We’re approaching the end of Feis Ile 2017. Only two more distilleries left: Bunnahabhain today and Ardbeg tomorrow. Here’s your Bunnahabhain fix for today: a 23 year old sherried bunna from the Whiskybase.com Archives series. A sherry butt #52 that was distilled on 12/1990, bottled 02/2014 yielding only 201 bottles (might be a cask share).

Bunnahabhain 1990 23 Year Old (Archives The Fishes of Samoa) (47.9%)

Nose : Dried fruit and despite the low ABV it’s quite intense and punchy at first. Lots of raisins too, feeling a bit lighter due to some fresh red fruit and berries puree/mash, some...

Kilchoman (and Jura) day at Feis Ile 2017 so it’s logical to post 2 posts, one for Kilchoman and one for Jura. However, I’m short of time today so instead I’ve opted to go for a single post on Kilchoman whisky. But we’ll still get two reviews as the post will cover a duo of young Kilchomans, both finished in Caroni Rum Casks, bottled exclusively for LMDW 60th anniversary.

What’s so special about those bottles? Glad you’re asking. First of all, Caroni distillery isn’t your ‘average’ rum. It’s sitting in the opposite direction of Zacapa, Applelton and all those sugary...

Another day, another distillery open day and today belongs to Bowmore distillery, the officially oldest active distillery on Islay (although some would disagree).

This is a 1987 vintage Bowmore that was bottled back in 2014 that I had the pleasure of tasting it at Whisky Live Tel-Aviv last year.

Wemyss Bowmore 1987-2014 ‘Sweet Peat Posy’ (46%, 231 bottles)

Nose : Malt, sweet lemonade, then the sweet peat comes through although it’s very lightly smoked, sweet heavy floral notes. After a while some milk chocolate and sea breeze. Very sweet one and very very floral, mind you it’s not FWP but...

Today is Caol Ila day at Feis Ile 2017 and let me tell you something: Caol Ila maj be the least sexy (or most boring – up for you to decide) distillery on Islay. We’re so familiar with their standard and unchanged lineup expressions and with no new expressions popping out from the distillery, it seems like Caol Ila is a bit forgotten. But let me tell you something: the spirit they produce at Caol Ila? It is underrated.

There are some jolly good whiskies coming out from those copper stills. Old Caol Ila whiskies are amazing and even...

It’s my favorite Islay distillery day at Feis Ile – Laphroaig distillery. Despite some recent disappointing (or even bad) releases from Laphroaig, there are still some good official releases. Let’s go back one year and review one of them, the 2016 Cairdeas that was matured in bourbon barrels and then finished in Madeira casks.

Laphroaig Cairdeas 2016 Madeira Cask (51.6%, $79.99 )

Nose : At my first tasting of this whisky I thought it wasn’t quite well with disharmony between the peat and the fruitiness of the Madeira cask but a few weeks later it’s better with gentle peat, red grapes...

Today’s the second day of Feis Ile 2017, so happy Laddie day y’all!

In honor of Laddie day, I’ve decided to review a two years old whisky which surprisingly can still be found in many web shops – The Port Charlotte PC12 “Oileanach furachail”. The PC12 signaled the start of Adam Hannett hegemony at Bruichladdich and leads a different way from the PC11.

Oh, and while we’re at it, I’ve also thrown in a bonus review of the PC7, always interesting to see how things develops over time.

Bruichladdich Port Charlotte PC 12 “Oileanach furachail”(58.7%,  €119,99 )

Nose : I think...

Happy Feis Ile 2017 everybody! Time to get back to the tradition of reviewing a whisky from the corresponding distillery that holds an open day (after a break last year) and we starts with Lagavulin that holds today their open day (and with a new sparkling Lagavulin 16yo double matured in Muscatel wine casks).

I didn’t need much time to ponder on the whisy to review today and went with the classic choice – the Festival bottling from last year when Lagavulin had their 200th anniversary. An 18 years old Lagavulin from European oak ex-bodega Sherry butts and refill American oak hogsheads.

Lagavulin...

The Summer 2017 issue hits newsstands on juni 6th and includes over 80 new reviews of scotch, bourbon, Irish, Canadian, and many more whiskies. We’re unveiling the top ten highest-scoring bottles from the Buying Guide, including bourbons from Wild Turkey , Elijah Craig , and Four Roses ; Crown Royal’s latest addition to the Noble Collection ; a very mature Teeling Irish whiskey ; and one of the core scotches from GlenDronach .

High West Bourye (Batch 17A09) 92 points, 46% ABV, $80


Straight bourbon and rye whiskeys aged from 10 to 14 years, this nicely balances its dry oak, almost...

Blend your bourbon with fruit flavors and a splash of sparkling wine in this refreshing summertime cocktail from...

It’s a big week for single malt lovers of all stripes....

I participated in a Glen Scotia  / Loch Lomond Twitter tasting last night. We went through some of the core range expressions and the grand finale was this brand-new Glen Scotia 25 Year Old .

It is drawn from specially selected ex-bourbon casks and married for 12 months in first-fill bourbon barrels before bottling.

The distillery went through rough times in recent decades and it was mothballed between 1994 and 1999. I reckoned the 25 Year Old would not be a constant expression for years to come, but the distillery confirmed they have enough stocks to make this an ongoing expression.

 ...

One of the latest releases by Abbey Whisky , a 21 years old Glen Garioch in their Rare Casks series.

Glen Garioch 21 yo 1994 (55%, Abbey Whisky ‘The Rare Casks’ 2016, refill hogshead, 126 btl.)

Nose: fresh garden fruits (cut apples) and citrus (lime / grapefruit) as well as some vegetal notes up front (fern, musty leaves). After a while also hints of pineapple cubes and vanilla custard. Wet rocks. Clay. Hints of bay leaves too. Mouth: intense, still this combination of fresh fruits (grapefruits, pineapple, gooseberries, peaches) with more austere notes of peppercorns, zesty and grassy...

It is becoming a yearly tradition that I’m trying a new Gouden Carolus limited edition. Last weekend, at the yearly Open Days at the Molenberg distillery, they presented a Gouden Carolus Pure Taste Oloroso Cask .

Like previous editions , it focuses on one single wood type, in this case American oak Oloroso sherry casks .

Mind that the distillery has no plans to bring out old whisky (at least not for now) so this is again a very young whisky of just 36 months old. It’s not a sherry finished whisky though, it spent its whole life in Oloroso...

Benromach single casks are sought after and are accessibly priced, so they are a welcome choice for shop bottlings these days. Whiskybase selected this first-fill bourbon cask #372 , from the same batch as the Whiskysite.nl bottling .

Benromach 8 yo 2008 (60,1%, OB for Whiskybase.com 2017, first-fill bourbon barrel #372, 215 btl.)

Nose: fresh, rather sharp spirit, with some honeyed fruits underneath, pears and peaches. Some dried grasses, light peat and mineral notes. A little menthol and candied lemon, giving it a medicinal edge. Mouth: decent peaty notes, with the same type of sharpness but a brighter...

Cambus distillery was closed in 1993 but the warehouses and filling station are still in use. There are no official bottlings, but you can regularly find Cambus 1991 casks from Signatory Vintage. This one was bottled by Liquid Treasures .

Sherry matured grain whisky is not very common, I’ve had some refill sherry bottlings but never a fresh heavy sherry bottling like this, I think.

Cambus 25 yo 1991 (52,7%, Liquid Treasures ‘Faces of Angkor’ 2017, sherry butt)

Nose: very nice, this reminds me of a Brandy de Jerez, which as you maj know, is a pot still...