Speyside – Page 2 – DramWorlds

February 3, 2020February 5, 2020

Glenfiddich Bourbon Barrel Reserve, 14yo

*Rating*	27.5/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Speyside, Dufftown
*Distillery*	Glenfiddich
*Owner*	William Grant & Sons
*Edition*	Bourbon Barrel Reserve
*Style*	Single Malt
*Cask*	Ex-Bourbon Casks, Charred New American Oak Barrels
*Strength*	43% (86 Proof)
*Whiskybase*	Whiskybase
*Wine Searcher*	Wine Searcher

Glenfiddich’s Speyside single malt is first matured in Ex-Bourbon casks for 14 years and then finished for a few months in charred new American Oak barrels sourced from the Kelvin Cooperage in Louisville, Kentucky.

Nose: Pleasant but… small? This one just refuses to expand beyond a small bubble that terminates about one half inch from the top of the glass. But if you stick your nose into that little pocket then what you find in there is actually quite pretty. (7/10)

Palate: Smooth with watery fringes. And by smooth I mean vague. It doesn’t seem to have any memorable characteristics. Sort of what one might consider the average flavor of a non-peaty single malt with no special maturation or finish to be. Boring but not exactly bad as such. (5/10)

Finish: This is where this thing finally comes to life. Dark but sparkly notes rise from the very back of the palate. It’s almost like drinking a really nice, freshly carbonated single malt flavored craft cola. But in the end it just doesn’t have the power to really light up the old fireplace in my chest. There’s a nice bit of warmth developing eventually but it never reaches beyond the throat. Still, this part of the whisky is quite enjoyable. (8/10)

Balance: Perfectly suited to start off an evening of tasting whisky. The palate is a rather nondescript and uninteresting but it’s short-lived anyway and serves as a quick transition from a pretty nose to a solid finish. (7.5/10)

January 30, 2020

Glenfarclas 105 Cask Strength

*Rating*		32.5/40
*Origin*		Scotland, Central Speyside
*Distillery*		Glenfarclas
*Owner*		J & G Grant
*Style*		Single Malt
*Cask*		Sherry Casks
*Strength*		60% (120 Proof)
Whiskybase		Whiskybase
*Wine Searcher*		Wine Searcher

Glenfarclas’ NAS cask strength bottling clocks in at a sturdy 60% ABV and deliveres a decent amount of that typical Glenfarclas sherry influence though it’s more of an ABV bomb than a sherry bomb.

Nose: A soft sourness reaches out of the glass, slithers through a cardboard tube, into my nose and there turns into a irritated cat bent on piercing my nasal flesh with a single, short, but very sharp and pointy claw stab. Temporarily appeased it hops off and away vanishing in a puff of drying grape skins. Not sure what to make of this. Interesting… but do I like it? I don’t hate it but I can’t say I love it. (6.5/10)

Palate: Ah! Much better! Piles of burning wooden logs crash down on the palate and push what must be sherry notes into the background. Except those notes remind me of baker’s plums. When things calm down during subsequent returns to the glass deep, rich smoke emerges that combines smoothly with the fruitier elements. Oddly the usual Glenfarclas sherry notes are rather absent. Perhaps subsumed by the smoke. But who cares. This is great. (8.5/10)

Finish: I sit in a cloud of plum flavored smoke. I feel great. But I’ll probably need to air out my clothes overnight. (9/10)

Balance: I’m confused because this seems to be much more about smokey plums than sherry. But I’m also content because I like smokey plums. Bummer about the strange nose though. Seriously… this one could’ve been a contender. Still, I’ll always be happy to return to it. (8.5/10)

January 27, 2020May 28, 2021

Dailuaine, Old Particular K&L Exclusive, 12yo, 2007/2019

*Rating*	33.5/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Central Speyside
*Distillery*	Dailuaine
*Owner*	Diageo
*Distilled*	March 2007
*Bottler*	Douglas Laing & Co.
*Series*	Old Particular
*Style*	Single Barrel Single Malt
*Cask*	Sherry Butt DL13293
*Bottled*	August 19th, 2019
*Bottles*	573
*Strength*	57.6% (115.2 Proof)
*Retailer*	K&L Wine Merchants

A delicious single sherry butt cask strength bottling of a single malt from one of Speyside less known distilleries, Dailuaine, which mostly produces component whiskies for Diageo’s portfolio of blends and rarely gets bottled as single malt, comes to us courtesy of Douglas Laing.

Nose: A friendly neighborhood flower shop that stocks nothing but pretty meadow flowers on the main floor. Though I get a sense that they’re keeping a few buckets of roses stashed away in a backroom somewhere. And I’m fairly certain the owner had grilled Branzino for lunch. Much later there are passing whiffs of freshly watered grass in the sun. (8.5/10)

Palate: A hot wave spills through my mouth and finally breaks, foaming with bright and tangy notes more reminiscent of top shelf oranges than flowers. Quite lovely. (8.5/10)

Finish: Echoes of orange juice and bitter herbs are hovering high above a growing and comforting heat right behind my sternum. Ultimtely the warmth doesn’t last all that long but it’s wonderful while it lasts. (8/10)

Balance: Very pretty but not as timid as one would expect. A mellow, pleasant late spring and early summer filled with plenty of joyful times. Very nice. (8.5/10)

January 26, 2020May 28, 2021

Longmorn, Old Malt Cask K&L Exclusive, 14yo, 2003/2018

*Rating*	34.5/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Speyside, Lossie
*Distillery*	Longmorn
*Owner*	Pernod Ricard via Chivas Brothers
*Distilled*	November 2003
*Bottler*	Douglas Laing & Co.
*Series*	Old Malt Cask
*Style*	Single Barrel Single Malt
*Cask*	Refill Barrel HL15146
*Bottled*	June 2018
*Bottles*	243
*Strength*	54.9% (109.8 Proof)
*Retailer*	K&L Wine Merchants

A K&L exclusive single barrel cask strength bottling of a delicious single malt distilled at one of the lesser known hidden treasures among the numerous Speyside distilleries.

Nose: Every so often I encounter a whisky where I have an absurdly hard time identifying specific notes. There’s stuff. And also a few things. Mostly stuff though. Both are good. Hah! Finally! A faint note I can put a name on that seems to permeate both the stuff and also the things. It’s cola. Oh and then some old furniture that was rubbed with cola. Anyway, it’s somewhat static but I like it. A drop of water flattens the nose beyond recovery. (8/10)

Palate: Ah, much more going on here. A big bold hit, at first spatially contained but continuously inflated with each subsequent sip. I still can’t really name specific notes here. Very, very nice though. Oddly enough a drop of water converts this from water of life to oil slick of life. I like that. Too bad adding water ruins the nose. (8.5/10)

Finish: Deep and warm. I just love a whisky that fills my chest cavity with flavor and heat. Apparently I have olfactory receptors buried in my lungs. I still can’t name notes though. Maybe my brain has finally short-circuited. Luckily I’m still capable of immensely enjoying this. Water dials back the warmth which makes me sad. (9/10)

Balance: Somehow this whisky defeated my ability to name flavors. But it is great. Seriously. I really liked the palate with water but the cost in terms of losing the nose and the warmth of the finish is just too high as far as I’m concerned. Don’t put water into this. Unless you want to know sadness and regret. (9/10)

January 25, 2020January 26, 2020

Glenrothes Soleo Collection Whisky Maker’s Cut, 2018

*Rating*	31.5/40
*Origin*	Speyside, Rothes
*Distillery*	Glenrothes
*Owner*	Edrington Group
*Series*	Soleo Collection
*Edition*	Whisky Maker’s Cut
*Style*	Single Malt
*Cask*	1st Fill Sherry
*Bottled*	2018
*Strength*	48.8% (97.6 Proof)
Whiskybase	Whiskybase
*Wine Searcher*	Wine-Searcher

Glenrothes’ “Whisky Maker’s Cut” is the only NAS release in the Speyside distillery’s 2018 Soleo Collection series. The whisky was matured entirely in 1st fill sherry casks.

Nose: Sticky sweet sherry syrup oozes through my nose leaving behind a thin crust of brown sugar. Not too complex but nice enough. (7/10)

Palate: This is where the money is. Quite rich, not as sticky sweet as the nose, satisfyingly expansive. Some interesting bright sparkles flicker about the back of the roof of my mouth. Once again simple but good. (8/10)

Finish: Immediately coats the back of the upper throat with lots of gooey sherry flavors only to vanish on its way down leaving nothing much but a faint hot spot in the lower regions of the chest. Quite nice, actually, but I wish it was reaching deeper. At long last some bitter residue layers up between tongue and roof of mouth. That bit is… interesting but not exactly pleasant. 8/10

Balance: Quite nice and surprisingly bold for a mid-range Glenrothes, many of which have turned out to be… uninteresting… at times. This is a very respectable offering albeit slightly simplistic except for the finish. (8/10)

January 21, 2020January 22, 2020

Tomintoul Old Ballantruan – The Peated Malt

*Rating*	31/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Speyside, Livet
*Distillery*	Tomintoul
*Owner*	Angus Dundee Distillers
*Edition*	Old Ballantruan
*Style*	Single Malt
*Peated*	Yes
*Strength*	50% (100 Proof)
Whiskybase	Whiskybase
*Wine Searcher*	Wine Searcher

The “Old Ballantruan” is a peated expression of the single malt distilled at Tomintoul in Speyside. Tomintoul bottles only about 2% of their total output as single malts while the rest is mostly destined for the eight or so brands of blended Scotch produced by owner Angus Dundee.

Nose: Peated sour milk chocolate registers first followed by a mix of some good bits and some strange notes. It remains oddly confusing until it eventually settles into a brighter, grassy peat smoke. But it doesn’t stay there for too long and shifts to fruit… peated bananas and vanilla infused pears perhaps? What IS going on here? The fruits turn mildly perfume-y, eventually. (6.5/10)

Palate: A bright fruity hit descends quickly into scented candles made from shoe polish. The polished shoes must have been stored in my chest cavity because I smell them every time I exhale. Light machine oil and old wood eventually comes through as if I’ve walked into an old office full of old but well maintained typewriters sitting on vintage oak desks. This is actually rather nice! Later it opens up big in the back with a cloud of smoke and crushed blackberries and residual blackberry candy in the front. (8.5/10)

Finish: Warm and smokey on the breath but it does ride rather high before disappearing down the hatch only to reappear near my solar plexus. Oddly quiet in the middle of the chest where it doesn’t really register at all. (8/10)

Balance: This one’s kinda (unexpectedly) wild and kinda (unexpectedly) good. A bumpy ride for sure but not unpleasant at all. It certainly exceeded my expectations for a Tomintoul. That said, the nose does knock some points off of the top here unfortunately. (8/10)

January 10, 2020January 23, 2020

Glenlivet Nàdurra Batch OL0516, 2016

*Rating*	32/40
*Origin*	Speyside, Livet
*Distillery*	Glenlivet
*Owner*	Pernod Ricard via Shivas Brothers
*Series*	Nàdurra
*Edition*	Batch OL516
*Style*	Single Malt
*Cask*	1st Fill Oloroso Sherry Casks
*Bottled*	May 2016
*Strength*	60.4% (120.8 Proof)
Whiskybase	Whiskybase
*Wine Searcher*	Wine Searcher

One of the at least 3 batches of Glenlivet’s Oloroso matured version of their Nàdurra series bottled in 2016. The Nàdurra series of cask strength single malt bottlings from the famous Speyside distillery was introduced in 2005. In 2014 they started to release Oloroso matured batches as part of the series and, finally, in 2015 they added peated batches as well.

Nose: A large, rough and sharp wooden splinter is used to harshly cut through coarse baker’s chocolate. There are hints of dried mushrooms about. This one is a prickly guest that, when agitated, emanates small puffs of sweet peat from their pores. (7/10)

Palate: Licking a very dry wooden plank that was somehow infused with milk chocolate. The experience of the dram is geometrically flat. It clings to the tongue and absolutely refuses to lift up or expand in any direction but sideways until it finally slides in thin sheets over the back edge of the tongue and into the throat where it suddenly explodes into a dense and well defined ball of chocolate infused smoke. (8,5/10)

Finish: The ball of chocolate infused smoke wafts and wobbles about in the back and only descends very slowly from there. Oddly there’s not a lot of warmth generated which is surprising for a whisky this strong. (8.5/10)

Balance: Rather harsh up front but quite nice once you get past that. Ver-ey peat-ey chocolat-ey. (8/10)

December 4, 2019January 23, 2020

Aberlour A’Bunadh Batch #64, 2019

*Rating*	31/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Central Speyside
*Distillery*	Aberlour
*Owner*	Pernod Ricard via Chivas Brothers
*Style*	Single Malt Whisky
*Cask*	Spanish Oloroso Sherry Butts
*Bottled*	January 30th, 2019
*Strength*	59.9% (119.8 proof)
Price	$56-179

Nose: A bottomless, silent, dark pool of brooding sherry. (9/10)

Palate: Astringent planar blast from a globe of that quiet, dark brooding sherry leads to fireworks sparkling around the edges. (9/10)

Finish: Warmth and comfort after the sparkles around the edges fade away. (9/10)

Balance: Just wonderful. One of the best batches since the recovery from the dreaded 30s. (9/10)

July 17, 2019January 23, 2020

Aultmore Foggie Moss, 12yo

*Rating*	27/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Central Speyside
*Distillery*	Aultmore
*Owner*	Bacardi via John Dewar & Sons
*Style*	Single Malt Whisky
*Strength*	46% (92 proof)
Price	$39-125

Nose: Clean wood, some hints of licorice. Water flattens it. (6/10)

Palate: Citrussy, leans toward grapefruit. Water opens things up wide. (7/10)

Finish: Burnt sugar, nice warmth, hints of lemon around the edges. Water teases out some darker notes. (7/10)

Balance: Decent dram but what is gained from water on the back end comes with a hefty price at the front. (7/10)

July 17, 2019May 28, 2021

Mortlach Faultline K&L Exclusive, 22yo, 1995/2017

Mortlach Faultline 1995/2017, 22yo, close-up

*Rating*	30/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Speyside, Dufftown
*Distillery*	Mortlach
*Owner*	Diageo
*Distilled*	1995
*Bottler*	Alexander Murray & Co
*Series*	Faultline
*Style*	Single Barrel Single Malt Whisky
*Cask*	First Fill Sherry Butt #7301
*Bottled*	December 4th, 2017
*Strength*	53.3% (106.6 proof)
*Retailer*	K&L Wine Merchants
Price	$120 (Sold Out)

Nose: Oranges, flowers mingle in minty heat. Water drops it to faint notes of a wet leaf-covered ground. (8/10)

Palate: Hot orange-flavored hard candy. Water dials fruitiness up to 11 and spreads everything out wide. (7/10)

Finish: Astringent wood and unripe, acidic oranges. (8/10)

Balance: Somewhat unbalanced. Adding water, while nicely boosting the palate, messes with the bookends in rather disappointing ways. The heat on this one definitely requires warming up ones palate with something else first. (7/10)