James MacArthur Strathmill Tasting Notes

James MacArthur ‘Old Masters Cask Strength Collection’ Strathmill 1992 (12 year old) 63.4%

Bourbon/Dist: 1992 Btl: 2004/ Tasted: Dec 2006

Light, delicate and slightly estery on the nose with light orange fruit, a touch of honey and creamy oak. On the palate it is youthful, smooth and creamy with loads of sweet malt and delicate orange fruit and lashings of soft spice.

A drop of water softens the nose emphasising the vanilla and rounds out the palate, taking the edge of the alcohol and lengthening. Although this may not be the biggest Strathmill I’ve ever tasted it is very charming and elegant.

James MacArthur ‘Old Masters Cask Strength Collection’ Strathmill 1990 (21 year old) 54.1%

Bourbon cask 101112/ Dist: Oct 1990 Btl: 2011/ Tasted: Mar 2012

A mature nose, redolent of straw-like citrus fruit along with malt and a touch of dark toffee. Quite an earthy nose and not displaying the usual exuberant orange fruit. 

The palate opens with sugar coated citrus, white liquorice, straw and earth. Quite mature and like the nose, not as expressively fruity as you would expect from this distillery. The combination of alcohol and oak tannins give a somewhat austere and bitter finish although a touch of marzipan appears. 

With water the nose becomes lighter, and now some silky orange fruit appears along with a touch of honey. Lightly perfumed now too. The palate is sweeter and juicier and although it is more like Strathmill now with some light honey it still retains a bit of a rough edge and the oak still bitters the finish.

Duncan Taylor Strathmill Tasting Notes

Duncan Taylor ‘Peerless’ Strathmill 1975 (28 year old) 48.7%

Bourbon Cask 1891

Dist: May 1975 Btl: Aug 2003/ Tasted: May 2005

Wonderfully clean aromas of oily orange fruit jump from the glass with subtle vanilla oak, earth, peach, nectarines and a complexity of wine soaked stone fruits.

Medium bodied, like drinking orange liquor, deep and spicy with nectarine and peach. Balanced and tangy with a perfumed middle and this winey orange character throughout. Great length, a superb desert malt

Douglas Laing Strathmill Tasting Notes

Douglas Laing Old Particular Strathmill 1993 (21 year old) 51.5%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OLD0164/ DL10585

Dist: Jan 1993 Btl: Dec 2014/ Tasted: Feb 2015

This has a rather peculiar nose. On the one hand it has plenty of sweet barley but on the other plenty of manure and methane! With time a little vanilla, honey and fresh citrus appears and the manurey notes blow off a bit.

The palate opens with the toasted caramel oak and dark-ish honey, baked fruit, earth and old wood notes. Reasonable length with the baked fruit lingering along with hints of herbs and old wood.

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Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Strathmill 1976 (35 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2118/ DL7817

Dist: Apr 1976 Btl: Feb 2012/ Tasted: Apr 2012

A deep and luscious nose. Beautifully fragrant satusuma, sweet tangerine and oriental spice notes rise from the glass. Light pepper, barley, sawdusty oak and crème brulee add to the complexity. So succulent and juicy. Very good.

Luscious and juicy on the palate. A lovely combination of barley and satsuma with hints of dried fruit, soft spices.  The orange become pleasantly creamy towards the middle before the mature oak vanillins arrive and slightly bitter out the finish. However those wonderfully dusty spices linger.

Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask Strathmill 1975 (36 year old) 44.1%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2049/ DL7186

Dist: May 1975 Btl: May 2011/ Tasted: July 2011

A beautifully fragrant nose of orange blossom with some gorgeous honey shot through with a seam of tart citrus fruit. With time the oak comes through with a slightly sawdusty character before developing a slight toasted caramel note.

Soft, gentle and oh so delicate. Opening with orange and tangerine fruit coated in light syrup and liberally sprinkled with caster sugar. The orange fruit become more liquor like as the mature honey flavours evolve. The alcohol adds just the right level of piquancy to stop it become too sweet and in doing so releases a slight herbal note. Superb length with some wood notes and tannins in the finish but there is no let up in the gorgeous, silky, liquid orange. Stunning!

Dewar Rattray Strathmill Tasting Notes

Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Strathmill 1989 (15 year old) 63.5%

Bourbon Cask 10303/ Dist: Oct 1989 Btl: Nov 2004/ Tasted: Dec 2005

Wow, a lovely nose, slightly youthful but showing signs of mellowing. Awesome amounts of juicy, sweet liqueur like orange fruits, quite oily with a slight floral/ grassy note. Considerably more delicate than the Duncan Taylor bottling, but just as good.

Med-dry on the palate with lots of spices – cloves, cinnamon, then comes waves of intense, drying orange fruit, cereals and more mouth watering spices, finishing with a touch of vanilla and a dry wineyness. Water emphasises its winey character and brings out an earthy note. On the palate it softens it, but retains its refreshing oily freshness. 

Dewar Rattray ‘Single Cask’ Strathmill 1991 (18 year old) 46%

Bourbon cask 4123 sample received at 55.9%

Dist: Oct 1991 Btl: Aug 2009/ Tasted: 2009

A very mature nose with a malty richness and a natural honey disposition along with hints of high toned/ floral citrus and botanicals. Over time it moves into hot weetabix territory. Not as overtly fruity as some Strathmills, but with a pleasant complexity. The palate is generous and malted, full of wheat biscuit flavours and a subservient orange note. The alcohol masks somewhat and finishes with plenty of botanicals. 

With water (which is closer to what it will taste like at 46%)

Now we get some semblance of the trademark juicy orange fruit, still very malted-wheat in character. However on the palate that malted-wheat character has developed a slight cardboardy edge to it and is nowhere nearas interesting as the nose would suggest. The combination of wood and alcohol really dry out the finish. So for that reason I’ll have to pass on this. 

Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Strathmill 1991 (21 year old) 56.5%

Bourbon Cask 4124/ Dist: Oct 1991 Btl: Jan 2013/ Tasted: Feb 2013

The noise is quite dusty and dominated by the Bourbon oak. The spirit is showing itself in a rather grainy light and it feels like a medium aged grain whisky. Maybe it’s a bit long in the tooth, but there is a touch of dusty barley and a late honeyed note. 

The palate is quite barley sweet, but rather edgy and tannic with the alcohol being the dominant theme. Hints of burnt butter and grainy spice seep through but the alcohol feels more like 60% rather than 56%! 

Diluted some oily barley and very mature orange appears along with some milky vanillins. The palate is much the same, mature and milky. To be honest the palate does feel very old now and although there is a touch of light barley there isn’t much fruit left now.

Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Strathmill 1989 (22 year old) 58.6%

Refill Sherry Butt 10310/ Dist: Oct 1989 Btl: May 2012/ Tasted: July 2012

The nose displays some sharp citrus fruit, accentuated by the alcohol nip. The sherry cask is slightly herbal with a touch of tangerine and some beautiful, clean vanillins. With time it becomes more aromatic with hints of granite and salt. 

The palate is dry and a touch on the tannic side with some lovely dark chocolate coated orange fruit and barley. Sweetly malted on the middle with an intense herbal, mouth-watering quality. The alcohol slightly masks the finish but it finishes with some lovely, warming spice notes. 

With water the nose becomes exceedingly luscious and juicy with hints of straw and lightly honeyed citrus. Wonderfully deep and aromatic with a developing earthy-spiciness and a more subtle sherry character. Soft and creamy on the palate, now showing more maturity – gently oxidised with a cognac-esque dried fruit rancio and a touch of straw. Very long and exceptionally good!

Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Strathmill 1975 (31 year old) 49.3%

Bourbon Cask 1855/ Dist: May 1975 Btl: Aug 2006/ Tasted: Oct 2006

A gloriously dense, heavyaromas of orange oils – Wow you can really smell the viscosity. This is sumptuous with an infinite depth of creamy vanilla laced fruit. On the palate it is obviously heavy and oily with sweet, sensuous orange fruit and big wood. Time has melded the components wonderfully – It might not be the most complex of flavours, but the depth is stunning. Do not add water, it kills its density and gives it a gin like botanical note. 

Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Strathmill 1976 (31 year old) 48.4%

Bourbon cask 1124/ Dist: Apr 1976 Btl: Jun 2007/ Tasted: Sept 2007

A wonderful nose of citrus almost winey fruit. Granity hard honey with menthol, orange and creamy butterscotch oak. Stunning balance and depth, loads and loads of menthol and mature honey. A drop of water brings out a grassy Sauvignon Blanc like character along with wonderful lemon and lime notes. 

Lovely, crisp and granity hard candied fruits on the palate, a touch tropical with apricot and malt notes. Water makes it a touch watery and emphasises the tropical pineapple and banana fruit. Still wonderfully delicious though. A lovely length with the citrus fruit being joined by a light coffee note. Probably at it’s best neat as water emphasises the dry, wood tannins on the finish. 

Dewar Rattray ‘Individual Cask Bottling’ Strathmill 1976 (35 year old) 44%

Bourbon Cask 1125/ Dist: Apr 1976 Btl: Apr 2011/Tasted: May 2011

A gorgeously juicy orange fruit nose. The aromas are pure orange skin with hints of white liquorice, fern and pine needles and some jaw droppingly, exquisitely mature honey. Oooh this exudes mature honey! Superb complexity with some beautiful, slightly sawdusty oak. 

The palate is delicate with a stunning depth of wonderfully soft orange and exotic fruits along with the honey. It has still retained a pleasant freshness and just enough alcohol to balances the honey. The barley arrives on a wave of delicate oils leaving a mouth coating finish. Amazingly long with a seriously herbal finish which reminds me of a pure, old, slightly oxidised Loire Sauvignon. Seriously elegant!