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24 Nov 25

Tops Blended Malt, 33 YO, House of Hazelwood, 51.8%, B:2025. Price:
Colour: Old gold-amber
Nose: Mellow, on soft spices, round dried fruits (dates, figs, sultanas), some leather, precious wood, lacquer, dark chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg, treacle and some light floral flavours. Very good.
Taste: Rich, fruity, spicy, with a mixture of tannins, precious wood, tree sap, figs, dates, oranges and some guava, as well as cocoa, dark chocolate, nuts, treacle and some worn leather. Diluted, there are some light notes of pineapples. The finish is medium to long, mellow, complex, fruity, spicy, nutty, with some leather, tannins, cocoa, tree sap, various fruity flavours, precious wood, some lacquer and a touch of pineapples and guava.
Impression: A complex, mellow and well-made whisky, with lots of various spices, in the style of the GlenDronach 40 YO, but more fruity and slightly less complex. Very good.
Rating: 16/20 FP:G2

Queen of the Hebrides blended malt, House of Hazelwood, 43.4%, B:2025. Price:
Colour: Pale gold
Nose: Mellow, with a very complex peat smoke, on iodine, seaweeds, light medicinal flavours, some hemp rope and tar. Elegant and rather intense.
Taste: Complex to very complex, salty, on citrus (grapefruits), nice exotic fruits (slightly sour and citric), with a lovely maritime peat smoke, some iodine, seaweeds, camphor, peach and lychees. The finish is long, complex, smoky, maritime, citric, on pink grapefruits, some peach, exotic fruits and a nice mellow maritime peat smoke, rather medicinal, on iodine and some bandages. Diluted, it becomes slightly on almonds and more on lemon.
Impression: A blend of Islay single malts, creating an excellent combination of exotic fruits, citric and maritime and medicinal peat smoke. Very good, With slightly more intensity, the rating would have been even higher.
Rating: 17/20 FP:A5

The Transatlantic 33 YO, blended grain, House of Hazelwood, 57.3%, B:2025. Price:
Colour: Old gold
Nose: Intense, fragrant, spicy, oaky, on cooked cereals, porridge, corn (maize) syrup, some molasse, and candy sugar. A fair dose of fresh wood.
Taste: Rich, fruity, slightly fragrant, on cooked cereals, cinnamon, nutmeg, some pecan nuts, orange, treacle, some black liquorice and porridge. The finish is rather long, mellow, fruity, sweet-sugary, on cooked cereals, maple syrup, nutmeg, cinnamon and oak spices.
Impression: I was slightly struggling with the nose, with its fragrant nose, with some varnish, but then it was becoming sweeter, rather fresh and intense and complex on the palate, on the sweet-sugary side. A well-made and matured blended grain whisky, matured for the last 8 years in virgin oak casks.
Rating: 16/20FP: F2

20 Nov 25

Secret Orkney 14 YO 100 Proof, Signatory, 57.1%, B:2024. Price:
Colour: Amber
Nose: Mellow, maritime, fruity, on honey, honeydew, rather salty and maritime, with some heather, tangerine and light tropical fruits.
Taste: Slightly spicy and floral, on heather honey, quince, honeydew melon, light salty peat smoke, some seabrine and gooseberries, with some tobacco at the end. Rather smoky and peaty. Diluted, it become thinner and more salty. The finish is medium, smoky, slightly to moderately peaty, on sea brine, sea salt, honey, fresh leather, some musk and sultanas.
Impression: A nice single malt distilled at Highland Park, with nice fruity and salty flavours. Rather smoky and peaty, reminding me of the old style of Highland Park. An ecellent value whisky.
Rating: 15/20 FP:D3

Old Orkney 25 YO, Decadent Drinks, 50.3%, B:2025. Price:
Colour: Amber
Nose:Round to very round, slightly rubbery, on honey, some leather, quince, moss, and sultanas, as well as some musk.
Taste: Salty, rubbery to very rubbery, slightly sulphury, on honey, sultanas, dates, candied orange, high grade leather, some sea brine and salt. The finish is long, mellow, round, on leather, old rubber, light meaty, salty and smoky flavours, cinnamon and some honey.
Impression: A whisky that needs time. It is mellow, rather complex, with a nice round and mellow mouthfeel, on ripe barley and heather honey, but rather rubbery, slightly too much to my liking.
Rating: 14/20 FP:G2

17 Nov 25

Teeling 2017 Chestnut Cask for Glenfahrn 20th Anniversary, OB, 58.7%, B:2025, cask 77552. Price:
Colour: Old gold
Nose: Smooth, round, on light green nutty flavours, some warm chestnuts, chestnuts puree and green hazelnuts. Nice and fresh.
Taste: Malty, green, slightly grassy, with a fair dose of nutty and chestnuts (purée and cooked), light malty and peppery flavours. The finish is medium to long, nutty, pottery, on chestnuts, some green hazelnuts, green malt and orchard fruits, as well as some pepper.
Impression: A Teeling with a finish in a Chestnut cask, giving nice mild nutty flavours, on a combination of chestnuts (purée and cooked), as well as some hazelnuts, with some white and black pepper. I liked it very much.
Rating: 14/20 FP:C1

Teeling white wine, 21 YO, OB, 46%, B:2024. Price:
Colour:Old gold-amber
Nose: Mellow, round, winey, slightly sugary, with some toffee, candied lemon and parsley.
Taste: Mellow to very mellow, rich, fruity, on peach, toffee, light sugary flavours, some melon, vanilla and light winey flavours. The finish is medium to long, winey, mellow, with mild winey flavours, vanilla, some vanilla custard, toffee and candied citrus.
Impression: A very mellow Teeling, rather fruity, with some toffee and peach, as well as mild winey flavours. Slightly oaky.
Rating: 14/20 FP:D1

Elchinville 2014, 10 YO, The whisky Cask Company, 50.0%, B:2025. Price:
Colour: Gold
Nose: Very smooth, young (new make-like), yeast extract, and very intense flavours of fresh leather and baking flour, with some fresh juniper.
Taste: Light, smooth to very smooth, fresh, on a mixture of flour (fresh bread dough) and very fresh young leather, some vanilla, juniper and a touch of aromatic herbs. The finish is medium, light, fresh and on the same flavours.
Impression: A very surprising Irish single malt, light and fresh, with aromas reminding me of baking flour (fresh bread dough) and fresh young leather.
Rating: 11/20 FP:A1

11 Nov 25

Teeling Pot Still, OB, 50%, B:2025. Price:
Colour: Gold
Noste: Nicely malt, on a mixture of malted and green barley, some vanilla, light grassy flavours, oak spices, some peach, orchard fruits and light peppery flavours.
Taste: Milky, bold, spicy, young, with some peach, orchard, some white pepper, and orchard fruits. The finish is medium and on the same flavours. Diluted, it becomes on white wine, more simple and peppery.
Impression: A whisky with a pleasant note, rather young and malty on the palate, made with 50% of malted and unmalted barley. The distillate is pleasant, but some extra years of maturation would have been welcomed.
Rating: 12/20 FP:A1

Teeling Crystal Malt, OB, 46%, B:2025. Price:
Colour: Old gold
Nose: Malty, creamy, with light honey and fudge flavours, vanilla, some light sugary and milky flavours. Balanced and rather harmonious.
Taste: Creamy, milky, smooth, with some fudge, white pepper, milk serum, some orchard fruits, light sweet sugary flavours, and sweet barley. The finish is medium, milky, creamy, on vanilla, sugary malty flavours, some pepper, yeast and mild serum.
Impression: The Teeling Crystal Malt is a triple distilled malt made with a recipe of Distillers Malt & Crystal Malted barley using a combination of Distillers Yeast & White Wine Yeast. Then it is aged in virgin american oak barrels. The result is a rather young and smooth whisky, with nice creamy flavours, and I would suspect that the sugary flavours are coming from the use of wine yeast. A nice young whisky
Rating: 13/20 FP:A1

Teeling Swedish Virgin Oak, OB, 50%, B:2025. Price:
Colour: Gold
Nose: Oaky, spicy, slightly resinous, with freshly sawn wood, wood spices, vanilla, some fragrance, fresh oak, some ginger and cinnamon.
Taste: Very oaky and resinous, on tree sap, fragrance, chamomill, wood spices, eucalyptus, ginger, some cinnamon and light grassy flavours, as well as some parsley. The finish is long, very oaky, spicy, resinous, on eucalyptus, tree sap, resins, chamomille, eucalyptus, toffee, ginger, hops and a touch of smoke.
Impression: A surprising Teeling, matured in an ex-Virgin oak from Sweden, with the cask giving a strong oaky and tree sap (resinous) flavours.
Rating: 14/20 FP:A1

08 Nov 25

Filey Bay IPA for Whisky Bibliothek, OB, 52.2%, B: 2025, cask 692. Price:
Colour: Pale gold
Nose: Light, floral, on vanilla, some caramel and light malty and beer flavours, as well as some spiced bread.
Taste: Fresh, light, zesty, on fresh orchard fruits, hops, some biscuits (oak cakes) and beer. The finish is medium, light, rich, zesty, with freshly crushed barley, hops, biscuits and light nutty flavours.
Impression: A very expressive Filey Bay, with fresh (slightly green) orchard fruits, some hops and fresh barley and biscuit flavours.
Rating: 13/20 FP:A2

Filey Bay Nurture, OB, 46.2%, B:2025. Price:
Colour: Pale gold
Nose: Yeasy, winey, floral, on vegetamine (yeast extract), red berries, oak spices and winey flavours. Unbalanced and unusual.
Taste: Winey, spicy, floral, yeasty, on berries, yeast extract, oak spices, rather strong funky winey flaours, red berries and some grassy flavours. The finish is long, dry, yeasty, winey, on dry and tannic winey flavours, red berries, light grassy and vanilla flavours.
Impression: A whisky matured in ex-bourbon Casks & STR red wine barriques Finish. The distillate seemed fine, but the red wine barriques are giving a weird yeasty, dry and yeasty funky flavour profile to this whisky. If you want to try a very original whisky, then this one will not disappoint you.
Rating: 09/20 FP: E1

Filey Bay Orange wine, OB, 46.2%, B:2025. Price:
Colour: Old gold-amber
Nose: Malty, floral, slightly nutty, on ripe malty flavours, some vanilla and ripe yellow fruits.
Taste: Very round, smooth, slightly spicy and fruity, with light nutty, freshly milled barley, vanilla and some lemon peel and grassy flavours, getting more fruity (yellow fruits) given time. A mixture of ripe and bitter orange (Orangina) flavours are released progressively . The finish is medium, round, rather heavy for a Filey Bay, with nice mild orange liqueur flavours. Diluted, it becomes more on oat cakes.
Impression: A nice, rather mellow and grassy Filey Bay, with nice fruity flavours. I have not tried orange wine, but the flavours from the orange wine are rather mild and very pleasant, on orange liqueur (Amara). A lovely twist of flavours.
Rating: 14/20 FP:D1

06 Nov 25

Allaine 10 YO, OB, 40%, B:2025, Anna 1. Price:
Colour: Old gold-amber
Nose: Mellow, smooth, grassy to very very grassy, complex, on cooked and fresh pears, vanilla, vanilla custard, some soft oaky spices, cinnamon and a touch of nuts. Rich, well-balanced and rather complex.
Taste: Heavy, grassy to very grassy, on soft spices, cinnamon, oak chips, fresh pearts, some honey, nuts, vanilla, nice malty flavours and a hint of smoke (no peat). Diluted, it becomes spicier, more on fresh oaky flavours and some toffee. The finish is medium to long, rich, spicy, grassy, on soft oak spices, cinnamon, some nutmeg, nuts, vanilla custard and a mixture of precious and polished wood.
Impression: Distilled at the MB distillery in the Swiss Jura, this single malt was matured for 10 years in a Swiss oak cask, medium toasted. Allaine is the name of the river flowing close to Buix, where the distillery is located. The whisky is very pleasant, rich, grassy, smooth to very smooth, with lovely nutty, pears and vanilla flavours. The owners patiently waited for 10 years before bottling their first whisky (cask), and the result is very pleasant.
Rating: 15/20 FP:A1

Allaine Sauternes 10 YO, OB, 40%, B :2025, Anna 2. Price:
Colour: Old gold-red amber
Nose: Rich, thick, on ripe sultanas, round sweet wine flavours, some pear tart, butterscotch and honey. Heavier than the Anna 1.
Taste: Round, mellow, thick, sweet, moderately winey, on sultanas, ripe grapes, sweet barley sugar, sweet wine, some honey, Mirabelle, and pears, as well as cinnamon and mild oaky spices. Diluted, it become slightly more mineral and on fresh pears. The finish is rather long, thick, spicy, winey, on Mirabelle, sweet wine, ripe grapes, some honey, grassy flavours and pears.
Impression: A heavier and sweeter version than the Anna 1, with obvious sweet wine flavours from the Sauternes cask used for the last 8 years of maturation. The influence of the Sauternes is well present, especially on the palate, but the DNA of the distillery is clearly visible. Very good. It benefits from just adding a few drops of water.
Rating: 15/20 FP:F1

04 Nov 25

Ardbeg Anthology The Beithir's Tale, 15 YO, OB, 46% B:2025. Price:
Colour: Gold Nose: Smoky, peaty, maritime, oaky, on toasted wood, dry peat smoke, some seabrine, iodine and phenols.
Taste: Thin, maritime, salty, on seaweeds, iodine, camphor, sea salt, burnt wood, some old ashes and eucalyptus. The finish is medium, rather thin, very maritime, smoky, on sea brine, lemon juice, seaweeds, burnt wood, and camphor. Diluted, it becomes more on gentian and aromatic roots. Impression: A light Ardbeg, rather thin, bitter and on burnt wood. Seems like a diluted Ardbeg. Disappointing. Made with air-dried casks.
Rating: 11/20 FP:A5

Ardbeg Smokeuniverse, OB, 48.3%, B:2025. Price:
Colour: Pale gold-gold
Nose: Young, smoky to very smoky, peaty, on seaweeds, camphor, charred wood, some vanilla and seaweeds. Rather simple.
Taste: Very smoky, peaty, on burnt wood, graphite, ashes, seaweeds, lemon zest, iodine and some dark chocolate. The finish is medium, oaky, on burnt wood, ashes, some tar, iodine, seaweeds and a twist of bitter lemon, as well as some dark chocolate. Diluted, it becomes slightly yeasty.
Impression: Made with a high gravity wash, they have porbably used some heavily charred and/or toasted casks, as the flavours of burnt wood are very intense. Very smoky, rather young, but interesting.
Rating: 14/20 FP:A6

03 Nov 25

Oban Special Releases 2025 Heart of the Harbour, 12 YO, OB; 54.7%, B:2025. Price:
Colour: Gold-old gold
Nose: Maritime, salty, clean, with some spices (white pepper and oaky spices), sea brine, vanilla, some citrus and a touch of salted toffee.
Taste: Salty, oaky, slightly waxy and citric, on lemon zest, light mineral flavours, sea brine, sea salt, vanilla and oak spcies, as well as some heather. The finish is rather long, with a mixture of sea brine, wax, citrus and some light mineral flavours, on citrus, sea brine, some mineral oil and at the end, a touch of peat smoke. Diluted, there are some light peppery flavours.
Impression: I liked this Oban, close to the 14 YO, but somewhat more vibrant, intense and more oaky and citric.
Rating: 14/20 FP:A2

Oban 10 YO Special Releases 2024, OB, 58%, B:2024. Price:
Colour: Old gold
Nose: Maritime, slightly malty, with some sweet fruity flavours, sultanas, orange, heather, sea brine, vanilla and a touch of smoke. Rather elegant.
Taste: Oaky, salty, with rather intense oaky and vanilla flavours at the start, before becoming sweeter, on sultanas, red berries, warm apples, heather honey and candied sugar. The finish is rather long, sweet, slightly sugary, on sea brine, vanilla and nice round and sweet dried fruits and red berries.
Impression: A nice expression of Oban, slightly rough and oaky at the start on the palate, before the nice sweet and fruity flavours from the final maturation in ex-oloroso cask develop. I would be happy to see more releases of Oban with a sherry influence.
Rating: 14/20 FPG1

Oban Young Teddy The Macleans Distillery Exclusive, OB, 50.8%, B:2023. Price:
Colour: Gold
Nose: Intense, rich, rather complex, slightly maritime and mineral, with some dried fruits, leather, sultanas, fudge, and some grapes. Heavier and markedly more complex than the Special Releases.
Taste: Rich, spicy, meaty, on old leather, smoked meat, sea brine, rancio, a touch of old rubber, treacle, brambles and some red berries, as well as some wood smoke. The finish is rich, long, slightly salty and acetic., on spices, leather, sultanas, figs, ranciom smoked meat, game, a touch of old rubbers and various berries.
Impression: A very expression of Oban, rather complex, with a finish in ex-sherry casks (ex-oloroso and palo cortado) giving some body, meaty and leathery flavours to the whisky. There are some rancio and a touch of old rubber, but not unpleasant. I wished that Diageo would release some times some sherry matured Oban.
Rating: 15/20 FP:G3

Oban Special Release 2021, 12 YO, OB, 56.2%, B :2021. Price:
Colour: Pale gold
Nose: Maritime, elegant, slightly salty, peaty and austere, with some sea shore breeze, sea salt, a touch of peat, seaweeds and iodine.
Taste: Salty to very salty, maritime, elegant, on seaweeds, iodine, some vanilla and peat smoke, as well as some sea shells and pink pepper. The finish is medium and on the same flavours. Diluted, it becomes more oily, with some apples and green olives.
Impression: Matured in charred oak casks, this Oban offers a nice maritime single malt, elegant, with a light peat smoke, lemon and pink pepper flavours. A whisky that I enjoyed very much tasting, even if not very complex, as it is elegant and well made.
Rating: 14/20 FP:A1

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