SMWS 69.3 (Glen Albyn 16yo 1978/1994)

SMWS 69.3 (Glen Albyn 16yo 1978/1994)

1994, SMWS
Single malt - North Highlands
Straw
64.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Lemon zest, malted grains, fresh cut grass, cream, elderflower, hints of roast chicken. With water, honey, white pepper, malted grains. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, mouth coating, tingly, expands. 
Tasting:  Sour sweet. Malted grains, lemon zest, cream, elderflower, honey, grapefruit, hints of vanilla. With water, elderflower, malted grains, honey, lemon zest. 
Finish: Long. Elderflower, honey, lemon zest, cream, hints of vanilla. 

Comments: 

Malty and citrusy, with a floral elderflower note (I find this to be quite unusual). There’s a slightly meatiness to it as well, especially prominent given the high strength. Water brings out more of that floral elderflower note.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Teaninich 13yo 2012/2025

Teaninich 13yo 2012/2025

Soho Selection, Milroy’s of Soho
Single malt - North Highlands
Golden
51.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Dried apricots, pencil lead, wet stones, ice cream soda, dried mangoes, hints of white pepper. With water, magic marker, wet stones, pencil lead, dried mangoes. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, thickens slightly, expands, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Dried mangoes, wet stones, pencil l dead, white pepper, gooseberries, white grapes, hints of nutmeg. With water, cream, lemon zest, orange peel, hints of white pepper. 
Finish: Medium. Orange peel, nutmeg, gooseberries, dried apricots, wet stones. 

Comments: 

Fruity and feinty, lots of interesting layered dried fruit, but not very estery. That is, until water is added, and then the pear drops / magic marker notes come out. Very good indeed, even for a Teaninich.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Teaninich 13yo 2011/2024

Teaninich 13yo 2011/2024

Glaschu Spirits Co
Single malt - North Highlands
Amber copper
50% ABV
Dram

Nose: Malted grains, tobacco leaf, apricots, menthol, camphor, orange peel, hints of smoke. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, cool, astringent, tingly. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Malted grains, sandalwood, camphor, raisins, nutmeg, hints of orange peel. 
Finish: Medium. Oak chips, nutmeg, malted grains, raisins. 

Comments: 

Plenty of stone fruit but also a lot of bitter herbal notes such as camphor. Nutmeg is prominent, especially in the finish as is a smoky oakiness. Quite tasty whisky.

Verdict:

I like this.

Glen Ord 11yo

Glen Ord 11yo

Soho Selection, Milroys of Soho
Single malt - North Highlands
Golden
56.4% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peaches, apricots, lemon zest, sultanas, hoppy beer, honey, malted grains. With water, malted grains, apricots, peaches, honey. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, cool, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Wet stones, coffee, lemon zest, sultanas, malted grains, chicory, dark chocolate. With water, peaches, apricots, hints of sultanas. 
Finish: Medium. Coffee, chicory, malted grains, lemon zest, wet stones. 

Comments: 

Minerally with heaps of stone fruit. There’s a bitter note here is that I interpret as coffee and chicory, and water brings out even more stone fruit and much more sweetness. Good minerally finish too.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Glen Wyvis 6yo 2018/2024

Glen Wyvis 6yo 2018/2024

Official bottling
Single malt - North Highlands
Amber
60.2% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, red grapes, honey, lohan fruit, cloves, black tea, hints of molasses. With water, menthol, raisins, eucalyptus. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, hot, evaporates, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Black tea, lohan fruit, cloves, menthol, damson jam, orange peel, hints of cinnamon. With water, menthol, damson jam, eucalyptus. 
Finish: Long. Black tea, menthol, raisins, orange peel. 

Comments: 

Cask 59. A well sherried whisky, plenty of the sweet red fruit notes you’d expect, but also plenty of complexity like black tea, menthol and cloves. Surprisingly layered for such a young dram.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Brora 19yo 1981/2000

Brora 19yo 1981/2000

The Bottlers
Single malt - North Highlands
Amber
60.4% ABV
Dram

Nose: Pear drops, leather, lemon sweets, lemon zest, sea salt, menthol, honey. With water, menthol, cloves, lohan fruit, candied lemons. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, loosens, tingly, astringent. 
Tasting:  Salty sweet. Menthol, honey, wet stones, petrol exhaust, lemon sweets, cloves, orange juice, lohan fruit, hints of candied lemons. With water, lemon sweets, cloves, wet stones, candied lemons. 
Finish: Long. Wet stones, pear drops, leather, lemon sweets, honey. 

Comments: 

Cask 1077. Lemony and saline, lots of leather and even some sense of petrol exhaust for smokiness. Quite lovely. Beautiful old menthol and mineral notes too. Always a pleasure to have a Brora.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Old Pulteney 18yo 1970/1988

Old Pulteney 18yo 1970/1988

Sestante, Gordon & Macphail
Single malt - North Highlands
Golden
56% ABV
Dram

Nose: Cookie dough, sea salt, kippers, fish sauce, cardboard, chillies, wet stones. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, mouth coating, expands, cool. 
Tasting:  Salty sweet. Glue, sea salt, kippers, wet stones, pears, chillies, blue cheese, lemon zest, hints of peaches. 
Finish: Medium. Wet stones, glue, blue cheese, lemon zest, hints of pears. 

Comments: 

Lots of saline notes, as befits a coastal whisky. There’s other notes, maybe something reminiscent of rancio, like glue and blue cheese. Unusual and rather good.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Pulteney 11yo

Pulteney 11yo

Cask and Crust, Cask Trade
Single malt - North Highlands
Pale gold
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Wet stones, sour cream, lemon zest, yoghurt, white pepper, ginseng. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, thickens slightly, oily, cool. 
Tasting:  Sour bitter. Wet stones, petrichor, lemon zest, white pepper, gentian, coffee, hints of sour cream. 
Finish: Medium. Gentian, coffee, petrichor, vanilla, hints of wet stones. 

Comments: 

Cask 504182. Lots of coastal minerally notes, with an earthy after-the-rain top note. It’s rather light and airy with a lactic tang at the end. Quite bitter.

Verdict:

I like this.

Invergordon 30yo 1990/2020

Invergordon 30yo 1990/2020

#179, Maltbarn
Single grain - North Highlands
Dark gold
53.1% ABV
Dram

Nose: Vanilla, popcorn, pear drops, vanilla, peaches, apricots, white grapes. With water, popcorn, vanilla, corn syrup. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, expands, cool. 
Tasting:  Sour sweet. Peaches, pear drops, vanilla, apricots, corn syrup, rhubarb and custard sweets, white pepper. With water, popcorn, apricots, vanilla. 
Finish: Medium. White pepper, pear drops, vanilla, apricots. 

Comments: 

Very fruity and bright, it wears its age lightly. Plenty of apricots and peaches, even pear drops. Water brings out the grain - popcorn and vanilla abound.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Glen Wyvis The Drover

Glen Wyvis The Drover

Official bottling

Single malt - North Highlands
Yellow
46.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peaches, malted grains, lemon zest, malted grains, mangoes, hints of vanilla. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, tingly, cool. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Malted grains, vanilla, peaches, gooseberries, mangoes, white grapes, hints of white pepper. 
Finish: Short. Coffee, white pepper, malted grains, white grapes. 

Comments: 

Fruity and malty. There’s quite a lot of noticeable change from the early releases from this distillery, it’s improving quite a lot as the distillate gets to a stable footing.

Verdict:

I like this.

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. 

Invergordon 30yo 1994/2024

Invergordon 30yo 1994/2024

Capella, North Star Spirits
Single grain - North Highlands
Golden, hints of copper
50% ABV

Dram

Nose: Vanilla, toffee, desiccated coconut, sandalwood, wheat beer, hints of photocopy paper. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, astringent, volatile, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Salty sweet. Toffee, sea salt, salt caramel, wheat beer, raisins, dates, photocopy paper, hints of cooked rice.
Finish: Medium. Vanilla, toffee, salt caramel, dates. 

Comments: 

Very much like sticky toffee pudding, with some feinty notes underneath all that caramel. Quite intense, rich and deep, more on the salty rather than the sweet side.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Teaninich 45yo 1975/2021

Teaninich 45yo 1975/2021

Highland Laird, Bartels Rawlings International
Single malt - North Highlands
Amber gold
49.5% ABV
Dram

Nose: Pencil lead, honey, wet stones, bananas, dates, kiwifruit, dried mangoes, pomegranate molasses. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, mouth coating, turns syrupy. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Pencil lead, dried mangoes, honey, fresh baked bread, pomegranate molasses, dates, vanilla sponge, cream. 
Finish: Long. Dried mangoes, pencil lead, wet stones, fresh baked bread, vanilla sponge. 

Comments: 

Cask 14796. Fruity and complex, lots of luscious cooked and dried fruit notes. But there’s a sharp, almost metallic, hit of pencil lead, and flinty stone. It tastes mouth puckering, even though it really isn’t. Excellent whisky.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Compass Box Myths and Legends I (Balblair)

Compass Box Myths and Legends I (Balblair)

Myths and Legends, Compass Box
Single malt - North Highlands
Pale yellow 
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Pears, cream, white wine, apricots, honey, white pepper, hints of Demerara sugar. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, cool, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sour sweet. Green tea, white wine, apricots, honey, pears, malted grains, gooseberries. 
Finish: Short. Green tea, pears, honey, gooseberries, white wine. 

Comments: 

Fruity and creamy, quite sweet with a light acidity. Almost like white wine and deliciously quaffable. Smooth and slippery, especially down the throat. A dangerous session dram.

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.

Teaninich 2010 Firkin Rare

Teaninich 2010 Firkin Rare

Firkin Rare, The Firkin Whisky Co
Single malt - North Highlands
Amber, hints of red
48.9% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, strawberry jam, cloves, malted grains, damson jam, caramel, hints of dark chocolate. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, static, slippery, mouth coating.
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Brown paper, malted grains, rhubarb and custard sweets, damson jam, malted grains, black tea, cinnamon. 
Finish: Long. Black tea, cinnamon, fresh baked bread, brown paper. 

Comments: 

Cask SC65. Highly sherried, lots of very jammy things, and some bready cereal and cinnamon. It’s not got very much distillery character anymore, but it’s rather good.

Verdict:

I like this.

Wolfburn Isa

Wolfburn Isa

Official bottling
Single malt - North Highlands
Yellow 
53.4% ABV
Dram

Nose: Molasses, raisins, dark chocolate, farmyard, sea salt, toffee, fresh baked bread, petrichor. With water, raisins, farmyard, brass polish, sea salt. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, volatile, loosens, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Raisins, sea salt, damson jam, toffee, farmyard, petrichor, dark chocolate, acacia honey, hints of vanilla. With water, damson jam, honey, raisins, hints of molasses. 
Finish: Short. Cocoa nibs, acacia honey, raisins, damson jam. 

Comments: 

Sweet and juicy, but with a salty, funky farmyard note. Lots of chocolate and honey predominate, but the savoury notes underpinning them are unmistakeable. Very interesting, unbalanced and quite delicious.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Westport 18yo 2004/2022

Westport 18yo 2004/2022

Wilson & Morgan Barrel Selection, Rossi & Rossi
Single malt - North Highlands
Amber red
57.4% ABV

Dram

Nose: Leather, orange juice, orange peel, malted grains, raisins, cocoa nibs, strawberry jam. With water, orange juice, damson jam, white pepper. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, astringent, tingly, hot. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Leather, cocoa nibs, oatcakes, oak chips, wet stones, orange peel, raisins. With water, pencil lead, malted grains, raisins, wet stones. 
Finish: Long. Wet stones, oatcakes, cocoa nibs, pencil lead. 

Comments: 

Citrusy and jammy, lots of feinty notes with turn to peppery spice after a little water is added. Lots of flinty, minerally stuff on the finish too. Rather good whisky.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

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.