Knockdhu is the distillery that makes the current-day anCnoc . This is a young expression in the Connoisseurs Choice series (brown label) from Gordon & MacPhail .

Knockdhu 10 yo 1974 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice +/- 1984, 75cl)

Nose: a lot of sweet grains, with hints of pear schnapps. Some silver polish and mint. Pine wood. A little paraffin. Musty warehouses. Almonds and wet papers. It’s not very expressive but it’s certainly not unpleasant either. Mouth: sweet start, quite soft yet a little spirity and bitterish. There’s grapefruit and lemon zest, mixed with wet cardboard and...

Did you notice we’ve been reviewing more old bottlings lately? It is rather quiet in the whisky scene – summer, you know.

Gordon & MacPhail has a tradition to do special bottlings to commemorate royal weddings (we’ve tried Andrew & Fergie before). For the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Di on 29th of juli 1981 they released vattings of 1948 and 1961 casks . There’s Glen Grant, Glenburgie and Strathisla , as far as I know.

Strathisla 1948 / 1961 ‘Royal Wedding’ (40%, Gordon & MacPhail 1981, for Charles & Diana)

Nose: majbe not the freshest nose...

It has been a while since we’ve reviewed a rum, but I stumbled upon this interesting one through my sherry exploration.

Dos Maderas (which means Two Woods ) is a molasses rum produced by the sherry bodegas Williams & Humbert . They start from Caribbean rums, matured for 5 years in Barbados and Guyana. These are shipped to Jerez de la Frontera, where they are blended and finished for three years in Palo Cortado casks (used in the solera of the very good 20 year-old Dos Cortados VOS sherry ).

They also have a 5+5 version (which is the 5+3...

This Karuizawa 1988 was part of a duo that was bottled for The Whisky Fair in 2007. A small part of this sherry butt was bottled by Whiskysite.nl in their Great Cask series.

You know, I believe this maj well be one of the last Karuizawas I’ll ever review. I have no samples left and with the current prices, who can afford to actually open one, let alone share it with others?

Karuizawa 19 yo 1988 (58,3%, The Whisky Fair 2007, refill butt, 480 btl.)

A surprisingly pale colour on this. Nose: a rare chance to try Karuizawa...

Sometimes I tend get bored of modern malts and I turn to my sample archive to dig up a sample I collected long ago. Bottles that nobody opens these days… too expensive. Today: Glen Garioch 1968 hogshead #625 which is the best cask from this era, according to some.

Glen Garioch 29 yo 1968 (57,2%, OB 1997, hogshead #625)

Nose: ah yes, one of these glorious sherry casks. Full of blackberries, juicy strawberries and dates. Rum & raisins. Black Forest gateau and chocolate. Dark baked pastry. Hints of cigar boxes. Underneath is a layer of toasted oak and...

This is the third and last of the Signatory Vintage casks that were bottled exclusively for The Whisky Exchange . It is a sherried Clynelish 1996 .

Clynelish 18 yo 1996 (55,5%, Signatory Vintage for The Whisky Exchange 2015, refill sherry butt #6509, 606 btl.)

Nose: not the cleanest start, with a earthy and slightly sulphury hint, but this disappears. Overripe melon. Then some nice baked apple and raisins, rhubarb jam, even a bright hint of raspberries. Lots of leathery notes and pepper. Hints of waxed paper as well as some very light potpourri. Mouth: sweet and spicy....

Liquid Treasures already had a young Balmenach 2000 back in 2011 and now they’ve bottled a Balmenach 2001 from a sherry hogshead.

Balmenach 14 yo 2001 (51,9%, Liquid Treasures 2015, refill sherry hogshead, 245 btl.)

Nose: a light, youngish nose, full of banana yoghurt, creamy peach and white raisin juice. A lot of malty sweetness. Hints of mint and vanilla. A little paraffin as well. Sherry? Where? Mouth: very creamy texture, less straightforward, and a bit funky in its combination of flavours. I get honey, slightly artificial banana, strawberry and apple candy and a grassy / hoppy flavour....

This is Bowmore Bw5 , the fifth expression from this distillery in the Elements of Islay series and the best one so far, according to the TWE staff.

It is a vatting of 1995 and 1996 casks, and as you know these have been excellent years for the distillery (see The Whisky Agency’s Faces release ).

Bowmore Bw5 (50,2%, Elements of Islay 2015, 50 cl)

Nose: a very classic, clean and balanced Bowmore. There’s medium smoke and medium coastalness, on the same level as the rich sweetness. Creamy vanilla. Lemon candy, tinned pineapples and faint tangerine. Also a...

This is the second official release of Port Ellen , and the one with the highest alcohol strength. It’s also the widest release, if I’m not mistaken, with 12.000 bottles, and therefore one of the least expensive yearly releases.

Port Ellen 24 yo 1978 ‘2nd release’ (59,35%, OB 2002, 12.000 btl.)

Nose: one of the sharp and austere noses. Cutting phenols, vegetal oils and plenty of grassy notes. Lemon. Moves towards camphor and even a hint of ammonia. Eucalyptus. Farmy notes in the background. After some time a very light fruity / honeyed note comes out. It’s quite...

Just a review for an easy Monday morning…

Tomatin 17 yo 1997 (51%, Liquid Library 2014, refill hogshead, 268 btl.)

Nose: totally naked Tomatin. Plenty of garden fruits like apples and peaches but also sweeter green melon and hints of mango. Some greener notes as well, like apple seeds and grasses. Hints of leather. Mouth: very sweet, almost syrupy if not for the peppery touches and grassy notes again. Juicy pears, pineapple, peaches on syrup. Hints of candy sugar. Tiny hints of dough and vanilla. Finish: rather long, with liquorice, subtle herbs and zesty lemon.

No fuzz, just...

This Laphroaig 1998 is another new exclusive for The Whisky Exchange , bottled by Signatory Vintage . Again it is not a completely undiscovered series, adjacent sherry butts have been bottled for La Maison du Whisky and others.

Laphroaig 16 yo 1998 (59,9%, Signatory Vintage for TWE 2015, refill sherry butt #700389, 585 btl.)

Nose: a very sooty kind of Laphroaig. Lots of earthy smoke and leafy notes, wet limestone and leather. Exhaust fumes and hints of matches. There’s a dark sweetness to it as well, with lacquered roast meat and beef jerky as well as something of...

This is Batch 4 of the GlenDronach Cask Strength, matured in Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry casks. Shops keep selling this as a ‘sherry bomb’ but based on the colour, we expect a slightly lighter, fruitier dram.

GlenDronach Cask Strength (54,7%, OB 2015, Batch #4, 17.806 btl.)

Nose: more stewed fruits than dried fruits. Fig compote, honey and yellow raisins. Cinnamon pastry, peppery oak and a hint of herbal tea. Apricots. Roasted nuts. A slightly lighter, but very juicy version of GlenDronach’s sherry character. Mouth: spicy attack (ginger / pepper combo) followed by apricots and prunes. Sultanas and...

It has taken a while but now the Elements of Islay series finally includes an Octomore Oc1 , the highly peated spirit distilled at Bruichladdich . In fact this is one of the first independent Octomore releases ever.

Octomore Oc1 (65,4%, Elements of Islay 2015, 50 cl)

Nose: quite compact and dense, with initial aromas of eucalyptus and medicinal notes of antiseptics and iodine. Then some sour apples, becoming sweeter with hints of peach. Lots of mineral notes, some sourdough as well. Mouth: really heavy peat. I’ve had Octomores that were surprisingly soft but this one is rather...

Bushmills 21 Year Old is matured in Oloroso sherry casks and bourbon casks. After that it’s finished for two years in Madeira casks . This is the top of Bushmills’ core range.

Bushmills 21 yo (40%, OB +/- 2014)

Nose: a nice, warm fruitiness of banana, fresh figs, mango and tangerine. Floral honey. Quite thick, with creamy white chocolate and some vanilla latte. Subtle grassy notes. Mouth: classic Irish fruitiness, think banana, guava and bright hints of passion fruits. Also a sweet metallic note. Fresh and juicy. Gets warmer (almond paste) and drier towards the end, with coconut...

The latest release from Eiling Lim is an Auchentoshan 1992 . In general I don’t get excited when I see this distillery, but this one turned out a bit different.

Auchentoshan 23 yo 1992 (45,7%, Eiling Lim 2015, 132 btl.)

Nose: a light, flowery and rather ethereal nose. Blossoms in spring, nectarine, unripe apricots, green banana and light tropical fruits. Hints of bubble gum and jawbreakers. Very fresh, with some menthol and quite a lot of waxy notes (lipstick). A bit of vanilla. Mouth: starts fruity and sweet, with lots of unripe fruits again. White nectarine, oranges, melon....

The highly respected Benromach 10 Year Old is now joined by an older brother, Benromach 15 Year Old . Alongside the 10yo 100° Proof , the 5 Year Old , the Organic and Peat Smoke expressions, Benromach basically launched an entirely new core range in under a year!

While the 10 Years had 80% bourbon and 20% sherry casks, the 15 Years was predominantly matured in sherry casks, some of which have been heavily charred. Longer maturation means the smokiness of the 10 should be muted a little, while the (sherry) wood brought out different aromas.

Benromach 15...

Islay’s smallest distillery released this Kilchoman Sanaig which is a composition of 50% bourbon casks and 50% Oloroso sherry, matured for around 4-5 years. It is named after a creek close to the distillery and it will be a permanent member of the core range.

Kilchoman Sanaig (46%, OB 2015)

Nose: a fairly friendly, balanced expression. The peat smoke is not as offensive as in some other expressions. Instead there is some fruit compote in the fore (pineapple, red apple) with vanilla. Grilled lacquered meat. Toffee. Also a little marshmallow. Soft mineral notes and sea spray in the background....

Auchentoshan has two expressions named Springwood and Heartwood , both exclusive to travel retail (at least they once were). While Springwood is a bourbon-matured release, Heartwood uses deeply charred bourbon casks and Spanish Oloroso sherry casks. The term refers to the rich core heart of the tree.

Auchentoshan Heartwood is said to be around 7 years of age. Unfortunately it’s also coloured with E-150.

Auchentoshan Heartwood (43%, OB 2015)

Nose: a rather dry, almost grassy kind of sherry. Hints of wood chips, giving it a green touch. Orange oils and lime zest, yellow raisins and toffee. Apple peel...

The Whisky Exchange already bottle a Glenlivet 1981 cask #9460 in 2014, selected from the Signatory Vintage warehouses. This year they’re releasing sister cask #9464 . Lots of other casks from the same batch have been bottled in the past three years or so.

Glenlivet 33 yo 1981 (51%, Signatory Vintage for TWE 2015, refill sherry hogshead #9464, 175 btl.)

Nose: a very nice profile with lots of juicy oak, library dust and moist tobacco. Big hints of leather saddles. Also walnuts and a rather elegant hint of sherry, closer to very old Amontillado than to Oloroso. Then...

This Bunnahabhain 1980 was released by Eiling Lim in early 2015, alongside a Littlemill 1990. It’s her first Islay release.

Both are sold out and I’ve heard a big part of the yield was shipped to Lim’s birth country Malaysia , which is a good thing as this proves original concept (introducing high-quality independent bottlings there) is successful.

Bunnahabhain 34 yo 1980 (46,2%, Eiling Lim 2014, 50 btl.)

Nose: a hugely elegant, pleasantly discreet profile, which needs some time. Leathery notes and a hint of eucalyptus and menthol. Also subtle fruity notes underneath, light jams, figs, ripe gooseberries...