The Whisky Mafia

Destilleri: Dalmore

Nose: Roasted nuts and mature oak, with waves of fresh vanilla in the mix.

Palate: Toffee ice-cream, melted butter and a hint of Turkish delight. Greengages and earthy pear.

Finish: Buttered brioche, waxy peels, Milkybar sweetness balances by allspice and polished furniture richness.

Destilleri: Ledaig (Tobermory)

Nose: First salty and grassy with a hint of honey.

Palate: Firstly rich and fruity (red fruits) then notesaf salt and a sea air.

Overall: Intense, fruity and slightly salty caressing our tongue.

Destilleri: Longmorn

Nose: nice fragrance of sweet herbs, new cut flowers & spring honey

Palate: full body and a nice balance with a hint of spices and smoked meat

Finish: big, long and satisfying

Destilleri: Bruichladdich

Destilleri: Glen Scotia

Tasting Notes

Destilleri: Aberlour

Destilleri: Laphroaig

Nose: Molasses and oily toffee. Dates, walnuts, notes from the Maker’s Mark barrels (vanilla, toastiness, sweetness etc). We got oodles of butter, zest, cool wood smoke, almond, and passion fruit.

Palate: Dry and medicinal, with exotic spices, perhaps even some turmeric. The palate is surprisingly savoury at first, with what John described as “dry dampness” (taste and it’ll make sense!) – think musty wood sheds and hints of moist autumnal forest floor. The sherry notes are there too, but rather than being the big Christmas pudding flavour one often expects from Oloroso-aged whisky, we are instead treated to a much more restrained iced fruitcake, graced with hints of Laphroaig’s classic smoke.

Finish: Oaked. The mustiness carries into the finish, which lasts for a good while, with oily spices and dried fruit.

Destilleri: Bunnahabhain

Destilleri: Linkwood

‘Rounded yet delicate. Apples again, tingly spiciness. Fills and perfumes the mouth. Delicious…A classic example of a relatively light and fragrant whisky that has real complexity and a gorgeous feel.

Nose: Quite green, thick. Herbal, nutty, oily. Almond.

Palate: Medium, oily. Honey, pine oil. Malt, almond.

Finish: Quite long, dry, touch of anise.

Destilleri: Talisker

Nose: A seaweed iodine note is the first to spring from the glass – but it’s sunny and inviting, not industrial and heavy. Kelloggs Cornflakes, honey-roasted cashews, tangy cinnamon, warm nutmeg, and caramel notes build on the sense of sunshine, while an undercurrent of peat smoke brings depth. Water rounds it all out a bit and gives more of a velvety impression.

Palate: The rush of sweetness is a real surprise – on the front of the palate there are peach notes, raisin and perhaps red cherry. Then it’s all about that rich spice, along with the peat – a delicious abutment of pepper heat, bright allspice and rolling smoke. With water, it gets even sweeter and a little quieter, but still really tasty and mouth-filling.

Finish: Long and rich, but with a happy lightness, too.