A new batch of whiskies has just arrived at my local store.
These are the Whisky Galore bottlings. Several were on the local shelves, including a Glen Garioch which I will have to try eventually, and I was told that more were on their way.
They are uncoloured, unchill-filtered, and bottled at 46% ABV.
The great thing about uncoloured whiskies is that you can make a reasonable expectation about the nature of the cask they were aged in. The labels don't say whether the cask was plain wood, bourbon, or sherry (etc.), but there was a very dark Aultmore that must have come from sherry given the moderate age. Most were from plain wood or bourbon wood.
I reached for an Ardmore, because that distillery's products have not been very available locally, with only an old Glenhaven bottling and a Cadenhead having been sighted before.
Ardmore, 15yo, distilled 1988 and bottled 2003, @ 46% ABV.
My first impression is that this whisky resembles what I expect from Clynelish.
A yeasty, peaty nose; sweet on the early palate and becoming very spicy; with a short clean finish. A little "ozone" makes it seem like an Island malt. It lacks the "mustard" quality that some Clynelish bottlings have, though. Maybe from a second fill bourbon, maybe from plain wood.
It's a little hot - it's one of the few 46% ABV whiskies that seems to need a drop of water to tame the fires. Haven't tried it that way yet, though.
Are there any whiskies in the Whisky Galore series that are especially worth looking out for? There was a Bowmore on the shelf which looked appealing.
And the one bottle of the UCF Sig. Caol Ila was gone, of course!
Bart