The GlenDronach Port Wood whisky review: Not too sweet and not to sharp, very well balanced. Syrupy and smooth textured with a good weight from GlenDronach’s malty backbone, this feels perfectly constructed. 84/100
Auchroisk 16 Years Old 1999 Strictly Limited whisky review: Another finely balanced expression – a little more spirit character present in this one despite it’s extra years of maturation over the 13 year old 2000 vintage comparator from the same bottler. On the nose a lot more woody but a little lacking in distinct ripened fruit flavours perhaps? 84/100
Auchroisk 13 Years Old 2000 Strictly Limited whisky review: Great poise and balance to this one, a touch of cask char/bitterness and light floury barley malt along with ripe mixed fruits, very drinkable. 83/100
MacNair’s Lum Reek Peated 12 Year Old blended malt whisky review: A very different blend, lighter on the palate and more wood influence. It feels to me like they have shifted the balance much in favour of the Speyside malt(s) here as it is much lighter and more vaporous and the peat influence feels diluted by more than age alone. 84/100
MacNair’s Lum Reek Peated blended malt whisky review: A great blended malt, a little youthful but this brings power to the Islay smoke, some nice floral and herbal elements in here but difficult to assign much specific cask influences. The result is very drinkable and unsurprisingly a complexity that you could easily believe this was a single malt. Reminds me a little of some early Kilchoman’s but with much less power in the peat influence. 83/100
Glen Scotia 10 Year Old Peated whisky review: A delicate balance of peat and lots of sweet influences, their is a little oily wax and masses of coconut and lychee. The result is one of those surprising whiskies you expect to be harsh on the palate due to the smoke on the nose – but instead it’s like a creamed banana & tropical fruit smoothie. Some nice herbal woody influences too make this feel a lot older than 10 years! 87/100
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
Glen Scotia 15 Year Old whisky review: A robust, briny and oily Campbeltown expression with a delicate hint of smoke throughout. 86/100
Glengoyne Pedro Ximénez (PX) Cask Finish whisky review: This PX cask finished is a lot more balanced than I’d hoped and the PX influence is really quite light here for my liking. Zesty, fruity and spicy makes me feel this one has been matured in refill casks first, hence the finishing. Doesn’t feel particularly youthfull however – this is quite an accomplished dram with some complexity to boot. 84/100
Scallywag blended malt whisky review: More fuller flavoured than I remember and much more complex too. Still quite fruity in nature and just a little more spice and wood than I prefer but a decent blended malt nonetheless. I guess my reservation lies in the surreptitious use of sherry casks in this blend which perhaps represents the dichotomy of Speysides’ output today but I don’t feel is indicative of the regions flavour profile in general. 78/100
