The Whisky Barrel's Burns Malt Exclusive bottlings

The whisky fairy ringed my door a few days ago with a set of exclusive bottles for The Whisky Barrel. A nice set of single cask, cask strength whiskies from Springbank, Tobermory, Linkwood and a stunning Littlemill.

I have reviewed on the past several exclusive whiskies from The Whisky Barrel and they bottle quite fantastic drams for their Burns Malt series, so my expectations for this set of samples is quite high… let’s see if they live to it!

Springbank 18 years old 1996 Burns Malt #491

First sample is a quite interesting Springbank. If you haven’t tasted yet anything from this distillery do yourself a favour and get they 12yo Cask strength or their 10 years old.

“All you would expect from a fantastic 18 years old whisky and a bit of peat. Perfect”

91

This dram has a cooper-like color.

Nose (90): more than average. honey, citrus, peat, cinnamon, spices, toffee, floral.

Palate (92): powerful, oily. honey, citrus, wood, spices, candies, cinnamon.

Finish (91): longer than average. honey, spices.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Springbank 18yo 1996 Burns Malt #491 with 91 points over 100.

Tobermory 20 years old 1994 Burns Malt #188063

I haven’t tasted many whiskies from Tobermory distillery and definitively I prefer their peated versions… I still remember a Ledaig that I tasted three years ago at The Whisky Exchange whisky Show…

“Maybe an ex-bourbon cask? Lots of vanilla and candies aromas. Really nice whisky”

90

This dram has a fino-like color.

Nose (89): more than average. honey, citrus, wood, floral, vanilla, spices.

Palate (90): powerful, oily. honey, citrus, spices, cinnamon, wood, smoke, pepper.

Finish (90): longer than average. honey, spices, citrus.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Tobermory 20yo 1994 Burns Malt #188063 with 90 points over 100.

Linkwood 24 years old 1990 Burns Malt #3540

Another distillery that is really under my radar… I have tasted a few of them and all are fantastic, so let’s see what we have here.

“Quite a dram! I love its subtle sherry character! Spices, tobacco, wood... really fantastic”

91

This dram has a fino-like color.

Nose (89): more than average. honey, citrus, vanilla, spices, pinneapple, peaches, wood, meat.

Palate (92): powerful, oily. honey, wood, spices, cinnamon, citrus, spices, tobacco.

Finish (92): longer than average. honey, spices, tobacco.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Linkwood 24yo 1990 Burns Malt #3540 with 91 points over 100.

Littlemill 26 years old 1988 Burns Malt Hunter Laing Old & Rare Platinum Range

And at last a 26 years old Littlemill, a Lowland closed and lost distillery that has a lovely profile. I have tasted several of them and they are always a great experience and definitively if Hunter Laing chose it for bottling for their Old & Rare Platinum range, it must be stunning.

“Awesome hit of candied fruits, flowers and spices. What a cracking dram Hunter Laing bottled for The Whisky Barrel”

91

This dram has a fino-like color.

Nose (91): more than average. honey, spices, citrus, flowers, candies, pears.

Palate (91): powerful, oily. honey, wood, spices, citrus, vanilla, liquorice, ginger, cinnamon.

Finish (91): longer than average. honey, spices, citrus.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Littlemill 26yo 1988 Burns Malt Old Rare Platinium Hunter Laing with 91 points over 100.

Miguel says

A fantastic set of additions to the Burns Malt with prices that makes you really consider them. Even the Littlemill 26 years is a bit over £250 and it is pretty reasonable for a single cask whisky from a lost distillery when you see 18 years old whiskies that goes over £100.

Thumbs up!

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