Chris Trollen

Did a tour of the distillery in 2024 and had some excellent drams, the highlight being the 25yo. Not that I'll be buying a bottle!

One of the better drams from my advent calendar was a Clynelish 14yo. I was extremely surprised to find it available in Bracknell, this afternoon. Obviously, I bought a bottle. It's been going down rather too well. Last one, honest.

#whisky #scotchwhisky #highlandwhisky #clynelish

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Day 24

Talisker Port Ruighe

I'm quite partial to a Talisker. The 10yo is good, the 18yo exceptional. This isn't bad either. A little bit of brine & smoke and a nice citrus finish.

#whisky #scotchwhisky #whiskyadvent #talisker

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Day 23

Torabhaig Cnoc Na Moine

My previous dip into Torabhaig was with their Allt Glean but I wasn't overly impressed. This one is definitely more to my taste with a light but decent splash of peaty smoke. Not a bad dram at all.

#whisky #scotchwhisky #whiskyadvent

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Day 22

Seaweed & Aeons & Digging & Fire & Overproof

I've had bottles of "ampersands" before, both std & cask strength. This "& Overproof" sits in between at 50% abv. and is lovely. Definitely Top 5 of drams so far. Maybe Top 3....

#whisky #scotchwisky #whiskyadvent

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Day 21

Old Pulteney 15 year old

Toffee with a hint of spice. This is another new one for me and another ✅️ for another Highlands distillery

#whisky #scotchwhisky #whiskyadvent

🎶 It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas 🎶

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Day 20

Laphroaig 10yo Cask Strength Batch 016

Batch 015 was was exceptional and Batch 016 doesn't disappoint either. I'd like to visit the distillery again one day and have another taste of their cask strength selection.

#scotchwhisky #whiskyadvent #laphroaig

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Day 19
(back on track)

Lagavulin 8yo - less peaty & complex than the excellent 16yo but OK as an "Islay lite".

#whisky #scotchwhisky #whiskyadvent

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Days 17 & 18
(last catch-up.post)

Highland Park 15yo - Coastal with hints of peat & smoke. Medium finish. Easy drinking.

Johnnie Walker Double Black. Ugh! Bitter. More "wet ash" than smoke. Worst dram of the calendar (so far).

#whisky #scotchwhisky #whiskyadvent

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Days 15 & 16
(still catching up)

Flaming Feast Wemyss Family Collection - a blend of two whiskies, slightly smoky. Not bad.

GlenAllachie 12yo - OK but a bit underwhelming (I'm probably being harsh owing to the prior drams)

#whisky #scotchwhisky #whiskyadvent

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Days 13 & 14
(playing catch up)

Deanston 12yo - my favourite dram of this calendar so far...

Deanston Virgin Oak Cask Strength - but hang on, though! Another great dram. A drop of water opens it up beautifully.

#whisky #scotchwhisky #deanston #whiskyadvent

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Day 12

Dalwhinnie 15 year old

Another Highland. Less sweet & with a longer finish than yesterday's. A decent, "easy drinking" whisky.

#whisky #scotchwhisky #whiskyadvent

Indeed. I very much enjoyed the 13yo Caol Ila from their Discovery range but decided I needed to try try the Connoisseur's bottling.

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Day 11

Dalmore 15 year old

Another Highland. Quite sweet. Very little finish to it. Completely uninspiring & disappointing.

#whisky #scotchwhisky #whiskyadvent

Looks interesting. I have a bottle of the Gordon & McPhail Connoisseur's Choice Caol Ila 2008 but I've promised myself I won't open it until Christmas.

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Day 10

Clynelish 14 year old

I'm starting to appreciate some Highland whiskies (as opposed to my usual Islays) and this one is not bad at all. It might go on the list as a potential budget-friendly "midweek whisky".

#whisky #scotchwhisky #whiskyadvent

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Day 9

Caol Ila Moch

A third consecutive Islay, but this one is from my favourite distillery. It's well-balanced & lightly peated with a nice, long finish. I must buy a(nother) bottle soon.

#whisky #scotchwhisky #whiskyadvent #caolila

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Day 8

Bunnahabhain 12yo

Another unpeated Islay but from a distillery in a very beautiful setting! Nothing like the hand-filled warehouse exclusive that I bought last year but perfectly OK. A couple of bonus images for you too.

#whisky #scotchwhisky #whiskyadvent

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Day 7

Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie

I had an excellent ultra-peaty Bruichladdich Octomore during a trip to Islay last year. My general opinion of non-peated Islay is "what's the point?" This one didn't really change my opinion.

#whisky #scotchwhisky #whiskyadvent

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Day 6

Blooming Gorse - Wemyss Family Collection

A blend of malts from two unspecified Highland distilleries. It is very light & floral so not really my preferred style. It's OK, I suppose.

#whisky #scotchwhisky #whiskyadvent

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Day 5

Black Bottle 10yo

A blend of Islay 10yo whiskies but at only £28 a bottle surely it was going to be mediocre, at best. It's certainly no Laphroaig but actually, it's not bad at all and you can't really go wrong at that price!

#whisky #scotchwhisky #whiskyadvent

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Day 4

Balblair 15 year old

From a Highland distillery that I'd not come across before. Quite deep & rich flavours with a decent spicy orange finish. Nice.

#whisky #scotchwhisky #whiskyadvent

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Day 3

Ardray 2023 Release

A blended whisky of both malt & grain. Light, zesty, peppery with a decent finish. Quite quaffable so it's a good job I've just got this one dram!

#whisky #scotchwhisky #whiskyadvent

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Day 2

Aberlour A'bunadh Alba Batch 7

Successive Aberlours!

This one is a cask strength (58.9%), matured in American oak barrels. Again, it's quite sweet but has a fresh citrus feel and a much longer finish.

#whisky #scotchwhisky #whiskyadvent

Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar Day 1

Aberlour Double Cask Matured 16yo

Sweet, fruity, hints of spice. Very different from my usual drams, but then that's the whole point of the advent calendar!

#whisky #scotchwhisky #whiskyadvent

Yesterday, some friends and I had a very pleasant evening in the good hands of the very knowledgeable staff at @milroysofsoho.bsky.social

Nine different drams tasted (some of which were shared).

#whisky #scotchwhisky #milroysofsoho

Lovely ride up through the Cotswolds today.

#kawasaki #ninja1000sx #motosky

The first of December has never seemed so far away!

#whisky #scotchwhisky #adventcalendar #masterofmalt

Tonight's dram is this Kilkerran Heavily Peated. Very punchy at 58.4% ABV means adding water is almost - *almost*! - a necessity.

After a little time, it opens up nicely. Spice, vanilla & caramel notes with a long, smoky finish. Great at £59 a bottle.

#whisky #scotchwhisky #kilkerran #campbeltown