I looked through my social media for last year and noticed that quite a few of the bottles I tried during 2023 had green labelling. The colour unintentionally caught my eye, probably due to our move to the green island of Mauritius. Whatever the reason, it was a great excuse to start 2024 on a green note with the GlenDronach 15 yo Revival single malt Scotch whisky.
Tag: Highland Whisky Page 1 of 12
Whisky of the Week review and tasting notes for whisky from the Highland Region in Scotland. Highland single malts are single malt Scotch whiskies produced in the Highland region of Scotland. This categorization includes the whiskies produced on the islands around the perimeter of Scotland (the Island single malts), except for Islay.
I was in the mood to try a whisky finished in red wine casks again, so my choice this week is the Tullibardine 228 Burgundy finish single malt Scotch whisky. It has been so long since I tried a red wine cask (Three Ships Shiraz Cask) and even longer since I had a Tullibardine.
Tullibardine distillery is a Highland distillery located in Blackford, Perth and Kinross. Some level of brewing and distilling has taken place on the site since the 1800s, but the distillery in its current format opened in 1949.
The distillery changed hands a few times, and then in 1995, the distillery was mothballed by then-owner Whyte & Mackay. In 2003, it was sold to Tullibardine Distillery Ltd, who resumed production and then, in 2011, it was sold to the French firm Picard Vins & Spiritueux. The French wine and spirit group also owns the Highland Queen and Muirhead brands.
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The Tullibardine range whisky was released in 2013. The Tullibardine 228 whisky was finished for 12 months in a 228 litre Burgundy barrique from Chateau de Chassagne Montrachet.
Red Burgundy wine is recognised for its raspberry, blackberry and cherry notes. Burgundy is not a finish seen often with whiskies. The only other whisky I could see with this finish is the Edradour Burgundy Finish.
The Tullibardine 228 Burgundy Finish single malt is a NAS release. Other releases from the Tullibardine distillery include a the Tullibardine 225 Sauterness Finish, the Tullibardine 500 Sherry Finish and Tullibardine 15 yo whisky.
Tullibardine 228 Burgundy Finish Whisky Review
REGION: Highlands
ABV: 43%
COLOUR: Ruby gold
NOSE: Malt and red fruits mixed with toasted oak and honey. A few raw alcohol notes. Not the most complex nose. Faint hints of cherries and vanilla.
PALATE: Red fruits of the forest, creamy malt, hints of toasted nuts with vanilla sugar. After the glass stood a bit, berry notes and apple came through, and some alcohol heat dissipated. Bits of oak with black pepper. Medium body and with a slight drying mouthfeel. Water brings more honey sweetness to the front and tempers the heat. A bit young with a few raw notes.
FINISH: Medium length with notes of red fruit, oak and sugar sweetness.
RATING: VERY GOOD
You can pick up the distinct red berry notes from the burgundy casks in this Tullibardine. A pleasant enough red wine finish, and I will not struggle to finish this bottle. However, I think if this spent a year or two more in the barrels, the rough edges would soften, making it spectacular.
I suspect that this is a dram that will work magically with some cheese, a theory I need to investigate. The Tullibardine 228 whisky is unavailable in SA at present. When it was available, it retailed for around R 550.
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Today I look at a blended malt from the Douglas Laing stable, the Timorous Beastie 18 year old whisky. The original Beastie was immortalized in Robert Burns’ famous Scots poem “To a Mouse” and was a timid, little field mouse.
When I tasted the standard Timorous Beastie, I realized that this little field mouse had the roar of a wee big beastie inside. A few months later, I was also fortunate to taste the Timorous Beastie 18 year old whisky, which showed the roar of the lion.
The Timorous Beastie blended malt Scotch release is part of the Remarkable Malt range and stands tall next to Big Peat, Scallywag, and Rock Oyster is Douglas Laing’s stable.
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Launched in 2017, the 18 year old Beastie blends whiskies from several undisclosed Highland distilleries. Based on some research, it looks like the distilleries include liquid from Dalmore, Blair Athol and Glen Garioch. Only 7,258 bottles were released. The Douglas Laing releases are non-chill-filtered and naturally coloured.
The Beastie blended malt whisky range also includes a NAS as well as a 12 year old whisky. There is even a limited edition 25 year old Beastie released by Douglas Laing.
Timorous Beastie 18 year old Whisky Review
REGION: Highlands
ABV: 46%
COLOUR: Golden yellow
NOSE: Bold and inviting. Honey sweetness with vanilla and a warming maltiness. Green floral notes mixed with orange and something tropical. Gentle spices and faint hints of salt and smoke.
PALATE: Elegant and juicy. It is not overly bold but wonderfully balanced and drinkable. Fruit salad sweetness drizzled with honey, an oily, malty mouthfeel with creamy custard and green hay. Bits of white chocolate and white pepper mixed with oak and nutmeg. Hints of lemon and barley. A bit of alcohol heat, but it is warming. This Beastie only needs a few drops of water to open up the sweetness.
FINISH: Medium length with drying oak and honey sweetness, faint chocolate and pepper.
RATING: DIVINE
What a delicious full body dram. It has a beautifully sweet, spicy balance and is warming and satisfying. The Douglas Laing guys had outdone themselves in this blended malt. They do know how to blend whisky to get the best results. The 18 year old Beastie is packed with bright, balanced flavour.
It retails for around R 1 500 in South Africa, and if you have not tried it yet, what are you waiting for. I saw some recently at WhiskyBrother&Co. There were not too many of them released, so grab a bottle and see the Beastie roar.
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My third blog post on the Glenglassaugh distillery from the Scottish Highlands. For some reason, I have not liked any whisky from this distillery. Both the Glenglassaugh Revival and the Evolution release I rated as Good. Today I try to finish the last of my mini bottle from this Highland distillery, and it is time for the Glenglassaugh Torfa single malt Scotch whisky.
I found the Revival RELEASE drying on the palate, and the Evolution Scotch overly spicy. Both of these had an amazing nose that was rich and complex, with a promise of fruity sweetness. But on tasting them, I was left disappointed. I have to say, I am opening this mini bottle with a bit of trepidation.
The Glenglassaugh distillery sits on a hillside, on the Moray Firth coast overlooking the North Sea. James Moir and two of his nephews established the distillery in 1875. He chose the site due to its proximity to a clean water supply, the Glassaugh Springs and easy access to the nearby barley fields.
It changed hands a few times but continued to produce whisky. However, during the economic downturn of 1986, this small remote distillery stopped production. It was mothballed and all but forgotten.
In 2008, the Dutch-based Scaent Group acquired the distillery for £5 million and reopened it. In 2013 Billy Walker and the BenRiach Whisky Company purchased it. BenRiach is a subsidiary of the Brown-Forman Corporation.
Glenglassaugh Torfa single malt Scotch was released in 2014 and refer to the Old Norse word for turf or peat. It has been matured in ex-bourbon barrels and peated to 20 ppm.
Torfa has no age statement and has a natural colour, and is non-chill-filtered. In SA, it retails for around R670.
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Glenglassaugh Torfa Whisky Review
REGION: Highland
ABV: 50%
COLOUR: Yellow gold.
NOSE: Rich earthy peat, smoke and custard sweetness in equal measures. Hints of cold ocean breeze and warming pepper spices. Wood smoke and a gentle fruit note in the background; just a lovely nose.
PALATE: Warming earthy peat, drying ash and smoke. It has quite an alcohol bite. Letting it breathe for a while allows a mellow, fruity note to appear with hints of sour cherries. Earthy moss with hints of sea salt and honey drizzled over red apples. Light pepper and ginger notes with a medium body.
However, adding a few drops of water changes the Torfa. The water brings out more pepper spice and lemon peel bitterness and mutes the complexity. After the water, it has the same overwhelming pepper notes that I found in Revival and Evolution whisky releases.
FINISH: Medium length that, before water, lingers with peat and honey and hints of liquorice. After adding some water, it is all lemon pepper and pectin.
RATING: VERY GOOD
This Glenglassaugh Torfa whisky poses a predicament. If you let it stand long enough for the worst of the alcohol to float away, it is elegant and drinkable without water. The moment you add the water, the spicy notes overwhelm everything else, and you are left with bitter pectin, which is not ideal.
This one would be my favourite of the three releases, but I would hesitate to buy more bottles from this distillery. Just like Dalmore and Highland Park, the distillery flavour profile just does not suit my tastes. If you like more spicy drams, this will be perfect.
However, I would rather spend some time with Brown Forman’s other Scottish Highland whisky, Glendronach, which has a much sweeter taste profile.
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Today it is time for a peaty Highland release; the Ballechin 10 year old single malt Scotch whisky. The Edradour distillery was officially established in 1825 in the Perthshire region. The name in Gaelic is Eadar Dhà Dhobhar, which translates to “between two rivers”.
It was founded by farmers who resided in the neighbourhood and grew all the barley used at the distillery. The distillery is seen as one of Scotlands smallest. Most of the spirit from the distillery went into blended whisky.
Ownership changed in the years that followed until 1982 when it was bought by Campbell distilleries, which is part of the Pernod Ricard Group. They opened a visitors centre and released the first single malt under the Edradour label.
In 2002, Andrew Symington from the Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky company took over the distillery, and he expanded production to include a peated variety.
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He called the peated release Ballechin. The name Ballechin (pronounced “Bell-eck-in”) pays homage to the history of the surrounding area and was the name of a closed farm distillery. Ballechin whisky, which was first distilled in 2003, is peated to a minimum level of 50 ppm. Signatory launched the Ballechin 10 year old whisky in 2014.
The Ballechin 10 year old whisky is matured in a combination of ex-Oloroso sherry and ex-bourbon casks. It is non-chill-filtered and naturally coloured.
Ballechin 10 year old Whisky Review
REGION: Highlands
ABV: 46%
COLOUR: Amber
NOSE: A lovely rich nose with peat, oranges and barley. Bits of smoke and wood mixed with vanilla and grainy sweetness. Not overwhelming, but elegant and delicious.
PALATE: Ash, peat with a floral sweetness. More of the orange notes but not as bold as I was expecting after the rich nose. A bit flat with oak and malt and faint vanilla. After the lovely nose, I was hoping for a more complex taste.
It is not bad; it is just a bit one dimensional. I was expecting the sherry and bourbon ageing to show up somewhere. Adding water softens the peat considerably, so add water carefully.
FINISH: Short to medium with drying ash, smoke and bits of citrus peel.
RATING: VERY GOOD
During the week, I tasted an Edradour whisky, and it was a big and bold sherry bomb. The Ballechin 10 year old single malt was finished in sherry, and I was perhaps hoping for a little bit of the sherry richness and complexity to come through.
A pleasant enough dram, but at ten years old, I was hoping for a bit more weight. The peat takes a step back when you add water, so it might be a good whisky for peat novices.
I don’t think the 10 year old is available in SA currently, but I saw a bottle of Ballechin 9 year old 2010 Vintage whisky at Navigate World Whisky.
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