Highlands – DramWorlds

September 17, 2021September 17, 2021

Glen Garioch Old Particular K&L Excl., 8yo (2010/2018)

*Rating*	30.4/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Eastern Highlands
*Distillery*	Glen Garioch
*Owner*	Beam Suntory via Morrison Bowmore Distillers
*Distilled*	January 2010
*Bottler*	Douglas Laing & Co
*Series*	Old Particular
*Style*	Single Barrel Single Malt
*Peated*	No
*Cask*	Refill Hogshead DL12556
*Bottled*	August 24th, 2018
*Bottles*	290
*Strength*	59.5% (119 Proof)
Retailer	K&L Wine Merchants

A powerful rough little gem from the purportedly oldest legal producer of whisky in Scotland dating back to 1797. This youngster may be a bit off balance here and there but it certainly provides for a very interesting and enjoyable experience.

Nose: Bleu cheese? Just for a moment anyway. Though a certain sour note does hang around, as the nose shifts towards notes almost reminiscent of a cask aged vegetable pasta sauce that’s too light on tomato. It’s a bit… weird. But I don’t dislike it. Later on there are some hints of very dry wood and then something else that’s reminiscent of wine or at least white wine vinegar. (7.3/10)

Palate: Well, whatever happened to that pasta sauce, it did not make it through to the palate. Instead there is vinyl flooring and rubber coats, clean sheets of fresh paper and a generous sprinkling of coarsely ground pepper that’s been sitting out in the open for a couple of days. It’s geometrically quite flat and really, stubbornly clings to the tongue instead of relaxing and opening up. (7.5/10)

Finish: A bit of deliberate chewing and swishing of this stuff does finally open and spread its flavors far and wide, just as the liquid goes down. My entire mouth is radiating with those notes, including some dry apple that is so desiccated that it’s almost turned bitter and dusty. After a minute the flavors start fading only to be replaced by a lightsaber shaped column of heat down the center of my chest. (8.0/10)

Balance: A bit off center perhaps but there’s enough very interesting stuff going on to make this a very entertaining dram moving from sip to sip. (7.6/10)

February 23, 2021March 6, 2021

Trader Joe’s Premium Rum Cask Finish

*Rating*	19.7/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Highlands
*Distillery*	Not Specified
*Bottler*	William Grant & Sons via Quality Spirits International
*Style*	Single Malt
*Cask*	Premium Rum Cask Finish
*Strength*	40% (80 Proof)
*Retailer*	Trader Joe’s
Whiskybase	Whiskybase

Trader Joe’s describes it as having been matured in traditional oak casks until it had achieved the perfect balance and flavor, upon which it was transferred into first-fill premium rum casks to increase the depth of flavor. Sadly I must report that I have discovered neither perfection nor premium anything in this whisky. I wish this one had turned out to be one of those hidden treasures in the twenty to thirty US dollar range, in part because I generally like the influence of rum casks on whisky, but, alas, it did not. William Grant & Sons bottled this through a subsidiary of theirs. Since WG&S currently own only Speyside single malt distilleries in Scotland (Balvenie, Glenfiddich and Kininvie) the Highland label is either somewhat inaccurate by SWA standards, though sometimes Speysiders are labeled as Highlanders, or they bottled juice from a distillery not their own for this. Balvenie does play around with rum casks, e.g. for their 14yo Carribbean Cask releases, so perhaps this is something made there that wasn’t deemed fit for use in a proper, labeled Balvenie.

Nose: The rum finish isn’t completely obvious here though there is a presence of it. It’s less like nosing rum-finished whisky than it is like nosing somewhat plain whisky sloshing over a framed photo of brown sugar. Eventually more rummy molasses begins to seep through pushing a few classic whisky citrus sparkles into the background. Neither element is particularly prominent and both are somewhat… simple. Decent enough, I guess, though the sugar gives it a decidedly non-premium, one might even say cheap, feel. (4.9/10)

Palate: The entrance is rather goopy but it does deliver a considerably more detailed report on the sugars and citrus fruit involved. That report has been printed on a thin sheet of wood. Not at all bad, actually. It’s really surprisingly entertaining after the less than thrilling nose. That is until you swallow it, anyways. (5.9/10)

Finish: Bah! All the nice, interesting and shiny bits that popped out on the palate quickly sink into a dull, sugary swamp that sucks the life right out of everything. Just a bored, plain, sweet coating is all that’s left behind. A few desperate lemons struggle valiantly for a few moments, trying to stay afloat, but they too are quickly sucked down into the sludge. The best thing about the finish is a soft hint of warmth in the chest. (4.1/10)

Balance: I’m always happy to find pearls on the bottom shelf. But this ain’t one. It’s more like a small, boring but not totally ugly picture of a pearl that someone put into an oversized and rather lame picture frame. Unfortunately they mounted the picture with lots of sugary glue so there is nothing you can do about it. I am disappoint. Anything one might even remotely consider “premium” is crammed into the brief but enjoyable palate. If you must drink this whisky I recommend holding onto the whisky in your mouth for as long as humanly possible for that is where all of the limited joy is. (4.8/10)

February 6, 2020February 6, 2020

Edradour, Ballechin, The Chronicles, 2009 Vintage

*Rating*	30.5/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Highlands, Midlands
*Distillery*	Edradour
*Owner*	Signatory Vintage
*Distilled*	2009
*Series*	The Chronicles
*Edition*	2009 Vintage
*Style*	Small Batch Single Malt
*Peated*	Yes
*Cask*	First Fill Bourbon Barrels
*Bottled*	September 25th, 2019
*Strength*	46% (92 Proof)
Whiskybase	Whiskybase

The 2009 Edition of the Chronicles series of the peated Ballechin single malts distilled at the Midlands’ Edradour, one of the few remaining independently owned distilleries in the country.

Nose: Peat. Simple, nice peat. Wait, is there mint? Minty peat? Peat mints? Hmmm… not sure. Either way, it’s not exactly complex but certainly nice. (7.5/10)

Palate: No surprises here. The simple, nice peat continues right off the bat but the minty bits go into hiding. The whisky doesn’t quite want to expand here no matter how vigorously I swish and chew. Perhaps not surprising at 46% (6.5/10)

Finish: Aha! That’s where the minty bits went! They must have dashed to the very back of my mouth and jump off out over the throat to do some recreational paragliding on the thermals of my breath. The peaty parts have finally decided to expand as well once freed from the actual liquid. Very nice! Bright and entertaining. It doesn’t reach very deep but with all that long lasting smoke wafting about it still feels satisfying and like something I could happily spend a lengthy amount of time with. (8.5/10)

Balance: The unexciting drop in the middle doesn’t matter all that much in the end because the finish is quite lovely and rewarding. A perfectly enjoyable little dram from one of Scotland’s most intimate distilleries. (8/10)

January 29, 2020October 13, 2020

Old Pulteney SMWS 52.25 “A morning at the beach”, 11yo, 2007

*Rating*	34/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Northern Highlands
*Distillery*	Old Pulteney
*Owner*	ThaiBev via InterBev via Inver House Distillers
*Distilled*	March 21st, 2007
*Bottler*	Scotch Malt Whisky Society
*Edition*	52.25
*Style*	Single Barrel Single Malt
*Cask*	Refill Hogshead/Ex-Bourbon
*Bottles*	240
*Strength*	60.3% (120.6 Proof)
*Retailer*	Scotch Malt Whisky Society
*Whiskybase*	Whiskybase

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s 25th bottling of a potent single barrel single malt from Old Pulteney located up in the northern Highlands.

Nose: Wait… is this a Bruichladdich? It feels like I’m experiencing those same typical buttery notes of raw cake batter that I’ve always loved about the Islay distillery’s output. Myriads of tiny citrus-flavored lightning strikes burst forth from that misleading doughy mass, skittering about and leaving hints of caramelized brown sugar in their wake. This is very nice! (8.5/10)

Palate: The first sip skips right past the front of the tongue and gathers as a light and sweet vegetable broth in my cheeks. Leeks? Subsequent sips remain quiet in the front except for a noticeable oily coating that’s building up there. (8.5/10)

Finish: Faint hints of gather in the back of the mouth… perhaps some of the veggies used for the stock were roasted? Mostly, though, there is a salty residue on the tongue and a deep warmth in my chest. Quite lovely. This whisky is surprisingly quiet given it’s high-powered ABV but it definitely works for me. (8.5/10)

Balance: It’s a strange thing to say but this whisky is oddly convincing in its lack of pronounced flavors. I am surprised at how much I like this. It’s not exactly aligned with my usual preferences which I will freely admit, lean somewhat toward the bombastic. Either way, it’s always great to have a different kind of rewarding experience! (8.5/10)

August 23, 2019September 22, 2021

Old Pulteney K&L Exclusive Cask #231, 13yo, 2004/2018

*Rating*	33.6/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Northern Highlands
*Distillery*	Old Pulteney
*Owner*	ThaiBev via Inver House Distillers
*Distilled*	2004
*Style*	Single Barrel Single Malt Whisky
*Bottled*	2018
*Bottles*	242
*Strength*	55.2% (110.4 proof)
*Retailer*	K&L Wine Merchants

Nose: Effervescent earthy orange candy. Rises from the glass like a dew sprinkled mushroom cap, gently glittering in the soft forest light. Don’t get me wrong… there is nothing woodlandish about this. It’s just an image that arose when I was thinking about the movement and character of the nose. Everything is rich and deep, yet gentle like the colors of moss and fern in the soft light under quiet trees. Quite beautiful. Later it drifts towards something resembling a faint BBQ savoriness. (8.8/10)

Palate: Crawling fire spreads here and there. Spots of burning shoe polish emit puffs of smoke wafting about. And yet, as a whole, this palate is bright with almost metallic notes shimmering on top of the subtly smouldering depths. (9.4/10)

Finish: Life is too short. So is this whisky. It never reaches the throat or chest. The finish floats near the roof of the mouth with some lovely orange-flavored smokiness and some decent initial heat that disintegrates into hollow echoes of itself. Sigh. I can’t emphasize enough how enamoured I am by this whisky and how much it hurts to be let down by its finish in this way. (7.5/10)

Balance: If it wasn’t for the short reach and, compared to nose and palate, lacking heft of the finish this whisky would be quite amazing. But that finish fails to live up to everything else and because the finish is, well, the finish it colors the whole experience. Such a bummer. But the rest is still absolutely worth it for early experience. (7.9/10)

July 17, 2019January 23, 2020

Tomatin, 12yo, 2018

*Rating*	26/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Northern Highlands
*Distillery*	Tomatin
*Owner*	TaKaRa Holdings via Takara Shuzo
*Style*	Single Malt Whisky
*Casks*	Bourbon, Sherry
*Bottled*	2018
*Strength*	43% (86 proof)
Price	$25-80

Nose: Slightly sour and otherwise there is simply not much there. (5/10)

Palate: Nice! After the largely absent nose the rich and butter flavors comes as a pleasant surprise. (8/10)

Finish: This one lingers pleasantly but ultimately fades out into astringent wood notes. (7/10)

Balance: Overall not shabby but I really wish the nose was living up to the rest of the whisky. (6/10)