The newly re-branded official bottling range from the Dalmore which now sports a golden stag’s head in place of the more familiar silver. The color is a deep rich reddish mahogany suggesting the presence of sherry. The nose is of cereals, pizza dough, malt and cut grass in some moments. After a minute or two there is heather, some clove, spice from the oak and warm Weetabix. After a few more minutes sweet dessert wine emerges, very nice. With water is a dramatic change to reveal plasticine, good fruit and old wooden furniture along with some furniture polish. A very busy nose. The taste is at first mildly ‘green’ followed by rich malt and sweet wine followed by very light tobacco, varnish and brandy. It is very nice and there is also some very light cocoa. With water it is much more subtle but the flavours as are described without water. Some slight hints of roses and heather also. The finish is very dry with loads of wood spice and bitter cocoa which is quite excellent. Chocolate, bitter cold tea and a really superb malt delivery at the very end that is also slightly oily. The finish is very long and malty.

What a grand dram for a 12 year old and quite different to most malts.

C$68

Score 83 Points

Visit the Dalmore at http://www.thedalmore.com/

The first whisky, distilled by the new owners of Bruichladdich, to be released in the traditional Bruichladdich low peating level of 10 PPM (it’s been reported that subsequent bottlings will be in the 3-5 PPM level), in any case it’s a pleasant change to have a nose around Bruichladdich without shed loads of peat obscuring the view. Released in October 2008.

The nose is rich and immediately brings forth images of butter, white wine, malt, honey, fruit, oak, hints of brine and very gentle coal smoke. This is a multi faceted nose and it’s very busy; there are loads of aromas and all very good. With water there is a sudden change with the arrival of plasticine followed by the malt and some pine resin but still with a sweet background. The undiluted taste is of fruit, very light leather, citrus, raisins, toffee, malt spicy oak with a later arrival of some strong oaky malt and some hints of tobacco. After a few minutes the oaky malt dominates and is quite unusual. Some shades of Springbank in here. With water the taste is much smoother and much gentler and surprisingly the plasticine  is not present but there is juniper and associated spices (think of a good Gin) and malt. A surprise and quite nice. The finish is woody and malty at first with the malt being very chewy and mouth smacking, some bitter fruit in here towards the end followed by a sweetness (honey, vanilla bean). It’s very long and enjoyable.

A good quality dram and it’s nice to see such quality from such a youngish whisky.

C$75

Score 86 Points

http://www.bruichladdich.com/

In independent bottling from the famed Elgin based company of Gordon & MacPhail with a very intriguing label adorned with a lion, the description of ‘All Malt” and a vivid pink back ground highlighting “Glenlivet Whisky”.

The nose is very clean with an initial delivery of some really good malt, malt dust and followed by brown sugar (Demerara). There is also oaky spiciness and then the arrival of the fruit. There are very sweet Christmas fruits, Christmas cake, plump raisins and honey. A very good collection of aromas, quite stunning. The taste is quite strong for the stated ABV and is warming and very rich with the spicy oak and the Christmas fruits in abundance. There is also a brilliant moment of bitter chocolate from the oak at the later end of the taste followed by some really good oak. The Christmas fruits are extremely well integrated with the oak for a superb combination. Antique furniture pops up for a moment. The finish is once again of the nose and the taste with the addition of some increased oak, more fruit and then a very, very dry end reeking of spicy oak and fruit. The finish is very long and warming.

Marvelous.

C$125

Score 89 Points

Glenlivet 21yo

From Loch Fyne Whiskies;

For Ancestral, Inverarity Vaults’ Hamish Martin has selected a 14yo sherry cask matured Balmenach. It is dark, extremely smooth, with great strength and complexity, very slightly sherry-cloying in the mouth.

A wonderful after dinner dram.

The nose is very sherried but of a style and quality that one rarely encounters these days; this is hardly a shock since one would not expect Loch Fyne Whiskies to accept anything but the best as their ‘House Malt’. It is very clean and sweet with some spicy hints and a touch of mint followed by warm brown sugar, Christmas cake and furniture wax. The taste is warming and mellow at first followed by a rich spiciness and coffee, dried Christmas fruits, raisins and toffee. There is also hints of Hessian, sherry oak, sweet cold tea, gentle pine resin and cedar notes. The finish is long, warming and sweet at first followed by a strong oaky and brandy like warmness. The oak is very spicy and is exceptional. After a few minutes the cold sweet tea returns and there are alternating waves of sweetness and sherry followed by the spicy oak. The later stages of the finish become quite dry however the spiciness lingers on.

What an exceptional dram. Buy a bottle soon!

£27 at https://www.lfw.co.uk/

Score 88 Points

Not a lot of information as to the cask type other than ‘matured in oak casks’ which is redundant after all since it’s the law. The nose fruity, green and sweet at first blush. After a very short while the green notes (fresh cut hay, cut grass etcetera) start to fade and are replaced with aromas more of the floral and vanilla honey variety. However the green notes never entirely leave the picture. The taste is at first quite vibrant and mildly young with white wine, pears and flavours often associated with solvents followed by some really good malt and then a mild copper and possibly some smoke but very faint. The finish is very malty and much like white wine followed by a mild soapiness however the malt is quite pronounced. A mild unbalanced bitterness at the very end. The malt makes a valiant return however it’s too late; impressions have been formed.

Some unhappiness in this sample although there are some great moments of malt delivery and a good example of what is suspected to be not the most interactive cask.

C$68

Score 76 points

http://www.vintagemaltwhisky.com/product-cooperchoice.html

Finlaggan is very much the SECRET Islay, as the name of the distillery from which it comes is a closely guarded secret and known to only a select few. So says the Vintage Malt Whisky Company website. The nose is of peat smoke and brown sugar of the Demerara variety, warm honey, some very mild orange aromas and malt dust and woody oak notes. After a few minutes there is also some mild coal smoke and some hints of cereal grains (not breakfast cereal) and very mild pine resin and further spicy oaky wood notes. A nice Kildalton nose and over all very pleasant although one shouldn’t be misled by the image of the castle ruins on the box. The taste is heavily peated and strong with a good background of …peat smoke, wood notes, bung cloth, coal smoke, dessert wine, apricots, iodine and some very nice maritime notes. The finish is very much of cereals and peat smoke with some later stages of green with a really good delivery of bitter cocoa right at the end. Very dry and peated.  After a short while there is a mild oiliness that is not entirely pleasant however it is very brief and is followed by the dry peat smoke. After 10 minutes there is some really good dry malt and peated. The finish is very long and may cross time zones.
 
Score 83

C$110

http://www.vintagemaltwhisky.com/product-finlaggan.html

Two refill hogsheads, numbers 3868 & 3869 married together and then bottled in the autumn of 2007; happily un-chillfiltered and without colouring. The nose a peat heads dream, deep strong peat smoke, very clean with some hints of butter, Hessian, tinned fruit cocktail, toffee, brine and heather. It’s a very well integrated collection of aromas. The taste is peated and surprisingly smooth with tastes of the butter, oak, cocoa, chocolate, maritime, burnt cake and light toffee. Exceptionally good. The finish is both dry and bitter with rolling rollicking peat smoke intertwined with the cocoa, a very brief flash of diesel and then the bitter cocoa arrival. The bitterness at the end is exceptional with a further rise of the cocoa/dark chocolate. What a grand dram. The finish is very long, complex and enduring; after 5 minutes there is a really good taste on malt and peat smoke followed by a hint of peanut butter and a handful of dry peated malt scooped from the malt kiln.

Score 88 Points

C$135

Please visit Douglas Laing at http://www.douglaslaing.com/

A single malt from the independent bottler Adelphi that chooses not to divulge the Highland distillery however this is a single cask bottling and at cask strength and unchill-filtered. The nose is strong and toffeed with a tinge of smoke, pine, damp Hessian and dried cherries. There are also some delicate notes of marmalade and bees wax. Sherried. With water there is a dramatic change with the aromas of damp ash, wet cement (think of pavement after a rain storm on a summer day) followed by honey and some hints of the former glory in the form of the pine notes. The taste is very pleasant and almost sherried with strong dry wood notes followed by more fruit; cherries and pear. Orange and more of the dry wood notes. With water it is much more sedate with no hint of the damp ash/cement of the diluted aromas however there are strong sweet wine notes along with the pine resin. The finish is very dry, long and mouth coating, cedar, tobacco and leather followed by the oaky dryness. Towards the end the sherry pops its head up followed by the bitter dry wood notes.

Better without water.

Score 83 Points

C$195

Please visit the Adelphi Distillery at http://www.adelphidistillery.com/

A ‘vintage’ Ardbeg distilled in 1990 nick named the ‘beast’ by many. The nose is of sweet peat smoke, earthy dunnage warehouses, hints of maritime, oak, bonfire, sherry wine and bonfires. Buttery. With water there is some citrus in the form of orange with some additional aromas of leather, tobacco, dark chocolate and cloves. The taste is of peat smoke, creamy, soda, buttery, beach, lemon, prawn (again), maritime, malt, chewy, dark bitter chocolate. Very pleasant. The finish is very long, complex and warming with more peat smoke, oak, the dark bitter chocolate but this time in the form of Terry’s Chocolate Orange. After a few minutes there are hints of Lapsang Souchong tea and a final crescendo of peat smoke. Overall very well balanced. Excellent.

C$125

Score 90 Points

Visit Ardbeg at http://www.ardbeg.com/

A single cask bottling from the Signatory Vintage ‘Un-Chillfiltered Collection’ and ‘natural color’  from a single cask but reduced to 46% instead of being bottled at cask strength. This line of whiskies contains some real crackers. The nose is both sherried and sulphury; sherry wine mixed with ammonia, damp cardboard and a vague vegetative characteristic.  There is also some vanilla and honey behind the other aromas. The taste is malty, sour with heather, wet forest floor, cherries and raisins. Also burnt toast. The finish is very strong with damp leather, wood, malt and the rubbery sourness backed by the malt and the sherry. After a minute of two the malt becomes very dry however it is intermingled with the sourness and the wet cardboard.

Yikes.

Score 72 Points