Lovely, gently smoky and coastal elements with lots of honeyed soft fruits too, the perfect introduction to Bowmore’s core range. 84/100
Bowmore 12 Years Old
Redbreast 10 Years Old Cask Strength Batch 1
Rich and full Pot Still whisky expression, great depth of distillate here lending generous ‘heavy’ character, leathery spice offset by sweet and fruity cask influences. I can only guess at the historic 10 year old profile but this new re-imagining of the 10 year old expression certainly fits in my mind to what it could have been. 87/100
Paul John Christmas Edition 2020
Sweet and softly peated, I already suspected a mixture of peated & unpeated casks used in the mixture here similar to some of Paul John’s standard range, strikes a really lovely balance between sweet & peat. 88/100
Starward Left-Field
Very drinkable and more influenced by the red wine than the French oak cask maturation. 85/100
Fettercairn Warehouse 2 Batch No.001
A mixture of tropical fruit and spiced coffee from this melange of casks. Complex and refreshingly light on the palate true to Fettercairn’s spirit. 85/100
Jim Beam Single Barrel
Intriguing on the nose but rather too spiced on the palate for my liking, thankfully not overtly sweet. 82/100
Waterproof Blended Malt Batch 001
A great sherry-influenced blended malt, quite rich and toffee’d but very easy drinking as it comes. 84/100
Dalmunach 4 Years Old 2015 The Distillery Reserve Collection
Still young but eminently drinkable this has a lovely peach yoghurt fruity and creamy nature, surprisingly little ‘new make’ evidence and not overly oaked, though perhaps shows it a little in fresh oak/pencil shavings, gentle biscuity cereals too shows great promise. 83/100
Caperdonich 18 Years Old 2002 The Distillery Reserve Collection
A superb expression that balances both spirit and wood influences, full of tropical fruit. 88/100
Hudson Baby Bourbon
Great! Powewrful, polished wood and spices with a lovely sweet backdrop. 87/100
The Whiskyphiles 