A treat for Father’s Day, sampling whiskies and thinking about time
When: 15th June 2025
Where: Thirsty
Host: Elliott Drinks Whisky
If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll have noticed that the theme of this tasting happens to be the same as the last I presented in Ely two nights earlier, opening Father’s Day weekend. That is, in large part, to make my life easier when it comes to planning and preparing for two events that are close together, but that doesn’t mean the experience at either tasting takes a hit. In fact, I’d argue it means there’s potentially more fun and insight to be had! Hear me out…
Presenting bottles from the same producer close together allows me time to focus on gathering my notes, rather than rushing through researching multiple producers, so we all should feel like we understand what we’re drinking more clearly. The other side of that is that we get to try two things with more commonality than a tasting normally allows. Even if you can’t attend both events, I will have that opportunity and can hopefully share my experience in a helpful way. I know it might sound like a cop-out, less work and more whisky for me, but I do genuinely believe in this methodology – a whisky-nerd adjacent chance for comparison and contrast (if you’re keeping notes), without too much pressure or crowding to find differences (which is definitely a difficult skill to hone).
So for this tasting, there are 3 common producers out of 5, and it was all lovely whisky; the line-up not in any way hampered or hamstrung by having that ‘restriction’ imposed upon it. Plus, this tasting coincided with the launch of the ice-cream I helped bring to life with Circumstance Distillery & Jack’s Gelato, so there as a little treat I brought some of that along for attendees to try. For more information on that though, best head to Instagram.
The Whisky
(Click on the images to buy a bottle)
Living Souls – Balblair 10
Single Malt Scotch Whisky – 46%
Justification: Young expression from one of the oldest Scotch distilleries
This first bottle from one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries is also the first to do double duty. Both Young & Old tastings opened with a Balbair; the other was a distillery bottling, this is from Living Souls, a reasonably new independent bottler.
Two things make for an interesting comparison here. First off, the 10yo age statement here makes it quite a bit younger than the 15 I presented in Ely, and Balblair don’t have a core release, themselves, younger than 12. So this was a nice opportunity to sample younger spirit from the distillery. Secondly, in their own bottlings, Balblair focus on bourbon and sherry wood, whereas Living Souls have finished this release in French, Limousin oak, Cognac wood; a new twist on old Balblair here, then.
Comparing notes from both Balblairs indicates that, whether down to differing ages or caskings, there was quite a pronounced contrast between them. With an extra 5 years of aging, and a finish in Spanish oak, the whisky presented in Ely fills the glass with sticky sweetness and clear sherry notes. The younger spirit and French oak finish of this line-up’s whisky pushes green natural notes and the potency of that cognac cask.
Notes: Cognac is clear, musty. Some forest pine, herbal background white fruit, unripe banana, grassy.
Cooper’s Choice – Cameronbridge 2007 16yo
Single Grain Scotch Whisky – 53.5%
Justification: Oldest working grain distillery in Scotland
On to bottle 2, and our second repeat offender. I like including grain whiskies because they’re often overlooked, but in a tasting with this theme, they’re also a good source for an older age statement. The bottle I presented in Ely was also an independently bottled 16yo Cameronbridge expression, though that was from Signatory rather than this offering from Vintage Malt Whisky Co.
Their Cooper’s Choice series sees them highlighting the work of the cooper in whisky production, often maturing or finishing their releases in innovative casks. Malaga sweet fortified wine is certainly an unusual finish for a Scotch, let alone an underloved grain whisky, and certainly not something I can imagine Diageo themselves ever releasing officialy with Cameronbridge spirit.
One might think that the oloroso aging of the bottle at the Ely tasting might offer similar notes to this Malaga wine cask finish. While there is a similarity with the sweetness and aniseed across the two, the Ely oloroso bottles offered more obvious fruit and richness, whereas this expression was heavy with savoury spice and a suprising hint of smoke.
Notes: Aniseed, honey, wood spice. Much less fire. Ginger. Ashy smoke surprise.
Lindores Abbey – Friar John Cor Chapter 3
Single Malt Scotch Whisky- 60%
Justification: Young distillery on site of oldest recorded Scotch production
The story behind Lindores Abbey Distillery ties together the full history of whisky production in Scotland with one of its newer contributors. The grounds of the ruined 12th-century abbey are home to Drew McKenzie Smith and his family, but back in 2000, when a stranger arrived at their door to ask his father’s permission to have a look around, they didn’t know there was anything more special than that about the land. When a book arrived next year, authored by this stranger (one Michael Jackson, whisky writer) with a page highlighted, opening with the words
“For the whisky lover, it is a pilgrimage”
they learned about their incredible whisky legacy.
The earliest written reference to whisky production in Scotland is a tax document from 1494 detailing the exchange of malt with a Lindores Abbey resident monk, Friar John Cor, in order for him to provide King James IV with aqua vitae. Upon discovering their place in the grand tapestry of Scotch, it took them 20 years to get their distillery set up and release their first whisky.
The Friar John Cor series of releases started some years after the distillery had been selling whisky. Each chapter is a new cask strength marriage of some of the different casks that the distillery has been looking after. The black and white stylisation is to evoke the habit a monk would have worn at the abbey. This 3rd chapter contains spirit aged in bourbon, amontillado & PX sherry casks, finally, further, married together in sherry casks too.
Notes: Delicious! Marmalade + chocolate spread, honey + liquorice. Cinnamon pastry. Water takes some fruit, brings some wood. White grape.
Torabhaig – Sound of Sleat
Single Malt Scotch Whisky – 46%
Justification: New release from a young distillery
For any new Scotch whisky distillery, they are always going to be launching into a crowded marketplace, with competitors often trading in overlapping niches and themes. In the case of the 2017-founded Torabhaig, situated on the Isle of Skye, they find themselves only the second distillery operating on the island, with its neighbour having been located there, seemingly unchallenged, since 1830!
Torabhaig’s focus is on ‘smoke with taste’ – they make peated whisky, but are still very much on a voyage of discovery with their distillery. On their way to a 10 year old release, the Legacy Series is exploring what they can do with their signature style as they test malt, yeast, peat and wood, their interactions and flexibility. This bottle, named after the waterway separating the Skye coastline, on which the distillery sits, and the mainland, is entry 4 in the series and sees an American oak experiment underway. It is a marriage of 3 types of cask: freshly charred virgin, 4-6yo first-fill ex-bourbon, and at least 10yo refill American oak casks.
Notes: Damp, burnt wood. Dark chocolate. Bonfire. Beef and onion crisps.
Ardnahoe – Bholsa
Single Malt Scotch Whisky – 50%
Justification: Newest Islay distillery
This, from the newest distillery on Islay, was the final bottle in the line-up and the final returning member from the Ely tasting. Similar to Torabhaig, it feels as though the folks at Ardnahoe are open to experimenting with what the distillery can produce. After their inaugural whisky, they’ve released 2 contrasting core expressions. The first (Infinite Loch) was a predominantly bourbon-aged offering, with some oloroso wood in the mix, whereas this second (Bholsa) flips that ratio.
It shouldn’t be surprising that the distillery is confident in releasing well-curated comparable bottles, as the family owners, Hunter Laing, have a history in the blending and independent bottling industry. When whisky drinkers know you for your skills in cask selection, it only seems good business to capitalise on that when marketing the whiskies from your young distillery.
The meaty, bbq, more earthen notes of the Infinite Loch, with its hints of maple sweetness, born of majority bourbon wood, are here turned into the more medicinal side of peat smoke, with classic rich sherried flavours coaxed out by the move to majority olorosso wood. Both, however, deliver confidently on the promise of an Islay single malt.
Notes: Dark chocolate, TCP/burnt wood, balloons/plasters, sherried raisins at the end.
The Winners
Vote Winner: Bottle #3 – Lindores Friar John Cor Chapter 3
A unanimous winner is really unusual at a tasting, but that’s what we had (or at least only missing out on 1 or 2 votes). But if my first note is ‘delicious’, then I suppose I should have expected something special. It wasn’t even that the assembled whisky-curious were smoke-avoiders – the Lindores just won everyone over!
The unexpected ashy note in the Cameronbridge caught us all off guard. We didn’t really have a good theory as to where that came from. The Ardnahoe continues (following on from my Ely presentation) to see them playing an impressive interpretation of Islay’s greatest hits – definitely a young distillery to watch. And the Torabhaig expression was the fun kind of experiment I like to see new distilleries performing – not jumping to a performative early core release, but taking time to feel out their ingredients and production style.
