Scottish Whisky

Ledaig Gordon & MacPhail 14 Year

/ / Island, Review, Scottish Whisky / ,

Ledaig 14 Year Gordon & MacPhail
Island Single Malt Scotch Whisky

57.5% ABV
$140
Website
Ledaig 14 Year Gordon & MacPhail

What the Bottle Says

Cask Strength
LEDAIG
From Tobermory Distillery
DISTILLED: 21/09/2000
CASK: Refill Sherry Hogshead
BOTTLED: 20/01/2015
REGION: Island
Aged 14 Years In Oak Cask
Natural Colour | Non-Chill Filtered

Each expression in our Cask Strength range is unique. A small selection of casks is carefully chosen and the contents bottled – always at natural strength and colour, with no chill filtering.

LEDAIG FROM TOBERMORY DISTILLERY 2000, 57.5% ALC/VOL
Smoked cured meat aromas with hints of leather and orange. The palate is sweet with fruit flavors, complemented by hints of bonfire embers.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich fruit and peat, leather, pipe smoke, kiwi, nectarines, medicinal, tobacco, smoked pork roast and ashy.
Palate:  Thick and viscous mouthfeel, oily, fruitcake with a healthy dose of peat smoke, blood oranges, raisins, pepper spice, honey, walnuts, savory spice notes including tarragon.
Finish:  Long and syrupy sweet with dark fruits, pepper, peat and smoked meats.
Comments:  This is my 2nd Ledaig and is lovely! The non-chill filtration is much appreciated, and really adds so much to the mouthfeel and palate. Just thick and syrupy throughout. I love the balance between the sweet and savory. A bit of water thickens this up even more, and brings the fruit forward along with baked pastries. I picked this up at a local package store during the pandemic (February 2021). I am a fan of independent bottlings, although rarely do I buy a second bottle (figuring I’d rather have a new experience and try something else). This was an exception to that, and I’m glad I picked up a second bottle. I liked it so much, that while grabbing that second bottle (in January 2022), I picked up another independent bottling of Ledaig (this one a 19 year from Cadenhead).

Rating: Must Try/Must Buy

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Longmorn 2002 17 Year

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky, Speyside / ,

Longmorn 2002 17 Year
Signatory Vintage The Un-chillfiltered Collection
Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Bottled Exclusively for The Whisky Exchange

56.2% ABV
$160
Website
Longmorn 2002 17 Year Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky

What the Bottle Says

AGED: 17 years
DISTILLED ON: September 17, 2002
BOTTLE ON: May 5, 2020|
MATURED IN: a Bourbon Barrel
CASK NO: 800638
BOTTLE NO: x of 229

Cask Strength | Natural Colour

What Gary Says

Nose:  Bright fruit notes of peaches, green apples, kiwi, coconut and cotton candy with fresh walnuts.
Palate:  Sweet with fruit salad, cherries, nutmeg, vanilla with a bit of toffee and nutmeg before pepper spice builds.
Finish:  Moderately long with fruit notes, vanilla and cracked white pepper.
Comments:  This is a really bright and fruity dram, with orchard and tropical fruits. I’ve tried a few Longmorns, and liked every single one (although I don’t recall the others being this fruity). The Whisky Exchange points out that they “… love Longmorn, and this bourbon-barrel-matured single-cask bottling showcases the fruitiness that so often gets lost in drams from the distillery.” I think they nailed it.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Springbank 12 yr Cask Strength Batch 21 (October 2020)

/ / Campbeltown, Review, Scottish Whisky / ,

Springbank 12 yr Cask Strength
Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Batch 21 – October 2020

56.1% ABV
$120-$130
Website
Springbank 12 yr cask strength batch 21

What the Distillery Says

DISCLAIMER: The following notes are what is listed as of December 2021, but refers to an older batch with a different mix of cask types. Shame that Springbank themselves don’t keep more current information (as well as batch history), but focusing my review on their whisky rather than their website management 🙂 

Our 12-year-old edition, always bottled at cask strength, is a wonderfully balanced dram that boasts a smooth buttery body and rich fruity palate. Add a drop of water to release milk chocolate and vanilla notes.

Our latest release*, bottled in January 2017, is 54.2% and the tasting notes are:
Nose: It’s reminiscent of walking in an autumn forest full of pine and chestnut trees, before returning home to the iodine of a Campbeltown malt and ending with a delicate hint of peat.
Palate: A gorgeous richness on the palate which is balanced between citrus marmalade on toast and caramelised toasted marshmallows, not forgetting flavours of vanilla and pepper. It’s a lip licking meaty dram.
Finish: A delicious, viscous, smooth liquid with a salty edge. It brings back memories of a ham joint which has been marinated in a rich honey sauce and slow baked in the oven.

Special shout out to Ben’s Whisky Blog and The Washback for detailing out the Springbank 12 yr Cask Strength batch differences!

Per sources such as these and others, Batch 21 is different with the types of casks uses comprising of sherry (45%), bourbon (25%), burgundy (25%) and port (5%).

What Gary Says

Nose:  Dark fruit, red wine notes, hint of sulfur and peat, smoked barbecue pork, tobacco, oak, brandied cherries.
Palate:  Cream mouthfeel, fruity with apricots, not quite ripe strawberries, cherries, ginger, cinnamon and pepper spice.
Finish:  Long and drying with dry sherry, red wine, ash and pepper.
Comments:  Trying this side-by-side again Springbank 12 yr Cask Strength batch 15, this is much darker in color, and the burgundy cask influence really stands out. It is very good, but just not in my wheelhouse as squarely as batch 15 is with that 70% sherry mix. A bit of water thickened things up, but didn’t tamp the edges like I had hoped. If you’re a fan of different wine cask finishes or maturations, this might be intriguing (and again – it is very good; not off putting – just not the ‘sherry bomb’ that you may have come to love in the majority of previous batches).

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Springbank 15 Year Old

/ / Campbeltown, Review, Scottish Whisky /

Springbank 15 Year Old
Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky

46% ABV
$135-$150
Website
Springbank 15 Year

What the Distillery Says

Like a storm gathering off the Kintyre coast, our 15-year-old Springbank is dark and ominous, yet delicious. Best enjoyed after dinner or with your favourite cigar, this is a true classic.

Nose: Demerara sugar, dark chocolate, Christmas cake, almonds, toffee, oak.
Palate: Creamy, raisins, dark chocolate, figs, marzipan, brazil nuts and vanilla.
Finish: Oak and sherry notes sustain and mingle with hints of leather.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Thick and rich sherry bomb, dark fruit with oak, graham cracker, toffee, caramel, leather, molasses, wisps of sea air with just a hint of sulfur.
Palate:  Creamy mouthfeel, fruity with graham cracker and bitter chocolate, butterscotch, nutty earthiness with some soft pepper and baking spices, clove.
Finish:  Long and drying with vanilla, smoke and dark fruits.
Comments:  A solid Springbank for sure! Rich and intense, this has everything I love in a Springbank. Some water tamps the oak and brings the chocolate and toffee out of the shadows of the dark fruit – but don’t mistake that this drinks beautifully neat!

Rating: Must Try

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Lagavulin Offerman Edition 2 Guinness Cask Finish

/ / Islay, Review, Scottish Whisky /

Lagavulin Offerman Edition 2 Guinness Cask Finish
11 Year Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky

46% ABV
$80-$100
Website
Lagavulin Offerman Edition Guinness Cask

What the Bottle Says

“I have travelled the world and sampled many attempts at pleasing nectars, but it is solely this distillation on Islay; a tiny, charismatic Scottish isle, that has claimed my palate,
Yea, and my heart into the bargain.”
Nick Offerman
TASTING NOTES
PALATE: A glorious adventure in ‘sweet peat’ through the combination of the intense peat and charred wood notes of Lagavulin with the roasted coffee, dark chocolate and sweet caramel notes from the Guinness casks.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Sweet peat with sea air, hint of Guinness stout, ashy with leather, a hint of dried fruits with chocolate.
Palate:  Creamy and sweet with vanilla bean, chocolate, some tropical fruit notes of mango and dried pineapple, underlying peat smoke.
Finish:  Moderately long with sea salt, chocolate malt and pepper with peat.
Comments: This is delicious! Classic Lagavulin profile, but the Guinness really adds a lovely dimension without taking center stage. The 4 month finishing in former Guinness Beer Casks from the Open Gate Brewery in Maryland seems to have struck that right balance. I enjoyed the first Offerman Edition, and like this one even more (note that these were sampled months apart – just getting the reviews posted in close proximity!). If I have any complaint, it is that Lagavulin doesn’t acknowledge this fine dram on their web-site (their site in general leaves much to be desired, although if I wasn’t looking for content for a review – probably wouldn’t care!) If you’re a fan of Lagavulin, I’d absolutely seek this one out.

Rating: Must Try

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