MrWizard's Ramblings

Because… Why not? So these are Billy Walker’s (who’s a legendary ex-GlenDronach (among others) master blender) signature releases that he personally blends (same distillery so still Single Malt) annually. All the components are at least 10 years old. Btw this get more sherried and darker in color with progressive batches.

GlenAllachie 10, Cask Strength, Batch #1, 57.1%
Coming out at number 1… This is a Oloroso, PX, Virgin Oak mix. The nose starts a bit like Aberlour Casg Annamh https://www.aerin.or … y:entry201226-170937, but with time becomes almost pure vanilla sugar. Delicious nose to say the least, reminding me of some of the best home baked goods. The palate is sweet, sherried, slightly nutty and spicy. A long, warming and quite complex, buttery finish with some spice finish. In short, all that is tasty in Speyside whiskeys. I don’t want to draw too much parallels with Casg, but it really does remind me of it, though clearly higher proofed. Basically a vanilla sugar or perhaps a vanilla butter cookie in the glass with a solid malt core, unlike some single grains which are butter cookie without the malt. Highly enjoyable full proofer and I would absolutely drink this pretty much any time.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/111366
Score: A

Wow… what a way to start… That score (above) came out of nowhere.

GlenAllachie 10, Cask Strength, Batch #2, 54.8%
Contender number 2 comes in as a blend of Oloroso, PX, Virgin Oak… which is similar to contender number 1… though not a guaranteed to be the same proportion. To be fair… the nose is almost the same… if perhaps a little bit more sherried. The palate is a very different number. It’s still mostly sugar coated nuts… but less complex or interesting vs #1… The aftertaste is… well, malty, spicy and sweet with sherry but not too complex. This is a great everyday pour overall but it doesn’t make me think. Very much a higher proof Casg Annamh as opposed to #1 which weared off and did its own amazing thing. Where 1 was special… this is somewhat generic. It’s really good on it’s own; yet not outstanding at the same time.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/121381
Score: B+

Both 1&2 are Oloroso, PX, Virgin Oak but the grades are a good reminder how same-ish components on paper can make for a VERY different result

GlenAllachie 10, Cask Strength, Batch #3, 58.2%
Coming in as #3… it is a 1st Fill Sherry Cask, Oloroso, PX mix. Oh, this nose is just pure chocolate and perhaps a little bit of a banana. The palate is nutty sherry indungence. Wood, malt, sherry sweetness, nuttyness. Fantastic. Does not drink anywhere near it’s proof either. The aftertaste is moderately long and delicious with chili spices coming to play with chocolate. It’s essentially a dark chocolate with chili. This is a slam dunk pour.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/136699
Score: A

#3 is Amazing!

GlenAllachie 10, Cask Strength, Batch #4, 56.1%
Batch #4 brings in…PX & Oloroso Sherry Puncheons + Virgin Oak! Quite restrained on the nose after the glory that was #3… It took me a bit of swishing to get to it open up… But once it did… Strong perfume notes, red orchard fruit jam and some chocolate covered cherries. Very gentle and silky on the palate. More of the cherry and milk chocolate notes from sherry. The aftertaste lasts for a while and as cherry fades, light chili spices comes in to replace it. A tasty fruity cherry and chocolate pour that’s not super complex aside from those main notes on the nose palate and aftertaste… yet doesn’t get boring. Also I like cherries and chocolate so I’m certainly biased.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/167436
Score: A-

#4 is a bit of a letdown after batch 3 glory…

GlenAllachie 10, Cask Strength, Batch #5, 55.9%
And finally… a PX, Oloroso, Virgin Oak, and Rioja Casks recipe in Batch #5. So this in on paper a #4 with addition of Rioja (Spanish red wine) casks. Nose is red berry punch and bits of chocolate yet again. Did I say ‘chocolate’ enough times in these reviews yet? Spicy, very complex, sherry, wood, red wine, wild berries of different sorts on the palate. Warm as it goes in. Nutmeg and cloves on top of cup of chocolate in winter. Almost dessert red wine or port notes by combining Rioja and sherry. Slightly bitter after ‘chewing’. The aftertaste is nutmeg and cloves, very warming and lasts for a long while balancing bittersweet spices. Perhaps an overly complicated due to sherry AND red wine casks, but certainly an enjoyable pour. Seems to get better the further I taste it.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/178036
Score: A-

#5 takes a slight edge over #4 due to complexity but perhaps not quite enough for a clear A grade

Overall:
My order of preference in the line up is… #3, #1, #5, #4, #2… with even numbers scoring slightly less while still being quite enjoyable overall. A fantastic choice for any Scotch lover as one really cannot go particularly wrong with either batch here.

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

Some more samples of American whiskeys (?)… Let’s GO!

Old Elk Sour Mash Reserve, Batch 1, 52.5%
According to the info out there the mash bill is 51% corn, 34% malted barley, and 15% rye and it was distilled in New York state somewhere and aged 6 years. Quite corn-and-grain-forward nose with solid alcohol component and unmistakable ‘funk’. Blindly this reminds me of some of the Heaven Hill bottles but that’s blindly. The palate is very pleasant with sweet silky texture and well-integrated wood notes, some cinnamon and plenty of vanilla caramel. Because of high malted barley content, this is quite malty in the undercurrents of flavor. Is pleasant but drops off reasonably quickly though leaves nice woody/spicy/malty residual notes on the back of the tongue. Overall this is quite tasty on the ‘outside’ flavors and somewhat lacking on the subtle, as is the case with a lot of bourbons. I’m still enjoying my sample so it’s certainly is drinkable. Well worth a bar pour, perhaps not quite everyday bottle drink. Very oddly this reminds me of a thinner and slightly weaker Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, but without the underlying complexity that 12 years in a cask can bring.
Score: B-

Yellowstone Straight Bourbon, Total Wine SP, Single Cask, 54.5%
A total wine store picked single cask… This is so peanutty, that if I didn’t read the label that it’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon I’d swear this is Dickel sourced. But more likely this is Barton and I’m likely smelling Barton’s roasted corn situation. This is a Luxco brand and product as Yellowstone itself doesn’t distill to the market but sources and blends. Anywho, peanuts aside… Nose is more raw peanuts vs roasted (Dickel peanuts). Palate is corn, some peanut butter, cinnamon, vanilla creme, reasonably sweet overall. Aftertaste is light wood, more vanilla peanut brittle. Frankly this isn’t my thing. Considering my experience with another Yellowstone over here: https://www.aerin.org/?x=entry:entry201212-193013 … I think I’ll do a hard pass on any Yellowstone products for a few years.
Score: D

Balcones Rumble, Spec’s SP, 69.4%
And now for something different.

Balcones says Rumble is “crafted from fermented Texas wildflower honey, Mission figs and turbinado sugar, it is twice distilled in traditional copper pots then artfully matured in premium oak casks.” So definitely not bourbon or malt but closer to a Rhum Barbancourt with figs and honey in the distillate and aged in Texas.-https://www.reddit.c … _22_balcones_rumble/

Let’s dig in… Ruuuuuubbbeery fig taste for me, quite interesting and almost up sherried rum/brandy (which is basically what it is) way but there’s a note in there I cannot get over and it’s spoiling everything for me. This is a 3rd bottle that I ran into with overwhelming rubber note for me. You get a sample and somehow don’t taste that… all the power to you, as this is quite drinkable and very unique and interesting but for my palate that’s a bust. There rubber does fade slightly occasionally and then it’s quite a tasty drink… but only occasionally.
Score: N/A (Not a whiskey)

Cat’s Eye Obtainium Tennessee Rye 5 years old, 61.1%
Cat’s Eye distillery bottles Obtainium brand which mostly bottles some solid MGP Light Whiskeys and few other things, as well as an occasional sourced rye. This bottle happens to be a 5 year old cask proof Tennessee Rye, suggesting that this is either Jack or Dickel rye with my finger falling towards Dickel based on some external information, even though Dickel produces a fairly low amounts of rye and I’m no aware of any cask proof editions of it. The interesting thing here is that bottle says “Distilled in Tennessee” which is at odds with Dickel’s regular rye famously is distilled at MGP and aged in Tennessee. Nutty but not overly so nose with no real peanuts going on. Quite highly octane from the proof though still decently balanced vs rye spices. Some dark fruits with lots and lots of mint with dill and some eucalyptus on the palate. Very anise-driven palate and aftertaste that lasts for quite a while. Contrary to the nose, this drinks quite well once past the first moment of initial burn. Overall quite nutty, dilly, and minty experience in the glass. Very different from most rye whiskeys I’ve had. Overall I’ll say I quite enjoy it though not for everyday drink, I can see myself pouring myself some and sharing this unique bottle occasionally. I would heavily suggest getting a sample or a pour from a bar. Value: This was circa-$60 so flavor to price ratio for days here. If you like dill and mint in your drink this probably pushes up to B+ grade or so.
Update: Confirmed to be a Dickel-sourced.
Score: B-
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

Mannochmore 13, Carn Mor Strictly Limited, 47.5%
A limited edition from PX Sherry aged Mannochmore which not a common distillery to see in retail. The nose is full of orange oil and sweet sherry fruit notes leaning towards quite sweet tropical fruit punch. Surprisingly… hollow on the palate. There’s plenty of oak and nuttyness but none of the sweetness that the nose promises shows up and the palate ending up almost non-existent in the middle before oak and sherry spice kick in. Due to that missing mid-palate this aftertaste ends up slightly bitter and nearly off-putting with a tons and tons of the burnt walnuts going on in there. Interestingly most of malt character seems to be missing or so buried under sherry that there’s nothing to balance out the other notes and the experience is very disjointed even if this is something unique and different. It does get better with repeated sips but the nose promises and doesn’t deliver and the palate is somewhat mellow sweet but mostly hollow for me. On the plus side the sherry is well integrated, firm but not overwhelming. If the sherry level was same and this was circa 18 years old… It’d be amazing with more cask vanilla and complex flavors, as it stands, it is a good effort that’s frankly falls rather ‘flat’ in practice.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/167869
Score: C+

Scapa 20, G&M Connoisseurs Choice, 2000, 56.2%
A K&L Exclusive Gordon & McPhail bottling of a refill sherry 20 year old Scapa. Never tried the distillery. Let’s try for the checkbox. Sherried cologne on the nose with solid citrus zest core that veers slightly into varnish. To be fair the nose is fairly generic sherried malt. Varnish notes mostly dissipate after about 15 mins in a glass. The palate is full of citrus primarily burnt oranges, solid sherry palate is quite creamy and mouth-coating in consistency which is great for… Aftertaste is fantastic, long woody and a little spicy and warming; very pleasant with more of that burnt orange skins. Perhaps slightly reminds me of a not too sweet old fashioned cocktail. The aftertaste takes the win on this one with nose and palate being alright. I wish I had some Deanston 20 to SbS this with but from my memory it reminds me of the two which isn’t a bad thing. Value to be honest is rather low being an IB circa 169 but fans of citrusy dry sherry are welcome to apply as it’s above average.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/178187
Score: B+

Strathmill 11, Carn Mor Limited, STR Cask. 47.5%
This is an STR cask meaning… it underwent a specific Shaving, Toasting and Re-Charring process, likely ex-sherry cask that was then STR’ed. A prominent charry woody sherried nose with a very dark color. Dark plum notes with a bit of sherry varnish dominate. Palate is dominated by the nose notes. Charry, woody and a little bit of sweetness, this reminds me greatly of a bourbon. Something along the lines of Eagle Rare that’s still got a bit of malt and sherry in it. Quite interesting but certainly not an everyday drink due to concentration and youth, making it very cask-forward but not quite subtle. This would be well appreciated by bourbon-lovers that want to get into single malt. I’m actually somewhat enjoying this overall but the almost entire absence of any secondary flavors is quite disappointing for a single malt to commit to a full bottle.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/171455
Score: B+

Mystery Sample, ???
A mystery sample which I will fill in details in after the review, as I’ve been asked to review this blind. The nose is oloroso sherry with that note that I call ‘woody varnish’ though it’s not true varnish but somewhere between paint thinner and actual wood lacquer smell. This is specifically the note that Oloroso (and the like) evoke in my mind. For comparison, PX has stewed fruit compote and figs and is very distinctly different on the nose. Anyways, back to this. This is nutty woody oloroso. With a bit of alcohol in the mix. Creamy sweet and sherried consistency. I’m pretty sure this is single malt. Somewhat reminds of Mannochmore 13 up above. Plenty of sherry and wood that combine into chocolate flavors but not a whole of subtle secondary notes, suggesting youngish spirit overall. More balanced toasted sweet wood (chocolate) and little dusty spices that come up in the aftertaste. This slightly reminds me of a Glendronach 12 with the sherry and the malt. Overall: I like it, it’s a somewhat nutty-sweet sherry bomb number that’s manages to be quite tasty. Relative youth makes it a tricky one to truly enjoy since the casks hide most imperfections but overall I’d enjoy it for a casual pour. Also, the more I drink the more I seem to enjoy it for what it is. Value: Unknown, but ‘good’ for anything under $100.
Guesses: Single Malt. Oloroso Sherry casks, likely 1st fill, age: 12 years or less, proof: 90. Country of origin: Scotland (by playing the numbers game of chances it not being a scotch). I’m not going to guess at distillery as there’s at least 20 distilleries in Scotland that I can think of that could produce a sherry bomb such as this, though nutty/sweet profile somewhat suggests Speyside.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/182831
Score: A-
After reading the actual link: “Kaiyo The Sheri”… Woooowee! Was I wrong on country of origin (japan) here… and the casks type, and thinking this was a single cask of some sorts. But instead it’s a triple cask of PX, Oloroso and Mizunara… Also, to be fair, Mizunara oak gets completely drowned out by the sherry casks so I would have never guessed that. I was correct on proof and it being a malt at least, and very likely the youth. With the price of $130+ it makes it somewhat of a medium value (not factored into score) which is somewhat overshadowed by occasional independently bottled Speysider. And yes, it still reminds me of Speyside sherried scotch.

Clynelish 14, G&M Connoisseurs Choice, 2006, 55.5%
A bit of a treat for myself. Waxy honeycomb, some sherry, nuts and dried plums on the nose. Also, alcohol but it is well balanced by the other smells. Oh, so much honey and honeycomb on the palate, with nutty and spicy undertones. Milk chocolate and hazelnut are all over the aftertaste. Overall: This is a treat and a once in a while pour, highly complex and sophisticated beyond its years. The whole complexity package that drinks easily circa 20 instead of its stated age of 14. Get yourself a bottle or a pour if you can, and contemplate about the glass, this is certainly a rare excellence. Value: IIRC this was $139… Don’t worry that this is twice the price of the regular 14. This is fantastic. Though I’d think twice if it was past $160.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/184614
Score: A
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

Another evening, more reviews.

Rogue Distilling tasting samples, with rogue famously being an Oregon brewery, they been distilling since about 2003. They do distillations of all sorts of mash but it does lean towards malt somewhat.

Rogue Dead Guy Whiskey, 40%
Smells malty with woody caramelized bananas as is fairly typical with American beer-adjacent whiskeys. Mineral and metal forward palate with slightly bitter wood notes. Aftertaste is more bitter metal, like tin water. Comparably low proof, this isn’t offensive but just barely drinkable. Don’t bother.
Score: D-

Rogue Original Single Malt, 40%
Nose is perfume-forward and very approachable. Still some plantains/bananas but it’s now with tropical punch. Rather pleasant, if un-inspiring malty fruity palate, still slightly bitter but not in a bad way, more of a charred tropical fruits. Somewhat bitter aftertaste which is unfortunate. This is a conundrum overall, as I can see some potential in this but low proof and overwhelming bitter note compared to other flavors is wrecking the experience. Probably worth a try but not a bottle. Honestly, it’s also fundamentally too young to have any real complexity and possibly with too short of a fermentation process.
Score: C

Rogue Cherry Single Barrel Project. 46%
And now for something different. Not going to look up details, but probably some sort of collaboration between distillery and a cooperage to use cherry wood casks which aren’t usually done. Not going to lie, the nose is… odd. Best I can describe is ‘really burnt cherry’. It’s nearly acrid with char and some smoke, almost-but-not-quite bordering on my least favorite ‘rubber’ notes but thankfully pulled back by some cherry. The palate reminds me of a mix between Dead Guy Whiskey with some cherry added in to amp up the palate and the aftertaste which unbelievably… works. The palate is flavorful and the aftertaste is long and is quite interesting with more burnt woody cherry notes. I wonder if there’s a bit of smoked barley in the mash here as there’s a decently prominent smoke (not peat) notes that I’m getting. Extremely interesting, this is also certainly quite unique and is not for everyone, but well worth trying for the complexity of cherry flavors alone. Fans of Manhattan cocktails should apply and would be quite pleased with this. In fact this is a lot like a Manhattan without bitters and done with a mellow whiskey instead of rye. I’d certainly have it as a food pairing with smoked duck or red meat; though solo it’s somewhat lacking.
Score: C+

Rogue Oregon Rye Malt, 42.5%
So this is about 51% malted rye, the rest is some mix of other grains. The nose is actually quite breathing the insides of a freshly baked rye bread, a bit of a steamy, savory, rye-ness. The palate falls apart… this is sorta nutty water. More of the same nutty water on the aftertaste. This should be like 60% abv… then we’d talk. at 42.5% it is water! No, just no… Just shy or drain pour for the sample, and I would not get or even consider keeping the bottle. Maybe a mixer? But there are so many better mixers. This isn’t it.
Score: D-

Rogue Rolling Thunder Stout Whiskey, 58.13%
Perhaps something a little special, or at least higher proof. This is quite dark in the glass, with pretty solid chestnut coloring. Nose is leathery wood with some unfortunate rubber notes balanced off by solid alcohol kick. This solidly evokes wood varnish on the nose for me. The palate is resinous wood, quite thick and with a nearly bitter streak of flavor though it that tastes almost like concentrated hops. Still some rubbery notes distract from otherwise exceptional palate. The aftertaste is drying with some woody bitterness and yet again a bit of chocolate or coffee or hops streak through it. I quite like the aftertaste. It’s an interesting one that reminds me somewhat of a russian imperial stout that’s been fortified into oblivion while keeping its characteristic thickness and bitterness. Easily my favorite of the Rogue’s tasting samples lineup. Not for everyone, but fans of russian imperial stouts are welcome to apply and won’t be disappointed.
Some Background: https://whiskeyrevie … iskey-review-041620/
Score: B

Overall Rogue: With two D- (bordering on F) scores and overall mediocre showing I wouldn’t recommend diving into Rogue’s regular lineup with high expectations. Their special editions and higher proof stuff is perhaps something to consider long term and they are passionate about their craft which gives a bit of a notch up for them in my book. But at the end of the day… If it’s not Rogue’s high proof stuff, avoid it… low proof and younger age do not mix well.

Old Fitzgerald, 15, Bottled-in-Bond, 2019, 50%
A batched release from Heaven Hill that’s highly sought after. This is the ‘Pappy’ to Larceny with which they share mash bill of 68% corn, 20% wheat and 12% malted barley and stills. With Old Fitz being hand-selected casks and Larceny being everything else. Very familiar Heaven Hill toasted corn caramel and woody rye spice on the nose bordering on sweet wood resin. That nose is deliciously luxurious. Palate is woody, sweet and spicy while being finely balanced and leaning towards bitey spice. Almost subdued coming in, this explodes with secondary flavors after few seconds in the mouth. Long woody and spicy sweet aftertaste that lasts for a while. Overall: okay folks, this stuff is a real deal. The slightly subdued initial palate primary flavors are the only real stumble here and it’s one of those that I’d love to have again and again. A finely refined, delicious, well balanced, and dangerously drinkable. Just short of earning a WOW from me, this is right on the edge of amazing. Value… well that’s where we’re going to have a problem since all these are snagged on sight to be sold in secondary pricing and are totally bonkers on price. With MSRP of $150, I’d still say it’s about average or even low on value, but with very distinct decanter-like bottle this is barely worth it at or below MSRP if only for the unique display on your shelf and with quite tasty wheated bourbon being extra. Just like Pappy, the pricing is mostly hype and this isn’t a magical elixir of the gods, but just a bourbon, even if it is quite good.
Score: A-

Old Carter Single Cask 13 years old, Cask #95. 59.2%
Ah Old Carter whiskey. From their bourbon, to their American whiskey all overpriced. Okay seriously $180+ bottles with no transparency? No! Granted some of them are amazing. I’m looking at your Bourbon Batch 3 and 5… Still… Way pricy to get blindly. My whining aside. I got a Single Cask of 13 years. And my pretty solid guess is that this is Barton-sourced. Also to the best of my knowledge this is cask #95 from K&L Wines. Nose is full strength sweet corn caramel with the huge dollop of perfume mixed in. Sweet, flowery, and slightly woody the nose is filled with sugar, chocolate, caramel, and vanilla, yet not too spicy but mellow instead. Palate is sweet corn caramel, some wood and spices but overall more gentle bourbon palate. Very pleasant bourbon, corn and wood aftertaste that leans towards sweetness with subdued spice and a bit of wood notes at the very end. Overall: okay, yet again this is fancy Barton full proof a complex one to be sure but still a Barton full proof store pick essentially… Is it tasty? Yes, quite tasty indeed and a good one to contemplate on. Is it special-tasty? That one is up to each individual palate! Value: With list price of $210… This is a terrible value. Full stop.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1512935
Score: B+
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown

Stranahan’s Colorado (Malt) Whiskey, Batch 204, 47%
It’s a colorado whiskey and if I recall correctly this happens to be a four barley mash bill. Making this technically an american single malt. These are fairly easy to find but certainly have picked at my curiosity to try them out. The nose is just pure banana pie or perhaps banana bread. Alcohol is barely felt, which isn’t surprising for an older bottle and relatively low proof compared to most bourbons I been having lately. The palate is more banana custard, with a little bit of tobacco notes. Very sweet but those bitter parts balance it out nicely with some bitter chocolate. The aftertaste is about medium with some more spices that float up, general burnt sugar sweetness and not offensive. Frankly it’s an inoffensive American Malt that’s a little too young and a little too boring to score high in the category of malts. It will also not offend anyone really but I don’t see myself chasing this down ever since there are literal tens of thousands of bottles that are better. Worth trying for American Malt checkbox but that’s really it. Being priced about $55 and fairly widely available does work in it’s favor but, yet again kinda young at the price.
Score: C+

Blue Spot Irish Whiskey, 2020 release, 7+ years, 58.7%
This is a blend of different malts matured for at least 7 years in bourbon, sherry, and madeira casks. Being a single pot still whiskey, this will be a blend of single malt and single grain whiskeys as mostly the norm with most Irish whiskeys. The nose is fairly strong with grain alcohol, sherry notes, bourbon spices and some madeira red fruits. The palate is nutty sweet with red wine and sherry there’s a lot of complexities here that could be coaxed out but mostly hiding behind primary flavors. Aftertaste is a little bit bitter and slightly sour with madeira dominating and lack of malt notes to make it better balanced. Overall, I actually like it more than say Redbreast Small Batch, which was way more grain-forward on the nose and palate. If this blend was single malt, it’d probably be amazing. As it is now… it’s on the upper levels of ‘good’. While little rough around the edges this is certainly very very good on it’s own. On the value side, I paid $75 out the door which does make what I paid a fantastic value proposition compared to others in this range.
Score: B+

Tomatin 12, Haskell’s SP, Cask #1831 53.0%
A 2002-vintage Tomatin, aged in ex-bourbon single cask at full proof and one of only 222 bottles. Quite rare single cask Original Bottling by the distillery itself. I’m aware of only a handful of other distilleries that do this and most prefer to go through a 3rd party bottler. I picked this up on a whim from Haskell’s with few other bottles and to be honest I’m not disappointed. The nose is typical malty mineral vanilla situation with ex-bourbon. Color is quite dark yellow amber borderline cider-like. Palate is super clean ex-bourbon spices with a solid nuttiness through that start with peaches but then go into ginger and sichuan pepper numbness. On the aftertaste, the numbness and pepper slowly fades into more malty vanilla. Overall this is delicious ex-bourbon cask that’s hitting all the right notes. It is by no means ground-breaking but I’m really finding it hard to fault a 12 years old scotch for what it is. Value-wise, I believe it was ~$60 which yet again points a solid price here. Zero complaints in context.
Score: B+

Tobermory 22, Old Malt Cask, 54.4%
An interesting 3rd fill sherry cask by Old Malt Cask bottling. The Tobermory is the unpeated branch of Ledaig which are both produced in same distillery but Tobermory isn’t peated and Ledaig is heavily peated. So a rare unpeated Island single malt. Grassy nose, with few sherry notes that are reasonably balanced by the spirit, slightly funky with pears and melons galore. It evokes a very specific dish for me, being a green pear and arugula salad with parmesan and almond slivers that’s lightly seasoned with white wine vinegar. Lots of citrus on the palate with lemons dominating, very fruity and slightly spicy with peppery spice that’s quite subtle, perhaps evoking candied ginger. Medium aftertaste with sweet and subtle vanilla notes. Overall this is citrusy, very very subtle Old Malt Cask that’s quite good for what it is… but not really mind-blowing in any parameter. A solid showing for a distillery checkbox and a fantastic summer shanty sipper.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1380521
Score: B+

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