Blended Malt #1 18 Years Old Batch 3 Whisky Review: A ‘blended malt’ that is full of honey and pear influence as well as peppery oak from the cask – very reminiscent of Glenfiddich and a teaspoon of Balvenie perhaps?
Tamnavulin 18 Years Old 2000 Vintage whisky review: A good mix of gentle and sweet Speyside character with heavy sherry maturation, in a similar vein to Aberlour or Macallan outputs. This is a great expression from a relatively sparse offering of official bottlings from Tamnavulin. 85/100
Jameson 18 Years Old Bow Street Cask Strength whiskey review: Spiced from the unmalted barley and rich and complex from both spirit and maturation, this is slightly removed from the smoothness of your usual Jameson blend and strikes me as something really quite memorable.
Linkwood 18 Years Old 1997 Distiller’s Art whisky review: Bursting with fresh fruit, reminded me a little of caramel apple granny or apple cakes then plenty of citurs zest and some oak wood adds a little depth to this really rather good Linkwood. 84/100
Auchroisk 18 Years Old 1994 Old Malt Cask whisky review: Floral, syrupy and light flavours hints of zesty fruits, a good drinker and great classic Speyside single malt example. 86/100
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
