Since I’ve tried a nice Glenburgie 1988 Duncan Taylor and the Glenburgie 1997 Asta Morris, I’m on the lookout for other versions.

Glenburgie 11 yo 1998 (43%, Dun Bheagan 2010, cask #4980 + 4983, 642 btl.)

Nose: starts a little undefined and overly malty, but after a few minutes it becomes nicely rounded with plenty of vanilla and some toffee sweetness. Apple, lemon candy, sugar cane, Frosties… Also hints of buttercups and some waxy notes. Tiny hints of marshmallows after fifteen minutes. Excellent development for such a young malt. Mouth: sweet and malty again, with some sweet citrus, apple and gooseberry flavours. Fresh oak and gentle spices (vanilla up front, but ginger as well). Some cocoa. Slightly less wide than the nose, but still nothing to complain about. Finish: medium long, spices from the oak and a little toffee.

Another well-made Glenburgie. These youngsters are really nice and offer excellent value for money. Around € 40. Thanks Mars.

Score: 86/100

Inspite of it’s fame, Lagavulin releases few expressions. Until 1989, Lagavulin was always bottled at 12 years. Nowadays, the 16 year-old is the only standard bottling. There’s also a 12 year-old and a double matured Distiller’s Edition which both change each year. Over the years, there have been a few limited editions as well (21y, 25y, 30y, Feis Ile single casks) but that’s about it. If you’re a collector, Lagavulin is a relatively easy distillery…

Lagavulin 16 years is the reason why many of us became interested in single malts in the first place. Like most Islay whiskies, it’s peated but in a different way than Laphroaig or Ardbeg. Lagavulin is – in my opinion – one of the warmer whiskies around. Apparently Johnny Depp (who doesn’t drink alcohol) sometimes orders a dram of this, just to sniff it.

Lagavulin 16 yo (43%, OB 2007)

Nose: I’ve always found this to be the most complex and refined nose of the standard Islay malts. Very impressive, a bit rough yet balanced. Peaty with some iodine, antiseptic and fishy notes.  Gentle fruitiness (oranges). Earth. Pepper. Oil. Lapsang Souchong. Let’s just say it’s really rich. Mouth: evolves over time. Oily, grassy, smoky (yesterday’s ash tray), sweet and salty. A dynamic palate indeed. Hints of seaweed and liquorice. Finish: drier, on smoked bacon and walnuts. Some wood. Hints of shoe polish. Very long.

Totally lives up to its name! Every whisky enthusiast should have a bottle of this in his collection. Around € 45.

Score: 89/100.

Chivas Century of Malts
(43%, OB 1995)

Nose: sweet and biscuity. Citrus. Honey. Vanilla. Hints of nougat and cake. Disappointingly similar to regular (cheaper) blends. Mouth: sweet and biscuity again with big vanilla. White grapes. Orange cake. Then it moves to heather, with very soft hints of peat and a nice toffee coating. Finish: sweet, showing subtle spices and faint hints of smoke. Quite lovely with nice roasted nuts and moccha.

It may sound crazy to blend 100 malts, you’d never be able to detect them all. It’s true that the result lacks some uniqueness, but it shows decent depth and it’s not a bad vatting.

Score: 80/100

I tasted this one at the Whisky Festival in Gent a couple of years ago and since I didn’t write down any notes at that time, I really wanted to taste it again.

BenRiach 20 yo (43%, OB 2009)

Nose: something of a potpourri: orange, pear, peach, pineapple candy, berries. Some lavender. White chocolate. Bourbon wood. Vanilla. Something dusty and farmy, but very nice. Also light peat and subtle smoke. Mouth: vanilla and honey. Malt. Tobacco. Slightly vegetal and acidic, but pleasant. Getting spicier after a while. Finish on melon and vanilla. Overall sweet but with some bitter oranges. Light smoke.

Compared to the BenRiach 16y, this one is more complex, with less caramel toffee and more fruit. More punch as well. It really stands out from the rest of the core range. It’s the most expensive but by far the best value for money. Around € 65.

Score: 87/100

Anyway, the whisky is part of the Ballantine’s blend and there’s an official Tormore 12yo and a 15yo.

Tormore 10 yo ‘Pure malt 100%’
(43%, OB for Dreher Milano, around 1980, 75cl)

Nose: quite mild. Cereal notes with fruity bits. Red berries, oranges, pears. Heering cherry liqueur. Hints of malt and praline as well. Mouth: it seems bigger than 43% and balances between sweet notes and sourish / resinous elements. Apples with caramel sauce. Mint, cloves and bitter oranges. Nutty notes, with some sharpness in the aftertaste (like radish). Finish: a bit undefined, with hints of oak. Not too long.

This Tormore shows a great fruitiness on the nose. The palate is slightly less interesting but still full-flavoured. You’ll often read Tormore from this period seems more intense than you’d expect, which is a quality in its own right. Collector’s item.

Score: 87/100

Ardbeg 18 yo 1975 (43%, Signatory Vintage 1993, cask #2464-67)

Nose: gentle start with mellow peat and a softly honeyed sweetness. Then it takes off in two different directions. There’s a medicinal / maritime side, quite nice, with seaweed, antiseptics and menthol. The other side is lemony but also a little fragrant and flowery. Overall very good but maybe not stellar like other 1970’s Ardbeg. Mouth: a bit too soft. Lemony and oily. Smoke, some earthy peat. Picks up strength but also less impressive notes, a mix of bitter oranges and soap. Bugger. Not as bad as Bowmore 1980’s kind of soap, but not what we were expecting either. Finish: rather long and warm, but by now I can’t focus on anything else but the soapiness.

One of the least impressive Ardbegs I’ve ever had. The nose saves it from a 70’ish score.

Score: 81/100

Mortlach 35 yo 1936 (43%, G&M Connoisseur’s Choice for Pinerolo Import 1972, 75 cl)

Nose: wow, very fragrant. The more ‘direct’ notes are those of old leather, coal smoke, prunes and library dust. There’s a sherried fruitiness, with fruit compote and plum jam, but it’s pushed aside by this lovely pre-war style of coals, herbs and oils. I couldn’t possibly mention everything, but I also noted eucalyptus, pine resin, fruit cake, camphor, tobacco, herbal liqueur, raspberry ganache, mint, cedar, caramelized sugar… All of this on a background of typical 1940′s-1950′s blend notes. Mouth: the first thing that struck me was “babelutte”, a kind of hard butter toffee typical for the Belgian coast. Quite spectacular. Then the other notes appear: smoke, wax, sultanas, almonds, mint, red fruit gums, Turkish delight… It keeps developing on toffee / mocha / chocolate notes, really great. Hardly any oak, hardly any bitter notes, no dryness whatsoever – rather perfect. Maybe a few metallic notes but very few considering it spent nearly 40 years in glass. Actually it’s an asset here. Finish: really long, with smoke and soft resin. Hints of tea as well.

It doesn’t require an elaborate conclusion to know this was exceptional. Pre-war whisky, from directly fired stills, with old-style sherry and smoke harmoniously mixed. Try to taste this kind of whisky before it’s gone forever! Value of the bottle: not sure, around € 1000? Heartfelt thanks Johannes.

Score: 95/100

I had this several times before I seriously got interested in whisky. So apparently it wasn’t good enough to really spark a fire – I had to wait until Lagavulin 16 and Suntory Hibiki for that to happen.

Glenfiddich 12 yo (40%, OB 2010)

Nose: fresh, with pears everywhere and a malty, cereal centre. Cooked apples. Freshly sawn wood. Some lime, hints of white grapes. Buttercups. Soft vanilla. Mouth: rather light and bittersweet. There’s a sugary side (honey, vanilla, apple juice) as well as a bitterish side (apple seeds, nutmeg, oak juice). A light sugar coated nuttiness and a faint spicy wave. All of this fairly muted and too mono-dimensional to be really interesting. Not much evolution either. Finish: not too long, on apple cider and a few spices.

You can say Glenfiddich 12 is uninspiring and a little flat but on the other hand it’s a widely available product without flaws. I would even say it’s slightly underrated if you think about the price: around € 25 or € 30 for one litre. Of course you could also hunt down one of the quality blends, like Bailie Nicol Jarvie, or a higher strength, entry-level bourbon like Buffalo Trace for the same price and get something more interesting.

Score: 76/100

Caol Ila Moch (43%, OB 2010)

Nose: fresh and youngish. Mildly smoky with a sweet, candied profile. Lemon zest and lemon pie. Ginger lemonade. Hints of lemongrass. Coastal notes as well. Pleasantly harmless. Mouth: oily but the body is a little soft. Sweet, malty and quite fruity. Gentle peat with wood smoke. Creamy lemon (which sometimes had a fragrant, soapy edge). Still quite maritime. Finish: not too long, with the sweet malt fading first and the smoke having the last word.

The lightness of this Coal Ila Moch made me think of Ardbeg Blasda in a way, although this is certainly more peaty, more typically Islay and more balanced. An elegant introduction to Islay, less bold than the standard bottlings. Around € 30-35.

Score: 82/100

Glenrothes 1995 is composed of 30% sherry treated casks (both American and Spanish oak) and 70% refill casks. I was able to try it at The Whisky Fair in Limburg thanks to Stefan, their German ambassador.

Glenrothes 1995 (43%, OB 2011)

Nose: high on butterscotch, milk chocolate and toffee notes, which is very typical for Glenrothes but the recent releases (1991, 1994, 1998) didn’t seem to focus too much on these characteristics. Great to see they’re back in the 1995. There’s also quite some honey and vanilla. Malty notes. Cake. Raisins. Apples and cinnamon. Mouth: very sweet and rather thick. Vanilla custard and fruit syrup. Sweet malt and caramel. Soft oak spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper). Toffee and honey again. Peanuts. Subtle lemon. Finish: medium length with citrus and caramelized spices.

Good to see The Glenrothes is moving back to its rich toffee and butterscotch style. Nothing mind-boggling but good value for money. Around € 50.

Score: 83/100

Nikka Pure Malt White (43%, OB 2010, 50cl)

Nose: a very refined mix of elegant peat (clear and present, but not a kick in your face) and juicy fruits. Cold ashes, medicinal notes in the distance. Great balance with the Japanese influence: coconut cream, oranges, nectarine, passion fruit, a little leather. Hints of vanilla. I really like the fusion. Mouth: starts Caol Ila-esk: smoky and slightly peppery. Hints of walnuts. Evolves on malty notes with honey and a distinct floweriness, which develops into a clear soapiness. Is this Yoichi and 1980′s Bowmore then? Bowmore is owned by Suntory, so it’s unlikely they would sell spirit to their opponent Nikka, but you never know. Finish: again quite floral (violets and lavender) with a dry peatiness.

Flowery notes are sometimes a bit tricky and personally I have difficulty with all kinds of soapy notes. Maybe other batches are more enjoyable? Around € 30 (50 cl).

Score: 75/100

This concludes our little Japanese series. Some great Longmorns coming up after the weekend.

Yamazaki 18 yo (43%, OB 2008, L8CP3)

Nose: very very smooth, with a great interaction of chocolate, raisins and oak polish (maybe even a little glue). Soft vanilla. Luscious fruity notes, both dried (dates) and fresh (red fruits). Rather oriental as well: hints of baklava and incense, with a wonderful dampness. Herbal tea. Leather. Hints of dark rum. Syrup. Mouth: quite oaky now (with a resulting sourness) but this adds to the oriental character. Dried fruits (dates, prunes) freshened with citrus peel. Caramel. Creamy sherry notes. Bramble and honey. Tobacco. Finish: balanced sweet / dry and medium long. Maybe a hint of smoke?

A top quality dram, full of Japanese character but very rounded as well, which is slightly less common for Nippon whisky. No surprise it wins so many awards, this is highly recommended.

Be sure to shop around, because I’ve seen prices between € 85 and € 135 from retailers that usually have a similar price setting.

Score: 90/100

As a matter of fact, the Duncan Taylor casks are so good that Glenrothes decided to buy back a whole bunch of casks. Does it mean there’s a very expensive official release planned in the near future?

This is slightly darker whisky than yesterday’s Glenrothes 1968 by Malts of Scotland.

Glenrothes 41 yo 1968 (43%, Duncan Taylor 2010, cask #9974, 139 btl.)

Nose: this one is much more biscuity than the Malts of Scotland version. More vanilla custard, great white chocolate notes and something caramelly. Over time it smells like a chocolate store really. Lovely dusty elements. The same kind of freshly sawn oak. Then back to gooseberries and apricots, pineapple, honey, even some volatile strawberry notes. Slightly wider and more complex than the other. Mouth: creamy, with the same kind of sweet / fruity vs. sour / oaky combination. Thicker and creamier than the Malts of Scotland, despite the slightly lower strength. Soft fruits (oranges, mango) and soft spices (cinnamon, cardamom). Custard with caramel. Finish: long and sweet, half spicy / half citrusy with apples and hints of aniseed.

A great cask, no doubt, showing both fresh fruits and warmer vanilla / chocolate notes. The thicker structure seems to hide the oak influence more. More expensive though: around € 260.

Score: 89/100

Miltonduff is still a major component of the Ballentine’s blend.

Milton-duff Glenlivet 12 yo (43%, OB, Ballentine’s, 75cl)

Nose: very fresh and playful, with a summery fruit salad and some mint. Buttercups. Orange juice. Sugared corn flakes in the background. Quite attractive. Mouth: rather grainy, cereals with sugar again. Very neutral and a little weak, with a slight alcohol tang. Herbal tea. Finish: medium length,

The nose is nice enough. The palate not so much. Very simple old-style whisky. Reminds of young Glen Grant bottlings from the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Score: 75/100

Glenfarclas 17 yo (43%, OB)

Nose: roasted nuts (hazelnuts, almonds) and caramel. A lot of toffee notes. Quite some dates as well. A light hint of eucalyptus and with a heathery / resinous edge. Plenty of fresh herbs like parsley. Beautifully composed. It seems this one is a tad more smokey than other Glenfarclas bottlings as well. Mouth: good attack, again a herbal note up front. Hints of pine needles and resin. Some liquorice. Sherried but malty at the same time. Oak, but not overwhelming. Cloves. Cinnamon sticks. Finish: long, nutty and drying on spices and oak.

One of the more herbal and smokey members of the Glenfarclas range. Around € 55.

Score: 83/100

It is composed of 18 casks from six decades and even the oldest cask in the distillery warehouse was added (cask #1711 filled in 1952). For more information, read the original announcement.

Glenfarclas 175th Anniversary
(43%, OB 2011, 6000 btl.)

Nose: a fairly gentle nose with different layers. Sweet barley sugar and young fruity notes to start with (coconut, berries). Some heather and vanilla biscuits. Much ‘older’ sherry as well (figs, dark chocolate) and a layer of subtle oak (old roses, light spices). Wax. Dusty books and gravel. Very complex and well integrated. Mouth: not the biggest impact. Rather spicy (cinnamon, pepper). Hardly any young notes now. There’s a fruity side to it - orange liqueur and Seville oranges rather than bolder sherried notes. Then growing more herbal with heather, old oak and leather. The herbal / bittersweet profile was not really expected. Finish: medium length, with some mint, apples and a cocoa note.

It’s great to see so many ‘old notes’ in a bottling that’s accessible thanks to the addition of younger malts. Adding the oldest cask was not a marketing trick, you really get a sense of old Glenfarclas here. Around € 95 but prices are going up as it seems to sell like hotcakes.

Score: 87/100

Balblair 2000 (43%, OB 2010)

Nose: full of pear drops and grainy aromas which give away its young age. It seems hints of new-make are becoming popular these days (yet in a more sophisticated way than actual new-make). A more tropical note as well (banana, some mango, coconut maybe). Very fruity and lively with just a touch of vanilla. I really like this nose. Mouth: quite light, sweet and fruity with some muesli, peaches, pineapple and white grapes. A light spicy edge (soft pepper and sweet ginger). Finish: still fruity, but it takes the vanilla and spices a bit further.

Balblair 2000 plays around with notes of youngish whisky, but in a smooth and entertaining way. One to revisit when the summer returns!
Around € 40.

Score: 81/100

Glenrothes 1991 (43%, OB 2008)

Nose: honeyed and buttery aromas (butterscotch, mocha). Caramel. Roasted nuts. Vanilla. Quite some heather. Cooked fruits with gentle spices. A hint of leather. Mouth: similar toffee / mocha notes. Baked apples and a lovely hint of coconut cream. Roasted nuts and barley sugars in the aftertaste. Fading on spices (ginger, cloves). Finish: not too long, with cocoa and subtle oak.

For me, this is one of the most archetypal Glenrothes expressions because of the buttery qualities, nutty flavours and spices. Of course the old versions offer more complexity and roundness, but this one is considerably less expensive.
Around € 55.

Score: 83/100

Ballantine’s Finest, the basic version of the range, was not worth writing about when I tried it at a party last year. In the same Whisky Bible, that one picked up the award for best blended Scotch NAS, so let’s hope for a better experience this time.

Ballantine’s 17 yo (43%, OB 2010)

Nose: smooth start with pancake aromas, vanilla and creamy milk chocolate. Soft fruity aromas (lemon / lime), almonds and cinnamon. Hints of smoke. Cedar wood and a touch of leather. Mouth: honeyed and spicy start, slightly peppery and gingery. Elegant peat smoke again. Oak and toffee notes. Developing on fruit cake. Not complex but well balanced. Finish: circling around the same core of chocolate, delicate smoke and spices.

Indeed an enjoyable dram and a big step up from Ballantines Finest. It’s still quite a stretch to call this the whisky of the year, but it’s a valid choice if you’re looking for a Christmas present for your dad. Good notes for a blend. € 60 around here.

Score: 81/100

Glenrothes 1978 
(43%, OB 2008, 5600 btl.)

Nose: stewed fruits and apricot marmalade with dashes of honey. Less tropical than most 1968/69/70 Glenrothes, with much more beehive notes and a rather uncommon heathery note. Also intense spices (cinnamon, mint, aniseed, vanilla). Very light sherry influence (raisins, chocolate). Mouth: not the most powerful attack, but very balanced. We get sweet citrus fruits, plenty of honey again, some vanilla. This evolves into spicy fruit cake with a little ginger and liquorice. Is that a delicate whiff of smoke in the background? Finish: half sweet, half spicy. Quite long.

A sweet and spicy Speysider. When I opened this during a tasting with friends the other day, it was well received. Nonetheless most people prefered the Glenrothes 1970 by Dyncan Taylor. The 1978 is quite expensive: € 300 and more.

Score: 89/100