Fahrenheit 173 - Aged Spirits

Strathisla 25 y.o. (40%):
Wonderful, richly sherried nose with notes of raisins and prunes but also light notes of citrus and pepper­mint. Rich, sweet palate, also quite oaky and spicy - but the oak is nicely offset by notes of lemon and mint. Fairly dry and oaky yet nice finish with notes of orange and gin­ger­bread. (89 p)

Strathisla 30 y.o. (43%):
Dense, a little earthy nose with oak, dried fruits and ginger, also flowery with a hint of citrus. Rich, quite oaky yet very nice palate with light notes of linseed oil, pepper­mint and aniseed. Drying with a very dry, very oaky finish. (88 p)

Strathisla 40 y.o. (43%):
Wonderful, fragrant nose with notes of sherry and oak, also leather, turpentine and citrus fruits. Rich, sweet palate with nice notes of gin­ger­bread and orange. Drying, de­velops oak. Dry, spicy, oaky finish (well, that's understandable after 40 years in wood...) (90 p)

Strathisla 1960 (bottled 2002, 40%):
Amazing, complex nose with notes of gin­ger­bread, prunes, oak, pepper­mint, cinnamon, apple pie and calvados. The palate is at first sweet, smooth and very nice but drying, de­velops spices and a lot of oak. The oak dominates the dry, rather dis­ap­point­ing finish. (91 p)

Penderyn - Welsh Gold
A review of three expressions of Penderyn Welsh Single Malt: Madeira Finish, Sherrywood and Peated.

Four Cognacs for Christmas
A review of Bache Gabrielsen Christmas XO, Braastad My Selection, Martell VSOP and Renault Carte Noire.

Five unusual Speyside single malts from Signatory
A review of Allt-a-Bhainne 19, Braeval 12, Craigellachie 8, Glentauchers 30 and Tormore 18.

Six single cask single malts from Cadenhead
A review of Aberlour 21, Bladnoch 21, Caperdonich 27, Glenfarclas 21, Glenlossie 18 and Pulteney 21.