Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
My only experience with Edradour is with some of their fudge, so it’ll be good to finally try some of their actual spirit!
Tasted on 2/9/2021, neat in a Glencairn.
Distillery: Edradour
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Highlands
ABV: 40.0%
Age: 10 years old
Nose: damp, old leather. Toffee. Raisins, figs. Shoe polish. Surprisingly hot. Earth. Dry grass. Light sherry. Burned plastic.
Taste: hot. Toffee, raisins. Old leather. Hot plastic. Sherry. Walnuts. Sour. Very thin mouthfeel.
Finish: sherry. Toffee. Musty leather. Shoe polish. Short. Something burned and bitter.
Summary: If you dig old leather, this one is for you. Very one dimensional, badly balanced, surprisingly hot for a 40%, some sherry notes for sure but it’s overshadowed by an odd shoe polish note throughout along with damp leather. I’m not a fan. I really hope this mini isn’t representative of their standard offering, but checking out some reviews now I see that it probably is. Shame.
My wife says I should mention the burned plastic note first 😉
Would I buy a bottle?: nope.
Final Score: 65.
Edradour 10 Year (2008) Straight From The Cask #164
Distillery: Edradour
Bottler: Distillery Bottling
Region: Scotland, Highlands
ABV: 58.9%, cask strength
Age: 10 years old. Distilled on 06/25/2008. Bottled on 08/21/2018.
Cask type: Sherry Butt
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. One of 977 bottles, from a single cask #164.
Nose: dark caramel and toffee. Dark chocolate. Tobacco. Earth. Sherry. A bit funky. Nail polish remover. Raisins and figs, but strawberries too. With Water: still fairly hot, still lots of acetone.
Taste: quite hot. Caramel, toffee. Chocolate. Earthy. Sherry. Nice. Raisin. Medium mouthfeel. A bit dry. Strong black tea. Winey. With Water: much more drinkable. More sherry. Still rather dry. More tea.
Finish: lots of sherry notes. Sweet. Dry. Caramel, chocolate. Earthy. Medium length finish is quite nice. Some tobacco. With Water: similar. A lingering slightly burnt aftertaste.
Summary: I ended up adding quite a lot of water to this one and it ended up much more drinkable. Lots of dry sherry, caramel, earth, tobacco, some funk, and some solvent. Overall it’s alright, but not my flavor profile at all. I would have liked to see water open up the nose and finish, but it didn’t really happen. The finish isn’t very interesting at all. Not too much complexity either.
Would I buy a bottle?: no. On paper it sounds good, but I’m glad I got to try a sample first.
Final Score: 72.
Comparison
Order: SFTC > 10
I don’t feel the comparison warrants much discussion. The SFTC is clearly better, but neither is good IMO.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 