This Glen Grant 1950 was bottled in 2007, but it was recently brought to our attention as it was re-bundled as part of the Glen Grant Collection , a stunning £ 10,000 Gordon & MacPhail ensemble with seven Glen Grant from every vintage between 1950 and 1955. Only 75 cases were available, but there were rumours about sequel editions.

Glen Grant 57 yo 1950 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail 2007, refill sherry casks #853 + #2734, 688 btl.)

Nose: the kind of very oily, resinous whisky with lots of beehive notes (waxed furniture, pollen). Subtle berry notes, apples, sour...

A classic: Brora 24 Years in Diageo’s Rare Malts series.

Brora 24 yo 1977 (56,1%, Rare Malts 2001, +/- 6000 btl.)

Nose: not as bold as I expected, and more in the Clynelish ballpark. Fairly dry, malty start, then moving towards coastal notes and slightly sweet, earthy peat. Not really farmy. Hints of grassy pepper and shoe polish, waxy notes, moss, sharper floral herbs, majbe chamomile, mint and a whiff of vanilla. Some apples and clementine in the background. Complex. Mouth: Clynelish fruits again (round apples, waxy orange peel, citrus sherbet) with this fatty texture and clear hint...

When I recently wrote that Springbank is not always successful in selecting good sherry casks , I got a slightly worried message from one of the WhiskyNerds in Holland who had just sent me a sample of… a sherried Springbank. Of course we trust their selection skills when it comes to this distillery, so no need to worry.

It is a Springbank 1995 matured in a fresh sherry hogshead.

Springbank 23 yo 1995 (48%, WhiskyNerds 2018, fresh sherry hogshead #63, 243 btl.)

Nose: yay. Starts on a beautiful mixture of minty old wood, a slightly sour tobacco note...

Highland Park Søren Solkær

Søren Solkær is a Danish photographer who did a photography session at the Highland Park distillery in 2017. Now they’re celebrating this partnership and his 26th working anniversary with the release of a Highland Park 26 Year Old .

It is said to be rich, sweet and spicy revealing complex layers of flavour throughnotes of cloves, cardamom and raisins, overlaid with light, heathery peat smoke. At least some sherry cask influence, I suppose? Could be really nice at this age.

Aberlour A’Bunadh Alba

Aberlour is working on a 100% bourbon oak version of its...

Obsession is part of a trio bottled over the coming years by the German shops Japanwhiskys and Whisky Tempel. The first expression is a young Laphroaig 2011 .

It is hard to appreciate in pictures, but the translucent label features some intriguing artwork by the Canadian photographer Alex Maxim.

Laphroaig 6 yo 2011 (52,4%, Japanwhiskys & Whisky Tempel ‘Obsession’ 2018, bourbon cask, 168 btl.)

Nose: young, with raw peat, some rubbery notes (new bike tyres), mezcal, olive brine and coal smoke. Burnt grassy notes. Hints of stewed pears in the background. Mouth: medicinal notes (plenty of iodine and...

I didn’t realize there were unicorns in Speyside until I saw this recent bottling for Chief Whisky Society in China. A 30 year-old single sherry cask from an undisclosed distillery.

Unicorn 30 yo 1988 (53,6%, CWS China ‘Myths & Legends’ 2018, first-fill Oloroso sherry butt #22, 630 btl.)

Nose: full of tobacco leaves, walnuts and leather. Hints of espresso and black tea, a little mulch and orange zests. Wet wood. Faint hints of pears and old rose petals, as well as some rancio notes. Beautiful, it has this old-style mushroomy side but also an elegant fruity edge. Reminds...

This is the latest batch of Octomore bottlings. Three five-year-olds, distilled in 2012 and heavily peated of course. A fourth 09.4 (10 Years Old) will be added in januari 2019.

The series is called Dialogos , as Bruichladdich wants us to start a dialogue about terroir, wood influence, barley and so on. In any case we can only applaud the degree of transparency: every tiny detail about these whiskies are available on the website.

Octomore 09.1 is five years old, 156 ppm, made from Scottish grown Concerto barley and matured full-term in American bourbon casks, mainly Jim...

This is a single cask Bowmore 2002 recently bottled by the folks at Master of Malt . Matured in a plain bourbon barrel.

Bowmore 15 yo 2002 (54%, Master of Malt 2018, bourbon barrel)

Nose: one of these very mezcal-ly modern Bowmores. Chiselled, with plenty of brine, limestone and a little petrol. Really nice. Some almonds, grapefruits, lemon peel, a little menthol and hessian. Ashes on a beach, but it’s more ‘industrial’ than peaty, if that makes sense. Mouth: close to the raw materials, showing a great combination of pink grapefruits and smoke, including the slightly tropical fruity...

There’s rare and there’s rare. After around 3000 tasting notes I only tried one (other) Inverleven , a Lowlands distillery that was founded by Hiram Walker in 1938 and became part of the Dumbarton complex, where they produced different types of whisky for the Ballantine’s blend. Malt production ceased in 1991, some of the stills went to Port Charlotte and are now at Waterford in Ireland. Inverleven never had any official bottlings.

This Inverleven 1985 was just released by Gordon & MacPhail as one of the first relaunched Private Collection bottlings.

Inverleven 33 yo 1985 (57,4%, Gordon &...

GlenAllachie single casks

Not really a surprise: The GlenAllachie is getting the same treatment as GlenDronach and BenRiach with a series of single casks . Ranging from 10 to 29 years (2008-1989 vintages), they were matured in plain bourbon barrels, sherry butts, Port pipes and virgin oak.

There are two series, one for the UK and one for Europe. Prices are between € 80 and € 350.

Glen Moray Fired Oak

After the initial maturation in bourbon barrels, Glen Moray Fired Oak was finished in heavily charred virgin oak casks, bringing it closer to the character of bourbon...

Last year The Whisky Exchange released a Black Friday whisky, an undisclosed 16yo Speysider which sold out in less than 20 minutes, even at 6 AM in the morning.

This year they’re repeating this tradition with another undisclosed whisky from Orkney . I’m not saying it is Highland Park but there aren’t many options available, right? We can be sure it’s 18 years old and gently smoky.

Slightly older, mildly smoky, cask strength and roughly the same price, interesting.

Orkney Islands 18 yo ‘Black Friday‘ (54,6%, Elixir Distillers 2018, 1400 btl.)

Nose: sweet heather notes and fresh sea...

Gordon & MacPhail recently launched its redesigned Private Collection series. It features some of the rarest whiskies in their portfolio which come in a ridged bottle and a veneered wooden presentation box.

The first releases include an Inverleven 1985 as well as this 43 year-old Glenrothes 1974 from a sherry cask.

Glenrothes 43 yo 1974 (49,5%, Gordon & MacPhail ‘Private Collection’ 2018, refill sherry puncheon #18440, 276 btl.)

Nose: complex and refined. Tobacco leaves, some metal polish, old Pu-Erh tea and chestnuts. Soaked sultanas and honied fruitcake. Herbal notes, orange peel and red berries. This has rather nice...

The latest release of Compass Box Flaming Heart was presented alongside The Story of the Spaniard and started to show up in stores recently. I loved the 5th edition which was released for Compass Box’s 15th anniversary, so we have high hopes for this 2018 edition.

The recipe behind this blended malt is a Highland malt blend (mainly Clynelish ) from heavily toasted oak barrels combined with peated Caol Ila , as well as some Deanston and others. It includes whisky from 7 to 30 years of age . For the 2018 edition they have reintroduced a subtle sherry cask...

The latest expression from Mitchell and Son who revived the ‘Spot’ range in 2012 is called Red Spot .

The Mitchell family commenced trading in 1805 on Grafton Street in Dublin as purveyors of confectionery, wines and fortified wines. In 1887 they expanded into the whiskey bonding business, buying Jameson spirit and ageing them in their own maturation cellars. Soon they realized that empty wine and sherry casks could be used for this practice. In fact they were the only companied that had the privilege to ‘enhance’ Jameson’s whiskeys.

The coloured spot names originated from the Mitchell’s practice of marking...

By far the oldest St Magdalene I could try – releases are very, very hard to come by these days. The last bottling I can remember was a 1982 by Cadenhead.

This one was bottled by Malt Musketeers , two whisky enthusiasts that occasionally release their own bottlings. This St Magdalene 1982 was their second release. Apparently it took a bit of negotiating to bring this rare product to market. The outturn is incredibly small: only 12 bottles, of 20 cl each.

St Magdalene 34 yo 1982 (50,4%, Malt Musketeers 2017, 20cl, 12 btl.)

Nose: it’s got this...

From a recent batch of Connoisseurs Choice bottlings: a Mannochmore 1999 . A name that always gets me interested. The few expressions I’ve had were really good.

Mannochmore 18 yo 1999 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice 2018, refill sherry butt #10686, 670 btl.)

Nose: this peculiar fruitiness of strawberry marshmallows, rhubarb, a little kiwi. Watermelon candy. Apple juice and honey. Quite light and elegant, with a nice sweet and sour theme. Also whiffs of polished leather. Mouth: the same candied fruitiness (grapes, sour cherries, strawberry) but with more oaky notes. Hints of vanilla. Rum and raisins. Growing ginger...

The oldest whisky from Batch 16 of the GlenDronach single casks. It seems we’re about to run out of the 1970s and 1980s entirely. Bottled from a Pedro Ximénez puncheon: GlenDronach 1989 cask #5476 .

Its sister cask #5475 was already bottled as part of Batch 7 back in 2012.

GlenDronach 28 yo 1989 (49,9%, OB 2017, Pedro Ximénez puncheon #5476, Batch #16, 546 btl.)

Nose: sweet and dark. Lots of earthy notes, moss and mint leaves, as well as heavy roast coffee and dark chocolate truffles. Toasted walnuts and hints of forest fruits jam. A hint of...

It’s not always the case, but I assume this Port Askaig 33 Year Old was distilled at Caol Ila , most likely in 1984 (although we can’t be sure).

It is bottled from a single cask, selected by the US importer Impex Beverages . The oldest from this distillery so far, if I’m not mistaken (the 45 Year Old is rumoured to be Bunnahabhain).

Port Askaig 33 yo (50,3%, Elixir Distillers for Impex Beverages 2018, single cask, 115 btl.)

Nose: sets off elegantly, on salty notes, floral honey, ginger, smooth heathery smoke and a little iodine. Nice fruity...

‘The Balvenie Stories’ series

The Balvenie is working on three new expressions or Stories about craftsmen and their experiences, and how they produce the true character of the spirit:

• Balvenie 12 Years ‘The sweet toast of American oak’ (43%), focused on the fruitier, sweeter style of Balvenie, made with a batch of ex-bourbon casks transferred to virgin oak barrels for a finishing period
• Balvenie 14 Years ‘The Week of Peat’ (48.3%), produced during the one week each year that the distillery uses peated malt
• Balvenie 26 Years ‘A day of Dark Barley’ (47.8%), produced with dark roasted brittle barley more...

Similar to the Black Friday deal of last year, The Whisky Exchange has just released a Christmas Malt , matured for 17 years in Oloroso sherry butts and showing the essential Christmas character at a fair price.

It was distilled in the Speyside region and the combination with sherry casks naturally leads us to an iconic family led distillery…

‘A fine Christmas Malt’ 17 yo (58,7%, The Whisky Exchange 2018, Oloroso sherry butts, 1800 btl.)

Nose: classic, balanced sherry surrounding the malty core. Raisins, vanilla, buttery brioche and a hint of red berry candy. Plenty of toffee notes....