Review: Ardbeg 21 Year Old

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Ardbeg 21 Year OldArdbeg 21 Year Old – 2016 – 46%

Info: Ardbeg 21 Year Old 2016 Committee release.
Colour: Fairly light, straw with some sunlight on it.
Nose: Slight farmyard hints, herbs, slightly peppery herbs, heathery peat, mashed up grapes, hints of coal or charcoal. Gentle oaks and some malt bringing up the rear. After a while and a little air, sweet and subtle tones of summery citrus come through on waves of coastal air.
Palate: The palate is nice and thick with creamy sweet oils, which I maybe wasn’t expecting and is a treat. As you hold it on your tongue after a while gentle puffs of peat smoke start to come forward mingled with a coastal peatiness.
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Review: Half Century Blend

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the half century blend whiskyHalf Century Blend by The Blended Whisky Company

Info: Blended whisky, containing spirit that’s all over 50 years old! Batch 1, 768 bottles, 45.5% abv.
Colour: Beautifully golden, autumnal rusty tints.
Nose: Old, bags of old… if you know what old whisky smells like then this is certainly it. It’s dry, fruity, nutty, gently woody, very slightly herbal… a whole mix of goodness for your nose to enjoy.
Palate: Fairly drying straight off, with spices which lead in to flavour filled greatness; old bourbon matured, coconut, mushey red apples, autumn leaves, gentle sweetness. It’s fairly thick, with some hints of old hessian.
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Review: Big Peat Christmas 2016 (& Others!)

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Big Peat Christmas 2016Big Peat Christmas 2016 & Special Guests (Big Peat Christmas 2015 & 2013, & Old Big Peat)

Info: Big Peat Christmas 2016, a now traditional fixture of the winter whisky calendar, is back to deliver some more goodies! This year a slight change has been made, and the recipe now contains malts from every active distillery on Islay, along with some Port Ellen as well. 2300 cases (20,700 bottles?), 54.6% abv. It’s non chill filtered and non coloured.
Nose: Creamy spirity peat, a mix of coastal peat and inland heathery peat, all with an underlying base of burning embers that are smouldering away merrily.
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Review: Tullamore D.E.W. 14yo

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tullamore dew 14 year oldTullamore D.E.W. 14yo – Four Cask Finish – 41.3% abv

Info: Triple distilled and finished in four kinds of casks: Old bourbon, Oloroso Sherry, Port and Madeira.
Colour: Rich and golden, with orange and pink tints.
Nose: Really sweet and scented, flavours escape easily to your nose and the wine finishes really come forward nicely. Like a bag of soft jelly sweets when you open them.
Palate: The palate feels reasonably thick, even at this abv. The wine notes are apparent quite quickly giving it a green grape quality alongside the barley and other fruits. There’s almost an effervescent quality.
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Review: BenRiach Peated Quarter Casks

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BenRiach Peated Quarter CasksBenRiach Peated Quarter Casks – 46% abv

Info: Fully matured in quarter casks, i.e. smaller casks than are usually used, which helps to mature the whisky faster. This is bottled at 46% abv, is non chill filtered and is natural colour.
Colour: Light gold, straw.
Nose: Light, bright, and medium peated; wood smoke and burning heather. Some spices, and light, sweet orchard fruits.
Palate: Rich and thick oils coat your palate easily with sweet barley, fruits and smoky peat. Hints of oak adds good spice.
Finish: The finish is long and warming, with younger oak notes lasting out for quite a long time at the end. Some herbal hints.
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Review: Braeval 25yo (XOP Douglas Laing)

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Braeval 25 BottleXOP Braeval 25yo – Douglas Laing – 57.3% abv

Info: Refill Hogshead, 9 bottles produced(!). Distilled in 1990, cask 11008. 57.35 % abv. No colouring, no chill filtering.
Colour: Rich autumnal gold.
Nose: Fairly packed nose, lots of flavours. There’s definitely an old spirity quality along with a handful of old nuts that have been sitting around for a while waiting to be cracked. A waxy quality, and old polished oak and leather notes. There’s almost a dark smoked background, possibly coming from cask char. With time it opens up much more showing some stewed, spiced winter fruit notes.
Palate: Thick, oily and reasonably powerful, what else would you expect for 57.3%. There’s some winter spices there giving it a good bit of life, but they’re not too strong as to spoil my enjoyment and they tail off as your saliva gets going. The palate feels quite old, there’s some gentle oak sap notes along with the slightly waxy leathery tones and hints of tannins.
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Trip: A visit to Balblair (plus a review of the 1990 vintage)

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logo_Balblair_2

A visit to Balblair
(plus a review of the 1990 vintage)

This was originally written in 2015, and I totally forgot to post it! It was based on a visit a few years ago, but I’ve been back twice since then…

If any of you reading this have followed my trips over the years up to Scotland then you might know that Inverness is one of my favourite places, it feels like a home from home to me – there’s some definite similarities to where I live in the South West. As luck would happen to have it, I also love the whisky produced around this area… it’s not overly far to get down to Speyside, but also when heading north you’ll find some great distilleries producing fine products.

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Review: McDonald’s Traditional Ben Nevis

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mcdonald's traditional ben nevisMcDonald’s Traditional Ben Nevis – 46% abv

Info: McDonald’s Traditional Ben Nevis is a special edition that celebrates the distilleries 185th year. It’s a combination of the current Ben Nevis style with a slightly more heavily peated version aimed at reproducing old style 1880s whisky. Limited to approximately 700 bottles. IWSC 2012 – Gold Outstanding Medal. No age statement.

Colour: Golden, slight autumnal hints.

Nose: Gentle, light to medium peat.  Meaty, grippy, toffee, caramelized banana, ripe fruits. Lovely chubly.

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Review: Bowmore Stillmen’s Selection

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bowmore 17 years old stillmen's selection distillery exclusiveBowmore Stillmen’s Selection – 17yo – 53.1% abv

Info: Distilled on 22nd June 1998 and matured in Bordeaux wine barriques. Limited release, distillery exclusive of 1,500 numbered bottles.

Colour: Dark but bright with ruddy red tints.

Nose: Evocative Islay in a glass! There’s a great medium level of peat, but hiding behind that is a rich and fresh coastal spirit that has intertwined well with late summer red berries, black and red currants.

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Review: BenRiach 21yo Tawny Port

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benriach 21 year old tawny portBenRiach 21yo Tawny Port – 46% abv

Info: Matured in American bourbon barrels and then finished in Tawny Port casks sourced from the Douro region in the north of Portugal. Replaces the 15YO Tawny Port finish. Bottled at 46% vol.
Colour: Late summer setting sun gold, slight red tints.
Nose: Meaty, punchy, and fruity. Also damp wood and dunnage floors. A (vanilla) creaminess soon comes out.
Palate: Nice and smooth, easily introduced to your tongue with fairly thick oils. You naturally want to hold this on your tongue for a long time, and after a while slight smoky hints come out, possibly from the cask char. It’s not overly sweet, but instead a temptingly balanced sweetness, with a hint of cream to keep it in balance. It’s fairly easy on the spices and wood tannins.
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