CARSEBRIDGE 25 years old 56,4%

Nose:
Vanilla ice cream with peaches, held together by steadfast oak.





Palate:
Chewy oak supports a river of delicous summer berries. Hints of old-fashioned candy.





Finish:
Dry and spicy at first. Followed by tongue-based waves of soft, fruit-infused charcoal. Very long.


Comment:
A single grain whisky from the dismantled Carsebridge distillery. If you are willing to sacrifice complexity on the altar of hedonism, you´ll find plenty to savour here. Date distilled: 03.1979. Date bottled: 01.2005.

Rating: 8 1/4

EAGLE RARE Single Barrel 13 years old 45%

Nose:
Criminally seductive honey sweetness. Fruitiness that switches between cherries and blueberries. Cinnamon-laced corn. A light touch of woodsmoke adds to the mesmerizing palette.



Palate:
Magnificent melt-in-the-mouth liquid honey with crystal clear rye fruitiness floating on top. Chewy oak and coconuts. After a minute or so, a chocolate toffee character with faint echoes of liquorice takes over.





Finish:
Honey in pole position with some fragmented corn and rye trying to get a foot in amidst a wave of spicy oak.


Comment:
Produced exclusively for the renowned French whisky shop La Maison du Whisky. Bearing in mind that the folks at La Maison and them guys at Buffalo Trace know their stuff, it hardly comes as a surprise that this is a goodie. Perhaps not as distinctive as Blanton´s or Stagg, what this whiskey lacks in individuality it more than enough compensates for with both elegance and sheer hedonism. BT-collectors note: this bottle is more or less identical to the ER 10yo. The only difference being a silver sticker on the neck and the number 10 being drawn over on the back label. Cask No. 23.

Rating: 8,5/10

BLANTON´S GOLD Edition single barrel 51,5%

Nose:
Bananas, British toffee and caramelised oranges. Glue-ish. Perhaps a bit more closed than usual.




Palate:
Perfect marriage between rye and corn produces a sublime marmalade toffee that switches enticingly between sweet and sour. White peppers grab for attention in the background.




Finish:
Long and complex with chewy oak and explosive bursts of white pepper, followed by hard candy and hefty liquorice.


Comment:
When this is on top form it is one of the best whiskeys in the world. Here it is merely very, very good. Which, for the moment, will do just fine. Dumped on 12-2-05 from Barrel No. 132. Stored in Warehouse H on Rick No. 8.

Rating: 8,5/10

THE BALVENIE Single Barrel 15 years old 47,8%

Nose:
Refined and complex malt of a biscuit-like persuasion. Vanilla and oak. An intriguing nose.




Palate:
A bit oak-lazy at first with vanilla to the fore. Eventually the multi-layered malt comes into its own. Somehow manages to be both relaxed and uptight at the same time.




Finish:
Attacks you at the back of the throat. Differing strands of marvellous
malt weaved into the oak.


Comment:
This must be the ideal whisky for those who shy away from sherry. Somewhat different to the earlier 50,4% version (less sweet and fruity) but just as enchanting. Perhaps a little less individual in character. InCaskDate: 21.04.88. Bottling date: 23.04.03

Rating: 8/10

TWO BOBS Single Barrel 13 years old 63,6%

Nose:
Freshly sawn off wooden planks interlaced with walnuts and raisins.




Palate:
Marmalade thick. Toasty oak on top accompanied by tobacco and more raisins.




Finish:
Overripe cherries splashes down on a bed of dry and complex oak. Marvellous!


Comment:
From the Barton distillery in Bardstown.Distilled in June 1994, bottled in August 2007 by Ian Macleod. This easily outshines the distillery´s own premium brand, Ridgemont Reserve. Only 228 bottles made. May we ask for a rerun, please?

Rating: 9/10