30 Evan Street,

Stonehaven,

Aberdeenshire,

AB39 2ET

 

Tel : 01569 760060

Whisky Tasting Notes

Springbank

Hidden away in the often wind-swept village of Campbeltown on the tip of the Mull of Kintyre peninsula, this distillery is in the safe hands of the Mitchell family, and has been since it’s inception in 1828 through to the present day. Due to the small batch bottling runs and idiosyncratic approach, Springbank whiskies are rarely exactly the same twice, but generally never worse than very good. A forerunner of the minimal treatment of whisky, Springbank have always bottled their whiskies without the addition of colourants and without chill-filtration. Watch the oils spill out when water is added!

Bladnoch

House Style: Soft, light and elegant.

Sample: Exclusive Malts 16 year Old 51.5%

(Distilled during the United Distillers reign).

Nose:  Fudge, lemon and playdoh make an appearance with grassy, cereal notes coming through with water.

Taste: Delicate, creamy, vanilla ice cream and foamed milk tones jump out. More citrus and lemon, as the nose.

Finish:  Short and clean with a lingering oaty-ness.

Overall: Great Lowland example - Aperitif

Glenrothes

Glenrothes sits in the middle of the Rothes valley area of Speyside, between Elgin and Craigellachie. A prized “top dressing” malt for blenders, it can be found in Cutty Sark and Famous Grouse to name but 2 blends which benefit from its flavours. Founded in 1878 by William Grants & Co. (another, not the Glenfiddich owners!) it is bottled by top London wine merchants Berry Bros and Rudd of St. James.

Old Pulteney

 

The most northerly placed mainland distillery in Scotland (Highland Park and Scapa sit on the Island of Orkney) is situated near Wick, a Highland fishing port with a bracing character. The distillery was founded in 1826 but not generally available in single malt form until bought by Inverhouse Distillers in 1997. This whisky has sparked many a debate about the flavours of salt in whisky despite analysis showing no salts present!

 

House Style:  Fresh, but substantial.

Sample:  Old Pulteney 12 year old 40%

Nose:  Sea spray, nougat and a touch of smoke.

Taste:  Gentle malt creeps back across the palate, leaving an oily slick as it goes. Marshmallow flavours balance the saltiness. 

Finish: Medium, but leaving a lazy, thick trail.

Overall:  Deceptively rich without being a monster.

Ardbeg

 

Although “officially” citing its history back to 1794, it is though distillation has taken place at Ardbeg for much longer - illicitly – due to its remote location on the south-east coast of Islay. It was in production from then until the early 1980’s and sporadic production continued until 1997 when Glenmorangie PLC invested heavily in renovation and opened a visitor’s centre.

 

House Style: Rich, peaty and earthy malt.

Sample: Ardbeg 10 year old 46%

Nose: Immediate sweet and medicinal, only a little smoke.  Sea breeze and tarry-salty rope.

Taste:  As sweet as the nose with lots of vanilla. Very fresh for a whisky so heavily peated.

Finish: Long. Drying. This is where the smoke kicks in!

Overall: A powerful, rich whisky without being overwhelming.

Aberlour

 

Aberlour, from the village of the same name can be translated from Gaelic as “mouth of the Lour” which describes its position perfectly – the little river which flows into the greater Spey. “A’bunadh” is said to mean origin, as here we have a Speyside whisky made in a style echoing that of days gone by where sherry barrels were the norm and all barley was dried with a greater level of peat being burnt.

 

House Style:  Sherry accents and medium body.

Sample:  A’bunadh Cask Strength.

Nose:  Christmas cake and dark, stewed fruits.

Taste:  Weighty, thick and drying when undiluted – malty and Cognac like with water.

Finish:  Long and clean with a fruity, softly smoked resonance.

Overall: A great all rounder giving us an insight into how whisky used to taste.

Linkwood

 

Lying just to the south of Elgin we find Linkwood distillery, off the beaten track and often overlooked when compared with bigger neighboring names such as Glen Moray Mannochmore and Glen Lossie. The grounds of the distillery are picturesque and many bottlings contain pictures of animals likely to be found near the distillery. The distillery itself is split across 2 still houses, the second add 100 years after the first said to produce a lighter spirit than its older sibling. Once tasted you’ll see why it should be better known.

 

House Style:  Light for Speyside sometimes with floral edge

Sample:  Linkwood 15 year old 43% bottled by Gordon & MacPhail

Nose:  Fresh and clean – a slight herbaceous note and a wisp of smoke on the breeze…

Taste:  Gentle syrup flavours compete with soft flowers. It gets drier the more water you add as the sherry cask shows through.

Finish: Medium, but coming back with a surge of sweetness to the front of the palate right at the end.

Overall:  Delicate and soothing.

Longmorn

 

Longmorn, like Aberlour, Linkwood and many other distilleries originally added a Glenlivet suffix to its name – both to show its geographical location and to piggy back the fame of the world renowned “The Glenlivet” distillery – its hard to see why it needed to as this is one of Scotland’s finest drams and should be known by a wider audience on flavour alone.

The distillery lies alongside Benriach between Elgin and Rothes and its name translates as “place of the Holy man” as a chapel once stood and it was proclaimed that the spring (that now services the distillery) would never run dry.

 

House Style:  Malty, complex and rich.

Sample:  Longmorn 15 year old 45%

Nose:  Malted barley and sweet floral tones.

Taste: Citrus orange, breakfast cereal (Special K..?) and caramel nuts.

Finish: Nutty, savoury and spicy.

Overall:    Enjoy it while it lasts – recently replaced by a cask strength, but paler flavoured 16 year old. What a dram!

Benromach

 

After a chequered history which saw this distillery open, close and change hands many times Benromach came under the ownership of independent bottlers Gordon & MacPhail of Elgin in 1992 who re-equipped with smaller stills and started distilling again on October 15^th 1998 – exactly 100 years after it originally turned on the taps!

This bottling is produced in limited quantity every year and is currently the peatiest whisky available – unusual for a Speysider.

 

House Style: Flowery and creamy (though not in this instance).

Sample: Benromach Peat Smoke 46%

Nose: Deceptively soft. Medicinal notes and a slight sourness – balsamic vinegar and old dish cloth which increases with the addition of water.

Taste:  Sweet peat erupts across your palate. Water brings out the flowery tones famous to Benromach, but only in the background.

Finish: Long – sweetness at the front of the mouth, dry smoke at the back. This tastes like Frazzles!

Overall: Not unbalanced for this, the peatiest of all malts!

 

Sample: Benromach Organic 43%  Non-chill-filtered, natural colour.

Nose: Toast and cereal. Deep vanilla and maple.

Taste:  Powerful, rich, citrus fruits combine with rich bourbon vanilla and    a slight resin like tinge.

Finish: Long vanilla flavours with a wee tingle giving away its youthfulness.

Overall: Virgin oak is super-powerful and must be used in moderation to strike a balanced flavour and here they just pull it off.