I wish all my readers and their families a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. I will be back after the Holidays for my year-end review. New episodes will come out on January 7th.

Facts

Bunnahabhain 1991 (TWA ‘Circus’)

Nose

Very fruity with raisins, figs, dried fruits and baked apples. Cacao powder and burned vanilla crescents. A hint of fresh polished wood in the back.

Taste

Incredible smooth and buttery soft! Also very fruity. The sherry is even more noticeable now. Dried citrus fruits and some spices. Followed by dark chocolate, nougat and dried red apples.

Finish

Long. Mild and warming with a slight dryness. Again sherry, accompanied by nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon and a bit of chocolate.

Overall

A truly wonderful aged Bunnahabhain with a tremendous amount of complexity and depth.

Score: 89 / 100

An octave cask is one eighth the size of a butt (i.e. 50 liters). Due to the increased wood-to-spirit contact, the small casks have a fast, very noticeable effect on the whisky inside.

Facts

Laphroaig 2005 (Duncan Taylor ‘The Octave’)

Nose

All the stuff you expect from a Laphroaig. Medicine, iodine, bandages and smoldering ashes – or to put it short: a burned down hospital at the beach. Embedded in a mix of red apples and honeyed citrus fruits.

Taste

Full-bodied, sweet and oily. Peat, medicine and seaweed balanced by white pepper, honey, vanilla and caramel.

Finish

Long, very dry and slightly peppery. Dark chocolate and mocha.

Overall

Very straightforward and not all that exciting overall. I don’t have the feeling, that the octave really added too much to the whisky. All in all a (slightly) sherried regular 10 Years Old in my opinion.

Score: 84 / 100

Facts

Tobermory 1994 (Wilson & Morgan ‘Barrel Selection’)

Nose

Ah yes, undoubtedly a Tobermory. Minerals, earth, forest floor and wet leaves. Also malt and hints of citrus fruits. Nuts, caramelized raisins and unpopped popcorn.

Taste

Full-bodied, creamy and buttery with a slightly spicy punch. The sherry is more noticeable now. Dried Oranges, raisins, figs and nuts. Vanilla and lots of honey in the background.

Finish

Very long. Warming and spicy.

Overall

The sherry influence is rather subtle but adds the little something extra. One of the more approachable Tobermory bottlings I had so far.

Score: 83 / 100

Rum finishes can be pretty tricky, although I am a fan of them in general.

Facts

Dalmore 1990 (Cadenhead ‘Wood Range’)

Nose

Rum galore! No kidding, everything you need for a Mojito: brown sugar, limes, mint leaves and (dark) rum of course. And now time for desert… orange ice cream with roasted almonds and white chocolate rasps on top. Then some hot chocolate with wiped cream (with a shot of rum obviously).

Taste

Thick, very thick with the creamy sweetness of vanilla. A ton of oranges. Also a bit spicy… licorice and sugared ginger. The brown sugared mint leaves are back again, accompanied by moccacino. Gets more chewy at the end.

Finish

Long. Dry and earthy. Oranges followed by dark fruits.

Overall

What a wonderful dram this is! Clicks (almost) all the right buttons for me. I didn’t expected that Dalmore and rum casks can work so well together, but they truly do.

Score: 90 / 100

The official 25 Years Old Ardmore (bottled in 2008) is currently still available, but besides that one, older expressions from Ardmore are kinda rare these days. All the more I am looking forward to today’s expression, although the angels took more than their fair share – assuming it was indeed bottled at cask strength.

Facts

Ardmore 1988 (Gordon & Company ‘The Pearls of Scotland’)

Nose

Definitely no peat monster, the peated smokiness is very subtle. Applewood smoked bacon rind and coal briquettes, backed up by old leather and citrus fruits. Hints of vinegar, mountain herbs and mint in the back.

Taste

Unexpected strong. The peat is a tad more pronounced. The creamy-sweetness of vanilla together with pepper and salt. Followed by sugared citrus zest, herbs, and a whiff of grapefruit.

Finish

Long. Very smooth and sweetish. Heather, coffee and hints of wood smoke.

Overall

Very complex, yet very balanced. This is one of those drams you can sniff and sip for hours and still find something new in it. Just great!

Score: 90 / 100

I am not sure what to expect from today’s bottling to be honest. Sure, I heard of peated cask finishes before, but a whole maturation in an Islay cask? That’s a new one for me.

Facts

Glen Grant 1997 (Ian MacLeod Chieftain’s)

Nose

A summer air breeze. Pears, pineapples, mangoes and honeyed heather. Then lots of cold peat smoke and something I would describe as lavender perfume. Taken altogether, the aroma feels somewhat “synthetic” to me, for the lack of a better word.  

Taste

Strong and pretty spicy with pepper, chili and ginger. The peat smoke is even louder now. Pears and pineapples again, backed up by citrus bonbons and hints of honey.

Finish

Long and drying. Sweet peat smoke. Ginger and heather. Sour aftertaste.

Overall

Well that was all pretty weird and confusing, but not necessarily in a bad way. The perfect dram to trick your friends in a blind tasting.

Score: 81 / 100

Facts

Glenrothes 1997 (Creative Whisky Company ‘Exclusive Malts’)

Nose

Vanilla balanced by ripe tropical fruits like mangoes, papayas and pineapples. Hints of caramel, wood polish and mint.

Taste

Vanilla and honey make a short appearance, followed by bitter spices and wood polish. Then citrus, bitter nougat and toffee emerge.

Finish

Very long, drying and warming. Nuts, bitter oranges, dark chocolate and pencil shavings.

Overall

Solid but just too bitter for my taste.

Score: 81 / 100

Facts

Tomatin 2004 (The Whisky Cask)

Nose

Freshly chopped walnuts and fruits. At first oranges, but as time passes by, the fruits get darker. There is some oiliness, which I can’t really describe – maybe lube oil? Hints of herbal smoke in the background.

Taste

Sweet sherry, followed by spicy wood. Then dark cherries, bitter chocolate and menthol appear. Gets dryer and bitterer towards the end.

Finish

Very long. Dry with a touch of smokey bitterness. Dark chocolate with nuts, nutmeg and cinnamon.

Overall

A very simple, straightforward single malt. Very drinkable even neat, despite the high strength.

Score: 82 / 100

Facts

Glen Elgin 1997 (Gordon & MacPhail ‘Connoisseurs Choice’)

Nose

Light and fresh with a complex fruitiness. Lots of tropical fruits like pineapples, mangoes, coconuts and figs, balanced by a rich, sweet maltiness. Vanilla parfait. Hints of oranges, dates with honey, heather and sandalwood.

Taste

Sweet, soft and full-bodied with a zesty freshness. Sweet citrus fruits, tropical fruits and wine gums accompanied by sweet spices. Followed by marshmallows, dark chocolate and herbal tea.

Finish

Long with a slight dryness. Fruits, cinnamon, fennel tea and a bit of heather.

Overall

A very fruity and elegant summer-like dram. Highly recommended – especially if you have a sweet tooth!

Score: 88 / 100

This is one of two BenRiachs that were released last year by Malts of Scotland. The other one is a 23 Years Old and was matured in a bourbon barrel. Independent bottlings from BenRiach are a relatively rare species nowadays, so I’m really excited about this one.

Facts

BenRiach 1996 (Malts of Scotland)

Nose

Lots of white fruits. White peach, bananas, pears and pineapple cream. The fruitiness is nicely balanced by honeycombs and hints of vanilla and caramel. There is also something “green” in the background like garden herbs, mint and ivy.

Taste

Creamy and very smooth with a honeyed sweetness. The light fruits are back again in form of grapes, yellow raisins, pineapples and mountain peach. Then a bit spicy and peppery. Caramel makes a short appearance at the end.

Finish

Very long with a dry sweetness and a good deal of oak. Cinnamon, licorice, wood polish, dark chocolate and herbs.

Overall

A very fruity and smooth cask strength single malt. In some ways pretty close to an actual bourbon.

Score: 85 / 100