This week of reviews of malts from highlands distilleries began on Monday with a young release from a new distillery I had never tried before: Ardnamurchan. It continues today with a malt from a much older distillery: Teaninich. I’ve not reviewed so very many malts from Teaninich either—there is not a massive amount of it about—but I’m always happy to have encounter one of them in my glass. This one is another single cask bottled by Signatory for Binny’s in Chicago. It’s a hogshead, which is good news as that austere northern highlands style that Teaninich is part of shines best from bourbon casks. Anyway, let’s see if it’s shining here.

Teaninich 10, 2007 (58.5%; Signatory for Binny’s; hogshead 702710; from a bottle split)

Nose: A sweet arrival with cereals and apple; some wet wool in there too. On the second sniff there’s some honey and some simple syrup; behind it there’s some hot tarmac and some wet stones. With time the simple syrup trumps the fruit. Water tames the simple syrup a bit and brings out some cream.

Palate: Comes in with lemon and a lot of it. Pretty hot at full strength; full texture. After a few minutes in the glass to open up, it’s the sweetness that makes the biggest impression—and here it’s mostly the simple syrup rather than the apple or cereals; the more austere notes from the nose don’t come through either. Okay, let’s give it some more time. With time the citrus begins to come through again (lemon peel) as does some of the wet wool; but this needs water. Yes, with water there’s more of the citrus and there’s some olive oil to go with it too now.

Finish: Long. The lemon and the alcohol make the first and second impression. Turns a bit sweeter at the end. Develops as on the palate with time and water.

Comments: I had high hopes for this after the first couple of sniffs but it remained a bit too simple on the palate—though water did make it less one-dimensional. I wouldn’t turn down a pour but it’s nothing I’d want a bottle of.

Rating: 83 points.