Torabhaig New Make & Mossburn Island Blended Malt Reviews

Hi everyone,

Early last year a new distillery started up on the Isle of Skye, Torabhaig. But when you’ve just started a distillery, you don’t have anything to sell yet, so you come up with an alternative to make the money you desperately need to keep the banks at bay. Some sell gin, some sell casks, some sell others whisky and pass it off under their own brand.

These guys have done something a bit different. Become an independent bottler, and prove you know how to select and put whisky together.

I was lucky enough to meet and be working with Bruce in the sweatbox of Limburg Whisky Fair, who had some of their stuff. Funny story: on the Mossburn box, it states that the master distiller is ‘Robert Haig,’ but there is no Robert Haig. When the guy was painting Torabhaig on the distillery front, he split it into To-Rab-Haig, and thus a hilarious in-joke was born! Pretty ballsy to put that on your packaging though, fairplay to ‘em!

Torabhaig New Make 62.5%

Colour: Clear

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Malty, salt and black pepper, echoes of Talisker, earthy heather.

Taste: Soft and pretty complex for NMS, great oily mouthfeel, salt and black pepper.

Finish: Long length. Earthy, heathery chocolate.

Bloody good. Super impressed with this. I will be eagerly awaiting their matured whisky!

 

Mossburn Island Blended Malt 46%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Lots of Ledaig methinks! Young esters, green apple, Ledaiggian smoke, oily malt, vanilla, buttery. Fresh young smoky whisky with a nice balance.

Taste: Soft and light then builds with spice and smoke, black pepper, oily, malt, green apple, buttery. More like a Ledaig + Talisker here.

Finish: Medium/Long length. More green apple and fresh smoke. Some dry oak too.

For 30ish pounds this is a no brainer. Fantastic stuff from the guys behind Torabhaig. Tastes like there’s a bunch of young Ledaig in there. This was finished in Compass Box-esque recharred barrel ends.

78/100

Yes, I know I should have tried a bunch of their other stuff but its clear these guys know what they are doing!

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #636

Whisky Network Review #756

Network Average: 74.9

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

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 I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

A few blends: BNJ, Ballentine's 17, Christmas Reserve & VAT69 1965 Reviews

Hi everyone,

A few Scotch blends today as that’s a lot of what is sold throughout the world.

As per usual I’ve selected some random, discontinued, limited editions that you won’t be able to find, as that’s pretty much all I review these days! Just kidding, there is one 17yo you’ll be able to get if you can fight the Jim Murray fans away from it.

Bailie Nicole Jarvie 40%

Colour: Gold, not much E150a

Body: Light

Nose: Lots of light fruitiness, lots of Glenmorangie-esque apple and pear, a bit of mango, a little waxiness, a leafy note. Quite juicy actually.

Taste: A little hot, then creamy with fruit- Apple pie, more pear though, a leafy note, Bourbon waxiness, a little oily.

Finish: Medium length. A little heat, but fades gradually.

Discontinued now. Quite a high malt content of mainly Glenmo I think. Not worth hunting down for myself personally, although I know that many people had this as their go to.

63/100

 

Ballentine's 17 43%

Colour: E150a

Body: Medium

Nose: Quite herbal at first- Cloves, oriental tea, green tea, lots of creaminess with mint ice cream, brown sugar, a wisp of peat smoke, polished wood. Citrus notes- Lime, lemon and vanilla.

Taste: Citrus fruit, sweet tea, green tea, lime, more peat than the nose would suggest. Long development, lots of spice then peat smoke building more.

Finish: Medium length. Honey, lemon and lime, oak and salt, a little drying.

Took a while to truly appreciate this, not a beginner’s whisky IMO. It’s subtle and well blended though.

74/100

Ballentine's Christmas Reserve 40%

Colour: E150a, lots of it.

Body: Medium

Nose: Fruity, plums, blackberries, spice, cinnamon, Christmas cake, nuts, grain and Brandy.

Taste: A bit oily, fruit and a bit of nut then more spice builds.

Finish: Short length. Spiced oak.

Very meh, although the nose is alright.

55/100

 

VAT69 43% 1965 Bottling

Colour: E150a

Body: Light/Medium

Nose: Creamy vanilla, nice grain ethanol, natural grassy wheat, pear, sugar pastille, herbal pine and mint.

Taste: Soft and light, very creamy, nice mouthfeel, grain forward then vanilla, lots of pine and mint with this herbal background. Very interesting. Menthol. Pear and green apple.

Finish: Long. A nice finish with more pear and green apple, creamy oak.

Always super interesting to taste some of these older drams. It’s almost like opening a time capsule of how whisky was made and put together back then. A very nice version, unrecognisable from the (cough) modern shite.

71/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Reviews #632-#635

Whisky Network Reviews #752-#755

Network Average: 74.9

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

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 I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Glentauchers 1989 Cadenheads Cask Ends Review

Hi everyone,

Another whisky review today, again coming in the form of a crazy exclusive, you’ll probably never get to try. A single cask sample from the Cadenheads warehouse.

I think these ‘cask end’ bottlings are from when they’ve emptied the cask into bottles and there is an awkward amount left over that they leave for visitors. Could be completely off on that though, I don’t know everything it turns out.

 

Glentauchers 1989 CA Cask Ends 52.4%

Colour: Dark Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: A lactic oak note hits first, green apple, really fresh fruit, a little tropical, mango, quite complex, quite delicious too, a little fresh leather and a tiny hint of ash.

Taste: Soft and very tasty with plenty of red apple, oak, then slightly tropical mango building, some dry oak, some white florals, a little honey, quite a complex one while still managing to be very delicious.

Finish: Long. Tropical mango, milk bottle sweets, oak and some green apple peel.

26yo HHD. This one is very good, but the lactic note holds it back a tad on the nose. These Glentauchers do seem to do well with some age to ‘em.

81/100

Distillery: Glentauchers

Average Score: 78

Distillery Ranking: 17th/ 62 places

Up/Down: 24>17 (Up 7)

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #631

Whisky Network Review #751

Network Average: 74.9

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

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 I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Glenglassaugh 2009 Hand Filled Review

Hi everyone,

I have only ever had one other Glenglassaugh. The 30yo. Which isn’t exactly the best way to get an idea of the character of the whisky, but I guess I’ll still have to wait to experience that because this one ain’t normal either.

The distillery was closed from 1986-2008, so there isn’t much in between either. There’s the crazy old stuff and the very young stuff. This one is the latter…

This is distillery exclusive Sherry cask that was only available at the distillery. Someone must have gone at some point because I tasted this the night before the whisky fair in Limburg last month.

 

Glenglassaugh Self fill 60.7%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Big young modern Sherry, Cherry, vanilla, creamy, cranberry, Victoria sponge cake.

Taste: Soft arrival, then spicy, plenty of oak, cherry, cranberry, sweet, vanilla, quite dry as it develops.

Finish: Medium. Lots of little berries, cranberry.

11/06/09-16/07/16. Great little Sherry bomb. I should probably hunt down some normal Glenglassaugh’s at some point.

77/100

Distillery: Glenglassaugh

Average Score: 81

Distillery Ranking: 6th/ 62 places

Up/Down: N/a

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #630

Whisky Network Review #750

Network Average: 74.9

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

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 I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Arran 1996 Alembic Rum Finish Review

Hi everyone,

Arran seems to be putting out some good stuff at the moment, and is a bit under my radar actually. I should give them more credit, as some of the stuff is getting really good. Like this one.

In retrospect I should have taken a bit more time to appreciate this one. I should have told the guy who gave it to me “Slow down a minute, this is good shit” but I didn’t. That’s my bad, but even from a small sample, I manage to make a few notes.

Arran 1996 Alembic Rum Finish 50.6%

Colour: Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Lovely tropical nose with a very delicious white sugar note. Great nose.

Taste: Sugary hit first then fresh fruit, pineapple, green apple, long development.

Finish: Long length. Dry oak and another white sugar cane hit.

A 4 year finishing in a Barbados Rhum barrel, bottled @ 21yo. Seriously delicious stuff. My second favourite Arran I’ve had so far. It seems to work better with the sweeter flavours, as a long PX finish was my other favourite.

82/100

Distillery: Arran

Average Score: 76.4

Distillery Ranking: 25th/ 62 places

Up/Down: 28>25 (Up 3)

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #629

Whisky Network Review #749

Network Average: 74.9

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

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 I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Teeling Brabazon 01 Review

Hi everyone,

Another whisky from Teeling today. I’ve tried a few of their whiskies now and generally find them to be very good Irish whiskey’s.

This one is a single malt and a vatting of 6 Sherry casks, not distilled at Teeling remember as they don’t quite have any of their own whisky yet.

Teeling Brabazon 01 49.5%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Fruity sweet shop, restrained sweetness, a little raisin, this nice musky earthy tobacco note, red berries. Lighter as it opens up.

Taste: Soft, restrained sweetness, cherry, some cherry sweets, orange liqueur, biscuit, creamy then dry.

Finish: Long length. Malt, biscuit, dry and lightly earthy oak.

A nice restrained level of sweetness here with some good earthy flavours too, but it’s a little too light for me.

74/100

Thanks for reading!

Irish Review #23

Whisky Network Review #748

Network Average: 74.9

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

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 I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Kavalan Sherry Oak Review

Hi everyone,

Kavalan has a lot of fans of their very big style of whisky, taking as much from the casks as they possibly can.

Am I huge fan? Probably not. I am a big fan of balance in a whisky. When you’re messing with big flavours it doesn’t always do wonders for the balance, which tends to be why I am not a big fan of Bourbon.

Kavalan Sherry Cask 46%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Brandy. Not a Brandy-like note, this actually smells exactly like a Brandy. Armangac, artificial raisin, red grape, chocolate powder.

Taste: Dry, astringent, quite acidic and bitter, red grape, bitter charcoal, weird Brandy.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Weird, rubber, bitter.

Not a good whisky, although not a terrible Brandy! This is example of getting a bit too much from the casks, completely eradicating any whisky flavour.

57/100

Distillery: Kavalan

Average Score: 72

Distillery Ranking: 40th/ 60 places

Up/Down: 32>40 (Down 8)

Thanks for reading!

Taiwanese Review #7

Whisky Network Review #747

Network Average: 74.9

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

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 I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?

Old Pulteney 12 Cadenhead's Small Batch Review

Hi everyone,

Have you ever wondered what an indie Old Pulteney would taste like?

I have. But never had an opportunity to because there ain’t much of the stuff. Only Gordon & Macpahil and Cadenhead’s seem to have any, and even then its only a little. So I was lucky enough to try this during a recent trip to the Netherlands.

 

Old Pulteney 12 Cadenheads Small Batch 55.8%

Colour: Straw

Body: Light/Medium

Nose: Very buttery for OP. Ethanol, dough, lemon, some subtle sea salt and banana, whipped cream, some malt too.

Taste: Soft and very buttery, creamy mouthfeel then drier with oak, banana, dried banana and whipped cream. Banana split-like actually!

Finish: Medium/Long length. Creamy and buttery, a little grape, lemon peel.

Proper natural spirit-driven OP.

75/100

Distillery: Old Pulteney

Average Score: 73.6

Distillery Ranking: 36th/ 61 places

Up/Down: No Movement

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #628

Whisky Network Review #746

Network Average: 74.9

Best Score: 94

Worst Score: 12

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 I am sorry I can't say only nice things. Please keep in mind that I am ethically compromised and I am unable to produce 100% unbiased reviews.

Why is this here?