Floki Single Malt

Floki Single Malt

Official bottling
Single malt - Capital Region
Pale gold
47% ABV
Dram

Nose: Acacia honey, white grapes, yoghurt, cream, lemon zest, foam shrimp, hints of bananas. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, mouth coating, volatile, loosens. 
Tasting:  Sour bitter. White grapes, acacia honey, haw flakes, foam shrimp, lychees, pear, grapefruit, hints of white pepper. 
Finish: Short. White grapes, honey, haw flakes, lychees, peat. 

Comments: 

Very fruity and light, with plenty of estery notes, but also an earthy bitter undertone. It’s not necessarily peaty, instead it’s herbal and citrusy bitterness. Definitely more grapefruit than smoke.

Verdict:

I like this.

Ardara Single Malt 2025 Release

Ardara Single Malt 2025 Release

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

Nose: Peat, smoke, raisins, pencil erasers, fresh cut grass, farmyard, hints of charcoal ash. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, mouth coating, thickens, cool. 
Tasting:  Bitter. Peanuts, peat, charcoal ash, vanilla, pencil erasers, fresh cut grass, gentian, smoke, hints of tarry rope. 
Finish: Long. Vanilla, dark chocolate, raisins, charcoal ash, peat. 

Comments: 

Peated Irish whisky. This is rather thick and heavy, upending the Irish whisky stereotype. The bitterness is herbal and vegetal, with quite a big lick of sulphur.

Verdict:

I like this.

Ardnahoe 5yo Feis Ile 2024

Ardnahoe 5yo Feis Ile 2024

Official bottling
Single malt - Islay
Bright gold
59.3% ABV
Dram

Nose: Driftwood smoke, peat, moss, autumn leaves, tobacco leaf, malted grains, hints of white pepper. With water, orange juice, gooseberries, peat, hints of pencil erasers. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, warm, tingly, expands. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Orange juice, pears, peat, smoke, moss, autumn leaves, malted grains, germolene, hints of white pepper. With water, orange juice, limes, hints of white pepper, peat. 
Finish: Long. Peat, autumn leaves, white pepper, pears, driftwood smoke. 

Comments: 

Lots of savoury saline smoke, laden with earthy flavours such as fallen leaves and moss. There’s also pears and some sweet citrus, it’s very fragrant. Ardnahoe is really quite delicious.

Verdict:

I like this.

Cardrona Growing Wings Oloroso Sherry

Cardrona Growing Wings Oloroso Sherry

Official bottling
Single malt - Otago
Pale amber 
61.2% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, clotted cream, honey, prunes, vanilla, black tea, damson jam, hints of oak chips. With water, raisins, black tea, orange peel, oak chips. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, volatile, astringent, hot. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Damson jam, clotted cream, vanilla, caramel, toffee, black tea, hints of prunes. With water, raisins, damson jam, prunes. 
Finish: Short. Damson jam, toffee, black tea, clotted cream, vanilla. 

Comments: 

Cask 101. The sherry cask has imparted some quite delicious notes, but there’s also a big undertone of wood. It’s rather powerful and matches the sweet sherry notes in intensity.

Verdict:

I like this.

Feddie 4yo

Feddie 4yo

Official bottling
Single malt - Vestlandet
Pale yellow

42.7% ABV
Dram

Nose: Malted grains, lemon zest, nectarines, white pepper, toffee, hints of leather. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, thickens slightly, warm, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sour sweet. Lemon zest, nectarines, fresh baked bread, leather, malted grains, nutmeg, vanilla, hints of diesel exhaust. 
Finish: Long. Marzipan, lemon zest, nectarines, fresh baked bread. 

Comments: 

Light fragrant and flavourful distillate. Quite impressive give the age, the flavour notes are well layered and distinct. Plenty of complexity too. Very good whisky indeed.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

West Midlands Inaugural Release - Oloroso Cask

West Midlands Inaugural Release - Oloroso Cask

Official bottling
Single malt - Staffordshire 
Dark amber
53.9% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, fresh baked bread, cocoa nibs, maraschino cherries, black pepper, hints of rye bread. With water, vanilla sponge, raisins, hints of dried blueberries. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, volatile, hot, astringent. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Maraschino cherries, cocoa nibs, cocoa butter, damson jam, magic marker, prunes, cloves. With water, cocoa butter, maraschino cherries, magic marker. 
Finish: Medium. Fresh baked bread, damson jam, maraschino cherries, cocoa nibs, hints of rye bread. 

Comments: 

The pungent peppery nature of the distillate is tempered by the sherry cask, bringing out notes of maraschino cherries and prunes. Water brings out more dried fruit and some more estery flavours.

Verdict:

I like this.

Knockando 13yo 1974/1987

Knockando 13yo 1974/1987

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

Nose: Pears, raisins, orange peel, lohan fruit, nutmeg, cloves, hints of leather. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, volatile, expands. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Raisins, leather, lohan fruit, cloves, vanilla sponge, orange peel, hints of cinnamon. 
Finish: Long. White pepper, lohan fruit, vanilla sponge, orange peel. 

Comments: 

Quite herbal, lots of raisiny dried fruit flavours with plenty of vanilla. No water, it’s perfectly drinkable as is. The finish is surprisingly peppery and fragrant.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Chichibu Distillery II (Ichiro’s Malt)

Chichibu Distillery II (Ichiro’s Malt)

Official bottling
Single malt - Kantō
Amber gold 
55.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Malted grains, pears, fresh cut grass, white grapes, orange peel, barley sugar, nutmeg, mace. With water, pears, magic marker, lemon zest. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, volatile, expands, tingly. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Pears, orange peel, leather, barley sugar, malted grains, magic marker, ink, mace. With water, mace, pears, magic marker, leather. 
Finish: Medium. Pears, orange peel, malted grains, lemon zest, hints of smoke. 

Comments: 

Lots of lovely balanced flavours, mainly spices, pears and a big leather note that is quite characteristic of Chichibu in my opinion. Water brings out some estery flavours with more of that leather. This is actually from their new production facility, but they’ve maintained their character well. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Tsunuki Yakushima Aging 5yo 2016/2021 (bottled for LMDW)

Tsunuki Yakushima Aging 5yo 2016/2021 (bottled for LMDW)

Official bottling
Single malt - Kyushu
Amber brown
61% ABV
Dram

Nose: Lemon zest, raisins, sandalwood, pears, dried apricots, malted grains, fresh baked bread. With water, raisins, winter melons, leather. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, volatile, evaporates, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Oak chips, sandalwood, malted grains, dried apricots, barley sugar, raisins, pears, hints of winter melons. With water, malted grains, raisins, barley sugar. 
Finish: Long. Dried apricots, leather, raisins, barley sugar hints of sandalwood. 

Comments: 

Cask 2069. Floral and herbal, very intensely flavoured with a hot, volatile mouthfeel. No doubt it’s due to the high ANv. Water brings out cereally sweetness with more raisins too. Quite interesting and somewhat typical of the Yakushima aging style.

Verdict:

I like this.

Longmorn 30yo

Longmorn 30yo

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Amber red 
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, golden syrup, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, clotted cream, wet stones. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, tingly, hot. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Clotted cream, raisins, cloves, nutmeg, golden syrup, butter, barley sugar, wet stones, hints of molasses. 
Finish: Medium. Nutmeg, black pepper, cloves, raisins, hints of molasses. 

Comments: 

A gentle, sweet, syrupy dram. The bitterness is that of molasses and slightly burnt caramel, but the predominant notes are creamy golden syrup, and buttery barley sugar. Very good whisky indeed.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.