Out tasting notes
84. Speyburn Clan Germany Tasting
Speyburn 15yo 40% New Design 2025 (Whiskybase ID: 292849)
Nose: At first, it's overly sweet, like a sherry air freshener. Smells like a standard, run-of-the-mill whiskey. Not intense, a little “dead”... 8 or 10 or 15... the nose doesn't give anything away. A hint of wood. Much better than the new Travel Retail series. Scotch. It smells like Scotch. Then there's a hint of orange and a little eucalyptus. Over time, black and green tea. It really needs a lot of time.
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Mouth: Metallic spice, little Speyburn-typical pear. Something oily and creamy builds up. It actually seems a little watered down compared to its predecessor with 46%. No offense intended. Taken on its own, it's a good Scotch, but it still hurts to go from 46% to 40%. A big sip leaves a little bitterness. Perhaps it was diluted down to 40% to encourage large gulps. With small gulps, not much comes through, and it doesn't linger long. The finish is too short.
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Comments: Basically not a bad whisky. Tobacco and apple create a distinctive profile. But it falls short of the old 15-year-old. That one had more depth. This one seems a little more nervous. Somewhat unbalanced. Solid. Drinkable. But not one that will stay with me for long.
Speyburn 18yo 40% New Design 2025 (Whiskybase ID: 293065)
Nose: An improved version of the 15-year-old 40%, with orange and a hint of Speyburn pear. There's also a touch of rum pot, even though that can't be right. It seems slightly perfumed. Add to that chocolate, almond jelly banana, and plum jam. Significantly more intense than the 15-year-old. Something with ginger, perhaps gingerbread—not fresh ginger. Rather slightly Christmassy. Spicy, baked. In the end, it's sherry, of course. And you can clearly notice the missing 6% here too.
Mouth: Smooth. Dangerous. Easy to drink, and like the 15-year-old with 40% alcohol content, it seems to be made for just that. Scotch without identity, without depth. Unspectacular and disappointing, because it's more of a party drink. Smells great, smells interesting, but tastes more like a large glass than an 18-year-old. 0.0 drinking resistance.
Comments: Not comparable to the older 18s. This one takes a different approach. It wants to please. And it does. Perhaps even a little more palatable than its predecessor. Not a big hit. And sometimes that's enough.