Yum, classic HP, very light initially. This one is all about the subtleties, wisps of heathery smoke and a sprinkle of smoked sea salt crystals! 85/100
Whitlaw 15 Years Old Batch 1
Irish Single Malt #2 15 Years Old Batch 6
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
Ben Nevis 15 Years Old 1997 (Pearls Of Scotland)
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
Glen Moray Warehouse 1 2005 Tokaji Finish
Traditional sweetie shop with candied ginger and dried/candied orange peel layered over Glen Moray’s biscuity malt base, later maple and pecan pastries and a hint of saffron, remarkable!
Benrinnes 15 Years Old 1999 Old Malt Cask
Pretty much what I would expect from a refill sherry maturation, this one is quite muted. Fruity and sweet with some mineral notes.
Bruichladdich Feis Ile 2021 Masterclass 6
Having been filled into the cask at 84%+ ABV this has had much more of a cask/cask char extract effect rather than mellowing/maturation. That said this whisky is still remarkably smooth at 69.3% ABV!
North British 15 Years Old 2003 Mossburn No. 24
Very light and drinkable single grain balanced with American/ex-bourbon oak influence, soft, fruity and creamy.
Longmorn 15 Years Old 2005 Distillery Reserve Collection
Quite heady and spicy with lots of lovely sherry influence, dried fruit, raisins and nuttiness. 87/100
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
Glencadam 15 Years Old
Another quite light dram, of similar strength and also ex-Bourbon cask matured. remarkably the 5 years difference between this and the last were really not apparent. 83/100
The Whiskyphiles 