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[Quick review] Torabhaig - Sound of Sleat 46%

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  There is some fantastic whisky coming out of Skye, and it's not from the Talisker distillery...! Distillery:  Torabhaig Bottler:  Distillery Age:  NAS Distilled:  n/a Bottled:  2025 Cask:  American Oak Abv:  46% Unchillfiltered:  Yes Natural Colour:  Yes Nb of bottles:  n/a Price:  £58 Extra:  Chapter 4 of the Legacy Series, made up of lightly smoked concerto and laureate barley My tasting notes: Nose:  Fresh malted barley, vanilla sweetness, warming peat, seaweed and a pinch of salt, hints of yellow fruit, peach, honey. This is quality! Palate: Thick and creamy, sweet and smoky, caramel, honey, vanilla, some green slightly herbaceous notes with coriander and thyme, some oak spice too, black pepper and more seaweed/iodine. This is very good! Finish: Ashy bonfire, more vanilla sweetness, lasting warmth, bitter coffee, drying oak tannin, sea breeze. Wow! With water:  The nose gets some more herbs notes with the...
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[Quick review] Mackinlay's Shackleton - Blended Malt Scotch Whisky 40%

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A bit of value for money today with this Blended Malt Schotch Whisky Distillery:  n/a Bottler:  Mackinlay Age:  n/a Distilled:  n/a Bottled:  n'a Cask:  oak Abv:  40% Unchillfiltered:  No Natural Colour: No Nb of bottles:  n'a Price:  £35 (£18 paid) Extra:  Blended Malt Scotch My tasting notes: Nose:  Sweet and fruity, vanilla, brown sugar, ginger, lemon, oak spice, green apple, a little yeast and hints of minerality too. Palate:  Sweet and gently woody, creamy, vanilla cream, oak spice, barley sugar, almond, bitter grapefruit, black pepper, slightly earthy and with a nice little caramel undertone! Super pleasant for £18! Finish:  Malty, warming & slightly industrial, digestive biscuits, pebbles, bitter grapefruit again, brine, slight cocoa. With water:  Fresher nose with more citrus and less oak / minerality.  The palate loses in flavour, mostly sweet & malty.  The finish becomes a little smoky...
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[Quick review] Stork Club - Rye Malt Whiskey (The Heart Cut) 55%

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  I think this could be a first German whiskey for me! Distillery:  Stork Club Bottler:  The Heart Cut Age:  5 years old Distilled:  28/06/2019 Bottled: 05/11/2025 Cask:  German Napoleon Oak Abv:  55% Unchillfiltered:  Yes Natural Colour:  Yes Nb of bottles:  408 Price:  £55 Extra:  bottled in 50cl My tasting notes: Nose:  The nose is all about Black Forest gâteau, boozy macerated cherries, dark chocolate and a hint of rye.  Palate:  The palate is creamy first before a wave of rye spice comes through. There’s some gingery citrus kicking about and some fresh cereal, more creamy dark chocolate and boozy cherries. Finish:  The finish is a coating of cocoa powder mixed with some vanilla infused macadamia nuts. There’s also a hint of chlorophyll / peppermint tea lingering around at the very end.   Wow, that’s an very unusual but very tasty one from Germany! Slàinte all! Thank you again to The Heart Cut for s...
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[Quick review] Living Souls - 40 years old Blended Scotch 41.2%

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  First of two 40 year-old blended Scotch bottles released recently. And the first one is from a new bottler called Living Souls. It is one of their first four bottlings, alongside a 19yo Islay (Ardbeg), an 18yo Ledaig/Tobermory and a 15yo Blended Scotch. It is bottled with no added colouring or chillfiltration, and at 41.2%. It also looks like this blend was laid down to marry in a sherry butt in 1998 so over 25 years ago! Distillery:  Blended Scotch Bottler:  Living Souls Age:  40 years old Distilled:  n/a Bottled:  2024 Cask:  n/a Abv:  41.2% Unchillfiltered:  Yes Natural Colour:  Yes Nb of bottles:  n/a Price:  £125 Extra:   My tasting notes: Nose:  Fruity, malty with almonds/marzipan notes, dried apricots and figs, roast peach, slight orange blossom, old oak bookcase, vanilla, some crème caramel, some wood spice and hints of smoke. This is fantastic! Palate:  Fruity and creamy, tropical fruit, mango, passion...
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[Quick Review] The Gladstone Axe - The Black Axe, Blended Malt, 41%

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  Distillery:  Blended Malt Bottler:  Biggar & Leith Age:  NAS Distilled:  N/A Bottled:  2021 Cask:  N/A Abv:  41% Unchillfiltered:  N/A Natural Colour: N/A Nb of bottles:  N/A Price: around £30 Extra:  Blended Malt Whisky My tasting notes: Nose:  Sweet and fruity, oak spice, vanilla toffee, barley sugar and malted barley and a whiff of smoke. It is a blended malt but there is a faint grain spirit note kicking around. Pleasant! Palate:  Rich, caramel sweetness, oak spice again, some heather notes, cinnamon, citrus hints around and smoke again. Quite a thin mouthfeel but enjoyable enough! Finish:  Warming oak, slight salinity, gentle peat smoke, hints of bitter citrus and vanilla, quite drying and not very long. Pleasantly surprised by this one. The addition of peat is adding to the dram rather than trying to put people off! I don’t know how old it is or which malts have been used but what I can say is that th...
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[Quick Review] Bowmore 30 years old - The Dalswinton Series II (Claxton's)

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  The last one from Claxton's Spirits and The Dalswinton’s Series second edition is maybe the one I’ve been excited the most: a 30 year-old Bowmore! It was distilled in 1992, aged in an Oloroso Sherry cask and bottled at 43.5%. Distillery:  Bowmore Bottler:  Claxton's Age:  30 years old Distilled:  17/09/1992 Bottled:  2024 Cask:  Oloroso Sherry cask Abv:  43.5% Unchillfiltered:  Yes Natural Colour:  Yes Nb of bottles:   Price:  £ Extra:  Part of the Dalswinton Series - Second Edition My tasting notes: Nose:  The nose is coastal, gently peaty and wrapped in tropical fruit sweetness. There is seaweed and iodine, camphor, slight BBQ meat (smoked bacon), grassy/earthy smoke, lemon, a touch of toasted oak and some vanilla. On the nose, the Oloroso cask is not the most obvious. It smells more like a bourbon cask. I’m a fan! Palate:  The palate is sweeter than the nose let on, with some chewy caramel, more Bowmore trop...
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[Quick Review] Highland Park 35 years old - The Dalswinton Series II (Claxton's)

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  2 more to go with Claxton's Spirits and next up from The Dalswinton’s Series second edition is this the oldest release, a 35 year-old Highland Park! It was distilled in 1988, aged in an Oloroso sherry cask and bottled at 43.2%. Distillery:  Highland Park Bottler:  Claxton's Age:  35 years old Distilled:  22/06/1988 Bottled:  2024 Cask:  Oloroso Sherry cask Abv:  43.2% Unchillfiltered:  Yes Natural Colour:  Yes Nb of bottles:   Price:  £ Extra:  Part of the Dalswinton Series - Second Edition My tasting notes: Nose:  The nose is fruity and creamy, yellow peaches, melon, vanilla cream, some HP heather notes, tame oak spice stewed apples, some milk/white chocolate and pear, honey, hints of cedar wood ! Palate:  The palate is malty and chocolaty first with lots of juicy sultanas, fresh tangerines, some mixed spice, runny caramel, crème brûlée, milk chocolate, black grape juice, blackberry jelly. Some oak spice appea...
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