thewhiskynovice

12/12/2024

Living Souls is a new Independent bottler. Their first release consists of 4 different bottles, including a 40 year old blend!

15 year old Blend
The 15 year old comes from a solera system that is constantly being topped up with fresh whisky. It's a lively, fruity style sherry. This is more of your berries and red grapes than your leathery raisin-y sherry. 'Boozy cranberry sauce'

40 year old Blend
Bottling a 40 year old as one of your first releases is some feat! On the nose, there are baked apples, pineapple juice, and the earthiness you get from picking up a fresh sack of potatoes. The palate shifts to overripe fruit, dusty sherry, and old wood. It has the feel of an older dram, with the flavours intertwined well.

Ledaig 18 year old
Trademark Ledaig nose. Lawn mower engines, aniseed and smouldering kindling wood. Taste wise, it's not as mechanical as a lot of Ledaig, but instead, there's an almost ashy-ness. Like dropping food on the hot coals whilst barbecuing. It's almost Caol Ila-esque with its peat, salt, and lemon combo.

Kildalton 19 year old Blended Malt
That cliché 'Bonfire on a beach' dram. Coastal air and damp wood smoke with a hint of 'using your teeth to rip open a med kit'. They've not disclosed the main component of this blend, but I can't imagine it's too 'Ard to guess.

One thing I quite enjoyed was how delicate these drams were whilst still carrying flavour. The ABVs range from 41% to 46%, so for me, they're perfect 'work night drams'.

I don't often talk about whisky prices as I find it to be very subjective. What one person finds expensive might be someone else's bargain. That being said, I don't think you'd find any other 40 year old whiskies for anywhere near the price they're asking for.

//Gifted

07/12/2024

Kendal Day two!
Thanks to everyone who popped by yesterday!
If you're here today, make sure you come on over, say hi, and try some , and !

05/12/2024

Tried this 25 year old whilst at the last month.
It's aged in cream sherry, which is rare to see, and had a ridiculously good mouthfeel!

04/12/2024

What a cracker!
have kindly sent me this Christmas cracker full of treats!
I've not had the 21 year old before, so I'm really excited to get that open!

Thank you for the festive treats!
//Gifted

03/12/2024

The guys over at .brands distillers kindly sent me a bottle of their Highland Nectar to review a few weeks back. What I didn't realise was that this would end up saving me from a pretty nasty cold! (There might be some exaggeration on the cold bit)

is a Scotch Whisky Liqueur. It's made by marrying Scotch whisky with botanicals, including ginger, cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, vanilla, and bitter orange and bottled at 35%.

One recommendation I was given was to add Highland Nectar to some peach tea, with a cinnamon stick and dried orange wheel. I ended up substituting the dried orange for a splash of orange bitters, and it became the ultimate substitution for the classic hot toddy!

Whilst I'm happy enjoying this neat, as it is a lovely sweet and aromatic sipper, I can definitely see myself reaching for this next time I'm unwell!

//Gifted

02/12/2024

Super special Claxtons drams!
recently released part two of their Dalwinston series. They were kind enough to send me a sample pack, but at the time, I wasn't well, and there was no way I was drinking these drams without a full sense of taste! Time to revisit!

Clynelish 1993 30 Year Old
On the nose, there's that old fruity bourbon barrel smell. Slightly tropical, with a rich malt and breadines. Palate wise, the trademark waxiness is there with limoncello, aniseed, and the woodiness you get from chewing on a pencil

Springbank 1993 30 year old
Aromas of earthy dunnage and pistachios. There's a real mineralic quality with a chalky texture. The official notes mention bubble gum, and I can see where they're going with that one!

Bowmore 1992 30 Year Old
Notes of BBQ pork belly, sea breeze, and herbal tablets on the nose. Then there's that floralness you associate with 90's Bowmore, screwball ice creams, and a delicate but lasting peat smoke.

Highland Park 1988 35 Year Old
Stewed fruits in abundance! It's delicate with fruity bursts through a gentle smoke and a very soft wood spice. However, there's a slight metallic note.

Bunnahabhain 1990 33 Year Old
Apple and cinnamon pastries on the nose are met with sherried dry fruits and a cigar smoke on the palate. A real mouth coating dram.

The obvious stand out for me was the Clynelish, with the Bowmore in close second (bonus points for it being a birth year dram).
It was a real privilege to try these, so many thanks go out to Claxtons!

//Gifted

29/11/2024

Black Friday!
And that means it's time for the annual limited edition from .

This year's bottling is a 16 year old from an undisclosed distillery on the island of Jura. *Pauses very VERY briefly for people to work it out...

There is only 800 bottles of the 2024 edition available, which has been matured in American oak oloroso hogsheads. The Whisky Exchange website describes it as "a complex, smoky dram that combines coastal minerality with old-fashioned sherry character"

My thoughts.
Nose: Dusty leather furniture, iodine scrub, lime cordial and a sea air salinity
Palate: Sharp apples and tangy citrus are clouded by a smoke blanket that engulfs the tongue. The medicinal smoke dissipates and leaves a salty but dry finish.

Choosing a whisky from that particular unknown distillery on the island of Jura was always going to be a very brave move. For some reason, this distillery has been the butt of many whisky peoples jokes for years, but a good whisky from *here* can be great.

If I was given this blind I genuinely would have assumed it was from an Islay distillery. It's a tasty dram, and I hope people aren't put off by the name!

Have you guessed where it's from yet? 😅

//Gifted

28/11/2024

28/11/2024

Holladay Rickhouse Proof!
A couple of weeks ago I covered the Bottled-In-Bond. Let's take a loot at one of their other bottlings, the Rickhouse Proof!

The Rickhouse Proof uses the same mashbill as the BIB, 73% corn, 15% wheat, and 12% barley (remember, no rye!). It's then aged for 6 years and bottled at cask strength, this particular batch being at 59.9%.

Nose: Red apples, caramel, creme brulee, sweet oak, and cinnamon spice.
Palate: Corn bread, pears, peppercorn sauce, caramel chocolates, and a strong but sweet oakiness.

The main difference I noticed between the BIB and the Rickhouse Proof was that there's a healthy spice tingle to this one, despite there being no rye! The BIB provides a much softer approach to the Holladay range, but if you like your high strength whiskies, the Rickhouse Proof is the one!

//Gifted

26/11/2024

It's Sherry Season!
The guys at have recently released their 5th edition of their popular Filey Bay Sherry Cask Reserve. This latest bottling is a mixture of two different sherried mature whiskies, pedro ximenez and moscatel.

The final release of 2024 is limited to 2000 bottles and is bottled at 46%.

Nose: Orange Jelly (think the centre of a Jaffa cake), baked pears, chocolate coated nuts, autumn leaves, and grilled peaches.

Palate: Blackcurrant (purple) chewits, grapefruit, cacao nibs, and treacle ginger cake with a dry, savoury finish

I like the fact this is different from the usual Oloroso/Px combo you'd usually expect from something that's been named as just 'sherry'. This is much lighter and fruitier than a 'sherrybomb' whilst still maintaining some of those more stereotypical notes you'd associate with PX.

//Gifted

25/11/2024

Another post about White Peak!
This time, it's an independent bottling from .
This is a single cask finished in Madeira and is part of a trio of new releases from N&P, which also includes a port matured Cotswolds and an Ardnamurchan peated sherry (which is due out soon!)

This particular bottle featured at their recent tasting with Dave Broom. pointed out that there was no disconnect between the spirit and the finishing cask, which often happens in wine finishes, and I think he's got that bang on!

23/11/2024

"It's Caduro dialled up to 11"
After cleaning up at rhe last night, i thought it was a great time to cover a couple of new releases from

The first of these new releases is a cask strength version of their flagship whisky. Instead of the usual 46.8%, this has been bottled at 58% whilst still using the same STR/ex-bourbon recipe as the standard release

Nose:Apples, oranges, whisky fudge, Yorkshire pudding batter, cherry halls, and toasted brown bread.
Palate: Lemon juice, peaches in syrup, raspberry compote, caramel, wood spice, and a subtle whisp of peat smoke.

This is the standard Caduro dialled up to 11. Everything you'd find in the flagship, but juicier, more intense.

The second new release is their annual Rum Cask Finish, which uses their own rum casks for the final stage of maturation. This means they are able to quickly refill their spirit into these casks once the rum has been discorged and take full advantage of all those flavours before the cask starts to dry out.

Nose: Tropical fruit. Strawberry and mango smoothies, royal icing, toasted marshmallows, and vanilla ice cream wafers
Palate: Pink lemonade, pineapple cubes, white grapes, burnt sugar biscuits, and aniseed balls.

There's a great mix of sweet and savoury notes, with this tongue tingling aniseed/fennel finish.

Two more excellent releases from White Peak Distillery. They really are leading the way in the English whisky scene.

//Gifted

22/11/2024

A Good Old-Fashioned Christmas Whisky.
It's time for the annual Christmas bottling! Last year's did exactly what it said on the bottle, so here's hoping this year's is the same!

The 2024 release is a 15 year old Sherry matured whisky from an undisclosed Speyside distillery. Don't bother pestering the Whisky Exchange guys to find out which distillery (I've already done that for you) because they really do not know!

Nose: Dates, raisins, milk chocolate, orange peel, forest floors, nutmeg, and cinnamon candles.
Palate: Orange, chocolate sponge cake, roasted nuts, Christmas cake, and soft gingery lebkuchen biscuits.

We often refer to sherried whiskys as 'christmas cake in a glass', but this seems more than that. So many smells associated with Christmas have been encapsulated into one dram. A Good Old-Fashioned Christmas whisky? Tick.

Perhaps I've been influenced by the power of suggestion? Or perhaps whoever picked these casks just really nailed the brief!

//Gifted

21/11/2024

Yellowstone American Single Malt
Limestone Branch Distillery have recently made their Yellowstone single malt available in the UK. Their Yellowstone Select Kentucky straight bourbon has been on UK shelves for a while now, so it's nice to see the single malt join it.

The Yellowstone American Single Malt is made with 100% malted barley, matured in 'new charred' American oak barrels, and bottled at 108 proof (54%).

Nose: Super malty and big cereal notes. Malteasers, peach, pine needles, Belvita breakfast biscuits, and a slight herbal tea note.
Palate: Orchard fruits, honey sweets, more herbal tea, spearmint gum, burnt toast, and rye spice.

I'd be super interested to know more about the production of this whisky. There's a lot of notes that don't immediately point towards single malt, so I'm wondering if some of their bourbon or rye whiskies have had an effect along the way!

//Gifted

20/11/2024

A 50 year old to celebrate 50 years!
Last night I was very lucky to attend a very special celebratory to mark Angus Dundee's Master Distiller, Robert Fleming's 50th year in the whisky industry.

To mark the evening we were treated to a fantastic meal at

19/11/2024

Scotch!
The latest whisky book to hit the shelves is Scotch: The Balmoral Guide to Scottish Whisky written by the amazing and

I'm a whisky guy, and I'm not too familiar with book etiquette, so I haven't included any photos of inside the book, but I will tell you a little about what is inside!

The book starts off with an introduction to the Balmoral Hotel and their well stocked Scotch bar. There's then an introduction into whisky, the types of flavours you can find, and some popular serves.

Then comes my favourite bit. Cameron and Moa's top 100 whiskies. A helpful guide to their favourite whiskies, including distillery details, tasting notes, and a handy price guide. (Great to see some Tomatin in there too!)

//Gifted

18/11/2024

The tenth iteration of the Teapot Dram!
's Teapot Dram has been a go-to for sherry bomb lovers for years, and it's just reached batch 10!

The Teapot Dram tells an old tale about workers receiving drams of whisky throughout their shift. Less seasoned members of the Glengoyne staff used to discreetly pour their untouched drams into a copper teapot, which sat on the canteen windowsill for their older colleagues to enjoy. I'm up for starting a petition to bring back this tradition. Who's with me?

As well as sending me the whisky, Glengoyne was kind enough to send me a delicious cupcake from Akara bakery, which shared many of the flavours contained within the Teapot Dram.

I'm still recovering from this cold, so in-depth tasting notes will have to wait. What I can say is this is packed full of juicy sherried goodness. Tonnes of dried fruits, sweet toffees, and nutty notes. I'm really looking forward to revisiting this with a fully working palate!

//Gifted

16/11/2024

The World Atlas of Whisky.
It was a great evening in the Nickolls & Perks cellars celebrating the launch of Dave Broom's latest edition of The World Atlas of Whisky.

Whiskies from Japan, New Zealand, England, Sweden, Australia, Scotland, and America were shared to demonstrate the diversity in the great spirit we all love.

A fun evening of whisky stories and general 'geekary'!