Lagavulin ‘Pure Islay Malt’ White Horse (75 proof, OB, UK, 1970s)
Ok, not all the drams in this session are 12 year olds. This is an extremely rare NAS version for the UK from the early 1970s I believe. Never tried this one before, but as you know, I’m a huge fan of NAS… Colour: pale amber. Nose: as big as you can get at 43%. Old school peat slapped on with a trowel. Black pepper, coal embers, soot, roof pitch and buckets of tar. Feels even more ‘old school’ than the 12 yo versions; I’m reminded of a certain 14yo Laphroaig bottled in the 1950s here. Brilliantly herbal, tarry, earthy, phenolic and full of this wonderfully greasy, textural peatiness. Mouth: Indeed, this is old, old stuff. Hugely peaty, grizzly herbal bitters, smoked peppercorns, natural tar extracts, industrial cough medicines, ointments, vapour rubs and hessian. Simple in many ways, but beautifully so and with devastating poise and power. Finish: long, leafy, drying, herbal, tarry, earthy peat smoke. A briny splosh of seawater in the aftertaste. Comments: Feels rather distinct and separate from some of the later batches - were they getting rid of the dregs of Malt Mill in the early 70s? Anyway, extremely old style, properly uncompromising Islay whisky. You cannot help but imagine what kind of immense leviathan this must have been at marrying strength…
SGP: 467 - 94 points.

Lagavulin 12 yo White Horse (75 proof, OB, UK, 1970s, SC295)
Colour: pale amber (I’m seeing a pattern here). Nose: the peat is a notch lighter than the NAS, it’s more on this wonderfully metallic and autumnal sherry profile. Lots of subtle tarry notes, wet leaves, camphor, metal polish and oily toolbox rags. In time there’s a more defined peatiness emerging. Riddled with dried seaweed, old school herbal medicines and camphor. Mouth: that familiar thickness and textural oiliness is very present. These older style Islay whiskies were really so much about texture. A rather greasy slick of peppery, dry, tarry peat along with more touches of metal and furniture polish and more herbal medicines. Finish: medium and rather peppery, coastal, tarry and with a lovely drying peat. The impression of peat embers fading in a sooty hearth. Comments: brilliant whisky that’s emblematic of this place and era. It reminds me instantly what I love about the older Lagavulins: they display this very specific, bone-dry and idiosyncratic peat flavour. Distinct in the same way Highland Parks of this era have their own peat personality.
SGP: 466 - 92 points.

Lagavulin 12 yo White Horse (43%, OB, CINOCO Brussels import, Belgium, 1970s)
Colour: pale amber (I think we can start cutting and pasting thanks to E150.) Nose: different again, a more luxurious and velvety fusion of fruitier sherry and softer peat. The immediate impression is that this is smoother, rounder, and perhaps composed with some older stocks in the mix? Gorgeous, quilted layers of peat smoke, natural tar liqueur, smoked olive oil and the best VORS oloroso fresh from the bodega. Mouth: indeed, deeper, oilier, silkier, rounder, tarrier, the peat softer, more peppery, smoked black tea, lemon rind, herbal ointments and even some wee exotic fruit notes. Finish: feels short at first but it resurges beautifully with lapsing souchong, cured meats, herbal-tinged peat smoke and more soft tarry vibes. Comments: A rather more luscious and ‘complete’ batch that feels like there’s more sherry influence and age involved.
SGP: 555 - 93 points.

Lagavulin 12 yo White Horse (43%, OB, Para Espana, 1970s)
A version for Spain, not too sure I’ve tried this one before either… Colour: pale amber. Nose: interesting, this is drier, sharper, more coastal, narrow and chiselled. Lots of dried seaweed, wet rocks, chalk, old dried out medicines, herbal teas, more distant tarry notes and things like vapour rubs and camphors. Even more modern things like mineral salts and beach sand being to appear - kind of foreshadows later styles. Mouth: drying, rather mineral sherry, motor oils, camphor, peppery tar, smoked sea salt, olive brine and anchovies. This one is more chiselled and more precisely coastal and even slightly fishy than the others. Some wee hints of smoked grist and cured meats. Finish: long, getting deeper, tarrier and finally peatier now. In fact the finish really soars. Comments: a funny one, deceptive in some ways but quite fun. Gathered an extra point in the superb finish.
SGP: 365 - 92 points.

Lagavulin 12 yo White Horse (43%, OB, Ausländisches Erzeugnis, German import, 1970s)
I’m told that ‘Ausländisches Erzeugnis’ just means ‘foreign import’ and that the importer was usually Stahlkopf in Hamburg. Colour: yes. Nose: another sharper, more chiselled and coastal one. Superbly fresh, salty, briny and with plenty seaweed and nervous, mineral sherry. In time the peat comes through more clearly. It’s dry, very peppery, quite assertive and with lots of tarred rope and hessian supporting it. More of these impressions of dusty, phenol-ridden old malt bins. Mouth: wonderful arrival. Surprisingly thick, tarry, textural and full of oily peat, sardines in olive oil with herbs, anchovy paste, olive brine, kelp, smoked herbs and tarry rope again. Some velvety sherry gluing everything together. Brilliant! Finish: long, more smoked herbs, cured meats, tar liqueur, fir wood and peat embers. Comments: Feels like a hybrid of the nose from the Spanish import and the palate of the CINOCO. We’re approaching danger levels of sheer, unbridled quaffability here.
SGP: 466 - 94 points.

Lagavulin 12 yo White Horse (43%, OB, Carpano Torino, Italy, 1970s)
Colour: wait…! Deep gold I think. Perhaps the caramel guy was hungover that day? Nose: I really do think these bottlings have more in common with some of the old official Highland Park dumpy bottlings than with their contemporary Laphroaig and Ardbeg neighbours. This very particular and stunning combination of dry, rooty and herbal peat smoke, mixed with embrocations, tar, pepper and wee touches of metal polish speaks to me more or Orkney than Islay in some aspects. Either way, this is stunning and there’s more in the way of aromatic dried seaweed, sweet herbal cough medicines and oily, mineral-flecked sherry. Joy and pleasure unbridled! Mouth: just gorgeous! There’s something ‘extra’ going on here in terms of thickness, velvety texture and an almost syrupy sweetness that adds in things like natural tar liqueur, coconut, smoked olive oil and cream sherry. Just devastatingly gorgeous old Islay whisky. Indeed, this is another one where the palate knocks it out of the park and leaves you questioning the age statement. Finish: thrillingly endless, riddled with cured meats, salty old oloroso mixed with sweeter cream style sherries, natural tar extracts, herbal cocktail bitters and leathery, tarry old rope and hessian. Comments: Disgustingly, shamelessly, unequivocally brilliant! I just adored these sweeter we coconut notes in here, they feel outrageously decadent. The very epitome of what makes this such an iconic bottling series in my view.
SGP: 566 - 95 points.

Lagavulin 12 yo White Horse (43%, OB, Montenegro Zola, Italy, 1970s)
I don’t know enough about the different Italian importers of this era to tell you more precise dating info on which of these came first etc. Colour: amber. Nose: the same, and yet with its own idiosyncrasies once again. This is extremely thick and dense on the nose. Lots of tarry, leathery, almost syrupy peat wrapped up in ancient cream sherry, smoked herbal teas, camphor and the purest and most beautiful peat smoke. The peat in fact possesses some more modern facets such as a more assertive and sharper smokiness, but in combination with these other aspects its quite stunning. Mouth: wonderful arrival in the mouth, beautifully thick, dense, oily - almost fatty peat. Peppery, ancient tar liqueur, long aged yellow Chartreuse, mineral oils, ointments, camphor, soot and oily smoked fish. This is the fishiest one so far in fact. Amazing that whisky can retain such textural heft and muscle at 43% and after decades in glass. To try this at its original marrying strength… that’s the dream! Finish: similar comments to the Torino… endlessly long, mesmerisingly thick, textural and with a glow of deepest, darkest peat and smouldering seaweed you could melt a marshmallow over without compromising social distancing! Comments: Leaves you a little bit speechless really. These bottlings really do deserve their reputations. They’ve captured a process, ingredients and style that, in the grand arc of history, only existed for the shutter snap of a few decades.
SGP: 556 - 95 points.

Lagavulin 12 yo White Horse (43%, OB, UK, glass-moulded horse in bottle shoulder, early 1980s)
Let’s see how things evolve as we shift forwards in time… Colour: amber… I mean, does anyone really care about colours? I know, I know, my apologies to all the Macallan fans out there ;) Nose: at first this is gentler and softer, rounder as well with a more subdued mix of leathery old sherry, peat smoke and many tiny notes of herbal medicines, pine sap, smoked teas and hessian. With time begins to get superbly gamey, leathery, salty and with a sharper, more precise coastal and mineral aspect. This impression of a more blustery, playful and fresher profile is really endearing. Mouth: indeed, ‘meatier’ is the word. We’re not talking biltong here, but certainly cured game meats, pheasant in bouillon stock, old pinot noir and many subtle smoked teas and crystallised exotic fruits. This is one thing that you feel is absent from these old Lagavulins in some way, the fruits. But it’s just that I often forget to mention them in face of such monumental peaty/tarry/sherry/herbal beauty. Indeed, they’re here on display, and there’s a snippet of kumquat and blood orange too. Finish: long, thicker again, this lingering, very textural feeling, deeply unctuous and almost sappy peat flavours mixed up with tar extracts, mineral sherry, salty game meats and more crystallised exotic fruits. Comments: It’s starting to get hard to really be objective about these, the pleasure factor is pretty overwhelming. These are very much the kind of whiskies that almost compel you to sit back, forget about all this scores and notes nonsense, and just bask in their hypnotically brilliant glow.
SGP: 565 - 93 points.

Lagavulin 12 yo White Horse (43%, OB, UK, early 1980s)
Probably the kind of bottling they were giving away free if you bought a few bottles of Gordon’s Gin in Oddbins at the time. Colour: amber. It’s true that the colour seems to darken as we head into the 1980s - I blame Thatcher! Nose: we’re back to a very tar-forwards style. Dense, thick, greasy peat, coal embers, anthracite, pine wood, some kind of tar syrup and crystallised orange peel. Beyond that smaller notes of old leather, brine, salted liquorice and boiler smoke. Some aspects recall the NAS from the start of this tasting funnily enough. Mouth: it’s brilliant but in many ways simpler and more focussed than previous batches. Sharp salinity, nervous leathery sherry that includes some nutty and rancio aspects, tarry rope, dried seaweed and smoked black pepper. These wee fishy touches are back: peppered mackerel I think. In time there’s a stunning medicinal aspect coming through, herbal cough medicines extraordinaire. I know often use that as a tasting note, but here you really get this flavour in a pure and vivid way. Finish: long, tarry, full of supple, peppery, herbal peat smoke, crystallised citrus peels and exotic fruits, emblematic once again of this profile. Comments: I was wavering around the 92 point mark at first but this one just grows and grows on you. The evolution on the palate and finish in particular is pretty breath-taking.
SGP: 466 - 94 points.

Lagavulin 12 yo White Horse (43%, OB, Montenegro Zola, early 1980s, SD133)
Back to Italy… Colour: amber. Indeed, it would appear they hired a new, teetotal caramel dude by this point. Nose: once again, we’re back at the peat-face! A big wall of tarry, leathery, oily and dense peat. This one even starts to display notes of kippers, brine mixed with lemon oils, cracked black pepper on cured meats and a dry, rather punchy smokiness with touches of struck flints and puffer fumes. Just great, once again! Mouth: there is something about the Italian batches, they seem to possess a thickness, spiciness and roundness of the palate that is utterly enchanting. This series is so much about texture and fatness on the palate anyway, but here it’s at its most vivid, luxurious and velvety. No wonder everyone was banging on about malt whisky being ‘smoooooth’ in these days. Anyway, the usual suspects are all here: tar liqueur, greasy peat, smoked olive oil, camphor, herbal extracts etc… Finish: long, deeply peaty, oily, tarry, camphory and with loads of leather, salty sherry and wee crystallised fruit notes. Comments: I don’t think this is quite as spectacular as the late 70s batches for Italy, but we’re very close.
SGP: 566 - 94 points.

Lagavulin 12 yo White Horse (43%, OB, Montenegro Zola, Italy, 1980s, SD170)
By the way, in case you didn’t know, those wee codes I’m noting above are glass codes from the base of the bottles. They’re pretty essential in dating and differentiating batches of older official bottlings. This one should be from a year or so later than the SD133… Colour: Whoa, STOP PRESS! It would appear we have struck ‘reddish amber’. Evidently ‘Mr Caramel’ had taken up yoga or jogging by this point. Nose: it’s funny how these batches change incrementally, going back to the NAS briefly we’ve clearly come quite a distance. The sherry here is bigger, more obvious, sweeter and more syrupy. The peat feels a similarly thick, tarry and herbal, but it’s more in equal billing with the sherry. There’s smoked mint, eucalyptus resin, tea tree oil and wee hints of the kind of funky, fermented weed they use to assassinate stray Scotsmen in the Netherlands. Also some funny notes of black olive, pickled herring and other more obviously fishy qualities. I don’t think we ever really commented enough on quite how fishy old Lagavulin could be. I remember a rotation 1958 spring cap Lagavulin that was essentially a smoked mackerel smoothie. Anyway… this is otherwise typically superb. Mouth: the arrival is softer but this may be the silkiest expression of peat flavour thus far. Also sublime tarriness, kumquat, apricot, smoked olive oil, rancio, smoked walnuts, ancient balsamic - the sherry really does have a more assertive voice here, so perhaps ‘Mr Caramel’ was simply being restrained for once? Finish: long, with lots of leafy, rather earthy and raisiny sherry. Salted walnuts and almonds, natural tar and herbal liqueurs and wispy peat smoke. Comments: A divergence for sure, but it feels like very similar distillate just from more active sherry casks.
SGP: 655 - 93 points.   

Lagavulin 12 yo White Horse (43%, OB, French import, 1980s, SD522)
Probably one of the last batches of the 12yo with the white label before the switch to green glass and the roundel distillery label for a brief spell before finally settling on the 16yo. Colour: pale amber. Nose: the shifting profile starts to become more noticeable here. This is a notch grassier, the peat smoke rawer and a little harsher, more boiler smoke, hessian, smoked meats and even a slightly balsamic / acetic note to the sherry. Some tarred rope and drying kelp. Mouth: big arrival, with lots of dunnage earthiness, dry peat smoke, black pepper, tar, iodine, kelp and some ashy wood smoke. Flinty, gravelly minerals, smoked olive oil and iodine. Finish: long, boisterously peaty, more gravel, earthy, herbal medicines, wormwood, antiseptic and smoked black pepper. Comments: Rather suitably this one firmly points in the direction of later iterations of Lagavulin. However, it’s also another one of these rather sly batches that starts off with simplicity and then bamboozles you with raw brilliance and power on the palate.
SGP: 466 - 93 points.

Lagavulin 16 yo White Horse (43%, OB, UK, +/-1990)
I wanted to do one of the current Laga 12s but sadly I just don’t have a single drop of one t available. So this sample of a very early 16yo will have to suffice. I’ve recorded notes for this before so this is really just for the record and sake of comparison… Colour: gold (huzzah!) Nose: what’s immediately obvious is that they stepped away from such a dominant sherry profile which was so often the case with the 12s. This is greener, lighter and more on refill wood qualities such as more direct and obvious green and exotic fruits. Although, this coconut aspect does remain here. You can certainly see the DNA of the modern era Lagavulin fully formed here. Lots of elastoplasts, bandages, embrocations, seawater and gorgeous fruits. What it shares with the 12s is more this hessian and herbal medicinal profile. It also feels older than 16 funnily enough, reminiscent in many ways of some latter era Port Ellen special release batches (batch 9 onwards for example). Mouth: stunning freshness and fruitiness. Whereas the 12s are all on crystallised and dried fruits, this is freshness and ripeness in abundance. Greengage, star fruit, pineapple, guava and banana. The silkiest of peat smoke as well, almost ethereal, drying and medicated. Finish: long, layered peat smoke, fruits, seaweed, medicines. Stunning! Comments: a different animal to the 12s but brilliance that is Lagavulin remains undimmed I would say. No wonder we are all in love with this distillery to varying degrees.
SGP: 446 - 93 points.

Glen Scotia 1999/2018 (57.9%, OB ‘Distillery Edition No 6’, cask #463, 195 bottles)
Colour: bright straw. Nose: there is a coastal aspect at first which is rather reminiscent of some younger Springbanks, however here you also get this sense of sheep wool doused in olive oil, muddy leather boots, gorse flower and rather gloopy mechanical oils and old toolbox rags. All rather more ‘Glen Scotia’ in my view - which is great of course. In time the balance swings slightly back towards the cask with some sweeter and creamier notes that include some vanilla custard. Globally pretty excellent so far I think. With water: back towards these leafier, greener and slightly grassier notes. Pollens, white flowers, very soft waxes, sunflower oil. Very attractive. Mouth: quite sweet initially upon arrival. All on pineapple cubes, white jellybeans and more custard made with young dessert wines. Quite cask forwards I suppose. There’s also grassiness, a few more mechanical touches and things like chopped parsley and fresh butter. With water: now we’re getting there. Bitter herbs, rapeseed oil, pasta water, white pepper, chamois leather, old toolbox rags again, mineral oils, beach pebbles. More of a Scotia charisma about it now. Finish: medium, rather peppery, oily, grassy, mineral and with a few subtly bitter herbs coming through such a tarragon. Comments: Feels like about as ‘safe’ as Glen Scotia gets these days. I can understand why they would pick such a cask as a distillery exclusive, it is technically very, very good. But there are more boisterous, unlikely, charismatic and - ultimately - more fun Glen Scotias lurking around out there.
SGP: 662 - 86 points.

Glen Scotia 27 yo 1992/2019 (45%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection, bourbon hogshead, 150 bottles)
Colour: gold. Nose: well, we are certainly at Glen Scotia! A whole workshop full of weirdness. Mechanical oils, old bicycle chains, mysterious toolboxes, steel wool, oily rags, every shade of cooking oil available, funny lactic notes, very old Irish pure pot whiskeys, hot copper coins, sour bubblegum, motor oil, gravel… Do not adjust your sets! Mouth: ok, take some expensive olive oil and mate it with a wild goat. Then put it through the Heriot Watt brewing and distilling course and give it the run of Glen Scotia distillery and hey presto! Also some kind of fermented herbs, sheep’s cheese, bacterial wort, carbon paper, fermenting eucalyptus (a thing?), slightly ‘off’ mushrooms and brand new leather shoes. I’m a bit lost here I have to say. The feeling of casually crunching your way through a raw turnip - ‘Baldrick style’. I’m sure some people would say this is flawed but I cannot help but be entertained. Now some partially molten plastic dipped in rapeseed oil. Finish: rather long, sour olive oil, plastic again, beach sand, mustard powder, camphor, plain porridge with overripe grapefruit peel? Some kind of ash-rolled goat’s cheese in the aftertaste I think? Comments: Ok, when I said ‘charismatic’… be careful what you wish for I suppose. Quite frankly, this is ridiculous whisky which I’m sure many people would tell you is flawed. However, I could not help but chuckle to myself the whole time while recording this note. I would say these two humble wee Glen Scotias are the difference between technical and soulful. Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t have an exorcist on speed dial for the 1992… I have precisely zero idea of how to score this whisky.
SGP: 471 - 79 (utterly meaningless) points.

Springbank 12 yo (no ABV, OB, ceramic, Belgian import, rotation 1974)
This one comes with a handy import sticker on the back stating a rotation year. Good old Brussels; let’s call this a Brexit commemorative decanter. Now, I wasn’t aware these ceramics were in use this far back. As for the strength, there’s none stated but these were usually 43% in my experience. Colour: straw. Nose: very ‘old Springbank’ with these wonderfully fragrant coastal qualities alongside lemon rind, chalk, mineral salts, white flowers and sandalwood. Digging deeper it becomes a little oilier, waxier and more mechanical with light greasy hints, old toolbox impressions and dried herbs. Extremely pure and totally non-commercial in style compared to many modern single malts. Mouth: indeed, barley eau de vie with touches of waxed fabrics, Barbour grease, mineral oils, animal fats, bone marrow, camphor, pine resin and tea tree oil. Some eucalyptus oils, cough medicines and herbal teas. There’s a lightness as well which would indeed suggest a lower ABV. Beautiful but feels a little fragile in the mouth now. Finish: medium, drying, coastal, slightly brittle salinity, more waxes, animal fats and herbal cough medicines. Comments: The nose is beautiful, pure and fresh, but the palate fades a little towards the end. Perhaps it didn’t travel too well inside that old ceramic over the years. Now, it’s still some delicious old school Springbank so let’s not split too many hairs.
SGP: 462 - 87 points.

Springbank 1998/2020 (52.1%, Archives for Taiwan, cask #226, port hogshead, 173 bottles)
A bird on the label this time, clearly the Samoan authorities have finally deported those cheeky Dutchmen… Colour: amber. Nose: big, unctuous and rather beefy in style that blind I would just have said was sherry rather than obviously port. Goes on with natural tar, leather, herbal bitters, dark chocolate and wee hints of miso and soy sauce. I really love this style, but you need a serious appetite and a knife and fork to tackle it. Even begins to show notes of marmite on brown toast, ancient Fernet Branca, English mustard and Bovril. Suspect you could make a terrific meat pie using this as a base for the stock. With water: heather ales, fresh pumpernickel bread, pumpkinseed oil, meat gravy, rancio, game meats and more natural and soft tarry notes. Mouth: yes! Big, powerful, lean, earthy, drying and meaty. Port doing an impression of sherry once again. Lots of roasted nuts, walnut liqueur, herbal tonics, old school cough medicines, winter spices, natural tar, beef stock, bouillon and black miso. Feels like this was captured just at the right moment. With water: this impression of bitter herbs becomes more heightened, there’s also more lean, leathery aspects, more meats, cocktail bitters, tar, soot, canvass, putty, bitter citrus piths and aged black teas. Finish: long, leafy, herbal, nicely bitter, subtly meaty and with, hessian, dried seaweed, heather and camphor. Comments: A terrific cask of Springbank that leans towards the ‘gamey but clean’ profile. You just kind of have to be in the mood to tackle something this chunky. And I really didn’t get much in the way of ‘Port’, blind I’d just have said a pretty typical latter-era Springbank style of sherry cask, but I’ll not complain.
SGP: 463 - 91 points.

Hazelburn 1998/2020 (46%, North Star, sherry hogshead, 230 bottles)
Springbank that has been triple distilled. So, Hazelburn then. Colour: amber. Nose: wooft! Beautiful sherry, the very best of the ‘Springbank’ style of sherry cask. That is, rather than veering too much off towards rubber, we’re instead more on gun oils, bouillon stocks, game meats, old pinot noir, leather and old tweeds and hessians. Behind that I also find sticky dark fruits, candied citrus peels, golden sultanas and some wonderful wee touches of camphors, vapour rubs and medicines. These early vintages of Hazelburn now really start to just resemble lighter batches of Springbank. But what’s so great is that they still reek of Campbeltown - in a good way. Mouth: extremely sharp and almost like walnut stain with this very precise mix of rancio, ancient balsamic, cured game meats, hessian and dunnage earthiness. Walnut oils, green walnut liqueur, herbal wines and cough medicines. Unusual and with the sherry starting to ‘lean in’ more assertively now but it remains clean, lean, earthy and with this wonderfully sinewed meatiness. Finish: long with bitter herbs, some ancient Fernet Branca, verbena, lemon cough drops, cloves, shoe polish and walnuts once again. Comments: Amazing that a wee triple distilled spirit like Hazelburn could navigate such a boisterous sherry cask, but then again this is Campbeltown, where not all is as it seems… Anyway, an excellent, extremely old school Hazelburn.
SGP: 462 - 90 points.

Springbank 1994/2020 (48.5%, North Star, refill hogshead, 270 bottles)
Colour: straw. Nose: exquisite! An ode to coastal and waxy aromas in whisky. Crushed chalk, brittle seashells, lemon-scented bath salts, freshly starched linens, subtle hints of petrol underneath, pithy lemon peels, light sooty touches and, with a little breathing time, the most fragrant curls of soft, quilt-like peat smoke. Even hints of earl grey tea and seawater. Just beautiful, a nose to die for. Mouth: superb arrival. A little lighter, subtler and gentler than the nose suggest. But still many stunning flavours gently piling up. Sandalwood, lemon rind, white pepper, waxes, a light touch of peat, vapour rubs, cough medicines, herbal teas, gentle sooty qualities. Pristine distillate at a perfect age. This sense of coastal freshness, chalkiness and these petrol and mineral aspects just build and build. Finish: medium and on bitter herbs, green tea with lemon, green olive, brine with lemon rind, smoked olive oil and camphor. More medicines and peppery waxes in the aftertaste. Comments: The nose is 94 point material, the palate perhaps lacks a little oomph to keep up but is still stunning. Evocative malt whisky that exudes a clear and powerful sense of place and style. Decadent pleasure, utter class and a testament to distillate, gentle wood and time.
SGP: 462 - 92 points. 

Longrow 1994/2020 (52.1%, North Star, refill hogshead, 130 bottles)
The label says Springbank but I think we can dispense with that little technicality. Colour: pale gold. Nose: this one feels shier at first; more coiled and poised. However, you also get an unequivocal announcement that this is Longrow with these brilliant notes of seawater, petrol, medicines colliding with olive brine and pure antiseptic. Then this rising and totally idiosyncratic tang of Machrihanish peat. Keeps opening up: bandages, wet rocks, ink, dried seaweed, putty, camphor, beach bonfire embers. I’m almost sorry to report that it is totally stunning. With water: gets rather camphory, elegantly drying, notes of waxed canvass, chalk, olive oils and more seawater. Mouth: Pow! A sucker-punch of utterly glorious peat smoke. Soaked in mercurochrome, iodine, lime oils, waxes, white pepper, dried seaweed flakes, natural tar and the most vivid and powerful medicinal profile. Whereas the Springbank was kind of ‘nose-forwards’ this one is quite the inverse. Stupendously mouth-filling, slathering on this petrolic, jellied peat with a trowel! With water: brilliantly medicinal, oily, sooty and with this peculiarly sharp and pointed smokiness. Chiselled coastal aspects, light briny touches and now also some farmyard aspects like oily sheep wool, lanolin, wintergreen and even things like caraway and fennel. The complexity really builds, just brilliant, brilliant old Longrow. Finish: very long! Now really tarry, phenolic, peppery, saline and still with this brilliantly sharp and precise smokiness. Getting beautifully herbal and medical in the aftertaste. Does that peacock tail thing where every wee flavour and impression takes a bow. Comments: indeed, a totally stunning Longrow. What unifies these old Springbank distillates, when they’re at their best, is that they reek of distillery identity. This one just could not be any other distillate on the planet than Longrow. A tour de force!
SGP: 466 - 93 points.
<< PS: There's alo a magnum for The Auld Alliance in Singapore, with exatcy the same juice inside

Springbank 15 yo 1973/1989 (50%, R W Duthie for Samaroli ‘Ageing Monography’)
I remember when I first saw these labels I thought momentarily this series was called ‘Ageing Monogamy’… Colour: pale gold. Nose: rather shy at first. A gentle unfolding of waxes, honeycomb, pollens and medial vapour rubs. Mead, camphor, fir wood, lanolin and cough syrup. Extremely elegant, classical and with these wee subtle mineral touches that I love. However, it’s not an ‘immediate’ dram in the same way the Longrow was. With water: tiger balm and herbal vapour rubs, salted honey, wintergreen and more of these rather precise and old school medical complexities. Mouth: more direct upon arrival, pine sap waxiness, herbal medicines, acacia honey, a sweet but extremely subtle peatiness and hints of exotic fruit cordials. It’s beautiful but maybe not quite as thrilling as you might expect from such provenance. Again these elegant mineral qualities such as beach pebbles and mineral oil emerge. With water: opens nicely with water, some crystallised citrus fruits, candied lemon peel, citronella wax and olive oil. Finish: medium and nicely drying, peppery, warm and still showing this elegant fusion of coastal and honeyed. Comments: Don’t get me wrong, this is excellent whisky. It’s just that you expect more. And that the Longrow kind of crushes it. A rather subtle and shy old Springbank that requires patience and only one or two drops of water. Afternoon whisky I suppose.
SGP: 562 - 90 points.

Glen Spey 14 yo 2006/2020 (59.1%, North Star, refill hogshead / oloroso sherry, 247 bottles)
Colour: brownish amber. Nose: the sherry really has quite a voice, how long was the finishing? This is all on stewed fruits, malt loaf, Battenberg cake, dates, walnuts and coffee liqueur. Further sweetish notes of fudge and sticky toffee pudding, but a wee nibble of hessian in the background too. With water: some canvass, soda bread, bitter lemon and milk chocolate. Mouth: ok, the wood is a little more active here. Lots of green and black pepper, spiced black teas, Fernet Branca, menthol sweets, cloves, ground ginger, red chilli and Jamaica cake. Can’t shake these wee impressions of pencil shavings, but there’s a firm bready quality that emerges now too. With water: these denser and sweeter tones of fudge, chocolate sauce and caramel are back. Salted caramel, wafer biscuits, miso, flower honey and bitter herbs. The wood is active but the sherry itself feels like good quality, it’s just that these two forces feel a little wobbly together. Finish: medium and rather peppery, warm, bready and persistently spicy with a leathery gamey note. Comments: Glen Spey is probably the kind of distillate that works well in finishings because its rather a blank canvas to begin (with apologies to the Glen Spey fanatics out there). Anyway, this one was good if a little on the wood-dominant side for me. I preferred it with water.
SGP: 551 - 82 points.

Glen Spey 21 yo ‘Batch 1’ (49.7%, That Boutique-y Whisky Company, 1278 bottles)
Colour: white wine. Nose: grassy, green and fresh with quite a lot of plain cereals, buttered toast, freshly laundered fabrics and wee chalky touches. Clean, bright and perfectly fine, it’s just that there are any number of casks like this lying about Scotland’s warehouses. Mouth: a little more interesting than the nose with more oily vibes, sunflower oils, soda bread, barley water, malt extract, slightly notes of hops and various old school bitter ales. Once again: fine. Finish: short, lightly cereal, citric and some subtle vanilla notes. Comments: indeed, a blank canvass. Refill wood can do remarkable things if the distillate it is holding is top notch, this is a good example of what happens when that isn’t the case.
SGP: 441 - 75 points. 

Loch Lomond 10 yo 2010/2020 (57.7%, OB for The Whisky Exchange, cask #349, 1st fill barrel, 241 bottles)
This is one these batches they occasionally make using wine yeast, which they also seem to do with Inchmurrin on occasion and usually elevates the ester levels and general fruitiness… Colour: pale straw. Nose: it is indeed a fruitier style and a specifically ‘Loch Lomond’ one at that. The other style it really brings to mind is these older Irish malts with these quite pronounced notes of crushed nettles, Sauvignon blanc, lime zest, passion flower and runny honey. Rather tart green fruits like cut Granny Smith apple and fresh gooseberry. With water: gets a little drier now and more cereal, mineral, dusty and floral with these notes of pollen and white flowers. Some new leather shoes as well. Mouth: these fruits remain but they are sharp, tart and lightly acidic - almost showing a firm ‘under-ripe’ profile. Lemon zest, fabric softener, unusual hints of quinine and bitter lemon and then pear drops and lychee. A lot of fun but a tad unusual. Getting rather peppery and sharp now. With water: some nectars, residual honey notes and hints of baking soda, mineral oil and wee chalky touches. Finish: good length and showing a fruity resurgence with gooseberry, crisp green apple and lemon peel again. Comments: Hard to know what to make of this. It’s excellent and quite fun, but at times feels a little challenging. I think the Inchmurrins are a few notches above the Loch Lomond examples in my book. Now, having said that, this is a fresh and fascinating divergence from the dull march of distilling yeasts - more of this sort of thing please!
SGP: 641 - 86 points.

Inchfad 13 yo ‘Batch 1’ (49.5%, That Boutique-y Whisky Company, 2473 bottles)
I couldn’t tell you much about Inchfad, beyond the fact the name comes from one of the wee islands dotted throughout Loch Lomond and that it’s one of their more obscure peated makes. Colour: straw. Nose: gentle peat that shows chalky smoke, laundered fabrics drying near a shoreline, lemon peel, cake mix and then something more towards yeasty sourdough and bailed hay. Typically ‘unusual’ stuff from Loch Lomond’s magical mystery stillhouse. Mouth: the peat is a little louder, sharper, more coastal and classically salty and citric. More lemon rind, briny touches, kelp, tar, ointments, chalk, mustard powder and hessian. There’s a farmyard aspect in the background too. I find it pretty good. Finish: quite long with a more grubby smokiness like wet wood on a bonfire and boiler smoke, charcoal, tar, wet leaves and burning hay. Comments: If you’re looking for a more left field expression of peated malt whisky you could do a lot worse. Quite charming I think.
SGP: 465 - 85 points.