Category Archives: Whisky Type

Bowmore 18 year Oloroso Cask 43%

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We closed our evening with an Islay dram from Bowmore! These days, having an OB (official bottling) and “adult” whisky above 18 years is a bit of a rarity for me in a home tasting which tend to be No Age Statements til early teens. Make it an Islay and woah?! What’s going on here folks?

It also has been some time since I sat down properly with a Bowmore, so this was indeed a treat to finish off a rather enjoyable evening in Nurnberg with a theme of “Bring your bottle!”

Bowmore 18 year Oloroso Cask WB146494 43%

  • Nose – Peat and sweet and how! Nothing shy about this one! All the lovely sherry dark stewed fruits and swirl of peat, was joined by leather and tobacco – delicious!
  • Palate – Equally powerful on the palate, yet balanced with a complex maturity, the plummy fruits rollled about with a gentle smoke, jammy and mouth-watering
  • Finish – Nicely carries through

Don’t laugh, but my first notes were “Why hello! I am indeed a Bowmore. And welcome back!” It was a classic Bowmore and also a great reminder of exactly what one would expect from this distillery. After so many drams that evening, this was a perfect powerful close – even at a mere 43%. A very good choice!

The official tasting notes may be brief but work for us!

  • Breathe In: Creamy caramel toffee, with ripe fruit and smoke aromas
  • Sip: Incredibly complex, with beautiful soft fruit and chocolate balanced with a light smokiness
  • Savour: The long and wonderfully balanced finish

And there you have it! A quick tour through some of the interesting drams experienced in a September evening in Nurnberg?

As for more brushes with Bowmore? Read on!

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What’s in a Name? April Fool!

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Last summer, I missed an interesting session with the Bombay Malt & Cigar gents with the theme “What’s in a Name?“.  The inspiration for this theme obviously came from how the whiskies were dubbed inventive titles such as “Peace, Love & Whisky“, “Memories” plus this one called “April Fool’s”! All three were from independent bottlers – the initial two were from Simply Whisky and this last whisky was bottled by The Whisky Exchange.

Very kindly they kept aside samples for me to experience solo. 

As background, for those not familiar with the story, Ardnamurchan is the Highland distillery recently re-opened by independent bottlers Adelphi. The original distillery stopped production in the early 20th century and its current avatar officially opened in 2014. Ardnamurchan produces both unpeated and peated single malts.

So… what did I think about this expression?

Ardnamurchan 5-year “April Fool – Extremely Old, I wish I were Younger” (2022) 53.2% (The Whisky Exchange) 1575 bottles. GBP 75

    • Colour – Bright gold
    • Nose – What first greets you is a decided sour aroma. A cross between sour apple sauce and a balsamic reduction. It then opened up to woods, toasted nuts, smoked meats, heavy caramel, warm and oily, some fruits
    • Palate – Hot and spicy! There are more smoked meats, joined by smoked fish, sweet spices, and more of that oily element. Certainly this would be part of their peat expressions…
    • Finish – Strong, hot, bitter and long
    • Water – Don’t mind if I do! It helps, it really helps.
      • On the nose, it brings out some fruit sauce – like a mix of apples and others. the sweet spices of ginger, allspice, nutmeg and cloves peak out.
      • With a generous splash, it also tames the palate, allowing more of the sweetness to come through – some fudge with a ginger honey glaze topped by a coastal salt spray
      • The finish too becomes much more approachable
  • Have you had salmon on cedar plank? Somehow it reminded me a bit of that once watered down, settling a bit. This is no sprightly romp through the park. Instead, it is more like tromping through a deep forest in autumn.

    I’ll have to admit that until I added a dollop of water (no mere carefully measured drops!), I wasn’t so enthusiastic about this dram. However, with water, I could see this being the bracing accompaniment to coming in from the cold.

    That shared, I had trouble reconciling this not-so-thrilling experience with the positive buzz I’ve heard and read about Ardnamurchan. Me thinks in the upcoming September London Whisky Show, we’ll have to spend some time exploring to make a more informed determination for ourselves.

  • What more do we know? This whisky has been aged in first-fill ex-Bourbon casks for 5 years before being bottled at cask strength.

    Here is what the folks at The Whisky Exchange have to say:

    Our April Fool’s 2022 special release is wise beyond its years. Distilled at Ardnamurchan under the watchful eye of the Adelphi Distillers team, this five-year-old whisky combines centuries of tradition with modern whisky making to create a fruity dram, run through with a gentle seam of peat smoke. The whisky’s details are hidden on the label, only revealed when you shine a UV torch on them – April Fool!

    Compliments of my friends this is what the bottle looks like to the “naked eye”.

    And under the black light? This is what you can see… sort of… revealing that it is a mere 5-year-old upstart!

    What else was sampled in an evening devoted to What’s in a Name?“:

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Canada’s Shelter Point – Montfort District Lot 151 (2020) Single Grain Whisky 46%

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Grain whisky often gets a bad rap for being the “extra” that goes into a whisky blend. And yet the range of possibilities with grains are immense! So when we had not one but two grain whisky options to sample with our Shelter Point quintet, we were open to the experience. We began with the single grain from a single lot on Vancouver Island – specifically the Montfort District Lot 151 to be found :

  • Latitude: “49.876166”
  • Longitude: “-125.126368”

Whilst the folks at Shelter Point refer to site-specific soil classification differences and the influence of proxmity to the ocean and forested land, unlike Ireland’s Waterford distillery who share extensive micro-provenance details, here we have just the location of the family farm on which the barley is grown.

The previous release tasting notes for the Montfort DL 151 are remarkably similar to the 2018 Montfort DL 141 – which we earlier sampled a few years ago. And now? If you head to the Shelter Point website, they no longer distinguish between the lots, bottling only as Montfort. Still field to flask, still from a family run farm, however I suppose over time this is more manageable to sustain, with more flexibility with cask management.

Setting all of these factors aside, what did we think?

Montfort District Lot 151 (2020) Unmalted Barley Single Grain Whisky 46%

  • Colour  – A bright sunny gold
  • Nose – Are those ripe dark cherries? Now some toasted notes chased by a light sea salt. Take a big breath and you are transported to a wheat field, full of cereal aromas. Then marzipan, some nutty notes, some maple, and tobacco leaves.
  • Palate – Mmmm…. starts a bit sweet and smooth, lightly fruity – perhaps white peach?, creamy then shifts into a darker earthy element joined by chocolate. It is incredibly soft yet not delicate as it has far too much “substance”
  • Finish – Dry yet satisfying

For a young grain, this was actually quite impressive. We also appreciated the true terroir focus – including the exact location on Montfort Lot 151! I don’t know what exactly I expected, however, this was really very enjoyable.

What do the folks at Shelter Point have to say?

Montfort 151 is a truly unique field-to flask whisky. The name itself is the very lot in which the single-grain barley was grown, as well the coordinates to the exact field are included on every bottle. The Montfort series has literal grass root beginnings, each field that we farm has a distinctive district lot number, as well as site specific soil classification, and a proximity to the ocean and forested land. These collective characteristics grow barley in distinctive and unique ways resulting in unique flavor profiles from these micro regions on our farm. Montfort 151 is distinctively different than the Montfort DL 141, and Montfort 151 is a proud product of our distillery home.

Tasting Notes

On the nose, Montfort DL 151 has distinct notes of vanilla fudge, dried fruits and hazelnut. The palate is honed and herbaceous with a luxurious assortment of dark chocolate cherries, leading to a warming spicy finish, with lingering oak and almond nougat.

Whisky Facts

  • Still: Custom-designed copper pot still
  • Base: 100% unmalted barley (That’s it. Nothing else)
  • Distillation: Small-batch, 3x distilled
  • Spirit: Natural colour and non-chill filtered
  • Alcohol Content: Bottled at 46% Alc.Vol

I purchased this when it was released back in 2020 for CND$30.43 + taxes for a 375 ml bottle – which to me is the PERFECT size!

Unfortunately, Shelter Point seems to have largely discontinued this option, which now seems to be only available for their Whisky Club at CND 225 (including tax) / year for 3 bottles – that’s over double what they were charging just a few years ago. Which, frankly is a lot per bottle – in the range of $130 each if it was full size. Clearly, something is going on with the distillery making this a necessary change, however, as both a consumer and fan, this is truly a pity.

Shelter Point Quintet sampled by the Nurnberg’s Whisky Explorers:

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Shelter Point – 10 Year 1st Edition 57.8%

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We are no strangers to Shelter Point from British Colombia, Canada. In fact, back in 2016, we had the pleasure of sampling their inaugural batch of single malt. We loved it then and we love this “Artisinal Single Malt” expression now too!

As soon as it was launched, I was keen to try their 1st edition cask strength 10-year single malt. I purchased it online in August 2021, and then shipped it together with other bottles from British Columbia to Manitoba. This was followed by bringing it from Winnipeg to Nurnberg to Mumbai. Quite the traveling bottle!

After beginning our evening with “The Collective“, followed by the experiment with “Double Barrel“, I was keen to see if the elements I enjoy most about their core single malt would shine through in the 10 year?

Shelter Point Artisanal Single Malt 10 Year (2011 / 2021) Cask Strength 57.8%

  • Colour  – Dark gold
  • Nose – Fancy! Sunshine yet surprisingly more restrained than anticipated. Malty, mineral, oily, chardonnay, Dry wood. Opens up into warm and sweet, honey and fruit – specifically muskmelon or warm cantaloupe.
  • Palate – Effervescent, sparkling wine, ginger spice, salty licorice, herbal liqueur, dry bitter cloves, lots going on! Over time it settled down a bit, though remained quite active.
  • Finish – Another warm hug, the salty lakris carries through, some cinnamon, more ginger and then bay leaf
  • Water – We began with just a few drops – it became more umami, one even described it as wet dog! Then even spicier! Whereas with more water, the salty licorice became fennel without the salt – going from “spunky” to “nice”

What can I say? This was not just sunshine in a glass – that element was there at first but fleeting. However, the salty licorice took much greater prominence – even over the Jaegermeister herbal liqueur.

I thought about the age element. In the grand scheme of things, 10 years isn’t much. Once upon a time for a Scottish dram, that would be your “entry-level” maturity. Unlike India where the angel’s share is mighty greedy, I would anticipate the west coast of BC, nestled between farmland and the coast would be more in keeping with Scotland.

So what did this mean for the 10 year Shelter Point? From memory, the younger Artisinal Single Malt expression had more cereals than wood notes. Favoured orchard fruits over melons. Didn’t have as much mineral and whilst had a touch of salt, it wasn’t the very distinctive salmiakki salted licorice found in the Nordics clearly present in the 10 year.

As I have a precious bottle of the standard expression back in Germany, decided the best thing to do would be to take a generous sample from the 10 year and follow-up with a comparison in June when I plan to open the balance Shelter Point bottles for our Nurnberg Whisky Explorer group!

What do they say?

10 Years is a long time. A lot has changed in the world since Shelter Point started production in 2011, but what hasn’t changed is our commitment to craft, quality, and doing things the best way we know how. For the inaugural 10-Year-Old edition of Cask Strength Single Malt, we decided to let the casks and the spirit do the talking, and present this limited-edition small batch for your enjoyment.

Tasting Notes:

  • With a nose led by notes of creamy vanilla, milk chocolate, apricots and green apples
  • A palate featuring baking spices, chocolate chip cookie dough and a kiss of sea salt
  • This 10-Year-Old Batch Strength Single Malt finishes with lingering woody spice, candied ginger and an assortment of baked goods.
  • A delight for the senses to be shared and savored.

Whisky Facts:

  • Still: Custom-designed copper still
  • Base: Malted Barley (That’s it. Nothing else)
  • Distillation: Small-batch, 2x distilled
  • Spirit: Natural colour and non-chill-filtered
  • Alcohol Content: Bottled at 57.8% Alc.Vol
  • Bottle Size: 750ml

Purchased in August 2021 from Shelter Point Distillery for CND 130.43  (Eur 102) + taxes + shipping for 750 ml.

Here are the other expressions tasted in the Shelter Point trio in April 2023:

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Not your ordinary blend! North Star’s Super Sonic Mach 3 55%

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Independent bottlers can truly be the “next level” of whisky explorations. For North Star Spirits, Ian and team have been bringing a range of whiskies to the world since just 2016. They’ve now branched into another series – Periodical – available only in the UK and launching soon – Obscurities and Curiosities. Even more recently, the lads are setting the stage for whisky production – with a new distillery Dal Riata in Campbeltown.

And yet, with all these developments, the foundation remains their North Star bottlings – which include in addition to their staple single malts, both a blended scotch (ie with grain) and blended malt (ie without grain).

Within the Blended Malt category, Ian introduced “Supersonic” in 2021 and released in rapid succession a series from Mach 1 to Mach 4, ranging from 46% for Mach 1 to 60% for Mach 4, all from Sherry butts. For our “Not an ordinary blend” evening, I knew the Mach 3 at 55% would fit in perfectly! Just needed to be kept towards the end, given I anticipated it would have quite a sherry punch! And it did indeed deliver this!

Supersonic Mach 3 (2013/2021) 55% (North Star) 786 bottles 

  • Nose – Lots going on here! Reminds me a bit of a chocolate, raisin, and nuts candy bar, also creamy vanilla pudding, something else a bit elusive – a puff of smoke perhaps?
  • Palate – Bold spice, loads of sherry elements like dark fruits (think fig, plum, dates, and raisins). There is a peppery chili “catch” that comes from behind – one even called it akin to Tabasco sauce!
  • Finish – More of that chili, sherry carrying through with a drying close
  • Water – Recommended. It really works well with water which tames the beast and enables juicier fruits to emerge

This is a “blended” malt is indeed a powerhouse! So much so that before adding water, it is a bit imbalanced. Like the different sherry butts are bumping up against each other, vying for who comes first. In a later revisit, I simply add a generous splash of water from the start and sat back to enjoy.

I purchased this in November 2022 for €53,60 + Tax + Shipping. It was opened in February 2024 in Nurnberg, Germany.

What other North Star whiskies have we tried? It has become quite the list – most heavily weighted towards the early years!

The North Star Regional Series:

North Star Series 007 and 008 from 2019:

North Star Series 005 from 2018:

North Series 001 – 004 from 2016 to 2018:

Interested in joining our Nurnberg Whisky Explorer events? Just find us on Meetup!

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Not your ordinary blend! Glenalba 30 year PX 41.1%

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Is it really possible to get a 30-year-old whisky for under Eur 60? Impossible, right? Well, not at all if you are shopping in Lidl and don’t mind trying a Scottish blend – where it even occasionally goes on sale! (PS other places sell for ~300 Eur?!)

The theme of the evening was “Not your ordinary blend!“, and our Glen Alba contributor shared that we should begin with the oldest offering. The reasoning was both the style and that it was the only traditional “blend” of the evening – meaning a combination of grain and single malt. Given the price, it is assumed there must be a fair amount of grain and only a little single malt, however, that’s a secret only the blender would know!

What did we think?

Glenalba 30 year PX Blended Scotch Whisky 41.4%

  • Nose – Sweet honeycomb, joined by some raisins, plums, and other dark fruits, some vanilla cream and milk chocolate, light and sweet
  • Palate – Smooth, well rounded, and much more substance than anticipated, robust yet balanced, like sipping sweet flavourful syrup, with a marvelous mouthfeel
  • Finish – Long, strong with a touch of oak and nutmeg
  • Revisit – When we returned after tasting other whiskies, we found it to still be quite pleasant with pine nut joining the aromas

Overall we were really happy with this one. Sure it’s not a sophisticated complex whisky and we described more the experience than distinctive elements – yet the palate was frankly “superb.” The PX finish likely added a little bit of “oomph!”

We pronounced it a “pleasant Sunday or Holiday dram.” Something easy to drink, uncomplicated, and enjoyable.

What else did we try in our theme of “Not Your Ordinary Blend“?

Interested in joining our Nurnberg Whisky Explorer events? Just find us on Meetup!

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Chorlton – Glentauchers 8 year 61.2%

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Double trouble or twice charmed? In the case of Chorlton‘s  La Nouvelle Vague April 2023 releases, spoiler alert! Both this Glentauchers 8 year and the Glentauchers 14 year were marvelous – in different ways.

Glentauchers 8 year (2023) 61.2% 291 Bottles

  • Nose – Oh yum! Sticky toffee pudding, jammy, a voluminous dessert, small tight berries packed with tart and sweet, joined by pineapple, then buttery chocolate eclairs, apple sauce with cinnamon
  • Palate – Very full and robust! Dark plum skins, so intoxicating and delicious, rich chocolate cream, then black forrest cake, then juicy ripe berries – especially the delightful red currents we get in Germany, incredibly satisfying… is that a wee bit of nut butter or hazelnut cream? Mixed in with loads of sweet spices
  • Finish – Long, strong, and rewarding… even a bit savoury rather then back to sweet towards the end
  • Water – If it is even possible, fruitier?1 Like a candy shop from red licorice to gumdrops to candied orange peel

Overall we found this lively and colourful… practically addictive in its exuberance. There is no subtle shyness here…. this 8 year is proud to flaunt its sherry influences! There is a quixotic charm, and though it is on the edge of being overwhelming, it is simply too good to resist.

I tasted it over two evenings – the first which was a friendly evening February – there was little doubt this was the “hit” of the evening. However the next time around, my companions preferred the gentler and more genteel qualities of the Glentauchers 14 year. Both are frankly fabulous – just in different ways.

From Chorlton, we have the following description and tasting notes:

Next up we have an 8-year-old Glentauchers matured in a first-fill sherry hogshead*. Another sherried Glentauchers, you say? Well, yes, as this one’s such a fun contrast.

The nose starts with chocolate cream, hazelnut nougat, butterscotch and overripe banana, then heads in a distinctly savoury direction with veg stock cubes, dried mushrooms, parsley stalks and OK Sauce. Little hints of old tool shed, liquorice, and coal tar. It’s big and boisterous, and very changeable as it breathes or when water is added (prunes, kejap manis and cocoa powder in that case, since you ask).

The palate has a thick texture, starting on chocolate cornflake cakes, fudge and café crème then developing on a mix of jammy red fruits (redcurrant jelly? cherry jam?) and umami-ness (walnuts, bouquet garnis, BBQ meat, sesame paste). With water it’s softer, with banana wine, Cadbury’s Mini Rolls, chocolate orange and ginger.

Where the 14yo is elegant and collected, the 8yo is lairy and talkative. You do still get that sense of fruity Glentauchers spirit at the heart though. This cask produced 291 bottles at 61.2% and they are available for £59.50 each.

* – just for full transparency: this cask sprung a leak and had to be housed for a short time before bottling in a refill hogshead.

I purchased this from WhiskyBase for a mark-up to open in Nurnberg one fine evening in February 2024.

Here are a few more from La Nouvelle Vague series:

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Chorlton – Glentauchers 14 year 61.6%

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Sometimes waiting isn’t easy. That was very much the case with this Glentauchers 14 year, which was bottled in April 2023 but waited patiently until February 2024 to be opened in Nurnberg together with its younger cousin – the Glentauchers 8 year.

Knowing from the official tasting notes that the younger would be more robust, we began with the older expression.

Glentauchers 14 year (2023) 61.6% 610 Bottles

  • Nose – Oh my! Creme brulee, creamy French vanilla ice cream, yellow plums, loads going on – from brandy to sticky toffee pudding to crunchy lemon drop candies, then a sweet bread like fresh piping hot brioche… whilst there were many different elements, all were restrained and elegant not forceful
  • Palate – A bit of spice to start (no surprise at 61.16%!), however, it quickly settled into a nuanced and surprisingly delicate palate, honey, smooth and immensely satisfying we found a “rum topf” dimension – a kind of rummy fruit compote to which seasonal  fruits and berries such as strawberries, Johanisbeer, red currents and more are added over the year to be then enjoyed after boiling down to create an intense flavourful, also a resinous quality
  • Finish – What a lovely long lingering finish… retaining the fruity dessert qualities
  • Water – Yes please! So many more lovely things come forward. Joining the fruit and berry compote is a delightful red licorice, kumquats, all drenched in delicious honey
  • Revisit – Much later in the evening we returned… It reminded me of angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream! The citrus twist was more pronounced. Others found ground nutmeg, ginger, and more sweet spices

Overall it was impossible not to be enchanted by this elegant and refined whisky. We simply fell in love with BOTH the Glentauchers 14 year or 8 year – tough to decide if one was preferred over the other – however with the first tasting fresh from the closed bottle, the “consumption vote” favoured the sherried younger dram. In a later evening, the 14 year was vastly preferred for its classic elegant styling. Just goes to show mood and company make a difference. All I know is that I’m happy a bit remains to be enjoyed another day!

What did David have to say? The following is an extract from his email…

Back to more familiar terrain! This is a 14-year-old Glentauchers matured in a refill sherry butt

I don’t generally experience synaesthesia, but those nose on this is very “yellow” – I get buttery brioche, good panettone (try the naturally-leavened one that Pollen do at Christmas if you ever get the chance), soft marzipan, peaches and yellow plums, banana yoghurt and honey. In the background is a little chalky earthiness and chocolate biscuit.

The palate is honeyed, with crème pât (I can’t get my mind out of the cake shop), stone fruits and lemon. The development is malty, with flapjacks, chocolate brownies, then sweet black tea and (very distinct) golden sultanas in the aftertaste. Adding water amps up the zestiness, with tangerine, yellow flowers, pear cake and lemon drops popping up.

Very elegant and cakey, this, with the refill sherry adding a gentle richness to the underlying fruity spirit. The butt produced 610 bottles at 61.1% and they are available for £79.50 each.

Part of Chorlton‘s  La Nouvelle Vague series from April 2023, I purchased this directly from Chorlton, which rested initially in London before I had a chance to bring it to Deutschland.

Here are a few more from La Nouvelle Vague series:

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Denmark’s Fary Lochan Tasting Treat!

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Sometimes you discover something unexpected. Something distinct. Something that may even defy description yet still finds its place in your mind as something worthy of remembering. This was exactly my experience with my first taste of Fary Lochan in London – thanks to That Boutique-y Whisky Co! This was followed up by an equally remarkable bottle opened as part of an evening exploring European drams.

So when a fellow enthusiast offered to share some samples, I was delighted! And what an experience!

It was a typical February evening in Nurnberg – cold, rainy, and frankly miserable. Exactly the kind of weather that encourages cocooning at home, not venturing out. However, my tasting companion braved the weather to join me from Bamberg in exploring this quintet:

  • Fary Lochan 5 year (2012/2017) Rum No. 1, 64.7%
  • Fary Lochan 6 year (2016/2022) Moscatel Finish, Batch 5, 62.1%
  • Fary Lochan 7 year (2014/2021) Olorosso 60.3% (Single Cask by Liquid Madness)
  • The Nordic “Vindoga” Sherry Casks #2 (Fary Lochan, Mosgaard, Smogen, High Coast, Myken, Teerenpeli) 59.7% (Berry Bro’s & Rudd)
  • Fary Lochan 7 year (2015/2023) Peat & Port No. 1, 60.9%

What makes this whisky unique is how its smoke comes from nettles – inspired by nettle-smoked cheese from Funen.

Our journey began with the Rum cask…

Fary Lochan 5 year (2012/2017) Rum No. 1, 64.7% ~Eur 199. 639 bottles

  • Colour – Very pale straw
  • Nose – Light spice, freshly sawed pine wood, honey, sea grass, herbal, as it opened, there was a hint of fruits – pear and apple – which grew the more time spent in the glass
  • Palate – Warming, pine sol, some black peppercorns, distinctive and yet also a bit subdued – which is not necessarily a bad thing!
  • Finish – Carries through then disappears
  • Water – Makes it much more bitter and the distinctive element is a bit lost… the aromas still have herbal elements, chased by vanilla

It was a good start – a well-chosen beginning as it was more subtle and restrained than our next offerings.

What more do we know? It matured for approximately four years in ex-bourbon casks before being finished for another year in rum casks.

We carried on with a revisit of the dram which prompted this evening!

Fary Lochan 6 year (2016/2022) Moscatel Finish, Batch 5, 62.1% ~Eur 125

  • Colour – Bright gold with darker hints of amber
  • Nose – Sour cherry, apple sauce, nuts and a unique herbal element
  • Palate – Wonderfully full, delicious and so well rounded, sweet herbal, balanced, yet with a distinctive element
  • Finish – Yum! A delicious spice that lingers… stays and stays and stays…

Overall we could best describe this expression as like being enveloped by a warm comforting blanket. The revisit of this dram cemented our positive opinion! With that elusive yet very distinctive “Fary Lochan” element!

Next, we turned to the sherry Olorosso single-cask bottled Liquid Madness…

Fary Lochan 7 year (2014/2021) Olorosso 60.3% (Single Cask by Liquid Madness) ~Eur 90

  • Colour – Deep amber
  • Nose – Clear unmistakable sherry stamp, also some red wine tannins, rich mocha, freshly shaved wood combined with smoked herbs, licorice, sour fruits
  • Palate – A darker, heavier flavour than the Moscatel finish, has depth and substance, a wonderful mouthfeel, burnt toast with marmite, dry and curious, some fruits that were a bit hard to exactly pinpoint, yet worked!
  • Finish – Smoke
  • Revisit – After some time we returned to our near-empty glasses – Delicious chilli chocolate

We remarked that this is the kind of “reward” whisky after a hard day. The Olorosso certainly had more in common with the Moscatel than the Rum finish, however, amped up in the best possible way. And if you didn’t catch it from the description, we really liked it!

Our next choice was a completely different direction with a blend!

The Nordic “Vindoga” Sherry Casks #2 59.7% Blend of Fary Lochan, Mosgaard, Smogen, High Coast, Myken, Teerenpeli (bottled by Berry Bro’s & Rudd)

  • Colour – Dark coffee with a ruby-red glow
  • Nose – Oh my! A lot of competing elements! Fruits & berries, nuts & peat. Very active – jumping all over. From Mocha to molasses, dried berries, sour
  • Palate – Power packed – again lots going on. Different voices vying for attention. Sherry, more of that mocha, spice, intense
  • Finish – Linges with chocolate raisins and nuts

Where to begin with this one? There are so many different dimensions – more a cacophony than harmony. And yet unmistakably interesting. Just a few drops go a long way!

We closed with the peated expression… knowing that typically what works best for tasting orders is sweet before peat!

Fary Lochan 7 year (2015/2023) Peat & Port No. 1, 60.9%

  • Colour – Bright rose gold
  • Nose – Sour apples with a dusting of cinnamon, ripe cherries, a herbal quality to the smoke – like sweet grass?
  • Palate – Deceptively soft at first then a bonfire! Full flavoured, fruit and peat, jam and chocolate, salted nuts. By the 3rd sip, it started to settle down with the port and peat interplay dancing around the palate
  • Finish – Keeps going…

Hiding behind all the most pronounced features was that distinctive Fary Lochan element. Perhaps it was because this was such a departure, however, it didn’t quite “click” with us the way the others did. Still very interesting to try and perhaps needed more time and quantity in the glass to really open up. That is the danger of sharing samples sometimes! Never enough to get the full feel.

Can I just say – wow! It was absolutely remarkable to further explore this very distinctive Danish distillery offerings. It is hard to pinpoint exactly what makes it so remarkable – however, there is just something completely unique. For us, both the Olorosso and Moscatel finish stood out as clear winners!

HUGE thank you to Barley Mania for kindly sharing some precious drops of your Fary Lochan collection! I can indeed see why it has captivated you! And now us too!

What about other whiskies sampled from Denmark

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Surprise me: Glendronach vs Glen Scotia

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Our Nurnberg’s International Whisky group kicked off 2024 with a “Surprise me!” evening – which began with a whisky from the Lowlands, then a pair of Irish whiskies, then closed with a battle of the Glens! The whisky choices were a mystery to all but the contributors, decisions around order were proposed by the contributors too. Whilst it was a bit random, it all came together rather well!

Glendronach 12 year (2018) 43%

  • Nose – From the 1st whiff there was zero doubt this was a robust sherry matured whisky! Plummy, rummy raisins, dates, some leather… Frankly, it was soooooooo delicious!
  • Palate – Spicy, more of that leather, lots of dark fruits, some dark bitter chocolate, all the elements of a black forest cake – a quality one that isn’t overly sweet
  • Finish – Mocha

What a treat! It was complex, well-rounded, and utterly astounding how much flavour and aromas are possible with a mere 43% ABV. Everything was in perfect balance – the kind of whisky you want to curl up and enjoy over a long evening.

With the reveal, our whisky contributor shared how this expression was likely one of the last Glendronach 12-year expressions from the period steered by Billy Walker before his move to GlenAllachie.

We then moved on to our last whisky of the evening. Our whisky contributor kept quiet about the details until the reveal… just that it was something “special” he had picked up.

Glen Scotia 10 year (2013-2023) 1st fill Ruby Port Finish 46% (Whisky.de Clubflasche) ~Eur 60

  • Nose – What is that? Peat? It had a nice toasty element, fresh oats, salted nuts, a maritime breeze, mushrooms with an earthy forest dimension, and then something faintly floral
  • Palate – Rounded and well balanced, more of those nuts – almonds? Vanilla and sweet spices, warming like a fuzzy blanket
  • Finish – Long with a hint of chocolate chased by berries

Overall we pronounced it a great “rough weather” whisky. The kind of dram for when it is cold and stormy outside – and all you want to do is remain cozy inside. Or something bracing and warming after a rainy hike in a forest – yes that IS a thing!

The surprise was that it was a peaty whisky. Why? Our whisky contributor tends to prefer unpeated sherry drams. However, he shared that it came as a special “club” bottle for joining Whisky.de. As the peat was subtle and not medicinal, he found that it had started to grow on him.

What more do we know about the whisky? The casks include 1st fill ex-bourbon hogshead, finish in 1st fill Ruby Port hogshead, refill bourbon cask. Interesting.

And that concluded our evening of surprises! For most, the Green Spot and last two stood out.

Curious to learn more about the other drams sampled? Check out the other whiskies from our “Surprise Me” evening:

If you are curious to join one of our Nurnberg Whisky Explorer events – just find us on Meetup!

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