Orkney 14yo 2004/2019

Orkney 14yo 2004/2019

Artful Dodger Whisky Collective, Woolf Sung
Single malt - Islands
Dark gold
58.8% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, peat, honey, cinnamon, sandalwood, leather, hints of driftwood smoke. With water, honey, peat, orange juice. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, volatile, hot. 
Tasting:  Salty sweet. Sea salt, honey, cinnamon, driftwood smoke, leather, hints of marmite. With water, sweeter, hay, orange zest, honey. 
Finish: Long. Peat, honey, leather, lemon zest, hints of marmite. 

Comments: 

Cask 18. I think this is most definitely Highland Park. I recognise the leathery, sweet honey notes. This is rather salty on the tongue, the smoke is dry and laden with marine flavours. There is something yeasty on the tongue too. With water, it relaxes, becoming sweeter and more herbal. Another magnificent expression from this remarkable bottler.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Irish Single Malt #1 13yo Batch 3

Irish Single Malt #1 13yo Batch 3

That Boutique-y Whisky Company, Master of Malt
Single malt - Northern Ireland
Sunshine yellow
48.4% ABV
Dram

Nose: Lemon juice, mangoes, cedar, white grapes, hints of pears. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, slightly astringent, slightly tingly. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Lemon juice, lime zest, cedar, white grapes, pear drops, hints of cinnamon. 
Finish: Short. White grapes, fresh cut grass, hay, lemon juice. 

Comments: 

I believe this is Bushmills. It's got the white grape notes, slightly herbal, that I associate with the distillery. Sometimes this is rather appley, but for this expression, it's most definitely white grapes. It's also grassy and spicy, rather good, actually.

Verdict:

I like this.

Stronachie 10yo Small Batch Release

Stronachie 10yo Small Batch Release

Stronachie, AD Rattray
Single malt - Speyside
Silvery gold
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Leather, lemon zest, heather honey, mint, hints of chocolate. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, tingly, loosens, cool. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Chocolate, leather, mint, raisins, vanilla, heather honey. 
Finish: Short. Sea salt, honey, mint, raisins, nutmeg. 

Comments: 

This is Benrinnes spirit. It's decent at 43%, lots of honey and chocolate. Salt and leather notes add some complexity, and make it interesting. Otherwise, it's a rather simple, mild dram, easy to start with. Breakfast whisky.

Verdict:

I like this.

JP Wiser 35yo

JP Wiser 35yo

Official bottling
Single malt - Ontario
Amber
50% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, vanilla, oak, cinnamon, cloves, hints of cedar. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, slippery, loosens, slightly airy. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Raisins, cedar, cloves, cinnamon, white pepper. 
Finish: Medium. White pepper, cloves, raisins, orange, hints of marmalade. 

Comments: 

Essentially, old Lot 40. Thanks for the dram, Eduardo. There's some rye in the mashbill, and it's responsible for the waves of spicy sweetness. This obscures the raisins and the jam, as well as the woody notes in the third layer. Great stuff, but I thought for the age it ought to have developed more complexity.

Verdict:

I like this.

Laphroaig 20yo 1996 Masterpiece

Laphroaig 20yo 1996 Masterpiece

Masterpieces, Specialty Drinks Ltd
Single malt - Islay
Mahogany
50.6% ABV
Dram

Nose: Smoked bacon, leather, red grapes, raisins, driftwood smoke, sage, hints of peat. With water, sweeter, strawberry jam, smoke, raisins. 
Mouthfeel: Medium, slippery, cool, slightly astringent. 
Tasting:  Bitter salty. Red grapes, driftwood smoke, leather, peat, raisins, hints of damson jam. With water, plums, damson jam, smoke, strawberry jam, sage, seaweed. 
Finish: Long. Damson jam, raisins, peat, smoked bacon. 

Comments: 

I've long wanted to try a Masterpiece, one of those legendary bottlings by Sukhinder Singh of the Whisky Exchange. This one, sherry finished Laphroaig, was bottled in 2016. There's that Laphroaig herbal seaweed of course, tempered by rather dry salty smoke and heaps of peat. But there's extra layers of sweet, jammy notes from the sherry cask, and alluring savoury notes of sage and bacon. So complex, so much to find.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

North British 55yo 1962/2018

North British 55yo 1962/2018

Extra Old Particular, Douglas Laing
Single grain - Lowlands
Amber
45.4% ABV
Dram

Nose: Vanilla, shortbread, raisins, caramel, toffee apples, hints of sea salt. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, slippery, loose, warms slightly. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Shortbread, ink, chocolate, leather, toffee, raisins, hints of desiccated coconut. 
Finish: Short. Vanilla, raisins, pear drops, shortbread. 

Comments: 

Cask DL12398. "What's the oldest whisky you've ever had?" Well, something distilled in the 1930s, but it was bottled way before it reached 55 years old. This was something special. It's grain, so it's got fewer layers than malt, but what there is, is magnificent. I loved the slightly bitter, even metallic notes on the tongue alongside the lighter coconut and toffee flavours..

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Green Spot Single Cask 26yo 1991/2018

Green Spot Single Cask 26yo 1991/2018

Official bottling, for the Whisky Exchange
Single malt - Southern Ireland
Dark amber
55.7% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, red grapes, black tea, plum pudding, honey, lime zest. With water, lime curd, honey, cocoa, raisins. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, slippery, cool. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Cucumber, red grapes, plums, chocolate, honey, hints of lime juice. With water, sweeter, raisins, blackberry jam, cocoa, honeydew melons. 
Finish: Long. Lemon zest, lime zest, chocolate, honey, raisins. 

Comments: 

Cask 50776. I like wine-finished Green Spot. The whisky just seems to take wine finishing very well, and you can often taste the wine in the whisky. No, I'm not really a purist. This particular one was aged in bourbon, then sherry, then finished in Marsala casks for a couple of years (!). It shows - there's sweet plum pudding and blackberry jam, even chocolate, but there's also quite a lot of citrus underneath. Marvellous stuff.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Glendronach 10yo Port Wood

Glendronach 10yo Port Wood

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Copper red
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Orange juice, leather, honey, red grapes, cucumber, jasmine, hints of green tea. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, slippery, cool. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Chocolate, red grapes, toffee, honey, vanilla, hints of marmalade. 
Finish: Medium. Chocolate, coffee, green tea, toffee, hints of ginseng. 

Comments: 

A rather sweet expression, new-ish. I've been told that this wouldn't suit me, and there's some truth in that. There's less of that layered complexity that I tend to find in Glendronach, but it's still there - some vegetal and floral notes, plus a lot of chocolate, and a rather bitter finish.

Verdict:

Not bad.

Westward Whiskey

Westward Whiskey

Official bottling
Single malt - Oregon
Copper
45% ABV
Dram

Nose: Birch wood, raisins, orange zest, vanilla, cinnamon, hints of iron filings. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, slippery, loose, cool. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Raisins, strawberry jam, cinnamon, black tea, hints of cloves. 
Finish: Long. Iron filings, black tea, strawberry jam, vanilla. 

Comments: 

There's perhaps a touch of rye in this, it's very spicy, but not with warm spice. It's something metallic draped in a cloak of spicy, sweet jammy notes. A rather good effort.

Verdict:

I like this.

Deanston Virgin Oak

Deanston Virgin Oak

Official bottling
Single malt - Central Highlands
Pale amber
46.3% ABV
Dram

Nose: Rhubarb and custard sweets, honey, green tea, cola nuts, hints of milk chocolate. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, slippery, loosens, airy. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Green tea, vanilla, raisins, nutmeg, cola nuts, hints of milk chocolate. 
Finish: Medium. Green tea, cola nuts, milk chocolate, orange zest. 

Comments: 

Sweet and tannic, plenty of chocolate. It's rather run of the mill though, pleasant, drinkable, but no more. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it, but there's little special about it either.

Verdict:

I like this.