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Look mum! Look! I have discovered how to buy Glenfiddich online! Now damn serious, if you plan to collect whisky, do your homework and find for the best prices at A Wardrobe of Whisky… you would have saved lots of money or you would be collecting LEGO… much like me.
This chap is collecting Glenfiddich whiskies and the photo has 12 bottles of which 11 are clearly readable. I personally think it is a damn pity and a waste of time… don’t collect Glenfiddich… it is such a nice whisky that it is a pity that you don’t drink it.
Another post for the Fucking thief. Stealing other persons’ whisky so you can know about it. Is this your photo? Write me to fthief@awardrobeofwhisky.com and I will pay you… homage… and share with A Wardrobe of Whisky’s readers your experience on the tasting. Slainte!
The last of the whiskies that I tasted at The Whisky Show in the Signatory stand. This Clynelish is another really good whisky… but I really get sad when I think of Brora.
“An awesome Clynelish aged in a sherry cask to perfection. Highly recommended”
92
A single cask bottling of 1995 vintage Clynelish, chosen by The Whisky Exchange and bottled by Signatory after 17 years' maturation in a refill sherry butt.
This dram has a amber-like color.
Nose (92): more than average.
nuts, powder, honey, citrus, spices, smoke, wood.
Finish (92): longer than average.
spices, wood, honey.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Clynelish 1995/ 17 Year Old/ Sherry #12794/Signatory for TWE Highland Whisky with 92 points over 100.
Miguel says…
Nice way of blending sherry and smoke. A delicious very recommendable whisky if you ask me.
I was drinking fantastic whiskies bottled by Signatory for The Whisky Exchange with Tim Forbes on the Whisky Show when I saw on the side of the eye a glimpse of a strange Laphroaig bottle that I have never seen before…
Come on! You all know I love peat, what would you have done? I dropped my Caol Ila 29yo in the the bucked and moved to have a try of that under-the-table Laphroaig.
“It is a complex Laphroaig much in the league of Triplewood”
89
Translated as Big Ocean, this unique expression is a celebration of the art of Laphroaig, with only the best batches hand selected by Laphroaig's distillery manager for their exceptional flavour. All have been matured in first-fill-only ex-American white oak bourbon barrels in their warehouse right next to the Atlantic. This whisky is then re-casked and left to sleep in the European oak until bottled.
This dram has a amber-like color.
Nose (89): more than average.
peat, wood, spices, honey, cloves, citrus.
As far as I know the Laphroaig Triplewood was a success and any step taken in that direction has been a good thing for the distillery… so I think it was natural for them to keep pushing. I personally prefer their younger simpler expressions like Quarter Cask or the 10yo Cask strength releases ( now NAS ).
Ok, more Glendronach today… a 15 years old Tawny Port, a type of Portuguese Port wine.
This whisky is aged in bourbon barrels and then finished in Port Pipes, a huge kind of cask.
“It is a nice whisky with notes of fruits, spices and chocolate... but the Virgin Oak finish was so nice”
88
70cl / 46% / Distillery Bottling - Introduced to the Glendronach range in 2011 the 15 year old Tawny Port finish continued the distillery's new owner's plans of taking the bourbon matured whisky from the old owners and bringing it more into line with their idea of the traditional taste of Glendronach. This one has spent the last few years of its time in cask in Tawny Port casks, picking up lovely red fruit flavours.
This dram has a cooper-like color.
Nose (89): more than average.
honey, fruits, citrus, vanilla, apples, cinnamon, cocoa.
Finish (88): longer than average.
honey, citrus, cocoa.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Glendronach 15 Year Old Tawny Port Finish Speyside Whisky with 88 points over 100.
Miguel says…
Umm… still… I prefer the Revival or the Virgin Oak finish. Not my favorite… but I don’t really enjoy this kind of “experiments”. Whisky is for ageing in Oloroso sherry oaks ano nothing else :)
I had already tasted a Glen Mhor before but being a rare whisky which distillery was closed on 1983 and not being as famous as Port Ellen it is a rare occasion to find a bottle of it.
“Deliciously floral single malt whisky from this lost distillery. A tragic loss with hints of candies and spices. *sniff* *sniff*”
90
A 1982 vintage Glen Mhor bottled by independent bottlers Signatory at the end of 2012. This was distilled a year before the distillery closed, one of the many casualties of the cull of 1983 and bottlings are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain.
This dram has a gold-like color.
Nose (90): more than average.
floral, spices, candies, wood, citrus.
Finish (90): longer than average.
honey, floral, spices.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Glen Mhor 1982 / 30 Year Old / Cask #1606 / Signatory Speyside Whisky with 90 points over 100.
A real privilege to taste this dram… and also a great whisky.
And to finish my review of finished Glendronach whiskies, today I review the 15 years old Moscatel finish dram. Moscatel is a kind of Spanish wine doing with grapes from the Moscatel variety. They are very sweet and most of them are half-grape, half raisin.
So let’s review this Glendronach 15yo Moscatel Finish.
“That's a pretty interesting whisky. Not as great as the 15yo Revival but quite quite drinkable. From a man that doesn't enjoy sweet wines finishes”
89
70cl / 46% / Distillery Bottling - This 15yo Glendronach was originally matured in European oak before a finishing period in Moscatel, the (normally) Iberian fortified sweet wine, which has added an extra layer of tropical fruit and marzipan aromas and flavours.
This dram has a gold-like color.
Nose (89): more than average.
honey, citrus, vanilla, raisins, wood, toffee.
Today Master of Malt has released a new member of their Secret Bottlings series, a stunning 60 years old single malt whisky for… umm… let’s see… Brora 40yo is £7,000, a Macallan Lalique goes for around £30,000… so this 60 years old Speysider will be sold for…
What?! £1,000?! I don’t have the money but I have to agree that it is an interesting proposal. One of my favorites is Glenfarclas 40 years old and it goes for barely £240… so a 60 years old whisky for £999 is around the ok price. But why speak about money when I have a dram of this stunning stuff waiting to be tasted?
So without any delays… here it is…
Master of Malt Speyside 60 years old
“Delightful experience... not everyday one has the honour of drinking liquid Scotland history. I think this whisky is even better than the mythical Glenfarclas 58yo released a few years ago for a fraction of the price”
93
Part of Master of Malt award-winning Secret Bottlings series, this 60 years old whisky has raised the bar yet again with this single malt Scotch whisky from a famous Speyside distillery.
It is Master of Malt's oldest bottling to date and one of the oldest whisky releases in history.
This dram has a cooper-like color.
Nose (94): more than average.
honey, nuts, cinnamon, spices, vanilla, dried flowers, citrus, wood, sandalwood, cloves.
Lovely layer after layer of aromas. Not even woody for a 60 years old in a cask as I was expecting... This whisky reminds me of... nevermind.
Finish (93): longer than average.
honey, candies, spices, pepper, wood.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Master of Malt 60 years old Speyside Single Malt Whisky with 93 points over 100.
Miguel says…
I have tasted old whiskies that where incredible but that need time to approach and enjoy them fully… this whisky on the other hand assault you with pleasure from the very first moment. Not too sweet, not too woody, not too spicy.
It is a crazy guess but I think this whisky could be a Glenfarclas… because it reminds me powerfully of their Glenfarclas 58yo and because it is one of the few distilleries I can think of that can still have such old and good whisky.
Another Signatory dram that I tasted at The Whisky Show… and another one that just two things in common with the Laphroaig: It is expensive and it is really good.
“Oh my! Oh my! This Bunnahabhain is matured to perfection and it could make you think you are drinking something ten years older. Get one now”
92
A 1988 vintage Bunnahabhain from independent bottlers Signatory as part of their Cask Strength Collection. Aged in a refill sherry butt for 24 years, the angels left this one for us to enjoy, with the cask yielding 588 bottles.
This dram has a cooper-like color.
Nose (91): more than average.
nuts, sherry, wood, honey, powder, citrus, spices.
Finish (92): longer than average.
nuts, wood, citrus.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Bunnahabhain 1988 / 24 Year Old / Sherry #2800 / Signatory Islay Whisky with 92 points over 100.
I would have bought this one too but the Laphroaig really won my heart and I didn’t have so much money.
I love Amrut whiskies since I tasted for first time their single malt four years ago. I have managed to get most of the bottles they have released in Europe but I failed to get Kadhambam when it was first released here and I really refuse to pay the extra collectors “tax”… so when I saw it again I was quite happy.
During Whisky Show 2013 I managed to taste it and later I have tasted it blindly. So to be fair I show you both tasting notes ( which I think it is a quite interesting and humbling experience ).
The Show Tasting Note
So this is what I thought of Kadhambam when I knew what I was drinking.
“Quite complex Amrut but the complexity turns it into a delicious malt to sip and enjoy for hours”
90
This dram has a amber-like color.
Nose (91): more than average.
honey, fruits, spices, wood, plums, mango, nuts.
Finish (88): longer than average.
honey, wood, spices.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Amrut Kadhambam with 88 points over 100.
Miguel says…
Well, it is different scores but overall is different styles. I really enjoyed it at The Whisky Show but when mixed blindly with other sherried whiskies I didn’t enjoy this so much. Still, it is a very nice whisky, I would go and try it ( blindly! )
I got a bottle of this whisky for barely 25€ a few years ago, and still has a nice price. I was told that this bottle was Lagavulin aged 5 years old… and well… if you read the bottle it says nothing about it.
So let’s taste it
“I see why people says this one is a Lagavulin... so much like the 16yo. A real pity the 40% ABV bottling strength. Recommended anyway”
89
This dram has a white-like color.
Nose (90): more than average.
peat, sweet, honey, vanilla, wood, citrus, salt.
It is much like the Lagavulin 16yo but with more peat
Palate (88): light, smooth.
peat, honey, earth, citrus, vanilla.
Watered down experience... a pity because it could have been awesome.
Finish (89): longer than average.
peat, citrus, vanilla.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Vintage Islay 5 Year Old Malt (Signatory) with 89 points over 100.
Miguel says…
Definitively I think this is Lagavulin. It tastes much like the 16yo but less complex and more peated. It is a real pity that Signatory watered it down to 40% ABV because this whisky at 46% or cask strength would have been cracking.
Share your thoughts! 
Buy on The Whisky Exchange for £65.45
Buy on Master of Malt for £80.56
