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December 5, 2025 |
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WF's Little Duos, today classic Glen Moray OB vs wild IB |
Generally, it's the other way round, the official bottlings tend to be much more ‘creative’ when it comes to wine and wood finishes. But I must admit, lately some independent bottlers (not all) seem keen to catch up by using casks that don’t always make a lot of sense. |
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Glen Moray 15 yo (40%, OB, Bourbon & Sherry cask, +/-2025) 
We had tried an earlier version, with a different livery, some eight years ago, it wasn’t bad at all (WF 81). We had found it very honest for the price… Colour: gold. Nose: fresh, cheerful, malty, marked by orange zest, honey and a lovely little duet of aniseed and mint. I find it very expressive for a Glen Moray. Mouth: well, this is very good, rather indulgent, I believe it’s a clear improvement, there’s quite a lot going on and even the 40% vol. aren’t too frustrating. We find the honey and oranges again, biscuits, blueberry muffins, orange cake with grated zest, then a few caramelised nuts, perhaps from the sherry. Finish: long, still joyful and fresh, here are the honey, the oranges and the faintest hint of tobacco. Malty aftertaste. Comments: very good, and the prices remain extremely reasonable.
SGP:641 - 84 points. |
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Glen Moray 18 yo 2007/2025 (57.2%, Berry Bros. & Rudd, Odyssey, Muscat finish, 186 bottles) 
After the official tequila-finished version, which wasn’t bad at all a month ago, here comes the muscat, king of the ultra-aromatic grape varieties and sometimes a little… well, you know, insistent… There’s a ruder word for that sort of thing but let’s refrain. And of course there are excellent muscats as well. Colour: rosé gold. Nose: not that far off, but it does veer more clearly, with rose petals and a very prominent blood orange, raspberry liqueur that seems to appear from nowhere, then cloves and cumin elbowing their way in. In any case, it’s fun. With water: things settle down a bit, one finds little honey and walnut cakes. Mouth (neat): very sweet, almost liqueur-like. Still rose, fig, cranberry, raspberry and raisins. Corinthian or otherwise. With water: not much change, though apricot liqueur does make an appearance. Finish: fairly long, jammy, still rather liqueur-like. Comments: given the choice, we would have liked to know which kind of muscat this was, there are many varieties and even more regions producing it. Overall, I find this really good, though I still preferred the charming official, which was less extravagant.
SGP:741 - 82 points. |
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December 4, 2025 |
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The World Sessions,
today a new short selection of whiskies from the rest of the world... |
… As the Scots used to say. We’ll start in France as usual, then head to Finland, China, Slovenia, England, Norway, Denmark and India. Does that suit you?
By the way, one of these whiskies—whichever it may be—will be the twenty-two-thousandth I’ve tasted since the launch of this rather unlikely little website… Yet it’s proven resilient, which surprises even me. Cheers, thanks for you support and constant kind words. Oh and once again, my apologies for the yellow background ;-). |
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Tchankat ‘Fumé’ (43%, OB, France, +/-2025) 
Whisky from Gascony with a majority of maize (80%) alongside rye (10%) and barley (10%), produced by the renowned Armagnac house Samalens. The peat smoke is introduced into the whisky via a micro-bubbling process applied during maturation, which is rather intriguing. The casks are recharred ex-Gruaud Larose. The unpeated Tchankats we've already tasted were truly good (WF 82-83) Colour: apricot. Nose: not particularly peaty, we’re rather greeted by fallen vineyard peaches, a touch of Earl Grey, a few drops of cough syrup and hints of sour cherry. Quite pretty, in fact. Mouth: the smoke is more apparent now, though we’re leaning more towards firwood smoke than traditional peat. There’s a certain astringency, a bit of bell pepper mingling with cherries (the Bordeaux influence?) and a faint note of tomato leaf with a whisper of sea salt. Finish: rather long, drier, even more on tomato leaf with a smattering of ashes. Comments: it’s fun and even good, but I believe I preferred the classic Tchankats.
SGP:463 - 79 points. |
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Kyrö ‘Sauna Stories N°2’ (51%, OB, Finland, 2025) 
This is malted rye, matured in bourbon and finished in apricot brandy casks ‘in the embrace of a sauna’. Or so I’ve understood. Needless to say, we’re already smiling… Colour: deep gold. Nose: Nordic crackers, oatcakes, rye bread, peanut butter, faint touches of fromage blanc. In short, this baby seems perfect for breakfast, the apricot remains discreet for the time being though I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s been overshadowed by the rye, as their aromas can indeed be rather similar (yes, really). With water: drier, more herbal and more vanilled. Hints of bitter almonds. Mouth (neat): much more marked by the brandy this time, very spicy, very peppery, very bready. That suits us well. With water: this is where it really shines, on gingerbread, rye bread, and indeed apricot, in the style of Jean-Marc Roulot’s excellent liqueur from Burgundy. Finish: long, very well balanced despite a slightly whacky streak. A miracle? Comments: I presume the apricots had been pitted, as their stones are laden with prussic acid. We didn’t detect any sauna notes, ha, but we loved the whole package.
SGP:562 - 87 points. |
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Kwun Cheung 5 yo ‘Peated’ (56.8%, OB, China, single malt, 2025)
A malt from Guangzhou Shunchangyuan Wine & Spirit Ltd. in Canton, matured in Changbai Mountains Mongolian oak. We’ve heard a lot of good things about this new Chinese malt, but it’s a first for us. Colour: deep gold. Nose: it’s very ‘craft’ and wouldn’t look out of place among the best from Europe or the American West, it’s rich yet taut, on blood oranges, zest, gingerbread, pumpernickel and resinous smoke, plus quite a bit of cracked pepper. Feels like water might open it up further. With water: the mizunara comes out more (spruce, balsa, eucalyptus) along with notes of nougat with orange zest and a slight fermentary touch. It likes water. Mouth (neat): powerful, slightly resinous, peppery, marked by bitter oranges. Feels even more like it needs water. With water: now it plays in the same league as the excellent Kyrö, despite a touch of drying oak, nicely counterbalanced by zest and mint. Great cask work. Finish: long, sharper, peppery, but with a return of Seville orange towards the end. Ash and smoke rule the aftertaste. Comments: this really is very ‘craft’ and very good. Our Chinese friends consume 97% baijiu among their spirits but this sort of malt, quite compatible with Chinese Pride, could shift things a little. Bravo!
SGP:463 - 87 points. |
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Broken Bones ‘Twis’ (46%, OB, Slovenia, 2025)
We’ve already tasted a fair few Broken Bones (well, five) and we rather liked them. Colour: pale gold. Nose: mildly spicy oak, then vanilla, Golden Grahams, underripe banana, apples and oatcakes. At any rate, we’re close to nature here. Mouth: more distinctive on the palate, on candied citrus, lemon, caramelised pear and slightly peppered honey. Finish: long, a little more peppery and a little more honeyed at the same time. A faintly woody aftertaste (spruce). Comments: lovely. They also make superb honey in Slovenia with their famous Carniolan honeybees.
SGP:551 - 84 points. |
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London Distillery Company ‘Renascence’ (58%, OB, England, refill barrels and 1st fill sherry, 410 bottles, 2025)
Made from Plumage Archer barley and brewer’s yeast. Colour: straw. Nose: very well mannered, like all Londoners (isn’t it?) and full of nougat and custard, with just a few touches of yellow plums and toasted hazelnuts. With water: more or less the same profile, with just a few puffs of fresh tea (silver needle). Mouth (neat): very good, on citrus zest, white pepper and very fresh country bread. Lovely liveliness despite a creamy texture. With water: as on the nose, water doesn’t change much, though the oak comes through a little more, with more white pepper. But we still find it excellent. Finish: medium length, on fresh bread, fresh oak, white pepper and fresh plums. Zest in the aftertaste. Comments: nothing to complain about, it’s very well made, quite fresh while still nicely textured. One could easily have a few glasses without blinking…
SGP:551 - 85 points. |
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Thy 4 yo 2020/2024 ‘Limited Edition’ (51%, OB, Denmark, oloroso, casks #470-471, 213 bottles)
Odyssey barley smoked over beechwood. Oh, and it’s organic. I think we’re organic too. Colour: full gold. Nose: bingo. Fresh rubber, eucalyptus, new wellingtons, and a stroll through a tweed shop in Scotland. All of that suits us just fine. With water: fern and brand-new trainers. Mouth (neat): very good, this is exactly what one expects from a young distillery trying to stand out. Burnt spruce, rubber, almond milk, charcoal and green pepper. On paper it sounds odd, but in the glass it works a treat. With water: yes, spot on, very nicely rubbery and resinous. I know it may sound deviant, but it really isn’t. Finish: long, on the same profile, with even a touch of salt in the aftertaste. Comments: we didn’t quite catch the beechwood, but that’s probably on us. In any case, this is excellent, despite the marked oakiness.
SGP:363 - 86 points. |
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Myken 10 yo ‘First 10 Years’ (47%, OB, Norway, 1st fill bourbon, 565 bottles, 2025)
A bottle that perhaps looks a little, ahem, HP… We’re talking about the design, of course, and we don’t really care about the design, do we. Colour: white wine. Nose: delicate, precise, close to barley, beer, yeast and lemon zest. It’s very restrained, austere, and ultimately just right. Mouth: amusingly, it opens on notes of lemony anise, or anisey lemon, and remains narrow, controlled, close to the raw materials, with no embellishment save for a little cask pepper. All in all, it’s almost abstract, which is precisely where its charm lies. Finish: precise, slightly more candied. Candied lemon, ginseng, fresh turmeric. Comments: there’s a faintly intellectual side here, let’s be honest. Are the Myken folk a bit bookish? In any case, this is excellent. Happy 10 years, Myken!
SGP:461 - 86 points. |
Right then, we'll finish with something completely different, straight from the stock... |
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Amrut ‘Lightly Peated’ (60%, OB, India, for LMDW Singapore, 15th Anniversary, ex-bourbon, +/-2022)
Colour: full gold. Nose: like almost all Amruts, the nose is wonderfully attractive, even seductive, marked by mango, with peat that is, indeed, very ‘light’, and wee whiffs of hot tar presumably coming from that gentle peat. With water: freshly watered potting soil and mint tea. Mouth (neat): let’s just say it, orange, camphor and rubber all at once sounds wildly off-key, yet it’s absolutely beautiful. With water: this is almost a little hilarious, now showing that hospital-side character, with bandages, ointments, massage balms… and mangoes served to the patients. Finish: long, amusing, herbal and tropical, rubbery and tarry. Comments: in short, it’s a bit unlikely, but it’s stimulating. In any case, we’re big Amrutophiles, peat or no peat, light or not.
SGP:564 - 86 points. |
Hold on tight, we’re going to have hundreds of world whiskies in the coming weeks. I’m not exaggerating. |
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December 3, 2025 |
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WF's Little Duos,
today Daftmill
Everyone who’s tried Daftmill loves them, simple as that. So, you’re going to tell me it was high time we tasted the summer 2025 edition… |
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Daftmill 2012/2025 ‘Summer Batch Release’ (46%, OB, first fill bourbon, 5,250 bottles) 
Colour: straw. Nose: the texture feels oily even on the nose, then it dives straight into the citrus—mainly mandarins and pink grapefruit. Not a whole lot else going on, but unless you belong to the 0.001% of mankind who dislike citrus, you’ll find this just about perfect. After a minute or two, tiny hints of fennel seeds and caraway sneak in, adding even more zestiness to this impeccably clean-line malt. Mouth: ultra-coherent, spot-on at 46%, rather incisive while textured, leaning more towards lemon and grapefruit than mandarins. A touch of honeyed vanilla rounds it off a little, no doubt the influence of the first fill bourbon, but it remains fresh and lifted, and rather less bready/yeasty than some previous editions. Finish: good length, still all on citrus, wee oranges (and the big ones too), with just a flicker of coriander appearing in the aftertaste. Comments: really very good, but that was to be expected.
SGP:661 - 88 points. |
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Daftmill 2011/2025 (58.9%, OB, LMDW Itinéraires, oloroso sherry cask, cask #101/2011, 300 bottles)
It’s always a fine sign for a young label or a relatively recent distillery when La Maison Du Whisky adds it to their annual catalogue. You’ll tell me they’d already done so back in 2020, so we’re late to the party once again. Colour: deep gold. Nose: indeed, the sherry somewhat mutes the ultra-citrusy profile of the previous one, but in exchange we’re treated to splendid notes of peanut butter, before the oranges begin to mingle in. I’ll add that we’re very fond of peanut butter. With water: orange blossom and wee cumin notes rise to the surface. Mouth (neat): there’s a bit of a gin-like or rye-ish kick at this high strength, which is rather amusing and surprising, but I’m sure a few drops of water will sort that right out. With water: indeed, and pink pepper joins the blood orange parade. You could say this was a very well-mannered oloroso, almost distinguished. Finish: long, a tad more peppery still, with less fruity exuberance. Comments: there seems to have been a bit of an internal tussle between distillate and cask, but a lasting peace appears to have been signed in the end. We should be sending bottles to the world’s dictators (provided there’s enough left for our own personal enjoyment).
SGP:561 - 88 points. |
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November 2025 |
Serge's favourite recent bottling this month:
Ardbeg 25 yo 2000/2025 ‘Something in the Water’ (55.4%, Artist #15 by La Maison du Whisky, oloroso sherry butt, cask #1100000016, 224 bottles) - WF 93
Serge's favourite older bottling this month:
Ardbeg 15 yo (46%, Cadenhead, dumpy, 75cl, +/-1980) - WF 95
Serge's favourite bang for your buck this month:
Clynelish 9 yo 2015/2025 (53.5%, Adelphi, first fill bourbon barrel, cask #51261, 215 bottles) - WF 91
Serge's favourite malternative this month:
François Voyer ‘La Gardienne Lot 19.14’ (44.9%, Malternative Belgium, Grande Champagne, 2025) - WF 93
Serge's thumbs up this month:
Candlekitty 15 yo 2010/2025 (55%, Decadent Drams, Decadent Drinks, refill barrel, 254 bottles) - WF 91
Serge's Lemon Prize this month:
Vasco Rum ‘Gold’ (40%, OB, ‘premium blended rum’, Seychelles, +/-2025) - WF 25 |
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December 2, 2025 |
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The World Sessions,
today Whiskies from France to the Southern Hemisphere |
As usual, we’re kicking off this little journey around the world (or almost) from France.
(La Buse's flag, 18th Century) |
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Bows 2021/2025 (45.5%, Version Française by La Maison du Whisky, French oak cask, cask #B106, 206 bottles)
A distillery based in the Aude region offering here a blend of 80% maize and 20% malted barley. Even though there’s no rye whatsoever, we ought to be edging rather close to a bourbon… Colour: dark amber. Nose: heavily varnished and nicely acetic to start with, showing firm notes of balsamic vinegar, then roasted peanuts, dark nougat and wee touches of baked aubergine. Everything holds together marvellously on the nose. Basaltic impressions. Mouth: a little fruitier, a little more resinous too, yet that roasted peanut comes further to the fore, backed up by liquorice, more of that balsamic tang and even a slightly acidic espresso note. Finish: fairly long, considerably drier, quite peppery, leaning much more towards coffee, extra-dark chocolate and green walnut liqueur. The aftertaste is delightfully bitter. Comments: forgive me, but we’re rather closer to one of those new American ‘craft’ malts than to any classic bourbon. The whole thing works like a musical score, especially if, like me, you’re fond of bitterness.
SGP:461 - 87 points. |
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Northmaen ‘Cuvée 1110’ (48%, OB, France, batch 1/2021, 1,000 bottles)
A vatting put together by our friend Grégoire ‘Greg’ Sarafian. Northmaen is a small brewery in Normandy. This single malt was matured in both oak and acacia. Colour: gold. Nose: unusual but rather lovely, perhaps it’s the acacia wood speaking, faintly reminiscent of certain Westland bottlings from much further west. Wee hints of Marmite, fir needles, a mint-and-eucalyptus combo, spruce, preserved lemon and, increasingly, semillon and citron. Very attractive nose—if the palate’s up to par, we might be dealing with a wee prize-winner here. Mouth: starts off most charmingly, slightly medicinal (toothpaste) but with pink pepper, citrus fruits, then once again that mintiness mixed with white wine and a splash of fir bud liqueur. One might have wished for just a few more volts. Finish: fairly long, consistent, slightly more marked by the wood—likely the acacia—but everything remains crisp and fresh. Comments: it stood its ground brilliantly after the excellent Bows, offering a fresher, brighter profile. Vive la France! (come on, S.)
SGP:551 - 87 points. |
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La Roja ‘Silencio N°1’ (56.4%, OB, Switzerland, +/-2025)
A roughly 3-year-old Swiss single malt drawn from a single cask and a single field. The distillery is located in the canton of Vaud. Colour: white wine. Nose: this is very close to the barley, to the field, to the earth, with chalky soil and touches of limestone, then green apple gradually shifting towards lemon. No need to tell you we’re fond of this sort of very natural development. What’s more, it’s an organic whisky. With water: plenty of damp soil, which we’re always partial to. This baby brings to mind some of those Nordic malts. Mouth (neat): very good, with apple and pepper forming a rather unexpected and punchy duo. Subtle honeyed notes. With water: excellent again, along similar lines but now also showing sweet roots. Finish: nicely long, with a slightly oilier texture. Barley syrup and hints of fresh turmeric. Comments: very good indeed, though one does wonder why they called it ‘Silencio’, as it seems anything but silent to us.
SGP:551 - 85 points. |
Come on—let’s switch hemispheres… |
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Old Sey Wisky 10 yo ‘The Family Reserve’ (43%, OB, La Buse, Seychelles, +/-2025) 
The sort of whisky – though they write wisky on the label, which is intriguing, let’s admit it, perhaps it’s Creole? – that one enjoys discovering and tasting, a bit like those legendary curiosities such as Ankara in Turkey, Old Havana in Cuba, or countless others from across the globe. In any case, I rather doubt the government of the Seychelles has formally regulated a ‘Whisky of the Seychelles’ category, so one might expect anything, including grain alcohol sourced from places like India, along with the addition of more local spirits, rum included. Still, the label does state clearly ‘Distilled, blended and bottled in Seychelles’. Come on then, let’s be brave, it’s for our noble cause… Incidentally, this Old Sey is offered by a firm called La Buse, and La Buse, aka Olivier Levasseur, was a very famous French pirate in the Indian Ocean during the 18th century. That might explain quite a few things… Let’s have a go? Colour: gold. Nose: this is far from your usual whisky, more like a kind of pine or resinous liqueur, with a dash of aniseed and some very prominent cinnamon. If that is indeed cinnamon, all the better – there are plenty of cinnamon trees in the Seychelles. Mouth: very sweet and even more marked by the cinnamon, with touches of Underberg or other very herbal… and sugary… drinks. Finish: medium in length, slightly more earthy, which again pulls it even closer to cinnamon. Comments: a sort of liquid cinnamon drop, not entirely unpleasant in itself, but it has absolutely nothing to do with whisky. Perhaps in Seychellois Creole, ‘wisky’ simply doesn’t mean ‘whisky’.
SGP:660 - 50 points. |
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Thomson ‘Manuka Wood Smoke’ (46%, OB, New Zealand, +/-2025)
It’s true we’re far more accustomed to manuka honey than to malt whisky smoked with manuka wood. Generally speaking, it leans rather towards eucalyptus, but let’s see what gives, shall we… Colour: gold. Nose: fairly odd, briny gherkin juice and burnt rubber, a bit like a gang of Hell’s Angels doing burnouts on their old shovelheads. The strange thing is—it’s not unpleasant in the slightest. Lovely notes of pickled samphire, tiny onions and lemons. Mouth: really quite strange, salty, again with heavy burnt rubber, green pepper, fir ash and something akin to certain types of shochu. Still, we rather enjoy all this quirky business. Finish: same story. That ‘burnt tyre impression’ lingers right through to the end of the aftertaste. Pencil shavings too. Comments: bags of fun, even if it’s about as far from whisky orthodoxy as you can get.
SGP:373 - 84 points. |
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The Gospel Straight Rye Whisky (45%, OB, Australia, +/-2024)
We’re in Melbourne, Australia this time, and this is 100% rye. Colour: amber. Nose: this is a soft and well-mannered rye, as all Australians tend to be, don’t they. Lovely notes of lightly buttered rye bread with one’s pinkie raised (why not), then speculoos, pumpernickel, pinecones and a touch of geranium. It’s not complicated, but it’s very precise and utterly charming—provided you like rye, of course. I do. Mouth: fruitier now, on ripe strawberries with black pepper, orange zest, gingerbread and faint hints of lavender pastilles. Still just as charming, with the oak feeling less prominent than in most US or even EU ryes, or so it seems. Finish: medium length, more on herbal sweets—somewhere between Fisherman’s Friend and Ricola. Comments: to be honest, I like this a lot. It’s fresh and rather singular.
SGP:561 - 85 points. |
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Sullivan’s Cove 25 yo 1999/2025 (47.8%, OB, Australia, American Oak second fill, cask #HH0010)
A celebratory bottling straight from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. We’d tasted some excellent 2000-vintage Sullivan’s Coves back in the day (WF 85–87), but that was over a decade ago. I don’t believe I’ve ever tried a 1999 before, mind you. Colour: gold. Nose: highly unusual, starting on Alba white truffle (€4K a kilo!), game birds and exhaust fumes, then the citrus begins to shine through and everything settles beautifully, shifting towards pink grapefruit and fresh mango, with just a few whiffs of camphor and a trace of mild curry. It’s not often you get a nose evolving this much in, what, thirty seconds flat? Mouth: citrus and spice locked in a near-endless brawl before collapsing into each other’s arms. Cinnamon, nutmeg, grapefruit, oregano, kumquats, grey pepper, paprika, Seville oranges… Finish: and it just keeps going… A hint of ashes, raw cocoa and stout in the aftertaste. Comments: I love it. This little gem also reminds us how much time truly remains an essential ingredient in great whisky. Cheers Sullivan’s Cove! And long live the truffle…
SGP:562 - 89 points. |
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Sullivan’s Cove 25 yo 1999/2025 (47.6%, OB, Australia, American Oak ex-bourbon, cask #HH0056)
We were expecting a touch more impact from the American oak… Colour: pale gold. Nose: well then, once again we stand corrected. Yes, it’s a little rounder, a little more honeyed, more polished, but also fruitier, on mangoes, mirabelles, quinces, and nicely overripe bananas… The truffle and exhaust fumes have all but vanished (just to be clear, we’re terribly fond of exhaust fumes in our whisky). In truth, this baby’s far more classical, and without doubt considerably less of a ‘bad boy’ than its sibling. Mouth: indeed, more classic, still spicy but also showing a comforting fruitiness, full of zest, tropical fruits and tiny salted preserved lemons, very much in the Italian style. Pepper and rather pronounced notes of hops round off the composition. Finish: long, with an unexpected return of the faintly ‘foxy’ notes we found in the previous one. That’s the truffle for you… Comments: I do have a slight preference for the second fill, as it’s a tad more ‘deviant’, in the best possible sense, but not enough to score them differently. Truly great whiskies from Downunda, as our dear old mate Craig D. might say. Cheers, Craig!
SGP:662 - 89 points. |
We’ll wrap up this rather exciting little session with another distillery from Downunda that we’re absolutely in love with… |
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Hellyers Road 10 yo 2014/2025 ‘The Narrow Road’ (58.1%, La Maison du Whisky Ex-Libris, Itinéraires, Australia, oloroso sherry cask, cask #14129.09, 141 bottles)
A tribute to Australian writer Richard Flanagan and his The Narrow Road to the Deep North, which, according to some AI, ‘follows an Australian surgeon captured during WWII and forced to work on the Thai–Burma Death Railway, exploring guilt, lost love, and the lasting moral scars of war’. (Editor’s note: let us never forget the immense role played by spirits in wartime medicine, right up to the present day, faced with the new barbarians around us.) Colour: rich gold. Nose: yes and no. Yes, because of that superb bready spiciness, and no, because the zesty, vibrant side of Hellyers Road’s otherwise flabbergasting distillate seems a little ‘buried’ beneath the sherry blanket. With water: brilliant, though perhaps a shade less stunning than those bourbon cask versions that blow your hat off. Mouth (neat): stunning blood oranges paired with interstellar ginger and peppery cherries of the superlative kind. It’s just so ‘immediate’. With water: exceedingly difficult to pin down. It’s magical, though that inexplicably ‘cherried’ side of the sherry (no joke) slightly muddies the waters for this distillate we’re so fond of. I know, I’m labouring the point. Finish: magnificent. Comments: I truly don’t know what to make of this über-fruity youngster. Still, love Hellyers Road regardless—more of those coming very soon on WF.
SGP:751 - 87 points. |
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December 1, 2025 |
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Last holiday sessions in the bilge:
A solo Aberfeldy
Why? Because over the past few years, we’ve tasted quite a few Aberfeldies finished in rather improbable wine casks, and we didn’t want 2025 to end without enjoying one in a more ‘natural’ state. Purely out of altruism, you see… |
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Aberfeldy 21 yo (40%, OB, +/-2024)
It seems this 21yo, previously ex-sherry and ex-bourbon, may no longer be in production, though I’m not entirely sure. Mind you, this handsome bottle proudly sports a massive ‘Double Gold’ medal from the San Francisco Spirits Competition—but no worries, that sort of thing can happen to anyone. Right. Colour: light gold. Nose: of course, 40% is a bit of a handicap, but on the nose it’s very elegant, with very ripe yellow fruits, or jam thereof, leading the charge. A few notes of mead and sweet Loire white wine appear, alongside flower nectar and touches of hibiscus and geranium. All in all, a very distinguished nose. Mouth: such a pity to offer this lovely profile at 40%, the attack is a little weak and things fade rather quickly, unless you take a big swig—which isn’t quite the idea when tasting. Still, there are some charming touches of honeyed herbal tea and bergamot sweets (a killer thing, a speciality from Nancy, in Lorraine). Finish: very short, meteoric, virtually non-existent, more like cooled-down light herbal tea. But it isn’t unpleasant! Comments: absolutely charming, hence the still-high score, but the low strength is clearly a drawback.
SGP:551 - 85 points. |
A solo Glenglassaugh
Another recently revitalised distillery, though I haven’t heard much about it since Dave and I kind of casually awarded one of their expressions ‘Best of Show’ at a ‘masterclass’ at WL Paris two or three years ago. Hello? Thankfully, there are the indies…
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Glenglassaugh 11 yo 2014/2025 (54.3%, Brave New Spirits, Cask Masters, sherry hogshead, 266 bottles)
Colour: full gold. Nose: not easy to pin down, let’s say this morning’s apple tart, dusted with ground cinnamon and flan, soon joined by buttery croissants and Danish pastries. There’s a bit of a New York deli vibe to it. With water: more on cherry cake, clafoutis, pear tart rather than apple now… Mouth (neat): this is a very good young malt, slightly rustic (think Guinness) and caramelised, with malty coffee notes our grandparents would have adored. With water: the maltiness becomes even more prominent. Instant coffee with powdered milk and chicory, or something from Starbucks. Finish: long, a little more bitter, but still very malty. The sherry’s expected walnuts arrive rather late in the game. Comments: that rustic edge remained throughout, ending with a curious impression of powdered coffee lengthened with fruit eau-de-vie. Ideas-ideas… And it’s very good.
SGP:551 - 85 points. |
A solo Eden Mill
We’ve tasted very little Eden Mill so far. Time to add one, for the cause… It’s also one of the rare moments we find ourselves in a shared spirit with the charming, if slightly old-fashioned, town of St Andrews…
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Eden Mill ‘Sherry Cask’ (46%, OB, 2024)
Fair enough, it’s only a humble oloroso and PX finish, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be good, even if the very idea of already finishing such a young malt might naturally be a little bit worrisome. Colour: gold. Nose: I rather like these notes of chicken broth with coriander, gingerbread, pumpernickel and molasses honey. It’s not remotely Scottish in style—just like that Annandale we’ve just tasted (at the time of writing I don’t know whether this Eden Mill will be published before or after the Annandale), but I do like it. It could be Danish, Norwegian, Swiss, German, Liechtensteinian… just not particularly Scottish. Still, I like it… Mouth: it does veer off quite a bit, we’re into Marmite and Maggi territory now, molasses, more gingerbread, stout and strong Belgian ale (think Rochefort). And yet I like it, despite a faint sulphury edge, somewhere between truffle and gunpowder. But I like it. Finish: it stays in the same lane, though black pepper takes the wheel slightly and almost sends it into the ditch. The sulphur is more noticeable in the aftertaste. Comments: in my opinion this is full of little flaws, and yet I like it. I know, I know, I keep saying it. Where was this again, St Andrews?
SGP:472 - 81 points. |
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November 30, 2025 |
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A word of caution
Let me please remind you that my humble assessments of any spirits are done from the point of view of a malt whisky enthusiast who, what's more, is aboslutely not an expert in rum, brandy, tequila, vodka, gin or any other spirits. Thank you – and peace! |
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Holiday session in the bilge:
Another solo Takamaka
Still in the Seychelles, and here comes another Takamaka – we previously tasted an earlier bottling back in 2018. |
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Takamaka ‘Extra Noir’ (43%, OB, Seychelles, +/-2025)
Let’s admit it, the 2018 version wasn’t exactly grand (WF 78), and it had been bottled at 38% vol., which is as bad a sign as an orange spray tan and dyed hair on a man of a certain age. You know what I mean… But it gets worse—37.5%, always a clue that we’ve hit rock bottom in the world of spirits. And for those, we really do need the full 1-to-100 scale. But enough rambling… Colour: gold. Nose: very ‘molassy’, almost as if there were quite a bit of PX in there, but a generous helping of vanilla and tinned pineapple lift things nicely, and it becomes more aromatic by the minute. Caramelised orange zest, molasses honey. Mouth: it’s good, though not quite up to the level of the excellent Grankaz, and it’s a bit sugary, but goes down rather well, in a distinctly Spanish ‘ron’ style. Though weren’t the Seychelles only colonised by the French and British? Finish: medium length, still a bit sweet, but the molasses notes are very pleasant, and the chocolate-dusted citrus zest even more so. Comments: yes, very likeable, even if we clearly prefer its cousins Pti Lakaz and Grankaz.
SGP:740 - 80 points. |
PS: I'm rereading my notes on the 2018 version and see that I concluded with: ‘very fair and probably much better yet on location.’ For once, I wasn’t wrong… |
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Takamaka ‘Rum Zenn’ (40%, OB, Seychelles, +/-2025)
This is ‘young bourbon cask pressed rum’, not too sure what that means. This is also a fresh and aromatic rum that one may happily drizzle over mango ice cream—we have proof it works a treat. Colour: pale gold. Someone mentioned topaz. Nose: limoncello, sugarcane, Seychelles sea breeze, soft spices, all that with a light touch of orange zest and a drizzle of honey. Lovely nose, fresh and brimming with cheerfulness. Mouth: light but fresh, leaning gently on straw and sugarcane, a whisper of salted praline, some honey, then a little toasted sesame. A few glimmers of pineapple and underripe bananas, even those fibrous strands one finds in a banana after peeling—the so-called phloem bundles, if you will. Finish: longer than expected, with citrus making a charming return. Comments: really very good, especially if you pour a wee teaspoonful over a scoop of ice cream, whatever the flavour. Careful though, one could polish off a bottle before having time to say phew.
SGP:551 - 85 points. |
Update : the Zenn is actually unaged rum - a blend of pot and column - that's been 'pressed/infused with fines of oak wood from ex-bourbon casks', so small wood particles or splinters. Well, it works. |
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Vasco Rum ‘Gold’ (40%, OB, ‘premium blended rum’, Seychelles, +/-2025)
Well, when the main label on a spirit includes a barcode, it's never a very good sign, is it? This is an extremely affordable rum produced in the Seychelles by Bossy & Co Distillery. As every self-respecting Scottish distiller never fails to declare in their press releases (they’re all the same), the house also states that ‘Each sip reveals the artistry and expertise that goes into every drop, resulting in a sensory journey that captivates the palate.’ Let’s see about that… Colour: golden yellow. Nose: rather typical of many very light local rums produced the world over, it displays a blend of cologne water, aniseed and vanillin, not terribly inviting but not dreadful either, although it ends up feeling like neutral alcohol in the end, with no real sugarcane character. A little lemon balm and strawberry yoghurt. Mouth: sugar and aniseed, a little liquorice, some lemon syrup and a dash of wood extract. Let’s be honest, it’s not very good, but in a half-price Seychellois pina colada, it might just kind of do the job. Also a little Fanta. Finish: rather absent, sugary. Comments: truth be told, the shopkeepers sell this one with a vaguely apologetic look, seemingly assuming you can’t quite afford the Takamakas. You can’t help but tell them you’re buying it ‘just to taste’, which they seem to understand even less. Well, as one sometimes says, there is (still) worse.
SGP:530 - 25 points. |
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November 29, 2025 |
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Holiday session in the bilge:
A solo Annandale
So far, we’ve only tasted about a dozen Annandales, and even fewer truly heavily peated ones. But we’ve come across some lovely drams! So, let’s enjoy a wee peated Annandale… |
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Annandale 6 yo 2019/2025 (60.4%, Gleann Mor, Rare Find, seasoned oloroso barrique, cask #14201, 334 bottles)
Right then, a proper oloroso barrique doesn’t really exist, what we have here is clearly a cask tailored to the needs of the whisky industry. Colour: gold. Nose: this is a fairly oily and earthy peat, rustic, with no coastal dimension, but boasting some lovely spicing, curry-adjacent, with juniper and above all cloves (Gudang Garam kretek cigarettes come to mind). A whisky one might almost expect to stumble across in Indonesia, ha. With water: cardamom chocolate and toasted pumpkin seeds, really. Mouth (neat): oh, I do like this, it’s a bit bonkers and not particularly Scottish, it rather recalls peated rye or something out of Millstone (we adore Millstone). So yes, far from Dumfries and Galloway, but we’re not complaining. With water: a touch fresher now, spicy again but also quite citrusy, with clove-studded orange and heavily spiced gingerbread. Finish: fairly long, with even more gingerbread, anise, pepper, orange and chocolate. Comments: world whisky made in Scotland—what fun! And delicious to boot. If you can identify this as a Scottish malt when tasting blind, well, you deserve our eternal and undying admiration. As for me, I’d never have managed it, I admit humbly.
SGP:565 - 86 points. |
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November 28, 2025 |
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Holiday session in the bilge:
A solo Dalmore
Dalmore is becoming a rare sight, aside from the regular editions we've tasted many times already and can’t realistically keep up with every year. In short, it’s a very fine brand, but it does feel rather ‘2010’. Fortunately, there are the indies, like this one… |
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Dalmore 18 yo 2007/2025 (47.4%, WhiskyBusiness, The Inventors, James Watt, hogshead, cask #205, 275 bottles)
Let’s be honest, it’s thanks to the independents that we get the chance to enjoy Dalmore’s marvellous distillate in versions that are often less ‘suffocated’ by fortified wine. That’s a welcome thing, but let’s see if that holds true here… Colour: deep gold. Nose: coffee into which someone has poured fig liqueur—whether by design or accident, it works beautifully. The effect is very handsome indeed, especially once a hint of green walnut liqueur begins to slip in, just before a wave of orange marmalade asserts itself. What could be more ‘Dalmore’ than orange marmalade? In the background, damson tart. Mouth: there’s rather a lot of sherry here after all, so forget everything I said about ‘natural’ Dalmore—quite the opposite, really. Litres of coffee and fig liqueurs, molten chocolate in the profiterole style, and just a magnum of very, very soft old PX. The raisins are having the time of their lives. Finish: long, nearly thick, jammy, blending coffee, cherry and plum liqueurs. A touch of molasses lingers in the aftertaste. Comments: the relatively pale colour gave no warning of this sherry extravaganza, which almost brings to mind very old rums from Guyana.
SGP:741 - 87 points. |
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November 27, 2025 |
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Holiday session in the bilge:
A solo Ladyburn
Almost live and to celebrate our friend Patrick’s 30th birthday, one of the rarest official malts, now virtually forgotten after having been pretty cultish for quite a while. Aside from a few single casks or small batches bottled at much more venerable ages, this is the only official Ladyburn single malt. A more recent version, and eight, has been marketed as a ‘pure malt’ — in fact, a blended malt, and it’s unclear whether it even contained any Ladyburn at all. |
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Ladyburn 12 yo (43%/86 US proof, OB, for the USA, Graham Hill & Co., +/-1985)
There had also been a rather lovely Ladyburn 12 yo 1966/1979 ‘black dumpy’ by Cadenhead (WF 85). In a most exceptional turn of events, we are joined for this mini session by Mrs Eiling L. and Messrs Luc T., Emmanuel D., Olivier H., as well as Patrick de S., former owner of this precious bottle. Colour: gold. Nose: it starts off very lightly metallic, then moves on to roasted peanuts, soon joined by a spoonful of strawberry jam. My co-tasters also mentioned Dubai chocolate, black nougat and fir honey. It gets increasingly toasty, the OBE is minimal, and the roasted and caramelised peanuts ultimately take the reins. Everyone finds it surprisingly pretty. Mouth: lovely texture on the palate, pleasantly malty, but also showing a distinctly caramelised side, in a good way. Dried apples, dried bananas, all very nice. A subtle touch of ginseng. Finish: good length, malty, just a little drier and simpler, with minute cardboardy notes and a tiny drop of vegetable stock right at the end, which is common in this kind of bottle. Comments: someone also mentioned ‘Ipoh Salted Peanut Candy’, which you can only buy in one-kilo bags after queuing for ages. In short, a lovely surprise, as we had spent a few decades thinking this bottle would be worth very little in terms of flavour. Cheers.
SGP:551 - 87 points. |
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November 26, 2025 |
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Holiday session in the bilge:
A solo Braeval
There really aren’t many left, unless I’m mistaken. But no matter, we don’t need an excuse to enjoy a wee Braeval… |
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Braeval 16 yo 2009/2025 (62%, Gleann Mor, Rare Find, cask #9504, 195 bottles)
With a 12-month finish in a first fill bourbon barrel, which shouldn’t have thrown the profile off too much. Colour: gold. Nose: fresh and fruity, with mirabelles, apricots, quinces and gooseberries, all swaddled in custard and a dab of acacia honey. A touch of German riesling then pops up—we love that, even if the Alsatians might be better. Just kidding, there are plenty of splendid German rieslings out there. With water: the bourbon cask speaks louder now, with that charming combo of ripe banana and custard. Mouth (neat): garden fruits, such as whitecurrants, apples, greengages, gooseberries, blackberries… And again, that telltale riesling note lending a lovely tension. I find this little Braeval at 62% highly drinkable, should I be worried? With water: it veers into high-quality fruit eau-de-vie territory, pear, mirabelle, quince… Very, very faint touches of anise and liquorice round things off. Finish: medium in length, extremely ‘clean’, very fruity, rather coating, and just lightly honeyed. Comments: ought to be enjoyed alongside a matching assortment of fruit sorbets, I’d say. Do give it a go someday.
SGP:641 - 86 points. |
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November 25, 2025 |
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Holiday session in the bilge:
A solo Knockando
We used to follow Knockando much more closely back when, quite ahead of their time, the owners vintage-dated all their expressions. But those days are long gone, and the only Knockando we currently have in stock is an indie, which is rather ironic, let’s be honest. Still, we couldn’t possibly let the year go by without tasting at least one Knockando, you understand… |
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Knockando 16 yo 2008/2025 (50.5%, Signatory Vintage, Cask Strength Collection, 1st fill PX hogshead finish, cask #101, 339 bottles)
Colour: amber. Nose: it’s rare for an independent to get this close to an official bottling, in this case the 18yo, and it’s brimming with walnuts, polish, toffee and dark chocolate. In the background, a few wild mushrooms from our forests—let’s say boletes growing under fir trees. Indeed, there’s even a faint suggestion of pine needles. I’m very fond of this nose. With water: mint and chocolate! Is there a finer combination? The shoe polish returns as well. Mouth (neat): lovely bitterness, more amontillado than PX, though perhaps it was a fairly dry Pedro, Malaga seco style? Anyway, we like this, earthy tones, artichokes, walnuts, but also orange marmalade with whisky (obviously with whisky, S.). With water: oh, very good! It carries on with those earthy notes, evoking some sort of chocolate-glazed aubergine (agreed, if such a thing existed). Finish: long, very chocolaty, with a touch of hay and dark tobacco. Bitter orange. Comments: a very fine bottle indeed and let me take this opportunity to thank Signatory officially, these Knockandos have become so scarce! One could almost come to like the finishings…
SGP:551 - 88 points. |
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November 24, 2025 |
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Holiday session in the bilge:
A solo Nc’Nean
Firstly, we think Nc’Nean has really improved; and secondly, the idea of putting a distinctly Scottish malt, steeped in local or at least regional culture and environment, into calvados casks is frankly… amusing. That said, to be fair, we’ve recently tasted several Scottish malts finished in calvados that were actually rather good. After all, we are French… |
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Nc’Nean 7 yo 2017/2025 ‘AON’ (60.2%, OB, The Whisky Exchange exclusive, ex-Calvados cask, cask #17-519, 342 bottles)
Naturally, one would have liked to know—while we're at it—whether this was Domfrontais or from the Pays d’Auge, whether there was pear in it and in what proportion, etc. That’s the thing with enthusiasts, they always want more… Colour: straw. Nose: fierce and herbal, just like a young calva fresh off the still. Quick… With water: it softens up and now shows a rather amusing young Clynelish side, certainly a bit oilier, even waxier, with some clementines all prepped for Christmas. Mouth (neat): powerful, sweet and herbal all at once, again quite close to a white, undiluted calvados. According to the distinguished experts at Christian Drouin, calvados was mostly consumed white before WWII—did you know? With water: this is rather mad, they've genuinely found a way to mimic young Clynelish. Beeswax, orange, green pepper, maybe a stray shellfish wandered through… Finish: much the same really. Perhaps a touch less ‘C’, mind you. Comments: this one’s a lot of fun, and who cares how they got there, it’s the end result that matters. Wouldn’t you agree?
SGP:651 - 86 points. |
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November 23, 2025 |
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Holiday session in the bilge:
A solo Takamaka
Here we are in the Seychelles, both literally and figuratively… |
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Takamaka ‘Grankaz Batch 3’ (51.6%, OB, Seychelles, +/-2025)
We enjoyed the Pti Lakaz a lot a few weeks back—here comes the big brother, still a blend of cane juice and molasses-based rum, seemingly supported by a touch of Foursquare. So, it’s not entirely Seychellois, but does that really matter when it’s this lovely? Colour: gold. Nose: fairly fat on the nose, nicely spicy, with peppery citrus zest and a gentle ginger honey. A little roasted pineapple too, but kept in check. With water: lovely touches of mint and linden tea. Mouth (neat): very good, slightly sweet, charmingly spicy, with more ginger honey coming through. With water: not much change, save for a touch of earth and ginseng. Still very pretty. Finish: medium in length, with just a whisper of spiced rum, though it stays fresh and lively. Oranges. Comments: this is really excellent and I can personally confirm—it goes down all too easily.
SGP:551 - 85 points. |
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November 22, 2025 |
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Holiday session in the bilge:
A solo Oban
We’ll admit it quite humbly, the ‘Oban’ slot in the WF sample library is rather empty at the moment. Hopefully it’ll be restocked sometime soon. In the meantime… |
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Oban 12 yo ‘Heart of the Harbour’ (54.7%, OB, Special Releases 2025, ex-bourbon American oak, 2025)
We do like Oban and its faint manzanilla edge! The 12yo SR from 2021 had been very good indeed. Colour: white wine. Nose: indeed, there is manzanilla, though more like an ‘añada’, leaning closer to a proper table white, something like those from Callejuela. So, green apples, fresh walnuts, shellfish, gentle mustard, then a few notes of nougat and coconut that feel just slightly out of place here, but nothing too serious. The casks, I’d wager. With water: not much change, only a few whiffs of snapped twigs joining in. Mouth (neat): rounder, a little sweet, closer to a Haribo pick-and-mix, so not hugely ‘Oban’ at this stage, though there are faint touches of walnut and sea salt. With water: the saline, peppery and maritime profile returns, though the American oak smooths it all out—it almost veers into banana foam territory, though with restraint. Finish: medium in length, sweetly wrapped, yet coastal. Comments: once again that rather odd feeling when a very coastal malt meets very active American oak—we’ve seen this before with, say, some Pulteneys. But it remains very good. Now the 12yo SR from 2021 seemed superior to us.
SGP:652 - 84 points. |
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November 21, 2025 |
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Holiday sessions in the bilge
We're heading off on holiday for about ten days at sea, and there's no guarantee we'll be able to update Whiskyfun. However, we've prepared a few short solo sessions in case the opportunity arises to post something. |
It’s a bit of an Octomore season, the feuilles mortes are falling thick and fast, the weather’s turning colder, and we could use a little pick-me-up before heading off on holiday. Let’s see what we’ve got… |
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Octomore 5 yo 2019/2025 'Edition 16.1' (59.3%, OB, 1st fill bourbon)
101.4ppm peat, which is almost nothing really. I mean, for Octomore’s malt, which can apparently reach 300ppm or so. The barley itself was harvested in 2018, then distilled in 2019. Never forget the dormancy period of barley, during which freshly harvested grains don’t germinate straight away, it can last several months. Naturally, no germination means no malting. Colour: straw. Nose: precisely the feeling of burying one’s nose in a full ashtray at an open-air nightclub on the Côte d’Azur, around four in the morning. Then the smell of a spent fireplace in which mostly coniferous wood had been burnt. In the background, just a faint whiff of slightly sour beer. With water: apples and almond milk emerge, accompanied by a touch of brine. Mouth (neat): very powerful, it does burn a fair bit, but it also recalls high-ester Hampden, something like <DOK. One of these days we ought to do a proper and methodical comparison. With water: someone seems to have smoked brine and added sour apple juice. Finish: very long, very nervous, with a kind of ultra-concentrated fino sherry character. Ashes and black pepper rule the aftertaste. Comments: a bit like sea water after a phantom Russian tanker has passed by, feels rather more extreme than last year’s ‘15.1’.
SGP:358 - 87 points. |
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November 20, 2025 |
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A merry bunch of Glen Garioch
Glen Garioch is probably the malt that has changed the most over the years and decades, from the grand, sherry-forward official bottlings of the 1960s, to the sublime peated versions of the 1970s, then moving on to orchard fruit concentrates, and even passing through more floral, lavender-led styles at the same time as its cousin Bowmore. Quite simply, Glen Garioch has done it all.
Red kite/Rotmilan, wonderful photograph by Claudio Gotsch, as seen on a Glen Garioch by Acla Selection |
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Glen Garioch 11 yo 2011/2023 (52.5%, Acla Selection, Classic, barrel, cask #2744)
A bottling for lovely Switzerland. Colour: white wine. Nose: we’ve seldom come this close to orchard-fresh apples and pears, not overripe, mind, but delightfully crisp and sharp. With water: small waxy and earthy touches emerge, along with a clear farmhouse cider note. Mouth (neat): faultless fruitiness with a touch of wax. Apples and pears once again, plus a hint of sour cherry that keeps everything lively and cheerful. With water: very good, with a little mint creeping in. A slight pot ale edge too. Finish: fairly long, fruity, uncomplicated, but flawless. Comments: what one might call an allrounder. Nothing to fault here.
SGP:551 - 85 points. |
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Glen Garioch 7 yo 2015/2023 (53.8%, Acla Selection, 10th Anniversary, cask #5124, 239 bottles)
We always feel at home in Switzerland. Colour: white wine. Nose: this time we’re greeted by flint and fresh motor oil, before the usual orchard apples and pears settle in, with a touch of banana for good measure. It’s interesting, because at this stage it strikes me as more complex than the 11-year-old from the same august house we’ve just tasted. With water: back to flint again. Mouth (neat): really lovely, with a variety of fruit eaux-de-vie and fresh lemon juice. It also sends a few rogue sparks up your spinal column and you find yourself thinking this would go beautifully with a platter of oysters. With water: cracking acidity! Finish: long and ultra-sharp, on lemon, green apple and half a drop of honey. Comments: all that’s left is to order that famous oyster platter.
SGP:561 - 85 points. |
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Glen Garioch 14 yo 2011/2025 (50.1%, Single Cask Nation, 1st fill bourbon hogshead, cask #160444, 197 bottles)
Colour: northern Californian chardonnay. Just kidding. Nose: very much in the same vein, only slightly rounder, with a little more soft honey (acacia) and peanut oil, plus touches of old paper, which we’re rather fond of. With water: the Williams pear comes through nicely. Mouth (neat): a fruit salad supercharged with eau-de-vie made from the same fruits. Not sure if that makes sense, but there you are. A bit of honey then soothes everything. With water: apples and pears. Finish: apples and pears. Comments: there’s great consistency across these vintages and ages.
SGP:551 - 85 points. |
I reckon we could line up three dozen Glen Gariochs of roughly the same age and vintage, and still come up with the same score every time — 85 out of 100. But what can we do about it? |
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Glen Garioch 2015/2023 (53.5%, Swell de Spirits, Wild Nature Series, first fill bourbon barrel, cask #5078, 353 bottles)
Colour: pale white wine. Nose: what I’ve learned over time and many tastings is that the folks at Swell de Spirits favour aromatic and flavour precision, and rarely let their casks get in the way. Here’s yet another example, with a sharply defined pear and just a few drops of olive oil. Unstoppable. With water: a splash of ink and first rainwater added to the mix. Mouth (neat): spot on, razor-sharp, clean lines, lemon, cucumber juice, tart apple and a proper Sèvre-et-Maine muscadet. With water: more austere, more herbal, with some coffee notes barging in to stir things up. Finish: long, now almost drying, but still nicely tangy. Comments: what a quirky little beast! Definitely off the beaten path.
SGP:461 - 87 points. |
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Glen Garioch 16 yo 2009/2025 (61.3%, Scout Drinks, Taiwan, barrel, cask 657, 130 bottles)
New operator, great soul, immense passion and knowledge, what could go wrong? Colour: pale gold. Nose: this is once again a gentler version, waxy and almost jammy to begin with, yet it quickly veers towards candied citrus fruits, ripe mango and passion fruit, with even wee touches of camphor and eucalyptus creeping in. With water: hints of bitter almonds, absolutely spot on. Mouth (neat): very lovely, cassata, panettone, all manner of candied fruits, preserved mandarin, quince, marzipan… All of it perfectly aligned. With water: a few drops of triple sec and, would you believe it, a tiny oyster bringing a dash of coastal character. Finish: medium in length but delightfully fat, with wee herbs and seaweed. Aftertaste rather saline. Comments: faint ties to the fatty peatiness of decades past. Cracking little middle-aged Glen Garioch.
SGP:562 - 88 points. |
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Glen Garioch 12 yo 2012/2025 (53.6%, Dràm Mor, 1st fill Madeira finish, cask #1002, 129 bottles)
I’ve never truly understood—nor tried to, to be honest—why Madeira pairs so well with Scotch malt whisky. Perhaps it’s an island soul thing? Colour: orangey amber. Nose: cigars and orange zest, chalk and apricot liqueur, all lightly dusted with grey pepper and the softest mustard imaginable. With water: bitter orange liqueur, like the sort old Alsatians mix into their beer as an apéritif. Mouth (neat): exactly what one hoped for, just a drop of vinegar, mustard, walnuts, tobacco and candied citrus fruits, all in perfect harmony. Between us, this reminds me of Benromach—I only mention it because we’ve just tasted a few. With water: very salty and bitter, very Sercial, very much in fino-style Madeira territory. Our favourites, naturally. Finish: long, acidic and bitter, but in the best possible way. Comments: it converses wonderfully with the ‘Scout Drinks’, despite the great stylistic distance between them. In short, it’s damn good.
SGP:462 - 88 points. |
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Glen Garioch 12 yo 2011/2023 (52.2%, DramCatcher, cask #4909, 72 bottles)
There may not have been many bottles, but what matters is that the spirit is strong. Colour: white wine. Nose: a return to a simple yet lovely GG, all green apples and chalk. With water: apple tart dusted with ground cinnamon and brown sugar. Mouth (neat): soft, very pretty, on lemon, apple and honey. Nothing to argue about. With water: apple cake. Finish: same again. Lovely honey. Comments: don’t assume the brevity of this tasting note means we only moderately liked the whisky. Not at all, it’s very good indeed.
SGP:551 - 85 points. |
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Glen Garioch 14 yo 2010/2024 (53.1%, Maltbarn, bourbon cask, 165 bottles)
And my word, how much we’ve loved these labels! Colour: pale gold. Nose: peanut oil, custard, white chocolate and scones. There’s something microscopically precise about this. With water: closer to barley, sourdough, witbier, and also a few blossoms—honeysuckle, that sort of thing. Mouth (neat): just perfect, like beer eau-de-vie, pepper, tart apples and hay jelly. Few people know hay jelly, but it can be stunningly complex. With water: no change. Finish: fairly long, with very subtle fruitiness, almost cerebral. Comments: magnificent, simple yet complex (hey?), but in any case, demanding of your full attention. And that label! I know, total boomer stuff…
SGP:551 - 87 points. |
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Glen Garioch 21 yo 2003/2024 (53.9%, OB for Wu Dram Clan, 1st fill oloroso, cask #808, 681 bottles)
Colour: dark amber. Nose: is this rum? Or bourbon? Or some sort of hybrid? What a riot, there’s toffee, fudge, pralines and those assorted Christmas chocolates churned out by a multinational with ties to every supermarket chain (you know the one). Add a few drops of walnut stain and really, you’ve got quite the nose, dry, bold and very much in a Jerezian register. With water: grandmother’s walnut cake and gingerbread. A welcome break from all that globalised confectionery. Mouth (neat): powerful, almost violent, even though the ABV isn’t sky-high. We’re into essential oils, pine, thyme, linden blossom... Holy Suzy! With water: full-on resins, bitterness, and sheer concentration… Finish: very long and deeply resinous. Comments: a cheeky little GG that really shakes up your assumptions. We’ll need time to recover…
SGP:371 - 87 points. |
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Glen Garioch 29 yo 1988/2022 (46.2%, Thompson Bros., refill hogshead, 99 bottles)
I doubt a single bottle remains, but I couldn’t resist the urge to finally taste this baby of a very fine age. Colour: gold. Nose: this is dessert wine, late-harvest pinot gris, sauternes, dried fig, quince, dates, Tokaji aszú… Mouth: beautiful and all over the place, bitter to excess, but also gorgeously resinous, with flashes of brilliance and spells of solitary introspection. Right, the bitterness is extremely tricky to manage on the palate. Finish: long, all pine sap and rosemary running rampant. Comments: this is full-on punk rock, the Voidoids or Père Ubu in liquid form. Good luck.
SGP:271 - 84 points. |
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Glen Garioch over 30 yo 1992/2023 (57.9%, Artist #13 by LMDW, hogshead, cask #3068, 227 bottles)
We’re terribly behind on our Glen Gariochs! Colour: deep gold. Nose: cedarwood, eucalyptus, camphor, dried figs, ashes… With water: nothing further develops, everything was already said. Mouth (neat): spiced jams, peppered dried fruits, green tannins, cloves, green pepper… With water: herbal and spicy. Finish: long, with cumin and heaps of green pepper. Comments: an old malt that fully embraces its wood and herbal infusions; not the easiest, but absolutely full of charm.
SGP:361 - 86 points. |
Let’s look for something simpler and more straightforward to finish with… |
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Glen Garioch 12 yo 2011/2024 (54.5%, James Eadie, UK exclusive, 1st fill oloroso finish, cask #374455, 175 bottles)
A six-month finishing. Fair play. Colour: deep gold. Nose: of course, walnut cake, cigar box, chicken broth and marmalade. Of course. With water: potting soil and clove-studded orange. Mouth (neat): honeys, malt extracts, bitter orange, old walnuts and black pepper. With water: gingerbread, chestnut honey and more black pepper. Finish: long, jammy, full of gingerbread and pumpernickel, with plenty of black pepper. Comments: these folks always do a very fine job, even when it might be just a touch too much, as it may be here.
SGP:461 - 85 points. |
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November 19, 2025 |
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Benromach time at WF
We love Benromach in its natural state, even in sherry casks, but we do struggle a bit more when there's a clash of personalities that can happen when the cask influence is very strong. A mild-mannered malt can take it all and soak it up, but a more textured malt, like Springbank or indeed Benromach, finds it harder to cope in these situations, a bit like an MMA bout. Still, it's all a matter of personal experience. Let’s see what we’ve got on the table… |
The Distillery in 1958 (Benromach) |
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Benromach 10 yo 2014/2025 (58.3%, OB for LMDW Itinéraires, 1st fill sherry hogshead, cask #893, 304 bottles) 
Colour: gold. Nose: how amusing! We’re straight into cassis-infused mustard (possibly), old balsamic vinegar, brake pads, gherkins, walnut wine, fireplace soot, conifer ash, and an ancient briar pipe... It’s an utter riot, and we’re all in. With water: doesn’t shift an inch, utterly unshakeable (pleonasm alert, S.) Mouth (neat): fat, thick, verging on brutal, with salt, vinegar and pepper galore, plus some sort of citrusy mustard doing the can-can. Honestly, this is fairly bonkers. With water: barely calms down, instead showing off more leather, pipe tobacco and rather bitter marmalade. Finish: very, very long, taking us somewhere between a bold fino and a rather robust vin jaune. Loads of ashes in the aftertaste. Comments: turns out we’re quite partial to this style, perhaps not terribly diplomatic (to put it mildly) but fantastically punchy. Off to a flying start. It’s an 89 but I feel like giving it 90. I do as I please, it’s my blog.
SGP:473 - 90 points. |
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Glen Mosset 8 yo 2016/2025 (59.5%, Watashi Whisky, refill sherry octave, cask #120000348B)
Glen Mosset is a trade name for Benromach. Colour: straw. Nose: a much gentler, younger, fruitier variation here, not far from a medley of excellent eaux-de-vie—plums, pears—but with an oily undercurrent, all sunflower oil and slick texture. The benromachness creeps in gradually, bringing more ashes, pepper, and a touch of acidity, though it stays friendlier than the 2014. With water: back come the rubber, oil and carbon notes. Clearly Benromach. Mouth (neat): absolutely spot-on, taut, fatty, earthy, mustardy, crammed with green walnuts and preserved lemons. A few drops of rowanberry eau-de-vie in there too, so we might have to try this Glen Mosset over pistachio ice cream, as is traditional in Alsace (rowan EDV + pistachio ice cream). With water: lovely bitters, earthy and deep. Finish: long, bringing in tart little apples alongside more walnuts and a good dollop of mustard. Comments: not quite a vin jaune, strictly speaking, but rather a Jura chardonnay that’s caught a dose of ‘le goût de jaune’. Cracking young creature.
SGP:462 - 88 points. |
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Benromach 16 yo 2009 ‘Super Tuscan Wine Cask’ (58.2%, OB, first fill super Tuscan wine, cask #582, 272 bottles)
I’ve always found the term ‘Super Tuscan’ rather demeaning for the wines of Tuscany, I’ve never quite understood how making a Bordeaux-style blend elsewhere qualifies something as ‘Super’. Quite the opposite really, Sangiovese all the way, for crying out loud! Colour: gold. Nose: honestly, not bad, no stewed prunes or squashed raspberries, thank goodness, but I do find it suffers from a bit of a clash after the two younger ones, especially the 10-year-old. Still, there is fruit in there. Benromach is already a rather multifaceted malt, and adding red fruit on top feels slightly unnecessary. With water: still behaves, but it’s lagging behind the young ones, feels a bit like a Fiat Multipla trying to keep up (ha). Mouth (neat): winesky territory more so than on the nose. Strawberry with cracked pepper can be charming, but only within bounds. Strawberry jam with black pepper becomes a bit much. With water: we probably ought to have tasted this one first. That said, there are some rather pretty earthy notes, with hints of tobacco and roots. Finish: long and more classical, the distillate seems to have clawed its way out from under the wine. Salinity, pepper, earth, ashes… Comments: extremely difficult to score, at least for me.
SGP:662 - 83 points. |
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Benromach 22 yo 2003/2025 (55%, OB for Wu Dram Clan, first fill bourbon and sherry, 1076 bottles)
Colour: full gold. Nose: a more serene version, softer, more civilised, with bourbon cask influence neatly dialled in—banana, vanilla, orange, coconut—yet still delivering all the phenolic and earthy complexity we love in Benromach. Lovely wafts of fresh rubber and putty, plus waxes, fresh paint, linseed oil and fresh walnut... With water: charming notes of old magazines, dusty books and crisp cardboard. Mouth (neat): beautifully fruity, all lime and tangerine at first, then straight into green tea, green pepper, and a few fresh mushroom notes, which we always adore. The whole profile is highly distinctive, not a flavour combo you run into every day, especially once that olive oil note joins in just as swiftly. With water: careful now, don’t overdo it, it can nosedive. Guilty as charged. Finish: long, with soot, tea, ashes returning, where had they gone? Comments: this is exactly why we love Benromach, bang on that HCBBS axis (Highland Park, Clynelish, Benromach, Ben Nevis, Springbank).
SGP:652 - 91 points. |
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Benromach 22 yo 2002/2025 (57.2%, OB for LMDW Itinéraires, first fill bourbon barrel, cask #970, 157 bottles)
The only real issue here is that you already know exactly what’s going to happen. Colour: gold. Nose: gold. Mouth: gold. Finish: gold. Alright then, let’s behave... Colour: gold. Nose: utterly sublime, all damp earth, soot, wild roots, fresh almonds and hazelnuts, linseed oil, bergamot, carrots... A scene of great natural beauty. With water: close your eyes and you’d swear there’s a world-class ceviche sitting in front of you. Mouth (neat): peat so sharp it cuts like a sushi chef’s blade, richer citrus fruits, majestic oils and an array of green spices worth bowing to. Also green oranges (sparingly though, they’ll take the enamel off your teeth). With water: anecdotal at best. A bit of honey and guava and papaya liqueurs. Do those even exist? Honestly, I know the ABV is high, but water feels optional here. Finish: not the longest, but once again softens into something more tertiary, more ‘fine old white Burgundy’. A few medicinal touches à la Lp. showing up in the aftertaste. Comments: right, this is superb. Down to the cellar it goes, for future generations.
SGP:563 - 92 points. |
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November 18, 2025 |
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A lovely little bag of Ardbeg
It was time we tasted a few Ardbegs again, whether in their official form, in their independent one, or under the gentle name of Kildalton. We’re going to try doing it randomly, stochastically, in a sort of quasi-Brownian motion that might eventually settle into a more or less logical order, as it often does. But enough silly waffle already, we’ll see what happens… |
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We would have so loved for it to be full
(At the Distillery, WF Archive, 2006) |
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Ardbeg 15 yo ‘Anthology The Beithir’s Tale’ (46%, OB, 2025)
Matured in designer charred bourbon cask. I also reckon the general public ought to pay more attention to the silly names many distilleries now feel compelled to slap onto their age statements. Such as this ‘Beithir’s Tale’, a tale of a dragon that supposedly came to Ardbeg and devoured three rare casks. Are we quite sure it wasn’t rather a club of Scandinavian whisky nerds? (love you all). Colour: straw. Nose: ashtray smoke and vanilla-and-banana cream, then a syrupy cough medicine brimming with menthol and eucalyptus. It’s clean, unfussy, very pleasant, all the more so as a little fino-style accent rises up behind that, most charming. Mouth: the mint arrives right away, followed by spruce bud and conifer ash that dries the palate a touch, though not in an unpleasant manner. A few sultanas steeped in orange liqueur follow and lend it all a bit of decorum. Finish: long, saltier now, with also some blackcurrant paste and even other fruits, rather unexpected yet very well handled. Comments: I believe this little dragon might even appeal to peatophobes. I like it a lot, but it absolutely needs to breathe.
SGP:556 - 88 points. |
Why not another 15-year-old at 46%, but an older one… |
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Ardbeg 15 yo 1973 (46%, Moncreiffe, Meregalli Import, +/-1988)
I was quite certain I’d already tasted this well-known Italian baby before, but apparently not. There was also a 14/1973. Colour: gold. Nose: there’s a thousand times more fresh tar, fresh mastic, modelling clay, plus bitter herbs and seaweed, some leather, mutton suet, and charcoal… In short, this is far less ‘commercial’ than the very good Anthology, though I’m not entirely sure that’s the right word. Most importantly, there are virtually no fruits, if any at all. Mouth: very dry, salty, like seawater run through a smoker, then bolstered with paraffin oil, smoked fish and even oyster. The tar emerges next and gains more and more ground. Finish: not all that long, but very waxy and resinous, and naturally saline. That ‘ashtray’ side coming back on the aftertaste. Comments: it brings to mind those old official 10s from the Allied era, but that’s hardly surprising. Very slight OBE, slightly unfavourable, but it’s still very magical stuff, even if it does fade a wee bit too quickly in your glass.
SGP:367 - 90 points. |
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Ardbeg 15 yo 2009/2025 (54.5%, Brave New Spirits, Cask Masters for Hong Kong Festival, 1st fill Rivesaltes barrique, cask #26001, 308 bottles)
Rivesaltes might seem like an odd choice for maturation, but in truth it’s not far from certain sherries, notably PX, even if the grape varieties aren’t the same and there are several styles of Rivesaltes (tuilé, ambré, grenat, rosé…) Colour: gold. Nose: I believe one never quite knows what to expect when peat meets sweet wine, and here it opens with gherkins and even a dab of horseradish and mustard, then veers off toward seaweed and samphire before landing back on Islay with ashes and tar. It’s genuinely entertaining and even thrilling to follow, if you’re willing to spare it a little of your precious time. With water: rounder, more on dried raisins, which makes sense. Mouth (neat): this time it’s the sweetness of the wine that speaks first, with muscaty overtones and touches of grenache and candied cherry… The distillate, for its part, brings in the smoke, brine and ashes. With water: the tables turn, Ardbeg reasserts itself, with pepper, brine and tar. Good fun. Finish: long and halfway between both components, brought together by pepper. Comments: a little Ardbeg/Rivesaltes that plays like a two-piece puzzle. It’s daft and it’s very good.
SGP:566 - 88 points. |
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Ardbeg 15 yo 2009/2024 (50.8%, PK Maltroom, ‘Four Seasons’, sherry butt, 82 bottles)
A bottling for Vietnam, more precisely for what is surely a very high-end bar (we’re quite sure of it) in Ho Chi Minh City. The label is adorable – and yes, of course the packaging is part of the whisky. Colour: white wine. Nose: this baby displays as much sherry as a concrete breeze block. That’s a rather silly way, I’ll admit, of saying the sherry itself is entirely absent, and we’re certainly not complaining. In short, it’s an Ardbeg of razor-like precision, extremely fresh, far more mineral and chalkier than the previous ones, and offering just the right touches of oysters, lemon, green apples and seaweed. Magnificent. Water is unnecessary, I’d say. Mouth: let’s just say it, this one reminds us of the ‘Introducing Ten Years Old’, who remembers? Superb tension, precision, freshness and balance of flavour. Finish: a blade. Comments: grand cru whisky, thanks to its purity. Nothing to add. A pity there are (were?) only 82 bottles, but these batches are worth hunting down. You can trust the colour, the paler, the better. There, we’ll talk about this one again in twenty years.
SGP:467 - 92 points. |
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Ardbeg 16 yo 2008/2024 (58.3%, Casky Hong Kong & The Antelope Macau, Ferry Ticket Return Way, refill sherry cask, cask #80060213, 201 bottles)
These folks are a bit of a nuisance, they almost always release rather dazzling bottlings; I would think they ought to pause their spirits-related activities for a while and take up macramé, batik or pottery. They can always come back later. Colour: rich gold. Nose: yet another style again, taut for sure, but also heavily marked by tar, natural rubber, fresh putty, and even oil paint. In the background, a beach bonfire, dried seaweed and assorted shells. With water: the sherry tries to emerge, with some leafy notes, walnut skins and a dab of mustard, but the distillate calls the shots. And quite right too. Mouth (neat): immediate impact, lemon, bitter orange, pepper, ashes. With water: magnificent, we’re edging towards the spirit of the 72–76 vintages, it’s delightfully tarry and bursting with gherkins. Finish: long, on bitter Italian drinks of very deep red hue. Redder than red, if you see what I mean. Comments: just a tiny bit less precise than the previous one, but I’m splitting hairs now. Magnificent Ardbeg.
SGP:467 - 91 points. |
Since it’s just us, I always find myself wondering, as I savour these little independent gems, why the official brands so rarely release whiskies in this kind of very ‘natural’ style, rather than endlessly pursuing those improbable finishes that could bring a tear to even the cheeriest of bricks. If you’ve got the answer, I’m all ears… Right then, let’s carry on… |
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Ardbeg 25 yo 2000/2025 ‘Something in the Water’ (55.4%, Artist #15 by La Maison du Whisky, oloroso sherry butt, cask #1100000016, 224 bottles)
As the main label is purely functional, I’ll rather show you the artwork that comes with it. One imagines, without having checked, that the name of this series refers to the famous Deep Purple song, written after Frank Zappa set the stage ablaze in Montreux. Well, that’s not quite what happened, but never mind, we’re here for the whisky… Colour: bronze brown. Nose: you can tell straight away that water will be essential to unlock all the aromatic molecules queueing at the gate, like in the Paris metro at rush hour. Figs? Tobacco? Rust remover?... With water: have you ever stuck your head into a barrel of Brent crude, emptied of course? And the oloroso is splendid, in the Navazos style. Mouth (neat): hefty cask impact, but done in that American craft style, all-out excess, which ends up creating an odd sense of coherence and even softness. Not sure that makes sense, but there we are. Rubber, peat, smoked fish, lamp oil, myriads of spices, strange coatings (Rubson?), dark chocolate… With water: no time to linger, is there? Let’s just say brined Italian citrus fruits come crashing in. Finish: very long, with a feeling of having swallowed a bottle of thyme essential oil and several other things besides. Comments: the challenge here is adding just enough water—but not too much—because it might ‘snap’ sharply despite its power. The exact opposite of the sublimely graceful PK Vietnamese one, and yet, both are magical. For as the great and charming philosopher Paula Abdul once said, ‘Opposites Attract’.
SGP:567 - 93 points. |
Let’s journey back into the past… |
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Ardbeg 21 yo 1976/1997 (49.2%, Adelphi, cask #453, 180 bottles)
A little Ardbeg from the days when the very distinguished house of Adelphi had once and for all decided to place absolute faith in the supernaturally sharp eyesight of all whisky enthusiasts. Colour: pale gold. Nose: it’s the compactness and expressiveness that strike at once, the smoke, the ashes, the oils, the tars, but also—almost for the first time today—the fruits. Truth be told, there are those typical notes from this vintage that fuse candied citrus with resins, hash included, I mean that quite seriously. Which might explain the typographic choices of the era, but let’s not digress, much water has passed under the bridge since 1997. With water: a touch of leather. Mouth (neat): it’s too good, let’s just stop there. Sublime candied citrus, resins, saline touches, shellfish, liquorice, all in perfect harmony. The peat is but one component, it’s by no means the star. With water: unnecessary. Finish: long, fresh, sublime, resinous and lemony. Comments: the similarity in complexity between this 1976 and the 2000 from LMDW is splendid news (for the 2000), in these days when one tends to believe everything is in decline anyway. Perhaps entropy doesn’t apply to malt whisky. Or at least, not to Ardbeg, after all.
SGP:567 - 93 points. |
Well then, to celebrate this discovery, perhaps we could have a few more Kildaltons? Maybe with a little thought for the priest said to be buried beneath the famous cross, reportedly slain in an extremely brutal fashion by barbaric Vikings. |
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Red Bag 4 yo 2020/2025 (61.2%, Dramfool’s Middle Cut, red wine barrique, cask #54, 282 bottles)
Here we go kicking and screaming, and only because it’s Dramfool, who usually do superb things. But honestly, Ardbeg and red wine? What’s next, mustard in our coffee? Colour: first bit of good news, the whisky isn’t pink like a pigeon’s eye. Nose: I don’t know, smoked blackcurrant with fir wood, and a hint of ham at the same time? With water: not bad at all, obviously smoky, robust of course, and above all with wafts of tomato bush, which only this sort of combination could possibly create. I mean, in the whisky world. Mouth (neat): we’ve stepped into another dimension, that of a wild, extreme drink, burning, salty and acidic. With water: ah, that’s better, it’s original, creative, full of buds and foliage (cherry tree, tomato) and it doesn’t stray too far into grenadine, raspberry or cassis. Finish: rather long, with touches of cardamom. Comments: okay, with a name like ‘Red Bag’, we all knew which whisky this was, but could we perhaps get more details about the red wine that did at least a third of the work? Italian? Spanish? The worst part is, you end up liking this improbable ‘thing’.
SGP:567 - 85 points. |
Right, I was about to say they’re mad over at Dramfool, but you’ll no doubt reply that it’s in the name. Fair game. |
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Kildalton 14 yo 2009/2024 (52.1%, Casky, Hong Kong Neon Light City, hogshead)
Colour: gold. Nose: a far more austere version, well-mannered, bordering on a Swiss girls’ boarding school (right?) and close to seawater and ashes. With water: a few puffs of limoncello served as granita. Mouth (neat): uncomplicated, simple, not very expressive, and yet I love it, as it stays so close to its markers—ash, olives, lemon, smoked fish, seaweed, oysters, pepper, Tabasco… With water: and brine, more olives, capers, anchovies… Finish: similar, saline, tapenade, anchoyade… Comments: one of the most maritime today, in all its simplicity.
SGP:466 - 89 points. |
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Kildalton 15 yo 2009/2024 (53.4%, Harmony Macau, Four Towers Series II, refill hogshead, cask #1233, 163 bottles)
We are indeed spending quite a bit of time around the Great Bay today, but we’re certainly not complaining. Colour: white wine. Nose: back to that pared-down style, meticulous, simple in the almost abstract sense, on chalk, lemon, apple and ashes. With water: some oils, grape seed, sunflower, paraffin… Mouth (neat): blast, this is really very good. Full of ashes, fruit and vegetable peelings, lemon zest, oysterleaf and green pepper. It sort of splits you clean in two, but you let it—aren’t all malt lovers just a bit masochistic anyway? With water: in come baked fruits, quince, pear, apple… This part is surprising, it almost clashes a little, but the whole remains spot on. Finish: long, slightly saltier, while staying rather gentle. Lovely briny notes that linger for ages, at least 120 caudalies… I promise. Comments: a magnificent baby, high-level stuff, with just a touch less of that sharp edge we so love, though that’s entirely subjective. In short, it’s excellent.
SGP:456 - 89 points. |
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Kildalton 22 yo 2003/2025 (53.6%, Whiskyland, Decadent Drinks, 2nd fill barrel, 247 bottles)
There, the Kildalton Cross on the label. The two pagodas don’t leave much room for doubt either, though why on earth they’re floating in the middle of the Irish Sea is anyone’s guess. Or is it what might this place look like by the end of the century, affected by climate change? I’ll add that since the Lider Maximo of DD began his career as a tour guide at Ardbeg, we ought to trust his ability to pick a decent cask from said distillery. Let’s see… Colour: gold. Nose: a return to that clean, precise line, almost minimalist, on frying oil used once for Belgian shrimp croquettes (yep), plus a handful of little shells, cockles, whelks… All of this, really, just completes a platter of lightly smoked oysters, Korean style. It’s all very fine and elegant, moderately powerful, even if that distinctly Ardbeggian bicycle inner tube note shows up next. With water: fishermen’s nets left to dry on the beach and a bit of driftwood. Mouth (neat): much more rustic and punchier, with gunpowder and green pepper. Also some bitter orange, full of promise… With water: still very expressive, acidic, green, bitter, salty, fairly challenging. Finish: same profile, with great length. Comments: it’s the acidic side I find most striking here, but acidity is life, is it not.
SGP:366 - 90 points. |
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Kildalton 21 yo 2003/2025 (51.3%, The Whisky Jury, second fill bourbon, cask #11124, 276 bottles)
A ‘blended malt’ from a single cask is always amusing, unless the blending took place at birth, or before a marriage-maturation period of three years or more. Sure, sure… Colour: full gold. Nose: very much on smoke and ash, though there’s also a jammy side not often found in a second fill, perhaps a mix of marmalade and mirabelle jam… But it’s lovely. With water: more on tar, soot, and a fine bitterness, grilled aubergine-style. Mouth (neat): same slightly sweet or caramelised impression, but of course the distillate rumbles underneath and fires off loads of pepper and salted ashes. With water: very fine balance of citrus, yellow fruits, oysters, peppers, ashes and tutti quanti. Finish: long, youthful, slightly on salted and peppered lemon marmalade. Comments: the perfect counterpart to the Whiskyland; if we had the time, we’d try blending the two.
SGP:566 - 89 points. |
By the way, who remembers the official Ardbeg ‘Kildalton’ from 2014? It was only very lightly peated. Certainly good, but not the most magnificent of Ardbegs, in our humble opinion (WF 83). Right then, let’s finish with a grand finale. Or at least, here’s hoping it turns out to be one… |
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Ardbeg 15 yo (46%, Cadenhead, dumpy, 75cl, +/-1980)
The main label is entirely similar to that of other ‘black dumpy’ bottles of Ardbeg, but the neck label is a bit of an oddity, as it’s actually from a Springbank 15, most likely one of those used on certain ‘pear shape’ bottles at the time. It’s worth remembering that Springbank/J&A Mitchell had acquired WM Cadenhead in 1972. And they wasted neither glass nor paper, did they. Or perhaps Cadenhead’s neck labels had run out? Or a trainee’s blunder? Or the printer failed to deliver… Colour: straw. Nose: lots of clay and modelling putty at first, then a lovely sweetness sets in, mainly on marzipan, fresh putty and shellfish, with very gentle seaweed and just hints of tar and mild mint. This is an Ardbeg leaning rather towards elegance. Mouth: splendid! As gentle and restrained as the nose was, the palate bursts forth with salinity, grapefruit and sheer coastal peat, you get the impression of swallowing seawater or taking a massive wave full in the face. The rest is extraordinary, with all the usual suspects: gentian, chartreuse, absinthe, limoncello, oysterleaf and a myriad of tiny edible herbs, the whole as precisely tuned as a V12. Finish: long, more medicinal, and feeling more like 50% than 46, with an increasingly oily texture and an aftertaste on the trio of ashes, lemon and seawater. Comments: this is the sort of bottle that helped launch Ardbeg to the forefront for enthusiasts. Also, you’ll no doubt have noticed that we’ve carefully avoided any maltoporn.
SGP:467 - 95 points. |
Right then, thirteen Ardbegs is probably enough for today, we’ll save a few for our next session. Above all, we dream of an official release in its natural state, without any improbable boost from hyperactive wood or wine casks, something that could genuinely give the independent bottlers a run for their money. For now, alas! we’re not quite there yet… Even though, of course, there’s the marvellous, very lovable official Ten. |
(Muchas gracias, Aaron, Geert, Ratko and friends) |
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November 17, 2025 |
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It’s time to savour Clynelish once again |
We either don’t have or can no longer find (you never know with cats) this year’s Special Release, but that won’t stop us from enjoying a few Clynelish before Christmas. It’s worth noting that we’ll also have four or five Brora later on that we’ve never tried before! Anyway, today it’s Clynelish, and we’re diving in a bit at random... |
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This is not a Blend 2015/2025 (50%, Compass Box, LMDW Itinéraires, single malt, bourbon barrel, 2025)
Well, we’ve been well and truly had—and quite happily so—by both Compass Box and that dear old Magritte, since this is clearly a single malt and not a blend! Whether that’s enough to conclude it was indeed a pipe on Magritte’s painting, I’m not entirely sure… Anyway, here’s a vatting of seven casks of Clynelish, finished (can one really say that?) in ex-Bowmore casks for eight weeks. Wait, you’re right, it might well only be a single malt on paper, when in fact it’s more of a blended malt—an in-cask blend, if you will… So, the plot thickens… Colour: white wine. Nose: a young, fresh and fruity Clynelish, full of golden apple and only mildly waxy, marked by seawater and, let’s say it, Bowmore, whose mere droplets are often enough to shift the style of any vatting. With water: more Clynelish, less Bowmore, with some alpine honey. Mouth (neat): it’s a blend, but it’s excellent. I mean it’s clearly a blend, AND it’s excellent. Lemon drops, brine, beeswax, liquorice wood. With water: it’s really very very very very good, just don’t add too much water. Finish: this is not a finish. Comments: excellent. I might have called it Clynemore or Bowenish, but that would’ve felt a bit less ‘Magritte’. Still, not exactly a stratospheric score…
SGP:562 - 90 points. |
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Clynelish 9 yo 2015/2025 (53.5%, Adelphi, first fill bourbon barrel, cask #51261, 215 bottles)
One still fondly remembers that Clynelish Adelphi had released for Whiskyfun’s 20th anniversary, complete with a little magnifying glass dangling from the neck so one could actually read the label. Because let’s be honest, Adelphi’s labels are still terribly hard to read—unless you’ve now got one of those new augmented specs like the Ray Ban-Meta or Nexora, which make things considerably easier. Even if, granted, you do look a bit of a muppet with those things on your face. Anyway… Colour: white wine. Nose: brilliant, this is exactly the Compass Box, only without the Bowmore. Glorious waxes, herbs, fruit peels, tangerines, chalk and a few fresh mushrooms. With water: damp earth, wonderful. Mouth (neat): but how good is this! Just perfect, on wax-covered tangerines, pepper and honey. With water: can it get any more perfect than perfect? Possibly, as a touch of lime just rounds it all off. Finish: the ending of a great whisky is always a little sad, isn’t it? Comments: who was it that wrote that noble souls are not made to wait for years to show their worth?
SGP:651 - 91 points. |
Blimey, we’re already too far up… |
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By the way, be careful — there are quite a few dodgy online shops around at the moment which clone legitimate sites and display heavily slashed prices. Of course, they’re scams, they’ll take your money and never send the bottles. Basically, if it looks too good, it is. Don’t fall for it. Same goes for semi-private offers on Facebook, for example. Some are even taking advantage of the current dip in the market, so extreme deals might seem more believable. Codswallop! |
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Clynelish 17 yo 2008/2025 (56.3%, Gordon & MacPhail, Connoisseurs Choice, LMDW Itinéraires, 1st fill bourbon barrel)
Colour: white wine. Nose: fresh as a daisy, more on fruit, and I was about to say gentler than the previous ones, very lovely but perhaps a little less distinctly Clynelish. They may have cleaned the legendary receiver (private joke). With water: as often with G&M, it goes very cloudy. We really ought to pay another visit to their filters, which we already marvelled at some twenty years ago… Anyway, apple juice and beeswax. Mouth (neat): oooh this is good, more precise than the nose, more peppery, and oilier at the same time. Green apples cooked with pepper and honey. With water: this is still a gentler Clynelish than most, one that’s settled down and now seems to sit somewhere between the hefty neighbours to the north and south. That’s it, Pulteney and Glenmorangie. Finish: same. Comments: magnificent, just a bit… gentler.
SGP:651 - 88 points. |
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Candlekitty 15 yo 2010/2025 (55%, Decadent Drams, Decadent Drinks, refill barrel, 254 bottles)
We’re very fond of the name ‘Candlekitty’, even if at WF Towers it mostly makes the cats laugh… Colour: white wine. Nose: magnificent and rather different, in that it starts off on celeriac and turnips before veering into more familiar waxy and honeyed territories. And some overripe apple. It’s already quite intriguing at this point… With water: crisp, clean, perfect, wax, apple, barley, chalk. Mouth (neat): superlative, no need to labour the point, this mix of citrus, waxes and earth is stunning. And I swear there are echoes of ‘Old’ Clynelish. Yes, we did recently pour ourselves a lovely dram of the old 12-year-old, so we’ve got a solid comparison. With water: is Clynelish the greatest malt in Scotland? What if the distillery weren’t such an eyesore? What if it looked more like Strathisla? Or even Brora? Finish: long, flawlessly waxy and slightly more lemony. Comments: perhaps we’re suffering from that condition said to be quite treatable—Clynelitis morbifuga. Apparently best managed with regular doses of magnums, according to the faculty.
SGP:551 - 91 points. |
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Clynelish 1993/2022 (49.6%, Càrn Mòr, for The Whisky Exchange, Celebration of the Cask, bourbon barrel, cask #11080, 125 bottles)
One of the bottles we commented on during a tasting (they call it a masterclass, but I rather dislike the term) at this year’s Whisky Show in London. A superb event, with extraordinary folk and an audience of truly intergalactic calibre. Colour: white wine. Nose: pure beeswax, overripe apples, mandarin skins and damp earth. Slightly shy during the ‘big tasting’ in front of a crowd, but now, in the calm of Château WF, it’s speaking with clarity and elegance. Mouth (neat): but this is lovely. Let’s say bergamots in honey, wrapped in candle wax and a bit of pale earth, like albariza or chalky Champagne soil. Some lightly peppered apples enter a little later. Finish: long, with lemons arriving here as well. Comments: we’re very close to Candlekitty territory, though that one was a killer. Like all cats, you’ll say.
SGP:551 - 90 points. |
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Clynelish 9 yo 2012/2021 (60.4%, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, 1st fill bourbon, #26.184, ‘Lychee Scented Candles’, 231 bottles)
Of course, the name is a bit alarming—I mean, lychees? But it’s Clynelish… You’ll tell me there’s another young one called ‘Comfort and Joy’, which sounds a tad less menacing… Colour: white wine. Nose: well done, now we’re chasing those famous lychees, and not finding them. That said, there are faint touches of Mei-Kwei-Lu in there, but they’re barely perceptible. In any case, the strength is blocking everything a bit. Only one way to fix that… With water: not so sure, a bit of furniture polish does come through, as well as some dried fruits, but the Clynelishness remains rather elusive in the end. Mouth (neat): hot but fruity, with loads of pepper. As for the lychees, perhaps another time—it’s far too powerful. With water: apple juice with honey, young Calvados, a hint of lemon liqueur. Finish: not all that long in the end. Comments: I feel this is a Clynelish of the sort we used to see quite a bit twenty years ago, not all of which had their full credentials, so to speak. Still, a very good young malt, lychee or no lychee.
SGP:541 - 83 points. |
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Clynelish 24 yo 1972/1997 (61.3%, OB, United Distillers Rare Malts)
Of course we’ve tasted this baby many times before, but the note published on WF is pitiful—cramped, imprecise and frankly humiliating. That was back in 2005. Only the score still feels sound: 91/100, so it’s high time we revisited it, twenty years on and with fresh perspective. Twenty years, my friend! United Distillers, naturally, were Diageo’s predecessors. And this bottle has had some time to age as well, though at 61%, that’s bound to be slow and minimal. Colour: gold. Nose: right, a beehive, beeswax, pollen and honeys of all kinds. With water: little change, really, but it’s so elegant and texturally perfect on the nose that adding much more would almost feel vulgar. Mouth (neat): all I can say is that this is magical—sharp, nervy, unsettling, demanding, and utterly sublime. With water: wax, quince jelly, forest honey. Finish: long and on similar notes. Comments: let’s speak plainly since we’re among friends—these bottles gained massive reputation (including at WF) because, at the time of their release, they were among the few that captured the distillery characters of Diageo and its forerunners with such precision. Think of Benromach or Bladnoch, for example. Since then, the landscape has changed, there’s been a flood of very high-level indie bottlings, and so these Rare Malts—unless it’s for long-closed distilleries—may have become ever so slightly less essential. But this one, for instance, remains magical. There’s even a drop of lychee liqueur in there. Yes, really.
SGP:651 - 92 points. |
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Clynelish 28 yo 1996/2025 (49.9%, Casky Hong Kong and Kanpaikai, refill bourbon hogshead, cask #11444, 171 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: acacia honey strikes first, and while it’s among the gentlest of honeys, it’s quickly joined by apple juice, farmhouse cider, hay after a summer rain, quince jelly from grandma’s cupboard, and little medicinal salves… Mouth: the connection with the Rare Malts is so clear, it’s practically the same whisky two decades on. It’s like listening to Joni Mitchell’s re-recordings—timeless, iconic, no matter the age. Finish: little lemons quickly take command. Comments: apologies, that was a swift one, but it really is a marvellous Clynelish. And-I-love-those-little-gherkin-notes. A great spirit, across all categories.
SGP:561 - 91 points. |
It’s no doubt more than time for one last one... |
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Clynelish 21 yo 1992/2014 (51.6%, Cadenhead, Small Batch, bourbon hogsheads, 592 bottles)
We’re happy to report that these were still ‘matured in oak’. Always room for a harmless chuckle. Or so we hope—Campbeltown being, after all, a world of its own, with its own sensitivities… Colour: straw. Nose: clear line wax, overripe apples, multifloral pollen and sweet oriental bread, soft and just slightly sugary. With water: on very overripe apple, powdered cinnamon and acacia honey. Mouth (neat): that trademark honeyed softness, very much on overripe apple as with these well-known batches. Perhaps not Nobel-worthy, nor even double-gold-in-San-Francisco material, but still absolutely excellent. Lovely citrus too. Finish: just slightly ashy, faintly smoky, and mostly buried under five kilos of pollen. Coffee touches. Comments: excellent, just a bit less precise than others, as if the reduction had been done with a slightly rough hand.
SGP:561 - 86 points. |
Nine Clynelish — I think that’s enough. Clynelish, we’ll see you again next year, okay? We’ll compare your 2025 SR with the likely 2026 one in October or November 2026, okay? I almost forgot; beyond the people running it, a distillery is of course a person in its own right. |
(Merci to Grégoire and Morten) |
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November 16, 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! |
I am, of course, referring to Grande and Petite Champagne, in the Cognac region. Or Fine Champagne, which is a fine like all Cognacs (don't ask). The French word champagne comes from the Latin Campania, meaning ‘open country’ or ‘plain’. Many places in France were named this way, including, of course, the region famed for its bubbly – but also two parts of the Cognac-producing area. And many others besides. So, let’s begin with our customary little apéritif... |
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Marnier-Lapostolle V.S.O.P. (40%, OB, Fine Champagne, 1970s) 
An old cognac from the makers of Grand Marnier, now in the hands of Campari. No idea what this might be worth in terms of quality, let’s have a look… Colour: deep gold. Nose: what’s terrifying, really, is the way our brain operates, as I simply can’t help detecting notes of Grand Marnier at first, but it’s a fairly elegant cognac that soon emerges, with vine peach and plum, then a handful of golden sultanas and some charmingly honeyed touches. Lovely bottle ageing. Mouth: loads of raisins and a rather exaggerated sweetness that borders on old sweet wines, even Pineau des Charentes. It’s genuinely good, but we’re drifting away from the realm of ‘proper’ cognac. Finish: a little short, a little too jammy. Comments: this was a good product, though perhaps owing to extended time in bottle, the liqueur-like side appears to have taken over in the end.
SGP:630 - 70 points. |
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Jean-Luc Pasquet ‘Très Vieille Fine Champagne L.54Y’ (46.6%, OB, Confluences, 566 bottles)
A blend of Grande Champagne (70 + 71) and Petite Champagne 70. Just as a gentle reminder, as part of our noble mission to enlighten the parched masses, Fine Champagne refers to a blend of Petite and Grande Champagne. Colour: deep gold. Nose: exceedingly fresh, bursting with tangerines, linden blossom, honeysuckle, wonderfully ripe melon, Gravenstein apple and a mere droplet of mint honey. Tremendous freshness throughout, you could almost pair this Cognac with fine Indian cuisine, just as a suggestion. Some hints of chen-pi begin to make themselves known thereafter. Mouth: the palate picks up exactly where the nose left off, with all that elegant tension and citrus-led brightness, more floral notes, a whiff of pink pepper (Timut-style) and a touch of melon once more. From Charente, naturally! A fresh and irresistibly charming Cognac, yet underpinned by all the layered complexity its venerable age bestows. Finish: still wonderfully fresh and refined, with a rather splendid acidity that, once again, calls out for a place at the dining table, much like a good wine. Zesty echoes in the aftertaste only confirm as much. Comments: just an idea, perhaps a poularde demi-deuil à la Bocuse, or, and I insist on this, a grand Indian dish. You will have gathered by now that the drinkability index—and by extension, the danger factor—is off the charts.
SGP:741 - 91 points. |
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JC Saunier ‘Lot 75’ (44%, Authentic Spirits, Grande Champagne, 2025)
This is 100% ugni blanc from Domaine de Sabourat, 29 hectares in the Segonzac area. Colour: amber. Nose: very lovely notes of aniseed that show up straight away, followed by liquorice, then some meadow honey, dried figs, and a few zestier touches of small citrus fruits. It wraps up on gingerbread and a packet of Camel cigarettes—a descriptor we still use freely, as I believe it hasn’t been banned just yet. Mouth: we’re fairly close in style to the previous one, though this one shows a little more toastiness and char, and that tobacco note returns as well. A touch more pepper too, and some Corinthian raisins, which lead us into slightly more ‘digestif’ territory. Hints of pencil shavings, cedarwood… Finish: long, once again with a lovely acidic brightness from the citrus, but also a square of dark chocolate that settles firmly on the aftertaste. Comments: magnificent. Go on then, how about this with a rich chocolate dessert?
SGP:651 - 90 points. |
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Fine Champagne ‘Hors d’Âge’ (47.8%, Decadent Drams, Decadent Drinks, 116 bottles, 2025)
An important message to our dear friends abroad who select and bottle Cognac: the word ‘âge’, as in ‘hors d’âge’, takes a circumflex on the ‘a’, which, according to typographic rules, also applies to capital letters, so it’s ‘Hors d’Âge’ and not ‘Hors d’Age’. Apologies for being a proper pedant about these matters. Of course, none of that should detract from the quality of the contents… Colour: deep gold. Nose: zut, we’re clearly back in 90-point territory. This time, the style is a touch more oriental, almost Byzantine, with heaps of orange blossom, figs, dates, and even rose liqueur. Just a drop, mixed in with a touch of liquorice. Mouth: but how good is this! A little simpler than the previous ones, but that’s almost a virtue here, with rosehip tea and those figs still very much leading the charge, nearly evoking one of those premium raki brands you might sip while watching the boats sail up the Bosphorus. Alright, perhaps we’re getting a bit carried away. Finish: long, on peppered fig jam. Comments: here’s another topic for debate—can one even use the word ‘dram’, as in ‘Decadent Drams’, for a spirit that’s not from Scotland? Answers on a postcard, please.
SGP:651 - 90 points. |
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François Voyer ‘Le Baladeur Lot 79’ (50.4%, Malternative Belgium, Grande Champagne, 2025)
Colour: deep gold. Nose: we’re back to a more classic style, closer to slightly scorched walnut cake, mixed raisins of all kinds, orange marmalade, and heather honey, with a touch of mint and liquorice as well. With water: just two drops bring out a wee camphory and patchouli side, followed by those familiar figs we’ve already mentioned several times today. Mouth (neat): blimey, this is good, more on honeyed citrus, with a simpler profile again—but let me stress, that’s a virtue. Milk chocolate filled with orange marzipan. With water: the profile remains the same, citrus still calling the shots, to our immense delight. Acacia honey. Finish: medium length, more honeyed, rounder. The aftertaste is gently chocolatey and liquoricy. Comments: I’m sorry to report that we’ve not managed to separate this one from the others in terms of score. Excellent.
SGP:651 - 90 points. |
It’s worth noting that aside from our little apéritifs, we rarely taste anything but the crème de la crème of Cognac – the true ‘malternatives’. But I promise you, one of these days we’ll go scavenging for entry-level bottles from the big houses and do a tasting of the ‘cheapos’. A bit of a change for us… Or who knows – maybe we’ll be pleasantly surprised? |
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Delamain & Cie ‘Le Rossignol Lot 62’ (54.4%, Malternative Belgium, Petite Champagne, cask #755, 198 bottles)
The house of Delamain enjoys quite a high reputation in France, often seen on the lists of top restaurants. Of course, we’re not all that familiar with the ‘early landed’ expressions that also built the house’s name… elsewhere. Colour: deep gold. Nose: this is honey, gently blended with a little orange juice and almond milk. Very faint whiffs of natural rubber. With water: curiously turns a touch more rustic, a little more herbaceous. Mouth (neat): very classic, balanced yet taut, a little spicier than the others, and again a touch more herbal. For now… With water: there it is, the fruitiness returns, with Turkish delight and other oriental pastries, though never in an extravagant way. Finish: fairly long, still a little austere and herbaceous. Comments: very, very good, though perhaps slightly overshadowed after all those marvellously fruity ones we’ve just enjoyed. Maybe we ought to have tasted it before the superb Voyer ‘79, but how could one have known?
SGP:561 - 87 points. |
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Bache-Gabrielsen ‘Founder’s Edition Lot 57’ (46.8%, OB, Grande Champagne, +/-2025)
This Grande Champagne comes from the ‘Paradis’ cellar of the renowned house of Bache-Gabrielsen. Oh, and 1957—that’s the year of John Coltrane’s Blue Train. And Monk’s Brilliant Corners. And Miles Ahead. And Ben Webster’s Soulville… Colour: amber. Nose: here we are in hyper-classic territory, with praline, overripe apples, very ripe yellow peaches, blackcurrant bud that really commands respect (ahem), almond brittle, and—dare I say it—something reminiscent of old Highland Park from similar vintages (soon on WF). Mouth: this is beautiful, with a little age showing (herbal teas, infusions), but also lovely notes of liquorice wood, peach and apricot skins, walnuts, and a fine touch of tobacco. It’s just important, when tasting this sort of old cognac, to always keep in mind that it’s something ancient and slightly fragile and shouldn’t be pushed about. Nor should we force our grandmothers to dance to Aerosmith or Blue Öyster Cult, should we? You get the idea, I’m sure. Finish: nice length, drifting toward fine aged white wine, like a good Graves blanc or a mature Meursault from the same era. Comments: it’s quite moving to taste these old Cognacs, which have so much to tell us—even if they do speak in hushed tones, and just a little hesitantly.
SGP:561 - 88 points. |
A few more – not necessarily from the ‘Champagne’ crus… |
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Godet 29 yo (43.2%, OB, Borderies, cask #FB2311, 2025)
Some pure ugni blanc from a dry cellar and from old Tronçais oak. This baby was just bottled last month. Colour: golden amber. Nose: a very fine composition of tobacco, leather, and tiny dried raisins, with wafts of violet liquorice in the background—liable to stir all manner of childhood memories—followed by a few very ripe peaches that seem to have just dropped from the tree, a touch of almond oil, and perhaps a hint of pecan, less expressive but very gentle. A lovely nose, very elegant. Mouth: rather lively on the attack, with candied orange, but it quickly shifts to dried figs, dates stuffed with marzipan, and that violet liquorice we mentioned above. The bottling strength is just perfect. Finish: fairly long, a touch saltier, with faint echoes of Spanish ham and a slightly more rustic side that’s utterly charming. Lovely pepper on the aftertaste, which becomes even a notch more rustic. Comments: I love this rather alternative Borderies, almost a little ‘Highlands’ in style, particularly on the palate.
SGP:551 - 90 points. |
Right then, let’s have a young one now… |
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Prunier ‘XO’ (49.1%, Swell de Spirits, On Tour #09, Cognac Festival Bordeaux 2025, Petite Champagne)
These are Cognacs of 14 years at the youngest, distilled on the lees and aged in a damp cellar. Do remember, in French ‘XO’ or ‘extra old’ actually means fairly young. It’s a bit like the opposite of cinema actresses, isn’t it. Colour: gold. Nose: naturally more herbaceous, tauter than the older ones, with hay and citrus zest, plus touches of woodruff, fresh mint, and distinctly lovely wormwood. Also a faint touch of Burgundian marc popping up here and there. Mouth: on the palate it’s not worlds apart from the older ones, so it’s rounder, with more stewed and dried fruits, orange marmalade, ripe peaches, dates, and a bit of liquorice wood. Finish: long, more on the orange marmalade. Marmalade with Cognac—does that exist? We’ll have to ask our British friends. A little agave syrup and pink pepper on the aftertaste. Comments: a perfect Cognac for a fine silver hip flask, made for long countryside strolls. I like this a lot. By the way, happy festival, Bordeaux!
SGP:561 - 88 points. |
One last one, a particularly symbolic choice, as we’ve just marked the Armistice of the 1914–1918 war this week… |
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François Voyer ‘La Gardienne Lot 19.14’ (44.9%, Malternative Belgium, Grande Champagne, 2025)
Just forty-two bottles drawn from a demijohn into which this very likely 1914 vintage was transferred in the 1990s, after at least seventy-five years in cask. To be honest, the label with the biplanes leaves little doubt about the vintage. Colour: golden amber. Nose: what a fruit bomb! Without meaning to offend our Cognac friends, we’re very much in the realm of a great old fruity malt—Benriach ’76, Clynelish ’72, Lochside ’66, Bowmore ’64, old Littlemill… It’s loaded with tangerines, melons and mangoes, with a discreet and elegant honeyed touch. Seems the demijohn did an excellent job. Mouth: same impression, it’s precise, utterly unforced, with perfect fruitiness in line with the nose. What were we saying again? Tangerines, melons and mangoes... And a few faint hints of prickly pear and some noble, slightly botrytised old sweet wine. I’ll let you pick your preferred label. Finish: rather long, still on those same fruits, with subtle medicinal, camphory, minty and liquoricy touches. Timut pepper makes more of a showing on the aftertaste, with a light oaky glow. Comments: this magnificent Cognac was clearly distilled after the general mobilisation of August 1914, and it’s highly likely that it was made by women. A true splendour.
SGP:741 - 93 points. |
How on earth do you follow that? |
(Thank you tout le monde!) |
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November 15, 2025 |
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Angus's Corner
From our correspondent and skilled taster Angus MacRaild in Scotland. |
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Remembering
Dick Beach
This week we lost Dick Beach. A great friend to us at Whiskyfun, a great friend to so many people in whisky and beyond, a Dad to Jon Beach, a grandfather, and the kind of person who deeply enriched the lives of the people around him. Dick was a good age and he lived a long, eventful and clearly a fun life, yet it is still shocking and sad to lose him. |
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| Dick Beach (Photo Marcel Van Gils) |
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I first met Dick and his son Jon on Islay in 2010. They arranged a tasting of all the Port Ellen annual releases, which were duly opened and enjoyed, fortified by a small loch-full of scallops. I recorded tasting notes for each of the Port Ellens by hand on the back of an A4 envelope (which I believe is somewhere out there in the ether of Drumnadrochit to this day). |
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But the lasting memory, and the most meaningful event, of that day was meeting Dick and Jon. It isn’t too often that you click immediately with people in life, but we did, and a profoundly unserious, hearty, fun-filled and life-affirming friendship followed from the dregs of that wonderful party. |
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If Jon is the hyperactive, Salmon-coveting, joy-producing engine at the heart of Fiddler’s in Drumnadrochit, then Dick was the steadying and guiding force that brought an old school charm and wry sophistication to that outfit. My impressions of Dick were always that he was a product of a different generation’s experiences and values, but he represented the best of those times and he knew instinctively which side of the serious and un-serious divide in which to place his life’s priorities: he loved his family; he took his business seriously; he knew when to let his hair down and have a damn good time! |
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Dick was indeed old school in many ways, but he was a deeply passionate and thoughtful man. He could become immensely animated about politics, he was one of the people that taught me that others with wildly different views from your own can still come at their life’s perspectives from a position of caring deeply about the world, about society and about others. We often disagreed with boundless stamina, but when I think about it, most of his political views were concerned with the future and about how the world might be better for his grandkids. |
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He was a gentleman, but he was also cheeky, inexhaustibly capable of silliness and a storytelling raconteur. It was only a couple of months ago in Edinburgh that he put us all to shame by staying up until three in the morning, regaling us with stories and fulfilling the role of beating heart of the party. What makes his sudden departure so shocking, is that he seemed to possess some kind of energetic enthusiasm that suggested he would be with us for years. |
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Perhaps the most important thing to say about Dick, is that he was kind. He took interest in people, noticed them, the things they liked or were good at, and he encouraged people and engaged with them. He was forever pressing me to write more: “When are you going to write a bloody book?!” was usually a sentence I’d be on the receiving end of before the first dram was poured whenever we’d meet. |
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He was not a whisky geek in the sense many of us are. He was not obsessive about micro-detail, but he was deeply appreciative, understood quality and exercised quietly impeccable judgement. He liked old style whiskies, but also old-fashioned ones, meaning he enjoyed old Gordon & MacPhail malts bottled at lower, easy to sip bottling strengths. He adored the old-style lusciousness and generous fruitiness of richly sherried Speysiders. Most of all, he held a profound soft spot for old Miltonduff. He was someone you could dram with and the whisky was what it should be: a delicious supporting act for the main show of good conversation and revelry. |
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It was through whisky that, along with a wonderful group of likeminded friends, we shared some of our greatest collective experiences in recent years. Our trip to Brora in 2013 ‘Broracademy’; the Pre-War Whisky Tour in 2014; the Islay Odyssey in 2015; our trip to Jerez in 2017; various Whisky Show Old & Rare get togethers in between; then, finally, our recent weekend in Edinburgh. If you’ve been a regular reader of Whiskyfun over the years, you might be aware of just how many really incredible, often historic bottles were opened on these adventures. One of the constants through it all was Dick Beach, glass in hand, happy as a Salmon at the top of its ladder, to just be there enjoying the company and another hefty measure of something ancient and delicious! |
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There are a lot of fun and cherished memories from these various trips we shared together over the years, but when it comes to Dick, it’s probably his pithy, politically incorrect and entirely accurate summation of the situation we all found ourselves in, while sipping a large dram of something clearly very dark and delicious, he chuckled and said “God, it’s a lovely way to get pissed, isn’t it!” |
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It so happens that I have a few centilitres remaining of a special old Miltonduff on my bottle shelf, and also just so happens that, for whatever reason, I never recorded notes for it before. Perhaps the universe is saying something. When my own father passed away, I remember my mind continually circling back to the nagging question: where is he? I’ve felt that same, haunting question in the back of my mind these last few days since Dick passed. I have no idea about the answer, but I know he’ll exist in countless happy memories for many people and for many years. His profession was hospitality after all, and through what he and his son and wider family have created in Fiddler’s, he brought a lot of joy to visitors from all parts of the world. A legacy that lives on in every plate of fish n chips, every cold pint and every delighted traveller that alights there. Here's to Dick, but also to Jon and to their family. |
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Miltonduff 35 yo 1961/1996 (53.4%, Signatory Vintage, #51, 189 bottles) 
Colour: bright straw. Nose: fresh, waxy and mineral. Classic old style, distillate-driven malt whisky of body, fatness and beautiful weight. There’s also quite a few citrons, a single kumquat and notes of lime curd and white flowers. With water: honey and waxes in comforting abundance, the honey is nicely resinous in a way that recalls cask-aged mead and old, crystallised, dried out honeycomb. Mouth: diet Clynelish in the very best sense! Perfectly waxy, mineral, a tension between petrol and oils, wee notes of bouillon, sheep wool and bone marrow add to this feeling of fatness and texture. I would also say there’s a slight salinity about it too, which enhances this overall feeling of freshness. With water: more honey, more enhanced waxiness and more petrolic and mineral qualities. Mineral salts and mineral oils all muddled up with waxy lemon rind and lemon marmalade. Finish: long, tense, mineral, waxy, full of stones, flowers, putty and hints of herbal teas. Comments: none. Here’s to you Dick! No doubt you’d have preferred this one at 43% and after around two-three decades in some kind of ancient, luscious sherry cask!
SGP:461 - 91 points. |
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