The Borders Distillery New Make Spirit review: A great base spirit for maturing. Fruity and very cereal/malt heavy – I look forward to trying some more matured variants of this in a few years time!
Kura the Whisky whisky review: A little abrasive at first, has layers of sweetness and spice, eventually balances out but still has some oddly sweet nature to it. 80/100
FEW Single Malt Whisky review: A rather unusual single malt example, does what it says on the tin. It’s like Scotch single malt but only superficially, so I guess this really is a US style single malt whisk(e)y – I’m still unsure whether or not to include the ‘e’! 72/100
FEW Bourbon Spirit review: An unusually spicy bourbon/spirit drink, lots of new make spirit influence and a good dose of new american/white oak wood – that’s about where any similarity to (my experience of) bourbon ends. 70/100
The GlenDronach 27 Years Old Grandeur Batch 10 whisky review: A masterful GlenDronach expression full of rich dark fruits balanced against bitter chocolate and coffee. Hugely drinkable at 50.1% ABV, this goes down far too easily! Captures the essence of what GlenDronach is about right now and easily matches the pinnacle of their single cask releases. 93/100
The GlenDronach Master Vintage 1993 25 Years Old whisky review: A little thinner and woodier than I hoped for/expected. A classic heavy sherry GlenDronach but quite a bit of spirit and old wood on display here too – quite distinct from some of the single cask releases of the same (or many other) vintages. Delivered at 48.2%, this is a little lower than many of the single casks of this age and I’m unsure if this is batch/marrying strength or reduced – feels reduced, which is a shame as otherwise this is a good whisky. 87/100
Lagavulin 2001 Distillers Edition whisky review: Despite overall revealing similar flavours this one seems different again, a little less well integrated, cracks are beginning to show here, the smoke is muted and also a little more menthol crystal accompaniment makes it less well suited to what is essentially less sweet, more dry nut and saltier – if any malt is present it is more in the Custard cream biscuit range than the thick, heavy malt extract I’m used to from Lagavulin. 83/100
Lagavulin 2000 Distillers Edition whisky review: Softer and less smoky both on the nose and palate than the 1999 vintage. More fruity in nature and much more vanilla influence. Slightly more sugary and nutty too. It is hard to ascribe why this is distinctly less smoky and slightly lighter in texture, however differences in the maturation/finishing casks more than justify the alterations in flavour profile, more fruit and nut than chocolate and tobacco. Still very pleasant. 84/100
Lagavulin 1999 Distillers Edition whisky review: A very “Classic” Lagavulin Distillers Edition with a great balance between hugely smoky Lagavulin and sweet dried sherry fruits and cocoa from the PX casks. Plenty of depth on the nose and palate and a finish that persists. 85/100
Lagavulin 8 Years Old 200th Anniversary Limited Edition whisky review: It has taken me some time to finally get on board with this expression. I wouldn’t say I was disappointed but whenever I sat to formulate some notes I seem to get stuck after the nose and hard to ascribe anything in particular. Perhaps sampling this side-by-side with the 9yo GOT edition really highlighted the differences. There is a freshness in here quite unlike anything else I have sampled from Lagavulin, perhaps it is New Make (I have some somewhere to test this theory) or I am more inclined to think it is the result of underactive (3rd/4th fill casks)? 85/100
