Hi everyone,
Today I’ve got 3 reviews that I did ages ago and totally forgot to put up.
I got a pack of 4 miniatures for Christmas, all Marks & Spencer’s (Supermarket in the UK) whiskies, with one blended whisky I’ve reviewed before and 3 single malts from different regions. All 12 years old, all 40% and all mystery malts. There is a clue given by M&S in that the Kenmore 5, the blended one, says that it comes from Burn Stewart, so the singles could be from their distilleries too.
Just to remind you, Burn Stewart own Bunnahabhain, Tobermory and Deanston distilleries. No Island whisky, so no Tobermory here.
M&S Speyside 12 40%
Colour: E150a
Body: Medium
Nose: Much more heather honey Highland-Glenrothes style than Speyside. A little light Sherry in the background with a little sour cherry, oak and leather but there's some alcohol hiding anything else.
Taste: Soft arrival, sour cherry then Sherry cask raisins and some leather, good balance and the oak and spices build. There's some nice black pepper.
Finish: Medium length. A burst of that black pepper then some more Sherry.
Call me crazy but this tastes like Macallan/Glenrothes blend. Reminds me of the 1998 Macallan Speymalt. Label implies it's from a distillery on the river Spey. Also, great value for money.
69/100
M&S Highland 12 40%
Colour: E150a
Body: Medium
Nose: Sour and floral Highlander. Green apple sour sweets with sugar, lots of pastry and bakery, slightly overcooked apple turnover, poached pear.
Taste: Soft then quite thin with some green apple and pastry coming through, some spice develops with sour oak. Ginger, peppery, some green sappy oak.
Finish: Medium length. Peppery oak and a little sour.
Deanston or Tullibardine IMO, more likely Deanston knowing Burn Stewart could be involved. Nicer nose than taste.
63/100
M&S Islay 12 40%
Colour: E150a
Body: Medium
Nose: Funky with sour being the theme again. Dirty coal rag, diesel, over ripe yellow apples and Physalis dessert berries, salty and coastal notes are there but quite vague and in the background.
Taste: Those over ripe yellow apples first, some funky and dirty notes with coal and some soot, then a burst of yellow citrus, again those Physalis dessert berries, before some spice and oak.
Finish: Medium length. Still those Physalis dessert berries and some oak.
Quite unique notes here, and would be a really good one at 46% I think. If this isn't Bunna I WILL eat my hat.
67/100
Thanks for reading!
Scotch Reviews #441-#443
Whisky Network Reviews #503-#505
Network Average: 74.2
Best Score: 92
Worst Score: 22
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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