This is the second of the two new limited release Tomintoul whiskies. I liked the Sherry Cask Finish 12 year old which I posted up here last Friday. This peaty one, however, tastes a little green. It is yet another example of younger whiskies lacking an age statement being released. Expect a lot more of this […]
Two new limited-edition Tomintoul whiskies are going into distribution in the U.S. I posted my review of one of them below. I’ll post the other one next Friday. The Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish, reviewed below, really surprised me with how mature and richly flavored it was for being only 12 years old.
Tomintoul, Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish, 12 year old, […]
Yes, I know. March is over, and with it, “Friday’s Pans”. But I have one more pan before moving on to a happier review next Friday.
Duncan Taylor (distilled at Cameronbridge), Cask #3583, 28 year old, 54.4%, $125
Its best attributes are vanilla, toasted coconut, and tropical fruit. But the rest of this grain whisky is a […]
Signatory (distilled at Bunnahabhain), cask #5279, 1997 vintage, 9 year old, 59.9%, $45
The owners of Bunnahabhain are making a peated version of this normally unpeated Islay whisky to put in their peated blend, Black Bottle. But they have not yet put out, as a regular item, a peated expression of Bunnahabhain single malt for purchase. […]
Glenmorangie Lasanta, 46%, $65
Finished in sherry casks. The sherry adds a nutty toffee sweetness, bramble, and other assorted red fruit and raisin, with the tell-tale Glenmorangie complexity tucked underneath. A bit heavy on the sherry, too, for such a subtle spirit. This is the only whisky from the new like of Glenmorangie that I’m not very […]
Benromach Organic, 43%, $75
Huge oak impact for such a young whisky. Fresh oak shavings, dry vanilla, and subtle toasted coconut throughout. Some dried fruit, sultana and toffee too up front, but this is quickly consumed by the oak. Dry, hot, resinous finish. Not an old whisky, but already showing too much oak.
Advanced Malt Advocate magazine […]
Several of you have asked me about this whisky in the past week, so I thought I would post it up now given that it will not appear in Malt Advocate until the 3rd Quarter issue later this year.
Murray McDavid “Mission” (distilled at Glenglassaugh), 1986 vintage, 20 year old, 55.3%, $175
The ruby/antique amber color suggests […]
The Macallan Lalique Decanter, 55 year old, 40.1%, $12,000
Deep, thick nose, with sappy oak, dried citrus, old leather, spearmint and background leafy smoke. Nicely viscous on the palate, with similar notes as the aroma. But mid-palate the age gets the best of this whisky. The flavors flatten out and the wood dominates through the finish […]
When I created Friday’s Picks & Pans, I included the “Pans” part for a reason. I don’t just want to tell you about the whiskies I like. I also want to let you know the whiskies that disappoint me.
So, for the entire month of March, every Friday I will do just that.
Eagle Rare, 17 year old, 45%, $55
While labeled as a 17 year old, it’s actually 19, distilled way back in 1988. Each year’s release of this whiskey just seems to get better and better. Some of the earlier vintages turned slightly oaky and dry for balance, (the 10 year old Single Barrel Eagle Rare whiskeys […]
