Review: Balblair 1990/23yo Islay Cask MoM Exclusive

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balblair-1990-islay-cask-1466-whiskyBalblair 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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Review: Jura ‘The Standing Stone’ 30yo

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Jura30-with-boxJura ‘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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Review: Jura 1977

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jura-1977Jura 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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Review: GlenDronach 17yo/1995 TWE Exclusive

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grnob_1995v1GlenDronach 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.

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Review: Tomatin Legacy – Tomatin’s New Expression

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Legacy Bottle and CartonTomatin 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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News: New Whisky Release – Tomatin Legacy

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Legacy Bottle and CartonWhen Tomatin Distillery was established in 1897, the isolated and idyllic setting of Tomatin was almost perfect. However there wasn’t a local workforce; the local inhabitants were scattered shepherds and cattle drovers. The company began a project of construction to accommodate its workforce. Since that time the distillery has been at the heart of the community and the community at the heart of the distillery.
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News: ‘The Gold Route’ joins Johnnie Walker Explorers’ Club Collection

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Johnnie Walker Explorers' Club Collection The Gold Route 1
Johnnie Walker has unveiled the latest exciting blend from its Trade Routes Series: The Gold Route. The Gold Route takes inspiration from the journeys made by the Walker family and their agents – from Central America through the Andean mountains, passing the Inca pyramids and along the coast of the Pacific Ocean – where they witnessed magnificent scenery and diverse cultures whilst in pursuit of new businesses and rich experiences.
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Review & Comparison: Talisker Storm vs Talisker 10yo

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talisker-storm-whiskyTalisker Storm – NAS – 45.8%
(NAS = No Age Statement)

Light golden in colour, a touch of E150a so I’m told.

The smell is sweet and sour, peat and smoke, with dry grassy/mossy undertones and lashings of vanilla.

The mouthfeel is medium to light oils, and surprisingly smooth especially considering there’s probably some younger whisky here, and a reasonable abv, which is great to see. This does seem a little more Islay in style, but not quite so costal or iodiney maybe.

The finish is really fairly long with sweet woody notes coming through.
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