The Whiskyphiles

Latest Posts


  • Black Bottle

    Black Bottle offers a characterful blended scotch with good structure and strong flavours. A delight amongst insipid vanilla & lemon blends that let far to much youthful grain spirit shine. An easy equal to many a single malt and much… Continue reading

  • Tullibardine 500

    My favourite of the tasting – I guess no surprises there! I guess like the whole range I felt this was a bit safe and unchallenging. I’d prefer a bit more strength or depth to some of the finishing flavours… Continue reading

  • Tullibardine 228

    Revisiting the Tullibardine 228, albeit in it’s revised packaging I was slightly underwhelmed with this expression compared to my first experience. Perhaps it was due to following the sweetness of the 225? I didn’t feel this had quite as much… Continue reading

  • Tullibardine 225

    from Tullibardine’s spirit. This one seems quite light on the impact of the finishing cask and I found myself wishing it went a little further, the end result is a sweeter and fruitier dram with a touch more woody spices… Continue reading

  • Tullibardine Sovereign

    Good texture and rounded with a good balance between fruit and oak wood before drier and spicier elements add interest. Perhaps a shade of spirit nature belies the youthfulness on the palate. 80/100 Continue reading

  • Domaine d’Aurensan 20 Ans

    Woody but so drinkable, I hadn’t appreciated when sampling this that it wasn’t all 20 years old! Some soft floral notes but this is mostly wood and dried herbs and fruits with a generous nutty and chocolate component too, superb!… Continue reading

  • Oxford Rye Whisky Batch 5 Red Red Rye

    Another rich and cereal led expression as I’ve come to expect from TOAD’s Rye expressions. This is up there with the best of them (possibly Batch 1). The cask combination delivers ginger beer and jammy black fruits and of course… Continue reading

  • Cu Bocan Signature

    A soft and accessible as befitting a peated Tomatin. A touch woody in places from the Virgin Oak casks perhaps but well constructed with an array of flavours complimenting this soft Highland Malt with a smoky edge. 83/100 Continue reading

  • Spearhead

    As you would expect this has all the diversity and flavour of a single malt whisky, if anything the Coffey distillation has allowed the extraction of cask flavours to come through even more in the final whisky. 84/100 Continue reading

  • Glasgow 1770 Sauternes Cask Finish

    My favourite of the tasting, the perfect combination of sweet and peat. I’ve long had a fascination with Sauternes-cask finished whiskies and this one really hits the mark with youthful peaty exuberance and leathery, stone-fruit skin sweetness in perfect harmony.… Continue reading