Glen Scotia Double Cask whisky review: More smooth and creamier than I remember from our last tasting, much more toffee character too which appears to predominate now giving great body and mouthfeel. 85/100
Glen Scotia Double Cask (46%, OB, 2018)
Tamdhu Batch Strength 3 (58.3%, OB, 2017)
Tamdhu Batch Strength 3 whisky review: Very sherried and a little spirity at points, this is full of dark chocolate and red fruits which combine wonderfully here. 85/100
A Fine Christmas Malt 17 Years Old (58.7%, The Whisky Exchange, 1800 Bottles, 2018)
A Fine Christmas Malt 2018 whisky review: A lovely sherried Christmas dram, a little spicy and sappy/pine wood actually keeps this refreshing. There is plenty of sticky syrupy sweet and buttery oils in here but well-balanced against wood influences. Perhaps not the most redolent of Christmas for me, this sherried dram is very drinkable and certainly got me in the mood for Christmas at the very least. A great selection by The Whisky Exchange at a very reasonable price. 85/100
Highland Park 16 Years Old Wings Of The Eagle (44.5%, OB, 2018)
Highland Park 16 Years Old Wings Of The Eagle whisky review: Much more established fruit flavour here, a lovely touch of cocoa, buttery smoke and almonds. I’m not sure why but to me Highland Park always seems to taste best when matured in European Sherry oak wood. 85/100
BenRiach 12 Years Old 2005 Cask #2682 (53.9%, OB, Batch 15, Peated/Port Pipe, 792 Bottles, 2018)
BenRiach 12 Years Old 2005 Cask #2682 whisky review: Perfectly balanced earthy Highland peat smoke and dark and jammy fruits. 85/100
BenRiach 12 Years Old Sherry Wood Matured (46%, OB, 2018)
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 (46%, OB, 2018)
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 (55.1%, OB, 1710 Bottles, 2018)
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 (62.5%, OB, Port Cask #39, 2018)
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 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail, 2018)
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
