Coleburn 13 yo (46%, Cadenhead Dumpy, -/+ 1980)
Cadenhead had a few other 1968 Coleburns in the Dumpy series bottled at 12, 14 and 17 years respectively - all of which were very good in my book. It’s likely that this is from the same stocks. Colour: gold. Nose: very ‘dumpy Cadenhead’, that is to say lots of flints, metal polish, coal and mechanical oils. Oily rags, hessian, mineral oils, anthracite embers, graphite, ink wells. A long way from contemporary styles that’s for sure. Soft waxes, white mushrooms, lemon peel and an easy camphor note that evolves into gently herbal cough medicines. All very excellent. In time there’s some plasticine and a few white stone fruits. All very welcome additions. Mouth: nice arrival, rather dry, all on cereals, wax paper, carbon, linseed oil, steel wool, white pepper, old ointments, that oily rag note again and some dried tarragon. Also sunflower oil, hummus and wild garlic. Finish: medium and on olive oil, plain brown toast and more sunflower seed notes. Comments: I preferred the nose to the palate but overall this was a humble and valiant wee Coleburn that reminds us that this distillery produced some lovely distillate in its day.
SGP: 361 - 87 points.

Imperial 22 yo 1995/2018 (43.3%, Elixir Distillers ‘Single Malts Of Scotland’, cask #5410, barrel, 202 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: lots of hay, butter, chopped chives, parsley, dandelions, lemon rind, wee sooty touches and some subtle waxiness. Quite pure and cereal as well, as so often with these 95 Imperials it’s pretty focused on the raw ingredients, which I always love. Opens up with mineral oils, putty, sandalwood, pot pourri and touches of flints, pebbles and clay. Photocopier toner, lime zest and some scrunched newspaper. All very fresh and elegant. Mouth: feels bigger than 43.3%, good weight, some peppery heat, olive oil, lemon tea with mint, tiger balm and bay leaf. Things like hand lotion, talcum powder and suntan oil. Again this pure cereal profile with some leafy tobacco notes and lightly vegetal aspects.  Good, solid characterful malt whisky. Finish: long, mineral, flinty, lemony, cereal and gently drying. A hint of pepperiness keeps things sharp and fresh. Comments: Another excellent 1995 Imperial. They always bring to mind ‘elegance‘ and this is no exception.
SGP: 551 - 88 points. 

Glenury Royal 32 yo 1968/2001 (49.4%, Douglas Laing, Old Malt Cask, 258 bottles)
Colour: bronze. Nose: earthy and full of balsamic, many roasted nuts, chestnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts and trail mix with plenty sultanas, dates and raisins. Leather, game meats, shoe polish, raspberry jam, hessian and some prune juice. Typical old school sherried excellence. Some aged Boal Madeira, Dundee cake and crystallised ginger in syrup. Pretty faultless really. Mouth: a lot of hessian on arrival. Also hazelnut liqueur, mint julep, old demerara rum, cocktail bitters, herbal extracts, Marmite, beef stock and a gentle seesaw between sooty and leafy aspects. Plenty tobacco, espresso, cherry cola and camphor. Straightforward and very very good. Finish: long, leathery, peppery and full of damson preserve, violets, lychee and mint tea. Still meaty and nicely bitter in the aftertaste. Comments: What’s to say? Another really great old sherry cask filled with excellent distillate for a generous number of years. I liked that the bitterness was always nippy and refreshing but never dominant or cloying. Worth seeking out I’d say.
SGP: 661 - 90 points.

St Magdalene 24 yo 1978/2002 (50%, Douglas Laing, Old Malt Cask, 504 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: banoffee pie, do you know this? Well, there’s banoffee pie here and it’s very nice indeed. Toffee sauce, baked bananas, caramelised brown sugar, a slice of pecan pie on the side (if you’re feeling like the diabetes just can’t come fast enough) and then an easy evolution towards a leafier, more earthy and tertiary style of sherry. Some dark chocolate, tobacco, wild mushrooms, leather, walnuts. That sort of thing. Very lovely and rather fun. With water: very leafy now. Leather tobacco pouch, black cherries, leaf mulch, milk chocolate, some posh custard made with old Marsala. Mouth: some beautiful old Cognac slapped on the arse by a flagon of Navy rum. Stewed apples, mulled cider, camphor, hessian cloth, coal embers and brambles. Top notch! With water: the development is in line with the nose, so lots of earthy, leafy notes. Some balsamic, date-heavy muesli, sultanas and a little rancio. Finish: long, clean, earthy, inky, mineral and with a very slight gamey edge which works well. Comments: This wee St Magdalene cuts a dapper figure in her sherried glad rags. A brief lurk down the Google plughole reveals that Mary Magdalene was, amongst numerous other things, the patron saint of sexual temptation. It’s sad enough the distillery is closed without being left to contemplate what contemporary whisky marketeers would have done with that we nugget. Perhaps that’s why the distillery closed? After all, there’s only so much to do in Linlithgow...
SGP: 561 - 90 points.

Millburn 34 yo 1967/2001 (50%, Douglas Laing, Old Malt Cask, 552 bottles)
Millburn is probably my favourite of the three Invernetian closed distilleries in terms of overall consistency, even if there are a few Glen Albyns and Glen Mhors that climb individually higher on occasion. Colour: reddish coffee. Nose: rather varnishy at first. Treacle, sunflower oil, putty, shoe polish, walnut oils, exotic hardwoods turned on a lathe (getting a bit onanistic there I’m afraid), beeswax and dry roasted peanuts. Some freshly sanded rosewood and a drizzle of golden syrup. With water: gets a little more farmy now, some cow stables, earth, mushrooms and graphite oil. Mouth: pretty tough on arrival, it feels like the palate is pretty hollow in the middle and instead, around the edges, you just have these rather bitter, extractive hot spots. Some paprika, glue, tar resins, black pepper. But overall its more about ‘feeling’ than flavour. It’s just a shame that it’s not a great feeling. It’s not horrible or particularly unpleasant, but there is a sense the whole thing is a tad overcooked and flattened out. With water: a little nicer with water, some notes of black tea, Dundee cake, glace cherries, bitter herbal extracts, Jägermeister, ointments. Still too tannic and biting but I think water improves things overall. Some very bitter chocolate, strong espresso, coal dust and pine extract. Finish: long, bitter, slightly acrid and, in the words of Mr Trump, ‘bigly tannic’. Comments: So much for all that guff about Millburn and consistency! Anyway, it’s a tough one to score. It feels rather like the whisky is fighting you at times, and the cask was certainly left a little too long in my view. Having said that the nose was rather lovely at times and water did help improve things. It’s not a dirty whisky in any way, just rather too bitter and ‘tough’. Hmmm... Serge seems to have scored this one 71 at some point in the past but not published any notes. I’m not quite sure I agree with 71. I suspect it’s the kind of whisky which could be rather divisive so please take my score with a pinch of salt...
SGP: 571 - 77 points.

Glenugie 27 yo 1976/2003 (51.1%, Signatory Vintage, cask #2700, 257 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: it’s a leaner and straighter one, less of a fruit bomb than some other Glenugies. This one is rather all on straw, chalk, hay, minerals, wee coastal touches such as crushed shells and beach pebbles. Wet seaweed, swimming pools, sandalwood, cement and bath bombs. Some dried lavender, white flowers, ink and a soft, waxy hessian quality. Extremely pure, fresh and fragrant. With water: develops towards sunflower oil, toasted seeds, breads, sourdough - a good blanc du blanc Champagne. Mouth: limestone, putty, white pepper, beach sand, lemon jelly, lamp oil, mineral salts, waxed canvas and pear eau de vie. A really eloquent coastal theme running through this one. Hints of miso broth with dried seaweed, olive tapenade, dried rosemary, lanolin and carbolic soap. With water: a tad fruitier with tangerine, melon and apricot. Some cut green apple, more hay and straw notes and that nibble of white pepper is back. Finish: long, citric, precise and extremely fresh. Also rather mineral and chalky. Comments: Even stripped of much of its usual fruitiness, Glenugie is still such an impressive distillate. Purity and precision being the watchwords here. Some well aged cask strength riesling.
SGP: 461 - 90 points.

Banff 23 yo 1976/2000 (55.5%, Signatory Vintage, cask #2249, 263 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: starts with rather a lot of greenery, dandelions, daffodils, honeysuckle, heather, lemon curd and damp ferns - that forest after rain aroma known as petrichor, which I love. With time it opens up a little starts to develop this familiar waxy side, although it remains overall pretty fragrant, heathery and nicely sappy with these notes of tree bark and sandalwood. You can also add moss and a wee whiff of tobacco leaf. With water: develops towards chalk, limestone, gravel and baking parchment. Rather pure, clean and mineral. Some lemon and mint tea as well perhaps. Mouth: superb arrival, punchy, grassy, wonderfully oily, waxy, mineral and camphory with - yes - that wee Banff mustardy aspect. Really terrific on the palate! Some salted honey, heather ale, caraway and herb infused fruit teas. With water: brilliant, big, broad, hefty, waxy, fatty in texture and with a big, pervasive spiciness. Again that mustardy note alongside some green tea. Finish: long, oily, lemony, chalky, waxy and peppery. Comments: many of these 76 Banffs were just superb and this one is no different. A long lost bastard cousin of Clynelish in many ways. Remember about ten years ago when it was cool to bang on about how ‘underrated’ Banff was? No, me neither. We’re whisky nerds, we were never cool.
SGP: 472 -  91 points.

Dallas Dhu 18 yo 1977/1996 (59.2%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection)
Never been too excited by Dallas Dhu. Having said that, last time I did one of these closed distillery sessions on WF, I tried a sibling bottling to this one by Cadenhead (1977 18yo 58.5%) and really enjoyed it (WF 90). So, let’s see if this one holds up... Colour: oaked chardonnay. Nose: different from the Banff but you can feel it’s a similarly distillate forward style and gives a very ‘textural’ impression on the nose. That is to say lots of raw ingredients like freshly kilned malt, grassy olive oil, raw cereals, toasted trail mix, carbon paper, lemon barley water, bouillon, gorse and an easy waxiness sitting underneath everything. Some unsalted pistachio nuts, hot draff and sweet wort. Very good! With water:   really on carbon paper, graphite oil, ink, mineral oil, dried herbs and umami seasoning now. Mouth: excellent delivery. Syrupy in texture and very peppery, oily and with a nice gloopy, barley sugar sweetness. Some orange peel, buttery croissant, lemon tea, lychee and peach stones. With water: fennel, lemongrass, menthol tobacco leaf, wild flowers and some charcoal. Gets increasingly grassy and olive oily. Finish: good length, some strong green tea, macha, newspaper ink, lime pith, dried mint leaf and a lightly peppery waxy note. Comments: Snap! Ok, new tradition: every time I do a closed distillery tasting on Whiskyfun it must feature at least one 90 point Dallas Dhu. Next closed distillery tasting July 2025.
SGP: 461 - 90 points.

North Port 21 yo 1976/1998 (62%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection)
Colour: gold. Nose: typically tough and slightly barbaric in its austerity at first nosing. Wet leaves, chalk, aspirin, sour apples and fresh paint. Some freshly distilled marc de gewurz. With some time a few notes of sandalwood and peach stones begin to appear. Still generally rather closed and tight though. With water: opens up a little towards pastries, nectar and lightly infused herbal teas. Notes of wool, fabric and concrete. Still pretty tough really. Mouth: hot, slightly plasticy and displaying some notes of overripe fruit and fermenting honey. Newspaper ash, acrylic paints and vegetable oil. Similarly tough and a tad strange. With water: some more sweetness and a few glazed fruits but it’s also still too hot, peppery and acrid. Notes of plasticine, cooking oils, hot plastic and a touch of cardboard. Finish: pretty long, hot, notes of chilli, something slightly ashy and a general, pervasive brutality. Comments: Not the best North Port I’ve had. There’s just not much pleasure to be found amidst all this raw aggression and toughness.
SGP: 271 - 74 points.

Brora 20 yo 1975 (60.75%, OB, Rare Malts, 20cl)
What could go wrong... Colour: light gold. Nose: whereas the 72s tended to have this rather mindboggling farmyard intensity, these 75s always seemed to tread a straighter tightrope between peat and salinity. And that’s certainly the case here. Petrol, lime juice, beach bonfire embers, tar, smoked waxes and some pure, crystalline peat. Smoky grist, kiln air, green olives in brine and some kippers drizzled with lemon juice. There’s also a deep and profound coastal ‘meatiness’ about the whole thing. With water: moves more towards farmy qualities now with these earthy, cow stable and gravely mineral notes. Still gristy, pure, petroly, peaty and extremely coastal though. Mouth: sea water, white pepper, wood ash and smoked mussels in brine at first. A big, clean, ashy blade of peat. Dried kelp, rope, tar and - with a little time - a serious medical side as well. Embrocations, gauze, TCP, germoline etc... There really is a shared DNA that seemed to exist between Caol Ila, Port Ellen and Brora during these years. Quantum endramglement? With water: Ahh, pure Brora! It all comes together with water; smoked meats, pure peat, tar, oils, wood embers, seashore, brine, camphor, putty, lemon juice, medicines, antiseptic... Finish: extremely long with heathery peat, lemon oils and rind, eucalyptus, tar extract, seaweed, herbal ointments, black pepper and brine. Comments: The 1972 Rare Malt bottlings are rightly lauded, but these 75s are truly superb whiskies as well. This one in particular is really outstanding! 
SGP: 376 - 92 points.