Let The Drink Talk

[Spirit of Islay]

Once again we had a wonderful night at The Old Assembly Rooms in the Company of the SMWS tasting squad (also known as Stephen and Dave !) .
It was a bit of a departure to the usual tastings we go to as it was an All Speyside Tasting , there weren't as many as usual attending (about 35) and instead of 1 glass all night we got each malt in a seperate glass , which meant we could compare (a good thing when they're all from the same area ) .
First one of the night was a Cragganmore ( 37.24 , 18yo , 59.1% , June 1986 , 183 bottles , £49 ) .
From a Refill Hoggie , a golden syrup colour , the nose was floral and lemon . It was hot and smoky on the palate with a long warming finish , with water it was a very smoky beast . A damn fine dram , shame the bog standard bottling isn't as good .

No.2 was a Glenlivet ( 2.60 , 16yo , 56.7% , June 1988 , 506 Bottles , £43 ) . From a Refill butt , a light bronze colour , it was toffee and wood on the nose . The taste was hot , candied peel with a long and warming finish .

Next up was Mel's Favourite of the night , a "museum" piece from Dallas Dhu ( 45.14 , 29yo , 52% , Aug 1975 , 189 bottles , £73 ) .
Bright Gold from a Refill Barrel , it was Chocolate Orange on the nose with a sweet orange onthe palate . It had a medium warming finish , a crackin' dram excellent for it's age .

The 4th Speysider was an ancient Longmorn ( 7.28 , 36yo , 52.1% , Dec 1968 , 467 bottles , £98 ) . when i first looked at the tasting list provided this was the one i was least looking forward too , from a sherry butt it was a deep Mahogany colour . The nose was oloroso and Christmas cake (especially raisins ) , the taste was dark sherry , dark fruits and the usually "Liquid" Christmas cake . The finish was long and sherried , this one reminded me of the Signatory 1967 Ardbegs but without the smoke , a very good dram ....surprisingly .

Last one of the night was a 20yo Ardmore (66.18 , 20yo , 53.7% , March 1985 , 315 bottles , £58 ) , i was looking forward to this one , i was given it's sister cask so it was a chance to compare and contrast . a burnished gold in colour it was lemon with a slight smoke on the nose . The taste was smoky , slightly citric with peat eventually coming through . It had a Long Citric , smoky finish . A good dram but not as good as the 66.16 .

I think it was a toss up between the Dallas Dhu and the Longmorn for me with the Cragganmore just slightly behind them on the night . A good night (for speysiders .....) , looking forward to the 3 day SMWS Newcastle marathon in November now .

Slainté
Gordon
_________________
Homer's Hypothesis - One can never own too many Ardbegs.......

And a dedicated Islay Forum !!!!

[Geoff]

Wow another impressive evening! :D I need a whisky after all of that

[Spirit of Islay]

Been having a clean out on the computer and found some notes from past Newcastle SMWS tastings , seeing things have been quiet thought i'd post them here as well , i've also put down a list of the bottlings we've had from all tastings in the Toon.
27th April 2001
First up was a lowland No.49.11 (St.Magdalene) 24y.o. 50.1%, very nice , i'd never had this one before .Very pale with a strong vanilla taste ,it goes down very easily(which seems to be a common factor with all the SMWS lowlands i've tasted ,very agreeable!).
Next up was the 76.22(Mortlach) 11y.o. 58.5%, another very enjoyable malt .Golden in colour(odd cos it was supposed to be from a sherry butt),a bit of a cheese cakey smell/taste also a bit smokey.
Third on our list is 2.32(Glenlivet) 27y.o. 54.2%. This was from a first fill sherry butt and boy did it tell , even from about 18" away !To say it stunk of sherry is an understatement ,it also at first tasted of the stuff, but after a few slurps and a bit of water i got !The hot and peppery bit of Talisker ,but the over bearing sherry spoiled this one for me.
The 4th one was 4.71(Highland Park) 13y.o. 56.7%. Another first fill sherry butt ,this one had the HP colour off to a tee ,but i did not enjoy it as it bit rotten on the back of the throat. Again a bit too sherry on the nose ,a bit anti-septic on the taste .Very disappointing especially after the HP 2000 cask i've tried.
And now to the last one and this could take a while .This one took me back to the very first Islay i ever tried in 1984.The kick i got off that very first taste ,how it exploded with the famous Islay-dene taste ,how it had you diving for a glass of something to quell that burning on the inside .It was a 62% 7 y.o. from Islay ,not from the southern hot bed ,from the north it's number was 53.51,its a Caol Ila!
It said in the tasting notes Germolene,oh no it wasn't if this had been a blind tasting i would have said Kildalton ,it slapped you in the face then knee'd you in the chest for good measure !It also reminded
you the next morning ,"hello,you drank me last night ,wallop!" Needless to say i bought a bottle.

5th April 2002 .
We started off with a lowland 97.2 , a rarity in SMWS circles this one only the second cask ,a 24yo Littlemill / 48.5% / 188 bottle outturn / £50 a bottle.It was decidedly average a little on the dry side in its finish.
Next up was a Speyside 36.21 ,a 13yo Benrinnes /58% / 300 / £39 ,
not a bad little whisky ,very nice neat chocolately/sweet.
then came the Highland Pinapple(their words!) 26.19 , a 11yo Clynelish / 56% / 211 /£38 ,a great dram fruity with a hint of smoke,nearly bought this one ,2nd in the heat!
The 4th one along was another Speysider , a 30.36 ,a 29yo Glenrothes /54.9% / 562 /£71 . For you sherry nuts this would have been the top dog , to me i just got the burnt toffee/caramel associated with Macallan! A bit heavy as well.

Finally was a 29.24 ,a 10yo Laphroaig /58.8%/260/£41 ,people were turning this one down and asking for a dram of something from earlier ! (??!*$??) The fools , this was a full frontal from the Big L , i'll print their tasting notes to give you an idea :-
"This particular sample is pale in colour with an initial nose of abandoned rained on barbecues. The taste at full strength is wonderfully warming with a finish that conjures up the outdoors-the peculiar smell-taste one experiences tramping over a bog in a wintery mist with a rich smoke of peat fires heavy in the air At this point romantics may want to shut their eyes and think of Scotland. Returning to reality , dilute your dram cautiously because over-watering will result in it taking the nose of a chemical fire in a plasticine factory-which we know some members adore. Leave for 30 minutes (patience,patience...) and you will be rewarded with a delicate fruity sherbet note just discernable through the coal tar soap with a strong , peaty finish. a bold characterful whisky"

Couldn't have put it better my self!!!!

14th November 2002
First up was a 25.27 (Rosebank , 13yo , 59.8% , £37 ) , an average Lowland but a fine Sipping dram .
Next up was a 39.39 (Linkwood , 14yo , 59.5% , £37 ) , not a bad dram but a bit heavy on the burnt Toffee which you could expect from an Ex-sherry cask .
Third was a 58.5 (Strathisla , 32yo , 56.4% , £78 ) , a stunning dram for a 32yo from a sherry butt , not over-whelming in the burnt toffee , a bright mohogany in colour with a dry finish ,good stuff!
fourth on the list was a 19.37 (Glen Garioch , 14yo , 57.4% , £43 ) , not a bad dram , a typical GG nice in small doses but not something for a long nights drammin' .
Last up (can you guess?) 53.58 (Caol Ila , 19yo , 57.4% , £51 ) , before i start i'll once again raise the issue of what UDV (or Diageo Global Supplies as they're known as now ) does to its O.B. why doesn't their 18yo taste like this?
When i first tasted this i thought they'd made a mistake , this was a 7/8yo the peat/iodene smell smacked you across the nose ,on tasting the iodene rose again , why can't UDV / DGS do this ?
I hope Durham enjoy the tasting as much as we did tomorrow night , the same bottles from what i gather , Oh , by the way i bought a Caol Ila .

4th April 2003
First up was a Lowlander 25.30 , a 1989 13yo Rosebank (getting very short in stock apparently) at 59.7% .A refill cask thats been re-racked into a sherry-wood. A lovely dram a bit fruity , pale gold in colour one of the best drams of the night .
Next was a 76.32 , a 20yo Mortlach at 57.5% from a re-fill hogshead .A lovely Speysider , fruit (pears)and floral , a very smooth dram or as i noted "very dramable!" .
The middle dram of the night was a bit of a rarity (for me ), a 20yo 57.11 (Glen Mhor)at 62.7%.from a sherry cask it showed in colour and nose , a very rubbery nose and a heavy Mahogany colour .It had bags of sherry , not my cup of tea .
Next up was another unusual one a Jura . A 18yo 31.10 (59%)from a sherry butt ,a very murky amber colour , the usual burnt taste it did improve a little with water but it was the worst of night for me .
Last of the night was the 29.27 , the 11yo Laphroaig at 55.6% .this was a very weak version (compared to previous bottlings , are they going the way of the commercial bottlings?) , still enjoyable , the iodine / germolene was still there . So at the end of it i after much deliberation i went for the Rosebank , a fantastic Lowlander .

6th November 2003
First up was a 19yo Linkwood (39,45 /54.3% /£48 ) , not bad , a so-so Speysider , it became extremely fruity with the addition of water .
Next one along was a bit of a surprise , an 11yo Japanese whisky called Yamazaki (?) (119.8 /62.5% /£42)it fair took your breath away , it was very sherried , it was pointed out at other tastings it had been compared to The Macallan and i could see that , the one taste i can remember of this one was like a sweet i used to get as a
kid , pineapple cubes .One of Mels favourites of the night along with the third one .
Another sherry casked Speysider , a 13yo Mortlach (76.35 /57.8%/ £40 ), initially all i got out of this one was sulpher , lots of it . but if you let it sit a while what appeared was freshly cut Christmas cake (the fruity / cake smell)but as soon as you aggitated
it it went back to sulphur , Weird !
Number 4 was a Teaninich ,22 years young (59.22 /58.3% /£53 ), they discibed it as a heavyweight dram , i didn't see it , it was a nice dram but sweet with a slight hint of peat in the background .
Last but not least was the Islay , An 11yo Laphroaig (29.29 /56.3% /£39 ) just the usual SMWS bottled Laph , really medicinal ,really good !

18th March 2004
first up was an Inverleven (20.22/26yo/55.5%/190 bottles/£62 ), this was the sister cask to the one we had tried a couple of weeks ago at the vaults , It wasn't anything special , really fruity , a nice dram but not (IMO) worth a bottle.
Second along was an Arran (121.3/8yo/54.9%/380 bottles/£35) , i've never been impressed with any of the arrans i've tried so far and this one continues the good tradition ! It was from a refill hoggy and was very minty and sweet.
Next we were off to Speyside for an Aultmore (73.10/14yo/57.4%/527 bottles/£3 , From a sherry butt it was a typical sherried Speysider , again not one i would buy but it was worth a try . This is when the night took one hell of an un-expected turn , when I first saw the list for the night , i asked the girl running the night if this was a mistake , she said no , she nabbed it cos she knew the good people of the north-east would appreciate it !
WE HAD A BRORA !
A lovely 25yo , 57% , Marmalade on burnt toast BRORA ! (213 bottles/£63 ) Oh it was heaven , it really tasted like Marmalade , but with the the Smoke thrown in , my mate (who has never had a Brora was well impressed and nearly bought a bottle , but been a yorkshire man went for the last one instead ).
Last but not least we headed for the Sound of Islay , A Caol Ila (53.72/10yo/61%/311 bottles/£40). Another young gem , lots of smoke ,peat ,germoline and plasticine ! The Peat-reek strikes again , it was so good i bought a bottle (as well as a Brora)!

7th May 2004
First up was 27.52 a 13yo Springbank (46.7%,177 bottles,£46), a springbank thats spent nearly a year finishing in a port pipe , described as thick and Jammy this was a tad to sweet for my tooth but Mel absolutely loved it .
Next up was a 49.12 , a 19yo St.Magdalene (64.9%,635 bottles,£46), a nice example of this distillery from a refill Hoggy , nothing really exciting to write home about , wouldn't go out of my way to buy it but would make a good occasional dram.
3rd up was 1.107 , a 38yo Glenfarclas ,(48.2%,298 bottles,£105), when i saw this on the list i was looking forward to tasting it , we'd tried a 30yo not long ago at another tasting and it was classy , this one was extremely smooth but was very pale , coming
from a refill butt,though it did in my eyes develope a bit of a woody taste as it was left to breathe .
Next came a 10.57 , a 6yo Bunnahabhain (58.9%,882 bottles,£36) , from a gorda cask (specially bought in and filled by the society ), i'd tried the previous cask 10.56 which was heavily sherried and surprisingly good , this one was more like a refill (which it wasn't) and seemed a bit more spirity .
Last along came the newest addition to the SMWS distillery list the
122.2 a 11yo Croftengea (59.2%,118 bottles,£42) , the story behind this one (and it's sister cask 122.1) is that after the take over by Glenmo the society went a hunting in a Glenmo warehouse and found them somewhere near the back and said "we'll have those!" .It is very smoky and peaty (52ppm phenols), it's very Islay (a la young
Caol Ila ) but isn't ! (there's that little something missing ) .

2nd September 2004
First up on the tasting was a Speysider 39.45 , a 15yo Linkwood (56.6% / 585 bottles / £40 ), a refill sherry Hoggy , typical of Similar Linkwoods i've tried , the nose put me off straight away .It had a burnt smell , plus something else i couldn't identify but i've
found in other bottlings . it wasn't very nice to drink either , needed lots of water to get it down .
2nd up was a Macallan ( 24.75 / 12yo / 58.1% / 679 bottles / £40 ), a very fine example of a Mac , well sherried , went down very well though i think it went a bit over the girls head who served us when i asked if it was a fake or the genuine article.....
For the 3rd one we headed a bit north into the highlands for a 20yo Clynelish ( 26.32 / 57% / 262 bottles / £48 ). Another very good example of this distillery a very complex dram with a good whiff of smoke at the end , my 2nd Favourite of the night .
So onto my favourite of the night from Clynelish we headed westward about as far as you could go . 14.12 , a 15yo Talisker (58.4% / 289 bottles / £58 ) , it's not often one of these appears (first one in my 5 year membership) and it was a good un' ! everything you'd expect from the Isle of Skyes only distillery , Maritime saltiness ,
smoke and spicy ....delicious .
Last up was a very disappointing Bowmore (3.91 / 15yo / 234 bottles /£43 ) . I was expecting something a kin to the Mariner but got very little peat and very little smoke (that i could detect any way ), Bowmore used to be my favourite Islay many a moon ago , why has it gone all Fragrant and Floral (not what i would call FWP though )? if
it wasn't for the bad first one this would have been my least favourite of the night .

10th December 2004
So onto the first malt (which was the only one we done blind ) at first i thought it was Auchentoshan ( that heavy M-B lavender/flowery smell was there) then i got a soapy smell (which made me think Edradour), my mate Stuart first thoughts were Glenturret and Keith from the chat was heading down the same road as me , needless to say we were all wrong and it was Tullibardine !
28.7 , a 14yo at 56.6% (299 bottles , £38 ) , we all agreed on one thing , it wasn't that good !

Next up was 22.16 , a 17yo Glenkinchie (58.7% , 239 bottles , £48 ), the best thing i can say about this is .....it was a Glenkinchie .
Then came 26.37 , a 14yo Clynelish finished off in a port pipe (48.6% , 197 bottles , £40 ) , when i saw this (i didn't at first see it was a finished one ) i thought great , a smoky one , Harrys been going on about how good his 14yo Clynelish is , then they
poured it .....colour - Port , Nose - Port , Taste - Port , finish - smoky ...only kidding PORT ! was there something wrong with this in it's original cask ? was it Clynelish finished Port ? not very good at all .....

Next up was 1.117 , a 37yo Farclas (50.2% , 169 bottles , £108 ) , a vast improvement on the 3 previous malts but it seemed a weaker cask than the 2 38yo Farclas's i'd tasted earlier in the year ( and not because the othe two were higher ABV's either . It was from a refill Hoggy and was a nice dram at fullstrength , didn't risk it
with water .

The fifth one was 2.56 , a 16yo Glenlivet ( 58.5% , 581 bottles , £45 ) , a very good example of this particular distillery . Went down well , as did the bottle we got as the prize , but still didn't make you jump up and go buy a bottle .
Lastly the Islay , i was looking at my list of previous tastings and it's the 5th time we've had this particular malt , i think they could do with getting something else from Islay . 29.38 , a 12yo Laphroaig (54.2% , 237 bottles , £46) , it was a typical SMWS
froyge , peaty , smoky , iodeney ...a hell of a lot better than the 10yo CS O.B.

5th March 2005
First up were 2 17yo Glenkinchie's
22.13 April 87 58.2% 202 bottles £46
22.14 April 87 59.6% 263 bottles £46
Not very impressed with these two (never been a big fan of kinchies ) they were ok but there wasn't anything between them . As usual couldn't pick up on any of the societies tasting notes (lots of lemon mentioned in the first one ) but i think we were too bussy looking at the other 3 ....

Next up were a pair of Taliskers
14.8 15yo 58.6% March 89 306 bottles £58
14.14 15yo 59.9% March 89 278 bottles £58
Both were good Taliskers (sure i'd had the 1st one before ) the second was a great Tali . Bags of Pepper , the second had iodine , saltiness , it was oily , it was a damn good single cask Tali , different from the distillery bottlings but a good representation of the malt.

Last up on it's own was the star of the night for me , a 21yo Caol Ila .
53.84 21yo 60.2% Jan 83 243 bottles £50
Where do i begin , Germolene , briny , a fiery intensity .....a damn good Caol Ila ! Unfortunately it sold out before i could get one on the night (which is unusual for the CI)but i've put an order in for a one to pick up so i'll be getting one .....eventually !
One remark on the night was all that was missing was a "Sponsored by Diageo" sign ....Cruel !!!!


29th September 2005
First one of the night was a Cragganmore( 37.24 , 18yo , 59.1% , June 1986 , 183 bottles , £49 ) . From a Refill Hoggie , a golden syrup colour , the nose was floral
and lemon . It was hot and smoky on the palate with a long warming finish , with water it was a very smoky beast . A damn fine dram , shame the bog standard bottling isn't as good .

No.2 was a Glenlivet ( 2.60 , 16yo , 56.7% , June 1988 , 506 Bottles , £43 ) . From a Refill butt , a light bronze colour , it was toffee and wood on the nose . The taste was hot , candied peel with a long and warming finish .

Next up was Mel's Favourite of the night , a "museum" piece from Dallas Dhu ( 45.14 , 29yo , 52% , Aug 1975 , 189 bottles , £73 ) . Bright Gold from a Refill Barrel , it was Chocolate Orange on the nose with a sweet orange onthe palate . It had a medium warming finish , a crackin' dram excellent for it's age .

The 4th Speysider was an ancient Longmorn ( 7.28 , 36yo , 52.1% , Dec 1968 , 467 bottles , £98 ) . when i first looked at the tasting list provided this was the one i was least looking forward too , from a sherry butt it was a deep Mahogany colour . The nose was oloroso and Christmas cake (especially raisins ) , the taste was dark sherry , dark fruits and the usually "Liquid" Christmas cake . The finish was long and sherried , this one reminded me of the Signatory 1967 Ardbegs but without the smoke , a very good dram ....surprisingly .

Last one of the night was a 20yo Ardmore(66.18 , 20yo , 53.7% , March 1985 , 315 bottles , £58 ) , i was looking forward to this one , i was given it's sister cask so it was a chance to compare and contrast . a burnished gold in colour it was lemon with a slight smoke on the nose . The taste was smoky , slightly citric with peat eventually coming through . It had a Long Citric , smoky finish . A good dram but not as good as the 66.19 .

18th November 2005
Having gotten over the disappointment of the cancelling of the previous nights tasting and todays meal , we had a highly entertaining night at the Vermont Hotel . The whiskies on offer were a mixed bag , a tad disappointing in one way but we got a little surprise at the end .
First off we had a speysider , an Inchgower (18.22 , 20yo , 51.7%, 276 bottles , £58 ) , a gold colour this one was not very nice , it had a very strong Artifical note which i could not put my finger on . would have been the worst of the night if it wasn't for no.3 .

Second up was a Northern Highlander , aTeaninich ( 59.31 , 21yo , 56.6% , 252 bottles £57 ) , a bright gold in colour , the nose was of a light smoke and icing sugar sweetness .The taste was smoke and and citric (lime) , the finish was long and beautiful .

And now to number 3 , there was a quick count in the room for this one and i'm glad to say i was in the majority , it was horrible and it's possibly as far as i can remember the only whisky i've never finished at an SMWS tasting . In their notes they classed it as a Highland / Lowland , it was a Glengoyne ( 123.2 , 8yo , 56.7% , 317 bottles , £43 ) . The society had reracked this one for just over 2 years into a sherry butt , big mistake !
The nose wasn't too bad , Spicy and christmas cake but the taste , burnt rubber and sulpher , was disgusting and the finish horrible . Water improved it a bit but by then it was too late . Reminded me of the awful Jura we had once at a tasting but we finished that one.....

Next we went to Campbeltown , a Glen Scotia (93.17 , 13yo , 63.5% , 299 bottles , £40 ) , a pale gold in colour , the nose was peaty , salty and like walking along a seashore .the taste was warm , peaty and salty , it had a salty / maritime finish , it actually made me think of the societies croftengea bottlings for some reason .

Last up was an Islay , a Bowmore to be more precise (3.102 , 16yo , 56.7% , 303 bottles , £46) . Pale gold in colour , it was slightly smoky and floral on the nose , Lavender with smoke on the nose and long and floral on the finish . I've gone right off Bowmores of late , can't figure why they're really floral .

At the end of the night Stephen produced a couple of surprises , first up was a bottle of 33.56 (Ardbeg , 1998 , 6yo ) , a bottling that was released only for tastings and foreign markets (but we could order it so ......) . A nice dram . Then we got something else which i don't think i should mention here but it was very nice .

So another night over and the next one to look forward to (2 weeks time , Durham Castle ) .

Lowland
20.22 Inverleven 26yo 55.5%
22.5 Glenkinchie 12yo 61.4%
22.13 Glenkinchie 17yo 58.2%
22.14 Glenkinchie 17yo 59.6%
22.16 Glenkinchie 17yo 58.7%
25.27 Rosebank 13yo 59.8%
25.30 Rosebank 13yo 59.7%
49.11 St Magdalene 24yo 50.1%
49.12 St Magdalene 19yo 64.9%
50.9 Bladnoch 12yo 56.9%
97.2 Littlemill 24yo 48.5%

Greater Speyside (Lossie)
7.28 Mortlach 36yo 52.1%
39.36 Linkwood 11yo 59.6%
39.39 Linkwood 14yo 59.5%
39.45 Linkwood 19yo 54.3%
39.46 Linkwood 15yo 56.6%

Greater Speyside (Spey )
1.102 Glenfarclas 31yo 53.5%
1.107 Glenfarclas 38yo 64.9%
1.117 Glenfarclas 37yo 50.2%
2.32 Glenlivet 27yo 54.2%
2.35 Glenlivet 24yo 61%
2.56 Glenlivet 16yo 58.5%
2.60 Glenlivet 16yo 56.7%
18.22 Inchgower 20yo 51.7%
24.75 Macallan 12yo 58.1%
30.36 Glenrothes 29yo 54.9%
36.21 Benrinnes 13yo 58%
37.24 Cragganmore 18yo 59.1%
76.22 Mortlach 11yo 58.5%
76.32 Mortlach 20yo 57.5%
76.35 Mortlach 13yo 57.8%

Greater Speyside (Findhorn)
11.21 Tomatin 10yo 57.6%
45.14 Dallas Dhu 29yo 52%

Greater Speyside (Deveron)
21.16 Glenglassaugh 26yo 57.8%
58.5 Strathisla 32yo 56.4%
66.9 Ardmore 9yo 59.5%
66.18 Ardmore 20yo 53.7%
73.10 Aultmore 14yo 57.4%

Highland (Island)
4.71 Highland Park 13yo 56.7%
14.8 Talisker 15yo 58.6%
14.12 Talisker 15yo 58.4%
14.14 Talisker 15yo 59.9%
121.3 Arran 8yo 54.9%

Highland (Northern)
26.37 Clynelish 14yo 48.6%
59.22 Teaninich 22yo 58.3%
59.31 Teaninich 21yo 56.6%
61.20 Brora 25yo 57%

Highland (Southern)
28.6 Tullibardine 14yo 56.6%

Highland (Eastern)
19.34 Glengarioch 12yo 56.9%
19.37 Glengarioch 14yo 57.4%
26.19 Clynelish 11yo 56%
26.32 Clynelish 20yo 57%
57.11 Glen Mhor 20yo 62.7%

Highland (Western)
31.10 Jura 18yo 59%
122.2 Croftengea 11yo 58.9%
123.2 Glengoyne 8yo 56.7%

Islay
3.59 Bowmore 9yo 56.6%
3.76 Bowmore 10yo 61%
3.91 Bowmore 15yo ??%
3.102 Bowmore 16yo 56.7%
10.57 Bunnahabhain 6yo 58.9%
29.21 Laphroaig 10yo 61%
29.24 Laphroaig 10yo 55.6%
29.27 Laphroaig 11yo 58.8%
29.29 Laphroaig 11yo 56.3%
29.38 Laphroaig 12yo 54.2%
53.51 Caol Ila 7yo 62%
53.58 Caol Ila 19yo 57.4%
53.72 Caol Ila 10yo 61%
53.84 Caol Ila 21yo 60.2%

Campbeltown
27.52 Springbank 13yo 46.7%
93.17 Glen Scotia 13yo 63.5%

Japan
119.8 Yamazaki 11yo 62.5%

I'll update as more tastings are attended (3 more booked before Christmas).
Slainté
Gordon
_________________
Homer's Hypothesis - One can never own too many Ardbegs.......

And a dedicated Islay Forum !!!!

[Geoff]

Newcastle seems to be the place to be for whisky, never mind Scotland I'm going Tyneside :D

[Johnny]