Alright, after a week of reviews of agave spirits (two mezcals and a raicilla) that no one reading the blog seemed to be interested in, let’s go back to Scotch whisky. Here’s another week of reviews of releases from Compass Box. First up, is one from 2018 that they called Stranger & Stranger. The name is apparently that of the design company they work(ed) with and the whisky was composed to commemorate the relationship. This is a blend of malt whisky with a tiny bit of 1 yo spirit from Girvan (apparently 1% of the whole). The explanation for the odd choice to blend a tiny bit of 1 yo spirit with a lot of malt whisky in a very expensive release (close to $200 in the US) is that Stranger & Stranger’s work is also category-defying. Of course, it also makes for a story of sorts and what is a Compass Box whisky without a story? The malt components are from Glenlossie (recharred hogshead, 80% of the whole), Glen Elgin (recharred barrel, 14% of the whole), and Linkwood (sherry butt, 5% of the whole). Okay, let’s see what it’s like). Continue reading
Category Archives: Whisky by Bottler
Caol Ila 18, 2001 (Gordon & MacPhail)
Caol Ila week comes to a close with the oldest of the trio (see here for Monday’s 9 yo and here for Wednesday’s 11 yo). This 18 yo was also released by Gordon & Macphail but is from a single first-fill bourbon barrel. Let’s get right to it.
Caol Ila 18, 2001 (57.2%; Gordon & MacPhail; first-fill bourbon barrel 308901; from a bottle split)
Nose: The smoke is more woody than phenolic to open, with a fair bit of cream in there as well. On the second sniff there’s a meaty savouriness and some lemon and then the coastal notes begin to emerge: salt crystals, shells, kelp. The salt intensifies as it goes. With more time there’s roasted malt and charred oak. A few drops of water bring out even more of the char. Continue reading
Caol Ila 11, 2005 (Gordon & MacPhail)
Alright, Caol Ila week got off to a good start on Monday with a young Signatory release put together from a mix of ex-sherry and ex-bourbon casks. Here now is an only-slightly older release from Gordon & Macphail that was put together from first-fill bourbon barrels (how many, I’m not sure). Let’s get right to it.
Caol Ila 11, 2005 (54.1%; Gordon & MacPhail; first-fill bourbon barrels; from a bottle split)
Nose: A little closed at first but then there’s oak. The peat takes a few beats to register and then it’s there, with disinfectant mixed in with some lemon, brine and some slightly ashy smoke. As it sits a fair bit of vanilla emerges and the oak gets toasted. With water the smoke and the oak both pick up some char and the vanilla turns to cream. Continue reading
Caol Ila 9, 2010, Small Batch #7 (Signatory for Kirsch Import)
The first whisky reviews of 2024 were both of peated whiskies last week: a very nice Croftengea 12, and an Ardmore 23 that was not as nice at all. Let’s keep the peat flowing this week, with a trio of Caol Ilas. Hopefully, they will put us back on a positive trajectory. First up, is a young small batch release from Signatory that was put together for the German market from two refill butts and three refill hogsheads. Let’s see what it’s like.
Caol Ila 9, 2010, Small Batch #7 (47.1%; Signatory for Kirsch Import; two refill butts+three refill hogsheads; from a bottle split)
Nose: Phenolic, inky peat with green bell pepper, as is not unusual with sherried Caol Ila. On the second sniff there’s some lemon and some brine to go with the ink as well as some more savoury notes. As it sits there’s more coastal notes (shells, more brine) and an open jar of kalamata olives as well. Softer notes emerge with more time (vanilla, milky cocoa). A few drops of water bring out more vanilla. Continue reading
Ardmore 23, 1997 (SMWS 66.191)
2024 got off to a smoky and tasty start with Wednesday’s Croftengea. Here now is another peated malt from a distillery elsewhere in the highlands: Ardmore.
I’ve previously reviewed a number of these Ardmore 23, 1997s bottled by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society and liked them all. This despite the fact that none of the previous have been from straightforward ex-bourbon casks, my preferred incarnation of Ardmore’s spirit. All spent the first 21 years in ex-bourbon and then the final two in another type of cask. 66.199 came closest to being ex-bourbon, having been matured for 21 years in ex-bourbon before receiving a finish in an engineered HTMC cask (high-toast, medium-char, I think). 66.198 spent its last two years in a French oak barrique. 66.195 and 66.197 were both finished in sherry casks, the former in a first-fill oloroso barrique and the latter in a refill Spanish oak hogshead. This is another of those oloroso barrique finishes, a first-fill STR oloroso barrique to be exact (STR= shaved, toasted, re-charred, I think). The SMWS gave it the name “Smoky Cajun Roux”. As good as the others? Let’s see. Continue reading
Croftengea 12, 2006 (First Editions)
Let’s get 2024 off to a smoky start. My first whisky review of the year is of a Croftengea, one of the peaty brands produced by Loch Lomond. I’ve really enjoyed most of the Croftengeas I’ve had in recent years; that mix of Loch Lomond fruit and heavy peat is a very nice one. Let’s see if that’s in evidence here.
Croftengea 12, 2006 (53.9%; First Editions; refill hogshead 15540; from a bottle split)
Nose: Big farmy peat with some rubber mixed in; some citrus and salt in there too. The salt expands as it sits and more fruit begins to emerge with it (tart apple, Makrut lime). With more time there’s some vanilla and some cream as well. A few drops of water make the whole sweeter. Continue reading
Longrow 21, 2001 (Cadenhead)
Here to close out the week, month and year in whisky reviews is a single cask of Longrow 21 bottled by Cadenhead. As they are a sister concern, I expect they’ve picked a good one. Well, the week’s other releases from Springbank (whose peated label Longrow is) have also been very good: both this single sherry cask of Hazelburn (Springbank’s unpeated line), and the new’ish blended malt, Campbeltown Loch. Will the oldest of the three be the best? I hope so: it’ll be good to end the year on a good note.
Longrow 21, 2001 (44.1%; Cadenhead; bourbon hogshead; from a bottle split)
Nose: Oh, this glorious Longrow nose! Mineral peat, brine, cracked coriander seed, lemon zest, a slight whiff of machine oil. The salt expands dramatically on the second sniff with the lemon coming up behind. Continues in this vein, picking up some sweetness as it goes. A few drops of water and the salt, peat and lemon are balanced on a knife edge, with just a bit of vanilla below. Continue reading
Carsebridge 45, 1973 (Thompson Bros.)
Alright, let’s bring my reviews of old single grain whiskies to a close. Today’s whisky is older than both the others I’ve reviewed this week (this Cameronbridge and this Cambus) and also all three of the considerably older single grains I reviewed in October (this Invergordon, this North of Scotland, and this Caledonian). It’s a 45 yo from Carsebridge, distilled in 1973 and bottled by the Thompson Bros. of Dornoch in 2018. Whiskybase lists it as being from a sherry butt but lists an outturn of only 349 bottles. Might have been a cask split with someone else? They did bottle another 1973 Carsebridge the next year with an outturn of 437 bottles (and a much higher abv); but 349+437 adds up to a lot of bottles, even for a sherry butt. If anyone knows where the rest of this cask went, do right in to the comments. Anyway, I liked both the Cameronbridge and the Cambus and hope this Carsebridge will take us out on an even higher note. Let’s see. Continue reading
Cambus 30, 1989 (Alambic Classique)
My second week of reviews of older single grain whiskies got off to a decent start with the Cameronbridge 27, 1990 bottled by Jack Wieber for their 20th anniversary. Here now is another sherried single grain bottled for another German indie, Alambic Classique. Where the Cameronbridge was a sherry finish, this 30 yo Cambus was entirely matured in a sherry cask (or so I think anyway). The Cameronbridge was let down a bit by sherry separation; in theory at least that shouldn’t happen here. Let’s see if that’s the case.
Cambus 30, 1989 (61.1%; Alambic Classique; sherry cask 19094; from a bottle split)
Nose: Bright orange and polished oak on the first sniff; some brandied raisins on the second. The oak expands a little as it sits and then there are hints of sweeter, muskier fruit (roasted pineapple?) and some cereals. Bitter caramel here too with time. A few drops of water push the oak and caramel back and bring out some apricot and more orange and also some toffee. Continue reading
Cameronbridge 27, 1990 (Jack Wieber)
I did a week of reviews of old single grain Scotch whiskies in October: a 43 yo North of Scotland, a 43 yo Invergordon, and a 40 yo Caledonian. Of the three, I was only particularly enthused by the Caledonian. Best to quit while ahead, you might say. Accordingly, here is another week of reviews of old single grain Scotch whiskies. Three completely different distilleries this time, all of whose names start with “c” (a good omen perhaps). They’re also all either from sherry casks or sherry finishes (the previous trio were all ex-bourbon). They’re also not quite as old as that 40-something trio. Well, one of them is older than all three of those but the other two are quite a bit younger. We’ll start the week with the youngest, a 27 yo Cameronbridge that was distilled in 1990 and received a sherry finish (of what duration, I do not know) before it was bottled in 2017 by the German bottler, Jack Wieber on the occasion of their 20th anniversary. You’d expect a quality pick for the occasion. Let’s see what I make of it. Continue reading
Compass Box, The Circle No. 2
I am at the end of my week of Compass Box reviews and you’ll be relieved to hear that I’m not closing it out with another release from seven years ago. The last review of the week is of a release from just last year and it was not made as protest against whisky industry regulations. It seems to have some connection to a international bartender conversation called the Circle. This is the Circle No. 2, which implies—if you’re good with the detective work like me—that there was another release before that. And for all we know there may have been one after as well. It’s also different from the Enlightenment and Three Year Old Deluxe in that it’s got a lot more parts to it. While the Enlightenment had malt from four distilleries in it, and the Three Year Old Deluxe had malt from only two distilleries in it, this has malt from five distilleries, as well as a not-inconsiderable portion of blended whisky. About half of it is bourbon cask Glen Elgin and another 17% or so is bourbon cask Speyburn. The remaining 33% is made up of first-fill sherry hogshead Ardmore (2.2%), first-fill sherry butt Teaninich (13.5%), a little bit of wine cask Linkwood (2.3%) and that parcel of blended Scotch, said to be “primarily first-fill sherry butt” (14.3%) . I got all this from Compass Box’s fact sheet, which also tells me that I might know the person who composed this whisky. Let’s hope I like it. Continue reading
Compass Box, Three Year Old Deluxe
Here is the second Compass Box review of the week. The first was of the Enlightenment, which was released in April 2016 as a response to EU and UK regulations that forbid whisky producers from disclosing the ages of constituent whiskies in their blends/vattings (at least I think that’s what they were responding to—it’s been a while and I confess I didn’t follow the drama very closely even then). Today’s review is of the so-called Three Year Old Deluxe which was released a few months later in August 2016 and was marketed as yet another salvo against the arbitrariness of those regulations. Here, the whiskymakers told us, they had composed a whisky that comprised only 1% of a 3 yo single malt from a highlands distillery (“near the village of Brora”; i.e Clynelish) and 90% of “considerably older” whisky from the same distillery; the remaining 9% came from a distillery on Skye (i.e Talisker). Of course, by the regulations the only age that can be disclosed is that of the youngest whisky in the vatting, making it a 3 yo and isn’t that silly? Continue reading
Compass Box, Enlightenment
For the first full week of November let’s do a series of reviews of releases from the boutique indie bottler, Compass Box. As you doubtless know, unlike most Scotch whisky indies, Compass Box does not release casks of whiskies from distilleries but their own blends of one kind or the other: vatted malts (or whatever they’re officially called now), blends of malt and grain, all grain whisky: they’ve released them all. They are very popular with the whisky geek corner of the market. I have previously aired my skepticism about aspects of Compass Box’s presentation and appeal to this part of the market. In short, I’ve speculated that their bespoke presentation and facility with the language of whisky geekdom is a large part of their success. The whiskies themselves have often seemed to me to be adjacent to the presentation of them. That said, I’ve liked a number of their releases even as I’ve wondered about the fuss. Enlightenment, released in 2016, was one of their releases about which a fair bit of fuss was made. Continue reading
Invergordon 43, 1973 (The Whisky Agency)
This week of reviews of old single grain whiskies got off to a good start on Monday with a North of Scotland 43, 1971 bottled by Gordon & Company. Let’s see if the streak continues with this Invergordon, also 43 years old but distilled a couple of years later. The bottler is the Whisky Agency, once one of the biggest names in independent bottling in Europe. Now that I’ve stopped buying whisky from Europe, I’m no longer sure which bottlers are still active or as active as they used to be. Is the Whisky Agency still a big name? This is not my first review of an old Invergordon, by the way. I’ve also reviewed another 1973, a 39 yo bottled by Malts of Scotland, another German bottler that was a big name back in the day. No idea if they’re still as active either. I do know I didn’t care very much for that 39 yo. Let’s see if this 43 yo is any better.
North of Scotland 43, 1971 (Gordon & Company)
Alright after a week of brandy reviews (Armagnac, Calvados and English cider brandy), let’s go back to Scotland for some whisky. But instead of my usual regimen of single malt, this will be a week of reviews of single grain whiskies; and pretty old ones at that. First up is a 43 yo, a North of Scotland distilled in 1973 and bottled by Gordon & Company. I reviewed a grain whisky from Teeling this summer and a few years ago I reviewed another from Nikka; but it’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a Scottish grain whisky. More than eight years, in fact. Coincidentally, that one was a North of Scotland bottled by Gordon & Company as well—though a 42 yo distilled in 1971. I was not overly impressed by it, and, frankly, I don’t believe I’ve ever been very impressed by a grain whisky. But there’s always a first time for everything and I’m hoping this one will exceed my expectations. I do feel nostalgic as I get into it; not on account of the whisky but because of the sample bottles. These are a pair of 20 ml sample bottles from Whiskybase. I’d purchased them back when I used to purchase whisky from Europe—a lot of it from Whiskybase. I haven’t done so in many years now. Shipping became too expensive and whisky became not just expensive but stupid. And, indeed, I don’t think Whiskybase even ships to the US anymore. So it goes. Continue reading
Clynelish 1996-2015, Prenzlow Portfolio (Jack Wieber)
Back to a sherry cask to close out this week of reviews of whiskies from highlands distilleries, and also to close out the month. We’ll go a bit further north than Tomatin, to Clynelish. It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a sherry cask Clynelish; my last three reviews were all of bourbon casks of one kind or the other (here, here and here). Well, the label on this bottle does not specify the cask type but it was very clearly a sherry cask. It was distilled in 1996 and bottled in 2015 by Jack Wieber’s Whisky World in Germany (and it’s been even longer since I reviewed a Jack Wieber release). The “Prenzlow Portfolio” part of the name refers to the label painted by the artist, Alfred Prenzlow. I assume there were other Jack Wieber bottlings in this series with labels created by Alfred Prenzlow but I have not come across them. This is another of many bottles that I purchased almost 10 years ago but for some reason never got around to opening. Well, I finally opened it over the weekend. Here now are my notes. Continue reading
Craigellachie 11, 2011 (Single Malts of Scotland)
This week of reviews of sherry cask whiskies from non-Island distilleries got off to a promising start with a young whisky from the new’ish English distillery, Bimber. For the second review of the week, we are back in Scotland, up in the Speyside, at Craigellachie. Craigellachie—like Mortlach—produce an atypical Speyside spirit. Both distilleries are among the few that still use wormtubs to condense their spirit; as a result both produce a heavy, meaty/savoury spirit. Sherry cask maturation can emphasize those qualities, and in the case of Craigellachie in particular, can bring out an organic, farmy note. Such was the case, for example, with a 15 yo bottled for K&L a couple of years ago. It’s a non-cookie cutter profile for sure. This particular cask, a single sherry butt, was bottled by the Single Malts of Scotland in 2022. That label is now operated by Elixir Distillers, which was spun off from the Whisky Exchange a few years ago; because I am old and resistant to change, I still think of it as a Whisky Exchange label. Get off my lawn. Continue reading