Highlands and The Islands Whisky
Ardnamurchan AD
Abv: 46.8%
Casks: ex-sherry and ex-bourbon
Combination of peated and unheated malt
Nose; Honey, candied citrus peel, caramel and hint of dried fruits
Palate: floral, bitterness citrus rind and double cream
Finish: Balanced but brief. The only notes of peat become apparent as the flavours develop.
7.6/10
A not unreasonable score for an entry level malt. The base spirit is good but the cask influences haven't quite done justice.
Purchase Here
Arran 10
46% ABV
Matured in predominantly ex-Bourbon with a few Sherry Casks thrown in.
Nose: Simple yet refined. Notes of citrus, vanilla, oak, custard and cream.
Palate: Citrus and vanilla, barley sugar. Hints of cinnamon and toasted oak.
Finish: Short, simple, notes of citrus and sweet fresh orchard fruits.
Rating: 8.0/10
A young whisky with a relatively simple flavour profile. However the flavours it delivers are well balanced and refined. A recommended dram for someone new to whisky.
Purchase Here
Edradour 10 - Signatory Release
46% ABV
Matured in first fill Olorosso Sherry Butts
Natural colour and non-chill filtered.
Nose: Packed with fresh stone fruit and sherry soaked dried fruit. Warm winter spices with a touch of black pepper.
Palate: Coats the mouth like a warm spice sugar syrup, hits of dried fruits and toffee.
Finish: Bold and strong finish, the spiced fruit notes are dominant, balanced by a touch of oak.
Rating: 9.1/10
This release by Signatory is about as much of a Sherry bomb as you're going to find. Strong in all the right places but well balances throughout. A real gem. Leaves me intrigued as to what a cask strength release could be!
The Hearach
Isle of Harris Single Malt Scotch Whisky Batch 10
ABV 46%
Nose: Light, floral honey, vanilla, orchard fruits, stone fruit and hints of vanilla
Palate: Sweet apples, toffee, and cinnamon. Notes of heavy cream, cereals, barley sugar, and toasted malt.
Finish: Light and bright with faint hints of smoke.
Rating: 8.1/10
If you're new to whisky, this is a must try for you 👌. It has a smooth mouth feel, with simple yet identifiable flavour notes to develop and educate your palate. Seasoned whisky drinkers might feel the sweet notes are a little too dominating. But even then, I'd say this is the perfect dram to share on a sunny spring day.
Dalmore 12
40% ABV
Ex-Bourbon and Sherry cask matured
Nose: cinnamon, citrus zest, hints of warm spice with notes of vanilla and oak from the ex-bourbon casks.
Palate: Christmas cake, cinnamon, hints of brown sugar, caramel and butterscotch. Balanced with a hint of bitter citrus zest.
Finish: Short, tart with final notes of bitter citrus.
Rating: 6.5/10
It's "ok". That's about as excited as I can get. All the expected flavours are there but they lack depth and any sort of oomph! I have to feel that bottling this at closer to 46% would do it a lot of favours! It is of course not natural colour and has been chill filtered.
At ~£75 a bottle there are better alternatives. Dalmore attempts to draw in customers based on brand recognition (which is worldwide).
Purchase Here
Glenglassaugh - Sandend
50.5% ABV
Ex-Bourbon, sherry and manzilla cask matured
No Age Statement
Nose: Smooth notes of butter and vanilla cream. Married with hints of fresh tropical and stone fruit.
Palate: Barley sugar, vanilla ice cream, boiled sweets and a slight hint of bitter citrus rind to balance the sweetness,
Finish: Fresh with citrus, smooth butterscotch and vanilla oak being the lasting notes.
Rating: 9.1/10
The winner of the 2023 Whisky Advocate - Whisky of the Year Award. A solid NAS malt around the ~£50 mark.
Provides fresh fruit from the sherry and manzilla casks, balanced with the notes from the American oak maturation. A dram to satisfy both the connoisseur and beginner alike.
Purchase Here
Ledaig 10
46.3% ABV
Ex-Bourbon casks
Nose: Soft medicinal smoke, brine, delicate dark mint chocolate.
Palate: Dried fruits, seasonal warm spice, creamy malt and barley sugar. Accompanied by the well balance peat smoke.
Finish: Medium to long. Notes of the spice develop further with the undertones of brine
Rating: 8/10
A great introduction to anyone new to peated whisky and for the sub ~£50 price point it is a great find. However, for me the cask elements need to further develop to perfectly balance this release,
Purchase Here
Ledaig 18
46.3% ABV
Ex-Bourbon and sherry cask mature
Nose: Rich and warm spiced dried fruits, peat smoke, salt water, vanilla and aged oak.
Palate: Deep spice of the sherry casks, a mellowed peat smoke, notes of citrus rind and coffee bitterness. Continued undertone of brine.
Finish: Long with sweet peat smoke and salty / sweet undertones.
Rating: 9.5/10
The sherry cask dominant flavour notes have perfected this peated whisky. The peat is still dominant but it is balanced and married perfectly with the other flavour elements.
Purchase Here
Loch Lomond - Single Grain
46% ABV
100% Malted Barley - Coffey Still
Non-chill filtered
Aged in American Oak Casks
Nose: very light, floral, hint of vanilla and orchard fruits
Palate: Continued dominance of light floral and fruit notes. Although not unpleasant it is quite one dimensional with nothing in the way of complexity or evolving notes on the palate.
Finish: not sure there is one, dies off very quickly with only the notes of barley sugar and alcohol to finish
Rating: 6.4/10
Bit of an experiment this one. I was intrigued by the single use of malted barley with no other grains in the Coffey still. Certainly an education in how different stills effect flavour.
Difficult to criticise as the flavour is exactly what it says on the bottle.
It's "fine". Stick some ice with it on a nice warm day at a bbq and save your special Scotch for a really special occasion.
Purchase Here
Loch Lomond 16 - Falls of Falloch Waypoint Series
46.2% ABV. Non-chill filtered and natural colour.
Matured in American Bourbon casks and finished for 12 months in Cognac cask
Nose: Honey, heather, sweet syrup, barley sugar and orchard fruits
Palate: Stewed orchard fruits, honey suckle, honey and a touch of cinnamon
Finish: Short to medium. Sweet and fruity.
Rating: 8.6/10
An interesting dram, good to see a length age statement using different cask finishing. The sweetness although pleasant does risk dominating the flavour profile.
Old Pulteney 15
46% ABV
Matured in second fill ex-Bourbon and first fill Spanish Oak Casks.
Nose: Rich soaked dried fruits, ripe orchard fruit and hint of lemons. Sweetness from toffee and caramel. Light creamy chocolate and floral and herbaceous undertones.
Palate: Dominant rich dried fruits, brown sugar, toffee and butterscotch. Balanced by a salty brine note.
Finish: Medium finish. Focus on the dried fruits and rich caramel.
Rating: 9.0/10
A very good dram which balances sweet and salty notes extremely well. A popular release from this well known maritime brand.
Purchase Here
Royal Lochnagar 12
ABV: 40%
Nose: creamy notes of oak, hay, barley sugar and cereals. Subtle notes of orchard fruits.
Palate: Sweet brown sugar, mild smoke, warm spices and burnt toast. Hints of citrus orange peel.
Finish: Light oak and honey sweetness
Rating: 6.9/10
Simple, easy drinking and light. But it lacks any real uniqueness to make it truly special.
©Copyright. All rights reserved.
We need your consent to load the translations
We use a third-party service to translate the website content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details in the privacy policy and accept the service to view the translations.