We have plenty of interesting whisky down at the bar. Here are a few of the recent additions.
Apologies in advance for any errant wine terminology – it’s a tough habit to break.
We serve our whisky in Glencairn whisky glasses. Prices stated are 25ml/50ml.
Firstly then.. six cracking new 10 & 12 year old single malt’s. All non-chill filtered, natural colour & good abv’s. All six are quite different. It is certainly a fun tasting should you have the time!
Chill-filtering whisky is common in large volume whisky production as it removes some of the natural oils, proteins & fatty acids that can cause cloudiness in a finished whisky, but by removing all of these elements, there is a risk of losing some mouth-feel, flavour & possibly some of the original character. There are still bad non-chill filtered whiskies, and good chill filtered whiskies mind!
Still awake? Great, then it’s time then to discover the distilleries …
Glencadam 10 Year Old, 46%. Highland, Scotland. £5/£10
Light & bright; This zesty southern Highland whisky is aged in ex-bourbon barrels. Fresh Pineapple, tinned pineapple, there’s something vinous about it – think rich Southern Rhone white wine – lemon posset sweetness, then some fresh wood shaving, woody spice aromas come through. The palate as above really, it’s a mid-weight, persistent flavour, and a lovely balance of sweet & sour with tart citrus fruits interwoven with vanilla, lemon curd. Zest & lively spice combine in the finish.
Tobermory 12 Year Old, 46%. Isle of Mull, Scotland. £5/£10
All ex-Bourbon cask. Orange & citrus. Fresh floral hints, sea salty air, vanilla & spice. Mid-weight, oily textured, with freshness & depth. Tasty stuff. Fruity & fresh, ripe Seville Orange, lemon zest, a bit of milk chocolate with sea salt, the finish is fresh, almost juicy citrus, with that Bourbon cask spice coming on.
Springbank 10 Year, 46%. Campbeltown, Scotland. £6/£12
Springbank is the only distillery that malts 100% of its own barley, using traditional floor maltings. The production process, malting, milling, mashing, fermentation, distillation, maturation and bottling, happens in Campbeltown. This is unique in Scotland. Matured in a combination of 60% bourbon & 40% sherry casks, It is such a beautifully complex. complete dram.
Kilkerran 12 Year Old, 46%. Campbeltown, Scotland. £6/£12
Next door to Springbank, sits Glengyle Distillery. Kilkerran is a whisky brand produced by the Glengyle distillery. It is a lightly peated, fruity single malt made using 70% ex-Bourbon, 30% ex-Sherry casks. . Initial aromas of ripe orchard fruits & red fruit spiciness, light peaty notes & some murky, dunnage, damp earth – lurking behind all of that are subtle wet stone (In ‘wine-world, there is a very specific word for this; petrichor, but I don’t see it mentioned in Whisky) Anyhoo… As it opens up some vanilla & cinnamon come though. On the palate, there’s a lighter side of the Campbeltown oily texture, but it is there. More orchard/semi-tropical fruits, sourdough, cereal, dried apricot & sultana, peat & spicy notes roll through the finish.
Arran 10 Year Old, 46%. Isle of Arran, Scotland. £5/£10
Ripe orange, apple, honey, hay, digestive biscuits. A touch of warming spice. Not too heavy , but a good mouth-feel, Malted barley unpinning Chantilly cream & butter biscuits, there’s a persistent light fruitiness through the palate – apple & melon come to mind. Not a long finish but a lovely one, with some spice & toasted sourdough notes.
Edradour 10 Year Old ‘The Distillery Edition’, 46%. Highland, Scotland. £5/£10
Whisky from the pocket Glen!, Edradour is Scotlands smallest Whisky distillery.
Aged in Oloroso sherry casks; this is artisinal, slightly wild – in a good way. Walnut, Morello cherry, you can sense the richness. Full-bodied, oily textured, fruity – lots of red fruit flavours, some sweet maltiness, chocolate raisins, hazelnuts, some praline, a slight walnut bitterness.
Wire Works Bourbon Barrel Whisky, 53.4%. Ambergate, Derbyshire / £6/£12
Fruity, spicy, softly peated distillate, non-chill filtered, no added colour, fantastic abv,
and it’s aged 100% in Bourbon barrels from Heavens Hill Distillery!
Crystallised ginger, ginger biscuits, malt biscuits (or am I am just hungry), barley, chocolate limes, charred lemons on the nose, more of that on the textured palate, which is bold, fruity, creamy, gentle peat, Lemon oil, honeyed peach, nutty granola. Cinnamon spice coming through on the finish.
NEW IN (27th Nov) Cask Strength Springbank’s …
If you are quick, we have just one bottle each in of Springbank 10 Year Cask Strength Fino Cask & Springbank Cask Strength 10 year Old. Interesting to try alongside the 10 Year !
The penultimate edition of the five-part ’10 Year Old Sherry Series’, the ‘Fino Cask Matured’ spends 4 year in Bourbon casks, and 6 years in Fino casks. I am already looking forward to the final whisky in this series which is the ‘Manzanilla Cask Matured’ with just 3 years Bourbon before 7 in Manzanilla cask!
Some familiar faces …
Old Pulteney 15 Year Old, 46%. Highlands, Scotland. £7/£14
Exotic spice & salty coastal freshness unite in this classic Old Pulteney. Second fill American oak ex-bourbon casks impart deep, dark spices before a period of further maturation in first fill Spanish oak casks lends notes of dried fruit and chocolate – all seasoned by that salty sea air.
Oban 14 Year Old, 43%. Highlands, Scotland. £7/£14
A solid coastal dram for fans of lightly smoked, fresh-flavoured malts. Smoky, maritime nose with hints of toffee brittle. Smoky, creamy palate with notes of marmalade, toffee apples and crunchy pear.
A malty finish with clove, toasty oak and a little spice.
Yellow Spot 12 Year Old, Single Pot Still Whiskey, 46%. Ireland. £7/£14
Aromas of mown hay, cracked black pepper. Red bell peppers, nutmeg, clove oil & green tea, along with a touch of honey & peaches from the Malaga casks which come through on the palate, combining with pot still spices, fresh coffee, creamy milk chocolate & Crème Brûlée. Notes of red apples & toasted oak. Its finish is sophisticated & complex with a balanced sweetness throughout.
Laphroaig 18 Year Old, 48%. Islay, Scotland. £10/£20
Bottled at 48% & all ex-Bourbon cask; this Whisky is made to be a little less peaty than it’s predecessor’s and it has done just that but instead joined with more sweetness and layers of flavour.
It is a wonderful build up of flavours in the glass – Orange, orange rind, iodine, seaweed, just-lit-kindling, vanilla pod, toffee, buttermint sweets, apple strudle, It’s a full-bodied dram, with a long, rich, sea-smoke/maritime finish.
Random, interesting bottles I have come across & enjoyed…
Bowmore No.1 Vault Edition ‘Atlantic Sea Salt’ 51.5%. Islay, Scotland. £8/16
Matured in bourbon casks sat in the distillery’s waterside No1 Vault, this blend emphasises iodine & sea-spray character, over it’s rich fruity core of ripe orange & blackberry, with a mouth-coating texture, orange, citrus oil & sea salt milk chocolate. A long-since sold out release.
Miltonduff 22 Year Old 2002 (Bottled by Cut Your Wolf Loose) 50.7%. Speyside, Scotland. £10/£20
Aged in refill Bourbon hogshead. 1 of only 138 bottles!.
Mellow, understated aromas; Wax polish, almond biscuits, orange zest and a subtle sweet spice.
The flavours are seamless, elegant & smooth, orchard fruit-like along with notes of honeycomb, cereal, red bush tea, malt in a long-lasting finish that comes with a cinnamon-like spice.
Port Askaig (Non age-statement heavily peated blend) 57.1%, Islay, Scotland. £6/£12
‘Meaty peaty’ & a bit wild, but certainly a fun dram. It’s definitely a taste of Islay even if there isn’t
actually a distillery called Port Askaig (it’s a place) as this is a blend of single malts from three undisclosed Islay distilleries. This non-age-statement Port Askaig is bottled at the old ‘100 Proof’ (57.1%) & is a bit of a white-knuckle-ride… Earthy smoke, biltong, rich peat, lemon peel and coastal heather honey aromas jump out of the glass. The palate is full, rich & peaty with smoked everything – apple, spices, bacon & beef. We have plenty of well behaved malts, this isn’t one of them.
Bimber x Selfridges, Oloroso Cask 51.4%. London. £8/16
This is a single cask of non-age-statement whisky from London’s Bimber distillery that was treated to a lengthy finish in an ex-Gonzales Byass Oloroso sherry cask.
It combines the fruit-forward, generously textured spirit of Bimber with the dried fruit flavours & nuttiness of Oloroso casks. Chocolate raisins, red berries, vanilla, walnuts, rancio. The finish is on the sherry cask side of things – muted red fruits, walnut, toffee, and spice.
Torabhaig 7 Year Old (Living Souls) 51.5%. Isle of Skye, Scotland. £7/£14
This 7-year-old Torabhaig Single Malt from independent bottler Living Souls is one of the first independent bottlings from this distillery. Fully matured in first-fill bourbon barrels, it captures the distinctive character of the Skye distillery—bonfire smoke mingles with sweet orchard fruits & a subtle coastal influence. Bold yet balanced, it’s a flavourful dram that reflects the youthful energy and complexity of Torabhaig.
Smögen 8 Year Old Batch 2 (BYWCo. Bottling) 60.3% / Sweden. £9/£18
My favourite Swedish whisky distillery. The Smogen Whisky style is powerful yet elegant, crisp and very drinkable whisky using optic barley, and for now, imported peat from Islay, raising in 1st fill Bourbon barrels & bottling at cask strength. It’s a bit of an iron fist in a velvet glove this one, and complex beyond it’s years, with muted salted caramel, campfire embers, apricot, dried fruits & cocoa on the nose before a broad & mouth-filling, peaty experience for the senses! Think what you like about added water, I don’t always but at 60% a splash or two of water, for me, only broadens the pineapple, apricot-like fruit flavours, smooths out the palate, and makes the subtle salty, briny, iodine notes more noticeable, which i prefer, but you pays your money, and you can play this hand as you like.
and finally, here are some that are about to land on the list! …
Bladnoch 10 Year Old (bottled 1987-1994) , ‘Flora Fauna’ 43%. Lowland, Scotland. £15/£30
This was United Distilleries (later to become Diageo) series of Whiskies to highlight lesser-known distilleries. The exact bottling date unknown, nor is the cask type/s but likely Bourbon with minimal Sherry. Subtle start but the aromas build in the glass – Barley sugar, flowers, lemon cake, sweet baking spices, freshly baked bread. The palate is oily but not cloyingly so, rounded, complete, toffee, cereal, biscuits, lemon drizzle, black tea. Fresh citrus cut to it, which carries through in the finish along with notes of nutmeg, banana, sweet tea. A really enjoyable, harmonious dram with a lovely length to it.
2010 Daftmill ‘Summer Release’, 46%. Lowlands, Scotland. £13/£26
100% Optic Barley in ex-bourbon barrels from Kentucky distillery Clermont Springs.
Aromas of peaches in syrup, vanilla custard, ripe lemons with a touch of hazelnut, cocoa developing. Vibrant flavours combine brioche, buttered popcorn, lemon zest, fresh brown bread, dried apricot. The gentle finish shows a touch more vanilla and some lingering spice.
Aultmore 18 Year Old Cask Strength, ‘Cadenhead Collection’ 52.5%, Speyside. £9/£18
Distilled in 2006, matured for 18 years in a bourbon hogshead; Aultmore’s hallmark floral tempered sweetness shines through with apple blossom, fresh hay, creamy cereal, vanilla pod, clotted cream fudge and a plethora of orchard fruits – Viscous & round, heather honey, orange, lemon drizzle, and a gentle spice come through on the finish.
Bunnahabhain 2001 22 Year Old Connoisseurs Choice (G&M), 52.5%. Islay. £13/£26
Mmmm, this was always going to be hard to pass on. A well-aged, cask strength whisky from my favourite Islay distillery, bottled by one of my favourite bottlers, Gordon & MacPhail.
This is a 22 year old Bunnahabhain. Distilled in 2001, it’s a single refill American oak hogshead, the whisky is bottled at cask strength with no added colour and is non-chill filtered. Just the 228 bottles. Lemon peel & red apple aromas combine with sweet butterscotch. Pineapple & mango flavours, some peanut brittle, crushed black pepper. A spicy finish with lingering poached pear.