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Oak Cross, 100% Malt Whisky, Compass Box Bottling, (10 yrs) 43%.
Color: Dessert wine. Nose: Citrus fruits, cloves, vanilla, creamy, malty. Taste: Quite nice actually with some fruity notes, grappa, slightly peppery and spicy, some nice creamy notes on top of it with vanilla again. Slightly smoky in the background as well. Aftertaste: Medium long aftertaste with some nice developments of oak, vanilla and soft summer fruits. Score: 83. Remarks: Very nice for a vatted malt! Looking forward in tasting more Compass Box whiskies! Price vs. quality is very good.
Caol Ila, Signatory Vintage, 11 yrs (1996-2007), 43%, 769 bottles.
Color: White wine. Nose: Slightly ammonia, rubbery, seaweed, briny, salty, inner tubes of bicycle tires, glue. Taste: Strong stuff, very peppery start, smoky with some medicinal notes. Sweetish with cream but sour with apples. Strange combination though. Overall lighter then expected. Aftertaste: Slightly smoky, not that long as you would expect from the nose, quite an unusual acidic aftertaste with sour apples and sweets. Score: 79. Remarks: A bit disappointing I must admit. But still way above average!
Caol Ila, Signatory Vintage, Unchillfiltered Collection, 10 yrs (1998-2008), 46%, 849 bottles.
Color: Applejuice. Nose: There's more in this glass then there was in the previous one. Will the 46% matter that much? Wet rocks near the ocean, flowery, roses, some salt, some pepper, dutch liquorice, wet earth, citrusfruits as well. Taste: Smoky explosions, stronger then the first Caol Ila, it tastes more like tar, well bodied with medicinal notes and lot's of pepper! Aftertaste: Strong lasting finish with some peaty notes, very warming, some nice liquorice at the end to finish this example of how a Caol Ila should be. Score: 85. Remarks: Can I have another one of this? Yes, the one at 46% please.
Highland Park, Secret Treasures, 16 yrs, 44%, Single Cask, bottle 298 of 342.
Color: Dark gold. Nose: Heather, caramel, orange-marmelade, very old sherry, quite nice actually. Taste: Fresh start, a bit spicy, some pepper, orange marmelade again, heather, honey, liquorice. Quite bold and sweet, warming. Aftertaste: Very long and complex with spices, sherrywood, some creamy smoke in the background. Score: 89. Remarks: The best HP I have tasted. Bottle is empty now, will be hard to find one again...
Highland Park, Alchemist, 15 yrs, 46%.
Color: White wine. Nose: Flowers, heather, leaves of fall, farmyardy. Taste: Again a complex HP, smoky, salty with some sherrywood, slightly spicy, nutty, sweet, very warming indeed. Aftertaste: Medium long with some liquorice, sweet sherry and slightly smoky. Pleasantly sweet. Score: 82. Remarks: Good newcomer!
Highland Park, 18 yrs, OB, 43%.
Color: Dark gold. Nose: Sherry, caramel, the cheap ones, a box of chocolates, musty, heather but more bold this time, sour-sweet liquorice. More musty on the nose then the other two. Not my cup of tea... Taste: Develops on sour sweet liquorice, caramel, lemon-peel, green apples, some pepper and again musty and dusty. Aftertaste: Long but too much sweet-sour for my tastebuds. Perhaps a one-off bad cask that was used for this one? Or I do not like HP's that are older then 16 yrs... Score: 78. Remarks: I should buy another bottle and re-rate it again, just to be sure.
Glenrothes Vintage 1992, 12 yrs, 43%
Color: White wine. Nose: Heather, honey, biscuits with marmelade, fruity, plum-compote, red berries.Taste: Plums, sweet berries, warm dark fruits, some salt as well, a bit spicy with some nice liquorice. Aftertaste: Medium aftertaste with liquorice, fruity, some sherrynotes, grassy and fresh. Sweet soft caramels and some oakiness as well. Score: 83. Remarks: A nice Glenrothes, subtle and sweet.
Isle of Jura 10 yrs, 40%, 2007
Color: Gold. Nose: Malty, wet plants, earthy, heathery, rope, porridge.Taste: Malty, some salt, smoky but sweet, liquorice, creamy, some sherry influences as well... Aftertaste: A long aftertaste. Sweet and creamy, some sherry again with liquorice and some smoke in the background. Nice one. Better then the Juras of some years ago.Score: 85. Remarks: Still one of my favorite every-day-drams.
Isle of Jura Special Edition, 43%
Color: Light gold. Nose: A bit more Oomph, boldness with some oily influences, gasoline, sherry, overall a bit dusty and musty. Taste: Sour, a bit unpleasant, clearly oranges, a wif of smoky and overall very sweet. Cheap nougat, some clove in there as well. Quite typical to taste that... Aftertaste: Short with clove and a bittersweet finale, brown sugar, caramel and fudge. Not the Jura I was expecting. What do you mean "Special Edition"?Score: 78. Remarks: Not my kind of dram, sorry.
