Stronachie 10 Year Old single malt scotch whisky review: A great base or standard Benrinnes expression, and nice to sample something only matured in Bourbon casks. Plenty of room for distillery/spirit character to play here to great effect. 82/100
Dalwhinnie 2002 Distillers Edition whisky review: Better than the standard Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old for me but then again I do like sherry-influenced whisky. This has more depth than the standard expression but is still wrapped in a light creaminess. Basically this is the Dalwhinnie 15 year old but with lively and juicy berry fruits, tannins and spices from the Oloroso Sherry cask. 83/100
BenRiach 10 Years Old Triple Distilled single malt Scotch whisky review: A fabulous nose, the palate is a lot more subdued with a fantastic texture but a little too sour, under-ripe fruit and peppery spiced oak wood for me however. An unusual combination of new make or young spirit notes mix with herbal and woody more aged notes, leaving me a little unsure of this one. Perhaps it needs a little more time to integrate or a change in the cask balance as very little I could ascribe to PX was present other than the caramel/treacle/liquorice influences perhaps leaving it feel much more like purely ex-bourbon matured. An interesting example of triple distilled spirit from BenRiach. 78/100
Quality needs to be unlocked here, too much spirit, spice and strong citrus neat to be overly enjoyable. A drop of water reveals the creamy toffee & banana from the official tasting notes. 81/100
For completeness we dug this 2014 bottled Glenkinchie 12 out of the archives and find it sits somewhere between the previous two we have tried. 82/100
Perhaps a difference in the Amontillado sherry casks used for maturation or a result of the slightly newer style of Glenkicnhie spirit we are finding? This expression was much more woody, grassy and chewier on the palate which definitely improves the experience when compared to the previous 1999 Distillers Edition we had sampled. 87/100
The original Classic Malts 10 year old release from Glenkinchie. Discontinued in 2007 and replaced by a 12 year old. 79/100
The ‘standard’ 12 year old bottling from the Lowland Glenkinchie Distillery. With a little more to it than I remember. 83/100
More refined and deeper Doublewood experience from The Balvenie. 86/100
A pleasant enough Bourbon with hints of spice and mint, plenty of Corn and Rye grain influences. Less wood influence than I like in my Bourbon or would prefer but pretty solid nonetheless. 80/100
