Review: Oban Little Bay

Posted on 29th Jul 2015 by Steve Prentice

Oban Little Bay – 43% abv

Info: Oban in Gaelic means ‘little bay’, and this release forms a new member of the core family of Oban’s whiskies. It’s made from a range of different ages of whisky which have been matured in three types of casks… European oak ex-sherry casks, re-fill casks with new oak cask ends, and re-fill American oak hogsheads. These have then been combined and married in small oak casks for a short period of time to allow integration of flavours.
Colour: Orangey gold. Looks a little caramelly but who knows.
Nose: All sort of flavours; orange (and candied orange peel), spice, malt, caramel toffee, salt, smouldering hints of smoke, and touches of coffee grouts along with green apples and chocolate hints. In many respects, the regular house style of Oban, but a little mixed up.
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Review: Benromach 10yo and 15yo

Posted on 6th Jul 2015 by Steve Prentice

A wee twitter tasting of Benromach is in the offing as I write this, and here’s my thoughts and tasting notes from the evening!

First a little info… Benromach has been making whisky since 1898 using spring water from the nearby Romach Hills. After being bought by Gordon & MacPhail in 1993, the Benromach Distillery was restored & reopened in 1998. Since reopening the distillery has gained a reputation for producing an innovative range of distinctive Speyside whiskies with pre-1960s character. Benromach uses locally grown barley which is malted with a little peat smoke.

On to my notes…

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Review: Compass Box’s Hedonism Quindecimus

Posted on 15th Jun 2015 by Steve Prentice

Hedonism Quindecimus – Compass Box – 46% abv

Info: This limited edition blended grain scotch whisky release from Compass Box was created in celebration of the 15th anniversary of their Hedonism blended grain whisky (which was their first bottling!). Made with a selection of grain whiskies of various ages from a number of different distilleries.
Colour: Bright light golden, nice and natural.
Nose: Similar to the colour suggestion, it starts off light and bright, but soon backed up by layers of nicely aged grain… there’s oak notes and hints of old leather. It takes a moment for the lighter alcohol vapours to evaporate leaving a smooth, buttery, rich nose behind with plenty of nuttiness and some minty hints.
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Review: Highland Park Dark Origins (vs 12yo)

Posted on 5th Jun 2015 by Steve Prentice

Highland Park Dark Origins 46.8 %

Notes: This latest addition to the core expressions uses twice as many first fill sherry casks than in the classic Highland Park 12 year old resulting in a naturally darker, richer flavour. Dark Origins is a combination of 80% first fill sherry casks (of which 60% is European oak and 20% American) and 20% refill sherry.

Colour: Rich early autumn gold.
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Review: Jura Tastival 2015

Posted on 29th May 2015 by Steve Prentice

Jura Tastival Feis Ile 2015

Info: Distilled in 1997 and bottled in 2015, i.e. 18 years old. Matured in sparkling wine casks sourced from the House of Bouvet Ladubay in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France, and bottled at cask strength. Natural colour, non chill-filtered. 52% abv. 3970 bottles.
Colour: A medium to full gold with hints of orange.
Nose: Light and oaky, sweet and fruity. Sweet stewed early autumn apples with a dollop of vanilla custard, redcurrants on top. Undertones of satsumas. Hints of milk chocolate and toffee (Cadbury Eclairs). Lots of great flavours, give it some time and keep on nosing it, it gets better and better.
Palate: Nice and thick on the palate, fairly oily. At first really easy with spices slowly building. The toffee chocolate notes are at the fore, maybe because of the thickness. Behind is the stewed fruits and oaks with Jura character underlying it all.
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Review: Ardbeg Perpetuum

Posted on 21st May 2015 by Steve Prentice

Ardbeg Perpetuum (the main release, not the distillery release) – 47.4% abv

Info: Ardbeg’s Feis Ile release for 2015. No-age-statement release made up of “very old and very young” Ardbeg whiskies aged in both Bourbon and Sherry casks.
Colour: Light summer straw. A very natural colour, good to see.
Nose: Peaty, buttery malt. There’s peat and smoke, but the smoke is held back a wee bit. The malt isn’t that new make malt you sometimes get in a young spirit, but the sort of raw malt smell you get when you’re visiting a distillery, it’s great stuff, very evocative, but dissipates with time. There’s enough alcohol to tickle your nose nicely. Behind it all is some of the older malt that’s in the blend which gives it a little ripe tropical banana smell. Very gentle back notes of oak.
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Review: Laphroaig 14yo – Douglas Laing’s Old Particular Feis Ile 2015

Posted on 20th May 2015 by Steve Prentice

Laphroaig 14 year old – Douglas Laing’s Old Particular – Feis Ile 2015 edition – 48.4% abv

Info: This is 14 years old, 48.4% abv. It’s a single cask refill butt DL10694 yielding 636 bottles.
Colour: Bright golden straw.
Nose: It’s got a good peaty nose with a slight tcp edge, but it’s sweet enough, quite summer fruity beneath it all.
Palate: Fairly thick oils, sweet & rich. Earthy peat and tcp – slightly more gentle than official bottles maybe, I prefer this, a nice abv level. A slight floralness lingers.
Finish: Long and gentle with a peat reek finish. Fresher oak notes hang around, along with a slight costalness.
Thoughts: Better than the official bottlings in my opinion, easier to dram with even at the higher ABV. Nice work. No water needed.
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Review: Glenturret 1986 Single Cask (vs. Commonwealth Games Edition)

Posted on 19th May 2015 by Steve Prentice

Glenturret 1986 Exclusive Single Cask Edition – 47.1% abv

Info: Dubbed ‘The Brock Malloy Edition’, this is a single cask (number 328) which produced 240 bottles and was distilled in 1986, making it 28 years old. More info on SWB here.
Colour: A full late summer gold with hints of orange.
Nose: Beautiful and old. There’s a fruit salad of ripe tropical fruits all presented in an old oak bowl. The oak notes are subtle but add a nice elegant base note throughout. There’s a milk chocolate note that kicks in after a few minutes, along with toffee, making me think of Cadburys Eclairs. There’s also notes of soft sweet red apples. It’s a balanced and graceful nose.
Palate: Thick and fairly luscious. It’s smooth and easily introduced, however there’s enough abv and pinches of spice to let you know it’s a dram that means business and isn’t just going to be underwhelming. Continue reading →

Review: Balvenie 15 Year Old Single Cask

Posted on 11th May 2015 by Steve Prentice

Balvenie 15yo Single Cask – 47.8% abv

Info: Cask 16293, a single barrel sherry cask.
Colour: Bright & clear golden with some orange tints.
Extra: Oily thick legs that slowly run down the glass.
Nose: Malty, nutty and deep, there’s layers of great flavours here to explore. Some toffee and butter cream along with a small bowl full of autumnal stewed fruits. Hints of spicy oak wood.
Palate: Fairly thick but also sprightly on your tongue. There’s enough spices to keep it on it’s toes, but it’s quite accessible and easy to drink with layers of sweet malt and fruits followed up with honey, cream and gentle oak notes at the back. There are touches of cask char that build towards the end of the palate to give a very slight smoky hint.
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Review: Bowmore 17 Year Old (SMWS 3.243)

Posted on 9th May 2015 by Steve Prentice

Bowmore 17yo – SMWS 3.243 – 57.1% abv

Info: The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) have joined with Islay House for their first Feis Ile event on Friday 22nd May 2015, and to celebrate they’re releasing this bottle of 3.243 “Dark, smouldering flamenco gypsy”, a refill ex-sherry butt, which will be available at the hotel on the evening.

Colour: Fairly dark mahogany gold.

Nose: Gentle light islay smoke. Layers of smells; old oak, leather, cola cube (just the one!), gentle mosses. It’s possibly slightly closed, but give it some time to open up, maybe gently warm it in your hand and out comes a hint of smouldering fire and cinder toffee.