DuckDrams

from a 2cl sample bottle tasted blindly

🗒️ Tasting notes

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Nosing

Toffee, sticky pudding, marmalade, wood, herbal tea. Finally, in the empty glass I’m getting many farmy, and yeasty dark ale notes.

Sipping

Sweet, big and round. Pecan pie, shortbread, fig chutney.

💭 Comments

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Before reveal

Maybe tonight I’m having a sugar craving, ’cause this is really going down a treat! Usually, though, these “sweet & sticky” drams become too overbearing for my taste. There is something beyond the generic about this dram, although I can’t put my finger on it.

Heavy cask influence, I’ll guess PX (and I too often do, but this time with true conviction… unless it’s another sweet wine). Around 8yo, 55%, origin unknown. Wouldn’t be too surprise to discover this was Indian or other non-Scotch. In any case, this is surely malt.

After reveal

Non-Scotch malt? Check! PX casks? Check! 55%? Check! Age not stated but my guess has to be close given it’s a young distillery. *Pats self on back* Apparently the malt has been smoked with beech and alder wood. That might be the exotic factor I was looking for. Good whisky, but really expensive for a 50cl bottle, though.

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from a 2cl sample bottle tasted blindly

🗒️ Tasting notes

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Nosing

Delicately fragrant and evocative, very mature and ‘fused’. To pick out some specifics, there’s mandarins, apples, elderflower, tulips, peach, and light dusting of vanilla and cinnamon.

Sipping

Oily and juicy, but also quite ephemeral. Citrus candies and dried mulberries in the finish.

💭 Comments

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Before reveal

One of those special drams that takes the express route from the olfactory bulb into the hippocampus, triggering diffuse emotional memories of summertime awe and wonder… Wish there was more!

Old to really-quite-old whisky, for sure – all the signs of a long, slow maturation are there. Shall we say 25-45yo? And single malt, although a blend would certainly not be out of the question (but surely it’s not all grain). Kinda Tullibardine-like… but could be any lighter-styled Low-/Highland/Speyside distillery in a very gentle bourbon or sherry cask. The ABV has sunk into the lower 40s.

After reveal

Oh la la! I had just seen this appear at WhiskyAgents. So fun I got to try it. Not guess wasn’t bad overall. A shame it’s so expensive and only a 50cl. Might keep an aye out for sale or auction, though.

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❤️

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from a 2cl sample bottle tasted blindly

🗒️ Tasting notes

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Nosing

A slew of sour, fruity, sweet, woodsy and sharp aromas: buttery sherry, absinth, apple cider vinegar, damp wood — and dill!

Sipping

Thick and sweet but there’s also a woody kind of sourness. Golden sultanas, toffee, toasted oats, herbs.

💭 Comments

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Before reveal

I have no idea what this is, but is sure as haggis ain’t Scotch. Upper 50s ABV, probably youngish, and (at least partially) non-malty.

Also, “dill” came as a sudden epiphany towards the end of the dram, but now it’s so obviously there. I think it’s the first time ever I use this tasting note. That’s fun!

After reveal

Well, it was just a rather weird Scotch. I did notice when it appeared on BWH site. The 10cl was already €40 and I didn’t want to take the chance even with that. Fun I got to try it anyways in the end.

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from a 2cl sample bottle tasted blindly

🗒️ Tasting notes

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Nosing

Dark forest fruits, red wine, gummy bears, yellow mealy apple, tree sap, wood, hemp.

Sipping

On the sweet side, quite strong and a bit spicy. Sour cherries, milk chocolate, coffee, cinnamon.

💭 Comments

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Before reveal

I’m sensing mostly the cask here (I’ll guess a red wine cask finish), but spriteliness shines through, leading me to think this is not so old, maybe 10yo less. Expecting to see 59%.

After reveal

The rating on whiskybase is insane: 89.87 with 54 votes. I’m just not getting it.

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from a 2cl sample bottle tasted blindly

🗒️ Tasting notes

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Nosing

Citrus (grapefruit, lemon), pine needles, mellow peat, seaweed and peach pebbles.

Sipping

Heavily peated, savoury, salty, dry. Lots of funk and farmyard aromas, some stone fruits.

💭 Comments

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Before reveal

First, on the nose I had sensed peated Loch Lomond, but then on the palate it’s doubtless an Islay. Caol Ila. No, Stoaisha. NO. That farmy quality means it’s Laphroaig. Ex-bourbon cask. 57%. 7yo.

After reveal

And it’s still wrong. Lagavulin. I thought about it, but to me that usually has a more earthy flavour. This one was more citrus and hay. Oh, well.

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from a 2cl sample bottle tasted blindly

🗒️ Tasting notes

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Nosing

The predominant themes here are wood, flowers, and red berries. The wood is really quite intense, and enhanced by sour raspberries. Add cheesecake and geranium, and its quite a dense nose.

Sipping

Sweet and salty, really oily, and with some drying oak tannins. Lots of toffee, raspberry fudge, toasted pecans, and even some geranium petals. And, indeed, wood.

💭 Comments

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It’s a richly flavourful and decadent dram, very obviously premium stuff. But something just doesn’t agree with me here, and it’s not just the excess of wood (although there certainly is that). Somewhere between sugary sweetness and the floral notes it get’s soapy.

I’ll guess this is a grain whisky close to 35-40yo from a sherry or perhaps even wine cask. 50ish%.

After reveal

Oops, it’s Irish single malt. Usually I really like that; here it didn’t work for me, but online people are liking it. I remember when this was sold on BWH, but I thought it was a bit pricey to take a chance. Glad I didn’t. I can’t find the price info, though. Probably €200+

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from a 2cl sample bottle tasted blindly

🗒️ Tasting notes

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Nosing

A complex nose, rich and mature. Leather, cigar box, and fragrant woody notes (juniper, rosemary), ginger (-ale), candied orange, blueberry jam, cola sauce.

Sipping

Incredibly flavourful. A real fruit bomb, lots of sweet citrus notes (grilled lemons), ripe strawberries, melon, and some fruity tobacco notes. Sweet and salty-savoury, with a texture that on the lighter side. Quite a noticeable of “cardboard defect”, unfortunately. Great, long finish, though.

💭 Comments

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Before reveal

The general profile hints at an old and old-school malt. Together with cardboard defect, I suspect this could be a true vintage bottling of some highland malt, maybe Glenfarclas. So let’s say early 1980s. Not necessarily super-old, but 20+. Alcohol sub 50%. Really great nose, and flavours. Such a shame with the carboard defect, otherwise it would have been a ❤️.

After reveal

Not a spectacular vintage, but a 22yo Bowmore is no shame, and indeed something one can have expectations from in terms of complexity and maturity. The cardboard likely has to do with the production/storage of the samples… Interestingly, there’s nary a peat particle in here! A tobacco smokiness, yes, but I didn’t entertain this to be a peated whisky.

But spare me the Aston Martin marketing, please.

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from a 2cl sample bottle tasted blindly

🗒️ Tasting notes

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Nosing

Perfectly ripe tropical fruits: mango purée, pineapple, orange, coconut. Strong Trocadero vibe for me. Toasted oak and vanilla.

Sipping

Lightly sweet, with a tap of bitterness. A little bit of water does wonders to open up the flavours. Tropical fruit basket, subtle smoky note

💭 Comments

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Before reveal

Amazing nose for a tropical fruit afficionado such as myself, 10/10. I was a little let down by the palate at first, but with some water my opinion of this dram made a full recovery! This could be a 25yo Glenlossie or some such (Or… Irish?). 50ish abv, obviously ex-bourbon. Based on the blind tasting, I would not hesitate to pay €150. I’d say even at closer to €200 it’s not a bad deal for me, given my preferences, although not a given.

After reveal

“Obviously ex-bourbon”, yet here we are with a refill sherry. WB people seem say nice old-school sherry. Really, I did not get the sherry vibes here. Sadly, the price is way closer to €300 than €200, and forget €150 🥲

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❤️

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from a 2cl sample bottle tasted blindly

🗒️ Tasting notes

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Nosing

Rife with bourbon cask tropical fruit, but with a green, grassy and herbal streak to it; add in some flowers and orange blossom too, shea butter, and wood.

Sipping

Dry and austere in basic taste. Then arrive the fruits, the vanilla, and toasty oak, further into tobacco and a subtle smoke or perhaps soot; combines with a fattiness in the texture for a pork-cracklings vibe. The finish turns more towards cocoa butter, vanilla (again), and some dried mulberries. Just a little hint of CD (Cardboard defect), perhaps OBE.

💭 Comments

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Before reveal

Another one generally up my alley, but with a sooty/burned fat twist that I’m not sure to love or not, but it gets me really engaged. This one being drunk just after the previous one, I’m inclined to compare. Previous one is a more generous and straightforward tropical fruit hit, and over all more delicious. Oh, and what is it? I’m thinking some ex-bourbon Speysider/Highlander in the 20-30yo range, at a rather drinkable 46-48%.

After reveal

With an outturn of 86 bottles, and given the name, I guess we can safely assume this is essentially a Glenfiddich single malt. Indeed, that fatty aspect, without a real density or oiliness to the spirit, makes sense with a octave sherry finish actually.

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from a 2cl sample bottle tasted blindly

🗒️ Tasting notes

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Nosing

Pork belly barbecue and red wine. Kind of fatty, with lots of vegetal peat, and some herbs (thyme and rosemary). The wine carries red forest fruits, and then there’s some coastal spray and fresh-squeezed lemon. Hint of cheese / sweaty armpit with time.

Sipping

Very savoury, sweet, salty. An immediate rubber and iodine note, then smoked cold cuts, and oily sherry notes.

💭 Comments

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Before reveal

From the nose I would say ex-red wine cask, but the palate has rather clear fatty sherry notes. It’s surely Islay, and most likely Laphroaig. ABV 53%.

After reveal

Aha, peated Edradour (Ballechin). It didn’t even cross my mind, but it makes total sense. Manzanilla sherry, sure.

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from a 2cl sample bottle tasted blindly

🗒️ Tasting notes

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Nosing

We are in varnish, wood, leather, and tobacco territory, intersecting with dried plums and apricots, slightly sour grapes, caramelized sugar and cocoa. A touch of vegetable broth too. The oak wood is not overpowering, but quite present.

Sipping

Beautiful, silky texture; perfectly balanced sweetness and richness. Like a tart topped will all manner of ripe and tinned and liquor-soaked fruits: apricots, strawberries, oranges. There’s juicy oak in just the right amount. And a puff on a cigar, too. More nuts and dried fruits in the long finish.

💭 Comments

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Before reveal

The nose is really interesting and complex, but not perfect. The palate, though, is just a straight 10/10. Perfect strength, texture… the noblest kind of oak juice. I would say, though, that this is the kind of super-mature juicy oak profile toward which, in my experience, many distilleries converge with age; we are largely savouring a (magnificent) cask. No particular quirks that would point to a certain single malt distillate, in my view, although peat malt is ruled out. I would quite confidently say ex-bourbon cask, or at most refill sherry. Strength is probably sub-50%, but hard to place. Age from 25yo upward, probably around 30yo. I’d probably be ready to spend €300 on a bottle like this, but I suspect that won’t nearly cut it.

After reveal

Oh boy, Clynelish! It’s a favourite distillery; still, it’s not very obviously Clynelish-y, I’d say.

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❤️

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from a 2cl sample bottle tasted blindly

🗒️ Tasting notes

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Nosing

Tropical fruits, gentle oak and leather; very “rancio”. Passion fruit , apricot, hint of wet forest, and a saline streak.

Sipping

Salt, sweetness, umami; brine. Tropical fruits galore, and a well-integrated peat. Just a hint of iodine. Apricot in the finish

💭 Comments

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Before reveal

This is a 30yo Bowmore. Flawless, both nose and palate. But wait… We had an aged Bowmore before. So… Maybe its 25yo Springbank? I’m lost.

After reveal

And now I’m also stumped. I was so sure I was getting peat, and it’s a Speysider. According to one retailer it is Glenfarclas. I guess I’m getting smokiness and lots of wood spice, and once the idea of it being a peated dram that softened out over the year takes hold, it plays tricks on the mind (I would not expect salt or iodine from a GF). In any case, this was a treat.

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❤️

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