Balblair 1999, 1st release

Balblair is probably the only distillery that still sells their whiskies as vintages. The 1999 vintage 1st edition has been a mainstay of the travel retail. It was bottled in 2016 which makes the whisky approximately 17 years old. It has been aged in ex bourbon barrels and some ex spanish oaksherry butts. So how does it taste?

Smell: A nice complex smell. With vanilla, spices, fruits and some apples and some citrus
Taste: Spicy and some toffee and some vanilla and sweetness.
Aftertaste: Long spicy sweet finish.

A highly recommended whisky. One of the best whiskies in the travel retail range.

Lagavulin Distillers edition 2000/2016

The whisky Lagavulin 16 years old in one of the classic whiskies around the world. The Lagavulin distillers edition is released every years and it is  vintage whiksy that is 16 years old but that has been finished in PX sherry casks. So what is PX sherry? It is a very sweet sherry wine and it is normally used as a dessert wine. So how will the classic Lagavulin handle a finishing with PX sherry casks? The Lagavulin DE that I have tried was made in 2000 and bottled in 2016.

Smell: In the beginning the normal Lagavulin smoke with tar and medicine and very far in the back some sweetness.
Taste: Very rich taste. Smoke with tar and some medicinal notes. After some time a bit of sweetness come out.
Aftertaste: Smoke with some sweetness

For me the PX sherry is hidden in the smoke. I prefer the normal 16 yo because it is more austere and luckily for me the normal Lagavulin is cheaper than the Lagavulin DE.

Bruichladdich Islay barley 2009

Bruichladdich is a whisky distillery on the isle of Islay which was founded in 1881. Bruichladdich, who describe themselves as ‘progressive Hebridean distillers’ can be quite innovative but also quite traditional as they tend to use a lot of old equipment and no computers when making the whisky.

The whisky Bruichladdich Islay barley 2009 is made was distilled from barley grown in 2008 by Gilbie McCormick of Claggan, Hunter Jackson at Cruach, Ian McKerrell of Island and Alastair Torrance from Mulindry. It is non chill filtered and non-coloured. The barley varieties that was used were Publican & Oxbridge barley varieties. Only americn oak casks were used for maturation as they impart less flavour than European oak and in this Islay barley release are all about the terroir of central Islay. The ABV is 50%.

Normally one could not get this much information about any whisky but Bruichladdich is quite transparent about what they put into their whisky. So how does this whisky taste?

Nose: Some tropical fruits
Taste: Malty with some citrus and almost coastal sea water taste
Aftertaste: Citrus and some sea water

For the age of this whisky it is a very god whisky. Only seven years old but feels like a 10-12 year old whisky, very good.

Tomatin aged 18 years

A while ago I tasted Tomatins 12 year old and now it is time for their 18 year old. The 18 year old had been finished in Oloroso sherry butts and it is non chill filtered and no colouring has been added. The ABV is 46%. Tomatin call themselves the softer side of the Highland so let us see if that is true.

On the nose I get some soft sherry and honey. In the taste I get some sherry with some soft spices and some dark chocolate. The finish is some spices and oak. Quite true, a softer side of the higlands but still with some character. Better than their 12 year old.

Tamdhu Batch Strength 2

Tamdhu distillery in Speyside, Scotland was founded around 1896 and is owned by Ian Macleod and they only fill their whisky in sherry casks. It is not a famous distillery but their batch strength whisky has gotten good reviews so this whisky has been on my list to try.  The Tamdhu batch strength that I have tried is the batch no2 and has an ABV 58,5%. It has all been aged in sherry casks and from the colour one can see that a lot of first fill sherry casks has been used.

Let's see how it is. In the nose I get a strong sherry with strong spices and and alcohol smell. Considering it is 58,5% one should get some alcohol in the nose.
In the taste I get strong sherry, spices and some oak. Of course an alcohol burn but quite pleasant one. In the aftertaste I get dried fruits and a long spicy warming aftertaste.

Now I add some water to get it down to around ca 48-50% ABV. On the nose I get less alcohol, with lighter sherry with some dried fruits.
In the taste I get sherry, oak, spices and dried fruits, maybe some Christmas cake. It is changing a bit with water to bring out some more spices compared to the original ABV. The aftertaste it is very long with spices, some sherry and vanilla.

An excellent high strength sherry monster. Which can take on different forms depending on how much water one adds. I love this one.

Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Buffalo Trace is a Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey from the Buffalo Trace distillery. It is made of corn, rye and malt and from I understood it is quite a large amount of corn, much higher than the 51% required by Kentucky Straight Bourbon. It is a small batch bourbon made from 25-30 barrels in a batch. On the nose I get caramel, vanilla and some spices. The taste is vanilla, oak and some caramel. It is very smooth to drink but I wish the ABV would have been higher, maybe 46% instead of 40%. A slight burn in the aftertaste. A nice Bourbon.

The Four Roses single barrel is also a Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey from the Four Roses distillery. This is bottled at 100% and since this a single barrel the taste will change from barrel to barrel. From what i have read is that for this Bourbon is that they use a bit higher rye content than the normal Bourbon. The nose is strong, I smell vanilla and a very spice smell probably from the high rye content.The taste is of spices and some oak. It is a full bodied whisky and even at 50% one can drink it neat. It has a long nice aftertaste.

I like the Four Roses single barrel better than the Buffalo Trace because it is stronger and has high impact in the mouth. But I understand that for some people the single barrel could be to much and then the Buffalo Trace would fit them better.

Whisky: Deanston 12 and Glengoyne 12

Time to return for some whiskies. First up is the Deanston 12 year old. Deanston is a distillery near Doune. Probably all have seen Doune castle in the Monty Python move Holy Grail. It is quite a new distillery and it started in 1957 when an old cotton mill was converted into a distillery. From the beginning Deanston was not known for great whisky but in recent years it seems that the owner has increased the quality a lot. The Deanston 12 year old I believe has only been aged in Bourbon barrels. It is un-chilledfiltered and uncoloured. In the nose I get a malty smell with maybe some toffee. The taste is of malt, vanilla and some oak. In the aftertaste I get some malt and spices. A very good 12 year old.

Glengoyne belongs to the highland distilleries but their storage area for casks are across the road in the lowlands. They use a lot of sherry casks in their whiskies and one of the few distilleries that has a complete age statement range for a good price. Their 12 consists of 20% first fill European sherry oak casks, 20% 1st fill bourbon barrels and 60% oak refill casks. I was quite disappointed when I tasted it the first time. It felt a bit inmature and very closed. I went back a couple of months later and then it had completely changed its character. So it need some time to open up. When it had opened up it was very good. The nose was of sherry, spices and some vanilla. The taste is of sherry, oak and some spice. The aftertaste is of sherry and spices. Very nice. Will be interesting to try their older whiskies in the future such as the 18 and 21 year old.

Two whiskies from Edradour

Edradour is a small distillery in the Highlands in Scotland. It is privately owned distillery, it was bought 2002 by Andrew Symington of Signatory company. Edradour has one of the most smallest stills allowed in Scotland so therefore the distillery character is a bit heavy and oily.

The whisky Caledonia is a 12yo whisky from Edradour. The first Caledonia whisky was chosen by Dougie Maclean and in this video below one can see the process when Dougie Maclean choose the first cask.

The nose is intense and one can feel fruits and sherry, quite a complex smell. The taste is strong and quite oily, it feels stronger than the 46% ABV. It has different flavours such as sherry, fruits and some vanilla and spices. A long aftertaste. A really good whisky. And now listen to the song Caledonia by Dougie Maclean.

The second whisky from Edradour is their brand Ballechin and their 10yo. Ballechin is the heavily peated Edradour brand. The malt used for the whisky is smoked to at least 50ppm. For the Ballechin the whiksy used has been aged in former Bourbon barrels and sherry casks. The smell is smoky with some dark chocolates and some oil. The taste is complex with smoke, some oak, oily and some light fruits and spices rounding it off. It has a long aftertaste with a lingering light smoke in the mouth. This is a very good 10yo whisky.

Balblair vintage 2005 and Tomatin 12 years

Let us leave Italy and wine and go to Scotland for whisky. I will look into two releases from two less known distilleries Balblair and Tomatin.

First up is Balblair and the Balblair 2005, Balblair is one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland and was founded in 1790. Balblair is owned by Inver House and is located in the northern Highlands north of Inverness. Bablair differs from other distilleries in that they only bottle vintages. So the vintage that I have tried is their 2005 and it was bottled in 2015, so it is approximately 10 years old. It is natural colour and is non chill-filtered. I have to say that the box is very beautiful and that the bottle shape is a delight to see as it show the contents very well and one can see the natural colour of the whisky very well.
The colour of this whisky is a bit lighter and one can see that bourbon barrels have been used for maturing the whisky.
The nose of the Balblair 2005 is some oak and vanilla with green apples and almost some toffee.
The taste is a delight. One gets a citrus with toffee and some spices. A medium finish that lingers.
I like this whisky very much and I have to try other vintages. Because one can find old vintages and not become ruined as both the 1999 and the 1990 are reasonably priced.

Next up is the Tomatin 12 years. Tomatin is owned by japanese owners Takara Shuzo and Tomatin is situated south east of Inverness. Tomatin is also the one of the highest situated distillery in Scotland. they are also very open with their whiskies and have a wide range available. They call themselves the softer side of the highlands.
The 12 year old whisky is matured in ex bourbon barrels and sherry casks. The nose has a fruity aroma. The taste has a definitive taste of apples which seem to be the distillery character followed by oranges and oak. This is a smooth whisky and has a very good price, definately softer side of the Highlands.

If you have the chance, visit the Highlands in Scotland, it is such a beautiful place and if you have the time, visit a distillery.

Bruichladdich, the classic laddie

The Classic Laddie from Bruichaddich is made from Scottish barley and then matured in American and French oak. It is un-chill filtered and uncoloured. It has been bottled at 50% ABV which is good as then I can choose how much water to add. This is a whisky which I have completely changed my mind about when drinking it the last year. Sometimes it takes time to appreciate things.

The smell is the sea, with some fruity aromas. The taste is a bit aggressive due to the high ABV. A bit sour in the taste but some citrus and fruits. A bit fiery after-taste due to the alcohol. The ABV feels like it is much higher than 50% . With some water I get a dryness in the after-taste. Must be the tannins from the oak. I also get like a salty taste in the mouth. It is young and vibrant, quite interesting and I believe that this whisky need some time to open up, let it oxidise in the bottle for a couple of months to let it shine. Definitely a non typical Islay whisky and definitely not for everyone.

Compass Box, Enlightement whisky

The whisky Enlightenment from Compass Box is an interesting whisky. Compass Box makes something called blended malt whiskies. Which are single malt whiskies from different distilleries that they blend together into a blended malt whisky. Not to be confused with blended whiskies which contains grain whiskies also.

Enlightenment was made to showcase the problems with the Scottish whisky laws as Compass Box wants to write all the information they have of the whisky on the bottle, however laws states that only the youngest whisky age can be written on the bottle. So if this whisky contains 1% four year old whisky and 99% 30 year old whisky, the only thing that can be written on the label of the bottle is 4 years old.

Enlightenment contains the following whiskies:4 8.2%  Clynelish (first fill American oak barrel), 36.7%  Glentauchers (first fill American oak barrel), 10.8%  Balblair (first fill American oak barrel) and 4.3%  Mortlach (rejuvenated American oak barrel). Since I both like Balblair and Clynelish this was one of the reasons that I bought this Whisky.

The colour is quite light despite being first fill American oak barrels involved. The nose is very light, a bit flowery. The taste is quite aggressive and there is something covering the mouth, maybe some young whisky. A metallic taste in the mouth in the after taste. A bit citrus in the taste but I don't like this whisky at all. It is like a mix gone wrong. It seems like Compass Box has taken the worst of the distilleries and put them together instead of what I liked about the different distilleries. Definitely not worth the price that I paid even if this is one limited edition of 5922 bottles.

The smell is the best thing about this whisky while the taste is the worst thing. Interesting but there are better and cheaper whiskies to drink instead of this one.

Glendronach 12 year old original

Glendronach is a distillery famous for their whisky which has been stored in sherry casks. Their 12 year old has been stored in oak barrels that has been used to store PX sherry and Oloroso sherry. It is bottled at 43% ABV and is non chill filtered. The smell is of sherry, fruits and vanilla. The taste is of sherry, sweetness, fruits and green apples. The after taste lingers for a long time and the first impressions is of sherry and oak. With oak getting more dominant the more one taste. A good 12 year old whisky.

Glenfarclas 17 year old

A couple I months I tried the Glenfarclas 12 year old but I have heard that older Glenfarclas is better. So this time I have tried the 17 year old. As the 12 year old it is uncoloured and is bottled at 43% ABV. The smell is of sherry, oak and some fruits. Very good smell that one can just smell for many minutes. The taste is of sherry, oak, dark chocolate with some sweetness. much better balance than the 12 year old. The after taste is of sherry and oak. It seem that Glenfarclas gets better with age, and luckily for us the prices are not so steep for their older whiskies. For the future I will have to try the 21 or 25 year old to see if they get better.

Isle of Jura distillery

The Isle of Jura distillery is situated on the island of Jura in the inner Hebrides in Scotland. The closest neighbour is the more famous island Islay. The distillery produces 2,2 million liters each year and to visit the island is quite hard. Jura releases several different whiskies but one is a package containing three bottles of 0,2l, consisting of one 10 year old Origin, one 16 year old Diurachs own and the heavily peated Prophecy of no age statement.

Juras standard bottling is the 10 year old Origin. The nose is of alcohol, fruit and oak. The taste is of fruit and oak while the aftertaste leaves a bit salty oily chilli. My impression of this whisky is that the taste is sharp and leaves a bit sour after taste and an almost metallic taste in my mouth. Tastes like a blended whisky. Not to my liking. There are better whiskies for me.

The Jura Prophecy is the heavily peated whisky produced by Isle of Jura. The smell is of smoke and some hints of lemon. The taste if only of smoke and so is the after taste. Very one dimensional, for people who only wants smoke in their whiskies. But I want more complex whiskies.

The sixteen year old bottling is called Diurachs own. For thoese who are interested Diurach is the Gaelic word for people of Jura. ´The nose is lemon and sherry. The taste is of Dark Chocolate, oak and lemon. The aftertaste is some alcohol. Better than the 10 year old but still lacking what I would expect from a 16 year old.

Bruichladdich Islay barley

The distiller Bruichladdich on Islay an quite interesting distillery. They go for much locally made. With two new releases in Sweden Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2009 and Port Charlotte Islay Barley 2008 they showcase their locally made whisky. For example the Islay Barley 2009 is made by barley from four different farms on Islay, Claggan, Cruach, Island and Mulindry farms. From what I understand Bruichladdich is looking into malting this barley at the distillery also. That means everything will be done at Islay for these whiskies in the future including the barley grown.
I like that Bruichladdich distillery goes for so much locally made.

Glenfarclas 12 and Laphroaig 10

I have been trying to find a lighter single malt whisky but still one that has a character. One that I have tried is the Glenfarclas 12 year old from the Glenfarclas distillery. It is a family owned distillery owned by the Grant family since 1865 making it one of the few independent distilleries in Scotland. The nose is of sherry and some fruit. The taste is of sherry, some oak, fruits and is a bit sweet. The aftertaste which is quite short consists of sherry. For me the balance is a bit off for this bottling, I think it would need a couple of more years in the barrel. But lucky for me I also have a 17 year old Glenfarclas to try at home.

Going from the lighter whisky to Islay home of the peated whiskies. Laphroiag is one of the first whiskies I ever drank and I have good memories of it. Their flag bearer is the 10 year old. The smell is some smoke with a medicinal character. The taste is of smoke, iodine, some tar. The finish is long with smoke and the medicinal iodine. Very good. But still I say that the Cask Strength 10 year old is the better ten year old.

A different bourbon

Bourbon has been for me really bad. Jack Daniels and Jim Beam. Awful stuff to drink. So when I tasted the bourbon Makers Mark that I got as a birthday gift I was suprised.
Makers Mark is a bourbon that is distilled in Loretto, Kentucky. Its trademark is is the almost square bottle which is sealed with red wax. And they use the scottish spelling of whisky, not whiskey. The taste of the whisky is very flavourful. It has a taste of oak, vanilla and much more. A few drops of water in the whisky and it ggives away more taste. Very good.
 I wonder if I will every visit this distillery. Wold be fun to try it out there they distill it. I can always look at the pics from their site, http://www.makersmark.com/.