In the run up to Black Tot Day at the end of juli, we’ve been scouring our shelves for great rums. With so many producers, the number of rums out there can be overwhelming. So, we’ve pulled out 10 of our favourites you might not have heard of.

You’ll have heard of  Bacardi  and  Captain Morgan , and probably even El Dorado , Diplomatico and Plantation . But these are rums that seem to fly beneath the radar – they should be known by all rum fans.

1.  Barbancourt

An incredible rum producer with a long history – it is not...

Maltbarn has a new batch of bottlings: Invergordon 1973, Fettercairn 1988, Glen Elgin 1995 and the youngest of them all, this Caol Ila 2004 .

Although I can think of at least two others from the same bottler, you don’t get too many Caol Ila expressions from sherry oak these days. I’m always surprised how it can take the common, clean bourbon profile into different directions.

Caol Ila 12 yo 2004 (54,7%, Maltbarn 2017, 175 btl.)

Nose: the sherry isn’t all that loud, yet it gives it a nicely tarry, sooty edge and a certain hint of Laphroaig,...

This new Glen Keith 1992 seems to be a sister cask of the one bottled by the same bottler back in 2014. Look at the colour, and you’ll be surprised that it was bottled from a bourbon barrel …

Glen Keith 24 yo 1992 (59,7%, Archives ‘Fishes of Samoa’ 2017, barrel #120633, 131 btl.)

Nose: one where the fruits and the (heavy) oak go hand in hand. It’s packed with melons, apricots, yellow plums and Haribo sweets, even more so when you add some water. But it also has lots of freshly sawn oak, leathery touches and vanilla....

The story behind The Syndicate blend starts in 1958, when ten forgotten barrels of blended Scotch were discovered in a warehouse owned by William Muir Bond 9 Ltd. Having been distilled in 1954 it turned out to be a fine whisky, which was left to mature further until part of it was bottled in 1966 for the directors of the company and a group of friends – six people in total, hence the name.

Today The Syndicate 12 Year Old is made with 18 malt and 4 grain whiskies. As it is matured in a solera (a system of fractional...

The influence of sherry casks on whisky is usually evident from the first whiff: aromas of dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, and orange peel entice the senses and beguile the drinker into pouring an extra-large dram. (Or is that just me?)

Sherry itself—a fortified wine from the Jerez region of Spain—encompasses a diverse array of styles, each imparting different types of flavors on a cask and, later, whisky. But many distillers favor the nutty, dry style of Oloroso or the sweet, rich flavors of Pedro Ximénez (aka PX), which are especially suited to single malt scotch maturation.

True sherry connoisseurs know...

New Orleans in juli is H-O-T, but for the horde of cocktail enthusiasts destined to arrive next week for Tales of the Cocktail (now in its 15 ^th year), a cold drink will never be far away. The options are truly overwhelming. So, let’s start with our short list of the top whisky-centric events taking place. For a full listing of events, whisky-related and otherwise, visit the Tales of the Cocktail website .

(And by the way, cocktails are not a good way to stay hydrated. We recommend drinking plenty of water along with your whisky!)

Celebrate Canada’s 150th Birthday With...

I have been on vacation the past three weeks and published reviews from a buffer, which explains the fact that I could not write about the latest releases. I’ll try to catch up as soon as possible…

Highland Park Valkyrie is the first expression I can try from the rebranded core range. It replaces Highland Park Dark Origins and it’s the first release of a new Viking Legend series which will also include Valknut and Valhalla down the line.

Compared to Dark Origins, Valkyrie uses less first-fill sherry casks and less European oak. On the other hand half of...

Inchmoan 12 Year Old is a peated expression from the Loch Lomond stills. The spirit is a combination of 3 styles, all peated. Two of them are produced in the straight neck still and the third one in traditional pot stills. Different styles of peat are used.

Inchmoan 12 yo (46%, OB 2017)

Nose: very earthy and muscular, with germolene and vegetal touches. Slightly dirty. Warm leather. Moss. Roasted peanuts and burnt cake. Old ashtrays. Mouth: roasted nuts and sweet ashy peat, definitely in a mainland style without medicinal touches. Fairly creamy but with an underlying black pepper...

Take a trip around the world with this week’s newest whiskies, starting on Islay with a 50 year old...

Richard Seale, master distiller at Foursquare Distillery in Barbados, believes that the rum category needs clearer definitions so that the consumer knows exactly what they are buying. In this exclusive post for The Whisky Exchange, he explains why change is essential s o that rum gets the same recognition enjoyed by the likes of whisky and Cognac.

Richard Seale, master distiller at Foursquare rum distillery in Barbados

‘ No other drink spans such a spectrum of colours and flavours ’ says the The Whisky Exchange (TWE) in its descriptive panel on rum.

Rum is surely the most diverse of all spirits. It is...

Baretto in Milan was the exclusive importer for Italy of Glenlivet in the 1960s and 1970s. Their Glenlivet 12 Year Old was an unblended all malt – already quite something back in the 1960s and 1970s when the single malt market was very, very small.

Glenlivet 12 yo ‘Unblended all malt’ (45,7%, OB for Baretto, early 1970s)

Nose: at the same time elegant and weighty, highly integrated. Something of honeyed tea (chamomile), vanilla and blackberries, but also lots of old-school notes. Silver polish, subtle smoke, grease, leather and leafy notes. Hints of iron and candle wax. Rye bread...

There have been several Glenfarclas 2000 vintage releases, bottled around 2013-2015. This one says Premium Edition on the label.

Glenfarclas 2000 ‘Premium Edition’ (46%, OB 2015, Oloroso sherry casks, 6000 btl.)

Nose: fairly light sherry. Apricots, fresh plums and citrus notes, with traces of fruit eau-de-vie. Quite a lot of plain barley. Hints of vanilla and beeswax. A bit of floral honey and toffee. Quite a rich spirit, although there’s relatively little sherry for a Glenfarclas. Mouth: sweet and oily. Honey and vague fruity notes (plums and oranges). White pepper and light hints of clove. Light herbal touches...