A Claxton's flight

I'm sure everyone knows @ClaxtonsSpirits an indie bottler who's bottles really mess up the spacing on your whisky shelves!

Their unusual square bottles really standout but they take up a lot of shelf space!

Part of the Claxton’s flagship range, Warehouse No.1 represents top-quality bottlings from traditional dunnage-style warehouses where casks are matured and selected to provide the best example of each individual spirit type, cask, and flavour profile available.

Here I've tried 3 of the latest Warehouse No 1 releases and the 30yo Grain Barn.

Dram	Glen Moray 2013 10yo Single Cask	Ledaig 2011 12yo Single Cask	Invergordon 2006 17yo Single Cask	Grain Barn 30yo (Invergordon ?)
Characteristics	Oloroso Hogshead 10yo 52.6% ABV	Oloroso Quarter Cask 12yo 53.5% ABV	PX Hogshead 17yo 55.4% ABV	Bourbon Barrels 30yo 48%
Distillery notes	None	None	None	Nose: Custard sweetness with vanilla and trace of nutmeg. Strudel. Sweet Oak Palate: Egg custard tart. Wave upon wave of vanilla and rich creamy-dessert flavours Finish: Satisfyingly syrupy-sweet finish. Candied fruit - Panettone in the aftertaste.
My thoughts:
Appearance
	Light gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, take an age to bead up and fall as slow thin legs.	Bronze in the glass, swirls cling as a thick line, bead up and fall as slow thick legs.	Mid gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, bead up slowly and fall as slow thick legs.	Light gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line, take an age to bead up and fall as slow thin legs.
Nose	Musty dunnage funk, dried fruit: figs, dates, sherried raisins and sultanas. There's some dark chocolate, balsamic vinegar and nut toffee.	Lovely dirty Ledaig notes: burnt rubber, engine oil, damp cardboard, and smoky bacon crisps. But there's more - red berries, toffee, honey and some walnuts.	Freshly popped popcorn, rum and raisin ice cream and a lovely melted butter note. There's a little floral note - heather and pine needles. A little time and air offers dried fruit and toffee hints	Musty second hand bookshop, dried oak and some spice. There's an interesting dried fruit note here but this is plain ex-bourbon. Crushed vanilla pods and a little  rum and raisin ice cream.
Palate	Thick chewy arrival, toffee, honey, dates and figs. As the first sip goes, the mouth is stripped of all moisture leaving a peppery spice and a huge liquorice note on the tongue. Sherried dried fruit join the party with a few more sips. Yummy!	Thick sticky sherry, dried fruits, toffee and a little honey. Ashy smoke blankets the tongue. The walnut note from the nose is huge on the palate along with a fruited cheese note - lovely! Slightly drying with an orange zest note as the liquid disappears.	Smooth buttery arrival, a little sweetness and then it follows the nose: buttered popcorn, and rum and raisin ice cream. A few more sips offer yoghurt covered raisins, toffee and a little peppery spice. The PX has added some dried fruit and coffee notes.	Thick buttery arrival, mouth coating and a little drying. The buttered popcorn and rum and raisin ice cream you'd expect from an old grain are here along with a little toffee, Portuguese Tarts and a lovely dry peppery spice.
Finish	Lingering liquorice, sherried dried fruit and a peppery spice.	Long, dry and ashy with dried fruit and toffee.	Short, dry and spicy - cinnamon and pepper.	Long and buttery with vanilla and oak spice.
Overall	The Glen Moray was a lovely dram, huge sherry notes all but covered the distillery character but this liquid takes to any kind of maturation. Unusual but lovely liquorice note. The Ledaig did retain some of it's distillery character, but then again it is a strong distillate! The oloroso cask adding dried fruit, nuts and toffee notes - lovely! The Invergordon was probably the least influenced by the sherry cask - more of the distillery character shone though - lovely for an older teenage grain. The Grain Barn is a lovely dram, thought by many to be an Invergordon, it's spent 30 years getting what it can from probably a refill ex-bourbon cask - but what it's got is really good - a lovely dram - easy drinking but complex enough to take your time with and enjoy.

Huge thanks to Martin @Martybiker for these samples he give me in exchange for helping to carry cases of Claxton's up 4 flights of stairs at the Kendal Whisky Festival.

Lovely to meet Martin and Susan!