Rating 7/ 10
Octomore Farm 10 YR 2023 63.2% Cask 3078
Nose: Fresh cut grass, cinnamon honey stick, clove cigs.
Palate: Green pepper, cloves.
Rating: 7 / 10 – damn this is great. 133 phenol
Tasting Notes Rated: 7
Rating 7/ 10
Two Stacks 13 Year Single Grain Rose Champagne Cask 61.5%
Nose: I poured this blind and it smells of cranberries and rose hips. Feeling kind of tickled… pink. A very sweet nose, confectioners powdered sugar. A pot de creme with a crackling candied crust. Pink peppercorn simple syrup. I’m really enjoying the smell, as I work on 2024 budgets. It’s an uplifting counterpoint to the crass realities of finance.
Palate: Oh … OH. a sugar bomb but not in the classic bourbon or thick syrup sherry vain. Not even the Sauternes or Tokaj as those come with a touch of funk (that I also enjoy). Reminds me of cultivating honeysuckles on the fence out behind verve. And the smell of passion flowers. Penny ice creamery would be making fresh waffle cones. It was a heady combo. Sweet vanilla notes and while I rarely gravitate to young grains, this complements those cereal notes so well. Like the first time I tried Life cereal.
Rating: 7 / 10 – I would easily reach for this on a day where I want a sweetie.
Rating 7/ 10
Caperdonich 1994 26 Year SMWS 38.31 “The magic is so strong” 53.9%
Nose: Gentle oak, honey on beer bread, graham crackers.
Palate: Raspberry ropes, brown sugar, oak cabinet spices, remnants of sweet tea watered down, tobacco
Rating: 7 (Shane) 6 (Ryan) / 10 – vibrant, full bodied, lovely
Rating 7/ 10
Glenallachie 15 year 2006 Cask #6599
Nose: Leather, molasses, balsamic reduction, nutty, prunes and dates, brown sugar oatmeal, carrot greens
Palate: Coffee grounds, cherry vinegar, cola cubes, licorice root, rootbeer, veers towards herbal on the finish
Rating: 7 (Shane) 6 (Ryan) / 10 – Love me a good PX bomb
Rating 7/ 10
GoTA Rounagle 1986-2 (2023 sample)
Nose: This sample has been nearly tasted 5 times. To the point where I had it poured in a glass three night ago, the smell filling my office while I focused heads down on deadlines. But I never lifted the glass and an hour later I concluded, this wasn’t going to happen. Back into the sample container. My office smelled fab. A strong baseline of oak notes. More of a jazz standup bass than drumcore. Finger walking class. You could make an aromatic candle from this and it would sell quite well. I’m surprised at how fruity it is, having had quite a few Rounagle vintages in this age bracket. Sweetness and spices, cassis and concord grapes offset by chinese 5 spice, orange peel, celery salt. Little to no burn, although that might be from all the air it had.
Palate: The mouthfeel is so silky and syrupy. Sweet n sour for days. Grapefruit simple syrup, chewing on sour grass while strolling in the hills on a warm day. The bite of the veggie patch: yellow bell peppers, squash blossoms or a mildly sweet courgette. There is a light bitterness, lavender cookies, white tea and chicory. The finish has a carob malt ball vibe.
Rating: 7 / 10 – A more approachable version of the 1984 (which you all know I love). The slight bitterness might be a detractor for some, but the silkiness and sweet/sour vibe are something special. This manages to hit the whole tongue without overpowering. The aged agricol folks will love this.
Rating 7/ 10
Domaine Seailles 2006 Cask #100 57%
Nose: Fresh cut maple, toasted pecans, pralines and cream, dry hay bale, creme de violette, wool sweater, welchs grape juice, white tangerine.
Palate: Buttery, farm funk, vanilla bean, sponge cake, mint pillows
Rating: 6 (Ryan) 7 (Shane) / 10 – really rich and lovely palate with a hint of funk
Rating 7/ 10
GoTA Fontan 1996 53.2%
Nose: We went shopping for a Christmas tree today. After moving to the Canaries, Julie decided that our annual tradition of driving up into the mountain to murder a tree and hang its carcass in our living room to slowly atrophy until we turn it into kindling was to be traded in for a more sensible annual plastic ornament. I’m quite bah-humbug in general, but will admit to a touch of love for the bouquet of the season. I miss the smell of the holidays. Dried chopped wood with touches of sap. Fruit Panettone. Or maybe closer to fruit cake, with a serious focus on liquored cherries. Mulled wine with cinnamon, cloves, cranberries. I had planned to get right to drinking this but got distracted doing tax planning. Coming back 20 minutes later, it smells more green. The wood feels more piney, and there is a hint of wheatgrass.
Palate: Kapow. Spicey. Sweet. Woody. Intense but an oddly gentle finish with subtle cherry notes. A bit drying. I was gritting my teeth ready to fight back an herbal assault that never quite showed up, but rather presents as dutch salted licorice. We’re talking about sweet peppers, aleppo chiles, stewed figs, molasses and dark fruit. Just a gorgeous wood wallop that reminds me of a well balanced rye.
Rating: 7 / 10 – yes please
Rating 7/ 10
Tormore 2010 12 Year 61.5%
Nose: Kettle corn, peanut brittle, salted caramel taffy, roasted red bellpeppers reminding me of a sweet tomato pepper chutney, slight leather
Palate: Leather, pipe tobacco, affogato, mesquite, hard caramel with a bitter twist.
Rating: 7 / 10 – beautiful earthy sweat smokey flavors.
Rating 7/ 10
Springbank Handfill 56.2% for the still house
Nose: Tinned mangos, bandaids, oysters and sea spray, chilled smoked muscles, new rubber soles, vanilla extract
Palate: Pear dominates. Black peppercorn, green bell pepper stuffed with wild rice, freeze dried mango, savory pot de creme sans brûlée
Rating: 7 / 10 – a lovely young Springbank blend
Rating 7/ 10
Captain Morgan’s 1950s @ 43%
Nose: There is some rum funk, slightly turned pineapple, super ripe papaya, subtle barnyard vibes, elmer’s glue. Honey.
Palate: Mmm this is the classy, gentle side of rum funk likely due to age and abv at this point. Tangerine, glue, black pepper, pralines.
Rating: 7 (Shane) 6 (Ryan) / 10 – wonderful hints of esters with body. Emile says its probably long pond base spirit.
Rating 7/ 10
Robinson Golden Jamaican Rum 1950s @ 42%
Nose: Oh wow, bigger rum funk! Blue cheese, super funky mango, papaya, and pineapple. Lotss of barnyard funk. Vinegar. With more time in the glass, the level of funk, namely blue cheese and vinegar, gasses off. Fish sauce and a bit of tarragon.
Palate: Damn, this is the very embodiment of cedar. Anchovy, steamed artichoke heart, white pepper, leeks soup
Rating: 5 (Shane) 7 (Ryan) / 10 – what a cool nose, body is more savory and looses the fruit. blended, no stated distillery
Rating 7/ 10
Lochindaal Campbeltown Malts Festival 2007 / 2023 Chateau Clement Hogshead 53.2%
Nose: Cinnamon smoke – like atomic fireballs, burnt ends, I would use this as a basis for an epic sweet smokey salsa to dip fried chicken, chipotle mayo, shrimp head reduction, bandaid
Palate: Way lest smokey than the nose suggests, fire roasted tomatillo salsa, roasted green bell pepper, pine needles, cider vinegar.
Rating: 7 / 10 – I can’t wait to buy this next week. Damn it’s lovely.
Rating 7/ 10
Domaine Séailles 2000 Cask #17 53%
Nose: Reminds me a lot of the 1997 cask #27, but a little less intense and maybe more notes of honey. A balance that other cask truly needed. This is promising. Cedar. Raspberry jam tartlets. Fennel, more earthy on the nose. Toasted fennel seeds.
Palate: A very pleasant spice. Cedar. A lovely balance of wood, spice, and herbal.
Rating: 7 / 10 – yum yum. Was delicious when I visited and its still freaking awesome.
Rating 7/ 10
Domaine le Chaou 1988 30 Year Old – for Fitte et Laterrade 51%
Nose: Whoa. A rich, dark, dank explosion. Dark chocolate covered cherries. Julie has taken to hiding those so we don’t steal them from her now that the kids are tall enough to get into the secret treats cabinet. Dr pepper BBQ sauce. Black potting soil. Caramelized pecans. I’ve got a jar of locally made miel de caña, which isn’t technically honey, but is boiled down sugar cane juice to make syrup. It’s so dark and funky, approaching an amazing balsamic vinegar / molasses note. This is an oak monster.
Palate: Ohhh yeah. Oak to the max. Aged vinegar and the tiniest note of anchovies. I’ve been obsessively making caesar salad dressing for the past three weeks trying to nail the recipe before Julie gets back from visiting her parents. It’s her favorite and she was complaining that no restaurants on the island make it right. It’s all about that umami vibe. Hints of worcestershire and high quality anchovies. Dark chocolate bitterness – like the first time I tasted a cacao nib or espresso before I knew what to expect. And a concentrated sweetness that has almost stopped being sweet. Like a fermented date or dried fid. The spice cabinet is out of control, especially on the clove side. Oak and more oak. Just powerful.
Rating: 7 / 10 – I love that armagnac can get here, although let’s just acknowledge it’s a bit of an aberration. As an oakenfile, this is an absolutely outstanding pour, but it’s probably jumped the shark for most fans. It is so close to an 8. What a nose!
Rating 7/ 10
Hontambere XO Batch UBC01 53.2% (2023 bottling)
Nose: Black tea, nectarines, peach, cocoa covered almonds, miel de caña.
Palate: Red velvet birthday cake. cherry coulis, peach / nectarine, almond roca, envelope / packing tape, a bit thin on the palate for tiny sips but comes to life with a mouthful
Rating: 5 (Ryan) 7 (Shane) / 10 – a notable step up from the 2020 I tried. A level of grace and elegance. Props to Sylvain on evolving this blend.