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%.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.