Glenfarclas – 2003 – Nickolls & Perks Exclusive Selection Cask #1448 – 57.5%
Special release of Glenfarclas Family Cask, produced to celebrate Nickolls & Perks 215th Trading Anniversary.
Rusty orange gold in colour.
Gentle nutty wood on the nose; subtle sherry wood notes with spiced jellied winter fruits and hessian sacks. For a cask strength this has a remarkably smooth set of aromas.
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Let’s start off by saying… yes, I know some of the reviews on the blog here are of whiskies that are totally unaffordable for most people, myself included (I just get samples to try). So here’s a review of a whisky that’s affordable, and good! Shocker eh.
Ledaig – 1993 (17yo) – Connoisseurs Choice – 43%
Refill sherry, giving a light golden colour.
Nose is fairly light, maybe a little closed, but there’s sweet light peat smoke notes with winter fruits and malt, a nice gentle start to what is often quite a beefy smoke monster. There’s a nicely sherried background that seems well integrated to the soft peat.
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The Antiquary 21 Year Old – (Tomatin) – 43%
Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2013 – 93/100
This is an exclusive blend which combines fine Speyside and Highland malt with a splash of Islay and the fragrance of Lowland grains to create a truly exceptional whisky. All the whiskies used in this blend are at least 21 years old – and together they deliver a taste of unrivalled sophistication.
Official tasting notes are…
Nose – Fresh and invigorating, very malty sweet treacle toffee with hints of bitter orange and lemon.
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Glengoyne 21 Year Old – 43%
Dark rich golden colour.
Nice sherry nose, deep, winter fruits; classy.
Fairly full mouthfeel, oily, rounded, warming but not a power that is harsh, it’s smooth and enjoyable, slightly spicy towards the back of the palate.
The finish is long and warming, full of fruit, Christmas cake and oaky wood, with a refreshing eucalyptus note running through.
I see some people suggesting the 17yo is better, I’ve not had it so can’t compare, but certainly for me this is a great sherry monster which is a top dram. 90.
Sample from a friend (Dave, Tom’s brother) of Tom’s Whisky Reviews. £79.20.
Balblair 1990/23yo Islay Cask MoM Exclusive Cask 1466 – 50.40%
Light gold in colour, looks naturally presented to me. Initial nose is creamy smooth malt with peppery peat smoke notes which get stronger over time, and vanillay bourbon notes come through. A very enjoyable experience.
A oily mouth covering beauty, smooth at its abv but certainly some spices and pepper there, and lashings of smoke intertwining with the light sweet malty Balblair character. It’s Balblair for sure, but you know it’s made great friends with a drop of Islay in the cask.
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Jura ‘The Standing Stone’ 30yo – 44%
Dark gold in colour, is there any caramel colour added? I seriously hope not for a £350 bottle… Therefore I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt and say that the rich dark golden colour mostly comes from a three year finish in Oloroso Sherry butts from Gonzalez Byass.
The nose is exciting, there’s good hints of Jura distillery character but beefed up with spiced apple and pair tones along with the mixed autumn fruits of the sherry finish along with melon and figs.
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Jura 1977 – 46%
Light golden orange in colour. This was originally matured in three first fill bourbon casks before being finished in a ruby port pipe for 12 months.
The initial smell is not quite so in your face Jura as younger house expressions can be, which is a nice start to this old man of a whisky. There are plenty of good oak notes here backed up by sweet vanillary back notes.
On the palate the Jura character shows its head more, and the woody notes, although present, don’t appear as strongly as the nose may suggest, in fact they’re perfectly balanced. The mouth feel is full and oily, and the palate is extremely smooth.
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GlenDronach 17yo/1995 TWE Exclusive
PX Puncheon – 56.6%
Very dark in colour, rich deep brown, earthy copper.
Wonderfully sherried nose greets you, sweet but ever so slightly restrained compared to what the colour might lead you to think, however leave it in your glass and bucket loads of sunny sweet rum and raisins greet you and work together with slightly savoury notes. Some slight smokey whiffs right in the background, or is that just from the cask? Chocolate notes and background malt.
Tomatin Legacy – NAS – 43%
Light gold to yellow in colour; Tomatin do use caramel colouring, but it has been used fairly sparingly here to help maintain consistently. The casks used include virgin oak and Bourbon, which you would expect to give quite a light colour anyway, although saying that this is much darker than the Bourbon only matured 15yo, and very much the same colour as the 12yo sherry matured.
Often the nose on Tomatin whisky is fairly identifiable, good distillery character with a great what I call ‘modern’ note to it, usually vibrant and a little exotic with grapefruit and pineapples notes.
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Clynelish – The Maltman / Meadowside Blending Co – 15yo bourbon – 46%.
Rich gold in colour, more like the colour you could expect from a sherry matured whisky, but it’s definitely bourbon.
On the nose you get slight salty sour hints, it’s not particularly sweet, woody notes come through nicely with some vanilla spices.
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