Aberlour 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 Sophisticated but very approachable.

Aberlour 10 Years Old
- Scotland - 43.00% 0 The overall effect is a little forced as if it's trying to appear older than it actually is. A wee boy in his Dad's suit.

Ardbeg 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 46.00% 8 Not from a particularly peaty period, but packed with Ardbeg's other flavours. Wonderfully distinctive.

Ardbeg 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 46.00% 4 The same phenolic profile as in very young but more disciplined and rounder.

Auchentoshan 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 8 Very expressive when young – as might be expected from a classic Lowlander.

Auchentoshan 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 At 10 years, Auchentoshan makes an expressive, eloquent claim to being the classic Lowlander.

Auchentoshan 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 Lots of American Oak, and a super clean character. Nowt wrong, but not quite enough right.

Auchroisk 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00% 7 This version is not obviously sherryish, but still manages very big flavours indeed. I'm very impressed.

Auld Reekie 10 Years Old
- Scotland - 46.00% 7 Underplayed and understated and all the more interesting for it. Aperitif.

Balblair 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 Approachable and well structured, with delicious flavours.

Ben Nevis 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 46.00% 8 The sweetness could be excessive, but it is saved by the stogie.

Bennachie 10 Years Old
Blended Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 6 Light but pleasant.

BenRiach Curiositas peated malt, 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 A Speyside? The most Islayish of all the Speysides I have ever tasted. Interesting as a freak even if wood toughens the whole profile a little.

BenRiach Curiositas peated malt, 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 46.00% 7 Quite a nice dram but a bit edgy.

Black Bottle 10 Years Old
Blended - Scotland - 40.00% 9 A delicious, appetising, new expression of Black Bottle. As a blend, it is a star.

Black Bottle 10 Years Old
Blended - Scotland - 40.00% 8 An uncompromising Islay blend. Washes along sea fragrances. But reveals a sweet nature on the palate. Grain and malt are well married. A good cure for Islay-sickness.

Bladnoch 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00% 7 Lots of aromas and flavours, but lacks structure. Curiously flat.

Bruichladdich 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 46.00% 7 Very slightly spirity, but appetising.

Bruichladdich 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 46.00% 8 Not only the liveliness of youth but also the least wood influence. The use of second-fill casks leaves the fruity flavours of Bruichladdich to express themselves more freely.

Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection 10 Years Old Zinfandel Aged
Bourbon - U.S.A. - 45.00% 7 A finer structured example but the Zinfandel element seems a little bolted on.

Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection Chardonnay, 10 Years Old
Bourbon - U.S.A. - 45.00% 7 The nose is great, the palate a huge let down. I'm all for experiments but this hasn't worked.

Bushmills 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Ireland - 40.00% 6 All the woods are influential, especially the port in the finish. A very dexterous balancing act, but is the house character eventually overwhelmed?

Bushmills 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Ireland - 40.00% 7 After years of being overshadowed by its older wood finished cousins, this 10 Years Old is finally coming into its own.

Bushmills 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Ireland - 40.00% 7 Lovely nose (once again). . Lacks a bit of depth (once again).

Cadenhead's 10 Years Old, Bourbon
Bourbon - U.S.A. - 45.00% 9 I especially like bourbons when they are big and robust. This is both hearty and complex. A wonderful winter warmer.

Cadenhead's Lammerlaw 10 Years Old
Single Malt - New Zealand - 49.10% 7 This bottling is much more aggressive, and drying, than I remember. What happened to the soft maltiness and apricot fruitiness?

Cadenhead's Longrow 1996, 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 59.40% 0

Cadenheads America Bourbon
Bourbon - U.S.A. - 62.20% 7 Has an extra dimension. Recommended.

Canadian Club Reserve 10 Years Old
Blended - Canada - 40.00% 7 Straight-ahead Canadian whisky, as I remember it from my early days as an eclectic drinker.

Canadian Club Reserve 10 Years Old
Blended - Canada - 40.00% 7 A rum-like whisky. More full-bodied and richer than some of the others but still unremarkable.

Canadian Club Reserve 10 Years Old
Blended - Canada - 40.00% 7 The sweet Demerara taste is still there but “enriched” with a spicy note.

Centennial Premium Rye 10 Years Old
Rye - Canada - 40.00% 7 The nose makes you expect a more original profile. Lack of balance. Too much of that “rummy” sweetness.

Chieftain's Choice Benrinnes 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00% 7 For me this has been bottled too early and before the sulphuriness of youth has been fully matured out.

Chieftain's Choice Glenturret, 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00% 7 Pleasant, but I have had more complex bottlings from this distillery.

Chieftain's Choice The Glenrothes 1992, 10 Years Old, Port Finish
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00% 7 More mature than its 10 years would suggest. Fruitier than the conventional distillery bottlings. Refreshing. Like sorbet between courses.

Chieftain's Cigar Malt Robusto 1997 10 Years Old
- Scotland - 55.10% 6 The smoky character is more expressive on the palate than on the nose. Goes with the season.

Clynelish 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 59.80% 8 The true maritime taste of Clynelish.

Cooper's Choice Mortlach 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00% 8 A good bottling of this lovely malt. Mortlach has such complexity that I find new aromas and flavours every time I raise the glass.

Crested Ten Irish Whiskey, 10 Years Old
Blended - Ireland - 40.00% 7 This is a highly respected ‘sophisticated' whiskey, but it has never done anything for me. Good sherry character, but the whiskey itself is just too thin in the middle. I find it unbalanced.

Dun Bheagan Mortlach 10 Years Old, Port Finish
Single Malt - Scotland - 55.00% 7 Mortlach is usually a supple, muscular malt. At ten years, this already seems a trifle tired.

Eagle Rare 10 Years Old
Bourbon - U.S.A. - 45.00% 7 Slightly less sweet than the last bottling I tasted.

Eagle Rare 10 Years Old, Single Barrel
Bourbon - U.S.A. - 50.50% 7 More delicate and restrained than I expect from Eagle Rare...distinctly the sweeter of the Bourbons in this tasting.

Edradour 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 8 Much more sherried than the previous 10 Years Old distillery bottling. The back-label still lifts (unattributed) phrases from my tasting notes for that edition. The new version is very elegant, but th...

Glen Deveron 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 6 Too monolithic. No variety. The nose opens up after a while though.

Glen Deveron 1987, 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 Slightly less richness and wood-extract than in the 12, with which I am more familiar.

Glen Garioch 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 I have always enjoyed Glen Garioch as one of the few peaty whiskies still made in the Highlands. I hope this peaty character does not totally vanish.

Glenkinchie 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00% 7 I always enjoy this whisky, even though it is not the most typical of Lowlanders.

Glenkinchie 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00% 7 Very much in its regional style, but lacks finesse or genuine interest.

Glenlossie 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 45.00% 7 Doesn't deliver the promise of the nose. Surprisingly smooth for a fairly high alcohol strength.

Glenmorangie 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 8 Slightly sweeter on the nose, and less complex, than the best bottlings I have tasted.

Glenmorangie 10 Years Old
- Scotland - 40.00% 0 A perfectly sound,easy-going,sweet dram. Not a patch on ‘Original'(which of course is newer).

Glenmorangie Original
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 8 A standard malt? This is a very classy dram,so LVMH stop discounting. It only makes you seem like you're ashamed of it!

Golden Horse Chichibu 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Japan - 43.00% 7 Fresh, lively, flirtatious but slightly tart and astringent.

Inchmurrin 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 Very scenty and sweet. A restorative. Perhaps after a bath or swim?

Isle of Arran 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 46.00% 7 Have this before lunch and maybe chilled down.

Isle of Jura 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 A lovely aperitif.

Isle of Jura Legacy, 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 Not as enticing as the older versions. Lacks depth but it has nothing to do with youth. Water kills it down.

James MacArthur Allt-a-Bhainne 1995 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 58.90% 6 Quite harsh and burning. Alcohol is not tamed at all.

James MacArthur Auchentoshan 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 64.20% 7 I have not previously encountered such a full expression of Auchentoshan, but the style suits the whisky.

Karuizawa Master's Blend, 10 Years Old
Blended - Japan - 40.00% 7 For once, a whisky that delivers more on the palate than on the nose. It could make a pleasant summer dram.

Laphroaig 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00% 8 The most medicinal of Islay malts. I love it.

Laphroaig 10 Years Old
- Scotland - 40.00% 0 A peaty classic. Uncompromising yes, but great balance.

Laphroaig 10 Years Old, Cask Strength
Single Malt - Scotland - 57.30% 8 A fine robust dram with lots happening. Laphroaig at its best.

Laphroaig 10 Years Old, Cask Strength
Single Malt - Scotland - 55.70% 4 The tough guy. Medicine man? Muscular, solidly built. Dominated by camphor.

Ledaig 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00% 7 Another that's growing in character. I'm looking forward to the 12 Years Old.

Longrow 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 46.00% 8 A beautifully composed whisky. Classic intense, Scottish flavours.

Longrow 10 Years Old, Sherrywood
Single Malt - Scotland - 46.00% 8 Many blenders feel that second-fill sherry casks give a more balanced result than first-fill. This whisky is a lesson in that technique.

McGibbon's Provenance Linkwood (Sherry Matured)
- Scotland - 46.00% 6 Not come to life yet.

Milford 10 Years Old
Single Malt - New Zealand - 43.00% 7 Good flavour development.

Milford 10 Years Old
Single Malt - New Zealand - 43.00% 7 A good combination of fruit and oak. Wood is well integrated. Quite a moreish dram.

Miyagikyo 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Japan - 45.00% 7 Nose is more attractive than the palate. Lacks elegance and cohesion.

Old Malt Cask Bowmore 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 50.00% 0

Old Malt Cask Highland Park 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 50.00% 7 Utterly delicious, but the sherry masks the peat and salt.

Pendleton 10 Years Old
Blended - U.S.A. - 40.00% 7 Very drinkable, but does it have sufficient complexity to retain the drinker's interest?

Queen of the Moorlands Caol Ila 10 Years Old, Rare Cask
Single Malt - Scotland - 46.00% 8 Very good, but better without water. Is Caol Ila the most consistent distillery ever? So many indies, so few duff drams.

Royal Brackla 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00% 7 A pleasant malt, but this bottling has less structure than I remember. It is to be hoped that new owners Dewar's give more prominence to this distillery.

Sam Houston Very Small Batch 10 Years Old
Bourbon - U.S.A. - 45.00% 7 An attractive, tawny, colour and a good, straight-ahead, whiskey. Could be more complex at ten years. Ideal with a Texas barbecue?

Scotch Malt Whisky Society Yamazaki, 10 Years Old, 119.3
Single Malt - Japan - 56.20% 8 A surprising amount of peat in this usually very delicate malt.

Speyburn 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 Quite a pleasant pre-dinner dram, with light nibbles perhaps. A little shy though. Would yield more at a higher alcoholic strength or in a few years.

Springbank 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 8 Scores extra points for complexity.

Springbank 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 46.00% 7 The nose is lighter and more subtle than the palate. A dash of water tones down the flavours. Disappointing.

Springbank Vintage, 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 55.20% 8 There's an uncompromising feral power to this. Magnificent.

Talisker
- Scotland - 45.80% 0 It's the sweetness that's the key here.

Talisker 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 45.80% 9 Always a classic, though I still miss the 8 Years Old.

Talisker 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 45.80% 7 Less peppery than in my memory. As if the spicy outburst on mid palate has been tamed. A bit harsh too. Seems to have lost its volcanic temper.

Teaninich 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00% 7 Teaninich seems to have become more fruity and herbal over the years. And thinner. Or is it me who has become fatter?

The Balvenie 10 Years Old, Founder's Reserve
Single Malt - Scotland - 43.00% 8 The most honeyish of Speyside malts?

The Macallan Sherry Oak
- Scotland - 40.00% 0 Glossy and polished. Big flavour rules here.

The Macallan 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 8 Very satisfying.

The Macallan 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 8 Modern-day Macallan. Full of flavour but neither cloying nor overwhelming.

The Macallan 10 Years Old, Cask Strength
Single Malt - Scotland - 58.80% 8 With its distinctly reddish chestnut colour, this is clearly well sherried. An uncomplicated, robust, Macallan. Simply delicious.

The Macallan 10 Years Old, Fine Oak
Single Malt - Scotland - 0.00% 8 The extra two years have made this a little drier, and it still lacks complexity. Improvement to come here.

The Speyside 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 Good to see one of the newest distilleries now offering a 10 Years Old. One to watch.

The Wee Dram Caol Ila 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 46.00% 7 Precise and poised. Happy Birthday Wee Dram.

Three Ships 10 Years Old
Single Malt - South Africa - 43.00% 7 Some odd esters on the nose, but a nicely festive whisky.

Tobermory 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 Classic bourbon cask profile. Perfumy like Eau de cologne. Well balanced. Nuttier with water but it takes the freshness off.

Tomatin 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 Simple and straight forward but well composed and enjoyable. A reliable, solid, malt. I always enjoy it.

Tomintoul 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 Quite a muscular Speysider. The perfect dram to buck you up after a woodland walk mushroom-picking on a cold November day.

Tullibardine 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Scotland - 40.00% 7 A delicate malt, but with some complexity.

Tyrconnell Madeira Finish 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Ireland - 46.00% 8 Well put together, the finish not too obtrusive.

Tyrconnell Port Finish
Single Malt - Ireland - 46.00% 7 This just balances the whiskey and the finish.

Wild Turkey 10 Years Old, Russell's Reserve
Bourbon - U.S.A. - 50.50% 8 Slightly austere and cerebral. One to sip while watching a video of an art-house movie.

Yamazaki 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Japan - 40.00% 7 A charming summery dram. The perfect “herbal tea” to savour while gazing at the moonlit sky.

Yoichi 10 Years Old
Single Malt - Japan - 43.00% 8 This is a wonderful whisky at 10 Years Old. I love the almost shocking hit of heavy peating.

Yoichi 10 Years Old, Single Cask
Single Malt - Japan - 59.90% 9 A terrific whisky, beautifully rounded, with lots of everything.