Bluegrass Distillers Bourbon Toasted Oak

Bluegrass Distillers Bourbon Toasted Oak

Official bottling
Single bourbon - Kentucky
Amber red
50% ABV
Dram

Nose: Oats, porridge, vanilla, salt caramel, white pepper, cinnamon. 

Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, cool, astringent. 
Tasting:  Sweet salty. Vanilla, salt caramel, toffee, blackcurrant cordial, white pepper, cinnamon, hints of cloves. 
Finish: Short. Cola nuts, vanilla, blackcurrant cordial, cloves. 

Comments: 

Decent bourbon, quite cereally. Plenty of vanilla and Ribena flavours. Overall a promising dram from quite a young distillery.

Verdict:

I like this.

Bluegrass Distillers Straight Rye Whiskey

Bluegrass Distillers Straight Rye Whiskey

Official bottling 
Single rye - Kentucky
Amber red
55% ABV
Dram

Nose: Black pepper, rye bread, vanilla, cloves, honey, strawberry jam. With water, rye bread, apricots, magic marker. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, loosens, tingly, warm. 
Tasting:  Sour sweet. Apricots, strawberry jam, fresh baked bread, magic marker, rye bread, black pepper. With water, apricots, rye bread, magic marker. 
Finish: Long. Apricots, strawberry jam, magic marker, black pepper. 

Comments: 

New micro distillery in Kentucky. The rye is quite good, lots of nice black pepper notes, plus you can really taste the grain. It’s estery and fruity as well.

Verdict:

I like this.

The Whistler - The Good, The Bad, The Smoky

The Whistler - The Good, The Bad, The Smoky

Official bottling 
Single blend - Leinster
Copper gold
48% ABV
Dram

Nose: White wine, diesel exhaust, white grapes, apricots, peanuts, vanilla. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, thickens, oily, syrupy. 
Tasting:  Sour. White wine, lemon juice, vanilla, peat, diesel exhaust, soot, smoke, cream. 
Finish: Short. White wine, wet stones, pencil lead, diesel exhaust. 

Comments: 

Just a little smoky, and it’s not bad at all. Quite layered, lots of distinct tasting notes, mostly white wine and wet stones, it’s very gentle and welcoming as a peated dram.

Verdict:

I like this.

Caol Ila 8yo Bourbon Cask

Caol Ila 8yo Bourbon Cask

Collector Series, Caskshare 
Single malt - Islay
Pale silver yellow
60.8% ABV
Dram

Nose: Peanuts, peat, yoghurt, lemon juice, tobacco leaf, soy sauce, hints of sour cream. With water, sea salt, sour cream, peat, hints of smoke. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, astringent, tingly. 
Tasting:  Bitter. Peat, pears, lemon juice, soy sauce, ginseng, black pepper, hints of smoke, hints of grapefruit. With water, sour cream, lemon juice, peat, hints of yoghurt. 
Finish: Short. Farmyard, diesel exhaust, black pepper, ginseng, peat. 

Comments: 

Cask CA.16.01. A gentle, not very smoky Caol Ila, with plenty of peat, lactic notes and citrus notes. Not quite as salty as some others I’ve had, but a decent dram nonetheless.

Verdict:

I like this.

Agitator Swedish Four Grain Whisky Ex White Port Cask

Agitator Swedish Four Grain Whisky Ex White Port Cask

Collector Series, Caskshare 
Single grain - Västmanland
Amber
58.6% ABV
Dram

Nose: Lemon juice, white pepper, rye bread, peppermint malted grains, roast chicken, hints of rosemary. With water, rye bread, petrol exhaust, roast chicken, sultanas. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, thickens, tingly, cool. 
Tasting:  Salty sour. Peppermint, rosemary, rye bread, caraway seed, petrol exhaust, white pepper, hints of roast chicken. With water, rye bread, caraway seed, peppermint, hints of chocolate. 
Finish: Medium. Farmyard, lemon juice, petrol exhaust, caraway seed. 

Comments: 

Cask 4067. There’s quite a lot of different grains in this whisky, making for a jumble of odd notes that don’t normally go together. But it’s pretty interesting, and I’d like to drink more from this distiller.  

Verdict:

I like this.

Craigellachie 21yo Ex PX Sherry Cask

Craigellachie 21yo Ex PX Sherry Cask

Collector Series, Caskshare
Single malt - Speyside
Amber brown 
58.7% ABV
Dram

Nose: Raisins, damson jam, black tea, chocolate, malted grains, candle wax, hints of roast beef. With water, cream, strawberries, magic marker, damson jam. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, oily, mouth coating, expands. 
Tasting:  Sweet. Damson jam, strawberries, malted grains, raisins, black pepper, roast beef, coffee. With water, raisins, cream, fresh baked bread, hints of peppermint. 
Finish: Medium. Black tea, malted grains, peppermint, candle wax. 

Comments: 

Cask CR.03.01. Very sweet and more-ish, with a meaty savoury sweetness. Heaps of waxiness on the nose and on the finish as well, this ought to be from the cask, but I can’t think of what wood might do this. Interesting and good.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Auchroisk 12yo Oloroso Cask

Auchroisk 12yo Oloroso Cask

Collector Series, Caskshare
Single malt - Speyside 
Amber gold 
59% ABV
Dram

Nose: Toffee, cream, vanilla custard, malted grains, orange peel, milk chocolate. With water, white grapes, strawberry jam, malted grains, hints of black tea. 
Mouthfeel: Heavy body, oily, syrupy, hot. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. White grapes, orange peel, malted grains, black tea, cream, hints of coffee. With water, white grapes, strawberry jam, black pepper, hints of orange peel. 
Finish: Medium. Milk chocolate, cream, orange peel, white grapes, hints of coffee. 

Comments: 

Cask 22074024. Creamy and sweet, and with a notable lactic note (but not sour, like yoghurt). Lots of jammy fruit and pepper. I don’t normally comment on the mouthfeel, but this whisky is notably oily and heavy.

Verdict:

I like this.

Benrinnes 12yo Oloroso Cask

Benrinnes 12yo Oloroso Cask

Collector Series, Caskshare
Single malt - Speyside
Amber gold
55.7% ABV
Dram

Nose: Wet stones, black tea, brown paper, black pepper, coconut cream, raisins, barley sugar. With water, barley sugar, black tea, malted grains. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, astringent, tingly, mouth coating. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Malted grains, black pepper, butterscotch, coconut cream, black tea, hints of coffee. With water, black tea, malted grains, coffee, hints of butterscotch. 

Finish: Long. Malted grains, barley sugar, fresh baked bread, butterscotch, black pepper. 

Comments: 

Cask 11875/082. Feinty and spicy, lots of barley sugar and malt. There’s also something oddly like coconut cream, something I associate more with grain whisky. Interesting and unusual.

Verdict:

I like this.

Oban 20yo 1984/2004 (2004 Special Releases)

Oban 20yo 1984/2004 (2004 Special Releases)

Official bottling
Single malt - West Highlands 
Very pale gold
57.9% ABV
Dram

Nose: Green tea, grapefruit, lemon juice, yoghurt, sea salt, white grapes, malted grains. With water, green tea, white grapes, malted grains, wet stones. 
Mouthfeel: Light body, loosens, tingly, cool. 
Tasting:  Bitter sour. Fresh cut grass, grapefruit, white pepper, green tea, leather, wet stones, pencil lead, hints of yoghurt. With water, wet stones, grapefruit, pencil lead, lemon juice. 
Finish: Short. Sea salt, lemon juice, leather, wet stones. 

Comments: 

Excellent, feinty, lots of minerally goodness, but this time with a lot of citrus and green tea. I love these complex, slightly saline whiskies.

Verdict:

I like this a lot. 

Oban 26yo 1996/2022 Prima and Ultima

Oban 26yo 1996/2022 Prima and Última

Official bottling
Single malt - West Highlands
Golden brown 
55.2% ABV
Dram

Nose: Black tea, toffee, autumn leaves, wet stones, grapefruit, sea salt, hints of roast chicken. With water, toffee, grapefruit, candle wax, hints of roast chicken. 
Mouthfeel: Medium body, astringent, mouth coating, loosens slightly. 
Tasting:  Bitter sweet. Grapefruit, bay leaves, autumn leaves, sea salt, camphor, ginseng, lemon juice, hints of raisins, hints of toffee. With water, malted grains, bay leaves, lemon juice, hints of raisins. 
Finish: Medium. Bay leaves, lemon juice, sea salt, raisins. 

Comments: 

Layered fruity, feinty, mineral and very, very complex. Stuff makes it into the Prima and Última range for a reason, and this whisky fully deserves its place. Top 1% stuff.

Verdict:

I like this a lot.