DuckDrams

Blind sample review

⚡Experience

Old-school sherry nose: caramel & cola, vanilla, perfumy orange, old woods and varnish, tobacco, and some eukalyptus and tropical ‘tutti frutti’. Sentimental, is a word that comes to mind. Similar to an old armagnac. Gentle, delicate palate, clearly at a low abv, but flavoursome. Notes of sultanas, old hardwood, and a little menthol and candied ginger. A bit more tropical fruit candies creep out in the finish.

💡Thoughts

Before reveal: This has the hallmarks of old age. The low abv, which I’m guessing is at most 44%, suggest the angel’s have taken their share over the decades (unless it’s been watered, which would be a first of what I’ve got in this calendar so far). Determining the age is difficult, I can see a 25-45yo range being applicable here, depending not to a small degree on the malt versus grain component. Because I’m going to say this is a blend and not a single malt.

It’s a lovely old-timer, but not with very much identity of its own (according to my palate and experience) beside being just that relatively rare thing of an old-school sherried dram.

After reveal: Oldest whisky in the calendar apparently, dethroning the first dram I reviewed from it, the 45yo (1997) blend from Maltman. Curiously, we have in this 48yo a blend of the same distilleries. That can’t be a coincidence. And it’s not, because Meadowside Blending is the company behind both the Maltman series and Excalibur. Not clear why the batches ended up in different product lines… And why the refill sherry casks and additional 3 years (which just tells about age difference in the youngest component) seems to have added 40% to the price of the maltman.

Blind sample review

⚡Experience

Distinctly peaty, and with a nose of artisanal cider (apples, yeast), as well as fresh stone fruits, coastal spray and minerality. A very salty palate, and dry to the point of almost evaporating off the tongue! The flavours are characterful and really interesting. Bready and beery, with farmyard impressions of dried muck, hemp, and vegetal peat, along with the yellow fruits also found here on the palate. Smoky finish, without the odder elements.

💡Thoughts

Before reveal: Fun with something a bit different. I really enjoy this, although perhaps much of that comes from the delight of surprise. Whatever this is I’ll make sure to take note! And if the price is right, I could see myself getting a bottle.

When there’s heavy peat, it’s more likely Islay than not, but here I’ll venture to say it isn’t. The vegetal quality of the peat reminds me a bit of Jura, but this is not Jura. The yeasty notes would suggest Tobermory, or rather Ledaig, which will stand as my best guess. That said, there’s a number of non-Islay peated’s both new (Torabhaig, Lagg) and old (Glenturret, Benromach, …) that I have little grip on. In terms of age, it doesn’t have to be more than 5yo, but young wasn’t one of my impressions so I’ll say 10, plus or minus a couple of years. Strong yet really drinkable neat, so I’ll say around 55%.

After reveal: Williamson! So that’s Laphroaig. Funny that the previous tasting that I had (couple of days ago) was Laphroaig, which I usually drink very rarely. I did think that maybe this could be Laphroaig, and I pondered an iodine note that I didn’t write down… too late! The yellow fruits I did, though, just like in the Laphroig review. I guess in my mind the very dirty note had to be something else. Interesting to know it wasn’t, and after these three Laphroigs I’ve had now recently, I’m more positively inclined towards the distillery than before.

Blind sample review

⚡Experience

Many fruity impressions, mandarin being especially strong, also nectarine, apples and apple cider, tending towards the sour. Some sweetness from milk chocolate and sweetcorn. There are earthier aromas of grass, flowers, beeswax and chalk too. Overall, quite a lot going on on the nose. The palate is balanced in terms of tastes: sweet, sour, savoury, and a little salt are all there, and the mouthfeel is nicely unctuous, but it’s quite boozy neat. Flavour-wise, a generic dessert wine is my main impression, but looking for some more specific notes the mandarin and yellow fruits are still there, along with macadamia nuts, and a hint of brine and ash. Honey and gooseberry in the finish, and a fleeting note of geranium.

💡Thoughts

Before reveal: This is a good whisky, with enough punch and character to be worthwhile for sure. I’m pretty sure this is some kind of wine cask finish, because I sense quite some complexity on the nose, but on the palate it falls short of that promise, feeling more cask- than spirit-driven without being particularly old.

My best bet is that this is a Speyside/Highland whisky, around 8 years old, finished in a sauternes cask, bottles at 59%.

After reveal: Turns out there’s an interesting story here! This bottle from a “secret” distillery is called Mothership II, where Mothership I was known to be Macallan. Some feel this tastes very different, and therefore is not Macallan but such is the thing with single casks, that they can differ a lot, sometime making the distillery character unrecognizable. While MI was labelled a “Speyside”, MII is a “Highland”, leading some to conclude it can’t be a Macallan, and is therefore a Fettercairn. (By the info supplied by the bottler it has to be from a distillery founded in 1824 which limits the possibilities). But Macallan has changed from labelling themselves as Speyside to Highland – which is legal, as Speyside is in the Highlands. According to Marco at Brühler Whiskyhaus it’s definitely a Macallan. Supposing he’s right, that only confirms my belief that modern Macallan is entirely overhyped, because I didn’t find this very special. On the other hand, the casks that get sold to independent bottlers are often not the ones that are most representative of the profile the distillery is looking for among their casks.

Blind sample review

⚡Experience

First impression on the nose is nutty, sporting some marzipan, cake icing and potato(?). Not very fruity, beside some unripe conference pears and a little squirt of lemon. Draws instead towards the grassy and herbal with gorse (which has a green and coconutty fragrance) and heather. Gentle cedar wood (pencil shavings) and leather. The palate is entirely malt-driven, young, and clean. Barley sugar, quite punchy alcohol, and a little pear going into the finish.

💡Thoughts

Before reveal: An honest, unpretentious dram, clean as a whistle, but not very exciting. I’m guessing this is a young whisky ~5yo from an up-and-coming Lowland distillery from a mix of casks (mainly bourbon and virgin oak) bottled at 56%. I definitely see potential here, though!

After reveal: Wow. This is by far the most wrong I’ve been—so far, at least 😉. 28 years old! Now, let’s see if I can somehow make sense of this… I actually have in my collection a bottle of 27yo bourbon cask Rhosdhu which I’ve drunk about 1/3 of (what a coincidence!). Let’s pour some. Just like the review sample, it’s an understated whisky, but more fragrant with rosemary and a somewhat pungent or dirty quality (typical Loch Lomond) behind the cleaner bourbon notes. I did notice that a little bit in the review sample, but not enough to note it down. Perhaps the conditions of the sample weren’t quite right to open up an show its age, e.g. in terms of aeration? Or the sample is going stale after a few months? On the other hand, in my flavour notes things like marzipan, gorse, heather, cedar, leather, do fit well with an older dram. So… maybe I just suck at drawing the dots!

Blind sample review

⚡Experience

Sherry bomb nose: cola, strawberry laces, rum-raisin, and so on and so forth. It is somewhat dirty, rubbery, and buttery, in a good way although it’s probably an effect of sulphur. There is some subtler spicy and herbal sensations too, like ginger, thyme, and fir pine needles. Sweet and salty palate, like salty caramel, and fruit cake, etc. Despite the sweetness, quite drying, owing to a high alcohol content. Slight smoky apparition at the end.

💡Thoughts

Before reveal: What’s to say? It’s a modern sherry-bomb, well executed. So let’s say 10 years, Oloroso or even PX cask(s). A bit too bold for a Glenfarclas, but maybe an Aberlour, or one of the Highlands, Glengoyne, Glendronach… but it really could be anything that’s sat a good while in a lively sherry cask. 55-60%

After reveal: Hoppla! Another not-so-secret Macallan (see the “(M)” on the bottle?) As I said, could really have been anything, it’s mostly about the casks, although the spirit needs to be competent enough to carry it well.

Blind sample review

⚡Experience

Nose: Tart and bitter fruits, like citrus rind and unripe mango and peaches. There’s also a green grassiness complemented by floral notes of fragrant coriander seeds and mint leaf. In an earthier direction, there’s sourdough bread, a chalk-like minerality, and a very subtle hint of charred wood. Impression of oak and vanilla grow with time in the glass. In sum, a characterful and invigorating nose. On the palate, surprisingly round and sweet-ish, without either acidity or bitterness. Riper fruits than on the nose, with pear a very dominant one. In addition, I get associations of oak aged white wine, and perhaps some cold rice pudding with a cocoa dusting. Clean and uncomplicated finish of ripe gooseberries and pear.

💡Thoughts

Before reveal: This is my favourite style of whisky, and this is a great exemplar of the style. Fresh, fruity, ‘bright’, but refined and complex. As tends to happen with this style, I revel more in the nose than the palate.

The cask is certainly ex-bourbon, probably a refill. The signs of slow maturation are there, and I would put this 20-30yo, with 24yo my best guess. The alcohol felt very light, so I’m thinking we’re somewhere in the 42-46% range. There are several candidate distilleries for this style. Certainly the experience is not incompatible with my favourite Glen Elgin; indeed the coriander, grass, and lively fruits point that way. But GE tends to have a lot more apple. Other Speysiders are also contenders (Linkwood, Royal Lochnagar, etc), but in the end I’m going to guess this is actually the lowlander Bladnoch, inspired by the sourdough and slightly yeasty note, and knowing how well this distillery works with long and slow bourbon cask maturation. 

After reveal: Fun! So in the end it was neither Speyside nor Lowlands but Highlands. It’s true though that there isn’t any sharp lines between these regions, especially with such a ‘naked’ malt. I’ve actually never had a Glenglassaugh like this. Usually it’s in a sherry cask and/or peated. Happy to add this knowledge to the brain bank.

Blind sample review

⚡Experience

On the nose, loads of vanilla and cinnamon, baked red apples, butterscotch, rye bread, and oak wood. Spicy palate with strong alcohol, not well tamed by water. Comes off as a bit raw. Beyond the spice, some cookie dough. I think the finish is the best component here, which is chocolatey and has longevity.

💡Thoughts

Before reveal: Not a fan of this spiciness. And beyond that it’s pleasant, but not very interesting. This I reckon could be a grain whisky from some kind of very light sherry cask, and not so old. For grain that would mean 25yo or younger. But could very well be a malt, and then I suppose 8-12yo.

After reveal: My guessing was not very impressive here. But hey, neither was the whisky 😉 It’s possible that the experience would be better having it directly from an opened bottle, with time and the oxidation and so on. But my sample was rather disappointing for a 17yo malt from a distillery like Miltonduff that can be really great. So no sherry but bourbon, and that makes sense, given the vanilla and absence of raisin notes. But I guess the cocoa, something a little sour, and the dustiness drew me in the sherry direction.

Blind sample review

⚡Experience

Lots of spicy oak wood on the nose, with toasted aromas such as coffee, rye bread, and cardamom. Some overripe red grapes, and sticky strawberry jam, and shortbread add a sweet dimension, and there is definitely leather and a touch of musk. On the palate, sweet, salty, and savoury, with a dense mouthfeel. Thus, an intense experience, but the different sensation are in good balance. Neat, the alcohol is strong, but water adds well. The flavours are true to the nose: salted caramel, coffee, shortbread, overall malty. And with a hint of banana. Medium finish without surprises.

💡Thoughts

Before reveal: Among the many sherry bombs that are coming along here (because I do think this is Oloroso/PX) this one climbs above the mean, because it’s not overloaded with sweetness, raisins, and prunes; there’s a balance of many tastes, and a good maltiness to support what is still a heavy cask influence. I’m guessing Speyside/Highland around 10-18yo, best guess 15yo, and my mind is drawn to Tamdhu, Glenfarclas and such distilleries. I’d say above 55% alcohol.

After reveal: Dang it! Tried just a day after the Miltonduff and I haven’t learned my lesson. This is a bourbon cask (refill at that!), and it hasn’t come near any sherry. Again, reading my actual tasting notes, it sound more like bourbon cask than sherry. Not so sweet, and not a hint of fruit cake. I think the problem is that I’m more used to light-handed bourbon cask maturations and underestimate how the leathery, musky, toasted notes can come from bourbon too; that’s probably more from oak and age than the previous cask contents.

To be clear, Burnside is the name for teaspooned Balvenie, i.e. to which (supposedly) a teaspoon of other single malt has been added so that it is technically no longer a single malt that can bear the name Balvenie. It’s a great whisky, although the price is bit too steep. But had I owned a bottle I can definitely see how it would grow on me with time, and maybe eventually earn a ❤️.

Blind sample review

⚡Experience

Nose offers fresh yellow and exotic fruits (passion fruit, apricot, citrus) and wine gums. Sweetness of vanilla and powdered sugar, but also tapping into a savoury note with cheese doodles. Sort of enveloping the experience is a dustiness of dunnage warehouse and a light peat. The palate is intensely fruity, as per the nose, and I’m really reminded of passion fruit curd. The peat is medium heavy and phenolic. More toasted nuts emerging in the finish, but still predominantly fruity.

💡Thoughts

Before reveal: Ooooh, that’s nice! I’m hesitating a little, because I feel it wouldn’t be too hard to find a similar-style cask that matches and surpasses this one, buuuut I will give this the elusive ❤️ because when I get excited about a heavily peated whisky that’s an occasion. I’m thinking bourbon cask, and less likely a light wine cask, cognac cask, or some such. Now, two Islay’s spring to mind, Caol Ila and Bruichladdich (Port Charlotte). But in the end I’ll put my money on a young, heavily peated Ben Nevis, say 7yo. Alcohol not too strong, maybe 52% (which does speak against a young whisky, though…)

After reveal: Oh, this was a curve ball. I thought every whisky in this calendar was from Scotland! And I mostly guess from an impression based on past experience. It’s curious thought that I realised that the some things pointed towards more age, and indeed 21yo is respectable. I’m tempted to buy a bottle, its readily available, but I think the price is way to high. At €80 it would have been a done deal.

Also! The official tasting notes on the back of the bottle highlight maracuja (= passion fruit). It satisfying when I identify a very specific flavour and it’s then corroborated by the official notes.

If Irish whiskies are this tropical fruity, I should start checking them out more!

Blind sample review

⚡Experience

Pickle brine, peat and charcoal; coastal. Plenty fruity too, with apricot, ripe pears, and grilled lemon. There’s a gently spiciness and a fair amount of woody aromas. Intense and heavily peated palate, very briny and with some sweetness. In the foreground there is a lemon cake, in the middle a deep maltiness, and in the background earthy, warming peat, riding out the finish. Overall, uncomplicated but exceptionally balances and simply delicious.

💡Thoughts

Before reveal: I really like the briny aspect here, in harmony with the other sensations. Coastal and peated, immediately bring the mind to Islay, so maybe Caol Ila (famously citrussy) or Port Charlotte. But in the reveal video of the previous dram Marco hinted that the next one would be an Islander, which could mean Islay, but maybe not. If Islay were off the table, then Ledaig seem likely, but somehow how have an inkling it’s an IB Talisker (although I don’t really have enough experience with that to call it a qualified guess). Surely ex-bourbon cask. Age is difficult, but the balance and not too high ABV (52%?) suggest maybe its a teenager.

After reveal: So, by Islands he meant Islay. And with the fruitiness, it makes sense that this is Bowmore, as many people online are suggesting, while there no official confirmation as far as I can find. Port I can buy, if it’s a light port, and the sherry I can’t really notice.

Blind sample review

⚡Experience

Nose greeted by lively tropical fruits (litchi and lime especially, also pineapple juice and peach), white wine, and the smell of summer rain on parched ground (petrichor, dunnage warehouse). Hint of creamy cottage cheese. Water brings out the vanilla. Overall very fresh and appealing. On the palate, fruity and succulent, with a bit of spicy oak and tannin as a counterpoint. Somewhat minty impression as the finish fades.

💡Thoughts

Before reveal: This dram is preaching to the choir here. Tastes like my favourite style, 15-25yo Speysider with a slow bourbon cask maturation (let’s guess at 22yo). I could pick this dram apart, and say it’s a little too spicy, and maybe not a very unique expression within its category, but at the end of the day it’s clean, refreshing and utterly delicious, and that’s what matters above all else. To me there’s no clear giveaway as to the particular distillery. The ABV should be 49 – 53%. It’s sometimes hard to distinguish the sensation of strong alcohol from oak spice and menthol.

After reveal: Damn it! I was thinking What if this is a Ben Nevis? The tropical fruits, and all, could be a Ben Nevis. But not “dirty” enough, and feels more like one of the good old Speysiders. Well, I didn’t write that down, so the glory of nailing the distillery escaped me. Also: Dang it! 38yo. Wow, I haven’t had many single malts of this age, and possibly none that is actually an official distillery bottling. Amazing how lively such an old dram can still be.

So let’s comment on the price. Certainly this old of a single malt is going to be pricy, especially as it’s an official bottling. It was bottled 2014 as a single cask, but it seems it only hit the German market (as a Kirsch import exclusive) in summer 2023, with prices from ~€850. It’s a great whisky, but spontaneously (i.e. without a side-by-side comparison) I wonder if not my bottle of 24yo BN is actually better; it’s at least more Ben-Nevisy.

Blind sample review

⚡Experience

Intense and complex nose: old leather, cigar box, rancio and cognac. There’s a lot of fruits and nuts, including concentrated strawberry, dried figs, tropical fruit leather, and toasted hazelnuts. Certainly full of baking spices too, with apple-cinnamon pie, cardamom, and oak. The nose is not at all oppressively sweet or sticky, like a sherry overload. Very flavoursome arrival on the palate, yet round and balanced. Nuts and dried fruits, fine sherry, mild and fruity tobacco that meshes with light herbal and smoky aromas. Satisfying finish, with a residual sweetness.

💡Thoughts

Before reveal: This, I believe, is the archetype of an old-school and long sherry cask maturation. Everything is very well integrated. It stands to reason that, since this is the final dram of the calendar, it’s going to end with a bang. Even being primed in this way, I really have to say that the graceful age on this one is unmistakable. How old and graceful? Well, to me there’s no clear sign that this has a significant grain component, so I’ll say this is a single or a blended malt. For a malt I’d be surprised to find this profile and elegance from anything much below 25yo, so I’ll say this is likely closer to 35yo. To me, Glenfarclas seems a very probable candidate. 50%, plus minus. It would be rather appropriate, seeing how Glenfarclas has somewhat of a Christmas connotation for many.

After reveal: Fantastic, I’ve been wanting to know what a really old Glen Garioch is like, it’s renowned for how well it handles long maturation. I did indeed get the age right, as closely as one can, and with a bit of luck, of course. ABV, yeah it wasn’t that strong, the spiciness from the long contact with oak might’ve tricked me.

Very worthy finish to a superb whisky calendar that I will undoubtedly buy again next year.