Day 1 – Cambus 27 year old – Batch 10. Single grain Scotch whisky. 50.7% abv
Starting with a serious dram, 27 year old!? Nice! I’m not sure what the single grain distinction is about, but this dram lands well. Light, floral/field nose. Fruity, drifts into a lovely bubblegum, then into an intensely sweet grape Hubba-Bubba. Bright, sweet palate. Has a complex, aged feel to it. Hints of dry hay, wheat fields near the end. Cotton candy sweet finish. Oily, creamy mouthfeel. Love it!

Day 2 – Speyside #3 6 year old – Batch 3. Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 49.3% abv
Lightly malty, faint aromas. Light barrel spice, some fruit and cereal notes. Apple. Palate is sweet berry-fruit, apples. Syrupy sweetness. Sweet, lingering finish – but some fire and tingle! Dusty malt appears on the nose, slightly tart fruit develops on the palate. Nice all around, has a burn in ma belly!

Day 3 – World Whisky Blend. 41.6% abv
Very light color. Apple, lightly orange, hints of a musty barrel. Overall quite light, slightly fruity. Perhaps butterscotch, or maybe a new leather. Citrus comes in stronger with time. Almost Quinta Ruban-like chocolate orange. Chocolate and wine on the palate. The flavours are strong, stronger than the nose hinted. Later, more tannic wine palate, less earthy/chocolate. Short finish. At the end, a tart citrus nose, some ginger. Fairly nice dram, light and easy.

Day 4 – Aberlour 9 year old – Batch 6. Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 49.7% abv
Light and dusty malt, fields to start. Juicy, citrus. Nose is pretty gentle, but the taste – wow! Rich, dark fruit, christmas cake. Creamy, full mouthfeel. Raisin and grape. Like a spirity, rich grape juice, some spice. Excellent dram – nose is pretty tame but the palate is wonderful.

Day 5 – Cameronbridge 27 year old – Batch 4. Single Grain Scotch Whisky. 48.9% abv
Tough to pinpoint at the start, but eventually settles in to a definite tropical and peach fruit vibe. Peach becomes the dominate character – peach cobbler. Sweet, but not overly so. I didn’t get a ton of extra character, but it was pleasant. Nice full and vibrant mouthfeel. The peach lingers on the finish which was quite unique and pleasant. Decent dram.

Day 6 – Islay #1 10 year old – Batch 4. Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 47.9% abv
Charcoal. Wet rotten vegetation. Unmistakably Islay! Roar! A medical tent – latex, sterile gloves. Wet bog surrounds. Trees smolder in the near distance. Palate is a cacophony of rich, orchard fruits, underscored with peat. The finish descends, a long cigar ash lingers. The peat stays strong on the nose, but with peach and apple trees. Smoke. Darkening fruits. A concerto on the palate. Awesome dram!

Day 7 – James E Pepper 3 year old – Batch 1. Oloroso Cask Finish. Rye Whiskey. 50% abv
Dark color! Brown. Sprightly on the nose. Barrel spice. Vanilla. Cornbread. Cinnamon. A nice ‘merican whiskey. Light on the tongue. Sweet, corn-like. Mmm – red wine on the palate now. The vanilla stays throughout. Vanilla ice cream. Very nice dram, one of the more interesting Rye Whiskies I’ve tried.

Day 8 – Longmorn 10 year old – Batch 3. Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 48.3% abv
Strong alcohol nose. Some apple fruit. Some fruit on the palate, but more spirit as per the nose. Flowers/heather. Continued light fruit. Air gentles the spirit. Not a great dram for me – middling at best.

Day 9 – Irish Single Malt #1 14 year old – Batch 4. Single Malt Irish Whiskey. 47.6% abv
Caramel and toffee – all those sticky sweet notes. Under-ripe apple. Thin, alcohol spirit on the palate. Slight plasticky finish. Hooo – not like that first nose! Nose goes to green nettles, or poison ivy. Turns to grassy. I struggle to get past the thin spirit on the palate. The initial nose was very nice though. A pass on this dram, for me.

Day 10 – Speyburn 10 year old – Batch 3. Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 49.5% abv
Malty. Funky start, like Glen Garioch. Hints of bubblegum appear, juicy fruit. Creamy, butterscotch, hints of fruit. Dry hay. Funky malt holds throughout. Spirit starts to kick in on the palate. Middling dram.

Day 11 – Islay #3 13 year old – Batch 4. Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 48.6% abv
Sweet, smoky, vegetal. That hint of strands of smoke, connecting it to the earth. Becoming more smoky, ashy, charcoal. On the palate – Dirty ash! Strong! Sweetness comes in on the finish. Nose becomes vulcanized rubber (gloves?). Palate – cannot overcome the burnt charcoal ash – it dominates. Medicinal rubber grows on the nose. Barest memories of the initial nose. Awesome nose but the palate is harsh! Mid grade from this Noob.

Day 12 – Japanese Blended Whisky #1 21 year old – Batch 5. Blended Japanese Whisky. 47.7% abv
Medium-dark color – interesting. Fruit explosion on the nose! Raspberry, strawberry. Sweet, but not overly so – fresh fruit vs. fruit salad. Light wood? Palate is gentle, sweet, light, very slight burn. Flowery. Not subtle, but not strong – nice middle ground, very balanced feel. Nose again is fields, sunny, fresh. Palate becomes more aggressive – strong berry, tartness? Spice. The finish lingers lovingly, and is in line with the palate. Richness at the end, darker fruits. This is an awesome dram – more time would be quite the journey I think!

Day 13 – MacDuff 11 year old – Batch 6. Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 48% abv
Sprightly citrus, dusty malt. Honeycombs. Barest hint of a brine… but fleeting. Slightly oily mouthfeel, lots of field berry juice. Bubblegum starts to appear, fruity gum. There is a sheen of… formality, royalty. Fairly lovely dram. Not overly complex, but stately.

Day 14 – Inchmurrin 22 year old – Batch 6. Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 47.5% abv
Cinnamon cake, coffee cake, or Christmas cake. Cake! Baking spices, hints of vanilla frosting. Now comes the cooked fruit – definitely becoming that fruit cake for Christmas. A bit of barrel wood and spice. On the palate, cooked fruit comes through, and is a bit less cakey. Some pleasant dark fruit threads in on the tongue. A dark but gentle sweetness. Quite lovely. Some richness and definitely unique!

Day 15 – Millstone 4 year old – Batch 3. Single Malt Dutch Whisky. 49% abv
Stone fruit – peaches. Imagery of a brick comes to mind – clean edges and dusty, firm surfaces (!?). Dusty like a brickyard. A touch stringent on the palate. Light, borderline thin mouthfeel. I cannot shake the brick imagery – smells like a brick. Tastes like I’m licking a brick. Definitely some fruit buried in there. Old lemon peel rind. Maybe grape juice. Interesting dram!

Day 16 – Whitlaw 15 year old – Batch 1. Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 49.7% abv
Light, perfumey. White grapes. The color and initial nose feels like a glass of white wine. Fruit – strong. Butterscotch. A touch of smoke on the finish. Lovely nose – floral, perfume, fruit, ginger. Malt, held up by a fruit bar. Strong on the palate, but just when it feels like its going to be a dose of rubbing alcohol, it blooms into a lovely fruit. Definitely smoke on the finish. Pretty interesting dram!

Day 17 – Langatun 6 year old – Batch 3. Single Malt Swiss Whisky. 49.5% abv
Round, rich grape on the nose. Dusty malt. Hints of bubblegum, nail polish remover. Some floral. Palate is sweet, strong. Light, quick finish. Toffee notes. A bit thin, but not unpleasant. A real sweetness near the end. Tough one to pin down, but not bad.

Day 18 – Islay #4 11 year old – Batch 1. Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 48.8% abv
Juicy, smoke and a slight bite of ashy char. Peat and smoke take a sour turn. A stiff cardboard note comes in. Still smoke, with an occasional our turn. Round on the palate. The sour smoke peat persists here. It’s a big swallow – large, fiery. Slightly cigar like finish. Citrus on the top of the taste – dancing above the heavy smoke and peat. Orange marmalade nose, near the end. Slightly sour fruits, hints of smoke, and still a large mouth at the end.

Day 19 – Speyside #4 24 year old – Batch 1. Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 47.8% abv
Huge, juicy fruit gum aroma. Summer fresh field, crisp linen on the clothesline. A warm, sunny, breezy summer day. Fresh, sweet grape juice. Can I just say how lovely this is! What a nose! On the palate, sweet fresh berries. Not tart, but raspberry, blueberry, grape. Some creaminess, great lingering mouthfeel. Perhaps hints of milk chocolate. Pastry with loads of fruit – an over stuffed fruit danish. Really awesome sip with this. Nose is great, but the taste is amazing!

Day 20 – Santis 10 year old – Batch 1. Single Malt Swiss Whisky. 51.4% abv
Very dark color! Orange. Pepper. Hint of fruitcake. Chocolate. The palate is spicy – pepper, cinnamon. More of the spicy fruitcake vibe. Quite peppery nose now. Lots of barrel and cooking/baking spice. Candied, spiced orange candy. Sweet candied fruit, with spices. Not loving this one, but I appreciate the uniqueness.

Day 21 – Teaninich 11 year old – Batch 2. Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 47.9% abv
So clear – almost like water! Most pale dram I’ve ever seen. Muted – dusty leather saddle. Some faint dark fruit dances around the edge. Becoming more berry like. Blackberry. Maybe a barest line of smoke. Palate – whoa! Watered down, like way too much water was added. Barest trace of flavours. Dominant flavour is … like vodka. Maybe got a bum dram here. The nose is okay if faint, but the taste is completely absent. Possible that I’m just missing the boat here, but yuck. First dram I have ever actually disliked.

Day 22 – Ledaig 17 year old – Batch 12. Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 48.1% abv
Gentle, vegetal peat. Salty sea air brine – lovely. Sweet, stewed apples. A sudden pop of raspberry. Palate – a light smoke and peat swaddled sip of bundled, stewed, salted fruit. Lingering oily mouthfeel. Mostly a fading sweetness. Smoke on later sips. Peat is gentled with time. It is an aggressive dram, shades of the Ledaig 10yo, but not as balanced for me.

Day 23 – Miltonduff 10 year old – Batch 7. Single Malt Scotch Whisky. 50.6% abv
Balloons of light, gentle fruits – apple, pear. Tropical – mango, pineapple, cantaloupe. Field heather and summery breeze. This is a lovely, gentle and pleasant nose. More of the same on the palate, but quite a load of spice to carry it. Strong in fact – surprising given the nose. But tasty. At the end, the nose and palate merge and present a consistent experience. Nice dram!

Day 24 – Bourbon Whiskey #1 24 year old – Batch 1. Bourbon Whiskey. 48% abv
A 24 year old bourbon!? Woot! Very dark colour -deep brown, very rich looking. What an initial nose! Creamy, gentle vanilla, cinnamon. Background of light barrel, sawdust. The kind of full, gentle, lovely nose you could carry on for hours. Brown sugar caramelization coming in. Palate – oh my! Fairly gentle, some spicy burst, bust some kind of … flavoured water stream down the middle of the tongue. Amazing – what is this!? Some dusty finish. Bourbon character but with all sorts of roundness, and nooks & crannies. Pretty awesome!