Geographical and Flavour/Style Profiles
North Highlands, South Highlands and Speyside.
The Southern Highlanders were slightly heavier, fruitier and more intense than their northern cousins. While the Northern Speysiders were firmer, sweeter and more aromatic than the Southern Speysiders, which were generally more cereal like.
Classification by character, style and flavour is more useful in picking the distillery than mere geographical grouping and although regional characteristics are familiar to you. Generally, we all know how difficult it is to place some malts, especially single cask ones.
Classification by Clustering
This approach seeks to group malt whiskies by aroma/flavour alone as an aid, which I find most useful.
General Comments
My random selection and comments:
- Medium sweet unpeated spicy nutty fruit notes: Glengoyne
- Sweet low peat spicy fruity floral notes: Speyburn, Miltonduff, Tormore, Edradour, Balblair, Cragallachie, Benriach, Deanston, Glen Moray, Inchgrowe, Benromach and Aberlour.
- Sweet Low-Peat smokey spicey nutty fruit: Glen Grant, Knockando, Macallan, Longmorn, Springbank and Scarpa.
- Sweet low-peat spicy sherried fruity floral: Balvenie and Glenlivet.
- Sweet medium-peat smokey spicy sherried fruity: Tamdhu, Belrinnies, The Singleton, Glen Rothes, Glenfarclas, Mortlach, Linkwood, Glen Ord and Dalmore.
- Sweet medium peat with smokey honeyed fruit and floral notes: Dufftown, Glen Eglin, Dalwhinnie, Glenfiddich, Teaninich and Royal Brackla.
- Medium sweet medium peat with smokey fruity floral notes: Strathisla, Glenmorangie, Auchentoshan, Bladnoch and Tobermory.
- Sweet peaty with smokey spicy floral notes: Blair Athol, Ardmore, Cardhu, Aberfeldy, An Cnoc, Cragganmore and Tomatin.
- Medium-sweet light peat smokey spicy fruity notes: Glendronach, Dailuaine, Oban, Old Pulteney and Clynelish.
- Dry peated smokey spicy floral notes: Bunnahabhain, Bruichladdich, Jura, Bowmore, Highland Park and Ledaig.
- Dry well peated smokey spicy and medicinal notes: Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Talisker, Caol lla and Laphroag.
Roger Gillard, Laird