Connoisseur's Choice Ardbeg 1974
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00% 8 Less boisterous than The Young One. The calm of maturity permits all the nuances to be experienced.

Connoisseur's Choice Ardbeg 1990
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 8 The palate seemed almost disappointingly cosy, but the wildness of Islay was recalled in the finish.

Connoisseur's Choice BenRiach 1981
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00% 7 The bourbon cask influence is obvious. A refreshing dram but simplistic. Water ruins it.

Connoisseur's Choice Bladnoch 1986
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 The light touch of sherry helps bring out the soft, fruity, flavours.

Connoisseur's Choice Caol Ila 1988
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 Caol Ila can be a little gin-like. This bottling could be served like a Pimms. Mind you, no gin has such a long finish.

Connoisseur's Choice Clynelish 1991
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00% 7 Well-balanced and complex as a Clynelish should be. A good, solid afterdinner dram.

Connoisseur's Choice Dailuaine 1975
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 Characterful. Individualistic.

Connoisseur's Choice Glenlossie 1975
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 Again, rather dried out. Lacks roundness and structure.

Connoisseur's Choice Lochside 1991
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00% 7 Never a classic, but the closure of a distillery is a loss. Lochside was a pleasant whisky, and now it is a collector's item.

Connoisseur's Choice Mosstowie 1979
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 A nostalgic reminder of the Lomond still, though I had forgotten it could produce such sweet whisky.

Connoisseur's Choice Rosebank 1988
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 8 A deft balance between the whisky's own character and the sherry.

Gordon & MacPhail 18 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 8 The best Benromach I have tasted. I wonder what she should expect in a few years from the new stillhouse.

Gordon & MacPhail 1973
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 After a weekend walk in the country? Mid to late afternoon. Who needs tea? Just a slice of fruit pie and a generous dram of Benromach.

Gordon & MacPhail Aberfeldy 1978
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 8 Delicate but not bland. Real subtlety. Very mature, but not a hint of wood. A Highlander, but blindfold I would have placed it as a Speysider.

Gordon & MacPhail Ardmore 1985
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 I have always thought of Ardmore as having a rather bluff character, but on this occasion I found it both welcoming and comforting.

Gordon & MacPhail Ardmore 1987
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 Very elegant and fragrant. As an apéritif with melon, basil and Parma ham.

Gordon & MacPhail Ardmore 1990
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00% 7 A pleasant dram, especially with a splash of water but lacks nerve and buoyancy.

Gordon & MacPhail Ardmore 1990 Cask Strength
Single Malt - Scotland - 55.80% 7 Starts slowly, and seems uncertain as to where it is going.

Gordon & MacPhail Ardmore 1990, Cask Strength
Single Malt - Scotland - 55.80% 7 A hidden complexity on the palate. A malt to give you a tender kick on “one of those days, you know…”

Gordon & MacPhail Balblair 1966
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 The nose is rich and harmonious. The palate not so lavish, somewhat dulled by wood dominating. It would have shown better at a higher strength.

Gordon & MacPhail Benromach 1974
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 8 I have always found Benromach assertively flowery, herbal, almost cedary. Will this highly distinctive character prevail in the new, smaller, stills introduced since the change of ownership? Tastings...

Gordon & MacPhail Benromach 1980
Single Malt - Scotland - 58.60% 7 A wake up dram. Not a great deal of complexity but an enjoyable fruitiness to make you think of springtime.

Gordon & MacPhail Benromach 22 Years Old, Port Wood Finish
Single Malt - Scotland - 45.00% 7 Should the pink tangerine blush of this whisky hint at Bacchus? He may have glanced at the cask, but I can't find him in the glass.

Gordon & MacPhail Benromach Peat Smoke
Single Malt - Scotland - 46.00% 7 Once the middle fills out will be a lovely addition to the range.

Gordon & MacPhail Benromach Sassicaia Wood Finish
Single Malt - Scotland - 45.00% 8 A success.

Gordon & MacPhail Benromach Traditional
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 8 This one really does have subtlety. A lovely, delicate aperitif.

Gordon & MacPhail Bladnoch 1991
Single Malt - Scotland - 54.80% 7 The nose is unusual, closer to a sour Chinese broth than a whisky! But the palate restores an expected floral Lowland freshness.

Gordon & MacPhail Bowmore 25 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00% 1 Old age has completely integrated peat and smoke. Oak overpowers the marine character. A splash of water does not help.

Gordon & MacPhail Bunnahabhain 1989
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 A breakfast whisky for the truly decadent.

Gordon & MacPhail Caol Ila 1969
Single Malt - Scotland - 45.00% 3 Surprisingly, the distillery character resists in this oldie. And peat “revisits” the aromatic palette. Integration again but no fusion.

Gordon & MacPhail Caol Ila 1981
Single Malt - Scotland - 62.70% 7 A beautifully balanced, rounded, example of this distinctive malt.

Gordon & MacPhail Caol Ila 1990
Single Malt - Scotland - 58.20% 8 Very decent example of Caol Ila, nothing jars here.

Gordon & MacPhail Caol Ila 1991
Single Malt - Scotland - 57.40% 8 What you nose is what you get. A beautiful uncompromising version of Caol Ila. More enjoyable when neat.

Gordon & MacPhail Glen Calder
Blended - Scotland - 40.00% 7 On the sweet side, although the finish brings out a more assertive note. A good winter warmer.

Gordon & MacPhail Glen Grant 1948
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 8 1948? Amazing. Has retained a refined almost raffish air and though frail is not overwooded.