The winter issue of  Whisky Advocate  will be hitting the newsstands in early december. Until then, here’s a sneak preview of the Buying Guide. It’s our biggest yet; with 157 whiskies reviewed. We start with #10 and conclude with the highest-rated whisky of our winter issue.

#10:  Port Ellen 1978 35 year old (Diageo Special Release 2014), 56.5%, $3,300

Scarcity and the secondary market have driven prices up, so either buddy-up to a rich guy, or club together to try this. Greater levels of cask interaction have added an extra dimension to a whisky that is often skeletal. The smoke’s...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/11/14/top-10-rated-whiskies-from-the-winter-2014-issue/

I wrote about Diageo’s first three Orphan Barrel (OB) whiskeys here back in januari. The whiskeys in these bottlings are from either the old or new Bernheim distilleries. As I noted in that post, they vary in taste, from the easy-drinking, gently sweet, and uncomplicated Barterhouse to the dry, spicy, and oak-driven Old Blowhard. Rhetoric, the third release, is somewhere in between those two flavor profiles, but leaning more towards Old Blowhard.

While all three releases are certainly interesting to taste and diverse in flavor profile, I feel that they never quite lived up to their potential. To me, the...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/11/13/orphan-barrel-whiskey-release-4-lost-prophet/

On receiving the press release on the new “Last Great Malts Collection” from Dewar’s, I had as many questions as there are malts in the range. I thought it might be helpful to get some views from Stephanie Macleod, Dewar’s master blender, who chooses the casks and creates the samples which led to this launch.

First, though, it seemed sensible to get examples of some of them to taste before our talk. Don’t panic; I’m not going to belabor you with all my tasting notes. Some small samples of the Craigellachies (all except the 19 year old) and the 12,...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/11/07/dewars-master-blender-on-the-last-great-malts-collection/

Another in our occasional series of Tweet-style interviews. As always, it’s 140 characters or less (we don’t count the spaces) in the answers. Ewen Mackintosh is the new managing director (CEO) of Gordon & MacPhail, the renowned independent whisky bottler based in Elgin on Speyside and owned by the Urquhart family. Ewen will be the first non-Urquhart for four generations to be running the company. 

What’s the view from your office window?

Today: beautiful blue skies and Boroughbriggs Football Stadium – home to Elgin City FC.

No need to buy match tickets then. What’s it like living on Speyside?

...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/10/31/ewen-mackintosh-in-140-or-less/

A while back I got a box from Darek Bell, the co-founder of Corsair Distillery. It wasn’t a big box, just about the size of a shoebox, and not that heavy. On opening, there was a lot of smoke-gray bubblewrap, a piece of paper, and ten little sample bottles of whiskey. The paper had a key to the contents of the bottles. Some had a fanciful name, like Smokejumper, Pyro, or Hydra, and each was whiskey, smoked with a different combustible: black walnut, pear, blackberry root, Hickory Amaranth, lemon balm, “5 Smoke blend.” I thought back to our 2012 Craft...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/10/24/fire-water/

For the first time since the augusti 8 temporary restraining order, Balcones founder Chip Tate can talk about the legal battle with his investors. He’s been under a strict media gag order, while the 170 ^th Texas State District Court sorts out the disagreement between Tate and his investors, who alleged Tate refused to attend board meetings and even threatened to shoot board chairman Greg Allen. Allen’s legal team changed the terms of the temporary restraining order, Tate says, and he spoke with Whisky Advocate writer Fred Minnick.

By now, you’ve likely seen Allen’s side of the story. The Waco...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/10/19/balcones-founder-chip-tate-speaks-freely/

Crimson Rye is the latest whisky from 66Gilead, one of my favorite Canadian micro-distillers. This rural distillery takes its name from its street address in Ontario’s Prince Edward County. The distillery sits on 80 tranquil and beautifully maintained acres in the heart of this popular tourist destination. Year round, visitors smile for photos among a scattering of grey-weathered outbuildings. In summer they amble across the broad green lawns, accompanied by an ever-scurrying flock of multi-colored chickens.

The main attraction at 66Gilead is clearly the frequently packed tasting room on the main floor of a restored 19 ^th century home built...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/10/17/66gilead-going-up-to-the-county/

It’s that time of the year again, when all the major bourbon and rye whiskey producers release their limited edition whiskeys, and consumers scramble to find a bottle before they disappear. Your time and money is valuable, so I thought I’d offer some guidance on which whiskeys you should concentrate on buying.

I’ve tasted my way through the following whiskeys. My formal reviews will appear in the upcoming issue of Whisky Advocate , but here’s a quick overview of them, in no particular order.

Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (All $80, in theory)

My favorite of the line is the George...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/10/15/fall-bourbon-and-rye-whiskey-limited-release-overview/

In 2011, I visited Templeton, Iowa, to cover this hot rye whiskey that Al Capone supposedly liked. At the time, I knew they were purchasing bulk whiskey from what was then called LDI, the former Seagram’s facility that gave the world beautiful 95% rye mashbills, but I had never approached the company about this. Going into the interview, I half expected them to be confrontational. Keith Kerkhoff, one of the founders, played college football and tried out for an NFL team; and let’s just say, his lineman shoulder could crush my spine.

When questioned, the founders, Kerkhoff and Scott Bush,...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/10/10/the-templeton-case-lets-talk-to-a-lawyer/

It was a secret mission. So secret, in fact, that even the operative did not know what it was about. I could name the operative but that would put them at risk. Let’s just say, for the moment, it’s a whisky-loving writer based in a friendly country not that far away. It was mid-april and he flew from somewhere in that country to Louisville to meet Beam Suntory marketing director, Kelly McGregor. Louisville isn’t the easiest city to fly to and it took a full day of travel to get there, another on the return. All that for a single...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/10/06/canadian-club-releases-an-all-rye-grain-whisky/

Another in our occasional series of Tweet-style interviews. As always, it’s 140 characters or less (we don’t count the spaces) in the answers from Georgie Bell, Diageo’s luxury brand ambassador (Mortlach’s her main focus). Georgie’s boundless enthusiasm ran us close to the wire on some answers, but we managed. 

Where are you based and what’s the view from your office window (if you have one)?

The center of Edinburgh; I have been for the last 8 years. The sun is streaming through the window (a rarity for augusti) and I have a cup of Vietnamese coffee to hand.

Sounds...

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The fall issue of  Whisky Advocate  will hit the newsstands september 1st. It’s a great issue from cover to cover, and the Buying Guide contains more reviews than ever before. Today we offer a sneak peek at the Top Ten whiskies reviewed. (As always, if the price is not listed in U.S. dollars, the whisky is not currently available in the U.S. market.)

#10 -  John Walker & Sons Private Collection 2014 Edition, 46.8%, £500

Smoke begins Jim Beveridge’s public replication of the annual Directors Blend concept, built around Johnnie Walker’s signature characteristics. Peat smoke harks back to Islay, but...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/08/12/whisky-advocates-fall-issue-buying-guides-top-ten-reviews/

Where next for the whisky collector in America?

There will be no further Bonhams whisky auctions in New York for the foreseeable future. The auction house has canceled its planned sale for oktober 19 ^th at its Madison Avenue galleries and will review the situation on scheduling further auctions next year.

Mariam Cebalo, director of business management at Bonhams confirmed to Whisky Advocate that the cessation of operations in this area was solely due to the whisky department’s profitability. In other words, the department maj not have hit the targets set by the company to justify the resource required to...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/08/11/bonhams-new-york-halts-whisky-auctions-indefinitely/

I got a chance to visit two craft distillers in the Northeast last week: Berkshire Mountain Distillers and Catskill Distilling . I took a day off and drove up to Boston for the 30 ^th anniversary of the opening of the Boston Beer Company (the brewers of Samuel Adams), and realized I could easily stop in to see some whiskey being made on my way back. It was a gorgeous day, and after I’d cleared the Boston traffic, a great drive west out the Mass Pike, past lakes, marshes, and forests, then into the rolling folds of the Berkshires. I...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/07/24/craft-whiskey-in-the-mountains-berkshire-and-catskills/

Another in our occasional series of Tweet-style interviews. As always, it’s 140 characters or less (we don’t count the spaces) in the answers from Paul McDonagh. Paul is passionate about his Scotch whisky and the owner of Glasgow’s finest whisky bar, the Bon Accord. A man who’s enjoying the bar life.

What’s the view from your office window – if you have one?

I don’t have one but I do have some nice bottles of whisky to look at.

Good answer! How long have you been owner at the Bon Accord?

This is my 14th year but it seems like...

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The other night I was sitting at a bar, a hushed, handsome space awash in wood and leather, tucked behind an unmarked door upstairs from a more raucous joint dominated by a flat screen blaring the World Cup and gals in too-tight dresses. I could have been in a speakeasy-style lair anywhere in the world, except I was in Taipei, at Alchemy, in the slick Xinyi district. It is here that I watched a large group of dolled-up friends, tipsy from a wedding, keep the party going by passing around a bottle of the Macallan and greedily sipping it like...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/07/15/nomad-sherry-maker-gonzalez-byass-ventures-into-whisky/

Truly the whisky gods have smiled on me. Great are their blessings, as I bring you tidings of five (yes, five: read it and weep) interesting new releases that I have tasted recently on your behalf. To be even-handed, I’ll mention them in alphabetical order.

First up, then, is the Balvenie Single Cask 15 Years Old expression, the second in Balvenie’s Single Cask line. Drawn from a sherry butt, cask number 16293 (not that any of us would know the difference, but it lends corroborative detail to the label), this full-flavored 47.8% dram drew me in with its rich, warming...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/07/11/five-new-releases-no-make-that-six/

Another day, and another Scotch distillery project appears. No doubt funding will come from an issue of founders’ bonds or future cask sales, and a diverse group of private investors, while early income will be predicated on sales of gin and new-make spirit. You get the picture.

So we look at the case of Mossburn Distillers Ltd. with a slightly seen-it-all-before eye. We chat with chief executive Neil Mathieson, who outlines two distillery projects, one on the Isle of Skye and another near Jedburgh, in the Scottish Borders. Talk turns to likely expenditure; and Mathieson mentions that the Borders plans...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/06/27/mossburn-and-mathieson-a-different-distillery-startup-story/

Despite the Shelby County planning commission unanimously approving the $115 million Diageo Distillery, nearby residents plan to continue protesting if several local issues are not addressed.

Diageo officials explained their company’s distillery plans, including state-of-the-art fire protection measures, significant economic benefits, and environmental considerations that include the planting of 2,450 native trees and a bio retention basin. But at the juni 17 public hearing, several citizens offered cynicism toward Diageo’s claims and raised several issues over odor, traffic, noise pollution, water usage, black fungus, and sewage.

At the center of the community’s issue is the Guist Creek Lake, a 317-acre...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/06/19/some-residents-plan-to-fight-new-diageo-distillery-in-kentucky/

Another in our occasional series of Tweet-style interviews. As always, it’s 140 characters or less (we don’t count the spaces) in the answers from Laphroaig distillery manager John Campbell. (This was a special one for me, as the brand’s former marketing manager from some years ago.)  

What’s the view from your office window?
I have a great view, looking out over Laphroaig bay and it’s a beautiful day today on Islay.

Lucky you. We know you can get all 4 seasons in one day! Did you always want to be a distiller?
Yes, we can have variable weather, and...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/06/13/john-campbell-laphroaig-140/