Whisky distilled, matured for a minimum of 3 years and bottled in Scotland
A fire-breathing beast of a dram from Spey which manages to capture everything from the light fruity apple nature of Spey’s distillate and plenty of Bourbon cask classic flavours too. Perfect at CS or with a healthy sploosh of water, the smoke travels a long way. 86/100
A touch spirity at Cask strength but manages to water well, highlighting the balance achieved here using Tawny Port casks. Jammy fruit and rose petal influences but not too sweet or overpowering. 85/100
Quite a closed or tight expression on both the nose and palate, often a feature of long maturation, there is depth here but it needs time and perhaps a little water to loosen it out. Some lovely woody and herbal notes present too present in layers over their fruity distillate. 85/100
A cleaner expression which is still remarkably fruity with tonnes of apples and pears across the nose and palate. 84/100
A very easy drinker, has some nice complexity with a backdrop of Spey’s light spirit. Full of plenty of fresh fruits tempered by oak wood maturation. 84/100
Very sherried, I suspect a 1st fill perhaps? This one is actually a little too intense at cask strength but with water this releases a lot of dark fruits and relaxes the tannins on the palate. 85/100
Bonnington peated new make spirit, heavy and full-bodied in mouthfeel and retains the creamed barley nature, the sweetness here is paired with nuttiness and dry peat smoke.
Bonnington unpeated new make spirit, heavy and full-bodied in mouthfeel but with a lovely creamed barley nature, sweet but not overtly fruity. A distinct signature/character for Bonnington distillate.
This is a touch more closed initially than the 10yo but full of similar notes. Interestingly this batch (Batch 21, May 2021, 55.4%) has been constructed from 50:50 bourbon:sherry casks whereas previous editions have been reported at 35:65. There is more baked fruits here and some tarter citrus and earthier cranberry present. 86/100
Yum, a super expression with salt, smoke, sherry and barley malt influences throughout. A complex classic Campbeltown. 86/100
The Whiskyphiles 