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thewhiskynovice, 21-23 Highgate, Kendal (2026)

25/09/2026

A 24 year old from Aberfeldy aged in White Port.

I've been a big fan of the few whiskies I've tried thats been aged in white port, so when the guys from Dewars asked if I wanted to try an Aberfeldy aged in said casks, I got a little excited.

I got even more excited when I found out that the whisky was a 24 year old single malt from their Exceptional cask series.

There's only 252 bottles of this one, and it's been bottled at 50.7%.

Nose: Two things jump out of the glass straight away. Stone fruits and honey. It's slightly nutty, with notes of almonds, orange peel and a gentle oakiness.

Palate: Similar to the nose. More stone fruits, but with stronger citrus notes. There's roasted hazelnuts and more of those trademark Aberfeldy honeyed cereals, with a dry woody finish.

This is super tasty, and still quite lively for a 24 year old whisky. The palate is really drying which leaves you constantly sipping for more. I really enjoyed this whisky, but unfortunately it's currently out of my price range. I look forward to sharing the rest of the bottle with friends soon!

//Gifted

22/09/2026

Something new from Islay. But it's not a whisky...

So if you were not already aware, there's a new spirit being made on Scotland's island of peat. The Islay Rum Company have recently released a barrel aged rum, matured in casks that previously contained heavily peated whisky from one of their neighbouring distilleries.

As well as winning gold at last years IWSC, it's now won double gold at this year's San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

On the nose, it's quite sweet, with notes of chewy toffees, aloe vera and a big hit of clove oil. The smoke is there, but its very subtle.

Palate wise, there's dark chocolate, wethers originals, move clove and a generous sprinkle of sea salt. The smoke is more prominent on the palate, but does not dominate.

What do you think? Could you be tempted by a rum from Islay?

//Gifted
Islay Rum

16/09/2026

I went to a cake sale the other day. All cakes were £1 except one, which was £2. When I asked why, he said "that's madeira cake" 🥁

The The Cotswolds Distillery have used madeira wine casks to create the 7th edition to their Hearts & Crafts range. If you've read any of my previous reviews of the Cotswolds bottlings, you'll know that I rate both of their limited edition ranges (Hearts & Crafts and Harvest Series) very highly.

So more details:
- 100% floor malted Cotswolds barley
- 10 years old
- 52%
- Full maturation in American Oak Madeira casks
- Only 1200 bottles
- Comes in a tube that looks like some country pubs wallpaper

Nose: Caramel sauce, marzipan covered fruit cake, walnuts and eggnog (sweet but nutmeg spiced vanilla notes)
Palate: Initially quite oaky and a little earthy. The palate notes are quite similar to those on the nose. Lots of nuts, dried fruits, and a little burnt sugar/dark toffee.

If this one sounds like your cup of tea, it looks to have sold out on the Cotswolds website in the time it's taken me to write about it, so you're going to have to do some searching around!

//Gifted

13/09/2026

A great day behind stand at the Midlands Whisky Festival 2026

Thanks to everyone who swung by for a dram or a catch up!

12/09/2026

A VERY late Fathers Day post. See why below.

Whilst sent me a very nice bottle of Meikle Tòir to enjoy, my actual son, who had just started nursery full time at that point, decided to give me just about every virus and illness known to man.

It's been a bit of a slog since then. Everytime we thought we were clear, a new super bug appeared. I work in a hospital as my day job, so I had thought my immune system was quite strong, but apparently it wasn't prepared for the soup of germs made by kids.

So, instagram has had to take a backseat for a little while, but *hopefully* I'm back. If you've sent me a message or an email, I'll try and reply as soon as I can (looks like I didn't set my out of office correctly, sorry guys!).

Anyway. Meikle Toir. A peated whisky made at the Glenallachie distillery in Speyside. This particular expression has been aged in Chinquapin oak and I'll be cracking it open to enjoy shortly.

If you happen to be at the Midlands Whisky Festival 2026 tomorrow, swing by the Glenallachie stand where I'll happily tell you more about it!

Hope everyones been well! I've missed maybe one or two of you x

02/07/2026

Whisky aged in cherry blossom casks?
The Hatozaki Omakaze fifth edition is a 5 year old blended malt which has been finished in rare Japanese Sakura wood (cherry blossom casks).

This whisky, and the other Hatozaki blends are created at the Kaikyo distillery in Akashi city, Japan. The word Omakaze comes from a Japanese dining tradition which means "The choice is in your hands"

Edition 5 spent the first 4 years of its life in new charred oak barrels before spending its final year in the sakura casks. It's been bottled at 46%.

I've only tried one whisky in sakura before. It's not allowed to be used in Scotch whisky, so it's quite rare, however unfortunately I hated it. Let's hope this one is better!

Nose: Light. Floral, toasted almond, incense sticks and balsa (modelling) wood.
Palate: Initially lots of cereal and malt notes with a honey sweetness. Then it becomes quite floral, with notes of green apple and a gentle wood spice.

Writing tasting notes is all about past memories. Smells and flavours can remind you of previous meals, places, people or experiences which you can then articulate into some kind of relatable tasting note. If I'm honest, I'm struggling to describe this whisky as some of the smells and flavours are not ones I've come across before. I have nothing to relate them to.

This really is a unique whisky, and one that people really need to experience and judge for themselves.

//Gifted

01/07/2026

Some more from Tormore!
Tormore Distillery is back with a brand new core range and their first permanent bottlings since the distillery's recent change in ownership.

Last year they released the Blueprint series, which was an early insight into how the new era of Tormore will taste. I was a big fan of these, especially the bourbon barrel release, so I've been very eager to try these new releases.

Timeless. A non-age statement thats been mostly matured in ex-bourbon casks with a 'touch' sherry cask maturarion, and bottled at 43%

12 year old. A combo of ex-bourbon, cream sherry and toasted American white oak casks, bottled at 46%

16 year old Sherry Cask. Starts off life in refill American and European oak casks before being finished in a 'variety of sherry casks'. Oloroso and cream sherry were mentioned in the press release. Again, 46%.

Lets get into them.

Timeless. Lots of fresh fruits on the nose. Apples, pears, lemon and slightly floral, with stone fruits, lime juice and golden syrup on the palate.

12 year old. More savoury than the Timeless. The nose brings Jamaican ginger cake and wood spice and the palate gives buttery pastry, vanilla fudge and soft gingerbread with a warming spice finish.

16 year old Sherry Cask. Smells of strawberries, chocolate torte and a touch of that old book scent. There's a silky texture that brings flavours of citrus, molasses and hazelnut spread.

Three very different drams, with two clear favourites from myself. The Timeless is a fantastic summery dram at a reasonable price point, and the 16 year old sherry cask is so well integrated with such a lovely mouthfeel for a 46% whisky.

I'm impressed.

//Gifted

29/06/2026

I REALLY did not want to drink straight whisky in last weeks heatwave so I've got a few samples to catch up on!

The first is the 2026 edition of 's Red Wine Cask. Each year, the distillery plans to release a new version of their red wine cask using a different type of red wine. The 2025 bottling was finished in Grenache, whilst this years edition was further matured in Italian Sangiovese red wine.

The guys at Lochlea kindly sent me a sample of both so I could do a side-by-side, so let's see how the 2026 release compares to last years.

On the nose, the obvious difference would be that the 2026 comes across sweeter with more red berries, whilst the 2025 is woodier. There's lots of gummy sweets, pear drops and a little grassy note.

On the palate, I initially thought the 2026 presented with a lot more wood spice, but I quickly realised it's more of a nutty character (in fact it's SUPER nutty). It starts with a honey sweetness alongside some red berries, but then that nutty flavour really comes through and dominates.

If you're nutty about nuts, this really is a dram for you! It will be interesting to see how the releases develop and which wine they choose for 2027!

//Gifted

21/06/2026

Happy Father's Day from !

I had intended to sit down and post some notes about this whisky before Father's day but my neighbour signed for the delivery and kept the parcel hostage until today! (We kept missing each other, he's not some kind of whisky pirate).

Berry Bros & Rudd kindly sent me this bottle to help celebrate my 2nd Father's day as a dad! It's a 16 year old from an undisclosed distillery on Speyside, bottled at 48.2%. I'm yet to try it myself, but the official tasting notes describe it as having a 'nutty and fruity style'. I'll crack it soon and report back!

Thanks for the gift!

//Gifted

16/06/2026

Brutally honest review incoming...
I've spoken before about how just because a whisky isn't to your taste, doesn't mean it's a bad whisky. We all have different palates, we all like different things. If we all went to a restaurant and ordered the exact same dishes, life would be boring. However, every now and then a whisky comes along which I really struggle with and sometimes find it difficult to articulate how I feel about it.

Rosemaund second release. The Orchard Cut. An English single malt made in Herefordshire with Maris Otter barley and aged for 10 years in ex-bourbon casks.

Lets start with aesthetics. The bottle design is stunning. It might not be the best pourer (a good splash of whisky is now seasoning my kitchen side), but hey, aslong as it looks good right?

Price. £125. There's the argument that this is a small, 'craft' distillery so prices are bound to be higher, but this particular release is 1500 bottles. £125 for a ten year old whisky at 47.5% ABV seems a little spicy.

Smell. Green apples, custard creams, bell pepper, white pepper and... cucumber.
I don't normally check 'official' tasting notes, mainly because if you read that something smells/tastes like substance 'A', thats all you can then really think about, and if your notes look too similar to the 'official' notes, people start to call you out for some kind of 'flavour plagiarism', however I had to look at these ones, and sure enough, they noted cucumber too.

Taste. More of those orchard fruits (apples), followed by a swift savoury turn, and a bitter Indian tonic note.

Thats where my notes end. I am not a fan of tonic, or any kind of soda water, and unfortunately, from that moment on, that's all I could pick out. It's a strange one, a flavour I've not came across in whisky before, and one in am definitely not fond off.

Whilst I really appreciate the Gifted bottle, I'm afraid this whisky is not for me.

//Gifted

thewhiskynovice

25/09/2026

22/09/2026

16/09/2026

13/09/2026

12/09/2026

02/07/2026

01/07/2026

29/06/2026

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