Dornoch 5yo 2019/2025 (ex-Islay Cask)

Dornoch 5yo 2019/2025 (ex-Islay Cask)

Official bottling
Single malt - North Highlands
Buttercups
57.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Cinder toffee, cotton sheets, foam shrimp, peaches, cream, hints of toast. With water, peaches, toast, hay, cinder toffee. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, syrupy, oily, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Diesel exhaust, cinder toffee, driftwood smoke, peat, cream, foam shrimp, strawberry jam, hay. With water, hay, diesel exhaust, peat, tyre rubber, golden syrup. 
Finish: Long. Hay, diesel exhaust, cream, foam shrimp, hints of peaches. 

Comments: 

Intense and fruity. The smoke is obvious, but isn’t in your face, and it just covers the sweet, grassy distillate. Water brings out more of the bitter medicinal sulphurous flavours.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Dornoch 5yo 2019/2024 Cask 149

Dornoch 5yo 2019/2024 Cask 149

Official bottling
Single malt - North Highlands
Pale copper
51.8% ABV
Dram

Nose: Soot, engine oil, leeks, roast chicken, autumn leaves, sultanas, peat, hints of eucalyptus. With water, roast chicken, cloves, leeks, sultanas. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, oily, tingly, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Bitter salty. Camphor, fresh baked bread, leather, sultanas, vanilla, engine oil, soot, hints of eucalyptus. With water, peat, soot, sultanas, hints of rubber bands. 
Finish: Long. Camphor, eucalyptus, sultanas, leather. 

Comments: 

Cask 149. Sooty and richly peated, there’s plenty of sulphurous and smoky notes to chew on. The texture is nice too, oily and mouth coating. Plenty of bitter herbs round out the finish.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Dornoch 4yo 2019/2024 The Major’s Dram

Dornoch 4yo 2019/2024 The Major’s Dram

Official bottling 
Single malt - North Highlands
Amber brown
52.2% ABV
Dram

Nose: Sandalwood, pears, green tea, malted grains, lohan fruit, membrillo, hints of magic marker. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, slippery, loosens, slightly astringent. 
Tasting:  Salty sweet. Vanilla, lohan fruit, green tea, cocoa nibs, butterscotch, photocopy paper, malted grains, hints of sandalwood. 
Finish: Short. Sandalwood, white pepper, pears, membrillo, green tea. 

Comments: 

Floral and fruity, lots of orchard fruits like quince and pear. It’s feinty on the tongue, and rather gentle. It’s so quaffable I forgot to add water. But that’s fine, the whisky is good.

Verdict:

I like this.

Dornoch 6yo 2017/2023

Dornoch 6yo 2017/2023

Official bottling
Single malt - North Highlands
Bright gold
59.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Nectarines, peaches, malted grains, pencil lead, wet stones, parchment, magic marker, hints of smoke. With water, Chinese angelica, nectarines, sandalwood, honey. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, expands, warm, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Candle wax, sandalwood, cedar, wet stones, magic marker, parchment, peaches, hints of smoke. With water, Chinese angelica, cedar, peaches, hints of camphor. 
Finish: Short. Peaches, magic marker, malted grains, sandalwood, Chinese angelica. 

Comments: 

Cask 27. Fruity like the other Dornochs I’ve had. Lots of complexity, aided by the high ABV. There’s a lot of wax and herbaceous bitterness here, along with wood and feinty notes. Excellent and delicious.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Dornoch 5yo 2017/2023 Cask 14

Dornoch 5yo 2017/2023 Cask 14

Official bottling 
Single malt - North Highlands
Golden yellow
58.4% ABV
Dram

Nose: Pears, vanilla, magic marker, malted grains, hoppy beer, hints of gooseberries. With water, pears, sultanas, nail varnish. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, tingly, hot. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Gooseberries, strawberry laces, rye bread, magic marker, pears, oatcakes, nail varnish. With water, pears, malted grains, nail varnish, gooseberries. 
Finish: Long. Oatcakes, rye bread, nail varnish, gooseberries. 

Comments: 

The pear and nail varnish notes are so strong one can smell them from several feet away. On the tongue, it’s malty and cereally as well. Lots of interesting notes, especially the combination of cereal and estery fruit.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Dornoch 5yo 2017/2022 Cask 10

Dornoch 5yo 2017/2022 Cask 10

Official bottling 
Single malt - North Highlands
Bright gold
59.06% ABV
Dram

Nose: Magic marker, peanut butter, pear drops, vanilla, orange sherbet, malted grains, hints of lemon zest. With water, magic marker, lemon zest, watermelons, peaches, hints of orange sherbet. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, hot, astringent, expands. 
Tasting:  Sweet salty. Magic marker, watermelons, pear drops, peanut butter, malted grains, walnuts, shortbread, hay, hints of peaches. With water, peaches, watermelons, hay, hints of orange sherbet. 
Finish: Short. Magic marker, pear drops, shortbread, hay, hints of orange sherbet. 

Comments: 

Cask 10. Very nutty, but there’s that magic marker / pear drops note again. It’s also almost savoury, almost like acetone, against the backdrop of grassy watermelon and nutty peanut butter. Very interesting, and very good.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Dornoch 5yo 2017/2022 Blankenship’s Reserve Cask 3

Dornoch 5yo 2017/2022 Blankenship’s Reserve Cask 3

Official bottling 
Single malt - North Highlands
Amber 
60% ABV
Dram

Nose: Dried apricots, peaches, mangoes, passionfruit, banana peel, vanilla, honey, hints of tomato purée. With water, peaches, greengages, banana peel, magic marker. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, hot, tingly, astringent. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Peaches, dried apricots, photocopy paper, cloves, pear drops, magic marker, malted grains. With water, malted grains, black pepper, oats, banana peel. 
Finish: Medium. Malted grains, brown paper, photocopy paper, cloves, black pepper. 

Comments: 

Cask 3. Very fruity and floral, over a great strong malty spine. Rather nice neat, but with water it somehow… weakens? Certainly the fruity notes fade, becoming more herbal and malty.

Verdict:

I like this.

Dornoch 4yo 2018/2022

Dornoch 4yo 2018/2022

Official bottling 
Single malt - North Highlands 
Silvery gold
55.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Pear drops, honey, lemon sweets, leather, hay, hints of germolene. With water, toast, barley sugar, lemon sweets. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, thickens, hot, astringent. 
Tasting:  Sweet salty. Leather, honey, germolene, sea salt, hay, shortbread, lemon sweets. With water, toast, sea salt, germolene, lemon sweets. 
Finish: Short. Hay, shortbread, toast, lemon sweets, hints of pear drops. 

Comments: 

Cask 54. Rather a famous bottling, this - it’s the first Dornoch distillate that I’ve seen in London for sale at a bar! It’s quite salty, almost like a sweet, unpeated Caol Ila. Quite grassy on the finish too, a note I quite enjoy.

Verdict:

I like this.