The WhiskyDudes are three Dutch whisky lovers (Edwin, Sebastiaan and Arthur) who started an independent bottling business in 2020. They seem to go for value-for-money, so mostly 10-16 years old whisky (except for their grain whiskies of course) and usually at cask strength.
Nothing wrong with picking affordable drinker’s whisky. The downside is that in this price category, they often resort to finishes, quarter casks and other tricks to get quick results.
A Secret Highland Distillery 14 yo 2010 (54,1%, Whiskydudes 2025, Amontillado quarter cask finish #14283, 134 btl.)
Nose: a lot of sherry influence, but never in-your-face. First tart gooseberries, yellow apples and oranges, along with bread dough and plain malt. A little damp chalk too. Then it becomes more buttery, with a hint of blonde tobacco. Some vegetal notes, lightly roasted coffee beans, a certain mustiness and leather.
Mouth: still a bit of a mashup. The vegetal side is bigger, along with green fruits and persistent chalky notes. Apple peelings, pepper and nutmeg, as well as some roasted nuts. Quite robust, with some sweetness underneath, but the spiciness overtakes it quickly. Bittersweet woody notes towards the end, disrupting the balance further.
Finish: quite long, with punchy oak spice, more bittersweet hints, nutmeg and chalk.
Most of these secret Highlands are rumoured to come from Clynelish. Most of them seem to be outliers that don’t really fit the official profile. Here as well, there are some pleasant elements but it also misses some typical markers so the overall enjoyment is, well, merely okay. Still available from the Whiskydudes website.
Inchgower 13 yo 2012 (56,4%, Whiskydudes 2015, Oloroso quarter cask finish #8014241, 113 btl.)
Nose: lots of butter biscuits at first, even a hint of evaporated milk, but not for long. Then becoming more classic, on plums and raisins, leathery notes, orange peels and light hints of walnuts. Just a little toffee. All good.
Mouth: slightly tart now, more oranges (fresh and candied), along with brown sugar and a little burnt toast. Mid-palate a nice fruity layer appears, think tangerine and roasted pineapple. Then some caramelized nuts and cinnamon.
Finish: quite long, getting a tad winey now, with hints of dark cocoa, more raisins and a coastal touch of salinity.
Ah yes, much more classic. Inchgower may not be a big name, but it’s a very flexible spirit. The Oloroso influence is well balanced too: success. Score: 86/100
Secret Campbeltown Blended Malt 8 yo 2016 (58,5%, Whiskydudes 2025, Oloroso finish #2321, 126 btl.)
Nose: nice gristy notes, some balanced maritime smoke underneath. Wet ropes and leafy hints. Then subtle citrus peels and honey, some brioche, vanilla and even a hint of apricot. A very pleasant dusty side as well. Less funky than, say, Springbank, but plenty of character.
Mouth: oily, with a herbal theme, some aniseed and lightly caramelized notes. Hints of black pepper and dried figs in the background, along with roasted nuts, walnuts and salted caramel.
Finish: not too long, slightly leathery, with drying herbal notes but still some raisiny echoes as well.
Now we’re talking, this session is evolving in crescendo. This is simply very balanced and true to its origins. I feel the sherry cask was nicely complementary too. Still available from a few partner retailers. Score: 88/100
Caol Ila 9 yo 2014 (57,6%, Whiskydudes 2024, Palo Cortado hogshead finish #326514, 144 btl.)
Nose: rich and full, albeit with a surprisingly high level of sweetness. Vanilla and buttery fudge, a little marzipan and ripe pear. Then liquorice, a little motor oil and ashy tarmac, smoked bacon and toasted wood. Citrusy notes too.
Mouth: citrus, black pepper and plenty of barbecue ashes. Marinated charred meat, caramelized notes and tart plum. A really nice mix of sweet, sour and savoury. Spanish ham, a drop of espresso and toffee.
Finish: long, sweet and smoky, with flashes of red fruit and charcoal.
Another good one, with a deep Islay character and a cask match that works really well. Score: 88/100
Now the next bottling deserves a small remark. The bottler mentions a 1981 PX barrique finish. This can only refer to one wine: the PX Solera 1981 from Bodegas La Aurora (actually a cooperative) in Montilla-Moriles. Hence, not a sherry wine. I think it’s slightly dangerous to mention the foundation date of a solera on a wine label, let alone using it for a whisky label. Casks in a solera can be rotated, so a solera founded in 1981 may well contain a 3 year-old cask and a 3 year-old wine. It means absolutely nothing.
Caol Ila 10 yo 2015 (55,6%, Whiskydudes 2025, first-fill 1981 PX barrique finish #30044, 148 btl.)
Nose: sour wine and sour berries come out first, along with some gunpowder notes. Then it moves to more classical lemon zest, salted peanuts and hazelnuts. Of course ashes, sea salt and some rusty notes as well.
Mouth: big smoky notes, with plenty of coffee, black pepper and bonfire ashes. A lot of charcoal, a good dose of plain wood too. Some sweet elements, like raisins, but certainly not the PX influence we were expecting. Still a sourish winey note, and the smoky layer has a faint musty / sulphuric edge.
Finish: fairly long. A bit thinner, nuttier and spicier. Earthy notes and raisins too.
So, does this scream ‘high-quality cask’? Not really. Somehow the PX cask has more drying elements than the (technically dry) Palo Cortado. It all shows a lot of different containers are currently presented as sherry(-ish) casks. Score: 84/100