The 5 bottles from April were all under 9 yrs aged, single malt Scotch and were rich in flavour. We tried to go from lesser known distilleries instead of the usual suspects.
The bottles were...
Bottle 1... Glenrothes. Bottled at 40% it is pale in the glass, fairly good legs. The nose offered oak, green apples, malty notes and a sweet honey.
The palate is spicy and peppery with vanilla and biscuity notes.
The finish is short but it makes it very easy drinking. Adding water steals the fruity sweetness but mellows the peppery spice. Overall a very pleasant dram.
Bottle 2...Glengoyne. Bottled at 46% this is non chill filtered (NCF) and bottled after 7 yrs maturation.
The nose was grassy, citrus and a rubber note. It was slightly off note.
Palate was better with pear, rubber, warm spice and some bitter oak.
The finish was slightly drying with warm spice. Adding water softened the mouthfeel but enhanced the synthetic sweetness.
Personally I didn't rate this very much but I have liked Glengoyne in the past so wonder if a bit more time to oxidise would bring this up a notch or two.
Bottle 3... Craigellachie
8 yr premier barrel
Bottled at 46%
Colour: Pale amber gold
The nose is malty, dry, spicy, citrus notes, cinnamon and cut grass.
The palate is warm spices, honey and vanilla. The finish is soft and smooth with a medium length.
Top drawer stuff, well worth sourcing a bottle of this.
Bottle 4... Glenallachie 6 yr
This is a cask strength bottled at 55.2%
Pale straw in colour the nose is sweet, apple, dried fruit, sherried fruit, tobacco with musty notes.
The palate is spicy, fruity, vanilla, chocolate with white pepper.
Medium finish. Adding a few drops of water accentuates the sweetness.
Bottle 5...Miltonduff
8 yr old, NCF bottled at 46%
This is the weirdest whisky I have ever seen. It is an independent bottle so not an official distillery expression. It is dark brown. Cloudier than a pint of real ale. That aside a nice drop although it split the group slightly on opinion.
Nose is soft, fruity, red liquorice & barley.
Palate is lightly spiced, soft grain, vanilla, barley, brown sugar.
Finish is sweet, medium short, lingering light spice.
You should see the picture below... must be seen to be believed.
The bottles were...
- Glenrothes 8 yr
- Glengoyne 7 yr
- Craigellachie 8 yr
- Glenallachie 6 yr
- Miltonduff 8 yr
Bottle 1... Glenrothes. Bottled at 40% it is pale in the glass, fairly good legs. The nose offered oak, green apples, malty notes and a sweet honey.
The palate is spicy and peppery with vanilla and biscuity notes.
The finish is short but it makes it very easy drinking. Adding water steals the fruity sweetness but mellows the peppery spice. Overall a very pleasant dram.
Bottle 2...Glengoyne. Bottled at 46% this is non chill filtered (NCF) and bottled after 7 yrs maturation.
The nose was grassy, citrus and a rubber note. It was slightly off note.
Palate was better with pear, rubber, warm spice and some bitter oak.
The finish was slightly drying with warm spice. Adding water softened the mouthfeel but enhanced the synthetic sweetness.
Personally I didn't rate this very much but I have liked Glengoyne in the past so wonder if a bit more time to oxidise would bring this up a notch or two.
Bottle 3... Craigellachie
8 yr premier barrel
Bottled at 46%
Colour: Pale amber gold
The nose is malty, dry, spicy, citrus notes, cinnamon and cut grass.
The palate is warm spices, honey and vanilla. The finish is soft and smooth with a medium length.
Top drawer stuff, well worth sourcing a bottle of this.
Bottle 4... Glenallachie 6 yr
This is a cask strength bottled at 55.2%
Pale straw in colour the nose is sweet, apple, dried fruit, sherried fruit, tobacco with musty notes.
The palate is spicy, fruity, vanilla, chocolate with white pepper.
Medium finish. Adding a few drops of water accentuates the sweetness.
Bottle 5...Miltonduff
8 yr old, NCF bottled at 46%
This is the weirdest whisky I have ever seen. It is an independent bottle so not an official distillery expression. It is dark brown. Cloudier than a pint of real ale. That aside a nice drop although it split the group slightly on opinion.
Nose is soft, fruity, red liquorice & barley.
Palate is lightly spiced, soft grain, vanilla, barley, brown sugar.
Finish is sweet, medium short, lingering light spice.
You should see the picture below... must be seen to be believed.
...and the winner is?
At the end of each meeting we vote on the bottles to see which we liked the most. The scoring system is simple. 5 points for the one you likemost, 4 points for the next and so on.
The scores are as follows:
At the end of each meeting we vote on the bottles to see which we liked the most. The scoring system is simple. 5 points for the one you likemost, 4 points for the next and so on.
The scores are as follows:
- Craigellachie 8 yr 25 points
- Glenallachie 6 yr 24 points
- Glenrothes 8 yr 19 points
- Miltonduff 8 yr 13 points
- Glengoyne 7 yr 9 points
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