Old Pulteney 12yo (40%, OB, +/-2009)

From the north east of Scotland facing the Moray Firth is Pulteney Distillery in the town of Wick. The nose clean, malty, honeyed and vaguely salty; it is very, very nice. There is also a hint of goose berries. After some time in the glass the malt increases in stature. It’s not simple, however it’s not overly busy, like one of the three bears said “it’s just right”. The taste is much like the aromas and thus very balanced so far. There is fruit and malt and honey and a tinge of leather to give other flavours some back bone. The finish is warming, long and delicious and despite it being only 40% it fills the head with marvelous flavours. After a minute of two the malt pops up like a mushroom pushing its way out of the ground without the wretched mushroom aromas; just think about the activity of pushing up!). The finish is very long and an experience to behold.

A great malt moment from a distillery that is going from strength to strength.

C$80

Score 88 Points

Glenrothes NAS (40%, OB, ‘Select Reserve’ +/-2009)

The nose has several ‘whisky characteristics’ which is a good start; light floral/heather notes, cereals, pizza dough, vague hints of damp card board and toffee. There is also some fruit and some good oak notes. With more time in the glass it opens up to reveal more of the malt/cereals. The damp cardboard has now evolved into a gentle acetone and Marmite characteristic followed by some ‘green’ notes. The taste is good, strong along with some fruit, hints of the Marmite, malt and some really good sweetness (fire weed honey and toffee) but not over whelming. The finish is mildly bitter at first but some oak spice, sweetness and green malt soon take over. The finish is quite long and towards the end it has a brandy like quality inter mixed with green malt.

Good fun.

Score 81

Edradour 12yo (57%, OB, ‘Gaja Barolo’, 464 Bts., D’ 23/01/1196 B’ 29/04/2008)

‘Bottled by hand, in Scotland’. So says the label. The nose is some what Speyside like in character and quite strong along with some very light heathery notes, light cut grass, malt and some honey. More time in the glass brings out more of the honey and heather. The diluted nose brings out more and now it is significantly fruitier which is nice. The undiluted taste is strong, syrupy sweet (like honey glazed heather) followed by more of the fragrant heather which is not significantly stronger than on the nose. The diluted taste is gentler, smoother and more drinkable. Some dry wood notes pop up unexpectedly. The finish is sappy, flirting with soapy, cloying and long. The sweetness flits in and out however the sappiness is mildly disturbing. After a while some malt arrives to restore some order. The malt is long but the very light sappiness is always lurking in the back ground. After a few minutes the malt is much more evident.

Actually quite nice and opens up with some water. Interesting. After a while. The sappiness/soapiness is verging on problematic.

£40 (a tad pricey for a wee 500ml bottle)

Score 79

http://www.edradour.co.uk/

Glen Scotia 17yo (46%, Duthies, 2009)

Robert W. Duthie was the nephew of William Cadenhead and he ran the company after the passing of Mr. Cadenhead in 1904.  Cadenhead’s recently re-established the brand. Bottled at 46% without chill filtration or the addition of colouring.

The nose reveals…. whoa, this is nice! There is some good toffee, damp hay, sweet malt and barley. The aromas build as it opens in the glass and further examination some really good oak/cocoa and after some more time the aromas lean towards the more meaty heavier side of the spectrum.  Very pleasant, there are some moments of Campbeltown thrown in addition to some brine and a whiff of smoke in the shape of an highly agitated Icelandic volcano…..just kidding…there is a whiff of smoke and some sharp sour moments. There is a lot going on in the glass and with more time it simply keeps on evolving. Fragrant. The taste is at first different from the nose is many ways but right off resembles the later stages of the aromas and is very Campbeltown like, complex, toffeed with a good back ground of malt and cocoa followed by some meatiness and then some complexity from the gentle smoke and more wood spice. Oh, this is really nice. A tiny, tiny hint of some pungent notes but they give character and back bone to the other flavours and do nit detract. Green malt at the very end. The finish is malty at first along with some green malt and a hint of smoke, a little (tiny) bit and then the cocoa and malt arrive, hand in hand to take a final bow before some not unexpected malty dryness brings down the curtain a long while later.

Very good.

$102 at Kensington Calgary (thank you for the generous sample Andrew)

Score 89 Points

Linkwood 10yo (40%, Inverarity, +/-2009)

From www.lfw.co.uk Quality and value. From the Linkwood Distillery, much acclaimed by blenders, this is our first house malt and is a fine example of a Bourbon cask matured Speyside malt. Easily drinkable any time of day this pleases both an experienced whisky drinker as well as showing the benefits of a great whisky to a novice.

On the nose there is some heather, light rose and mildly ‘green’ followed by some really good malt and Weetabix. The aromas are more fragrant than malty and the green and floral notes certainly have a prominent role to play. The taste is fruity (where did that come from?), then malty and heathery with some light honey followed by some cocoa and wood spice flavours. It’s nice. In the back ground there are some hints of leather and tobacco; just enough to give some back bone. The finish is mildly smokey at first followed by the heathery leather notes, malt and ultimately sweetness. It is malty chewy after a short while but the finish is actually quite long. And good.

Loch Fyne Whiskies are correct this is a good dram. If the rose and ‘green’ notes are too dominate when you open the bottle then pour a dram or two and then return to the bottle in a few months; they’ll have settled down quite a bit.

£24

Score 84 points

Bunnahabhain NAS ‘Mòine’ (58.4%, OB, Brown Label,  642 Bts., Feis Ile 2009)

This limited Mòine edition by Master Distiller Ian MacMillan, has endeavored to replicate that peated essence, using single malt spirit that’s not left the island for a second between distillation in 2003 and bottling in 2009.

This limited edition is finished in Oloroso Sherry butts for three short months in sea-facing warehouse no.7, bringing this intriguing voyage of discovery to an end. The result is a side of Bunnahabhain not often revealed, but one that does justice to a past worthy of exploration.

Mòine meaning ‘peat’ in Scots Gaelic is a dram for reflection – a gentle, eminent taste from another age. (From the blurb)

The nose reveals green notes (think cut grass and pea pods) and jam, not strawberry but something thicker and sweeter. After a few seconds of innocently nosing in quiet contemplation the peat smoke comes lancing out of the glass. It’s deep and thick, like coal smoke along with some iodine, hints of seaweed and some honey. This is nice. There are also very slight hints of either cocoa or mocha however it’s more likely mocha. There’s malt in there also. After some time in the glass it simply improves. The taste is peated and sherried with a really good back bone of clean malt and then the freight train of the peat come roaring through; obviously an express. After a moment or two it becomes slightly creamy. With water the peat increases in stature and depth and become much more coal like. The diluted taste is very, very good, don’t add too much. Mars Bars, cocoa, fruit, sherry, malt, it’s all in there and it’s quite excellent. The finish is peated, sweet and long. After a short while some oak spice arrives and the finish is very active and the long long is confirmed.

A very different Bunnahabhain and a very good one. Well done! It’s better with a little water and stretches the bottle too…vibrant, loads of character and a cracking dram.

£78 here and there but not much left but find one in any case. Comes with a wee ships wheel key chain though which is fun; not critical but fun.

Score 88 points

Glen Moray 12yo (40%, OB, +/-2009)

Recently sold (2008) by Glenmorangie and Company to La Martiniquaise. Many feel that Glen Moray is a much under rated single malt. It seems that a large proportion of its output goes to France hidden in blends…

The nose honeyed, malty and nicely spiced along with some really nice fruit. Additionally there is some light cocoa, light oranges; the whole effect is a collection of very pleasant light aromas. Sometimes you want something a little lighter; this is nice. After some time in the glass more malt comes out. Again, the nose is very pleasant. The taste is also light at first with malt, fruit and then some really good fruit wood spice and some cocoa and dryness. After a while it is very dry. Which is good. The fruit, malt and wood spice tumble around and quite honestly, they are very well balanced. The finish is wood notes, fruit and then malt followed by the honey and the dryness. It is surprisingly long for a whisky that possesses such a collection of ‘light’ descriptors. Again, it’s very nice.

The Whisky Exchange blog comments that Glen Moray is a “criminally under-rated distillery” and this seems accurate. Oh LVMH/Glenmorangie, you should not have sold this distillery and La Martiniquaise don’t ruin it.

US$25 (what a steal)

84 points.

Visit Glen Moray at http://www.glenmoray.com/index-2.html

The Bailie Nicol Jarvie NAS (40%, OB, ‘Very Old Reserve’,+/-2010)

A blended Scotch whisky that comes highly recommended. Oddly the web address, while is suitably registered to Macdonald & Muir, a WHOIS search reveals, leads to …nothing. Now why would you go to the effort of putting a web address on a back label if you don’t even have a website? Apparently the whisky possesses a high malt content….

The nose is malty and honeyed initially followed by a mildly oppressive layer of Marmite and mild rubber; however there is also some good oak spiciness. There are also some fragrant heather notes but the Marmite/rubber muddies the waters some what and it is Omni present throughout the assorted collection of aromas. The taste is malty and honeyed, a good start however the Marmite/rubber make a swift showing. There is also the arrival of some smoke and after a short while the taste settles don some what and becomes quite pleasant. After a while it becomes a little creamy and smokey. Quite nice. The finish is light Marmite and malt and carries on for quite some time. Some later moments of dryness arrive along with some malt. The finish grows a little and ends on a good note towards the end. Some really good sweet malt after a few minutes.

Mildly confused and the picture is most definitely blurred by the Marmite and rubber. Disappointing.

71 Points

£19

Visit Bailie Nicol Jarvie at www.bnjwhisky.com ha ha ha ha!

Balvenie 17yo (43%, Sherry Oak, +/-2009)

Seventeen years maturation exclusively in Oloroso sherry casks. And it shows. A pleasing dark color (yes, yes, we all know color isn’t a determination of quality but color is relevant since everybody talks about it, no?) The nose is very sherried and spicy, dried fruit (plums, cherries, raisins) and a big tin of really good Christmas cake. The wood spice and the sherry play off each other delightfully. Who cares if the distillery character is buried beneath the sherry; once in a while it’s fun to go out side the boundaries. The taste is not overly strong but is most definitely sherried and nice again the oak spice notes are there in person wrestling with the sherry. Some really good heftiness in the form of brown sugar muscles in at one point but the sherry and the oak spice are the winners here. A tinge of unlit cured tobacco makes a brief appearance and the very end of the palate some strawberry jam. The finish is mild at first but after a short while the spice, now more dry, takes over however it does not dominate the sherry which has a slightly flinty earthy quality followed by a hint of diesel. The finish is quite long and very good.

Jump up and down and shakes your arms in the air, this is really good. As always whiskies like this are limited editions.

£85

Score 89 points

http://www.thebalvenie.com/

Springbank ‘Cask Strength’12yo (54.6%, OB, +/-2010)

From the Springbank website ‘Springbank 12Y/O cask strength 70cl 54.6%ABV Matured: 60% fresh sherry hogsheads 40% refill sherry butts’.

The nose is strong, vibrant and good. And smokey. After a few moments in the glass the characteristics aromas one comes to expect from Springbank come roiling out of the glass along with some good fruit (think of dried apricots, prunes and oranges) along with some vague hints of malt, fresh hay (very slight hints). There is also a good back ground of spice and some really good sherry which is thick and rich; quite spectacular. There is also some earthiness, like the earth floor in a cool dunnage warehouse. The taste is deep, big, warming and strong however it is not over whelming. There is some sherry, smoke and barley dust followed by some really, really good sweet smoke and warm Weetabix (before you pour on the milk) and then the spice from the oak come rolling in. This is delicious. There are also some late moments of cocoa. The finish is malty, filled with grain and the Weetabix followed by some sweetness and oak spice, the earthiness and then some more sweet cocoa and some cold tea. The finish is very long and very good. At the tail end of the finish there is some creaminess followed by the oak notes once again.

It just didn’t seem to need water added…….It’s also nice to see Springbank firing on all cylinders.

£39

Score 86 points