North-British

Rare Auld Cask Strength 29 years

Color: Gold
A first nose with a very complex blend of fruity sweetness and acidity. Both very fresh and rich in nuances, the nose announces a high-class whisky.
The palate confirms the nose completely. The slightly fruity sweetness taking precedence over the fresh acid. A very nice complexity. After the ripe fruit one can feel a slight trend toward a subtle cocoa.
The finish is long and warm, and cocoa notes that arose at the end of the mouth are by far the pitch.
A good whisky ...

North-British

Scott's Selection 1974-1999

North-British

20 years, Master of Malt

Color: straw coloured
Nose: Apricots, stoned fruits liquor
Mouth: Pineapples, peaches liquor, apricots. Strong aromatic density.
Final: Highly fruited

Color white wine
Quite sharp nose from the very beginning. The smell of nail polish remover mixed with aromas of pear. Alcohol is very present and becomes the occasion 'annoying! During the aerattion, other flavors are revealed like the spray paint Montana 94. I'm not talking about a smell of paint or other, but the bombs have a special flavor and quite a pleasant one. By cons, alcohol is still present, unfortunately. After a while under cover, it reveals more! Alcohol is much less aggressive and focus is now on the shredded coconut. It is clear that yes, there are there! It's great that alcohol has finally decided to break camp! Hum? In fact, the shredded coconut is finally becoming a Raffaello:) Quite so greedy.
Mouth less powerful than the nose and dry texture. Well wooded and sweet. It becomes hot when left to rest for a moment. Hmm, an odd taste of something smoky ... Genre Knack smoke, that's it.
And after a rest period it is revealed such as the nose, focused on the exoticism of the grated coconut.
The finish is much less powerful than the nose and mouth. It retains a small drought. . It is very short and not very expressive in cons. Ha, if we keep may be the next coconut nose and mouth. But it is more distant.


Comment: Not bad for a first sample! Too bad, really bad for the alcohol present in the nose too! While the flavors behind just waiting to be revealed, he and then to hide it all ... Nevertheless, I remain on a high note as some flavors were particularly interesting!

Color : White wine
Nose : alcohol well present. A beautiful fruity bouquet (melon, pear, a few citrus too) opens the first nose. Some notes of vanilla then appear after several minutes of aeration.
Mouth : alcohol present as well. a hot mouth and quite complex with sweet fruits (yellow fruit). Always the hint of vanilla. Some citrus then appear after aeration too.
Finish : Medium to long, always in the same lineage (yellow fruits, citrus fruits).

A very pleasant Whisky with a touch of freshness. I could enjoy it by a pleasant summer evening.

Appearance: Riesling
nose: Low to medium intensity, at the beginning tingling alcohol, afterwards alcohol is well integrated, ripe fruits, malt, grain, sweetness, dusty
Taste: Low to medium intensity, malt, grain, skin of nuts, soft pepper
finish: average
With water: No major change
conclusion: Flawless whisky, good drinkable especially for those who love sweeter malts

Colour: Bright straw, white wine, very clear.
Nose: Beautiful round and firm but sweet. Forest honey, hints of vanilla and white chocolate (White Toblerone). Nuts and soft spices (nutmeg). Lovely floral notes in the back (poetically spoken: Beautiful rural landscape in the afternoon sun...) The nose suggests higher alcohol percentage.
Taste: My guess with the percentage seems confirmed. Very schnappsy in the start, but the beautiful notes from the nuts are clearly detectable and will easily be reveiled with some drops of water .... yes, here they are again, my impressions from the nose: Fine spicy vanilla (vanilla ice, the fine one with best bourbon vanilla), sweet spices (cinnamon?), clover and milk chocolate. Free of any peat or smoke but very fulfilling.
Finish: Medium long, the vanilla giving way to more floral and a little sour notes, just like chewing on sorrel or clover leaves. Moooh!
Conclusion: Fine and complex, exactly my dram when it comes to unpeated whisky.
Guesswork: Might be an ex-bourbon cask. Some fine Speysider bottled direct from the cask, seems to be not too old, maybe not more than 10 years.
Rating: 84
Date: 27 July 2011

Color: light yellow
Vanilla nose with touches of wood and a little sugar. Then the fresh almonds.
The palate shows notes of dried fruit but mostly frangipane. A kind of liquid galette des rois. The texture is oily, buttery
Alcohol is revealed in the final. The finish is spicy with a medium length.
The set is marked by a lack of balance.

A rather intense nose, which exhales first of all varnished notes, smells of soft oak, vanilla, almond and coconut. Clearly something which evokes me a grain whisky. Beyond, we find citrusy notes (lemon, limoncello, orange), comes the anise, the cinnamon and maybe a little peppermint and nutmeg.
Seems to be powerful, beyond 55 °. The nose is simple in general, but does well. With aeration, the wood stands out again with dry accents (shavings, sawdust) and spiced (nutmeg).
The mouth is ardent, explosive. It turns especially to the vanilla and the sweet almond, then becomes wooded, with a certain bitterness. After the storm, it seems to come a little pepper, and from licorice, and maybe a little smoke. A little of heaviness, also.
Rather bitter finish which is outlined on the bitter orange and the almond.
If the nose was rather promising, the mouth is a little bit short, heavy, and less attractive.
The addition of water brings nothing, highlighting spices and wood, before the alcohol arise; we lose the greedy side.

Nose: Smooth, vanilla and beatifully woody. Wax and creamy. The vanilla is becoming stronger with the wax.
Mouth: Spicy attack with vanilla, wood and some fruits.
The young wood is still there on the final, vanilla and spicies.

Color: Gold
The first nose is aggressive, with notes of ether, quite an unattractive medicinal set. Fortunately it only lasts a few seconds and gives way to a nice fresh nose (even if the ether can not vanish completely) with notes of coconut, some nice ripe fruit and some nice spicy notes.
Aeration makes him the most good. After a few minutes, medicinal notes have completely disappeared.
The first impression on the palate is pleasant. A mixture of coconut and ripe fruit, perhaps too ripe. However, the mouth is fairly linear although various tastes are scrambling. You can not really talk about complexity. The fresh fruit dominates as well as the obvious hints of coconut.
The finish is clearly dominated by the coconut. Medium length, the warm memories of the alcoholis hard to fade, although alcohol does not interfere the tasting at all. This is especially the impression of heat that remains is still with the relatively linear feature that was already in the mouth.
well done whisky, easy to drink and that will appeal to many.

Straw color.
Sweet nose, light, very sweet. Yellow fruit, ripe tropical fruit. Malibu, sparkling soda. Grain?
The palate confirms my suspicions, there is much grain. Solvents, coconut. Much more grainy than the nose.
Final average, less intense.
I do not catch the grains ... it was nevertheless an interesting nose.

Couleur : Gold

Nose : We start on notes of almond paste, vanilla, cream, a little bit of pineapple and coconut. A very light nose, quite discreet. We then move toward notes of cardboard or paper. Smells like alcohol. Not expressive and too austere. Some white pepper. With a drop of water, some kind of lemony acidity.

Mouth : We stay on notes of cream patissière, bitter almond and almond paste. We then go to dry apricot. This mouth is dense and rich. It is herbaceous, bitter and sugary at the same time. The bitterness is too noticeable to my taste. The alcohol is pretty well integrated.
Drops of water give more bitterness and sugar.

Finale : Long, bitter, on crushed almond.

Conclusion : an uncertain and not very expressive nose. A mouth that is very bitter.

I apologise for so short notes…

Dominated by vanilla and solvant notes, it’s seems not to be a single malt but a grain whisky.
Too rough.

Colour: Pale, white wine.
Nose: very first nose alcoholic, almost aggressive. A little fruit, but attempts to break through, but in vain. Bitterness. A little pastry (sponge?). Cheap Eau de toilette (vetiver?). Lots of greenery. The vegetal notes, herbs are very intense. Some freshness on the ice mint, blue mint . The smell of tap water, ozone. Almond apricot or peach.
With a few drops of water, the nose fits great. The entire cast is very homogeneous, but overall the same notes.
Taste: slightly oily. Sweet, honey, gin, Chartreuse. Woody bitterness without excess. The alcohol is present, slightly aggressive. Astringent.
Again, a few drops of water make a marked improvement. As the nose, it remains on the same notes, but much more blended and harmonized. We feel much less the bite of alcohol.
Finale: Bitter, there is the apricot kernel.
Like the nose and mouth, a few drops significantly improve the final and develops. At the same time more gentle, warm and much more powerful and expressive.

Comments: A whisky with some nice notes but marred by notes rather stiff, austere. Unbalanced without water. The water made him lose his evil ways, but without making it a great whisky.

NOSE: nice although a bit too artificial bright displays a candy at the fair (a little sweetness chemical), fresh barley fresh yeast. Seems little scalable and not very complex. freshly spread tart raw. Lemon powder. Pungent.
Taste: sweet, herbaceous and fresh, lively, pungent, bitter. Little change.
FINAL: short and not very expressive (in the cool of the mouth).

I do not like it. Unbalanced, unpleasant and unnatural. Not much to tell in my opinion.

Colour: Straw.
Nose: If it’s no grain, it’s a brilliant imitation. Malibu and vanilla. Galak galore. Something very milky. A freshly opened marshmallow pack. Lots of softness, but also something somewhat acetic and biting, though an ABV that I thought in the bottom of the range. Rather young and simple, but quite pleasant: More fruits (pears and pineapple juice) and less varnish than in older bottling.
Mouth: Still as simple and pleasant. Still lots of vanilla. And aromas that taste as natural as a “Tagada” Strawberry. The whole is quite punchy, and turns to be nicely spicy (cinnamon).
Finish: Long, with a return of some barbecued marshmallow.
Comment: It ain’t easy to quote this “intruder”. This bottle will please those who love grain whiskies that are about to say goodbye to their teenage years.

Colour: Straw

Nose: Very powerful, or alcohol at first. It exudes a freshness, both slightly vegetal (heather?), fruity (immature pear), sweet (cotton candy, yogurt). It is not unpleasant, but ultimately not very expressive, and lacking in complexity. It has not changed significantly during the second tasting.

Palate: The attack is powerful, on the candy. The mid-palate, bold, do not spoil this sweet note, but the bite of alcohol is strong. It is more enjoyable with a little water, without the profile being significantly altered. The second tasting revealed more vegetal notes after adding a little water which is needed.

Finish: Long, it sees the return of bitter vegetal notes while maintaining the taste of barley sugar in the mouth.

Conclusion: A missing malt complexity.

Color: straw yellow
Nose: Coconut dominates, some almonds, a lot of sugar, then arrive vegetable and floral notes.
With a little water coconut subsides while sugar and floral notes are strengthened.
Mouth: Another domination of the coconut, but also vanilla.
Vegetal notes and cereals.
With a little water, the coconut is still there, but melt the sugar and almond paste.
Final average over tastes in the mouth.

The nose is marked by strong whiff of alcohol. Sulfur, a feeling of warmth and sweet spice coat the nostrils. Calming down a little, then appear dry wood, a touch of sherry and citrus mixed with the sweet, reminiscent of orange juice. After aeration, the marzipan will appear, but always accompanied by the unpleasant sensation of alcohol that will not be calmed down.

The mouth is burning, showing the nose as poor integration of alcohol. It identifies the cereal, a little vanilla, honey, what looks like a bourbon means. Aeration all a bit quiet, with notes of sherry and citrus in addition to the dominant cereal.

The final average is marked mainly by vanilla and alcohol. Then, appear bitter almond notes, quickly burning. A bitter memory finally settles.

In conclusion, a very average whisky, for which alcohol is not well integrated and prevents proper revelation of flavors.

Color: white wine.
Nose: Sweet but very expressive, very fragrant. Floral (rose petals), soft spices, vanilla and caramel. I sense a slight presence of sawdust. Whiskey seems to me quite young. With aeration, it becomes more grainy.
Taste: Delicate, very vanilla, grass, chestnut honey, with hints of pepper. Alcohol is little present (40% bottling?).
Final: Rather short on coffee.
Overall impression: It looks like a single grain. Too bad, this is not the profile of whiskys I like!

North-British

1997

Comment by

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Johannes Sauer

Colour: Bright straw.Nose: Easy and a tad spritty. If I’d not see the colour and know better, I could swear it is vodka in the glass after the first sniffs. But later it is getting more beautiful: Grass, waldmeister and vanilla together with a heavy accent of coconuts mingling very nice. The vodka note is still there and this is at all not unpleasant, since this nose reminds me highly of Zubrovka (being my favorite polish vodka, the one having a bison grass blade in the bottle).Taste: Again very easily accessible, and again at first this schnappsy vodka impression. But, again later there is a very nice spicy side appearing, vanilla, cinnamon licorice with salmiak and white pepper, backed by very pleasureful bitter kitchen herbs like sage, parsley or rosemary. Also carrots and potatoes, yes, indeed carrots.Finish: Getting more bitter together with a strong sweetness (dextrose) but leaving after a short while so the tongue is left alone, a little confused.Conc.: An unusual and interesting but not very fulfilling dram, not tasting like whisky. But this is hardly to critisize, since it is made from the same ingredients like vodka, by a company producing tons of vodka ...

North-British

The North Cask Selection

North-British

North British 1994