Arran 12 Year: Man with the Golden Glass

$81.19

We find it a little amusing to see one of the most humble men in whisky, posing James Bond-esque on the bottle and box. James is a gem though, and his fame is well deserved. Bottled to mark James' 12th Anniversary at the Arran distillery, "The Man with the Golden Glass" is a limited edition of 12,000 bottles, finished in Palo Cortado sherry casks, hand picked by James in Spain. The whisky is bottled at 51.3%.

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: classic early teens Arran; creamy, honeyed and fruity with juicy barley; toasty with brown sugar and Seville oranges; peppery with a touch of under-ripe tropical fruits. 

Palate: big, rich, nutty and very sherried with crisp spices, tart fruits and rough new leather; woah, where did this come from, the palate is far more exotic than the nose; gooseberries, sour melons and grapefruit juice; the spices pick up with more under-ripe tropical fruits; as the palate adjusts the creamy base of vanilla, honey and juicy barley is able to emerge.

Finish: medium in weight, but long in length; lovely, elegant and warming with fading spices, leather and fruit.

Comment: the nose and palate are slightly out of sync, but the palate is brilliant; it also has a maturity beyond its years; it is bright and unapologetic, but far from hot or rough; James MacTaggart is one of my Whisky Heroes; he is a gentleman, and has been a very steady hand over his dozen years at Arran; this is a fine tribute to his growing legend!

Producer Tasting Note

Nose: Bright and mouth-watering; Seville orange marmalade, peaches and mango freshness are followed by the warmth of root ginger and a waft of drying grass and gorse bushes.

Palate: Rich in chocolate orange, quince jelly and the zest of citrus fruits. The subtle tang of yeasty, buttered sourdough and a kick of rock salt come through as the Palo Cortado cask displays its influence.

Finish: Cider apples accentuate Arran house style before the warmth of ginger returns alongside a rich impression of these exceptional sherry casks.

Producer Description

"We are delighted to present a 12 year-old Single Malt bottled in honour of our Master Distiller James MacTaggart. This characterful limited edition of the Arran Single Malt has been specially created by Master Distiller James MacTaggart as a stunning example of a successful partnership between whisky and cask. A selection of Palo Cortado Sherry Casks handpicked in Spain by James add a delightful and warming dimension to another memorable and classic expression of Arran Single Malt. There are 12,000 bottles of this edition available worldwide."

Arran Cote Rotie Cask Finish

$81.99

Bottled without colouring or chill filtering, this new limited edition Arran was matured in Bourbon and Sherry before finishing in hand selected Côte-Rôtie wine casks from a respected producer in the Rhone Valley. 50%.

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: earthy, leathery and peppery with dried cranberries and cherries; a touch malty with honey and rose petals.

Palate: soft, malty and floral; creamy vanilla, a touch of honey, soft new leather and loads of berry fruits: blackberries, fresh raspberries and more dried cranberry and cherry; subtly earthy with peppery spices.

Finish: fresh, fruity and malty; a touch of drying leather and tobacco, but retaining loads of fruit; medium length and good balance.

Comment: I was a tad worried by the nose, wine finishes and matured whiskies are not often in my wheel house, with the wine notes too over the top; the palate surprised me, and laid waste to my concerns; this is a well integrated an well balanced whisky; very seldom am I disappointed by an Arran; well done!

Producer's Tasting Note

Nose: Spicy dark fruits, cherry and parma violets.

Palate: Chocolate, fig and plums are underwritten by smoked oak, balanced well by the light citrus nature of the Arran Malt.

Finish: The Côte-Rôtie expression is smooth and rich, leaving memory of candied fruit and smoked pepper. A beautifully complex dram which highlights an ideal paring between the Côte-Rôtie cask and the Arran Malt.

Producer's Description

"After initially maturing in traditional oak casks the Arran Single Malt in this bottling was specifically selected by our master distiller to be ‘finished’ in Côte-Rôtie Wine Casks sourced from a quality producer of this red wine from the Rhone Valley. This whisky is bottled without artificial colouring or chill filtration to ensure a natural full-bodied and flavoursome single malt."

Two Brewers Yukon Single Malt Release 14

$99.99

Release 14 from Two Brewers in the Yukon uses a blend of dark and chocolate malts that are typically used in Yukon Brewing's Midnight Sun Espresso Stout and Lead Dog Olde English Ale. The difference in style shows compared to other releases using lighter malts. This release is between six and eight years old and limited to 1460 bottles total. 46% ABV.

Evan's Tasting Note

Nose: Tia Maria coffee liqueur, dark chocolate, hazelnuts and Nutella, espresso beans, root beer, damp, mossy earth in the middle of a forest, cloves, fried plantains, trail mix that contains dark chocolate and raisins.

Palate: coffee liqueur again, chocolate covered espresso beans, candied ginger, root beer, cola candies, peanut Glossettes, pistachios and a touch of black licorice.

Finish: spicy and dry but still leaving a lingering sweetness.

Comments: Wow, the roasted malts used in this release definitely did their thing! Glad that they bottled this at 46% ABV versus the more standard 43% they typically use for Two Brewer's releases.

Producer's Blending Notes

"64% from one mash of roasted malts; effectively ~30% mash was Black & Chocolate (heavily roasted) malts. took several years before the nutty roast character developed in the barrel; all started 2yrs in new wood, finished 4 yrs aging in fresh bourbon; beautiful colour development. 17% 5 yr + 83% 6 yr."

Alexander Murray Caol Ila 8 Year

$44.99

Price Recently dropped from $95 to $60!

"Caol Ila is the most consistently good whisky in Scotland!" so said a famous whisky writer, and it is hard to argue with that. Caol Ila seems to be an almost impossible whisky to screw up. This one keeps that streak going, though I would have liked to have seen it at 46% or even higher! Matured in Refill ex-Bourbon Barrels.

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: a mix of coal dust, sauteed scallops, tarry peat, heather honey and orange Starbursts; coastal and maritime with a touch of cantaloupe and doughy vanilla.

Palate: creamy, malty and sweet with smooth elegant smoke; more orange starburst candies and lemon oil; the tarry peat is still there, as is the coal dust and the maritime tones; sauteed scallops are still there, wrapped in chewy bacon.

Finish: coating, creamy and maritime with more elegant smoke; medium-long and light.

Comment: this is a lovely Caol Ila, how much great still could it have been at 46% of cask strength? never the less, for $60, it is a solid buy!

Alexander Murray Tomintoul 15 Year

$71.99

Price Dropped by Half - Was $140 - Now $72

Bottled at 53.9%, this 15 year old Tomintoul is a marriage of a number of refill ex-Bourbon Hogsheads fill in 1999. 

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: honeyed and nutty, with a savoury salty flourish (seaweed wafers?), and even some wasabi; malty, toasted oak, white fruits and building spices: cracked and white pepper.

Palate: very honeyed, grassy and toasty, loads of spice and juicy malt; baked apple, under-ripe pear and the spices: cinnamon, clove and hot white pepper; as it settles down it becomes more floral and honeyed.

Finish: long, coating and warm with crisp but fading spices, juicy barley and toasted oak.

Comment: this is a very woody Tomintoul, Bourbon fans will find something to love here.

Alexander Murray Mortlach 19 Year

$84.99

Big Price Drop, from $146, down to $85... more than 40%!

$85 for a 19 year old single malt is almost unheard of these days. The whisky was bottled 40%, a little lower than I would normally care for, but the nose is very pretty. Matured in ex-Bourbon Hogsheads.

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: decadent, honeyed and fruity; tropical, oxidized, waxy and anitque-y; the nose has a maturity beyond its years; a touch of the classic meaty-shulphurry Mortlach house style, but the decadent notes--treacle sauce, creme brulee and whipped cream--and the tropical fruits--kiwi, pineapple and guava--are the stars of the show.

Palate: sweet, fruity and honeyed with an elegant, creamy and oily mouthfeel; more big decadent notes: creme brulee, whipped cream and dulce de leche; the tropical fruits are still there too, though trending towards to richer mango and papaya sort; all this with a backbone of soft floral vanilla. 

Finish: medium-short, but fresh, fruity and decadent. 

Comment: were it not for the short finish, and the low alcohol, this whisky would have been an absolute star; still, the nose is gorgeous, and the palate no slouch; this is a sessionable whisky, dangerously easy drinking, but with some structure and complexity; curiously, not much of the "meaty-sulphury" classic Mortlach notes; at $85 you cannot go wrong.

Loch Lomond The Open Courses Selection

$324.99

G&M Private Collection Longmorn 1966

$13,500.00

Part of the new Private Collection range, bottled in a beautiful decanter and box, this 1966 vintage Longmorn was bottled in 2019 at 46% and 53 years of age. Matured in cask No. 60, a First fill Sherry butt. Available by pre-order. (A 35% non-refundable deposit will be charged before ordering.)

Scotch Malt Whisky Society 135.2

$170.09

HESSIAN, WOOD AND INCENSE

This 16 year old Speysider was in an ex-bourbon hogshead for 13 years before being transferred to a 1st fill Sauternes hogshead and comes in at 52.3%.

Flavour profile:  Sweet, fruity & mellow.

Outturn:  274 bottles.

Panel's tasting note:  "This big whisky starts with dry, sweet and savoury aromas – old hessian sacks, dunnage warehouse, dried apricots, orange fruit pastilles, marmalade, tomato chutney and a faint whiff of iodine. The taste is savoury and spicy with tannic woody notes. Rich roast beef gravy, dark chocolate and brown sugar it was thick and mouth coating.

Adding water brought out chocolate raisins, brandy butter, stem ginger, nectarines, plum skins and incense. The big taste offered a barrage of orange barley sugars, chocolate, raisins, mint, woody spices and tannins. It developed into old Baco style Armagnac and Christmas cake with some smoke at the end. Previously in an ex-bourbon hogshead."