Aberfeldy 1993 Gordon & MacPhail Review

Hi everyone,

Do you remember that magical time, many years gone, when we could travel the world and go to whisky festivals and events? Do you remember the hubbub of many people filling a room with their whisky-fuelled banter? Do you remember the sound of lip-smacking-good whisky being consumed in great quantities by the multitude?

I do. I remember those times. And I look back on them with sick envy. I didn’t know how good I had it.

And now I sit alone with my hoard of whisky. And I drink it alone. In the dark. Bitterly contemplating the end time that crept up on us like a tiger out of the grass.

 

Anywho, this is a review from the end of 2018 at a German whisky festival.

 

Aberfeldy 1993 Gordon & MacPhail 58.8%

Colour: Amber

Body: Full

Nose: Dark, fruity and sweet. Blackberry, Cassis, black cherry, a touch of singed heather, ethereal spirit lightening everything nicely, black pepper and red apple.

Water: Opens up with more Sherry and oak, more sweetness.

Taste: So soft on the arrival, fruity and sweet, blackberry, beautiful brown sugar, then more oak and Sherry as it develops. Black cherry, amazing oily mouthfeel.

Water: Lovely. More oak, leather and orange.

Finish: Long length. Lovely. More Sherry here with raisin, chocolate, heather and some ginger spice.

Bottled 2018 from a 1st fill Sherry puncheon at 25yo. I'm sorry, did you say Glenfarlcas from a Port cask? Interesting style of Sherry. Always a pleasure to taste something from my birth year and this one was great, though if I remember right, the price was quite high.

84/100

 

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #869

Whisky Network Review #1044

Network Average: 75.2

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 the Global 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?

Kilkerran 16 Review

Hi everyone,

Have you ever found yourself really wanting a new whisky? Like really, really wanting it. But it’s limited. Very limited. And so the inevitable hours begin scouring websites for this whisky on and around its release date, only to be minutes (or even seconds) too late every time.

This is very much how I felt about Kilkerran 16. I spent some very stressful hours over the course of three or four days trying to buy a bottle of this. I was obsessive. I would be on my phone almost constantly, hitting refresh over and over again.

I was lucky that my diligence paid off and I found a bottle on Abbey Whisky a few minutes before they sold out.

 

Kilkerran 16 46%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Like Kilkerran 12yo and Springbank Local Barley had a baby. Let's say the 16yoLB. Very austere in style, stripped back, clean whisky. Can we say old school? I think so. Old papers and books, a touch of fruit, melon maybe, lightly mineral with graphite pencil, some clay, lightly spicy with black pepper, some creamy vanilla. There is a touch of plastic at times though, some wood glue.

Taste: A slightly flat arrival, followed by mineral notes and a mouth-filling texture, plenty of oils, again the old paper, quite dry and blisteringly austere, a touch of orange hidden in there, carbon and a little soot (also carbon I know), old school oak, some creamy vanilla in there but it's pretty swamped by the dryness. Luckily, there's a burst of lovely complex spice in the mid-palate that really brings this together and makes it interesting- green peppercorns, lemon and stem ginger combo, ginseng root, very strong green tea, oily black pepper towards the back end.

Finish: Short/Medium length. The spices stick around, black and green peppercorns, a little ginger, the oak, maybe some heather, maybe some orange. A very small kick of smoke too.

98% Bourbon, 2% Madeira. 2020, 1st Release. Intellectual whisky. Not something you can just mindlessly enjoy, you really have to pay attention to get it. Could be an unpeated 16yo Talisker. Is it good? Yes, yes it is. Was it worth the price? At £60, probably. Was it worth the hours I spent tracking it down, stressing over snatching up a bottle before they could sell out? No, no it wasn't. There are moments of brilliance here, but they don't ever quite come to fruition.

78/100

 

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #868

Whisky Network Review #1043

Network Average: 75.2

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 the Global 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?

Imperial 1996 Gordon & Macphail (Blind) Review

Hi everyone,

Today I’ve got another mystery sample courtesy of u/UncleBaldric.

Imperial is one of the more available closed distilleries that is receiving a bit more attention than it used to. Remember the days when you could easily pick up a Signatory CS Imperial for £80? And these Gordon MacPhail Distillery Labels for under £60? Yeah, those were the days, the days when I didn’t realise how good I had it. I even remember recommending that someone start buying Imperial because the prices were going to go up. Did I go and follow my own advice? No, of course I didn’t.

Anyway, I had no idea this was Imperial at the time of first tasting but I did come back to it for post-reveal notes.

 

u/UncleBaldric Sample ‘B’

Colour: Amber

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Bright cherry and strawberry notes, kinda artificial though, juicy, putting your nose in a bag of strawberry sweets. Maybe some tobacco.

Post Reveal: Yes, of course. Red apple, dunnage, tobacco. Noses like a 40yo Speyside from Sherry.

Taste: Soft and sweet. Lots of ripe cherry and grape. Feels like just above 40%. Dry oak, spicy too with ginger and black pepper. Maybe it’s an old Blended Malt from Sherry?

Post Reveal: Dry and old tasting, much older than 19yo. More spicy than first taste too, bringing it out of balance.

Finish: Short length. Quite drying. Lovely strawberry, some spices.

Guess: Reminds me of a 1977 Blended Speyside Malt from Sherry… But it’s lacking something of the complexity and balance. Maybe a 2001?

Reveal: Imperial 1996 G&M Distillery Label 43% (Sherry Casks)

Very happy with my guess here. Right cask, right strength, right age (this was bottled 19yo). Forgot that Imperial often tastes older than its years. I have had the 1995 equivalent and rated it well. Felt like this wasn’t quite as good.

76/100

 

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #867

Whisky Network Review #1042

Network Average: 75.2

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 the Global 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?

Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Classic Malt (Blind) Review

Hi everyone,

A little while back… all right, February 2020, I reviewed my last American whiskey. I don’t tend to try a lot of them but I would say I don't tend to seek out American whiskies anyway.

This one however, was a surprise. Sprung on me by the affable u/UncleBaldric who very kindly included it as a freebe with some others.

So what is this mystery whisk(e)y? Well I had no idea. The only clue was the letter A on the front, which, as it turned out, was no clue at all.

 

u/UncleBaldric Sample ‘A’

Colour: Gold

Body: Light/Medium

Nose: Not a style of whisky I’m keen on… Very doughy and bread-like with yeast, floral with some pollen, buttercups, a little harsh spirit coming through. And liquorice. Probably young.

Taste: Full impact. Got to be cask strength and high for it. Yeasty and doughy again, a little rubber, some liquorice and buttercup. More sweetness on the 2nd sip with grass and some young spice.

Finish: Short length. A little butter, some spirit here too.

Guess: A young Bourbon cask Dalmore? Literally tastes like a younger version of a Bourbon matured Dalmore I had ages ago.

Reveal: Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Classic Malt 45.2% (Refill Bourbon Barrels)

Woah. Way off on this one. An American whiskey never crossed my mind. Jura and Tullibardine, yes, but not Woodford. Though, perhaps not as off the mark as I first thought. Refill Bourbon barrel matured malt at least. Anyway, wasn't a big fan of this.

62/100

 

American Review #70

Whisky Network Review #1041

Network Average: 75.2

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 the Global 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?

Ardbeg 5 Wee Beastie Review

Hi everyone,

Got a review today of (what used to be) a new official Ardbeg release. I planned on posting my review of this ages ago as I got a bottle as a Christmas present but never got round to it until now.

It’s not often that we get an addition to Ardbeg’s main range and when they do it’s kind of hard to compete with the 10, Oog and Corry. I felt that acutely when I tried Oa, which I thought didn’t quite belong with the others.

This, I’m happy to say, is a different story.

 

Ardbeg 5 Wee Beastie 47.4%

Colour: Light Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Intense youthful smoke, quite a bit more medicinal than than 10yo with Calpol and tar, medicine cabinet, toasted malt, mezcal, a little of the new make and a touch of lime zest.

Taste: Plenty of intense smoke first off, quite spicy with white pepper and chilli spice, lots of peat smoke, big mineral component with slate and chalk, quite dry, a little lemon with a bit of the new make spirit-y-ness coming in into the finish.

Finish: Short/Medium length. A burst of citrus, dry, more of the new make again here.

I think this is a fun addition to the Ardbeg line up with a decent price to boot. It's JUST about matured enough to give some interesting notes, but the new make isn't far off and that detracts at times. As I said, fun. And a bit better than the Oa IMO, though not as good as the 10.

76/100

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #866

Whisky Network Review #1040

Network Average: 75.2

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 the Global 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?

Ledaig 42 Dùsgadh Review

Hi everyone,

Well, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Lot been going on in my life and just have not found the motivation to write anything much about whisky.

However, I’m going to try and make more of concerted effort to keep posting reviews and helpful articles because there’s still stuff to taste and talk about and, hell, I enjoy it.

Many, many thanks go to u/UncleBaldric for the sample of this elusive dram!

 

So, this could be considered something of a white whale for me. I love Ledaig, it’s no secret, and yet I have never even seen a bottle of this open. Perhaps that’s got something to do with the fact that it’s the oldest and most expensive Ledaig ever bottled.

I had a very wonderful thing to celebrate in August last year, the birth of my first child. This was the dram I saved as something truly special to taste at the time.

In a world that seems increasingly confusing and chaotic, it is a comfort to take the time to sit with such a whisky. To sit, to be still, and, in a way, to fall into the glass…

 

Ledaig 42 Dùsgadh 46.7%

Colour: Dark Amber

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: There’s an entire world in here. Deep, rich and complex. The peat is well intact with medicinal notes of Calpol, tintures of old oils and medicinal things that have long past their use by date, old petrol soaked rags, kerosene, very old Jamacian rum, sea water, samphire, bandages, old sticking plasters. The Sherry comes in with a wave of dark fruit, raisin and figs, Christmas pudding, cinnamon, saffron, toffee apple and a touch of wild strawberry, lavender, some wood smoke. Developing into the most amazing and exotic dark chocolate money can buy. Oh, and add exotic black coffee too. There's so many layers to this and its constantly evolving and changing in wonderful ways. Beautiful, layered nose.

Taste: Soft and sweet arrival, lacking a touch of power to begin with before the peat comes in, very softly with coal dust, burnt paper, ash, some soft florals, a touch of lavender. Of course there's some oak but it's restrained for 42yo, some rich spices with saffron. Really chewy mouthfeel. Though the nose felt like it was more about the smoke, this is more about the Sherry I would say. Tobacco and dark chocolate going into the finish.

Finish: Long/Very Long length. More of the smoke here, plenty of tobacco, raisin, coals, even some blackberry actually. Then more drying oak and some very soft spice. Really long but very soft finish.

Distilled 1972, Gonzales Byass Oloroso Sherry finish from 2001 and bottled 2014. Dùsgadh means Awakening. Really very special stuff. I could nose this for hours! Having said that, this suffers from a very minor floral/soapy note that I've found in 1972 Tobermory's from Sherry casks too.

89/100

 

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #865

Whisky Network Review #1039

Network Average: 75.2

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 the Global 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?

Glen Ord 30 (2005) Review

Hi everyone,

In my opinion, Glen Ord is definitely one of those underrated distilleries. The clean, mineral style can make for some fantastic whisky and some of the old older bottlings were really well regarded. It is also the site of one of Diageo’s huge industrial maltings, so the malt is done in house too (technically).

So I’d always been on the lookout for this old CS version at 30 years old and was lucky enough to find a small bar in Chicago that had a happy hour on rare whisky! I was being shown around by Single Cask Nation’s Joshua Hatton and he also recommended this bottle.

I actually own a barrel of Glen Ord now and Having recently got a sample, I think it’s great stuff young too.

 

Glen Ord 30 58.7%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium

Nose: Fresh and fruity, no way I would guess that this was 30yo, freshly cut citrus peels, orange, malty, malted milk biscuit, some white chocolate, more floral as it opens up with walking through an orchard with a load of flowers in bloom, just keeps on giving and developing. Stunning nose.

Taste: Soft and unctuous, super oily and fresh, those citrus peels again, orange, lime, great fruit, incredibly structured malt and oak tannin, amazing balance, poised and structure (Joshua said austere), slight mineral component developing more and more and continuing into the finish.

Finish: Long length. Great structure again, more mineral, still oily but drying with more of the oak here but not over the top at all.

Released 2005. Undoubtedly fantastic. It doesn’t quite reach emotional levels, though the nose is up there.

89/100

 

Thanks for reading!

Updated Distillery Rankings

Scotch Review #864

Whisky Network Review #1038

Network Average: 75.2

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 the Global 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?