Port Charlotte Scottish Barley Review

Hi guys,

Just a quick one for a community review on r/Scotch.
Every month people post up their reviews about one voted whisky and notes/scores are compared. A really worthwhile and useful exercise actually.

I tasted this at a Bruichladdich tasting in Cardiff for South Wales Whisky Interest group (SWWIG).

Port Charlotte Scottish Barley 50%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Light/Medium

Nose: Light and peaty. Vanilla fudge, sweet honey, fruity oak, some sea salt, fruity oaky smoke, some mint and moss coming through.

Water: More iodine.

Taste: Vanilla fudge, creamy and light, peat building with fruity sweetness, raisin and cream, sherry and iodine.

Water: Even more creamy and light.

Finish: Medium length. Creamy peat and dry oak, some toffee.

74/100

Review #173

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

Abhainn Dearg Review

What, in the name of all that is malty, is Abhainn Dearg?

Well, it's an unpronounceable distillery for one. It's in the Outer Hebrides. Yes. Outer The first, apparently. It's on the Isle of Lewis.

They'll be saving a proper release for when it's 10 years old in 2018 but till then they've released spirit and a ludicrously priced single cask (£150 for 50cl).

That would be enough to not bother with but they also do miniatures and I just happened to spy one in Inverness airport the other day.

Since the start of the year I've made it my mission to try a whisky from every distillery in Scotland currently available. So now I've got Wolfburn left (we won't count Kininvie because I regard it as Balvenie, but I've that too now anyway.)

You can find more info on the distillery here: http://abhainndearg.co.uk/

Abhainn Dearg 3yo Single Cask 46%

Colour: Light Straw

Body: Light/Medium

Nose: Light, very malty, very traditional style. Lemon, toasty, toasted oak, spice rack, loads of clove, cardamom, slightly nutty, fresh bread, earthy malt. Aromatic actually.

Taste: Light, spicy and malty. Very malty actually. Lots of clove, cardamom, toasted oak, traditional malting floor smell, a little toffee into the finish.

Finish: Medium length. Spiced and nutty with more toasty oak.

70/100

Doesn't taste like a 3 years old. Really interesting stuff. Reminds me of a very malty 10yo Blair Athol I had. Really looking forward to future releases from this distillery.

Review #172

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

Speyide Trip: Glendronach & Whisky Shop Dufftown

Hi everyone,

Continuing my posts from my Speyside trip in June 2016.

I hoped to get to Glendronach and Glenfarclas on the last day but didn't have time in the end. So I did the tour at Glendronach and went to The Whisky Shop Dufftown.

Glendronach is a super traditional distillery. I hadn't realised fully. Floor maltings until 1996, cast iron traditional mash tun, wooden washbacks and the stills were direct fired until 1996ish I think as well. Do correct me if I'm wrong.

Nice tour (I was the only one on it too) but I was driving, so had to take my 12yo away in a bottle. However, I did bottle my own from the distillery cask. A 2004 Sherry Puncheon. Little on the expensive side at £84 but hopefully worth it.

After that I went into Dufftown where the whisky shop has a big selection (600) and you can try just about anything! Again though, driving. So I bought the 18yo Smokehead at £92 which is pretty good these days (I've seen it at £130). I also asked if I could take a small sample of their exclusive Glenfarclas family cask, which they very kindly let me.

After all that I thought I might as well head back to Gordon & MacPhail and try even more whisky!

 

Benromach 15 43%

Colour: Dark Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Beautiful. Oily, chocolate, malt, orange, honey, mulled wine.

Taste: Lovely, soft, honey, crystallised honey, building spice, fresh ginger. Wine-y into the finish.

Finish: Medium length. Very fruity with red wine hints.

76/100

Benromach 10yo 100 proof 57%

Colour: Dark Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Intense fresh fruit, orange, ash

Water: Chocolate, chocolate orange, dark chocolate sauce, oily malt, some lemon.

Taste: Intense, ripe fruit, oak, great structure, orange, blood orange, balance.

Water: Still intense, orange, soot, wine-y, oily, spicy, long. Little harsh into the finish.

Finish: Long. Intense, orange, Ash.

76/100

Benrinnes 1998 G&M Connoisseur's Choice 46%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Spiced, nutty, malt, old style fruitiness, orange and cherry.

Taste: Full and spicy. Cherries, orange, really fresh then growing spiciness and oak.

Finish: Medium. Harsh finish with oak and tannins.

Notes: Bottled 2015 at 17 years old from refill sherry hogsheads. Too oaky into the finish.

73/100

Kilchoman Loch Gorm 46%

Colour: Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Reminds me of the Madeira cask. New rubber, pomegranate, liquorice, soot, new car, bad sulphur. Weird.

Taste: Pomegranate, liquorice, aniseed, mint, new rubber, some weird sulphury, burnt rubber. Nope. Very weird.

Finish: Medium. Creamy and spicy with some ash but still a little weirdly rubbery.

Notes: Unknown batch. Nope, nope, nope. Was really looking forward to trying this. Bad batch? 

UPDATE: Now tried the 2016 release and it was fantastic, so I think this must have been a bad batch of a previous edition.

67/100

Glendronach 12 43%

Colour: Light Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: Lovely restrained sherry, red apple, orange peel, toffee, raisin, light herbal and earthy notes.

Taste: Soft, fruity and spicy. Red apple, orange, ginger (a little harsh), fragrant oak, lightly floral.

Finish: Medium length. Earthy with oak.

Notes: Very almost on par with Macallan 12.

72/100

Glenfarclas 15 46%

Colour: Light Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: Sherry, quite oily, orange, oak, light raisin, sticky toffee pudding, toffee. Nice balance.

Taste: Soft fruity arrival, lightly floral, orange, orange blossom, light oak, light raisin, then going towards chocolate and coffee. It's all quite understated.

Finish: Long length. Sweet and fruity then more oaky with chocolate and coffee.

Notes: Wasn't expecting this to be so understated, I was expecting a sherry bomb.

75/100

Don't have a pic of the next one but link is here. The Family Cask series from Glenfarclas is pretty impressive with the various vintages and casks, but they are not cheap. In fact, this is a great deal at £200 compared to the rest.

Glenfarclas 1991 Family Casks for The Whisky Shop Dufftown 53.8%

Colour: Dark Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Deep, intense, oaky, huge sherry, amazing chocolate and coffee, incense, sandalwood, freshly sawn oak, prune, dried fig, orange, spice, cinnamon bark, natural liquorice, slightly earthy.

Taste: Intense, huge sherry, raisin, prune, fig, date, orange, really fruity, lovely tannins and oak, then recedes with creamy coffee, dark chocolate and juicy raisin.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Great coffee, dark chocolate and dried fruit.

Notes: Bottled 2014 at 22 years. Cask #5691. Didn't have a chance to try it with water.

85/100

Reviews #165-#171

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

Speyside Trip: Macallan & Glen Grant

Hello again everyone,

Back again today with some more of my adventure in Scotland (June 2016).

First thing I did today was go to a tour at Speyside Cooperage which was really interesting. You don't really get much for your £3.50 (15 min video then a viewing gallery into the Cooperage) but it was pretty mesmerising to see the coopers at work.

After that I just about had time for a tour at Glen Grant. 45 mins, £5 and you get to taste the Major's Reserve and the 10yo. Since I was driving I took some away in a sample bottle and tried later. Guide seemed a little nervous and might have been new.


Glen grant is an interesting distillery (most of them are!) because they got purifiers on the stills, similar to Ardbeg, although I think Glen Grant were the first distillery to use them. Anyway, these purifiers only allow the lightest vapours into the condenser, allowing for a lighter spirit.

Glen Grant 10 40% (2016 packaging)

Colour: Gold

Body: Light

Nose: Fragrant, fruity and perfumed. Melon and banana, heady women's perfume, orange blossom, orange peel, lemon.

Taste: Soft. Sweet and perfumed, flowers, orange blossom, orange peel, fragrant oak, lemon pith, some chocolate into the finish.

Finish: Medium length. Chocolate and oak.

Notes: Nice nose, lackluster finish.

67/100

Next up was Macallan, which I was expecting big things from. Horst Leuning suggested it as his distillery to visit as a connoisseur. 1 hour, 30 mins, £10 and 4 tasters (all pretty small but some rarer stuff too). Plus all four tasters I hadn't tried before. Very professional and


friendly guide who knew a lot about just about everything.

Macallan is huge, its really 3 distilleries on one estate. They are just finishing the 3rd distillery and its bigger than the other 2 combined, its going to be pretty impressive once its done. Did you know they also own a cooperage in Spain?

Anyway onto the whiskies. Macallan has 3 main ranges, the NAS 1824, and the age statement Sherry and Fine Oak. Sherry is just Sherry casks, Fine Oak is a combination oof Bourbon and Sherry.

Macallan 12 Fine Oak 40%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Aromatic. Very malty and oily. Nutty, Sherry, honey, honeysuckle, little floral notes- Heather, milk chocolate.

Taste: Oily, nutty, very malty, Sherry and vanilla, lots of honey, more oily malt, Macademia nut.

Finish: Short/Medium length. Nutty and then oily and cloying.

71/100

Macallan Amber 40%

Colour: Light Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: Malty and oily, Sherry, wood spice, nutty, oily nuts, fresh barley, raisin, biscuit.

Taste: Very soft arrival, raisin, biscuit, malt, barley, spices building up, then some harsh oak and tannins, but recedes into the finish.

Finish: Short/Medium length. Oily malt and oaky spices.

69/100

Macallan 12 Sherry 40%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: Lovely. Heavy and fat. Sherry, nuts, oily, malt, earthiness, raisin, dark chocolate.

Taste: Soft, Sherry, nutty, oily, oily malt, barley, raisin, honey, dark chocolate, good quality coffee.

Finish: Medium length. Good quality dark chocolate and great coffee.

Notes: Great stuff. Can't believe this was discontinued in most markets, or maybe they just got super expensive?

73/100

Macallan 18 Fine Oak 43%

Colour: Dark Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Lovely, very perfumed, perfume, men's cologne, aromatic spice, cinnamon bark, honeysuckle, orange blossom, orange peel, orange juice.

Taste: Soft arrival, lots of honey, honeysuckle, floral, perfumed, manly cologne, musk, old oak, sandalwood, some tannins, Sherry, toffee, chocolate and dark coffee.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Toffee, honey and spiced oak.

Notes: I didn't know they did this. Thought the 21yo was the next step up from the 15 fine oak. A really grown up whisky, sophisticated. 

78/100

Reviews #161-#164

Score Average: 74.5

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

Another day in Speyside!

Hello everyone,

Today was interview day in Speyside (End of June 2016). Bit nerve wracking but it did mean no distillery visits today.

After the interview I did crack open 2 miniatures I bought yesterday at Gordon & MacPhail.

 

Sheep Dip Blended Malt 40%

Colour: Probably E150a

Body: Light/Medium

Nose: Malt, young lemon, honey, wool, biscuit, red apple, wet rock, old barn.

Taste: Soft, sweet arrival, malt, young lemon, sour green apple, some red apple, some chocolate showing up and going into the finish.

Finish: Short length. Dark chocolate and red apple.

Notes: 16 malts. Wanted to try it as its in 101 Whiskies. Nice but pretty average I found.

66/100

Glendronach 21 parliament 48%

Colour: Dark Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Incredible. Old mahogany, old Jag, walnut, old Oloroso barrel, dunnage, raisin, dried fig, plum, homemade plum jam. Fresh red apple hiding underneath, cocktail cherries, brown sugar, golden syrup, natural vanilla pod.

Water: Softer with more natural sweetness. Molasses, caramelised red apple, baked apple, cinnamon, black tea. After a min it's more bitter with more tea.

Taste: Intense, super sweet, and very decedent. Old sherry, PX sherry, raisin, fig, plum, old wood, big spicy component grows bigger- Ginger, cinnamon, star anise. Tannins and stewed tea into the finish.

Water: Softer. Lovely natural fruit, caramelised red apple, baked apple, cinnamon, raisin syrup, carrot cake. More dry into the finish with more oak. Loses something though.

Finish: Medium/Long length. The blackest tea, Chinese tea, old Oloroso barrel.

Notes: Great malt, the nose undiluted is so so good. Reminds me I still love Sherry monsters. Been chasing the peat bomb so long I almost forgot!! These go for a very fair price (£90) and is a definite buy.

83/100

So then maybe I happened to find a whisky bar in Elgin...

Benrinnes 15 43%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Full and fat. Sherry, cherry, cherry brandy, chocolate mousse, orange liqueur, match head.

Taste: Full, wonderful Sherry, meaty and fat, cherry, cherry brandy, hot ash, building spice, tannins, something burnt, blown out match, good sulphur, chocolate mousse, great wood spice.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Lovely creamy chocolate and cherry combo. Lingering spice

Notes: Love this style, figured I should try this after I bought the 23yo.

76/100

Cutty Sark 40%

Colour: Light for a blend!

Body: Light

Nose: Different. Lemony and herbal, soft polite grain, malt, biscuit, Agave, Tequila/Mezcal-esque.

Taste: Soft, easy. Lemon, polite grain, malt, biscuit then a little herbal. Almost Tequila/Agave herbal.

Finish: Medium length. Herbal and interesting. Agave.

64/100

And then the big one! This next one was amazingly underpriced, they had Balvenie 15 Single Barrel at the same price.

Benromach 1980 Gordon & MacPhail (Bottled 2004) 58.1%

Colour: Gold (Clouded with any water)

Body: Full

Nose: Old school. Old wood, oak, tannins, old homemade paper, old books, dried flowers, dried lemon, dried lime, old women's perfume. Alcohol. Very aromatic and just beautiful.

Water: Intense crisp pear, green apple, lemon and lime. Much more floral and perfumed after a minute. Just washed linen, lavender, buttercup, heather, aniseed.

Taste: Soft arrival, dried lemon, old paper, book, building intense juicy fruit, lemon mainly, melon and intense pear, women's perfume. Really intense. Then more creamy.

Water: Soft, beautiful juicy crisp fruit. Crisp pear, green apple, fresh lemon. Creamy into the finish. Balance is pretty amazing.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Super creamy, pear and a little oak.

Notes: Old Benromach! Pre Gordon & MacPhail and their refurb. They replaced the stills with smaller ones, so this would be from the bigger old stills.

87/100

Hopefully I'll be stopping at some more distilleries tomorrow, so more to come!

Reviews #156-160

Network Average: 74.5

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