Springbank 9 Local Barley & Longrow 14 Sherry Reviews

Hi everyone,

We all love special releases of Springbank. We do. Don’t deny it.

One of the most popular of these has been the Local Barley releases of the last year or two and I was lucky enough to try the 16 and 11. The latest one, the 9, I have today, as well as a recent 14yo Longrow from Sherry casks.

Springbank 9 Local Barley 57.7%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: More open than the previous two LB's. Freshly cut mango, some minerals, fresh lemon, fresh mint, the malt comes through well too, nicely balanced. White grapefruit and subtle smoke.

Taste: Intense, lovely arrival, fresh fruit, lemon and mango then more mineral and smoky as it develops, salt and lemon juice, soot, a little oak and crushed chalk.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Juicy lemon squeezed over salt crusted rocks.

2018 release. I prefer this one to the 16 I think. Its got none of the youth you might expect for this age although its still raw and powerful.

80/100

 

Longrow 14 Sherry 57.8%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Wonderful, complex, dirty and fruity. Leather and really intense coffee, dirty orange and pomegranate, chocolate and black pepper and soot. Lovely herbal notes as it opens up.

Taste: Intense arrival then soft, so so balanced, dirty orange and smoke, sweet Sherry, pomegranate and cranberry, black pepper, sea salt, oily mouthfeel.

Finish: Short/Medium length. Goes quite quick but the spices stay a little, black pepper and salt.

Bottled 2018. I was expecting a Sherry-smoke monster but it’s actually quite soft and light on the palate.

82/100

Updated Distillery Rankings

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Reviews #701-#702

Whisky Network Reviews #838-#839

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Singleton of Glen Ord 14 Review

Hi everyone,

This was the other Special Release I was very excited about and that surprised everyone. Partially, I think, because Glen Ord is a bit of an unknown distillery but mostly because it was mid-priced, which we see very little of in the SR’s these days (only the Laga 12 and the Unpeated Caol Ila’s really).

When I tried this I had thought it was just straight refill Bourbon and Hogshead matured, which the taste seemed to confirm… but then reading a little background I realised that that was not the case at all. Whisky Exchange put it like this: ‘European oak ex-sherry and refill American oak ex-bourbon casks, then the spirit was moved to ex-Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel casks, and finally it was married together in European oak puncheons.’

Anywho, I got this sample off the ever generous Colin Dunn at a festival and was able to taste it at home.

 

Singleton of Glen Ord 14 57.6%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Interesting stuff! The malt is the big player here, fruity too with apple, lemon, melon and exotic orange. The minerality makes it for me, lovely chalky note with some crushed stone, a little oak with cinnamon, marshmallow and wood spice.

Water: More fruity with loads of pear and green apple, much fresher with the malt retreating.

Taste: Soft arrival, cutting citrus, lemon juice to start then the oak comes in with this delicious malt note, ginger and black pepper, melon, complex, mineral notes now coming in with that chalky crushed stone. Masterfully balanced, really.

Water: Fresher here too with more lemon and melon, pear and green apple. Quite sour now though, so loses some balance.

Finish: Long length. A burst of citrus before more malt comes in, some heather and a little chocolate right at the end.

Special Releases 2018. Distilled 2002. Super impressed with this. Delicious and very enjoyable. Despite all the messing around with the casks, it comes across as a very natural style that stays true to the spirit.

84/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Ranking

Scotch Review #692

Whisky Network Review #826

Network Average: 75.1

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Bruichladdich 2006 Whiskybroker & 14 TBWC Reviews

Hi everyone,

Sherried Bruichladdich can be a wonderful thing and more and more of them have been appearing in the hands of various independent bottlers. Some of them are crazy dark, like there was a bucket load of PX Sherry sitting in the bottom when they filled the barrel.

These are two I’ve tried recently:

Bruichladdich 2006 Whiskybroker 55.7%

Colour: Coca Cola

Body: Full

Nose: A massive Sherry monster. Dark and rich with a lot of complexity to it. Dark orange, dark chocolate, tobacco, plum, date, sticky raisin, damp wood, complex cherry, cocktail cherry, cherry jam, fruit compote, there's some subtle minerality behind reminding you we're on Islay. Bran flakes, coffee, something liqueur like, maybe ameretto? Oh and vanilla fudge.

Water: Softer. Damp tobacco, dark Oloroso sherry, raisin, some Christmas cake, some marzipan, walnut. Less complex though.

Taste: Intense arrival, big whisky, lots of sharpness up front, sour, sour cherry, splintered dry wood (making me think it's an old one actually), lots of oak, really dry, puckering tannins, spices, no sweetness at all! Then more sour orange, malt, date and plum, fig, some chocolate and malt. Not too complex but the oak and sourness really dominate here. Tastes much older than 11. After some oxygen there's a little meaty note like some kind of honey glazed ham, quite delicious.

Water: Much softer arrival, none of that sour or sharpness, damp tobacco, dark chocolate, coffee beans, dark roasted malt eaten out the bag at a brewery, dark caramel, hard tannins, dry oak, quite spicy still too and virgin oak-like spices with ginger and nutmeg.

Finish: Long length. Darker, more tobacco, dark caramel, dark chocolate, americano coffee and some nutmeg and cinnamon spice. Great finish.

11yo, bottled 2017. Very oaky for the age, and some older Bourbon-like notes here too.

80/100

 

Bruichladdich 14 TBWC 50.5%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Darker than the colour lets on. Dark orange, dark chocolate, coffee, fig, some PX Sherry, plum and raisin, a little ash. More complex over time.

Taste: Sweet, PX Sherry, stewed raisin, black date and fig, dark orange, then dark chocolate, malt and black coffee, black cherry.

Finish: Long length. Very rich, very sweet, black cherry sauce, oak, spice. Drier.

Wonderful sweetness to this! If you've got a sweet tooth, this one is for you!

81/100

Distillery: Bruichladdich

Average Score: 79.3

Distillery Ranking: 12th/ 62 places

Up/Down: No movement

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Reviews #658-#659

Whisky Network Reviews #791-#792

Network Average: 75.0

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Bowmore 2002 & Ardbeg 1996 Cheiftain's Reviews

Hi everyone,

Two Islay’s from Cheiftain’s today.

It’s funny that I would always expect Ardbeg to be more smoky in taste/smell than Bowmore, even if the Bowmore was younger, as it has about half the ppm content. But it turned out the other way round with these two. I would also expect most modern Ardbeg’s to beat most modern Bowmore’s but again, I was proven wrong.

Bowmore 2002 Chieftain’s 46%

Colour: Light gold

Nose: Lightly smoky, ashy, lightly tropical with pineapple, a little floral, lemon soap. I quite like the lemon soap here, although I could see others hating it.

Taste: Soft, lacking a little power first then the smoke comes in with pineapple backing, soot, a little floral. More peaty than I expected actually.

Finish: Med. A little rubber, some pineapple, soot and oak.

Bot 2016 @14yo. The rubber on the finish was holding this back, as well as lacking a bit in the delivery. At cask strength it might have been better.

75/100

 

Ardbeg 1996 Chieftain’s 46.5%

Colour: Straw

Body: Medium

Nose: A sooty and slightly off form Ardbeg. Green apple and lemon, very little smoke here, ash, a bit closed too.

Taste: Soft, acidic, citrus with lemon, some green apple and a little smoke, ash. Again, barely any peat notes. Lacking structure and, come to think of it, everything that makes Ardbeg awesome.

Finish: Medium length. Way too acidic here, oak and ash.

Bottled 2016 @ 20yo. Not a great one. Too acidic. Too little complexity. Too little Ardbeg.

71/100

Distilleries: Bowmore/Ardbeg

Average Scores: 83.3 & 78.4

Distillery Rankings: 4th & 16th/ 61 places

Up/Down: 3/15> 4/16 (Both down 1)

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Reviews #624-#625

Whisky Network Reviews #742-#743

Network Average: 74.9

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Mortlach 14 Sestante (Late 70's Import) Review

Hi everyone,

Hunt down old Mortlach. If you love whisky, hunt down old Mortlach.

Perhaps its me getting soft, but its been very rare that I give a score in the 90’s. So giving my first 94 and finding another 92 on the same day was a big treat. This was the last dram I tasted in Groningen at WFNN.

Sestante was a legendary Italian bottler operating in the 80’s and 90’s with a similar reputation to Samaroli. I was dithering between two old Mortlach’s and this one was recommended to me as one of the best Mortlach’s ever bottled. Sold! I shouted (only in my head mind you), before clasping the glass like a new born baby.

 

Mortlach 14 Sestante (Late 70's Import) 57%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Really old school. Dried blood comes off immediately. Meaty, Sherry, heavy style with beeswax, old brass, old worn leather, very dark chocolate and some amazing dried raspberry. So many complex oils and florals underneath.

Taste: Huge but soft, amazing distillate, amazing cask. Heavy sherry, meaty, so firm, in your face but oh so balanced and long, raisin, leather, oily for days.

Finish: Long length. So oily and classy and firm. More meaty here with the dried blood making a thundering return, dark chocolate, chocolate/cocoa powder.

An import for Italy, probably distilled in the 60’s. What a stunning, stunning whisky! With some water the nose opened up a little more with these lovely medicinal notes but the taste became a little too dry and oaky.

92/100

Distillery: Mortlach

Average Score: 80.3

Distillery Ranking: 8th/ 62 places

Up/Down: 14> 8 (Up 6)

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #608

Whisky Network Review #720

Network Average: 74.6

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Balvenie 14 Peat Week Review [London has Fallen]

Hi everyone,

Back in 2002 Balvenie peated some of their whisky. Which isn’t very like Balvenie, because they very well known for their elegant honeyed whiskies.

Although, I’ve heard that on the tour you can shovel peat on a fire at their on site floor maltings… But I wouldn’t know myself as I’ve never been able to get on said tour… Not that I’m bitter or anything.

Anyway, to go against the crush of new releases, Balvenie went and released this peated stuff with an age statement and at a sensible strength. Good going.

 

Balvenie 14 Peat Week 48.3%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Lovely nose. Lots of honey, rubbery artificial fruit, slight malt note but very VERY subtle smoke, floral. Loads of pear drops too.

Taste: Pear, green apple, slightly rubbery, slightly harsh spice, ginger. No peat really.

Finish: Medium length. The peat appears. But quite harsh spice. Ginger.

A nice nose, but almost no peat (which I think will disappoint most people buying it) and a bit harsh on the taste. Maybe should be called Peat Weak? Eh? Ehhh?

72/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #478

Whisky Network Review #545

Network Average: 74.3

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Inchgower 14 F&F Review

Hi everyone,

So, a little bias disclaimer first. I really don’t like Inchgower. I’ve only tried two versions so far but I really didn’t like either. A bit like Cardhu, I just plain don’t like the style of spirit and try to stay away from it mostly.

It isn’t that interesting a distillery, just another workhorse Speysider, chugging away making a lot of whisky for Diageo blends like Bells. (shudders)

This version is from Diageo’s, slightly defunct Flora & Fauna range that seems to be being discontinued at an alarmingly slow pace.

Inchgower 14 Flora & Fauna 43%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Light/Medium

Nose: Fresh and fruity, pastry and vanilla, sour green apple and lemon.

Taste: Sour, lots of fresh lemon juice, green apple, burnt pastry and vanilla develop, unpleasant development with more burnt oak into the finish.

Finish: Medium length. Very unpleasant. Really. Burnt oak and plastic.

Actually, it reminds me of Glen Moray mixed with Glenturret, and not in a good way! The nose is fine, but the finish is really disagreeable.

61/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #432

Whisky Network Review #492

Network Average: 74.3

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 22

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent

Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Balvenie Reviews: 12 Doublewood, 21 Portwood & 14 Golden Cask

Balvenie. If there was ever a malt that would really be helped by being unchillfiltered, 46% minimum and natural colour, I think it would be this. At it's best, it's a fantastic whisky. In fact one of my few 90 point whiskies was a Balvenie. (Sigh) Alas! Most of it is meant for the malty mass market.

Balvenie 12 year old Doublewood 40%

Colour: E150a 

Body: Light/Medium

Nose: Light, fruity and malty. Some nut, light oakiness, some light sherry sweetness. Lots of honey and vanilla.

Taste: Very silky and (shudders) smooth mouthfeel. Fruity and sweet, vanilla and honey, a bourbon waxineess, some herbal spice. Actually very bourbon-y for a sherry finish.

Finish: Short length. A bit of bitter coffee.

Notes: Perfectly acceptable and perfectly boring. Refill barrels for 10 years, Sherry for 2. Don't imagine they're 1st fill though.

66/100

Balvenie 21 year old Portwood

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: A sweet floral nose. Quite oak driven with loads of vanilla and honey, peach, brownie and sweet nut, fragrant oak, dark fruit- blackberry, clotted cream, a hint of port, milky coffee. Some developing lemon and fruity oak.

Taste: Creamy arrival, coffee, oaky tannins, floral with fragrant oak and building fruit- raisin, fig, apple, pear, peach, some rum type notes- molasses, some spice- cinnamon, more tannins and milky coffee.

Finish: Long length. Oaky toffee coffee and cocoa lasting nicely then the port hits with bitter dark chocolate.

Notes: Not as good as I was hoping. I tasted this next to the Macallan 18 Sherry and it paled in comparison.

77/100

Balvenie 14 year old Golden Cask Rum Finish 47.5%

Whoh whoh whoh. What the hell is the 'Golden' cask? Did they insert gold bars into the barrel? Did they coat the inside of the barrel with gold?!

Calm down. It's the 'Caribbean Cask' nonchillfiltered for Duty Free a while back.

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Complex, intense and incredibly sweet. Banana, chocolate, vanilla, caramel, caramelised honey, some spice, citrus notes- intense orange but some lime too. Floral note- Roses and a little spearmint.

Water: More fruity- pineapple, peach, plum, apple, cola. Malty toffee after some time.

Taste: Spice- ginger and cinnamon with chocolate on arrival. A fresh sweetness, deliciously rich, sweet fruit and citrus- orange and lime again with lemon. Classic Balvenie honey as well.

Water: Softer, with cream and less spice. Pineapple and a malty note.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Citrus notes fade, delicious oaky taste dries slowly with a final cocoa powder kick. Lovely.

Notes: Balvenie as it should be, amazingly fresh and deliciously sweet.

82/100

Reviews #175-#177

Network Average: 74.4

Best Score: 91

Worst Score: 44

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent