Lots of super-exclusive, old-age stuff recently. It’s time to bring things back to earth with some young spirit, but hopefully yummy drams, and work on topping up that baby blend. I’ll warm up with some Lindores, a sample of their early standard bottling that I didn’t receive in time for my Lindores tasting. Followed by a sample from Lagg, the new (2019) distillery by Isle of Arran Distillers specialized on peated whisky (with the original Arran distillery now called Lochranza). Then the much-anticipated Ardnaoe Inaugural release, first new distillery on Islay (2019) since Kilchoman. … And thrown in a few day later, a secret sample which I uncovered to be a Nc’Nean. Los geht’s.
Lindores Abbey | “MCDXCIV” | 46% | Official
🌐
Scotch single malt
🪵
bourbon, sherry, wine barriques
🔆
unchillfiltered & natural color
💲
€40
from a 5cl sample bottle
🗒️ Tasting notes
Nosing
Fruity, floral, vanilla, and little yeasty: apples and pears, lemon candy, grape skins, buttercup, elderflower, sourdough bread, sponge cake, hard toffee (knäck).
Sipping
Medium-sweet, malty, fruity, clean, lightly grassy/botanical, a little white pepper.
💭 Comments
The nose is really lovely! The palate is good too, but here the youth is more apparent.
Deliciousness
Fun factor
Value for money
Punchline
⚫🟡🟢
⚫🟡⚫
⚫🟡⚫
Lovely lindores
Lagg | “Kilmory Edition” | 46% | Official
from a 5cl sample bottle
🗒️ Tasting notes
Nosing
Phenolic and plastic, dry peat, but also fresh and zesty (lime, lemon drops), and a little mint.
Sipping
Very, very dry. Ashy, chalky, peaty, nutty (toasted chestnut?) and quite citrussy.
💭 Comments
It’s elemental, and elementary. Very dry and peaty, some citrus. It works, and there’s nothing off per se, but overall this doesn’t capture me. I remember the hype when this was launched, and finding it for like £150. In hindsight, anyone paying such money must have ended up regretting it.
Deliciousness
Fun factor
Value for money
Punchline
⚫🟡⚫
🔴🟡⚫
⚫🟡⚫
Elemental
Ardnahoe | “Inaugural” | 5yo | 50% | Official
🌐
Scotch single malt
🪵
ex-bourbon and ex-oloroso sherry
🔆
unchillfiltered & natural color
💲
Original RRP £70 (now €85 online)
from a 5cl sample bottle
🗒️ Tasting notes
Nosing
Peaty, fruity, and maritime: Yellow fruits (peach, apricot, and banana), sponge cake in syrup, fresh seafood in brine, bonfire and barbeque.
Sipping
Thick and oily, with sweetness, saltiness and umami. Canned peaches, glazed pork, glazed nuts, miso, nori.
💭 Comments
Comparing with the Lagg, here we have more warmth and depth. Among the new distilleries, it might be the best one in the peated category for me. I was a bit disappointed when I visited the distillery in 2023 and they didn’t have any Ardnahoe for us to try! (But the dram bar made up for it.) But it seems to have been worth the wait, and I think its sensible to not put out a rough 3yo for people to base their first impression on.
Deliciousness
Fun factor
Value for money
Punchline
⚫⚫🟢
⚫🟡⚫
⚫🟡⚫
Worth the wait
Nc’Nean | Batch CS / GD06 | 3yo (2023) | 59.6% | Official
🌐
Scotch single malt
🪵
43% bourbon, 55% STR red wine, 2% oloroso
🔆
unchillfiltered & natural color
💲
€85
from a 2cl sample bottle
🗒️ Tasting notes
Nosing
Candy-like, succulent and lemony: candy bracelet, lemon cake, tinned peach, biscuits, fresh yeast, hint of rosemary and white pepper. Improves a lot with water.
Sipping
Sweet yet a bit drying and nippy from the alcohol, even with a fair bit of water. Very malty and clean, some stone fruits, and candy again.
💭 Comments
At first I wasn’t so convinced, but as progressive dousing with water tempered the spirit and brought out delicate fruits, I was reminded of why I always end up loving Nc’Nean. This one is just shy of 4 years, by the way
Edit (Aug 2025): Only much later did I realize I had already reviewed this dram, #235. The tasting notes are quite overlapping, and the grade matrix is the same. But how did I end up with two samples?
Deliciousness
Fun factor
Value for money
Punchline
⚫🟡🟢
⚫🟡⚫
🔴🟡⚫
Another neat Nc’Nean
Leave a Reply