
Glengoyne 12 Years Old whisky review: Quite thick and appealing, very malty and with lots of well-established fruit flavours. The sherry adds a little touch of chocolate that along with coconut notes reminded me of Bounty chocolate bars. 84/100
Glengoyne 12 Years Old whisky review: Quite thick and appealing, very malty and with lots of well-established fruit flavours. The sherry adds a little touch of chocolate that along with coconut notes reminded me of Bounty chocolate bars. 84/100
BenRiach 10 Years Old Whisky Review: A well-structured 10 year old from BenRiach with plenty of sweet vanilla, citrus fruit and zesty spice on the palate, strengthened by malt and subtle, more sherried influences add complexity. 83/100
The GlenDronach 12 Years Old Original whisky review: Lovely sherried GlenDronach, drier and a little spicier in places than I remember, either my palate has changed or I feel there is a lot more PX influence, thus less Oloroso in the balance of flavours? Still a great entry-level whisky from GlenDronach and worthy of a place on the shelf of any whiskyphile partial to a sherried dram. 83/100
The GlenDronach 10 Years Old Forgue whisky review: A little fatty/buttery and youthful spirit in here but also plenty of sherry influence, lighter and brighter fruits initially then drier and spicier oak wood. Sweet then sour, for a 10 year old this has some diversity over the palate, again thanks in part to the blatant usage of good old Sherry casks on this GlenDronach. 83/100
Caol Ila 2004 Distillers Edition whisky review: A much more meatier and smokier edition than the previous years vintage. Some may like this more but I think this has drifted slightly too far from the sweet and peat balance. More like a standard Caol Ila, malt and smoke becomes spicy and drying and a little sourness from the wood is unmasked too. 82/100
Caol Ila 2003 Distillers Edition whisky review: A deliciously sweet and peaty Caol Ila Distillers Edition with a burst of well-integrated fruits adding to the heady malt and smoke mixture. 84/100
Ledaig 12 Years Old Discovery Island single malt Scotch whisky review: For me Ledaig can be brilliant and on a par with Ardbeg with the first sip and like drinking out of stale beer can used as an ashtray from the party the night before the next. This is one of the great ones, and mostly thanks to Gordon & MacPhail’s excellent cask management here. The Sherry influence isn’t overt but just an addition of dried fruit, nut and tannin in the right places to carry this expression. The end result is actually quite amazing. 85/100
Bunnahabhain 11 Years Old Discovery Islay single malt Scotch whisky review: A lot more balanced – of course, classic Gordon & MacPhail’s pairing of spirit and cask. I’d have loved much more sherry influence, but this excels in its balance. A rather reminiscent nose led to initially quite closed palate, but given time it opens up to its own wonders. This is the sort of dram you could drink all night and keep finding new flavours. 85/100
Tomatin 2007 Discovery Highland single malt Scotch whisky review: A creamy dessert-filled expression, this is so redolent of banana split I expected twice the calories of a standard whisky! Fresh bananas and masses of ‘Bourbon’ flavours such as vanilla and coconut add a mass of sweetness to the palate of this whisky, which was simply delicious. 85/100
Oban 2001 Distillers Edition Highland single malt Scotch whisky review: I enjoyed this a little bit more than the last DE sampled (1998-2013), this had a sharpness or clarity throughout and the cleanliness of white grape with a touch of salt which added to the overall more pleasing presentation of this vintage. 83/100