Green River Kentucky Straight Rye DSP-KY-10

Green River Kentucky Straight Rye DSP-KY-10

Official bottling
Single rye - Kentucky
Amber gold
47.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peppermint, brown paper, popcorn, toffee, blackcurrant cordial, hints of black pepper. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, cool, loosens, expands slightly. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Peppermint, toffee, vanilla, cream, brown paper, popcorn, fresh baked bread, hints of black pepper. 
Finish: Short. Black pepper, popcorn, vanilla, cream, blackcurrant cordial. 

Comments: 

Quite minty with lots of popcorn notes. The latter is not unusual for rye, but the former is. There’s plenty of cereal and bread too, which keeps it interesting.

Verdict:

I like this.

Raasay 4yo 2021/2025 Marsala Cask

Raasay 4yo 2021/2025 Marsala Cask

Official bottling
Single malt - Islands
Dark gold, hints of amber

50.7% ABV
Dram

Nose: Apples, cinnamon, honey, gooseberries, white grapes, dried apricots, toffee, hints of smoke. With water, menthol, dried apricots, white grapes. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, expands, cool, astringent. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Cinnamon, apples, smoke, dried apricots, leather, sourdough bread, toffee, vanilla, peat, smoke. With water, smoke, peat, leather, white grapes. 
Finish: Long. Peat, smoke, charcoal ash, apples, dried apricots. 

Comments: 

Sometimes sweet wine finishes clash with peat but for this whisky they are quite well integrated. The sweet notes are prominent on the nose and especially near, and once water is added the smoke comes to the fore.

Verdict:

I like this.

West Midlands Inaugural Release Caribbean Rum Cask

West Midlands Inaugural Release Caribbean Rum Cask

Official bottling
Single malt - Staffordshire 
Pale green
53.2% ABV
Dram

Nose: New plastic, raisins, orange peel, malted grains, molasses. With water, damson jam, plums, raisins, malted grains. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, volatile, evaporates, hot. 
Tasting:  Sour sweet. Cooked rice, plums, damson jam, molasses, fresh baked bread, orange peel, white pepper. With water, new plastic, molasses, plums, hints of yoghurt. 
Finish: Short. Yoghurt, plums, damson jam, fresh baked bread. 

Comments: 

Lots of sweet fruit but the slightly plasticky note that characterises rum casks is ever present. Water brings out a lactic tang, which offsets the bitter molasses and fruit.

Verdict:

I like this.

Beverbach Tri-Cask

Beverbach Tri-Cask

Official bottling 
Single malt - Lower Saxony
Pale yellow gold
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, dark chocolate, malted grains, dried cranberries, vanilla, coffee, hints of farmyard. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens slightly, cool, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Malted grains, dried cranberries, lemon juice, dark chocolate, nutmeg, vanilla, hints of new plastic. 
Finish: Short. Vanilla, lemon juice, raisins, dark chocolate. 

Comments: 

Clearly one of the casks is sherried, and it’s quite well constructed with lots of typical chocolate, nuts and dried fruit notes. There’s also some citrusy tartness hiding underneath.

Verdict:

I like this.

Jack Daniel Triple Mash

Jack Daniel Triple Mash

Official bottling
Single bourbon - Tennessee
Amber
50% ABV
Dram

Nose: Cream, milk chocolate, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, cough mixture, brown paper. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, loosens, expands, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Milk chocolate, honey, fresh baked bread, cream, cough mixture, hints of rye bread. 
Finish: Short. Cream, milk chocolate, honey, brown sugar. 

Comments: 

Sweet and chocolatey, a cut above the regular JD. There’s a bit of rye in this, oddly, and it makes for a slightly jarring note on the tongue.

Verdict:

I like this.

Thompson Brothers Lowries Reserve

Thompson Brothers Lowries Reserve

Thompson Bros
Blend
Copper gold
45.7% ABV
Dram

Nose: Toffee, molasses, vanilla, tablet, petrol exhaust, hints of milk chocolate. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, cool, static, slippery. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Molasses, tablet, orange peel, raisins, icing sugar, leather, hints of milk chocolate. 
Finish: Medium. Icing sugar, leather, orange peel, raisins, vanilla. 

Comments: 

Sweet blend, with hints of bitterness that never really quite come to pass. There are some whispers of more industrial whisky but they’re drowned in orange peel and icing sugar.

Verdict:

I like this.

Bruichladdich 10yo Old Skool

Bruichladdich 10yo Old Skool

Official bottling
Single malt - Islay
Dark gold 

50% ABV
Dram

Nose: Yoghurt, cream, malted grains, barley sugar, white pepper, hints of pencil erasers. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, astringent, tingly. 
Tasting:  Bitter sour. Lemon zest, yoghurt, white pepper, fresh baked bread, sea salt, hints of rolled oats. 
Finish: Short. Lemon zest, yoghurt, cream, white pepper, rolled oats. 

Comments: 

Quite lactic, although doesn’t have the butyric note that Bruichladdich sometimes has. Quite lemony too, plenty of salty cereal. Not too peated, in fact it’s quite hard to discern.

Verdict:

I like this.

Filey Bay Porter Cask #2

Filey Bay Porter Cask #2

Official bottling
Single malt - Yorkshire 
Amber gold
51.4% ABV
Dram

Nose: Marmalade, wet stones, fresh baked bread, vanilla sponge, orange peel. With water, white pepper, strawberry sweets, marmalade. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, cool, astringent, loosens slightly. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Marmalade, fresh baked bread, strawberry sweets, wet stones, pencil lead, hints of ginger. With water, marmalade, strawberry sweets, fresh baked bread. 
Finish: Short. Ginger, marmalade, orange peel, raisins, fresh baked bread. 

Comments: 

Laden with marmalade and strawberry notes. It’s got a deep sweetness that must come from the beer, not a lot of woody notes. Also quite minerally and flinty, which seems to be a characteristic of this distillery.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Goalong Single Malt

Goalong Single Malt

Official bottling 
Single malt - Hunan
Amber
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Bananas, malted grains, white pepper, lime zest, raisins, dried pears. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, cool, expands. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Bananas, limes, vanilla, white pepper, icing sugar, hints of dried pineapples. 
Finish: Short. Limes, lime zest, vanilla, cream, icing sugar. 

Comments: 

Citrusy, plenty of banana and vanilla. It’s a light approachable whisky with lots of rich notes packed into a life mouth feel. Decent dram.

Verdict:

I like this.

The Chuan Handfill (bottled 2004)

The Chuan Handfill (bottled 2024)

Official bottling 
Single malt - Sichuan
Amber 
60.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Lohan fruit, raisins, marzipan, orange peel, lemon sweets, coffee, nectarines, hints of strawberry sweets. With water, orange peel, menthol, hints of marzipan. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, volatile, astringent. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Orange peel, strawberry sweets, nectarines, camphor, white pepper, raisins, papayas, hints of coffee. With water, raisins, nectarines, strawberry sweets. 
Finish: Short. Raisins, camphor, white pepper, lohan fruit, hints of nectarines. 

Comments: 

A rather good Chinese whisky, plenty of sweet and nutty notes with herbal bitterness. Water brings out more stone fruit sweetness with menthol on the nose. Surprisingly good.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.