Only one review would be truly appriopriate on this day, right? The Whisky Agency has a new series called Wave farewell to 2025. We wrote about the non-peated whiskies in a previous article, now three peated drams are lined up.
Secret Orkney 1999 (51,2%, The Whisky Agency ‘Wave farewell to 2025’, hogshead (HP), 135 btl.)
Nose: perfect high-pitched lemon notes, just a little damp cellar, dried heather and light grassy notes. Hints of dried herbs / hay and light honey. Then also a gentle puff of maritime smoke. Very balanced.
Mouth: more powerful now. A great oily texture, with a mix of barley sugars, lemonade, chalky notes and a hint of pepper. The kind of profile that makes my mouth chew. Then I find hints of peach and melon, more dried herbs and a bit of leather. Light floral notes and grapefruit, even echoes of tropical fruits. Just a whisper of salt. Really good.
Finish: long, with more heather and sweetened herbal tea, mild peat and some pepper.
A totally elegant HP, bottled at the right time on the crossroads of youthful austerity and mellow ripeness. Even better than the sister cask I tried last year, in my opinion.
Ardmore 27 yo 1997 (50,7%, The Whisky Agency ‘Wave farewell to 2025’, hogshead, 139 btl.)
Nose: a greenish, vegetal style of peat. Some white asparagus, waxy notes, copper coins and maybe peanut butter. Plenty of grass. Then hints of tonic sherbet and lemon peels, mashy cereals and a hint of aspirin.
Mouth: more peat and more sweetness than expected. Hints of lemonade, green bananas and barley sugars, along with lemon juice and a bit of honey. Then cigar ashes, herbal elements and grapefruit liqueur. White pepper too.
Finish: quite long, slightly rooty and salty, with sweet lemon.
The mix of green notes with surprisingly sweet elements works well. Not the most complex whisky, but a nice choice. I’m pretty sure this makes a brilliant highball. Score: 88/100
Kildalton 16 yo 2008 (52,1%, The Whisky Agency ‘Wave farewell to 2025’, butt, 223 btl.)
Nose: a sour, almost pickled note and sourdough at first. Then wet wool and deep sooty notes set the tone. Herbal notes and mineral oils, hints of cold coffee and wet soil. Then some meaty notes, charred lemons and cigar boxes. It also reminds me of a bicycle tire repair kit.
Mouth: a very wide sootiness, antiseptics, liquorice and glazed ham, still showing this sour lemony note. Hints of mustard, tar and tapenade, with increasing leafy notes and wood smoke. Perhaps a hint of almond paste, but otherwise fairly dry and herbal.
Finish: long and warming, on charred meat, spicy notes and herbs.
Precise and intense: we’ve had several of these casks already and they’re all pretty excellent. Not much more to add. Score: 90/100
Farewell to 2025 indeed, see you tomorrow for a quick overview of my personal highlights of the year.