Writers Tears

Region: Ireland

ABV: 40%

E150: Yes

Chill-filtered: Yes

Container: Glencairn Neat

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: Green apples, pears, citrus, sweet perfumy floral notes, vanilla, sweet malt, honey, spice.
Really sweet and fruity nose, don’t detect much ethanol.

Palate: Really easy going on the palate, more green apples and pear notes, vanilla, light hint of oak, pepper.
Not much complexity on the palate, but it’s really easy going, no alcohol burn at all, everything you expected from the nose.

Finish: Medium length, citrus, tingling spicy finish, very end touch of meaty/metallic note.
Again, not impactful, easy going on the finish. Nice touch of spice kicks in, good for introduction to whiskey.

Score: 78/100

Entry level Irish whiskey, very good for beginner, well balanced overall. Falls short on the palate due to the watery 40% ABV, want to get my hands on the cask strength sometime in the future.

Bladnoch 12 Year Old 1987 Gordon & MacPhail

Region: Lowland

ABV: 58.7%

E150: No

Chill-filtered: No

 

Colour: Straw

Nose: Honey, floral, grassy, caramel, citrus, hint of oak.
Very basic lowland notes, not the sweet fruity whisky I was expecting, rather well balanced with a nice grassy note that adds a bit of character.

Palate: Malt, roasted barley, brown sugar, touch of mineral water, caramel, light fruits, toffee.
Interesting roasted barley-type note detected, pleasant surprise, nice caramel sweetness, not much fruit going on but it’s there.

Finish: Medium+ length, oak tannins, pepper, malt, ginger, and a touch of mineral water.
A bit dry on the finish, and spicy.

Score: 82/100

Rather interesting dram, had some interesting notes going for it, nothing bold, and not complex. Being CS probably helped a lot here, can imagine this being really bland if it’s watered down to 43-46%.

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Clynelish 21 Year Old 1983 Dun Bheagan

Region: Highland

ABV: 56.9%

E150: No

Chill-filtered: No

 

Colour: Light Straw

Nose: Smoke, candle wax, ash, honey, lemon.
Interesting touch of smoke on the nose, but rather simple.

Palate: Sugar, malt, liquorice, malt, citrus, oak.
Very distinctive sugary note, sweet, but yet again, not too complex.

Finish: Medium length, pepper, oak, smoke, earthy.
Some earthiness came out in the finish, and the smoke reappeared again.

Score: 80/100

Haven’t had too many Clynelish before, the smoke is a nice touch, but then there aren’t too much going on for it. The sugar note is very pronounced on the palate, was hoping for a more complex Clynleish, but this one is on the simple side.

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Mortlach 12 Year Old 1989 Murray McDavid

Region: Speyside

ABV: 46%

E150: No

Chill-filtered: No

 

Colour: Amber

Nose: Raisins, sherry, vinegar, mild pool water, honey, apple, brine.
Something smells off on the nose, maybe the glass isn’t clean?

Palate: Mineral, some sort of funk, damped oak, barn yard-like, sugar, chocolate, spices.

Finish: Long finish, mineral, funk.

Score: 76/100

Feels like something is off, maybe the glass isn’t clean, or the whisky is off.

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Scapa 10 Year Old Signatory

Region: Island

ABV: 43%

E150: No

Chill-filtered: No

 

Colour: Light Straw

Nose: Malt, floral, green apples, grape, touch of brine, light caramel, lemon candy.
Sweet and fruity nose, with nice touch of floral aspect, much better than the 2 Scapa I have come across (Skiren and 16).

Palate: Milk chocolate, malt, light fruits, vanilla.
Rather simple notes on the palate, kind of remind me of a cake.

Finish: Medium finish, syrup, malt, lemon candy, pepper.
Syrupy finish with a touch of peppery note. Rather nice.

Score: 81/100

Definitely better than the OB Scapa from my previous experience, I wish to try more IB Scapa and in cask strength to see what they’ve got.

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Longrow 10

Region: Campbeltown

ABV: 46%

E150: No

Chill-filtered: No

 

Colour: Straw
Nose: Surprisingly light on the peat, sweet malt, sugar, spice, chocolate, candied cherry, vanilla, citrus.
I was told this was peated to 55ppm, Ardbeg level, but the nose doesn’t suggest that.

Palate: Candied cherry, salt, pepper, light peat, apple, citrus, caramel, touch of red fruits.
Again, expecting lots of smoke (coming from only having Longrow RED Australian Shiraz before), this is nothing like that on the peat front. Rather delightful.

Finish: Medium-long finish, metallic, peat, earthy funk, touch of sweetness.

Score: 82/100

Had a lot of expectation from Longrow having only tried their Red series. This is rather mild on the peat, well balanced on the fruit and sweetness. Quite enjoyable. However, I do prefer the Springbank 10.

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Caol Ila 11 Year Old 1984 Signatory

Region: Islay

ABV: 43%

E150: No

Chill-filtered: No

 

Colour: Light Straw

Nose: Initially loads and loads of vanilla, lots of brine, light ashy peat, apple, citrus.
WOW! The wave after wave of vanilla caught me off guard! Unlike the Caol Ila CS, I didn’t get much of that smoked meat note from it, perhaps it’s all covered under the vanilla.

Palate: Ashy peat, tangerines, oak, mineral, malt.
Rather simple on the palate, much like the nose, perhaps the 43% killed it.

Finish: Medium finish, light peat, ash.

Score: 82/100

Wish it had more going on, the CS Caol Ila I’ve had before kinda ruined it for me.

Mortlach Distillery is nicknamed “The Beast of Dufftown”, let’s see what they’ve got.

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Mortlach Rare Old

 

Region: Speyside

ABV: 43.4%

E150: Yes

Chill-filtered: Yes

Container: Glencairn Neat

Colour: Gold-Amber

Nose: Honey, apple, pear, toffee, malt, melons, touch of spice. Very nice and sweet nose.

Palate: Apples, honey, malt, pepper, cinnamon, oranges, vegetal note, mineral water, touch of smoke. Not sure where the smoke came from, fairly sure this is unpeated.

Finish: Short finish, mineral, oak spice, pepper, touch of bitterness.

Score: 77/100

Started off with a somewhat promising sweet nose of a typical speyside, the palate and finish was a letdown.

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SMWS 76.94 – Totally Flavoursome
Mortlach 26 Year Old 1986

Region: Speyside

ABV:59.4%

E150: No

Chill-filtered: No

Cask Type: Refill ex-Bourbon Hogshead

 

Container: Glencairn Neat

Colour: Gold

Nose: Lots of oak up front, vanilla, floral perfume, honey, acetone, tobacco, orange lollipop, malt, faint hint of leather note.

Palate: Oranges followed by huge wave of malt, ginger, pepper, oak, citrus, dough, more orange notes, light fruits, peach, hint of coffee.

Finish: Lingering spicy finish, ginger, pepper, chili pepper, oak.

Score: 90/100

While the Rare Old is no good, the SMWS 76.94 is completely different beast. Loaded with spices, lots of oak influence, and quite a lot of malt on the palate. Bold flavours throughout, very complex on the plate, and a pleasant spicy finish.