top of page
Search

The Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar 2nd Edition #6-10

Writer's picture: S&PS&P

Simon here, for the second batch of 5 reviews of this advent calendar. I know this idea of doing one sample every week or two defeats the purpose, but it gives you an idea what to expect from Secret Spirits advents in general, and some of these scotches are available in bottles as well, so the reviews can be useful in their own right. Reminder that I'm doing all these blind and trying to guess what's going on.


#06: Malt Whisky Co 1999 Tullibardine Bourbon. 60.9% ABV. Aged in bourbon casks.


Nose: mmm vanilla, salted caramel, butterscotch goodness.


Palate: oof, this is way too hot. Can't drink at full strength. Cut it down a bit and I get a salted butter bomb. Lots of flavors and buttery mouthfeel. Butterscotch. Long finish.


Guess: Not peated, bourbon cask. I couldn't even drink this without water so it's gotta be up there on the ABV. Guessing 15 years.


Rating: 78. The fact I can't drink it without water makes it lose a few points, but with a few drops this is pretty tasty. Was pretty close on the guess. Never had Tullabardine before. Lots of new distilleries in this calendar.


#07: Samaroli 1997 Strathisla 18yo. 45% ABV. Aged in American Oak.


Nose: Sweet but mute. Not much going on.


Palate: So much candy. Tastes like fruit-to-go, jammy fruits, licorice, the whole candy factory. Very tasty and fun. Can't believe these flavors. Light and bright.


Guess: this has to be some kind of sweet wine finish. 12 years old. Speyside? I don't know never had anything like this.


Rating: 87. The Amrut Fusion which we'll be posting soon has similar tasting notes except the Amrut is more rich, whereas this one was more light and bright. Suprised to see 18 years on this. Must be very distillate driven, I don't see the oak giving this all these sweet candy flavors. Again, lots of these distilleries you don't see a whole lot of bottles from.


#08: Wemyss Malts Dark Treacle Fondant 2002 Craigellachie 12yo. 46% ABV. Aged in Butt.


Nose: Raisin, caramel.


Palate: Nice punch to it. Raisin and caramel still. Bitters/herbal. It's got a similar feel to Dalmore 18 which we've reviewed before. Rich. Old wood, like it was aged in old barrels.


Guess: This reminds me a lot of the Dalmores I've had so I'm going to take stab with that. It's got a little bit more oomph to it but it's not that hot. 50-55 ABV I'll guess. 18-20 years old. Weak sherry cask.


Rating: 85. Surprised this is so young. Definitely punches in with more complexity and richness than most 12 year olds I've had.


#09: A.D. Rattray 2007 Glen Moray 8yo. 64.8% ABV. Aged in Sherry Butt.


Nose: Nice PX nose.


Palate: Full flavors, cinnamon, PX, butterscotch, black liquorish. Lots of depth to it and strong flavors. Potent sherry cask used on this one. All the dried fruits and molasses. Tasty molasses finish.


Guess: 20 years old. 55%. Highland. PX cask.


Rating: 90. This was so good. How is this only 8 years old? And the proof on it too. Really impressed with this. I see this for 50 pounds on Masters of Malt. Doubt I'll ever come across this but if I do, you'll see it in my cabinet.


#10: Samroli 2006 Islay 9yo. 43% ABV. Aged in American Oak.


Nose: Sweet and peaty. Inviting.


Palate: Very salty, smoky sweet, savory. Low spice.


Guess: Young peated scotch, 10 years old or less. 45% ABV. This has a sweetness to it that reminds of the peated non-Islays I've had like Benriach, Balvenie, Longrow, etc, so I'm gonna gamble this is not an Islay.


Rating: 77. Bad gamble but oh well. These are my type of flavors but this lacked depth. Flavors were all vague. I got excited at first but this turns out to be a pretty plain young peated scotch, which will always rate well with me but I need a bit more going on to put an 80+ on it.


Cheers!

Simon from the S&P Crew


12 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL

Thanks for submitting!

bottom of page