2025 Scotch Tasting
Date Held: Saturday, May 9th, 2025
Date Held: Saturday, May 9th, 2025
Matured in first fill bourbon barrels before being finished for 12 months in PX sherry casks, this expression provides an intriguing harmony or rich and spicy fruit flavours, as well as distinctly Campbeltown notes.
Nose Vibrant fruit emerges first (peach flesh and green apple peels), followed by chewy vanilla fudge, a hint of salinity, then an array of oak-y spices including some char.
Palate Opens with more fudge with a little dusting of powdered sugar. Powerful, oily and a touch herbaceous with some German brandy character.
Finish Sherried notes come through more on the finish. (pedro ximenez sherry cask matured)
Country: Scotland
Region: Campbeltown
Distillery / Brand: Glen Scotia
Price: $50
ABV: 46%
Glencadam 15 has gone from strength to strength since a packaging facelift in 2009, at which time the strength was upped to 46% by owners Angus Dundee, who took over the distillery from Allied in 2003. An undersung distillery that is now starting to stretch its wings with some very good value for money whiskies.
Nose Fragrant, spicy aromas like gingerbread and cinnamon cut through bright citrus, orchard fruit, and a little beeswax.
Palate Oak char, marmalade, pineapple slices, and white grapes lead with rum spice, coconut milk, and Corinth raisins in support.
Finish Fresh fruit on the tail, with hints of toasted oak.
Country: Scotland
Region: Highland Whisky
Distillery: Loch Lomond
Price: $79.99
ABV: 46.0%
The first of three single malts from Bladnoch released in early 2017 to celebrate the reopening of this Lowland distillery. Although it doesn't carry an age statement, it's said to be made up of whiskies that are a minimum or 8 years old and well as older, rarer whiskies. First fill Californian red wine and bourbon casks were used for maturation, whilst 'Samsara' appropriately enough means 'rebirth'.
Nose Quite concentrated, fruit compote, with plums, vanilla and orange blossom.
Palate A sweet winey start, then drying slightly before more plums and vanilla flavours, some citrus and a malty core. Nicely structured.
Finish Mellow and winey with a spicy, lingering tail.
Country: Scotch Whisky
Region: Lowland
Distillery / Brand: Bladnocha
Price: $92
ABV: 46.7%
The Balvenie '12 Year First Fill Single Barrel' Single Malt Scotch hails from the Speyside region of Scotland, renowned for producing some of the world’s finest single malts. This expression is aged for 12 years in a first-fill Bourbon cask, offering a one-of-a-kind character with every bottle. The distillery’s dedication to traditional craftsmanship shines through in this limited edition release, with no more than 300 hand-numbered bottles drawn from each cask, making each bottle truly unique.
Nose: Honey notes, overlaid with sweet fruits and subtle spices.
Palate: Rich and complex with deep vanilla oakiness.
Finish: Lingeringly sweet
Country: Scotch Whisky
Region: Speyside Whisky
Distillery: The Balvenie
Price: $80
ABV: 47.8%
The limited-edition single malt is a combination of Madeira and White Port casks. Three quarters of the whisky is matured in second-fill Madeira casks, releasing smoky, spicy, and sweet fruit flavors. The final quarter has been finished in first-fill Port casks; the majority of these are white port, adding a hint of crisp fruit and deep woodiness to the flavor.
Nose Cinnamon, freshly ground ginger, crisp green apple with notes of toasted peaches, charred orange peel, and caramelized sugar with a whisper of bonfire embers.
Palate Honey sweetness paired with juicy citrus characters and delicate notes of hazelnut, tannic oak, dark chocolate and slightly bitter caramel leading to earthy iodine-rich smoke.
Finish Sweet and smooth with a lingering earthy peat and creosote phenolic character. A slight sea-salt sensation to finish.
Country: Scotland
Region: Islay
Distillery: Laphroaig
Cost: $105
ABV: 52.3%
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Factory: Tabacalera La Alianza S.A.
Wrapper: Ecuador (Sumatra)
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Dominican Republic & Nicaragua
Length: 6 Inches
Ring Gauge: 54
Vitola: Torpedo
MSRP: $14.75 (Box of 20, $295)
Release Date: July 2022
Number of Cigars Released: 15,000 Boxes of 20 Cigars (300,000 Total Cigars)
Cigar Shape: Toro
Cigar Length: 6"
Origin: Nicaragua
Cigar Ring Gauge: 48
Strength: Full
Wrapper Color: Maduro
Cigar Wrapper: USA Connecticut Broadleaf
Cigar Binder: Nicaragua
Cigar Filler: Nicaragua