The Girvan Patent Still Grain 25 year old Launch Edition 42%

Tasted: Feb 2016

Nose: Fresh, high toned and relatively young (in grain terms) there’s some nascent dried fruit and plenty of herbal/ grassy notes. With time some lightly estery banana and pineapple appear along with some creamy oak.

Palate: Fuller and weightier with the dried fruit showing a more oilier character and a light rum-like demeanor. The alcohol gives it a good piquancy.

Finish: Medium length with quite a youthful, grainy finish.

Conclusion: A pleasant if not earth shattering grain.

The Girvan Patent Still Grain No Age Statement Proof...

Puni Alba 43%

Tasted: Mar 2016

Nose: Interesting, youthful and very malty. It reminds me of a Dutch malt-wine with sweet barley, honey and a winey, sup Grappa-like note. A touch of buttery oak appears along with what feels like a little rye spice.

Palate: Crisper and edgy with more earthy rye-like notes and hints of sweet barley and youthful Grappa-like spirit. Subtly, dusty spiced with building whisky notes and a suggestion of oak.

Finish: Good length, if a little dry and subtly smoky with malt biscuits and dark rye-like notes.

Conclusion: A curious and entertaining dram. I would have...

Yellow Rose Outlaw Bourbon 46%

100% Corn aged in small oak barrels.

Tasted: Mar 2016

Nose: Young, but not spirity and very peppery with woody rye-like notes, hints of wheat flakes and green citrus fruit. Slightly herbal with a touch of burnt caramel corn and sweet oak.

Palate: Opens with soft but herbal rye-like notes, followed by fat corn and hints of dark chocolate, burnt caramel and drying wood spices.

Finish: Long and spicy with lingering corn and light herbal marc-like notes.

Conclusion: If this is what I think it is then it’s developing quite well and shows a lot...

Tormore 1995 (19 year old) 49.1%...

Craigellachie 2007 (7 year old) 66%

Sherry Butt 900771/ Tasted: Mar 2016

Nose: Intensely barley’d with baked fruit, herbs and beeswax. Slightly metallic with some faintly cardboardy spice and industrial notes. Water completely transforms it bringing out a Sauvignon blanc-esque grassy critic character.

Palate: Industrial hard barley with a touch of honey, malt and like the nose faintly cardboard spice. Unsurprisingly it’s pretty alcoholic too. Water makes it vague and more cardboard.

Finish: Very herbal and alcoholic with a touch of rose petal marc.

Conclusion: Dilution completely transforms the nose for the better; unfortunately water doesn’t produce the same transformation...

Alisa Bay 48.9%

The Lowlands distillery, which is set up to produce a number of different Speyside malt styles within the Girvan grain distillery complex in Ayrshire, was built in 2007 and has not released a single malt until now.

While the majority of Ailsa Bay’s whisky styles will be used for a variety of blends within owner William Grant & Sons’ portfolio, its peated run – that lasts for just one week per year – is reserved for the Ailsa Bay single malt.

Ailsa Bay is being positioned as the group’s ‘peated malt’, and has a stated phenol content...

Maverick Drinks Darkness Tobermory 16 year old 54.9%

Tasted: Mar 2016

Nose: Dusty, mocha laced slightly phenolic peat, brine, manure, earth and crisp barley. Pleasantly fresh and deep with tarry treacle. With time it becomes pretty stinky (in a good way that is!)

Palate: Very malty and manurey with dark treacle, vanilla and wood spice. A touch of honey and sweet barley lighten the middle and the dusty peat and salt appears. The alcohol helps emphasise the coastal intensity.

Finish: Long, salty and mouth-watering with lovely, lingering dry and sweet peat, manure and violets. The oak bitters a little at...

J.H. Original Selection Rye Whisky 46%

Tasted: Mar 2016

Nose: Raw and earthy with oily marc-like rose petal notes. Dark, toasted, slightly spicy rye emerges along with hints of vanilla cream, coffee and toffee.

Palate: Edgy and raw with prominent marc-like rose petal. Definitely not lacking in spirit character or alcohol. The dark rye notes pummel the palate. Damn! That’s intense!

Finish: Raw and mouth-watering. Quite herbal with a dry, slightly bitter ending.

Conclusion: if this is what I think it is then it’s showing a little more maturity than it did two years ago, but not much! Definitely work...

Forty Creek Evolution 43%

Tasted: Oct 2014

Nose: Initially the aromas are quite shy, but there is plenty of dense, slightly spicy oak along with soy sauce, wheat flakes, dried balsamic fruit and a light spice note. With time some grainy spirit puts in an appearance.

Palate: Slightly watery with sweet spice, dried sultana, white grape and oak. Hugely tannic with some creamy notes attempting to offset and like the nose some grainy spirit notes come through.

Finish: Dry and tannic, with the grainy spirit prevalent.

Conclusion: It feels like a moderately aged grain whisky which has succumbed to the...

JP Wisers Double Still Rye 43.4%

Tasted: Oct 2014

Nose: Chunky thick set honey and very subtle herbal rye. Pleasantly soft but edgy with toasted oak and earthy notes. A late winey, nutty marsanne grape-like note appears along with a light, almost salty note.

Palate: Very much like the nose, majbe slightly oilier with a lovely depth of honey and again very subtle rye notes. Toasty/ nutty oak comes through on the middle with some building crisp, grainy notes.

Finish: Long and displaying some herbal spice and a lovely peppery finish.

Conclusion: A very subtle rye whisky with more than...

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Balmenach 2001 (14 year old) 50%...

Gordon & MacPhails Collection Glen Scotia 1991 (15 year old) 43%...

Gordon & MacPhails Distillery Label Miltonduff 10 year old 40%...

Gordon & MacPhails Connoisseurs Choice Inchgower 1993 (17 year old) 46%...

Platte...

Karlssons Gold Vodka 40%...

Edition Spirits Benriach 1989(?) 26 year old 56.1%

Bourbon/ Code: EDI0120/ Dist: 1989(?) Btl: Nov 2015(?)/ Tasted: Dec 2015

Dusty and mature, malty and herbal aromas with some almost rye-like herbal spices. The malt is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Hints of balsamic berry fruit, sweet liquorice follow with an almost wheaty note. If I had nosed this blind I would have sworn it was made from some kind of multi-grain mash bill.

The palate is more classic, mature Benriach with the emphasis on the barley and dusty oak. Subtly malty with baked fruit and a...

Edition Spirits Highland Park 1997(?) 18 year old 56.7%

Bourbon/ Code: EDI0119/ Dist: 1997(?) Btl: Nov 2015(?)/ Tasted: Dec 2015

A superb nose of dusty peat, sweet barley and malt with a touch of balsamic baked apple, pomegranate and juicy vanilla. Lovely depth and complexity with a judicious sprinkling of duty spice.

The palate opens with sweet barley and toffee with some lightly bittering wood spice adding a counterpoint. Gently sooty peat on the middle but the oak is beginning to dominate. Intensely alcoholic and citric finish, which halts the oak and allows the lovely earthy peat, sweet peat and...

Bache-Gabrielsen 3 Kors Cognac 40%

Tasted: Dec 2014

Nose: Quite herbal and lightly astringent aromas with green apple and edgy pepper notes. Vibrant but very young with some oily spirit notes adding to the youthfulness.

Palate: Like the nose it is quite herbal. Very woody with not quite enough body to balance the biting tannins. Again very youthful, but not lacking in intensity.

Finish: Medium length with a dry spice finish.

Conclusion: Intense and youthful but lacking a bit of body.  

Bache-Gabrielsen Hors d’Age Grande Champagne 40%

Tasted: Dec 2014

Nose: Deep aromas of dark prune juice with hints...

Motorhead Vodka 40%...