Another of Waterford’s early single farm origin releases, this one a bit older than the ones I’ve had already and the third farm source.
Waterford Ballymorgan 1.2, Ireland Single Malt, 50% ABV
Minutia: Distilled on June 1-4, 2016 from Overture barley from Ballymorgan farm harvested September 13, 2015 - fermented with Mauri distiller’s yeast for 136 hours and matured in 1st fill and virgin American oak, French oak, and Vin Doux Naturel casks for 4 years, 1 month, and 2 days before bottling on September 28, 2020 producing 30,000 bottles. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.
Nose: Buttery cookie, banana, malt. Wants to be tropical fruit.
Taste: Banana, doughy/creamy, same tropical fruit hint, cinnamon, green apple.
Finish: Malty chocolate, thick coat. Medium.
From the four I’ve had, Waterford clearly has a distillery style. I’m enjoying them a bit more as they get a bit older, so I’m still looking forward to some properly aged expressions. The various farms, and to an extent editions, do indeed vary subtly and that’s kind of neat to taste. Again, looking forward to more of them, with a handful of samples of these early releases coming in the next couple weeks.
After absolutely loving the 15, I really wanted to get my hands on the 18 and 21 (and anything to come out of that distillery and Glengyle, really) but I figured it wouldn’t happen unless by chance a bar had them for a reasonable price with prices being what they are in the US. But, back when whiskysite.nl was still shipping to the US I happened to be placing an order while they had samples of the 18 and 21 in stock (21 review coming soon, or in a few months if I’m being honest) and I took advantage. So, how does this stack up against their other expressions.
Springbank 18, Campbeltown Single Malt, 46% ABV
Minutia: Matured for 18 years in 88% ex-bourbon casks and 12% ex-Port casks and bottled in 2020. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.
Taste: Wood/smoke, but green. Light fruit. Effervescent feeling on the sides of the tongue.
Finish: Bright Springbank fruity smoke. Long.
Wow, what a light color for this age and port casks. This leaves an absolutely pleasant taste in your mouth. Overall I actually liked it a bit less than the 15, so definitely it’s not worth the premium over that, but it’s still a super offering from the folks at Springbank.
Score: 89
Musical Evocation: Unleash the Archers – “Dawn of Ages”
I’ve finally caught up with posting everything I’ve reviewed so I’m taking this as an opportunity to get to a handful of samples which have either been waiting a while and/or I’m eager to try as well as take a bit of a break from peat (he’s says, reviewing an Octomore) as I work my way to review 225 for which I’ve planned an Ardmore sister cask side by side. Ok, you got me, the peat break starts after a couple of peated samples I’ve been itching to get to. Starting with an Octomore from a series I’ve had two of (10.3 and 10.4) and thoroughly enjoyed.
Octomore 10.2, Islay Single Malt, 56.9% ABV
Minutia: Distilled in 2010 from Scottich grown Opticon and Oxbridge barley peat to 96.9ppm, matured on Islay for four years in 1st fill ex-American whiskey casks then for four years in Sauternes wine casks before bottling in 2019. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.
Nose: Lawn clippings, apricot, you can tease out some smoke that stays there once you do. There’s thank funk that typically screams Octomore, but here it’s more of a loud whisper.
Taste: Heat, diminishes into smoke, which lets meat creep in.
Finish: Big musty, fruity smoke. Leaves the fruit behind early and a medicinal note kicks in. More the cough syrup kind than iodine/bandages. Longish.
Time in the glass serves this well. This is nice but not did not compel me to acquire a bottle, something the 10.3 and 10.4 both did.
One of the things I was looking forward to with Waterford is comparing the farms against one another and against future harvests/bottlings. I’m not bothering with a side by side on this one since it was really just a second issue of 1.1 due to unanticipated demand. But, here are my notes about this on its own.
Waterford Bannow Island 1.2, Ireland Single Malt, 50% ABV
Minutia: Distilled on June 23, 2016 from Overture barley from Bannow Island farm - sown on March 23, 2015 and harvested September 7, 2015 - fermented with Mauri distiller’s yeast for 136.2 hours and matured in 1st fill and virgin American oak, French oak, and Vin Doux Naturel casks for 3 years, 10 months, and 22 days before bottling on July 8, 2020 producing 9,000 bottles. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.
Nose: Doughy, malty, floral, hint of tropical fruit.
Taste: Banana/bread, malty, light tropical fruit (the lighter variety, not lightly present).
Finish: Malty chocolate, vegetal/grassy. Medium.
Much like the 1.1, this is pretty good but young. My notes are more or less the same (different words, but about the same flavors), as expected. I liked this one a bit more on the finish, the 1.1 didn’t have as much of an earthy quality to it. If Waterford was only ever going to be releasing 3-4 year old expressions, I’d be content with what I’ve tried already, but the outlook with some age on it is positive. I’ll be reviewing some other X.1 samples in the coming weeks, but really have my sights set on future, more aged Bannow Island expressions, and whatever standard releases Waterford might eventually put out.
A good friend I hadn’t seen a lot of at the time ended up with a handful of life accomplishments around the same time and I got the idea to spend a bit more and get him one gift for all of those collective occasions. He was a big fan of Lasanta and around the time I had the idea this was fortuitously enough available in the shop. I picked it up and finally got a chance to give it to him after not having seen him in over a year due to covid, so even the name fit the occasion. He was gracious enough to share a dram with me, so I took some notes.
Glenmorangie 14, 2005 Vintage, Scotch Malt Whisky Society 125.76, Highland Single Malt, 57.1% ABV
Minutia: Distilled on February 8, 2005 and matured in a 2nd fill bourbon barrel for 14 years and bottled in 2019 yielding 178 bottles. This is part of the Sweet, Fruity & Mellow flavor profile named “Like meeting an old friend”. Enjoyed neat in a tumbler, at a meeting with an old friend.
Nose: Buttery and malty. Putty. Light stone fruit.
Taste: Malty, peach, minor heat, cereal.
Finish: Bigger malt and cereal. Peach leaps out after. Long
As a peat fan, I found this thoroughly enjoyable. It’s unique among whiskies I’ve tried as I don’t recall ever getting such a distinct peach flavor (or even a faint one, at that). This was bursting with flavor, and the color is unbelievably light for the age and only a second fill barrel. I found myself thinking, “This is what an unpeated whisky should taste like.” Hell of a cask, this one.
Score: 88
Musical Evocation: Ted Nugent – “Good Friends and a Bottle of Wine”
I wanted to do something special for the 200th whisky I reviewed and these two were something I had really been looking forward to trying side by side since I got them. These are two Caol Ilas from the SMWS that were distilled on the same date and have the same age statement. SMWS tragically does not give the bottling date like some other IBs so I don’t know that they spent quite the same amount of time in their respective casks, but they will be within a year of each other. These sister casks are both the same type and the casks were so similar that the difference in bottle outturn is just 1. The names given suggest wildly different flavors (within a specific flavor profile) and it’s very exciting to see just how different two casks can be.
Caol Ila 11, 2007 Vintage, Scotch Malt Whisky Society 53.297, Islay Single Malt, 58% ABV
Minutia: Distilled on September 24, 2007 and matured for 11 years in refill ex-Bourbon hogshead, bottled at cask strength yielding 263 bottles. Part of their Peated flavor profile and named “Stampede of peat”. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn side by side with its sister cask 53.302.
Nose: Ashy smoke, a bit maritime, musty berry parfait. With water, sweeter.
Taste: Herbal, vegetal smoke, sweet wood and spice. With water, shift toward the woody side.
Finish: Hot, dry, very earthy smoke. Long. With water, less hot but less smoky and earthy.
My initial impression was that this was not a stampede of peat, and the SMWS must have hired the guy who named Peat Monster to name this one. But considering my notes, and how the smoke is present throughout but different, I can see that being considered a stampede of sorts. A pretty good dram, if a bit hot.
Score: 90
Musical Evocation: Powerwolf – “Incense & Iron”
Caol Ila 11 2007, Scotch Malt Whisky Society 53.302, Islay Single Malt, 59.9% ABV
Minutia: Distilled on September 24, 2007 and matured for 11 years in refill ex-Bourbon hogshead, bottled at cask strength yielding 262 bottles. Part of their Peated flavor profile and named “Holy sweet smoke!”. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn side by side with its sister cask 53.297.
Nose: Seaside barbecue of the catch of the day, smoky honey. With water, mostly medicinal.
Taste: Very smoky smoked seafood, hot and spicy. With water, creamy, much less heat.
Finish: Sweet for a flash (in a big way but ever so brief), then dry and woody. Long. With water, same but more tame.
This leans far more to smoke than sweet, but that hint of honey and whatever burst on the opening of the finish certainly hint at that. Water hurts the nose and is roughly neutral for the finish, but I really like the creamy quality it gives the taste. Bumped it up a couple points.
Score: 87
Musical Evocation: Galneryus – “Requiem”
Very happy I finally got to these bottles. They’re certainly not the same, but they are similar. The difference is greater than I’d expect from something like batch variation, and these came from the same distillation run and were aged in pretty much the same cask, so that’s neat to see. I have plans to do the same with some Ardmores for 225 and for 250 a big flight of 5 Bunnahabhains all from the same date (though different cask types for those) and I’m really looking forward to it.
I’ve already reviewed each of these independently, but have decided to revisit each of them to see how my perception may have changed, and to compare them in a side by side to see how much influence that finish had.
Talisker 10, Island (Skye) Single Malt, 45.8% ABV
Minutia: Enjoyed neat in a glencairn, side by side with the Distillers Edition.
I generally like things smokier than this, but there’s enough punch that it feels more substantial. However that smoke is not really the focus, here, and those who don’t love smoke may be able to appreciate this (particularly the older expressions which are more tame and have more fruit).
Score: 83
Talisker Distillers Edition, Island (Skye) Single Malt, 45.8% ABV
Minutia: Distilled in 2002, matured in ex-bourbon casks and finished in Amoroso casks, and bottled in 2013. Batch number TD-S: 5PB. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn, side by side with the standard 10 year.
Nose: About the same, but the honey cereal has a nutty quality to it, and the nose is overall much sweeter. Maybe a bit of mustiness.
Taste: Really just a spicier version of the 10 with a bit of nutty flavor, and a tiny hint of fruit.
Finish: Sweet, fruitlike smoke. Dry. Medium.
Quite similar to the standard, the finish here seems to add a bit of nuttiness to the dram, a small bit of sweetness, and it gets a bit spicier than the 10, or at least the spice is more present.
I’ve already reviewed each of these independently, but have decided to revisit each of them to see how my perception may have changed, and to compare them in a side by side to see how much influence that finish had.
Lagavulin 16, Islay Single Malt, 43% ABV
Minutia: Enjoyed neat in a glencairn, side by side with the Distillers Edition.
Nose: Smoke with a sweetness behind it. Vegetation, bit wet. Bit nutty, honey.
Taste: Honey and oak. Spices. Earthy.
Finish: Earthy smoke, dunnage, meaty. On the longer side.
Different than I remember it, in some ways better, others worse. Not by a lot, but I remember a smokier taste, here that is really coming in on the finish, and it feels more drastic since it didn’t announce itself earlier.
Score: 87
Lagavulin Distillers Edition, Islay Single Malt, 43% ABV
Minutia: Distilled in 2001, matured in ex-bourbon casks and finished in Pedro Ximénez casks, and bottled in 2017. Batch number lgv. 4/506. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn, side by side with the standard 16 year old.
Nose: Musty, stale fruit. Wet fire smoke. Molasses.
Taste: Similar oakiness, less of the spices, some dark/red fruit flavor.
Finish: Earthy smoke, woody fruit. About the same duration, maybe a bit shorter.
This dram has been a fickle one for me, sometimes it’s much like this, other times, a smoky, meaty powerhouse. It doesn’t surprise me that in a side by side with something smoky the smoke isn’t coming through as readily.
Score: 84
I’d say a true score for the Distillers Edition is 84-90. That meatiness is great when it shows up and depending whether that’s there it lands about 3 points above or below the 16. The way the Distillers Edition presented itself to me this time, it’s hard to consider these being two slightly different versions of the same expression. When it is meaty, it really drinks a lot like a special version of the 16.
I’ve already reviewed each of these independently, but have decided to revisit each of them to see how my perception may have changed, and to compare them in a side by side to see how much influence that finish had.
Caol Ila 12, Islay Single Malt, 43% ABV
Minutia: Enjoyed neat in a glencairn, side by side with the Distillers Edition.
Taste: Vegetal/herbal, wood (oak and green wood), smoked seafood.
Finish: Smoke ramps up up front, musty smoked seafood is where it settles. Medium.
A nice, smoky and maritime whisky. The flavor that comes in the finish is the star.
Score: 86
Caol Ila Distillers Edition, Islay Single Malt, 43% ABV
Minutia: Distilled in 2006, matured in ex-bourbon casks and finished in Moscatel casks, and bottled in 2018. Batch number C-si; 5-748. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn, side by side with the standard 12 year old.
Nose: Salty caramel (bit burnt/smoky). Sweeter, with a bit less ethanol burn.
Taste: Pepper, wood (tannic dryness/bitterness), bit sweet.
Finish: Musty seafood of the 12, pepper/spice.
Similar, particularly on the finish. This is a bit sweeter, generally, and the smokiness and salinity are a touch less prominent.
Score: 89
Similar noses but less earthy with a tinge more sweetness for the Distillers Edition. A subdued burn in the mouth, but the woodiness is oakier and not green at all. The smoked seafood of the taste of the 12 doesn’t come in until the Distillers Edition finish, but it’s the same quality. While I do like the smoky burst at the start of the finish on the 12 which settles into smoked seafood more than any aspect of the Distillers Edition, the sensation is similar enough when the smoke seafood arrives at the outset rather than being settled into that it isn’t all that different an experience. A step up for me, but a very small one, and one that could be reversed given the right mood/setting.
