Rare Find Speyside 22yo 2003 Cask #11193 & Rare Find Mystery Islay 9yo 2017 Cask #11140

Rare Find Speyside 22yo 2003 Cask #11193

Region: Speyside

ABV: 46.1%

Price: £169.99 

Distilled in 2003 and bottled by Gleann Mór Spirits for its Rare Find range in 2026 after 22 years, this teaspooned blended malt was finished for 14 months in medium-charred American oak first-fill Oloroso sherry hogshead, sourced from Bodegas Barbadillo. The release produced just 133 bottles.

Nose

The nose opens with some sour green apples, peach flesh, cola cubes, dark brown sugar, a little overcooked sponge cake and a little orange oil in the background. It's a nice mix of fruit and confected sweetness, but there's also some charred oak aromas in the background, presumably from the medium-char oloroso cask. We're also finding some aniseed notes appearing as the dram opens up, alongside a bit of menthol cherry.

Palate

The palate opens with cherry and chocolate predominantly, moving into milky coffee, blackcurrant and a bit of cinder toffee. The sherry cask is much more prominent on the palate, we've lost a lot of the orchard and stone fruits that we found on the nose. It's got a fairly long finish, mostly chocolate and wafer biscuits. Some of those fruits appear again after time and air, with apricot jam, honey and a bit of grated ginger. It's quite sherry forward, but not totally unbalanced.  

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose is much more cherry forward, alongside that menthol we detected before. It's gotten much jammier, much more red berries and currants, but there's also that background tinge of charred oak that's giving a bit of sharpness to the dram.

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate follows the reduced nose with lots of cherry, chocolate and coffee, with some spearmint mixed in. The palate has lost a bit of texture and the finish is still long, but a lot drier. 

Conclusion

An interesting mix of light, fruity spirit and perhaps a bit too much oloroso which takes over the palate for us. It's not a bad whisky but it doesn't really jive with us.

Score: 6.5/10

Value

Not a bad price, but you can definitely find secret Speysides cheaper if you look around.

Rare Find Mystery Islay 9yo 2017 Cask #11140

Region: Islay

ABV: 59.7%

Price: £85.00

Distilled in 2017 and bottled by Gleann Mór Spirits for its Rare Find range in 2026 after 9 years of maturation, this single-cask Islay malt was finished for 18 months in first-fill Oloroso sherry-seasoned quarter cask, producing 186 bottles.

Nose

The nose opens with a sourness, tangy lemon and orange, white pepper, mixing with bandages, antiseptic and iodine. It's got a bit of alcohol on the nose but it blends quite well with the other aromas and feels quite integrated. There's also some fabric softener, barbecued meat, and brown sugar sweetness coming through - it's got a fair range of aromas going on. The smoke is definitely there, but it melds nicely into the dram rather than being an astringent background. 

Palate

The palate opens with much more sweetness, lots of caramel, fudge and toffee, mixing with sea salt and sour plums. The peat is much more punchy on the palate, it's engulfing our mouths with a coastal, briny smoke that lingers into the finish. We're also finding copper coins, Irn-Bru, and chili jam as we go back for subsequent sips. We're also getting some candied nuts appearing. The mouthfeel is pretty solid and the finish has a good length. 

Nose (with water)

The reduced nose is even more medicinal, lots of iodine and rubber gloves, menthol cigarettes and butterscotch. It's become a little more one-note, less complex, but still pleasant. 

Palate (with water)

The reduced palate has a bit more depth in terms of wood, slightly more bitter, darker chocolate, bruised cherries and a softer smoke. We'd probably skip water here, we enjoyed the lighter, more complex undiluted palate - even if it did have a bit more alcohol on it.

Conclusion

A really solid mystery Islay - we'd guess this might be Laphroaig but we couldn't be sure. Either way, the sherry quarter cask has worked nicely with the spirit, and we're really enjoying it. 

Score: 7.5/10

Value

Tricky to confirm if this is value for money without knowing the distillery.

• 10 - Perfection. One in a million
• 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
• 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
• 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
• 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
• 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
• 4 - Below average. Passable.
• 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
• 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
• 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.

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