Category Archives: Speyside

2025 Whisky Show – Glen Grant Flight Part 2

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At London’s 2025 Whisky Show, I was reminded of the importance of refreshing our whisky tasting range – including stalwarts. Til date, I’ve mostly shared tasting notes on rare and elusive Glen Grant expressions. If it is a 12-year-old expression, then it must be from the 1970s! If it’s a young 5-year-old, well then, it was bottled 50 years ago! Or perhaps it was matured for a “mere” 60 years or 64 years before being bottled?!? Let’s be honest, these were all incredible once-in-a-lifetime experiences! Ones that I would never be able to repeat.

So, what about us normal folks who don’t mind the occasional indulgence that is still somewhat accessible? Enter the special yet still available mature Glen Grant expressions with their current core collection:

  • Glen Grant 21 year (2024) 46% (2025 Whisky Show – GBP 252)
  • Glen Grant 25 year 46% (2025 Whisky Show – GBP 699 aka 1 Dream Dram Token)
  • Glen Grant 30 year 55% (2025 Whisky Show – GBP 1250 aka 3 Dream Dram Tokens)

Glen Grant 21 year (2024) 46%

With 20% Oloroso, this was bound to have a sherry touch, yet more restrained. What did we think?

  • Nose – Bright, nuanced, complex yet incredibly well-balanced between the warm, juicy fruits (think peach or nectarine), gentle baking spices (cinnamon, ginger, allspice), and caramel
  • Palate – Delicate, elegant, and well-rounded. The fruit shifted from sunny orchards to humid tropics.
  • Finish – Soft, toffee sweet, lovely!

It was like the first sunlight – the rays gently warm, the light gradually increasing… A delight to the nose and palate.

What do they have to say?

The exquisite palate of 21-Year-Old whisky presents a soft, welcoming mouthfeel, with an explosion of rich tropical fruits and creamy butter notes, followed by a long, luxurious finish of caramelised crème brûlée.

Would we agree? Yes indeed!

Glen Grant 25 year 46%

Increasing the sherry quotient to around 40% had a clear influence on this expression.

  • Nose – Loads of dark fruits, dusky, dusty, then brightens into candied sweet
  • Palate – A wonderfully full mouthfeel, roll it around, savouring the soft fruits, some melted chocolate, delicious!
  • Finish – Simply stunning

As for Grant & Sons, they share the following about this expression:

The Glen Grant 25-Year-Old promises discovery and delight. With velvety smoothness and definitive notes dried stone fruit and toffee. Sweet aromas open up to rich dark chocolate flavours and a lingering warm spice and soft smoke finish.

We would certainly agree.

Glen Grant 30 year 55%

Whilst this isn’t yet widely available, a teaser was available at London’s Whisky Show.

  • Nose – Subtle at first, with soft fruits, gradually opening in the glass. It was a “comfort” dram, we were enveloped in a warm blanket of welcome aromas – fruity, sweet, and more!
  • Palate – Soft, with a hint of mineral, like the shavings of a graphite pencil, then the fruits came forward, followed by gentle sweet spices, a deeper undertone
  • Finish – Simply beautiful. An incredibly long finish

Here is what Glen Grant has to say about this upcoming expression:

A rare and exquisite 30-Year-Old whisky. It reveals a rich and complex bouquet that, after its rich and distinctive finish, will leave you longing for more. Uniting The Glen Grant’s delicate, fruity character with a deeper, darker profile.

Like previous older Glen Grant expressions, this was the gift they kept on giving. Long after our glass was empty, we could revisit simply by sniffing the glass. As we knew this would be a hard act to follow, it was clearly time to take a wee lunch break before heading back into the fray!

Curious to know more? Check out the Glen Grant Whisky Flight – Part 1

As for other older expressions? I’ve been so fortunate to try a few rare and mature drams:

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2025 Whisky Show – Glen Grant Flight Part 1

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Sometimes we pass over the standards simply because we are distracted by shiny new toys. At London’s 2025 Whisky Show, as people thronged around all the rare and old, the distinct and limited drams, the weird and wacky experiments… we spotted just beyond the Glen Grant stand.

I remember how terrific it was to have a consistent Glen Grant calibration dram before diving into special tasting sessions. And decided to slow down, take a beat with an old friend, giving it the attention it deserves with a proper flight… beginning with their current core range before moving on to a new limited release series… and I’m so glad we did!

  • Glen Grant 12 year 43% (2025 Whisky Show – GBP 44.5)
  • Glen Grant 18 year 43% (2025 Whisky Show – GBP 125)
  • Glen Grant 15 year Batch Strength 1st Edition 50% (2025 Whisky Show – GBP 65)
  • Glen Grant Exploration No 1 Rum Cask 48% (2025 Whisky Show – GBP 86)

Glen Grant 12 year 43%

On the nose, we get delicious baked goods, like apple pie or apple crumble, sweet spices, then shifts into a tart apple cidar, pear jelly, white flowers, honey, overall quite joyous. On the palate, it is simply easy, fruity, and fun. We found more of that apple pie, joined by caramel, nuts, and sweet spices like cinnamon and ginger, with a finish that rewards with lightly roasting the spices.

We thought it would make a rather fine whisky highball!

Glen Grant 18 year 43%

Deliberately skipping over the 15 year, we went straight to the 18 year. It greeted us with similar elements as the 12-year yet softer, layered, both more elegant and more decadent. On the palate, it was simply delicious with a lovely finish.

We pronounced this a fine “proper” classic dram.

Glen Grant 15 year Batch Strength 1st Edition 50%

This whisky is again, like a variation on a consistent, classic theme – just more amplified – in a good way! As I had sampled this expression quite recently, I skipped it in favour of going straight to our next offering…

Glen Grant Exploration No 1 Rum Cask 48%

Again, there is a clear continuity between the expressions, yet this time it was even sweeter! The nose amped up the caramel, something almost like a whiff of peach crumble, then became quite tropical with generous ripe bananas, juicy sultanas, and sweet spices. The palate was simply enjoyable, fruity, full of flavour, bright and zesty! Was that a hint of ginger in the finish?

This may seem counterintuitive given the rum influence; however, we thought this expression might make a rather regal old-fashioned!

What do the folks at Glen Grant have to say about their latest expression?

The Glen Grant Exploration Series celebrates ‘The Major’s’ own journey of discovery in his worldly quest to uncover unique flavours. The inaugural limited-edition release, Exploration No.1 showcases our delicately aromatic and fruity signature character, finished in exquisite rum casks, bottled at 48% ABV and non-chill filtered. After maturation in bourbon barrels, the whisky is transferred into the finest rum casks for finishing, resulting in a tropical influence of spice, rich dark sugar and ripe banana.

What a brilliant re-introduction to an industry standard. This reminded me that we shouldn’t always chase after the crazy and new, we should revisit distilleries we thought we knew too! And be reminded why they have been in the business for the long haul – in the case of The Glen Grant – that is for some 180 years!

What’s up in Part 2? We graduate into the mature, fully adult category – the world above 18 years! The kind of drams responsible for The Glen Grant’s venerable reputation!

  • Glen Grant 21 year (2024) 46% (2025 Whisky Show – GBP 252)
  • Glen Grant 25 year 46% (2025 Whisky Show – GBP 699 aka 1 Dream Dram Token)
  • Glen Grant 30 year 55% (2025 Whisky Show – GBP 1250 aka 3 Dream Dram Tokens)

As for other Glen Grant tasting experiences?

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2025 Whisky Show – Elixir offerings

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Once upon a time, London’s Whisky Show was synonymous with both The Whisky Exchange and Sukhinder Singh & team. With the mega sale, Sukhinder has shifted focus to his distilleries and Elixir brands, providing several different ranges like The Elixir Trails with cross-country explorations, Elements of Islay, Port Askaig, Macbeth, and more.

We managed to catch up with Sukhinder early Saturday morning and exchanged the usual pleasantries. He shared his tips for the show and then led us to his booth, suggesting a few drams we really must try as “value” expressions from The Single Malts of Scotland range.

Where did he point us to? No surprise, Linkwood led the pack!

Linkwood 11 year (2014/2025) Small Batch 48% (The Single Malts of Scotland)

  • Nose – Juicy and joyful. What a treat for early in the day! Lots of orchard fruits – green apples and pears, lightly floral, warming into caramel with vanilla ice cream
  • Palate – Easy drinking with just enough substance to make it interesting, well-balanced
  • Finish – Lasts

Over the years, I’ve generally found Linkwood to be good value for its quality. Mostly decently priced and fairly consistent in delivering a good dram. Alas, we couldn’t get our preferred pick – the Linkwood – either at the show or even the Whisky Exchange – as it was sold out! Pity.

We moved from Speyside to the Highlands with Blair Athol – known for its bold flavours.

Blair Athol 18 year (2006 / 2025) PX 47.6% (Elixir – The Single Malts of Scotland)

  • Nose – Delightful sherry yet not heavy-handed, all those sherry dried fruits, nuts, and spice – sweet and sultry
  • Palate – Coffee spice and everything nice, lovely fruits, and again exceedingly well-balanced
  • Finish – Cosy up by a warm fire, closing with more mocha, dark fruits, and spice

Sukhinder shared how this expression was an absolute hit at Paris Whisky Live 2025. With our little sniff and swish, we could see why! Like the Linkwood, it seems to be sold out, and was last seen retailing for approx Eur 135.

In a bit of a departure so early in the day, we shifted into peat. I’ve often admitted to a certain skepticism about Bunnahabhain – I’ve had a few clunkers over the years, yet equally a few gems too! So, we were curious to see how this young 6 year stacked up!

Bunnahabhain 6 year (2009 / 2018) Small Batch 48% (The Single Malts of Scotland)

  • Nose – Warm with that elusive bacon maple sweep aromas, some salt joining the sticky smoked sweetness
  • Palate – Tasty! Cinnamon toast, chai tea, clearly peaty yet was balanced with the sweet
  • Finish – Long and lovely

Bunnahabhain was known as the “ladies” Islay with minimal peat. By contrast, this expression from a refill hoggie was heavily peated. And yet you don’t find that ashy iodine style, instead, it was more of a warm wood smoke.

Unlike the others, depending on where you live, you may be able to track down a bottle – currently retailing for approx GBP 52.

We returned to Speyside with an undisclosed distillery (ahem! Macallan “style”)…

Speyside 15 year (2009) 57.5% (The Single Malts of Scotland)

  • Nose – Big sherry, big red fruits, juicy plums, generous smattering of sweet spices
  • Palate – Spice, big, bold, and beautiful, loads of ripe fruits, including juicy blood red oranges, chocolate, bit nutty too
  • Finish – Strong, flavourful finish

There was no mistaking that this is a “BIG” whisky! From start to finish, it delivered. If this is your style, it is a great example. If you prefer something a bit more reserved, this isn’t for you. And yet, even though it was “BIG”, it wasn’t too big! We understand this bottle retails for around GBP 100.

We closed our flight with a lesser-known distillery from Speyside. This particular small batch expression is notable for being matured in two sherry butts, one sherry hogshead, and a heavily charred barrel, making for an interesting result.

Dailuaine 12 year (2011) Small Batch 48% (The Single Malts of Scotland)

  • Nose – Mellow and fruity – veering more towards berries like raspberry or blueberry, biscuits
  • Palate – More of a spicy kick than we anticipated from the aromas, peppery, taking time to settle in the glass before the fruits came to the fore. With a bit of time, the biscuits were back – this time covered in chocolate
  • Finish – There, yet nothing particularly notable

Where the Speyside was bursting with bold red fruits, the Dailuaine was fruity with a subtler hand.

Overall, our “The Single Malts of Scotland” flight delivered the goods and was a terrific exploration early in our 2025 Whisky Show wanderings.

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BMC Scottish Classics – Royal Brackla 16 year 40% + Glen Grant 15 year 50%

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After exploring a trio from South Africa, our Bombay Malt & Cigar evening closed on a classic note. Whilst I thoroughly enjoy exploring whisky experiments and drams from many lands, there is simply nothing like a good classic Scottish single malt.

Knowing this, our whisky host added two well-known standards:

  • Royal Brackla 16 year and
  • A new batch strength Glen Grant 15 year expression

Both were Original Bottlings… Both true treats!

What did we think?

Royal Brackla 16 year “The Cawdor Estate” 40% 

  • Nose – Oh yes! Those lovely orchard fruits you can count on with a Royal Brackla! Crisp green apple, juicy with a drizzle of honey
  • Palate – Soft, well-rounded, fruity, enveloping one in a delicious warmth
  • Finish – Simply dripping with honey

Such a perfect classic, easy drinking dram.

Glen Grant 15 year Batch Strength 50% 

  • Nose – Happiness! A delightful, sweet, and fruity aroma with lemony high notes, morphed into a delicious lemon custard, dessert in a glass! The more it opened, the more joyful it became! Ice cream sandwich, cookies and cream, malty biscuits, lemon sorbet with vodka!
  • Palate – Same vein as the nose, nicely rounded, a good mouth feel, very approachable for 50%, just enough kick to make it interesting
  • Finish – Lovely
  • Water – Just adds a bit of spice

What can one say? Really rather nice!

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Whisky Show 2024 – Hunter Laing

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After exploring Hunter Laing & Co‘s Ardnahoe distillery, we focused on exploring what put these folks on the map since 2013 – their independent bottles and blends! It was Day 2 of the 2024 Whisky Show in London and we were primed to explore something truly special.

Scarabus 10 year 46%

We were directed to first explore Scarabus – a series dedicated to Islay malts and a guessing game between Caol Ila and Lagavulin. It is a mix of re-fill, ex-bourbon, and virgin American oak casks. As I’d sampled it relatively recently, I passed, however, my tasting companion enjoyed it!

First off was an expression from their First Editions series….

Auchriosk 25 years (1996 / 2022) PX Sherry Butt HL19727 48%  (Hunter Laing – First Editions) 

  • Nose – Fruity, strawberries, a cornucopia of different berries, making a luscious fruit compote, sweet spice, and cream, it continued to evolve the more time it spent in the glass to have the fruits and berries joined by chocolate and nuts
  • Palate – Spicy, black pepper and strawberries, soft and understated, incredibly balanced and smooth, complex, nuanced
  • Finish – Mmmmm…. raisins, spice, caramel, and all things nice

This was a lovely dram – well worth the wait for 25 years.

We then moved on to their Old Malt Cask series… Typically bottled at 50%, a new cask is bottled each month.

Craigellachie 16 year Sherry Butt HL21170 50% (Hunter Laing – Old Malt Cask) 

  • Nose – Vanilla, sweet like milky mathai, a hint of dried fruits 
  • Palate – Starts soft then builds up, chocolate-covered ginger spice, sherry
  • Finish – Surprisingly hot finish, even a bit salty at the close

Not bad but also not outstanding. However, I will admit I’m not always a big Craigellachie fan, so it wasn’t surprising that I was a bit middling about this one.

Ardmore 12 year (July 2010) Refill Barrel HL21172 50% (Hunter Laing – Old Malt Cask) 

  • Nose – Now we are talking! Very sweet on the nose, honey, hibiscus, very bright, shifting into glazed ham with a citrus twist
  • Palate – Wonderfully well-rounded, fruit and peat in terrific balance
  • Finish – Subtle and lingers

This Ardmore was much more to my taste – quite enjoyable!

Glen Grant 25 year (1998 / 2023) 50% (Hunter Laing – Old Malt Cask) 

  • Nose – A classic nose – honey, subtle floral, followed by a citrus tang… we immediately dubbed this a “sniffing” whisky – the kind you just want to come back to again and again to take a whiff
  • Palate – Lovely! We found it best to just leave on your tongue for a bit – it was sweet yet with just enough spice to not be a push-over.
  • Finish – Long and lingering – just right! With a nice oily lemon close

They say it is good to leave the best to last so it can be fully appreciated. I think the folks at Hunter Laing delivered here! Elegant and beautiful – this was a clear class act.

Confession time – I did indeed leave this in the glass for as long as I could to enjoy the aromas. It kept shifting between honey, floral, and citrus most delightfully.

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Whisky Show 2024 – Decadent Drinks

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London’s Whisky Show brought many delights. One was time spent at Decadent Drinks – the folks behind the irreverent Whisky Sponge – which has “retired” as a brand! We didn’t quite get through the full range – yet we definitely covered a gamut from light to heavy moderately aged to mature!

Glen Garioch 21 year (2003 / 2024) 1st fill bourbon hogshead 55.1% 1 of 248 bottles (Decadent Drinks)

Our explorations began in the highlands… 

  • Nose – Fruity, juicy, then shifts into hazelnut chocolate nougat
  • Palate – Lovely fruits n spice n everything nice! Waxy, with a roll around the palate kinda substance
  • Finish – Almost a hint of copper 

What a wonderful way to begin with fruity fabulousness. Yum!

Aberlour 33 year (1989 + 1991 / 1999) Ed No 29, Refill Hogsheads 49.7% (Whisky Sponge) GBP 365

  • Nose – Gorgeous sherry! Unlike some heavy sherry drams – this was not “in your face” – instead just beautiful dark fruits
  • Palate – More elegant and refined than your typical Abelour, lovely balance
  • Finish – Sweet and long

A proper “grown-up” whisky! Sometimes Aberlour with its devotion to full-on sherry can be a bit much – this was incredibly nuanced and complex. Just wow!

Glen Grant 31 years (1993 / 2024) 52.7% 129 bottles (Decadent Drinks – Whisky Land Chapter 3)  GBP 595

  • Nose – Surprisingly strong – rich fruits and how!
  • Palate – What fun! Prickly ginger spice, buttercream
  • Finish – Sponge cake

If the Glen Grant 12 year old from the 1970s was elegance and refinement, this was the crazy cousin showing very different colours!

Notable Age Statements Blend 17 year 53% (Decadent Drinks) GBP 95

As a play on NAS – No Age Statement – the folks at Decadent Drinks have a series of Notable Age Statement whiskies!

  • Nose – Classically elegant
  • Palate – So balanced, sherry berry 
  • Finish – Don’t laugh – but my tasting companion dubbed this quite a “bitchy” finish!

What more do we know? This is what the folks at Decadent Drinks have to say:

This bottling is composed of a 1st fill sherry butt of 2001 blended malt and a 1st fill sherry butt of 2006 Aultmore. The resulting, multi-vintage mix was bottled with slight reduction at 53%.

This is our attempt to create an older style, sherry matured malt whisky profile. Designed to be easy, fruity and highly drinkable with plenty of classical, earthy and elegant sherry character.

Ardnamurchin 7 year Ed No 100 57.9% (Whisky Sponge – final edition)
  • Nose – Sherry joined by glazed maple with a hint of peat
  • Palate – Sweet and a bit sharp – young and brash, then it settled down to become super fruity and juicy, stewed fruits
  • Finish – Quite active
This was a whisky of contrasts – active and sharp then balanced, vacillating in between quite different characters. It was almost as though it had a kind of identity crisis!
 
It all made sense when I looked up more details. Here is what they had to say: 

This is Whisky Sponge Edition No.100. It’s a 2016 and 2017, 7 year old Ardnamurchan small batch.  It’s a potion that Angus cooked up in collaboration with the good folk at Ardnamurchan Distillery. It’s a mix of 1st fill and 2nd fill, peated and unpeated sherry octaves. We mixed them all together and married them in a refill sherry butt for over six months until the whole potion turned 7 years old, then we bottled it with slight reduction at 57.1%. For those of you that deify transparency, here’s the recipe…  

  • 2017 – Unpeated 1st Fill Sherry, Peated 1st Fill sherry, Peated 1st Fill Sherry, Peated Refill Sherry 
  • 2016  – Unpeated Refill sherry, Unpeated Refill Sherry, Unpeated Refill Sherry, Unpeated 1st Fill Sherry 

We wanted to celebrate and mark the final edition of Whisky Sponge with a whisky that was excellent quality, one that was collaborative and that we’d had a role in creating and making unique to us, and that was modern in the best sense and looked to the future. We feel we have succeeded in this – we hope you agree.  

It was quite an interesting experience!

Ledaig 29 year (1995/2024) 52% (Decadent Drinks – Westie Sponge 4)

  • Nose – Coffee, cinnamon, sweet spices, cakey
  • Palate – “I’m here now!” Big, bold, brilliant flavours! Sherry and coffee, cherry, chewy… lightly peated
  • Finish – Long and strong

Westie Sponge is a series devoted to the Western Highlands and Islands – which naturally needed to include this Ledaig from Tobermory distillery from Isle of Mull. 

Bowmore 20 year (2004) 53.3% 171 Bottles (Decadent Drinks – Whiskyland Chapter Two)

  • Nose – Fresh and bright, a delightful sea breeze, perfume then dark fruits, lush
  • Palate – Sweet peat, fruity in perfect harmony, elegant and well-rounded
  • Finish – Lingers

What more do we know? It is a refill hogshead from 2004. In some ways it was an un-Bowmore-like Bowmore – less forceful and more restrained. Lovely.

Ardmore 22 year (1997 + 2000) 53% (Decadent Drinks – Whisky Sponge – Equilibrium 3rd Edition) GBP 215

  • Nose – Love it! Peat and sweet
  • Palate – Perfect balance of peat and sherry, unctuous mouthfeel, meaty yet soft too
  • Finish – Marshmallows and cherry

The deep ruby hues (without any added colour!) means there has been some serious contact with an ex sherry cask! Here’s what else they have to say:

For this final bottling in the Equilibrium series, we took a refill matured 1997 and sherry finished 2000, medium peated highland malt and married them together in a 2nd fill sherry hogshead. That mix was then bottled as this 22 year old with a few degrees reduction at 53%. 

The result is the softest of the three Equilibrium bottlings in terms of peat level, and probably the richest in terms of sherry character. But overall, this is a wonderful, complex and beautifully quaffable sherry and peat influenced dram, one where age and time have also worked some pretty delicious tricks…  

Mortlach 16 year (2007) 48.5% (Decadent Drinks – Equinox & Solstice Summer Edition)

  • Nose – How extraordinary? There was a distinctive chaat masala aroma of black salt! Tangy, tropical fruits
  • Palate – Sherry edge, no lightweight at all. Oily, big and bold. Fruity and full. More of that chaat masala too!
  • Finish – Coffee

It was muscular without being heavy-handed. 

Miltonduff 11 year (2012)  1st Fill Sherry Hogshead 48.5% (Decadent Drinks – Equinox & Solstice Winter Edition) GBP 110

  • Nose – Rich yet not overpowering, juicy fruits then shifts into a mocha sundae, creamy eggnog 
  • Palate – Think of a delicious black forest cake with dark cherries, yet restrained too
  • Finish – Beautiful

A clear Speyside hero in its best form. 

Thank you Elise from Fredericton New Brunswick for making our time with Decadent Drinks so rewarding!

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Whisky Show 2024 – Dream Drams Brora + Glen Grant

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At London’s Whisky Show, one receives a “dream dram” token each day. This is an opportunity to try something well outside the normal “affordability” range!

I was very clear about my choice – as the crowd around Whisky Auction can be thick – the plan was to go there 1st thing. Or more precisely, immediately after our calibration dram of the day – the reliable and most enjoyable Glenfarclas 15 year!

I had my eye on a Glen Grant from the 1970s whereas my tasting companion was after something extra special and fancied the Brora 1981. As his choice was 2 tokens and we had only 2 tokens, we decided to go with his choice. The gent had overheard our debate and made an offer we couldn’t refuse – both!

Brora 23 year (1981 / 2005) First Cask 1556 43% Bottle 756 ~GBP 625

  • Nose – Shy at first then hay
  • Palate – A bit more substance, a hint of spice, sweet, subtle digestive biscuits
  • Finish – Pleasant

Overall I found it pleasant but nothing particularly special. My tasting companion was completely disappointed – felt the hype and the price tag were simply not worth it!

We need to remind ourselves that we are sampling a slice of history – a distillery that had its moment in time before being mothballed. Once known as Clynelish, the style we reputed to be quite different – for some time quite heavily peated then a lighter peat. In this case, to be honest we didn’t catch any peat!

So what about my choice? If the Brora was a bit of a bust, the Glen Grant was a complete hit! 

Glen Grant 12 year (1970s) 43%

  • Nose – Ahhhh….. An absolute delight! Bright and cheerful character, joined by some dark dried fruits topped with honey sweetness… after some time I found a lovely lemon custard pie. Delicious!!
  • Palate – Smooth and soft, then woke-up with pronounced sherry, yet still balanced
  • Finish – Long, strong and lovely

It was the perfect breakfast dram – sweet, classic style. The kind of whisky that will be companionable, joining you on a nice rambling journey. I was entranced and in love!

What followed? We neatly stepped next door to Whisky Sponge. Much like Whisky Auction, every time I passed by the previous day, the throngs were so thick I feared it would be impossible to have the kind of leisurely chatty experience we enjoy. How fabulous to be proved wrong!

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Mossburn’s Mannochmore 10 year (2008) 56.1%

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This was my first single malt from independent bottler Mossburn – from their 16th batch from 2018. When debating which Speyside to include in our Scottish Regions theme, curiosity about this dram won! 

For those not familiar, Mannochmore isn’t one of those distilleries that claims 100+ year history! Instead, it was founded in my lifetime – originally opening in 1971 before closing for a few years in the late 1980s. Even after re-opening, for many years it was in production only every alternate year as it shared employees with its neighbour – Glenlossie. It expanded operations in 2013, and is now regularly producing spirit for its current owner Diageo.

Like many Diageo distilleries, much of the liquid goes into blends, then makes its way to independent bottlers like Mossburn with select official bottlings – like their Flora & Fauna series. We’ve had some absolutely marvelous Mannochmore’s from Chorlton – a 12 year and 13 year – so I had rather high expectations.

We opened the bottle in Mumbai early January and tasted it over two sessions – something I very much recommend. Going straight to the punch line – the initial date was underwhelming whereas the second date rewarded us over time with many of the reasons why I’ve been more and more a Mannochmore fan!

Mannochmore 10 year (10/12/2018 – 2008) Batch 16.0708.16 Cask Bill HHD 56.1% (Mossburn Vintage Casks)

  • Colour – Bright gold
  • Nose
    • 1st opening one tasting companion found wet dish rag and simply could not get past the impression of something a bit “off”, there were also overripe fruits, some caramel yet the impression was largely having a subdued nose 
    • 2nd day if we really focused, we could find a hint of wet dish rag, yet for me it had very much evolved moving more into a wet leaf, earthy element, some sour mash then loads of fruits. The more time it spent in the glass, the more fruity and appealing it became
  • Palate
    • 1st we found it really rather yummy, spice, lemon sweets, fuzzy apricot skin, a bit astringent, plum skin then I found tea
    • 2nd we really enjoyed its fizzy almost effervescent quality, joining plum and apricots was peach, with the palate having a marvelous lightly oily element coating our mouths in the most wonderful way
  • Finish
    • 1st Churan – which is a digestive mix of herbs and spices – often containing powdered pomegranate seeds, cardamon, coriander, fennel, cinnamon, dried ginger and lemon plus things you typically won’t find outside of India like pippali, khand, and black salt
    • 2nd Again, we could understand how churan was found and personally, I found it moving more in the tea direction, another lady agreed and added for her specifically it was more like an Earl Grey with bergamot

Overall, the palate is the winner here with the nose catching up if given enough time in the glass. In our first try, we did leave it in the glass for some time and found with the revisit it was much fruitier with loads of character not initially present.

Whereas the 2nd time around we added water – wow! What a missed opportunity for our 1st tasting experience! The fruity elements on the nose were amped up and joined by a lovely floral quality. It became so much more appealing and inviting on the nose than before. And the palate? It rounded out the flavours – delicious. Just a bit of water transforms!

For one tasting companion on our 2nd tasting had the Mannochmore contending for his favourit of the evening!

I couldn’t find official tasting notes… However, particularly on the 2nd evening, we found a fair bit in common with some earlier Mannochmore tasting experiences. 

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Whisky Show 2024 – Glenfarclas 15 year

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Day 2 of the 2024 Whisky Show in London began with a perfect calibration whisky. For years, we’ve relied on Glenfarclas to deliver a consistently good sherry whisky. So I knew exactly where to go for our 1st dram of the day, knowing precisely what to expect! 

Glenfarclas 15 year 46%

  • Nose – Ahh…. just breathe in that lovely honey, joined by orchard fruits, some pastries, waft of vanilla
  • Palate – Some spice, fruity and fabulous… a bit active in the glass, with the dark fruits from the sherry joining the chorus
  • Finish – A long dry finish

Was it a sniff, swish, and spit? Of course! Our agenda for the day involved far too many whiskies to do more than experience this way! However, our Glenfarclas booth host completely understood our rationale, happy to have us stop by for a short visit before continuing our journey. 

Where next? Why make use of our dream dram tokens of course! And I had just the place in mind!

Curious about other Glenfarclas experiences? Just check out:

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Whisky Show 2024 – Wire Works

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After a day of mostly Scottish drams, we decided to shift gears to check out a new English entrant – Wire Works from Derbyshire. 

Wire Works Caduro 46.8% GBP 60

  • Nose – A bit harsh – young and brash with a hit of alcohol, then some rose petals, sweet
  • Palate – Some soft peat, slightly astringent, some spice and salt
  • Finish – A very salty finish, joined by sage too which was a bit curious

Not so sure we were off to a good start here… and admit we struggled to see this as “award winning.” The peat was a mild 20 PPM with the cask and STR ie shaved, toasted, and re-charred red wine barrique.

Wire Works Bourbon 53.4% GBP 65

  • Nose – We found melons, a hint of peat, more sweet than anything else. Think of a fruit dessert, some ginger, vanilla ice cream
  • Palate – Yum! This works! It is back to the basics with bourbon. Oily, nice texture, more of that ginger
  • Finish – Leave with a nice peppery spice

I noted that this one was a good way to judge the whisky character – no hiding beneath fancy finishes.

Wire Works Moscatel 3 years 53.6% Bottle 340 / 651 GBP 75

  • Nose – Quite fresh – lots of citrus
  • Palate – Sour initially, surprisingly creamy, a bit nutty, marzipan, dried mango powder, gooseberries
  • Finish – Curiously savoury

We were reminded of snacks that are “khatta meetha” a bit sweet and sour. There is a distinctive ‘aamchor’ mango powder in India which adds a nice tangy element to certain dishes. 

Wire Works Madeira Finish 53.6% Bottle 330 / 671 GBP 75

  • Nose – Fruity, sweeter than the Moscatel, more subtle too, with dark cherries
  • Palate – Personality came through – juicier, some spice
  • Finish – A dry finish

An interesting introduction. I’m not completely sold on all the expressions, however that’s often the case with younger distilleries experimenting with different elements til they hit their stride.

So far, our English whisky explorations have been limited to just three distilleries – with Cotswolds the one we’ve sampled the most!

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