Four Single Malts | Various ABV

Whisky fills a blank page

As any regular readers would know, we tend not to review samples here at Dramface. It’s a thing we started with and we’ve kinda -mostly - held onto. Indy outturns are an occasional exception though.

We hope we retain a team that are buying at a scale where reviewing full bottles of whatever interests them is enough to keep the tank full. But also because there’s arguably more authority, heft and relevance when we’ve gone through the process of buying, opening and enjoying our own full bottles.

But there’s a little more to it. I think I am correct in saying that we’re pretty unique here in our use of imagery. Most of the time, we like to share lots of nice images; the bottles themselves of course, but occasionally their environments too. I think this does more than just add gloss, colour and breaks to the blocks of copy; I think it adds detail and context for those who care. Some of the team are pretty deft with a camera too, so that’s nice. Sample bottles though, even for our Doog, don’t photograph well.

There is merit in sharing samples though, when you actually think about it; most folk who know their way around a glass of whisky don’t need much more than a single pour to get some on-theme flavours and descriptors before working out if it’s decent or not. Whiskyfun have done a sublime job of such a thing and, let’s be honest, do you think we should be rejecting submissions because we spot that, from the photos, the writer has only had 3cl from a freshly opened bottle they’ve purchased?

No. Usually, the main reason people get twitchy about reviewing samples is because it’s placed alongside that very prominent, emotive and all-too-controversial score. As earnest as it always attempts to be, a score can only ever be subjective. However, it is often very much part of the buzz of an article; but mostly when it’s a surprise or placed at an extreme end of the Dramface scoring spectrum. As always, we like to encourage people to read the words and work out the context. The score is only the score; the words are the actual appraisal.

Like today, through glancing at the photos, you’ll see I’ve clearly sat and enjoyed these at home, one after the other, in the order of reviewing them. Twice actually; a day apart. I’ll shortly explain where they came from and why I’m sharing them, what I think about them and whether or not they’re available. From there, you make up your own mind. We’re not here to sell bottles, but instead try to help those who are probably gonna buy anyway. People like us.

There’s also the cost. If I, or anyone else, were to go out and purchase the four bottles featured today, we’d be looking at an outlay of £855. So yeah, being up-to-date and relevant and all that is all well and good, but we hope it should be quite helpful. And actually, how many of our readers can do such a thing, let alone our writing team? But they might just pick up one.

So, we’ll occasionally take these samples. Today they were sent directly by Decadent Drinks themselves, who we’ve reviewed in the past.

But today is a little different. I usually accept these ‘freebies’ and then pass them on, or have them forwarded to a writer - under their Dramface persona. Therefore, removed from any direct connection, they are free to think and write as they like, just like any other review day. But today, I’ve kept these for me. This is my first ‘freebie’.

You may think it’s because there’s a 22 year old Miltonduff and a 26yo Imperial in the offing - and you’d be absolutely right. But honestly, it’s because I’ve been sitting on them for over a week, and I’ve been busy elsewhere, but also because it's probably my ‘turn’. Samples are not very easy to write up in the Dramface format.

Without a bottle or back story, and instead faced with a selection of varied sample mini-bottles with very little in terms of a unifying theme, it’s harder to find a pre-amble that fits. And yet. Despite leaning on significant navel-gazing in order to do so, I seem to have managed just fine. Verbosity is a talent I am grateful to be lumbered with.

After pouring the initial samples for the first-pass nose and slurp, I’ve polished off the rest in on the second day to make adjustments as necessary. One of them got the pelican treatment and was finished much faster than the others. More to follow.

I find the Wally of today surprised that he mostly agrees with yesterday’s manifestation. That is that all four of what follows are delicious and somewhat unique selections, if a little pricey. All of which is news to no one when it comes to the Decadent Drinks outturns.

I believe these are already on the market. Okay, that’s lazy, please hold…

Yes, indeed all are. I couldn’t find a site that had them all (even the Decadent Drinks website didn’t have the Imperial listed), but they are all still around and all at initial retail prices - as listed here. So, it seems we’re not actually too late with this one. Still, it’s my review to tackle, not least because I’ve drunk them all now.

For those of you that aren’t aware, the Whisky Sponge releases of old have now morphed into Whiskyland ‘Chapter’ releases, such as the Imperial here, while the others are under the Decadent Drams branding.

Review 1/4

Spirit of Yorkshire 6yo, 2018 vintage, 2nd fill Ex-Islay cask, 57.1% ABV
£95 still available

Decadent Drinks bottling English whisky? Good, I say.

Some of the English whiskies I’ve enjoyed in the last three years have made my scotch-tuned eyes fall from their sockets and tumble down my shocked face. It’s exciting stuff and often very surprising.

I don’t have any Spirit of Yorkshire here in the whisky pit right now, so I was keen to get my beak into this six year old from an ex-Islay cask.

From Decadent Drinks:

A single 2nd fill, ex-Islay barrel of Spirit Of Yorkshire single malt. Distilled in 2018, aged for 6 years and bottled at the slightly reduced strength of 57.1%, this is the first example of Spirit Of Yorkshire single malt that features more than a whiff of peat smoke about it. It's rich, creamy, full of natural cereal character and balanced by beautiful coastal and gentle smoke inflections.

Something odd about SoY is that, being part of a brewery, their stills are located a fair distance from their brewhouse. They literally have to ship their wash off-site for distilling at the distillery. A quick Google tells me it’s actually two miles away.

I’d like to understand how all of this works, but that would take a visit and Google Maps and Google Calendar both inform me I don’t have the time right now.

Score: 6/10

**Good stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*I had to dig for the smoke, but it appears through clean and well-made summer sips*

Nose

After an initial blast of young spirit, things settle into pear, creamy barley malt and lime Starburst, with whiffs of soda water and soluble Aspirin suggesting a mineralic theme. Some lily pollen too but, at first, I don’t detect any smoke at all.

Upon a second visit I spotted a puff of it (after enjoying the other three in this line up) it’s there, and confirmed by the notes from DD above, but my goodness it’s pretty subtle. I gotta lay off the peat.

Palate

Light honey, lime cordial, pebbles, creamy cereal, and a little sharp white wine and pepper. An oiliness to the development brings orchard fruits and a lingering, fresh finish.

The Dregs

This is my first time actually pausing to contemplate a Spirit of Yorkshire release that isn’t part of their core “Filey Bay’ range and it’s really good.

This textured treat is a perfect thing to share as we come into springtime, but also a nice alternate marker of a distillery that’s been releasing malt since before the pandemic - and it suggests things are coming along very nicely indeed. A sense of a nice ‘fattiness’ endures with only the most unobtrusive of youthful edges.

While you may consider £95 pricey, we should remember that’s par for single casks from smaller new distilleries these days. I would love to encourage more of them to allow some of their stocks into the hands of indies. I’d be content to have this bottle on the shelf.

Score: 6/10

Review 2/4

Inchmurrin 12yo, Loch Lomond Distillery, 2012 vintage, 2nd fill bourbon barrel, 215 bottle outturn, 57.1% ABV
£95 still available

As recently as a decade ago you’d have been hard-pushed to find a Loch Lomond release from an indie that anyone cared about. Not so these days.

For me, I’m especially drawn to the Inchmurrin releases, such is the fruity and zesty character that can stream from the straight-neck stills installed in this Southern Highland distillery mega-plex. This is a brilliant whisky but you can get Inchmurrins a wee bit cheaper if you’re a curious explorer and enjoy your fruit-forward pours.

From Decadent Drinks:

Quite simply, a luscious single 2nd fill barrel of Inchmurrin 2012. Exuberantly fruity and highly exotic - the kind of profile that's hard to find these days, and utterly beguiling. For us this is great value whisky! We bottled it with very slight reduction to help elevate that luscious fruit character a wee touch.

All very enthusiastic, but I’ll go along with it, because this is a great bottle.

Score: 8/10

**Something special.**
***TL;DR***
*A quaffable fruit basket that’s remarkably easy to drink*

Nose

Oh aye. Sweet orange and satsumas, Juicy Fruit, warm vanilla creme, tinned apricot, mango and peach slices; slightly more luscious fruit than other Inchies I’ve enjoyed. Something minty too. Mouthwatering.

Palate

Surprisingly oily, herbal, viscous and - yes - very fruity. Light, but warming; honeyed too. The tropicality from the fruit is there in spades, but the peaches step to the fore and even bring a metallic edge, like you’re sipping from the tin. There’s good, moreish fun here too with juxtaposed sweet and sharpness: juicy yet drying, herbal yet oily, it’s compelling and far too easy to drink.

Look for a wee arrow of spearmint on the finish too.

The Dregs

This is the only change I make during my ‘second approach’ on day two; if I had a bottle of this, I could all too easily just kick the backside out of it.

It’s exactly my flavour lane and there’s enough detail piercing through the luscious backdrop to keep me coming back. At first I declared it far too expensive but - annoyingly all too common with these DD releases - you shrug and pay up because they can be very, very good.

Sometimes, life’s too short for cheap whisky. I bumped this from a 6/10 to a 7/0 yesterday, only to bump it to an 8/10 today. It goes so fast I’m convinced it’s being stolen in front of my eyes. Despite checking over my shoulder, the thieving pelican can only be me.

A summery delight and my pick of the four.

Score: 8/10

Review 3/4

Miltonduff 22yo, small batch comprising two casks: a 2002 2nd fill bourbon barrel and a 1991 refill hogshead, 52.8% ABV
£215 still available

I couldn’t settle fully with this one, at first, but after a while I started to relax a little.

To be candid; I feel it didn’t show well against its clean and zesty neighbours. So many times, in tastings, I’ve found an absolute favourite whisky can be made to look a little awkward in contrast to other things. This one worked best when I sat with it on its own, where the depth and maturity were allowed to step forward and make their case.

I think the blurb below goes some way to explaining things, maybe.

From Decadent Drinks:

Another multi-vintage, small-batch bottling and probably one of our most ambitious attempts at this practice thus far. A 2002 2nd fill barrel of Miltonduff, married with a 1991 refill hogshead. The result is a wonderfully rich, complex, fruity, honeyed and waxy example with a lot of clear influence of time, but also a freshness from the younger component that builds wonderful complexity and depth into the final dram. We're really happy with this one.

Score: 7/10

**Very good indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Positively ‘interesting’ but a little challenging and off-piste. Pricey too*

Nose

Immediately different from the others on the nose. There’s a depth and maturity upgrade here, but it’s a little on the odd side of things.

There are waxy oranges alongside herbal, apple brandy vibes, vanilla pods, wood polish, linseed oil, hayloft and dried sage, with a turmeric and ginger-shot warmth. It keeps your nose in the glass, for sure.

Palate

Honey, herbs and eucalyptus; warming and flighty, complex and fickle. Syrupy stone fruits appear through the orange-oil texture, lots more honey - mostly darker tones, and a dried herb flash before a long and slightly drying, bitter finish. A real sense of a ‘concentration’ of flavours. It takes time, but stays a touch on the weird side - in a good way.

The Dregs

This is such a ‘Whisky Sponge’ vibe whisky: condensed, odd, interesting and completely unique. While it could be the try-before-you-buy candidate of the bunch, I feel for sure it’ll find loving fans and I’m suspicious it would end up being the favourite of many too.

It’s rich with a mature-yet-zesty, herbally honeyed and medicinal nature and really is something different. A real ‘interesting’ whisky but, despite knowing there’s 1991 liquid in this small batch, two-cask make up, I’m not sure I’d be able to drop the cash.

I’m only tight because I’m poor.

Score: 7/10

Review 4/4

Imperial 26yo, Whiskyland Chapter Thirteen, 1998 vintage, refill bourbon barrel, 144 bottles, 44.4% ABV
£450 still available

I vividly remember buying up stock of a Single Malts of Scotland 25yo Imperial in Glasgow back in 2020. Back then, as well-aged, closed distillery liquid from multiple indies it was a bargain and we knew it wouldn’t last.

That SMoS bottle was a UK exclusive and a particularly good bargain banger at £150. I bought enough to enjoy and enough to keep, but remember I’m a greedy-faced pelican and I snaffled all but one bottle during the Covid blur. Ah well, hindsight having 20/20 vision and all that…

Today, though, I’d need to cough up a kidney to get something similar.

From Decadent Drinks:

A single refill barrel of Imperial 1998 bottled at natural cask strength of 44.4% after 26 years of age. This is on the lighter side, but is full of classical Imperial characteristics of waxes, honeys, white flowers and citrus fruit. A delicate and highly detailed whisky that demands a large dram and proper nosing glass and plenty of time and relaxation.

Score: 7/10

**Very good indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*A super-extreme take on that waxy, clean Imperial profile*

Nose

Oooh. Immediately recognisable as creamy and light, waxy, refill cask, well-aged loveliness. Lychees, a touch of icing sugar, white peach flesh, cool, outdoor linen and white, floral blossom.

Palate

Creamy and soft arrival; concentrated tropical juices, stone fruit and that cool linen vibe. There’s vanilla fondant too, candlewax and sweet, sugar-powdered lemon bon-bons.

It’s ethereal - you don’t drink it down or swallow - it seems to just vaporise from the palate. By adding a splash, I’ve kind of ruined my second to last pour of this. With such a low, naturally concentrated ABV, it’s at its peak neat and precise.

The Dregs

This, probably, is a peak and perfect example of the style. It is utterly creamy and waxy and clean and pure and… Imperial-y.

The only (personal) criticism that can be laid is that, despite the DD notes describing it as highly detailed, I’d say it was just a touch on the simpler side. It loses not too much for that, in fact for those who hunt this stuff down it’ll probably be pitch-perfect, but for me I’m looking for a ‘zing’ in there too - a spike of acidity or a dollop more fruitiness. I’m being picky though; this profile of liquid is becoming a rare treat and this really is an extreme example of the style.

I know I don’t need to dwell on the price, you can read it as well as I can.

A final word on these ‘freebies’ before I sign off. By the time I take some pictures and edit them, sit down (twice) to ponder and take notes, then wonder about what to write, eventually write, build up an article, edit it. Hand it over to our sub-editor, who edits it, then promote it through Dramface socials etc. via our handsome socials fella, there’s over a day’s work involved.

Why do it then? Because we sincerely hope it’s relevant, useful and - once in a blue moon - maybe timely. It’s for our readers, our members, and it’s for us.

Whisky makes good content, and every day we try to fill a new blank page. It’s not free. It’s costly.

Thanks to Decadent Drinks for the wonderful midweek, springtime lift and happy hunting to you all.

Score: 7/10

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. WMc

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