Whisky Review - Gordon & MacPhail tasting

I recently attended a whisky tasting in Malmoe, Sweden.
We tasted 6 different and interesting expression from Gordon & MacPhail,
the independent bottling specialist.
It was hosted by our local whisky club and was carried out by lovely Nicole Hizett from Gordon & MacPhail.



As always these tastings are very popular and this time 54 persons attended.




We enjoyed the following 6 whiskies:

1. Benromach 10 years
2. Strathisla 25 years
3. Longmorn 1972 - 37 years
4. Caperdonich 1969 - 40 years
5. Strathisla 1969 - 40 years
6. Ardbeg 1995 - 10 years

As you see on the image the colour is very dark (old oak-brown sherry) except for the two 10 years old ones (gold).
To be fair when tasting you'll have to separate the Benromach and Ardbeg from the older ones.
I'm normally very fond of Ardbeg and peaty whisky but in this company it was not suitable.

The other 4 were very fruity, some spiciness, 2 and 4 a bit dry and 3 and 5 sweet.

Body: Full
Finish: Medium long - long, big.

Although they were all very good, my favourites were
3. Longmorn 1972 - 37 years and 5. Strathisla 1969 - 40 years

Whisky review - Arran

I recently attended an Arran whisky tasting in Malmoe, Sweden.
It was hosted by a local whisky club and was carried out by lovely Louisa Young, who is Sales Manager at the Arran distillery.



Arran distillery is an independent distillery and was founded in 1995 and is the only distillery on the isle of Arran, which is situated in a bay on the west cost of Scotland.

The tasting was a great success and 65 persons did attend.



We tasted 6 different whiskies:
They are all single malts, non-chill filtered and no colouring.


1. 10 years, 46%
2. 12 years, 46%
3. 8 years, 57% (100° proof)
4. 8 years, 50% + 9 months Pinot Noir Finish
5. 8 years, 50% + 6 months Pomerol Finish
6. 8 years, 55% + 10 months Moscatel Finish

Arran is a young distillery and does not have any old whiskies in stock yet, so they are experimenting to find good expressions. This results in several different finishes as no. 4-6.

Here is a summary of the tasting notes:

Colour: 1 and 3 pale straw. 2, 4-6 amber

Nose, without water: 1-2, 4-6 fresh, 3 warming.

Nose, with water: 1 fruity, citrus, malt. 2 sweet, fruity. 3 fruity, fudge. 4 sweet spiciness. 5sharp. 6 sweets, nuts.

Body: All medium

Mouth feel: 1-3 oily. 4 and 6 rough. 5 dry.

Overall flavour: All of them had some spiciness. 1-2 fruity and some sweetness. 3 fudge. 4 rubber. 5 fudge. 6 Cask, wood, nutty.

Finish: Medium long, medium big

Conclusion: There is a fruity spiciness in all expressions. Both 1 and 2 are very nice malts and I look forward to the 14 year old which will be released later this year. My personal favourite was the 100° proof, a smooth spicy fruity malt with a taste of fudge. Personally I’m not a fan of finishes in wine casks but a lot of people are. When we voted for the best whisky this evening, number 3 and 6 were voted the best.