Highland Park 40 Year

$1,854.99

My tasting note from Highland Park Distillery on Monday September 8th 2008. 48.3% Nose: strawberries and whipped cream, fresh peach, crème brule and white chocolate; palate: dark fruits in fresh whipped cream with dark chocolate, honey and smoke show up later; finish: buttery and mouthwatering with honey, fresh fruit and rich cream. As my friend Jane would say, "it tastes like more!" Although Highland Park has not positioned this whisky to be a collectible, it is beautifully packaged and a real treasure.

Bruichladdich Octomore 6.3 Islay Barley

$175.49

This is the first Octomore release produced entirely from Islay barley. The barley was grown and harvested at Lorgba, a single field on Octomore farm in 2008 by farmer James Brown. The whisky is peated to 258ppm and has been bottled at 64%. The whisky was matured 5 years in ex-Bourbon barrels.

Distiller's Tasting Note

Nose: It opens with the call of the sea, the thundering west coast waves driving a gentle mist onto the moorland and tempting the wild plants to release their unique aromas. Notes of myrtle, meadowsweet, mint and heather flowers drift across the nose. Wild thyme and red clover dance in perfect harmony with the strong uplifting peatiness of the Islay grown barley. It’s exhilarating, and seriously dramatic.

Palate: When the heat of the peat fires cool there is a spontaneous detonation of soft red grapes, cherries, Russian toffee, bitter chocolate, maple syrup and mellow oak. It is a taste like no other, a whisky cut loose, unhindered, unchanged. This is sorcery.

Finish: Long and strong, it warms the soul and lifts the heart. It evokes memories of those early years when the sweat of men instilled the spirit with a unique character. Join us as we look to the past, celebrating our Islay DNA while journeying into the future in a never-ending quest for the rainbow’s end.

Scotch Malt Whisky Society G3.6

$188.99

FASCINATING REMINDER OF A BYGONE ERA

This 33 year old single grain whisky came from a refill hogshead and is 53.2%

Flavour profile:  Old & dignified

Outturn:  197 bottles

Panel's tasting note:  "Everyone in the Panel relaxed and felt very comfortable with nosing this rare sample from the now closed Edinburgh distillery built in 1855. Very deep wood and new leather aromas are all very well integrated; smoked aromatic wood, polished wood but also freshly cut wood and sawdust. There is an underlying sweetness best described as breakfast waffles with vanilla ice cream. The taste surprises with a sweet smoke and a volcanic ashyness to start, then very smooth, floral and sweet; chocolate honeycomb, muscovado sugar and Black Jacks. With water the aroma becomes slightly chalky and soapy and the taste ashy, fruity (apples and watermelons) and a Starburst candy sweetness."

Drinking tip:  "Best enjoyed without adding water"

Scotch Malt Whisky Society 29.144

$177.29

YOU GOTTA LOVE THIS ONE

This 27 year old from Islay came from a refill hogshead and sits at 51.2%

Flavour profile:  Peated

Outturn:  275 bottles

Panel's tasting note:  "The smell made us all smile and for some there were memories of a warm sunny autumn afternoon day - peat smoke emerging from the pagoda and a fresh salty/briny breeze - standing on the pier at the distillery by ‘the beautiful hollow by the broad bay’. Freshly opened oysters, crispy seaweed and tempura prawns with a sweet chili sauce complete the kaleidoscope of aromas. Very restrained on the palate; salty and sweet popcorn, beach barbecue with langoustines and scallops as well as crispy aromatic duck. Adding water it becomes like a comfort blanket or a long soak in the bath. Sweeter and juicy to taste like a tropical fruit salad and in the finish clean peat smoke."

Drinking tip:  "If in need of a comfort blanket"

Scotch Malt Whisky Society 35.114

$170.09

A SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN

This 19 year old Speysider is 58.9% and is from a 1st fill toasted oak hogshead

Flavour profile:  Spicy & sweet

Outturn:  241 bottles

Panel's tasting note:  "Mild nosefeel and quite closed to start, then presents ‘a box of After Eight mints’ with a shake of white pepper. Soon there is a scent of Rye whiskey - coconut oil and linseed oil: oak lactones (for those who know!). The taste at full strength mirrors this: smooth, oaky, sweet and spicy in the finish – “bourbonesque’. It drinks well straight. Water advances the coconut theme – macaroons, toasted coconut, even Bounty Bar, but still with linseed oil and peppery wood spices. Soft and sweet and easy to drink; toasted marshmallows, warming syrup sponge. Much influenced by the American oak cask, but elegant: a southern gentleman in a white suit – and the initial mintiness even recalls mint juleps at the Kentucky Derby!"

Drinking tip:  "At sunrise, in paradise"

Scotch Malt Whisky Society 121.74

$139.49

A BOX OF CHOCOLATES

A 14 year old Islander at 55.7% from a refill hogshead

Flavour profile:  Juicy, oak & vanilla

Outturn:  315 bottles

Panel's tasting note:  "Sweet caramel on the nose – Tunnock’s Caramel Wafers to be exact – then Newberry Fruits (sugar-covered fruit jellies with runny centres), then a host of other fruity scents – mango, light orange, raspberry, apricot. The first taste matches some of this – ‘mango cream fondant chocolate’; ‘Thornton’s Summer Fruit Chocolates’ – but there is also a tropical spiciness like mango chutney with a dash of chili. With water the nose folds into emulsion paint for a moment before resuming the fruity/chocolate theme – Maltesers, Bakewell tart, croissant with strawberry jam, white chocolate. The taste? Sweet and fruity (Gallia melon), with light spice and peppermint Aero in the finish."

Drinking tip:  "After school"

Scotch Malt Whisky Society 123.10

$107.99

SWEET TREATS ON DECK

This 9 year old Southern Highlander is from a 1st fill barrel at 57.6%

Flavour profile:  Sweet, fruity & mellow

Outturn:  238 bottles

Panel's tasting note:  "The panel were whisked into a flurry of fresh linen on board a freshly varnished yacht. They found sliced pear with angelica, vanilla ice cream and wafers. The taste delivered flavours of continental bakeries heavy with butter icing, French fancies, amaretto biscotti, iced gems, butterscotch and honey. Water released elderflower cordial, lemon and lime jelly sweets while reclining on warm, newly polished decking with elements of burlap rope. It had a fizzy quality that reminded the panel of champagne tea with bread and butter pudding, chocolate truffles. Kick back and relax!"

Drinking tip:  "A good holiday dram"

Glenfarclas 1953 Cask

$1,940.39

Tasting note by George S. Grant (Brand Ambassador): Light oaky flavours emerge on this whisky, which has beautiful sherry flavours shining through it. Tastes nothing like you would imagine for such an old whisky. Allow the whisky some time to wake up in your glass and, after a while, some nice earthy tones develop, reminding you where it has been for more than half a century. While the flavour is surprising for such an old whisky, the finish is just what you would expect from a great Glenfarclas. Many different flavours present in the glass and in your mouth – all melding together perfectly.

Glenfarclas 1980 Cask 1942

$519.29

Cask 1942. A light golden sheen. The nose is fruity with some strong citrus scents emanating from the centre of the glass. After a while, a slight leathery aroma emerges. It is a very sweet whisky. The texture is almost like a good butter shortbread – and it really does dissolve in your mouth. It has an ample finish which produces a delightful coating on your tongue and throat. Bottled 2007