Michel Adam Fashion Vodka Luxury Collection 40%...

Tonino Lamborghini Triple Distilled Vodka 40%...

Aldi Tamova Premium Vodka 40%...

Mongol Premium Vodka 39%...

Finlandia Classic 40%

Tasted: Oct 2014

Nose: Deep and grainy. More like a young grain whisky with a touch of dried fruit and a smidgen of vanilla.

Palate: Soft and nutty. Pleasantly rounded with a touch of dried fruit. Again it has plenty of young grain whisky character.

Finish: Long and nutty.

Conclusion: Now that’s the sort of vodka I like!

Finlandia Coconut Vodka 37.5%

Tasted: Oct 014

Nose: Plenty of sweet, nutty, coconut along with a touch of crisp grainy spirit notes, but mainly coconut!

Palate: Very sweet, nutty and coconutty!

Finish: Long with lingering coconut!

Conclusion: Well, it...

Equissolis French Organic Vintage Vodka 2012 40%...

That Boutique-y Whisky Company Tobermory Batch #3 48.1%

Tasted: Mar 2015

Nose: A lusciously moist and succulent nose of both Gala and Honeydew melon, apricot, pineapple, tangerine and barley. A touch of sawdusty oak appears along with a light grassiness. That’s a gorgeous nose!

Palate: Not quite as exuberantly fruity as the nose but definitely not lacking in the fruit department. Showing a little more barley and a taught, mineral edge. A touch of green apple and gooseberry appears on the middle amidst the slightly tropical fruit.

Finish: Fabulously balanced, long and lightly honeyed with the barley and oak lingering....

Van Brunt Stillhouse Single Maltwhisky – Small Batch Lot #7 42%

New York

Tasted: Mar 2015

Nose: Young, oily and herbal – camphor, cardamom, hops, green wood, green tea and dried marjoram. Hints of barley, boiled sweets and a touch of smoke follow. A light honey note appears to attempt to inject some sweetness.

Palate: Opens slowly to reveal corn and toffee’d oak. Then the dogs of war are let loose (so to speak) with an abundance of botanical herbs, camphor, hops, green wood, rye and bitter cardamom. Whoa! That’s a rush!

Finish: Good length with a developing perfumed...

Skip Rock Distillers Rye 43%

Tasted: Mar 2015

Nose: Youthful and earthy rye-like notes to begin, followed by darker rye-like notes, balsamic treacle, malt and dark chocolate. With time a curious perfumed/ smoked meat note appears. Oak adds supportive notes in the background.

Palate: Young and oily. A little on the immature side but it’s full of herbal rye-like notes, wheat and treacle. Seriously herbal on the middle with a touch of what appears to be perfumed hops.

Finish: Quite dry, which stunts the finish a little, but it has a lovely herbal, mocha after-taste.

Conclusion: A fabulous nose, but...

Dunville’s VR Old Irish Whiskey 46%

Tasted: Mar 2015

Nose: Big and brash with plenty of buttery oak, heather honey and herbal notes. The aromas are incredibly winey – a combination of grassy Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and fleshy Vin d’Alsace Pinot Gris! An almost grain-like spirit note appears to offer a little balance.

Palate: Full, sweet and robustly fleshy. Again very winey with the new world Sauvignon Blanc character making it feel quite bubblegummy. Thankfully there is enough minerality and alcohol to balance the sweetness.

Finish: Mouth-filling and long with the citrus and mineral notes freshening the finish but that...

Black Mountain Whisky BM No1 42%

Tasted: Mar 2015

Nose: Hugely estery aromas of pineapple, apricot, melon and banana with a touch of greengage. Lightly herbal and botanical. With time the aromas become quite taught and mineral.

Palate: Lightly honeyed and again full of generously fleshy, estery fruit – pineapple, apricot, melon and banana. Just a smidge of oak comes through on the middle along with the botanical/ herbal notes.

Finish: A little short with a slightly spirity finish.

Conclusion: A lovely malt, which runs out of steam a little on the palate. I would have liked to have seen...

No1 Ancient Mariner Scotch Whisky Tobermory 1996 (18 year old?) 46.1%

Tasted: Mar 2015

Cask 349

Nose: Pungent, manurey, coffee’d and lightly sulphured. Hints of herbal and lightly cardboardy spice follow. A little industrial in character but some dried fruit and honey attempt to counter.

Palate: Soft and toffee’d with hints of dried fruit. Again a little industrial with a slight wet cardboard intimation. Thankfully there is so thick fruit to offer some balance plus white liquorice and honey.

Finish: Mouth-watering, mineral and a little hot with lingering liquorice and light spice notes.

Conclusion: Not exactly my favoured style of...

Wemyss Single Cask Release, Bench With a Sea View 46%

Tasted: Jan 2015

Nose: Initially quite oily and a little fishy with gritty oak and violets. Luscious honey balances the gritty oak and as if by magic the oak becomes very mature and sawdusty. The perfumed honey asserts and hints of ginger root, liquorice and herbs appear.

Palate: Soft and mature with barley and oodles of luscious honey and sawdusty oak. A touch of green apple and citrus comes through on the middle to balance the dusty tannins and honey.

Finish: Long and salty with the fleshy fruit and honey...

Double Barrel, Irish Single Grain 42%

3.5 years in first fill Bourbon, finished for 6 months in ex-Oloroso casks

Tasted: Jan 2015

Nose: A little neutral but gently fragrant with hints of herbal spirit. Quite grainy whisky-like with a touch of rum-like dried fruit, some corn-like notes and a touch of toffee.   

Palate: Soft and toffee’d with some developing, lightly oiled Guyana-esque dried fruit. Pretty simple but pleasantly deep.   

Finish: Long and gently spiced with the dried fruit becoming slightly fragrant in character and a herbal grainy nip coming through.   

Conclusion: Unencumbered by complexity, but it’s a...

That Boutique-y Whisky Company, Aberlour Batch 3 49.2%...

Angels Nectar Blended Malt 1 ^st Edition 40%

Tasted: Jan 2015

Nose: Youthful, estery and oily with sweet barley, pineapple chunks, apricot and a touch of acacia. The developing citrus notes add freshness and balance the oils. With time a little American oak character can be discerned.

Palate: Opens with young, oily apricot and barley with developing citrus and mineral notes. It feels a little petilant on the tongue but that morphs into a light sherbet character. Quite herbal on the middle. Pleasantly deep and full.

Finish: Long and lightly gristy with the citrus and minerality making the finish feel...

Douglas Laing Old Particular Deanston 1994 (20 year old) 51.5%

Code: OLD0134/ Dist: Jun 1994 Btl: Sept 2014/ Tasted: Oct 2014

A subtle and oily nose. Quite robust, mature and herbal with a touch of vanilla oak. Hmm. Where is the hard as nails barley and cardbordy/ industrial character? Well, not here that for certain, this must be a first for Deanston! What there is instead is a pleasant crisp and granity character. 

The palate is a little industrial and oily with some hard barley being softened by the honey. Full and gently spiced with some toffee’d oak. A pleasant...

Greenall’s London Dry Gin 37.5%...

The Spirit Of Broadside 43%

Is a Bierbrand or Eau de vie de bière which is distilled from their Broadside Beer and aged for 2 years in heavily toasted Russian oak casks.

Tasted: Sept 2014

The nose is very nutty and estery with pineapple, apricot and honey. The aromas are a little bubblegummy with hints of yeast and dried fruit. 

The palate is soft and bubblegummy with white fruit, citrus, malt, wort and beer notes. Again it’s fairly estery with notes of pineapple chunks coming through on the middle. Very long and very oaky on the finish with s distinct...

Poit Dhubh 12 year old 45%...