Hi everyone,
Next up after Aberlour was a drive up to Elgin to check out Gordon & MacPhail’s shop, and we did try to get to Benromach but we were too late in the end.
If you are in the area, I would really suggest trying to get to the G&M shop because it’s awesome, they’ve got a great selection and they don’t mind letting you taste whatever is open at the time.
I was looking for something to buy, as I hadn’t bought anything on the trip so far.
Mannochmore 1994 Gordon & MacPhail Exclusive 48.6%
Colour: Dark Amber
Body: Medium
Nose: Really sweet and Sherried, cherry and sweet orange, nutty and spicy too.
Taste: Soft, cherry, intense sweetness builds slowly, nutty, dry, the oak comes in with spice. Quite spicy into the finish.
Finish: Medium length. Soft, sweet and Sherried.
From a Sherry Hogshead, bottled 2016. A very nice one, but the Sherry has really taken over.
80/100
Bunnahabhain 2009 Gordon & MacPhail Cask Strength 60.5%
Colour: Amber
Body: Medium/Full
Nose: A nutty and Sherried Bunna, lots of cherry too.
Taste: Intense, sherry and spicy black pepper, dry oak and sweet orange.
Finish: Medium/Long length. Spicy and sweet with chewy dry raisin.
A nice one, especially if you’re a fan of Bunna but I think I’d pick the 12yo over this.
74/100
Ledaig 1999 G&M Connoisseur’s Choice 46%
Colour: Light Gold
Body: Medium
Nose: Buttery and light, very little savoury notes but some smoke and red apple.
Taste: Oily and buttery, a little more smoke on the taste, red apple.
Finish: Medium length. Some spice and oak.
This is a bit vague for Ledaig, I think I would have preferred the 1998, which was from Sherry hogsheads but they didn’t have any to try.
70/100
Ardmore 2002 Gordon & MacPhail Cask Strength 57.5%
Colour: Amber
Body: Full
Nose: Yeah! This is more like it, a big juicy beast of a whisky!
Taste: A good hit of Sherry but character to balance it, raisin and cherry, peppery smoke but not harsh at all.
Finish: Long length. More smoke and spice comes through.
From Sherry Hogsheads. There’s a lovely balance to this with great character, great stuff. I bought a bottle and u/generalbirdy swapped what he had bought for this after trying it. First clue to the epiphany that Ardmore can be incredible.
84/100
Thanks for reading!
Scotch Reviews #395-#398
Whisky Network Reviews #441-#444
Network Average: 74.5
Best Score: 92
Worst Score: 44
0-49 Terrible
50-59 Bad
60-64 Just About OK
65-69 Ok to Good
70-74 Good
75-79 Very Good
80-84 Excellent
85-89 Superb
90+ Magnificent
Full Disclosure Disclaimer: I currently work as a Brand Ambassador for Penderyn Distillery. The views expressed here are purely my own and do not reflect the views of Penderyn Distillery or The Welsh Whisky Company. I try to maintain as much objectivity as I can but feel free to take my reviews with as big a pinch of salt as you like. Furthermore, my rating scale is NOT based on a Parker type wine scoring scale or a school/college/university % or A-F grade score. You can find more on my scoring here. I apologise for any seemly low or 'bad' scores given with my system and am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.
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