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W.D. O'Connell

W.D. O’Connell

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Scyfion: a Ukrainian independent bottler

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Glenlivet 2007 Signatory Vintage, TWE
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Last month I wrote a review for Big Peat, this mon

Last month I wrote a review for Big Peat, this month it's time for Scallywag! This is also a blended malt from the Remarkable Regional Malts series by Douglas Laing, but this one is a marriage of single malts from Speyside, namely Macallan, Mortlach and Glenrothes to name a few. I'm curious how it will taste because I have never tasted this one before. But I'll have to wait until the weekend. 🙄 Anyway, a review will be online next Monday and in the meantime, I'd love to know if you ever tasted this one. And what did you think of it? ⁠

A recent purchase of a Miltonduff from Cadenhead's

A recent purchase of a Miltonduff from Cadenhead's small batch series, which I'll be opening and tasting very shortly. (Do like a good Miltonduff, so I'm curious). ⁠
Unfortunately, it was announced not too long ago that this series will be replaced by another series that will not be bottled at cask strength but at a strength of 46% ABV. Personally I like cask strength whiskies, but if the quality is guaranteed and the prices are affordable, then it could be just fine. The future will show whether this is a wise choice, but it will certainly ensure that more bottles will be available worldwide. Anyway, I'm happy that new Cadenhead bottlings will be available soon! What do you think about the small batch series being replaced?

Just a stunning dram.... 😍 A review will follow

Just a stunning dram.... 😍 A review will follow this week! Have a great Sunday everyone.

A look inside one of Glenburgie's warehouses. 😍

A look inside one of Glenburgie's warehouses. 😍⁠
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Glenburgie distillery has been around for many years. Officially, the distillery has been around since 1829. However, there are rumours that it was founded in 1810. ⁠
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In 1936 the distillery was sold to Hiram Walker and it has been one of the main components of Ballantine's ever since.⁠
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An interesting fact is that Glenburgie used to have a pair of Lomond stills as well (from 1958-1981) which produced another whisky called Glencraig. This malt was too intended for blends. It's very rarely seen but there are a few indie single malt releases. ⁠
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In the early 2000s, the distillery was completely rebuilt and all they kept were the old stills, to which another pair of stills was added later. It has since been part of Chivas Brothers (Pernod Ricard) and is still one of the major components of Ballantine's.

This 12 year old Clynelish was a special bottling

This 12 year old Clynelish was a special bottling (2009) for the Friends of the Classic Malts, which has matured in sherry casks. And somehow Clynelish and sherry casks aren't always the best match, in my opinion. However, there are a few exceptions like that 20 year old Clynelish bottled for its 200th anniversary and I also remember a very nice 1996 Clynelish from Signatory Vintage, matured in refill sherry butts. So let's see how this will taste. ⁠
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Nose: fresh fruits with some pear and apple. There's some waxiness but quite thin actually. I even get some smoke here. Some more fruit like oranges and a faint sweet smell of caramel.⁠
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Taste: some wax to start with. A thick mouthfeel and quite easy to drink. With honey and some nice fruitiness, mostly towards oranges. Also a nice and gentle layer of smokiness on the palate. ⁠
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Finish: mid-long. Oranges a lot of them, pepper and a faint hint of ginger. ⁠
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It's maybe not your typical Clynelish, even though it does have some the typical Clynelish notes. It's also not the best out there but it's definitely not bad either. It's actually a nice young dram just not something special. ⁠

@thewhiskyjury is a Belgian Indie bottler who has

@thewhiskyjury is a Belgian Indie bottler who has only just started but is quickly making a name for himself. So far he has only released 8 bottles, including 3 Ben Nevis bottlings from the mid-90s and a 35-year-old Caol Ila, but also some younger single malts such as this Williamson 2010 (Laphroaig) and also a Ledaig 2010, to name a few examples. A nice mix of young and old, and I really like that. Especially since all of his bottles seem to receive very good scores. 😊 ⁠
Nose: a lovely layer of peat. Ash. Vanilla and a hint of biscuits. Bandages. Red apples and lemons in the background. Seaweed. A hint of a salty vegetal broth and iodine.⁠
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Taste: oh nice. Peat again. Vanilla too. A smouldering bonfire. Seaweed. A medicinal note, iodine. It’s a bit briny and somewhat herbal.⁠
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Finish: long with mostly peat and vanilla.⁠
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Ok, so there is also a sister cask of this, which did score even higher. But I really think this a great Laphroaig too. It has all the typical LP notes, that got me into whisky in the first place. It’s pretty straight forward, but I like it. Definitely a bottler to keep on the radar. Have you heard of the Whisky Jury?

Hyde Whiskey is a label from Hibernia Distillers,

Hyde Whiskey is a label from Hibernia Distillers, a company based in Skibereen, West Cork. It was founded in 2014 by the brothers Alan and Conor Hyde. Initially, there was talk of opening a distillery, hence the name, but so far this hasn't happened and so they still bottle sourced whiskey under their Hyde Label. I've reviewed 4 different ones on my website and this Hyde No.4 President's Cask was one of them.⁠
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It's a 6 year old single malt, which has matured in American oak before being finished in dark rum casks, bottled at 46% ABV.⁠
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Nose: Bananas! And plenty of it. Passion fruit. Then vanilla custard and caramel. A touch of powdering sugar. Cinnamon. Oats. And a hint of fresh pears.⁠
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Taste: It’s a little thin and a bit watery. Somewhat malty. More bananas. And quite the bitter edge, which is a little off. Vanilla. A hint of mango in the very background. A rum note in the very end.⁠
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Finish: Rather short. A bit bitter and some spices. Brown sugar. Vanilla too.⁠
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The nose is rather lovely, but it loses some points on the taste and the short finish. It’s a bit flat and thin and there is this bitter edge and at the same time, it's also a bit too sweet at some points. A pity, since the nose was nice, but after that, it didn't quite work for me.⁠
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(Bottle provided by Hyde).

Where most distilleries have an equal number of st

Where most distilleries have an equal number of stills (With the exception of those where triple distilling takes place), Laphroaig has 7 stills. The distillery has 3 wash stills and 4 spirit stills. 3 of them are smaller spirit stills, but one is twice the size of the others. A choice made in 1972 during the last expansion and from what I understood it was for economic reasons (1 larger still costs less than 2 stills). Not only a unique choice because of the odd number, but also flavour wise as each still shape provides a different taste. Perhaps this wasn't an issue back then (well, for Laphroaig at least)? Does anyone know? 🤔

Personally I’m not very familiar with Big Peat,

Personally I’m not very familiar with Big Peat, at least I haven’t tasted it before. I know the name, like most of you, and I know all the individual components that are used in this blend. As this is an Islay blended malt that consists of Ardbeg, Bowmore, Caol Ila and it also contains Port Ellen. Although I don’t expect that the latter will be the main ingredient.⁠
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Big Peat is part of the Remarkable Regional Malts series from Douglas Laing. Each of these blends represents a separate region in Scotland. Big Peat was the first in this range, introduced over 10 years ago. Later also Scallywag was added, a Speyside blend, followed by Timorous Beastie (Highlands), Rock Island (Islands), The Epicurean (Lowlands) and lastly The Gauldrons (Campbeltown). So far I've only tasted a 40yo Timorous Beastie, but let’s get acquainted with some of the standard range, starting with Big Peat. So here are my tasting notes: ⁠
Nose: typical Islay nose with plenty of peat and seaweed at first. Quite some vanilla. A hint of bandages. Plasticine. Brine. Lemons in the background. Later also a metallic note. Green apples and it’s slightly malty.⁠
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Taste: creamy peat. There’s the vanilla again. Caramel fudge and it’s a bit salty. Green apples. A metallic note. Oats. And it’s slightly peppery towards the end.⁠
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Finish: mid-long, with mostly peat and lemons. Slightly peppery here as well.⁠
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It seems a bit young-ish and it feels like Caol Ila is the main ingredient here. But peated Islay whisky works well at a young age and that’s also the case here. Not very complex but just tasty stuff. ⁠
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Thanks to @monnikdranken for this bottle.

There are a number of new distilleries that I love

There are a number of new distilleries that I love to follow, for example, Daftmill (well, maybe not that new) or Bimber. The downside, however, is that it’s quite difficult to obtain because most of these distilleries release their single malts in smaller batches. So you can imagine those bottles sell out in a blink of the eye. But sometimes I'm lucky, like with this Daftmill 2007 Winter batch release. So here are my tasting notes:⁠⠀
Nose: really lovely. Apple juice! And quite floral too. There is some lime. Plenty of vanilla. Fresh pears and freshly cut grass. Green bananas. Peaches. A hint of cookie dough and a lemon pastry with icing sugar on top.⁠⠀
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Taste: a nice creamy mouthfeel. Quite some vanilla here as well. Caramel fudge. Green bananas again. A hint of liquor 43, ha! Pink grapefruit. Ginger. Later also mint and oranges. Crushed black pepper too.⁠⠀
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Finish: a nice long finish with mint, grapefruit and a handful of spices; ginger and crushed black pepper.⁠⠀
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Absolutely loving the nose. Actually the palate is very good too, which ends in a lovely long finish, all with that typical Lowlands character. I think this is the best Daftmill release I have tasted so far. Simply delicious! ⁠⠀

Revisiting the Bowmore Tempest, so that's another

Revisiting the Bowmore Tempest, so that's another one for the review pile. And that pile keeps on growing and growing and growing. ;-) Think this review will be online next week. ⁠⠀

The beautiful warehouses of Aberfeldy Distillery.

The beautiful warehouses of Aberfeldy Distillery. ⁠⠀

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Glenlivet 2007 Signatory Vintage, TWE
Glenfiddich 1968 Vintage Reserve
Secret Highland 1987, Whisky Nerds
Ardbeg Traigh Bhan, 19 year old, batch 2
Ben Nevis 21 year old, That Boutique-y Whisky Company
Bowmore Tempest, 10 year old, batch 5
Glenlossie 2006, Signatory Vintage
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