After the launch of the Whiskyland collection (August 2024) there’s a regular stream of actually good bottlings from Decadent Drinks. Immediately we’re attempting the most recent chapters 5, seven and eight. Most of them appear to be sister casks of earlier Whisky Sponge releases.
I don’t assume I’ve acquired a pattern of chapter six, however that might be a deliberate selection – I’m usually not the most important fan of perfumed and flowery Bowmore from the Nineteen Eighties. No urge to verify this, thanks.
Tomatin 30 yo 1994 (51,6%, Decadent Drinks ‘Whiskyland’ 2024, refill hogshead, 230 btl.)
Nostril: vivid yellow fruits, with honey. Crimson apples, pears, guava and pineapples, in addition to honeysuckle. Grapes and gooseberries, going backwards and forwards between greener and extra tropical fruits. Mild chalky notes, hints of wisteria. Then a touch of vanilla within the distance, together with some scented candles.
Mouth: extra fruit salad, mixing lime and tangerine with guava, inexperienced plums, pears and unripe mirabelles. Then hints of inexperienced tea and inexperienced bananas. The candles are again, leaving a waxy footprint, together with some citrus oils. Very good honeyed notes, in addition to a light-weight oaky contact in the long run.
End: fairly lengthy, with extra candy plums, crystallized ginger and waxy oak.
A reasonably Irish type of Tomatin, centered round fruits of various colors and continents. Very good fruit salad. In all probability a sister cask of the Whisky Sponge Tomatin 1994, however this one appears barely wider. Accessible from Decadent Drinks or retailers comparable to The Whisky Trade.
Springbank 30 yo 1994 (48,8%, Decadent Drinks ‘Whiskyland’ 2024, refill sherry hogshead, 247 btl.)
Nostril: very elegant, with plenty of berries trace of polished brassware and previous Oloroso notes. It’s truly fairly juicy, with hints of cognac, orange cake and drops of previous Rivesaltes. Some mineral and waxy components too, together with some furnishings polish and candy mint. Not a lot of the standard Springbank funk, apart from a delicate earthy trace and tobacco within the background.
Mouth: nonetheless elegant, however now extra pronouncedly Springbank. Extra berry juice, vivid honey, together with walnut cake and savoury hints of herbs. Then the coastal aspect comes ahead, along with tender peat and a touch of camphor. Previous Oloroso runs all through it. Lovely musty notes beneath, in addition to leather-based and cocoa nibs in the long run.
End: medium to lengthy, with extra tobacco and waxy notes, nutty sherry and lingering fruits.
There are funky Springbank variations from sherry casks (like this Westie Sponge 1999), however that is an equally stunning type, extremely balanced and harmonious. It jogs my memory of its Whisky Sponge sister, nevertheless it’s rounder, fruitier and albeit higher. A spotlight of 2025, so quickly in January? Bought out, so far as I can inform. Rating: 93/100
Caol Ila 32 yo 1992 (51,8%, Decadent Drinks ‘Whiskyland’ 2024, refill hogshead, 210 btl.)
Nostril: immediate maritime notes. Iodine, moist rocks, brine and inexperienced pepper. Refined peat smoke (wooden ash), in addition to rubbed lemon skins and sea salt. Then some greener notes, like recent grass and pine needles. Menthol and mineral oils too.
Mouth: the form of mineral sharpness that reminds us of late Seventies Port Ellen, completely matched to a calmly candy, waxy notice. Oyster juice, fisherman’s rope, natural tea and loads of brine. Then again to an nearly syrupy and oily layer of citrus, yellow apple and squid ink, in addition to mild caramel. A mild peatiness with an underlying peppery notice.
End: lengthy, peppery, nonetheless displaying this candy layer together with inexperienced tea and earthy smoke.
A really elegant and refined Caol Ila, very similar to the early Nineteen Eighties releases that we noticed ten years in the past, although maybe barely richer. Mineral and coastal, however displaying an above common sweetness too. Wonderful. Accessible from Decadent Drinks, or The Whisky Trade, or Royal Mile Whiskies as an illustration. Rating: 91/100
