Mortlach Wee Witchie 12yo

Mortlach Wee Witchie 12yo

Official bottling 
Single malt - Speyside 
Amber
43.4% ABV
Dram

Nose: Malted grains, cola nuts, marmalade, tobacco leaf, raisins, hints of apple juice. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, cool, slippery, loosens. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Fresh baked bread, apple juice, raisins, vanilla sponge, malted grains, hints of tobacco leaf. 
Finish: Short. Cola nuts, lime soda, marmalade, malted grains.  

Comments: 

Malty and jammy, I found this whisky to be a bit atypical of Mortlach. There’s a punch, almost a meatiness that Mortlach has, which isn’t much in evidence here. Instead, there’s a beery base note with lots of fruit and cereal on top. It was very interesting indeed. 

Verdict:

I like this.

Glenglassaugh Octaves Classic Batch 2

Glenglassaugh Octaves Classic Batch 2

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside 
Amber, hints of red
44% ABV
Dram

Nose: Dried cranberries, chocolate, honey cake, vanilla, red grapes, hints of pomegranate molasses. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, static, cool, tingly. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Honey cake, pomegranate molasses, orange peel, chocolate, hints of coffee, hints of walnuts. 
Finish: Long. Black tea, orange peel, coffee, walnuts, dried cranberries. 

Comments: 

Sweet, fruity and luscious Glenglassaugh. Lots of sherried influence here, I enjoyed it, but thought that the wood masked the spirit. Can’t quite tell if the underlying whisky was good, bad or indifferent. But it was probably good. 

Verdict:

I like this.

Lagavulin 20yo Feis Ile 2020

Lagavulin 20yo Feis Ile 2020

Official bottling
Single malt - Islay
Amber gold
54% ABV
Dram

Nose: Honey, sea salt, leather, driftwood smoke, peat, pears, hints of cucumber. With water, sweeter, orange peel, honey, hints of ginger. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, cool, tingly, mouth coating.  
Tasting:  Sweet salty. Leather, driftwood smoke, fresh baked bread, honey, peanuts, pears, peat. With water, vanilla, oats, honey, orange peel, white grapes.
Finish: Long. Black tea, peanuts, pears, driftwood smoke, white grapes. 

Comments: 

This is glorious. Typical Lagavulin dry, salty smoke, but over a base of sweet fruity, luscious whisky. Opens up with a touch of water, turning cereally and a little spicy. Excellent, well-aged dram. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Lakes Cask Sample 2

Lakes Cask Sample 2 (possibly Lakes Quatrefoil Hope)

Official bottling
Single malt - Cumbria
Dark gold 
59% ABV
Dram

Nose: Chocolate, raisins, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, pear drops, damson jam. With water, marmalade, grape soda, cloves. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, warm, astringent, expands slightly. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Pear drops, damson jam, nutmeg, grape soda, cinnamon, fresh baked bread, cocoa nibs, hints of roast chicken. With water, grape soda, sea salt, marmalade, roast chicken.
Finish: Medium. Damson jam, nutmeg, cocoa nibs, raisins, hints of roast chicken. 

Comments: 

Another unknown sample, which I think might just possibly be the Quatrefoil Hope. This has a deeper, more savoury flavour than its sibling, same sherry monster fruit notes, but with sea salt and a meatiness thrown in. Good with a touch of water (and I don’t say that about many whiskies). 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Lakes Cask Sample 1

Lakes Cask Sample 1 (possibly Lakes Quatrefoil Collection Faith)

Official bottling 
Single malt - Cumbria
Amber
56.5% ABV?
Dram

Nose: Cinnamon, leather, vanilla ice cream, raisins, dried apricots, marmalade. With water, orange peel, brown sugar, pears.  
Mouthfeel: Light body, tingly, drying, hot. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Cinnamon, leather, Scottish tablet, shortbread, raisins, vanilla sponge, marmalade, hints of white chocolate. With water, slightly bitter, pears, black tea, hints of cucumber. 
Finish: Long. Shortbread, raisins, crumpets, butter, vanilla sponge. 

Comments: 

I wasn’t told what this was, but in terms of the official bottlings that the Lakes distillery has released, the cask aging and ABV seems closest to the Quatrefoil Faith. Anyway, it’s masterful sherry aging, lots of delicious fruit notes, but also more than a hint of cereal. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Johnett Whisky 8yo 2011/2019

Johnett Whisky 8yo 2011/2019

Official bottling
Single malt - Zug
Amber
44% ABV
Bottle

Nose: Orange peel, fennel, white grapes, malted barley, fresh cut grass, leather.  
Mouthfeel: Medium body, slippery, cool, loosens slightly. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Fresh cut grass, fennel, orange peel, fresh baked bread, cloves, hints of oregano, hints of sulphur.
Finish: Medium. Fresh cut grass, oregano, fresh baked bread, hints of vanilla. 

Comments: 

Swiss whisky, apparently named after the distiller, John Etter. Anyway, it’s rather good, with a unique herbaceous note that reminds me of something between fennel and oregano, with perhaps a hint of sage thrown in. The distillery normally makes eau de vie, and perhaps there was a little left over in the still pipes...

Verdict:

I like this.

Kyrö Release 8 Rye Whiskey

Kyrö Release 8 Rye Whiskey

Official bottling
Single rye - Southern Finland
Copper
47.2% ABV
Dram

Nose: Brown paper, black tea, vanilla ice cream, cinnamon, raisins, hints of pineapples. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, airy, cool. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Brown paper, vanilla sponge, fresh baked bread, black pepper, cinnamon, raisins, orange peel. 
Finish: Medium. Black tea, black pepper, vanilla ice cream, raisins, orange peel. 

Comments: 

I’ll be honest, I had fairly low expectations of this one. Continental European whiskies are a little hit and miss, some are the equal of Scotch, some are... well, undrinkable. This one surprised me, although perhaps if you get to Release 8 you’re probably doing something right. It’s very right indeed - sweeter than rye whisky normally is, but packed with the characteristic spicy, peppery flavour notes. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Nc’Nean Ainnir Inaugural Release 2020

Nc’Nean Ainnir Inaugural Release 2020

Official bottling 
Single malt - West Highlands
Dark gold, tinge of pink 
60.3% ABV
Dram

Nose: Fresh cut grass, sage, rhubarb and custard sweets, brass polish, lemon zest. With water, orange peel, apricots, green tea. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, hot, astringent, airy. 
Tasting:  Sour. Lemon zest, brass polish, barley sugar, fresh cut grass, malted grains, oats, hints of cocoa nibs. With water, bittersweet, walnuts, cocoa nibs, rhubarb and custard sweets. 
Finish: Medium. Cocoa nibs, rhubarb and custard sweets, lemon zest, green tea. 

Comments: 

I decided to make the Nc’Nean Ainnir my Burns Night dram. In this age of remote whisky drinking, I hadn’t had a tasting lined up, so I drank alone. The whisky seemed to suit, it was highly complex, lots of herbal flavours, at a high strength that rewarded reflection, patience, and a fair bit of water. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Ardnamurchan AD/09.20:01 2020

Ardnamurchan AD/09.20:01 2020

Official bottling
Single malt - West Highlands
Silver gold
46.8% ABV
Dram

Nose: Pineapples, cucumber, leather, peat, honeydew melons, hints of mint. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, tingly, astringent, hot.  
Tasting:  Bitter sour. Leather, peat, mint, cucumber, pineapples, white grapes, sultanas, hints of tobacco leaf. 
Finish: Long. Leather, ginseng, lemons, white grapes, mint.  

Comments: 

This is the Ardnamurchan inaugural bottling. It’s redolent of fruit, leather and peat, but the fruit combination is rather interesting, and uncommon. There’s more tropical fruit than anything else, pineapples and melon predominate, but it’s not sweet. In fact it’s rather bitter, and quite enjoyable. 

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Macallan Edition 6

Macallan Edition 6

Official bottling
Single malt - Speyside 
Dark gold
48.6% ABV
Dram

Nose: Leather, orange peel, salt caramel, dust, chocolate, raisins.  
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, airy, cool. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Raisins, chocolate, fresh baked bread, black tea, walnuts, hints of coffee, hints of cinnamon. 
Finish: Long. Raisins, fresh baked bread, vanilla sponge, dried apricots. 

Comments: 

This one is fruitier and drier than its next oldest sibling, with lots of tannins and bitterness. Again, the higher ABV does it justice. Lots of dried fruit on the finish. 

Verdict:

I like this.