Tomatin 14 yo 1987 Carn Mor, cask 494
I’ve not had a naked (read ex-bourbon) young-ish Tomatin before, but it’s great if like me, you love to get a hint of the distillery character without sherry or wood … Continue reading
Glen Moray SMWS 35.112 17yo 1996/2014 52.5%
This is a Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottling. In order to hide the distillery, a code number is assigned, but a simple google search will reveal the related distillery. In … Continue reading
Laphroaig 25 yo, 2014 Cask Strength
Some pictures this time: Laphroaig 25 yo, 2014 Cask Strength 45.1% (Official photo) Nose: Time has tamed the beast. Trademark seaweed and iodine are still there but much softer, likewise … Continue reading
Benrinnes, 23 yo, OB Special Release 2009
Yes this is the 2009, the 2014 was just released! Now’s the time to have a go at this one. Benrinnes is a little different. As we know most modern … Continue reading
Sheep Dip Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, 40%
To begin with, Sheep Dip is an insecticide/fungicide solution used to treat sheep. The Spencerfield Spirit company either does not have a large marketing budget, or the guy in charge … Continue reading
Port Morant 1975, 32 yo, Guyana Single Rum, Rendsburger, 56.9%
Feeling Whisky is getting overpriced? Fear not, premium rum is still largely undiscovered. Previously we had a Rhum Agricole from Berry Brothers, that is to say a rum distilled from … Continue reading
Jameson Gold Reserve
Irish whiskey! Ubiquitous Jameson Irish Whiskey is a cornerstone nonetheless, like Jack Daniels to Tennessee Whiskey, but you’ll never guess, Mr Jameson was himself a Scotsman. In any case, the … Continue reading
Highland Park 18yo, 43%
Highland Park is undoubtedly a renowned star in the whisky world, whose historical success relied on quality and marketing in that particular order. It’s fame started long ago: In the distillery … Continue reading
Lochside, 1981/2010, G&M cask 762, refill sherry hogshead.
Lochside was a distillery in the Eastern Highlands, some 22 km North East of Dundee. It’s a sad patch of North East Scotland as far as distilleries go: Hillside, North … Continue reading
Bunnahabhain 35yo, 1973/2008, The Whisky Agency edition 01/2009, 50.1%
Of all the Islay distilleries, Bunnahabhain is least well served by road. As I made the 25 minute northward drive from Caol Ila, I could not help but wonder at … Continue reading
Kininvie, 17 yo, 1996, Batch 1, 42.6%
Kininvie has got novelty value, just 2 Single Malt distillery bottlings under it’s own name. It was bottled under the Hazelwood name previously. The story of this young distillery is … Continue reading
Strathmill Carn Mor 1990/2009 cask 2400 46%
Strathmill is another blending workhorse, supplying Diageo blends, including famously J&B, with it’s 1.7 million litres a year output. from http://www.scotchwhisky.net Trawling about the internet, one finds very little of … Continue reading
Cragganmore, Friends of the Classic Malts 2013 bottling, 48%
Cragganmore circa August 2014 Not an obscure distillery – it’s original spot on the Classic Malts lineup as the Speysider should indicate <if nothing else!> the conviction Diageo has … Continue reading
Glen Grant 170th Anniversary, 46%
Back from Scotland and Whiskyrific is back on-line. These last 2 weeks, I’ve learnt that fog is to Wick what fleas are to sheep and Orkney is so windy, wind … Continue reading
Lagavulin 12 yo 2011 release
I have this one on the shelf and had completely forgotten about it! I will be in Islay for the Lagavulin Jazz Festival, so now seems as good a time … Continue reading
Clynelish 14 yo
It would still be summer in Scotland. ‘At most a light sweater or jacket’, I nodded agreeably, after all recent weather forecasts suggested as much. What would be more natural … Continue reading
Glenrothes 1991/ 2008
Speyside is a beautiful place, drive south you find the Cairngorms looming ahead, turn north and the elemental beauty of the coast contains you. Stay where you are and grows … Continue reading
Ardbeg ‘Airigh Nam Beist’
Not enough Ardbeg on this website methinks. Airigh Nam Beist is variously translated as lair of the beast, or shelter of the beast (romantic end) to just a middling pasture … Continue reading
Invergordon 1964, bottled June 2013, 48 yo, Hunter Laing
A first! This is a Single Grain Scotch Whisky, form a single cask, distilled at Invergordon in 1964. Ok so that means it is the product of one distillery, distilled … Continue reading
Longmorn 1996 / 2009, Carn Mor Vintage Collection
Several Longmorns have appeared on Whiskyrific, but they’ve all been well aged examples (a ’69, and 2 early 70s). Here’s a 1996 just because. Longmorn lost it’s coal heated stills … Continue reading
Longrow, just Longrow
Not a 10 year old, but a NAS Longrow ‘Peated’. Seems to be from about 2012 or earlier. As the esteemed reader would know, Longrow is the heavily peated double … Continue reading
Ben Nevis Càrn Mòr Vintage Collection 1997 / 2009
How about another Ben Nevis? This is a fairly young 1997 from the Carn Mor Vintage Collection range, that means 6 years after Nikka took over the distillery in 1991. … Continue reading
Guadeloupe, 1998, 12 yo (Rum) Berry Bros. & Rudd
Rum! Guadeloupe is of course in the area we call the Caribbean, east of Puerto Rico, north of Trinifad and Tobago. It is part of France, so I am in … Continue reading
Bladnoch 1989/2005, 16 yo, Cadenhead Authentic Collection
This lowland distillery is named for the river on the banks of which it is located. It is Scotland’s most southerly active distillery, if viewed on a map, one would … Continue reading
Lagavulin 1985/2007, 21 yo OB, 56.5%
Post number 100! Something special then. I have quoted the William Black quote found on Lagavulin bottles before, but I’ve also often wondered what the original source material was. Today … Continue reading
Johnnie Walker Green Label ‘180 cask’
This was a short lived special that took over the space marked for the old Green Label 15 yo on duty free shelves in airports around Asia and Latin America … Continue reading
Glencraig 1976 36 yo Signatory Vintage cask 4258
So Glencraig is the name of the whisky distilled from Lomond stills from Glenburgie – they replaced the ‘burgie’ with ‘craig’ as the production manager at that time was Willie Craig. … Continue reading
Craigellachie 5yo, 2006 / 2011, Signatory Vintage for LMdW
Google Craigellachie and you will find many matches for the famous hotel and the village. Scroll some way down and finally you’ll see a match for the whisky. Not a … Continue reading
Ballantine’s 17 yo ~ 80s ceramic
Hmm old jug of Ballantine’s 17, frrm the 80s meaning that the spirit within was distilled in the 60s, which means i) old school style and ii) good chance that … Continue reading
Rosebank 1989 Signatory Vintage cask 723 + 724
Apparently there have been a few other Rosebank distilleries one time or other – one opened in the late 18th century by a pair of Stark brothers, another popped up … Continue reading
Yeast – from East to West
Every whisk(e)y distiller relies on yeast to convert the sugar in the wash/mash to ethanol, which is then distilled in the stills. Granted yeast is but 1 factor, however fundamental, … Continue reading
White Horse 1946
White Horse is an old blend, the name was officially registered in 1891, but the brand was founded back in 1861 by James Logan Mackie. However it is his nephew Peter … Continue reading
Wild Turkey, Kentucky Spirit
Time for another bourbon – this one is close to my heart as one of my first whisk(e)y experiences. Wild Turkey is an iconic american bourbon, also available in most … Continue reading
Millburn 1966 16 yo G&M
Millburn, Glen Albyn and Glen Mhor are usually referred to as the Inverness distilleries, though none are open today. Millburn was founded as ‘Inverness’ distillery around 1807, the first of … Continue reading
Aberlour A’bunadh, Batch 34
Aberlour claims a shared parentage with Dailuaine – being founded by James Fleming. Both are east of the River Spey in whisky country. Some sourced give the date of Aberlour’s founding … Continue reading
Tomatin 34 yo 1976 / 2010, The Nectar of the Daily Drams
Distilling allegedly took place on the site of the modern Tomatin distillery long before the official founding, with just 2 stills, in 1897. We know it went bankrupt in 1906 … Continue reading
Madeira basics for the Whisky drinker
Part 3 in this little fortified wine series. Madeira is a fortified wine that occupies a range of flavours from sweet toffee to dry almonds. It has a distinctive oxidised … Continue reading
Longmorn 37 yo 1972 / 2010, The Perfect Dram & Three Rivers Tokyo
A third Longmorn for Whiskyrific – must be something good going on with these old casks. Longmorn 37 yo 1972 / 2010, The Perfect Dram & Three Rivers Tokyo, Refill … Continue reading
Hakushu 12 yo
Hakushu is a Suntory distillery. An earlier post talked about how Japanese distillers being somewhat hampered by the lack of a practice of cask trading, have had to build their … Continue reading
Littlemill 22 yo 1990 / 2013, Whiskybase special bottling
Littlemill might have been one of the oldest documented distilleries with some record of it going back to 1750s, by 1772 offices for the excise officers had been built and … Continue reading
Silver Seal tasting at Auld Alliance Singapore
Mr Massimo Righi, owner of Whisky Antique and whose brands include Silver Seal and the Sestante Collection, was in town and where would Max go for a drink but the … Continue reading
Auchentoshan ‘Three Wood’
An active, no, thriving lowlander! Right outside Glasgow to boot. Truly triple distilled stuff, so this is a rare breed in the modern industry. Triple distillation has its perks and … Continue reading
A Manzanilla and Bowmore Mariner 15yo
Bit of a throw up today, was hosting so – sherry pre-dinner, white wine through dinner, port after dinner and whisky to round it off. Equipo Navazos are the independent … Continue reading
Tobermory 1972 / 2004, Lombard Jewels of Scotland
The distillery we know as Tobermory today was reconstructed in 1972, and recommenced production in the same year. You might have heard glowing reviews of 1972 Ledaig – Ledaig being … Continue reading
Cockburn’s 20 yo Tawny Port
Another port, but a Tawny Port this time. For Port basics go here. This is Part II – Tawny Port Tawny Port is aged the same way as Whisky – … Continue reading
The Balvenie 14 yo, Goldencask
Balvenie was built by William Grant in 1892, and today Balvenie and Glenfiddich are of course sister distilleries, a fact known to most regular whisky drinkers, now owned by the related William … Continue reading
Glenlossie 1984 / 2009, Carn Mor
John Duff plus a few partners founded Glenlossie in 1876. The name goes around somewhat as the colourful character it belonged too was a former Glendronach and Bon Accord manager … Continue reading
Gutierrez Colosia ‘Fino’
While on the topic of Sherry… Gutierrez Colosia is located in El Puerto de Santa Maria on the site of the ruins of the Palace of the Count of Cumbrehermosa -Cargador … Continue reading
Sherry Basics for the Whisky Drinker
So Sherry is traditionally THE most important fortified wine for us whisky drinkers, because back in the day Sherry was what people got drunk on and most importantly, it was … Continue reading
St. Magdalene 23 yo 1982 / 2006, Douglas Laing, OMC
Only the second ever St. Magdalene on Whiskyrific (can’t say I have had many more IRL either) St. Magdalene is a closed distillery, both this and the Chieftains were distilled … Continue reading
whiskyrific 