Highland Park 2006 Connoisseurs Choice Cask Strength 14 yo

 

 

 

60,1°

Distillery : Highland Park - Islands 

Refill Sherry Puncheon

Independent Bottling 

By Gordon & McPhail 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2020

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 20 ppm

 

 

 

In 2018, independent bottler Gordon & McPhail, which has been around since 1895, has completely revamped its portfolio and created 5 new ranges. Among them, Connoisseurs Choice will bring together rare Single Casks in very limited editions, never chill-filtered or coloured. Here we have a Highland Park in cask strength, 588 bottles were made from a single Sherry Puncheon cask.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

The nose is slow to open up, but after a while it's a beautiful festival. Thick mountain honey, juicy citrus fruits, fresh peat, vegetal, intense iodine. A lovely milk of vanilla tops it all off. The peat is quite significant, pungent, like holly, nettles and heather. But it ends up with a sea breeze sprinkled with lemon. On the palate, it's very soft and suave, then the spices rise, cumin, cloves, coriander and pepper. Ewe's milk cheese, tasted in the mountains, dried grapes, ripe banana, passion fruit. Very long, powerful finish, still cheesy, but with more earthiness and bread crust. A little more honey, dried fig.

 

In Short, 

A rather original Highland Park, quite peaty, country and cheesy, with a very nice finish. I had a good time tasting it, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it, as I was a bit disappointed by the nose. In any case, it's been out of stock for a long time just about everywhere, so no dilemma there.

Score : 89

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony

Highland Park Dragon Legend

 

 

 

43,1°

Distillery : Highland Park - Islands

Sherry Seasoned European Oak Casks

Original Bottling  

Core Range 

Single Malt 

Launched in 2017

Uncoloured 

Peated around 20 ppm

Launched in 2017, this bottling is supposed to give a peatier, more sherry-driven version than usual in Highland Park. Now the one most easily found in supermarkets, it replaces the 10 and 12 year olds in these dens of iniquity, without the latter two disappearing altogether. The name alludes to a legend about a slain dragon and a Viking who licked its blood, thus obtaining the gift of prophecy - nothing very interesting.

Let's Taste It : 

The nose is more peaty than usual. Beautiful peat, both mineral and rustic, hay, salt and a lovely sea breeze. Vanilla and lemon. Tide and foam. A thick slice of iodine. Grapefruit. Some exotic fruits, pineapple, mango. Planty notes of fern and tree bark. Light on the palate. And... it's still light. Oh yes, a few spices, cumin, paprika, curry. It gradually builds, and after a while you find a nice balance, it's quite full-bodied. A touch of vanilla and citrus fruits. Quite a long, clean finish, not at all aggressive, but sparkling, woody, chocolate, blond tobacco. Candied ginger.

 

In Short, 

I've been wanting to try this whisky for a while. Given the reviews I've read here and there, I thought it might be interesting. Today, I'm glad I didn't give in to the temptation to buy it. It's too young and light on the palate, the nose lacks fruitiness, the finish is quite good, but nothing extraordinary either. It's just another uninteresting bottling from this fine distillery, which is wasting its talents, and that's a real shame. That said, it's not bad either, and a good time is had by all.

Score : 84

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                          Coldplay - Paradise

Line Up #7 : Highland Park, an exploration

 27 March 2020. 

A bit of history (those who are familiar with it can skip this part)

Legend has it that a certain Magnus Eunson, a Viking descendant, preacher by day and smuggler by night, founded the Highland Park distillery in 1798. According to the facts, Robert Borwick obtained a licence to operate the same distillery in 1826. Between the two, it has been established that the Orkney archipelago was a hotbed of alcohol smuggling in the 18th century, and the Mayor of Kirkwall, the capital, was himself known to be a notorious one. We can therefore assume that the distillery existed long before it obtained its licence.
Located at the same latitude as Alaska, Highland Park is closer to Oslo than to London, so it has a special climate which means that there is little to do there other than make whisky for at least 6 months of the year.
In 1895, James Grant, owner of Glenlivet, acquired the distillery and three years later extended it by adding two stills, bringing the total to 4, which is the current number. In 1937, the Highland Distillers group bought the site, and was itself bought jointly by The Erdington Group and William Grant & Sons in 1999. In the meantime, the distillery had been producing single malts since 1979, and opened its Visitor's Centre in 1986.
Today, the distillery produces 2.5 million litres a year, most of which is devoted to single malts. The rest goes into The Famous Grouse blended whisky. The distillery has kept its own malting area, which supplies malted barley for a fifth of its production, with the rest coming from the Tamdhu distillery. Above all, it uses its own peat, which it finds on nearby Hobbister Moor.
Despite its industrial-scale production, the distillery does not seem to have really changed its production methods; it has been able to evolve without abandoning its heritage. It wasn't until 2012 that it launched a marketing campaign inspired by Viking culture with the Valhalla limited range. This marketing campaign continues with the recent launch of 15 yo Viking Heart. The current Master Whisky Maker, Gordon Motion, doesn't seem to want to change anything.

                                           The distillery's 4 stills

The Line Up Projetc

Along with Tobermory and Talisker, Highland Park is one of those island distilleries that intrigues me. I want to go further with it, get to know it better, define its profile and trends. Most of this Line Up will be devoted to official bottlings, which are generally criticised in the whisky world. Is this justified? We often hear about the distillery's rather ridiculous marketing, the Viking-inspired names on the bottles, etc. Is that what's being criticised, or the poor quality of the juice? It's one of those things you just have to see for yourself...

                                           One of the 26 warehouses belonging to the distillery

The Tasting

Highland Park 10 yo Viking Scars : Quite a lot of peat, though. Pleasant, fairly sweet nose, vanilla, lemon peel, a bit of orange. Earthy and a medicinal touch. On the palate, it's a little watery but not unpleasant, balanced, still citrus and vanilla. The finish is a little short, however. Score: 82

Highland Park 12 yo Viking Honour : The nose is more subtle, with honey, a bit of sweetness, like smarties. And still a little peat, vanilla and lemon. Some exotic fruit perhaps. Quite oily and vanilla on the palate, with a hint of pepper and spices. Woody and fairly mature. Again, the finish is light, with a touch of hazelnut and lemon. Score : 84

Highland Park 18 yo Viking Pride  : Satin nose. Peat and smoke are discreet but very present. Subtle balance between vanilla and lemon, with a certain amplitude. And the exotic fruits are more present, passion fruit, kumquat. Perhaps a bit of grapefruit. A slight medicinal touch, like white lime. On the palate, it's still a little light, but very soft, very smooth, lemon and vanilla of course, spices, honey, a few hints of white wine. The finish is juicy, powerful and long. Ripe Granny Smith apple in retro-olfaction. Score: 87

Highland Park Einar : Smoked lemon, vanilla. Less exotic fruits. The nose is more basic, going for the essential. More powerful, more intense too. The medicinal touch is more present and supports the whole. On the palate, it's fuller-bodied, well-structured, with a hint of lemon wood. The finish is also quite strong. Score : 84

Orkney Islands 2002 Berry Bros. & Rudd : The nose is really very good, at once sweet, fruity, slightly acidic, very smoky, and of course bursting with sherry. You can feel maturity, wood is present and gives a good solidity to the whole. The balance is perfect. On the palate, it's a little light, but you can recognise the lemony sweetness of Highland Park, with a few spices. The finish, on the other hand, is explosive and very long, a little carbonated, with a hint of vanilla and icing sugar. Score: 91

What I gain from it

• First of all, Highland Park is a good distillery. The distillate is complex, with exotic fruits, honey and heather, with a light peat and some marine scents. Very nice. It has great potential.
  
• Yes, but this potential is partly spoiled by a number of regrettable elements: the low alcohol content at 40°, the cold filtration and, for my taste, the slightly too pervasive influence of Bourbon. All of this erases the distillery's hallmarks and detracts from its merits. It's a real shame, and I have to say that the design of the bottles completes this bad impression.
  
• The price doesn't help matters either. For what it is, the 18-year-old is far too expensive. The recent Viking Heart 15-year-old, sold for nearly 100 euros, with its ceramic bottle, does nothing to help. We don't dare go for the new editions, given how much they cost. This is not the kind of distillery you invest in, as the risk of disappointment is too great.
  
• On the other hand, the independent bottling I tasted was absolutely magical. It's a world away from the official ones. This is where you can see all the things the distillery could do, but unfortunately it does so with limited editions, which are not always easy to get hold of.
  

 

 

                                           One of the distillery's ovens in action
 

 

Conclusion

I regret to say that it would be better to steer clear of the distillery's original bottlings. The value for money is not there, the whole is too shy, too diluted, too commercial to satisfy the true connoisseur. It's all the sadder because there is so much potential here. What's more, there are so many bottlings, limited editions and the like, that it's hard to know which way to turn.
The consolation prize is that, if you look hard enough, you can find what you're looking for in a few independent bottlings. In this respect, I totally agree with the experts.
Maybe in a few decades, or even a few years, we'll be surprised to see what Highland Park is really worth. With the new cask strength bottlings, I can already see something reassuring.

 

 

 

Line Up #6 : Octomore, The .3 Series

27 Décember 2021. 

A bit of history (those who are familiar with it can skip this part)

Octomore Farm began operations in 1815, under the leadership of its owner John Montgomery. And what was to be done with the barley produced on his farm? John's eldest son, George Montgomery, had the idea of making whisky from it. The Octomore distillery opened its doors in 1816. George seemed to be the only worker, but he enlisted the help of John McVorran, a 15-year-old boy who was also his brother-in-law. At first, production was tiny, 270 litres, but after ten years or so, George, who had improvised himself into a Master Distiller, managed to produce 15,000 to 20,000 litres a year.
Unfortunately, John and his son George died suddenly, the first in 1830 and the second in 1833, and disputes over inheritance prevented the distillery from prospering. Production ceased for good in 1840, and gradually the entire Montgomery family emigrated to the USA.
The Octomore adventure would have been forgotten if the team at the Bruichladdich distillery hadn't had the idea of taking over the name to produce the most peated whisky in history. Jim McEwan has this to say on the subject: "I was tired of people saying that Bruichladdich wasn't a real Islay because it wasn't peated. From 1881 to 1960 it was peated. I revived the peated malt and called it Port Charlotte to stop those people. Then I decided to make Octomore so they would shut up forever."
Octomore was first distilled in 2002. But at the time, the barley wasn't even grown on Islay. It was not until a few years later that the distillery's management came up with the idea of a malt produced entirely on Islay, reclaiming the notion of terroir that Speingbank had first explored with Local Barley. The first Bruichladdich Islay Barley was distilled in 2004, the first Port Charlotte Islay Barley in 2008. Octomore's first Islay Barley, Octomore 06.3, was distilled at Octomore Farm in 2009.

                                                  A view of the island of Islay

The Line Up Project

The Octomore .3 Series are reputed to be the best. Personally, I prefer the .2s, but it doesn't matter. There are 7 of them, all made with barley from the same farm, Octomore Farm. But they're not the same age, they haven't had the same maturation. What are the differences? What do they have in common? Which is the best of them? For a long time now, I've been wanting to taste all the .3 Series in one evening to sum them up. Now it's finally possible. The drams are classified by alcohol content, from the lowest to the highest.

 

 

 

                                                    The peat
 

 

The Tasting

Octomore Masterclass 08.3 Islay Barley : The 3rd Batch of Octomore Islay Barley is 5 years old, the most peated whisky of all time with 309.1 ppm and is aged in first-fill Bourbon casks and French wine casks.

A crystal-clear nose. Hard to put it any other way. A moment where honey, wheat, iodine, cereals and salt come together to form a grand, smooth and overwhelming whole. Of course, the smoke is intense. The palate is of the same kind, a little liquorish, acidic, with vanilla, slightly strong spices, a finish that lifts you up, quite long, then calm, charcoal, nutmeg, cola, hazelnut. A few berries at the very end. Score : 92

Octomore 10.3 Diàlogos Islay Barley : The 5th Batch of Octomore Islay Barley is 6 years old, peated at 114 ppm and aged in first-fill Bourbon casks.
The nose is somewhere between earth and limestone, a little rough. After a while, it becomes fresh and iodised, honeyed. Floral. A bit of ash behind. On the palate, it's mellow, with quinces and a few spices. The finish is sizzling and coaly, quite long. Score: 89

Octomore 11.3 Diàlogos Islay Barley : The 6th Batch of Octomore Islay Barley is 5 years old, peated at 194 ppm and aged in first-fill American Whiskey casks.
The nose is more earthy and dusty. Of course there's still some iodine, but it's in the background. Straw, hay, cowshed, sweat. Very grainy. Softer and more floral with the addition of water. On the palate, it's like muesli, a bit lemony, some spices, it's slightly acidic, then something more pleasant, like rosewater. Nice finish, quite long, still very earthy and cereal-like. Score : 89

Octomore 12.3 The Impossible Equation : The 7th Batch of Octomore Islay Barley is 5 years old, peated at 118.1 ppm and aged 75% in first-fill American Whiskey casks and 25% in first-fill Pedro Ximénez Sherry casks.

The Sherry immediately gives the nose more fullness, another dimension and a certain sweetness. The iodine comes through behind and strengthens the whole. With the addition of water, there's more red fruits, but it remains balanced. The Sherry becomes more intense over time. A few floral nuances. On the palate, it's excellent, very honeyed, chestnut cream, spicy but mild, not too strong. Very explosive finish, without being aggressive, between fruits and charcoal. Chalk. All this is very long. Score : 91

Octomore 09.3 Diàlogos  : The 4th Batch of Octomore Islay Barley is 5 years old, peated at 133 ppm and aged in first-fill American casks, third-fill virgin casks, second-fill French wine casks and second-fill Bourbon casks.
Very well-balanced nose of cereals and iodine, a little earthy. A few vinous touches, but very light. After a while there's a nice fullness, with the tide and sea spray. On the palate, it starts out very suave, very pleasant and mellow. Then the winey flavour comes through, a bit too sweet for my taste, followed by spices that are somewhat too strong. The finish is very good, but not very long, slightly acidic and chalky. Score: 90

Octomore Edition 07.3 : The 2nd Batch of Octomore Islay Barley is 5 years old, peated at 169 ppm and aged in Bourbon and Spanish wine casks.
The nose is very good, the wine gives a pleasant fullness with fruity hints. It tends towards liquorice and dried banana. Then it evolves with applesauce, cinnamon and orange blossom. A few drops of salted butter caramel. Fudge. On the palate, it's quite oily, but a little light at first. Then it improves, with vanilla, spices and tobacco. Nice finish, enveloping the palate, cola, wine lees, white grapes. Score: 90

Octomore Edition 06.3 :

The very first Batch of Octomore Islay Barley is 5 years old, peated at 258 ppm, and aged entirely in Bourbon casks.

It's really very Bourbon-influenced. Vanilla milk. Landes pines. Fresh iodine, almost sweet, a wisp of limestone. It's quite rough, earthy, crushed wheat. On the palate, it's just perfect in its way, very syrupy, well-balanced, fruits, vanilla, spices, iodine, peat. A slight acidity at the end. Finish with a lovely blast, very long, clear, on pine forest and vanilla, charcoal and earth. Score: 91

                                            Peat stacks

What I gain from it

• The fact that the Octomore .3 Series are all produced on the same farm on Islay brings out a farmy, cereal, even earthy character that is found in other Bruichladdich malts, but in a less pronounced way. It's Bruichladdich's 'terroir', but above all it's its identity.
  
• Soon enough, the peat content is so high that you can't smell it any more, your nose is saturated and all that's left are the iodine and fruity fragrances. There's no denying that peat is an important element in Octomore, but it's by no means the key to the quality of the product.
  
• The Octomore Islay Barleys are all almost the same age, but the peat content varies a great deal and, above all, the maturities are not the same. I can identify three groups:
  
• Octomore Islay Barley dominated by Bourbon or American Whiskey: 06.3, 10.3, 11.3. Very vanilla-flavoured and iodised, with notes of cereal and even earth. They are quite rustic. The 11.3, in particular, is almost like a Springbank Local Barley, but less successfull.
  
• Octomore Islay Barley dominated by French or Spanish wine casks: 07.3, 08.3, 09.3. The influence of wine casks brings a very pleasant floral and fruity character, which blends well with the peat and the cerealy profile of Bruichladdich. In this case, they're pretty close to the .2 Series, so I don't see why some people would oppose these two series, which aren't that far apart.
  
• The Octomore Islay Barley 12.3 forms a group of its own, with partial maturation in Sherry casks. For me, it's a success and I hope they'll do it again.
  
• The similarities between Octomore and Bruichladdich are quite clear, with cereal and the iodine typical of Bruichladdich, and a medicinal, even plastic burnt note in the background, but what really stands out is the harmony with the range of varied, sometimes exotic fruits. In the end, it's quite similar to Port Charlotte, except that Octomore is definitely more farmy.
  

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

Here is my preferred list of Octomore .3 Series: 08.3 (my favourite, and not because it has the highest peat content!) > 12.3 (very successful integration of Sherry) > 06.3 (the "purest" Octomore, with very little wood influence) > 07.3 (a superb nose, but a little less succesfull on the palate) > 09. 3 (very good, but I find it a bit sweet, the influence of the wine casks is too strong here for my taste) > 10.3 (very good stuff, but nothing special either) > 11.3 (a little distorted by the touches of dry earth, not quite a success even if very good).
To sum up, we have 3 that are exceptional, the 06.3, the 08.3 and the 12.3, one that is excellent, the 07.3, and the others that are very good, but I don't think it's necessarily worth buying them.
As you can see, Octomore .3 Series are very varied in terms of taste and style, so it would be a mistake to reduce them to the simple fact that they are strong in peat or that the barley was grown on the same farm.
Be that as it may, this is first and foremost a superb product, often overpriced unfortunately, but that's the case with many distilleries on Islay. 

                               Bruichladdich distillery

Big Peat Small Batch

 

 

 

46°

Distillery : Ardbeg, Bowmore, Caol Ila, Port Ellen, amongst others - Islay 

Refill American Whiskey Barrels

Independent Bottling 

By Douglas Laing & Co. 

Core Range 

Blended Malt 

Launched in 2009

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured 

Peated around 40 ppm

So it's been twelve years since Pete's face adorns the familiar label of Islay's most famous blended whisky. It was the first of the Remarkable Regional Malts to be released and the most successful. Today, there are an infinite number of limited editions, but sometimes it's good to go back to the roots and the original bottling. Although part of the core range, Big Peat is also stamped Small Batch, that means sold in batches of 5,000 bottles. We must be around batch 110 today.

Let's Taste It : 

Iodine and a sea full of fish, a little brackish. The tide, the spray, the foam. Seaweed, a pebble beach, prickly sea urchins, mussels and periwinkles. Gradually, it becomes more vanilla and fruity. Yellow plum, slightly overripe banana. On the palate, it's quite watery, with a hint of vanilla, then spices, cumin, pepper, ginger, a few marine hints and a zest of lemon. The finish is not bad, quite long, with ginger and chives, but you shouldn't ask for too much either. Liquorice.

 

In Short, 

It's not bad, but not that remarkable. The whole is a little young, the balance is fragile, nothing impressive in the end. And the price is a bit high for what it is. To be honest, while some limited editions of Big Peat are worth their weight in gold, the original doesn't deserve more than a dram.

Score : 84

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                                    Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale

Octomore 2011 Masterclass 08.3 Islay Barley 5 yo

 

 

 

61,2°

Distillery : Bruichladdich - Islay

1st Fill Bourbon Casks, Ex-Pauillac, Ventoux, Rhôme and Burgundy Casks

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2017

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 309,1 ppm

 

 

 

The third version of the 8th Octomore Batch is the most peated whisky ever. Due to a windy and rainy autumn in 2010, the barley harvest at Octomore Farm was less than glorious, with only a small proportion escaping hungry geese and wild deer. And because the volume of grain was smaller, it retained a higher concentration of peat, giving this surprising result: 309.1 ppm. However, it should not be forgotten that the interest of Octomore does not only lie in the peat, here we also have a beautiful maturation in French wine casks, for a proportion of 44% of the casks, the remaining 56% having aged in first fill Bourbon. 18,000 bottles went on sale.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

A surge of peat. Like a tidal wave, it floods the nostrils. Pure peat, not really smoky or marine, just a little vegetal. It's a blast, an earthquake. But very quickly, vinous fragrances settle in. And it's as if the peat is slipping away, to bring out a sweet, fruity wine, with hints of icing sugar, mirabelle plum, greengage, lemon pulp, lychee, pineapple and grapefruit. Coal and soot can be detected in the background, and the peat returns, even more violently. With the addition of water, the flavour comes into its own, with a hint of iodine, something earthy and cereal-like, adding to the pastry cream, the genoise and the fruits. Crunchy honey biscuits. Sourdough bread. Warm crumb. On the palate, very slight astringent acidity, then it's suave, and the spices take hold, cumin, pepper, paprika, curry, saffron. Tomato, peach, melon, red berries. Very long finish, on mango, then spices, finally wood, very sparkling, cola, ends on dry earth, a trail of charcoal, pinch of fine salt, chocolate milk. Apricot, persimmon.

 

In Short, 

The peat is important, even invasive, but it fades after a while to give way to wonderful vinous and fruity fragrances. This is one of the best Octomores for my taste, perhaps the best of the . 3 series, a rigorous comparison should be made one day. Unfortunately the price has gone completely mad, I wish I could have bought a bottle, but they are now reserved for millionaires.

Score : 92

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                          Jimmy Page & Robert Plant - Kashmir

Lagavulin 12 yo Special Release 2020

 

 

 

56,4°

Distillery : Lagavulin - Islay 

Refill American Oak Casks 

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Malt

Bottled in 2020

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 38 ppm

 

 

 

The 20th edition of Lagavulin's 12 yo cask strength has, like its predecessors, been matured in American casks, without any sherry influence. After the great success of Batch 2019, Master Blender Craig Wilson sought to reproduce a very similar formula by selecting the same casks. In fact, the Batch 2019 label shows an eagle perched on a branch, and the Batch 2020 label shows the same eagle taking flight. It's the logical continuation, the echo, even the clone of the previous edition. Of course, it would be interesting to try a Face to Face.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Sea breeze, brackish water, peat pallets and honey pearls. Then the iodine rises gently, a bit of soot and at the same time, it's sweet, with icing sugar, genoise and almonds. Vanilla bean. With the addition of water, the fruits become more insistent, pear, yellow plum, all very juicy. Very well balanced. Occasionally a boggy note emerges, but this is well contained. The palate is suave, luscious and easy to drink, with hints of white nectarine and lemon pulp. A touch of vanilla. Sparse spices, cumin, peat and iodine in the background. Sea salt. Warm. Light finish, but long, honeyed, puffed rice grains, corn, wheat germ, dry earth under a blazing sun. Gravel.

 

In Short, 

How elegant, how cute. It's very sweet, very cup of tea drunk with the little finger in the air, very old England. But that's not what we're looking for when we taste the 12 year old cask strength, we want dirty, rocky, boggy, grounchy, brutal peat. Well, when I say "we", I mean me, of course. Many have enjoyed this bottling without reservation, as to me I found it lacking a little wildness, a little excess. However, I'm admiring the result: it's a monster of balance and complexity, very complete, very varied, with the distillery's typical hallmarks. The price has gone up again for this edition, which is unpleasant. We're reaching a point where the price/quality ratio is no longer to our advantage.

Score : 89  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

                                           Pearl Jam - Black

Compass Box Ethereal

 

 

 

49°

Distillery : Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Pulteney, Miltonduff - Islay, Highlands, Speyside

Recharred, Refill American Oak Barrels and Hogsheads

Independent Bottling 

By Compass Box

Limited Edition 

Blended Malt 

Bottled in 2021

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Peated around 20 ppm

 

 

 

Launched to celebrate the 65th anniversary of La Maison du Whisky, this little thing is a very limited edition, with 2,430 bottles, and sold only on the French market. It is a blend of Speyside whisky (17.4%), Highland whisky (43.3%) and Islay whisky (39.3%), ranging in age from 17 to 26 years. The name Ethereal also refers to Eleuthera, the very first Blended Malt released by Compass Box in 2001 (but not the first bottling, which was Hedonism in 2000, a Blended Grain). On the occasion of the anniversary of La Maison du Whisky, John Glaser, founder of Compass Box, is also looking for the origins of his own adventure.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Nose coated with light peat, pleasant, woody, black radish, sweet smoke, fruit, sour apple, juicy pear, white grape, yellow plums. Black earth, grimy rock, basalt, slate, garden vegetables, zucchini flowers, beans. Hints of iodine. Slightly austere on the palate, quickly moving on to spices, pepper, cumin, pine needles. Vanilla is discreetly present, accompanied by sea salt. Quite a long, fruity finish, with dried banana and wild berries. Blackberries. Charcoal.

 

In Short, 

With all the praise I read here and there, I feel like I've missed the point. That happens sometimes. Or maybe it's just a bit too much hype about a product that's certainly very good, but not that great, and at a price that's way too high. I'd have to try it again to be sure. In any case, it's very good, and personally I'd buy it if it were half its current price.

Score : 88 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                          Meat Loaf - I'd Do Anything For Love

Bunnahabhain 2007 Old Particular 12 yo

 

 

 

48,4° 

Distillery : Bunnahabhain - Islay

Refill Bourbon Hogshead

Independent Bottling 

By Douglas Laing & Co. 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2020

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Almost Unpeated

The Old Particular range contains a variety of hand-selected, unchill-filtered and uncoloured Single Casks of particular quality. Although reduced, the alcohol content remains relatively high to keep the whisky "as natural as possible". Here we have a Bunnahabhain aged for twelve years in a bourbon single cask, which is quite unusual, and allows us to discover the brand's natural distillate, without peat or sherry influence. 329 bottles have been released for sale.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

I can immediately feel Bunnahabhain's usual hint of mineral iodine, but this time without the Sherry. It's a little cerealy, a little vanilla-scented, rocky, on river pebbles, tall grass on a fine spring day. Gravel, yellow fruits, plums, greengages. On the palate, woody, lemon, sea salt, before falling into spices, cumin, ginger, pumpkin seeds. The finish is fairly long, but not interminable either, on charcoal, beautiful loose earth, heather, fine sand, pine cones.

 

In Short, 

Yes, it's not bad at all, and it has the advantage of being original. It's surprising, you can recognise the distillery's trademarks, and at the same time you get the sensation that it's brand new. On the other hand, the price seems rather excessive to me; it would have needed a few euros less to be worth it.

Score : 87

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                          Guns'n'Roses - November Rain

Octomore 2014 11.3 Diàlogos Islay Barley 5 yo

 

 

 

61,7°

Distillery : Bruichladdich - Islay

1st Fill Ameican Whiskey Casks from Jim Beam, Heaven Hill, Buffalo Trace, Jack Daniel's

Original Bottling 

Limited Edition 

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2020 

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 194 ppm 

 

 

 

The 3rd version of the 11th Octomore Batch was aged for 5 years in American whisky casks, before being poured into 18,000 different bottles. The barley used is Concerto, harvested in 2013 at Irene's Field, a small 28-acre field 2 miles from the distillery. Every stage in the production of this whisky took place on the Isle of Islay, with the possible exception of malting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Fresh bourbon, iodine, icing sugar, cereals, cut hay, biscuit filled with speculoos cream, stable heat, cattle grazing, sour apple, a few drops of lemon juice, dry earth. Grains of fine sand. With the addition of water, the iodine becomes more intense, a mineral edge emerges. Gypsum. And finally a hint of vanilla. Which comes through on the palate, with wheat and millet. Quite heavy spices, cumin, pepper. Nice finish, on charcoal, cola, a little cocoa, but still, I was expecting something more explosive. Gingerbread.

 

In Short, 

I find this edition very similar to the 10.3, except that the 10.3 was more iodised and fresh, this one is more about hay or straw, and of course cereals. These are the two least interesting bottlings of the Octomore Series 3 in my opinion. In trying to produce something naked and simple that would enhance the distillate, they fail to recreate the perfect balance and elegance of the 06.3. It remains, of course, a very good whisky, but at a prohibitive price.

Score : 89 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

                                           Dave Matthews Band - Cortez The Killer

Tomatin 2008 Gifted Stills 7 yo

 

 

 

43°

Distillery : Tomatin - Speyside

Bourbon Casks

Independent Bottling 

By Jean Boyer 

Limited Edtion

Single Malt 

Bottled in 2015

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

Jean Boyer started out as an independent whisky distributor in France, before quickly becoming a bottler himself in 1987. The Gifted Stills range is made up of small batches of innovative Scotch whiskies, according to the brochure. It's been around for 15 years. Unfortunately, there is no indication of whether the whisky is chill-filtered or coloured, or how many bottles are produced.

 

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Quite a pastry nose, with Bourbon, genoise and whipped cream, hints of vanilla, but also some juicy fruits, peach and pineapple, banana. A touch of buttercream and icing sugar. Herbaceous notes of sage and fern. Cereals, wheat, rice and barley. On the palate, the vanilla comes through, it's smooth, pleasant, a little syrupy and watery, some spices but very discreet, cumin, ginger. It's very easy to swallow. Quite a long finish, earth and charcoal, heather, cola. Chestnut in its bug.

 

In Short, 

It's not bad at all, and would go very well as an aperitif. It's a good Tomatin, not very original and a little austere, but pleasant to drink. Unfortunately it's completely sold out, but in any case it seems that the price was too high to tempt a purchase.

Score : 85 

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                           Lady A - Need You Now

Compass Box No Name N°3

 

 

 

48,9°

Distillery : Bowmore, Clynelish, Laphroaig, Mortlach -  Islay, Highlands, Speyside

Recharred, Refill Bourbon Barrels and Hogsheads, Refill Sherry Butts, French Oak Casks

Independent Bottling 

By Compass Box 

Limited Edition 

Blended Malt

Bottled in 2021

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Peated around 35 ppm

 

 

 

The 3rd No Name batch is announced as the ultimate. Where the first was dominated by the powerful black smoke of Ardbeg, the second offered a fine marriage between Caol Ila and Talisker, with a fruity, iodised and bewitching peat. The third is dominated by Laphroaig, which constitutes 74% of the blend. Exactly 10,794 bottles were produced.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

Very fine, coal-like smoke. The blackish particles clog the throat and lungs. Motor oil, gas oil, old tyres, rusty nails. It's definitely Laphroaig. Combined with the old smoked meat of Mortlach, the greasy wax of Clynelish and some white fruits from Bowmore. A fine blend, as always from Compass Box. On the palate, nice balance between thick peat and a nice sweetness. Genoise, marzipan. Juicy pear and some herbal fragrances. The finish is very pleasant, but not very robust, although quite long, with a hint of coffee, cold meat, charcoal and earth.

 

In Short, 

I really liked this one. I'd like to do a tasting of all 3 to see which is the best and the different trends. I feel like they complement each other to build an almost exhaustive picture of everything peat has to offer. It's very interesting. Unfortunately, the price is excessive this time, a little higher than the previous two. Such a price is unjustified.

Score : 88

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                            To Be Listened Whilee Sipping :

                                            Exek - Replicate

Linkwood 2011 Provenance 8 yo

 

 

 

46°

Distillery : Linkwood - Speyside

Refill Bourbon Hogshead

Independent Bottling 

By Douglas Laing & Co. 

Limited Edition 

Single Cask 

Bottled in 2020

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Totally Unpeated

 

 

 

Douglas Laing & Co. is one of the last independent bottlers to offer Single Casks at reasonable prices. Of course, the downside is that they are reduced and not very old. Here we have a Linkwood aged for 8 years and 11 months in a Bourbon single cask and bottled in 325 units.

Let's Taste It : 

Very fruity nose, with a full fruit basket, orchard fruits, apples, pears, peaches, all very juicy, but also exotic fruits, litchi, kiwi, pineapple, and a few red fruits, grapes, plums, anyway, it would take too long to list them all. Slight country hints in the background, hay, dry straw, earth. A little iodine. The palate is a bit light, unfortunately, but it's honest, still on the fruit, with spices, turmeric, paprika, saffron. The finish, on the other hand, is very good, very long, a little charred, but once again on crushed blackberries and wine lees. A real festival.

In Short, 

This Linkwood is really amazing, I didn't think you could put so much fruits in one bottle. A good summer whisky, and what's more at a low price, I highly recommend buying it, in fact I think I'll have one.

Score : 87

                                            To Be Listened While Sipping :

                                            Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals - Steal My Kisses

Big Peat Christmas Edition 2021

 

 

 

52,8°

Distillery : Ardbeg, Bowmore, Caol Ila, Port Ellen amongst others - Islay

Bourbon Barrels 

Independent Bottling 

By Douglas Laing & Co. 

Limited Edition 

Blended Malt 

Bottled in 2021

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated around 40 ppm

 

 

 

As they have every year since 2011, Douglas Laing & Co. are helping us to get through the harsh winter weather with this Cask Strength version of Big Peat, part of the Remarkable Regional Malts range. This year, no fewer than 7 distilleries have been involved, all from Islay of course, including Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bowmore and Port Ellen. I'm willing to bet that the other three are Bunnahabhain, Laphroaig and Lagavulin, but I can't be absolutely certain. No comment on the label, which shows Pete sledging in a kilt. Not sure all Scots appreciate that.

 

 

 

Let's Taste It : 

A very chalky nose at first, with a certain minerality reminiscent of Caol Ila or Bunnahabhain, granite, salt shards, gypsum, rocky mud. It goes quite well with a good big vanilla flavour set with icing sugar and yellow plums, white grapes and mirabelles. Fresh iodine. On the palate, you can feel the influence of Bourbon, it's oily, slightly cereal-like and earthy. The finish is pleasant and fairly long, but lacks explosiveness for my taste. Coal, fuel oil, motor oil (perhaps Laphroaig, or Ardbeg?)

 

In Short, 

There's not much difference between the Batches, but I thought this one was a bit wiser than the last one, which may have something to do with the time and circumstances. Apart from that, it's still the same, very Bourbon-influenced, well peated and iodised, with quite a bit of punch. The price hasn't changed, and I think that if you look hard enough, it's possible to avoid being ripped off.

Score : 88

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping  :

  

                                          WASP - The Great Misconceptions of Me

Big Peat 12 yo

 

 

 

46°

Distillery : Ardbeg, Bowmore, Caol Ila, Port Ellen, amongst others - Islay

Small Batch Bourbon Barrels

Independent Bottling

By Douglas Laing & Co. 

Core Range

Blended Malt 

Launched in 2020

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Peated around 40 ppm

 

 

 

For the first time, trading company Douglas Laing & Co. has decided to include an aged bottle in its core range of Remarkable Regional Malts. This range includes many aged limited editions, but no permanent additions. For the occasion, it seems that 6 distilleries on the island were used. The usual 4, Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bowmore and Port Ellen, and 2 that we are told are from the south of the island. These can only be Lagavulin and Laphroaig, as Kilchoman, Bruichladdich and Bunnahabhain are not in the south at all. Everything is aged in Small Batch bourbon casks.

 

Let's Taste It : 

A whiff of icing sugar, vanilla cream, then the smoke appears, quite ashy (good morning, Caol Ila), accompanied by thick, violent peat (hello, Ardbeg!). The background is chalky, iodised and even mineral, with gypsum, granite and fragments of salt. On the palate, the vanilla is very present, with a whole theory of white fruits, plums, grapes, pears, lychees. The peat becomes earthier, deeper, muddy (is that you, Lagavulin?), with a few charcoal hints, fuel oil, motor oil (I think we know each other, Laphroaig). Finally, it's slightly honeyed, leading to a fairly long, peachy, coaly, stony finish. A stream running between the pebbles. Finally, damp undergrowth, ferns, fresh forest (you've been waited for, Bowmore).

In Short, 

To be honest, I'm not a big fan of Big Peat in a reduced version. I really like the Christmas Edition in Cask Strength, but all the other bottlings didn't really appeal to me until now. This one is different. I think it's well balanced, the right maturation certainly, and better casks, but also perhaps the influence of the two extra distilleries. It's really good. On the other hand, it's the price that makes me hesitate to buy it, I find it a bit expensive for what it is. That said, it's surely the best way to get Port Ellen without mortgaging your house. Or even the only way.

Score : 86

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

 

                                           Moderat - Ghostmother