Aberfeldy 1993 Gordon & MacPhail Review

Hi everyone,

Do you remember that magical time, many years gone, when we could travel the world and go to whisky festivals and events? Do you remember the hubbub of many people filling a room with their whisky-fuelled banter? Do you remember the sound of lip-smacking-good whisky being consumed in great quantities by the multitude?

I do. I remember those times. And I look back on them with sick envy. I didn’t know how good I had it.

And now I sit alone with my hoard of whisky. And I drink it alone. In the dark. Bitterly contemplating the end time that crept up on us like a tiger out of the grass.

 

Anywho, this is a review from the end of 2018 at a German whisky festival.

 

Aberfeldy 1993 Gordon & MacPhail 58.8%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Dark, fruity and sweet. Blackberry, Cassis, black cherry, a touch of singed heather, ethereal spirit lightening everything nicely, black pepper and red apple.

Water: Opens up with more Sherry and oak, more sweetness.

Taste: So soft on the arrival, fruity and sweet, blackberry, beautiful brown sugar, then more oak and Sherry as it develops. Black cherry, amazing oily mouthfeel.

Water: Lovely. More oak, leather and orange.

Finish: Long length. Lovely. More Sherry here with raisin, chocolate, heather and some ginger spice.

Bottled 2018 from a 1st fill Sherry puncheon at 25yo. I'm sorry, did you say Glenfarlcas from a Port cask? Interesting style of Sherry. Always a pleasure to taste something from my birth year and this one was great, though if I remember right, the price was quite high.

84/100

 

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #869

Whisky Network Review #1044

Network Average: 75.2

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 the Global 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?

Glen Ord 30 (2005) Review

Hi everyone,

In my opinion, Glen Ord is definitely one of those underrated distilleries. The clean, mineral style can make for some fantastic whisky and some of the old older bottlings were really well regarded. It is also the site of one of Diageo’s huge industrial maltings, so the malt is done in house too (technically).

So I’d always been on the lookout for this old CS version at 30 years old and was lucky enough to find a small bar in Chicago that had a happy hour on rare whisky! I was being shown around by Single Cask Nation’s Joshua Hatton and he also recommended this bottle.

I actually own a barrel of Glen Ord now and Having recently got a sample, I think it’s great stuff young too.

 

Glen Ord 30 58.7%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Fresh and fruity, no way I would guess that this was 30yo, freshly cut citrus peels, orange, malty, malted milk biscuit, some white chocolate, more floral as it opens up with walking through an orchard with a load of flowers in bloom, just keeps on giving and developing. Stunning nose.

Taste: Soft and unctuous, super oily and fresh, those citrus peels again, orange, lime, great fruit, incredibly structured malt and oak tannin, amazing balance, poised and structure (Joshua said austere), slight mineral component developing more and more and continuing into the finish.

Finish: Long length. Great structure again, more mineral, still oily but drying with more of the oak here but not over the top at all.

Released 2005. Undoubtedly fantastic. It doesn’t quite reach emotional levels, though the nose is up there.

89/100

 

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #864

Whisky Network Review #1038

Network Average: 75.2

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 the Global 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?

Banff 1975 Duncan Taylor Review

Hi everyone,

If you’re ever in D.C., do yourself a favour; dump the wife, dump the kids, dump your plans to go see the White House or Lincoln memorial, don’t bother with the museums or parks. Do one thing and one thing only, get your wallet and head on over to Jack Rose Dining Saloon.

Food is amazing. Atmosphere is great. And the whisky—oh, the whisky!

This one is my first Banff, a long closed distillery that we don’t see much of any more. Don’t know much about the distillery itself, other than it was blown up several times (by fires as well as bombs!).

 

Banff 1975 Duncan Taylor 45.4%

Colour: Gold

Body: Light

Nose: Old & soft, oaky, silky, floral tones, pressed flowers & homemade paper, kinda intoxicating, old Bowmore-esque, perfumes orange peel, antique furniture, super complex old nose.

Taste: Old and silky, not much power and feels a bit tired, big oak, floral here too, Wood and spice, slightly soapy lavender, Parma violets. It’s definitely over the hill though. Like an 80’s Bowmore without the smoke.

Finish: Short/Medium length. Soft and a bit flat here, loses its oomph.

My first Banff! 35yo, bottled 2011. Rarest of the Rare. Better as it opened up, though the taste and finish just remained a little lacking.

75/100

Thanks for reading! 

Scotch Review #862

Whisky Network Review #1036

Network Average: 75.2

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 the Global 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?

Clynelish 2010 Single Cask Nation Review

Hi everyone,

You may have noticed a particular pinned post on r/Scotch today… We are doing an AMA! The first one in a while I think.

In honour of my friends from Single Cask Nation coming to join us and answer our questions, I have a review of a special whisky. This bottle of Clynelish was a birthday present from Joshua himself and he signed it too!

These guys bottle some fantastic whisky and I’ve been lucky enough to be on their podcast, One Nation Under Whisky, which was super fun. See you on Tuesday at 3pm EST for the AMA!!

 

Clynelish 2010 Single Cask Nation 58.1%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Light/Medium

Nose: Light, ethereal and oily. Perfumed and candle waxy, marshmallow, creamy nose, white florals- Lily, Ylang Ylang, some orange blossom, chewy sweets like the white undersides of Haribo eggs.

Water: Instantly creamier, white chocolate truffles with the gooey white chocolate insides, melting marshmallow, dried banana chips, foam banana sweets.

Taste: Ethereal but full flavoured, plenty of creamy oils and perfumed white florals, some malt in there too, a little spice (white pepper) balancing nicely with a touch of dry oak. Really lovely young whisky with interesting notes and an excellent development and mouthfeel.

Water: Softer, less power, more malt, almost slightly earthy, excellent minerality coming out, clean as a blade. Lovely.

Finish: Short/Medium length. Fizzy tingling spices and oak leaving some of the oils. Not quite as excellent here.

Bottled at 9yo from a Bourbon barrel. The lightness and delicacy combined with the fullness and power is really interesting and well done.

80/100

 

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #860

Whisky Network Review #1034

Network Average: 75.2

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 the Global 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?

Octomore 8.1 & 10.4 Reviews

Hi everyone,

Got two Octomore’s today. I was pretty excited about the 10.4, being the youngest and least peated Octomore that we’ve seen in a while.

Been pretty impressed by Octomore generally, though some would put them down as gimmicks that are far too expensive for what they are. I would probably agree that they are but some of the stuff is just so stunning that I don’t really mind. 8.3 and OBA Concept come to mind. And a particular cask sample I tasted at Bruichladdich a few years back.

Octomore 8.1 58%

Colour: Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Earthy, mineral, granite, rocks of various kinds. It’s funny, with Octomore I don’t tend to get a huge amount of obvious smoke but more minerality and earthy notes instead. Very typical of that here.

Taste: Soft arrival, really well balanced arrival, mineral, frying pork fat, smoke smoke smoke. Pretty delicious.

Finish: Long length. The minerals and rocks are back.

167ppm. Raw and powerful.

80/100

 

Octomore 10.4 63.5%

Colour: Bronze

Body: Full

Nose: Pure Mezcal, Agave, Tequila and cigarettes, wet rocks, driftwood, the smell of clothes after a night out clubbing with smokers, quite sexy IMO.

Water: More funk and Octomoreishness.

Taste: Sharp and intense, big wood component but a bit flat then the huge Octomore minerality and full on vanilla and yet more wood, big salt too.

Water: Still sharp, less of the wood at first then it comes in strong. Almost Bourbon-like.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Softer and fruitier, goes a bit flaccid (haha), very dry.

3yo, 88ppm and full virgin oak matured. Absolutely lovely nose, the taste and finish not so much.

75/100

 

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #858-#859

Whisky Network Review #1032-#1033

Network Average: 75.2

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 the Global 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?

Lakes Whiskymaker's Reserve No. 2 Review

Hi everyone,

Been taking a bit of a break from reviewing at the moment, despite much more time on my hands with lockdown. Been opening a few new bottles though, so I have been reviewing some whiskies, just haven’t been that motivated to post to Reddit.

Anyway, here we have one of the first releases from the Lakes Distillery. After taking on Dhavall Gandhi as Master Blender (an ex-blender at Macallan), the Lakes seemed to have gone with trying to Macallanise their whisky in terms of taste and premiumisation.

We’ll see if that pays off in the long run as young Macallan isn’t all that great in my opinion. As well as being overpriced of course.

Lakes Whiskymaker’s Reserve No.2 60.9%

Colour: Light Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Sweet, cherry, cherry sauce, but of nose prickle, some oak, obvious vanilla, creamy.

Water: Better, more rounded with raisin and malt. You can see it trying to imitate Macallan here.

Taste: Sharp arrival, bite of alcohol then cherry sauce and a little touch of STR-esque oak, quite dry.

Water: Better balanced, more well rounded arrival, chewy ripe cherry and plum. Still a little sharp but also flat in the mid-palate.

Finish: Long length. Stays well with some alcohol and more cherry, a little vanilla.

A mix of PX, red wine and Bourbon casks. But the PX is what stands out to me. Reminds me of a 3yo Wolfburn Sherry single cask I tried.

68/100

Thanks for reading!

English Whisky Review #5

Whisky Network Review #1025

Network Average: 75.2

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 the Global 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?

Springbank 18 & 11 Refill Sauternes Single Cask Reviews

Hi everyone,

Another duo today! This time it’s Springbank’s turn.

It has taken me far too long to get round to trying the 18yo. I can get pretty expensive and although I’d heard that it was great, I didn’t want to risk forking out on a bottle. So I waited patiently but just never got round to it or saw it many places.

I also recently tried a official single cask for the USA.

Springbank 18 46%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Robust and chiselled, smoky coals, dried apple, musty leather, a little tobacco and cigar smoke, subtle dried banana, standing outside a smoking room, old cigarette smoke.

Taste: Oily with building spices tingling and dry oak, lots of black pepper, a bit industrial with concrete dust and chalky minerality, some dust and leather and old smoke.

Finish: Short/Medium length. Softer, more tobacco and leather here but fades quite quickly.

Shame about the short finish. Everything else is pretty well balanced and interesting, if a little austere.

79/100

 

Springbank 11 Refill Sauternes 57.2%

Colour: Dark Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Soapy but in a really cool way, raisin and passion fruit, rich apricot, dirty orange, good sulphur, dried lavender, bath bombs, intense and full on.

Taste: Soft and oily, orange and mango, super good balance on arrival, great mouthfeel, fruity and intense, soapy again but again it’s good and interesting. Some spices come through towards the end, black pepper and a tiny whiff of smoke.

Finish: Medium/Long length. More soapy here, almost overwhelming it, softer then comes back with the oils.

Nov 2007, bot Nov 2018 from a single refill Sauternes cask, bottled for USA. Some people are gonna hate this, but I love it. Really interesting and full on, in-your-face whisky that grabs your tongue and won’t let go until it’s done with you.

86/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Reviews #851-#852

Whisky Network Reviews #1023-#1024

Network Average: 75.2

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 the Global 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?

Laphroaig 16 & 1999 SMWS 29.173 Reviews

Hi everyone,

Two 16 year old Laphroaig’s to review today.

I was excited for the new OB as it’s a decent age, decent strength and Laphroaig. The only thing that grates me slightly is that I paid £20 less for the 18yo, but that was a few years ago now and such is life.

And since we seem to be in the middle of a little apocalypse I opened a 16yo Laphroaig from SMWS that we can compare against.

Laphroaig 16 48%

Colour: Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Nice mineral/seaweedy blast, soft vanilla, soft malt, plenty of peat and iodine, fresh bandages, clean classic Laphroaig. Great nose.

Taste: Soft and oily arrival, building mineral and medicinal flavours, iodine, bandages and honey, then more fruit with a fresh lemon/lime and under ripe mango thing, then back to more peat with sea soaked rocks drying in the sun.

Finish: Medium/Long length. A touch of rubber into the finish then salt and pepper, quite dry. Not as good here.

Finish lets it down a little but a great, slightly softer Laphroaig. Much prefer this to the 15yo 200th Anniversary.

77/100

Laphroaig 1999 SMWS 29.173 59.8%

'Forget time and space'

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Fresher and fruitier than expected with plenty of citrus, lime rind, grapefruit juice, light malty smoke backing it, salty samphire, driftwood bonfire. There is a medicinal touch to it but its quite subtle and in the background, clean bandages.

Water: Loses the fruit and now it's more about the earthy malt, mud after rain, the orange is coming back now.

Taste: Clean arrival, very bright and citrusy, then suddenly grips the tongue with heavy heavy smoke with lots of minerality and salt, licking salty rocks, sand saturated with sea water, samphire, grapfruit and dirty orange, stunning oils and really lovely balance.

Water: Softer and more fruity with an incredible orange flesh thing I remember from samples at the distillery, some seaweed, soft but heavy smoke. Takes me right back to the distillery.

Finish: Long length. More petrol-y here, delicious and super oily, a little lemon zest perhaps. With water there's a coal and ash thing going on.

Bottled at 16yo from a refill Bourbon barrel. The whisky I got for my engagement! Just fantastic indie Laphroaig, oily, balanced, citrusy, salty, a little medicinal. Not quite the equal of ‘Sausage Sandwiches and Oil Rigs’.

87/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Reviews #849-#850

Whisky Network Reviews #1021-#1022

Network Average: 75.2

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 the Global 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?