Springbank 12 Cask Strength 55.9% Whisky Review!

The latest release, batch 23, which is the first 100% ex-bourbon cask Springbank 12 Cask Strength bottling. Like most experiences with Springbank now, this is going to be a bittersweet experience...

Sadly like most Springbank / J&A Mitchell products this may as well be unobtainium. Each tiny allocation pre-sells to a distributor's and/or retailer's VIP list, shortly followed by hundreds of the same bottles appearing on auction sites. Many retailers and also some importers & distributors have followed suit by applying extra mark-ups, sometimes of a reasonable amount but increasingly verging on the obscene. Many of these retailers / licensed flippers will receive their Springbank allocation, sell some to a few friends, and then hold the remaining stock for a few months before releasing the "extra parcel" at double the recommended pricing. The distillery itself has not increased it's pricing substantially across any of its releases, and they are doing their best to blacklist some of these retailers who are greedily trying to cash-in on the insatiable demand for anything & everything that leaves the distillery gates. But the distillery has limited jurisdiction, and none at all in international markets where their importer should be doing the same, but often isn't - or in some cases, seem to be cashing in themselves by withholding stock. J&A Mitchell have tried to calm things down by ditching the outer packaging on all but the high-end releases and reducing their supply to some markets, and also increasing the sizes of each release where possible, but there's only so much they can do. In fact that's pretty much all they can do. A small, traditional distillery like this was never capable of keeping up with such a sudden almost-vertical surge in demand. We should be thankful they aren't cutting corners, and are still producing outstanding whisky. Sadly the 12-year old Cask Strength is one of the worst hit by this insanity, most likely because it flew under the radar for so long - outside of enthusiast circles, at least. Only a couple of years ago this whisky was selling for $160-170 AUD, and stock would last for weeks rather than minutes. The usual British & European auction sites are constantly flooded with the latest batches, often commanding upwards of $280 AUD plus premium, which may seem a lot, but is only $50 more than the retail pricing here in Australia, although that doesn't include shipping and customs charges of course. As a rough guide that would equate to over $350 AUD landed here, which is just too much. As much as I personally love these whiskies, I don't think they're a viable proposition at or over $250 AUD - which probably sounds like a lot of money to those playing overseas, mainly because it is a lot of money. Sadly that's what they will be commanding soon, probably if & when the next release arrives. 

The flippers and "investors" go mental for anything first-fill sherry cask from this distillery (largely driven by colour), and they can have them, because if you ask me it's in ex-bourbon casks - whether refill or first-fill - and refill sherry casks that Springbank's character really shines. Refill sherry casks work brilliantly as well though, in fact you'd actually be hard-pressed to find a cask type that doesn't work with the three different spirits that this distillery produces; the unpeated Hazelburn, the lightly peated namesake Springbank, and the heavily peated Longrow. But most Campbeltown purists will generally lust after the refill varieties for the distillery character - in fact you could almost call it regional character in Campbeltown's case, easier than most cases since there are only three distilleries to choose from. Yes, I'm talking about the much-loved "Campbeltown funk", which ranges from pungent, dirty, oily diesel and farmyard notes down to a general oiliness and slight briny character. In reality it's more of a traditional regional style rather than a direct result of the geography or regionality, despite the local environment (microclimate & microorganisms) having some small impact it's chiefly the "old school" production methods that are responsible, from mashing & fermentation through to distillation, maturation, and even bottling at decent strengths without chill filtration or colouring. Yeast, lactobacillus, and even spirit-derived sulphur as opposed to cask-derived sulphur (see here for more information, and a great example of both types combined), have a part to play here as well. Springbank's triple-distilled Hazelburn whiskies, and also sister distillery Glengyle (producing Kilkerran whisky) and the ugly duckling of the trio Glen Scotia for that matter, don't often exhibit the same level of "funk" as Springbank and Longrow, although they do show this delicious character in different ways. Springbank's direct-fired wash still (on the left in the above photo) and it's worm tub condenser on the intermediate / first spirit still (centre in the above photo) no doubt play a part there, alongside other natural, almost alchemistic and even unknown variables. It'll be interesting to see what the town's planned new distilleries work towards in this regard, I'm sure they'll be aiming for a similarly characterful production method and flavour profile - they'd be crazy not to! 

The 12-year old has had a change of approach over the last few years, going from 100% ex-sherry cask (both first-fill & refill) maturation in the earlier releases up until 2015's Batch 10 when an average of 30% ex-bourbon casks were added into the mix. 2021's Batch 21, which was never officially imported into Australia, is still the crazy outlier in the series with some ex-port and ex-burgundy wine casks added to the vatting (reviewed here alongside the more conventional Batch 22). Now with Batch 23, bottled back in late 2021, they've gone to 100% ex-bourbon casks for the first time. In fact as far as I can recall this is the first 100% ex-bourbon cask general release (not a Society bottling or a single cask) Springbank that we've seen since the outstanding 14-year old Bourbon Wood from late 2017. I can't find any word on the proportions of first-fill and refill casks in this latest release of the 12-year old, which is something Springbank hasn't disclosed since they moved away from 100% ex-sherry maturation in these releases over seven years ago. Based on smell & taste though I'm guessing there's a good chunk of refill bourbon casks in there, which is certainly no bad thing. Cask strength in this twenty-third batch is 55.9% ABV, and it is of course non-chill filtered and natural colour. This was the first of the 12 Cask Strength to skip the outer packaging, which doesn't seem to have slowed the flippers & speculators yet, but let's hope it does in future. I was lucky enough to get this bottle for the Australian RRP, almost a year ago now, and it'll probably be the last 12 Cask Strength that I get my hands on for the foreseeable. Stand by for another bittersweet whisky moment...

Springbank 12-year old Cask Strength, 55.9%. Campbeltown, Scotland.

Batch 23, bottled late 2021. Matured in 100% ex-bourbon casks, presumably first-fill & refill. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 

Colour: Medium gold. 

Nose: Malty, mineral, slightly minty. Lovely dry maltiness, coastal minerality (i.e. damp & muddy rockpools), silent machine shop. Touches of fresh orange, tinned peach juice, and red apple. Spearmint around the edges. Tangy malt vinegar & oily brine (think salt & vinegar seasoning), hint of fresh green chilli. Earthy & musty dunnage warehouse, and salted white fish. 

Texture: Medium weight. Oily, malty, dry, fruity, salty. Bang on. Slight heat but no complaints here. 

Taste: Golden malt biscuits, tangy malt vinegar, clean machine oils, and sweet citrus. Flashes of herbal honey & vanilla bean. Tinned peach juice, white pepper, lemon, oily brine. Touches of smoked white fish, lanolin (sheep's wool oil), and damp hessian. 

Finish: Long length. Gentle earthy smoke behind more tinned peach juice, golden malt biscuits, and pickling brine. Earthy, musty dunnage "funk", like an old barn. Spearmint & dried grapefruit around the edges. Browning (oxidising) red apples, gristy maltiness & clean oils to finish. 

Score: 4.5 out of 5.  

Notes: Yes, I'm afraid it's excellent. But that's not really a surprise, is it? It's quite a challenge to find a Springbank 12 Cask Strength that is anything less than great. Batch 23 is certainly "cleaner" in style than most of its predecessors, but that's not a surprise either given the 100% bourbon cask maturation. And it's not a criticism by any means. We're dialling back the dirty, sulphurous & eccentric notes, but dialling up the maltiness and brighter fruitiness instead, and giving that beautiful characterful spirit a better chance to shine. There are flashes of the brilliant 14-year old Bourbon Wood here in this 12-year old, but I suspect this one has more of a refill cask component than that special release did back in 2017. As great as the exotic cask types can be from this distillery, there's always a slight element of risk there. Which is not the case with their bourbon cask releases. I just don't think you can go wrong with that combination! I did warn you this would be bittersweet...

I'm sure there'll be some groaning at that score. I know people are frustrated at the lack of availability of Springbank, and at the constant flipping and profiteering from both "retailers" and secondary resellers. But this is not the fault of the distillery, they're largely doing what they've always done; focussing on making good whisky. They haven't even increased their pricing substantially, beyond covering the increases in their own costs. So as Roy from Aqauvitae pointed out recently, why shouldn't Springbank still receive praise for their outstanding work? They're still making brilliant whisky without cutting any corners, and they're doing everything they can (which isn't much) to mitigate the insane demand from the price-gougers and the flippers. So yes, it's nigh-on impossible to get for a reasonable price, and the stock & allocation situation is still dire. But whiskies of this quality always deserve to be praised, regardless of where they came from or how easy they are to buy. 

Here comes the bitter part. This whisky is not worth the $400-600 AUD that some greedy "retailers" are attempting to get for it in Australia. If you can get it for a reasonable price, i.e. close to the RRP, then go for it. That's where the value is. But if you can't do that, then you may have to settle for a dram in a bar, or you may have to confront the FOMO head-on and just let it go. And I'm talking to myself here as well. The more people are willing to do that, the more chance we have of this insane situation starting to correct itself, or at least slowing down. That's the only way things are going to change. If we keep feeding the flipping machine, they won't. 

Cheers!

Old Pulteney 13-year old Single Cask (Barrel & Batch) Whisky Review!

Pulteney Distillery's marketing team make plenty of noise about maritime influences and salty flavours, even calling it 'The Maritime Malt', but anyone familiar with the saltier end of the peaty spectrum will struggle to find any trace of it in their core range. When presented properly, though - i.e. at a good ABV and from active casks - Old Pulteney is a rich, full-flavoured dram that almost seems to scream "worm tub"!

Pulteney Distillery is located in the town of Wick on the far north-east coast of the Scottish mainland. The trek from Edinburgh is well over 5-hours, or over 2.5-hours from Inverness. That's not exactly a stone's throw by anyone's standards, and the round trip is going to make a serious dent in any traveller's itinerary. You'd probably stop in if you're also going further north to Wolfburn or even Orkney, but even still this is not an easy distillery to visit. Pulteney Distillery was founded in 1826 at a time when Wick was a busy fishing port, but the distillery wound up closing from 1930 until 1951 while under DCL ownership. That closure was largely thanks to Wick becoming a dry town from 1920 until 1947, supposedly after an American evangelist convinced the local council to ban alcohol. Imagine going through World War II without a whisky while a distillery sat silent in the middle of town! Supposedly it was a very rough town prior to that alchohol ban, and it still doesn't have the best reputation today. Pulteney Distillery was sold to a local solicitor in 1951 and was re-opened, then changing hands multiple times and eventually becoming part of Inver House Distillers along with Balblair, Speyburn, KnockDhu (bottled as AnCnoc) and Balmenach. The official bottlings from Pulteney Distillery are branded as Old Pulteney, which was supposedly the nickname of Sir William Pulteney whom the original Pulteneytown, now part of Wick, was named after. 

The distillery setup is an interesting one, with unpeated malted barley put through a relatively short fermentation time of 56-60 hours on average, followed by some interesting contradictions in the distillation regimen and reflux, where heavier vapours fall back into the body of the still and are effectively redistilled before rising up again. The wash still & spirit still both feature large "boil balls" or onions at the bases of their necks (for more reflux), but then the wash still has a very short flat-topped neck with a slightly downwards-angled lyne arm (for less reflux), and the spirit still has a fat neck & very odd U-shaped lyne arm which starts horizontal but turns 90-degrees downwards (again, less reflux) before twisting at a right-angle into a large purifier which sees heavier compounds sent back into the still for re-distillation (for more reflux). Then in one final contradiction, the vapours that do make it past the purifier head into a worm tub condenser, which means slower condensation with less copper contact than a modern shell & tube condenser, resulting in a heavier, oilier and sulphurous spirit (see here for more information). Interestingly this worm tub is a series of straight pipes stacked on top of each other submerged inside a rectangular steel vessel, rather than the conventional coiled tube (the namesake "worm" in a worm tub) submerged inside a round wooden vessel. 

Old Pulteney's flagship 12-year old is bottled at 40% ABV (the legal minimum) and is both chill filtered and artificially coloured, so it's not the example to reach for if you want to experience the distillery character. You're going to want a higher bottling strength and natural presentation, which would usually mean you'd need an independent bottling, and there's not many of those around. The distillery does occasionally release single cask official bottlings, both from the distillery shop and occasionally for certain markets - which brings us to our hero of the day, Barrel & Batch. This free-to-join "whisky co-op" group is the brainchild of Sydney hospitality stalwarts Ray & Simon, who bring small batch and/or single cask whiskies and whiskeys to a growing fanbase here in Australia. Unlike the multiple subscription services that we now have, Barrel & Batch does not operate as an automatic "send by default", where you'll automatically be sent a bottle of everything they release unless you manually "opt out" each time - yes, I hate that idea. This small duo already has some serious notches on their bedposts, featuring exclusive bottlings from Bruichladdich (reviewed here) to Highland Park and Redbreast in the past. They're also the people responsible for the 13-year old Old Pulteney single cask that I'm reviewing here, which was released early in their journey soon after the pandemic hit Australia back in 2020. 

This is a single cask release bottled specifically for Barrel & Batch, fully-matured in a first-fill ex-bourbon barrel for over 13-years and bottled at 53.0% ABV - reduced slightly from cask strength due to a miscommunication with the bottling hall, but I don't it's hurt this whisky in the slightest. I've been lucky enough to try a couple of sherry cask Old Pulteney single casks which were big & powerful meaty whiskies, so an ex-bourbon cask example will make for an interesting comparison. This 13-year old was the first single cask Old Pulteney bottled for Australia, while more recently there's been a younger refill cask release (not a single cask bottling) that was bottled at cask strength for Australia's largest subscription service - having tasted both of these Australian exclusives, let me assure you that there is no comparison at all between them. In fact I found the aforementioned cask strength to be very unpleasant and almost undrinkable, while this Barrel & Batch single cask bottling on the other hand is very much drinkable - maybe a little too drinkable! At the time of writing it's still available from the Barrel & Batch website for the reasonable sum (by Australian standards) of $199 AUD, That's a decent deal for any single cask official bottling on these shores. Let's get to it!

Old Pulteney 13-year old, Barrel & Batch, 53.0%. Highlands, Scotland.

Distilled 2006, fully matured in single ex-bourbon barrel #1451, bottled 2020. Reduced slightly from cask strength. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 258 bottles. 

Colour: Mid gold. 

Nose: Very thick honey, as in straight from the fridge. Very malty too, and slightly meaty & vegetal. Worm tubs ahoy! Fresh juicy oranges, roasted nuts & toasted oak. Touch of fresh herbs (sage & rosemary?) in the background. Vanilla fudge, and a hint of yeast extract (vegemite/marmite).

Texture: Heavy weight, thick & chewy. Rich & malty. Very slight heat, and it works well. 

Taste: Lovely chewy maltiness, like munching on a handful of still-damp barley in the kiln. That thick chewy honey and fresh oranges again, but it's less sweet here than on the nose. Vanilla fudge and that meaty yeast extract again. Touch of warm toasted oak. 

Finish: Medium length. Chewy malt again, but more gristy (flour-y) now. More fresh orange, and the vanilla fudge & yeast extract. Orange & cream chews (lollies / confectionary). And there's even a salty tang at the end. 

Score: 4 out of 5. 

Notes: More of these please Barrel & Batch, and more of these please Old Pulteney! Worm tubs, high strength, a good first-fill cask in the early teens, and reasonable pricing. Just what the doctor ordered! For those who've overlooked Old Pulteney in the past like I did, find yourself an example which also ticks all of those boxes, and it'll completely change your mind about the distillery. Which is precisely what a good single cask bottling should do, whether official or independent. If you're an unpeated worm tub fan - think bourbon cask Craigellachie, Mortlach, or Edradour, then an Old Pulteney like this will be right in your wheelhouse. If the above checklist applies to you and you're also in Australia, get to the Barrel & Batch website and order one while you can. That's purely a recommendation from someone who bought this very bottle and reviewed it. There are no kickbacks, PR firms, marketing pressures or paid links involved here. Just good whisky!

Cheers!

Port Charlotte MC01 Whisky Review - Plus A Bonus!

The last few years haven't been kind to travel exclusive bottlings, and this one took a long time to sell out in Australia. It appears to be gone now though, at least on the usual duty free websites. So by way of apology I'll tack on a bonus review of a rather different Port Charlotte!

MC01 is a heavily peated (40 ppm) Port Charlotte from Islay's Bruichladdich that has been finished in Sicilian marsala fortified wine casks, but like many of Bruichladdich's products that's not explicitly stated on the bottle or packaging; where you'll only find "ex-Sicilian fortified wine casks". Marsala is Sicilian a fortified wine ranging from semi-sweet to sweet in style, generally aged in continuously topped-up casks in a similar system to the soleras used in Spanish sherry maturation. Here in Australia marsala is probably more widely used in tiramisu or zabaglione desserts than as a standalone drink, but it's commonly served as an aperitif elsewhere. As far as I'm aware this 2018 bottling is the only marsala cask matured Port Charlotte that the distillery has released, possibly even across all three of the distillery's brands. However, like the more recent limited bottlings; MRC01 French red wine cask, OLC01 oloroso sherry cask, PAC01 French red wine cask, and now SC01 Sauternes sweet wine cask, MC01 was only finished in those casks rather than being fully matured. I actually spotted these casks in the Bruichladdich warehouse during my first visit / pilgrimage back in 2017, with MC01 being released roughly 6-months later. Despite this connection though I never picked up a bottle, which is a decision that I might regret after this review! Unfortunately none of the subsequent limited release Port Charlottes - 2020's OLC01, 2021's PAC01, or 2022's SC01 - have made it to Australia in any official capacity. A few cases were parallel imported by a couple of enterprising retailers, but as is usually the case their pricing was prohibitive. For what it's worth, the duty free pricing of MC01 here in Australia was circa $160, which is quite the bargain, but admittedly a little unrealistic here in 2022. The earlier MRC01, the last general release to actually make it to Australia, was around $180, but again that's unrealistic here in 2022. The whisky world is a very different place on this side of the continuing pandemic. 

MC01 was released shortly after the Port Charlotte brand underwent major cosmetic surgery. Prior to this it was packaged and labelled very similarly to the distillery's namesake unpeated whisky, which resulted in it being the attention-starved middle child sitting between Bruichladdich and Octomore while they enjoyed their time in the spotlight. As of mid-2018 though Port Charlotte suddenly had a new and distinctive bottle and labelling design, along with a permanent 10-year old core range expression and an annual Islay Barley release (both reviewed here). All that attention and expenditure certainly seems to have worked, and the brand is now extremely popular, largely thanks to the affordable pricing of said 10-year old, which like all core range Bruichladdich bottlings is bottled at 50% ABV and is non-chill filtered and naturally coloured. 

MC01 was distilled in 2009 and released in mid-2018 with a 9-year old age statement, and was bottled at a cask strength of 56.3% ABV. It was finished in European oak casks that had themselves matured marsala wine for nine years, while the whisky spent its first 6-years in a combination of ex-bourbon casks and unnamed French oak casks (which I'd assume to mean refill wine casks) before being vatted together and filled into the finishing casks. From those figures we can deduce that it was finished for 2-3 years in the ex-marsala casks, or nearly 30% of the total maturation time. All of these cask-finished high strength Port Charlotte limited releases - MRC01, MC01, OLC01, PAC01, or SC01 - have been similar ages and have followed similar maturation regimens, with a mix of cask types going into the finishing casks for a couple of years. As I've already mentioned, sadly only 2018's MRC01 ever made it to Australia as a general release, while MC01 was duty-free / travel exclusive, and the other two were never officially imported here. Not that I'm upset about it or anything...

Port Charlotte MC01, 9-years old, 56.3%. Islay, Scotland.

Travel exclusive, distilled 2009, released mid-2018. Matured in ex-bourbon and refill French oak ex-wine casks for 6-years, finished for 2-3 years in ex-marsala Sicilian fortified wine casks. Non-chill filtered, natural colour.

Colour: Bronze. 

Nose: Spicy, smoky, sweet. Sweet stone fruit - apricot, nectarine, touch of peach - and spicy sweet smoke. Creamy salted caramel fudge with extra sea salt. Touches of toasted oak, seaweed, raisin, and orange peel. A little nippy on the nose, let's call it "rough around the edges", which isn't common in Port Charlotte.

Texture: Medium weight. Thick, sweet, smoky & spicy. Touch of heat, warming but not harsh. 

Taste: Sweet BBQ smoke, slightly ashy. Fruity BBQ sauce, toasted oak, sweet stone fruit - apricot & nectarine again. Some runny honey, roasted hazelnuts, smoked almonds. More salted caramel, touch of raisin, and dried orange peel. 

Finish: Medium-long length. Black pepper, burnt & bitter herbs, spicy oak, ashy peat smoke. Runny honey, sea salt, creamy caramel, smoked almonds. Add in some bitter dark chocolate & ginger to finish. 

 

Score: 3.5 out of 5. 

Notes: Tasty Port Charlotte - well, aren't they all? There's a spicy, fruity & nutty edge to it, which I assume is from the marsala casks, and it works well. I don't think it quite hits the highs of the delicious MRC01, but it's not far behind. Sadly MRC01 is the only other expression that I've tasted in this series of Port Charlottes to date, since none of the others have come to Australia - and yes, I did have to mention that one more time. There is a touch of heat here in MC01, it's a little rough around the edges, which is unusual for a Port Charlotte. But this is still a relatively young whisky, so we'll forgive that minor transgression. I've never tasted marsala wine on it's own, but the finishing cask influence does seem well-managed, well-integrated and unobtrusive. Which is what all finishes should aim to be! I'm really going to have to hunt down the rest of the series...

Now for something a little different!

Part two of this review is an independent bottling from Dramfool, but it's not quite that simple, thanks to the involvement of legendary Bruichladdich Master Distiller Jim McEwan, who has recently been awarded an MBE for his efforts. When Remy Cointreau purchased Bruichladdich in 2015 Jim took his private casks with him into semi-retirement, initially selling them as "The Cask Whisperer" series through a Swiss independent bottler, and latterly through Dramfool as "Dramfool's Jim McEwan Signature Collection".  There have been two series' of Bruichladdich/Port Charlotte/Octomore bottlings from Scottish independent bottler Dramfool, one labelled as "Journey's End" to commemorate Jim's retirement (which still hasn't really happened, over seven years later), and the other as "Jim McEwan Signature Collection". I could be wrong, but as far as I can tell only a few bottlings from the "Journey's End" series were actually Jim's private casks, while the remainder of both series' have been private casks owned by others and sold to / bottled by Dramfool. This small bottler has been around since 2015, but they've been releasing a large amount of bottlings in the last couple of years, including a lot of Bruichladdich spirit, and the level of quality certainly seems to be high. 

The bottling that I'm looking at here is Release 2.2 of the "Jim McEwan Signature Collection" series, which is a single cask of 10-year old Port Charlotte that was distilled in July 2010 and bottled in February 2021. The most interesting & exciting point of difference here is that said single cask was an ex-bourbon barrel, which is a very rare thing for a Port Charlotte in general, and is unheard-of in official bottlings save the hand-filled Valinch distillery exclusives. Most Port Charlotte tends to be either matured or finished in wine casks of some description, so an ex-bourbon cask should give the spirit character & distillery character more time to shine. In this case the cask was a first-fill Jim Beam bourbon barrel, with a yield of 257 bottles at a cask strength of 59.4% ABV. It is of course non-chill filtered and naturally coloured. Let's get to it!

Dramfool Port Charlotte Release 2.2, 10-years old, 59.4%. Islay, Scotland.

"Jim McEwan Signature Collection" independent bottling. Distilled 7/2010, fully matured in first-fill ex-Jim Beam bourbon barrel, bottled 2/2021. 257 bottles. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 

Colour: Bright pale gold. 

Nose: Sweet, acidic, smoky. Sweet vanilla custard, smoky gristy (floury) barley, acidic under-ripe tropical fruit - particularly pineapple, plus pear, and watermelon rind (the white & green bits). Loads of sharp, bright lemon, and a touch of lime zest. Sweet spicy BBQ smoke, black pepper, warm toasted oak. Touches of sandalwood and earthy peat with more time. 

Texture: Medium weight. Sweet, acidic, smoky. No heat at all. 

Taste: Creamy vanilla, sweet & ashy BBQ smoke, lovely sharp lemon acidity again with that under-ripe pineapple & melon rind. Smoky gristy (floury) barley & black pepper. 

Finish: Medium length. Creamy sweet vanilla, earthy peat, black pepper. Pinch of salty sea breeze. Camphor (mothballs), sweet nutty smoke, sharp lemon peel. Just what the doctor ordered. 

Score: 4 out of 5. But close to a 4.5. Damn you, 5-point scoring system!

Notes: Yep, I'll take more bourbon cask Port Charlotte please! I don't know why the distillery won't give us many bourbon cask options - or any, really - when they can be this good. Well it's probably because they don't stand out as much among the other Islays as their wine cask bottlings do, as far as flavour profile goes, and because most Octomore comes from bourbon casks. But who cares? Basically everyone else uses this proven recipe for a reason - because it works! I absolutely love the acidity in this Dramfool Port Charlotte, plus the subtle vanilla sweetness and that lovely spicy smoke. I suppose if I'm really forced to nit-pick I'd like just one notch more weight on the palate, and one notch more length on the finish. But don't get me wrong, it's no lightweight in either department as it stands, and in terms of flavour we're bang-on. Right in my wheelhouse. This Dramfool bottling hides it's higher ABV extremely well after that unusual slight roughness in the official bottling, more than an extra year of maturation would give. Delicious. 

Cheers!