Two Independent Malts, a Grain, a Blend & a Rum | Various ABV

Try Before You Buy?

When Wally offered these samples to our writing group, I was keen to put my hand up to receive a set for review. I’d already noticed this outturn was incoming and I was pondering which one I might choose to part with some cash for.

Watt Whisky has become one of a handful of independent bottlers over the past couple of years that I feel I can trust blind, knowing that I’m highly likely to end up at the very least a good bottle of whisky, and often something even better.

I haven’t tried them all, and maybe I have been very lucky with my previous choices, but that is the impression they have given me thus far. Before I received these samples, it was the young, peated Arran that was intriguing me the most above the others.

Usually when I get the chance to try a whisky before I buy I end up purchasing very few of them, even if they are nice and very worthwhile whiskies. My curiosity has been satisfied and I am often happy to move on to the next. It has to really grab me and be within my financial means before I am going to invest in a full bottle. I either want to explore further or move on to the next flavour experience, and the latter wins out for the most part.

Try before you buy isn’t normally possible for me, so most of my full bottle purchases I won’t have tasted before, and are made based on a combination of what on paper would suit my taste preferences, and reviews from others to give me some confidence the money won’t be wasted.

Despite that, I would say at least half of the bottles open on my shelf, if not more, I would have been happy to have had a sample, or a smaller 20cl bottle and then move on. I guess that’s why we accumulate so many bottles and if you are anything like me, have lots and lots of them open through that never ending quest to explore further into whisky.

I struggle to fathom how some people have the self control to only have a handful open, and are happy to sit on bottles they haven’t tried before for months - or even years - before opening them, waiting patiently for their turn in the queue. I admire the restraint, but it still perplexes me.

It would be great to have some sort of bottle exchange programme where you can swap bottles you’ve had enough of amongst enthusiasts. Then again, sharing open bottles with strangers is very trusting indeed. Best to stick to sharing with whisky friends.

Fergus also received a set for review, and it will be interesting to see what differences and similarities we share in our assessments. After all, this is only a one shot deal with a single pour.

We’ve got plenty to get through, so let’s see if any of these will give mine or Fergus’ bank balance something to worry about. I decided to go in ABV order, as it seemed as good a way of doing it as any.

Review 1/5 - Ramsay

Invergordon 26yo, 1997, 258 bottles, filled from a single hogshead, 52.3% ABV
£95 and still some availability

I’ve got a few well aged single grains in my collection and to be honest, I’m still not fully convinced that grain whisky is for me. At least not the type churned out by the big industrial factories in Scotland that I find on many occasions small and taste of sickly sweet vanilla and glue.

They’re usually good value for the age to price point ratio, but more often than not I’d rather have a younger malt. I am always open to being genuinely surprised and I will keep tasting and tasting, but I’m not buying them any more. There’s bound to be some exceptional ones out there I’m yet to stumble upon, so let’s see if this is it. This Invergordon has been matured in a single ex-bourbon hogshead.

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*A pleasant and straightforward single grain experience*

Nose

Sweet and super creamy vanilla, carpenter's workshop, honey and apple skins are the main notes, with some bubblegum and coconut in the background.

Palate

Bright, sweet and juicy apples and lemons, with creamy vanilla milkshake, candy floss, dry pebble earthiness, oak and white peppery spice. Warmth from the spice continues into the finish, as does the creaminess.

The Dregs

The kind of notes I usually find in these whiskies, but thankfully none of the off-putting glue, and there’s a bit more fruitiness coming through. This one is a pleasant easy sipper that I would have no problem getting through a bottle of. It drinks really well at cask strength too. If you’re into this style of whisky, and I know many are, then this could well be one worth seeking out.

Score: 6/10 RT

Review 1/5 - Fergus

Invergordon 26yo, 1997, 258 bottles, filled from a single hogshead, 52.3% ABV
£95 and still some availability

Despite being a big fan of the indy bottlers, this is my first outing with Watt Whisky, so needless to say, when Wally asked me if I’d be interested in tasting some samples from their latest outturn, I jumped at the opportunity.

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*Very, very quaffable, although if you gave it to me blind, I’m not sure I’d guess its age*

Nose

The nose here is rich, silky and sweet. I get coconut, crème brulee, light coffee, white chocolate and vanilla pipe tobacco. There’s a subtle, fruity top note as well, like cloudy lemonade. I also get strawberry scented pencil eraser.

Palate

The palate delivers on the nose. It’s silky and goes down easily. There’s more crème brulee, a touch of pencil lead, some brown sugar and some very milky coffee. The only note I get that really speaks to its age is the vanilla pipe tobacco, which also comes through on the palate.

The Dregs

Dangerously easy to drink. I’m wavering between a 6 and a 7 on this one. The reason I’m going with a 6 is because, delicious as it is, it lacks some of those ‘old whisky’ notes I was hoping to find. Either way, it’s very enjoyable. Not complex, but delicious nonetheless.

Score: 6/10 FMc

Review 2/5 - Ramsay

Glen Moray 11yo, 2008, 318 bottles, filled from a single oloroso hogshead, 54.6% ABV
£79 and still some availability

I don’t have a lot to say about Glen Moray. I’ve had a few in the past and it’s a distillery that has a good mix of lower cost supermarket whisky and more enthusiast focussed whiskies with their Warehouse range, but I don’t believe I have any on my shelf at the moment.

This one has been finished in an oloroso sherry hogshead for 14 months, which judging from the colour, was possibly a refill cask.

Score: 8/10

**Something special.**
***TL;DR***
*A delicious sweety shop in a glass*

Nose

A nice fruity and honeyed nose. Cherry lip sweets from the pick and mix are leaping out at me, complete with their slightly perfumed aroma. I also get cola bottles, apple jolly ranchers and pineapple cubes. Confectionery indeed! There’s also balsamic acidity, black tea and toasted oak.

Palate

Bright, sweet and juicy apples and lemons, with creamy vanilla milkshake, candy floss, dry pebble earthiness, oak and white peppery spice. Warmth from the spice continues into the finish, as does the creaminess.

The Dregs

This is a very, very good whisky with huge sweet shop vibes. Many Oloroso finishes will give you lots of dark fruits, coffee, chocolate etc. and the base spirit could be anything, but this one is much more delicate and retains the character of the whisky. I was on the edge over whether to give this a seven or an eight, but I think it is well worthy of the higher mark.

Score: 8/10 RT

Review 2/5 - Fergus

Glen Moray 11yo, 2008, 318 bottles, filled from a single oloroso hogshead, 54.6% ABV
£79 and still some availability

Probably the least engaging of the five samples that I tasted in this set. A straightforward, easy sipping sherried whisky.

Score: 5/10

**Average. In a good way.**
***TL;DR***
*An easy sherried sipper*

Nose

The nose on this one is quite muted. There’s some chocolate mousse, some light coffee notes, some Tiramisu and some icing sugar, but it doesn’t jump out of the glass. Adding water doesn’t open it up much, either.

Palate

The palate is fairly straightforward here. Although it’s been matured in oloroso, it strikes me as syrupy, rather than Christmas cakey, and I’m pretty sure that if you gave me this blind, I’d guess it had come from a cask that had previously held PX sherry. I get icing sugar, some very light coffee, some golden syrupy and a slight vegetal, earthy note. The mouthfeel is nice and silky and it goes down very easily.

The Dregs

An easy drinking, straightforward, sherry-rich whisky. There’s nothing complex here, but it’s solid enough. ABV aside, this would probably be a good one to give to a beginner, as there’s plenty of flavour here, but nothing particularly demanding or idiosyncratic about it.

Score: 5/10 FMc

Review 3/5 - Ramsay

Ben & Sherry 6yo, Blended Malt, 2017, 282 bottles, 50/50 blend of 12yo Benrinnes and 6yo Glasgow from a sherry cask, 57.1% ABV
£59 and still some availability

This is an interesting combination of 50% Glasgow and 50% Benrinnes from sherry butts. I’ve been enjoying witnessing the rise of Glasgow distillery, and Benrinnes is more than at home in sherry. Let’s see how this one is.

Score: 7/10

**Very good indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*A good quality and value sherry cask experience*

Nose

Very chocolatey. I’m getting both dark chocolate and milk chocolate raisins, along with charred oak, brown autumnal leaves, anise, wood polish, leather and fresh, sour raspberries. It’s very brown on the nose.

Palate

Fresh and fruity autumnal berries, with raisins, figs, chocolate, and a touch of gunpowdery sulphur. There’s warming ginger and peppery spice, with vanilla and more milk chocolate.

The Dregs

A darker and more sherried experience than the Glen Moray, but this is still very good whisky where you just want to pour another, and at £55 it is an excellent value prospect for the bold sherry cask fans.

Score: 7/10 RT

Review 3/5 - Fergus

Ben & Sherry 6yo, Blended Malt, 2017, 282 bottles, 50/50 blend of 12yo Benrinnes and 6yo Glasgow from a sherry cask, 57.1% ABV
£59 and still some availability

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*A sweet, characterful, old-school sherry bomb*

Nose

The first thing that hits me on the nose is how syrupy this is. I’ve no idea whether the whiskies in this blend have been matured in PX, oloroso or a combination of both, but if you put a gun to my head and asked me to guess, I’d say PX. I could be wrong of course, but either way, it’s very sweet.

I get chocolate, candied nuts, Ovaltine powder and a slightly spicy, umami note, like lovage, although it’s quite subtle. It sounds fairly incongruous, but I also get a touch of apple cider, perhaps scrumpy. The predominant note is sherry richness, though. Initially, there was a touch of sulphur as well, but that seemed to dissipate on the second pour.

Palate

On the palate, I get After Eights, demerara sugar, chocolate milk (think Nesquik), and salted caramel. There’s also a slightly fruity, apple note at play, although it’s fairly subtle. This is a very sweet whisky. If you’re a fan of very sherry forward, rich expressions, then this would definitely be up your street.

The Dregs

Good stuff. It’s very rich, so I’d have to be in the right mood for it, but I could see myself enjoying a bottle of this.

Score: 6/10 FMc

Review 4/5 - Ramsay

Guyana Rum MDB2M 12yo, 2011, 264 bottles, ageing 5 years tropical, 7 years continental, in a scotch malt whisky barrel, 57.1% ABV
£94 and still some availability

Before I give my thoughts on this one, I will hold my hands up and say I am not really a rum drinker. I have a bottle of 12 year old Foursquare and an Appleton Estate of the same age, but I am dipping into them infrequently and have left my rum exploration there for now. I guess that means you can either take my thoughts with a pinch of salt or you can view them for what they are; a whisky drinker's thoughts on rum. Interestingly, this one has been aged for 5 years in a tropical climate and 7 years continental.

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*A sweet toffee and fruits experience*

Nose

Creamy toffee with a hint of mint – Murray Mints. That note is dominant, but I also get orange marmalade, modelling glue and aniseed balls.

Palate

Again it is very creamy and sweet, with Werther’s Originals this time and lots of peppery spice. I’m also getting red fruits in the form of blackcurrant, raspberries as well as some sour grapefruit. The finish is creamy and slightly nutty, with the fruitiness remaining in the background.

The Dregs

It’s a rum I’d happily sip. I am much more at home with a glass of whisky in my hand and generally find rums a little too sweet, but it is hard to suggest it is anything less than good.

Score: 6/10 RT

Review 4/5 - Fergus

Guyana Rum MDB2M 12yo, 2011, 264 bottles, ageing 5 years tropical, 7 years continental, in a scotch malt whisky barrel, 57.1% ABV
£94 and still some availability

I don’t have a huge frame of reference when it comes to rum, but when I do buy rum, I tend to go for cask strength indy bottles like this, so I’m looking forward to trying it.

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff**
***TL;DR***
*Lovely stuff. Every bit as tasty and engaging as a good single malt*

Nose

Very creamy, with a touch of wood spice. There’s treacle here and loads and loads of Jamaican ginger cake. I also get fudge, and sticky toffee pudding, as well as some fresh vanilla pod and some Biscoff. Not a complex nose, but very inviting.

Palate

Jamaican ginger cake. And more Jamaican ginger cake. And then some more Jamaican ginger cake. The fudge that was there on the nose is also present on the palate, as is some toffee sauce. I also get dates, and crushed ginger biscuits. There’s some very dark chocolate as well, and some bitter wood tannins in the finish. Again, it’s not complex, but it is delicious.

The Dregs

Really delicious and dangerously easy to drink.

Score: 6/10 FMc

Review 5/5 - Ramsay

Lochranza 7yo, Peated Isle of Arran, 2016, 240 bottles, peated to 20ppm, refill ex-bourbon hogshead, 59.1% ABV
£76 and still some availability

Peated Arran isn’t something I recall seeing much of from the independent bottlers, so it is a real treat to try this one.

Arran do give us their Machrie Moor whiskies if we want to try official peated Arran. This one has spent just seven years in a refill ex-bourbon hogshead.

Score: 7/10

**Very good indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*A great combination of juicy citrus and smoke*

Nose

Vegetal and medicinal peat, with first aid kits, spent bonfire ashes, freshly sawn wood, sage, lemon juice and orange marmalade.

Palate

Fresh orange juice and lemonade, including the fizz, along with spent ashes. That fruitiness carries through really well and goes toe to toe with the ashy peat smoke, which I often find takes over in many other whiskies. There’s liquorice, black pepper, vanilla and chocolate too, with a finish that introduces a grassiness and a touch of aniseed.

The Dregs

This isn’t the most complex of whiskies, but that juicy citrus fruitiness and ashen peat pairs very well that I’m really digging it. The best way I can describe it is by comparing it with a ubiquitous shelf staple for many, Ardbeg 10, which has the citrus lemon notes, but is overtaken by a blanket of ashen peat smoke. In this one the fruitiness combines with that smoke wonderfully.

Score: 7/10 RT

Review 5/5 - Fergus

Lochranza 7yo, Peated Isle of Arran, 2016, 240 bottles, peated to 20ppm, refill ex-bourbon hogshead, 59.1% ABV
£76 and still some availability

Score: 7/10

**Very good indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Very engaging. Probably my pick of the five*

Nose

When I initially nosed it, the first thing it reminded me of was Caol Ila. There’s lemon, for a start, and a touch of new leather as well. It’s also slightly soapy. The smoke is there, but it’s not overpowering.

I also get some pineapple, some aniseed balls and a touch of desiccated coconut. There’s some Indian ink here, some icing sugar and a slightly vegetal, earthy note. There’s also a cheesy note, like Wotsits, or maybe Cheetos. That might not sound so great, but it’s actually very engaging. The more time I spend with my nose in this one, the more excited I am to taste it. There’s something slightly left field about it. It’s complex as well.

Palate

This is a light, fruity whisky, despite the ABV. I get smoked meats, some pencil lead, a little grapefruit and some lemon. The smoke is ashy, but just like on the nose, it’s nicely integrated and doesn’t overpower the other flavours. I also get some overripe kiwi, and if I go looking for it, some tinned pineapple. The cheesy Wotsits that I mentioned are here as well. Again, that’s not a bad thing. Put together, it all adds up to an engaging palate that makes you want to go back in for another pour.

The Dregs

Very engaging. Very reminiscent of Caol Ila – at least to my palate – but with enough individuality to make it still feel unique. My favourite of the lot.

Score: 7/10 FMc

The Final Dregs

The pick for Fergus is the Lochranza. For me it’s the Glen Moray, closely followed by the Lochranza and Ben and Sherry. All three of those I would be very happy to have on my shelf.

As a big fan of fruity whiskies it’s that aspect of the Glen Moray that has won me over and it is a bottle I am looking to buy. Interestingly, it was Fergus’ least favourite, but the peated Arran really struck a chord with both of us, and on that one we both agree it’s another Watt release well worth looking out for.

Tried these? Share your thoughts in the comments below. RT / FMc

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