The Whisky Exchange presented a second quartet of whiskies from the Zodiac series. We tried four whiskies in February already – after this one more batch will follow. My own sign turns out to be translated as Clynelish…
Clynelish 10 yo 2015 (52,8%, The Whisky Exchange ‘The Zodiac’ 2025, bourbon barrel #51246, 255 btl.)
Nose: lots of crisp green apples and lemons, candle wax, along with subtle vegetative undertones. Light chalk. Perhaps a little pineapple or yellow plum. Then a little icing sugar and sweet cucumber lemonade.
Mouth: a simple but very enjoyable combination of sweet and tart fruits (kiwi, banana, apple, gooseberry) with beeswax and a pinch of pepper. The cask made it a bit sweeter than I expected, but also really pleasant. Plain malty notes. Hints of vanilla and grapefruit.
Finish: medium long, with added zesty notes and a subtle grassy touch along with sweet wax.
Still young, so complexity is not the highest. That said, it’s a perfectly lovable spirit with all the expected markers and perhaps a little more sweetness than usual. This happens to be my own sign and certainly I don’t mind that. Available from The Whisky Exchange.
Glenlossie 16 yo 2009 (61%, The Whisky Exchange ‘The Zodiac’ 2025, refill bourbon barrel #6286, 238 btl.)
Nose: really vibrant. Green apple, fresh lemon, even a little lemongrass and lime flavoured syrup. Also herbal honey and a little frosted cake. Green tea. Later a subtle wave of floral oak and fresh laundry comes out.
Mouth: more of this fresh, clean and slightly green profile. A lot of citrus fruits, including peelings, along with pears, vanilla and some peppery oak. Still a blossomy layer and slightly grassy tea, along with faint chalky notes and ginseng.
Finish: medium, with some grainy notes, chamomile and lemon peels.
Characterful spirit. There’s a green side to add tension, but also rounder fruit. The balance shifts from left to right and back. It never finds the perfect balance but perhaps that’s the point? Available from The Whisky Exchange. Score: 85/100
Croftengea 16 yo 2009 (51,7%, The Whisky Exchange ‘The Zodiac’ 2025, refill hogshead, 292 btl.)
Nose: sweet peat at first, with a certain lactic edge (buttermilk) and salted caramel. Vanilla biscuits, lemon juice, hints of parsley too. Then it also has this slightly farmy and dirty edge, burning hay and maybe a lost gym sock.
Mouth: very raw, vegetal peat smoke, with charred oak, some tarry notes, black peppercorns. Mid-palate a brighter hint of stone fruits appears, with peach and orange. Later some smoked butterscotch and roasted almond as well.
Finish: long, sweet and ashy. Orange with salt.
Rugged, even a little dirty at times, as expected from this Loch Lomond spirit. A fitting choice for a lion. Available from The Whisky Exchange. Score: 87/100
Laphroaig 10 yo 2015 (62,3%, The Whisky Exchange ‘The Zodiac’ 2025, refill sherry hogshead #204, 321 btl.)
Nose: unmistakably Laphroaig. Iodine and medicinal smoke, along with bandages and charred bell pepper. There’s a sweet layer as well, with biscuity notes, a hint of peach, nougat and vanilla ice cream. Chalky notes and soot come later.
Mouth: a mix of sweetness and herbal smoke. Marzipan, burnt vanilla pastry and salted caramel, along with charred herbs, clove and liquorice. Drying leathery notes. Hints of eucalyptus, mor antiseptics and briney seaweed.
Finish: long and markedly dry now. Woody and grassy notes, a rubbery hint, tobacco and aniseed.
Despite the sweeter elements, this is intensely smoky and medicinal. It’s over 30°C when I’m writing this – maybe not the best match but certainly a very characterful whisky. Available from The Whisky Exchange. Score: 88/100