Longmorn 28yo 1984/2013 (Cask 3213)

Longmorn 28yo 1984/2013 (Cask 3213)

Rare Select, Montgomerie's
Single malt - Speyside
Silvery sunshine
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, vanilla, cola nuts, apples, hints of peppermint, hints of jackfruit. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, slippery, mouth coating. 
Tasting: Sweet. Apples, raisins, jackfruit, milk, hints of brown paper. 
Finish: Long. Cream, jackfruit, peppermint, brass polish. 

Comments: 

This whisky apparently spent 28 years in a sherry cask, yet never deepened in colour beyond a silvery early dawn sunshine yellow. It tastes sherries though, plenty of fruit, even tropical fruit, yet overlaid with a strong peppermint note that lasts and lasts. Delicious.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Teeling Single Malt (2014)

Teeling Single Malt (2014)

Teeling Reserves, Teeling
Single malt - Unknown
Sunshine yellow
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, lemon zest, rhubarb and custard sweets, brass polish, lemon juice. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, static, loose, watery. 
Tasting: Sweet sour. Milk, lemon zest, rhubarb and custard sweets, cream, vanilla. 
Finish: Long. Cream, lemon zest, apples. 

Comments: 

This is probably Cooley spirit, but I can't tell from a quick Google. It's fruity and complex like Cooley though, and is a good stand-in until the Teeling distillery malt is old enough. It's bold and brassy, almost Rosebank-ey, and rather refreshing.

Verdict:

I like this.

Glenturret 28yo 1986/2015

Glenturret 28yo 1986/2015

Cask Strength, Signatory
Single malt - Central Highlands
Dark gold
51.8% ABV
Dram

Nose: Hay, chocolate, smoked ham, lemons, sour cream, hints of sea salt. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, slippery, loosens, turns watery. 
Tasting:  Sour. Lemon zest, limes, sour cream, stewed apples, hay, hints of sea salt. 
Finish: Short. Lemon zest, stewed apples, orange peel, sea salt, limes. 

Comments: 

Aged Glenturret from cask 296. It's nicely tart with some sweet fruity notes. There's a not-unpleasant thread of sour cream that runs through the whisky, along with some bracing sea air. Complicated but tasty.

Verdict:

I like this.

Imperial 20yo 1995/2016

Imperial 20 yo 1995/2016

Vintage, bottled for the Whisky Exchange, Signatory
Single malt - Speyside
Green gold
50.8% ABV
Dram

Nose: malted grains, milk, fresh cut grass, blackberry jam, plums. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, slippery, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sweet salty. Fresh cut grass, orange peel, plums, milk, hints of lemon zest. 
Finish: Short. Orange peel, cream, pomelo, malted grains. 

Comments: 

A great chance to try something from the closed Imperial distillery. This one is sweet-savoury, slightly one dimensional on first taste, but deepens into multi-layered citrus notes, grass and creamy milk. Good stuff, and there's not much of this left.

Verdict:

I like this.

Nikka Yoichi Single Malt

Nikka Yoichi Single Malt

Official bottling
Single malt - Hokkaido 
Golden
45% ABV
Dram

Nose: Chocolate, raisins, bitter gourd, coffee, hints of sandalwood. 
Mouthfeel: light body, loose, turns watery, airy. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Chocolate, custard, coffee, raisins, hints of fried eggs, hints of bitter gourd . 
Finish: Short. Malted grains, sandalwood, coffee, hints of fried eggs. 

Comments: 

My first taste of the new Japanese single malts since they ran out of the aged stock. It's different, more robust and bitter than the previous iterations of Yoichi, with a pleasing egginess, almost rubberiness, alongside fragrant bitter notes.

Verdict:

I like this.

Lg7

Lg7

Elements of Islay, Specialty Drinks Ltd
Single malt - Islay
Golden
56.8% ABV
Dram

Nose: Figs, honey, dates, apples, hints of ham. With water, char siu, soy sauce, hints of dried apples. 
Mouthfeel: Medium, turns watery, loose, airy. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Chillies, ham, figs, driftwood smoke, peat, hints of dates. With water, char siu, soy sauce, brown paper, hints of dried apples.
Finish: Long. Dates, apples, smoke, hints of ham. 

Comments: 

Lovely meaty notes, wreathed through with a little peat and a moderate amount of smoke. Gentle for an Islay, this whisky has a complex flavour profile. Very savoury nose, yet floral and sweet on the tongue, then deepens into a smoky syrupy sweet finish.

Verdict:

I like this.

Kilkerran 12 yo

Kilkerran 12 yo 

Official bottling
Single malt - Campbeltown
Golden
46% ABV
Dram

Nose: Malted grains, driftwood smoke, raisins, honey. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, static, tingly, slightly astringent . 
Tasting:  Sweet salty. Honey, raisins, driftwood smoke, lemon zest, hints of fish sauce. 
Finish: Medium. Malted grains, honey, apples, hints of walnuts. 

Comments: 

Glengyle's latest Kilkerran. I tasted a number of the Works in Progress expressions, and I do think that the finished work didn't quite fulfil their promise. Don't get me wrong, this is still good whisky, slightly smoky and sweet, but in the end, it turned out, well, a bit Springbank-ey, perhaps a bit lighter. It's a decent enough dram, and a good start.

Verdict:

I like this.

St Magdalene 18 yo 1981/1999

St Magdalene 18 yo 1981/1999

Connoisseur's Choice, Gordon & Macphail
Single malt - Lowlands
Green gold
40% ABV
Dram

Nose: Fresh cut grass, honey, dates, orange peel, hints of apples. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, watery, loose, airy. 
Tasting:  Sweet sour. Honey, orange juice, lemon zest, hay, hints of rhubarb and custard sweets. 
Finish: Short. Malted grains, honey, orange juice, lemon zest. 

Comments: 

The evening's blessings continue! Again, felt very lucky to have the change to try this increasingly rare malt. This one didn't quite live up to its hype though, although it was still very decent. Freshly herbal, and nicely scented with fruit, even after a long period of bottle aging, even longer than it spent in the cask.

Verdict:

I like this.

Glen Ord 23 yo 1974/1997 Rare Malts

Glen Ord 23 yo 1974/1997 Rare Malts 

Rare Malts, Diageo
Single malt - North Highlands
Pale gold
60.8% ABV
Dram

Nose: Honey, photocopy paper, papaya, vanilla, hints of strawberries. With water, mangoes, strawberry jam, hints of palm sugar. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, slippery, loose, evaporates. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Papaya, preserved guava, honey, strawberries, fresh cut grass, hints of brown paper. With water, mangoes, palm sugar, burnt caramel.
Finish: Long. Papaya, fresh cut grass, guava, vanilla. 

Comments: 

Wow! Felt truly blessed to be able to obtain a wee dram of this amazing whisky. It was complex and sweet, redolent with tropical fruits. It was even better with water, with the fruity notes deepening into jammy notes, and scarily drinkable even though I daren't add too much.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.

Glenallachie 2009 cask #900031

Glenallachie 2009 cask #900031

Samaroli
Single malt - Speyside
Silvery
43% ABV
Dram

Nose: Pear drops, elderflower, vanilla, malted grains, hints of peanuts. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loose, thickens, slightly astringent. 
Tasting:  Sour. Vanilla, pears, custard, peanuts, hints of white peaches. 
Finish: Short. Custard, orange peel, sponge cake, hints of elderflower. 

Comments: 

Upon pouring this into a glass, it instantly turned cloudy. I normally don't write about a whisky's legs, but these were wide and thick, despite the low ABV. It was estery and delicious too, even slightly nutty around the edges. Impressively eggy on the tongue, like quaffing custard.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.