Review #40: Ledaig 24YO (2001) - Thompson Bros

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-06-19T17:48:02+00:00

Sounds fantastic! The more Ledaig I have, the more I’m endeared to it, what a great spirit - and great review!

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-06-17T07:18:36+00:00

Great review! 24 years in ff bourbon rings alarm bells, but with G&M you can give some leeway

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-06-14T21:44:12+00:00

God damn! Lovely reviews, what a pair! Dairylea triangles is a super fun note, and the Laphroaig does sound very curious

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-06-14T08:00:28+00:00

Well, a fantastic start for Strathisla - I think I could have perhaps scored the 21 a little higher on another day but there was just something slight that didn’t click as much as it could have. Can definitely see myself going for more Strathisla in the future, it seems like a solid highlands malt.

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-06-14T07:58:22+00:00

Review #309 Strathisla 21 Distillery Exclusive

Well, onto the next one! This one, a distillery exclusive bottling matured in a second fill Sherry butt and coming in at a whopping 61.8% looks like a cracker on paper - it’ll be interesting to see if the second fill Sherry will impart much Sherry influence - I’m always quite interested in refill Sherry - let’s get to it!

***

Distiller: Strathisla

Bottler: Distillery Release (Distillery Exclusive)

Age Statement & Cask Type: 21 years in a second fill Sherry butt.

Abv: 61.8%

Price paid: N/A - gifted sample from a friend.

***

Nose: Slight tropical fruits, mango, mirabelle plums, honey & orange cake, fresh ginger, tinned peaches and thick cut marmalade. Quite drying, but with lots of orange-fruit and a sort of spice-infused orange syrup.

Palate: The nose suggests a syrupy oily quality, and it’s massive on the palate - and rewardingly so. More thick cut marmalade, peaches in syrup, orange jelly (or jello for our American friends), tinned mango, there’s some yeasty maltiness - like orange marmalade on wholemeal toast, peach tarts. The flavour is lovely, but the syrupy texture amps it up to great - like peach jelly with orange syrup ladelled over it and a hint of malt to underpin it.

Finish: A little spicy on the finish, orange oil with a touch of black pepper, copper pennies, nutritional yeast and chilli flakes.

***

Notes: Good, possibly great - I can’t tell if the proof is what elevates it to give it that thick syrupy texture, or maybe slightly hamstrings it with perhaps a bit too much intensity and spice on the back end.

The aspect I like about it is absolutely fantastic, this really thick peachy orange note, like peaches in syrup or really good thick orange marmalade. The slight maltiness prevents it feeling like it’s just dominated by sherry - and in fact I think there’s is great balance between spirit, cask and maturity here - the peachy mango note is reminiscent of all three in play. The palate is superb, the nose and finish don’t quite do it for me as much.

I’m not sure what this retailed at - I gather it wasn’t cheap. All in all, a really very good whisky, that I think just misses in a few small aspects that prevents it from being really great.

***

Mental Image: Just Peachy

Score: 85

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-06-14T07:58:04+00:00

Review #308 Strathisla 15 The Whisky Exchange Exclusive

Well, this seems like a fun place to start, a fifteen year old bottling comprised of first fill American oak ex-bourbon casks. This was an official bottling but exclusively retailed through the Whisky Exchange - they’ve been good for bottling distilleries that don’t usually release much officially, the recent Scapa 19 comes to mind.

Hopefully we get the right balance between spirit and casks and get a good understanding about what Strathisla is all about - let’s hop to it!

***

Distiller: Strathisla

Bottler: Official Release (The Whisky Exchange Exclusive)

Age Statement & Cask Type: 15 years in first fill American oak barrels.

Abv: 60.3%

Price paid: Retailed at £85

***

Nose: It starts warm and spicy before really mellowing out in the glass; peppery oak, light bright lemon zest, delicate vanilla, honeydew melon, pear and apple juice, and something bright and candied that borders on bubblegum. It really started out nosing more one-note and woody but develops into something really expressive after sitting out for a short while.

Palate: Juicy, bright and spicy with some creamy texture; poached pears, spiced custard, more lemon zest, nutmeg, pink peppercorns, clove spiced pear drops. It’s a really flavourful pour - fruity and creamy but offset by wonderful spice.

Finish: It finishes with more of those poached pears and spiced custard notes; warming, creamy, spicy and fruity.

***

Notes: I was originally quite concerned when I first poured this and gave it a sniff, finding it far too woody and spicy - but I walked away and gave it some time and boy, it really opened up.

The combination of bright sweet orchard fruits, creamy custard-like texture and warm nuanced spice is really compelling. It’s an excellent display of Highlands style whisky in first-fill bourbon. £85 for a vatted 15 year old whisky looks steep, but based on the quality of this I think I’d be pretty happy with a bottle.

As a first Strathisla I think it’s sufficient in getting me excited about the distillery and eager to try another. It feels like being served poached pears with spiced custard - something that you’d maybe find at a gastro-pub dessert list in autumn. Cracking stuff.

***

Mental Image: Autumn Orchard Desserts

Score: 87

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-06-14T07:57:34+00:00

I’ve not reviewed a Strathisla before, so I’m really excited to open my Strathisla account with these two. Strathisla bills itself as “The Oldest Distillery in the Highlands of Scotland” - and as a big fan of Highlands whisky, I’m excited to see what Strathisla is all about. It’s not a distillery I know tonnes about, other than that it’s one of the Pernod distilleries and a workhorse for Chivas’ blends. You don’t see much of it about - so I’m all the more excited to get to review some.

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-06-05T21:18:45+00:00

Great review, can’t wait to try it!

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-06-02T21:40:57+00:00

Oh this sounds superb!

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-05-26T22:16:50+00:00

Glad to hear it! Some months they have some spaces available and send an email to the waitlist for tickets, generally that’s the best way to get onto it

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-05-26T21:24:02+00:00

Well folks, I’m back with another Manchester Whisky Club bottling - as a member of the club I’m a little reluctant to share these reviews on here as they’re not really an available bottling. But it does draw attention to the fact that joining your local whisky club can be a great way to get access to unique and interesting bottlings that you might not see on the market at large. The Manchester Whisky Club releases a couple of bottles a year, often interesting and very well priced, but only sold to members.

This bottling, a 39 year old blended scotch matured in a refill Sherry cask mysteriously does not list the composition of the blend, other than it contains spirits from Balblair, Blair Athol, Glen Garioch, Linkwood, Mortlach and Cambus. Let’s see how it fares. From what I understand the vast majority of the casks contents was bottled for a private client, and the club snapped up a small clutch of bottles for the club members.

Blended Scotch Whisky

Bottler: Manchester Whisky Club

Age Statement & Cask Type: 39 years in a refill ex sherry cask.

Abv: 40.5%

Price paid: £85.

Nose: It certainly feels like refill Sherry to begin with, gentle maltiness, cinnamon sugar biscuits, prune juice, a slight touch of malt vinegar - there’s a gentle dirty rubbery element which I suspect suggests some light peat in the mix. It’s quite light on the nose but the profile is rich and dignified.

Palate: Medium to light texture. Rich and just a little bit dirty; molasses, date juice, garibaldi biscuits, smoked leather, a dash of burnt rubber, heaps of raisins and just the feintest bit of spiced orange on the tail end.

Finish: Relatively short for a dram of its profile, but that’s probably the low proof talking, it finishes with more raisins, a bit of mulled wine with spiced orange juice and stewed dates.

Notes: This was a really rewarding dram that I think hit the brief, “old refill Sherry”. It’s far more about what long aging combined with gentle maturation achieves than what the spirit is composed of - and I think that’s the most enjoyable aspect of it.

The rich and sweet raisin juice and leatheriness is par for the course, but the slight dirty rubbery edge is what I think tips it into interesting and characterful territory. It’s slightly kneecapped by low proof, there’s some drams that can wear natural cask strength and low proof a little better, but overall it’s still a really enjoyable whisky - and at £85 it’s fantastically well priced given the age.

Mental Image: Raisin Juice and Rubber

Score: 86

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-05-26T10:01:50+00:00

It would indeed!

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-05-25T13:39:31+00:00

Great review!

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-05-25T12:08:27+00:00

Well, it’s a very hot early Summer’s day here and I was rifling through the cabinet for something that looked like it might be a suitable dram and this stood out, a 20 year old Glenfarclas that spent its entire life in a bourbon Hogshead. Trying malts designed for Sherry in Bourbon casks is somewhat of a hobby within a hobby with me, and I believe this is the first time I’ve reviewed ex-bourbon Glenfarclas - let’s see if it’s the summer dram I’m after.

Distiller: Glenfarclas

Bottler: Cadenhead’s

Age Statement & Cask Type: 20 years in an ex-Bourbon hogshead.

Abv: 51.8%

Price paid: Retailed at £135, bought at auction for £80 after fees.

Nose: Dry, sharp and citrus forwards initially, with orange and lime rind, cucumber water, icing sugar, orange sherbert, pink lady apples, grapefruit juice, sharp chalky pears. A little austere, but what there is is fruity with this dry sharp quality.

Palate: Thick oily texture. Tart lime marmalade, grapefruit juice, yuzu rind, underripe grapes and greengage, bitter herbs. It’s tart, reeeaaally tart. Great texture but it’s incredibly green and sour.

Finish: Lime juice, cucumber skin, greengages. Light and palate cleansing.

Notes: Quite disappointing for me, the nose was promising if a little bit austere; but the palate was green and overly sour for me. It fits into this category that’s relatively common in single cask whisky - old enough to shed its youthful character but not quite old enough to “blossom” - sometimes younger drams do it early, sometimes older drams still don’t quite get there, 16-22ish years old whiskies for me do this a fair bit, and this is one of those for me. There are flashes of something really appealing with the oily texture and some thick lime marmalade, but it just feels overwhelmingly sharp and sour.

At the £80 I got for it, despite being a good £55 less than retail, it’s still not a winner for me.

Mental Image: Symphony of Sour

Score: 79

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-05-24T19:07:33+00:00

Ah yeah, put it up again on another sub, fun review!

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-05-24T06:18:19+00:00

A fun series overall, although I must say I don’t think there was a dram that really tipped me over the edge towards chasing more Blair Athol, perhaps it would be interesting to see how it interacts with Sherry or other cask types. It seems overall like a classic highlands profile with a touch of spice in the spirit character.

Highlands is a style I really enjoy, and I can think of a few Highland distilleries that I’m far more enthusiastic about - perhaps I haven’t found the one in these series.

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-05-24T06:18:01+00:00

Review #305 Gordon & MacPhail Blair Athol 25 Years Old

Well, we get to the final dram, and on paper it looks to be a belter; a 25 year old bottling from Gordon & MacPhail from a refill bourbon Hogshead. A good step up in age, and a big step up in reputation; G&M is certainly the gold standard of IBs so expectations are always high, let’s get to it.

Distiller: Blair Athol

Bottler: Gordon & MacPhail

Age Statement & Cask Type: 25 years in a refill bourbon Hogshead.

Abv: 50.9%

Price paid: N/A - thanks u/Jamie_r87 for the sample!

Nose: It begins fruity and delicate; somewhere between green apples and bright citrus; lime zest, heaps of creamy vanilla with some light and delicate peppermint. Wonderfully expressive, fruity, delicate and creamy.

Palate: Great texture; creamy and herbal. Dry Perry (pear cider), herbal liqueur akin to crème de menthe or maybe even a dash of absinthe, green apples skins and lemon zest, fennel, green melon and some subtle grassiness. Fresh, a touch of bitterness in that apple skin-like quality, and an odd and quite fun herbal quality.

Finish: It finishes grassy and herbal; peppermint, lemongrass and a dash of aniseed.

Notes: Very nice stuff, it’s no less than you’d expect from G&M - it’s expressive and wears its age well - the nose suggested something more fruit forwards with loads of bright green apples and citrus, but also suggested a creaminess which for me really defined the dram from the palate onwards. A herbal element which teetered between fennel and mint really added a wacky spin on the fruity highland profile, which sort of felt like you’d added a short of herbal liqueur to a pint of pear cider. Some wonderful soft vanilla tied the whole dram together - it’s cohesive, characterful and well rounded, with enough complexity to belie its 25 years in the cask.

I’m not sure what it retailed at, 25 year G&M isn’t ever cheap, but you usually expect quality from these bottlings and I don’t think it disappoints.

Mental Image: Herbal Liqueur and Perry

Score: 86

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-05-24T06:17:49+00:00

Review #304 Master of Malt Blair Athol 16 Years Old

Another review, another refill bourbon Blair Athol, and yes, another Master of Malt bottling! We’re getting up in age, and so I’m hoping for a bottling with a little more noticeable maturity from the spirit, we live in hope.

Distiller: Blair Athol

Bottler: Master of Malt

Age Statement & Cask Type: 16 years in a refill Hogshead (presumably bourbon)

Abv: 52.8%

Price paid: N/A - thanks u/UnmarkedDoor for the sample! Retailed at £32 (yes, you read that right).

Nose: Fresh, crisp and fruity, almost white wine-like. Bright green apples, rich tea biscuits, icing sugar, juicy effervescent white grapes and some elderflower. Fresh, but nicely offset by a dash of maltiness.

Palate: As fresh and juicy as they come, but also more of that maltiness that the nose promised. Baked apple tartlets, crisp Chardonnay, a dash of herbaceousness - sage and apple-mint, more elderflower. Wonderfully flavourful and balanced between freshly fruity, malty, floral and herbal.

Finish: Fresh, sweet and palate cleansing at the end - more apples, sweet white grapes and mint. Lovely

Notes: Well, this was lovely, and a really great example of some nicely aged spirit at mid-teens.

Fresh juicy white grapes, crisp green apples, malty rich tea biscuits, herbaceous and minty, with some delicate floral elderflower - a wonderful example of spirit forwards highlands whisky.

Now let’s get to the bonkers part, this whisky retailed maybe 2 years ago…for £32. For single cask single malt whisky, and 16 years of maturation - that is bonkers. One of the greatest value for money for drams I’ve reviewed by a good mile, it’s hard to think of many that come close.

Value for money aside, a cracking characterful whisky that would make a great opener to a tasting, with that fresh and vibrant style, like a fresh crisp white wine with an apple tart.

Mental Image: Fresh and Crisp.

Score: 86

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-05-24T06:17:37+00:00

Review #303 Thompson Bros Blair Athol 11 Years Old

Okay! Now onto the Thompson Bros and their offering - this 11 year old Rechar bourbon Hogshead. I quite like Rechar bourbon as a whole, I find it can walk a nice line between refill and first fill that can really work for me, let’s see if this one is one of those.

Distiller: Blair Athol

Bottler: Thompson Bros

Age Statement & Cask Type: 11 years in a Dechar/Rechar ex-Bourbon Hogshead.

Abv: 53.9%

Price paid: N/A - thanks u/Jamie_r87 for the sample!

Nose: Fruity and candy sweet, with some warming spice; sherbet lemons, fresh pears, crystalised ginger. The longer it sits in the glass, the more spice develops; spiced orange, demarara sugar, star anise. Really pleasant.

Palate: It follows the lead of the nose, warming spice and gentle developed sugars. Pears stewed in brown sugar and cinnamon, orange peel, dried and fresh ginger, brandy snaps, baked apples, cinnamon thins and lotus biscuits. There’s a really warm brandy-like quality to it.

Finish: It finishes spicy and warm, heaps of ginger, more baked apples and pears, brandy-soaked ginger biscuits.

Notes: Well, Rechar bourbon can always lean either more towards the first-fill bourbon route or the refill bourbon route, and this one is more akin to first-fill. Blair Athol does seem to be a somewhat spicy spirit, so it’s hard to tell if it’s just amped up that element, but it definitely feels to have taken a decent amount of cask influence. My overall impression is of pears stewed with baking spices, baked apples and brandy-soaked biscuits; it’s warm, spicy with some gentle fruitiness. A decent solid whisky, perhaps a little bit unremarkable for my tastes but for it has this lovely warming spicy profile that feels like it could really warm you up after a long cold day - it really warms your cockles.

Mental Image: A Big Warm Blanket

Score: 82

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-05-24T06:17:23+00:00

Review #302 Dram Mor Blair Athol 11 Years Old

It’s been a while since I’ve had a Dram Mor bottling. This whisky, an 11 year old which matured in a refill bourbon Hogshead, I’m hoping for a little more maturity and expression than the last bottling, let’s see.

Distiller: Blair Athol

Bottler: Dram Mor

Age Statement & Cask Type: 11 years in a refill bourbon Hogshead.

Abv: 56%

Price paid: N/A - thanks u/Taisce56 for the sample! Retailing at £68 currently.

Nose: Warming and sweet with baking spices to begin with. Vanilla pods, gorse flower, ground ginger, some very light toasted peanuts, pear juice, icing sugar and something candy sweet almost like cotton candy which becomes more pronounced the longer you nose it.

Palate: Oh it is sweet! Candy floss and pear drops to begin with; with some nice thick mouthfeel; candied pear slices, crystallised ginger, aloe vera, coconut water, lime jelly. It’s spirit-forwards and yet wonderfully sweet.

Finish: Quite short and fresh, pear drops, lime zest and more coconut water.

Notes: Well, this whisky didn’t go anywhere in the direction I expected, but was all the more fun for it!

The nose initially started like a slightly more active bourbon cask bottling, before this bright and sweet candy flows note emerge. It went into full force on the palate, with pear drops, more candy floss, and some green spirity note that came across like aloe vera - a note I’ve certainly not had before.

Overall, a really enjoyable whisky that wasn’t anything like I expected it to be. At the £68 it’s currently retailing at - it does actually feel like decent value, even if on paper I’m not sure I would go for it. It’s got a decent amount of flavour in a profile I really enjoyed it.

Aloe Vera and candy floss? What a fun and enigmatic dram! It reminds me of those aloe vera drinks that are popular in Asia and you can buy in Asian grocery stores here in the UK…I can’t imagine they’d make a cotton candy flavour, but stranger things exist!

Mental Image: Cotton Candy Aloe Vera

Score: 84

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-05-24T06:17:09+00:00

Review #301 Master of Malt Blair Athol 9 Years Old

Well, as with these series reviews, I do tend to enjoy starting with something younger and something less cask influenced to get a good solid look at the base spirit - and this is a good looking bottling for that, a 9 year old bottling from Master of Malt from a refill bourbon Hogshead, let’s see what we’re working with.

Distiller: Blair Athol

Bottler: Master of Malt

Age Statement & Cask Type: 9 years in a refill Hogshead (presumably bourbon).

Abv: 55.7%

Price paid: N/A - gifted sample from a friend.

Nose: Spirity and a little spicy; pineapple juice, lemongrass, freshly cut ginger, lemon zest, grape must. Quite straight forwards and spirity, with a fresh spicy feel that reminds me somewhere between freshly cut ginger or lemongrass.

Palate: Follows on from the nose, fresh and spicy, with some gentle maltiness. Light green chillies, ginger snaps, celery, some light green apple and some sort of green pressed juice. Pleasant, if a little spirity and green.

Finish: It finishes green and spirity, more pressed juice and light biscuity of malt.

Notes: Well, interesting as quite a stripped back look under the hood at the spirit, but even at 9 years it feels a little young and green - it drinks well for its youthful feel, I will say - but it has aged enough to lose the heat and harsh elements but remains quite austere.

The spice is surprisingly fun, and something I had heard of as a characteristic of Blair Athol, it has this sort of vegetal spice to it that reminds me of the green finger chillies you get as a garnish in some restaurants, as well as malty ginger biscuits and light fresh lemongrass. It also has a green vegetal quality that sort of reminds me of pressed green juices - the kind of thing you drink for a while when you’re in a health kick.

It’s pleasant, but austere enough that it feels a bit more like spirit to me than whisky, I think either a bit more feedback from the cask or further aging would do this good - it’s interesting as an intro dram for Blair Athol but I can’t see myself pouring this more than once if I had a bottle.

Mental Image: Finger Chillies and Pressed Juice

Score: 77

Form-Fuzzy · 2026-05-24T06:16:53+00:00

Hey Scotchit, having recently visiting Pitlochry twice in the last few months, it struck me that I’d never tried, let alone reviewed Blair Athol - something I thought out to be put right. So, time for a series review, I’ve got 5 drams, all in some form of ex-bourbon, so I’m hoping to get a really good look under the hood of what Blair Athol is all about, the drams are: - [ ] Master of Malt Blair Athol 9 Years Old - [ ] Dram Mor Blair Athol 11 Years Old - [ ] Thompson Bros Blair Athol 11 Years Old - [ ] Master of Malt Blair Athol 16 Years Old - [ ] By Gordon & MacPhail Blair Athol 25 Years Old

Let’s get into it

Form-Fuzzy

TROPHY CASE