Hunting Distilleries in Scotland, Aberdeen - Speyside 13.04.-18.04.2025

More pictures klick here

Day one: Starting in the dead of night. Leaving with my Maltmate first by car at 2.30am!!! Flight from Amsterdam, big adventure starts in Aberdeen. First stop for hunting distilleries shortly after landing: Glen Garioch Warehouse No 4 tour. A lovely tour, very interesting, lovely drams, lots of background information. Our guide is a real enthusiast. He is able to answer all my technical questions. Did you know that Glen Garioch has reinstalled malt floors and is now one of nine distilleries using malt floors? The others are: Balvenie, Benriach, Bowmore, Dunphail, Highland Park, Laphroaig, Springbank, Kilchoman.

No time to lose, our next stop is Speyside. I've been here before, twice. But back then I was a seeker and then a believer. Now I come back as a priest. Strathisla Distillery, a standard tour, but let me tell you, all our tours have been anything but standard. Strathisla is all about Chivas, Chivas here, Chivas there, the distillery and the location is great. At the bar you can try lots of drams (for free!).

Inspired, want more, any appointment left? Yes, the great Macallan. No tour though, just the shop and the chance to have a quick look at the cathedral.

What a luxury, what a waste, wtf... What am I doing here?

Day two: In a hurry, first to the cooperage in Craigellachie, yes, where the famous Craigellachie distillery is located. I've already seen a cooperage in Balvenie. It is a very important and skilled craft. Without casks there is no whisky. The quality and nature of the cask determines the result of the maturation. It's really alchemy and sometimes a miracle.

So is my next tour at Glenallachie. The tour is great, the drams are terrible, because all these experiments with wood finishing and refilling unnecessarily disturb the drink and in a way kill the mighty spirit, imo. Slow, quiet maturation is not possible. But, hey, some folks love this style. Whisky is a broad church. So why is the tour for me still a miracle? Because of our guide. He is honest and an artist and not the sort you would expect to find in a distillery. All our guides have been very special people.

The more time you spend on this sacred ground of Speyside (for Scotch drinkers), the more you are influenced and captivated by the magic that has been manifested here over the years through the art of distilling. There are other sacred places I have visited, such as the Highlands (north, central, east and west), Orkney, Arran, Islay, Isle of Skye, Campbelltown. But the Lowlands are still waiting.

Back to day two, not finished yet. The Aberlour distillery is currently (2025) undergoing a major renovation and refurbishment, as is Glendronach. The production process could not be shown. But we do the deconstructed tasting, great drams alongside. The order of the drams is debatable 1) 48%, 2) 60.8%, 3) 40%!, 4) 43%!, 5) 62% ABV.

Lorries thunder along the newly tilled barley fields from A to B, then back to C. Some distilleries don't bottle on site, they don't even store their barrels here in Speyside but in the Glasgow - Edinburgh belt. Other distilleries store their casks in different places, in warehouses belonging to other distilleries, as precaution, as we were assured, in case something happens. So there's a lot of traffic here and tourists too, although very few of them are here for the scenery. If you live along the road, you can't sleep at night.

Day 3: Cragganmore is unfortunately a little-noticed but very interesting distillery. It is one of the distilleries with wormtubs and has an unusual still, which has simply been cut off at the top, i.e. the typical lynarms are... they are different. The Pinnacle tour is very exciting, also because of our guide, who comes from South Africa and has exciting stories to tell and knows a lot of languages.

The next distillery that awaits us is Glenfarclas. On my last visit, our female guide shocked me when she mentioned casually changing the yeast cultures. Wouldn't that change the basic character? It's like two different types of milk from different supermarkets, she said, you couldn't taste it, I was put down. And this time? Our guide is very young, but has learnt her lines well. I don't ask any technical questions this time, but I do ask about Paxarett later, because of the exciting Decade tasting. She's never heard of it. She casually mentions that GF has changed the filling strength of the casks, as have Glendronach (we find out later that this is also the case with other distilleries). The ABV filling streghth is the subject of scientific papers, as can be read on the daily.sevenfifty.com site, 'understanding the science of barrel entry proof in whiskey', or there are several other articles, for example on whiskymag.com.

The traditional methods no longer seem relevant, traditional processes redundant. Old school? It used to be. Sustainability is the keyword you hear very often. A lot of changes are justified by sustainability. Increased production, greater yield? Not a word. Greed for money? Of course not! Shame upon him who thinks evil upon it. Glendronach argues the bottling strength with space problems, GF says nothing about it. Who am I to judge. I'll keep my thoughts on this to myself. Why do they want to kill GF so badly?

The tasting is an enlightening event, a lot of Family Casks, you get to try a very exciting 4th fill bottling, with the associated background knowledge, later whisky from the 60s with lots of sulphur. The historical facts about the whiskies are an excellent accompaniment to the event. Still reveling in the history of GF, I take a taxi back to my accommodation.

I spend the evenings at the Mash Tun. The restaurant with a very large selection of whiskies has nice staff who unfortunately have absolutely no idea about whisky. Orders from a completely outdated list cannot be served, prices for selected whiskies (point your finger and ask for a dram) cannot be found or are guessed at. Less suitable for vegetarians, the few vegetarian dishes don't taste good. Never miiiind. French fries with ketchup are delicious!

Day 4: A short journey of about an hour to the south to the Cairn distillery. Before that, I visit a Wool Mill, a museum that unfortunately didn't really get back on its feet after Corona. Their only weaver has given up her job and they now have fewer products than when I was there a few years ago. Cardhu is just round the corner, but we get so engrossed in the conversation that we soon have to leave in a hurry. Cairn is obviously built in a nature reserve with enormous restrictions. One wonders why build here. A very modern, architecturally outstanding distillery, without (!!!) warehouses. The warehouses were not allowed to be built here, instead the spirit has to go to the Benromach distillery to be filled into barrels and stored there. Crazy. Gordon MacPhail's, the owner, has apparently given up the business as an independent bottler, selling only the remaining stock and focussing on Benromach and this new baby. The tour is like a cinema show, first the past, then the future. Malt blends are currently on display to give an idea of what the whisky will be like. Everything is very clean and sterile, the process is highly optimised, both digitally and analogue. However, the food in the restaurant is delicious! Somehow everything here reminds me of Macallan, hmmm.

Then comes the stark contrast, an old farm. The old building is a listed building, so the new distillery had to be squeezed into the old walls somehow. The result is Ballindaloch, with an output of 100,000 litres per year, no better than Edradour. The distillery has the balls to use Wormtubs, respect. However, the current bottlings are still a little too harsh and young. It will be interesting to see what comes next.

Another evening at the Mash Tun, French Fries and Ardnamurchan, good job.

Day 5: Unfortunately, my journey has already come to an end, after very intense days another giant awaits me on the road: Glendronach. The first impression is: what a dump, everything has been left to decay. Supposedly, however, a lot is now being invested and everything is being modernised. The place really is a huge construction site. What has been already renovated, however, are the car parks, a strange priority. It's about the masterclass tour, I didn't want to do it under that. Our female guide turns out to be a walking whisky encyclopaedia, all my questions from fermentation time, mash tun brand, mill to type of wood, paxarette, everything was answered. Speaking of mash tun, it is not Lauter yet, produces a cloudy wort, but will be replaced by a Lauter, which unfortunately creates a clear wort, but they want to save the cloudyness somehow. Just amazing what's going on. The tour is meticulously planned, everything runs according to a script, you actually feel like you're in a film again. The final tasting is all the more disappointing, we are unfortunately rushed through the drams, she throws flavour notes at us without waiting for our impressions or making any reference to them. I didn't say another word. Very overpowering. What a pity.

I say goodbye with mixed feelings and again doing the mental note not to buy Glendronach again for the time being.

Day 5/6: Aberdeen, the city everyone warned me about. In fact, the first impression of the city is not very overwhelming. At second glance however, the city proves to be very ambivalent. There is the old town and even a very long, very beautiful coastal strip that starts just behind the legendary AFC stadium. In the city centre is the Aberdeen Whiskyshop, which very generously let me sample some interesting whiskies. After a short search, we find the Grill, an excellent whisky bar where the time passes very quickly. Back to Amsterdam the next day. I'm already longing for the next trip, back to Scotland, again worshipping spiritual holy grounds and hunting distilleries.

Maker’s Mark 2024 cellar aged 59,7 %, WB: 261635

Amber, happened to be dark 
Nose: Oops, forgot in the corner, 3h later: Manuka honey, horse sweat, umami, Sunday roast, soy sauce, alcohol tingles gently minty-mentholic tickling. Fermentation vat in the brewery, malty sweet. In the background a few grated coconut with a few grains of vanilla seeds.
Palate: A whole horde of pungency gangs, spreading annoyance and restlessness. Imbalance. Broken Zen. Screwed feng shui. Ginger duels with chili, pepper takes aim at cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg are mere spectators. Rocket and other bitter salad leaves are mixed in. Sweetness? Perhaps something in the salad dressing, sherbety.
Finish: Leaves a hint of bitterness, both on the palate and in the senses. The nose was very promising, however the mouthfeel and finish are disappointing.

89/100

 

 

Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered 57,64 % 166B 2022 04-year-old, WB: 257229

Tripmastermonk takes us on a lofi journey...in hay yellow
Nose: aromas develop lofiish, about 2h later vanilla, honey, maple syrup, herbs - mountain. Cough drops a la Ricola. Marshmallows rather American, alcohol pulsates to the beat in the nose, on the walls and down the nasal passage into the throat. The sinuses are amazed. Once everything is numb, cinnamon is sprinkled over the top, followed by nutmeg and some wood smoke from the barbecue, more like charcoal. More dusty spices drift along the dusty roads into town, gently simmering instead of rich and creamy. Coming along nonchalantly.

Palate: Sharppp, Kentucky Hugish. Burns down the gullet. Sweet baked apples mingle with cinnamon spiciness. The apple does not prevail. -Cough cough, swallowed wrong, now it burns everywhere.
Finish: Cheap brandy, young and spicy, without experience and without maturity. Who is he trying to impress? Marzipan with too little sugar lingers on the palate, even bitter almond. Oaky, coke, spiciness from burning. A trail of oil remains on the road, on the way to the unknown.
89/100

Blended Grain Scotch Whisky 1973 NSS 50, WB: 257585

Whew - at that age you get weak knees. I then fall to my knees with Oloroso and HHD. But only grain. Ages differently than malt. What can we expect? After a 3-hour wait, we return to the 1973.
Nose: Wasn't there an oil crisis? Color is reminiscent of heavy oil...or cola. Speaking of: Coca-Cola or Pepsi? Candy shop, chocolate crumble, baked goods - Christmas cookies. Cinnamon and molasses. Now Pepsi again, stale, tingling and tickling the nose. In between cellar mustiness and stall. Then again - Pepsi!

Palate: So this is what 50 years tastes like. I know people who are or have always been that old and unpalatable. The cola taste opens with a peppery note. Sweet coffee, cappuccino with more sugar than necessary, Armagnac - similarly aged, one would have to say stored.
Finish: Surprisingly short, dying, existential fears of the aromas, fighting for survival. Petroleum remains on the palate. A few herbs emerge from the past, shouting disturbing words. A nasty taste remains.
89/100

Ardmore 22-year-old WSP Equilibrium III, WB: 257037

Dark Amber. Not secret Highlander - Ardmore.
Nose: 2h A campfire, but already extinguished, the community broken up, embers here and there, some wood still smoldering, emitting birch smoke. Cigarettes, menthol, do they still exist? Probably in 100 variations as vapes. Ahoi-Brause, Haribo Balla-Balla, when you open a fresh bag. Roasting flavors in an old gym, working out with medicine balls. Sweat inducing. Sweetness mixes with roasted tobacco, dates wrapped in bacon from the oven.
Palate: Sparkling, alcoholic, slightly burning, spicy: black pepper. Ginger, some chili. Grains of salt, peat bitters.

Finish: Absolutely nonequilibrium, anything but balanced. Astringency, peat, slightly maritime, alcoholic - unpleasant.

88/100 

Bladnoch 2001 22 Canasta Sherry Butt, WB: 256956

One of those also-suitable-for-self-defence-if-the-content-doesn't-taste-good bottles.

Nose: 60min: The flavours flow into the nose as heavy as the glass. Sweet odours of decay with forest floor, while legends about warriors are told. At the bonfire with stick bread and S'More [smɔəɹ] consisting of a piece of melting chocolate and a roasted marshmallow embedded in two graham crackers. The fire is crackling, in the background wild boar are ploughing up the forest floor, truffles, porcini mushrooms, fresh earth and moss. Of course there are stallions nearby, neighing and sweating. Some saddles defy the heat of the fire. 2h: An apple and some chestnuts suffer in the embers. The nose sticks to the glass, doesn't want O2 but only these Xn molecules. A few dates, rum from an old barrel, red wine Chateau Haut Brion 1993, wine becomes cherry-like, grandma has conjured up Black Forest cherry cake with just the right amount of chocolate. The cake is served in an old library, dusty books, old pages full of knowledge, yellowed wisdom exuding the scent of days gone by.

Palate: ---- unable to write, wordless, painless, yet moaning and writhing, marvelling and whispering. The sky opens up, the holy whisky spirit comes over me, for milliseconds I see the big picture, I know things, I see the past and the future and the present. Time stands still. Words find their place again, mould themselves into black sweetened tea, espresso, dark chocolate. Red wine cream with chocolate, chocolate mousse. All kinds of desserts with heavy red wine and dark chocolate. Finish: Simply endless, never-ending. Heavy red wine, Rioja, but old, very old. Sawdust from a cedar mill, a master guitar maker's workshop, old cellos. Yes, that's what old cellos from the Medici era taste like. After 3 hours: cream, a creaminess fills the mouth. Remains of a red wine and chocolate cupcake.

96/100

Solara Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 12, Oloroso sherry octaves, WB: 230117

Light copper yellow or light amber. Solara, which sounds like a science fiction film, indeed proves to be a science fiction of taste poetry.

Nose: A freshness, a sea of freshly picked apricots and peaches, arranged like myriads of stars in a stone fruit galaxy. Alcoholic novae here and there. One star dies, others come to life, like the banana note that emerges from the background. The flavour ignites with a lot of ballyhoo and coconut.  The coconut that you buy on Mallorca on the Platja d'Alcudia and savour in a fresh sea breeze. Maritime notes tickle the nasal wall, caramelised sugar mixes with salt, salt becomes broth, broth turns into apple crumble, crumble crumbles into cough drops. 30 min: The breeze turns into warm late summer air, the air is filled with the scent of sad late-blooming roses mourning the passing of summer and shedding their sweet tears to the setting evening sun. Slowly and tenaciously, like a busy bee conjuring its honey, a last queen sends her army to gather nectar. The scent of hard work, chestnut honey, wafts in the air, joined by wood shavingsand of course stardust. Welcome autumn.

Palate: Wonderfully ripe red apples freshly pressed, some of the seeds obviously didn't make it out of their shells. Phew, must have been a large family. Herbs are added to the juice, how could it be otherwise, lovage, sage, a little rosemary. Grated grapefruit peel completes our fiction. A few drops of water add more sweetness and candied ginger notes.

Finish: Apricot kernels and lots of bitter almonds end this tasting as supernovae. Tannins accompany the farewell into the dark distance, the depths of space - unfathomable and fascinating.

88/100

Springbank 13 Local Barley 54,1% 23/257 2023, WB: 244883

Colour: Gold, getting in mood avec Adrien Chicot et Stéphane Tsapis
Springbank now joins the ranks of El Dorado, the Holy Grail, Atlantis, Camelot, Shambhala, Kamar-Taj, Lyoness - difficult, almost impossible to find (at affordable prices). Will you enter eternal bliss?
Nose: 3h Smells indeed very mystical, bookshelves, old library, maybe Biblioteca Marciana or Anna Amalia, maybe even Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, paired with a lot of cellar mustiness. A very old wine, red, forest floor, dirt, old dump, an antique shop, but it's not running, the things are rotting away, lost places everywhere. In between, citrus notes and tropical fruits flash through. Extinguished campfire, 4 inches away, 3 hours old. Candyshop - some douchebag has forgotten his pipe, tobacco smoke everywhere. Bothy in the Highlands, very clammy, dunnage warehouse. Mocha and cocoa powder, waves of coconut and icing sugar wafting around, a honeydew melon blissfully exuding its flavours into the ether. Mouth: Sharbat, sage, soya and balsamic vinegar, sweet and sour, chop suey and gravy. Oak pellets in black tea, dirt, but delicious, with curry and saté. Finish: Slightly tickling cinnamon spiciness, oily mouth-filling flowing down leaving dull teeth behind. A few grains of salt, somewhat maritime - surf of Brittany, thyme and calvados. A bitter almond is annoying af, slight astringency makes you restless. After 5 minutes, you are left with the flavour of an old book that you have bitten into. No holy grail, just whisky as it should be. "If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher."

Four Roses Limited Edition - Small Batch 2023 54% Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 135th Anniversary Edition, WB: 241867

Three-Body Problem, Colour: Rose, getting in mood with Aziza Mustafa Zadeh.
More of a three-rating problem, mouth, nose, finish. I'm not afraid of it! "Your lack of fear is based on your ignorance." The recipe reads incredible. Very promising.
Nose: Oh my Allah, so beguiling, almost hypnotising, in a cloud of cinnamon and cloves, rye, sourdough, dill, herbal meadow in the Swiss Alps. Greek yoghurt with honey and nuts. Sawmill, pencil and pavement. A street in Tuscany in summer after a summer rain. A shower in maple syrup. Marzipan, crumble cake, ginger bread. Liquorice. After 2 hours A candy bath, all kinds of sweets, caramel sweets, candy canes, lollipops, Turkish delight, halvah, wrapped in candy floss, bedded on baklava, a pillow of kadayif and pismaniye, the blanket of knafeh, a few drops of rose water, of four roses lol. I only smell what I am. "Every era puts invisible shackles on those who have lived through it, and I can only dance in my chains."
Mouth: 2h Spices fire like a meteor shower on the palate. Still dazed in the nose, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves wake you up. Gingerbread spice tickles, star anise... does something too. Oaky, vanilla, pudding, crème brûlée, canelé - more like pastéis de nata. Rice pudding like Sütlac. Honey and a lot of cream sweets. Herbs.
Finish: Enormous Kentucky Hug, rye, oily finish. Mushroom pan, allspice, rocket - oh yes lots of rocket and black pepper. Added to the oil: turmeric, dandelion, calcium. Particularly mineral and chalky. "From time to time, I would gaze up at the stars after a night shift and think that they looked like a glowing desert, and I myself was a poor child abandoned in the desert... I thought that life was truly an accident among accidents in the universe."
93/100

Blended Malt Old School 31 SV 2024 Batch 1 43,5%, WB: 249066

Colour: Copper

Great expectations and great fears of being disappointed accompany this malt. Only 43.5 % and an endless list of distilleries that were "brewed" together (?). Either this will be a disaster, or this malt will completely overwhelm me, or I will reach seventh heaven.
Nose: 30min: forest floor, truffles, seaweed, maritime, Atlantic surf and candy shop. Pipes of tobacco and fruit curd. Sweet and sour.
60min: Cigar coking in the distance, cinnamon nutmeg, figs, grape must, new wine (Federweißer), rather Riesling. Fermented apples with bananas and coconut. Subtle eucalyptus in the background, lends a light freshness, underlined by mandarin and grapefruit peel.

90min: Date dip, heather, brandy, lemonade with lots of herbs. Very multi-faceted, constantly changing flavours. Now even leather, sweat with lots of testosterone, a breeze from the fair, cotton candy, candied apple, mixed nuts, marzipan, baby vomit, ripe melons - Gaia. Mouth: phewww a gibberish of flavours, Tower of Babylon, different languages. Attempting to communicate: juices of various dark fruit varieties, mainly overripe apples. Calvados and warming rum flavours, some thin coffee, herbal sweets, a few grains of salt. Christmas biscuits, marzipan stollen, buttery, over-aged white wine, sweet and sour, honey-sugar-gaia-melon sorbet.

Finish: Eternally long, somewhat buttery and becoming dry. Speaking of, dry Pinot Gris, blunt teeth. Sahara dust, we get this a lot these days. Old library, if you stay for a long enough time. Iron, blood, sandalwood, pavement, oxidised, a bit cat pee tbh, herbal decoction, perfume. Despite the low ABV, I am somewhat overwhelmed. I didn't dare to try it with water. I tell myself I recognise a well-known distillery here and there. However, I feel more like a blind chicken. I don't recommend btw doing a blind tasting or a comparison to other whiskies. Compared to other whiskies, the alcohol strength do may underrepresent the beverage. In a blind tasting, you might not give the whisky the attention and time it needs. The complexity and multifaceted nature of this particular one is best enjoyed mindfully solo. The key to wisdom and whisky is proper aging.

94/100

The Cask Wizard 2010 – 2023 13 Single Malt, WB: 236999

Curious series, pretty much everything about it is secret. No Scotch apparently, German whisky? Secreter than all the secrets I've ever drunk secretly. Gone are the days of drinking a Glenfiddich and knowing exactly why it's bad (or good, just a matter of taste btw no other reason).

Nose: Ahoy sherbet, cola - Pepsi or Aldi Cola, shaken vigorously. Cocoa powder, milk chocolate, warm milk or all together hot chocolate with lots of cream. Freshly baked brownies, sticky toffee. Some sultana rummy. Manuka honey.
Mouth: soy sauce, teriyaki, balsamic, tobacco, leather - old if you try to grit your teeth on it. Honey becomes heather honey with cherry puree, some plums - dried. Sweet black tea with a hint of peat. Is this SULPHUR at the end?
Finish: Indeed sulphurous, but not disturbing, just shocking. Herbal, coriander, brandy and coffee. Muscovado clogs the palate. Tasty, no recognisable distillery signature a la Couvreur. Has its fans either way. For connoisseurs and professionals, this is certainly also exciting and challenging. I see myself as an interested researcher and try to explore the character of the distillery, how which spirit interacts with which casks, over what period of time and in what environment. This secrecy sucks.
89/100

Worm Tub 12 Batch 1 2023 #277 58,3%, WB: 23216

Interesting series, Wormtubs, hmm old school or low school. Colour and technique are promising.
Nose: Musty, restrained sherry notes, apropos school: team teaching with dates, maple syrup, brown mushrooms, freshly picked, with lots of earth on it. Coconut sits unnoticed, in a corner. Some pupils are already sweating strained.

Mouth: Pancakes with lots of syrup, alas hot spot school, ginger and some white pepper. Next lesson: art. Painting with lots of oil. Very tangy Kalamata olive oil, milk chocolate, chalk and other minerals, a few grains of NaCl from chemistry class and a touch of carmine red powder.
Finish: Hour passes quickly, short finish or entertaining teacher. Some red wine in the cheeks from the evening before, woody flavours on the tongue, strong tea well sweetened. Sticky. A green apple for a short break.
Not bad, but I expected more. There are more batches to come. Do I recognise the Wormtub signature now? Who knows... I'll go and do 
some homework.

85/100

Glen Grant 2003 SMWS 9.292 20, WB: 247301

Getting used to those bottlings. Can result in an addiction. However, Glen Grant was a must have for me. Very interesting distillery with a curious tour and lots of anecdotes. Still seems to be Murray's favourite.

Nose: Outdoors, rain after a hot summer's day, light breeze, the delivery service races past, his takeaway from the Chinese, lots of soya, some sweet and sour duck, mainly Szechuan sauce, a hint of freshly cooked rice, and he's gone... screaming cats, wet dogs, a Turkish ice cream seller, constantly teasing his customers, exuding a sweet vanilla scent, confectionery seller's appointment. Candyfloss by the tons on this corner, fairground paradise apples on that, fresh Berliners on that. What country could we be in? Mass pile-up of different types of sweets. Apples are being bitten into, summer is back, the vendors are sweating, global warming is unstoppable, we are so screwed...
Mouth: Brandy, matured grappa.  A journey in effetti through Italy. We try some astringent Chianti, in between an espresso ristretto, extra ristrettissimo. Tiramisu with chilli powder, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Marvellous sunsets, Tuscany, San Quirico in Val d'Orcia, Amalfi Coast, etc... Halloumi fried a little too spicy, is that Italy too? 

Finsh: Ruccola, raddicio, Chinese cabbage, ginger, orange zest crossed with lime. Spicy and oily. Spiciness could be black pepper on a pasta arrabbiata. Looong.

With water I’m getting more like grappa, unripe apples, grass, if I were a cow. Gin and tonic with a grapefruit apple juice and honeydew melon smoothie.

Ready for the summer.
89/100

Mannochmore 2006 SMWS 64.149 17, WB: 243252

Second SMWS bottle. Alliances shift. One has to be... flexible in this world.
Nose: Heavy ecclesiastic scent of old, varnish, dry rot, prayer cushions, hymn books, paraffin lamps, flowers and candles, all baking away peacefully in the warmth of the slow-burning ovens. Baked apples with a muscovado topping. A bag full of chocolate shavings. I admit: Black Forest gateau smashing in the face. It's all about the book. It begins and ends with the book. When can I get a copy? Mouth: Chocolate cake with lots of cream. Pickeled cherries, rummy, cherry watery, refreshing, a hint of menthol, lots of fudge, dates and stewed plums, marmelading.
Finish: Small espresso. Milk chocolate, Cognac XO oiling down, with a mouthful of mountain herbs.

Everybody counts or nobody counts. – Bosch

91/100

Mortlach 2004 SMWS 76.152 19, WB: 243255

SMWS, what a strange club, instead of names, numerical codes (which you look up anyway) and predetermined flavours, quasi incapacitating, elitist and somehow ... not. Anyway.
Mortlach, the name sounds like a war cry. "But Enough Talking, I Challenge You."
Nose: Ground in a mixed forest. Moss and all kinds of elf dung. Old library with wise books. Sawmill. Fruit stall next to dried fruits. Sunday roast with grilled pineapple slices.
Mouth: Sweet, pineapple juice, apricot juice, apple juice, sherbet, doughnuts in lots of oil, crêpes.

Finish: Mouth-filling, coating, waxy, oily, blunt teeth. Dental floss, a hint of mint. Sticky, dry.
With ¼ teaspoon of water, the nose loses intensity. Herbs and dusty spices dominate in the mouth. Some cinnamon spiciness is noticeable in the finish. Why continue to buy from SMWS?
“To Be The Best; Isn’t That A Good Enough Reason?” Kojiro.
93/100

Ben Nevis 24 BW, The Fine Art of Whisky, WB: 246425

I shop by colour, so this ambery clay promises delicious aromas and exciting taste experiences. "Suspecting and knowing are not the same." However, the risk of being disappointed is just as real.

Nose: Glue like Patex, crème brûlée, canelé, pancakes with lots of egg and maple syrup. Vanilla sauce on hot cherries. Barrel with lots more bourbon in it - Buffalo Trace I guess. "I'd stay here, happy forever..."
Mouth: Ui sharp, ginger, oak royal of course, cinnamon spiciness. Sage and other herbs fight a divine battle. Other whisky connoisseurs find other flavours. "Where's the glory in repeating what others have done?"
Finish: Spiciness remains, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon again. Mystical forest floor. After a while, a puree of rocket and radicchio remains in the mouth.
"Life is only precious because it ends, kid." (The Son of Neptune) 

89/10