Review: Littlemill – Batch 1 (That Boutique-y Whisky Company)

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littlemill-that-boutiquey-whisky-company-whiskyLittlemill Batch 1 (That Boutique-y Whisky Company) – NAS – 50cl, 47.40%

Colour: Light, bright straw.

Nose: Spicey wood, creaminess, vanilla, thinners, farmey barley. Leave it for a good long time to open up, when you do huge citrus is there.

Palate: Interesting! Doesn’t follow the nose too much (at first), on the palate you’ll find buckets of summer citrus fruits and slightly brown bananas. The mouthfeel is pretty thick and oily and the spices found on the nose are really easy going on the palate, it’s smooth and velvety, with slight notes of the type of bourbon maturation that I like in Tomatin.

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Review: Highland Park Freya

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hp_freya_530Highland Park Freya – 15yo – 51.2%

Marketing Blurb: Freya represents the continuation of Highland Park’s Valhalla Collection; a range of four unique whiskies taking inspiration from the legendary Nordic gods of old.  Bottled at 51.2% ABV this limited edition whisky comes housed in the same unique and award winning wooden frame of Thor and Loki, echoing the fearsome contours of a traditional Viking long ship.

Freya will be available from 7th February at a RRP of £140.

Let’s crack on with my review…

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Review: Glenmorangie Companta

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Companta BottleGlenmorangie Companta – 46% ABV, OB, NCF

Marketing Blurb: Glenmorangie has launched it’s fifth annual special edition, Companta (which stands for friendship in Scots Gaelic). Companta has been matured in Grand Cru casks from Clos de Tart and those of a sweet fortified wine from Côtes du Rhône.

Bottled at 46% ABV, and non-chill filtered, for extra body and texture, Glenmorangie Companta is available from specialist retailers and department stores now at £69.99 and is selling out very quickly.

Let’s crack on and take a look!
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Review: Blair Athol – 22yo – IB (The Maltman) – Refill Sherry

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07 Maltman Range-1-1Blair Athol – 22yo – IB (The Maltman) – Refill Sherry Cask – 49.1% NCF

Colour: Full golden.

Nose: Instantly an old dunnage / oak cask nose here that puts you in a relaxed state of mind. Some leather, a touch of polish, a bit of dry must, and after a short moment sweet winter fruits start to come through, stewed fruits in a bowl with a dollop of vanilla custard.
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Review: Ballantine’s Christmas Reserve 2013 Limited Edition

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Ballantine's Christmas ReserveBallantine’s has launched its fourth Christmas Reserve Limited Edition for 2013. Let’s take a look!

Colour: Rich and darkly fully golden.

Nose: Full of autumn fruit smells, sweet caramel, vanilla toffee, touches of smoke amongst malt, slight damp mossiness.

Palate: For something that’s 40% abv (and therefore assume chill-filtered) it has a pretty fair mouth coating to it, fairly rich and oily. It’s sweet and lusciously smooth, with honeyed wood noes coming through the maltiness really nicely. It’s well balanced, doesn’t feel too young, there’s no alcoholic nip to it.
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News & Review: Three new vintages from Balblair (’83, ’90 & ’03)

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BalblairLogoTonight we’ve taken a look at three new vintages from Balblair: 2003 1st Release, 1990 2nd Release & 1983 1st Release.

Here’s the blurb… The latest vintages from Balblair are being launched in the brand’s new premium front-opening gift boxes. Balblair recently changed its 2003 Vintage packaging to a premium front opening box, replacing the regular top opening carton. All bottles (70cl) of Balblair whisky are now available in this style.

The new range of Balblair vintage Highland single malt whiskies (46%abv natural colour non chill-filtered) comprises: Balblair 1990 second release RRP £84.99; Balblair 2003 first release RRP £40.99; and Balblair 1983 first release RRP £200.

All three of the new vintages have been matured in American Bourbon oak casks, with the 1990 also spending some time in Spanish oak ex-Sherry butts.

On to a quick review of the three…

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Review: Wemyss Malts – Seaweed on the Rocks (Bunnahabhain) – 1991

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seaweed-on-the-rockslowresContinuing my look at Wemyss Malts pre-Christmas releases, today I’m reviewing…

Seaweed on the Rocks (Bunnahabhain) – 1991/22yo – 46%

Colour: Yellow to gold.
Nose: Chinese? It’s sweet, and sour! Costal with just a hint of smoke.
Palate: Spices build fairly fast on the palate backed up by damp leather and oak.
Finish: Very subtle but long with the return of slight costal notes and polished oak.
Thoughts: I love a drop of Bunna, and this one doesn’t disappoint me at all! 86.
Available: Sorry, you’ll have to Google this for yourself!

Multi Review: Tasting the fabulous Aberlour range

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AberlourLogo
This evening I’ve been lucky enough to joining a gaggle of whisky folks online for a Twitter Tasting of most of Aberlour’s range, a distillery in the heart of Speyside, and one of my favourites.

We were lucky to be joined the very lovely and accommodating Ann Miller (represented in notes below as AM), International Brand Ambassador for Chivas Brothers (Aberlour’s owners). I was lucky to meet Ann a few months back for a personal tour of Longmorn!

Let’s take a look at my thoughts…

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Review: Wemyss Malts – Sweet Mint Infusion (Aultmore) – 1991

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sweet-mint-infusionlowresContinuing my look at Wemyss Malts pre-Christmas releases, today I’m reviewing…

Sweet Mint Infusion (Aultmore) – 1991/22yo – 46%

Colour: Pale Straw.
Nose: A nose with some age on it, rather beautiful and keeps you nosing for ages. Sweet and oaky.
Palate: Treats you gently with some spices building after a while when left on the tongue. Full mouthfeel. The pinch of sweet spice and some oak combine to become almost fizzy. Yum. Classic bourbon summer fruits.
Finish: The summer berry fruits come through more on the finish, sweet, malty, and relaxing.
Thoughts: The age has worked well here, it’s a pleasure to drink and is nicely balanced. The official note mentions peppermint, I don’t particularly get that. 86.
Available: Master Of Malt for £98.89