, hints of balsamic vinegar. With water, sweeter, bubblegum, five spice powder.
Mouthfeel: Light body, airy, watery, loose.
Tasting: Sweet sour. Honey, plums, marmalade, cardamom, ginger, cloves, hints of cinnamon. With water, sweeter, more honey, preserved Chinese sour plums.
Finish: Long. Marmalade, ginger, plums.

Comments:

Quite oriental, sweet sour. Like licking ginger preserves and damson jam straight out of the jar. Very tasty and spicy, a great dessert whisky.

Verdict:

I like this.

Glenturret 10 yo

Glenturret 10 yo

Official bottling
Single malt - Central Highlands
Pale gold
40% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, peanuts, limes, lemon zest, orange peel, hints of peat.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, cool, watery, loose Sweet sour.
Tasting: Sweet sour. Peat, raisins, strawberry jam, lemon zest, limes, oats, hints of peanuts.
Finish: Medium. Peanuts, orange peel, lemon zest.

Comments:

Light and refreshing! Very cool, almost cold on the tongue. This whisky is great with ice, no mixers required. Delicious aperitif.

Verdict:

I like this.