SIA SCOTCH BY CARIN LUNA-OSTASESKI

Here's a bit of an unusual story, well unusual in whisky circles at least... but never the less a good one :-)
You ever hear of Crowd Funding? ...and the way its been applied here has made a dream come true for the founder of SIA Scotch, Carin Luna Ostaseski.

After a steep self learning curve, reading, attending events and eventually doing tastings herself, Carin found a certain taste profile that she feels hits peoples palates... and the result is the SIA Scotch... and after teaming up with importer Spirit Imports Inc. who then connected with independent bottler Douglas Laing to create SIA, a blend was born...

Currently only available in the US (California and Illinois) Carin hopes to have SIA expand through online retailers both in the US as well as internationally as well as a product line extension in the future.

But let's have a look at what I'm about to taste...

We're dealing with a blend, as in a blend of Scottish malt and grain whisky.... and here's the breakdown:

The malt content is as follows (undisclosed distilleries):
Speyside 50%, Highlands 40% and finally Islay 10%

The malt/grain ratio is 40/60 and all contents are aged between 5-9yo

Carin with the SIA - picture courtesy of siascotch.com

SIA Scotch Blended, 43% by Carin Luna-Ostaseski

Colour is straw

Nose:
What strikes me first here is the freshness... then Citrus, mainly peeled tangerines, fresh laundry, (powdered) ginger, vanilla, noticeable small grains adds again to the freshness. A hint of smokiness in there as well as fresh toast, cardboard/wet newspaper and black pepper.

Taste:
The arrival certainly benefits from being 43% rather than 40%. The tangerines are present again along with a slight metallic note. Also quite some vanilla and spicy notes, apple, honey, toasted oak, pine nuts and ruccola (salad). Meanwhile a slight smoke edge builds up in the back of your mouth giving it some added weight.

This is an easy drinker that can be enjoyed both neat, with ice or in a cocktail... and I'm betting that's what Carin was aiming for with this release. I'd suspect some new-to-whisky drinkers might find its smoky edge just bit too much, but its got the right ratio in a blend for me and this will certainly pass the 'session whisky' test. I'm betting this is one you can sip with ice all evening without feeling you've had enough. More here

Official sample and pictures provided by SIA Scotch

81/100!

CRAIGELLACHIE 1995 - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD PARTICULAR

I've previously reviewed a few Craigellachies on here and all have been very good.

During the Spirit of Speyside Festival this May, I spotted this bottle in that 'Whiskyshop (in) Dufftown' ;-) and I decided to buy it, without having a taste first. Something I only rarely do with sherry matured whiskies as I'm quite sensitive to especially the rubber style sulphury notes that some sherry casks produce.

Quite honestly, this could be a hit as well as a miss and I admit to getting carried away a bit when buying this... and at £75/€90 its still a significant cash-out on something you're not complete sure of. Now what I was sure of is the quality of spirit coming from Craigellachie Distiller and the good reputation of the bottler Douglas Laing, so I went for it...

So did I spend my hard earned money on a dud?

The washbacks at Craigellachie Distillery, May 2nd 2011 © The Malt Desk

Craigellachie 1995 17yo 48,4% sherry butt#DL10052, 348 bottles, Douglas Laing - Old Particular

Colour is amber

Nose:

Sweet and clean non-invasive sherry. A mellow cooked and overripe apple note lurks just beneath the sherry coating. Also Ginger Ale and mint in there along with some spices, nutmeg and cumin being the most noticeable ones. It also has a strange salty and slight ozone edge to the nose - quite interesting!

Taste:

Sweet arrival, turning drying and then followed by notes of orange, some chocolate and those apples again. It then goes from drying to creamy and mouthwatering and even slightly waxy at times. The apple is this turns very much to be like the ones you've stuffed and cooked your duck with in the oven for Xmas. Add to that a little sandalwood and at times hint of Irn'Bru!! How Scottish is that?!?!

Now, I've previously found resemblance to Clynelish in some Cragellachie bottling - this is another, although not as prominent in this one.

Another great Craig, this one - so good I just ordered another bottle of it to save for a rainy day!

89/100!

GLEN ELGIN 1985 - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK

There's been much confusion lately :-O Douglas Laing was split up earlier this year - now it's Hunter Laing, Douglas Laing and old and new brands, one of the new being 'Old Particular' from Douglas Laing... I actually had to visit their respective websites to find out who releases what these days - oh, the joys of being a whisky nerd :-))

Anyway, I'm not gonna dwell on this company split, but instead I'll move on to the whisky and distillery itself.

Founded in 1898 on the Rothes to Elgin road (closest to Elgin) its production mainly ends up in Diageo's White Horse blend - a brand associated with this distillery for many years.

My first experience with Glen Elgin actually goes back some 8-9 years, I think... and the experience was a pleasant one. The expression was the standard 12yo and I still remember it as very mouth filling, fruity and carrying a spicy edge.... Its been a while since I've tried it and I'm sure my tastebuds have progressed quite a bit since then also, but its a malt I still wouldn't turn down if offered.

I remember one of the features often mentioned about Glen Elgin Distillery is its wormtubs condensers outside its stillhouse. Now, I briefly covered wormtubs in this review but those are bit different than those found at Glen Elgin. You have to go to another Diageo distilleries, either Mortlach in Dufftown or Dalwhinnie off the A9 to find similar style condensers.

You don't really see alot of bottlings of Glen Elgin, neither OBs or IBs, so I suggest try one if you come across it.

Glen Elgin Distillery w/ wormtubs on left - Picture from Wikimedia

Glen Elgin 1985 (xx.05.1985/xx.05.2009) 24yo, 44,9%, refill hogshead#5124, 250 bottles, Douglas Laing - Old Malt Cask

Colour is pale straw

Nose:
Vanilla and cookie dough, hint of white wine, lemon cake, freshly sliced apples

Taste:
Orange marmalade, sweet barley sugar, grassy, marzipan, finishes on a little bitter oak and malt.

A bit simple, but straight and honest malt from a well used cask, lots of spirit character there, IMO and a pleasant session dram.

Thanks to UB for the sample!

82/100!

ARDBEG 1976 24YO - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK

Now that the latest gimmick on LVMH Ardbeg promotion tour has seen the light of day in the form of a hot rod tractor, I just had to get back to the good old Ardbeg days from before marketing departments were more important than the product.

I also acknowledge that a distillery is a business and not philanthropy, so I'm not gonna start a rant on how much the industry is now paying these marketing privateers or how much it actually adds to the final price of a whisky, but my guess is its a nice percentage... Does anyone know?

But IF you like a good rant (and I know you do) Here's a recent one from Belgian blogger Ruben who runs whiskynotes.be - I think he's very much laying it out straight how many of us whisky geeks feel... Do give it a read incl. the comments other have made...

Casks at Ardbeg being hosed to prevent them from cracking, 4th May 2011 © The Malt Desk 

But back to the Ardbeg from yesteryear...

Ardbeg 1976 24yo (xx.03.1976/xx.08.2000) 50%, Refill sherry cask, 648 bottles, Douglas Laing - Old Malt Cask for World of Whiskies

Similar bottle shown

Colour is bright gold

Nose:
Very subdued peat and then lemon and pineapple concentrate, a myriad of seashore smells, seaweed, salt, wet rocks, tar and cured meats and salami and even fresh linen.

Taste:
More Ardbeggian now... starting on spicy old oak, but is still huge on lovely mellow citrus notes until the damp peat arrives in full force with dried sugared fruits. Also cardboard, old cigar box and tobacco notes, leather polish, old fino sherry and linseed oil.

Don't add water to this one - it completely kills off the overly delicious nose!

Great dram from before... well, you know :-/

91/100! ...and thanks to MBO for the sample

'TACTICAL' (TALISKER) 1999 - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK

It's been 3½ years since I've been to the Isle of Skye... and I'm beginning to think its been too long now, since I'm absolutely captivated by its rugged landscape providing some of the most stunning views in Scotland. I absolutely love the drive around the north of the island and over to Elgol from where you can get some amazing views of the mighty Cuillin hills.

Skye's only distillery - Talisker - is also a regular stop to me when I've been to Skye. It's a peppery medium peated dram is a good winter warmer and the 10yo is a great standard dram.
I've also enjoyed a bottle of the 57' North Talisker, but what really stuns me is their older expressions - the 20yo-25yo bottlings are world class drams... I've not yet have a chance to try one of their 30yo expressions, let alone the 35yo :-O

Talisker is one of those distilleries we don't see many independent bottlings from, so I always welcome a chance to try one. I've had a couple of indie Taliskers before I started The Malt Desk, but didn't take notes on them, but on that really stood out as an absolute cracker was the 1992 14yo 58,8% by French bottler Jean Boyer.

Talisker warehouse, Isle of Skye, 14th October 2009 - © The Malt Desk

This time I'll be reviewing a 10yo - a fun thing to do since the standard Talisker release is also a 10yo, though it it hardly compariable since the 10yo I'll be reviewing is a single cask.

Douglas Laing must have an standing agreement with Diageo and Talisker not to name the distillery name on the label (much like they do with Glenfarclas) so this release is called...

'Tactical' 1999 (xx.12.1999/xx.12.2009) 10yo, 50% refill bourbon hogshead#DL5704, 354 bottles, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask series

Colour is pale yellow

Nose:
Seaside, kelp and salt but also very farmyardy with sweet manure like smell, sweet peat, touch of vanilla and mint... a bit disappointing but that is it...

Taste:
Peated wash and yeasty, fresh cut grass then peat again, some oak spices and barley juice and a bit of stale beer.

Must say this was a bit of a disappointment on the palate as well and one of the few duds from Douglas Laing - but you can't win them all :-/

I'd take the standard 10yo distillery bottling over this any time!

Thanks to MBO for the sample!

79/100!

IMPERIAL 1976 - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK

Imperial Distillery in Carron, Speyside... where should I start? a lot of Imperial has been drunk since, like with Caperdonich, a certain well known whisky ambassador (back then with one indie bottler, but now with another) started the gospel of this forgotten distillery.

Again, like with Caperdonich, things soon started to catch on and more and more bottlings saw the light of day and now Imperial has a loyal group of followers/drinkers.

Sadly the distillery was closed/mothballed back in 1998 and the site has sadly seen some copper scavengers in the last few years, but now its gone forever. Current site owners Chivas/Pernod Ricard started demolishing the site around New Years 2012/2013, currently only leaving the old warehouses and are to build a new super distillery on the grounds... this gave Imperial Distillery a good 100 years (built 1897) on and off production on the site - Will the new distillery be there for just as long?

Many of the expressions that started hitting the market a while back have been between 12-20yos... Let's see how this older expression compares with them:

Imperial Distillery 26th August 2012 - © The Malt Desk

Imperial 1976 35yo (xx.10.1976/xx.10.2011) 50%, refill sherry butt#DL7431, 443 bottles, Douglas Laing - Old Malt Cask

Colour is straw

Nose:
Oak spicy, then grains, oils, dried (tropical?) fruits, old malt barn and cigar box.

Taste:
Spicy and sherried dried fruit arrival, a bit of nutty bitterness and spices all sorts and a hint of smoke. Water makes the whole thing a lot more creamy and gives it a nice natural sweet caramel and huge malt finish with hints of wood.

So sad to see this lovely old place gone and last but not least its malt!
This is a lovely expression for sure! RIP Imperial!

89/100!

GLENALLACHIE 1972 - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK

Another hidden Speysider is Glenallachie. It's a new distillery in historical terms, having been built in in 1967-68. It's owned by the Chivas Group and it produces in excess of 3.000.000 liters of alcohol each year, almost all going into blends.

Glenallachie Distillery, Speyside Spring 2011 © The Malt Desk

Glenallachie doesn't have a an official bottling, except for an expression in the Chivas 50cl Cask Strength Series, which also means its far from readily available for you to try as a malt.

Luckily a few casks escape the blenders and this one I'm about to review is one of them... and oh, my... is it a special one...!

Glenallachie 1972 38yo xx.03.1972/xx.01.2011 50% Sherry butt#DL6880, 302 bottles, Douglas Laing - Old Malt Cask

Amber coloured

Nose:
What a strange one, indeed...Fresh black engine oil, milk chocolate/latte? also giving off some incredible cigar box notes and a feeling of stepping into a mechanics pit... Its a 'dirty' nose for sure - but it works!

Taste:
Bitter sweet, dark fruits with a smoky edge, hazelnuts and creamy coffee and again with a very oily dirty diesel feeling to it - then some cappucino notes and more old cigar box.

This has to be the strangest whisky I've had in 2012, so far... it all sounds very funky and/or repulsive... but its not - at least not to me!

This climbs way up there to 90/100!

MORTLACH 1992 16YO - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK

We go back to the Malt Whisky capital of the world, Dufftown for this next review.
Specifically we go to Mortlach distillery - a favourite of many, mainly due to the success of the 16yo Flora and Fauna Distillery bottling - but we go visit the indies once again.

Mortlach 1992 16yo xx.09.1992/xx.12.2008 50%, Sherry butt#DL4797, 582 bottles, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask

Colour is Amber

Nose:
Heavy, meaty and sweet oloroso, sugared raisins, mulled wine, licorice and hard wood - also thinking coffee with a dash of milk?. Great Mortlach nose, for sure!

Taste:
Lighter arrival than expected, anise. menthol, vanillas and milk chocolate. The meaty Mortlach finish carries through on a good creamy sherry coating.

A great Mortlach for sure, this one! Bottled 4 years ago this little beauty is probably gone now... but if you do see one, buy it - it won't let you down!

89/100!

PORT ELLEN 1983 23YO - DOUGLAS LAING - PROVENANCE

Here's a quick and dirty review of Port Ellen I certainly found at an 'old' price (€172) in a wine shop here in Denmark. Yes, €172 may seem a lot for a Provenance bottling, but then stuff like this usually goes for around €250 or more here...

Port Ellen 1983 23yo winter 83/winter 06 46%, refill butt#3229, Douglas McGibbon Provenance

Straw coloured

Nose:
Soot, salt camp fire, Fisherman's Friend, sweetness, tar and light peat, seaweed, boiled fruits and some 'old cask effect'.

Taste:
Candied fruits, sweet malt and then peat and a nip of oak. Fresh scallops and sandy beaches also comes to mind, hot frying pan and warm salad? Oak vanilla and warm camp fire ash...

A good Port Ellen at 23yo - most ones we see now are hitting the 30yo mark, so a nice change in the opposite direction and this one certainly shows lots more than many of the older Port Ellens I've had earlier. (not reviewed on this blog).

89/100!

PORT ELLEN 1983 - DOUGLAS MCGIBBON PROVENANCE - PART VIII

Another distillery that does not need any introduction, is the closed Port Ellen Distillery.
Not counting its founding and early production years, the distillery was shut down after a relatively short lifespan from 1967-1983... and with only an annual output of about 800.000 liters of spirit, bottles have now become rare and expensive. After Port Ellen Distillery closed, production was increased at another Diageo (back then UDV)distillery instead namely Caol Ila, making it biggest distillery on Islay for many years now.

Last year saw another expansion at Caol Ila with new the installation of 2 new washbacks, making it possible for the distillery to up the output to a massive 6.400.000 liters of spirit annually.

There's much debate on how much Port Ellen that are actually left in Scotland, both with the owners Diageo and with the independent bottlers, of which Douglas Laing here in reputed to have some stock left...and its a bottle from this stock that goes in the review below:

Port Ellen 1983 27yo 46%, refill sherry butt#DMG6101, Douglas McGibbon Provenance

Bright gold coloured

Nose:
Sweet fruits, cut mango, melon, an ashy peat along with quite some salt.

Taste:
Fruits and peat are the dominant players here. then quite some coastal notes incl the before mentioned salt, but also hint of seaweed and a wet sand note (mineral note?)

The thing about Port Ellen is, that it can be both very mediocre and downright fantastic whisky. This is very enjoyable, but far from the best Port Ellen I've ever tried....and at the price they're charging for Port Ellen these days, I'd rather pay less that half and get a bottle of old Caol Ila, which -in my opinion- has much of the same characteristics as a Port Ellen.

85/100!

This post also concludes the 8-part series on indie bottler Douglas Laing.
Hope you've enjoyed the reviews.

LAPHROAIG 2001 - DOUGLAS MCGIBBON PROVENANCE - PART VII

This distillery on the south coast of Islay needs no introduction, so lets go right at it:


Laphroaig 2001 8yo 46%, from 2 x refill hogsheads 5095+5096, Douglas McGibbon Provenance


Pale straw in colour

Nose:
Gristy, more smoke than peat, very sweet, hints of Jamaica's favorit 'herb' (and not talking coffee here), a little banana and vanillapods

Taste:
The lightest of arrivals for a Laphroaig, bordering on thin. The smoke and sweetness is very much in the foreground on this one. The gristyness from the nose on this one also carries through on the palate. The middle palate is very weak and only the smoke lingers on a short while.



Far from the most impressive of Laphroaigs, but still an enjoyable session dram.To be honest, I'd personally spend a little more money and get the Distillery 10yo Cask Strength.

82/100!

SPEYSIDE'S FINEST 1967 (GLENFARCLAS) - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK - PART VI

Yet another of these usually very great but undisclosed (but still common knowledge) Glenfarclas' from Douglas Laing.

The last couple of years have seen the Speyside's Finest-bottlings move from the Old Malt Cask-series, along side Ardbeg and Port Ellen, into this bottlers premium series - the Old & Rare Platinum... sadly with a large price increase too.

Anyway, these old GF's are as I mentioned usually top notch whisky. That said I had one earlier this year in the Old & Rare Platinum series that IMO never should have been bottled. You can find info on it in the archives on the left hand side of the page.

Hopefully this one wont let us down:

Speyside's Finest 1967 41yo 50% xx.11.1967/xx.05.2009 sherrybutt#DL5159, 305 bottles, Douglas Laing - Old Malt Cask

Deep gold in colour

Nose:
Didnt expect a heavily sherried nose, like som some other SF-bottlings, due to the lighter colour of this one. It gives more of a dusting of sherry notes, like a hint of berries, some ginger and nutmeg and very gently measure of oak.

Taste:
Very nice drinking strength these 50% - again not the heaviest of arrivals, but everything comes in just the right amounts. I'm thinking malt liquorice tea, hint of cherry wine? ginger spice(d) (yes, pun intended) and finally a litte chocolate and minty oak.

Very nice dram!

90/100!

ST. MAGDALENE 1982 - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK - PART V

Southeast of Alloa and the demolished Carsebridge Distillery reviewed in the last post, we find the town of Linlithgow. Besides being the birthplace of Mary - Queen of Scots. Linlithgow is also near the Union Canal - the old waterway used to transport goods between Edinburg and Glasgow in the good old days.

Up until 1983 - the town also had the St. Magdalene/Linlithgow Distillery.
The name St. Magdalene comes from the name of the leper colony/hospital that used to be on site during different periods from the 12th century and on... Today the old distillery buildings have been turned into apartments.

On to the whisky:

St. Magdalene 1982 28yo 50% xx.09.1982/xx.11.2010, refill butt#6810,439 bottles, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask

Pale straw in colour

Nose:
Lemon, honey and sweet breakfast cereals

Taste:
Honey Melon, a green and citric note - like standing in a citrus grove, hint of aniseed and malt. Sweet bakery note as well. Lovely - could drink this all night!

89/100!

CARSEBRIDGE 1981 (GRAIN) - CLAN DENNY - PART IV

Its time to visit yet another of the Douglas Laing series - this time its Hunter Hamilton 'Clan Denny'. This series usually features bottlings from Grain Distilleries and the one below is no exception. That said, also malts are bottled under this label.

We're paying a visit to the Carsebridge Distillery in Alloa, not far from Stirling.
The distillery closed in 1983 and was demolished in 1992.

Carsebridge 1981 29yo 53,1% xx.10.1981/xx.xx.2010 1st fill ex-bourbon hogshead#6609, Clan Denny

Dark gold in colour

Nose:
Heavy sweetness, like an American bourbon - Jim Beam comes to mind, coconut, exotic fruits, caramel - the sweetness is massive.

Taste:
The American bourbon style is there for sure, spicy now, the sweetness and the fruits take over and then the oak spices hits again. Not terribly complex, but this is what grains suffer from in general.

Now, I may have a sweet tooth when it comes to certain things, but not grain whisky (incl. (most) American bourbons) I need the stuff to be spicy and then I still only have one dram.
This is why grains have never been a big hit with me....
Decent, though, for a grain since it also carries some spicyness.

82/100!

MORTLACH 1997 - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK - PART III

Next distillery one up is a favorite of many whisky anoraks - and with good reason too...
Mortlach can be nothing short of sublime! That said, some terrible stuff has also been bottled by independant bottlers from time to time (sulphury stuff), but generally the output is of very high quality!

BTW, did you know that Mortlach was the first distillery in Dufftown to install electric lighting? and William Grant, the founder of Glenfiddich used to work at Mortlach before starting to distill himself?

Let's try this one:

Mortlach 1997 13yo 50% xx.09.1997/xx.09.2010 refill hogshead#6574, 424 bottles, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask

Hang on - something immediately hits the eye here... 424 bottles from a hogshead, which is usually 250 liters and should yield 357 bottles with 0% evaporation - is this a typo from Douglas Laing and is this really a well used sherry butt? Its also possible (though rare) to see larger casks that are still labeled 'hogshead'.

Oh well, lets taste this:

Straw coloured

Nose:
Fruits, spices, an strange oak nip, wet grain?

Taste:
Vanillaed fruits, like covered in cake creme, pepper? nice rich mouthfeel

Maybe a tad simple but it works - a straightforward, real easy to drink Mortie


85/100!

GLENTAUCHERS 2000 - DOUGLAS MCGIBBON PROVENANCE - PART II

One of the other Douglas Laing-series this one (if you didnt read my first post).


Glentauchers 2000 8yo 46%, sherry butt#4595, Douglas McGibbon Provenance

Nose:
Sweet apples, very light coat of sherry, malty (cereal) notes and toffee

Taste:
Vanilla and more dominant sherry influence than expected.
Very malty and fruity and the thing feels alot more mature than an 8yo.

Good whisky from a 'small' relatively unknown distillery owned by Drinks-Giant Pernod Richard!

84/100!

ABERFELDY 1994 - DOUGLAS LAING - OLD MALT CASK - PART I

It's time to do an 8 part on the different series from Glasgow indie bottler Douglas Laing.
They do different series of bottlings and the ones that I'll be reviewing here are:

Old Malt Cask, Douglas McGibbon Provenance, Premier Barrel and Hunter Hamilton Clan Denny

Besides those they do a couple of undisclosed malts like 'Big Peat' and and a series called 'Double Barrel' and of course their ultra premium range 'Old & Rare Platinum' and 'Director's Cut'...and even mentioning these, I've forgotten some.

You can read more about Douglas Laing here and of course find their complete brands list there, too.

First one up in this review series is bottling of the highland distillery, Aberfeldy, usually associated with Dewar's...

Aberfeldy 1994 16yo 50% xx.06.1994/xx.12.2010, refill hogshead#6844, 350 bottles, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask

Pale straw in colour

Nose:
Fresh cut grass, lemons, hints of malt and mash

Taste:
Very nice arrival on white tinned fruits, some oak spices and an oily feel to it, without it sticking to your mouth, very fresh and satisfying.

A very pleasant surprise, this one!

87/100!

UNDISCLOSED MALTS

Speyside's Finest (Glenfarclas) 1966 43yo, xx.06.1966/xx.10.2009, 48,2% sherry butt#5525, 197 bottles by Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask for The Whisky Show, London

Nose:
Oloroso, Amaretto, Coffee, slightly burnt suger notes

Taste:
Clean cut sherry delivery with chocolate raisins and X-mas Cake, cloves?
Goes on and on and on, 3 drops of water takes away the few bitter oak notes that was found -
A stunner!

91/100! (tasted 16-11-2010)

UNDISCLOSED MALTS

Speyside’s Finest (Glenfarclas) 1965/xx.03.2011, 45yo, 54,2%, Douglas Laing Old & Rare, 182 bottles

Nose:
Struck matches

Taste:
Eggy sulphury in style, water helps a little bit but no!... dissapointment of the day

70/100! (tasted 23-02-2012)

ARDBEG 1973 - DOUGLAS LAING

Ardbeg 1973/2002 29yo 51,4% Douglas Laing Platinum – 137 bottles

Nose:
At first a little closed, some vague peaty notes coming through – some faint citrus notes as well
Given a little time it certainly opens up, lots of peat, old tobacco box notes – like stepping into that old specialist tobacco shop, despite all these heavy there’s still a remarkable freshness to it…

Taste:
Tonnes of peat! – the heavy dark/black stuff – although it still manages to let through some of the lighter notes, again with tobacco/coffee notes and just a pinch of salt, is that ripe oranges/grapesfruits in there as well? …all things comes in never ending waves… The finish
goes on forever… especially the peat lingers, even after half a cup of black coffee, you can still taste the peat in your teeth – What a dram!! 95/100

I bought this bottle for 150£in a Mctears Auction back in 2005 with a friend, so only ½ bottle for me - it went down all to well (read: fast)

95/100! (tasted 21-06-2009)