MrWizard's Ramblings

More of the sample catching up…

Balblair 13, 2006 Vintage, K&L SP, Cask 76; 56.2%
I actually happen to have a bottle of this so an preview so to speak. Nose is nutty red wine. Palate is nutty oloroso fighting with dark chocolate and a little few cherry notes. Aftertaste is long sweet and spicy. Overall: An absolute monster of a flavor bomb this is everything a sherred scotch lover would want… and more, but could be a bit overwhelming to some. Oddly reminiscent of Starward bottling I’m enjoying with the similar nutty cherry chocolate notes. Value: At $109 for a single cask 13 years old… About medium though being a single cask from distillery does give it a bit of a valuation bump.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1485852
Score: A-

Blair Athol 12, 2009 Sovereign, K&L SP, 59%
A sherry butt-aged Blair Athol? Sure I’ll try, considering this is a preview of a bottle I have. Very funky nose, bordering yet again on light rubber smell though mostly fig compote due to sherry, little meaty, malty and chocolatey. Very classically sherry palate, sweet, with lots of milk chocolate and figs. Unfortunately not super deep or complex the primary palate almost immediately drops into a long but very subtle aftertaste with some residual spices and some coffee. Overall: Not particularly a fan though it’s a workable as a vertical tasting or even as an casual drink with others that appreciate scotch. Nothing particularly special other than the sweetness that pushes it almost into dessert category and the ‘weirdness’ of this one may upset a more casual drinker as it’s certainly is funky. Value: at $59 I guess that’s fine for a single casked sherried single malt, considering that Glendronach 12 is creeping into $50-ish now.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1556889
Score: B-

Stranahan’s Rum Cask, Distillery Exclusive, 45%
Technically, a bottle split… But essentially a big sample… I’m not going to go too deep into this. It’s american malt so it’s sweet and banana-forward plus rum casks makes it basically caramelized bananas. Sweet, malty and banana-y. Nothing too good or bad to say about it. It’s young it’s not super interestersting. Overall: Nothing special, worth trying a bar though. Value: It was $82 total shipped, since it’s distillery exclusive from Colorado, mostly so-so price but worth it if considering uniqueness and a fan of that profile.
Score: C+

Mortlach 16, Signatory Vintage, K&L SP, 55.8%
A 1998-2014 vintage matured in Hogshead with 33 month Oloroso sherry finish. Something tasty and special? Let’s find out… Nose is allspice and sun-dried apricots. Oh the palate is meaty mortlach with bourbon spice and that tasty oloroso sherry from mid 2010’s. Aftertaste lingers for long time with woody bourbon cask spice tingle and some malt. Averall: Oh this is great stuff, I wish I had more to say about it but really, it’s just good stuff. Go read someone else’s review for more words. https://whiskeyapos … ach-16-year-kl-wine/. Value: It was $100 in 2014… ahahhahaah. Yeah that’s a steal now. To be fair; in context that was pretty steep for an independent at the time. These prices don’t exist for the quality anymore. Anywhere under $150 is probably fair game, alas.
Score: A

Mortlach 12, Sovereign, K&L SP, 58%
A 2008 vintage Mortlach, aged in sherry. Sounds yum! Another preview of a bottle I already have. Well this smells PEATED… Seriously… sherry peat? I don’t get it, Mortlach shouldn’t be peated. Perhaps the cask is heavy peated malt then refilled with Mortlach here? The nose is salted and smoked figs and apricots mixed with some habaneros. Palate is meaty, chewy, salty, sweet, reminds me somewhat of teriyaki jerky. Aftertaste lasts a long time and full of peppery spice and very light smoke tingle. Overall: This is very very good stuff if you don’t mind a little smoke with the sherry and is certainly one of the very few exceptions that I am truly enjoying that smoke profile. Realistically, not seeing any faults here other than my sample is too small at the moment. Value: This was $59… solid price value wise for a single malt.
https://www.whiskyba … iskies/whisky/189863
Score: A

Side note: WoW… Mortlach combines well with some sherry… Just wow.
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown