Nose: Cider, cider. Pear skins.
Palate: Beautiful clean bourbon cask. Carambola. Pear drops. Grapefruit. Honey. Stilton cheese
Rating: 6 / 10 – elegant, tasty but not something I’d chase for the age / price.
Nose: White peach tea, salty and floral, marsh grass in a warm wind, sourdough starter, warm suede or my leather wallet after sitting on it all day, hay bales, pencil shavings
Palate: Simple, gentle notes of vanilla with kisses of citrus, smoked salt, slightly medicinal or aspirin astringency, peppery, surprisingly peated, envelope, the finish blossoms with honey and white fruit.
Rating: 5 / 10 – a lovely light summer dram
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!
Nose: Leathery and dusty, tannins, dried date nuggets, chestnuts, dried grass in piles, loquat, plum syrupiness, green wood, fig newtons.
Palate: Chocolate bitters, luxardo cherries, subtle and delicate peat, bowmore soap, tobacco leaf and leather, the dried dates, plums, and fig newtons are present. Tree bark and green wood, cinnamon, Frankly this gets much better with a big mouthful, but I had such a small sample.
Rating: 5 (Shane) 6 (Ryan) / 10 – Intriguing and shockingly gentle for the abv. It’s delicate and nuanced and very interesting. It’s hard to rate this with such a small sample as this would likely benefit from a much bigger mouthful to truly appreciate. Shane struggles with the core DNA that is Bowmore’s profile which presents for him as soapy. A legendary pour and fun to drink, however neither of us was blown away…what is in a name?
Nose: Smells intensely floral – stargazer lilly, grassy, unripened berries, red velvet cake, loganberry, unrippened berries
Palate: Quite perfumed with strong grassiness on the palate veering toward bath and body works soapiness. Cherry syrup. A powerful palate and well rounded.
Rating: 5 / 10 – I have to admit I’m disappointed. Not because this is terrible, but because batch one for me was a truly special pour. And so I made the extra effort to score a second batch two since I was given the option. Buff.
Nose: Violet, nutmeg, cacao, cedar planks, dried dates / apricots, smells like a drier forest, juniper berry, rich chocolate cake, tobacco leaf, a touch meaty
Palate: Dark chocolate and olive oil, tobacco, intense amaro note.
Rating: 8 / 10 THIS IS SPECTACULAR. For all the highs and many many lows that Glenallachie single casks have put me through, I want to call out the blending skill from this team. They just elevated the brand with this release. I need another bottle, but not paying secondary. Will probably have to wait for batch 2.
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