Rich and smooth like good dark chocolate, subtle peaty and coastal elements mix with plenty of wood influence here. 88/100
Bowmore 18 Years Old
Barry Bradford
About me? I am a Whisky Educator, Travel-Tourist and Blogger. I blog tasting notes about (mostly Scotch) beer and whisky at The Whiskyphiles. I keep progress of my travels via the Alfred Barnard Society. Based in Livingston, Scotland I do most of my dramming at the University of Edinburgh Water of Life Society and Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
Bowmore 15 Years Old Darkest
Ok for me this is not really an improvement on the 12 Years Old but rather a different perspective on Bowmore, I feel this is never as overtly sherried as the colour suggests and is much more neutral. 84/100
Bowmore 12 Years Old
Lovely, gently smoky and coastal elements with lots of honeyed soft fruits too, the perfect introduction to Bowmore’s core range. 84/100
Ledaig 12 Years Old Batch 18
A superb Ledaig expression full of peat smoke, salty coastal influence and sherried/dried fruits. 84/100
Tobermory 12 Years Old Batch 15
Quite harsh/spicy, black pepper and cinnamon overpower the fruitiness quite quickly, certainly needs a drop of water and readily reveals that metallic edge/hot radiator nature. 77/100
Tullibardine 26 Years Old 1989 Single Cask
Woody oak and tropical fruits prevail in this delicious old dram, I’m left searching a little bit for character here but maybe that’s just my distraction? 86/100
Redbreast 10 Years Old Cask Strength Batch 1
Rich and full Pot Still whisky expression, great depth of distillate here lending generous ‘heavy’ character, leathery spice offset by sweet and fruity cask influences. I can only guess at the historic 10 year old profile but this new re-imagining of the 10 year old expression certainly fits in my mind to what it could have been. 87/100
Paul John Christmas Edition 2020
Sweet and softly peated, I already suspected a mixture of peated & unpeated casks used in the mixture here similar to some of Paul John’s standard range, strikes a really lovely balance between sweet & peat. 88/100
Nantou 4 Years Old Batch 1
Lovely fruity aroma and also on the palate but much too spiced for my liking, quite sharp/prickly. 78/100
Langatun 5 Years Old Batch 3
A touch woody but with some lovely sweet and floral notes, also a little bit vegetal on the palate. 79/100
