Autumn Speyside Whisky Festival 2012

This was my third dedicated 'whisky trip' to Scotland, but the first since I've started recording these notes, and the first time to a whisky 'festival'. Previous visits entailed driving around the countryside doing distillery tours. On the last trip there were three of us (one not particularly keen on whisky) and it was all interspersed with walking/kayaking and some general sightseeing. This time, just with A, it was a more serious whisky-focussed affair.

For now I've just listed all the whiskies I sampled, for which I made any kind of note- however brief- and where they were tasted. I'll gradually add new entries over the next few weeks as I transfer the notes across from my phone. Not everything is listed below: there were a handful that slipped the net and didn't get any kind of note, and I took away a bunch of sample bottles that I haven't broken into yet. The latter, at least, will get their own entries as and when they are tasted.

Frankly, by the end of the trip my never-particularly-discriminating palate was getting overloaded and the length and quality of the notes will likely diminish towards the bottom of the list.





Fiddichside Inn, Craigellachie:

Glendronach 12 yo. 43%

Highlander Inn, Craigellachie:

Glenrothes 21 yo. Whisky Castle Cask collection, 54%

Hanyu 'King of Hearts' bottled 1986, 55.4%

Craigellachie 20 yo. Berry Brothers single cask 1991, 55.8%

Rosebank 21 yo Special Release 1990, 53.8%

Balvenie Castle ticket booth, Dufftown:

Balvenie Doublewood 12 yo. 40%

Balvenie Signature 12 yo. 40%

Whyte and Mackay Tasting, Dufftown:

Dalmore Spey Dram. 40%

Dalmore King Alexander III. 40%

Isle of Jura 21 year old. 43%

Isle of Jura 1993 Sherry JI finish. 54%

Fettercairn 7yo peated quarter cask.

Adelphi Tasting, Dufftown:

Longmorn 21 yo. Adelphi bottling, 55%
Tamdhu 17 yo. Adelphi bottling, 58.8%
Macallan 14 yo. Adelphi bottling, 51.6%
Lochside 46 yo. Adelphi 50/50 grain and malt 'blend at birth' 54.6%
Bowmore 12yo. Adelphi bottling, 56%

Highlander Inn:
Longmorn 23 yo 1969/1993 Gordon and Macphail, 61.2% (?)

Dufftown 'Dramble':
Pittyvaich 18 yo 1993/2011. G&M Connoisseurs Choice 43%
Singleton of Duffown 12 yo. 40%
Singleton of Glendullan 12 yo. 40%
Mortlach 16 yo. Flora and Fauna, 43%
Kininvie 1992/2012. Duty paid sample cask number 7950. 50.2%
Convalmore 1984/2010 G&M Connoisseurs Choice, 43%
Glenfiddich 15 yo. 40%

The Whisky Shop 'dregs' tasting, Dufftown:
Bunnahabhain 12 yo 46.3% (?)
Bruichladdich 12 yo (2nd edition?) 46%
Bruichladdich Black Art (unsure which bottling)
Auchentoshan Valinch. No age statement, cask strength. 57.5%
Longrow 18 yo. 46%