MrWizard's Ramblings

Samples samples. Dusty samples. Most of the samples are from my friend Logan.

Auchentoshan 25, 1973-1998, Radio Clyde, ~43%
Produced to celebrate 25 years of Radio Clyde on the 31st December 1998. If previous Radio Clyde releases are anything to go by, there is a good chance this is Auchentoshan. From an open bottle with unfortunately not-so-tight cork. I’m not too sure how much alcohol is really left in there. My guess: 35-40% abv. The nose is intensely fruity with dried figs, dried apricots, some mango, sweet vanilla, jolly ranchers hard candy. The palate is slightly disappointing and while not flat is a more watery than I would have liked. Great secondary notes of brown sugar and peppers but the primaries are missing, which is unfortunate. Light nutty bitterness in the mix too. The aftertaste it gets better, with rising malt vanilla sweetness, butter, light baking spices and pepper in the very back. Overall: The palate is unfortunately missing here with the rest of the experience being great. Blindly I’d say this is about 40% abv or so and perhaps a great beginner malt for someone that doesn’t expect cask proof fire-water. This will unfortunately fall flat for most, though it’s by no means bad. I only wish it was a little proofier. Value: N/A only auctions.
https://whiskyauctio … 25-year-old-decanter
Score: B

Cragganmore 15, 1966-1981, Private Cask, ~43%
This is from a private cask. No original ABV… everything is more or less an assumption outside of what’s given. The color is definitely dark. This looks sherried (yay!). This smells VERY sherried. Cragganmore is often lightly peated, but I’m either not detecting it, or the peat is so old it’s now became complex set of flavors that aren’t all that smoky. Dark wood and varnish galore on the nose, plus some sherry funk as a second fiddle in there. The palate is yet again on the thinner side, so definitely ~40% abv here. Very neutral, not sweet, not salty, not bitter… almost… flavorless… yet a little leathery at the same time. It’s hard to describe. The secondary notes and aftertaste kick the flavors up a notch with lots of spice, some salt and sweetness, as well as tiny bit of funk. Medium-long aftertaste is rather pleasant and flavorful. Overall: This is enjoyable but yet again let down by the proof and the odd dip of flavor where palate should be. Perhaps with a good cigar or food this would be amazing complement. Value: N/A, seriously no idea.
Score: B-

Ben Nevis 15, 1956-1981, Private Cask, ~43%
Another private cask. Another low proofer. Another ‘dusty’ sample. This time it’s Ben Nevis. Slightly rubbery nose which implies at least some sherry here. Very likely a refill cask with the color lightness. Definitely quite rubber and surfuric but not negatively impacting the nose. Similar to how new car interior has a specific smell that’s not offensive. This kept most of it proof… And it has a palate. Still slightly rubber palate, sweet malt, super full of milk chocolate and fig jam. The aftertaste is quite long and starts off gently spicy, then fades into more fig jam and vanilla sweetness. Overall: I rather like this. The light funkiness is a weird beasty as it’s something that’s almost entirely missing in modern whiskeys, but overall it really is quite tasty. Value: N/A. Private cask from auction.
Score: B+

Teeling 29, Single Malt, Rum Cask, 53.8%
This is really a Cooley malt. A Non-Chill filtered single cask 588 bottled on 03/2019 for Bar Parkmore Japan. I’ll be honest, I’m really looking forward to this. The nose is tropical vanilla wood with rum notes. Palate is rum rum rum and malt malt malt. If you ever can imagine how good foursquare ex-bourbon rum would taste like when mixed with a lot single malt… Then this is the answer. Medium-long sweet and rummy aftertaste follows. Overall: This is so good. Argh! Value: This is NOT cheap. I’ll leave it at that. A 29 year old teeling single casks are ~900. This was likely from an auction, but the base MSRP of this is way high… Admittedly, it’s excellent.
Score: A+

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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown