Glenlivet 2006 Signatory (Sherry Hoggy) Review

Hi everyone,

Recently I was in Belgium for work and got the chance to taste some whiskies at a lovely little whisky shop/restaurant called Tine's Stoof.

They had an open bottle day, including some exclusive single casks like this one.

Glenlivet Signatory 2006 46%

1st fill Sherry Hogshead

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: Nice Sherry, very sweet, spiced orange, candied orange peel, some cherry, milk chocolate.

Taste: Oily and soft, sweet and sour, raisin then sour cherry, very little pear, more chewy now with the Sherry.

Finish: Medium length. Lots of chocolate and cocoa powder.

This was bottled just before becoming 11 years old. An exclusive bottling for various people (see label). There's a nice mix of flavours here, not too much sweetness.

75/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #415

Whisky Network Review #460

Network Average: 74.8

Best Score: 92

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

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?

Bunnahabhain Eirigh Na Greine Review

Hi everyone,

It’s no big secret from my previous posts, that Bunnahabhain is my least favourite Islay whisky. Something about it doesn’t click for me. I can never get far away from a harshness in the spirit. So far, the 12 year old is the one I’ve enjoyed the most I think. No. Hold on, I’m wrong. Really enjoyed the 25 too.

But. I’m always up for trying more and people have talked about a red wine matured Bunna with an unpronounceable name that is meant to be good. So I tried it and here we are…

I think this is a travel retail exclusive and if you’ve had a look in a travel retail shop lately, you’ll know that 99% of it is garbage. So it’s refreshing to see something that’s not coloured or chill filtered, even if this one is NAS.

Bunnahabhain Eirigh Na Greine 46.3%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Pastry and vanilla comes first, then coastal and sweeter notes, sea salt, nutty and oily, walnut, oils, dried fruit, dried sultana and currents, black pepper. Nice complex nose.

Taste: Rich and oily. Fruit driven with lots of raisin then the red wine comes through with dry oak, slightly harsh fiery spirit in the development. Spicy as well with a big peppery note- Ginger and cracked black pepper.

Finish: Long length. More black pepper and nuttiness, some alcohol but chewy and mouth coating.

Partially matured in red wine casks. The nutty notes are lovely in this. Perhaps not my thing, but if you like Bunna then you’ll love it. Undeniably Bunna.

70/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #347

Whisky Network Review #390

Network Average: 74.5

Best Score: 92

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

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?

Ardbeg 10 Review

Hi everyone,

I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this one yet, as Ardbeg is one of my favourite whiskies.

This 10 year old was my first try of Ardbeg too. I happened to be at a hotel bar that had it and it blew my mind. Later I bought a bottle, and actually it wasn’t as good as I remembered the dram in the bar being. Since then I have gone back to the hotel and tried it again and it must have been the same bottle, because it was amazing again.

So, I think batch differences must be in play.

My full bottle I had was much more about the lime citrus and smoke, whereas the drams at the hotel were all orange and soot. Mmmmmmm… either way it’s delicious stuff. Anyone else noticed batch differences with this one?

Also, can we get a 100 proof (57%) or cask strength version of this please Ardbeg? We all know it would be epic.

Ardbeg 10 year old 46%

Colour: Straw

Body: Full

Nose: A great combination of strong smoke and delicate sweetness, really well balanced. Creamy, cough sweets, some fruit and citrus- lime, hay, quite earthy too. Going even sweeter with time, sweet vanilla, more citrus- lemon and lime, a small meaty note- salted dried ham?

Taste: Creamy and oily to start, building peat with background sweetness. Lime tang, lemon too, then the peat hits with lots of burning hay, earthy notes, some light spice- nutmeg. There’s a great balance of the heavy intense peat and the light, lifting citrus. Mouthfeel is great too, very oily and mouth-coating.

Finish: Medium length. Creamy oily tangy citrusy soot coats the mouth.

1st and 2nd fill bourbon matured. Very balanced and complete in a way.

78/100

(80/100 for the dram at the hotel bar)

You can find my write up from my visit to the distillery here and a big vertical I did here.

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #345

Whisky Network Reviews #386

Network Average: 74.5

Best Score: 92

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

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?

Glendronach 1993 Single Cask Review

Hi everyone,

Got something special today.

Single cask Glendronach.

When I first started tasting whisky, the idea was to get a really special bottle for my 21st birthday from my birth year. But I wanted to be able to appreciate this bottle and choose something special too. I needed to know what I was doing.

So I found Ralfy’s videos and watched those, then started to learn more. I started to learn what words like ‘colouring free,’ ‘Non-Chillfiltered,’ ‘cask strength,’ and ‘single cask’ meant and why they were important. After trying the 15yo Revival, I decided this was the one to go for.

I finished the bottle ages ago but saved a small sample for future me to try.

Glendronach 1993 Single Cask 59.4%

Colour: Dark Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Sweet and spicy. Dry, rich, lots of fruit- plums, dates, raisins, dark cherries, dry sherry, toffee, 80% dark chocolate, leather, dried banana, herbal note- clove, liquorice, vanilla pods, honey, strong tea, nutty, perfumey notes, wax, figs, ginger.

Coming back to my sample I saved- Brown sugar, dry oak, soy sauce, less fruit than I remember, but some earthy and meaty complexity I don’t remember being there before.

Water: More toffee, butterscotch, little bit of chocolatey malt, vanilla fudge, brown sugar, golden syrup, toffee coffee.

Taste: Sweet, fresh clean sherry, dried fruit- Fig, date, plum, some leather, cherry, raisin, drying with tannins, toffee, clove, spice, pepper and salt. Sometimes red wine, lots of brown sugar, well brewed tea. After some time a chocolatey malt note develops.

Coming back to my sample I saved- Big, very rich, dry oak, fruity with black cherry, plum and date, dark chocolate, then spicy oak builds with ginger and something perfumed. Just as delicious as I remember.

Water: Softer arrival, less spicy, less oak, more brown sugar, honey and a perfumed note. Really thick and chewy, then lots of 90% dark chocolate into the finish.

Finish: Long length. Drying with burnt sugar, oak, dark chocolate and some coffee.

Cask 536, bottled 06/2012. Even more delicious brown sugar after time in the bottle. Really enjoyed this but prices of these single casks rose quite a bit after I got this, also 1993 seems to be a really popular vintage and always sells out super fast.

83/100

Thanks for reading!

Review #336

Network Average: 74.5

Best Score: 92

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

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, I have never accepted free samples from anyone in the whisky industry, but have bought bottles or samples with my money, bringing a different set of biases. Also, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. 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.

Deanston 12 Review

Hi everyone,

Another quick review from me today. It’s Deanston, a pretty generic highlander. I wasn’t that excited to hunt down a dram of this, especially seeing as I don’t particularly like the stablemates: Bunnahabhain and Tobermory (although I love Ledaig).

So what made me buy a miniature of this? Well, Ian Buxton’s 101 Whiskies did. I don’t feel the need to desperately try to taste everything in it any more but still have the slight urge if I see something.

Deanston 12 46.3%

Colour: Gold

Body: Light

Nose: Bright and creamy. Very fresh, malty, creamy cereal, milk, a little vanilla. Fruity- Red and green apple, some lemon citrus, some sour lime and burnt oak. A green sappy oak note grows.

Taste: Creamy arrival, then fruity esters- Red apple. A little green sappy oak. Sour development- Lots of sour green apple then creamy oak. A little burnt pastry and burnt nuts at times.

Finish: Medium length. Creamy malt and bitter burnt oak.

Married in new oak. I think this displays the worse side of virgin oak, the green sappy side. Not really a fan and I probably won’t be seeking out many in the future.

65/100

Thanks for reading!

Review #285

Network Average: 75.4

Best Score: 92

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 Excellent

90+ Magnificent

Bunnahabhain 8 G&M, 12 & 18 Reviews

Hi again everyone,

I love Islay but don’t really love Bunna.

I’ve said before that Bunna isn’t my favourite distillery. It’s probably my least favourite Islay. I find a biting harshness in just about any bottling, maybe it’s just not for me. I guess it saves it for the people who enjoy it anyway and I know a lot of people do.

Today we’ve got an indie and two officials, let’s go by age.

Bunnahabhain 8 Gordon&MacPhail 43%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: A lighter Toiteach. Very oily, mineral, smoke, engine oil, but some freshly squeezed lime juice balancing. Some alcohol, lemon juice, watermelon sweets.

Taste: Soft arrival, Ardbeg-esque lime juice, then heavy, very oily peat smoke kicks up, a little tingling oak. Engine oil, put out fire, over-revved car.

Finish: Medium length. Tangy lime, a little harsh oak.

Heavily peated, Toiteach style. A little better than Toiteach actually, and a good price too. A sample from the local whisky club.

68/100

Bunnahabhain 12 year old 46.3%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Some heat initially but quickly develops into lots of dried fruit and spice. Sherry evident with Brandy soaked raisins, dates, plums, cocktail cherries, sweet and syrupy, a small wisp of wood smoke. Creamy malt, some honey and vanilla. Rough heat showing up sometimes.

Water: Very creamy and smooth with banana, baked apple and pear but less syrupy Brandy. More spicy malt. After some time- Clove, mint, roasted chestnuts and soft biscuit.

Taste: Very sweet and sherried. Loads of dried fruit, baked apple and pear, dates, banana and cherry all soaked in loads of sweet Brandy, Sherry and Rum. Lots of cocktail cherries too, mild nuttiness. Some spice developing- ginger but a little rough heat sometimes.

Water: Dried fruit soaked in Brandy replaced by nutty maltiness. A lot more spice, some of it a bit rough, spicy malt, more nuts and chocolate malt.

Finish: Short length. Cocktail cherries and a bit of spiced wood and malt fade pretty quickly.

Sweet and sherried but in a different way to Glendronach or Macallan. I really like this even with the heat and short finish.

75/100

Bunnahabhain 18 year old 46.3%

Colour: Dark Amber

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: A very rich honeyed sweetness. The oak engagement is there with rich heavy spices. Sherry, Christmas cake, thick sweet sticky honey, sweet vanilla, dark chocolate, a little coffee, treacle and sticky toffee pudding. Raisin, dates, cocktail cherry and sweet Brandy appearing after a bit.

Water: Some stewed tea emerging within the sherry, some spearmint, coming together a bit more now but a little unbalanced still. A little fresh fruit coming out after a bit.

Taste: Thick, rich, heavy and sweet! Thick honey, raisin and dates soaked in sweet Brandy, building oak with some salt then going sherry sweet again into the finish. Quite a lot of tannins, which dry along with the oak. Some rich spices too- Saffron and cinnamon which go into the finish.

Water: Creamier arrival, drying oak into the finish. More cherry.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Sherry sweetness fading with cherry then very drying dark chocolate and coffee (both very good quality).

A little disappointing, I don't think it's as good as the 12yo. Good whisky still.

74/100

Thanks for reading!

Reviews #282-#284

Newtork Average: 75.4

Best Score: 92

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

Bruichladdich Black Art 5.1, Port Charlotte 10, Octomore 10, Octomore 7.3: TWE Show Report

Hello everybody!

The Bruichladdich stand was really good at the show. Like really, really good.
You've got something like 800 whiskies in the building, a tonne of brands and distilleries. It takes something special to keep pulling you back to one in particular.

The whiskies were incredibly impressive. The lady on the stand was really nice and it was great to chat while tasting some of these.
I have to say I’m really impressed with Adam Hannett, he had big shoes to fill and he is doing it in style. Maybe more white wine casks in the mix than before but I love it.

Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2009 50%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Meaty red fruit, a lot more wine influence than I remember, some light citrus, toffee, fudge.

Taste: Fresh at first, then meaty red fruit, intense mineral/stony notes, wine-y.

Finish: Medium length. Mineral, oaky, unbalanced.

Last time I tasted this it was all young citrus, light toffee and fudge. They’ve really dialled up the wine cask influence these days.

74/100

Bruichladdich Black Art 5.1 24yo 48.4%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Dark, rich and complex. Really quite decadent with fig, clove, red berry, earthy, plum and red grape.

Taste: Lovely. Very fruity, red berry, blackberry, blackcurrant, complex spice, more oak then builds.

Finish: Long length. Plum and red grape fruitiness.

Pre-release sample. I found this much better balanced than the 4.1, which I found a little thin a times with a short finish. This however, is great.

86/100

Port Charlotte 10 2016 Ed. 50%

Colour: Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Lovely Sherry/Bourbon sweetness, red berry, cinnamon cake, white grape, musty sweetness. Not much smoke to be found here but the musty white grape notes are lovely.

Taste: Lovely, peat/sweetness combo, great balance, great power, red berry and desert wine sweetness.

Finish: Long length. More peaty now with white wine.

I am just starting to get into my wines, which helps. This has a great level of everything, balance, complexity, sweetness, peatyness. Really has been expertly blended. 60% Bourbon, 20% Sherry, 10% French Red Wine, 10% Fortified French White Wine. A must buy!

86/100

Octomore 10 2016 Ed. 167ppm 57.3%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: A mineral Octomore, meaty peat with elegant sweetness.

Taste: Soft and light (Yes, I know. An Octomore, Light?!). White wine sweetness, then peat and berry notes build up, red grapes, mineral and phenolic.

Finish: Long length. Red grape, meaty with peat.

I was expecting more from this after the 2005 Octomore I had at Bruichladdich. 50% Bourbon, 50% White Wine casks.

84/100

Let’s try another Octomore to test it against.

Octomore 7.3 169ppm 5yo 63%

Colour: Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Rubbery, meaty peat, white wine sweetness, musty white grape. Great balance and power here.

Taste: Bam! White grape, musty, meaty red berry, wow, mineral peat, great. Water brings out an interesting impossibility- Heavy and yet light.

Finish: Long! length. Great balance and sweetness continues.

Better without the water actually and really blows the new 10 year old away. Islay barley, finished in Moscatel wine casks. How do they make this good whisky at 5 years old?!

86/100

Some very high scores here for the Laddie, the PC I was tempted to go higher but these are fantastic. The PC is the buy for me as I think the Oct and Black Art will be twice the price.

Reviews #205-#209

Network Average: 75.4

Best Score: 92

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