Ardmore, Tomatin and Bunnahabhain distilled in the early 90's

A set of short reviews

1. Ardmore 1992 Archives 20yo 48.6%
Cask 4764. Distilled June 1992, bottled June 2012

Nose: Nutty and peaty

Palate: Typical Ardmore, with a strong earthy peat, dry spicyness and some fruityness

Finish: Medium, with a fruity kick

A nice and wellbalanced whisky. Essential Ardmore and very drinkable. Nuts, fruits and peat

Rating 87/100

2. Tomatin 1992 20yo 53.9% 

Cask 31497, Oloroso sherry hogshead

Nose : Very fruity. Dried fruits. Mixed with a hint of rubber, raisins

Palate: oily, licorice, some rubber, this is a sherry bomb, with a dark expression. It's almost like licking a stick of licorice wood dipped in sherry. The rubber texture soons fades away and an explosion of dark dried fruits appear. And then a hint of vanilla. One for the sherryfans, and beware if you have rubber issues

Finish: Long 

Sherry Bomb. I like the long finish when the rubber has gone away. Melted raisins

Rating 87/100

Bunnahabhain 1990 Archives 21yo 52.3%

Cask 14. Distilled March 1990, bottled December 2012

Pouring this I realise this is hard to drink after the Tomatin which was just so intense. Concentration is needed. Well, I am used to it :-)

Nose: Spiced up laidback sherryness. This is very nice 

Palate: Dry, aged sherry, but still powerful. This cask tastes something mid between a firstfill and a refill.  Refill sherry is more suitable for long time maturations as the wood is a tad more gentle to the whisky and doesn't kill it. This is a perfect virtual hybrid, where you still get the ex-sherry intensity and the well aged whisky that still thrives and is not hidden by the sherry. There is a lot in whisky that reminds me of 30+ refill sherries with some strong elements added from a fresh sherry (it IS a fresh sherry cask). Dried fruits, licorise, spices 

Finish: Medium

Sherryfan: This is a bottle you wished you bought

Rating 89/100