SMWS 14.3 - 17 year old Talisker 1979

Distillery: Talisker
Bottling: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 17
Distilled: 1979
Bottled: 1996
Strength: 64.3%.
Cask Code: 14.3

This was a bottle that took my eye at auction as independent bottlings of Talisker are as rare as hen's teeth. I shared this with some blogging friends and we split the bottle 7 ways. I have no idea what cask this is as it was bottled in the early days of the society where such information wasn't given out, or probably needed. This is when the society was maybe more just about the taste of the whisky than it is now.

Nose: Very mineral like and very like nosing a fizzy glass of mineral / soda water. It also reminds me of American Cream Soda, which is similar but flavoured with vanilla. There is Apple peel, dry and pretty dusty which has some trademarks of a fino sherry cask, but I have been unable to find out any information on the cask type or the number of bottles to give me some clues. There are also indications of well used wood, maybe even third fill and potentially this could have been malt destined for blending? Powdery dusting sugar and some old books making this musky. Some very light tobacco smoke and a tiny bit of peat comes and goes. It is possible if there was more peat in this it has weakened over time in the bottle here. I get a little cork which may or may not be down to time in the bottle and bamboo shoots. A little butter scotch that I would normally associate with grain whisky, and again well used wood that has already given off most of its more obvious flavours. Earth.

Palate: This definitely does not feel like 64.3% - Has the alcohol strength reduced through evaporation here? This would certainly tie in with the cork elements. Slightly sour, some barley, and a touch of light fruit.

Finish: Mint, hemp, and slightly floral.

This was a pretty challenging dram and unique to boot. I will need to go back to this again and further dig into it.

Clynelish 1990 - 23 year old (Adelphi)

Distillery: Clynelish
Bottling: Adelphi
Age: 23
Distilled: 1990
Bottled: 2013
Strength: 54.8%.
Cask Number: 3233

Nose: Red apple, pear drops and strawberry sherbets. The strawberry continues with Campino sweets and the apple continues with toffee apples, and then with apple pie, vanilla ice cream and a bit of butter shortbread served on the plate as well. Some Snowballs from Gregg's with the coconut and a bit of jam in the middle. Yum. I'm eating all of this in an old fashioned dining room with lots of freshly polished wood with pledge.

Palate: Creamy, soft and rounded. White chocolate, a little treacle, honeyed and waxy.

Finish: Medium long with a dry apple cider, ginger root, coriander seeds, and chocolate covered hazelnuts.

A Quartet of sherried Balblairs

Anyone who likes whisky who knows me, knows that I am particularly fond of Balblair and I usually have several bottles at any one time being worked though. To me Balblair shines as ex-bourbon matured whisky as it is delicious spirit which doesn't needs hiding with finishing. Balblair however have always had sherried expressions available so it isn't new. Recently it seems I have gathered up quite a few sherried Balblairs, which include the 1999 first release vintage; an exclusive to travel retail, a 1999 second release vintage; a very similar release but which was on general release, the 1990 second release vintage which is an older and more mature expression, and finally a 2000 single cask vintage released exclusively for The Whisky Exchange.





Balblair 1999 (First Release)
Distillery: Balblair
Bottling: Own Bottling (Travel Retail)
Age: 14
Distilled: 1999
Bottled: 2014
Strength: 46%

Nose: The first thing that comes to me is young sherry which has a red wine tartness to it. Violets and blueberries, bitter cherry and dried raisins. The sherry led fruits continue as jammy strawberry. It starts to become more dessert like with sticky toffee pudding, after dinner mint chocolates and some pumpkin spice. The sherry elements here are lively and a little raw but some of the distillery character emerges with some mango and pineapple but they are in the form of the tinned syrupy kind.

Palate: Rich with forest fruits, jam, sticky highland toffee. Some rubbery sulphuric elements come in the form of latex gloves.

Finish: Lively and a little youthful which bites a little like grapefruit but with some rich flavours of cherry, blueberry, pepper mint to accompany it.





Balblair 1999 (Second Release)
Distillery: Balblair
Bottling: Own Bottling
Age: 14
Distilled: 1999
Bottled: 2014
Strength: 46%

Nose: Straight away this version of the 1999 noses differently form the first release. This is lighter on the sherry and has much more of the distillery character coming through, with evidence of either a greater portion of ex-bourbon matured malt in this vatting, or less in the finishing in general. Gala apples, banana foam sweets, white grapes, and some tropical fruits coming through but like candied versions of them. There is some vanilla led devonshire custard along side some raspberries which reminds me of a similar bread and butter recipe I used to bake. There is some nice burnt toffee and some barley showing as well.

Palate: Some young sherry elements here much like the first release which has a tartness which sours the sweetness a little but brings out a flavour profile like Dr Pepper or Fizzy cherry cola bottle sweets.

Finish: Sweeter on the finish with some barley and memories of washbacks. Pear and apple showing up some of those light distillery characteristics.





Balblair 1990 (Second Release)
Distillery: Balblair
Bottling: Own Bottling
Age: 14
Distilled: 1999
Bottled: 2013
Strength: 46%

Nose: Compared to the younger 1999 releases the sherry influence here is noticeably more mature and integrated and I am smelling it as a whole whisky rather than the individual components in the vatting. Crispy red apples, and poached pears in a red wine sauce really brings those richer dessert ex-sherry elements and lighter estery led ex-bourbon elements like mango, and pineapple which show off the Balblair character, stands up alongside it in harmony rather than at a distance. A real dessert dram. Dark chocolate with cranberry, Cuban cigars, chocolate covered Turkish delight. Jolly rancher candy sweets, and some Seville oranges.

Palate: Tangy fruits, orange marmalade with cinnamon spice and some melting chocolate.

Finish: Warm and rich with some dryness from the red apple coming through. Mulled wine, chocolate covered hazelnuts.





Balblair 2000 (Single Cask Release for The Whisky Exchange)
Distillery: Balblair
Bottling: Own Bottling (for The Whisky Exchange)
Age: 14
Distilled: 2000
Bottled: 2014
Strength: 53%
Cask Number: 1343

Nose: Strangely the first thing comes to my nose is a slightly vegetative note of mushrooms which reminds me of specifically Mushroom Risotto with creamy sauce and parsley. Very syrupy and saucey and I am reminded of when I was young and I used to go and visit my granny and she used to make home made chips and serve them up with some BBQ sauce. Glazed ribs continue the BBQ sauce notes. There is cherry coke, and that continues with maraschino cherries on top of a rich chocolate dessert like tiramasu with mascarpone and coffee. The rich desserts move into thick stewed berries with blackcurrants, blackberries, sloe berries and maybe some overripe raspberries. All of these reduced down into a thick jam and spread onto buttery toast, and washed down with some keemun black tea with its notes of plum and pine. There is no disputing the massive sherry dominance of this but if you work hard you can get to some of the softer lighter fruits synonymous with the Balblair character. Apple, pear, mango, pineapple etc. There are some sulphury elements some of which I find pleasant like struck match and spent fireworks, but also some rubbery ones again which probably give off the vegetative note from the start. I am pretty sensitive to sulphur though and I find it in abundance in a large variety of sherried whiskies so don't read too much into it unless you are as well.

Palate: Thick and warm like the BBQ sauce again, but also some maple syrup with gives it some sweetness, and floral notes. There is some rubber here as well. If you let it dilute naturally from cask strength in the mouth it gets much lighter and the Balblair spirit emerges.

Finish: There is a touch of smoke here which I likely from some cask charring. Sappy and resinous going back to the maple syrup again. Finally some black coffee with a little chocolate cake.

Balblair 1950s / 1960s

Information

Distillery: Balblair
Bottling: Official
Age: NAS
Distilled: 1950s/1960s
Bottled: 1960s
Strength: 88 proof (50%)

Wow. What a surprise I had when several old bottles of Balblair appeared at auction, and one in particular which took my fancy was a bottle at the unusual strength of 88 degrees proof which is about 50% ABV. One thing which I have learned is higher strength bottles fair well over a long time in a bottle than the lower strength ones and this has been sitting in the bottle for 50 odd years. The immediate thing I noticed with this was that the fill level was high in the neck which tells me that it has been well looked after and protected from the elements of heat and light which tend to cause evaporation to the angels, and negatively affect the juicy whisky inside. After some frantic and probably out of control bidding at auction I came into the possession of this lovely bottle and I can't wait to enjoy it.

On investigation it was definitely bottled in the 1960s, but without knowing the exact age of the whisky it is hard to pin point the distillation date. I reckon the malt is between 5 and 10 years old which at the older side of the guess would put this as 1950s distillate, and it is something very special indeed to think that this was getting made in post-war Britain.

Back when this was made the production methods would have been a lot different from now with old fashioned floor maltings, cast iron mash tuns, and direct firing of the stills all which help result in a completely different type of spirit as produced today.

Nose: Very bright and fruity and the glass is overflowing with estery notes.  I am getting lots of tropical notes but pineapple stands out and it reminds me of the Lilt soft drink with an almost sharp and tart bite around the edges. Apple juice and the fruit turning more sweet like Banana foam sweets, and that soft, sweet foamy note turning into marshmallows. The sweet fruit notes are turning into  hard boiled sweets like the travel sweets you get at the airport and the candy element finishes with some soft bubblegum. There is something more savoury happening that reminds me of green olives which have been salted and covered in more olive oil. Briny and coastal! Some smoke seems to be lingering about which is a mixture of light peat smoke but also cask char smoke. Soft dairy fudge just rounds everything off nicely.

Palate: This is heavy and oily with way more than you would expect from such a young malt. It is sweet and rich, and like chewing on fruit salad sweets, and the sharpness from the fruit is enough to give a little kick alongside the higher alcoholic strength. It is waxy and honeyed and toffee.

Finish: Mouth coating with a medium length finish. There is a little young solvent spirit notes coming through, but this is big and fruity and oily and satisfying.

Comments: What can I say? Maybe not the most complex spirit in the world as it has clearly not spent the bulk its life in wood, but the spirit itself is magical and captivating and dreaming to a time when this was made is a truly special experience.

Ben Nevis 10 year old

Information

Distillery: Ben Nevis
Bottling: Official
Age: 10
Distilled: 2003
Bottled: 2013
Strength: 46%

Nose: The sherry is young and distinctive on this straight away. Overripe strawberries, but specifically ones which have maybe been squashed and there is a jammy, creamy note which is like Scottish pineapple tarts. I get a cereal like nuttiness which is like Kellog's Crunchie Nut Corn Flakes. There is also a liqueur-like sugary, syrup note which is like Amaretto. The minty notes coming through on the sherry alongside some oak give the impression of the traditional drink of the Kentucky Derby - that is the Mint Julep - the sweet sugar notes accentuate some bourbon connotations, but also some burnt sugar as well which is partly the sulphur side of things along side match boxes and a touch of rubber.

Palate: Not as sweet as the nose lets on with more of a drying effect. There is a thinness in the mouth but strangely at the same time that I can feel the alcohol burn from the 46% . The sweetness comes along later as the nip starts to creep across the mouth before tailing off again. There is a latex like taste as well.

Finish: A pretty long finish with summer fruits, mint and spicy coriander. Rubber at the end.

Comments: I always tempt the sulphur with sherried drams, but it is acceptable in this and the 46% definitely knocks it up a step. Quite expensive for a 10 year old though which is the bad side.

Clynelish 1970s

Information

Distillery: Clynelish
Bottling: Gordon & MacPhail
Age: 12
Distilled: 1960s?
Bottled: 1970s?
Strength: 70 proof (40%)

This is a lovely old style Clynelish from when Gordon & MacPhail was the official licensed bottler. With the strength listed as proof rather than ABV I know it was bottled at the most recent the late 70s which would put distillation in at least the late 1960s. This is only the most recent, but it could be older. I will contact Gordon & MacPhail to see if they can supply any information.

For such a young age and a low alcohol percentage, this is a very oily and viscous spirit. Has it not been chill-filtered or is it just a heavier bodied spirit anyway?

Nose: This has a very citus nose with freshly squeezed orange juice and touches of tangerine in there as well. Lemon icing on sponge cake. The body of the spirit is reflected in the nose as well with a thick waxiness. Wavering around the background is a gentle and lovely sootyness.

Palate: This is as expected a very thick and oily spirit with lots of body. Suprisingly for only 40% it has a higher alcohol kick than I would expect, and more than I would get from any modern malts at 40%. I hazard a guess that the heavier body is allowing the spirit to stick to the palate a lot more than more watery spirits. Just a guess.

Finish: A very long finish that is spicy, dusty and sooty. Citric. Some soapy elements which have been noted in old miniatures by other people. Likely an effect of the fats breaking down to soap over time.

Comments: If I ever get a chance to buy a full bottle of this and I am sure they exist on some collectors dusty shelf somewhere, I shall purchase it.

127.37 Dinosaurs dancing to Stravinsky (Port Charlotte 9 year old)

Information

Distillery: Port Charlotte (Bruichladdich)
Bottling: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 9
Distilled: 2003
Bottled: 2013
Strength: 66.5%.
Cask Code: 127.37 Dinosaurs dancing to Stravinsky
Cask Type: Refill sherry butt.

This is my first bottle from distillery 127, which is Port Charlotte (Bruichladdie operation) and is currently at number one dram of the year for me so far. You would think at 66.5% it would not be drinkable neat? That assumption is either wrong, or there is something wrong (or right?) with my tolerance to high alcohol spirits. In any case this dram I was keeping for a special occasion, and that occasion came sadly when my gran passed away. What better way to toast the life of an important person in your life than with a nice bottle of whisky and family. My brother, dad, cousin, and myself made very short work of this in one evening, although I caught my old boy putting ice in his at one point - what can I say he is stuck in his ways. Normally I would give him pelters, but tonight he can drink his whisky any way he wants to enjoy it. I managed to salvage 100ml left from the bottle at the end of the night and currently only have 50ml left!

Nose: Massively phenolic! Carbolic Soap which reminds me of the soaps I used to have to use in my old scout hall when I was a kid. I also remember being threatened by a strict nun teacher at school who threatened to wash my mouth out with it once. Lots of medicated shampoo and coal tar. Also getting mouthwash notes - that is Thymol, the phenol which is commonly used in mouthwash which also exists naturally in the herb Thyme. Earth and soil. Middle Earth! Lots of lovely fruity notes develop in time with Kiwi and lots of Raspberry as well! The compound that gives raspberries their smell is also a Phenol so is it possible that this is coming from the peat rather than the sherry cask influence which I often detect it in? Some strawberry in there as well, all served with some melted white chocolate! As my nose gets used to the peat other dimensions of aroma just keep developing.

Palate: In the mouth this is a big hitter. The alcohol is firey but not untamed. Huge peat and earth, and Jalapeno chilis. Sweet and nutty.

Finish: Huge and long. It just welds itself to your palate and throat. Sooty, peaty, salty. Refresher sweets. Berries with fresh cream. Did I say huge?

Comments: Why oh why oh why did I only get one bottle of this. From now on any time a bottle of 127 appears I shall get two! or Three!! This is at present my top dram of this year and with a week to go, I can't imagine something overtaking it.

131.2 Magic carpet in a sweetie shop (Hanyu 13 year old)

Information

Distillery: Hanyu
Bottling: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 13
Distilled: 2000
Bottled: 2013
Strength: 55.1%.
Cask Code: 131.2 Magic carpet in a sweetie shop
Cask Type: First fill ex-sherry butt.

Following up from my review of the Karuizawa 132.1, is another lovely Japanese dram from yet another closed distillery called Hanyu. This is another sherried malt which shows no signs of rubber which I am very pleased about.

Nose: Lots of cherry on the nose with cherry cola, fizzy cherry cola bottles and more sweeter glazed cherries. There is also a touch of grapefruit tartness. There are some meaty savoury elements which combine with the smoke, and spicy elements which remind me of a cold winter day eating Stornoway Black Pudding and Haggis for breakfast. Mint chocolate milkshakes. I am now standing in a Turkish flea market smelling leather bags, with the smells of roasting meats and spice stalls with garam masala bursting with clove, cinnamon, clove and coriander. Lots of rich toffee in there as well.

Palate: Smoky burnt matches, thick and warming with lots of oak and spice.

Finish: Long, spicy and warming with cherry coke , raspberries, savoury meats and cigars.

132.1 Secret moonlit garden dram (Karuizawa 28 year old)

 

Information

Distillery: Karuizawa
Bottling: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 28
Distilled: 1984
Bottled: 2013
Strength: 59.9%.
Cask Code: 132.1 Secret moonlit garden dram

Cask Type: refil ex-sherry butt.

 

Sometimes good whisky is like Glasgow buses; you wait ages for one and then three come at once. The buses in question are not only three new distilleries for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, but three Japanese distilleries: Chichibu (130.1), Hanyu (131.1) and Karuizawa (132.1). The morning of the release in the November "big list" I was on the phone at 10am sharp with hopes of picking up the Chichibu and the Hanyu, but by the time I got through only the Chichibu and the Karuizawa were available but I hadn't really considered the Karuizawa as it is the high end of my price range and sherry casks can be russian roulette with me. I succumbed to the high pressure sales environment and grabbed both the Chichibu and the Karuizawa.

Nose: Eucalyptus and honey cough sweets, black Assam tea, dark roasted coffee beans. Sooty chimneys, dusty lofts and old books. Match boxes and burnt matches. Conifer trees and pine christmas trees. Lots of meaty savoury elements there as haggis and black pudding, soy sauce. Prunes and Raisins. Mint chocolate Viscount biscuits. With a little water it freshens up a little with Cherry Bakewell tarts full of cherry and almonds. Demerara sugar, mocha, Chelsea Whoppers, coal tar soap, chocolate covered brazil nuts, toffee. Rich, deep stewed chutneys and jams.

Palate: Black sports mixture sweets, bitter dark chocolate, chewy, and tarry. Chinese spare ribs in tangy sweet and sour sauce. Black currant jam.

Finish: Long, rich, woody, spicy, smoky, tarry and jammy. Very satisfying.

26.55 Savoury Delight (Clynelish 8 year old)

Information

Distillery: Clynelish
Bottling: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 8
Distilled: 1999
Bottled: 2008
Strength: 62.4%.
Cask Code: 26.55 Savoury Delight

Nose: Another one of these SMWS bottles with a pretty closed nose. Lemon, lime, unripe pear and freshly sliced apple. Coconut, floor polish. Fresh ginger and ground pepper. Leather jackets.

Palate: Massive exposion of flavour that didn't exist on the nose. Salt, more salt, salted pretzls, salted meat, sausages and hot dogs. Savoury indeed. Some toffee and hazelnuts.

Finish: Long and lip smacking. Salty.

Abbey Whisky Tweet Tasting

 

 

Tonight's tasting was a special twitter tasting brought by Steve @ The Whisky Wire and Abbey Whisky where a select group of tasters were each sent out 4 lovely drams of single cask whisky, and to log on to Twitter and join the tasting at 7pm on the 20th November 2013. You can look back at the twitter history on the hashtag #abbeywhisky.

 

Dram 1 - Caperdonich 17 years old (The Rare Casks)

 

Distillery: Caperdonich

Bottling: Abbey Whisky (The Rare Casks)
Age: 17
Distilled: 1995
Bottled: 2012
Strength: 57.8%
Cask: refill ex-bourbon.

Buy @ Abbey Whisky

 

Nose: Soft overripe bananas, and banana foam sweets. Tinned pineapple in syrup, passionfruit, mango. Even though this is fairly light it is pretty tropical like a cocktail on the beach. Fresh butter and Caramac bars, an soft fudge. Dulex emulsion paint (but in a good way). Vanilla and white chocolate - like Magnum ice cream. There is a mustard or wasabi note coming through which has a ping of heat and spice to it, as well as some light smoke like wood char or charcoal. Also an ashy tobacco like note.

 

Palate: Lots of that soft chewy banana again along side lemon sherbet sweets. pepper and ginger. Oily and bodied.

 

Finish:  Long finish with the spices lasting on and on along side with lemon shortbread biscuits. 

 

Dram 2 - Bunnahabhain 23 years old (The Rare Casks)

 

Distillery: Bunnahabhain

Bottling: Abbey Whisky (The Rare Casks)
Age: 23
Distilled: 1989
Bottled: 2013
Strength: 44%
Cask: refill ex-bourbon.

 

Buy @ Abbey Whisky

 

Nose: This is very delicate initially. White grapes and white wine. There is a dry apple prominent which made be think of fino sherry an ex-fino sherry casks, but it says it is ex-bourbon so hey-ho. I am not getting lots of in your face peat, but rather a dark sootyness. Chimneys and coal sheds. Quite nutty with pistachio and wallnuts. Getting freshly popped cinema popcorn, with a touch of salt on top of them. Lots of coconut in the form of "snowballs" - that is a Scottish coconut cake/treat in the shape of a snowball with coconut, sponge and jam. Lemon sponge cake as well. A touch of peppermint, and chewy toffee apples.

 

Palate: Very soft and easy drinking. Dry apple with a touch of salt.

 

Finish: The salted apple again, but with some double cream and some crisp malty notes.

 

Dram 3 - Ben Nevis 16 years old (The Rare Casks)

 

Distillery: Ben Nevis

Bottling: Abbey Whisky (The Rare Casks)
Age: 16
Distilled: 1997
Bottled: 2013
Strength: 55%
Cask: sherry hogshead.

Buy @ Abbey Whisky

 

Nose: Dark fruits such as raspberry and blackcurrent. Reminds me of hot Vimto. Chocolate covered raisins. Orange marmalade but deeper, darker and richer - almost burnt. Demerara Rum. Christmas Mince pies. Rubber notes remind me of when you are blowing air into bike tyres and some of the rubbery air comes back out again. Treacle, sticky toffee pudding and liquorice.

 

Palate: Christmas cake, sherry, Many sherried whiskies to me demand some water in comparison to ex-bourbon and this takes some without issue. Some water reduces the rubbery notes and expodes the palate with creamyness. Espresso coffee. The vimto fruityness coming through quite strong along chocolate and toffee.

Finish: Rich, spicy finish with ginger, cinnamon and ginger. The coffee and sticky toffee pudding lasting on.

 

Dram 4 - Mystery GlenDronach 1993 - 20 years old (Abbey Whisky Exclusive)

 

Distillery: GlenDronach

Bottling: Abbey Whisky (Abbey Whisky Exclusive)
Age: 20
Distilled: 1993
Bottled: 2013
Strength: 59.1%
Cask: Oloroso sherry butt.

Buy @ Abbey Whisky

 

Nose: This one was evaluated blindly and only told what it was at the end of the tasting. This is a really difficult one. It has a dark red colour which says sherry or wine, but I am not getting anything which says this is sherry or wine - namely rubber / sulphur. I am getting Chocolate brownies, mars bars, toffee, praline and burnt sugar. I am also getting raisins and glazed cherries. Some dark roasted coffee coming through as well. Plenty of wood influence here - some thoughts are telling me this is virgin oak or freshly charred oak.

 

Palate: Bitter dark chocolate, and chocolate covered cherries. Rum, diesel, cajun seasoning on grilled pork.  

 

Finish: Long finish with spicy meats, and cherry cola.

 

McClelland's Highland single malt whisky

Information

Name: McClelland's Highland
Distillery: McClelland's (Morrison-Bowmore)
Type: Single malt whisky

Age: NAS

Strength: 40%

 

This is an interesting one, and one which I have been wanting to taste for a while because McClelland's is a single malt range produced by Morrison-Bowmore to represent the Highland, Speyside, Lowland and Islay regions. Morrison-Bowmore happen to own three distilleries who cover three of those areas, and their only distillery in the Highland region is my favourite Glen Garioch.

 

 

 

Nose: Bright and fresh. Fruity and estery. The trademark Glen Garioch pear notes for me are very distinct here. Pear Drops and Tinned Pears with vanilla ice cream. Tinned fruit salad, tangerine, lemon, and grapefruit. Something younger and solvent like there as well. Very malty - mash tuns and still rooms. You can smell the distillery itself oozing out of this. Some feinty notes of candlewax and honey. The wood influence is quite minimal here and just sitting to the background. Soft toffee, Mr Kipling's lemon sponge cakes.

 

Palate: Smooth, bright and fruity. Pear, grapefruit and tangerine againe. Sweet and malty, biscuity like buttery shortbread fingers.

 

Finish: Shortish. Malty and biscuity. 

 

Comments: Young but delightful.

30.77 This is nuts! (Glenrothes 16 year old)

Information

Distillery: Glenrothes
Bottling: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 16
Distilled: 1997
Bottled: 2013
Strength: 57.7%
Cask: Refill sherry butt.
Cask Code: 30.77 This is nuts!

I don't pick up sherry casked whisky often, and when I do it generally has to be a well used cask which doesn't impact too much sherryness into the malt. When I was at the SMWS venue "The Vaults" in Leith to pick up some new bottles and I seen this one which picked up my attention because I have tasted some nice malts out of Glenrothes Distillery before, and a couple of strange and interesting ones from the SMWS before so I thought I would challenge myself to something different. Won't know unless you try right?

Nose: Sometimes I wish I hadn't read the label on my SMWS bottles before doing a tasting as it does impact some power of suggestion. "This is nuts" being fairly obvious about nutty type aromas, which is the sort of things that you do pick up from sherry casks. Nuts are definately coming through but in a sweet way that you would expect from a baker or a confectioner. Sweet and creamy Praline. Almonds and Marizapan in a Battenberg Cake. Minty aromas as I always get from a sherry cask - Imagine sitting at the cinema watching a film eating Mint Ice Cream with crushed Pecan Nuts, along side freshly popped Toffee Popcorn. Lots of sweet dessert fruits such as Strawberries, Blackcurrants, Redcurrants with a chocolate sauce and cream drizzled on top. Tunnock's Caramel Logs which are one of my favourite biscuits with coconut, biscuit, chocolate and caramel - it is a very nutty treat. Moving away from sweet notes there are more meaty, savoury notes coming through in the way of smoked sausage, and pepperoni pizza. There is also a slightly vegetative note in what reminds of me brussel sprouts which I absolutely hate by the way. Even the dog refuses them off the plate at Christmas. There is a definatete rubber note which I have smelt from the beginning but wanted to concentrate firstly on the positives rather than the negatives. The note is a combination of pencil shavings and pencil rubber/erasers and the smell reminds me of my pencil box at school.

Palate: On the palate as expected without water is pretty hot, but sweet and honeyed. Almost like honey and lemon tea which I was given when I was sick as a youngster. Milk Chocolate and Butterscotch which is a very positive note.Mint, Caramel, and finally something which is a bit metallic and I don't like. The sort of thing that subtractive maturation should take away. Those meaty and rubbery notes as well.

Finish: That creamy butterscotch and chocolate, caramel and coconut, and I am not sure whether this is pleasant or unpleasant but chewing on a burnt out match. The rubbery notes linger longer than the more good ones which may or may not be a good think dependant on your sensitivity to those sulphuric compounds.

Comments: An interesting malt and I am glad I spent the time deconstructing it but the sulphuric notes are strong with this (says Darth Vader). It isn't something I could drink every night but it does make a change from the typical ex-bourbon stuff which floats my boat so much.

Balblair 83 (cask 1252) - World of Whiskies exclusive

Information

Distillery: Balblair
Bottling: Distillery Bottling (World of Whiskies exclusive)
Age: 30
Distilled: 1983
Bottled: 2013
Strength: 54.1%
Cask: ex-bourbon

If I said I wasn't excited about this it would be a complete lie. I have known about this on the radar for a wee while: Single cask 1252 Balblair matured in a single ex-bourbon cask for 30 years and then hand picked by WOW staff at Glasgow Airport, to be bottled and sold exclusively to World of Whiskies @ World Duty Free (Travel Retail). After 30 years of silently maturing this cask only yielded 162 bottles so that is about 15 bottles per WOW outlet if split evenly.

Nose: It's a Balblair alright. Mango, Grapefruit, Pineapple and Papaya riding that tropical wave I know so well. Unlike younger balblairs which are full of fresh estery youthfulness, the fruits in here are deeper and richer, and reduced down into a thick syrupy sauce. Syrupy sweet Pineapple Cubes and Cola Cubes from the sweet shop. The extra time in the wood has paid off with all those lovely notes coming from the oak with a big hit of warm spiced, iced gingerbread loaf. A touch of banana bread in there as well. Loads of sweet toffee, caramel and chocolate like Toffee Poppet sweets (formerly Toffets).

Palate: Chewing on that gingerbread fresh out the oven. Warming, honeyed, spiced. Very rich and the fruits are rich, ripened and reduced again. The tangy sweet zing from the Cola Cubes. Melting caramel and chocolate, with a strong but balanced oak coming in.

Finish: Long with the rich mature oak character, toffee and spices.

Comments: What a lovely old Balblair. This spirit has plenty of mature, rich character but stays with a youthful and fiery friend on the journey. If you love Balblair you shouldn't need to be convinced.

Miltonduff 30 years old - Cask 3714 (Adelphi)

Information

Distillery: Miltonduff
Bottling: Adelphi
Age: 30
Distilled: 1982
Bottled: 2012
Strength: 52.7%
Cask: ex-bourbon, cask 3714

Nose: Lemon butter biscuits, banana foam sweets, tropical fruit punch, marshmallows, coconut, vanilla, green sports mixture sweets, a little herby in the form of thyme and basil.

Palate: As big on the palate as on the nose. Dominated by citrus through Lemonade with a twist of Lime. Very sweet and zesty. Spicy pepper and ginger, with the herby thyme alongside a little light menthol, vanilla, something green like pine needles and also sugar puff cereral.

Finish: The fruit and spices lasting into a long sweet finish, with a bite of wood.

4.174 Conflict between light and shade (Highland Park 1999, 13 years old)

Information

Distillery: Highland Park
Bottling: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 13
Distilled: 1999
Bottled: 2013
Strength: 53.0%
Cask: First fill ex-bourbon barrel.
Cask Code: 4.174 Conflict between light and shade

Nose: I immediately think I am drinking sweet pear cider at the beach. Lots of sweet ripe fruit. Pears, peaches and plums surrounded by salty sea air. Pineapple, lemon & lime and vanilla in "twister" ice cream lollies. I was discussing recently with someone that it must be a reflection of my West of Scotland diet that sweets, ice creams, and biscuits are more detectable than actual fruit! Creamy and honeyed. Lemon sherbet sweets, chocolate covered shortbread. Light and young but not harsh at all even at its higher strength with a lovely restrained smoke just contrasting all the lovely fruit and oak elements.

Palate: Lightly salted limes. Smooth, chewy and syrupy. The lemon and lime flavours really shining here with spicy pepper and nutmeg.

Finish: Long and biscuity, with the citrus coming through again. I have never tasted key lime pie, but I imagine in my head that this is how it tastes.

Comments: This is very delicious, highly drinkable and reminds me of some older Broras.The barrel unfortunately only yielded 84 bottles so there are only 84 bottles of this exact whisky in the world and they have all gone now.