Here are the new releases from Hogshead. They’re combining an independent bottling range with an importer’s business in Holland (for Spheric Spirits, Thy, Milroy’s of Soho and many more). Check some of the releases we’ve tried in the past.
Ben Nevis 15 yo 2010 (52,8%, Hogshead 2025, refill hogshead, 185 btl.)
Nose: clean, with the expected hints of yeasty bread dough and lemon juice in the leading role. Then green apples, a little mustard and nice oily notes. A little vanilla as well.
Mouth: rather delicious now. Still an oily texture, with a lot more fruitiness of ripe peach, hints of pineapple and pink grapefruit. This mixes nicely with waxy notes, citrus zest, green pepper and the same yeasty austerity. Some salty notes and hints of ashes too. Lovely distillate.
Finish: not too long. Some pepper, vanilla and this metallic edge again.
We’ve had nice 2010 casks before and this certainly meets our expectations. Not the most complex whisky ever, but very pure and pleasant at this modest age. Well done.
Chain Pier 5 yo 2019 (54,5%, Hogshead 2025, virgin oak barrel, 259 btl.)
Nose: a bit dusty. Sawdust, light herbs, hints of vanilla but also a heavyweight malty core. Heavy granola notes, some charred oak and a couple of roasted nuts. A little cardboard in the background.
Mouth: thick and rather sweet, with breakfast cereals and a rather heavy, oily texture. Then mostly the virgin oak comes out, with wet pinewood, vanilla, a little glue and white pepper. A hint of plastic even.
Finish: medium, still woody and sweet, but also warm bread appears.
Chain Pier is rare. It was more or less a test setup used during the start-up of the Bonnington distillery. They only operated for six months in 2018 and 2019, with only 39 casks filled. Sounds collectible, but it isn’t. In my opinion it’s a pretty neutral spirit from very active wood, with an excessive price (around € 160). Score: 75/100
Teaninich 10 yo 2015 (53,8%, Hogshead for Spheric Spirits 2025, first-fill Vin Santo octave, 59 btl.)
Nose: raisins and hints of late harvest wines and plain must. A certain darkness of figs and prunes as well, along with mild toffee and honeyed notes. A very subtle leafy note.
Mouth: some a more caramelized profile, with some brown sugar alongside the raisins. Also freshly baked apple tartlets. Mid-palate there are nice hints of orange peels and sweet herbs. It’s a little rough, with an alcoholic edge of plum eau-de-vie.
Finish: medium length, with pepper and bittersweet herbs.
From a Tuscan dessert wine cask (usually from dried Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes). I think the deep grape-y note is quite interesting, but the end result is a little rough and unbalanced, in my opinion. Score: 77/100
Tullibardine 10 yo 2015 (55,6%, Hogshead 2025, first-fill Vin Santo octave, 71 btl.)
Nose: the Vin Santo wine is a bit more shy. Instead we get some berry notes and a musty woody note, with more spiciness. Pepper and light clove, with herbal honey underneath. After a while it moves towards caramelized notes and milk chocolate, in a slightly bloated style.
Mouth: more raisins and caramel. Now the bittersweet notes and strong caramel notes take the upper hand. Not old enough to integrate the alcohol. Much more savoury than the Teaninich from the same cask type. Cocoa in the end.
Finish: quite sharp and drying. Cocoa and pepper.
There’s an understandable urge to come up with new combinations of spirit and cask types of course, but I think we can safely conclude Vin Santo is not going to be the next hype. Score: 72/100
Laphroaig 13 yo 2011 (57,4%, Hogshead for Spheric Spirits 2025, refill barrel, 192 btl.)
Nose: a faint hint of synthetic vanilla at first, but quickly overtaken by leafy peat, sea spray and beach bonfires. Pure distillate. Firm medicinal notes as well, antiseptics (mercurochrome) and bandages. Some mossy notes. Then sandalwood smoke and hints of pine. Massive ashes as well.
Mouth: warming and powerful peat, with barbecue ashes and bonfire smoke, as well as charred pineapple, salty notes and hints of leather. It’s Laphroaig but it moves close to Ardbeg or Port Charlotte, with deep sooty notes, light tar and toasted spice. Some burnt herbs and diesel-like elements too, sending the typical bourbon sweetness to the background.
Finish: quite raw and chisseled, with more ashes, a lot of maritime notes, light nutty notes and salt.
Not sure why you’d mention both Williamson on a label when you’re also allowed to say it was distilled at Laphroaig. Anyway, this is a nuclear smoke bomb. One of the more nicest young Laphroaig expressions I’ve had lately, bottled at the perfect moment to express the Islay intensity. There: a classic distillery and a classic cask, that’s all we ask for. Really good. Score: 89/100