Whisky Details: Tormore 25 Year (1998), Gordon & MacPhail Cask 1595

Nose: Fresh, friendly, fruity— apple slices in butter, malty bread with whipped honey butter, a touch of pepper and old wood, straw stuffing in creates of apples and apricots, woody sweet apricot pits.

Palate: Medium-bodied, peppery and fruity, sliced apples and Korean pears alongside cracked black pepper, more cardamom and subtle clove in the background, citrusy fruit piths and grassy-herbal rooibos tea toward the end.

Finish: Medium to long with pepper, passionfruit, and dry summer grass.

Score: 7 (82)

Narrative & Notes: Ever since I had a delicious Tormore a few years back (Tormore 28 Year (1998), Antique Lions), I have been on a quest to try more like it.  Not every Tormore has hit the same highs and wonderfully combined aspects of Longmorn and Glen Keith, but there have been some gems along the way. Perhaps those similarities played a role in Pernod Ricard’s decision to trade the distillery for ownership of The Whisky Exchange.

This was partway there, with crisp orchard fruits riding alongside an intriguing spice. Yet, those elements were occasionally discordant, especially going from the nose to the palate. If only I had located more of the tropical notes listed on the label, I think it would have come off better. After two and a half decades in the cask, it was properly woody with some old oak, though for my taste, the light spirit bent a bit too much under the weight of the cask leading to some of that dissonance.

Whisky Details: Linkwood 25 Year (1997), Signatory Vintage for The Whisky Exchange Cask 7581

Nose: High tea and honey cakes arrived with hints of old linens, fried andagi, honey, and polished wood; waxed and well-tended antiques.

Palate: Medium-bodied with a gentle waxiness, lemon rind and gummy bears, malty fried andagi, lemon-lilikoi bars, honeyed herbal tea with hints of herbal horehound and mallow.

Finish: Long with lingering honey candies, lemon, and tea.

Score: 8 (87)

Narrative & Notes: This was loaded with familiar Linkwood notes— lace doilies, high tea, pastries— and took me right back to the sweet nostalgia of my grandmother’s living room.  As a child I found it painfully boring, but as an adult I am amazed at her patience with the little bit of chaos we brought to her well-appointed, quiet space.

What differentiated this Linkwood from some of its 90s cousins, or 1997 sibling casks, was its waxy and palate-coating mouthfeel.  In fact, it felt like a relic from a much older era, with a passing semblance to some of the divine Linkwood of the 1970s which can be oilier, richer, and dirtier than the modern production. This was clean, but it had those heavier qualities that lent it a longer finish, which became fruitier, more like a citrusy curd, over time. Excellent stuff.

Whisky Details: Glen Grant 28 year (1994), Hunter Laing Cask HL19335 for Broken Barrel Club

Nose: Orange rind with a touch of anise, herbal tea and grass, a kiss of salt and bath bombs with soft minerals, salts, and oily butter; relaxing mint, chamomile, and aromatic herbs.

Palate: Medium-bodied, herbal with orange rind and honey cakes, mellow herbal tea, shea butter; grows more oily over time with malty sugars and a kiss of pepper.

Finish: Medium to long with orange cakes and herbal tea.

Score: 7 (83)

Narrative & Notes: Classically Glen Grant with orange, grass, and a kiss of salt, everything was mellow and gentle after nearly three decades in the cask. The flavors were not terribly deep, but they were clear, and intensified along with the heft of the mouthfeel and finish over time.

No deep thoughts as this wasn’t that kind of whisky. Glen Grant does well with long maturations and this was no exception.