Tag Archives: Single Malt

Port Charlotte 16, 2001, The Heretic, Feis Ile 2018

Posted on by


Okay, let’s close out peated Islay week with one from Bruichladdich. This 16 yo Port Charlotte was bottled for the 2018 edition of Feis Ile, the Islay whisky festival. It is a vatting of the last five casks that were filled during the 2001, which was the first year that the peated Port Charlotte distillate was produced at Bruichladdich. It was given the name “The Heretic”, which I think refers to the fact Bruichladdich had not historically made peated whisky. The cask types that went into the vatting include ex-bourbon, ex-rum and ex-French wine. At only 1300 bottles, this was a true limited release. Let’s see what it was like.

Port Charlotte 16, 2001, The Heretic (55.9%; for Feis Ile 2018; from a bottle split)

Nose: The familiar Bruichladdich/Port Charlotte sour milk but it’s mixed here with sweet cereals and carbolic peat and lemon and the whole is rather nice. On the second sniff there’s some bacon fat in there too. On the third sniff the bacon fat turns to a freshly open can of smoked sardines. Some butterscotch in there as well. Water amplifies the butyric notes at first but it burns of leaving a mix of cereals and ash. Continue reading →

Caol Ila 14, Four Corners

Posted on by


Here is the second of this week’s reviews of peated whiskies from Islay. (See here for Monday’s review of an indie Laphroaig.) Today I have for you a 14 yo Caol Ila that was matured in a mix of refill and freshly charred hogsheads. This is an official release, part of a Diageo series named Four Corners. The series also includes releases from Glenkinchie, Cardhu and Clynelish. Together these are said to form the four corners of Scotland (let’s not look too closely at an actual map), or at least of Diageo’s Scottish portfolio map (let’s not look too closely at an actual map). This might put you in mind of Diageo’s old Classic Malts lineup but I believe this series may also have something to do with all four distilleries having recently been refurbished in a major way. I could be wrong: as I’ve noted before, it’s been years since I’ve paid attention to whisky industry news. The most shocking thing about the series though is that all four releases not only have age statements but are also in their teens. And all are at cask strength. I’m not sure what’s gotten into Diageo. Well, nothing too drastic as the prices were rather keen—obviously no lapse on that front. Anyway, let’s see what this is like. Continue reading →

Williamson 12, 2010 (Thompson Bros.)

Posted on by


After a week of mezcal reviews (here, here and here) and before that, a week of rum reviews (here, here and here), it’s time to get back to Scotland and whisky. And in particular we’ll head to Islay. This week will feature teenaged peated whiskies. First up is the youngest. It’s a 12 yo Laphroaig bottled by the Thompson brothers of Dornoch from a refill sherry cask. (As you doubtless know by now, “Williamson” is the name used these days for most independent releases of Laphroaig.) Let’s get right to it.

Williamson 12, 2010 (50%; Thompson Bros.; refill sherry cask; from a bottle split)

Nose: Sweet, carbolic peat with some lime zest and then quite a lot of salt crystals. More coastal with each sniff with shells and seaweed joining the salt. Some more fruit in there too after a minute: tart apple, lemon; the smoke gets sootier. Continues in this general vein, maybe getting a little sweeter. With a few drops of water it turns into ashy limoncello; the salt’s still here. Continue reading →

Highland Park 12, 2008 (SMWS 4.263)

Posted on by


Despite my misgivings about prices and marketing at Highland Park in the last decade or so, I quite enjoyed the two Highland Parks I reviewed this week: Monday’s 12 yo sherry cask for the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers, and Wednesday’s 15 yo bourbon cask for Binny’s. Here now to close out the week is another bourbon cask release, put together from spirits from hogsheads that received a bourbon barrel finish. It was bottled, at an eye-watering strength, by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Let’s hope it’s up to the standard of the other two this week.

Highland Park 12, 2008 (61.2%; SMWS 4.263; bourbon hogsheads+bourbon barrel finish; from a bottle split)

Nose: Mineral peat and soot and cereals off the top and then on the second sniff there’s lemon and some sweeter fruit (apple?). As it sits there’s more tart fruit (gooseberry) and some peppery olive oil. With more time still the peat and soot recede; now there’s some vanilla and a bit of peach. With a few drops of water the citrus expands (bitter-sweet lime zest) as does the peach and the vanilla becomes a little more custardy. Continue reading →

Highland Park 15, 1999 (for Binny’s)

Posted on by


I failed to mention in the preamble to Monday’s review of the Highland Park 12 for the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers that all this week’s reviews will be of whiskies from Highland Park. Consider it now mentioned. Monday’s review was from a firkin (a smaller than normal cask), which had previously held sherry. Today’s review is of a 15 yo matured in a bourbon barrel (ignore what it says on the sample label). It’s from a parcel of Signatory casks, all bourbon barrels, with proximate numbers. It was bottled for a Chicago outfit called Vintage Wines (which Google tells me is now permanently closed). Michael K. of Diving for Pearls informs that bottles of this barrel hung out on the shelves at Binny’s in Chicago for at least two-and-a-half years. Is that because most people go to Highland Park for heavy sherry? Well, I do like a good bourbon cask Highland Park. Let’s see if this is one and if it will make this week’s Highland Park streak so far a positive one. Continue reading →

Highland Park 12 (for LLUA)

Posted on by


Once upon a time Highland Park was one of my five favourite distilleries. These days I don’t really spend much time thinking about that kind of thing but if I did, I doubt Highland Park would make the cut. I’m sure I’ve gone into the major reason before: the endless premium-ization of the brand (which was itself preceded by the transformation of what used to be a distillery refreshingly free of hoo-ha into a brand). Anyway, it’s not just that their prices shot up, it’s also that the quality did not keep up with the prices. Of course, that’s been a much broader problem in Scotland over the last decade; Highland Park is hardly the only one guilty of it. But I can’t remember the last time I was tempted to buy an official Highland Park, even though there have been many of them around, given the emphasis they’ve placed on single cask releases for stores, private groups, wealthy individuals etc.. In fact, the last Highland Park I reviewed was another 12 yo single cask bottled for Binny’s. That one was a first-fill European Oak hogshead (not the most common type of cask). This one was bottled a few years ago, not for a store but for an internet group: the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers. I’m actually a member of the group but I passed on a full bottle of this (on account of the price thing). It’s also from a relatively unusual cask: the much smaller firkin. I’m not sure but I think it might have been finished in a firkin: I can’t imagine that 12 years in a cask that small would yield a very palatable whisky (but I could be wrong). Anyway, let’s get into it. Continue reading →

Caol Ila 18, 2001 (Gordon & MacPhail)

Posted on by


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)

Posted on by


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)

Posted on by


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)

Posted on by


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)

Posted on by


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)

Posted on by


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 →

Hazelburn 13, 2007

Posted on by


A whisky review on a Tuesday for a change: my last restaurant report from the Twin Cities will be posted tomorrow.

As I said yesterday, we will remain in Campbeltown to close out the year in whisky reviews. After three Glen Scotia festival bottlings (here, here and here), this week began with Springbank’s Campbeltown Loch release, a blended malt that incorporates malts made by the three extant distilleries of Campbeltown. Springbank itself contributed malts from all three of its lines for that blend: the eponymous Springbank, the heavily peated and double-distilled Longrow, and the unpeated and triple-distlled Hazelburn. Today I have for you a single cask Hazelburn. This is an oloroso sherry cask that was released in 2020 and was doubtless snapped up immediately and re-flogged on the secondary market, as is the case, seemingly, with almost everything Springbank produces. I suspect the heavy sherry influence (palpable just from the colour in the sample bottle) will cover up what might otherwise distinguish the Hazelburn line from the Springbank line. Let’s see if that’s the case. Continue reading →

Glen Scotia 10, Campbeltown Malts Festival 2021

Posted on by


My week of reviews of Glen Scotia’s recent releases for the Campbeltown Malts Festival comes to an end with this 10 yo bottled for the 2021 iteration of the festival. On Monday I’d reviewed the 11 yo bottled for this year’s festival, and on Wednesday I’d reviewed the 8 yo bottled for last year’s festival. Both were peated whiskies but while the former had received a white port finish, the latter had been finished in PX casks. I thought both were pretty good, though neither got me very excited. The 2021 release did not feature peated spirit (as far as I know) and was finished in red wine casks from Bordeaux. Will this be the rare red wine cask that gets me going? I have to say my recent encounters with red wine-bothered single malts have not been dire. Both the Mortlach in Diageo’s 2023 Special Release I reviewed earlier this month and the single Super Tuscan cask Edradour I reviewed in November were enjoyable enough (if nothing very special). Let’s see where this one falls. Continue reading →

Glen Scotia 8, Campbeltown Malts Festival 2022

Posted on by


I have to confess I haven’t really tracked the Campbeltown Malts Festival very much over the years. The festival was launched in 2008 but I didn’t get around to reviewing a festival release until 2021 (when I reviewed the Glen Scotia release for the 2020 festival). You might think that 2008 is pretty recent and while that’s true in the abstract, consider that the Spirit of Speyside festival only launched nine years prior, and there are a whole lot more distilleries in the Speyside than in Campbeltown. Feis Ile, the Islay festival, is a bit older but it’s not like it goes back to the dawn of time either: the first iteration was held in 1986. Still, it’s probably fair to say that of the major regional festivals, the Campbeltown Malts Festival has the lowest profile. And considering that the other distilleries in the region are either Springbank or a member of the Springbank family (Glengyle/Kilkerran), it’s also fair to say that Glen Scotia probably has the lowest profile of the participants. Or maybe I’m wrong and there is a huge frenzy to purchase their festival releases as well, and a crazy secondary market for them. Unlike most of the Islay distilleries, they do put age statements on their festival releases. The aforementioned 2020 release was 14 years old, and this year’s release (which I reviewed on Monday) was 11 years old. Both were peated whiskies and involved finishes: tawny port for the 2020 and white port for the 2023. Today I have a review of their release for the 2022 festival. It was only 8 years old and, though peated, was finished in PX rather than port casks. Let’s see what it was like. Continue reading →

Glen Scotia 11, Campbeltown Malts Festival 2023

Posted on by


Is this the year of white port finishes in Scotland or is it just the year in which I’ve noticed them. Or is it the year of white port finishes in special releases? In October I reviewed the 2023 Cairdeas release from Laphroaig which sees a third of the vatting finished in white port casks. The Talisker in Diageo’s 2023 Special Release was also partly finished in white port casks. And here now is Glen Scotia’s release for the 2023 Campbeltown Malts Festival, which was also a white port cask finish (I’ve previously reviewed the 2020 Festival release, which had a tawny port finish). Unlike the Cairdeas, this one bears an age statement: it’s 11 years old (no vintage statement though, I don’t think). I’m guessing the base spirit was matured in a mix of bourbon casks prior to receiving the finish (for how long, I have no idea). As per Whiskybase, there were 24,000 bottles in the release—I assume these weren’t available only at the festival. The base spirit was distilled from lightly peated malt. Well, I quite liked the marriage of white port (and madeira) with Laphroaig’s heavier peat. Let’s see what I make of this one. Oh yes, this week’s whisky reviews will all be of Glen Scotia’s Campbeltown Malts Festival releases. Continue reading →

Glenkinchie 27, Special Release 2023

Posted on by


And so, finally, I am the end of my reviews of Diageo’s 2023 Special Release slate. To close out the series I have the oldest of the lot: a Glenkinchie 27. (Already reviewed: Talisker, Lagavulin, Roseisle, Glendullan, Mortlach, Clynelish and Oban.) Unlike the others—bar the Lagavulin 12, which always had a place in the lineup—this Glenkinchie would have made sense in the lineup back when the Special Release did seem special and aspirational. In those days almost every whisky in the lineup bar the Lagavulin 12 was usually pretty old. See, for example, 2013 when other than a NAS unpeated Caol Ila, every other whisky in the lineup ranged from 21-37 years old. (Consider also that while 2013’s Port Ellen 34 cost £1500, this year’s Port Ellen 43—now in the Prime & Ultima series—will set you back £15,000.) Well, I’ve saved the oldest of the current lot for last; but is it the best? Not that the competition has been very stiff: the Clynelish 10 is the only one of the other seven that really seemed special to me. One way to find out. Continue reading →