93 points
Glenallachie 10 year old Rye Wood Finished, 48%
On the nose, there’s roasted almond, fragrant butterscotch, toffee, lemon, and oak, plus vanilla, lemon meringue, sweet malt, and a hint of melon. The palate has notes of vanilla cake, pleasant soapiness, sweet tea, rich chocolate, a hint of coconut, and alluring flavors of blueberry cobbler and raspberry tart. The finish is long, lively, and beautifully punctuated with fruit notes, dark chocolate, and a parting song of oak. Loaded with great, well-integrated flavors.
Reviewed by: David Fleming (Winter 2021)
This iconic sherried single malt scotch getsan extra-generous helping of fruit from maturation in port pipes at the hands of GlenDronach master blender Rachel Barrie. The result is a decadent and chewy dram that starts off with fig, dried cherries, and glazed banana chips on the nose. The mouth-filling flavors boast rich fruit, with chocolate-covered cherry and spiced Christmas cake before a lingering finish of drying cocoa and gingersnaps. Lush, creamy, and moreish in the extreme.
Nikka’s signature bottling honors founder Masataka Taketsuru, who brought his whisky making skills back from Scotland to Japan in 1920. Taketsuru’s successors have reformulated this blended malt, which fully complies with the latest definitions of Japanese whisky. The aromas create an oasis of calm
with layers of gentle wood spices, smoke, vanilla pod, and lemon biscuits, while the palate carries a distinctive waxy sappiness that revels in luscious flavors of star fruit, lemon, Asian pear, peach syrup, and aromatic spice.
Refreshing clean citrus notes on the nose, with zested lemons and limes, lemongrass stalks, candied fruits, honeysuckle, and eucalyptus. Mouth drawing at cask strength, with citrus, ripe apricot, creamy toffee, and a hint of grapefruit peel, followed by a sustained alcohol peak; mellow, not combative, leaving Oreo cookies, raisins, and dark toffee flavors. Add a few drops of water because the integration of fruit flavors and dark sweetness is heavenly. (213 bottles, Glass Revolution Dram Hunter Selection U.S.A. Exclusive Release)
Pleasantly aromatic on the nose, with vanilla maltiness, cinnamon stick, and mixed berries. Tropical notes—lime, grapefruit, and pineapple—start things off on a smooth palate, seamlessly integrating with chocolate, spice, and hints of smoke. Water brings out spiced crème brûlée and baked apples. The finish offers length and balanced sweetness. While it does well without water, a splash certainly enhances things. Overall, a very well-textured, flavorful expression.
Editor's Choice
The aromas start subtly with honey, citrus, and dried grasses, while smoke builds from snuffed church candles through to garden bonfire, bringing in notes of seashell saltiness, raw steak in brown paper, and pistachio shells. Finished in a seaweed-charred virgin oak cask, this is a truly contemporary whiskey; thick and sweet with flavors of salted caramel, orange segments, log-fire smoke, and a blast of pepper and clove.
The first Kentucky Owl release under master blender John Rhea, this bourbon drops the high proof and price point typically associated with Kentucky Owl for something more approachable—a blend of bourbons ranging from 4 to 8 years old. Green apple candies, cinnamon stick, buttered popcorn, and sage on the nose. Ginger spice and sweet bubble gum notes intertwine on a creamy palate along with
blackberry tart and cocoa powder. Candied raspberries on the finish are matched with a sustained spice that lingers.
Scotland has hundreds of islands, many of them familiar to scotch lovers, but the one known as Arran has flown beneath the radar. This sleeper single malt has a sublime aroma of bread dough that barely hints at the lively flavors that await in the glass, which include freshly shelled almonds, sweet berries, and clover honey, plus a toasty finish with a lovely (if not overly long) chocolate note. A balanced, elegant, and flavorful whisky that’s lively on the palate, and a true bargain at only $50.
Double maturation of 14 years each in refill wood then madeira barrels, this is a strident, impactful whisky with a fragrant intensity of spiced orange, neroli, golden apple, vanilla bean, honey, meadow hay, and brioche with daubs of aniseed, peppercorn, and mild tobacco notes. Drying at full strength, the sweet, syrupy orange is overcome by a wave of tangy orange, caramel, vanilla, and spiciness, remaining thick—almost gloopy—to the end. (414 bottles)
Disgorged from three American oak hogsheads filled in the final months of the distillery’s production, the nose brings forth golden syrup, key lime pie, green melon, two-tone sherbet lollipops, tart apple, and an array of fruity esters. Plenty of oak, a hint of wax, and a touch of astringency. It’s what Convalmore does best: sweet golden fruits with a developing waxiness, mandarin orange, ground pepper, lime zest, and spiced caramel. (647 bottles)
Incredibly, this European oak butt was the first cask ever filled at Auchroisk. The nose is fruity with apple pie, sweet pastry, lemon balm, vanilla, church candles, crusty French bread, barley heads, waxed cotton, and linseed oil-soaked cloth. Sweet baked fruits enrapture the taste buds with apple, marzipan, wafers, coriander seed, and pepper, later developing fudge, vanilla, wood spices, and oak to carry into the long, dry finish. (382 bottles)
The first Rosebank on the path to the distillery reopening is buttery and golden with rich vanilla, notes of lemon-zested lemon meringue pie, honeycomb, polished oak, marzipan, and a pinch of wood spices. This is a classic Rosebank, a soft, intimate dram with sweet almonds, butterscotch, grapefruit peel, gooseberry bitterness, background spices, and a finish of pear and vanilla. Welcome back Rosebank, it’s been too long. (300 bottles for the U.S.)
Collectibles