Scottish Whisky

Black Bull 21 Year Old

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky /

Black Bull 21 Year Old
Blended Scotch Whisky

50% ABV
$135
Website
Duncan Taylor Black Bull 21 Yr Blended Scotch Whisky

What the Blender Says

Stoically independent and without compromise. Black Bull was first released to discerning drinkers in 1864, and has since grown to become a renowned whisky of quality, offering a powerful sensory experience, and delivering indulgent, uncompromised depth.

Black Bull is still blended to the same formula today as was used in the very beginning, using a large percentage of quality Speyside and Highland malts, matured in sherry and bourbon casks, blended to a high malt to grain ratio, and finally bottled at a robust 50% abv.

Black Bull 21 is unfettered by chill filtration, allowing the character of each carefully selected 21 year old whisky to shine through to its full potential, resulting in a unique blend that is outstanding in its field.

TASTING NOTES
COLOUR: Bright gold.
NOSE: Citrus, red apples, tangerines with a touch of caramel.
TASTE: Very lively and fresh with zesty notes. Nutmeg and cloves with sweetness of vanilla and barley sugars emerging. An excellent balance.
FINISH: Warming pepper, gentle nutty notes and toasted marshmallows to finish. A fantastic expression, reminds us of Christmas.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Lovely stewed fruits – apples, pears, apricots and figs, with nutmeg, clove, leather, oak and a faint hint of balsamic.
Palate:  Creamy mouthfeel with honey, malt, subtle pears, bit of nutmeg, fresh cracked pepper and a hint of peat.
Finish:  Moderately long drying with oak, earthy pepper and a hint of fruit.
Comments:  The nose on this is really nice, but the palate was disappointing. Just less complex and intense – and one of those rare drams where I enjoyed it less with each sitting. Just a fairly mediocre dram that isn’t in my wheelhouse. Nothing off putting about it – like a funk or anything like that, and the nose is nice – but the palate tops out at highly ordinary for me.

Rating: Average

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Laphroaig 16 Year Old Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky

/ / Islay, Review, Scottish Whisky / ,

Laphroaig 16 Year Old Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky

48% ABV
$90
Website
Laphroaig 16 yr Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
We would like to thank Laphroaig and Multiply for sending us a sample to review.

What the Distillery Says

Laphroaig® 16 Year Old is an exceptional expression that has been matured for 16 years in ex-bourbon barrels. Over time, the whisky’s smoky flavor softens on the senses and is beautifully married with sweet vanilla notes aging in Americna Oak to deliver a long lasting, smoky sweet and rich flavor. Laphroaig 16 Year Old is best served neat or with a drop of water.

TASTING NOTES
Color: Deep copper
Nose: Sweet leather, oaky spices, with floral notes, roasted chestnuts with rich maple syrup, and a touch of black pepper.
Palate: Sweet with treacle, caramel, Manuka honey and thyme, as well as wood smoke, creosote, lots of floral notes of heather and bergamot, and a chili mouthfeel.
Finish: Long lasting, smoky, sweet with a salted seaweed, medicinal character.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Thick and lovely with seaweed, iodine, leather, peat smoke, tar, and a subtle sweetness underneath.
Palate:  Sweet salted caramel to start, then sharpening with pepper spice, peat, smoke, oregano & thyme dried near the sea.
Finish:  Moderately long, smokey and drying with medicinal notes.
Comments:  This is a lovely dram! Water tamps the sharper edges and brings more sweetness forward, but make no mistake this is squarely in the Laphroaig wheelhouse. I was fortunate enough to have a bottle of Laphroaig 18 yr on hand to compare to, and it was fairly similar (maybe not quite as creamy of a mouthfeel and a tad less refined). Unfortunately that isn’t a standard offering, which is all the more reason I’m excited about this new addition to the lineup. In particular I appreciate the relatively high ABV. While softer than the 10 yr with more nuance, this still brings images of a peat fire by the sea shore. If you’re a fan of Laphroaig, I’d consider this a ‘Must Try’.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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The Glenlivet Nàdurra Oloroso Batch OL0614

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside /

The Glenlivet Nàdurra Oloroso
Batch OL0614

60.7% ABV
$90-$100
Website
Glenlivet Nadurra Oloroso batch olo614

What the Distillery Says

First Fill Oloroso Sherry Oak casks from Jerez add richness and luxury.

The Nàdurra range uses traditional 19th-century production methods to create inventive and original whiskies. This version is matured in first-fill Oloroso sherry oak casks from the Spanish region of Jerez. The sherry-soaked wood introduces the rich, sultry flavors of dried fruit and warm spice. Nàdurra Oloroso, like all expressions in the range, is bottled and released in small batches, and, unlike most modern whiskies, is non-chill filtered so has all the body you would expect from a whisky that has been drawn straight from the cask. It’s a bright, vivacious gold liquid, with aromas of dried fruit and spice. To drink, it’s smooth and creamy with chocolate and marmalade. This is a divine example of what happens when you bring together Spanish passion and Speyside tradition. This whisky is all about using traditions to achieve modern brilliance.

Color: Bright gold
Cask: First Fill Oloroso Sherry Oak
Flavor: Dried fruits, warm spices
Nose: Dried fruit, raisins, apricots, cinnamon, liquorice
Palate: Smooth and creamy, spicy orange marmalade, dark chocolate
Finish: Long and sweet, slightly dry and spicy

What Gary Says

Nose:  Sherried oak (more dry sherry than dark fruit) with subtle dark chocolate and spices; water brings dark fruit notes forward.
Palate:  Robust and intense fruitcake, plums, black cherries, raisins, baking spices, dark chocolate and unsalted mixed nuts; water tamps the chocolate a bit and brings the spice forward.
Finish:  Moderately long with drying sherry and subtle earthy oak spice trailing.
Comments:  I’m not sure if this has changed in the last few years (note that my sample was batch OL0614 from 2014), but I wouldn’t describe the color on this as ‘bright’. It’s a fairly dark and dense dram (which I prefer visually!) This one is a bit odd to me in that typically Oloroso matured whisky is heavy with dark fruit, and every time I tried this what jumped out to me was the sherry itself and oak over the fruit. That said, I really enjoyed every taste! Just a lovely intensity of flavor.

Rating: Must Try

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Glentauchers 18 Yr Cask Strength

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside /

Glentauchers 18 Yr Cask Strength
Gordon & MacPhail Casks 5072 & 5073
Distilled 1995

58.3% ABV
$125-$145
Website
Glentauchers 1995 Cask Strength

What the Producer Says

A rare example of cask-strength Glentauchers, released by independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail. Distilled on 14 June 1995, it was aged in a pair of first-fill sherry butts for 18 years before being bottled on 27 January 2014.

Natural Colour; Not Chill Filtered

Packaging Notes:  Sweet, with apple, pear and eucalyptus notes developing. The palate has chili spice with ripe banana, orange peel and a creamy chocolate edge

What Gary Says

Nose:  Orchard fruit, stewed apples, an herbal/malty note with a hint of darker fruit and nutmeg.
Palate:  Sweet entry with a strong/sharp spiciness, subtle fruit notes underneath with pears, banana, orange creamsicle; some water seems to thicken the mouthfeel, subdues the spiciness a bit and brings out more of the dark fruit notes.
Finish:  Moderately long, drying with fruit and pepper spice.
Comments:  Often I find the tasting notes in a PR or on the bottle to be fairly imaginative but not particularly accurate. Everyone tastes differently, but these were damn close to my experience (in hindsight, I get the eucalyptus although couldn’t put my finger on it as THAT; same thing with the chili spice). Water improves this one quite a bit, and actually improves the mouthfeel which I don’t find very often.

Rating: Stands Out

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Talisker 57° North

/ / Island, Review, Scottish Whisky /

Talisker 57° North Single Malt

57.8% ABV
$75
Website
Talisker 57 North
We would like to thank Paul (who shares reviews on Distiller.com, as well as reviews and general musings on his YouTube channel Dapper Drams) for the sample to review!

What the Distillery Says

Talisker 57° North takes its name from this remote, rugged and windswept distillery’s latitude. And rightly so, because this is an untamed, natural expression of the Talisker’s full power: a volcanic, intensely appealing flavour that most drinkers will have only experienced in a cask strength bottling.

Appearance: Full gold.
Nose: Clean and intense, with the light smoke of a struck match. Creamy toffee balanced by fruit. Hints of seaweed, heather blossom and vanilla.
Body: Explosive, intense and smoky.
Palate: Sweet, with smoke and tar exploding around the middle – evoking the raw volcanic power which formed Skye’s famous Black Cuillin mountains.
Finish: Oily, tingling with the signature pepperiness. Smoother with water.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Big sea-mist, iodine, oysters, sea-brine, acrid smoke, vanilla with hints of chocolate.
Palate:  Sweet with apricots, pears and caramel to start, than a pepper pop midway through with sulfur, smoke and peat.
Finish:  Long, drying with pepper and sea salt.
Comments:  This is Talisker with the volume turned up past 11. A non-age stated bottling, but nothing in my experience would lead me to believe it is young. While the proof will up the umph, taking a 5 yr malt at near cask strength wouldn’t be that similar of a profile when diluted.  After making my notes, I decided to take 10 mL and bring it down to about 92 proof, and it reminded me of Talisker 10 yr – so my guess is that it isn’t far off in terms of age.  Regardless of age, this is just delicious.  If you are a fan of Talisker or peaty malts in general, I’d highly recommend trying it.  I think you’d enjoy it.

Rating: Must Try

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