Cadenhead's Glen Elgin 23 Year Old Whisky Review!

A 23-year old cask strength independent bottling from one of Diageo's unsung and oft-forgotten workhorse distilleries. One that shouldn't be forgotten, mostly due to the worm tubs!

Not that worm tubs alone equal a good whisky, of course. But what they do indicate, generally, is more spirit weight and more texture, and potentially a sulphurous "funky" distillate that should hold up to more cask influence. If you're lucky, when left alone with enough time in the right cask this style of spirit can turn into delicious tropical fruit notes that many whisky lovers love to stumble across. While Ben Nevis, Clynelish, and Bowmore, along with longer-aged Irish whiskies distilled at Cooley or Bushmills, are the more famous names on this list, under the right conditions many other distilleries can dip their toes in these fruity waters too - including this example from Tasmania's Hellyers Road, for example! Speyside distillery Glen Elgin wouldn't feature highly on most tropical fruit-hunters' lists though, probably because there just aren't that many well-aged examples of Glen Elgin to choose from, and those that are out there tend to vary massively in flavour profile. There's only really one official bottling on the market from distillery owners Diageo, a 12-year old bottled at 43% ABV, which is of course chill filtered and artificially coloured. Even this "core range" bottling seems to only appear sporadically and I haven't seen it for sale in Australia for quite some time, while the last time this distillery featured in Diageo's annual Special Releases was way back in 2017. Obviously the independent bottlers will step in here to save the day, right? Well, maybe!

Glen Elgin was founded in 1898 but suffered a rough start to life; production didn't start until 1900 and the distillery closed only five months later, staying silent until 1906. In 1930 it was purchased by Scottish Malt Distillers / Distillers Company Limited, which would eventually become part of what is now Diageo. This 128-year old Speyside distillery is of a decent size, with a production capacity of 1.8-million litres of spirit per year, with the vast majority going into Diageo's blended whiskies; mainly White Horse which isn't imported into Australia, but also J&B, and some of the Johnnie Walker range. The distillery is five miles south of the town of Elgin, the major town in the Morayshire region, roughly a 3.5-hour drive north of Edinburgh. That large production capacity is down to nine wooden washbacks where fermentation is long at 80-120 hours, and six relatively small pot stills which are equipped with external worm tub condensers as seen in the photo above. Distillation is relatively slow, which increases copper contact and reduces sulphur, in contrast to the worm tubs which give less copper contact than the modern shell & tube alternatives. As with most of these workhorse distilleries there's no visitors centre or shop, and most of the spirit goes in to refill casks. 

The example we're looking at today is from the "Small Batch" series from independent bottler Cadenhead's which was discontinued around 2021-2022. These bottlings were from 2-4 casks married together and bottled at cask strength, with black labels as pictured below, and were replaced by the "Original Collection" which are all bottled at 46% ABV and have grey labelling. Obviously replacing a cask strength range with one diluted to 46% was never going to be a popular decision, and the sales and amount of attention that these "Original Collection" bottlings receive seems to reflect that. I'm also yet to see a single one get a rave review approximately four years after Cadenhead's made this change. Since they made this change the only cask strength bottlings from Cadenhead's have been their "Authentic Collection" range which are only sold directly from an official Cadenhead's shop, or one of their anonymous "Enigma" bottlings. These older Small Batch bottlings were generally well regarded, and they were generally very well priced, even for the time. This Glen Elgin is a 23-year old distilled in 1995, matured in two ex-bourbon barrels, and bottled in 2019, with a yield of 486 bottles at a cask strength of 50.6%. It is of course non-chill filtered and natural colour. Let's get to it!

 

Cadenhead's Glen Elgin 23 Year Old, 50.6%. Speyside, Scotland.

Distilled 1995, 2 x ex-bourbon barrels, bottled March 2019. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 486 bottles. 

Colour: Gold. 

Nose: Oily, sweet, fruity, nutty. Sweet peach & mango syrups, macadamia oil, salted peanuts & hazelnuts. Spicy ginger & cinnamon, runny honey, baklava (filo pastry with nuts & syrup), aniseed powder, and bitter dark chocolate. Touches of dried apple chips around the edges. 

Texture: Medium weight. Rich, oily, fruity, sweet, spicy. Light heat. 

Taste: Fruity, sweet, nutty. Macadamia oil, peach & mango syrups, roasted & salted nuts - almond and hazelnut this time, warm ginger. Natural honeycomb wax, bitter dark chocolate, and oat cakes (dry oatmeal biscuits). 

Finish: Medium-long length. More peach & mango syrups, roasted & salted nuts, and warm ginger. More like a ginger syrup here though. Big pinch of white pepper. Dried apple chips, oat cakes, macadamia oil, and runny honey behind. 

Score: 3.5 out of 5. 

Notes: A bit hot in places, sweet & fruity in others, and spicy & dry in others - slightly rough around the edges then. Weird & wacky! But there's nothing wrong with that. The sweet tropical fruit & syrupy notes cover that heat pretty well most of the time, but the ginger and oaty notes dry things out - just like oatcakes do in real life. This Glen Elgin is a nice sweet tropical fruit-led whisky with a great oily & syrupy texture, with some nutty oak influence plus that ginger, and the odd sneak attack by a bit of alcohol heat. Overall, a fun experience but I wouldn't be hunting down a bottle. 

This bottle was an auction win for which I paid around $300 AUD landed, which seems about right given the age and other specifications, and is probably one of the cheapest ways to get to the "funk & roughness matured into tropical fruit" flavour profile which is one of my favourites at the moment. If memory serves this is my favourite Glen Elgin to date, although there really aren't that many to choose from! 

Cheers!

Aberargie Inaugural Release Whisky Review!

The inaugural release from one of the newer breed of Lowland distilleries, albeit one that was founded nearly ten years ago!

Aberargie Distillery is located in Perthshire, Scotland, around an hour's drive north of Edinburgh. The distillery is owned by Morrison Distillers, the previous owners of Bowmore, Auchentoshan, and Glen Garioch Distilleries, before they sold all three to Suntory in 1994. The company is behind lesser-known independent bottling brands like Carn Mor and MacTalla and blended Scotch brand Old Perth, finally opening their own malt whisky distillery, Aberargie, in late 2017. They kept quiet for quite a few years, finally ramping things up prior to the first release hit the shelves in March 2026. Like many of the younger Scotch whisky distilleries Aberargie decided to "go big" with their inaugural release, much like Ardnamurchan's Inaugural and Isle of Harris's Hearach first release. While these larger and more reasonably priced inaugural single malts do help with the negative side of a distillery's first release, i.e. hoarding of bottles and flipping for profit, the downside of this approach is that they are far less collectable and also get far less attention on the internet. With the amount of new releases coming out these days it's easy for a bottling like this to get lost in the noise, which is pretty much what has happened thus far with Aberargie's inaugural. Which is a shame, because this is a reasonably priced and tasty single malt that is doing things differently to most. The relatively standard - but always good to see - small distillery boxes are all ticked here; being non-chill filtered and natural colour, and being bottled at 46% or above (48.2% here), and being matured in quality casks, both first-fill ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks in this case. It's relatively well priced at around $160 AUD, which puts it inline with Isle of Harris's Hearach and slightly above neighbouring distilleries in the Lowlands like Lindores Abbey and Lochlea. 

The Morrison family already owned a 300-acre farm near the namesake village of Aberargie, giving them an ideal location to build their own distillery from scratch. The main USP with Aberargie Inaurugal is the different mix of barley varieties used, with 52% of the spirit being distilled from the heritage variety Golden Promise, and the remaining 48% being distilled from the modern variety Laureate. I've covered Golden Promise in more detail in this review of Ardnamurchan's Heritage Barley release, but the short version is that it was a popular barley strain from the 1960s-early 1990s, gradually being dropped in favour of more reliable strains which offered higher yields and better disease resistance. Golden Promise is now making a bit of a comeback as more newer distilleries look for a point of difference to separate themselves from their competitors, and as more emphasis is being put on new make spirit character and texture rather than cask finishing and marketing stories. Aberargie Distillery may be a farm distillery, but they aren't malting their farm-grown barley on site. This is the modern approach where rather than installing malting floors and keeping things in-house the farm-grown barley is shipped to a commercial maltster, just like Bruichladdich do with their Islay barley whiskies, and Ireland's Waterford did with their single farm bottlings. While I don't have an objection here personally, plenty of attention is directed at the barley itself while the malting process is either skimmed over or skipped altogether in all marketing materials and press releases. The distillery and its whisky are still referred to as "farm to bottle", which muddies the waters a little since it sounds like every step of the process is carried out at the distillery. Keeping things in-house and using a traditional floor maltings is more authentic, and adds more provenance to a whisky made using local barley - like Springbank and Kilchoman do with their local barley products. But that's an expensive operation and involves a lot of human labour. 

Aberargie plan to feature these two barley varieties separately in their next round of single malts, with a 100% Golden Promise bottling and a 100% Laureate bottling, although rather than relying on barley variety alone they've chosen to flip the cask recipes between the two; the Golden Promise release being 68% ex-bourbon and 32% ex-sherry casks, and the Laureate release being 68% ex-sherry and 32% ex-bourbon casks. Barley aside, Aberargie Distillery is a relatively standard operation, with a capacity of around 750,000-litres of spirit per year, washbacks are stainless steel with fermentation times ranging from 80-144 hours, with the longer brewing happening over the weekends where no mashing or distilling takes place. There are two pot stills of a decent size, both have slightly descending lyne arms and modern shell & tube condensers, and the spirit still has a boil ball / onion for a little extra reflux. Rather than the typical "light and fruity" spirit profile that I'm pretty sure we're all getting tired of, the idea here is rich and fruity, with more spirit weight and more texture. This is achieved through a wider spirit cut than most modern distilleries, particularly those making unpeated spirit, with Aberargie collecting from 74% ABV down to 60.5%. Generally speaking a wider spirit cut will capture more heavy compounds and more funky character, giving a heavier texture and more complex spirit character that can stand up to more cask influence. For reference these spirit cut points are closer to Springbank which is collected from 76% to 60% ABV, as opposed to the more industry standard 72%-65%, while something like 74%-69% would be considered a narrow cut. When it comes to maturation Aberargie uses modern racked warehousing, with the majority of casks being first-fill ex-bourbon barrels and Oloroso sherry butts, along with some PX sherry and some second-fill casks. Let's get in to the inaugural release!

Aberargie Inaugural Release, NAS, 48.2%. Lowlands, Scotland.

Distilled from 52% Golden Promise and 48% Laureate barley grown on site, but malted elsewhere. Matured in 50/50 ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 

Colour: Copper. 

Nose: Fresh, malty, autumnal. Red apples, lemon peel, sweet barley malt, sweet iced flaky pastries. Apple danish pastry with vanilla icing & cinnamon sugar. Touches of freshly varnished wood, nutty fresh wood, and white pepper. Malt biscuits, dried berries, and hint of cream cheese with more time. 

Texture: Medium weight. Oily, fruity, malty, warming/comforting. No heat at all.  

Taste: Fruity, sweet, malty. Stone fruit here with apricot & nectarine, red apple skins, touches of dried berries & lemon peel. Biscuity malt, sweet iced flaky pastries, and hint of cream cheese icing.

Finish: Medium length. Stone fruit again with apricot & nectarine, white pepper, and biscuity malt. Cinnamon sugar, freshly varnished wood, and vanilla syrup. Red apples and nutty oak around the edges. 

Score: 3 out of 5. Close to a 3.5 though. 

Notes: A very autumnal style of whisky this, almost a winter warmer but in a lighter style than I'd normally associate with that. There's definitely some sherry cask influence but it's been managed well, and isn't cask dominated by any means with plenty of malty goodness on show. This Aberargie does tick a lot of boxes, and for a first release at a relatively young age it's particularly impressive - you'd be hard pressed to pick the age in fact, it could easily pass for a whisky aged in the early-mid teens. Punches above its weight, I'd say, and it certainly seems more mature & rounded than some other first releases from distilleries not too far away. Get it while there's still a slight chill in the air down here!

Cheers!

Hellyers Road Richly Peated 9 Year Old Whisky Review!

A new heavily peated ex-bourbon cask release from Tasmania's Hellyers Road Distillery! Might as well take a quick look at the specifics of peated whisky in Australia, and peated Australian whisky, while we're at it...

Peated Australian whiskies aren't as easy to come by as you might think. We whisky fans do love a 'smoky" single malt in this country, but the overwhelming majority of that "smoky" single malt consumed here is Scotch whisky - probably lead by Lagavulin 16, and then following by Laphroaig 10. But that dominance of peated Scotch doesn't mean we don't make peated single malt in this country, far from it. There are peated malts made in every whisky-producing state in the country, from Highwayman in NSW, to Limeburners in WA, Fleurieu in SA, and Bakery Hill in VIC. But they're surprisingly scarce down in Tasmania, the island state that is almost synonymous with Australian single malt. There are now something like thirty-five whisky distilleries on this island state, but the majority of those don't produce peated whisky. Why? Mainly because none of the distilleries are really set up for floor malting, and the commercial malted barley suppliers on the island - and also those on the mainland - mainly supply their product to breweries, from large commercial operations to small craft brewers, and they don't want smoky grain. In the early days the biggest names in modern Tasmanian whisky, Bill & Lyn Lark, found a workaround for this roadblock, even obtaining a mining license which enabled them to dig up Tasmanian peat from their lease in the Highlands. But they weren't able to malt their own barley, and Lark still don't today, so their workaround was & is to buy malted barley from the aforementioned commercial maltsters, then "re-wet" it with a hose, then smoke it over a peat fire to dry it again. This is known as the "Lark method" and has been copied by plenty other producers around the country. It's also known as "post-malt smoking", and is nowhere near as effective as smoking the barley over peat during the malting process. In most cases the end result is far too subtle - even undetectable in some cases - to tick the box for most peated whisky drinkers, particularly those accustomed to the Islay style & level of peat influence. There is another workaround though, which is more effective and more common, although arguably a little less Australian: importing peated malted barley from overseas. The vast majority of peated Australian malt whisky is distilled from imported peated Scottish barley, and if you discount the distillers using the "Lark method" outlined above of "re-wetting" and smoking barley that has already been malted, as far as I'm aware there is only one exception in the entire country. That would be Tasmania's Belgrove Distillery, who malts his own grain in a converted industrial clothes dryer. Belgrove primarily produces rye whisky, some of which is also peated, but has dabbled in peated malt whisky a few times, sourcing peat from private land on the northern coast of the island. All of the other malt whisky distilleries in Australia, again as far as I'm aware, are either using the "post-malt" or "re-wetting" Lark method, or are importing peated malted barley from overseas. 

There's nothing wrong with this in my book, the Scots in particular have been peating malted barley for centuries, so they know what they're doing. The commercial maltsters over there - primarily Bairds, but also Crisp, and Simpsons - are happy to ship their peated malted barley down under, and to export to other countries for that matter, while between them also supplying most of the whisky distilleries within Scotland. The major exceptions is where the distillery is owned by Diageo and/or is considered important enough to be supplied by their Port Ellen Maltings on Islay, or if the distillery is floor malting their own barley for some or all of their single malt releases. That only only leaves Springbank, and also Kilchoman - albeit only in their 100% Islay products - but not even Springbank uses local peat in their kiln, the peat itself is sourced from the Scottish mainland and is transported to the distillery in Campbeltown. Before anyone thinks I've forgotten about Bruichladdich's Islay Barley ranges here, the raw barley used in those releases is shipped to Bairds in Inverness for malting, peated using mainland Scottish peat, and then shipped back to Islay for production. Both of Beam Suntory's Islay distilleries, Laphroaig and Bowmore, do have their own floor-maltings, but they can't produce enough and that in-house malted barley only constitutes around 20-25% of their total barley requirements, with the rest sourced externally from commercial malting companies. Surprisingly though both distilleries have released single malts that were produced entirely from their own floor-malted barley, distilled separately to their regular production runs, but so far those have only been one-off releases bottled for the Feis Ile Islay Festival. Laphroaig's 200th Anniversary Cairdeas bottling was the first way back in 2015, and there have been three distillery exclusive single cask releases from Bowmore: a 7-year old hand-filled virgin oak cask from 2023, an 8-year old oloroso sherry cask for Feis Ile 2025, and a 9-year old PX sherry cask for Feis Ile 2026. Bowmore, I think I speak for all whisky nerds here: if you're going to finally give us these 100% floor-malted single malts, please put them in ex-bourbon casks or refill ex-bourbon casks so we actually have a chance of tasting the differences in the barley, don't hide it behind virgin oak or ex-sherry casks! End rant, back on topic!

Northern Tasmania's Hellyers Road Distillery has been producing properly peated single malts for a long time now, and has used peated Scottish malted barley since roughly 2004 - which would make them one of the first Australian single malt distilleries to do so. In those early days and indeed until relatively recently you would've only had Lark, Bakery Hill, and Hellyers Road to choose from when it came to peated Australian single malts - and as mentioned above, Lark tends to have very low or even undetectable peat levels in the finished product, so you really only had two to choose from. Hellyers Road has always operated a little differently to the rest of the Tasmanian distilleries, being a larger operation with more financial backing, so they were able to produce more, and let it age longer, and even export it overseas - particularly in the duty free / travel retail market. There were a couple of core range peated expressions in the early days, mainly a lightly peated expression and a peated expression, until the distillery went through a rebirth (more info here) and added a 7-year old Peated expression, plus the odd special release including a recent 19-year old peated single cask, which is the oldest peated Australian single malt to date. The new 9-year old "Richly Peated" release that we're looking at here is a small batch that was distilled from 100% heavily peated malted barley sourced from Bairds in Inverness and was peated to 45-55 ppm. It was fully matured in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels - just what you want for more spirit / distillery character to show through - from Heaven Hill Distillery in the US, and has been bottled at 48.3% ABV without chill filtration or added colouring. The 9-Year Old Richly Peated retails for just $190 AUD in a 700ml bottle, which is good value in the modern Australian whisky world, and even in comparison to some Scottish single malts - while obviously older, Diageo's venerable Lagavulin 16 Year Old currently retails at around $160 AUD and is only bottled at 43%, is chill filtered and artificially coloured. So this is quite the competitor for an Australian product produced on a far smaller scale and in much lower volume. It's also important to remember that a 9-year old whisky matured here in Australia, even one matured in the relatively cool climate of northern Tasmania, will pick up more cask influence than a similarly aged whisky in Scotland. Thanks to David and the Hellyers team for the sample for this review. Let's see how it goes!

Hellyers Road 9 Year Old Richly Peated, 48.3%. Tasmania, Australia.

Distilled from Scottish barley peated to 45-55 ppm at Bairds in Inverness, fully matured in first-fill Heaven Hill ex-bourbon casks, non-chill filtered, natural colour. 

Colour: Gold. 

Nose: Salty, smoky, citrus, meaty. Meaty BBQ smoke, lightly ashy, sweet plum BBQ sauce, and burnt ends. Fresh lemon zest, salted limes. Touches of roasted salted nuts around the edges. Vanilla syrup, black pepper, touches of powdered ginger and dark chocolate. 

Texture: Medium weight. Creamy, oily & lightly fatty, ashy smoke. No heat at all. 

Taste: Definitely smokier here! Thick, meaty, ashy smoke, lightly drying. White pepper, vanilla syrup, more lemon zest & salted limes. Powdered ginger and creamy milk chocolate in the background. Touch of honey around the edges. 

Finish: Medium length. Ashy and meaty smoke carries through, with more BBQ burnt ends and salted roasted nuts. More white pepper too. Salted limes, creamy milk chocolate, and fatty & creamy macadamia oil. 

Score: 3.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Nice easy-drinking peated single malt with a great meaty, ashy, drying style of smoke that isn't often found in Australian whiskies. Also has the trademark citrus, salt, and vanilla, notes that go so well with this style of smoke, which are more commonly found in peated whiskies made on the other side of the planet. That creamy & fatty macadamia oil note that I find in many of the contemporary - i.e., since the reinvention / relaunch of the distillery - Hellyers Road whiskies is here as well, along with a nice oily weight on the palate. Considering that this is "only" a 9-year old whisky there's a good complexity and balance between spirit and smoke, and cask influence - but again it's important to remember that 9-years is still practically middle-aged in Australian whisky terms!

As mentioned above, $190 AUD is a decent price for a 9-year old Australian single malt, particularly one bottled at 48.3% ABV and in a 700ml bottle! If you do the maths that actually makes this Hellyers Road considerably cheaper than some of its competitors, and that's a good thing in the current economic climate - a well timed launch! 

Cheers!

SMWS 53.509 14 Year Old Caol Ila Whisky Review!

A rich & tarry 14-year old single cask Caol Ila (Distillery #53) from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, selected by their Australian branch and exclusive to their Australian members!

Ah, Caol Ila. Islay's gentler giant, and surely one of the most consistent spirits produced in the Hebridean islands. Distillery owners Diageo rely on Caol Ila for a raft of their blended products, and while there are some single malt official bottlings out there it's only really the 12-year old that is easy to find, and that's bottled at 43%, chill filtered and artificially coloured. If you want a cask strength official bottling from Caol Ila you'll need to hunt down a Feis Ile Islay Festival bottling, which while generally delicious are very expensive - and more importantly they're exclusive to the distillery shop on Islay, which is more than a slight inconvenience for just about everyone on the planet. So distillery fans must turn to the independent bottlers for our fix of properly presented Caol Ila - and by "properly" I mean non-chill filtered, natural colour, and bottled at a decent strength. As consistent and underrated as the Islay giant is, it's peated spirit can be surprisingly fragile when subjected to the wrong cask treatment and/or for the wrong amount of time. While the malted barley used here is exactly the same as that used at Lagavulin, which is peated to 35 ppm and sourced from Port Ellen Maltings, everything else in the production process is completely different between the two. Caol Ila uses longer fermentation times, has taller and much larger stills that are filled to a lower level (for more reflux), are fitted with horizontal lyne arms as opposed to Lagavulin's downward angled items (giving a heavier spirit), and the spirit cuts at Caol Ila are higher and more narrow. This all gives a lighter, cleaner style of peated spirit compared to the sibling on the south of Islay. 

Couple this gentler style of Islay spirit with the myriad of independent bottlings of Caol Ila out there, and it's only natural that some releases will be better than others. By veering away from the tried & true refill ex-bourbon hogshead and going for something first-fill and more exotic, you do run the risk of having your Caol Ila swamped by cask influence. Full maturation in either first-fill sherry or virgin oak would obviously be in the highest risk category, but secondary maturation or finishing can also be dangerous if you're hoping to keep that delicious Islay character intact. The best way to mark your Caol Ila as safe from excessive cask influence is to go with trusted independent bottlers that have plenty of experience with the distillery. In the newer breed of "indies" I would be looking at Thompson Bros, and Elixir Distillers (Port Askaig & Single Malts of Scotland labels), while in the "old school" I would point to the likes of Gordon & MacPhail, and of course the Scotch Malt Whisky Society - a.k.a. SMWS. It's easy to see that the SMWS has plenty of experience with Caol Ila thanks to the bottling codes on their labels; in the case of this particular Caol Ila that's 53.509. #53 is the SMWS's distillery code for Caol Ila, and the following digits are the cask number - so this bottling is the 509th single cask of Caol Ila bottled by the SMWS! That's not including their small batch bottlings or heresy single malt or blended malt releases, so the actual number would be significantly higher. Quite a few runs on the board, then! But that's just as well, because the cask treatment on this SMWS Caol Ila would - normally - have put it in that high-risk category mentioned above! 

This single cask bottling of Caol Ila, SMWS code 53.509 is dubbed "Doctor Tar and The Lactones", and is an Australian exclusive release. It was distilled on the 16th of November 2010, matured in an ex-bourbon hogshead (250-litre cask) for 10-years prior to being filled into a heavily toasted first-fill French oak ex-fortified wine barrique (225-litre cask) for a further four years. That's a substantial amount of time for a secondary maturation, especially in a first-fill French oak cask. Compared to charring, toasting a cask is less aggressive, using indirect heat at lower temperatures. But what about lactones? In simple terms a lactone is a type of ester, the family of flavour compounds that are perceived as fruity notes in spirits. But lactones, as you can guess by the name (as in lactose, the sugars found in dairy products) are found in oak and can give a creaminess in texture, peachy or coconut flavours & aromas, and/or creamy & buttery notes, and are also found in oak-aged wines (e.g. the buttery notes often found in "wooded" chardonnay) and other spirits. French oak is lower in lactones than American oak, but in this case that heavy toasting process must have released more of the lactones in to the spirit. Quick side note, while not the case with this particular whisky or with Caol Ila, some malt whiskies are renowned for a different sort of lactic note that has formed during an earlier stage of the production process - lactobacillus, or lactic acid bacteria, entering the wash during fermentation, carrying over through distillation, and surviving maturation. This style of lactic note can be quite divisive, like those found in some Bruichladdich or Bladnoch whiskies for example, and is more acidic (sour) than oak lactones - ranging anywhere from a subtle dairy-like creamy note, to acidic Greek yoghurt notes, to baby vomit! It's divisive, but it can work for some spirit styles in small doses.

Doctor Tar and The Lactones is exclusive to Australian members of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS), and was selected by their Marketing Manager Adam - which must mean if any members don't like this whisky, they can contact Adam directly! Adam & Australian Branch Director Matt Bailey were kind enough to send the bottle for this review, and they've timed this release very well - it should be a perfect winter warmer! There are only 167 bottles available here - the 225-litre French oak barrique yielded only 117-litres of whisky after those four years of secondary maturation - at a natural cask strength of 59.6% ABV. As with all good independent bottlings, it is non-chill filtered and natural colour. Let's see how it goes!

SMWS 53.509 (Caol Ila) "Doctor Tar and The Lactones", 14-years old, 59.6%. Islay, Scotland.

Distilled 16/11/2010, matured in ex-bourbon hogshead for 10-years, extra maturation in first-fill heavily toasted French oak barrique for 4-years. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 167 bottles, exclusive to Australia.

Colour: Copper. 

Nose: Big, rich, peaty, and definitely tarry. Fresh warm road tar, turkish coffee, soy sauce caramel - which is amazing if you haven't tried it. Touches of herbal & medicinal digestif/liqueurs around the edges - Jägermeister without the sugar? Lightly gamey and meaty too, BBQ duck with thick hoisin sauce. Thick peat smoke, and black cherry jam. 

Texture: Heavy weight. Thick, oily, full-flavoured. Tarry & spicy. Tiny bit of spirit heat but hidden/integrated very well. 

Taste: Big & rich. Creamy peat, more warm tar and soy sauce caramel, fatty BBQ duck with thick hoisin sauce, and more herbal & medicinal liqueur / digestif. Old school cough lozenges, and a light touch of rubber around the edges. Sweetens with more time, some burnt black cherry jam, and a touch of strong black tea. 

Finish: Long length. Powerful & rich. Creamy peat & ashy smoke, more warm road tar, and burnt black cherry jam. Spicy wood embers, cough lozenges, smoky & thick hoisin sauce with fatty BBQ duck. Hint of melted milk bottle lollies (chewy foam vanilla confectionary). Warm wood spices (clove, cinnamon, aniseed). Sweet charred stone fruit & ashy peat smoke to finish. 

Score: 4.5 out of 5.

Notes: Delicious. One of the best cask-driven Caol Ilas that I've had! Especially in terms of weight, texture, richness, and savoury complexity. There's just the right amount of oak and fortified wine influence that I want in this style of Caol Ila, as opposed to many other examples which had been swamped by sherry. That tarriness & spicy/herbal side in this #53 is really quite delicious. It's smoky, tarry, medicinal, lightly meaty and herbal, but it's all nicely balanced without any of those notes becoming dominant or distracting. This Caol Ila could easily pass for a good sherried Ardbeg or Laphroaig, and I don't see that as a negative - who doesn't love a good sherried Ardbeg or Laphroaig!? It's almost refreshing to see a Caol Ila showing this heavier side of Islay thanks to a less common cask treatment that has been managed well.

As predicted, a great "winter warmer" that offers plenty of character and flavour. Great value for money too if you ask me!

Cheers!

MacBeth Ben Nevis 28-Year Old "Ross" Whisky Review!

The first of Elixir Distillers' MacBeth series of independent bottlings that I've tried, a 28-Year Old Ben Nevis distilled in 1993. I might know a little about whisky, but I know basically nothing about Shakespeare or MacBeth. This is still a whisky review, but this could get literary... And yeasty!

1990s vintage Ben Nevis' would be some of the most lusted after independent bottlings out there, mostly thanks to the tropical fruit profile that some casks develop once they reach a decent age. They'll also need to be refill ex-bourbon and/or hogshead casks of course, so that they let the spirit character really shine through. The general consensus on this tropical fruit character is that it comes from extended fermentation times employed during this period, and the combination of brewer's & distiller's yeasts that were used at the time and are still used at the distillery today, although it's likely that the yeast "recipe" has changed since the 1990s. Brewer's yeasts in the whisky distilling world are more specifically ale yeasts that are top fermenting, while lager yeasts are bottom fermenting which makes them unsuitable for brewing a whisky wash. Back in the day ale yeasts were more commonly used in the whisky industry, but fell out of favour when lager yeasts became more common in brewing and with the advent of distillers yeasts that were more resilient, more predictable, and gave better spirit yields. As a result they are quite rare in modern Scotch whisky, with Benromach and Ben Nevis being the only larger distilleries currently using some brewer's yeast, while newcomers like Holyrood in Edinburgh and Dornoch (Thompson Bros.) in Sutherland have also experimented with brewer's yeasts. Some distilleries have also played around with saison (Belgian farmhouse ale) yeasts, wine yeasts, and also wild yeasts - Glenmorangie's Allta was fermented with a wild yeast strain cultivated from nearby barley fields. Outside of Scotland though many distilleries are using different or even multiple yeast strains, more notably in Japan and in the US, where many whisky/whiskey producers have proprietary yeast strains that are a closely guarded secret. The goal with all of this yeast is to create different flavours and/or to create more flavours, and to add more esters (fruit flavours) and more texture to the spirit. Anyone who's tried a good cask of Ben Nevis distilled in the 1990s might find that hard to argue with!

This particular Ben Nevis is an independent bottling from Elixir Distillers, the former owners of The Whisky Exchange, current owners of Tormore Distillery and Portintruan Distillery, and owners of independent bottling brands such as Port Askaig, Elements of Islay, and Single Malts of Scotland. Their MacBeth series of bottlings are a collaboration between Elixir, whisky writer Dave Broom, and design company Livingstone. The series will feature 42 bottlings, each embodying a character from Shakespeare's MacBeth and featuring bird-like character artwork by English cartoonist & children's writer Sir Quentin Blake. MacBeth was written by William Shakespeare in the early 1600s, and in very simple terms is about a Scottish General, MacBeth, who is told by three witches that he will become King of Scotland, and is encouraged by his wife to murder the current king. Both then spiral into madness, his wife commits suicide, and he is eventually murdered himself. It's essentially a tragic tale based around ambition, guilt, fate, moral degradation, and eventual reckoning. The character we're interested in today, which this bottling is in homage to and is featured on the label in semi-bird form (why not, I suppose?), is one of The Thanes, named Ross. Thanes were Scottish feudal lords & noblemen, and Ross was a messenger first in service of King Duncan, then MacBeth, and then flees to England to start a rebellion against MacBeth. Ross also delivers some exposition in the play and announces some key plot points, making him quite an important character. 

This 28-year old Ben Nevis is from Act II, the second "Act" of releases in the MacBeth bottlings so far, there are five acts in the play, and there are smaller series' of bottlings within each "Act" of releases. These aren't generally single cask bottlings but are all single malts and are all limited, with a wide range of ages, cask types, and distilleries featured. So far releases have ranged from a 56-year old Glen Grant to a 10-year old Blair Athol, with plenty of others in between. This Ben Nevis, titled "Ross", is a 28-year old from refill hogsheads that was distilled in 1993 and bottled in 2025, with 850 bottles released at 50.4% ABV. It is of course non-chill filtered and natural colour. As you'd expect for a 28-year old Ben Nevis with this sort of pedigree, this is not a cheap bottling, retailing at around $1,300 here in Australia and around £500 in Britain. Similarly aged Ben Nevis' from other bottlers, including those from the more popular 1996 vintage, can be found for almost half of that price, which makes this one a tough sell. 

Elixir Distillers MacBeth Ben Nevis 28-Year Old, "Ross", 50.4%. Highlands, Scotland.

Distilled 1993, matured in refill hogsheads, bottled 2025. From "Act II" of the MacBeth releases and part of the "Thanes" series of bottlings. Non-chill filtered, natural colour, 850 bottles. 

Colour: Gold. 

Nose: Fruity, buttery, malty. Sweet tropical fruits; there are flashes of roasted pineapple and white peach, but it's more about fresh mango skins, honeydew melon, and under ripe banana. Lemon as well, and sweet golden malted barley. Creamy melted butter, white pepper, and sweet barley sugar lollies. Buttery malt biscuits, raw almonds, and a touch of chalk. 

Texture: Medium-heavy weight. Rich, oily, sweet, mega-fruity. No heat at all. 

Taste: Very fruity, sweet, and luscious. More sweet tropical fruit; fresh mango skins, under ripe banana, honeydew melon. Buttery malt biscuits, white pepper, and some wet stone and chalky minerality. Barley sugars (boiled lollies), lovely sharp lime curd (key lime pie filling), and more raw almonds around the edges. 

Finish: Medium length. Tropical fruit & barley sugars carry through, and the white pepper comes back in with a chalky, salty, mineral dryness to balance things out. Dry oat cakes with a slight touch of honey to finish things off. 

Score: 4 out of 5. Not far from a 4.5, though. 

Notes: Delicious rich whisky with tropical fruit, oily sweetness, and a touch of minerality, saltiness, and chalkiness for balance. What more could you ask for in a 1990s distilled Ben Nevis? These Ben Nevis' really do rival the aged Irish whiskies from Cooley and Midleton, but with that chalky touch and arguably less spirit-y heat, in general. That said, this isn't the fruitiest Ben Nevis I've had, and the finish is surprisingly dry and not as weighty or long-lasting as I'd like. But there's still plenty of fruitiness, maltiness, and barley sugar sweetness, to keep everyone happy. 

A very good dram of course, but as said above there are similarly aged Ben Nevis' available from other independent bottlers for almost half the price of this one, so it's a bit of a stretch. Still, a winner!

Cheers!

Old Master Spirits 1961 Vintage 64 Year Old Cognac Review!

How do you follow up an incredible 100-year old cognac? Unfortunately we'll just have to settle for an incredible 64-year old cognac instead... What a struggle this'll be!

Just as we have legendary vintages in Scotch whisky - 1996 Ben Nevis, 1970s Brora, and 1970s Ardbeg, for example - so does cognac. Maybe even more so in fact, since in brandy those vintages and their reputations are based around the growing conditions for, and quality of, that year's grape harvests, rather than production factors. Obviously a cognac dating back to 1961 is already a ridiculously rare thing here in 2026, but 1961 vintage brandies are particularly highly-regarded and sought after for two main reasons. The first of these reasons isn't as romantic as you might expect; it's because the governing body around cognac, the BNIC, banned single vintage statements on cognac in that year up until until 1988, so 1961 was the last year that a cognac could carry a single vintage on its labelling until that rule was overturned in 1988. Apparently there were historic workarounds if the cognac wasn't bottled in France, but contemporarily that practice is closely monitored by the BNIC. This is why Old Master Spirits uses the V.XX on most of their labelling, rather than explicitly naming a vintage. The other reason for the 1961 vintage being so highly regarded is more like what you'd expect, except in this case the conditions weren't so favourable for the fruit itself! We're talking about a cold spring and a hot & dry summer stressing the fruit and concentrating the juice & flavours within, and hot conditions around harvest time ensuring that the fruit was fully ripe. While these conditions mean lower yields from the vines, it also means concentrated flavours in the grapes and high quality in the resulting wines - apparently 1961 vintage Bordeaux red wines are also legendary - and brandies. 

The 1961 vintage cognac that we're looking at here is yet another amazing single cask find from Deni & David at Melbourne's Old Master Spirits; a 64-year old single cask cognac from family-owned cognac house Peyrot. If memory serves this is the third bottling that Old Master have sourced from Peyrot, and also the oldest so far. The previous bottlings were a 55-year old and a 63-year old though, which is obviously nothing to sniff at! Peyrot is located in the Grande Champagne Cru of the Cognac region, considered the best of the six cognac cru (sub-regions) as far as growing conditions and terroir, roughly 90-minutes north of Bordeaux in south-western France. The 25ha vineyard is known as "Les Bergeronnettes", a.k.a. "The Wagtails", and has been producing cognac on site since 1957. The Peyrot vineyard has been under family ownership since 1893 and is currently owned by Mathilde Peyrot, the fourth generation descendent of the founder. Mathilde distilled this cognac herself back in 1961! 

This 1961 vintage Peyrot cognac was distilled from 100% Ugni Blanc grapes that were grown on the Peyrot vines which date back to 1928. It was fully matured in a French oak cask for a whopping 64-years before being bottled at a cask strength of 43.8% ABV, and is of course non-chill filtered, natural colour, and without additives. As with the other brandies bottled by Old Master Spirits, that age statement doesn't include any time spent in glass demijohns, only the time spent in French oak. The single cask yielded just 162 x 500ml bottles, so 81-litres remaining from what I'd assume was a 225-litre barrique, although that's to be expected after 64-years sleeping in a cellar! As we've come to expect from Old Master, the value for money here is amazing. We're looking at $359 AUD for a 500ml bottle at a cask strength of 43.8% ABV, and that's a 1961 vintage 64-year old single cask cognac! Any whisky of a similar age would be a ridiculous price, let alone a single cask of single malt. The release date is June 25th - today, at the time of publishing - and bottles can be purchased here. The previous Old Master release, a 100-year old cognac, sold out in a few minutes, so I wouldn't wait too long for this 64-year old either. Let's see how it goes!

1961 Vintage 64 Year Old Peyrot Cognac, Old Master Spirits, 43.8%. Cognac, France.

Distilled 1961 from 100% Ugni Blanc grapes, matured for 64-years in French oak cask, bottled at cask strength. Non-chill filtered, natural colour, 162 x 500ml bottles. Released 25th June 2026.

Colour: Rich copper. 

Nose: Rich & decadent, dessert in a glass. Cherries in spiced syrup, rich butterscotch sauce, toffee pudding, and melted vanilla ice cream. Some bitter orange peel and powdered ginger. Touch of icing sugar around the edges. 

Texture: Light-medium weight. Richly flavoured for the ABV, but remarkably easy drinking. No heat whatsoever. 

Taste: Delicious. Still dessert-like, with Eaton mess (dessert made with berries, sugar, whipped cream, and meringue), honeycomb, and butterscotch sauce. More cherries in spiced syrup, touches of grated ginger, and sweetened black tea. 

Finish: Medium-long length. More cherries, sweetened black tea, ginger, and butterscotch sauce. Oak spices come through alongside blackberry jam and melted vanilla ice cream. Slight leafy herbal touches and tea leaves to finish. 

Score: 4.5 out of 5. 

Notes: "Dessert in a glass" seems to mean over-sweet, or cloying, or over-decadent to some. But in this case it's more about delicious fruit, vanilla, and rich dessert sauces with just the right amount of sweetness. This sweetness also helps keep the oak and tannins at bay, often an issue with older brandies that have spent so long in French oak, making this a very delicious and ridiculously easy-drinking cognac. At 64-years of age it has a great freshness and balance to it, while still giving that rich fruitiness and spice. Ticks all the boxes for a dessert brandy, and carries one hell of an age statement as well! Value for money with these old cognacs and armagnacs really is tough to beat, and $359 for a 64-year old anything is exceptional pricing here in 2026. Especially for a single cask, cask strength cognac from a reputable producer in the premier area in the Cognac region. A 1961 vintage spirit of any sort can't get much more affordable than this! 

The guys at Old Master certainly seem to know what they're doing, and they have plenty of runs on the board now. There are plenty of wins on that board too, now including this one! Thanks to Deni & David for the sample for this review, and for continuing to bring delicious and great value brandies to Australia.

Cheers!

Kanosuke Distillery Festival 2025 Whisky Review!

My first Kanosuke review! This one was bottled for the distillery's festival in 2025, and a good mate shared a sample from his souvenir bottle. It's been a while since I've featured anything Japanese, and this shochu cask Kanosuke is very, very Japanese!

Kanosuke Distillery (pronounced "can-osk-ay") is in the Kagoshima Prefecture (region) of Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan's four main islands. The distillery was built in 2017 right by a 50km-long beach on the island's west coast near the town of Hioki, around 1,300km south-west of Tokyo, requiring a 2-hour flight from Tokyo (Haneda) to Kagoshima Airport, then an hour's drive west to the distillery. Being closer to Taiwan than it is to Tokyo, this is a warmer area than most of Japan with temperatures & humidity getting quite high, although being under 100m from the East China Sea does give some relief from the conditions further inland. Despite being founded in November 2017 Kanosuke is quickly becoming one of the leading "new breed" Japanese malt whisky distilleries, and is one of the "proper" Japanese malt whisky distilleries making authentic Japanese whisky, including being a member of the voluntary JSLMA agreements on regulations surrounding Japanese whisky. Kanosuke attracted a minority investment from Diageo's Distill Ventures back in 2021, much like Australia's Starward, Denmark's Stauning, and America's Westward, although Diageo has since withdrawn that support worldwide and the distilleries are mostly back under private ownership. As with the other distilleries involved, that investment did help Kanosuke start exporting to the US and increase their product range. The Australian importer for Kanosuke is Melbourne's Casa De Vinos, who also bring us Japanese single malts Chichibu and Akkeshi, and recently became the importer for Thompson Bros independent bottlings. 

The company behind Kanosuke was founded in 1883 and produces shochu, a Japanese spirit typically made from rice, sweet potato, or barley, fermented with koji mould and traditionally only single-distilled in pot stills. In 1957 the Master Distiller named Kanosuke Komasa - whom the whisky distillery was named after - became the first producer to barrel-age shochu and created a new category in the spirit, which would come in handy 60-years later as all Kanosuke single malts are initially aged in re-charred ex-shochu casks. Kanosuke uses both unpeated and peated malted barley, although the majority of production is unpeated. Both are fermented for 96-hours in stainless steel washbacks, and there are three copper pot stills, one wash and two spirit, each with a differently-angled lyne arm. All three stills are fitted with traditional worm tub condensers, which is common in shochu distillation but is very uncommon in Japanese whisky - most producers are looking for the lighter and cleaner character given by more modern shell & tube condensers, rather than the heavier, meatier, and more sulphurous character given by worm tubs. The warmer climate on Kyushu helps boost the maturation and interactions between the spirit and the cask, which is crucial for the removal of any undesired sulphur, and the distillery is aiming for a "mellow" flavour profile across their range. As mentioned above, generally Kanosuke single malts will spend 6-24 months in re-charred ex-shochu casks before being transferred to ex-bourbon or ex-sherry casks for the remaining maturation, but there are a number of other cask types in the warehouses, from IPA beer to sweet fortified wine, among others. As with most Japanese whisky producers a number of different styles of whisky are produced in-house by the parent company, from single grains, to blends of grain & malt, to both peated and unpeated single malts. The Komasa company owns a second distillery in nearby Hioki which primarily produces grain whisky from 90% unmalted barley and 10% malted barley that is distilled in stainless steel pot stills, the product of which is labelled as Hioki Pot Still with a similar interpretation to an Irish pot still whiskey. This Hioki grain whisky is also blended with Kanosuke malt whisky to create their Double Distillery product, similar to what Chichibu does with their Double Distillery blended malt which was a blend of malts from Chichibu and Hanyu in the past, but is now a blend of malts from Chichibu and Chichibu II. 

The Kanosuke we're looking at today is a single cask bottled for the distillery's festival in 2025, which is an unpeated single malt distilled in January 2020 and bottled in October 2025 at 56.0% ABV. It was fully matured in ex-shochu casks, both re-charred and non-re-charred, of 450-litre capacity. This is an unusual cask treatment even among Japanese single malts, let alone worldwide. Since this is a single cask bottling I'm assuming it was initially matured in the re-charred casks as is the standard operating procedure for Kanosuke, then moved into a non-re-charred cask for the remainder of its 5-years of maturation. Most Kanosuke expressions would only spend 6-24 months in shochu casks before being moved to a more conventional cask type, and this is my first time tasting a whisky fully matured in ex-shochu casks. I have to admit the one time I tried shochu itself I wasn't really a fan, but that's like trying one whisky and saying that you're not a fan of the entire category, and not being a big fan of a the previous occupant of a cask doesn't mean you won't like the whisky that the same cask creates! As for the influence of the shochu casks in this whisky, and in Kanosuke's whiskies in general, supposedly they add some sweetness and white peach flavours, while the re-charring adds more sweetness and wood influence. Regardless it's a unique selling point that allows Kanosuke to take advantages of the parent company's casks, and this distillery festival bottling being fully matured in those casks makes it pretty unique! Let's see how it goes.

Kanosuke Festival 2025, 5-years old, 56.0%. Kagoshima, Japan.

Unpeated, distilled 2020, fully matured in re-charred & non re-charred ex-shochu casks. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 600 bottles. 

Colour: Amber. 

Nose: Fruity, floral, malty. Fresh green pears, crunchy malted barley, touch of honey. Champagne (bubbles and all), candied lemon peel, touch of wood smoke. Becomes more malty as it breathes, with sprite (lemonade), apricot pie, and vanilla custard. 

Texture: Medium weight. Fresh, crunchy, clean, malty. Very slight heat. 

Taste: Fizzy (effervescent), malty, fresh. More sprite (lemonade), green pears, and crunchy malted barley. Lemon peel, maybe even yuzu? But doesn't seem as sweet. Black pepper, and a touch of charred wood. 

Finish: Medium length. Milk bottle lollies (think chewy vanilla), touch of honey, and a lightly bitter herbal note that is hard to pin down. Lemon juice, charred wood, and malted barley to finish. 

Score: 3.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Lovely light, clean, fresh whisky, with plenty of flavour & texture! Certainly seems to stick out as a "crunchy" textured whisky, particularly with the malty aspect, which is quite odd but very enjoyable! Most of the Kanosuke I've tried to date has had significant sherry cask influence, so it's great to finally try a more spirit-driven example with less cask influence. And this is definitely how I prefer their whiskies, showing the distillery character more. This is a very summery, easy-drinking whisky that doesn't sacrifice flavour or texture, with some interesting touches of acidity (sourness) and those fizzy & bitter notes that are quite unusual but very enjoyable! Could possibly be the ex-shochu casks showing through, but I haven't had enough shochu to be able to confirm either way. I definitely do prefer this expression to some of the sherry finished / sherry influenced Kanosuke that I've tried, which had too much cask influence for my personal preference. I'm also yet to try a peated example, so will have to put my feelers out for one of those!

Definitely seems like Kanosuke is coming into their own with this sort of exclusive release, doing things differently from other Japanese producers without going too far off the path. It's great to see another of the "new breed" of Japanese distilleries hitting their stride!

Cheers!