BenRiach 12 Years Old Sherry Wood Matured Whisky Review: Surprisingly I found myself thinking this isn’t as overtly sherried as I was expecting. Sure there is some spice but there is a freshness to the red berry fruits on the palate that was both earthy and refreshing. Overall quite balanced. 85/100
The GlenDronach 15 Years Old Revival whisky review: A classic GlenDronach on the nose but quite bitter on the palate with influences of pine, coffee, grinds plenty of tannins and woody spice. I don’t know why but I am increasingly under the impression that much more PX cask usage is shifting the balance away from Oloroso sweet and fruity influences. Looking back I have scored this 15 marginally higher than the last. 85/100
Tobermory 12 Years Old 2005 Fino Cask Finish whisky review: Not overly complex but lots of pleasant flavours, definitely sweeter and darker fruits than I would have normally expected from Fino sherry casks – perhaps this spent quite some time in them? 85/100
London Single Malt Spirit Port 2 Years Old review: Diminishing, from nose to finish. The nose is there or thereabouts, even a lovely musty wood smell that suggest old Port maturing in the cellars. The palate still carries a little tin from the new make spirit though the finish is balanced just right. Given time this is going to be a Port-lovers (or Port matured whisky-lovers) dream! 85/100
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
BenRiach 10 Years Old 2007 Cask #8737 whisky review: Another delicious example of BenRiach pairing with sweet wine maturation. This one seems a little more varied, with floral, waxy and coffee notes adding to the extra fruitiness the wine cask brings to the spirit. A little less sweet and more woody than the Sauternes (Cask #5807) matured expression. 85/100
BenRiach 10 Years Old 2008 Cask #5807 whisky review: A delicious fruit-packed dram with a syrup-like sweetness redolent of the Sauternes wine itself, there is a little unusual spiced and oily menthol in places but it is easily forgivable. Plus any mentholic notes are mostly fleeting or lost anyway such is the power of the fruity and malty flavours here. A great example of spirit and cask pairing that highlights all the right influences. 85/100
Pulteney 10 Years Old Rioja octave finish – The Octave Project whisky review: Similar to the Arran finished in the Rioja octave, this Pulteney expression is bursting with fruits and cream and is just delicious! 85/100
