Balblair 12 & 15 Reviews

Hi everyone,

I am starting to believe that Inver House changed more than the packaging when they did their revamp of the Old Pulteney and Balblair ranges recently.

I’ve really liked the Balblair range I had tried so far, and I was a fan of the vintages, although I can understand why they would swap to age statements. Still, the stuff still has age statements and is still at 46%, so how bad could it be?

Well…

Balblair 12 46%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Cheesy? What? Some spice, some oak, a little of that hessian character, dry nose, not hugely complex either. Very little of what I enjoyed about Balblair in the past…

Taste: More Balblair here thankfully, soft arrival, spicy and oaky actually, ginger, shortbread. Tastes older than 12 years with the amount of oak but, again, doesn’t have the complexity.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Kinda harsh, oak and spice, rubber?

Well below par from Balblair.

59/100

Balblair 15 46%

Colour: Light Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: Much better. Sherry, light raisin, honey, orange + peel, milky coffee, stewed cherries and a very light earthiness. Sweet nose.

Taste: Dry arrival with a little harsh spice up front then creamy with vanilla, dry oak then taking over, then more juicy, develops well. Raisin, chocolate, some hessian and bright cherry at the end.

Finish: Medium length. more cherry, some orange, fruity and juicy here.

I think this is a Sherry finish rather than fully matured. Much better than the 12, though I think I would still be disappointed if I was buying a bottle.

72/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch reviews #772-#773

Whisky Network Reviews #917-#918

Network Average: 75.1

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?

Port Charlotte 10 (2018) & 2009 Artful Dodger Reviews

Hi everyone,

Ah, Port Charlotte! The peaty, meaty, complex younger brother of Bruichladdich. The monster dreamed up in the sleep of Jim McEwen after passing out having drunk too much 70’s Laddie he’d ACE-d in ex-weird casks.

Seriously though, there have been lots of new Port Charlotte’s coming out and I’m sure lots of them are great. They have a new bottle design that I’m a big fan of too and I was able to try these two fairly recently.

Port Charlotte 10 2018 50%

Colour: Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Oooooo, meaty smoke and dirty white grape from Sauternes or white wine, roast pork. Complex, it could be a meal in front of you, not a whisky! A bloody delicious nose that is definitely my kind of thing.

Taste: Soft arrival, chewy and oily, meaty and then bam powerful minerality and smoke, smoked white sausage and dirty ash, clean white grape, some dry oak

Finish: Long length. Salivating sweetness of white grape and dry smoke, earthy oils.

2007, bot. 2018 (new bottle design). Clean and dirty like the best. They’ve done it again. Damn. More dry as it develops.

82/100

 

Port Charlotte 2009 Artful Dodger 64.2%

Colour: Gold

Body: Full

Nose: More of an Octomore! Mineral and meaty, some bright fruit, green apple, some good sulphur, pulled pork, some BBQ sauce, brisket, drity nose and lovely for it.

Water: Softer and sweeter, more grassy and herbal, less smoke.

Taste: Intense, big big whisky, loads of sweet bright fruit and good sulphurous smoke, green apple, soot, mineral granite.

Water: Soft and very balanced, more lemon, fresher, very peaty now, more Octomore-ish.

Finish: Long length. Powerful! Pepper, lemon, creamy shortbread, great finish. Pear too.

Bottled 2018 at 8yo, Sauternes finish. A beast of a whisky. 50cl bottle but really great price, buy the last of it while you can, although I’m pretty sure its sold out now.

83/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Reviews #770-#771

Whisky Network Reviews #915-#916

Network Average: 75.1

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?

Bunnahabhain 1990 North Star, 1988 Wemyss & Port Askaig 28 Reviews

Hi everyone,

We’ve got some whisky from my least favourite Islay distillery today! Yes, of course its Bunna. To be fair, having tasted these now, I’m pretty sure my problem is mainly with the younger stuff and some of the older stuff, because, as these demonstrate, Bunna does age pretty well over a long time.

Bunnahabhain 1990 North Star 51.1%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Great combo of salinity and fresh zippy fruit, lemon citrus, some vanilla, sea salt, quite coastal and a hint of far off smoke, something slightly funky adding complexity, some tropical white grapefruit.

Taste: Amazing mouthfeel strikes first, salty and oily, still fresh, lemon citrus, red apple, black pepper, almost Talisker-like actually and great for it.

Finish: Medium/Long length. Lovely oily chocolate and sea salt, malt, some late smoke here too.

Bottled 2017 at 26yo. Really drinkable and delicious Bunna. There seems to be a bit more smoke and coastality to this and it's right up my street. One of my favourite Bunna’s I’ve ever had.

85/100

 

Port Askaig 28 45.8%

Colour: Straw

Body: Medium

Nose: Musky Bunna-like nose, leather and old dusty cupboards, heavy malt, actually reminds me of a Glen Scotia, dark chocolate and very lightly smoky oak

Taste: Lacking power to start, Soft and v chocolatey, honey, big malt and then lots of oak, soft black pepper, dry.

Finish: Long length. Burnt marshmallow, burnt vanilla, a little oak.

A newer one I have a feeling. Went cloudy very quickly. Bit over the hill in my opinion and the marshmallow at the end is a bit odd to find in this type of whisky. This isn’t cheap either at £300.

78/100

 

Bunnahabhain 1988 'Luxury Damson Jam' 46%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Jam indeed! Homemade blueberry and raspberry jam, plus some tired wood, black pepper, orange and red apple, a tiny faded sea salt, floral geranium (reminding me of Bourbon matured Mortlach).

Taste: Sweet, Sherry, raisin and orange, a little flat though with more of the tired wood than the nose, spices with ginger and black pepper, nice red apple note. Shame about the mid-palate.

Finish: Long length. Super chocolatey and malty, lovely dark finish. Leather and tobacco, honey too.

Bottled 2018. Really saved by the finish this, not up to the 1987 I tried. But there seem to be a few of these Wemyss are doing at the moment.

81/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Reviews #767-#769

Whisky Network Reviews #912-#914

Network Average: 75.1

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 Perth 23 Blended Malt Review

Hi everyone,

I’ve tried a bunch of this lovely Old Perth line up now, a series that Morrison Mackay have brought us from single casks they’ve somehow managed to acquire that seem to almost always be blended malts (at birth) containing Macallan, Highland park and, sometimes, Glen Grant.

They released three in larger boxes and nicer labels, two of which I have tried, this one completes the set. I remember when they came out that Graeme Mackay had told me that the 23 was his favourite of the set and I was able to try some a while back.

 

Old Perth 23 44.9%

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium

Nose: Quite complex but still fresh. Fresh orange, dry malt and oak, chocolate and some Sherry, hot black coffee poured over leather (yes, I know how that sounds), Brandy/red grape, more chocolate powder over time.

Taste: Sweet arrival, malt and gorgeous orange, great development into drier territory with leather and oak, swells really nicely. Could really be 30yo.

Finish: Medium length. Very soft finish, chocolates, chocolate powder, chocolate truffles. A real chocolate bomb on the finish.

1994, single cask blended malt. Dry whisky and great for it. Easily tastes older than 23. I love these older Sherried malts where the whiskies really have a chance to develop with the sherry over a longer time, oxidise and also are able to keep their character. Don’t really know why these haven’t flown off the shelves…

87/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #766

Whisky Network Review #911

Network Average: 75.1

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?

Compass Box No Name No. 2 Review

Hi everyone,

Thought some people might appreciate my thoughts on this whisky quickly as it has just come out here in the UK.

I was a big fan of the last No Name from Compass Box but that one had a parcel of Ardbeg, whereas this is mainly Coal Ila with some Talisker attached.

 

Compass Box No Name No. 2 48.9%

Colour: Straw

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Clean smoke, pure lemon, soft soot and charred wood, creamy vanilla, maritime with wet ropes and sails, sea salt crust, little bit of a muted nose.

Taste: Soft, light smoke, chewy oils, then more powerful with smoke and black pepper, ginger and chilli, big salty hit, lemon juice. Softer, more silky and Campbeltown-esque as it opens up.

Finish: Long length. More lemon, more salt, a little oak at the end. Not particularly complex but good.

Lacking the complexity and balance of no1, nice nose, bit too spicy on the taste. I think the Coal Ila comes through very clearly on this one and maybe the spiciness from the Talisker but this was meant to be more complex than No Name 1 (which I loved the purity of) and I didn’t find that it was. Oh, and its £10 more expensive.

76/100

Thanks for reading!

Scotch Review #765

Whisky Review #910

Network Average: 75.1

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?

Wolfburn Morven & Langskip Reviews

Hi everyone,

Couple of things have really impressed me about Wolfburn. That they have been able to release so many different versions having only started the distillery in 2013. That they already released a five year old whisky like it was no big deal. And the quality seems good, reminding me more of Campbeltown than the Highlands.

Here’s two more and I look forward to tasting some more as they get released.

Wolfburn Morven 46%

Colour: Straw

Body: Medium

Nose: Hay, grass, lemon candy, chewing gum, light nose, lacking complexity in its youth it feels like.

Taste: Citrus arrival, chewing gum, bubblegum, then chocolate, coffee and malt coming in with the peat growing.

Finish: Medium/Long length. More peaty bubblegum.

The lightly peaty version Wolfburn have put out. I know they’ve used Laphroaig quarter casks to mature the whisky in the past but its unclear whether that’s been done here. I often get those bubblegum notes with NMS and very young whiskies but it doesn’t do too badly here.

69/100

Wolfburn Langskip 58%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Quite traditional and austere, malt and lemon, very slightly mineral. It's interesting that the Aurora I thought was Kilkerran 12 and this is a carbon copy of Springbank Local Barley, some sour overripe peach?

Taste: Malt, lemon, orange then fizzy lime coming through, some chocolate and more malty, not particularly complex as its quite austere again but its got a got balance.

Finish: Short/Medium length. Fizzles out leaving some oak, chocolate and malt. Weakest here.

5ish years old. Finish lets this down a bit but I am really impressed with what this distillery is doing already.

75/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Reviews #763-#764

Whisky Network Reviews #908-#909

Network Average: 75.1

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?

Paul John Nirvana, Christmas 2018 & Kanya Reviews

Hi everyone,

Apologies again for the lack of posts, been busy with work and travel and and and…

Anyway, more Indian whisky today from Paul John. Really like the distillery style as it seems to be quite Bourbon-like sometimes but with a bit more complexity than Bourbon ever seems to manage.

All three of these are courtesy of the main man, Shilton. Thanks mate.

Paul John Nirvana 40%

Colour: Dark Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Lovely orange bomb, not weak on the nose but soft, orange peel, orange car sweets complete with the powdered sugar, floral orange blossom, some dry oak in there too. Complex for 40% mind!

Taste: Soft, tingling spices then orange chewing gum, dry oak, some vanilla, creamy, almost chewy mouthfeel, lovely for 40%! Not lacking power.

Finish: Medium length. Chocolatey with malt, chocolate orange and a little oak.

A nice one, better than Brilliance IMO. I think this was released more for cocktails but I really like it just on its own. Think its meant to be pretty cheap too.

73/100

Paul John Christmas Edition 2018 46%

Colour: Bronze

Body: Full

Nose: Classic Paul John corn (I find corn quite a lot of the time anyway), soot from the chimney Santa just crawled down, cinnamon and star anise, big but good oak, a little raisin and subtle Sherry, red liquorice and some Christmas cake.

Taste: Quite dry, nice mouthfeel and oils before the oak hits, spices with cinnamon, clove and nutmeg, a little raisin, the Sherry is there but its a bit brutalised by the oak.

Finish: Long length. Nice and oily here with some chocolate, dry oak and red apple. Very dry finish.

Sherry finish with some peated whisky too. Nice nose, but the taste is quite oaky with a very dry finish. A fun one though for sure.

75/100

 

Paul John Kanya 50%

Colour: Dark Gold

Body: Full

Nose: Corn at first nosing (again), there's oak but underneath its fresh with fruit, spiced mango, candied orange peel. Nice nose.

Water: Fresher with less oak.

Taste: Soft arrival, great mouthfeel, oak comes in, fresh oak, spices, then malt and orange with ginger beer going into the finish.

Water: Great, nice soft arrival and development.

Finish: Medium length. Orange peel, spices and oak.

Almost American in style. I found myself a little disappointed with this one compared to the single cask I tried in Germany. I was expecting big things, instead finding that its good whisky but not really worth the hype around it.

75/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Indian Reviews #9-#11

Whisky Network reviews #905-#907

Network Average: 75.1

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?