Paul John Oloroso & PX Select Reviews

Hi everyone,

Paul John seems to have gone from strength to strength with its special editions and they’ve come out with two new ones that are a bit more heavily Sherried than their normal stuff, which I was really excited about!

Not sure how widely distributed these are going to be or if they are limited but they came out here in the UK a few weeks ago.

Anyway, let’s see how they taste…

Paul John Oloroso Select 48%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Full of rich Sherry and spicy oak, loads of complex orange, orange blossom, orange marmalade, black pepper, fresh ginger.

Taste: Immediately drying with more sweet elements developing. Loads of orange, spicy with black pepper and grapefruit, ginger, orange marmalade,

Finish: Medium/Long length. Lovely, darker and more malty, slightly burnt chocolate.

4 year finish. I really like this. You have to enjoy spicy whisky but it works really well. Impressive and fun.

78/100

 

Paul John PX Select 48%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Sweeter than the Oloroso but more Paul John character too, thick raisin and prune, figs, but also some corn (which I often get from PJ), resinous and oily, something herbal coming out, maybe basil or coriander. Black coffee too. Butter.

Taste: Thick and sweet, stewed raisin and prune, fig, lots of sweet Sherry, then goes into more spicy and dry woodiness, little herbal, basil?

Finish: Medium/Long length. Black pepper and ginger spice, late orange.

Very rich Sherry bomb but with something different. If you like your sweet Sherry character, you’ll love this. I prefer this to the Oloroso but only by a little. Think this one was also a touch more expensive.

79/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Indian Reviews #15-#16

Whisky Network Reviews #1017-#1018

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?

Glenallachie 15 Review

Hi everyone,

Billy Walker, who had owned Glendronach, BenRiach and Glenglassaugh, went on to sell those and buy Glenallachie.

Glendronach having gained so many fans, it was a surprise to me to see that most of the first releases of Glenallachie were from refill and Bourbon barrels rather than sherry but Billy seems to have found some sherry casks now.

The latest batch of single casks are dark as hell and this 15yo was released. I was keen to try, as I’d ended up disappointed with the 12 cask strength and 25 that I’d tried.

Glenallachie 15 46%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Heavy malt, Sherry sweetness, dark and rich, very earthy, heather, dark chocolate, faint baking spices, quite dominated by that earthy note though.

Taste: Sweet arrival, PX Sherry, black raisin, very rich in the mouth, juicy raisin, prune, fig, black cherry, good development.

Finish: Medium length. Quite soft into the finish but then develops more earthy malt and orange juice. Doesn't quite do it for me here.

An obvious nod to the Glendronach 15. Mix of Sherry finish and fully PX matured. I really like the heavy earthy nose and the arrival and development do a good job too, I just think this loses points in the finish. Not as good as the old Glendronach 15 of course.

76/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #794

Whisky Network Review #946

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 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?

Ledaig 12 Present Future & 19 PX Finish Reviews

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the lack of activity on my front, just being lazy I’m afraid. But today we are back with two awesome Ledaig’s. Yes, more Ledaig. I’ve got loads and I’m always trying more!

Both of these have used Sherry in the maturation, which we know works well with Ledaig but we have an indie and official. Let’s see how they compare…

Ledaig 12 Present Future The Whisky Exchange Show 58.4%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: WAHH! That's what we love! Big dirty Ledaig. Red fruit and red meat, black pepper, beautifully balanced nose, complex and sexy. Fresh cherry and black cherry lifting the whole.

Taste: Full but with a soft arrival, red fruit, big spice, dirty, malt and black pepper, ash and soot, complex, cherry coming in. Oily for days.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Black pepper, red meat, really oily. Like REALLY! AMAZING.

Nose is the star here but its all great of course. For TWE Show's 10th anniversary. I think this is Signatory stock that whisky exchange have bought. I bought a bottle of this, which doesn’t happen often these days. Also… HOLOGRAM LABEL!

86/100

 

Ledaig 19 PX Finish 55.7%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Meaty, creamy, cherry, pomegranate, fragrant orange peel. Raw steak and green peppercorns. Not as complex as the full sherry matured stuff.

Taste: Dry start, mineral, pomegranate, Mezcal into the finish. Not nearly as sweet as I had expected.

Finish: Long length. More spices here, ginger, black pepper.

On the expensive side for Ledaig at £150. A little dry for my tastes although specs looked like exactly the whisky I love.

84/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated distillery rankings

Scotch Reviews #777-#778

Whisky Network Reviews #922-#923

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?

Bn7 & Lp9 Elements of Islay Reviews

Hi everyone,

I’m a big fan of Elements of Islay since I first tried some of their stuff at my first ever whisky festival. They had a Laphroaig, Caol Ila and a Bowmore and I was really impressed with the quality.

Fast forward to now and they continue to impress with stellar releases, often putting the vintages, cask info, etc. on Whisky Exchange and their own website, where it can be found pretty easily.

We’ll have two new(er) ones today:

Bunnahabhain Bn7 55.8%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Cherry, cherry and more cherry. Vanilla, cherry lips, cherry sauce, small deserts, chocolate cake with cherry jam, Kirsch, really full on sweet nose. After time it’s like you are taking a big whiff of freshly made Christmas cake!

Taste: Sweet, intensely sweet, cherry, cherry sauce, chocolate pudding, some raisin, plum, clove spice, some of that Bunna harshness in there but its fine, oak and pepper.

Finish: Medium/Long length. A sweet hit, then leather and more drying, dry oak.

16yo from 2x Sherry butts. Lovely, lovely nose but some of that Bunna harshness dragging it down. Also, you need to be a big fan of cherry. Anywho, fans of Bunna will absolutely love this I imagine.

78/100

 

Laphroaig 1998 Lp9 54.3%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Sweet and smoky. Smoked sticky Chinese-style pork chops, the smoke and malt are pretty clear, the Sherry hasn't overwhelmed it, sweet orange, mineral and sea shore notes, melted dark chocolate. Delicious nose.

Taste: Really oily and thick, long arrival, takes its time, orange and cherry and raisin, the smoke and malt, Haribo cola bottles. Really nicely balanced with a gorgeous mouthfeel.

Finish: Medium length. Really oily again, orange and dark chocolate, again delicious.

Absolutely showstopper of a dram. What more is there to say? From a PX Sherry cask and I’m amazed at the great integration of sweet and smoky. IMO this is much better than the Masterpieces that Whisky Exchange did a while back.

88/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Reviews #720-#721

Whisky Network Reviews #858-#859

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?

Jura 19 The Paps & 1988 Rare Vintage Reviews

Hi everyone,

Back and in the airport again (cancelled flights rebooked) and back with two more Jura today. Both of these are pretty new but if you know me then you know I’m not a particularly big fan of this distillery. I tend to enjoy whiskies that are clean and crisp, complex whiskies, balanced and powerful whiskies.

Jura I find a bit flabby. Usually with these sour and doughy notes that don’t jive for me.

But these two are older. These two are at a sensible strength. And they are both using a sweet finishing cask…

Jura The Paps 19yo 45.6%

Colour: Dark Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Cinnamon, gingerbread, ginger cake, rich, heavy, cakey, vanilla, orange, very nice nose. Heathery.

Taste: Heavy, rich, Sherry, sweet, cherry, vanilla, building spice and oak, ginger, nice mouthfeel, cinnamon. Not quite in balance.

Finish: Medium length. Cloying, sweet orange, more ginger and heather.

Travel retail exclusive. Finished in 40yo px casks (although the BOX says 30yo px) and interesting for it. The sweet notes aren’t crazy sweet but are quite cloying towards the end. The spices here help it balance out and bring something interesting.

75/100

Jura 1988 2018 Release 53.5%

Colour: Dark Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Pastry and oak. Light sweetness from the Port, complex spices, cinnamon and nutmeg, ginger, not particularly balanced but classic Jura.

Taste: Full on, complex spices, ginger and nutmeg, spiced hot chocolate, cinnamon and clove, quite oaky, heather, better towards the finish.

Finish: Long length. The Port comes through more with some blackberry.

1 year finishing in Grahams Port barrels. Not my thing but fans of Jura with love this. Impressive packaging too although the price is probably crazy. I prefer this to the Paps but not by a lot and the Paps will be a lot cheaper.

77/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Reviews #685-#686

Whisky Network Reviews #819-#820

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?

Allt-A-Bhainne 2009 PX Murray McDavid Review

Hi everyone,

We don’t see much Allt-A-Bhainne about but there’s been a bit of a fanfare recently concerning the arrival of an OB. Dave Broom wrote a pretty scathing article about it actually.

This isn’t an OB though, this is an IB brought to us by the lovely people at Murray McDavid, the indie that loves to finish whiskies in weird wine casks (that’s how I think of them anyway). Also, you can’t miss their garish packaging.

This one was an exclusive for the Speyside Whisky Festival 2018 back in May but they had a bottle at the Liverpool Whisky Lounge I happened to also be at.

 

Allt-A-Bhainne 2009 Murray McDavid 62.1%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: All about the cask but what a cask! Meaty, juicy and fruity PX, Sherry all over, creamy vanilla, orange, bright cherry, very slightly sulphury (in a good way).

Water: The abv pokes through, sharp.

More water: Ah, better! Back to meaty, slightly sulphury territory, very nice.

Taste: Soft and light at 62%! Cherry and an explosion of orange, creamy mouthfeel with vanilla.

Water: A little spicier, a bit more complexity too.

Finish: Medium length. Soft orange, some juicy/meaty Sherry left over.

An exclusive for the Speyside Whisky Festival 2018. PX Sherry finish. Very good at only 8 years old. And I think the price was pretty reasonable.

76/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #673

Whisky Network Review #807

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?

Tobermory 1994 The Single Cask Review

Hi everyone,

I’ve got another nicely Sherried single cask, cask strength, independent bottling here from one of favourite distilleries, so we can’t go far wrong I don’t think.

The Single Cask seem to have grown in the last year, expanding the whiskies that they do as well as building a new bar in Scotland. Just looking at their website at the moment, they’ve got loads of different bottling, many more than I thought and the quality is well regarded.

 

Tobermory 1994 The Single Cask 56.8%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Cheese, very funky, over-ripe peach and orange, Parma ham, very dry oak, green tomato then more fig and PX Sherry after a bit.

Water: More golden raisin, malt, Macallan. Its straighter and less feinty now.

Taste: Intense! Sweet, raisin, very thick, PX Sherry, fig, plum, stewed fruit, orange, then heather and malt, dark chocolate and coffee beans. Oily.

Water: Less Sherry, more oak and more spicy. Less balanced.

Finish: Medium length. Oily into the finish, golden raisin, malt, Macallan-like here.

2nd fill PX Sherry finish I believe. Wonderful but best kept neat. This does show that unpeated Ledaig can work well with its feinty flavours, a well done one by The Single Cask.

82/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #660

Whisky Network Review #793

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?