Aberlour 18 Year Old whisky review: Much more dried fruit and sherry influence in the 18 year old expression as compared to the Aberlour Triple Cask I sampled in this little duet. Still quite fresh and zesty polish and pear drop distillate character and masses of apples join much of the sherry-derived darker fruits. 88/100
Glen Scotia 18 Year Old whisky review: Surprisingly light and creamy, this 18 year old expression is a polar opposite to the usual oily and dirty Campbeltown smoke. Delicious waxy/oily, coastal and sherried on an unpeated malt backbone. 87/100
Glengoyne 18 Years Old whisky review: A remarkably mature and well-balanced dram this one reveals itself slowly so demands you slow down and take time over it. Reserved and refined rather than a sherry bomb, 1st fill casks have been used carefully here and countered well with refill influences. 86/100
Black Friday 2018: Orkney 18 Years Old whisky review: A rather spicy, sweet, spicy, gently smoky, spicy, and spiced woody dram, did I mention a liberal sprinkling of spices here? I want to say fairly pleasant – but for me it’s that horrid example of Highland Park in refill casks that is the Palate-prickling equivalent of chewing on a wasp stuck on a thistle, bbq’d and covered in heather honey then washed down with Lemsip-soaked nettles. If you love that kind of thing then good for you – its a perfect example!
Old Pulteney 18 Years Old whisky review: Reminiscent of the recently discontinued Old Pulteney 17 Year Old, this 18 year old expression from Pulteney distillery has a healthy sherry influence and plenty of wonderful chocolate notes. My overall impression is this lacks a little complexity or is a bit more polished than the 17 perhaps. 87/100
Cask Orkney 18 Years Old whisky review: I have to agree that this fits the profile of for example Highland Park’s Freya expression (also Bourbon cask matured). Full of heathery and lightly floral peat influence and that slightly salty and very malty distillate the Kirkwall distillery is rather famous for. 86/100
Rock Oyster 18 Years Old whisky review: At the time of tasting I found it hard to separate this in preference from the power of the standard blend. With time, both maturation and time in the glass and on the palate, this 18 year old edition reveals more subtleties and complexity and so now just pips the standard by a point in my book. For the price differential however it is hard to pass by the standard Rock Oyster blend. 86/100
The Spirit Still Burnside 18 Years Old Blended Malt Scotch Whisky Review: An odd mixture of sweet, fruity, zesty and creamy which rolls around the palate but doesn’t seem to settle into a pattern or predominant flavour. To try settle this one down or tidy it up we added a splash of water which thins it out and revealed more creamy vanilla but also suggested refill cask to me. I think I favour this one reduced where it became very easily drinkable but still echoed all of the flavours it had at cask strength. 86/100
Dewars 18 Years Old The Vintage Blended Scotch Whisky Review: What a lovely well-rounded blend, definitely focussed on mouthfeel this was the epitomy of smooth and from there the luxuriousness of this blend won me over. It is creamy with toffee and nuts to the fore with gentler hints of sherry maturation appearing later. The whole experience spoke of refined luxury and a very relaxed drinking experience. Paired with chocolate this brought out the spicier and dark fruit nature of this blend. 86/100
Whisky Review: Mortlach 18 Year Old (That Boutique-y Whisky Company). Quite fruity and fresh with red apples and toffee apples, hints of smoked ham and sweet-cured bacon, plenty of malt but also floral and herbal in places too. 86/100
