A touch light in body and malt, perhaps I’m expecting more from comparison to similar smoky Islay whisky? Minimal cask influence suggestive of refill ex-Bourbon, just about tempers the smoke here plus a lovely fresh apple nature. 83/100
Good work from the Oloroso casks here with classic dried fruit and chocolate to the fore. 84/100
Sweet and clean, creamy and with plenty of fruit suggestive of mostly spirit and ex-Bourbon maturation keeping things fairly straightforward and enjoyingly simple. A touch odd in the finish – perhaps indicative of the distillate source? 85/100
Solid, sweet and malty and some good fruity and floral notes too. Not too spirity and a touch spicy and drying at the end to keep it interesting. 82/100
Very sweet and with plenty of range and intensity of flavours. Perhaps a little too sweet for my palate? 82/100
Sweeter and smokier than 10.1 and a nice addition of both tropical and stone fruits, I don’t think I’d have picked out the Sauternes influence here but in my defence Octomore’s are pretty robust spirit to begin with! 88/100
Solid. A touch non-descript in places though I often find with blends it can be hard to discern distinct taste notes. A good mixture of sweet and peat without resorting to too much ‘cask’ influences. 83/100
Another solid Rye expression from TOAD, perhaps more of the Rye spice to the fore here – this didn’t feel as cask-complex as previous expressions and more raw spirit nature shines because of it. 84/100
A touch tannic and spicy in places at full strength. This presents an unusual mixture of red fruits and toffee which is oddly harmonious. Another predictably excellent, wine cask influenced, Glen Moray. 85/100
Quite a refined and polished expression, quite tight or closed in places. A good malty caramel sweetness infused with fruits but encased in French oak, needs a little water to loosen it up. 84/100
The Whiskyphiles 