Scotch – DramWorlds

September 22, 2021September 22, 2021

Auchroisk Old Malt Cask K&L Excl., 24yo (1994/2019)

*Rating*	28.3/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Central Speyside
*Distillery*	Auchroisk
*Owner*	Diageo
*Distilled*	February 1994
*Bottler*	Douglas Laing
*Series*	Old Malt Cask
*Style*	Single Barrel Single Malt
*Cask*	Refill Hogshead HL15186
*Bottled*	June 2019
*Bottles*	239
*Strength*	54.5% (106.8 Proof)
Retailer	K&L Wine Merchants

Auchroisk is not exactly a well known distillery with a significant presence on store shelves. And so it’s always a pleasure and interesting to find some expression, especially an older one like this. Let’s see how it stacks up!

Nose: Purple flowers. Why purple? I don’t know. But it does smell like purple flowers. Not lavender though. Some other purple flower. It’s not easy getting past that floweriness and diving deeper into the nose because it’s quite snappy like a tense cat. Approach at an angle it doesn’t like and you get bit. Quite pretty but flowery noses aren’t generally my thing. (6.7/10)

Palate: The flowery notes don’t go away but they cease to be flowery. Probably because someone has set the bouquet on fire and then tried (and failed) to put it out with honey water. (7.3/10)

Finish: A quite wonderful heat spreads down the back of the throat toeing but not crossing the line to discomfort. The flavors however do not keep up with the heat leaving little but prickly sparkles of mild bitterness along the roof of the mouth. (7.1/10)

Balance: I think some folks would like this a lot more than I do but it’s just not well aligned with my preferences. For me it’s a decent dram that doesn’t quite manage to deliver on its innate potential. (7.2/10)

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)

September 17, 2021September 17, 2021

Longrow (Springbank) Red Pinot Noir, 11yo (2019)

*Rating*	24.4/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Campbeltown,
*Distillery*	Longrow (Springbank)
*Owner*	J&A Mitchell & Company
*Series*	Red
*Edition*	Pinot Noir
*Style*	Single Malt
*Peated*	Yes
*Cask*	Pinot Noir
*Bottled*	January 7th, 2019
*Bottles*	9,000
*Strength*	53.1% (106.2 Proof)

Another one in the long running series of red wine aged small batch releases of Springbank’s peated single malt, the Longrow. Always unique, often tasty and always highly anticipated, at least by yours truly, I’m glad to try another one of these peated pearls.

Nose: The nose is definitely “red”, whatever that descriptor means. Knowing there is wine involved makes those notes apparent but I’m curious if I would have detected them in a blind tasting. If I try to dismiss any preconceived notions from my mind, I end up with Haribo fruit gummy candies hanging out in a cigar lounge. Except nobody is actually smoking because they’re all busy eating cherry pies at the moment. There’s stuff I like and stuff I don’t like. This one’s a bit hard to nail down points-wise. (6.8/10)

Palate: Thick, goopy cherry-pie effluent and splinters of dark wood. And I wish all of it would come to life more. Not sure why this stuff is refusing to blow up. There’s a sizzling heat emerging after each sip that seems to burn off all of those rather nice flavors too quickly until the last of them evaporates the moment it goes down. It’s kind of a shame really. This palate is its own worst enemy. This is what it must feel like to have a child of great promise which proceeds to turn into a petty thief. (6.1/10)

Finish: A lonesome ghost of slightly bitter flavor and some residual warmth in the upper chest is all that’s left after everything else quickly evaporates. That and a mild sugary coating on the back of the tongue. Definitely a bit of a let down this one. I really expected more. (5.6/10)

Balance: I dunno… I usually really like the Longrow Red releases but this one is subpar on all fronts. Somehow, despite its relative strength, it seems to lack the substance to assert and maintain the nice flavors it hints at. You open a cage at the zoo but instead of a roaring lion you get a disinterested shabby looking racoon. A bit of a bummer. But luckily also a bit of an exception in the series. At least I hope it’s not a harbinger of future doom. (5.9/10)

June 11, 2021September 17, 2021

Auchroisk Hepburn’s Choice K&L Excl., 21yo (1996/2018)

*Rating*	32.8/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Central Speyside
*Distillery*	Auchroisk
*Owner*	Diageo
*Distilled*	1996
*Bottler*	Hunter Laing & Co.
*Series*	Hepburn’s Choice
*Style*	Single Barrel Single Malt
*Cask*	Refill Hogshead
*Bottled*	2018
*Bottles*	283
*Strength*	52.6% (105.2 Proof)
Retailer	K&L Wine Merchant

This cask strength Speysider came out of a refill hogshead hotheaded and with a temper even after 21 years of ageing. Auchroisk doesn’t do a lot of official releases and most of it seems to go straight into J&B so it’s usually only available in this form of an independent bottling. I find them to generally be on the brighter and sharper side but, of course, it’s hard to tell if that’s the real distiller profile with such limited exposure.

Nose: Hothothot! Ok, phew, that was just the first hit fresh out of the glass. Now I can actually smell something… lemon batter mixed with straw? Hard to get much out of this… after that initial violent burst of alcohol it settles into a somewhat restrained state. (7.8/10)

Palate: A small, fiery, angry black hole centered on the middle of my tongue seems to draw everything around it inwards while refusing to give anything up. There’s a compact, spatially contained fierceness to it. Then some bright flavors. But everything seems to want to stay low following a flat profile across my tongue. I would have expected this one to expand upwards but it’s simply not wanting to do anything like that until much later. Some chewing and swishing finally unleashes this beasty and releases it to freedom. It still doesn’t want to expand upwards but rather drives a heated cloud of flavor straight into the back of my throat. I can’t pinpoint the notes but it’s good and still vaguely related to the batter from the nose. Perhaps we’re baking the lemon-straw tart now? (8.6/10)

Finish: A few sips in I become aware of a burgeoning heat in the back of my throat that later fills up with flavor as well. The heat manages to push and plow its way down behind my sternum until it reaches almost all the way to my solar plexus. (8.2/10)

Balance: There’s a bit of a struggle involved in coaxing this one out of its fiery, angry shell. But it’s worth it. If only the nose gave up a little more of the treasures and secrets hidden deep inside its tense and fiery little heart. (8.2/10)

June 4, 2021June 4, 2021

Johnnie Walker Double Black

*Rating*	27.1/40
*Origin*	Scotland
*Blender*	Diageo
*Series*	Johnnie Walker
*Edition*	Double Black
*Style*	Blended Whisky
*Peated*	Yes
*Cask*	Blend aced in heavily charred casks.
*Strength*	40% (80 Proof)

Introduced around 2012 or so, the Double Black was a new concoction by master blender Jim Beveridge. After blending the whisky is matured in “deep-charred old oak casks” which adds additional smoke and depth. Whether or not the whisky is already cask aged prior to blending I’m not certain. Either way, it’s actually one of my preferred choices in the Johnnie Walker line-up.

Nose: A salty, meaty smoke, kind of like German Landjaegers or ham. Light but quite solid and mildly prickly with a hint of mint emerging on the back end. Satisfying but doesn’t evolve much. (6.8/10)

Palate: The initial impact comes with a weird watery numbness out which the peat smoke from the nose emerges. Though that smoke has now shifted over to a mossier, fuzzier and earthier range on the spectrum. From there the whole thing separates into actual smoke and slightly watery liquid right on the verge of the finish. (6.3/10)

Finish: The smoke that rose out of the liquid hangs around for quite some time in the upper regions of the throat and mouth. It’s now reminiscent of very dry earth. There is even a nice bit of warmth evolving in the chest though it’s limited by the low strength of this whisky. Still the finish is rather enjoyable. (7.4/10)

Balance: While the finish punches above its weight it also, unfortunately, takes the wind out of the sails of the nose and palate on subsequent sips. For that it gets dinged a bit on the balance. Usually I’d rate a whisky that finishes on a high not comparably high on balance but not in this case. (6.6/10)

May 28, 2021May 28, 2021

Springbank K&L Excl. Sovereign, 22yo, 1995/2018

*Rating*	37.5/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Campbeltown
*Distillery*	Springbank
*Owner*	Mitchell Family
*Distilled*	December 1995
*Bottler*	Hunter Laing & Company
*Series*	The Sovereign
*Style*	Single Barrel Single Malt Whisky
*Cask*	Refill Hogshead HL15295
*Bottled*	May 2018
*Bottles*	108
*Strength*	52.5% (105 Proof)
Retailer	K&L Wine Merchants

I have not acquired this one for myself but thanks to a generous friend (thanks IFLS!) I’ve been lucky enough to get to try this amazing whisky. There was a reason I had not purchased it myself. It’s just not what I usually go for. And, while being right about that evaluation, I was also utterly wrong about not getting any of it. File this one under R for regret. What a stunning expression of Springbank!

Nose: Linen sheets, still warm, fresh out of the dryer after having been washed with meadow flower scented detergent. The pages of old, heavily used books that haven’t pulled out of a tightly packed shelf in a long time. Lemon zest arches far above a slow river of mild honey. My only complaint is that I desperately want to turn up the volume. (8.5/10)

Palate: Can you extract liquid from the pages of an old book? It’s very dry, almost dusty, but underneath all of it there is that quiet slow river of honey again, which at the end, subsumes all the other stuff, except the bright flurry of dust above it all, sparkling in the light of a reading lamp. This is not at all in my general ballpark. But, holy crap, it is amazing! A whisky to stay with, pay attention to, sink into like when one is getting lost in the stories found inside an old, well-read book. (9.5/10)

Finish: At first, after coming back up from the mysterious depths of this book, there is just this coating of honey, left behind by that river. My tongue is rough from all the dry, ancient paper. There is gentle yet deep and rich, dusty smoke permeating my throat and chest. And then, for a time, the lemon zest shows up again, albeit in a rehydrated form of blended lemon zest and juice. Just wonderful. After a long time a single fruit emerges under the roof of my palate and it is… a plum! (10/10)

Balance: This is… so unexpected. None of this is what I typically look for. It is not loud but it is powerful. Best enjoyed alone. Let this envelope you and permeate you undisturbed and in silence. I suspect one might miss most or all it has to offer if surrounded by a crowd. Wow. (9.5 /10)

May 19, 2021September 8, 2021

Tobermory Fino Sherry Finish, 12yo, 2005/2018

*Rating*	37.1/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Highlands, Islands, Isle of Mull
*Distillery*	Tobermory
*Owner*	Distell Group vis Burn Stewart Distillers
*Distilled*	2005
*Style*	Single Malt
*Cask*	Fino Sherry Finish
*Bottled*	2018
*Strength*	55.1% (110.2 Proof)
*Whiskybase*	Whiskybase

One of my all-time faves. The little sherry-finished Tobermory engine that could. And it seems to have flown below the radar of a lot of folks. Perhaps because it’s list price wasn’t exactly cheap for a distillery with a relatively low profile compared to the big players.

Nose: (9.1/10) A fresh squirt of fussy cola jumps over the rim of the glass first, revealing a deeper layer of dark shoe polish hiding behind it. This slowly peels off of some heavy furniture that’s been polished with teak oil. I watch all this happening while munching on delicate blackberry gummy bears. And the whole thing comes with free nose tickles. Lovely.

Palate: (9.5/10) A huge, thick, heavy sheet of concentrated, dry sherry slices and rumbles through my mouth like those flexing steel plates classical orchestras use for making thunder. This is sherry thunder and lightning in a bottle. On subsequent sips things calm down a bit and I can hear myself think again. But that sense of a vast expanse of dry sherry demanding room to fill doesn’t go away. If anything some of the furniture and shoe polish related notes are managing to make themselves heard and add further depth and complexity to the experience. That initial bit of cola, however, does not seem to have survived the storm. This is a gorgeous palate. Damn.

Finish: (9.2/10) Right after the impact of that palate perceiving the finish requires a conscious effort. Though it will rise to awareness on its own over time. A great dry, peaceful silence settles on everything. There is a residual glow lingering at the top of the palate. There is a mild warmth in the chest (and I wish there was just a little more heat there). And, whodathunk, that little bit of cola did survive after all and alights on each breath like a bunch of sun motes wafting about on the fading esophageal thermals. I am happy.

Balance: (9.3/10) What can I say. This is some really, seriously, very good whisky. Wish I could find more of it. Wish I had bought more at the time but, not knowing, it seemed pricey. The only complaint I have, and it barely qualifies as such, is that perhaps the finish could have been just a little stronger so the drop in intensity from the palate wasn’t quite so steep. What an astonishing dram. This kind of experience is why I love this stuff. Amazing.

May 15, 2021May 15, 2021

BenRiach The Smoky Twelve, 12yo

*Rating*	29.4/30
*Origin*	Scotland, Speyside, Lossie
*Distillery*	BenRiach
*Owner*	Brown-Forman
*Style*	Single Malt
*Peated*	Yes
*Cask*	Bourbon, Sherry and Marsala Casks
*Strength*	46% (92 Proof)
*Whiskybase*	Whiskybase

The Smoky Twelve is one of the 4 base-line expressions of BenRiach recently revamped by their master blender, Dr. Rachel Barrie. I had the opportunity to taste all of them side-by-side which always makes for a very interesting experience. This one turned out to be my second favorite in that group.

Nose: Hm…. hello? Anybody there? This is a very shy nose. There’s something in the glass though. A little peat kitten hiding at the bottom, mewling forth little puffs of soft smoke. Very, very slowly the nose dares to emerge from the glass. A more refined smoke than the Smoky Ten but, for, uh, peat’s sake, please, come out of there already! Have a bit of fun in my nose! I won’t hurt you, I promise. Hints of mint. Or perhaps I’m hallucinating. Feeling a little bit lightheaded from the effort of breathing so hard to pull this nose up out of the glass. (7.0/10)

Palate: Hits with the texture of dry, dark chocolate. Quiet on flavors at first but subtly buzzing like a lit fuse. Then, after a few moments, flavor unfolds like an old canvas unrolling to reveal a rich painting of billowing dark smoke over glowing red depths. This is quite lovely and rather unexpected based on the nose. Not so unexpected is the degree of complexity compared to the Smoky Ten. Once again, as with the Original Ten and The Twelve, those extra 2 years made a huge difference. (7.6/10)

Finish: Not entirely unlike the Smoky Ten, the finish is struggling just a little bit to stay level. It’s really good though. Layers of smoke build up and only deflate occasionally and briefly. This one reaches just a little deeper into the chest than the Smoky Ten and flares up more pronouncedly on each breath. There’s a slight green aftertaste but it doesn’t bother me too much. (7.5/10)

Balance: All sides of this whisky are worth exploring but, man, that nose takes some effort to get to. No matter though. Once you’re a few sips in all is good and the struggle is quickly forgotten. The Smoky Ten is just fine but this one takes the same concept a notch or two further up. For BenRiach those extra 2 years from 10 to 12 have proven magical both for these peated and the non-peated expressions. Out of the basic BenRiach line-up revamped by Dr. Rachel Barrie both this and The Twelve have turned out to be clear successes. I’ll be happy to spot them on some bar’s shelf and have a dram or two. (7.3/10)

May 15, 2021May 15, 2021

BenRiach The Smoky Ten, 10yo

*Rating*	27.0/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Speyside, Lossie
*Distillery*	BenRiach
*Owner*	Brown-Forman
*Style*	Single Malt
*Peated*	Yes
*Cask*	Bourbon, Jamaican Rum and Toasted Virgin Oak
*Strength*	46% (92 Proof)
*Whiskybase*	Whiskybase

The Smoky Ten is one of the 4 base-line expressions of BenRiach recently revamped by their master blender, Dr. Rachel Barrie. I had the opportunity to taste all of them side-by-side which always makes for a very interesting experience.

Nose: The peat jumps right out of the glass with some green, herbal notes that turn slightly floral later on. For some reason this is making me think of those little, biodegradable seed starter pots. Not a whole lot of complexity past that but that’s fine. If you pay careful attention you may notice the faint sparkly of bright citrus notes somewhere underneath it all. (6.8/10)

Palate: Simple and direct. The same peat as described for the nose arrives unceremoniously and unfolds with ease, spreading wide but not particularly high, and simply stays right there at the same level and with the same notes carrying straight into the finish. The first few sips seem to leave a thin slathering of watery sweetness on the tongue but that quickly goes away as the finish begins to dominate the experience. (6.8/10)

Finish: The finish picks up seamlessly from the palate and it manages to wipe out those odd watery bits on the palate. However, it’s almost like the finish is running on a slightly undersized engine. It develops a pleasant warmth but keeps struggling to push it into the chest. It continues the flavors from the palate but keeps fading away like a fire fed with cold logs. One has to breathe on it and then it comes back as if nothing happened. (6.7/10)

Balance: A quite lovely basic expression of a quite strongly peated Speysider. Not overly complex but perfectly satisfying. It’s only real shortcoming is that finish struggling to stay alive, dipping and rising like a tired swimmer. A swimmer wearing smoldering peat speedos. Anyhow, it’s perfectly drinkable and delivers all the comforts of peat. B/c it doesn’t require special attention this one would probably be the perfect whisky to drink while reading an engaging book sitting in a comfortable chair near the fireplace. (6.7/10)

May 15, 2021May 15, 2021

BenRiach The Twelve, 12yo

*Rating*	30.8/40
*Origin*	Scotland, Speyside, Lossie
*Distillery*	BenRiach
*Owner*	Brown-Forman Corporation
*Style*	Single Malt
*Cask*	Sherry, Bourbon and Port casks
*Strength*	46% (92 Proof)
*Whiskybase*	Whiskybase

The Twelve is one of the 4 base-line expressions of BenRiach recently revamped by their master blender, Dr. Rachel Barrie. I had the opportunity to taste all of them side-by-side which always makes for a very interesting experience. This one turned out to be my favorite in that group.

Nose: Whoa… what a change from the Original 10! Usually I expect age to round off and diminish certain notes but this one has truly come to life with just another 2 years added. Darkly stained antique oranges, pleasingly arranged on an equally antique leather topped oak desk that’s been polished perhaps a week ago. A well disciplined nose, too. Somehow it’s managing to form a fairly precisely delineated volume hovering half an inch above the top of the glass like a mushroom cap and it doesn’t seem to move or spread from there. You can sort of just stick your nose into that space whenever you feel like having another whiff. This is quite nice! (7.7/10)

Palate: For a bottle strength whisky that’s a surprisingly bulky and solid mass pushing its way through the door, warmly buzzing into the room and spreading itself around comfortably wherever it can. It’s sort of all the bits from the nose but not in that formal arrangement. All the bits of wood, leather and antique oranges are stuck in a mildly sweet blob of delicious, honeyed dessert goop. The sweetness added to the other notes make for a nice balance of flavor all around. And unlike the Original 10 it doesn’t quickly fade away either. This is also quite nice! (7.7/10)

Finish: I wish the flavors of the palate carried over into the finish more. There are echoes that come to life on each breath but primarily the finish is all about an intense bright spot of heat in the very back of the throat radiating in every direction and, once again surprisingly for a bottle strength dram, quite deep into the chest. After waiting for a bit the deep and comforting heat makes you forget and forgive the loss of the palate’s flavors. If I was rating for the immediate finish only it I would have rated it slightly lower. But, after all, this is quite nice! (7.7/10)

Balance: Well now. Comparing this against the Original 10… we have a clear winner. Almost everything about this is, forgive me, quite nice! And the brief disappointment I experienced with the early finish can be easily forgiven. Nicely done, Dr. Rachel Barrie! (7.7/10)