Every issue of Whisky Magazine, our tasting duo Bradley Weir and Alwynne Gwilt try whiskies from around the world, sharing their tasting notes, opinions, and scores. Every whisky is blind tasted, meaning everything except the region, ABV, and style of the whisky remains a mystery. Instead of brand name, it's flavour that takes centre stage.
We're looking back at the five highest-scoring issues from Whisky Magazine issue 210. This issue, Scotch topped the charts, with representatives from Islay, Speyside, and the Highlands all picking up points with our tastings.
Read on to discover our tasters' favourites, and visit our tastings pages to see all the tasting reviews from issue 210.
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5th: GlenAllachie — Sinteis Part I: 2014 Chinquapin & Pedro Ximénez Cask Matured
'Sinteis' is Scottish Gaelic for 'synthesis', a concept represented by the GlenAllachie in this whisky through its pairing of "bold yet complementary" cask types in the maturation. This first release in the series used first-fill Pedro Ximénez sherry and American Chinquapin oak casks, bottling the result at cask strength.
The GlenAllachie, Sinteis Part I: 2014 Chinquapin & Pedro Ximénez Cask Matured
The GlenAllachie Distillers
ABV: 57.8% | Style: Single Malt | Country: Scotland | Region: Speyside | Bottling: Distillery
Combined taster score: 16.1
Buy now: £69.95 | The Whisky Exchange*
Bradley says... Burst of fruits — blackcurrant and raspberries — followed by almond pastries. Quite a variety of flavours, especially with the fruity and nutty balance on the palate. Very enjoyable!
Alwynne says... Warm baked apple pie, vanilla ice cream, cinnamon French toast, and nutmeg. Takes a while, and a good splash of water, but when it opens up it’s rewarding.
=3rd: Bowmore 15 Years Old
This core-range whisky from Islay's Bowmore Distillery complements its peated-smoked whisky with a finish in oloroso sherry casks, to bring out fruity notes that sit alongside the smoke.
Bowmore, 15 Years Old
Suntory Global Spirits
ABV: 43% | Style: Single Malt | Country: Scotland | Region: Islay | Bottling: Distillery
Combined taster score: 16.5
Buy now: £69.99 | Master of Malt*
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Bradley says...Grilled peppers, toasted burger buns. A touch of honey sweetness. Some pleasant balancing occurs with this whisky, particularly with how gentle the smoke is against the sweetness of the honey.
Alwynne says... Blackberries, meadow honey, black liquorice, and a soft toffee note. I loved this whisky — it had so much body and richness, with a beautiful amount of developed fruit.
Read Bradley and Alwynne's full tasting notes here.
=3rd: Tormore, Legacy 2003
Tormore's Legacy series is a trio of single-cask whiskies, the first to be released under the ownership of Elixir Distillers. The casks, selected from 2003, 2009, and 2012, were chosen to showcase the "Tormore DNA".
Tormore, Legacy 2003
Elixir Distillers
ABV: 44.9% | Style: Single Malt | Country: Scotland | Region: Speyside | Bottling: Distillery
Combined taster score: 16.5
Bradley says... Honey, lemon curd, orange. Granny Smith apples. Peaches. Subtle spice that trickles through. A really well-balanced single malt whisky.
Alwynne says... Kiwis, blackcurrant, and a touch of mango, before a nice bit of chilli spice. The palate was a surprise — a good one at that — on this whisky. Really tasty and well rounded.
2nd: The Glendronach — 15 Years Old
Another 15-year-old core-range whisky, this time from Highland distillery the Glendronach, which recently celebrated its 200th anniversary. The distillery is known for its sherry-forward maturation style, showcased in this bottling.
The Glendronach, 15 Years Old
Brown-Forman
ABV: 46% | Style: Single Malt | Country: Scotland | Region: Highland | Bottling: Distillery
Combined taster score: 16.7
Buy now: £71.25 | The Whisky Exchange*
Buy now: £79.01 | Master of Malt*
Bradley says... Raisins, almonds, oranges, clementines, very gentle spices like gingerbread and nutmeg. A good balance of flavours — I really appreciate the assortment of fruity and savoury sweetness.
Alwynne says...Really waxy and wonderful — lots of bright fruit, honeycomb, and custard. Yummy! Balanced, nice levels of sweetness, spice, and bitterness with a great texture.
1st: Macbeth — Second Witch
Livingstone Rare and Elixir Distillers' Macbeth collaborative series has serious credentials at this point, with a range of whiskies bottled from some of Scotland's best-known distilleries, art by Sir Quentin Blake, and character notes by Dave Broom. The series' three witches will all be bottled from Islay distilleries — but there's no toil or trouble to be seen in this one, our Editor's Choice from issue 210.
Macbeth, Second Witch
Livingstone Rare
ABV: 49.5% | Style: Single Malt | Country: Scotland | Region: Islay | Bottling: Independent
Combined taster score: 17.0
Buy now: £695 | The Whisky Exchange*
Bradley says...Blackcurrant, plum, raisins, chocolate. A very subtle hint of smoke. Black Forest gateau. I can’t recall the last time a whisky had a barbecued dark fruit note quite as good as this. Very VERY good.
Alwynne says... Warm mango, barbecue prawns, black liquorice, honeycomb, and wood smoke. It’s bright but also filled with depth. A gorgeous whisky with so much complexity.
How does blind tasting work at Whisky Magazine?
- All samples are blind tasted, with ABV, country/region, and style the only information disclosed to tasters.
- Samples are tasted individually over a two-week period.
- Tasters work to tasting and scoring guidelines in order to assess samples consistently.
- The top-scoring sample is awarded Editor’s Choice.
- Samples receiving scores of 16.5+ receive a Recommended award.
