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November 12, 2025 |
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A small expedition in America,
Part II
So, indeed, it was about time we tasted some American whiskies, now that we’ve also completely lifted our tariffs. You might say that raising the percentage of tariffs on something that’s entirely free, like Whiskyfun, doesn’t make much sense… But anyway, we have plenty to taste, so let’s dive in a bit randomly again... There were highs and lows yesterday, but we had to expect that. Let’s set the table again and see what we still have in our 'American stock'... |
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Ironclad Bourbon Whiskey (95 Proof, OB, Straight bourbon whiskey, +/-2025) 
Straight from Newport News, Virginia, aged for two years in 30-US-gallon charred oak barrels. I’ve just seen the brand claim on Facebook that ‘Bourbon is the new champagne’. Perhaps in Newport News, Virginia, but I’m happy to learn that! In any case, the champagnes we enjoy at WF Towers are aged on lees for much longer than two years. Right, let’s dive in… Colour: full gold. Nose: we’re having a laugh, but I’ve already tasted this baby in Hamburg and thought it was very beautiful. That still holds, with a lovely eucalyptus and green tea note, backed by frosty mint, chocolate mint, a hint of smoke, and slightly earthy vanilla. I think it’s easy to miss this profile, but for me, it’s quite successful. Mouth: really very bourbon, more in the old-school style, with a blend of honey, caramel, fresh wood, cinnamon, nutmeg, and fresh mint. Finish: long, more liquorice, more spicy (black pepper), but still with honeyed caramel and menthol, making it quite smooth and easy-going. Comments: a lovely surprise. They also have a rather clever label that kind of unrolls!
SGP:561 - 86 points. |
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Jimmy Rack ‘Cask Strength’ (61.15%, OB, Tennessee straight rye whiskey, Batch 01, 2023)
95% rye, aged for three years and six months (so three years), then finished with ‘maple charcoal’, though I’m not entirely sure what that means. Likely the legendary filtration process… Colour: full gold. Nose: the opposite of the Ironclad, which must have had little rye, here we’re all about the geraniums, orange blossom, tons of pink pepper, and that slightly soapy note that we love in this context. Dove? Poppy seeds in the background. With water: back to dark bread, little biscuits, maple syrup… Mouth (neat): creamy, very fruity, heavy on the mezcal candies and poppy lollipops, but the high proof must be doing its thing. With water: this time it stays fruity and floral, then the peppers come in to bring it all under control—Timut, grey, black… Finish: full-on spiced bread liqueur. This would sell well in Alsace around Christmas time. Comments: I was expecting this to be squashed by the Ironclad, but not really.
SGP:651 - 85 points. |
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Willett 8 yo (59.1%, OB, Family Estate, LMDW Foundations, Single Barrel Bourbon, cask #18632, 2024)
Colour: full gold. Nose: much less fragrant than the previous two, more focused on burnt American oak, popcorn, and a hint of lemongrass in minimal amounts. Slight touches of citron, but it remains discreet for now. With water: nice, with forgotten vegetables—cardoons, rutabaga, even a bit of turnip. It’s amusing, and Baldrick would certainly approve. Mouth (neat): much more presence than the 10-year-old we tasted yesterday, let’s say a lot of grapefruit and lots of pepper of all kinds, followed by carrots and gentian. A touch of honey scented with camphor. With water: superb! Everything comes together—citrus, vegetables, spices, lemon balm... Finish: medium length, well balanced, with the same notes. Comments: phew, the 10-year-old had me worried, but now I’m revived (S., you’re exaggerating again).
SGP:551 - 87 points. |
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Willett 3 yo ‘OG Wheat’ (60.3%, OB, Family Estate, Jack Rose Dining Saloon, Single Barrel Bourbon, cask #9847, 2025) 
And here we are in D.C.! Colour: gold. Nose: a real treat, with nougat, macarons, pecans, and a small touch of linseed oil. It’s quite elegant and not at all over the top. With water: a foresty side, pinewood, fern... Mouth (neat): oh, this is good! Oily, very much on oranges of all kinds, including the bitter ones, manuka honey, grapefruit liqueur, and a touch of Campari. Not overly complicated, but excellent. With water: and here come those earthy, rooty notes, truly beautiful. Some lovely peppers too. Finish: long, still creamy, dominated by citrus and pepper. Comments: three years, are we absolutely sure? Anyone seen the papers? Just kidding, of course.
SGP:661 - 88 points. |
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Willett 11 yo ‘Black Forest’ (65.1%, OB, Family Estate, Jack Rose Dining Saloon, Single Barrel Bourbon, cask #5256, 2025) 
Indeed, this can happen with cask-strength bourbons—the older it is, the higher the alcohol content. I hear you, you’re thinking the same goes for tasters. Well, know that I hate you and curse you to the sixth generation! Also, the slime of a toad never reaches the white dove (maybe a bit too much, S.) Colour: full gold. Nose: this is crazy, it’s in the same vein as the 3-year-old, but it seems younger, fruitier, easier, with more yellow flowers, acacia honey, custard, and cinnamon cakes. With water: more on the candies and syrups than the 3-year-old, quite the opposite. Mouth (neat): this time it’s a bit spicier, there’s quite a bit of mild curry and a masala note. We love that. The texture is still creamy, almost syrupy. With water: with water, the 3-year-old completely dominates it. That’s insane. Finish: same, it even becomes a bit drying now. Sawdust. Comments: I’m not sure what the Black Forest, which is about forty kilometres from Château WF as the crow flies, is doing here, maybe it’s not the same one. In any case, this Willett is wunderbar, but it doesn’t like water much, it seems. At 65.1%, that’s a bit annoying, don’t you think?
SGP:651 - 84 points. |
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Willett 10 yo (59.5%, OB, Family Estate, Single rye whiskey, LMDW Singapore, cask #2408, 166 bottles, 2024)
Colour: amber. Nose: this is a complex, thick, very ripe rye, with some violet and candied orange, but also notes of aromatic white grape varieties, viognier, gewurztraminer, muscadelle… All this gives it a rather sexy character, let’s say it without hesitation. With water: the nuts and wood show up, which is actually a good idea. Mouth (neat): on the sin scale, we’re diving straight into hell, between, as Rowan Atkinson would say, the lawyers and the French. A very old muscat flavoured with rose, lavender honey, and orange. With water: once again, balance is restored. Pecan pie and peanut butter. Finish: long and surprisingly soft. Comments: the kind of thing you should serve blind to your neighbours. If they guess what it is, invite them over again, they’ve earned it.
SGP:651 - 87 points. |
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Willett 7 yo (54.7%, OB, Family Estate, Single barrel rye, Wu Dram Clan & Kirsch, cask #2611) 
We need to speed things up... Colour: deep gold. Nose: we’ve hit a sweet spot here, there’s olive oil, lemons, fresh bread, mastic, a lovely natural soap, and a touch of coriander mixed with toasted sesame oil. We’ve shifted gears now, this is an ultra-alternative rye. With water: incredible, with notes of chalk and seaweed, we’re almost in Islay territory. I swear. Mouth (neat): a carbon-copy of the nose, which doesn’t happen often. Sublime touches of small mushrooms as well. With water: oh, the fruits! A touch of toothpaste (very high-end, like from the Ritz or Plaza own ranges), then blood orange and the best watermelon I’ve ever encountered. Finish: not immense, but perfectly balanced and effective across all dimensions. Fruits, herbs, earth, spices, sweet resins, ointments... Comments: this one’s magical for me. Quite frankly, there aren’t many American whiskies that move me, but this one does. Kudos to everyone involved.
SGP:551 - 90 points. |
We’re stopping with the Willetts, we’ll pick that up next time. |
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Tennessee Sour Mash 20 yo (46.6%, Artful Dodger, barrel, cask #20, 179 bottles, +/-2025)
It’s undoubtedly George Dickel. Colour: full gold. Nose: this is custard, mixed with vanilla cake, vanilla yogurt, vanilla liqueur, and white chocolate. I imagine you understand that vanilla rules the day here, at least for now. There’s a touch of orange juice, but it’s almost incidental. Mouth: a shift in style, with a muscular punch from the wood spices, like Stallone. On the other hand, vanilla strikes back, like… let’s say Bruce Lee. And the fight continues through the finish... Finish: I have the honour and advantage of announcing that vanilla won the battle. That said, in the aftertaste, small peppers, lavender, cloves, coffee dregs, and very dark chocolate make an appearance. Comments: it’s quite funny to see that all this excitement comes in at the very end! In short, it’s really fun.
SGP:561 - 87 points. |
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Old Potrero 8 yo 2016/2024 ‘The Valley of the Moon’ (65.8%, LMDW, Ex-Libris, cask #OP 3/16-10, 211 bottles)
The challenge here is to understand, you see, just how pioneering Old Potrero was in the craft whisky movement in the US. Even though the very first bottles, we all remember, were more likely to serve as BBQ starters. I still have a bottle from the very first batch in my stock—it required me to revise my fire insurance policy for that reason alone. Just kidding… Colour: deep gold. Nose: I love this fresh rubber mixed with peonies and black cherries. The problem is that this little one tends to burn your nose... With water: chocolate with spices, especially juniper and clove. Mouth (neat): excellent! Spiced bread, pumpernickel, gingerbread, Nescafé, and plenty of alcohol. Very good, but probably like pastis or ouzo, meaning it’s not meant to be sipped neat, but with water. With water: much smoother, with honey and an unexpected blend of chartreuse, verbena, and benedictine. Finish: long, with honey and spices, almost reminiscent of hypocras. Hints of herbs and broths in the aftertaste. Comments: full of punch. We love it…
SGP:661 - 87 points. |
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Koval Rye (55%, OB for Navigate World Whisky, cask #6508, 210 bottles, 2024)
Koval was missing from this tasting series... Remember, Koval is Chicago's first distillery since Prohibition. This particular expression is aged in new Minnesotan oak. We love the minimalist packaging. Colour: full gold. Nose: quite light and elegant, without the extremes often associated with rye, though there’s a bit of shoe polish, some light acacia honey, a touch of sawdust, and nougat. With water: still light and elegant. The shoe polish and fresh cement notes remain in the background, with even a tiny hint of gasoline. Mouth (neat): once again, it’s quite soft for a rye, but on the other hand, it’s probably fairly mainstream. Be warned, it’s not lacking in spices, with cinnamon very much present. With water: water works wonders, it wakes up the citrus and a good dozen other spices, including cumin. Finish: similar, just a bit drier, with more noticeable tannins. Bitter chocolate. Comments: love Koval. We just hope they never see the National Guard rolling up to their place.
SGP:561 - 85 points. |
Perhaps is it time to bring these two American sessions to a close, with something rather unusual... |
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Boulder Spirits 5 yo ‘Peated Malt’ (68.35%, OB for Navigate World Whisky, cask #1548, 222 bottles, 2023) 
Seen the strength? No need to tell you that I warned my insurer, my lawyer, my doctor, and even my dear wife and children before tasting this baby. Here we are at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. The recipe, I quote, is ‘malted barley, a Scottish pot still, #3 char American White Oak barrels, aged in an arid, high elevation climate, and cut with the celebrated Eldorado Springs water.’ Well, to be honest, we’re not entirely sure about the impact of the Eldorado Springs water, but in whisky communication, there are certain mandatory exercises, right? Especially at 68.35%, there probably wasn’t much cut with water, was there? Alright, here we go, it’s the last one... Colour: gold. Nose: not much peat, but lovely candied citrus fruits, bergamot, citron, kumquat... That said, there are also whiffs of damp wood ash and charcoal making an appearance, albeit discreetly. But at this proof, not much else comes through. With water: quite discreet, it pulls back a bit. Smoky chocolate, wood-fired pizza – no toppings – etc. Mouth (neat): it burns, but it’s good. A bit of a dragster vibe, whatever that might mean. Smoked pickled lemon. Indeed, you can smoke pickled lemon. With water: it’s good, not very defined, but quite pleasant. Finish: the wood shows up, sending a slightly drying tannicity. Comments: not the easiest to tame, this is more for pipette pros (and Eldorado Springs water, we imagine). We’ll try a non-peated Boulder Spirits soon.
SGP:463 - 81 points. |
24 American whiskies in two days, wouldn’t you say that’s more than enough? Ciao, stay tuned. |
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November 11, 2025 |
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A small expedition in America on this Armistice Day
Here is the first of two consecutive American whiskey tasting sessions, held in commemoration of the role played by American troops in the liberation and the armistice signed on this 11th of November.
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Indeed, during World War I, American soldiers, played a crucial role in helping the Allies turn the tide of the war. The United States entered the conflict in 1917, and by 1918, over two million American troops were fighting in France. Their arrival brought fresh energy, manpower, and morale to the exhausted Allied forces. The Armistice was then signed on November 11, 1918, marking the end of the fighting. This day, known as Armistice Day, honours all soldiers who fought for peace and in France, it remains a solemn national holiday.
It was also around this time that the first American whiskies truly arrived in France, brought over by the US troops. |
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Jack Daniel’s ’Oloroso Sherry Cask’ (45%, OB, American single malt, +/-2024) 
A single malt from Jack Daniel’s, simply finished in sherry, probably ex-American oak. It’s very expensive (€125). I’ll take this opportunity to suggest that retail websites stop writing that it’s ‘matured’ in sherry when the label itself says in bold letters that it’s only ‘finished’. And while we’re at it, let’s also stop calling solera numbers age statements. Colour: deep gold. Nose: chocolate and still-warm wood shavings, plus a touch of coconut biscuit. That’s all, folks. Mouth: closer to a fairly spicy bourbon, plenty of pepper and yellow curry, but it’s really very rustic and those notes of corn syrup, orange syrup and monosodium glutamate that show up next aren’t doing it any favours. Finish: fairly long, quite oaky, bitter, and lacking complexity. Aftertaste very drying. Comments: in truth it’s not that bad, but we’re a long way off the quality of the smaller American distilleries.
SGP:561 - 78 points. |
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Indiana Bourbon 8 yo 2015/2024 (49.2%, Wu Dram Clan, The Liquid Crew, straight bourbon whiskey, barrel proof)
There was also a very good rye from Indiana by WDC, a 2017/2024 (WF 87). Colour: deep gold. Nose: this is cheerful, fresh, a far cry from Jack, very much on vanilla sponge cake drenched in custard (indeed, that’s a lot of vanilla), with orange blossom and honeysuckle, as well as a touch of Williams pear. Flawless. Mouth: rather taut for a bourbon, with lovely spices, rye bread, notes of candied ginger coated in chocolate (absolutely smashing), followed by star anise. Would be spot-on alongside some Alsatian Christmas biscuits. Finish: medium in length, well balanced, with a touch of ginseng to put you back on your feet (after those Alsatian Christmas biscuits). Comments: really very pretty, not overly complicated, perfectly balanced.
SGP:451 - 86 points. |
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Rowan’s Creek ‘Small Batch’ (50.05%, OB, straight Kentucky bourbon, +/-2024)
We last tasted Rowan’s Creek some 14 years ago, and rather liked it at the time (WF 85). This one appears to be mostly corn-based (72%). Colour: deep gold. Nose: even at 50% this is very light on the nose, quite floral too, with a wee touch of cane and coconut syrup, then a splash of triple sec. As gentle as a lamb, for now. With water: same story. Mouth (neat): almost sweet, then with a bit of lavender and pink pepper. It’s charming, though the Indiana still takes the lead. With water: it opens up a little, with Christmas spices—star anise, cinnamon, clove… Yet the base remains rather sugary. Finish: not very long, soft, easy-going. The MGP had far more personality. Comments:
SGP:631 - 83 points. |
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SirDavis (44%, OB, American rye, +/-2024)
We didn’t really expect to taste this rather lovely thing that does genuinely resemble an old White Horse decanter in terms of looks, but let’s not be picky. Yes, this is the whisky from Beyoncé and LVMH. According to the literature, this baby ‘draws inspiration from Japanese and Scottish styles, thereby redefining the traditional characteristics of American whisky’. Which is rather amusing, considering how marginal the importance of rye (still) is in both Scotland and Japan. That said, Beyoncé does seem to have been genuinely involved. So was Dr Bill, it seems. Colour: gold. Nose: not bad at all, with some fine shoe polish and, indeed, quite a bit of rye, and even a very faint maritime note, though I’ve no idea where that’s coming from. Refreshing and possibly to be had on oysters? Mouth: a touch of rye liqueur, lavender, violet and ginger, all nicely expressive. Honestly, I quite like it, it has a very high drinkability index. Finish: not very long, slightly honeyed, with lovely spices and floral notes. Aftertaste a tad sweet. Comments: I really do think this is rather good stuff, but of course, with Dr Lumsden at the helm, that’s hardly surprising.
SGP:631 - 83 points. |
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Tennessee Bourbon Whisky 21 yo 2003/2025 (41.5%, Cadenhead, Enigma, 822 bottles)
These secret Tennessee casks are generally George Dickel. We’ve already tasted some rather charming ones. Colour: deep gold. Nose: it’s gentle and above all immensely floral, somewhere between dandelions, buttercups, honeysuckle and even lily of the valley. No surprise, this moves on to white chocolate, honey, cornflakes and a few soft herbal infusions, ending on milk tea notes just as our friends in England (and Asterix) enjoy it. Golden Grahams. Mouth: very much in keeping with the nose, though less exuberant and with a touch more herbal tea, hence a bit more oak. The whole becomes ever so slightly drying over time, but still holds up nicely. Finish: perhaps its Achilles’ heel, the oak is present, but the honeys and a little nougat push back pleasantly. Comments: had the palate matched the nose, this would’ve been an absolute stunner, baby (innit).
SGP:651 - 86 points. |
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Tennessee Whiskey 21 yo 2003/2025 (48.3%, Wu Dram Clan, The Liquid Crew, barrel #19, 109 bottles)
Sour mash from Dickel again. Colour: amber. Nose: seems we’re changing gear here—it’s packed with praline and fudge, and this isn’t millionaire’s shortbread anymore, it’s billionaire’s shortbread. Orange-almond marzipan-filled chocolates, Mozart kugeln, then white nougat with pistachio and… more orange. A real guilty pleasure, this nose. Mouth: possibly one of my favourite bourbons since… the last Very Old Fitzgerald I was lucky enough to taste in the States thanks to good friends. Beautiful structure, almost malty, rather oily, with splendid pepper, fresh sponge cakes, anise and cinnamon cookies, and an avalanche of other seasonal petits fours. Lovely bitter oranges too, and even a few drops of marc. Finish: lingers beautifully, dry, leaving the palate perfectly clean and ready for another glass (of the same whisky). Comments: it’s well known that Wu Dram Clan are fans of bourbon, and you can really feel it in this neat little selection.
SGP:551 - 90 points. |
Let's have some youngsters… |
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MGP Distillery 7 yo 2017/2025 (56.3%, Milroy’s Soho Selection, Indiana rye whiskey, American oak hogshead)
The back label announces cherries, so we’re expecting that! Colour: gold. Nose: all the incandescent beauty of rye (what?) combined with cane honey and peony, though no cherry for now. With water: cologne and Hermès ‘Orange Verte’. I imagine you could put a few drops of this on your neck or behind your ears. Mouth (neat): absolutely excellent, with pear, blood orange, and rose liqueur, the latter being particularly prominent. This rose and pear combo is reminiscent of a ‘fine’ (not marc) de gewurztraminer. It’s very, very… decadent. With water: no significant change. Finish: fairly long, very fruity, floral and fresh, and if needed, we’ll happily mention a few cherries, or rather kirsch. But it’s the pear that’s in the driver’s seat… Do be warned, though, the rose liqueur makes a return in the aftertaste. Comments: what a distillate! I’m really enjoying the recent selections from Milroy’s, always very smart (if I may say so).
SGP:651 - 88 points. |
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FEW ‘Rye Bottled in Bond’ (50%, OB for Navigate World Whisky, Straight Rye Whiskey, 2023)
This is a Chicagoan mashbill of 70% rye, 20% corn, 10% malted barley, aged for 4 years. We love FEW and, naturally, Chicago. And South Africa. Colour: gold. Nose: much more restrained, almost austere, with hazelnuts and roasted nuts, speculoos and kirsch just out of the still. Water should bring it to life a bit more. With water: but where are these bursts of camphor and eucalyptus coming from? There’s even a faint ‘gentle Laphroaig’ note, if you will. Mouth (neat): really quite good, with a very slight touch of fresh parmesan and pepper, then a more classic development with chocolate and nuts of all kinds. With water: I promise, it’s the malted barley that now takes the lead. Orange zest, sourdough bread, caraway… Finish: spiced bread, lasting a good while, with some mint. Comments: excellent, despite its young age.
SGP:561 - 87 points. |
In another life, I’ll be more interested in American whisky. Alright, let’s continue... |
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Heaven’s Door ‘Double Barrel Whiskey’ (50%, OB, +/-2024)
A blend of two bourbons and one rye, still under the guidance of Bob Dylan. Or not? The packaging is really, how shall we say, emphatic? Let’s give this mix a try... Colour: gold. Nose: pleasant, but the fresh and charred wood is very prominent and doesn’t really allow much else to come through… Water might help with that… With water: not really, the wood still takes the lead a bit. Mouth (neat): smooth, with vanilla, coconut, and cornflakes, quite nice, just not complex. The wood/toasted notes are quite marked. With water: same, the wood still sets the pace. Finish: …/… coconut oil. Comments: nothing to complain about, it’s honest, straightforward, and merchantable. It’s just very woody, and this little one suffers quite a bit after the previous ones, which were in a whole different league.
SGP:451 - 78 points. |
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Westland 10 yo 2014/2024 (60%, Single Malt Dreams, 1st fill Tennessee whiskey barrel, cask 1115, 210 bottles)
We love Westland, just like Domaine des Hautes Glaces in France, both of which are owned by Rémy. I recently learned that Matt has left, but this 10-year-old must still carry his DNA. Enough chit-chat… Colour: gold. Nose: incredibly light for a Westland, it’s reminiscent of young Scottish grain whisky, like North British. This isn’t normal, water should solve this mystery… With water: watermelon sorbet, melon sorbet, fresh rye bread. Mouth (neat): ah yes, now it speaks right away, with melon seeds, rye bread, and especially an unbelievable combination of small citrus fruits and wild roots. Let’s dig into this subject, if you don’t mind… With water: this is wild, the water brings back the power, the tension, earthy spices, notes of… rutabaga? Jerusalem artichoke? Where are we? Finish: long, rooty, citrusy and precise. Quite beautiful, especially as the melon makes a return in the aftertaste. Lime. Comments: melon has always been a marker of Bruichladdich, which is also owned by Rémy. This is intriguing, don’t you think? There must be a conspiracy…
SGP:562 - 89 points. |
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Westland 8 yo 2015/2024 (60%, Single Malt Dreams, 1st fill Port barrel, 248 bottles)
Single Malt Dreams are friends in Norway, did you know? It seems this is very peated Westland, and according to my limited experience, Porto and peat are like Donald Trump reciting Allen Ginsberg from memory—highly improbable. Colour: reddish amber. Nose: I don’t know. Someone a bit mad might have macerated band-aids in a mix of grenadine syrup and crème de cassis. Water seems mandatory… With water: blackcurrants and cherries fallen on the ground, basalt, slag, and a pepper-and-mint blend conjured up by a mad mind. Mouth (neat): improbably good and downright improbable. Pepper, ash, and strawberry syrup. There you go. With water: the worst part is that it works when tobacco, leather, and bay leaf come in to restore order. Finish: pepper comes back, cooked red fruits too. A massive hit of salt as well. Comments: I must admit I’m a bit lost here. Let’s stay conservative… PS: in any case, this is strictly not ‘American’.
SGP:572 - 83 points. |
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Yellowstone ‘108 Proof’ (54%, OB, Single Malt, USA, +/-2025)
We’ve tasted some pretty good Yellowstone whiskies in the past. Colour: gold. Nose: of course, this doesn’t have the depth of the previous ones, that’s the problem with random lineups, but there’s a lovely vanilla porridge with sour cream. With water: fresher, but also more reminiscent of new wood. Moss and ferns, pleasant. Mouth (neat): it’s good, close to grains, breads, and spices, with a honeyed touch. Very nice. With water: same, moving toward a Christmas fruitcake with plenty of spices. The timing’s not bad, right? Finish: good length, nice softness, great spices, hints of dried figs in the aftertaste. Comments: no soaring heights, but no flaws either. This little one does the job, we’ll say. And the label is nice.
SGP:551 - 80 points. |
Let's finish with this little baby... |
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Willett 10 yo 2013/2024 (67.7%, OB, Family Estate, LMDW Foundations, Single Barrel Bourbon, cask #6684, 84 bottles, 2024) 
We admit very humbly, we don’t fully understand Willett, but our spirit is strong, and our outlook is positive. Colour: deep gold. Nose: medicinal alcohol and coconut, nothing unusual at these almost lethal ABVs. With water: honey, coconut, and custard. It’s fairly simplistic, even a bit lacking. Mouth (neat): fresh, banana, lemon, pepper, and coconut, with an alcohol level that could fuel all the missiles of poor Vladimir, who’s starting to resemble a dying axolotl. You might say this is a far cry from the tardigrade in D.C.. With water: pleasant, but very simple in terms of profile, and light in texture. Finish: not very long, simple, oaky. Comments: it really tastes like a Scottish grain whisky. It’s quite surprising and, above all, a little ‘empty’. No comprendo mucho, but we'll havr some much, much 'better' Willetts right tomorrow.
SGP:441 - 75 points. |
It’s better to stop here, but we’ll continue tomorrow, with indeed some Willetts that I definitely, definitely prefer... |
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November 10, 2025 |
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A few crazy Mortlach
By Zeus and the Wee Witchie, no Mortlach in this year’s Special Releases, but that won’t stop us enjoying an official bottling, naturally distilled 2.81 times, in line with their famously byzantine system… No, nothing to do with Istanbul. (AI) |
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Mortlach 16 yo ‘Distiller’s Dram’ (43.4%, OB, +/-2025)
We tasted this wee baby upon its release in 2018, liked it a lot (WF 89) and then nothing more. It was high time we formed an opinion on a more recent batch… Colour: gold. Nose: that familiar slightly scorched walnut cake and plenty of hot malted chocolate, before everything drifts towards ferns, dark soils, roasted chestnuts and dark tobacco, not forgetting the obligatory touches of orange zest. A very Mortlachy Mortlach, in short. Mouth: this is really rather full-bodied despite the modest bottling strength, fairly salty and deeply earthy, with cigars, malt, very strong black tea and a splash of Guinness. In short, everything’s black—you’re talking synaesthesia here! Finish: long, curiously both dry and bitter, yet still fairly honeyed (heather). The aftertaste grows distinctly more peppery, that’s black pepper, of course. Comments: cracking bottle, no question. If one were to have but a single Mortlach…
SGP:451 - 88 points. |
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Mortlach 25 yo (46%, Gordon & MacPhail, Distillery Label, +/-2025)
Colour: gold. Nose: very sulphury at first, as if you'd just struck a massive match, the kind one uses to light a fireplace. But we know that’s part of the house style (of Mortlach, not G&M). Then come notes of spent flint stones or even an old Zippo lighter from grandad, beef jerky, shoe polish, and eventually a basket of garden fruits, apples, pears, peaches and apricots, the latter also in dried form… Mouth: still that tightrope walk between a most singular bitterness, reminiscent of mutton fat and truffle, and garden fruits, with also this distinct impression of chewing on an untipped Gauloise (very, very late at night, well one really shouldn’t, it’s toxic). Finish: long and bitter, akin to certain rooty and very bitter Italian cordials. Pepper in the aftertaste. Comments: quite the beast, certainly not for every palate, though seasoned exegetes of the style should be thrilled.
SGP:461 - 87 points. |
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Mortlach 30 yo 1995/2025 (47.3%, Kanpaikai Japan & The Antelope Macau, Dollar Cat, refill sherry hogshead, cask #803457, 187 bottles)
These folks seem to be firing on all twelve cylinders. Superb cask selection! Colour: amber. Nose: and here comes the sulphur again, though reined in to more civilised levels and leaning towards paraffin, perfectly paired with a heaped basket of orange zest dipped in honey. I’m almost tempted to stop here, it’s that good, precise, flawless, and 100% old-style Mortlach (reminds me of the oldest 32yo 1971/2004 official, sheer magic). Mouth: have we already said this was perfect? Both in terms of those fruity-bitter flavours and from a historical and philosophical standpoint. The pink grapefruit is absolutely sublime too. Dare we call this an authentic Mortlach? One could debate it for hours… Finish: long, with the arrival of ferns, pepper and those famed Italian herbal and root liqueurs. Comments: truly, truly impressive in its precision, every marker’s in place.
SGP:662 - 92 points. |
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Mortlach 35 yo 1989/2025 (44.2%, Artist #15 by LMDW, The Dark Side of the Moon, 2nd fill sherry butt, cask #S-28607, 250 bottles)
Lovely Pink Floyd-esque series name, faintly reminiscent of the Glen Grant 1972/1995 ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ by Signatory/Velier, which was excellent too (WF 90). Ah, popular culture… Colour: amber. Nose: this is fresher and more cheerful, the sulphur clearly of the paraffin oil variety, with touches of pistachio cream and sesame, the proverbial citrus fruits, a few very light metallic touches (copper coins), then slightly bruised baked apples with cinnamon and honey. A gorgeous nose. Mouth: incredible. Again it calls to mind the official 1971, the waxes are in full caps, the ripe fruits are… well, ripe, the honey is utterly honeyed and the sulphur increasingly discreet, though still present. Without it, it just wouldn’t be Mortlach, would it. Finish: long, superb, tense and pulsating. Citrus, honey, pepper etc. Absolutely no excessive woodiness, on the contrary. Comments: beautiful artwork by Sthenjwa Luthuli on the front of the bottle (or is it the back?) If the contents weren’t so splendid, you could almost buy it just for the artwork and pour the whisky down the sink. Yes, sacrilege—but at this stage, who’s counting.
SGP:661 - 92 points. |
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Mortlach 19 yo 1975/1995 (59.9%, The Whisky Connoisseur, Cask Master Selection No.1, cask #6261)
Hold tight, these folks have already delivered some utter marvels. Largiemeanoch, anyone? Colour: gold. Nose: do not nose this kind of malt while standing, you might just topple over. Incredible oils, graphite above all, then sunflower, sesame paste, linseed oil and patta negra ham with plenty of belottas. Sublime profile, almost abstract. With water: a handful of barley soaked by autumn rain (really?) Mouth (neat): we’re stunningly close to the Artist bottlings here, only with even greater tension and bitterness. Water should ease things off a little, but it’s sublime. With water: no, it’s utterly sublime. Citrus and beeswax dancing a frenzied tango to the sound of Gotan Project. Finish: is it really necessary to go on? Only the aftertaste turns slightly green, soapy and acidic in a rather unexpected way, and that just shaves off 2 points. Dura lex… Comments: but again, what a beauty! Though both the Kanpaikai/Antelope and the LMDW were just a touch above, after all.
SGP:561 - 91 points. |
We were having several other Mortlachs we wanted to taste today as well, but given the way things turned out – quite beyond our control, rest assured – it’s probably best to leave it there. We’ll try to taste them before Christmas. I mean, Christmas 2025. |
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November 9, 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! |
Rum, and
more rum
And we’re certainly not going to complain, especially as we’re kicking off this new little session with a small-batch independent Foursquare at a very approachable strength…All the while with thoughts fixed on Jamaica, which is currently striving to mend its wounds. |
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Foursquare 8 yo (41%, Tres Hombres, Barbados, 4,296 bottles, 2023)
A maturation of eight years on location, followed by five months at sea aboard a sailing vessel in former calvados and PX casks. Just a reminder that the house of Tres Hombres has nothing to do with the famous eponymous ZZ Top album, which featured the legendary La Grange (a-haw haw haw-haw). Colour: pale gold. Nose: tremendously fresh, with honey and oranges, followed by a few delicately spiced biscuits, especially with cinnamon and star anise, plus hints of praline. Mouth: absolutely excellent, not particularly marked by the calvados or the PX, and unless I'm imagining things, there are undeniable salty and maritime notes, and even a touch of diesel. One gets the impression there's a good deal of pot still in this lively and crisp little Foursquare. Finish: not even short and still fairly saline. Comments: what's more, it's always a pleasure to enjoy a fine rum without needing to resort to our pipette and our Vittel. Then again, that does depend on the spirit's body type; here, it's a full textured one.
SGP:552 - 87 points. |
Seeing as we’re hanging out with ZZ Top (well, almost…) |
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Oliver & Oliver 15 yo (48.5%, Tres Hombres, Dominican Republic, 2025)
15 years in bourbon casks (though within a ‘solera’ system involving a rather baffling triple-aging process – ha, the DomRep!) then 4 months at sea in PX. Since the juice hails from Oliver & Oliver, let us simply hope this isn’t too sugary… Colour: gold. Nose: very light, with notes of hay and herbal tea, just a whisper of paraffin and rubber. It isn’t particularly expressive despite some maple syrup emerging a little later; even the PX seems to be hiding, but the palate will be the final arbiter. Mouth: a little sweet but with great restraint, really nothing bothersome, with an oily texture, candlewax, some orange cake, followed by chamomile infusion and a caramel that’s present yet discreet. Finish: rather short but clean, on slightly bitter caramel and herbal tea. A touch of orange zest in the aftertaste. Comments: well, it’s pleasant! Even if not quite my style, I’ll happily admit that.
SGP:551 - 80 points. |
Maybe we should’ve had the Dominican before the Foursquare, agreed. Let’s carry on… |
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Panama 14 yo 2010/2024 (50%, Arturo Makasare by C’Rhum, Cask Collection)
Colour: gold. Nose: same general territory as the Dominican, a light distillate handled with respect, seemingly without any makeup or Botox. A touch of fresh putty, lime blossom infusion, and a little hay once again… With water: ashes and even a faint whiff of firwood smoke, though there’s still more of that fresh putty. Mouth (neat): there is a bit of syrup, perhaps added at birth, but it lends a pleasant orgeat and triple-sec character, and everything feels freshly done with care. A drop of pineapple liqueur. With water: not much change, though it becomes a touch drier. Hints of coconut. Finish: nice length. Comments: once again, not quite my preferred style (spoken as a malt enthusiast!) but within this style, it’s really not bad at all.
SGP:551 - 82 points. |
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Trelawny 2014 ‘<>H’ (56%, C’Rhum by Corman-Collins, Jamaica, +/-2025)
Trelawny means Hampden, oops, they’re arriving rather early in the session. Let me just remind you of the old saying (well, mine), ‘the only thing that can follow Hampden is more Hampden’, especially when the label declares high ester levels, as it does here – around 1,000 gr/HLPA. Right then, off we go… Colour: chardonnay. Nose: brand new Scotch tape, at least a fifty-kilometre roll of the stuff. Or thereabouts. Then seaweed and olives in perfect synchronicity. With water: like a gentle giant, powerful yet approachable. Remember the prog-rock supergroup Gentle Giant? Mouth (neat): perfect, at a perfect strength that doesn’t even call for water (though we’ll reduce it anyway – procedures, you see). With water: olives, lemon, seawater, glue, tar. Finish: same again, with plenty of ground pepper now tickling your lips. Yes, yes, we know, it’s rather the alcohol. Comments: but how good this is!
SGP:463 - 90 points. |
So, we're staying with Hampden for good, right to the end of this session… |
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Jamaican Rum (64.9%, Swell de Spirits, On Tour #8, for Limoges Spirits Festival, Jamaica, 87 bottles)
Right then, here we’ve got some <H> 2016 blended with C<>H 2007, married together in an ex-Port Mourant cask from 2011. Does any of that make the slightest sense on paper? … But in the glass, things may be altogether different. Colour: white wine. Nose: soft and rounded like a cup of hot chocolate in Vienna at first, but the cavalry soon charges in with the expected mix of seawater, olive oil, lemon juice and fresh varnish. Mind the ABV though, let’s not scorch our nostrils… With water: it folds back onto Spanish olive oil, but what Spanish olive oil! I’d recommend the one from Clos Mogador in Priorat. Their wines too, of course. Mouth (neat): very lovely (fermented mango!) though admittedly a little hot. Quick, the necessary precautions… With water: doesn’t shift an inch, just becomes easier. Happens to me often with Hampden. Finish: long, more on petrol now, but the balance remains spot on. Those fun notes of ultra-ripe mango make a welcome return. Comments: perfect. The number of times we've used that word during Hampden tastings must be frankly embarrassing. For me, at least…
SGP:563 - 90 points. |
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Navy Island Jamaica (57%, Navy Island, +/-2025)
A blend of 11 Jamaican rums of varying ages, all from pot stills, so inevitably with some Hampden in the mix—after all, last time we checked, there weren’t even 11 distilleries in Jamaica. Colour: pale gold. Nose: more balanced than the pure Hampdens we've just had, a touch fruitier too (ripe banana), and far more dangerous, as it currently gives the impression it could be sipped like warm milk. With water: ripe prunes, seawater, fresh tar, petrol, guavas… Wow. Mouth (neat): an incredible rush of Williams pear, clementines, varnish, glue, sea water… It’s utterly charming, there must be some low-marques in here, and that’s a very good thing. Possibly even some white rum. With water: even more Williams pear, plus a slightly sweet note. Williams pear liqueur. Finish: rather long, very good, still marked by the pear liqueur and some guava. Comments: that slight sweetness on the palate cost it a point or two, but this really is an excellent blend, one you could safely serve to your neighbours who aren’t especially ‘rum geeks’.
SGP:652 - 86 points. |
To finish, let’s move on to a mini-vertical tasting of three Hampdens from La Maison & Velier, bearing in mind we’d already sampled the fourth, and youngest, the 4-year-old. |
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Hampden 7 yo 2018/2025 ‘HGML’ (60%, La Maison & Velier, Magnum series #3)
1,200 bottles and 600 magnums available. With these superlative rums, the bottles are safer, you can make your way through one and live to tell the tale, which is not quite guaranteed with a magnum. Apologies for the perhaps overly Bukowskiesque aside. Indeed, WF hasn’t been banned yet, much to our own astonishment. HGML means high-ester, between 1,000 and 1,300 gr/HLPA. Hold on tight… Colour: gold. Nose: criminally glorious, fat, pure, fruity (think fruit eaux-de-vie), and brimming with essential oils, terpenes and various hydrocarbons, yet delivered with a certain poise. Almost. With water: a strikingly fermentary side emerges, quite beautiful, with plenty of acetone and even some ammonia. Mouth (neat): more brutal and, crucially, drier. Fir bud schnaps, anchovy brine, kelp, industrial glue… With water: still brutal, grippy, domineering and ultra-rustic, with an enormous amount of salt. Finish: very long and finishing on a family-sized bag of ultra-salty Dutch liquorice with not a speck of sugar in sight. Comments: for the masochists—and I must humbly admit I’m among them, under these circumstances.
SGP:473 - 91 points. |
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Hampden 8 yo 2017/2025 ‘<H>’ (60%, La Maison & Velier, Magnum series #3)
Again, 1,200 bottles and 600 magnums. <H> carries slightly fewer esters than HGML but, strictly between us and from a malt whisky enthusiast’s perspective, it’s pretty much six of one, half a dozen of the other. It’s a bit like the ppm numbers in Octomore, not necessarily proportional, are they. Colour: gold. Nose: well, that’s me proven wrong once more straight away, this one is a touch fruitier and less focused on varnish and brine than the 2018. You’ll tell me that’s likely the effect of an extra year in wood (S., of course it is). With water: coming closer now. Mouth (neat): not a huge difference here, though there is a slightly more prominent fruity oakiness. Ultra-ripe bananas, skins and all. With water: the glues and varnishes return with full force and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it. Finish: long and glorious, with a bit more cedarwood at this point, some pencil shavings… Incidentally, you’ll have noticed that pencils, too, come with ‘marques’: H, B, HB, F… Comments: I genuinely can’t choose between them—I love both equally, which is to say, immensely. Okay, this one was slightly fruitier…
SGP:563 - 91 points. |
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Hampden 9 yo 2016/2025 ‘LROK’ (60%, La Maison & Velier, Magnum series #3)
LROK is a lighter marque, between 200 and 400 gr ester/HLPA. But let me insist, there’s even less logic or consistency in these ester gradings than in the positions of a member of the long-declining French Socialist Party. Proper museum pieces, those. As our hero Coluche once put it, give them the Sahara and six months later they’re ordering sand. Right, moving on… Colour: gold. Nose: let’s be honest, this is much fruitier (banana and honey cake) and probably more complex and, above all, more elegant than the higher ester marques, though it’s by no means lacking in esters, varnish, petrol or even tar. With water: peach purée à la Bellini appears, even some mashed strawberries. Mouth (neat): low-ester, you say? Well, indeed, it’s a touch lighter, less textured, fresher, fruitier, but we’ve basically just gone from 98-octane petrol to 95. With water: salt returns, along with pencil shavings. Finish: long, saline, well-balanced, with a character not unlike a good terroir-driven sauvignon blanc, which is, at best, five percent of the world’s sauvignon blanc output IMHO… Comments: I’ve a slight preference for the two previous ones, which were a little more spectacular, but not to the extent that this lovely little LROK deserves fewer points. Let’s say the others were 91+, this one’s 91-. Don’t worry, we’re neither Moody’s, nor Fitch, nor Standard & Poor’s.
SGP:552 - 91 points. |
I’m deeply ashamed of not having managed to tell these three ‘Magnums’ apart. So, I’ll be going into exile tomorrow in a teetotal country (though a tax haven), and I’ll return once I’ve recovered. Or when I get forcibly deported. Right. |
 Check the index of all rums we've tasted
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November 7, 2025 |
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A top-notch trio of old Taliskers
Granted, there’s been a lot of Talisker on WF lately, but it’s a distillery—and a malt—we’re deeply fond of. After all, it’s the closest cousin to Brora/Old Clynelish. Yes, honestly… That said, today we’ll be focusing only on older, rather prestigious vintages.
(Recent magazine advert. Apparently, it's perfectly fine to drink Talisker out of tin mugs.) |
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Talisker 30 yo 1993/2024 (60.4%, OB, Cask of Distinction, for Gourmet Pool, selected by Sebastian Jäger, cask #ZL01, 459 bottles)
Quite the ABV at this age, but we’ve few fears here and now, hic et nunc... Colour: pale gold. Nose: a Toledo blade, lemon, brine, oyster juice and iodine tincture. It’s millimetric, chiselled, ultra-precise, surgical. With water: pine resin and teak oil in abundance, which happens to be something we absolutely adore. Mouth (neat): marvellous. Pomelos and oysters in a wild, rubbery and peppery tango. Well, that about sums it up, except one ought to add a generous helping of smoked fish. With water: it’s true that it isn’t outrageously complex, but it becomes even more coastal and maritime. Your twenty-fourth oyster, having already downed twenty-three. Finish: long, a tad oilier now, which is rather fortunate. Almond milk, seawater, shellfish, seaweed, propolis. Comments: apparently we missed the pepper, but at this level of coastal character, it’s practically an offshore regatta. Are they using super-enzymes or what?
SGP:565 - 91 points. |
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Talisker 34 yo 1989/2023 (48.7%, OB, Cask of Distinction, for Jimmy Chen, refill American oak hogshead, cask #2816, 201 bottles)
We tasted a Lagavulin COD also selected by Jimmy Chen the other day, and it was superb. Colour: gold. Nose: magnificent, very tertiary, almost decomposed in the best possible sense, on lots of crushed slate, chalk, acidic soils, charcoal, burnt fir wood, dried seaweed and Champagne, with a few touches of mushroom (agaric). We’re already entering another dimension... Mouth: back to drier things, almost more modern, saltier than saline, this time rather peppery, the whole being very tight and yes, very dry and spicy. Let’s see what water can bring (perhaps)... With water: brine, preserved lemons, seawater, the faintest hint of cardboard. It does seem to be drifting slightly toward dryness, yet it remains, of course, an absolute marvel. I imagine it wouldn’t have benefited from a later bottling; one senses we’re already nearing the limit. Finish: fairly long, salty, very dry. Comments: the fruits have more or less abandoned ship, but the ensuing ultra-dryness brings its own abundant charms.
SGP:265 - 90 points. |
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Talisker 44 yo ‘Forests of the Deep’ (48.8%, OB, 1,997 bottles, 2022)
We do quite like the names they give some of their expressions; they carry a certain gravitas, unlike those of the SMWS, which, let’s admit, are far funnier. At any rate, we’d never tried this 44-year-old before, though we did taste the 45-year-old ‘Glacial Edge’ two years ago and found it magnificent (WF 93). This 44 was a new collaboration with Parley. Cask staves were loaded aboard Parley’s expedition vessel, bound for the kelp forests off the Cape of Good Hope. Once returned to Scotland, they were made into ten casks and lightly charred using Scottish kelp and stave shavings. Alright then... Colour: full. Nose: we find a richer, fruitier profile, almost reminiscent of salted butter caramel, with a faint note of mango and, above all, plenty of quince, which pairs beautifully with some lightly peppered whelks and razor clams for the maritime side of things. It gradually becomes more subtle, with delicate touches of linseed oil, fresh mastic, paint and beeswax, before apricot brings the fruitiness back to the fore. Mouth: drier, more oaky, and saltier too, the fruits having retreated somewhat, but there’s nori, wakame, a little green liquorice, black propolis once again, green pepper, oysters with Tabasco... Finish: the bitterness comes through, and it’s a lovely kind of bitterness, only very slightly drying. A touch of lemon zest lifts the aftertaste quite nicely. Comments: excellent, of course, though I did find the 45-year-old a touch more compelling. In fact, let’s revisit it... yes, indeed, it was a little ‘zestier’, shall we say, though the family resemblance is clear. One could raise the matter of value in relation to the 10-year-old (WF 90), which costs at least a hundred times less. But talking about money is vulgar, isn’t it.
SGP:465 - 91 points. |
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November 6, 2025 |
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WF's Little Duos,
today today Tormore 2002 vs 1992 |
We’ll start with one of the ‘official pre-releases’, before the first versions put together by the very dashing new owners are unveiled. We’ll have to wait a little longer. |
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Tormore 2002/2025 ‘Legacy Casks’ (48.5%, OB, Elixir Distillers, LMD Itinéraires, first fill bourbon barrel, cask #1443, 140 bottles)
A note, this 2002 even predates the Pernod Ricard era, who only took over the distillery in 2005 following the Allied years. Colour: gold. Nose: an earthy edge with late-season hay, alongside a highly distinctive fruitiness—prickly pear jam, a hint of Tokaji aszú, ultra-gentle mint, and some extremely ripe little tomatoes. I find this really beautiful, and above all, quite unique. Mouth: all that singularity carries through, with notes of marc de gewurztraminer, a sly little slivovitz from the back of the cupboard, blood orange, and cherry-scented pipe tobacco. It then shifts to something more rooty, with a touch of gentian. Finish: rather long, veering towards crème caramel now, followed by a trace of marc on the aftertaste, though more like Burgundy marc. Comments: I find this wee fellow tremendously characterful, and once the surprise wears off, it’s truly excellent.
SGP:651 - 87 points. |
Is this unusual profile inherent to the distillery, or just a one-off? Only one way to find out – track down an even older Tormore... |
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Tormore 31 yo 1992/2024 (40.1%, Milroy’s Vintage Reserve, hogshead, cask #101180)
It was a close shave in terms of strength! Colour: white wine. Nose: this dives straight into sourdough, oat porridge and, above all, cottage cheese and mashed turnips, followed by a touch of compost. For now, it’s light years away from all the recent Milroy’s malts I’ve had the pleasure of tasting. Mouth: much better than the nose, though still very grassy, fermentary and chalky. It does improve with time, but the crackers and rustic porridge character isn’t particularly easy-going, especially with all that greenery. A pleasant note of greengage plums brings a bit of grip. Finish: better again, though it’s a bit late to the party. Let’s say mirabelle tart—one of the finest tarts in existence—but that herbal note bounces back on the aftertaste. Comments: we’ve loved all the recent Milroy’s, but I find this one a little less obvious and certainly lacking that ‘clean line’ feel.
SGP:351 - 82 points. |
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November 5, 2025 |
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Dailuaine, Act II
Yesterday was an absolute treat, the Special Release was excellent, with special mentions for Watashi and the two Ukrainian editions! Let’s keep going… |
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Dailuaine 2012/2024 (48.9%, The Firkin Whisky Co., oloroso and amontillado, cask #SC37)
This baby was matured (or finished?) in a custom double oak cask made from ex-bourbon staves and virgin French oak, then seasoned with oloroso and amontillado sherry. Quite the kitchen recipe... Colour: gold. Nose: once again, we’re in shoe polish territory, with a touch of sulphur, quickly counterbalanced by green pepper, alongside the proverbial walnuts and a hint of mustard. In short, it’s very amontillado, as expected. Mouth: very firm, even more 'amontillado' at this point, with a saline touch over walnuts, again a bit of mustard, perhaps even capers, before more green pepper emerges. We rather like this very dry, Jerez-style profile, especially as any stray sulphur notes have long since vanished. Finish: fairly long, on green walnuts and a drop of seawater. From the mouth of the Guadalquivir, naturally. Comments: a real treat for lovers of bone-dry sherry, among whose ranks we firmly count ourselves.
SGP:461 - 86 points. |
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Dailuaine 13 yo 2008/2022 (46%, Hepburn’s Choice, sherry butt)
Colour: full gold. Nose: a similar arrival to the previous one, with puffs of spent matches and shoe polish, gradually offset by bitter orange, old walnuts, and some chalky albariza-style earth (naturally). Mouth: this time the sulphury side remains, mixed with lemon juice and green walnut, which almost sends a shiver down your spine, I assure you. Slightly on the sour side. Finish: fairly long, dry, more peppery and nutmeggy. The rounder side of the sherry, with dried raisins, barely appears except in the aftertaste. Comments: not bad at all, though likely even more polarising than the previous one.
SGP:461 - 81 points. |
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Dailuaine 12 yo 2011/2023 (52.1%, The Whisky Exchange, Seasons: Autumn, rejuvenated hogshead, cask #316960)
Colour: white wine. Nose: it’s the fats and oils coming through this time, especially sunflower oil, followed by almond milk and marzipan. All rather lovely. With water: fresh white bread and a bit of damp earth. Vanilla sits at its contractual minimum. Mouth (neat): pink grapefruit and lemon sweets lead the charge, to our great delight. Timut pepper and that same fairly oily texture. With water: just very good—barley syrup with lemon juice, a touch of light honey and a hint of bitter almond. Finish: fairly long, quite fresh, ultra-balanced. Comments: this one, you could drink a lot of. A lot of.
SGP:551 - 86 points. |
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Dailuaine 2012/2022 (57.1%, Malts of Scotland, Corona Edition, bourbon hogshead, cask #MoS 22024, 269 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: this time we’re closer to beer, barley, pot ale, grape seed oil, tart little apples and crusty country bread. All things we always enjoy greatly… With water: splendid beer. I mean, splendid malt whisky. Mouth (neat): rich yet tight, saline, spicy, and full of little oily seeds, pine nuts and sesame in particular, drizzled with lemon juice. There’s even chickpea in there, so we’re practically in the presence of a near-royal houmous. With water: perfect, especially as a touch of mint, liquorice and eucalyptus appears, which suits this oily structure beautifully. Finish: not very long but fresh and highly moreish. Apple, lemon, saline touch. Comments: I’d love to cellar a bottle like this for thirty years, just to see. Reminds me a little of St Magdalene, I swear.
SGP:561 - 88 points. |
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Dailuaine 13 yo 2012/2025 (55.1%, Dràm Mor, refill bourbon, cask #301327, 157 bottles)
I once again extend my humble apologies to the honourable bottlers for always missing one of the accents in their name. Colour: gold. Nose: amusingly petroly touches to start, then oils again (grape seed, even some soft Provençal olives), followed by sourdough and oranges. It’s all rather lovely. With water: magnificent vegetal oils, but also something more mineral. Mouth (neat): I love it, it’s minty, peppery citrus, full of freshness and zing. A touch of hashish resin too—perhaps that’s the zing. With water: perfect, the lemons play their part to a tee, to the point where they almost seem to cut through the richness of the whole. Finish: yes, more taut, even more lemony, almost acidic, but in a delightful way. Rather like “English Champagne”, ha. Comments: a real success. I nearly added an extra point in apology for always bungling the accent, but let’s not get carried away…
SGP:651 - 88 points. |
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Dailuaine 10 yo 2013/2024 (57.1%, Royal Mile Whiskies, cask #311621, 314 bottles)
Colour: pale white wine, so probably a naked malt. Nose: very naked indeed, minimalist, still on those vegetal oils, peanut butter, small apples and a touch of damp chalk. With water: doesn’t move an inch—and that’s just fine. Mouth (neat): absolutely lovely, oily but taut, fresh, citrusy, slightly saline, in short, everything’s in place. With water: lime going wild, a few drops of mezcal, and a selection of peppers plus a pinch of cumin, which gives it real character. Finish: fairly long, fresh, carried by citrus and backed by the spices. Comments: yet another lovely bottle of Dailuaine. We really don’t talk about Dailuaine enough.
SGP:561 - 86 points. |
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Dailuaine 15 yo 2009/2024 (57.4%, Wilson & Morgan, Barrel Selection, PX sherry hogshead finish, cask #310719, 302 bottles)
Well then, they say it’s a four-year finish, which shows perfect ethics—anything over three years could’ve been called ‘maturation’, as many officials do. In truth, it’s the independents who tend to be more honest about these things, have you noticed? Colour: light gold. Nose: 80% lemon juice and 20% pineapple juice—admit it, that’s rather original—and the malt, bread, earthy tones and oils that follow are all top-drawer. The PX, for now, stays quiet at the back of the classroom. With water: ashamed to say it, but water is pointless here. It even slightly spoils it. Mouth (neat): orange and lemon liqueurs, plus green and black pepper. A cracking bit of tension, quite magnificent really. Lemon blossom honey. With water: easier, edging towards apple juice; once again, water might be superfluous here. Finish: without water, it’s perfect. With water... forget it. Comments: a superb Dailuaine, despite its mild aversion to dilution, rather like the five cats who rule Château Whiskyfun.
SGP:561 - 87 points. |
Remember: dogs have owners, cats have staff. But let’s get back to Dailuaine — we’re not done yet… |
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Dailuaine 10 yo (46%, James Eadie, first fill bourbon and refill hogshead, casks #307072 + 313778, 754 bottles, 2021)
We do get the sense that this wee beastie is going to be both easy and excellent. You’ll say it was about time we tried it. Colour: gold. Nose: orange zest, mango smoothie, a faint basaltic touch and a bit of Play-Doh, fresh malt, IPA, and perhaps slight hints of shoe polish that would go perfectly with the boots on the label. Mouth: but how good is this! Very malty, with a faint note of toasted malt and chicory coffee, then those citrus zests come charging in, to our great delight. Light saline touches as well, once again. Finish: rather long, still on orange zest, though with a little savoury broth lurking underneath. And yet, there’s no sherry, unless that hoggie was ex-sherry. Who knows… Comments: total success, once again.
SGP:651 - 87 points. |
I insist, I know it’s everywhere at the moment, maybe even a bit too much, but whisky lovers really should be paying more attention to Dailuaine, especially for its oily character. |
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Dailuaine 12 yo 2010/2023 (55.5%, James Eadie, cask finish, UK exclusive, cask #369627, 325 bottles)
An 11-month finishing in first fill oloroso sherry hogshead. Colour: full gold. Nose: roasted peanuts, roasted peanuts and—roasted peanuts. In other words, it’s a bit narrow this time, though water should open things up… With water: and here come the polish and old walnuts! Mouth (neat): light peppers and earthy notes, cumin liqueur, clove, pronounced maple syrup… Let’s not exaggerate—it’s not exactly suffocating, but you get the idea. With water: clearly better, though the peppers do stage a proper coup. Finish: fairly long, rather peppery, quite herbal, a thousand times less approachable than the splendid previous one. Comments: this one’s more for the intellectuals among us.
SGP:361 - 82 points. |
Since we’ve come this far… |
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Dailuaine 14 yo 1979 ‘The Auchtertyre’ (59.7%, The Whisky Connoisseur, The Robert Burns Collection, cask #8965, 5cl, +/-1993)
A miniature that’s been loitering at the back of the shelves at Château WF for a good twenty years or more, time to sacrifice it for the common good. Worth noting: this cask was bottled under several guises, including 35cls of ‘Balcarron’. Anyway… the fill level on the miniature is excellent and, thankfully, the cap hasn’t been lacquered. Colour: white wine. Nose: you realise straight away that the oils—vegetable and engine alike—plus that greasy sulphur à la Mortlach, were already present in 1979. The rest is nicely austere and highly distillate-driven, with apple peelings and walnut skins doing the heavy lifting. With water: even fatter now, with bits of cardboard and paraffin. Mouth (neat): hot, almost aggressive, very waxy, resinous, and totally uncompromising. We love the attitude, but one still hopes for a touch of seduction, no? With water: back to salted apples. Finish: long, full-on oils, savoury notes and green fruit skins. Not an easy one... Comments: this wee Dailuaine plays hide-and-seek—in every sense of the phrase. But at least we realise that Dailuaine’s DNA was already well in place in 1979.
SGP:462 - 82 points. |
Right, we would’ve liked to carry on a bit, Dailuaine can be quite fascinating, after all but more than 20 is probably enough for now. We’ll dig deeper into the subject… later on. |
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November 4, 2025 |
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Dailuaine: Time to Catch Up |
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| (Geograph + AI) |
Dailuaine has quietly become one of the most commonly seen names among independent bottlers these days. And I have to admit, WF has let this one slip a little, as we have with quite a few others, to be fair: Glenburgie, Ledaig, Bunnahabhain, Ardmore, Loch Lomond, Malt Mill, Ben Nevis… and more besides (spot the odd one out!). So, today we’re setting out to start thinning the Dailuaine stocks, not least because we’ve got the new Special Release on hand, which has already been receiving high praise. We’ll be taking a fairly spontaneous approach to this little session, just to keep things lively, and hopefully a bit of fun too. |
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Dailuaine-Glenlivet 12 yo 2013/2025 (46%, Cadenhead, Original Collection, bourbon hogsheads)
This baby was bottled quite recently… Colour: white wine. Nose: vanilla fudge lightly scented with aniseed, which I find rather charming, then touches of ladies’ moisturiser and just half a glass of pear juice. The whole affair is fresh and most delightful. Mouth: very good, youthful, a little rustic but in a lovely way, on small apples and wild plums, a touch of lemon, and a return of the aniseed and liquorice, with a slight sensation of pastis (insert La Marseillaise here). Finish: fairly long, slightly saline, with more apples and stewed pears. Comments: I’m very fond of this wee malt, not expensive at all, and it offers plenty of character.
SGP:551 - 85 points. |
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Dailuaine 10 yo (48.3%, James Eadie, oloroso sherry hogshead, 2024)
Colour: full gold. Nose: loads of shoe polish! Then a bag of old walnuts and a touch of dry-sweet pipe tobacco. Lovely sherry influence, you’re gently whisked away to the magic triangle. Mouth: nicely done, a fine effort, the polish has turned into smoked chocolate or something along those lines. Then some dark rye bread baked in a wood-fired oven, with a dusting of cinnamon. Finish: fairly long, on lovely bitter chocolate notes, bitter orange, and once again a salty touch, which is quite surprising. Is Dailuaine supposed to be saline? Comments: yet another very nice young dram from Andalusia. I mean from Speyside.
SGP:461 - 85 points. |
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Dailuaine 2011/2024 (59%, The Whisky Jury, first fill bourbon, cask #800376, 204 bottles)
Colour: pale gold. Nose: quite simply a banana cake smothered in three litres of custard. Or let’s say five. With water: an enormous vanilla sponge. Mouth (neat): livelier, on small green fruits and yellow citrus, plenty of fresh herbs and Japanese green tea in the matcha style, then white pepper. On the palate it’s as taut as a bowstring, almost alarming. With water: not to worry, it retains that greasy tension, but everything has relaxed. Lovely bitter herbs, veering towards Fernet Branca or Italian amari. Finish: long, even greener, though here that’s a virtue. Comments: I reckon adding 5cl of this to a pint of beer would be a brilliant idea. That’d be one hell of a pint.
SGP:461 - 86 points. |
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Dailuaine 21 yo ‘Marbled Treasures’ (54.3%, OB, Special Releases 2025, fully matured in Spanish ex-sherry, 2025)
Colour: amber honey. Nose: there’s a very slight cosmetic note, for well-groomed ladies, and a bit of polish, but the sherry rises quickly, in the form of a full basket of all sorts of raisins, with tiny touches of dry-cured ham in the background—Spanish, naturally. With water: hints of old-school orange liqueurs genuinely built on proper Cognac. Mouth (neat): excellent, on rum and raisin, then orange liqueur. Delightfully straightforward. With water: still rather simple, though you may now add some proper Central European Christmas biscuits. We’re already looking forward to them, even if we’ll put on five kilos in two weeks. As always, blame the booze, it’s always the booze’s fault. Finish: fairly long, with mulled wine-style spices appearing, or even a touch of Conditum Paradoxum. ChatGPT is supposed to be your friend – not too sure about that. Chocolate. Comments: excellent and very ‘Christmas’. How convenient.
SGP:641 - 89 points. |
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Dailuaine 8 yo 2016/2024 (57.9%, Watashi Whisky, bourbon, cask #3010248, 95 bottles)
Back to Taiwan, always a pleasure. Colour: white wine. Nose: ultra-clean, on fresh barley, ripe apples and acacia honey. Again, it’s very simple, but the molecules are perfectly in place. With water: add some milk chocolate, the double cream sort from Lindt. Mouth (neat): I love this simplicity, on green apples, lemons, pepper and fresh barley, then a light honeyed touch. Nice fatness. With water: bitter and earthy herbs come in, bringing lovely tension. Finish: long, flawless. Comments: for such a young beast, I think this is simply excellent, almost going toe to toe with the rather splendid Special Release.
SGP:551 - 88 points. |
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Dailuaine 12 yo 2011/2024 ‘Ashish Basnet’ (53.1%, The Whisky Exchange, Whisky Show 2024)
Hard to believe the 2025 Whisky Show has already passed and we hadn’t yet tasted this 2024 baby. I feel as guilty as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables. Colour: straw. Nose: it’s basically an IPA, just redistilled. The citrus and hops are rather assertive. With water: not much development, it folds back a little, onto apples. Mouth (neat): that fatty Dailuaine texture, yet with mint and sorrel, then cider apples, though not very expressive. The hops are still there too. With water: there it is, we’ve got it, it’s really lovely now, a little austere but full of the small fruits from an old orchard in a sleepy village out in the countryside. The kind of ageing fruit trees no one’s had the heart to replace. You know the sort... Finish: fairly long and well balanced, on apples and pears. Comments: there’s a slightly faded, poetic quality I really enjoy.
SGP:551 - 85 points. |
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Dailuaine 16 yo 2007/2024 (55.8%, Scyfion, Calvados cask finish, 150 bottles)
Delighted to be tasting another bottle from Ukraine, Slava Ukraini! If there’s one thing the Ukrainians have earned in recent years, it’s the immense respect and lasting admiration of truly democratic peoples. There you go… Oh, and we do rather like the Arc de Triomphe on the label… Colour: gold. Nose: the pairing of this very natural, fairly textured malt with what seems to be a fresh and fruity Calvados appears to work beautifully. Imagine yourself tucking into a tarte tatin that’s three-quarters apple and one-quarter quince, drizzled with malt whisky. Magnificent. With water: the Calvados becomes more prominent, but it’s a very fine one—fresh and full of spirit. Mouth (neat): the match still works a treat, here it’s more taut, slightly lemony, and with a kind of basaltic edge. Cider apples and light honeys, plus a fairly yeasty beer. With water: even prettier, with some mint and linden tea coming through. Finish: fairly long, with tiny herbal touches of thyme. Comments: deepest friendship to our Ukrainian mates.
SGP:551 - 87 points. |
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Dailuaine 12 yo (53.3%, ProtectUASea, 1st Fill Tennessee Whiskey, cask #300648, 69 bottles, 2024)
Still in Ukraine. Slava Ukraini! Presumably a stint in a Dickel cask… Colour: pale gold. Nose: we’re back to the polish we found previously, then some bruised apples, and it’s all simple and spot-on. With water: a bit of fresh wood comes out here. Mouth (neat): same high level as its cousin from Scyfion, though a touch more rustic, much like Tennessee itself (right). Citrus more present. With water: still close to the last one, just that bit more rough-hewn again. In short, it depends on which worked better for you, the Calvados or the Dickel. Please don’t ask me to pick sides… Finish: fairly long, more herbal and spicier. Comments: really good. I reckon people don’t think enough about Dailuaine… Or Ukraine, for that matter. And have you noticed the two names end with the same four letters?
SGP:561 - 87 points. |
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Dailuaine 13 yo 2011/2024 (53.5%, Cooper’s Choice, Port Wood finish, 300 bottles)
Colour: apricot/smoked salmon/very ripe mirabelle, which is always a bit scary, but let’s give it a go anyway… Nose: right then, here come notes of apricot, along with quince paste and cranberry. Let’s be cautious and add water straight away… With water: not bad at all. Cherry-stem herbal tea. Mouth (neat): well now, this is actually very good on the palate, you do feel the Port, but we do love old Port, and after all, they are red wines, but fortified ones. Gorgeous cherry tarts and vineyard peaches. Some bud notes coming through later, which are a touch less thrilling. With water: not bad, even if it edges a little toward strawberry jam, but there’s also pepper, and the pepper + strawberry combo is clearly part of humanity’s shared heritage (isn’t it?). Finish: not its best angle, leans more towards leafy and budding notes. Comments: inevitably a little chaotic, as always when red wine is involved, but we’ve landed on our feet here, it’s still very good.
SGP:651 - 84 points. |
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Dailuaine 11 yo 2012/2023 (58.8%, Watt Whisky, refill sherry butt, 552 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: nature in a glass, slightly oily, earthy, charmingly acrid, more on those little orchard fruits we mentioned earlier. With water: a few green walnuts from the sherry (presumably), still apples, and the tiniest hint of honeysuckle. Perhaps… Mouth (neat): far fruitier and even cheerful on the palate, still on cider apples and near-wild pears. With water: water works very well here, we’re back to death-by-IPA as hinted above, but it stays robust and a touch rustic. Strongly reminiscent of holly eau-de-vie, or even bison grass vodka. Finish: long, very herbal, austere like a Lada. But yes, it goes anywhere. Fun spices around clove and cumin on the aftertaste. Comments: straight from the freezer, then served with caviar or proper wild smoked salmon.
SGP:361 - 85 points. |
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Dailuaine 12 yo 2012/2025 (57.7%, Fadandel, 1st fill oloroso hogshead, cask #300650, 62 bottles)
We love micro-bottlings, they give us the feeling we’re tasting things almost no one else will ever get to try. Colour: gold. Nose: it smells of oil, almost deep-frying oil, and that’s a true Dailuaine marker. For me, it makes all these malts quite singular, though perhaps not for the broader public—that is, the thirsty Marxist masses (ahem). Paraffin oil and little green apples. With water: the return of posh lady cosmetics! And a few drops of Thai broth. Mouth (neat): it’s very good, rustic, grilled, and unlikely, with coffee and apple eau-de-vie. Apple eau-de-vie is usually of little interest, but there are (rare) exceptions, such as Gravenstein from Rochelt. With water: coffee, wax, small apples, tobacco, walnuts… The oloroso seems to be waking up a bit. About time, you might say. Finish: fairly long, though perhaps not sharply defined. Comments: another bottle we find terrific, though we feel like popping it straight into the freezer as well.
SGP:451 - 84 points. |
Alright then, one last dram, we’ll be back with more rather mad Dailuaines very soon. Maybe even as soon as tomorrow… who knows? |
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Dailuaine 30 yo 1995/2025 (55.5%, Kanpaikai & The Antelope, refill hogshead, cask #803066, 143 bottles)
Will this baby knock the Special Release off its perch? It’s not out of the question, thirty years in refill is a magical combo that can bury all those improbable finishing escapades in one elegant swoop. Let’s find out right away… Colour: gold. Nose: forget it, honeys, pollens, baked fruits and old resiny woods strike immediately and make it clear who’s in charge. But that doesn’t mean it’ll all carry through to the palate… With water: old beeswax, old furniture, old libraries, old rectories. Amen. Mouth (neat): slightly fragile, with fruits giving way to camphor and very dry herbal teas, not to mention pronounced bitter almonds and a rather strong old furniture polish character. It feels right at the tipping point; so which way will it fall? (S., for heaven’s sake, this isn’t TikTok). With water: no, don’t add water, it literally pulls the whole thing apart. Finish: with just one drop of water, it’s delicate, very much on teas and herbal infusions, slightly drying but really lovely. Almond milk. Comments: that famous point of balance where everything can suddenly turn too fragile. Fascinating to taste. And love it.
SGP:461 - 87 points. |
Good, after twelve Dailuaines, see you soon. |
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November 3, 2025 |
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Another two or three Craigellachies
We’ve still got the official 41-year-old from three years ago to taste, and we don’t want to keep it waiting any longer. We'll take the opportunity to add two or three independent bottlings as well. We were impressed by the texture of the Craigellachies we tried not long ago...
(P'tit Noir, assistant mouser at WF Towers, doing what he does best.)
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Craigellachie 11 yo 2013/2024 (60.6%, Lady of the Glen, refill butt, recharred cask finish, cask #30080, 215 bottles)
Colour: deep gold. Nose: perhaps a little acrid and brutal at first nosing, with rather assertive notes of green pepper and a strong suggestion of extremely rustic kirsch. Sour cherries abound, followed by a few smaller apples that come across as slightly more civilised. Water might well work wonders here. With water: markedly improved, as expected, shifting towards black tea, pipe tobacco, leather, bay leaf and ginger root, all rather nicely harmonised. Mouth (neat): massive and extremely taut, displaying loads of bitter oranges alongside that persistent green pepper, then a touch of perfume, slightly scorching in its intensity. With water: it retains a faintly perfumy and floral dimension, yet the bitter oranges and grapefruits, not to mention some mountain honey and tiny drops of herbal concoctions, bring things back into balance rather smartly. Finish: long, now fairly fresh. Ginger and black pepper return in the aftertaste, accompanied by the faintest trace of soap. Ultimately, it’s the pepper that reigns supreme across your palate. Comments: one understands quite clearly why certain independent bottlers prefer to bring their whiskies down just a touch, say to 57% or 100° proof, to sidestep those more challenging tasting phases.
SGP:461 - 84 points. |
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Craigellachie 14 yo 2009/2023 (53.4%, Whiskyfacile, Black Cat series, hogshead, cask #90305000, 300 bottles)
Very pretty label, approved by 'P’tit Noir', one of the five mousers here at WF Towers. Which, as you’ll have guessed, is entirely black. Colour: gold. Nose: the cask is less pronounced here and as a result we find the distillate’s oily side coming through, with peanut oil, sesame, a touch of flint, ashes, and even a little peat, to the point where one wonders whether this hogshead hadn’t previously held a peated malt. Most likely! In any case, this is most delightful, almost like Ardmore. With water: damp earth and little apples from a very old tree, in an ancient orchard near a weathered old house. You see... Mouth (neat): wonderfully oily, lemony and as camphory as one could wish, with a faint hint of Laphroaig. No matter, as it’s excellent. With water: still excellent, with a wee menthol cigarette note and a touch of salt. Finish: fairly long, continuing in the same vein. Comments: whether it’s Craigellaphroaig or not, it’s really excellent.
SGP:563 - 88 points. |
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Craigellachie 41 yo 1980/2021 (46%, OB, Exceptional Cask Series, refill hogsheads, casks #2036, 2038, 2040, 2043, 402 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: typical of those older Speysiders that haven’t seen much sherry, instead brimming with pollen, honey, beeswax and yellow flowers, to which are soon added overripe apples and plums. It’s absolutely charming, perhaps a tad fragile, and probably a little less complex than the 37-year-old we tried last time. Mouth: perhaps showing a touch more fatigue on the palate, with hints of stale beer, dust and cardboard, though all of that remains moderate and it hasn’t completely run out of steam either. Mead, followed by oranges which, as usual, manage to rescue the whole affair somewhat, lifting it back up the liveliness scale. You know what I mean? Finish: rather short but still very pretty, on various honeys and, once again, orange. The aftertaste brings to mind some old beeswax polish. Comments: perhaps the sort of casks that would more often have ended their days in some venerable ultra-premium blend. But it remains very charming indeed...
SGP:451 - 87 points. |
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November 2, 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! |
More rums, with thoughts for Jamaica (and the other islands affected by Melissa) |
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| Ariège (Ariège Tourisme) |
Let’s start with a little aperitif… |
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Naga 12 yo ‘Kingdom of Siam Edition’ (40%, OB, Thailand, +/-2024)
We had tried a rather good 10-year-old some years back, so here comes its elder sibling. The Thai rum landscape has evolved markedly over the past dozen years or so, back from the days when the thoroughly unconvincing SangSom still held sway. That said, while Siam was indeed Thailand’s former name before WWII, the label here simply states ‘Asian Rum’, although if you were to consult a globe, you’d quickly realise that Asia, well, that’s fairly broad, isn’t it. Ha. Colour: amber. Nose: loads of very ripe banana, along with some poached williams pear in sweet white wine and a few hints of ‘oriental’ herbal tea. Lovely! The real question will be whether the palate leans heavily towards sweetness or not. Mouth: no, no sugary avalanche here, quite the contrary in fact, more on sugarcane with touches of bay leaf and nutmeg. A little orange and a drop of Earl Grey. Finish: a tad short but rather likeable, close to the cane, with a little molasses, liquorice and honey lingering in the aftertaste. Comments: really quite nice, I’m sure this would sit a notch higher at 43 or 46% vol.
SGP:541 - 79 points. |
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Thailand 8 yo 2016/2025 (61%, La Maison du Whisky, Flag Series, Itinéraires, 253 bottles)
A column still rum aged for 4 years in situ, then another 4 years on the continent (which in this context means Europe). LMDW also inform us that Thailand is the second largest exporter of cane sugar in the world, did you know that? Colour: dark amber. Nose: all in on furniture polish, natural rubber and milk chocolate, then assorted and sundry buds. Still a touch strong and perhaps slightly closed. With water: it shifts towards herbal teas and banana leaf. Mouth (neat): like cask strength triple sec! Oranges are clearly taking centre stage for now, with a sprinkling of coriander seed over the top. With water: it becomes a little more refreshing, livelier, and amusingly, we’re finding that same williams pear as in the previous one. Do they grow williams pears in Thailand? Also a few roasted and very lightly salted peanuts. Finish: not very long but very clean and gentle, slightly chocolaty, faintly spiced. Comments: excellent, and it’s not one of those petroly ones like Chalong Bay and the rest.
SGP:541 - 85 points. |
Since we’re on the topic of flags… |
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Saint Lucia 21 yo 2004/2025 (58.3%, La Maison du Whisky, Flag Series, Itinéraires, 199 bottles)
Hailing from a Vendôme still and naturally from the only active distillery in Saint Lucia, the one behind those Chairman’s Reserve bottlings we’re so fond of, St Lucia Distillers. Colour: straw. Nose: magnificent. First you’re topping up your Ferrari or your Golf at some old petrol station, then snipping a bit of dill and spring onion from the garden, and finally unwrapping the latest parcel of utterly useless and highly questionable electrical gadgets you ordered from Temu three weeks ago during a moment of weakness. Tsk tsk. Superb. With water: it retreats marvellously towards fresh herbs and petrol. Mouth (neat): a pure cocktail of lime, oil paint and varnish. With water: but how good is this! Entirely distillate-driven, so presumably continentally aged. Finish: long, precise, vibrant yet fat. Eau de vie of tiny berries, lime zest, and three drops of iodine tincture. Comments: we jest a little, but this is a marvellous bottle, with pitch-perfect liveliness.
SGP:362 - 90 points. |
Time to hop over to France… |
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Montebello (52.7%, Les Frères de la Côte, Guadeloupe, agricole, ex-bourbon, 730 bottles)
Aged 1 year on site, then 4 months at sea aboard a sailing cargo ship, followed by a further year in mainland France. We've always found Montebello rather singular, so as they say, we can hardly wait… Colour: pale gold. Nose: glorious rotting fruits (yep) and olive oil, plus that little plant one always finds in Montebello but which I've never managed to identify. Not terribly helpful, is it? Perhaps a cactus of some sort? In style, we’re close to the finest agricole rums of Madeira, unless it’s the other way around. With water: waxed paper, ink, a little caraway… Mouth: same remarks, word for word. The olive oil stands out even more, and there’s also a touch of unrefined cane sugar. With water: unchanged, it doesn’t budge an inch after dilution. Or perhaps just a hint of banana skin. Finish: long and more earthy, more saline, leaning further towards olives. Comments: it’s really very distinctive! That alone is worth a couple of extra points…
SGP:462 - 87 points. |
Let’s take a little detour to Guyana… |
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Port Mourant 21 yo 2003/2024 (44.6%, C’Rhum by Corman Collins, Guyana)
Full maturation took place at Bristol in England, hence the very pale and rather seductive colour. Colour: chardonnay. Nose: it perfumes the room instantly, all on balsamic, bleach and olives. The worst part is that it’s fantastic—closer to the distillate than this and you may as well give up, as they say. Then come a few anecdotal additions, such as overripe apple and surgical bandages. Mouth: very amusing, very unusual, all on charcoal, mutton suet, white ham, a touch of graphite, and above all, peated smoked lemons. Though I rather doubt anyone has ever actually tried to peat-smoke lemons. Finish: not immensely long, but bursting with seawater, tar and carbon dust. A bit of burnt matter in the aftertaste. Comments: strictly for fans of naked distillate, with cask influence as restrained as you-know-who’s vocabulary in D.C..
SGP:363 - 91 points. |
Here you go, for a little contrast in terms of strength… |
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T.D.L. 14 yo 2010/2025 (67.3%, The Colours of Rum, LMDW Itinéraires, Trinidad)
Probably one of the highest strength Angosturas we've ever tasted. The only question left—while we ring our solicitors—is whether this ultimate bomb leans towards fruitiness or petroleum. Colour: amber. Nose: petroleum-led and packed with acetone and varnish, with some ultra-ripe mango lurking in the background. So, a bit of both, really… With water: moves closer to fermenting cane. Mouth (neat): good grief, it burns! And the solicitor’s not picking up, probably still on the golf course… Concentrated lemon juice and biofuel. One to approach with caution—and I speak from bitter experience—beware the wrong pipe. Aaaargh… With water: there we are, passion fruits and mangos come storming in like one man. Finish: long, like a tightrope walker over a pit filled with tropical fruit and every petroleum by-product imaginable. Comments: fed up with these solicitors…
SGP:653 - 90 points. |
Just wait, we’re going even ‘higher’… |
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Travellers 2008/2023 (68.1%, Swell de Spirits, Belize, Private Garden #5, for Caves Deymier)
11 years in the tropics, the rest on the continent, and a bottling for an excellent house in Ariège—a splendid region I warmly recommend next time you’re roaming about the south of France. And 68% vol.! And the solicitor still won’t pick up… Colour: amber. Nose: very gentle, rather ‘bourbony’, though it’s likely the high strength is numbing things a bit. With water: copious amounts of Vittel are required (but Nestlé, where the hell is that blasted cheque?) to bring this baby down to the level of fine praline and delicate black tea with a dash of milk. Aww… Mouth (neat): coconut, vanilla, oranges, honey, and above all, a lot of alcohol. With water: it turns very pastry-like, with a Cuban touch as well, a bit of coconut milk, milk chocolate, cappuccino… Finish: fairly long, though not particularly full-bodied, in keeping with Travellers’ lighter style. Comments: one of the finest Travellers I’ve tasted in recent months—or years—even if it’s not entirely ‘my style’.
SGP:441 - 87 points. |
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Jamaican Blend #13 (64.7%, Swell de Spirits & Rums of Anarchy, 100 bottles, 2024)
A blend of Hampden 2007 C<>H (40%), Hampden 2013 <>H (40%), New Yarmouth 2009 (20%) and a dash of madness (100%). Colour: white wine. Nose: it reeks of terpenes even before you’ve uncorked the bottle. Then come the green olives, black olives, diesel fuel, pitch and lime juice. I forgot the customary acetone. With water: slightly ‘aged’ shellfish, though still edible (very light ammonia), and peated smoked lime. That’s the second time today! Mouth (neat): splendid, ultra-tight, fizzy, still full of varnish and olives, with an impressively saline edge. The high strength goes down like cream, as they say. With water: smoky green freshness, tarry, lemony and olive-y. That about sums it up. Finish: very long, impressively precise for something that’s supposedly ‘just’ a blend. Very salty aftertaste. Comments: after Melissa, let’s support Jamaica as much as we can, and not only by knocking back their marvels as if there were no tomorrow.
SGP:473 - 91 points. |
We all know it, Hampden is the only rum that can follow Hampden in a lineup… |
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Hampden 2013/2025 ‘<>H’ (59%, The Roots x The Antelope, 205 bottles)
5 years tropical ageing, 6 years continental, so presumably the best of both worlds. Colour: gold. Nose: incredibly gentle and medicinal to start with, but as we know in these cases, it’s like the opening to La Traviata—it’s all about anticipation… Gorgeous seaweed, bandages, ointments, a surprising salted fudge, a refined touch of tar, a drop of wild strawberry eau-de-vie (I swear!), and the ever-present green olives. With water: what’s this now, aniseed and liquorice? Mouth (neat): forget it, this is just pure Hampden, with glorious salinity. With water: how utterly charming, some mildly sweet lemons appear to rebalance things and make it almost approachable. Almost. Finish: long, varnished, lemony, salty, tarry, rather medicinal, yet fresh. Comments: these Hampdens are becoming borderline problematic—they’re just so overwhelmingly dominant.
SGP:563 - 92 points. |
Hang on, there’s still a small spot available… |
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Hampden 'Great House Distillery Edition 2025' (57%, OB, Jamaica)
We have the honour and privilege of tasting this splendid edition each year. That said, it’s almost unthinkable that this youngster could climb above the incredible 2013 by The Roots, but we know it’s going to be very, very, very, very good… Unless… Colour: gold. Nose: what’s remarkable here is the absence of any extreme barrage (acetone and such), allowing the very ripe tropical fruits to shine through. Bananas and pineapples of course, sharp apples, guavas… But a few little shellfish pop in quickly. It’s utterly charming. With water: Hampden is like Mick Jagger’s voice, completely idiosyncratic no matter the situation or setting. Mouth (neat): nope, it’s loaded with carbon, tar, varnish, olive oil, samphire, and above all, seawater. With water: oh, it softens up a little, slightly oily, without the jaw-clenching character of some of the more extreme expressions, and quite astonishingly, there’s a touch of wild strawberry in here. Yes, I swear. Finish: long, with more brine. Comments: alternately heavyweight and welterweight, wild and civilised, biting and fruity. This baby might just be toying with us…
SGP:563 - 90 points. |
Stay strong, Jamaica! And to the other affected islands, stay strong too! |
Check the index of all rums we've tasted |
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November 1, 2025 |
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October 2025 |
Serge's favourite recent bottling this month:
Ex aequo:
Glenlivet 85 yo 1940/2025 'Artistry in Oak' (43.7%, Gordon & MacPhail, sherry butt, cask #336, 125 bottles) - WF 95
Port Ellen 42 yo 1983/2025 (56.4%, OB, 200th Anniversary, 150 bottles) - WF 95
Serge's favourite older bottling this month:
Glenfarclas-Glenlivet 15 yo (57 G.L., OB, All Malt Unblended, Pinerolo for Edward Giaccone, 75cl, early 1970s) - WF 93
Serge's favourite bang for your buck this month:
Talisker 10 yo (45.8%, OB, +/-2025) - WF 90
Serge's favourite malternative this month:
Cabeza Llena 1948/2025 (49.1%, La Maison & Velier, Cuba) - WF 94
Serge's thumbs up this month:
Ballindalloch 2016/2024 (60.8%, OB, for Germany, 1st fill bourbon barrel, cask #4, 265 bottles) - WF 90
Serge's Lemon Prize this month:
None (hurray!) |
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October 31, 2025 |
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WF's Little Duos,
today indie Deanston |
There’s always something going on over at Deanston, one of the distilleries that, in recent years, has benefitted most from the overblown trend of premiumisation and from the disappearance of certain brands from independent bottlers, brands which, perhaps, fancied themselves a bit too 'important' at some point. That’s just my personal take, of course, but I believe consumer goodwill is going to become increasingly important, and that modest, friendly brands will end up having the edge over distant and pretentious ones. But that’s just my two pence... |
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Deanston 11 yo 2014/2025 (49.7%, Lady of the Glen, Samhain Series, 1st fill PX quarter cask, cask #300223, 158 bottles)
A new series of bottlings revolving around tales, in this instance ‘The UFOs of the Falkirk Triangle’. We'll delve into that one later, but first things first, the whisky... Colour: amber. Nose: just a wee bit hot and spirity at first nosing, but massive waves of milk chocolate with raisins and praline fudge soon come rushing in to settle matters agreeably. Increasing amounts of salted butter caramel follow, alongside peanut butter and even millionaire's shortbread. Then roasted peanuts. And caramel-coated hazelnuts. You see where this is going, it's all charmingly nostalgic and sweet-shop-esque... Mouth: rather thick, with the PX and the cask both leading the charge, and I was about to say ‘naturally’, though this time it’s more molasses honey and corn syrup wrapping themselves round your palate, with just flickers of tobacco leaf and a dusting of nutmeg lingering behind. Crème catalane delivers the final persuasive touch – indeed, it’s truly good. And yes, nostalgic again. Finish: long, on vanilla chestnut purée, liquorice, and a wee hint of turmeric and black pepper in the aftertaste. Comments: a tad thick, rich, edging towards the sweet side, yet never quite cloying. Not exactly my preferred style, but I won’t deny it’s ex-cel-lent.
SGP:651 - 85 points. |
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Deanston 27 yo 1997/2025 (50.4%, Decadent Drinks, Decadent Drams, refill hogshead, 251 bottles)
Deanstons of this rather respectable age aren’t exactly thick on the ground. We’re quite fond of the label too, rumour has it it was designed on a Commodore 64 (just like Whiskyfun, come to think of it). Colour: white wine. Nose: it does feel a bit like a crafty elf had secretly blended Clynelish with Pulteney while everyone else was fast asleep. It’s true we’re more used to Deanstons that carry a heavier cask imprint, but this wee thing is very clean and waxy, on garden white and yellow fruits and fresh white bread with fennel seeds. With water: the fruits begin to overripen and even edge towards a touch of fermentation. And we’re all for it. Mouth (neat): this is really excellent, oily yet tense, with some beautifully subtle bitterness, waxiness once again, the skins of those same fruits (especially apples), and a few drops of eau-de-vie from tiny wild berries – service tree, rowan, holly and the like. A touch of salinity also emerges. With water: water makes it even oilier and fattier, also just a tad mechanical (engine grease comes to mind). The bitterness remains, with some curious meaty touches now creeping in. Finish: medium length, more bitter again, on roasted aubergines and baked artichokes. With a splash of olive oil. Comments: this time, and even if one tries not to let it count for too much, this is entirely my favourite style, I’m afraid.
SGP:462 - 90 points. |
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October 30, 2025 |
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Solera Session: another series full of blends
There are quite a few of these blends that might seem a bit unlikely, yet they’re often branded with great seriousness. Still, we find them rather endearing – and sometimes, they’re even excellent! Right then, let’s start with an old-fashioned aperitif… |
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Ye Auld Toun 12 yo (86 proof, OB, John Gillon & Co., Edward & Edward, Italy, 4/5 quart, 1970s)
A brand that once fell under the sway of Ainslie/Clynelish, which can hardly be unwelcome news, can it. Amusing contradiction between the American-style proof and centilitre conversion, and the clearly Italian destination, but were the ways of Eduardo ‘Baffo’ Giaccone ever meant to be straightforward... Colour: gold. Nose: if memory serves, Coleburn was the base malt in this one, and that would track, as we’re immediately greeted by those plump oily phenolics of a good Royal Edinburgh bottling, wrapped in a blanket of outrageously ripe banana and a drizzle of mead. Quite lovely in fact, with charming little plumes of ancient toolbox and crankcase oil wafting about. Mouth: impeccable, rich and generous, rolling across the tongue with a salinity and fatness that recall old apples, dusty peppercorns, grapeseed oil, vintage cognac, herbal cough syrup and salted butter caramel. In short, one might be tempted to whisper the phrase 'super-blend'. Finish: rather long, properly fat and almost chewy, smoky and saline to the point of flirting with a kind of Thai broth. Comments: now that’s a blend! There’s something White Horse-esque here, though a notch less smoky and noticeably rounder on the fat side. It even flirts with the Glen Brora blend at moments.
SGP:562 - 88 points. |
Alright, enough of the old stuff... |
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Dewar's 8 yo 'Portuguese Smooth' (40%, OB, blended scotch, +/-2025)
We do love Dewar’s, we cherish them, we’d almost consider marrying into the family, but really now, ‘Portuguese Smooth’? Right then, it’s a Port cask finish... Colour: gold. Nose: light, pleasant, rounded, with touches of damp earth and orange peel, and to be entirely fair, it doesn’t disgrace itself even after the rather splendid Ye Auld Toun. There’s a faint whisper of Campari (apologies) but no overt winey notes to speak of. Mouth: well, this is good. They’ve managed to preserve a certain tautness, mostly thanks to the oranges again, and while it does rather throw in the towel partway through, there’s precious little to grumble about. Finish: not short, slightly bitter. The return of the Italian bitters, brand names unnecessary. Comments: one imagines this would fare even better over ice.
SGP:461 - 78 points. |
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Woven 'Hemisphere' (51.4%, OB, world blend, +/-2024)
A blend involving New Zealand whisky smoked with manuka wood, along with a measure of Scottish malt. And why ever not? It rather sounds like a World Cup rugby fixture, doesn’t it. Colour: white wine. Nose: a lick of tarry smoke to start, followed by stewed fruits and an increasing sense of garden bonfire and even some hay burning quietly in the background. It’s charming. With water: fresh rubber – Nike, Puma, Adidas and the rest – followed by a very attractive note of proper farmhouse cider. Mouth (neat): the distillates come out swinging, rugged, herbal, rooty and earthy, bursting with youthful vigour. A touch of olive oil as well – did you know olive oil is going to save the world? With water: a rubbery smokiness returns, now with a sweeter edge of root vegetables, carrot purée springs to mind. Finish: long, quirky, unusual, with flickers of old vinyl and salsify. We did say it was unusual. Salty aftertaste, skirting smoked ham territory. Comments: well, we do like this oddball.
SGP:453 - 84 points. |
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Compass Box 'Brulée Royale' (49%, OB, blended Scotch, 2025)
Apparently this oddly named creature – particularly odd in French – contains Aberlour, Ardbeg, Clynelish and Speyburn. The real headline here, of course, is Speyburn, isn’t it Jon in Drumnadrochit? Colour: white wine. Nose: celery! Fennel! Sorrel! Turnip! What curious garden spell is this? Beneath all that, crème brûlée indeed, lemon drops, pear lozenges and coconut snowballs. It’s rather amusing. Mouth: everything comes together around the malt, could be mistaken for a slightly smoky Speysider, focused on sweetshop delights, jammy things, boiled sweets and a pint of something very hoppy. Finish: fairly long, leaning more into citrus now, quite robust and countryside-driven in the end. Plenty of youthful energy. A hint of sugar on the aftertaste. Comments: the youth shows, but a very fruity kind of youth, one happily conferred. A neat composition, as ever from Compass Box.
SGP:652 - 83 points. |
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Black Bull 18 yo (50%, OB, blended Scotch, +/-2025)
We quite like the new minimalist labels. Not sure whether the brand is still under the wing of Duncan Taylor – we’ll need to look into that. Colour: white wine. Nose: this BB isn’t far off the CB, fruity, cheerful, lightly smoky and faintly earthy, with notes of windfallen apples and raw carrot. Quite a lot of carrot, actually. With water: turnips and celery glazed with honey. High-brow cuisine, you know. Mouth (neat): remarkable, it’s almost the same whisky as that oddly named Compass Box, not quite sure what’s going on there. Perhaps the art of blending smooths out all the quirks and jagged edges? With water: we’re a bit adrift, but it’s undeniably good. Finish: medium length, middle-of-the-road profile, nothing out of place. A lovely earthy note and a touch of pear. Comments: this Black Bull probably won’t turn the whisky world on its head, but one must admit it’s a well-made blend.
SGP:442 - 81 points. |
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Johnnie Walker 'Blue Label Ice Chalet' (43%, OB, blended Scotch, 2024)
A very pricey blend (£300), crafted by the superstar master blender, the fantastic and charming Emma Walker, who surely holds one of the finest jobs in the world. The story goes that this blend is built around malts from high-altitude Scottish distilleries – and to think we didn’t even know there were high-altitude distilleries in Scotland. Dalwhinnie, perhaps? Colour: gold. Nose: funny how the mind works – I’d swear this smells ‘fresh’! Pretty notes of earth, stone, roots (gentian), dandelion and gentle honeys. Mouth: this is very well done indeed, saline, malty, lightly smoky, with a coastal dimension (altitude, you say?) and a good spread of fresh exotic fruits – wee pineapples, pink bananas, even a dash of passion fruit. Finish: not overly long but fresh, fruity and nicely balanced. Comments: a very, very well-composed blend from a blue bottle that looks slightly out of place on a traditionalist's shelf, but we’re not here to talk about design...
SGP:632 - 88 points. |
While we’re at Johnnie’s… |
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Johnnie Walker 'Blue Label Elusive Umami' (43%, OB, blended Scotch, 1l, 2023)
A blend crafted in collaboration with star chef Kei Kobayashi, in Paris, holder of three Michelin stars. Which doesn’t necessarily mean it all went sideways, nor that it’s all marketing fluff – let’s not be too cynical, please... Of course, the 43% vol. doesn’t exactly set the pulse racing, but one never knows. Colour: gold. Nose: not much umami to report so far, more along the lines of apple tart glazed with honey and sweet wine. In short, classic Johnnie Walker Blue Label, which remains a very good blend, to be fair. Perhaps the umami will show on the palate... Mouth: afraid the Ice Chalet is vastly superior here. A rougher, more rustic affair, rather uninspiring and not exactly inviting. No comprendo mucho. Finish: fairly long but frankly middling, and truth be told, one isn’t clamouring for it to linger. Comments: not quite to our taste, though we might still pop into Kei’s one day to see what the fuss is about. I wouldn’t trade a single half-bottle of Ice Chalet for a case of Elusive Umami, that’s for sure.
SGP:531 - 72 points. |
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MacPhail's 40 yo (46%, Gordon & MacPhail, single malt, +/-2025)
Not even under torture, nor under threat of a tête-à-tête with Donald Trump or Vladimir Putin, would anyone at G&M reveal what’s actually in MacPhail’s. Believe me, we’ve tried. Colour: deep gold. Nose: sublime raisins, honey, metal polish, old sweet wines, damp earth and ancient sherries. It’s simply splendid and – dare one say it – just a touch Macallan-esque. Merely an impression, fleeting and by no means conclusive. Mouth: bloody hell (oops), this is good! Perfect tension and freshness in spite of the age, overripe apples, plums and oranges, old passito or vin de paille, then just a shade too much old wood, manifesting as slightly oversteeped black tea. Finish: long, herbal, woody, that’s the wee Achilles’ heel right there. Strong mint and pepper. Not that it matters – it’s excellent. Comments: not that it matters indeed – it’s excellent indeed.
SGP:571 - 89 points. |
(Thank you mucho, Stéphane) |
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October 29, 2025 |
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Glenfarclas is back on WF, with all due fanfare
I believe it had been over two years since we last tasted an official Glenfarclas, for reasons far too long-winded to go into here. Perhaps we're just a little too sensitive? But you see, the delightful Debbie won us over, and here we are again! No, no, we won’t say another word, not even under torture, but let’s start with a little aperitif...
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Glenfarclas 8 yo (40%, OB, Pure Malt, Saccone & Speed London, 75cl, +/-1980)
One can see why the SWA eventually felt compelled to tidy up the nomenclature around vatted and pure malts, what with some 'blended' rather cheekily calling themselves 'pure', indeed. This handsome bottle was part of a tasting session put on by Whisky.Auction and led by the ever-knowledgeable Dr Nick Morgan. Colour: full gold. Nose: heavily on the toffee, a proper mix of sherry and paxarette, with maple syrup aplenty, then leaning towards earthy and metallic tones that may well betray a touch of good old OBE. Mouth: rich considering the modest strength, full of sultanas and toffee again, yet showing freshness from fruits such as fully ripe figs, and even dried ones. By the way, let us not forget that the fig is not truly some fruit, but rather a casing that holds thousands of tiny flowers. But let us not wander off... Finish: medium in length, mellower and richer still. Comments: the standard was high in those days, although do bear in mind a good OBE might have lent a helping hand here.
SGP:641 - 88 points. |
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Glenfarclas 2014/2025 'Easter Edition' (46%, OB, Germany, sherry casks, 3000 bottles)
Hurrah, we’ve managed to taste this Easter edition before Christmas for once. Colour: gold. Nose: this is a rather oily GF yet also livelier and fruitier on the nose, with a fairly moderate sherry influence, somewhat reminiscent of the older 15-year-old, if that rings any bells. It goes on with hints of gas and truffle that might be a touch less thrilling, but on the other hand the florals do appear as well, especially dandelion. And herbal teas... Mouth: a slightly sulphury side to start, then tarte tatin and orange liqueur, tobacco, a touch of caramel... Finish: fairly long, still lightly sulphured. Comments: there are some wonderful facets here, but also these faintly rustic notes that call to mind brake pads and an old, poorly ventilated underground car park. Pretty likeable, though a little tricky to pin down...
SGP:551 - 81 points. |
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Glenlitigious 12 yo 2012/2025 (50%, Decadent Drinks, Decadent Drams, 2nd fill sherry hogshead, 218 bottles)
The label is quite hilarious! The 12-year-old from 2024 had been excellent (WF 88). Colour: pale gold. Nose: beautiful malt with a sherry presence that’s discreet yet clearly there, sitting in perfect balance between Mars bars, walnut liqueur and chestnut honey. One might call it the epitome of a traditional young own-family Speysider, though perhaps without venturing far enough to invite legal correspondence. With water: triple sec and tobacco appear, both in gentle moderation. Mouth (neat): orange chocolate and English breakfast tea. Very good indeed. With water: still lovely, this time with a touch of sweet chestnut purée and vanilla. Finish: fairly long, superbly balanced and highly convincing on the maltiness front. Comments: why aren’t all official 12-year-old Speyside malts this good? I see no reason not to award it the same score as last year.
SGP:551 - 88 points. |
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Glenfarclas 11 yo 2011/2023 (56.5%, North Star Spirits, oloroso sherry butt, 402 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: all in on fudge, salted butter caramel, marshmallow and cappuccino, if not a certain Frappuccino ™ from you-know-where. A drop of coffee liqueur à la Kahlua ™ or Tia Maria ™. With water: a faint smoky touch (exhaust fumes) that suits us perfectly, this might well be a malt for petrolheads. A light gingery note as well. Mouth (neat): this is really good, still very much on coffee and its many permutations, then orange zest and countless roasted hazelnuts, almonds and peanuts. Feels very close to an official bottling, if you ask me. With water: it turns a tad more herbaceous and spicier, which is hardly unusual in official expressions either. Finish: long, more on bitterness now, but in a most pleasing way. Comments: very good, I find this one closer to official standards than the official we started this wee session with.
SGP:651 - 86 points. |
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Glenfarclas 12 yo '105' (60%, OB, Germany exclusive, sherry, 4,200 bottles, 2025)
Our German neighbours have always had a soft spot for Glenfarclas, and as far back as I can recall, there have always been plenty of limited editions just for that fine country. Sadly, we don’t have a recent ‘standard’ version of the 105 to hand—we would have liked to compare. Colour: amber. Nose: honestly, take the ‘North Star’, dial it up a few notches, and there you are. Archetypal stuff. With water: same again. Mouth (neat): really very good, classically styled, with just a faint note of geranium and violet slipping in here. With water: still excellent, malty, chocolatey and full of toasted walnuts and hazelnuts. Finish: long, a bit more on cinnamon, ginger and, above all, nutmeg. Orange blossom and liquorice in the aftertaste. Still excellent. Comments: pure Glenfarclas.
SGP:651 - 86 points. |
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Glenfarclas 20 yo 2004/2024 (56%, OB for Tiffany's New York Bar Hong Kong and OBE Whisky, refill sherry hogshead, cask #2032, 108 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: another textbook Glenfarclas, though this one leans a little more towards varnishes and wax polishes, which we naturally adore. The rest splits itself between walnuts, roasted peanuts, chestnut honey, prunes and milk chocolate. Very hard to fault at this stage. Mind you, that’s hardly the goal. With water: still ultra-classic, though now it takes on more earthy tones, cigars, and even a few touches of juniper and cumin sneaking in. You may as well add a few drops of the fine spirits those talented folk up north in Europe are producing using those ingredients. Mouth (neat): rather oily, opening on orange zest and ginger slices dipped in chocolate, the sort of treats you’d enjoy with a good coffee. Just like this GF, without doubt. It then heads straight for absolutely pure dark chocolate, with just a peppery trace or two. With water: it’s the floral notes that lift the whole affair to new heights, truly lovely. An irresistible peony note emerges here, it gains several points at this stage, not that such things matter, of course. Finish: long, fresh, and surprisingly more complex. And here come the oranges! A beautiful finale, Springsteen-style (what?). Comments: a proper cinematic experience; I'm sure if we gave it another quarter of an hour, it’d reach 90.
SGP:561 - 89 points. |
We were planning to stop there for our rekindling with Glenfarclas, but since it's going so well, we might as well throw a few more into the mix, alright? |
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Glenfarclas 'Passion' (46%, OB, sherry casks, 6,000 bottles, 2014)
An older edition, but you see, it’s always a pleasure to spot George Grant on a label... Colour: gold. Nose: light sherry, jelly babies, dandelion and mullein syrup, fresh malt, sugarcane syrup. Seems like a rather playful version, definitely a departure from the usual paths. Mouth: really good, not overly complex, malty, unfolding on baked apple drizzled with honey and cinnamon, then chicory coffee and a few fresh mint leaves. Finish: pleasant, not very long, on twigs and fruit peelings. Comments: to be honest this wasn’t the most majestic of all the GFs, but as the saying goes, it did the job.
SGP:541 - 82 points. |
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Glenfarclas 2012/2024 'Vintage' (46%, OB, Trinity Vintage Series, sherry)
From oloroso casks sourced from the bodega José y Miguel Martín in the heart of Jerez. Colour: gold. Nose: a classic sherry profile, though leaning a touch more towards soy sauce, umami, Bovril and that whole family of things, though in moderation, we wouldn’t quite call it ‘savoury’. The rest is on chocolate, caramel and malt. Mouth: very close to the ‘Passion’, though with more pronounced sherry influence. Oranges, walnuts, raisins, candied cherry, vanilla and dried pear... Not a thing to complain about, this is really very good. Finish: fairly long, a little more on honey. Fir honey, cinnamon, clove. Comments: really very good, in a classic style that’s not fallen out of fashion. Well, not here at WF at any rate.
SGP:551 - 83 points. |
Let’s head back, then, to the Far Eastern independents… |
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Speyside 21 yo (55.3%, Oxhead Whisky, oloroso sherry hogshead, cask #4593, 195 bottles, 2024)
Nothing here suggests this couldn’t be Glenfarclas. Colour: gold. Nose: back to a classic profile, with millionaire’s shortbread, maple syrup, baked apple and roasted chestnuts. In short, very much in season. With water: dark ales, farmhouse cider, black bread. Mouth (neat): on the palate the spices speak first—green walnut, ginger, pepper... All in all, quite herbal and spicy, a little astringent, and no doubt in need of a splash of water to open up. With water: it does round off, bringing herbal liqueurs and lemon zest into play. The spices remain firmly in charge though. Finish: long and a touch drying. Comments: overall very good, just perhaps a tad austere and herbal for a Glenfarclas of this fine age.
SGP:461 - 84 points. |
How about inviting an older edition? Even if it risks blowing this little reconciliation session to pieces? Hey, this is WF, is it not? |
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Glenfarclas-Glenlivet 15 yo (57 G.L., OB, All Malt Unblended, Pinerolo for Edward Giaccone, 75cl, early 1970s)
Eduardo ‘Baffo’ Giaccone, of course... The good man did, after all, select some of the most fabulous versions of our favourite malts, from Clynelish to... Glenfarclas. Colour: gold. Nose: Houston!... Mandarins, basalt, beeswax, first rainwater, late-season wild mushrooms, honeysuckle and old Meursault. Must we really add anything more? With water: utterly sublime, evoking all the great white wines from the finest vintages of the last century. Nothing further to say. Mouth (neat): absolute beauty, minty firmness, sultanas de la muerte and venerable Italian and French liqueurs. We shan’t list them all, shall we? With water: tiny animal touches emerge, mutton fat, hams, salamis, suet, dried meats, marrow quenelles, and assorted Japanese and Chinese ‘things’. Forgive this ultra-condensed version of our impressions, but we’ve decided to moderate our use of maltoporn. Temporarily... Finish: rather long and sublimely saline, full of all the greatest broths of creation. Comments: that’ll do nicely; this bottle is near impossible to find anyway.
SGP:562 - 93 points. |
Hold on, before we wrap up, we’ve got a last-minute surprise guest: a little neighbour who really impressed us at Whisky Live Hamburg. It might not be the time or place to taste it, but there you go, we reckon it won’t waver in the slightest, even after that magnificent old gem from Glenfarclas… |
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Ballindalloch 2016/2024 (60.8%, OB, for Germany, 1st fill bourbon barrel, cask #4, 265 bottles)
It’s starting to get a bit embarrassing, one gets the feeling our dear German friends are snapping up everything good coming out of the townlet of Ballindalloch. We might have to start keeping an eye on Cragganmore while we’re at it. Just kidding, of course... Colour: Nose: white wine. Nose: candied mandarins and pistachio oil, plus still-warm buttery croissants straight from the oven, all beneath a faultlessly clean line, accurate down to the micron. With water: a medley of rustic breads of every imaginable sort, no exceptions, with traces of vanilla pod and a faint hint of geranium potting soil—much loved in Alsace. Mouth (neat): barley, orange, lemon, wax, coriander seeds. Why overcomplicate things... With water: breads and dried fruits, mainly citrus, arranged by some divine entity. Finish: long, slightly more peppery, but wonderful all the same. Comments: a bit of a ‘Daftmill but a little further north’ vibe, if you see what I mean. You feel the original ingredients resonating through and through.
SGP:651 - 90 points. |
We’d already tasted Ballindalloch before, but we probably hadn’t quite summoned the energy to really get to the heart of it. Admittedly, there are literally thousands of new malt distilleries around the world these days, but this one feels like serious stuff. Right then, see you soon... As for Glenfarclas, we’ll be back next year, cross our hearts. In any case, thank goodness for Debbie. Isn't whisky mainly, or perhaps only about people? |
PS: note that a few independent bottlers have occasionally used the name 'Ballindalloch' for some more or less secret Glenfarclas bottlings, but this has nothing to do with the recent Ballindalloch distillery, from which we've just tasted a superb example. |
(Merci to Thierry and The golden Promise) |
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