After 2300 notes, this was the first time my software crashed and I had to rewrite a nearly finished review. I hesitated to just skip it, but here goes…

Yamazakura is ‘produced’ by Sasanokawa Shuzo , which is a Japanese spirits company that makes sake and schochu. They source their whisky from undisclosed sources.

Until recently their releases were only available in Japan (where they have some pure malt expressions), but they teamed up with Les Whiskies du Monde (of Fujikai fame, cough) to create this ‘high-end’ Yamazakura brand. We’re getting two blended whiskies: a 16 years old and this...

Here’s a Glen Mhor 1965 that seems to get mixed reviews. I think this is true for pretty much any Glen Mhor (ha), but still, I expect something slightly quirky… It’s one of these distilleries, you know.

Glen Mhor 26 yo 1965 (56,4%, Signatory Vintage 1991, cask #202, 300 btl.)

Nose: quite a heady start, with deep sherry notes and plenty of polished oak. The whole range from dark coffee and cedar wood over chocolate and gingerbread to mint (sauce), prunes, sour cherries and strawberries. I like it, also because of its slightly herbal, dusty side (old churches)...

Bowmore N°1 and new travel retail expressions

Bowmore has just restructured its core range and introduced a new packaging , which is surprisingly harmonic and, well… white. The new line-up is still the same 12 Year Old, 15 Year Old, 18 Year Old and 25 Year Old. However the 15 will drop the Darkest tag (although there’s still a good deal of sherry involved).

Also, at the bottom end there is a new Bowmore N°1 (not to be confused with Bowmore Vaults Edit1°n series ), a no age statement whisky which replaces the Bowmore Small Batch  and is also made...

Laddie Ten is the unpeated cornerstone of the Bruichladdich range. It is composed with first-fill Bourbon, sherry and French wine casks and bottled at 50% alcohol.

Bruichladdich Laddie Ten was released for the first time after the resurrection of the distillery in 2011. Now this is replaced by the second edition, made with spirit distilled in 2006.

Bruichladdich 10 yo ‘Laddie Ten’ (50%, OB 2016, second edition, 18.000 btl.)

Nose: vanilla and honey at first, but there’s an immediately farmy / leathery / yeasty note that reminds me of old Brora. Wet wool. Then back to fruity notes,...

I tend to know the sherried Aberlour profile pretty well (A’Bunadh and such) but I’m far less experienced with bourbon matured Aberlour. Here is a refill Aberlour 21 Year Old 1995 in the Old Particular series from Douglas Laing .

Aberlour 21 yo 1995 (51,5%, Douglas Laing Old Particular 2016, refill hogshead, 278 btl.)

Nose: freshly cut apples with cinnamon dust, grist and hints of rockpools and flints. Uncommon, but not unpleasant. Oak shavings, hints of pepper. Honeydew melon. Perhaps a little aniseed. Mouth: neutral, with a bit more of these garden fruits. Apples, gooseberries. Not a fruity...

This is the first release in the Vault Edit1°n series from Bowmore distillery, launched in november 2016. The series explores four of the essential characteristics of Bowmore whisky after maturation in the legendary N°1 Vaults , in this case Atlantic Sea Salt . The other yearly releases will explore peat smoke, vanilla sweetness and citrus fruits.

Bowmore Vaults Edition is matured in ex-bourbon casks and bottled at high strength.

Bowmore Vault Edition (51,5%, OB 2016, first release)

Nose: nicely balanced, though perhaps a little shy at first (it’s a fine line). Vanilla with some sweet lemons and oranges....

This Ardbeg 1974 is from the golden age of this distillery, most of the single casks became legends. Even then cask #3309 bottled for La Maison du Whisky is among the highest rated.

Ardbeg 32 yo 1974 (52,5%, OB for LMdW 2006, bourbon cask #3309, 109 btl.)

Nose: oh that balance. A herbal nose in the beginning, rosemary, some hay, camphor. A honey and marzipan sweetness in the back. Vanilla almond cookies. Then back to walnuts and dusty warehouse floors. Cold ashes. Dried meats. Nice waxy notes too, old paraffin candles. Mouth: oh, even more medicinal than I...

WM Cadenhead bottled several Bruichladdich 1992 casks so far, mostly in the Authentic collection and recently in the Small Batch series . This is from the januari 2017 releases – it’s hard to find but I’m not sure whether it is sold out already or still on the way.

Bruichladdich 24 yo 1992 (53,3%, Cadenhead ‘Small Batch’ 2016, 3 bourbon hogsheads, 588 btl.)

Nose: starts with an oldskool dustiness , then also a waxy note (kind of a 1960s Ben Nevis waxy note if that makes sense to you). It will settle on this nice combination of garden...

Laphroaig announced two new travel retail expressions. Both will be available in april 2017, but prices are yet to be announced. Interesting, slightly uncommon recipes:

Laphroaig Four Oak (40%)

Matured in four different types of casks : bourbon barrels, quarter casks, virgin American oak barrels and European oak hogsheads. Kind of a Laphroaig Triple Wood on steroids, with new oak aromas? I’m afraid it might end up being a bit of everything and nothing in particular.

Laphroaig The 1815 – Legacy Edition (48%)

1815 refers to the founding of the distillery. This whisky was first placed in...

Yes, the label says Glen Morey although it should obviously be Glen Moray 1977 . There are relatively few bottlings from this distillery, let alone of this respectable age. This expressions was bottled by Malts of Scotland , but already back in 2012.

Glen Morey 34 yo 1977 (52,1%, Malts of Scotland 2012, bourbon hogshead, MoS 12021, 172 btl.)

Nose: honeyed, with a lot of berry fruits. Hints of pineapple, tangerine and other lightly exotic notes. Furniture polish, as well as some plain oak, a little plankish even. Menthol. marshmallows. Some slightly perfumy notes too. Mouth: fairly loud,...

Bowmore 9 Year Old was released in september 2016 – it proves that the old sacred 10 Year Old age statement is not sacred any more. It’s matured in Oloroso sherry casks but apparently there are classic bourbon casks in the mix as well. Also, despite the label saying ‘limited release’ most shops claim it is a permanent addition to their range. Not sure what to believe any more, and the official Bowmore website has been down for days now. Hello?

Sherried whisky from Islay is not that common, especially not in the lower end of the market. And this is...

Yay, two more Irish malts distilled in 1989 . The first one is bottled by Whisky-Fässle, the second is part of the 10th Anniversary series of The Nectar. The latter is finished in a rum cask.

Irish single malt 26 yo 1989 (47,2%, Whisky-Fässle 2015, barrel)

Nose: medium fruity nose on this one.  There’s green mango, lemon and sour pineapple, but we’ve seen wider noses. Quite some grassy notes. Mint and green tea. Perhaps one passion fruit. Plenty of varnished notes too. Mouth: same feeling of green citrus first, but then a burst of more tropical fruits. Lots...

Tormore maj not be a sexy name, and a pretty strange distillery if you judge it by its architectural qualities, yet I did have a few pleasant surprises when trying their whiskies. Here’s a Tormore 1997 bottled by Gordon & MacPhail .

Tormore 1997 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail ‘Connoisseur’s Choice’ 2014)

Nose: rather fresh, with garden fruits, hints of tangerines and fig compote. Light honey. Lemon and mint. It shows a lot of vanilla after a while. Mouth: creamy and fruity, with honey and some lightly tropical fruits. Mango, banana, sweet grapefruits and peaches. Nice sweet and sour balance,...

Redbreast Lustau Edition is a rather unique project of an Irish whiskey producer and a Spanish sherry bodega, with both names being mentioned. Usually distilleries source casks from small coopers who often use indistinct wines to season their casks, but in this case Bodegas Lustau (one of the most awarded sherry brands in the world) was asked to specifically prepare casks for this release. They teamed up with the Antonio Páez Lobato cooperage (also in Jerez de la Frontera) which provided the new casks.

The base whisky was between 9 and 12 years old.  The spirit was first matured...

The Balblair 2005 vintage was launched early 2016 and is matured entirely in ex-bourbon, American oak barrels. It replaces the Balblair 2003 which had basically the same recipe.

Balblair 2005 (46%, OB 2015, 1st release)

Nose: young, with clear hints of new-make spirit. Quite some feinty hints (mix of rubber and leather) at first but these dissipate. After that, it’s all on pear drops and banana candy. Some vanilla and touches of floral honey. Close to the barley. Mouth: more body than I expected. A young but fairly weighty spirit. A lot of honey, moving towards toffee and...

Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2010 is the successor of the 2009 vintage that came out last year. The barley for this edition was harvested at eight Islay farms (Coull, Cruach, Dunlossit, Island, Mulindry, Rockside, Strachmill and Sunderland). Bottled at 50% after 6 years in cask.

The Balvenie Peat Week 2002 is a 14 years old peated Balvenie matured in American oak and bottled at 48,3%. The distillery had some experiments with peated casks in the past (casks that previously held peated whisky, but not Balvenie) but this seems to be the first Balvenie made from peated barley. For one week each...

I loved the first batch of this Tomatin 36 Year Old and now we can try Batch #2 . It is composed from first-fill Oloroso sherry butts and traditional American oak casks.

It is bottled at 46% but the distillery says it is ‘natural strength’ in some of their communications. Contrary to the first batch, this doesn’t seem to be a single vintage whisky.

Batch 2 has been given a different look, in the same bottle type as the rest of the core range, albeit housed in an oak presentation box with certificate. Funnily the wooden box is protected by...

I find it difficult to classify Linkwood whiskies. I’ve had some perfect 1970s fruit bombs from this distillery but also quite mediocre middle-aged bottlings. How about this Linkwood 1986 bottled by Sansibar …?

Linkwood 30 yo 1986 (41,4%, Sansibar 2016, 96 btl.)

Nose: it has got some kind of dusty tropical fruitiness. Melons, ripe grapefruit, touches of pineapple, also plain yellow apples. Hints of mint. Waxy notes too. Dandelions, orange blossom, moving towards more leafy notes and earthy touches. Hints of caramel. Subtle and elegant, but above-par complexity. Mouth: again a warm fruity profile, almost tropical. Peaches, melons,...

Another 25 year-old Auchroisk that seems very similar to this year’s Special Release . Actually we tried both directly against each other.

Auchroisk 25 yo 1991 (51,7%, Claxton’s 2016, bourbon hogshead #1604-7479, 280 btl.)

Nose: slightly narrower and grassier than the Special Release. That means a bit more grassy notes (towards hay) and missing the brightest top notes. Still very fresh, including the floral touches (lilac). Apples, pears and oranges. Hints of pineapple. Also honey and vanilla. Mouth: orchard fruits at its core, with more honey and less minty oak than in the Special Release. Tinned fruits, hints...

This is the new Dalwhinnie Distillers Edition (2016 release) which is starting to pop up in stores. It is matured in ex-bourbon casks and ‘double matured’ in Oloroso sherry casks.

Dalwhinnie 2000 ‘Distiller’s Edition’ (43%, OB 2016, Oloroso finish, ref. D.SX.312)

Nose: baked apple and honey, with subtle herbal undertones. Heather. Hints of hay and dusty wheat. Certainly not unpleasant, but a bit on the safe and silent side. Mouth: rather sweet and raisiny now, with hints of Spanish brandy. Cider apples. The sweetness makes place for nutty notes and soft spices. Fades on milk chocolate, and lots...