Old Ballantruan

Old Ballantruan

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside
Pale buttercups
50% ABV
Sampler

Nose: Smoke, peat, sherry, white wine, butter, soy sauce, hints of roast chicken, hints of mint.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, slippery, thickens, smooth.
Tasting: Sweet salty. Butter, smoke, white grapes, peat, walnuts, soy sauce, apricots, hints of mint.
Finish: Long. Walnut skins, peat, apricots, new plastic.

Comments:

Bottled at around 5 or 6 years old, apparently. Peaty, smoky, yet slightly fruity with some meaty notes. Peated Speyside is still pretty unusual, especially in official bottlings. Tastes like a light, young Caol Ila, but not quite. Very good, takes no prisoners (or water).

Verdict:

I like this.

SMWS 13.40 (Dalmore 11 yo 1996/2008)

SMWS 13.40 (Dalmore 11 yo 1996/2008)

2008, SMWS
Single malt - North Highlands
Orange brown
62.6% ABV
Dram

Nose: Toffee, rubber, caramel, new plastic, sponge cake, molasses, vanilla, cream, hints of chillies. With water, sweeter, freshly baked cake, toast, chocolate.
Mouthfeel: Light body, thickens, tingly, harsh, astringent.
Tasting:Sweet sour. Toffee, rubber, sponge cake, raisins, caramel, vanilla, orange peel, leather, hints of brown paper. With water, chocolate, toast, nutmeg.
Finish: Short. Orange peel, vanilla, sponge cake, molasses.

Comments:

Surprisingly loose. The dark colour suggests thick, sweet, heavy whisky, but this one isn't like that at all. There are some typical Dalmore, rubbery, sulphury flavours when neat, but with water, it opens up into chocolatey, sweet, spicy notes.

Verdict:

I like this.

SMWS 22.28 (Glenkinchie 21 yo 1987/2009)

SMWS 22.28 (Glenkinchie 21 yo 1987/2009)

2010, SMWS
Single malt - Lowlands
Pale pink gold
54% ABV
Dram

Nose: Green apples, lemons, lychees, custard apples, vanilla, raspberries, hints of roses.
Mouthfeel: Light body, thickens, astringent, tingly.
Tasting: Sweet sour. Lychees, cornflakes, vanilla, honey, custard apples, raspberries, hints of mango.
Finish: Medium. Chillies, cornflakes, honey, lychees.

Comments:

Thanks to Anne Lise for the big dram! Fruity and light, lots of flavour. Released a little early in the year - this is a very very decent summer whisky. An excellent alternative to Rosebank (my traditional summer dram).

Verdict:

I like this.

Old Fettercairn 10 yo

Old Fettercairn 10 yo

Official bottling
Single malt - East Highlands
Golden
43% ABV
Dram (a very, very small one)

Nose: Raisins, mint, vanilla, toast, sponge cake, glace cherries, lemons.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, cool, thickens, slightly tingly.
Tasting: Bitter sweet. Raisins, photocopy paper, mint, vanilla, sponge cake, oak, hints of sawdust.
Finish: Short. Raisins, sponge cake, oak, mint, toast.

Comments:

A small drop from "the smallest bottle of whisky in the world". As such, it is about half a mouthful, but enough, I think, to write a useful tasting note. It's remarkably like Christmas fruitcake, lots of dried fruit, vanilla, and an eggy French toast sort of flavour. It doesn't hang around in the mouth long - drinking this took about two seconds! And I miss it already...

Verdict:

I like this.

SMWS 99.11 (Glenugie 29 yo 1980/2010)

SMWS 99.11 (Glenugie 29 yo 1980/2010)

2010, SMWS
Single malt - Eastern Highlands
Yellow gold
43.4% ABV
Dram

Nose: Butter, lemons, oranges, grass, honey, dragon fruit, kiwifruit. With water, sweeter, lighter, more honey and vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Light body, tingly, thickens, smooth.
Tasting: Sour. Lemons, oranges, grass, wet stones, honey, kiwi fruit, hints of mango. With water, more honey, vanilla appears, more dragon fruit, lychees.
Finish: Short. Vanilla, honey, grass, lemons, wet stones.

Comments:

Light and refreshing, very flavourful. Lots of different kinds of tropical fruits seem to burst in every mouthful. The whisky tastes delicate, but there's a sort of flinty hard edge to it. Unfortunately, it doesn't take water well, and it changes a lot after about 10 minutes. The fruit seems to oxidise, coming stale and cardboardy. Great while it lasts though.

Verdict:

Not bad.

SMWS 119.12 (Yamazaki 16 yo 1992/2009)

SMWS 119.12 (Yamazaki 16 yo 1992/2009)

2009, SMWS
Single malt - West Honshu
Amber
54% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, caramel, rum, burnt rubber, brown paper, cedar, quince jelly, hints of fish sauce.
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, tingly, astringent, thick.
Tasting: Sweet. Raisins, rum, brown paper, roast pork, chillies, quince jelly, hints of fish sauce.
Finish: Long. Sweet, palm sugar, chillies.

Comments:

Many thanks to Jonathan and Darren for this sample. Matured in 3rd fill (?) sherry butt made from Japanese oak - a very unusual maturation that I've never seen before. The batch of bottles was released in Japan only, but the SMWS London venue got a few. Heavy and sweet, but still savoury like most Yamazakis, the whisky nevertheless tastes distinctly like rum - not like rum-cask matured whisky, but like rum!

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

SMWS 105.13 (Tormore 26 yo 1983/2010)

SMWS 105.13 (Tormore 26 yo 1983/2010)

2010, SMWS
Single malt - Speyside
Brown, tinge of ochre
56% ABV
Dram

Nose: Molasses, cherries, coca cola, palm sugar, chocolate, oranges, hints of tar.
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, syrupy, tingly, cool.
Tasting: Sweet salty. Molasses, cherries, chocolate, oranges, new plastic, palm sugar, chillies. With water, saltier, roast chicken, honey notes appear.
Finish: Long. Tobacco leaf, new plastic, cherries, molasses. With water, it turns less chemical, but saltier, brinier, with big notes of roast chicken.

Comments:

There's a chemical tang to this whisky, a sort of formica-like, new plastic wrap smell. I can never decide whether or not I like this flavour element, but it's present in some sherried whiskies, some of which I like and some of which I don't. Here it detracts from the whisky, but this Tormore is still pretty awesome, especially with water, when the glorious roast chicken notes appear.

Verdict:

I like this.

Old Pulteney 8 yo

Old Pulteney 8 yo

Distillery Labels, Gordon & Macphail
Single malt - North Highlands
Dark gold
40% ABV
Sampler

Nose: Raisins, chocolate, peat, brine, salt caramel, iodine, tobacco leaf.
Mouthfeel: Light body, thickens, slippery.
Tasting: Sweet salty. Brown paper, raisins, chocolate, salt caramel, honey, iodine, hints of tobacco leaf.
Finish: Long. Chillies, raisins, chocolate, iodine, brine.

Comments:

Sweeter and less subtle than the official Old Pulteneys. However, there's a big chemical hit of what tastes like antiseptic iodine solution, followed by brandy-like notes of brown paper and raisins. It's young, but it's complex, robust and packs a punch. Definitely hits the right buttons.

Verdict:

I like this.

Bailie Nicol Jarvie

Bailie Nicol Jarvie

Official bottling
Blended malt
Dull gold
40% ABV
Sampler

Nose: Raisins, oats, butter, honey, vanilla, lemon zest, hints of peat, hints of tobacco leaf.
Mouthfeel: Medium body, smooth, slippery, static.
Tasting: Sweet salty. Honey, raisins, oats, butter, smoke, lemon zest, walnuts, hints of vanilla, hints of tobacco.
Finish: Short. Walnuts, raisins, butter, lemon zest.

Comments:

8 years old. Tasty, with lots of sweet fruit and slight hints of smoke and peat. There's quite a lot of malt in this, with the soft rounded vanilla-flavoured grain not really in evidence. The finish is very short and light, not bitter at all as I expected. A pleasant dram, although slightly lacking in complexity. Relaxing whisky.

Verdict:

I like this.

Yamazaki Distillery

Yamazaki Distillery
5-2-1 Yamazaki
Shimamoto-cho, Mishima-gun
Osaka
Japan

West Honshu, Japan - Active

Flavour profile

Yamazaki whisky is rich, thick, and usually brings together very different flavour elements. The distillery can produce spirit of markedly different styles from its 12 stills, and this diversity of flavours is reflected in the Wordle below. Even so, there are some characteristics that can be picked out quite easily - raisins and peat predominate, followed by sweet-savoury notes of orange peel, roast pork, ginger, palm sugar and... burnt rubber?

The last, chemical, slightly harsh flavour actually represents a family of tastes that are quite subtle, but present in Yamazaki whisky (at least the 4 I have written tasting notes on). These flavours are represented in the Wordle by pepper, ginseng, cayenne pepper, bitter melon and fish sauce - bitter, savoury flavours. I do feel that every time I taste a Yamazaki (even one I have tasted before) I find a new and unusual flavour to add to the list. Yamazaki whisky is complex, subtle, and unusual. Oh yes, and delicious too.


All the Yamazakis I've tasted so far are here.

SMWS 119.10 -very good
Yamazaki 10 yo - good
Yamazaki 18 yo - very good
Yamazaki 12 yo - good

Distillery history

The distillery is the first whisky distillery to be established in Japan. It was established in 1923 by Shinjiro Torii, a wine maker, as part of Torii Shoten, a canned goods and liquor business founded in 1899 that would eventually become Suntory. The distillery has 12 stills (6 linked pairs) of different shapes, and can produce several different styles of spirit.

Yamazaki single malt first became available in 1984. There are fairly widely available official bottlings available aged 10, 12, 18 and 25 years old. In addition there are the rare 25 and 30 year old official bottlings, and a number of vintage, specially aged expressions. Independently bottled Yamazaki isn't common, but does exist.

Potted distillery facts

Water source: Rikyu-no-Mizu, natural spring near the distillery on Mount Tennozan
Washbacks: Douglas fir and stainless steel
Wash stills: Six, differently shaped.
Spirit stills: Six, differently shaped.
Spirit still Lyne arm: Pair 1 - slanted sharply downward
Production per year: approximately 3,500,000 litres

- courtesy of Google, compiled by Red Hare late at night