Score 4
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Bruichladdich 12 Year (2009), Rest & Be ThankfulWine Cask #304458.9% Nose: Nutty vanilla, chocolate, coffee, and molasses. There’s a (dark, eg cherry) fruit note that reminds me of a drier, slightly bitter madeira. A touch of Laddie if you’re looking for it. Palate: Somewhat full, juicy, but not quite big. A touch of heat. It’s…
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Bowmore 8 Year, Feis Isle 2025Oloroso seasoned Spanish oak (single) cask100% floor malted barley (typically 20-30%)56% abv Nose: Unctuous. Dark, brackish. Licorice. Stewed, salty red fruits. Raisins. Make this a cologne, please. Palate: Dry. Practically grippy. Sumptuous sherry. Walnuts. Sprinkle of salt. Solid mouthfeel. Gets quite decadent, rich caramel. Finish: Immediately syrupy and juicy. Everything…
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Caol Ila 8 Year, Fèis Ìle 2025 Refill PX and OlorosoFinished in toasted Colombian oakProduced 1,476 bottles57.8% abv Nose: Sweet. Smoke. Wine cask. Flinstone vitamins. Orange chocolate. Occasionally musty. Palate: Oh yeah, the wine cask note. Transitions more to typical sherry notes. Warm, rich. A touch musty. Chocolate builds over time. It has an oddly sweet…
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I’ve only recently had the chance to try Ardmore, one each from Decadent Drams and Dramfool. I found the latter much more enjoyable, but both had interesting similarities: salt, grass, oil, and a touch of fruit. One of these I likened to an old tractor in a grassy field. Having grown up in a rural…
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My first Smögen. I’ve heard nothing but very high praise for this Swedish distillery so my expectations coming into this dram were fairly high. The distillery is on a farm and named after a nearby island, Smögen. They focus on small batch production, using entirely manual processes with full attention to the highest quality production.…
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I don’t know much about Thy distillery, but looked them up for a few minutes before enjoying this dram. Thy is an organic single-estate whisky, originally an 8-generation family farm turned closed-loop family whisky estate. They farm and process their organic grain and produce the whisky on traditional, often handmade, equipment in a process focused…
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As the name suggests, this came from a leaking private Bruichladdich cask whose owner tasked Dramfool to rescue it. They re-racked it into a refill sherry octave to stop the losses. Only 77x20cl bottles were available. (Image credit: Dramfool) Whisky: Bruichladdich 15 Year (2008), Dramfool’s Festival Edition “Leaky Laddie”Country/Region: Scotland/IslayCask: Bourbon, Re-racked refill sherry octaveABV:…
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The second oldest Macallan I’ve had the pleasure to taste, the oldest distilled in 1966 and being absolutely phenomenal. With a bit of internet sleuthing, it appears this bottle comes from hogshead 7821 owned by Michael Crowther — one of the former directors Moray Firth Maltings. The label states the malt was sourced from Crowther’s…