Smoky and coastal exactly as I expected, quite mealy and herbal in places and some sweetness and nutty nature, perhaps from the finishing? 86/100
Port Charlotte Islay Barley 2013
Octomore 10.2
Sweeter and smokier than 10.1 and a nice addition of both tropical and stone fruits, I don’t think I’d have picked out the Sauternes influence here but in my defence Octomore’s are pretty robust spirit to begin with! 88/100
Bunnahabhain Feis Ile 2021: Moine Bordeaux Finish 2013
Deliciously decadent, a smoke and red wine marriage, borders at times on a little inkiness which could be enhanced by the youth of the spirit here which brings so much power to that smoke. Later it is sweet dry and nutty and still delicious.
Tullibardine 2012 The Firkin 49
This Tullibardine has a lovely mouthfeel, smooth then zesty, much of the sherry influence from the finish comes later on the palate. 85/100
Defilement 8 Years Old Chestnut Cask Finish
Hah a curve ball in the form of this Chestnut wood cask, whilst distinctly not oak, but then again this is not Scotch, it is a blended English whisky so I’m unsure if English whisky regulations exist or preclude the use of other wood (much like Irish chestnut casked whiskey sampled previously). Something a little different and very tasty! 84/100
Benromach 8 Years Old 2011 Organic
Very sweet and dessert-led, there is a malty backbone here which props up a lot of fruit and sweetness. Only the reveal gave away this weeks ‘theme’ of Organic. 83/100
Kilchoman 8 Years Old 2011 Single Cask 490
Kilchoman 8 Years Old 2011 ‘Unpeated’ Cask 490 RMW Exclusive Whisky Review: Ha! Cheeky Kilchoman putting unpeated distillate together with peated feints and forshots from the previous distillation run. Matured in a first fill ex-bourbon barrel (or hogshead based on the number of Cask strength bottles) there is not much here to mask mostly spirit nature. It has been sometime since I regularly sampled Kilchoman and this was a very welcome return and my favourite of the tasting. 83/100
Islay Mist 8 Year Old Amontillado Napoleon Finish
Islay Mist 8 Year Old Amontillado Napoleon Finish Whisky Review: While there are some full flavoured malts in here – and I suspect a very good helping of Caol Ila in particular there was also something drawing the palate back to neutrality that could be nothing other than grain spirit. I completely missed that the sweetness here was due to the Amontillado sherry cask finish and just assumed it was a well-constructed blend. 82/100
Tamdhu 8 Years Old 2006 Provenance 10570
Tamdhu 8 Years Old 2006 Provenance Whisky Review: A little light, possibly due to maturation in a refill cask? Very milk and vanilla rich. 80/100
Glentauchers 8 Years Old 2008 Cask 23 Batch 17
The Good Spirits Co. Cask 23 batch 17 whisky review: Potent at 63% but takes water well. Plenty of malt and dried fruits in here. Drinking (as I thought) as a blende malt I found this quite complex but without identifiable flavours. 81/100
The Whiskyphiles 