I wrote these notes blind, and then was revealed the bottle afterward, so keep that in mind. ABV: 40% Nose: Musty, sawdust, Vanilla, oak, astringent. Palate: Thin, watery mouthfeel, Sawdust, oak spice, vanilla. Finish: Medium length finish, slight ash, peat. Rating: 3/10 Guess: This is either an uninspired Scotland single malt, or a poor Texas single malt. Overall it’s actively bad. […]

Compass Box Great King Street Select, Norfolk Wine and Spirits This is a side by side of two different Compass Box Store selects, each with a different marrying cask, each sold at Norfolk Wine and Spirits as a set of 4 they did. I indicate the cask type in each glass below, they are the

This is a heavily peated release from the Bruichladdich Distillery. It was malted to 114 PPM peat, Distilled in 2013 from the 2012 Harvest. It was matured for 6 years in FF ex-Bourbon casks. NCF and NCA. ABV: 61.3% Nose: Balanced, Sweet smoked meaty Peat. Toffee, Vanilla Cream, Malty, black pepper. Palate: Medium Oily Mouthfeel, Meaty peat, Malty,

Big Peat Christmas 2015 This is a blended malt from Douglas Laing. It has whisky from Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bowmore and Port Ellen. Let’s dive in and see how well this reasonably priced dram holds up. ABV: 53.8% Nose: Slight Meaty Peat, Campfire Smoke, Malty, Bacon, Iodine, slight vanilla. Palate: Medium oily mouthfeel, slight sweet peat. Ashy, Campfire

G&M Ledaig 1998 This is a bottle of Ledaig from Gordon & MacPhail, and IB. This bottling was aged for 16 years in a refill sherry hogshead. ABV: 46% Nose: Malty, Cereals, Honey, Crisp Apple, Slight Hay, black pepper. Palate: Medium mouthfeel, spicy, peppery, malty, honey. Finish: Medium length, black pepper, slight apple, honey, Rating: 6/10 The flavors here are

The Ultimate Whisky Company Ballechin 2007 11 yr This is a heavily peated offering from Ballechin, aged for 11 years in a 2nd fill sherry barrel. The Ultimate as a bottler is based in the Netherlands. Let’s see how this offering stands up. ABV: 60% Nose: Savory BBQ Peat, Plums, allspice, Black Tea, Grapes, Wood Spice, Palate: Medium,

This is the return of the Glendronach 15, this one being aged for 15 yeas in ex-Olroso and ex-Px barrels. ABV: 46% Nose: Lively Nose, Raisins, Figs, plums, red berries, Black Pepper. Palate: Medium mouthfeel, Figs, red berries, slight Sulphur, raisins, allspice, slight chocolate. Finish: Medium length, moist, red berries, tart blueberries, plums, allspice. Rating: 6/10 Overall it’s pretty nice.