Closed Lowlanders: Littlemill 1991/2015 G&M Rare Old RO/15/04 vs St. Magdalene 1975/2012 G&M Rare Old RO/12/07
Maybe not the best lowland pairing. Littlemill is generally light, sometimes fruity-grass whisky that wasn’t even distilled in pot stills. That’s right, it was distilled in stills with their tops … Continue reading
Ardbeg: A young special, a young standard and a young independent
This was more tiring that I thought it would be, this is a big big distillate, and 2 of them at least were big big whiskies. It is one thing … Continue reading
Linkwood: from the 00s, 90s and 80s
Linkwood uses long fermentations and clear wort. Shouldn’t that mean a fruity and clean spirit? But it also distills in fat stills with downward sloping lyne arms, presumably to preserve … Continue reading
Glen Garioch: Founder’s Reserve, 48% (!) vs 12 yo, 48%
Nerdy trivia: An example of a distillery with 3 stills that only double distills? Glen Garioch. It once had 4 stills but was forced to remove one. Fortunately the wash … Continue reading
Caol Ila: G&M Reserve 1996/2009 13yo #16116 46%, 18yo Official ~2014, Perfect Dram 1995/2013 18yo 50.6%
Caol Ila is, simply put, under-appreciated. Peat heads see it as a gentle peater but it makes an excellent consistent malt that seems to do well at any age. Not … Continue reading
Blair Atholl 12yo Flora & Fauna vs Dailuaine 16yo Flora & Fauna
Head-to-head. Blair Athol Flora & Fauna 12 years vs Dailuaine Flora & Fauna 16 years. It is said you learn a lot more comparing 2 whiskies than having just one … Continue reading
Old Pulteney 12yo 40%
This Northen part of the highlands have some very interesting distilleries, and also some of the best. Brora and Clynelish are what I have in mind, but travel even further north … Continue reading
Auchentoshan Silveroak 22yo 1990/2012 50.9%
This might be the easiest distillery to get to for a tourist who isn’t in Scotland for the whisky. Just outside Glasgow, a breeze to get to, conspicuously sited next … Continue reading
Tormore 1984/2005 20yo Cadenhead Authentic Collection 59.4%
Quick one, my how time flies when your hands are full. It is difficult to find a picture of this bottle, despite being bottled only all of 10 years past, … Continue reading
Ardmore 1977/1995 18yo Cadenhead White Label cask 7625 59.9%
This is an older range by Cadenhead known colloquially as the White Label or Distillery Label range, and included some very big names – Port Ellen, Lagavulin, Caol Ila, Springbank, … Continue reading
Longmorn 25yo 1985 2006 Signatory for LMdW cask 11545 52.6%
For a distillery that’s a lynchpin of the industry there’s not really a lot of information on Longmorn, we know it was popular with blenders from the day its whisky … Continue reading
Port Charlotte Scottish Barley, 50%
Sometimes I wonder if I am overlooking something in Bruichladdich. It’s easy to do so when one talks about Islay and by the conversation it seems that there are only 3 … Continue reading
Irish Single Malt 26 yo 1987/2014 The Nectar of the Daily Drams, for LMdW 51.6%
That the Irish whiskey industry nearly collapsed and left the entire country with just 2 distilleries by 1975 is a tragedy, where the lead actors are variously billed as war, … Continue reading
Tomatin 12 yo 43% ~2013
At one time an absolute giant of an unknown with 23 stills, now somewhat lessened at a more sane 12 stills. Small distillery this is not. It is vast and grey, … Continue reading
Balvenie Madeira Cask 17yo 43%
If you have heard the news coming out of the States you would know the Bourbon scene is in the midst of a craft revolution. It is true that there have … Continue reading
Brothers-in-arms, 14yo Irish Single Malt, 43%
Just for a change of pace (because everyone needs to get different once in a while), a blended Irish by Vom Fass. Von Fass is a German retailer of fine … Continue reading
Aberfeldy 1996/2013, Connoisseurs Choice 46%
Another distillery opened by a blender looking to expand his supply, the Dewars in this case, Aberfeldy’s story is therefore tied to the brand. Yet shortly after the First World War, … Continue reading
Bunnahabhain 40yo 1973 ‘The Birthday Dram’ for The Whiskyman 48.5%
There is good Taiwanese whisky, there is good Japanese, Indian, Bourbon etc… But I believe that only countries with climates that are mild and temperate all year round can produce truly exceptional … Continue reading
Glentauchers 1991/2007 43%
Glentauchers and blends like ‘Black and White’ and ‘Teachers’ have a long relationship – James Buchanan who founded Glentauchers also created the ‘Black and White’ blend, and the distillery’s spirit … Continue reading
Macallan 1957 25 yo Anniversary Malt 43%
Happy 50th National Day Singapore. The occasion lives up to its hype. This is a milestone for the country, with much accomplished but also many ways we can improve, and … Continue reading
Glendronach Octarine 46%
Not sure why I haven’t had more Glendronach than this, so confident am I in this whisky that I always recommend it as a sucessor to Macallan when somebody says … Continue reading
Glen Moray 12yo, 40%
The previous Glen Moray was a little strange, and strangely so, as a SMWS bottle often means a good one. How about an official then? What? And why? Do official … Continue reading
Aultmore 1982 Berry Bros 57.8%
Not a distillery that sits at the top of anyone’s favourites list, unless you’re a blender, then it’s a top class blending malt for you. Sort of strange but not so … Continue reading
Hannisville Rye Whiskey, 1863
How the world turns, yesterday the collectors were falling over Ardbeg, now it’s Yamazaki. In fact Japanese single malt is pretty much sold out everywhere. Somewhere in the middle of … Continue reading
Pittyvaich 1993/2005 Connoisseurs Choice G&M 43%
When I stepped into Gordon & Macphail in Elgin, I was in two minds – I could go for the well aged high value bottle like a G&M shop exlcusive, … Continue reading
Ardmore 16 you 1996 Douglas Laing OMC cask 8020 50%
Sorry for the long intermission, life got busy for a bit, but it’s not like I stopped drinking. So, this is Ardmore. Rather famous for being the peated Speysider, and not … Continue reading
Clynelish, 1995/2010 Samaroli ‘Glen Cawdor’ cask 1469, 45%
Samaroli is an Italian independent bottler, just like Cadenhead or Signatory in the UK. ‘Italian?’ You say, ‘What do Italians have to do with bottling Scotch whisky?’ In fact there … Continue reading
St. Magdalene 19yo 1979 Rare Malts 63.8%
This bottle is a legendary one, so I am going in with high expectations; which probably isn’t fair objectively. But if a famous writer can intentionally hamstring Ardbeg because ‘it … Continue reading
Balblair 10yo Gordon & Macphail 43% (2014)
Balblair is a highlander, not far from Glenmorangie and Dalmore, and sits inland less than a kilometer from the Dornoch Firth. It is one of a small band of northern … Continue reading
Mortlach, 21yo, 1991/2012, cask 12/943, Signatory, 53.8%
Distillation regime is a complex thing but most would know distilleries usually utilize double distillation, a few triple distill, and the insanely adventurous folks at Bruichladdich even quadruple distilled once. Only … Continue reading
Cardhu 21yo, 2013 Special Release, 54.2%
To gauge the ties between Cardhu and Johnnie Walker, one need only consider that as far back as 1893, John Walker and Sons considered the distillery so integral, they bought it. And so … Continue reading
Macallan Batch 4, That Boutique-y Whisky Company, 44.3%
Only the third Macallan to feature here, or is that meant to read already the third Macallan to feature here. I firmly believe that the Macallan is at heart a … Continue reading
Glen Scotia 22yo 1991/2013 Hunter Laing OMC 15th Aniv. 57.4%
Glen Scotia in Campbeltown occupies a somewhat uncomfortable spot next to illustrious Springbank, and it doesn’t help that its owners, Glen Catrine Bonded Warehouse, haven’t seen fit to push their … Continue reading
Springbank 12yo Batch 6 Cask Strength, 50.3%
Springbank, and Glenfarclas, are the last remaining family owned distilleries in Scotland. Thank heavens for that too, as Spingbank has seen no need to bow to the pantheon of efficiency, bottomline and … Continue reading
Lagavulin 12 yo 2014 Special Release, 54.4%
This Lagavulin features in every Diageo special release as an affordable entry level bottle. 2014 saw both a 12 yo cask strength and a 37 year old, that’s 2 Lagavulins … Continue reading
Glenlossie 43 yo 1938/1981 Connoisseur’s Choice 40%
A very special post today, because of certain developments in the family space. My status has changed, and with it a seismic shift in responsibility. To those who are already … Continue reading
Royal Lochnagar 16yo 1997/2013 cask 10021 Douglas Laing Old Particular 48.4%
The Lochnagar distillery that earned itself, and its successor, a royal prefix lies under the foundations of the modern Royal Lochnagar. It is a familiar story: the young Queen Victoria … Continue reading
Bunnahabhain 7yo 2006/2013 cask 800088 Berry Brothers 57.8%
The Bunnahabhain most would be familiar with is an unpeated nectar, big bone-d with honey and lots of sherry maturation, which is essentially the house style as we know it. … Continue reading
Kilchoman, Batch 1, That Boutique-y Whisky Company 55.5%
How is it that a man who counts Islay malts as his favourite, who has twice been to that storm lashed sentinel stalwart against the fury of the open Atlantic, the Queen … Continue reading
Linkwood 22yo 1991/2013 cask 11152 Duncan Taylor Dimensions 52.4%
What makes a whisky able to withstand decades in a cask? Linkwood along with Mortlach, Macallan, Strathisla and Glen Grant are good examples of whiskies capable of extraordinary aging, but … Continue reading
Clynelish, Batch 2, That Boutique-y Whisky Company, 50.6%
‘That Boutique-y Whisky Company’ is really the name of the bottler, a cutting edge modern name too, for a relatively conservative industry. It is owned and run by Masters of … Continue reading
Loch Lomond 12 yo, 2000/2012, Dà Mhìle 46%
Dà Mhìle, the Original Organic Whisky, since 1992. I am filled with a sense of dread. Loch Lomond is a distiller who are plainly not interested in the Single Malt … Continue reading
Caperdonich 19yo, Lady of the Glen, 54%
A demolished distillery and a small unknown bottler. Lady of the Glen is bottled by Hannah Whisky Merchants, run by one Gregor Hannah, from Inverkeithing, Fife. Caperdonich? Gone and remembered. Though … Continue reading
Happy International Whisky Day, Strathisla 1957/2007 G&M 43%
It is International Whisky Day, this 27th March, which commemorates Michael Jackson in true charitable fashion. As opposed to the other World Whisky Day which is a commercial affair. So … Continue reading
Ardbeg 10yo circa 1960s, 80 proof
Yes this is a rather old 10 year old, from about the 60s, before Ardbeg started using the distinctive stylized A in Ardbeg. That means this whisky has been in glass … Continue reading
Old Ballantruan 10yo ~2013, 50%
Old Ballantruan is neither ‘old’ in the sense of being established, nor is it from Ballantruan distillery. It is the peated version of Tomintoul aka ‘the gentle dram’, and the … Continue reading
Glen Garioch 14yo 2000/2014, cask 424 distillery special, 59.7%
Glen Garioch (confusingly pronounced Gee-ree) often springs to mind whenever someone asks for the most underrated distillery I know of. I have tried several from various vintages and liked them … Continue reading
Redbreast 15yo 46%
The Redbreast range of Irish Whiskey are ‘pure pot still’ whiskies, meaning a mixture of malted and unmalted barley is mashed, and the resulting wash is then distilled in pot … Continue reading
Ardbeg Ardbog (2013) 52.1%
This would be my third entry on Ardbeg, so I’ll skip the talk on the ownership periods and the different nuances of those periods which has earned this illustrious distillery … Continue reading
Inchgower 29 yo 1982/2011 Berry Bros 54.5%
Unknown, unloved and invisible Inchgower. Do we even know where it is? Who drinks this stuff? Lets check googlemaps – what?! Type in Inchgower distillery and it doesn’t even return … Continue reading
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