Lovely oily, fruity, gently smoky and coastal with plenty of sweetness from the bourbon and sherry cask influences that work well with this distillery’s characteristic heathery smoke. 86/100
Crabbie 22 Years Old Orkney
Glasgow 1770 Golden Beer Cask Finish
Really loving this one, there is still hints of sherry influence but also plenty of beer notes too coming through. This has added some depth and variety to Glasgow’s fruity spirit nature. 88/100
Glasgow 1770 Tokaji Cask Finish
Glasgow 1770 Tokaji cask finish I’m enjoying this one much more with a healthy sploosh of water which this one takes very well 😉 84/100
Glasgow 1770 The Original
As described Fresh and Fruity, lovely distillate notes shine through with just a hint of perhaps too much virgin oak (pencil shavings) but otherwise a very enjoyable dram. 82/100
Spey Fumare
Fumare is delicious and shows some of the more delicate aspects of peat-influence. This will change over time in the glass so worth taking some time over this one. 85/100
Borders Malt & Rye
A robust and entertaining blended scotch whisky using both malt and rye derived components in great balance. I suspect a portion of the sweetness here derives from the fresh bourbon cask too but this whisky hasn’t been in these casks long enough to become overtly vanillic. 83/100
Glenlivet Caribbean Reserve
Drinkable and well-textured (light & silky or smooth) as expected from The Glenlivet. Filled with plenty of fruit, some tropical, with a touch of syrup and spice to help it along. A refreshing alternative to The Glenlivet’s classic 12 Year old expression for example and in similar price bracket. 83/100
Tullibardine 500
My favourite of the tasting – I guess no surprises there! I guess like the whole range I felt this was a bit safe and unchallenging. I’d prefer a bit more strength or depth to some of the finishing flavours – but perhaps that’s just my palate and predilections. The whole range is quite polished and well put together, meaning accessibility and joy for newcomers. Thankfully Tullibardine have extended their signature and other ranges greatly since these were released in 2013 and I guess I should be exploring these more myself. 83/100
Tullibardine 228
Revisiting the Tullibardine 228, albeit in it’s revised packaging I was slightly underwhelmed with this expression compared to my first experience. Perhaps it was due to following the sweetness of the 225? I didn’t feel this had quite as much of the red wine influence as tasted prior and my fear was whilst the overall quality of Tullibardine’s releases has been normalised and raised slightly it has dulled the extremes which made them fun and interesting. Maybe in a different line-up or pairing this one will shine differently? 79/100
Tullibardine 225
from Tullibardine’s spirit. This one seems quite light on the impact of the finishing cask and I found myself wishing it went a little further, the end result is a sweeter and fruitier dram with a touch more woody spices too. 81/100
The Whiskyphiles 