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August 8, 2025 |
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WF’s Little duos, today
Amarone vs. Madeira |
I mean, Glencadam, which we like, but also, more wine craziness. In other words, let’s not expect too much… |
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Glencadam ‘Reserva de Madeira’ (46%, OB, 2024) 
A straightforward Madeira finish, but that might actually work with Madeira, one knows the score. Thanks to the excellent Glencadam, we’re soon to complete our grand tour of the world’s wines; only Lichtenstein’s Pinot Noir will remain (which, by the way, isn’t half bad). Colour: gold. Nose: a touch winey and fermentative at first, then veering towards fudge and peanut butter. A few whiffs of lees in the depths of an old cask, some cider, and a faint vinegary note, though nothing off-putting at all. Mouth: it’s alright, fairly coherent, with caramel, baked apples, a touch of mustard, and rustic cider. We’re not quite in Calvados territory, but then again, we sort of are. Finish: surprisingly short, like a shooting star (wow, S., how poetic). Comments: genuinely better than just decent. We hope this sort of bottling might inspire some to explore the eponymous wines, in this case, the grand wines of Madeira.
SGP:631 - 79 points. |
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Glencadam ‘Riserva di Amarone’ (46%, OB, 2024)
Good heavens, Amarone! You may say there are some fine ones out there but let us gently remind ourselves that this is essentially a kind of red straw wine, hyper-concentrated. It’s about as close to malt whisky as Vladimir P. is to the teachings of Mahatma G. Colour: pale gold, surprisingly. Amarone, really? Nose: not a trace of Amarone, red wine, red berries or anything of that ilk, not even cassis jelly, cherry cream or strawberry jam. In short, it’s just malt, charming, well-made, pleasant, on baked apples and, still, a few discreet little berries. Mouth: hard to pin down, rather winey but wavering, with a slightly shaky character and, in any case, it’s sweet. Fruit pastes, preserves, candied cherries… Finish: becomes trickier, more vinous. Comments: the Madeira still seems to have the upper hand in this debate, even if we’re not exactly sipping from the mountaintops.
SGP:641 - 77 points. |
So, we’re hoping for the Liechtensteiner Pinot Noir very soon… |
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August 7, 2025 |
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Today Laphroaig twice crazy
I know, we knocked back litres of Laphroaig in July, but the Element 3.0 has just arrived, so let’s have it. We’ll also have a ‘Secret Islay’ of around thirty years of age; unfortunately, we know the quality of those batches, and it’s doubtful that the new official release, good as it may be, stands much chance in this fratricidal duel... |
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Laphroaig ‘Elements L 3.0’ (55.3%, OB, 2025) 
Laphroaig remains one of the rare distilleries still managing to flog NAS whiskies at lofty prices, let’s be honest. But there’s a tale here, as this one is apparently ‘the result of a fire in our kiln that burned peat for longer and at higher temperatures than usual’ Now isn’t that awfully credible? Colour: gold. Nose: it’s mostly pronounced woodiness we’re getting here, fir sawdust, green tea, and a peat that, at this stage, prefers to whisper rather than shout. The whole remains bone-dry nonetheless. With water: still bone-dry, now leaning into soaked cask wood, fig leaves, and green tomato vines. Mouth (neat): not unpleasant on the palate, somewhat oily and cask-driven, though a few exotic fruit notes do peek through, the sort that once built Laphroaig’s reputation, beyond the love it or hate it USP. On the other hand, those green tannins and that oddly artificial smoke become increasingly grating and assertive. With water: a sliver of gentleness emerges, circling around lemon marmalade, but let’s not kid ourselves, it’s the bare minimum. Finish: long but rather simplistic, with an astringency that overstays its welcome. Comments: really not great, in all honesty. L 1.0 and L 2.0 were considerably better in my humble opinion, and at €175.00, this is frightfully not very good value, we must humbly add.
SGP:476 – 80 points. |
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Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 30 yo 1993/2024 (48.2%, Casky Finest Selection & Revel Hibiki, refill barrel) 
We’re back in Hong Kong this time. As they say, these ‘secret’ independent Laphroaigs from the late 1980s to early 1990s generally range from the superb to the utterly sublime. Colour: straw. Nose: magnificent soft camphory and briny sweetness, rather in the style of that other Islay distillery now under the same ownership (right, Bowmore), plus wet campfire ashes suddenly doused by a cloudburst. Could one get more poetic? The usual tiny oysters are in place, almond oil as well, and a bit of soot. However, it isn’t medicinal in the slightest. Mouth: thirty years is indeed the perfect age for peated Islays, and here comes further proof. The bitterness is exquisite, should you share my fondness for it, with salinity cranked up to eleven, flashes of green pepper, then heaps of ashes, with that peculiar impression of having popped a cigar in backwards. An extinguished one, naturally. Finish: rather long and very dry, pushing even further into the ashes, which may be a tad drying but who cares in this setting. A whisper of lemon on the aftertaste, and even a wee dash of cough syrup. All in all, textbook Laphroaigness. Comments: only drawback, there are no surprises. Well played once again, Hong Kong whisky people.
SGP:367 - 91 points. |
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August 6, 2025 |
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WF’s Little Duos, today young Pulteney ex-bourbon
Always a real pleasure to head a bit further north, along the east coast…
(AI slop) |
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Old Pulteney ‘Harbour’ (40%, OB, +/-2025) 
A small NAS probably rather kind-hearted, matured in first and second fill bourbon casks. If it doesn’t lean too heavily on vanilla cream, this could be quite good indeed… Colour: white wine. Nose: no, this is fine, quite the opposite in fact, it’s fresh, the sea is clearly perceptible too, with touches of salted candied lemon, grapefruit, and streusel. Nice coastal tension, just what one expects from Pulteney. Mouth: slightly softer on the palate but the balance has been especially well crafted, there’s none of that vanilla-and-sawdust overload one might have found in similar bottlings ten years ago. Grapefruit returns, along with passion fruit, seaweed, our friends the oysters, and a white pepper that does its job without being over the top. Finish: fairly long given the strength, a bit ‘old-Ardbeg-ten-long’, we’re talking early 80s to early 90s batches. Comments: I find this super good, certainly a worthy candidate for the Bang-For-Your-Buck title this August.
SGP:552 – 86 points. |
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Pulteney 13 yo 2012/2025 (58.9%, Lady of the Glen, refill barrel, cask #800134, 241 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: the profile is naturally quite close but it’s even less marked by American oak, consequently showing more lemon and green apple, and naturally more power as well. At this stage, it also seems a little more mineral than maritime, or so it seems to me. With water: we’re extremely close to the wee ‘Harbour’, only leaning more clearly towards minerality and even greenness. Mouth (neat): powerful, cutting, extremely sharp, all on lemon and soluble aspirin tablets. Lemon-flavoured tablets, for example. This minimalist side is very lovely indeed, we sometimes call these babies ‘Bauhaus’ whiskies. With water: it becomes very chalky. As luck would have it, we do like that. Finish: very long, ultra-precise, dominated by a maritime lemon. Perhaps there are lemon trees in Wick? There are some on the other side, near Ullapool… Comments: a superb creature, taut as a competition bow (and the first to mention Agincourt/Azincourt again will answer to me).
SGP:552 – 87 points. |
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August 5, 2025 |
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Four Glen Grants, three aged 30 years and one old 12
(a session that nearly failed)
Remembering that Glen Grant was the star, before other more heavily marketed brands started muscling in on the market. We’re talking fifty years ago, aren’t we. Here, let me give you an example to illustrate the point…
(In the 1980s, all brands were running more or less the same adverts, here Glen Grant in Italy.) |
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Glen Grant 12 yo (43°GL, OB for Armando Giovinetti, Italy, 75cl, +/-1970)
In a square bottle. Colour: gold. Nose: unbelievable medley of stewed fruits, candied fruits, peat, ashes, coastal notes, old toolbox, waxes and beeswax polish, all delivered with unfathomable mastery. There. Mouth: implausibly fruity smoke, with incredible fatness, waxes, camphor, a touch of gentle turpentine, mountains of candied fruits and sultanas… Only the relatively modest strength might be considered a tiny flaw after all these years. This, at 100° proof! Or indeed 100° Gay-Lussac. Finish: yes, not tremendously long, but splendid, with marrow dumpling broth and smokiness in the aftertaste. Comments: one wonders why Giovinetti seemed to have moved on to Macallan a few years later…
SGP:652 - 92 points. |
Right, now three bottles aged around 30 years, simply arranged in order of increasing strength… Good luck to them, after the 12-year-old Giovinetti… |
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Glen Grant 29 yo 1995/2024 (45.6%, Signatory Vintage for Wu Dram Clan, bourbon barrel, cask #88198, 1996 bottles) 
Colour: straw. Nose: this is a basket of fully ripe pears and apples, completed with a little barley syrup and acacia honey, with only the faintest mentholated touches. A few vineyard peaches also saunter in after a few minutes. It’s simple, pinpoint, perfect. Mouth: the apples and custard glide over the pears in this subtle and curiously refreshing mix, which then unfolds into lime blossom, thyme honey, then a few citrus notes and a slightly mentholated pepper that grows increasingly assertive. Finish: medium to short in length, slightly more on the herbal side, which is quite expected. Comments: an old whisky that’s fresh and fruity, more of a ‘drinker’ than a sipper, if you see what I mean. We love it here.
SGP:641 - 89 points. |
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Glen Grant 30 yo 1994–1995/2025 (46.6%, Decadent Drinks, Whiskyland, Chapter 14, 360 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: I’m terribly sorry and must offer my deepest apologies to the gentlemen at Decadent & Land, but this is, for all intents and purposes, the same whisky as the previous one. If you dig really deep, you might find a very slightly more exotic note, but that would be it. Mouth: perhaps a touch more tension, and a slightly more pronounced herbal side, though that may well be down to the extra 1% ABV. Finish: the same story. Comments: truly sorry, but this is the kind of problem that sometimes arises when our tasting lineups are a little too, perhaps overly, consistent. In short, another top Glen Grant to gulp down with no further justification than taking sheer pleasure.
SGP:641 – 89 points. |
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Glen Grant 30 yo 1994/2024 (57.5%, Milroy’s 60th Anniversary, bourbon barrel, cask #10045)
The honourable bottlers remind us on the back label that Glen Grant was being offered as an official single malt as early as the 1930s. Colour: straw. Nose: zut alors, the same phenomenon occurs, this one just seems a little closer to herbs and leafy greens, along with lemon peel, though that may stem from the significantly higher bottling strength. With water: perhaps a chalkier touch. Mouth (neat): on the palate it feels tighter and more nervous when at cask strength, a little ‘greener’. With water: it’s almost identical to the others at similar strength (more or less). Finish: same again. Comments: same again.
SGP:641 - 89 points. |
The deciding factor: you shuffle your glasses at random, then try to figure out which is which once they’ve all been reduced to a similar strength. Here, it’s virtually mission impossible, except, of course, for the sublime 12-year-old Giovinetti. |
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August 4, 2025 |
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WF’s Little Duos, today Isle of Raasay including the Macleans'
This is one of the new distilleries that has managed to establish its own style and character, even though times seem to be tougher, as they are for many others. For our distinguished readers who may not be aware, the Isle of Raasay lies just to the east of Skye. Today, we’ll be exploring the latest release for the remarkable Maclean Foundation. But to begin with, a lighter version in terms of alcohol... but not in terms of story! |
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Isle of Raasay 3 yo 2001/2024 (50.7%, OB, Quercus Humboldtii Virgin Colombian Oak)
Frankly, this Colombian oak lark really makes one chuckle, what an idea! Do note this is full maturation, not some afterthought finishing, but then again, this baby is only three years of age. Let’s not get into carbon footprints, shall we… Colour: gold. Nose: it’s mad how our brain works, knowing the oak hails from Colombia, I’m getting coffee and cola, but also an abundance of candied fruits and a few lovely whiffs of fir smoke. For now, it’s a very pretty nose. With water: more cola yet, everything else boosted as well. Very jolly. Mouth (neat): this is good, it’s creamy, it’s rather rich, it’s modern, veering between coastal smoke, candied orange peels and a splash of pine bud liqueur. One could almost believe it came from some American craft distillery. With water: really splendid, with more turmeric stepping forward, indeed rather leading the charge. Also some heather honey. Finish: long, on strictly identical flavours, which is good news. Lovely notes of pink and white pepper. Comments: I find this really excellent, and I doubt one could do much better at three years of age. ‘Colombian oak’, I must be dreaming…
SGP:654 - 87 points. |
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Isle of Raasay 5 yo 2019/2025 (61.1%, The Maclean Foundation, charity bottling, release 3, cask #557, 246 bottles)
The proceeds from this baby, launched in parallel with Charlie Maclean’s three sons rowing across the Pacific (9,000 miles, no less!), are earmarked to fund clean water access in Madagascar, a most worthy cause indeed. Colour: deep gold. Nose: gorgeous tangerines, turmeric once more, all gentle and rounded, with papaya and guava, a whiff of fresh panettone from Panettone & Panettone, and a faint trace of Italian bitter. All in all, this one feels rather Italian, this Raasay, but at Château WF, that’s always good news. With water: tiny spices and hints of damp earth, like strolling through a hothouse filled with exotic flora. Mouth (neat): I feared it might flounder after the Colombian variant, but not a bit of it, this is gloriously oily, brimming with honey and citrus fruits sprinkled with posh peppers. With water: excellent, more of everything, beautifully fruity with all manner of citrus and slightly earthy spices. Finish: long, candied, with flavours clearly aligned with Italy. The finest of amaros! Comments: I hereby certify, on record, that my score has not been boosted simply because it’s a charity bottling backed by the Macleans. Swear on the holy barley, cross my heart and hope to die, this one stands proudly on its own. – Serge.
SGP:652 - 90 points. |
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August 3, 2025 |
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Rums from Brazil to Trinidad
In fact, we're going to Brazil, Madeira, Mauritius, Cuba, Trinidad, Panama and Jamaica. Does that work for you?
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Casa Engenho 8 yo (43%, OB, Brazil, +/-2024)
From a ‘Traditional Brazilian Farm Distillery’ near São Paulo, established way back in 1889. This isn’t cachaça, mind you, but rather proper rum, distilled from the estate’s own cane juice. Now nothing whatsoever to do with the Madeiran ones from Engenho Do Norte or Engenho Novo, which we’re rather fond of. 'Engenho' means ‘mill’ in Portuguese. There, now we more or less know everything… Colour: gold. Nose: it’s light yet shows a lovely salinity, faintly fermentary touches, and even hints of ashes and iodine that wouldn’t bother anyone fond of coastal malt. Then there’s some freshly sawn fir wood sneaking in. All in all, a fresh and charming nose. Mouth: same general sensations, a fine salinity again, a discreet but rather charming vinegary edge, then increasingly camphory notes that veer into the medicinal. One only wishes it had packed a little more punch. Finish: the fresh cane makes itself known, though the finish doesn’t hang about for too long. Comments: this is most pleasing, I must say I quite like it. I’ll see if I can get my hands on more.
SGP:352 - 82 points. |
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William Hinton ‘Smoked Rum’ (40%, OB, WH Club, Madeira, +/-2025) 
Rum from Madeira, presumably of the agricole persuasion, finished in ex-peated whisky casks. What could possibly go wrong? Colour: gold. Nose: well, let’s be honest, it seems to work, as the fermentary, slightly mustardy ashes from the rum meld rather agreeably with the peaty smokiness of the whisky, even bringing out a rather amusing tar-and-anise combo. But the devil always lurks on your palate… Mouth: mad stuff, but it still works. Capers and olives, bags of ashes, lime juice, and again that touch of mustard, even a wee bit of horseradish and ginger à la sushi-bar. Finish: medium in length, still very pleasant, with a lingering impression of smoked olives. Comments: now here’s a surprise! Just goes to show… Though it’s a pity it wasn’t bottled with a little more oomph. How many times do we write that each week?
SGP:363 - 84 points. |
Well then, let’s continue the journey with another rum that's been in a whisky cask… |
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Penny Blue 15 yo 2009/2024 ‘Ex-Whisky’ (60%, OB, Mauritius, LMDW Foundations, cask #206, 94 bottles)
Attention, this is not a finishing, it’s a full maturation in an ex-whisky cask. Perhaps ex-Glenrothes, as Berry Bros. are at the helm? Colour: amber. Nose: soft and rounded, all on cake and the sort of pastries served in proper British hotels for afternoon tea at five o’clock sharp. We shan’t list them all but suffice to say the whisky influence remains rather discreet. With water: it’s the sugarcane that takes centre stage, and perhaps there’s a touch of malt in the background. Mouth (neat): very powerful, lemony, plenty of sugarcane but it clearly calls for water. With water: creamy and gentler, with candied citrus peels and the faintest whisper of salt. It remains a light-textured rum, as do most Mauritian offerings, at least in my limited experience. Finish: of medium length, mild and easy-going. Comments: well, it wasn’t an ex-Laphroaig cask!
SGP:551 - 84 points. |
Let’s carry on with whisky… |
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The Outlaw Rum Co. 2019 ‘Flagship’ (40%, OB, Trinidad, cask #001)
So, Caribbean rum aged in Huntly (rings a bell) in ex-Scottish whisky casks. Colour: gold. Nose: full-on petrol and we’re all for it, likewise that gloriously overripe mango that fills the room like some tropical potpourri. At no point do the low ABV levels make themselves known, at least for now. This must be TDL. Mouth: very good! Same markers—petrol, mango, bananas, liquorice, hints of jasmine, a drop of seawater and half a black olive—though the wattage does feel a tad restrained. Finish: lovely, but the lack of punch becomes more apparent here. A pity. Comments: really excellent, but let’s have a slightly more ‘bodybuilt’ version next time, please.
SGP:642 - 85 points. |
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Cuban Rum 50 yo 1973/2024 (51.9%, Whiskydudes, 1st fill bourbon barrel, cask #88191, 128 bottles)
Supposedly one of those old HC casks (not too sure, some are) many of which turn out to be quite splendid. We approach this one with the same greedy anticipation as a large cat locked in a cupboard for three days (true story—though not us, the cat) … Colour: dark red amber. Nose: maestro-level stuff indeed, albeit a little reticent for now, all on old wood varnishes, cocoa, naturally cigars (but of course), and blood orange liqueur… I reckon a few drops of water will help it come alive. With water: magnificent, the tiny herbs emerge, alongside soil, undergrowth, mosses, and a whisper of umami. Mouth (neat): it is sweet, but in the very best way, with a wide array of syrups and liqueurs—orange, prickly pear, grenadine, violet, and yes indeed, sugarcane. With water: the herbs come back, so do the soft spices, though the syrupy texture persists. Finish: long and very gentle. Comments: it does feel like it may have been ‘dosed’ either at birth or somewhere along the way, but it suits it rather well, no worries there, even if the semi-sweet profile is quite pronounced.
SGP:740 - 88 points. |
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El Ron del Artesano 2007 (57.4%, OB, Panama, oloroso sherry cask, +/-2024)
Panama may not be our favourite rum source, but this is without doubt our preferred Panamanian-fuelled brand. Colour: gold. Nose: what’s rather charming here is the combination of hay and dried flowers with toasted hazelnuts, all wrapped in a rather elegant molasses note. With water: curious whiffs of bagasse and damp fields after the rain. Mouth (neat): creamy, easy-going, in the style of the big-name supermarket rums, only much better, even if there’s more caramel and praline than strictly necessary. Loads of orange liqueur as well, and a grapefruit that helps to hold everything in tension. With water: nothing to complain about really, I suspect this is the best you can hope for in this sweet style. The oloroso seems to help a little, though it’s not a dominant feature. Finish: not very long, but clean. A slightly sugary aftertaste, nonetheless. Comments: a lovely Panamanian, no doubt, and it stays well within its style.
SGP:640 - 85 points. |
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Boulet de Canon ‘1’ (46%, Compagnie des Indes, blend, +/-2015)
We’re rather fond of this small French outfit, even if I believe they’ve been keeping a low profile of late. All’s well? This one’s a blend of rums from Trinidad, Barbados and Guyana, finished in Talisker casks. Indeed. They’ve released many Boulet de Canons since, but this is the first, so it carries a bit of historical weight (of sorts). Colour: white wine. Nose: it’s fresh, all on yellow and white fruits, it feels youthful, with a faint smokiness (Talisker?) that’s actually quite pleasant. More of a pocketknife than a cannonball at this stage, but we’ve nothing against a trusty penknife. Mouth: earth, ashes and even a hint of peat take the lead at first, though it quickly turns sweet. There’s a rather straightforward cane syrup character here. Finish: medium length, sweet and gentle in style, though never excessive. Comments: the name conjures something along the lines of a rampaging tyrannosaurus, but this one’s more like a cuddly lamb. Here too it feels a bit like it may have been slightly ‘dosé’ as they say in Champagne.
SGP:632 - 80 points. |
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Trinidad Distillers Limited 16 yo 2008/2025 (63.9%, The Colours of Rum, Up Spirits Club #3, Trinidad, 231 bottles)
Same question as when tasting Caroni, ‘heavy or light?’ Or a bit of both? If there’s no petrol-mango in here, I’ll eat my beret. Colour: reddish amber. Nose: petrol-mango (too easy, S.), freshly sawn orchard wood, peanut butter, and quite a bit of ethanol which initially gets in the way. Only one solution, with water: fresh plywood and new balsa, tar and coal tar, but also bitter almonds and two or three mussels in white wine. Yep. Mouth (neat): peach liqueur, mango liqueur, black pepper, basil, varnish, aniseed, liquorice, acetone. With water: slightly bitter olive oil, likely Spanish, then it unrolls into exotic fruits with salted liquorice. Finish: mango comes back to wave goodbye, which is nice. A hint of rose jelly. Very pretty salinity. Comments: let’s say it plainly, the mango and tar combo is irresistible. But how much is the Club membership? Not like at Turnberry, we hope.
SGP:662 - 90 points. |
One last pour, let’s make it pop… |
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Clarendon 10 yo 2004/2024 ‘MBS’ (60%, LMDW Foundations, Magnum series #2, Jamaica)
The MBS marque has nothing to do with any Saudi crown prince, this is actually the lightest marque from Clarendon/Monymusk, with likely fewer esters than Glenkinchie, unless the pipes hadn’t been properly cleaned after a previous ‘heavier’ run. Let’s see… Colour: gold. Nose: indeed light, but elegant, you’d almost think it came from Belize or Barbados, with dandelion, natural vanilla, popcorn, nougat, sugarcane juice, and quince jelly… With water: a touch of gently singed hay. Mouth (neat): there are a few esters, even a hint of wood glue, but the rest is soft, fresh, vanilla-driven, very much on almond croissants and those dainty Caffè Armani pâtisseries (best forgotten). With water: all on macarons and amaretti. But of course. Finish: curiously short yet still focused on small almondy pastries. Comments: nothing especially distinctive here, it’s just extremely good.
SGP:641 - 85 points. |
So, we need to find another creature, hang on a second… |
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Caroni 25 yo 1998/2024 ‘HTR’ (59.2%, Swell de Spirits, Private Garden, Intercaves Limoges)
Caroni is a bit like Port Ellen or Karuizawa ten or fifteen years ago, just when you think they’re gone, there’s more. HTR means ‘Heavy Trinidad Rum’, naturally, and Limoges is home to the most beautiful train station in the world, I assure you. Colour: reddish amber. Nose: well indeed, this one slams down the cocoa, American V8 engine exhaust, lit cigars, tapenade, and plastic model glue. You know the style... With water: even more exhaust fumes and coal tar. Mouth (neat): dry and woody as it gets, but that’s just how we like it. Likely tropical ageing, very politically correct, though it sometimes pushes the oak into heavy-handed territory. Fir wood, dark tobacco, thyme essential oil… On the flip side, the salinity and everything around the varnishy notes add some fine tension and energy to the whole. So far so good. With water: indeed, still good, the salinity takes over and we half expect oysters, mussels, razor clams and even lobsters to come clattering in. Forgot to mention our dear friends green olives and garlic cloves. Finish: very long, classic. Comments: after all these detours, and despite the now ever-present oak, we must admit this remains one hell of a spirit. Just don’t add too much water, even at 60% vol., as it only boosts the already pretty extreme tannicity. Bonkers rum.
SGP:373 - 90 points. |
 Check the index of all rums we've tasted so far
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August 1, 2025 |
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Today, we're setting off around
the world again |
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| The Chuan, Eimeishan, Sichuan, China (The Chuan) |
There really are an incredible number of new whiskies from all over the world, it's genuinely exciting, even if it's a bit hard to keep up with, one has to admit... We're starting from France, as usual. |
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Tchankat ‘Classique’ (43%, OB, France, +/-2025)
A whisky from the land of Armagnac, down in Gascony. Mind you, this isn’t malt, rather 80% maize, 10% barley and 10% rye. It’s been matured for three years in re-toasted Saint-Julien casks, so the cabernet influence should remain somewhat restrained. Colour: deep gold. Nose: not half bad, and thankfully it doesn’t reek of cassis or strawberry from fifty yards away, instead we’re more in shortbread and damp stones territory. Even the maize doesn’t seem to be overdoing it on the sweetness front, at least not on the nose. In short, it’s rather likeable. Mouth: nicely done, the French oak brings along a fair share of spices but that actually creates a rather smart style here, re-toasting the casks was clearly a shrewd move. Cherry tart dusted with cinnamon and grey pepper, although the texture is just a tad on the light side. No idea whether they’ve used their Armagnac stills (this is the Samalens house pulling the strings here) but it works a treat. We’re veering more and more towards kirsch and even guignolet. Finish: medium in length, still spicy, with a touch of woodiness persisting. Comments: no doubt about it, this is well crafted and doesn’t go off in all directions. You couldn’t even call it ‘winey’.
SGP:541 - 82 points. |
Let’s head to Brittany and Burgundy while we’re at it... |
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Eddu 'Carnet de Voyages – fûts de Bourgogne’ (46%, OB, France, 650 bottles)
A finishing of buckwheat whisky in Corton Grand Cru casks. That said, we’ve never been able, empirically speaking, to establish a direct organoleptic link between the prestige of a wine and the quality of a whisky finished in its casks. Frankly, between a Corton and a passetoutgrain, you’re unlikely to notice a real difference if the cask quality is comparable. Now admittedly, it rarely is… Colour: gold. Nose: this is distinctly earthy, slightly gamey, a touch madeira-like, with even a faint foxiness that’s not necessarily out of place in this context. The much-anticipated blackcurrants and stewed cherries only make a late appearance. Mouth: we’re well off the beaten path of malt whiskies here, edging closer to certain cask-aged gins in fact, with some quite unexpected citrus notes layered with wild mushrooms. It’s jolly amusing and even rather good, if one is game for an adventure. Finish: long, spicier, again mostly steered by citrus and forest floor. Comments: I’d say this sits more or less in the same league as the previous one.
SGP:551 - 82 points. |
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Tanaka (40%, OB, Vietnam, +/-2025) 
Here we have a rice whisky, produced by a Japanese gentleman in Vietnam. Hooray, it’s our very first Vietnamese whisky! Colour: pale gold. Nose: it’s exceedingly light, leaning on vanilla, green tea, herbal infusions, a touch of rock sugar, and a little more vanilla… As it’s all very gentle, it can’t possibly offend – and indeed it doesn’t. Mouth: it’s sweet, light, lacking in texture, with faint hints of roasted hazelnuts, corn syrup, then a few tea-like tannins. Finish: very short. A dash of grey pepper. Comments: it’s likeable enough but I’d say it absolutely calls for ice. Which, of course, we didn’t use.
SGP:320 - 65 points. |
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The Chuan (40%, OB, China, Pure Malt, +/-2025)
Here’s the general release from this splendid distillery in Sichuan (courtesy of Pernod Ricard), which we had the pleasure of visiting in May. We’d already enjoyed two special editions, and here comes the most widely available version, probably the most approachable too, bottled at a friendly 40% vol. Beware, there’s Chinese mizunara oak inside! Colour: gold. Nose: we’re getting that Far-Eastern Speyside character again, a broadly classic malty structure uplifted by rather ‘Chinese’ notes, such as dried citrus peels (chen-pi), which we’re rather fond of, especially in older versions twenty years and up. There’s also a peculiar fermentary note that instantly recalls the place itself, notably their plum wine. Salted butter toffee ties it all together nicely. Mouth: very smart. The saline, resinous oak brings fir trees to mind, the plum comes back with gusto, as does the toffee, then a well-mannered array of spices joins in. That said, this is miles away from the hyper-spicy Sichuan cuisine style – of which we sampled some quite... remarkable examples, let’s say. As the locals put it, ‘it punches’. This pure malt, however, is much gentler… Finish: back into more classic territory with coffee, chocolate, prunes and richly malty dark beer. The 40% vol. never posed a problem. Comments: one often avoids using the term ‘entry level’, and in this case, that would’ve been a mistake indeed.
SGP:551 - 87 points. |
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Amber Lane 4 yo 2020/2024 (61%, Truth & Consequence, Australia, 1st fill bourbon barrel, cask #94, 107 bottles)
Naturally, they took home gold at the IWSC. They use a pot still and practise double distillation, so a rather intermittent process, let’s say. Angus tried an Amber Lane a while ago – and quite liked it – but I’ve never had one in my glass, I’m afraid. The distillery is located in New South Wales. Colour: gold. Nose: inevitably a bit hot at this strength, the ethanol is quite forward but nothing out of the ordinary. Wee liqueurs, sugar-coated eggs, sweet African bread… We’ll be needing water. With water: quite a bit of saponification at first, then it settles down and heads towards fresh ginger, after which the whole thing begins to improve steadily. Orange cake, baklavas, various other Levantine pastries… Mouth (neat): a bit eau-de-vie-like at first, with a plum core and citrusy flashes on top. I believe water is essential here, as it so often is (well done, S.) With water: very nice now, chiefly on citrus zest, still with some fresh ginger clinging on. Finish: medium length, pleasant, with plum jam and ginger. Comments: I think this is a proper success, even if the youth is showing.
SGP:641 - 82 points. |
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Hellyers Road 21 yo ‘Peated’ (52.5%, OB, Australia/Tasmania, cask #20FO5c01, 2025)
This one’s a double maturation with four years spent in peated whisky casks. So it’s not a peated distillate per se but do note the second maturation took place in casks that had held peated malt also produced by Hellyers Road. So it’s self-double maturation, if that’s even a term. Colour: pale gold. Nose: just picture this, you’re smoking mango and cassata in peat smoke, then adding grapefruit juice and white Sancerre. Or Australian sauvignon blanc if you prefer. With water: in come the wilder touches, mud, raw wool, bread dough, grist, but the mango and banana still keep the place in order. Mouth (neat): absolutely pure and precise, the smokiness is assertive yet glorious (must’ve been a very heavily peated cask) while a myriad of white and yellow fruits, both grand and humble, frolic in the background. The oak is ever so slightly noticeable. With water: excellent stuff, saline, perfectly poised, with once again the character of a fine white wine. With oysters! Finish: long, on lemon, ashes, smoked fish and focaccia. Comments: nothing particular to add, this is classic Hellyers Road right where we expect it. That said, achieving such a peaty profile from a mere finishing, however extended, shows once again just how dominant, and even invasive, these molecules can be. But that’s just how we like it…
SGP:645 - 90 points. |
Since we’re in the Commonwealth, here’s another one ‘peated by the cask’… |
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Spirit of Yorkshire 6 yo 2018/2025 (57.1%, Decadent Drams, England, 2nd fill ex-Islay Barrel, 249 bottles)
In other words, this is Filey Bay, which we’ve already sampled several times. We had great fun earlier this year with their rather good ‘Orange Wine Barrique’. Colour: white wine. Nose: clearly, unless you’re a seasoned Filey Bay expert, it’s tricky to determine what comes from the distillate and what from the ex-Islay barrel. In any case, we’re near bread, grist, oil, chalky white soil à la albariza, and even, I kid you not, Alsatian flammekueche (flatbread, fromage blanc, bacon, onions). Hints of paraffin, wet chalk... With water: edging even closer to cereals and ashes. Mouth (neat): precise, peaty, lemony, yeasty. There are, albeit with less depth and complexity of course, certain resemblances to Tasmanian whisky. With water: the whole becomes more integrated, citrus stands out, there’s even a medicinal side (ha-ha!) and, shall we say, a touch more gentleness. It’s very well done. Finish: fruits and a few drops of crème de menthe take over, almost pushing out the Islay peat. Comments: to be honest, we had our doubts, but as we went along and kept adding a little Vittel (Nestlé, we didn’t find the cheque) this lovely composition came together beautifully. No, no politics.
SGP:655 - 88 points. |
Go on then, one last one, let’s head back to the Far East… |
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Nantou Omar 2015/2024 (53.8%, OB for HNWS, The Antelope & Kanpakai, Taiwan, virgin oak, cask #01180385, 187 bottles)
Just a reminder that these Omars are produced by TTL, a Taiwanese state-owned company. We’ve already tasted some cracking ones and in fact, we’re planning a full ‘Omar’ session soon with a good dozen or so. God willing… Colour: gold. Nose: this is all about barley purity and heavily charred oak, so think croissants, vanilla, banana and the like. In short, it’s simple yet rendered in high-def. With water: fresh herbs emerge, basil, mint, oysterplant, lemongrass, watercress… Mouth (neat): in my humble opinion, Omar leans closer to the Japanese in style when compared to its compatriot Kavalan (which we’re also rather fond of) whose approach is arguably more ‘international’. Anyway, this opens with a lovely, forthright attack, extremely close to yeast and barley, and therefore beer. It follows that same line. With water: notes of ginger, turmeric, ginseng, along with yellow peaches. Finish: fairly long, on herbal infusions, vanilla and fresh oak. Comments: perhaps not ultra-distinctive, but the quality remains very high in my most humble opinion.
SGP:561 - 87 points. |
World malt whiskies just keep on improving, I get the feeling fewer and fewer fall into the sub-75-point category these days. Unless it’s the state of the world with its numerous predators that’s making us want to paint everything in a rosier light. |
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July 2025 |
Serge's favourite recent bottling this month:
Old Orkney Malt 25 yo 1999/2025 (50.3%, Decadent Drinks, HHD + sherry butt) - WF 91
Serge's favourite older bottling this month:
Largiemeanoch 20 yo 1974 (50.6%, The Whisky Connoisseur, Arthur J.A. Bell, cask #2087, +/-1995) - WF 93
Serge's favourite bang for your buck this month:
Orkney 10 yo 2013 (57%, The Whisky Exchange, Seasons: Winter, sherry hogshead) - WF 88
Serge's favourite malternative this month:
Clarendon 29 yo 1995/2025 ‘EMB’ (61.5%, The Colours of Rum, Jamaica, N°16, 148 bottles) - WF 91
Serge's thumbs up this month:
Unnamed Farm Distillery in the Heart of the Kingdom of Fife 2023-2024/2024 (63.4%, James Eadie, Project 1927, spirit drink) - WF 87.5 ;-)
Serge's Lemon Prize this month:
A.H. Riise ‘Family Reserve Solera 1838’ (42%, OB, Virgin Islands, +/-2024) - WF 15 |
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July 31, 2025 |
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Secret Orkneys and Highland Park
We're not in a position here to confirm with complete certainty that it's the same thing, are we. However, the difference between Scapa and Highland Park isn't all that hard to spot. Let's get into it and let’s start by going to Frankfurt — but not Frankfurt, Kentucky, right?
St Magnus in Kirkwall, Britain's most northerly cathedral (AI slop) |
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Orkney Single Malt 18 yo 2006/2024 (53.2%, Whisky Spirits for Whisky Time Frankfurt 2025)
With the city of Frankfurt printed upside down on the label! Thankfully, the distillery remains the right way up. Colour: white wine. Nose: unmistakable, with those maritime and mineral tones, followed by tart apples, lemon and olive oil we so adore yet which tend to elude the official expressions. With water: soot and paraffin, then brand new engine oil. Mouth (neat): squarely on the hallowed HPCBBNS axis (HP -> Clynelish -> Benromach -> Ben Nevis -> Springbank). Immensely saline! With water: how utterly delightful! Pure waxes, lemons, green apples and seawater. Finish: more of the same, and for a good while at that. Comments: it starts with a bang.
SGP:462 - 90 points. |
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Orkney 11 yo 2013/2025 (63.6%, Lady of the Glen, 1st fill bourbon, cask #10001, 203 bottles)
They say it’s cask strength, good to know, knowing that unless I’m wrong, HP fill at 63.5% vol., which means we’ve earned some extra-0.1% within eleven years! Colour: white wine. Nose: a fairly similar style, though leaning more towards yellow fruits and pollen, with fewer coastal and mineral elements, but instead we do find some virgin wool. A few touches of vanilla and coconut, almost certainly from the 1st fill bourbon cask. With water: orange peel, or rather mandarin zest. Mouth (neat): straight into acidic fruits, fresh rhubarb, lemon, not-very-ripe gooseberry, then a touch of liquorice and vanilla, though the coconut is nowhere to be found this time. In fact, we shall not complain. With water: veering back towards the classic profile, coastal and mineral. Excellent. Finish: long, with the arrival of green pepper, waxes and hints of indeterminate petroly derivatives. The White House might be able to enlighten us… Comments: performs extremely well following the quite superlative 18-year-old from Frankfurt.
SGP:562 - 88 points. |
Update: HP seem to actually fill at some unusual 69.5% vol. (Thanks, Tim) |
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Orkney (HP) 14 yo 2010/2024 ‘Edition #30’ (57.1%, Signatory Vintage, 100 Proof, 1st fill oloroso sherry butt)
I dare say the ‘HP’ on the label might stand for more than just ‘high potential’. Colour: amber. Nose: the typical sherry of this series, with roasted nuts and chocolate, hints of truffle, meatball soup, Maggi seasoning, toffee… With water: mushrooms and ferns, but above all lashings of chocolate fudge, even edging towards mole sauce. Mouth (neat): a marked oloroso sherry style, dry yet brimming with orange liqueur, heaps of black pepper and earth, and a few stouty touches. With water: in the same vein but increasingly dominated by old walnuts, while the salty edge becomes more pronounced too. Finish: long, on leek and chicken soup, grated dark chocolate and still plenty of pepper. Comments: very good, even if we've drifted from the cleaner style of the previous ones. A heavily sherried profile inevitably dials back a bit of distillate character.
SGP:461 - 84 points. |
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Secret Orkney 14 yo 2010/2024 ‘Edition #23’ (57.1%, Signatory Vintage, 100 Proof, 1st & 2nd fill oloroso sherry butt)
Not quite the same designation here, we've gone from ‘Orkney (HP)’ to ‘Secret Orkney’. Rather mysterious, wouldn’t you say… Colour: gold. Nose: clearly straddling both worlds, the truffle and leek have vanished, replaced by more orange and leather, the whole appearing fresher, fruitier, and unmistakably more ‘HP’. Beeswax and a faint hint of camphor. With water: edging ever closer to the sea, with seaweed and saline manzanilla… Mouth (neat): touches of ginger and turmeric, spiced orange peel… With water: I like this a great deal, it’s lively despite the sherry, nicely taut, all on citrus, pepper and heather honey of course. This feels closer to the officials. Finish: a medicinal turn in the finish, cough syrup laced with black pepper, orange liqueur and honey. A lovely concoction that ought to cure anything. Wax in the aftertaste. Comments: refill really is a splendid thing.
SGP:562 - 86 points. |
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Orkney 10 yo 2013 (57%, The Whisky Exchange, Seasons: Winter, sherry hogshead)
Winter? Oops, looks like we’ve missed sherry monster season. Colour: dark amber. Nose: a cleaner, fruitier kind of sherry, perhaps more on the ‘PX’ side, with Corinth raisins, dried figs, Mars bars, bursts of forest floor (moss, old stumps) and fir honey. We absolutely adore fir honey at WF Towers. With water: pure official style, but official from the 1990s. Gentle smoke, dried fruits, woodland notes, honeys, everything’s in place. Well done! Mouth (neat): fairly rich, caramelised, loaded with three tonnes of raisins and a full lorry of figs and dried dates, plus a few glacé cherries. And yet it never goes ‘too much’, which is near miraculous. The distillate, quietly humming in the background, keeps its saline and mineral frame intact—perhaps that’s why. With water: perfect, saline, smoky, mineral, yet rich and honeyed at the same time. Finish: long, more on black pepper, rich but curiously fresh. We did not say refreshing, mind you. Comments: a smart move, this is pretty flawless—I do hope they won’t mind that I tasted this baby in summer.
SGP:552 - 88 points. |
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Secret Orkney 17 yo 2004/2022 (53.1%, Whisky-Doris, 20th Anniversary, sherry butt, cask #13, 240 bottles)
We’re a little late to the party, though we’ve already tasted some splendid HPs from Whisky-Doris in the past… And if they celebrated their twentieth in 2022, then they’re the same age as little Whiskyfun! Hurray! Colour: gold. Nose: though it’s a butt again, we’re right back into more traditional HP territory, with both softness and firmness, wax, honeys, baked apples, smoked paprika, crushed pepper… In a nutshell, it’s lovely stuff. With water: a few wafts of walnut skin, spent matches (just the one, fear not) and chocolate. Oddly, the water has brought out more sherry than distillate. Mouth (neat): excellently fruity and taut, smoky, saline, rich yet elegant, characterful, all on candied fruits and all manner of citrus. It’s excellent, I believe we’re in high-score country. With water: leather and tobacco, but all in fine balance. The salinity shines through. Finish: fairly long, elegant, firm and yet rather rich. A sensation of smoked sultanas and seawater in the aftertaste. Beware, it wakes up! Comments: very, very charming and quite fascinating to follow, especially if you practise progressive reduction (not a new neo-eco-Trotskyist political theory, rest assured).
SGP:652 - 89 points. |
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Old Orkney Malt 25 yo 1999/2025 (50.3%, Decadent Drinks, HHD + sherry butt)
Aged first in refill hogshead then finished in a sherry butt. Decadent Drinks now own the ‘Double O’ or ‘O.O.’ marque, once held by Stromness Distillery and later by Gordon & MacPhail. It’s genuinely part of Scotland’s, and particularly Orkney’s, whisky heritage, so hats off to D.D. for keeping O.O. alive! And who knows, maybe one day they’ll unearth an old cask of Stromness, long forgotten in some derelict warehouse? That could well be the plot of ‘The Angel’s Share 2’, no? Someone ought to mention it to Ken Loach... Colour: deep gold. Nose: rooted in the earth, with last year’s fruits, pipe tobacco, Thai broth, a box of Cuban cigars, and the exhaust of a sports car (so, no Tesla), more mead than honey. With water: leather and bay leaf coming to the fore. Mouth (neat): firmer than expected, roasted and grilled, almost slightly burnt, all on chocolate and lightly salted coffee, with a surprise appearance from prunes in Armagnac. Well, fancy that… With water: back to dry sherry, almost mustardy, and particularly on damp earth, dried meat, black pepper and pine needles. Finish: we’re now in the realm of very old Madeira, Marsala or dry sherries. Comments: it’s not the destination that matters, it’s the journey, and here’s a perfect illustration. That said, I imagine this bottle may divide opinion a little; it’s like free jazz, not everyone’s cup of tea (least of all ‘the neighbours’).
SGP:463 - 91 points. |
NB: The two Signatory bottlings that are heavily sherried might seem slightly below the others at first glance, but that’s not really the case. First, we always tend to favour the cleaner versions, and secondly, these SigVs are offered at much more accessible prices than the others. So hats off to them, they’re excellent HPs! |
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July 30, 2025 |
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It’s Highland Park’s turn, back on WF
Careful now, there’ll be no Whitlaw, no Magnus’s Own Stuff, nor any Secret Orkney today, but we will have some soon… For now, let’s see what we’ve got under the proper label, chosen a bit at random for the sake of, shall we say, fun. Still, these Brownian sessions always end up falling into the right order in the end… |
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Highland Park ‘The Dolphins 2nd Release’ (40%, OB, 2018)
An expression that’s an officially licensed product for the Royal Navy Submarine Service. At a modest 40% vol., Her/His Majesty’s submariners aren’t exactly at risk of descending into delirium tremens mid-dive. Just jesting of course, though we do know that HP can gracefully handle very low strength and still shine, which isn’t something all malts can claim. Colour: pale gold. Nose: well then, it’s certainly very light, but far from unpleasant, rather it’s quite charming actually, with a whisper of faintly smoked hay and delicate honey, a splash of Bellini (Champagne with peach purée), the faintest demitasse of lapsang souchong, and a satchel of liquorice wood. Lovely nose, just exceedingly gentle, though not without a certain quiet complexity. Right. Mouth: the low strength does let it down somewhat, rather on the dry side, with the lapsang souchong suddenly pushing to the fore. Not quite what we were hoping for. Wee salty touches and a bite of toasted bread. Finish: short, nearly incidental. Comments: I dare say at 46% vol., this might have made quite the splash, but as it stands, it rather dives off into the depths due to a lack of… propulsion. The nose is a hundred times better than the palate, in my most humble opinion.
SGP:452 - 80 points. |
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Highland Park 21 yo ‘2024 Release’ (46%, OB)
This isn’t yet the new livery, the one that’s supposedly more ‘organic’. Quite the elaborate recipe all the same, as this baby was assembled from, and I quote, ‘48 casks: 25 first-fill, sherry-seasoned American oak quarter casks, 15 refill butts and 8 first-fill, sherry-seasoned European hogsheads, all hand-selected and laid down in 2001 and 2002’. Right then, let’s dive in. Colour: full gold. Nose: straightaway those hallmark notes of polish and honey (they say heather honey, though one’s not entirely certain) which are truly lovely, then we’re onto pecan pie drizzled with maple syrup. Delicate minty glimmers flicker in the background. A very attractive nose, not overly complex but distinctly ‘HP’. Mouth: there is peat here, and a drier profile than on the nose, more along the lines of chocolate, tobacco and black tea, with surprisingly restrained fruit, while the whole shifts steadily towards salted liquorice. Perhaps that’s the Viking edge of HP showing through. Finish: not particularly long but displaying charming notes of walnut cake. The aftertaste holds faint touches of gunpowder and artichoke, plus a whisper of violet sweet. Comments: not monumental, yet it’s still quite beautiful. We shall see whether the next batch veers towards the ‘fruit and honey’ side, presumably under that much-talked-about new label, ‘less Viking and more organic’ (my words).
SGP:562 - 87 points. |
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Highland Park 2013/2024 (65.5%, OB, Ten Years of the Highland Park Appreciation Society, first fill European oak sherry puncheon, cask #3655, 663 bottles)
At this strength, here’s an HP that could well take our heads off like Thor with his hammer. Yes, one does adjust to brand environments, as you can see… Colour: rich gold. Nose: maple syrup, maple syrup and maple syrup. That’ll be the strength at play. So, with water: the maple syrup remains front and centre, but we’re now joined by all manner of honey cakes, jams (apricot, mirabelle plum), and then, gradually, a growing smokiness, led as ever by its faithful emissary, lapsang souchong tea. Also flint, and a few puffs of brake pad. Mouth (neat): this seems excellent—smoky, candied, salty, smoky again, with some extreme grilled bacon… But we shan’t probe any further without adding water. With water: everything calms down a touch, thankfully. Chestnut jam, and even onion jam, then increasingly more ashes. One does wonder whether these ashes come from heavily charred casks (come on!) or from an especially peaty distillate. Or both, perhaps… Finish: long, rather on tobacco, leather, a hint of spent matches, and some candied orange peel. Comments: a bit of a brute, but we’re very fond of it. Many whisky lovers are ever so slightly masochistic, did you know?
SGP:562 - 88 points. |
Since we’re already taking a bit of a beating... |
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Highland Park ‘Cask Strength Release No.4’ (64.3%, OB, 2023)
And bang, we’re behind again. In any case, it’s amusing, don’t you find that some brands seem to believe that as long as they’re bottling at very high strength, in the style of ‘farclas 105 back in its glory days, they can merrily abandon age statements? And ‘Robust and Intense’, that’s what the wee label says. No kidding… Colour: gold. Nose: the alcohol is quite prominent, naturally, but it’s much cleaner than the previous one, with far less smoke and rather more on cooked fruits, jams, soft honey, orange marmalade, sweet sherry (perhaps PX) and even a hint of patchouli… With water: it’s clean, ultimately rather easy, well balanced, on raisins, jams and roasted peanuts. Mouth (neat): ah indeed, rustic stuff, clearly very young, malty and blazing hot. Rather like moonshiner’s eau-de-vie from some forgotten valley where the state never sets foot ‘because they’ve neither the time nor the budget’. With water: quite nice! Sweet roots, spices, various honeys, and a gentle saline smokiness pushing through… Finish: lemon jam splashed with just a trace of pine liqueur takes the helm. The aftertaste stays faintly smoky and salty. Comments: we found batch #3 a bit middling (WF 83) but this #4 is clearly an improvement.
SGP:651 - 85 points. |
Let’s move on to the indies, their casks are generally a bit cleaner… |
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Highland Park 19 yo 2004/2024 (54.7%, Duncan Taylor, Single Cask Collection, sherry cask, cask #50171094, 311 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: this one’s more mineral, more on chalk and crushed limestone, but also fresh bread, raisin rolls, brioche with sultanas… It feels almost like a more old-school HP than the recent OBs we’ve just tried. With water: chalk and clay marls after a summer thunderstorm (what?) then a fresh baguette at six in the morning. Mouth (neat): much tauter and more nervous than the OB C/S #4, lemony, on pink grapefruit, sharp riesling, lime, and ginger tonic… We’re huge fans of all that, let’s not pretend otherwise. With water: perfect—fresh yet full-bodied, with a very discreet and wonderfully elegant sherry, giving full expression to a distillate firmly driven by citrus. We’ve said it before, citrus—and honey—will save the world. Finish: long, flawless, precise, not a single off-note, and heading straight towards that most conclusive of flavours: beeswax. Comments: this is surprisingly excellent, though I’m not surprised. I know exactly what I mean. A magnificent cask, provided you let it breathe and find just the right amount of water.
SGP:651 - 90 points. |
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Highland Park 2015/2024 (58.3%, Swell de Spirits, Pop’ Series, for Inter Caves France, first fill tawny porto butt, cask #560, 424 bottles)
Careful now, this is full maturation in a port cask, not just a cheap two-month finishing job (in French, ‘porto’ means ‘Port’). Colour: gold. Nose: I regret to inform you that the nose is magnificent, one even wonders whether this might have been an old white port cask from Niepoort or other good ones (S., they say tawny, t.a.w.n.y.) . Wild mirabelles and bergamots, then clover honey. With water: out come mineral elements, flint, crushed slate, and then bread dough. Mouth (neat): classic young HP, with all the usual attributes, citrusy and mineral tension, various honeys, peach skins, apple and pear peel, and then a burst of grey pepper suddenly taking charge… With water: everything falls into place, fine peat, citrus, precise honeys, soft spices, raisins… In fact, the gentler side of the port is now beginning to make itself known. Finish: as is often the case, it’s the dry notes (leather and tobacco) that bring balance and prevent it veering too far into jammy territory. Not that we have anything against jam. Comments: a round of hearty applause. Not even ten years old, mind you!
SGP:652 - 89 points. |
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Highland Park 10 yo 2014/2024 (51.5%, The House of McCallum, Auld Alliance, bourbon and Margaux, cask #279, 343 bottles)
We assume this underwent a finishing in a Margaux cask, so red Bordeaux. There are indeed white Margaux wines, but they’re exceedingly rare and as yet not granted the Margaux blanc designation. That said, Médoc blanc is reportedly in the works… Colour: pale gold. Nose: no blackcurrant, no cherry, the Margaux keeps its distance, save for a few tell-tale green pepper notes typical of cabernet. The rest is quite attractive, with orange liqueur and those ‘mineral maritime citrus fruits’. A dash of barley syrup. With water: it turns more coastal and even medicinal. A faint touch of iodine tincture and a couple of small oysters. Mouth (neat): once again, the wine remains discreet, though there is some blood orange. Fruity brioche, panettone, marmalade, a few salty and earthy touches, and liquorice. With water: fresher, more lemony, and more saline. Finish: long and refreshing, with bitter almond notes. Tiny drops of seawater in the aftertaste. Comments: we went looking for the Margaux, but truth be told, it was well hidden. That may not be such a bad thing.
SGP:562 - 86 points. |
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Highland Park 18 yo (57.1%, Dràm Mor, 5th birthday release, refill hogshead, cask #3535, 292 bottles)
Is it pure affectation that they’ve chosen not to mention the vintage? We imagine so, and we rather like that. Colour: white wine. Nose: a lovely idea to draw from casks quite different to the usual official house style, here we’ve got a profile that’s very fresh, vertical, maritime, on sourdough bread, seaweed, grist, ground almonds, and cooked whelks… How delightful. With water: ink appears, along with a pile of books and magazines, then baker’s yeast. Someone really ought to establish an aroma conservatory, because at the rate things are going, soon everything will smell like plastic, cocaine and gunpowder (come on!) Mouth (neat): firm, powerful, candied, citric, salty, peaty, compact. Will that do? With water: as excellent as it gets, salty, fresh, maritime, like a plate of smoked cockles drizzled with lemon juice. Finish: fairly long, still fresh and saline. A truly coastal HP, splendidly austere into the bargain. Comments: who could possibly object to this style, which catapults you straight to the edge of the North Sea?
SGP:563 - 88 points. |
I think one last wee dram will do for today… |
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Highland Park 18 yo 2006/2024 (59.2%, C. Dully Selection, bourbon hogshead, cask #3571, 232 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: the magic of true refill, close to the distillate, which makes perfect sense when you’re dealing with a superb make like HP. Top 5 material, without question. That said, it’s a discreet, sensitive nose—summer rain, foliage, I almost want to say cucumber—the very definition of aromatic understatement. A porcini carpaccio like the one I had at L’Ambroisie in Paris, one of my greatest gastronomic memories. But I digress. With water: fresh plaster, a rain-dampened wool jumper, and small cider apples. Mouth (neat): this time we’re close to newmake—you almost feel like there’s been little or no maturation over these 18 years. Unusual and utterly charming! But careful—it’s still 59.2% vol. Yup. With water: beautifully balanced, apple, pear, barley, green melon, faint ashes… Finish: fairly long, more on herbs. Artisanal kirsch in the aftertaste, and the finest kirsch belong among the greatest spirits on Earth! Comments: full of charm, but it’s an austere sort of charm, unadorned, natural, probably not one for ‘the neighbours’.
SGP:462 - 88 points. |
Heads up, the ‘Secret Orkneys’ are coming soon, and I can tell you there are some real beasts among them. Stay tuned. |
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July 29, 2025 |
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A wee duo, or perhaps is it a trio of Daftmill
There’s this fantastic ‘Project 1927’ by James Eadie, which brings together six newmakes from some rather avant-garde young Scottish distilleries. Despite their modernity, all of them were keen to experiment with production techniques from the 1920s—yeasts, fermentation methods, and so on. Proof, if ever it were needed, that tradition can be forward-thinking, don’t you think?
Among these six distilleries is an ‘Unnamed Farm Distillery in the Heart of the Kingdom of Fife’, whose newmake we’ll be tasting today. And to round off the session in a way that’s perhaps a little coherent, we’ll also have two Daftmills. |
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Unnamed Farm Distillery in the Heart of the Kingdom of Fife 2023-2024/2024 (63.4%, James Eadie, Project 1927, spirit drink)
This one was distilled from homegrown Golden Promise barley, floor-malted on site and fermented for approx. 100 hours using brewer’s yeast. Colour: white. Nose: explosive indeed, far more estery than anticipated, with an immediate slap of green olive (a somewhat rare creature in the Kingdom of Fife) and copper polish. The intensely fermentary aspect is, of course, well to the fore as well, bringing thoughts of sourdough bread, but care must be taken as this is seriously potent stuff that could in no time incinerate our nostrils. With water: now we enter the world of small fruits, all either in the process of fermentation or recently caught in the act. Cherries, plums, raspberries, little berries of indeterminate origin, and even a glimmer of shochu. Mouth (neat): with due caution, pear eau-de-vie comes as no surprise, nor does the limoncello, but the damp earthiness, salty flashes and fresh woodland mushrooms are rather unexpected in a newmake. With water: this calls to mind wild cherry eau-de-vie as produced by the finest Alsatian distillers, such as Marcel Windholtz in Ribeauvillé. Which is to say, ‘they could bottle this as is’. Finish: long, now properly salty, though there can’t be a gram of actual sodium in the dram. Clearly, it’s a question of certain papillae being activated, presumably by ions or some such, but we’ll admit the chemistry of the palate is not quite our domain. Comments: yes, they could absolutely bottle this and I’m certain it would make smashing martinis. We shall test that theory forthwith this very evening.
SGP:662 - between 85 and 90 points (we don’t really score newmakes, after all). |
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Daftmill 2009/2025 (55%, OB for Aquavitae, bourbon cask, casks #03+055/2009, 362 bottles)
This is a ‘double single cask’, you understand. Oh, and he-ha, the Daftmill label does indeed specify that they are located ‘in the Heart of the Kingdom of Fife’, which surely cannot be mere coincidence. That said, several new distilleries now reside within the Kingdom of Fife but let us move on… Colour: pale gold. Nose: typically very taut, mineral, and uncompromisingly herbaceous, as though it had been infused with grapefruit peel, which suits us marvellously as we’re rather partial to such aromas. There’s also woodruff, lashings of it, along with a little lemon verbena. With water: virtually unchanged, save for the appearance of slate and chalk, both delightfully pulverised. Mouth (neat): splendidly pure and textural for an ex-bourbon, all vanilla, lemon, and exceedingly lively wee herbs, with the soaring elegance of the driest white wines. One might even say it’s ‘Sauvignoning’. With water: it takes a turn for the rootier, now evoking sweet gentian, celery stalk… Always a happy place in my book. Finish: long, pure, indefatigable yet never fatiguing (if that makes sense). A rather startling umami quality right at the end. Comments: it borders more on watchmaking than mere distilling, so precise it is.
SGP:661 - 90 points. |
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Daftmill 2011/2024 (56.3%, OB for the Milano Whisky Festival, first fill bourbon barrel, cask #094-98-99/2011, 615 bottles)
There’s also a first fill oloroso version from an earlier Milan festival, but let’s stay focused on the bourbon today… Colour: white wine. Nose: naturally it’s very close, though this one’s a tad cleaner, a touch fruitier, but everything else is near-identical. Let’s say we’ve moved from Sancerre’s Sauvignon to Chablis’ Chardonnay. With water: ah, a few faint petroly notes, but we soon return to a far more civilised lemon custard. Mouth (neat): rather fatty, even oily, with limoncello making a triumphant comeback (Italy, of course), along with a proper chalkiness. And it’s just so good, it’s frankly getting a little embarrassing. With water: touches of pine liqueur, orange blossom and a pinch of paprika, all layered over the classic chalk-vanilla-lemon-fresh bread combo. Finish: lovely, pure, and downright moreish. Another bottle that really ought to come with a warning label. Comments: absolutely superb, albeit with just a fraction less of the previous one’s surgical precision. Still flying very high indeed.
SGP: 661 - 89 points. |
In any case, here’s hoping Daftmill has laid down a bit of that ‘James Eadie-style’ newmake for ageing! As freshwater anglers like to say, good things come to those who wait. We simply can’t wait… |
(Merci, Martin and thanks to The Whisky Lodge) |
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July 28, 2025 |
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Six Broras – or nearly – for Whiskyfun's 23rd anniversary
A tasting session with all the slow build-up of a climb up the stairs—if you catch my drift. You’ll see. |
So indeed, it is today, 28th July.
Twenty-three years, and a selection of malts that won’t surprise many, but it’s true that tracking down Broras we haven’t already tasted over all these years isn’t exactly easy, especially since they’re inevitably rare bottlings, often very rare. Not that rarity guarantees quality, of course, that goes without saying! So, let’s see what we’ve got. We’ll focus on the ‘gentle’ years – 1981 and 1982 – tasting them in order of increasing strength. By the way, if you haven’t seen it yet, I’ll be trying to host a small Brora and Clynelish tasting at this year’s Whisky Show in London (they’re calling it a “masterclass”, ha), like we did back in… erm, 2010. Blimey, fifteen years…
(Part of the box from a 5-year-old Old Clynelish/Brora, featuring the amusing “extra light” mention, which we’ll come back to shortly...) |
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Brora 23 yo 1981/2005 (46%, Signatory Vintage, Un-Chillfiltered Collection, refill sherry butt, cask #05/372, 314 bottles)
We’ve always had a soft spot for this Un-Chillfiltered Collection, which brought some rather precious malts within reach of the enthusiast’s wallet, never compromising on quality. Even if a few sister casks of this very one weren’t quite stellar, if memory serves, certainly not superior to their cousins from the same era just across the street up there, though they could resemble them rather a lot. By 1981, Brora’s ‘Islay-style’ years were already history… Colour: straw. Nose: that good old porridge is back, something sorely lacking in most of today’s malts, along with hints of ink, slightly overripe apples, saltpetre and soot, paraffin, hay, and proper farmhouse cider (not that pub-dispensed fizz, mind you) … No peat, or barely any, but a style that already feels bygone, which turns out to be rather moving after all these years. In short, none of that modern jiggery-pokery in these bottlings. Mouth: the sherry cask’s a little more vocal here, bringing along our old chums, aged walnuts and oxidised apples, along green banana, a few touches of bay leaf, a salty tang and a touch of seaside white plonk that, as they say, calls for oysters. Hints of edible flowers too—pansies, borage… Finish: not the longest, slightly dusty and ashy, but lovely and honest, with a salty amontillado-like quality emerging right at the end. Perhaps it’s in the finish that it shines the brightest. Forgot to mention mandarins, which is pretty Clynelish from those years too. Comments: scoring these Broras is becoming rather like trying to rank Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck. You always end up looking a bit daft, don’t you?
SGP:453 - 88 points. |
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Brora 23 yo 1981/2005 (46%, Chieftain’s Choice, sherry butt, cask #1514, 846 bottles)
Clearly a proper butt, given the generous outturn! We could almost recycle the remarks made about the SigV UCF for this Chieftain’s Choice by Ian Macleod. By the way, do keep an eye on their old Springbanks at auction now that the air’s a little clearer in that particularly peculiar market. Colour: gold. Nose: the sherry’s more assertive here, so we’re getting walnuts, even sweet mustard, autumn leaves, with a slight metallic touch leading us to paraffin oil, hay once again, fireplace smoke, a lit pipe, more beeswax, then those good old apples, farmhouse cider and wee notes of patchouli. Mouth: very lovely, earthier, fuller-bodied, that was clearly a fine butt. Hints of mandarin peel, wax, even olive oil, a few touches of aged white wine veering towards dry Madeira, then a beautifully Jerez-like interplay of mustard and tobacco, which is quite charming indeed. Finish: becomes increasingly ‘Brora’, one might even be reminded of slightly older vintages such as 1975. Porridge ‘with a nip’ in the aftertaste, which takes us right back to… 1981. Comments: Brora loved sherry, and the feeling was mutual. And perhaps these vintages even needed it, come to think of it.
SGP:564 - 89 points. |
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Brora 1981/2004 (58.2%, The Dalriada Whisky Co., Modern Masters of Scotland, for Japan, butt, 239 bottles)
The Dalriada Whisky Co. was a now-defunct outfit founded by David Croll. This happens to be one of the bottles I had the hardest time tracking down back in my Brora-hoarding days, would you believe. And yet, I never tasted it until now, though one suspects a ‘SigV’ origin. Just to clarify, the ‘Modern Masters of Scotland’ moniker refers, of course, not to the whisky, but to the painter who illustrated the label. Colour: gold. Nose: we’re actually exceedingly close to the Chieftain’s, with that firm dry sherry profile, walnuts, mustard, dried leaves, garden bonfire smoke, paraffin, soot… Let’s see if a little water stirs things up. With water: hints of braised cabbage, perhaps a touch of sulphur… but indeed, it leans more and more towards spent matches. Mouth (neat): entirely and squarely in the Chieftain’s camp, only cranked up a notch, which manifests in a bolder, more pronounced plug tobacco character. Indeed. With water: bitter chocolate and gunpowder, heading towards salted truffle. In truth, not my favourite. Finish: long, very dry, with an assertive note of gunpowder that shifts into tar and leek. Over-infused lapsang souchong and a leathery new-shoe note in the aftertaste. Comments: reminiscent of those sherried Clynelishes that sometimes also veered into the sulphury zone. To think we bent over backwards to get hold of a bottle!
SGP:475 - 82 points. |
Right, no more messing about now… |
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Brora 13 yo 1982/1995 (60.4%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection)
One of the earliest Broras, along with that Blackadder version offered at a rather underwhelming 43% vol.; previously, there had only been the SMWS, including the highly lauded 1976 61.1 released as early as 1989. We’d already tasted this 1982 CAD but had never actually penned any notes. Imagine, that was before the dawn of WF! At any rate, high time to put this wrong to rights… Colour: white wine. Nose: absolutely in the style of that era’s output from this series, with rich texture and natural power showing straight away, followed by a rather stunning minerality (wet pebbles, first rain in a big city, so petrichor, limestone) and some slightly underripe exotic fruits, banana skin, then the proverbial Clynelish wax. With water: immediate lift-off! Gorgeous fresh exotic fruits, coriander, Thai basil, beeswax, nectar, pollen, straw smoke… Mouth (neat): it’s like olive oil mixed with grapefruit and freshly cut grass. The octane level is high, mind you. With water: superb, and to be honest, very Clynelish indeed. There were quite a few Clynelishes in the early ’70s that felt rather ‘Brora’, and several Broras from the early ’80s that felt rather ‘Clynelish’. Finish: same story, perfect, saltier. Comments: I suspect that twenty-five years ago or more, I may have tasted this without water, but I honestly don’t recall. As the old joke goes, there are three things I struggle to remember: the whiskies I’ve tasted, people’s names, and the whiskies I’ve tasted.
SGP:565 - 92 points. |
Speaking of which, just hold on a sec… |
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Clynelish 5 yo (43%, OB, Di Chiano, long golden cap, Italy, +/-1970)
Of course we’ve already tasted this little chap with the ‘bulky neck’ and those charming individual yellow cartons (we do love yellow at WF, surely it’ll come back into fashion one day), but here’s a fresh bottle, and what’s more, the label printing is finer than on some others. Yes, I know, any excuse will do in such cases. I believe—though can’t say with absolute certainty—that this is pre-floor maltings decommissioning distillate, so pre-1965. In short, even more so than with the 12-year-olds under the same label, one could argue this is the seminal Old Clynelish/Brora. Colour: white wine. Nose: ink and soot, cold ashes in the hearth of an old bothy, ham fat, apple peelings, motor oil, some new plastics and old books from the cellar or the attic. And an oyster and a langoustine. Mouth: impossibly maritime in purity, yet somehow as fat as a monk. This richness and breadth are spectacular in a five-year-old, just as it was in those old Springbank 5s of the era. But were they really only five years old? A sticky sweet mystery… Anyway, the rest shall remain between this wee one and me. Finish: incredible length, fat, lemon, ashes, soot, seawater, seaweed… Comments: absolutely on par with the 12-year-olds, barring the Giaccone 100° proof versions, which lived in a class of their own. As for the texture, it’s something that’s plainly vanished from virtually all modern malts, no matter their origin.
SGP:462 - 93 points (verging on 94). |
What’s really funny is that indeed, on the box of this 5-year-old Clynelish, there’s the mention “EXTRA LIGHT”, which is of course completely at odds with the style of the whisky. But we have to remember that at the time, “light”, just like "smooth", was a huge selling proposition for spirits. In fact, very young age statements, whether genuine or made-up, that is to say lowered on the label, served the same purpose, since the public believed that the older and darker a whisky was, the more full-bodied and rich it would be. It’s worth knowing that some were even artificially decolouring their whiskies. Well that's what we've heard on numerous occasions. As Japanese chefs would say, O tempora, o mores! (yeah like, that's funny, S.) |
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Angus's Corner
From our correspondent and
skilled taster Angus MacRaild in Scotland
Sadly, I don't have a suitable sparring partner for this Brora, but then again, 23rd birthdays aren't usually that big a deal, are they? Having said that, I think it would be fair to say that, in the case of funny little whisky tasting blogs such as this one, when you've been going strong for twenty years, every extra year is a worthy milestone. Happy birthday, Whiskyfun. And congratulations to Serge. Speaking as someone who now also has two companies to run and a young family, I do not know how you manage to keep the Whiskyfun fires burning day in day out the way you do. The motivating powers of foie gras, Riesling and jazz must be truly formidable... |
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Brora 25 yo 1977/2002 (56.5%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society 61.12 'Honey, porridge, peat and iodine') 
Colour: bright straw. Nose: magnifique! Heather honey cut with sea salt, animal fats, mineral oils, sheep wool, mustard powder, church candles, assorted forest mushrooms, wild garlic and this stunning medley of citrus fruits, seawater, waxed hessian and some very graceful, bone dry peat smoke notes. With water: citrus juices, petrol, greasy toolboxes and more pure waxes and sea salt. Mouth: it's the texture that is so fantastic and impressive. Fully mouthcoating, like slugging petrol that has been centrifuged with pure honeycomb, molten wax and lamp oil. There's also tiger balm, suet, chalky beach pebble vibes and then just getting more and more coastal and saline. With water: a tad softer, some more tantalising glimmers of peat, but it's really not a big peaty Brora, this remains all about the seashore, those stunning waxes, oils, animal fats, umami and that astonishing, mouth-slathering textural quality. Finish: very long, on shellfish, preserved lemon, dried thyme, smoked sea salt and all manner of waxes, petrol and camphor. Comments: I don't taste Brora too often these days, but most times one crosses my path, it's a stark reminder of just what a monolithic and monumental distillate it was (is?). Happy birthday Whiskyfun!
SGP: 463 - 93 points. |
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So, thank you for your attention! We're starting to think about how we'll celebrate our 25th anniversary in 2027—provided the countless Gods of Spirits let us live that long. Hasta la vista! |
(Thank you mucho, KC and Massimo!) |
Check the index of all Brora we've tasted so far |
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July 27, 2025 |
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A word of caution
Let me please remind you that my humble assessments of any spirits are done from the point of view of a malt whisky enthusiast who, what's more, is aboslutely not an expert in rum, brandy, tequila, vodka, gin or any other spirits. Thank you – and peace! |
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Even more rums on WF, incuding a 1834, for our 23rd anniversary
(just slightly early)
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Tomorrow marks the 23rd anniversary of this pitiful little ultra-advanced website, and we’re getting ever so slightly ahead of ourselves with a very special rum we had set aside for the occasion. We're even going to enjoy it as an ‘apéritif’, because it simply wouldn’t do to have it after those sickly-sweet sugar bombs followed by high-ester bazookas from Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana... or Fiji. Are we all agreed on that?
Recent photo of the former Bellows headquarters just south of the New York Stock Exchange. |
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Jamaica Rum 1834 (+/-40%, M.E. Bellows‘ Son of New York via The Colours of Rum, Guyana)
According to rum specialists—or at the very least those more versed than yours truly—this would likely be a rum of Guyanese origin, crafted in the Jamaican style (which rather brings to mind those American champagnes or Russian cognacs) and distributed by M.E. Bellows, wine and spirits importers and merchants based at 50 Broad St., New York. We’ve already had the pleasure of tasting a splendid American Old Medford Rum from 1876 as well as some whisky from these same people. This sample was kindly shared by Wealth Solutions, a thousand thanks to them. I presume it came from a venerable old bottle that was carefully transferred into tiny vials, no doubt destined for refined noses and palates such as our own (modesty, S.?) So once again, many thanks to Wealth Solutions. Colour: reddish amber. Nose: well, rum it remains, with prominent molasses, corn syrup, lashings of liquorice, hints of orange liqueur, and perhaps an overarching ‘El Dorado’ profile if one had to name it. It does not come across as tired in the least, nor does it feel recent or cloyingly syrupy. After nearly two centuries, one suspects the sugars have mellowed and ‘digested’ themselves, much as seen in very old Hungarian Tokaji. Mouth: I find this rather good, almost like a liquorice liqueur, the texture being oily and near thick, with minute touches of salt, mint, and anise sneaking in. Quite lovely, and honestly, rather moving. Finish: fairly short but soft, still brimming with liquorice, veering gently into coffee grounds. Comments: I do wonder whether these bottles might have been ‘topped up’ or ‘ullaged’ along the way. It’s known that when, for instance, a case of twelve is unearthed, certain enthusiasts might sacrifice a bottle to bring the others up to level, not unlike the practices of Bordeaux châteaux with their ancient vintages. Anyway, this was most enjoyable.
SGP:551 - 85 points (but please, do not take this score too seriously). |
Let’s move on to more recent things… |
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Banqero ‘Copper’ (40%, OB, Switzerland, +/-2023)
Yes indeed, ladies and gentlemen, Swiss rum has landed on WF for the very first time. Well, we’re not entirely certain it’s genuinely Swiss—one website claims it’s actually of Cuban origin and the result of a ‘quadruple distillation in a column still’, which is rather amusing unless we’re talking about tiny pot stills linked to some sort of tray system, though I rather doubt it. Colour: golden straw. Nose: a touch odd, somewhere between genepy, vanilla yoghurt, and a faintly dusty cupboard, but it’s all rather entertaining. Mouth: not too sure what to make of this, with light molasses, green pepper, pear eau-de-vie, and caramel showing up here and there… there’s clearly a sugariness lurking beneath the whole affair. Finish: short and earthier, this time bringing in notes of curry and plum spirit. Comments: amusing and honest, hoppla.
SGP:730 - 60 points. |
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Rivière du Mât ‘Grande Réserve’ (40%, OB, La Réunion, +/-2024)
We’d already tried this one many years ago and it was rather good. This is a traditional rum, so molasses-based rather than pure cane juice. Colour: gold. Nose: lovely freshness, almost maritime in nature, with liquorice and anise making an appearance, as well as a floral touch (honeysuckle), and above all, gallons of freshly squeezed oranges with a drizzle of multifloral honey. From La Réunion, of course. Their pink peppercorn honey is splendid, by the way. Mouth: still sweet, with spices that clearly evoke the region, almost like a very, very mild rougail. This then veers towards something drier, with a touch of chocolate and chilli, a splendid combination. Finish: alas, it’s rather short—I fear the 40% really doesn’t do it justice, which is a pity. Comments: very pleasant juice, but their slightly stronger versions, such as the XO, have far more oomph.
SGP:640 - 78 points. |
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Mhoba ‘Bourbon Cask’ (48%, OB, Navigate World Whisky, South Africa, 300 bottles, +/-2024)
Let’s keep this brief as we all know Mhoba is excellent. Colour: gold. Nose: no surprises here, it’s very good indeed, brimming with those hallmark wafts of waxed cardboard, fresh tar, seawater, then hints of acetone and varnish. A touch of caraway adds a lovely idiosyncratic twist. Mouth: the most Jamaican of African rums, and quite possibly the finest. A perfect harmony of liquorice and tar, mingling with citrus and wee petroly and basaltic touches. It then shifts towards saltiness, which is simply delightful. Finish: long, with both black and green olives making a proud appearance. Comments: best enjoyed while listening to Abdullah Ibrahim. We adore this rum—and the great Abdullah Ibrahim aka Dollar Brand every bit as much.
SGP:452 - 89 points. |
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Fiji 23 yo 2001/2024 (51%, Planteray for LMDW Foundations, Prestige Cellar, 258 bottles)
A juice from Rum & Co. of Fiji (aka South Pacific Distillery), finished for four years in Ferrand cognac casks. One hopes the influence was minimal, naturally. Colour: amber. Nose: picture mango juice, peach liqueur, seawater, a drop of rose liqueur, and a splash of furniture polish all shaken together—and somehow, it doesn’t clash at all. With water: oh, it shuts down. That’s rare, and we are indeed using our official Vittel water (Nestlé, where’s that cheque?) Mouth (neat): this is charming, the cognac remains discreet and lets exotic fruits preserved in liquorice, olive oil, and Nordic fir tar liqueur take centre stage. With water: much the same, just a touch brinier. A lovely drop, and a cognac cask that knew how to behave. Finish: long, saltier, and more on petrol. Comments: really very good, and it seems just a little oilier than your average South Pacific.
SGP:553 - 87 points. |
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A Panama Distillery 2004/2017 (61.6%, L’Esprit, cask #BB 71, 256 bottles)
About time we gave this baby a go, we’re always on the hunt for great Panamanians. And we do so love when bottlers inform us, at 61.6% vol., that it’s cask strength. Don’t we just. Colour: gold. Nose: textbook stuff, corn syrup, a bag of sweets, hay, fresh grass, and cane syrup. With water: lovely natural vanilla and a selection of herbal teas, including the obligatory chamomile. Mouth (neat): the sweetie aspect is even more pronounced on the palate. Honey lozenges and maple syrup galore. Plus a fair bit of ethanol, let’s be honest. With water: soft, sugary, syrupy, with banana and pear liqueurs front and centre. Finish: much the same. A little pepper creeps in. Comments: not exactly my preferred style, far from it, but within this somewhat ‘hollow’ profile, I’d say it’s top-tier.
SGP:640 – 82 points. |
Well now, let’s return to the Fiji Islands… |
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South Pacific Distillery 21 yo 2001/2023 (47.3%, The Colours of Rum, Fiji, cask #17, 222 bottles)
No reduction here, so one might presume either the ageing took place beyond the Arctic Circle—which we rather doubt—or the cask was a touch, let’s say, porous. Often the source of great surprises, as we've seen with many a sublimely aged Scottish malt. Colour: gold. Nose: well now, olive oil with a touch of acetone and almond milk. In the background, a curious mix of ink, saltpetre, soot, and guava juice. And I’m afraid to say it all comes together rather perfectly. Mouth: a little less precise on the palate, a touch rougher (like a Fijian rugby prop), yet naturally still excellent. The wood feels more present than usual, which might be down to the (relatively) low strength. Finish: long, salty, austere, fairly dry. Comments: not the easiest of drams… but still top class, much like Fiji’s national rugby team.
SGP:463 - 87 points. |
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Clarendon 17 yo 2004/2022 (57.1%, Precious Liquors, Jamaica, cask #433877)
Colour: amber. Nose: at first sniff, this is a soft and fruity Monymusk/Clarendon, low-ester, leaning towards hazelnut oil and hay. There’s something rather enigmatic about it. A pronounced note of mint as well. With water: resinous woods begin to push forward, particularly thuja, evoking the scent of a Moroccan tourist souk—Marrakech, Agadir… Mouth (neat): more assertive on the palate, but the cask was fairly aggressive, with plenty of fir resin, green pepper, and frankly, a lot of green tannins. With water: we’ve managed to tame it somewhat, guiding it towards citrus peel and budding shoots. But what a wild beast it is. Finish: long, green, astringent. Comments: goodness, what a battle. We like it a great deal, but this is truly a Clarendon for those who enjoy a proper scrap.
SGP:272 - 85 points. |
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Enmore 1991/2024 ‘KFM Versailles’ (48.3%, The Colours of Rum for LMDW Foundations, Guyana)
Beautiful label, very MoMA, and we’ve no doubt the substance will match the style. As for the acronym KFM, I’m afraid we’ve forgotten what it stands for. Colour: mahogany. Nose: we’re stepping into a fifth dimension here, with rosewood and amourette, almond milk, toasted pine nuts, nectarines, Dior beauty creams (whatever, forget), prickly pear liqueur… all of this is sublimely beautiful and antique, as if one had wandered into old Florence. A massive surprise for me, I had never tasted this incredible baby before. Mouth: stop everything, this is Coltrane. To think America gave us both John Coltrane and Donald Trump. The oak is very pronounced, but it’s a most sublime sort of woodiness, veering into the realm of the noblest conifers. Douglas fir, perhaps? Finish: long and intensely fir-driven. Comments: totally unbalanced and deeply spiritual at the same time. Let’s be honest, this is pretty much liquid wood, but the aesthetic is faultless.
SGP:272 - 90 points. |
Let’s see if we can find another top-notch rum that’s not so heavily wooded… |
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Clarendon 15 yo 2007/2022 ‘Early Landed’ (57.1%, Rum Sponge, Jamaica, refill barrel, 262 bottles)
Once again we’re very late to the party. I confess, we’ve far more rum than we can possibly taste at our usual pace. Colour: full gold. Nose: well blast, this is spot on—diesel, seawater, apricot and mango all playing together beautifully. With water: in come the Ikea plywood and brand-new Adidas trainers. Mouth (neat): razor sharp—olives, capers, tar and pink grapefruit, with just two drops of orange blossom water. With water: the salt and varnish charge in and take over your palate. But caution—add too much water and it all falls apart. Three drops, no more. Finish: at +/-45%, it’s pure, fresh, saline, maritime, and ready for oysters or caviar. No need to chill it, unlike those vodkas. Comments: magnificent Clarendon—I’d guess an ‘MLC’ marque, but I’m no expert.
SGP:563 - 90 points. |
The last one — well, we had to finish somewhere… |
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TDL 22 yo 2002/2025 (56.1%, The Whisky Jury, The Many Faces of Rum, Trinidad, refill barrel, cask #16, 229 bottles)
As our friends at the Jury remind us on the label, it’s not just Trinidad—it’s Trinidad and Tobago. Colour: deep gold. Nose: good heavens, mirabelles, mangoes, and apricots, drenched in gentle varnish and the softest, fruitiest pink olive oil. One simply bows before such beauty and purity. With water: sandalwood and cedar rise above all the rest we’ve just mentioned. Mouth (neat): this should almost be outlawed. Citrus juice and concentrate. Let’s press on… With water: who slipped in the toasted sesame oil? Truth be told, water’s entirely unnecessary; don’t bother, this one’s terribly hard to dilute properly. Best is to spritz the faintest droplets using an atomiser. I mean it. Finish: very salty, citric, petroly, superb. Liquorice reigns in the aftertaste. It has grown more and more extreme, frankly. Comments: if memory serves, there was once another distillery doing rather fine things in Trinidad (and Tobago!) Cirano? Carino? (hey, José Feliciano) … Ah yes, right, Caroni.
SGP:573 - 90 points. |
(One thousand mercis to The Colours of Rum) |
Check the index of all rums we've tasted so far |
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July 26, 2025 |
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Angus's Corner
From our correspondent and
skilled taster Angus MacRaild in Scotland
Six Dornoch single casks
There’s more and more of these Dornoch single casks out there these days, which is great as many are very good and it’s very satisfying to see independent, quality-focused businesses like this succeed. Especially as they add much needed colour (and character) to Scotch Whisky’s all too often monochrome marketplace. Let’s catch up and try six of them from last year. |
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Dornoch 6 yo 2018/2024 (50.2%, OB, cask #67, 1st fill bourbon octave, 77 bottles) 
Colour: gold. Nose: syrupy green and exotic fruits with a nibble of wood spice behind. Green pepper, sandalwood, pulped pineapple and mango juice. This one feels like a very careful balance between the fruitiness of the distillate and the obvious power of that tiny cask. With water: a pina colada, really dominated by coconut water, fruit pulp and hints of hot climate rums. Mouth: a nicely concentrated feel upon arrival, with tropical fruit juices and teas leading the charge. Although, you do get a bit more assertion from the wood here, with more green pepper, wood spice, cedar and sandalwood notes. More impressions of pineapple juice and some greener hints of crushed nettle. Makes me think a little of some very good Inchmurrin. With water: more peppery heat and power from the wood, but the general fruity structure still holds true. Finish: medium, on white pepper, fruit salad chewy sweets and sunflower oil. Comments: I would say balance has just about been struck. On one had it shows the superbly concentrative power of these wee bourbon casks, but on the other, they have a short lifespan.
SGP: 651 – 86 points. |
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Dornoch 6 yo 2017/2024 (55.2%, OB, cask #22, 1st fill bourbon octave, 69 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: leaner, greener and grassier. More on cooking oils, crushed green herbs, grasses, nettles, lime leaf, lemongrass and hints of ginger – would make a good Dark N Stormy cocktail! With water: peaches and cream with some pink marshmallow, gorse flower, sandalwood and rapeseed oil. Mouth: this one also has quite a bit of American oak coconutty vibes up front, also some hints of new leather shoes, condensed milk, mineral oils, tinned peaches and fruit salad juices. Again, pretty spicy and peppery. With water: some sort of spiced limoncello, with tiny hints of fruity red chili, more cedar wood notes, lanolin, cooking oils and lemon oil. Finish: rather long, with some more exotic notes coming through, along with cannabis resin and pineapple jellybeans. Comments: they are a lot of fun these young Dornoch single casks, you just have to be in the mood to get your chops around a bit of wood spice.
SGP: 651 – 87 points. |
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Dornoch 6 yo 2018/2024 (55.8%, OB, cask #82, bourbon octave, 80 bottles) 
Colour: deep gold. Nose: banana chips, herbal teas with honey, fruity muesli, crushed nettles, mango chunks, more cannabis resin and a nicely aromatic waxiness emerging. With water: lemon verbena, hot house flowers, vapour rub and tea tree oil. Mouth: another very syrupy and spicy one, but I find here that the fruitiness keeps pace a bit more, it’s also got an even more pronounced grassy and olive oil vibe. Crushed nettles, cider apple, mint, jasmine flower and spicy, exotic fruit teas. With water: juicy fruit chewing gum, lemon curd, fruit salad juices and cooking oils. Finish: long, quite fruity, even a bit estery with some green banana in the aftertaste. Comments: I enjoy the distillate character that seems to dominate a little more assertively here. Was it a refill octave?
SGP: 641 – 88 points. |
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Dornoch 6 yo 2018/2024 (56.3%, OB, cask #94, 1st fill bourbon octave, 93 bottles) 
Colour: gold. Nose: resinous fir woods, menthol characteristics, rolling tobacco, even toothpaste. This one is off to a slightly more unlikely start. There’s also some foam banana sweets and even a bit of banoffee pie. With water: caraway, coconut shavings, ground ginger, nutmeg and baked plantain. Mouth: coconut cream, retsina, green peppercorns, banana liqueur, some rather strong mead and sweet cider. It’s a bit dominated by the wood for me, I’m afraid. With water: café latte, stout ale, pumpernickel bread and flambeed banana. Finish: quite long and very spicy. You definitely feel the wood closing in. Comments: a good example of what happens when these wee casks cook the whisky a tad too intensely.
SGP: 561 – 84 points. |
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Dornoch 7 yo 2017/2024 (56%, OB, cask #38, 1st fill bourbon octave, 74 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: another tenser and sharper one, immediately quite refreshing after the previous one in that it’s much more about cut grass, olive oil, lemon rind, bay leaf, crushed nettles, gooseberry and lime. Also an elegant and fresh herbaceous quality emerges with a little time. With water: lemongrass, wool, peppery watercress, juniper and hint of pineapple. A much more unusual profile than the others, but I like this more distillate-driven and sharp profile. Mouth: rather citric, sharp and even with quite a bit of acidity. Again, very tense and precise in profile, perhaps even slightly austere. A little chalky, some lemon juice, wool, dry waxy notes, mineral oils and, with time, some underlying green and yellow fruits emerge. With water: grassy, oily, drying, waxy and mineral. A more classical old school profile finally emerges and brings a greater sense of coherence. Finish: long, mineral, even slightly salty, with olive oil, grass, petrol and wax. Comments: complex, grown-up whisky for distillate geeks! Obviously, that includes me.
SGP: 461 – 88 points. |
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Dornoch 5 yo 2019/2024 (60.7%, OB for The WhiskyFind 10th Anniversary, cask #160, ex-Islay quarter cask, 164 bottles)
Presumably an ex-Laphroaig quarter. Colour: deep orangey gold. Nose: It’s a good job we saved this one till last, the peat comes through loud and clear, but with some Dornoch fruit character at play as well. Sandalwood shaving foam, tangerines, charred pineapple rings, slightly sooty and waxy notes, bonfire embers and unlit cigars. With water: aromatic wood smoke, anchovies in brine, miso paste, smoked olive oil, a bit more complex and settled now I would say. Mouth: really quite peaty, big wood spice notes, hot BBQ sauce, TCP and black olive tapenade. Also, a lot of tar, old rope, hessian and malt vinegar. With water: still a massive dram, very salty, umami and with a dense, thick, slightly ashy smokiness. Finish: long, tarry, dry and full of raw peat and bonfire smoke. Comments: Dorphroaig? The peat has really dominated here and produced an immensely potent, slightly monolithic wee dram. One of those clever and very fun whiskies that would lead you endlessly in circles if tasted blind.
SGP: 466 – 86 points. |
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July 25, 2025 |
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Indie Allt-A-Bhainne in a duo |
We really enjoy these little low-key sessions, and this time we'll steer well clear of any debates or controversies about the various spellings of this very modern distillery's name. Well, it was modern when it was built by Seagram back in the 1970s. |
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Allt-A-Bhainne 7 yo 2016/2024 (61.7%, DH Global Spirits, 1st fill oloroso octave, cask #1031738C, 57 bottles)
A small outturn, very young, but that means nothing. I mean it could be very good… Colour: red macassar (if such a hue truly exists). Nose: straight onto prunes in Armagnac and orange liqueur, then chocolate leaning towards artisanal Nutella (if such a thing exists). We’re then onto millionaire’s shortbread and a cashew tart doused in maple syrup. You see where this is going. With water: pecans and roasted peanuts, slathered in chestnut honey. Mouth (neat): red fruits cooked in honey and Spanish mandarin liqueur, all on a bed of chocolate sauce. With water: we’re back with all manner of roasted oily nuts glazed in honey and caramel, the whole lot splashed with triple sec. Finish: long, more chocolatey. Comments: you could say this little Allt-A-Bhainne is doggedly ploughing its own furrow! We do enjoy this style of young little beast, very well put together…
SGP:641 - 85 points. |
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Allt-A-Bhainne 27 yo 1995/2024 (52.6%, Milroy’s, Vintage Reserve, 1st Fill Bourbon Barrel)
It’s not every day one gets to taste a fairly old Allt-A-Bhainne, and let us hope, at least, that it’s close to the distillate. Colour: gold. Nose: this is very much ‘natural Speyside’, imagine baked apples and pears gently placed atop a bed of custard. Fair enough, you may add a bit of meringue if you like. With water: banana foam of the highest pedigree and marshmallow, with even a faint whiff of 1970s Jell-O – I swear I’m not making this up. Mouth (neat): this is lovely, quite ‘high definition’, curiously but charmingly mentholated, then we’re off with lemon balm and a whole medley of wee citrus fruits, starting with bergamot. We a.d.o.r.e. bergamot at WF. With water: more fresh malt now and a very citrus-forward hop character. In short, it’s like a top-notch, high-ABV IPA. Has someone distilled and aged an IPA already, or am I dreaming? Perhaps our Californian friends? Finish: long and brimming with freshness, which might be slightly dangerous, all things considered. Comments: these two Allt-A-Bhainnes were quite different, yet they both had this shared fruity vibrancy. Honestly, I swear, we really must go and have a word about A-A-B’s house style with the blenders at Pernod Ricard.
SGP:641 - 88 points. |
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