Orkney Super Bottle 15 Years (Whiskay)

This single malt whisky was bottled by Gleann Mor Spirits for Jhen Chang Wine & Spirits Shop, Whisky Gallery, Spirits Salon and Whiskay. This is a cask strength release from an unnamed Orkney distillery. Not Scapa, I guess.

Orkney Super Bottle 15 yo 2002 (56%, Gleann Mór for Whiskay and others 2018, hogshead, 256 btl.)

Nose: quite bready and grassy. Hints of leaven, then some rubbery notes as well as a briney / mentholated note that seem to be in line with each other. Sharp as a blade. Some berries after a while. Burnt hay and hints of white pepper. Less bright and lemony than others I’ve tried from this era.

Mouth: still very grainy and gristy, lots of white bread. Sharpness build again, with chalky notes, raw peat, liquorice and aniseed. Hints of fruit eau-de-vie. Marzipan sweetness, but also a pinch of salt. Vegetal / grassy notes in the end. Hampden-style, in a way.

Finish: medium, with oak spice, chalk, brine and light butterscotch.

While it’s not a bad whisky, there has been a lot of competition among independent Highland Park bottlings lately. This is one of the more straightforward / austere examples. Available from Whiskay for around € 180.

Score: 84/100