Late again… you know, vacation and such.

Ardbeg Grooves was the yearly release for Ardbeg Day 2018 . It is made with some red wine casks that were intensely (re-)charred, resulting in heavy grooves in the wood.

Ardbeg Grooves (46%, OB 2018)

Nose: sour berries, eucalyptus and hints of rubber shoe soles at first. Vanilla pastry, toasted wood and salted popcorn. Strawberries in the background. A bit of a funny mix so far. Pine resin and briny notes. White pepper too. Youngish and you feel the aromatic wood trickery, but nothing’s out of balance so it kinda works....

So, 27 year old Bowmore bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company . Today minus 27 years means distilled around 1991, so if it comes close to something like the Bowmore 1991 ALOS we would be very happy indeed.

The colour makes us think this is a bourbon hogshead.

Bowmore 27 yo Batch #5 (47,6%, That Boutique-y Whisky Company 2018, 285 btl.)

Nose: coastal notes up front, with sandy beaches, briney sea air, almonds and a hint of sourness (starts as a hint of glue majbe, but becomes more lemony after a while – nice really). Lemon and salt,...

This is the first whisky I’m trying after three weeks of Rias Baixas, Vinho Verde and Port wines. Could be worse, right? By the way I discovered some nice sweet things from Noval, Bulas, Quinta do Vallado, Val da Figueira…

The Whisky Exchange has a history of hand-picking good casks of Glenlivet 1981 from the Signatory stocks (check this or this from 2015). This brand-new release was finished in a sherry butt – actually quite an extensive finish of 76 months.

Glenlivet 36 yo 1981 (47,6%, Signatory Vintage for The Whisky Exchange 2018, sherry butt #12, 702 btl.)...

I tried its predecessor Glengoyne 17 Years but I never reviewed this Glengoyne 18 Year Old which was launched toward the end of 2012. It is matured in refill sherry and first-fill sherry casks.

Glengoyne 18 yo (43%, OB +/- 2018)

Nose: not the classic dried fruits / dark sherry profile but rather a grassy, leafy style. Plenty of orange peel and marmalade, nutmeg and cardamom. Yellow raisins and red apples. Marzipan. Some real vanilla too. Mouth: good, still very malty and less influenced by sherry than I hoped. Brown sugar, pepper, cinnamon. Sweet apples, creamy almonds, orange...

Here’s an Auchentoshan 2001 selected by TastToe from the Signatory Vintage stocks. A while ago, I know…

Two sisters cask #8001.. have been bottled in the Artists series by La Maison du Whisky a while ago.

Auchentoshan 16 yo 2001 (58,2%, Signatory Vintage ‘Un-Chillfiltered’ for TastToe 2017, bourbon barrel #800114, 195 btl.)

Nose: starts on freshly sawn oak, vanilla and honey. Hints of linseed oil, majbe a chalky note. Then more towards fruits, think bananas flambéed, peaches and gooseberries. Mirabelles. Water brings out kiwi and pineapple. Always on the lighter Lowlands style though. Mouth: still quite fruity, now...

Tomahto, Tomajto, Tomatin … the first release of this disitllery by That Boutique-y Whisky Company . A 21 year-old, so we expect quite some fruits.

Tomatin 21 yo Batch #1 (47,4%, That Boutique-y Whisky Co 2018, 50cl, 304 btl.)

Nose: starts in a typical grassy way, with soft chalky notes. Then green apples and yellow plums, as well as some nectarine. Honeysuckle and hints of banana cream. Cake dough. Mouth: a malty, slight green profile, both from the unripe fruits and the wood. Pears, greengages, light honey and apple peelings. A little vanilla custard and shortbread. Sweet gingery...

A favourite of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, being conveniently situated close by Balmoral Castle. Royal Lochnagar has been converted from a blender’s whisky to a distillery that focuses on single malt. Small and traditional, it is still Diageo’s ‘training distillery’ for staff and potential managers. You know, wooden washbacks, open mashtun, wormtubs and no computers.

We’re trying the base expression: Royal Lochnagar 12 Year Old .

Royal Lochnagar 12 yo (40%, OB +/- 2017)

Nose: simple aromas, some dusty malt with hints of gummi bears and vanilla. Honey biscuits and cake dough. Soft nutty notes. Hints of...

Braeval maj not be the sexiest name in the first batch of the renewed Connoisseurs Choice range from Gordon & MacPhail , but we’ve had quite a lot of nicely fruity expressions from Braes of Glenlivet before.

Braeval 20 yo 1998 (59%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice 2018, refill American hogshead #26004, 185 btl.)

Nose: slightly heady, with fruity notes but also polished wood, even a hint of nail polish remover (an asset here). Dried flowers and grassy notes. Haribo sweets. Juicy pears, a little kiwi and banana. Touches of white rum and light vanilla. Mouth: honeyed and...

The label for this Tamdhu 28 Year Old from That Boutique-y Whisky Company displays a shadow-boxing Prince Saladin, a reference to the fact that Tamdhu is the last distillery to use a saladin box for malting.

Tamdhu 28 yo 1988 (46,8%, That Boutique-y Whisky Company 2017, Batch #1, 50cl, 270 btl.)

Nose: golden raisins at first, with oranges and melons. Almond cake, a little custard. Some waxy notes too. Dried pineapple and golden apple slices. Buttery touches. Sweet barley and hay. Subtle wood spices in the background. It’s nicely rich and rather complex. Mouth: quite oily, on sweet...

This Highland Park 1970 was part of a special series by Gordon & MacPhail to celebrate their centenary anniversary (1895 – 1995).

I noticed Serge scored this 78 points…

Highland Park 1970 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Centenary Reserve 1995)

Nose: nice old-style dusty sherry, with impressions of a warehouse in Jerez. Mocha, leather and hay. Whiffs of tobacco leaves. Herbal honey. Pine wood. Library scents. Plums, figs and orange peel. Hint of old metal. Mouth: fairly gentle and rather woody. Herbal honey again, eucalyptus, sour plums, traces of coffee. Dark chocolate. Light hints of smoke too. It’s dry...

Maltbarn is also into cognac these days and they sourced it from one of my favourite houses Vallein Tercinier . I tried a Lot 90 some time ago, I’m not sure how this relates to that one.

There’s now a new release, Vallein Tercinier Lot 89 from the same bottler.

Vallein Tercinier 27 yo ‘Lot 90’ (49,7%, Maltbarn 2018, Grande Champagne, 150 btl.)

Nose: not the tropical fruitiness that we got in older examples. This one has Cantaloup and old rose petals, summery blossoms, raisins, subtle hints of Christmas cake. Szechuan pepper. Candied ginger as well as mint...

Auchentoshan 18 Years is matured in 100% American oak casks. The latest bottle design also has a “limited release” label, not sure how limited it really is.

Auchentoshan 18 yo (43%, OB +/- 2018)

Nose: toffee apples and hints of banana, mixed with toasty and fragrant (newish) oak. Whiffs of bubblegum and vanilla marshmallows. Honey. A little pipe tobacco and grassy notes as well. Crystallised ginger. Mouth: a light fruitiness of oranges and sweetened lemon juice. Brown sugar and barley sweetness. Later more oak spices (clove, ginger) and roasted nutty notes (almonds, chestnut). Finish: medium long, very malty,...

This blended malt was given a finishing period in a specially-coopered 50-litre Moscatel sherry cask.

Moscatel wines can range from a light style (Valencia) over sweet and golden styles (Portugal) to very dark in the sherry region, where it is an oxidized style that comes close to Pedro Ximénez in terms of colour and aromas. There’s always a floral element though, typical for Muscat grapes.

It was bottled not so long ago in the Darkness  series.

Blended Malt 20 yo (46,3%, Darkness 2018, Moscatel cask finish, 100 btl.)

Nose: sweet and oaky, quickly followed by cocoa notes and...

It has been a few years since I last tried Caol Ila 18 Years . At this age we’re expecting a mellow, rounded version of Caol Ila.

Caol Ila 18 yo (43%, OB +/- 2017)

Nose: rather creamy peat, with almonds, gentle smoke and a buttery touch. Mossy notes underneath, subtle hints of overripe pineapple. Minerals and light mentholated notes. Some vanilla as well. Mouth: more intense and very waxy. Mineral notes, some grapefruit bitterness and lots of brine. Chocolate with salt. Leafy notes, oily peat. Some plain oak as well. Finish: rather long, saline and oaky, with...

Discovery is the new introductory range from Gordon & MacPhail . It is a flavour-led range bottled at 43%, with three sub-types: Sherry , Bourbon and Smoky . It’s less about the details but at least the age is always mentioned, and the whiskies should be consistent.

From the first batch we try one of each style:

• Balblair 12 Years matured in bourbon casks
• Miltonduff 10 Years matured in sherry casks
• Smoky Caol Ila 13 Years (I assume from bourbon casks)

Balblair 12 yo (43%, Gordon & MacPhail ‘Discovery’ 2018)

Nose: high quality spirit with the typical Balblair...

Behold the colour of this Ben Nevis 1999 bottled by Valinch & Mallet , and remember this is a bourbon cask. This could be interesting.

Ben Nevis 19 yo 1999 (51,7%, Valinch & Mallet ‘Hidden Casks’ 2018, bourbon hogshead, 278 btl.)

Nose: lots of woody aromatics, think cinnamon pastry, herbs and mentholated  notes, grated coconut. Piny notes. Whiffs of brass polish. Underneath some sweet candy too: Haribo sweets, oranges, red apples. Some more un-modern notes in the background, like lamp oil, wild flowers and leather. Interesting. Mouth: a powerful yet rounded mix of orange peels and apple skin,...

This is the second bottling from the Netherlands-based bottler Sherwoods (the first was a Craigellachie 2007 ).

Orkney Islands 2007 , that’s probably an undisclosed Highland Park . It seems to exist at full strength(a whopping 63.7% ABV) as well as 46%.

Orkney Islands 11 yo 2007 (63,7%, Sherwoods 2018, bourbon hogshead #0036/2007, 329 btl.)

Nose: hints of porridge with lactic notes up front, but they fade. Then flints and pine needles, wet chalk and minerals. Brighter notes (green apples) in the background, as well as some sweet lemon candy and vanilla custard. Nosing quite well at full...

Another new release from the latest batch from That Boutique-y Whisky Company : Blended Scotch Whisky # 2, the third batch, bottled at 22 years of age.

Blended Whisky #2 22 yo (41,8%, That Boutique-y Whisky Co 2018, Batch #3, 1650 btl.)

Nose: nicely aromatic waxed oak, mixed with some milk chocolate and the typical aromas of (rather old) grain whisky. Creamy coconut and vanilla pods. Hints of pine needles and tobacco leaves. Light whiffs of roasted nuts. Mouth: dry pencil shavings and nutty notes as well as sweeter hints of caramel. Lightly burnt cake. Sandalwood. Not far...

A bunch of GDPR e-mails this week, majbe that’s why there was so little actual whisky news…

Gordon & MacPhail Discovery

After the relaunched Connoisseurs Choice series, Gordon & MacPhail have now announced an entirely new flavour-led Discovery range. This is more of an entry-level line with younger but as they say ‘utterly dependable’ whiskies. It serves as an introduction to their portfolio of single Maltwhisky.

There are three flavour profiles: Smoky , Sherry and Bourbon , each colour-coded. The labels include less information but luckily still an age statement.

Stay tuned for our first review early next...

Ardmore 20 Year Old is a 1996 vintage, lightly peated and double matured in first-fill bourbon casks and ex-Islay casks. An outsider in the NAS-oriented core range and particularly well priced if you look around.

Ardmore 20 yo 1996 (49,3%, OB 2017)

Nose: nice ashy peat, with a slight chalky note and also a hint of antiseptics. That must be the Islay cask, it’s not something you’d expect in Ardmore. Behind it there’s a ripe fruitiness of melons, sweet lemons, bergamots and honey. Vanilla and light pepper. Menthol cigarettes. Fresh leather (my first school bag). Mouth: quite oily...