Of course, the trip to Scotland a week ago couldn’t have passed without me sipping some nice drams here and there. Although I didn’t do too many whisky related things, I still managed to have a few very nice whiskies, most of them at the SMWS at Queen Street, Edinburgh.

Tomatin 17, 56.4%, 1989, WM Cadenhead’s Authentic Collection
Mostly almond and tropical fruit with a gentle and light nose. Some sirupy sweetness. The palate burnt like a bonfire and the alcohol was very prominent. Mango and other soft fruits. The finish was a bit more gentle and that gave a somewhat more mature feeling to the whisky.

44.49 (?) Lamb chops, mint sauce and blueberries. 11yo, refill ex-sherry butt. 57.7%
Not sure if it was this bottling of 44, but it was a 44…
Sweet citrus, orange, blood orange and light creamy milk chocolate. Quite some malt as well. The palate was rather fierce, very dry and very fruity. The long finish gave me flavours of sweet lemon and some European oak.

35.52, Lush, Divine and Exotic. 34yo, refill ex-bourbon hogshead. 52.3%
Fudge and toffee at first, carrot cake and orchard fruits like pear and apple. Gets more woody as you go along. The flavour gave me leather and wax, dry and quite crisp with fudge, caramel and gets quite thick after a minute. The finish is very nice with fruitcake and hinted at a dry fruitiness that you can get from white wine. A very, very good dram!

23.68, Smoky Pavlova. 8yo, refill ex-sherry butt. 66%
Very sweet on the nose with caramel, warm sugar and quite some smoke. The taste is very dry, with bonfire flavours as well as straw and field flowers. The sweetness comes after that. The finish is dry and fiery, quite long with a smoky sweetness and those burnt pavlova bits.

I still regret not getting a bottle of the 35.52, but I would have had to go to Leith, since it wasn’t available downtown. Maybe next time!