Scottish Whisky

Ardbeg Wee Beastie

/ / Islay, Review, Scottish Whisky / ,

Ardbeg Wee Beastie
5 Years Old Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky

47.4% ABV
$50
Website
Ardbeg Wee Beastie

What the Distillery Says

IT’S A MONSTER OF A DRAM
Ardbeg Wee Beastie is the latest permanent expression to join the Distillery’s Ultimate Range. At just five years old, Wee Beastie is a feisty young creature with a formidable taste.

SOMETHING BIG AND SMOKY…
Our whisky creators set out to make the rawest, smokiest Ardbeg ever. The result is Ardbeg Wee Beastie and this tongue-tingling, beautifully smoky dram is the youngest Ardbeg we’ve ever made.

On the snout, intense aromas of cracked blacked pepper mingle with sappy pine resin and a sharp tang of smoke. Suddenly, an explosive mouthfeel bursts forth with chocolate, creosote and tar. Savoury meats sink into the palate before the long salty mouthcoating finish slinks away… revealing the inner beast of this Islay icon.

Young and intensely smoky, this is a dram untamed by age. Matured in ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks, Wee Beastie is perfect for enjoying neat or as the mouth-watering main ingredient in a powerfully smoky cocktail.

Non chill-filtered at 47.4%.

TASTING NOTES
COLOUR: A glint of bright Gold (Auric)
AROMA: The first sniff alerts you to a nearby presence… heightened senses are filled with very bright, fresh herbal notes, with creeping hints of vanilla and pear. Rich Turkish coffee mingles with sappy pine resin, with honey-glazed ham lurking in the background. With water, more herbal top notes like vetiver and fennel captivate and pull you in, while beguiling scents of aniseed, green apple and leather cause you to drop your guard. Out of nowhere, a sharp tang of smoke and a crack of fresh black pepper fire warning shots across the senses.
TASTE: Suddenly, a rich, explosive mouthfeel bursts forth with chocolate, creosote and tar. A powerful blast of eucalyptus thrashes about with antiseptic lozenges and aniseed. The raw, smoky intensity gathers pace, before smoked bacon and savoury meats sink into the palate.
FINISH: The long, salty mouthcoating finish retreats, with hints of cocoa and fudge slinking slowly away.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Peat, creosote, fresh pine, seaweed, smoked pork butt, dried fruit, earthy, mineral notes with a bit of sulfur and hint of coffee.
Palate:  Sweet, grainy with honey, salty peat, creosote, bit of chocolate, earthy notes with pepper spice.
Finish:  Short to moderate in length, drying with lingering spices and peat.
Comments:  I like Ardbeg, and am also a sherry fan – so maybe I had unreasonable hopes for this (given its age). Don’t get me wrong – there isn’t anything off putting with this, but the youth is apparent, and the sherry influence is fairly subtle (maybe too subtle). Not bad, but not special either – and given the price point, can’t imagine reaching for this over the standard bearer 10 yr old.

Rating: Average/Stands Out

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Tomatin 18 Year

/ / Highland, Review, Scottish Whisky / , ,

Tomatin 18 Year
Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

46% ABV
$90 – $100
Website
Tomatin 18 Year Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

What the Distillery Says

The Tomatin 18 Year Old is a truly world class malt. Matured in traditional oak casks and first fill Oloroso Sherry butts, honey and soft oak flavours develop into a hint of dark chocolate with a citrus bite before a sustained sweet and slightly dry finish.
Non-chill Filtered
Aroma: Orchard fruit, cinnamon, vanilla, maple syrup with just a hint of smoky heather.
Palate: Deliciously sweet, citrus and dark chocolate with a slightly oaky edge.
Finish: Long, sweet and slightly dry.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich fruit notes of apricots, figs, caramelized grilled peaches, subtle baking spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, hint of maple syrup, oak, subtle floral notes.
Palate:  Thick and creamy mouthfeel, rich , sweet with blood orange, peaches, plums, dark chocolate, toffee, a touch of cinnamon and oak.
Finish:  Moderately long, slightly drying with cocoa and fruit.
Comments:  This is delicious. Like the 12 yr, this is finished (not fully matured) in sherry which gives it a lovely balance. I appreciate the higher proof and non-chill filtration.
Age isn’t everything, but this is a great value for an 18 yr single malt (and I like as well as others that are 20-30% more expensive).

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try/Great Value

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Tomatin 15 Year

/ / Highland, Review, Scottish Whisky / ,

Tomatin 15 Year
Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

43% ABV
$50 – $60*
Website
Tomatin 15 Year Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

What the Distillery Says

Soft and delicate but with a significant influence from the North American oak.

Aroma: Light and fresh. Citrus fruits, vanilla, fruit cake. Oak prominent throughout.
Taste: Good balance. Smooth, medium body, delicate honey and mild orange.
Finish: Quite long; lingers on the palate.

Cask: Matured in refill American Oak casks.
* NOTE: This expression was discontinued in 2014; price reflects retail.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Light and fruity with peaches, candied orange, vanilla, toasted oak, a hint of heather.
Palate:  Sweet and creamy with honey, vanilla, mandarin oranges, peaches, mangoes, very gentle pepper spice.
Finish:  Moderate in length with honey and oak.
Comments:  This is lighter in color than the Tomatin 12 yr, which isn’t surprising given the cask maturation. This has a nice mouthfeel, and is a pleasant enough whisky – but a bit light for my liking. I preferred the Tomatin 12 yr. This is discontinued, and replaced with a 14 yr port finished version. My sample of this was part of a three-pack, 50 mL set I bought back in 2014 prior to the product change. Having never tried the new offering, but based on the 12 yr, I’m optimistic the new version is better.

Rating: Average/Stands Out

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Tomatin 12 Year

/ / Highland, Review, Scottish Whisky / ,

Tomatin 12 Year
Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

43% ABV
$37 – $40
Website
Tomatin 12 Year Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

What the Distillery Says

The Tomatin 12 Year Old is smooth and silky, having been matured in traditional Scotch Whisky, ex-Bourbon and ex-Spanish Sherry casks.

Aroma: A complex bouquet contains rich malt and fruity aromas.
Palate: The palate is rewarded with a unique combination of attractive flavours – a balance of stewed apples, pears, malt, with a gentle hint of some nuttiness.
Finish: Smooth, sweet and very satisfying

What Gary Says

Nose:  Fruitcake with warm caramel sauce, raisins, baking spices, sugar cookies, raw almonds, pecans.
Palate:  Creamy and fruity with raisins, pears, spongecake with a caramel drizzle, almonds, gentle pepper spice with notes of pecan pie.
Finish:  Moderate in length, damp with malty fruit.
Comments:  A quite pleasant single malt – nicely balanced. Note that this is not sherry ‘matured’ – just ‘finished’ which allows the malt to really shine on its own (not that I don’t enjoy sherry matured single malts!) For the money, I think this is a great value..

Rating: Stands Out/Great Value

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Cambus 29 Year Old Single Grain

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Single Grain /

Cambus 29 Year Old
Single Grain Scotch Whisky

Comparing Different Barrels From Different Independent Bottlers

$100 (each, duh)

Why Compare Two Different Independent Bottlings?

Both are Cambus 29 year Old, cask strength, distilled in 1988.  No way I was going to review them without satisfying my own curiosity by doing a side-by-side!  Plus – trying to differentiate two reviews in the table of contents for ‘Cambus 29 Year Old’ felt a bit silly.  Oh – and having just put this template together for the Knob Creek Single Barrel Select Rye, felt I might as well get more mileage out of it!

The Bottle Details

The Sovereign

 

Cambus 29 Year Old Single Grain

Old Particular

 

Cambus 29yr Old Particular

Picked By
Selected by and bottled exclusively for K&L WinesSpecially Selected for K&L Wines
ABV
44.6%46.9%
Distilled
September 1988September 1988
Bottled
July 2018September 2017
Age
29 Years, 10 Months29 Years
Cask Type
Refill HogsheadRefill Hogshead
Bottles
266281
Additional Notes
Cask Ref: HL15269
Non chill-filtered, Natural Colour
Natural Cask Strength		Cask Ref DL12138
No Chill Filtration, No Colouring
Natural Cask Strength
Tasting Notes
A fragrant nose of sandalwood, coconut, toffee and vanilla.
More toffee on the palate along with fruity notes of orange, apple and papaya.
A gentle, satisfying, medium length finish rounds things off.		Nose: Opens with a delicate and fresh quality with a hint of lime
Palate: Gentle spice then moving to vanilla toffee and sweet cereals
Finish: Distinct spices which warm gently, and lightly burnt sugar

What Gary Says

The Sovereign
Old Particular
Nose:Butter cream frosting, canned peaches and pears, subtle oak, hint of mandarin orange, ginger, heather.Butter cream frosting, subtle caramel sauce, touch of pears and limes, sandalwood, heather.
Palate:Sweet and fruity, a bit of toffee before cinnamon and pepper break in, butterscotch, honey.Rich mouthfeel, sweet with gentle fruit notes, rich toffee and butterscotch before spice notes kick in, bringing cinnamon with a soft pepper spice followed by honey.
Finish:Moderately long with honey and a herbal dryness.Long and wet with lingering spice notes and brown sugar.
Comments:A nice well aged single grain. Not the mouthfeel I had hoped for given its age, but a lovely dram none the less.  Single grain Scotch whisky is quite a bit more delicate than single malt.  Don’t expect a 29 yr old single grain to be like a 29 yr old single malt – it almost certainly won’t be (in fact the word “single” and the country of origin may be about all they have in common). It isn’t my favorite genre of whisky, but I can appreciate it for what it is.  And in the case of this bottle – dangerously drinkable!In the glass this was the darker of the two pours (not “dark” by any stretch, but The Sovereign had more of a faint yellow tint where this tends more towards golden).  This was a tad more rich on both the nose and the mouthfeel of the palate, and also had a longer finish.  Very similar for sure – the differences are pretty nuanced.  I personally preferred this one of the two, but not by a wide enough margin to bump the rating to a “Must Try”.
Rating:
Stands Out
Stands Out

 

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