Kilkerran Heavily Peated Peat in Progress Batch N°1

59,3°

Distillery : Glengyle - Campbeltown

Bourbon and Sherry Casks

Original Bottling

Limited Edition

Single Malt

Bottled in 2019

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength 

Peated around 84 ppm

The distillery is trying out this heavily peated bottling in 2019, which is currently being followed by two other batches of the same kind.

Let's Taste It : 

At first, the nose is very similar to that of Kilkerran 12 year old. Vanilla, country flavours, cowshed, with barley sugar, but in a rougher, less refined way. Rustic. Then the peat rises, quite heavy. Imposing. No smoke or iodine, just peat. It enhances the vanilla, with a herbaceous, earthy touch. A good match. On the palate, olive oil, vanilla, then the pepper rises, it's strong. It's fairly flat, but the finish is nice, an ounce of caramelised coal, peat and earth, melting salted butter.

 

In Short, 

It's astonishing, and will delight fans of the genre. Having said that, the whisky is very young and not very complex, so it would be better to wait for a bottling in the same style but older, which will be more worthwhile. 

Score : 86

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

                                           Kiss - I Was Made For Loving You

Kilkerran 8 yo Cask Strength 2019

57,1°

Distillery : Glengyle - Campbeltown

Recharred Oloroso Sherry Casks

Original Bottling

Limited Edition

Single Malt

Bottled in 2019

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured, Cask Strength

Peated from 12 to 15 ppm

 

The distillery regularly produces bottlings of 8-year-old cask strength. The special feature of this one is that it has been aged in toasted sherry casks, which means it has been burnt with a blowtorch. 15,000 bottles were sold.

Let's Taste It : 

Wood and smoked bacon, chimney fire, dried fruits: apricots, dates, figs, raisins. Rare cooked beef. Some red fruits, mainly strawberry. Fat, thick and tasty sherry. Agen prunes. The typical Kilkerran farmhouse character is barely perceptible. Some cereals though, puffed rice and barley. Meat juice. Very fleshy on the palate, still with dried fruits, but also juicy, rare and candied. The spices are rising, but not too much. Quite ripe red plum. An ounce of coarse salt. Slightly dry finish, wood and liquorice, heather earth, crunchy grapes, charcoal, pear, cherry.

 

In Short, 

A truly excellent edition, very fruity and rare. Don't hesitate to buy it, as long as you can find it at a reasonable price, because it's a victim of its own success. 

Score : 88

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                           Jethro Tull - Locomotive Breath

The GlenDronach 18 yo Allardice

43°

Distillery : The GlenDronach - Highlands

Oloroso Sherry Casks

Original Bottling

Core Range

Single Malt

Launched in 2009

Unchillfiltered, Uncoloured

Totally Unpeated

This prestige edition is named in tribute to the founder of the GlenDronach distillery, James Allardice.

Let's Taste It : 

Very coppery sherry, quite dry, deep, fruity, prickly pear, rhubarb compote, fresh leather, plum, wood. Varnish and a hint of camphor. Excellent on the palate, the fruits are varied, with candied cherry, sweet potato, granny smith apple, quince and apricot. Green tea. Slightly acidic and greedy, even pastry-like, with nougatine, chocolate fondant and praline. Long finish with earth, liquorice and charcoal. A few ground coffee beans, a pinch of pepper. Cinnamon.

In Short, 

This ageing in Oloroso sherry casks will delight enthusiasts. Personally, I think it's excellent, but a little too sweet. That said, the price is not exaggerated, so you may be tempted.

Score : 88

                                            To Be Listened While Sipping : 

                                           Yes - Heart of The Sunrise

Talisker 25 yo

45,8°

Distillery : Talisker - Islands

Sherry and Bourbon Hogsheads

Original Bottling

Core Range

Single Malt

Launched in 2011

Peated around 22 ppm

This edition is the high point of the distillery's regular range, but not the pinnacle, as there is also a 30-year-old.

Let's Taste It : 

Not much peat and not much iodine in the nostrils, but what subtlety. Old wood, applesauce, porridge, plum, greengage, fig, vanilla. On the palate, very oily, hazelnuts, walnuts, elderberry, salted butter, an ounce of caramel. Gingerbread. But the pepper remains very discreet. It's more like wild herbs, fermented fruits, a bit of molasses and milk chocolate. The finish is long and bewitching, some scrub, aniseed and cola. Light liquorice in retro-olfaction.

 

In Short, 

A very fruity version, typical of the distillery, it's delicious. That said, the price makes it difficult to access.

Score : 90

                                           To Be Listened While Sipping :

  

                                           Tom Waits - A Sweet Little Bullet From a Pretty Blue Gun

Talisker 25 yo Natural Cask Strength 2009

54,8°

Distillery : Talisker - Islands

Bourbon and Sherry Refill Casks

Original Bottling

Limited Edition

Single Malt

Bottled in 2009

Cask Strength

Peated around 22 ppm

Included in the Diageo Special Releases in 2009, this 25-Year-Old is the last to be released in cask strength, and for this reason it is highly sought-after. Only 5862 bottles were produced.

Let's Taste It : 

The nose is less iodised, less marine, but very fruity. Apricot is the dominant flavour, as it is one of the distillery's hallmarks, along with a hint of heather. The addition of water brings out the vanilla and white fruits. Mirabelle plum with a pinch of spice, butter, applesauce and elderberry. Just a drop of peat, no ash or smoke. Very greedy nonetheless. After half an hour, the pear takes over. It's very sweet, slightly woody and earthy. The palate is light, with no trace of alcohol and a touch of plum. On the other hand, the heather and pepper are invasive, and the finish is very woody, very long, I'd say endless.

 

In Short,  

Touching on the divine, this is, in my opinion, the best that Talisker can produce. The price is obviously a deterrent, but don't hesitate if you can afford it.. 

Score : 91

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

   

                                          Mari Boine - Goaskinviellja

Talisker 8 yo Special Release 2018

59,4°

Distillery : Talisker - Islay 

1st Fill ex-Bourbon Casks

Original Bottling

Limited Edition

Single Malt

Bottled in 2018

Cask Strength

Peated around 22 ppm

Included in the 2018 Diageo Special Releases, this limited edition was a runaway success, and the 4680 bottles put on sale went up in smoke fairly quickly. It is now extremely difficult to find. 

Let's Taste It : 

The nose is very similar to that of the 18-year-old Talisker, strongly iodised, very maritime, with just the right amount of vanilla, smoke and heather. But it's less prominent, sweeter. Lots of juicy white fruits, pears and plums. Beetroot, toffee, a touch of earth, it's definitely very enjoyable. The palate is suave, apricot, very Talisker, with a touch of wood and vanilla. Excellent finish, very violent and long, full of greengages and mirabelles, a touch of charcoal. Fudge in retro-olfaction.

 

In Short, 

It's undeniably a success, complex and very representative of the distillery despite its young age. That said, this bottling is a victim of its own success, and its price has risen somewhat disproportionately.

Score : 89

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

   

                                          Van Morrison - Wavelength

Talisker Select Reserve House of Greyjoy Game of Thrones Limited Edition

45,8°

Distillery : Talisker - Islands 

Heavily Charred and Bourbon Casks

Original Bottling

Limited Edition

Single Malt

Bottled in 2018

Peated around 22 ppm

This limited edition went on sale in early 2019, a few months before the final season of the Game of Thrones TV series. House Greyjoy is one of the Great Houses of the imaginary Kingdom of Westeros, located on the Iron Islands. The bottling is the result of a blend of bourbon casks and others that have been powerfully toasted, in other words burnt with a blowtorch.

Let's Taste It : 

The nose is very similar to that of the Storm, there's no doubt about that. Perhaps slightly sweeter. The sherry is less present, as are the iodine and heather, in short it's a little impersonal. That said, it's pleasant, I find a bit of lavender, icing sugar and genoise. It's very slightly minty. A touch of earthiness, coarse salt. On the palate, it's quite fruity, with hazelnuts, plums, pears and figs. The finish, on the other hand, is much better than that of the Storm, woody, caramelised, resinous, but without putting the fruit aside.

 

In Short, 

Once the fashion effect had worn off, we realised that this bottling, while enjoyable, was not up to the standard of the illustrious 10-year-old. 

Score : 84

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

   

                                          Foo Fighters - Best Of You

Talisker Port Ruighe

45,8°

Distillery : Talisker - Islands

Bourbon, Charred and Sherry Casks, Port Wine Finish

Original Bottling

Core Range

Single Malt

Launched in 2013

Peated around 22 ppm

This edition undergoes a triple maturation process, in Bourbon and Sherry casks, as well as in casks with an extreme toasting process, which means they are burnt with a blowtorch. Finally, it is finished in port casks. It is named after the Gaelic name of the main port on the Isle of Skye, where the distillery is located.

Let's Taste It : 

Talisker's typicality is obstructed by vinous hints of soggy wood, old plum, crushed cherry. The iodine and peat are well behind, trying to blossom, without success. It's a shame, but it's not bad. On the palate, the principle is the same, but the marriage is more effective, between the light vanilla peat and the syrupy torpor of the port. It's a bit maderised, with raspberry and a few exotic fruits such as lychee and kumquat. But the earth and pepper come to the fore and the finish is a little heartbreaking, more on red wine and gooseberry. Some bark and humus in retro-olfaction, but it's short.

 

In Short, 

I wasn't convinced by this overly complex triple maturation, which seems to have overshadowed the quality of the distillate. A dispensable purchase in my humble opinion. 

Score : 82

                                          To Be Listened While Sipping :

   

                                          Texas - I Don't Want a Lover