Month: September 2018

Macallan 12 Sherry Cask

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Region: Speyside
ABV: 43%
E150: No
Chill-filtered: Yes
Cask Type: Sherry Casks

 

Colour: Amber

Nose: Raisin, honey, grape, malt, nutmeg, cinnamon, grass

Palate: Sherry, malt, dried red fruits, ginger, chocolate

Finish: Medium, ginger, sherry, mineral, malt

Score: 78/100

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Always a great introduction to Scotch Single Malt, the Macallan 12 is great for beginner, no off notes, nice sherry fruit, malt, and spice profile. Decent complexity, easy for beginners to pick out and learn. Part of the Scotch starter pack that I would recommend trying out.

Macallan Rare Cask Black

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Region: Speyside
ABV: 48%
E150: No
Chill-filtered: No
Cask Type: ~100 predominently sherry-seasoned casks, peated malt.

 

Colour: Amber

Nose: Leather, dark fruits, toffee, plum, raisins, spice, oak, very faint smoke

Palate: Plum, oak, cola, pepper, ginger, orange peel, smoke

Finish: Medium+ finish, pepper, mineral, dark chocolate, oak, sherry, leather

Score: 87/100

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Peated Macallan, very rare indeed. Part from the 1946 vintage of Macallan, this is probably the only time you will be able to try their peated expression. The nose is surprising, very typical of Macallan, rounded sherry fruits, spice, and oak is rather dominant, with a faint suggestion of smoke. Oak also plays a big part on the palate, plum, cola, spice, orange peel, and smoke; followed by a medium length finish, spicy, oaky, with a touch of dark chocolate and leather to round things off. This is a very mildly peated whisky, just sits in the back subtlety. You get an impression of more older-casks in this NAS release, very nice balance of complexity and flavour.

Arran 21st Anniversary

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Region: Island
ABV: 52.6%
E150: No
Chill-filtered: No
Cask Type: Sherry Hogshead

 

Colour: Amber

Nose: Menthol, mango, peach skin, honey, orange peel, nuts, faint anise

Palate: Mango, chocolate, pepper, ginger, raspberry, apple, walnut

Finish: Medium+, oak, ginger, cinnamon, malt, mineral

Score: 87/100

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One of the nicest Arran I’ve tried, alongside the Tokaji Aszu Wine Cask (55%). The nose already shows a great deal of promise right off the bat. Abundant fruit presence, signature of Arran, honey, orange peel, nuttiness, and a faint sense of anise. The palate is a great balance of fruit, chocolate, and spice, with a touch of the nuttiness from the nose, followed by a medium to long finish, where the oak kicks in, along with ample spiciness, malt, and mineral notes. Great special release.

Highland Park 21

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Region: Island
ABV: 47.5%
E150: No
Chill-filtered: No
Cask Type: N/A

 

Colour: Amber

Nose: Apple, peanut, malt, raisin, peach, lemon peel, cocoa, faint smoke

Palate: Pepper, ginger, light smoke, raisin, stewed fruits

Finish: Medium+, ginger, cocoa, light smoke, orange peel, syrupy

Score: 85/100

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Quite a step up from the standard 18, perhaps the higher ABV really helped out here. The nose is very rounded, and rather complex, nice mixture of fruit, faint smoke, and malt. Once I drank it, I was surprised by how spicy this was, followed by stewed fruits and raisin notes. The finish was somewhat long, with some cocoa notes and orange peel showing up, really rounded and syrupy. Well made, spicy single malt.

Jack Wiebers Islay Malt Locomotive Breath

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Region: Islay
ABV: 53.7%
E150: No
Chill-filtered: No
Cask Type: Sherry Cask Finish, 1 of 120 Bottles

 

Colour: Mahogany

Nose: Leather, coffee, dark chocolate, raspberry, spicy smoked meat

Palate: Burnt wood, coffee, nuts, dark chocolate, raspberry

Finish: Long finish, smoke, coffee, leather, oak tannins, pepper

Score: 86/100

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Upon nosing the dram, I was greeted with a wonderful nose full of leather, coffee, dark chocolate, raspberry, spicy smoked meat; great deal of complexity shown here. The palate shows similar notes, but less complex when compared to the nose, a distinctive burnt wood character shown here, followed by a long finish, a nice array of smoke, coffee, oak tannins, and peppery spice. Despite it being NAS, Jack Wiebers is doing great work here. Highly recommended.

Bruichladdich The Laddie 22

 

Region: Islay
ABV: 46%
E150: No
Chill-filtered: No
Cask Type: American Oak Casks

 

Colour: Gold

Nose: Lemon, honey, soft floral, malt, pepper, honeydew, muscat grape, pineapple, sea breeze, banana bread

Palate: Honey, melon, mineral, vanilla, melon, oak, cereal, salt

Finish: Medium finish, ethanol, pepper, lemon, seaweed

Score: 86/100

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The nose was the highlight for me, very elegant and soft, while carrying ample complexity. A very pleasant coastal influence throughout, from the nose to the finish, giving this dram a nice character. The Laddie 22 is more matured than its younger siblings, and it should, although slightly I do detect a touch of ethanol on the finish, but it’s not a deal breaker by any chance. The complexity on the palate is tightly integrated, all the nice ex-bourbon cask notes. Would highly recommend trying this.