A new-ish version of the Famous Grouse that uses some  Islay malts in the blend or as the label says “A marriage of fine, peated Scotch whiskies and THE FAMOUS GROUSE”.  The nose is much like many blends with the grain whisky jumping out at the start. However this is soon replaced by delicate sweet peat smoke that is very pleasant, the peat smoke aromas are not over whelming. There are also some vague cereal notes along with honey, toffee and vanilla. The taste is once again briefly of the grain but quickly is over taken by the sweet peat smoke. The taste is quite lovely and the inclination is to have a second really big mouthful. The grain is actually very pleasant and the combination of peat smoke and sweetness is very well integrated. This is very easy and pleasant drinking. Beware! The finish is warming with the delicate peat, some dry bitter oak and cocoa (unsweetened) and some chewy peated malt. This effect goes on for quite a long time and the cocoa  and oaky dry bitterness are hand in hand.

Peat smoke, the new black. A great dram to share with friends whom might not have a prior acquaintance with whisky.

C$40

Score 84 Points

http://www.thefamousgrouse.com/ls/en/

Linkwood 23yo 1983/2006 (52.1%, Murray McDavid Mission Gold, Madeira casks fin., 700 Bts.)

A cask strength offering that has been gathering dust on a shelf since 2006 bottled by Murray McDavid, without chill filtration, the addition of coloring AND the cask was selected by Jim McEwan. The nose is sweet and mildly buttery along with bourbon, bees wax and some very mild perfume; heather, roses, pine resin. Additionally there are some hints of plump raisins and warm brown sugar. Strong oak and assorted wood notes. With water it becomes slightly more aggressive and lacks the sweetness; the floral/perfume notes increase. Even though it is cask strength perhaps it would benefit by not adding water. The taste is sweet as with many Madeira finished whiskies but seems to lack an essential character and is perhaps over whelmed by the finishing. The Bourbon pokes it’s head through once in a while but it’s a rare sighting. Still, it’s tasty so there can’t be too much moaning. There is some pleasant butter to the taste along with some mild tobacco. With water there is an improvement (oops, ignore previous please) and it’s actually much better, the butter characteristic and the sweetness, the wood & Bourbon are all well integrated.  The finish is warming, not overly long and features lots of dry wood notes, brandy, cedar and furniture polish. After a short while the oak is quite evident but little else.

The Madeira has brought this cask up market.

C$125

Score 82 Points

From the Duncan Taylor Battlehill line of whiskies comes a youngish 9yo Imperial, a distillery that is not prolific and is found mostly in the form of Independent bottlings. The nose is immediately sweet with a backing of dry dusty malt, Demerara brown sugar, vanilla, oak and tree fruits. Very much the aromas of a warm summer day in the orchard in some respects. And very nice. After a few minutes in the glass the oaky wood notes come to the fore striking a nice balance with the sweetness. The taste is very good with a good balance of the sweetness and the oaky wood notes and the fruit, an oily sweet mouth feel followed by some dryness and more fruit and some excellent malt. The finish is both warming and very long with additional malt and a dark chocolate bitterness arriving towards the end along with the oaky dryness. A surprise appearance of some mild citrus followed by a wonderful taste of malt.

Extraordinarily good and very much more-ish. Very much from the woody and fruity segment of the flavour wheel.

C$85

Score 85 Points

Visit Duncan Taylor at http://www.duncantaylor.com/products/battlehill.htm

As they said at the Whisky Exchange in London; “A five year-old release from Springbank’s Glengyle distillery, this Kilkerran is the first of a series of planned annual releases over the next few years until the spirit reaches 12 years old.” The nose is mildly floral at first followed by cut grass, heather and some very nice sweetness (fruit cake and gentle toffee). Some intriguing malt and oak aromas. Very nice. Hints of age for a moment and then hints of youth. With water there is a slight change to reveal a richness of aromas; so far so good. Raisins, dried fruit and some wood notes; oak, very mild tobacco and cold tea. The taste is quite a surprise and tastes much older than 5 years old and it’s quite delicious, sweet fruit, oak and malt, honey and vanilla. With water the sample is much sweeter and has some more fruit while at the same time being mildly syrupy. Improves with a little water. Gentle and complicated. A slight hint of smoke? The finish is long and is a mixture of the already described notes with a bitter cocoa moment followed by more malt and oak. After a minute the finish is very much of unsweetened cocoa with a really good moment of dry bitterness. After a few minutes some really good malt arrives……the finish is very long.

A strikingly good dram; some smugness here at having bought two bottles.

£29 at either the

Whisky Exchange http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/ 

or

Loch Fyne Whiskies http://www.lfw.co.uk/

Score 85 Points

Visit Kilkerran Distillery at http://kilkerran.com/

The advance release for the Ardbeg Committee with a brown paper label rather than the traditional black label. The nose is of sweet strong peat with the suggestion of some youth evident in the vibrancy of the aromas. There is also some fragrant heather, damp Hessian, brine, very light rose water and multi faceted peat smoke (including faint aromas of burnt stick, think of poking a branch in an open fire). Very much a quality Ardbeg nose. With water the sample opens up and changes significantly to bring out chocolate, a more subtle peat smoke and some malt. The taste is once again quite vibrant and is an accurate hand drawn facsimile of the nose and very strong with lashing of lovely peat smoke, some sweet sherry notes and even more peat smoke with a thick mouth feel. Excellent. With water the sample is quite excellent and is very much sweet peat smoke. The finish is woody with initial arrival of lemon, chocolate, some heavy brine and then some burnt floral notes. The finish carries on for an extremely long time with some final tussle between dry oak, peat smoke and an unidentified sappiness. Spoken too soon; the finish is still developing after 15 minutes; for a while it was very much peanut butter or roasted peanuts.

A nice dram.

Score 87 Points

US$150

From the Speyside distillery BenRiach, now under independent ownership, comes a minor rarity; peated Speysider. The nose is very peated with a sharp metallic background (think of hot stainless steel) along with a very slight damp cardboard (which quite quickly vanishes). There is also some sweetness, honey, rich fruits, oak however there is an over whelming presence of peat/coal smoke. With water there is an increase on the malt character and the peat smoke changes to become enhanced coal smoke. And think of a road being freshly paved. The taste is strongly peat smoked followed by banana, sweet fruit and creosote, possibly a hint of rose. With water it is some what tamed and the sweetness and peat smoke are well integrated, very nice. The finish is very, very peated and very sweet, honey, fruit etcetera with some oak and aspartame dryness often associated with dry woody oaky notes. Coal smoke abounds and carries on forever. LONG. Peat heads will love this however it’s not an Islay.

No evidence of the Jamaican Rum but over all it works well.

C$72

Score 84 Points

Visit BenRiach Distillery at http://www.benriachdistillery.co.uk/

A recent limited release from the justly famous Balvenie Distillery in Speyside; Signature, of David Stewart, The Balvenie Malt Master. The nose is sweet and honeyed with a back ground of warm brown Demerara sugar, a slight bit of oranges with gentle wood and wood workers shop. Very soft and gentle. The taste is also quite sweet with raisins, orange, toffee, oak, cedar and a rich sweetness much like cooked peaches. It’s very tasty. The finish is quite dry with the sweetness but also a lot of oak and mild leather and tobacco notes with some latter development of barley dust. Also some hints of fresh hay. Over all very well balanced from start to finish, not a dram that grabs you by the throat but is much more subtle and complex, you have to pay attention. One to savour rather than just slam down your throat.

C$76

Score 86 Points

Visit the Balvenie at http://www.thebalvenie.com/

Another bottling from Duncan Taylor under the Battlehill name, bottled at 43% and youngish at 8 years old. The nose is of over ripe banana, toffee, tinned fruit salad, cedar and dry dusty malt with a very slight metallic back ground. After a few minutes green notes pop up; cut grass and some pepper followed by some sweetness. An intriguingly pleasant nose. After another short period the dry dusty malt (think of being in the malt barns or even in close proximity to the mill). The taste is clean and vibrant and very fruity at first followed by malt and jam like flavours. Huge fruit and malt that goes on and on. After a very short period chocolate pops up (dark chocolate) with a continuation of the malt and banana theme. The finish is of malt, hints of leather, liquorice and fruit and mildly bitter cold tea (depends whether you take sugar in your tea I suppose) and a final dramatic arrival of the combined dusty dry malt (huge) and banana.

What a pleasant dram.

Score 84 points.

C$68 (a steal). http://www.duncantaylor.com/

From the label; “An exceptionally smooth and mellow Scotch whisky blend containing a high proportion of Island and Speyside malts.” The nose reveals the distinctive & pleasant characteristic of grain whisky along with some sweetness and wood notes; some oak spiciness. Fruit cake and brine. Quite unlike most blends. The taste is gentle and rounded and quite delicious with some very sweet smoke intermingled with light coal tar, warming, some hints of bandages or Hessian. Mild banana. A very gentle mouth feel. The finish is long and warming with more smoke, followed by the sweetness and the mild banana, dry oak notes and cold tea (without milk or sugar). Extraordinarily good.

US$27 in the USA. Worth twice as much actually. Find it and try it. Don’t think, just do it.

Score 85 Points. (Sample compliments of Sam Filmus of ImpEx Beverages Inc)

Visit Isle of Skye Blend at http://www.ianmacleod.com/brands/?id=14

Bottled at 40% ABV and chill filtered; not a great start. The nose is at first very light; peated to be sure however there are additional notes of bacon (!), coat rack, green notes (grass, hay etcetera) and mildly perfumed. With water there is not to much of a change for the undiluted sample however there is an mildly unpleasant soapiness. The taste is stronger that the nose, cold unsweetened tea, mildly strong malt, peat smoke, green tea that becomes oily after a short while. Grapefruit. More green characteristics. Malt, Dry. The finish is youngish, maritime, citrus, the grapefruit again and after a short while peat reek, malt, wood and bitterness.  After a few minutes there is some ash along with brassy copper notes. Prawn crisps.

C$125 Out of sync. Odd. Young. Lacking. Watered down. Not to their usual high standard. Nice packaging however.

Score 76 Points

http://www.ardbeg.com/