Glenrothes 1992 2nd Ed. Review

Hi everyone,

Got a quick Glenrothes today. I find their range a bit odd because most of their stuff is NAS with strange names on, but once you get to the vintage stuff the price goes up so much as to make me never want to bother trying any. Luckily, at the whisky show you could try loads you wouldn’t normally get to.

Glenrothes 1992 44.2%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: Lovely rich Sherry, sweet honey, heather, raisin, Sherry spice.

Taste: Rich, heather, honey, then more Sherry, raisin, more dry then with oak and coffee.

Finish: Medium length. Dry oak and dried heather.

OB bottled 2014, 22yo. Like a Highland Park 12 without the smoke. This is nice but a little too oaky and not enough of anything else to give it any higher than…

74/100

Review #259

Network Average: 76.0

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

Kavalan Fino Sherry Solist Review

Hi again everyone,

We are coming to the end of my tasting notes for the whisky exchange show 2016, only a few more left. This whisky, unfortunately, was the biggest disappointment of the show for me. I’ve had some Kavalan’s before, but none have really impressed me (yes, even the Sherry Solist).

What I should have done is tried the new Solists from Port, PX, Amontillado, etc. Instead, I went for the previous top of the solist range: The Fino Sherry.

Kavalan Fino Sherry Solist 57.8%

Colour: Bronze

Body: Medium

Nose: Ugh. Bakery, yeasty, a very weird meaty citrus note, like rotting limes. Quite offputting.

Taste: Citrus tang to start, lime, intense lemon, prickling then yeasty with a very weird oak note. Not really sure how to describe it, rotting oak fungus? Not that I’ve eaten any before.

Finish: Long (Unfortunately). Unbalanced, with weird rotting citrus notes continuing. Ugh.

I had a sip of this and immediately poured it away, really not for me. I hope this was just a bad batch, but I found this very very weird. It’s actually not terrible, or even bad, it’s just all over the place. But the thing that makes it the most disappointing was the price, £250 or something, just crazy.

61/100

Review #258

Network Average: 76

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

Redbreast 1999 Sherry Cask for TWE Review

Hello again,

Today I’ve got something a bit special in terms of Irish whiskey, it’s my first Redbreast. Maybe not exactly the best intro to the range though, as it’s a Sherry monster single cask for The Whisky Exchange.

Redbreast is a brand distilled at the New Midleton distillery, I believe. But I had heard that it is one of the best Irish whiskies out there.

Redbreast 1999 Sherry Cask for TWE 59.9%

Colour: Dark Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Full on, meaty Sherry, oily and very Irish. Syrupy fruit, fig, almost overly sweet.

Taste: Very oily, creamy, red berry, meaty Sherry, red wine-esque. Big mouthfeel, although not as complex as I was expecting.

Finish: Medium/Long length. More meaty red fruit and berry.

With water, this really did better with more balance and integration, a little softer and less sweet too. Definitely the best Irish whiskey I’ve had so far, but I was expecting more from a single cask of a brand with quite a few fans. Also the price is high at £160, of course it’s only available from The Whisky Exchange.

82/100

Review #257

Network Average: 75.9

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

Glentauchers 1998 + Glenburgie 1995 G&M Sherry Casks Reviews

Hi everyone,

I’ve got an interesting Sherry pair for you today, both from the master of epic casks: Gordon & MacPhail. The spirit the whiskies came from are equally uninteresting (sorry) and unheard of: Glentauchers and Glenburgie. Both random Speysiders that you probably wouldn’t know from Glenellachie or Glenlossie.

I have tried both before but was not particularly impressed with either, so was quite content to never try any again.

But, when visiting Cadenhead’s London shop recently I saw these two from G&M, and what caught my eye was the colour and the age. Also, the fact that they weren’t sold out, like anything with a Cadenhead’s label.

Then, Stephen (who does the Cadenhead’s newsletters) told me that he thinks Glentauchers is going to be the next big hyped distillery. I didn’t believe him, but it put the thought in my mind.

Anyway, long story long, I saw these two bottlings later at The Whisky Exchange Show and thought yes.

Glentauchers 1998 Gordon & MacPhail Cask Strength 56.8%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Great Sherry, great cask, cherry and lovely oak. Not too sweet or too oaky, just great balance.

Taste: Lovely, malt, Sherry, lots of cherry, then BAM! Spice, ginger! Intense spiciness.

Finish: Long length. Cherry stones and skins.

A lovely whisky in which the cask is doing almost all the talking, but what a cask! Could be a Glenfarclas blind.

81/100

Glenburgie 1995 Gordon & MacPhail Cask Strength 58.1%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Full, Sherry, black cherry, syrup, like a rich gateau cake thing. Lovely.

Taste: Rich, full, black cherry, fruit compote, big Sherry, dark orange.

Finish: Long length. Fruity, dark, Sherry.

Great casks! Another lovely one, just edges the Glentauchers. It’s also a little sweeter, maybe more like a PX Glendronach.

82/100

Thanks for reading!

Reviews #255-#256

Network Average: 76.0

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 Waves, Peat + 1994 Full Strength Reviews

Hi everyone,

Got some old bottlings of Bruichladdich for you today. I tasted these recently in a little bar in Chamonix, Mt. Blanc, France where I was skiing.

Le Vagabond has a pretty awesome collection of Bruichladdichs and I was tempted to taste the 1970 175th Anniversary edition, but it was expensive of course. I went for these 3 instead.

Bruichladdich Waves 46%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Really fruity, tropical fruit, pineapple, juicy mango, light smoke. Similar to HP15 on the nose.

Taste: Light smoke, wood smoke, ash, a little almond, very dry oak, dry spice, some dried mango.

Finish: Medium length. More dry oak and a little fruit.

A very dry and fresh Bruichladdich, lightly peated and meant to be quite marine I think.

74/100

Bruichladdich Peat 46%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Similar style to Waves but more smoke. Pineapple, chalk, orange, a feeling of oiliness.

Taste: Soft arrival, peaty (duh), green olive, oily, some mango fruit, then a little earthy.

Finish: Medium length. More oily and peaty.

Interesting, not really Port Charlotte style, which is what I was expecting.

76/100

Bruichladdich 1994 (Bottled 2005) Full Strength 2nd Ed. 56.5%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: A fresh natural one. Pear drops, green apple, bracing lemon, refill oak, slight lactic note, almost off milk, malted milk biscuits. Pineapple and caramelised onions after a min.

Water: Laddie minerality, orange peel, more spices. More floral with more water.

Taste: Soft start, builds with lovely lemon, green apple, really fresh, refill oak and some spice comes in, ginger and white pepper, and green apple and lemon continues.

Water: Really soft, orange, dry oak, toffee, then lots more oak and spice. Less balance.

Finish: Long length. More of the green apple and lemon citrus, then oak and spice continue to linger.

Much better without water, shame I added any really. Reminds me of my 2007 Micro-Provenance.

79/100

These were good but not great bottlings. Think Bruichladdich were doing well until they ran out of stocks and are only now hitting their stride again with the new 10 year olds/new black art. Looking forward to what they'll be doing next.

Reviews #252-#254

Network Average: 75.9

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

Benrinnes 20 Time II TWE Review

Hey guys,

Another review for today. It’s a Benrinnes from The Whisky Exchange’s new range, Time Series. The others are a 15yo Speyside GlenCOUGHfarclas, an 11yo Ledaig and an 8yo Glen Moray. I’ve reviewed the Ledaig already and it was fantastic, so I had high hopes for this one before I heard people raving about it around the Whisky Exchange stand.

Benrinnes should be well known on r/scotch for the 23yo special release. It does partial triple distillation, like Springbank and has worm tub condensers, so creates a pretty sulphurous style sometimes.

Benrinnes 20 Time Series II 50%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Amazingly fresh and fruity, a wonderful nose. Citrus-y and slightly tropical.

Taste: Very fruity to start, very strong and full flavoured. Very very spicy, overwhelming ginger and oak. Water tames it too much.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Fresh fruit, some spice lasts.

The nose doesn’t really prepare you for the intense spicy taste. According to the website, this is from a Bourbon cask. Although the nose is lovely, the taste is really unbalanced by the spiciness.

72/100

Review #251

Network Average: 75.9

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

Eagle Rare 17, George T. Stagg + Mitcher's Barrel Strength Rye Reviews: TWE Show Report

Oh... We're round to the Bourbons.

I always feel slightly awkward with Bourbon. American whiskey isn't really my thing. Even after tasting 500 whiskies, only just over 20 are Bourbons.

I feel shame in my heart for this. But really, you find you don't care for something, you avoid it.

Well, until you think that 'this time it'll be different.' I'll try some rye, I'll try something older, I'll try something expensive or rare or or or.

So at the whisky show, I spotted some Bourbons that everyone raves about, goes mental over and sell out in about 1/2 a second here in the UK. And thought 'this time it'll be different.' And it was, sort of.

Eagle Rare 17 45%

Colour: Dark Bronze

Body: Full

Nose: Crazy complex for Bourbon. Huge liquorice, aniseed, baking spices, natural caramel.

Taste: Liquorice root, aniseed, American oak, ginger cake, lots of clove and nutmeg.

Finish: Medium length. More oak and spice.

My favourite Bourbon so far (until the next one!), I like it only a little better than the 10yo though and wouldn't spend the extra money to buy one even if it was available anywhere for longer than a few minutes

77/100

George T. Stagg 72.05%

Colour: Dark as fuck

Body: Full

Nose: Incredible complex caramel and fruit, mango pulp, complex spice.

Taste: Soft for 70%abv! WOW. Caramel, building huge CLOVE, oak all over then aniseed and liquorice.

Finish: Long length. More aniseed but even more liquorice.

This would be the 2016 version I would think. Really impressed by this. Way better than any other Bourbon I've tried. A step above.

80/100

Mitcher's Barrel Strength Rye 55.2%

Colour: Dark Bronze

Body: Full

Nose: Fruity, caramel, spice. Intense but not as complex as GTS.

Taste: Intense, fruity, very fruity actually, then the expected spice descends with rye bread and green peppercorns.

Finish: Medium length. More of the spicy rye.

This will not be available in the UK but was great to try and gets another good mark. Again, even if it was available, it wouldn't last long. Master of Malt would probably have to allocate bottles and sell some for charity.

76/100

Well, these were some really good ones. Sorry for the seemingly low scores but I am most definitely a Scotch man. The GTS is the pick for me, my previous best score for a Bourbon was 76/100, so really steps the game up.

Thanks all! Have a great New Years!!

Reviews #248-#250

Network Average: 75.9

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