Kilkerran 12 YO, 46 % The young Glengyle Distillery in Campbeltown just recently released their first ever 12 year old whisky, the Kilkerran 12 YO. This whisky has been matured in 70 % ex-bourbon casks and 30 % ex-sherry casks. Kilkerran 12 YO was distilled in 2004 and bottled in 2016. You can pick up a bottle […]...

Time for the second round of whisky releases in Norway for 2017. These fine drams will be on sale starting Friday mars 3 at 0800. There are only 12 new releases this time around. Some exciting news from Bruichladdich. I am looking forward to both the new Black Art 4, and the new Octomore 10 […]...

The Spring 2017 issue of  Whisky Advocate magazine hits newsstands in early mars. We’re counting down the top ten highest-rated new releases as reviewed in the  Whisky Advocate Buying Guide. For our Editor’s Choice, Value Pick and more great whiskies,  subscribe now !

#9— Sheep Dip Islay Blended Malt , 40% ABV, $60

There has been an excellent streak of Islay blended malts recently, and here is another worthy contender from the Spencerfield Spirit Company. This one offers the sizzle of bacon fat, thick clods of peat, cocoa, and breezy smoke. The rounded palate has sweet satsuma, spice, generous malty notes, and...

Midleton – Method and Madness

Method and Madness is a new range of experimental Irish whiskeys that originated at the Midleton distillery as an interaction between the distillery masters and some of their young apprentices. The range launches with four expressions, each with its own twist:

• a Single Grain Irish Whiskey from ex-bourbon barrels and finished in Virgin Spanish Oak (€ 49)
• a Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey from Oloroso sherry and bourbon barrels, finished in French Chestnut (€ 69)
• a Single Malt Irish Whiskey from bourbon barrels, enhanced with French Limousin Oak (€ 79)
• a 31 Year Old Single...

Some of us have been lucky enough to try the famous older Port Ellen expressions, the annual special releases and such. But it’s even rarer to try some of the 1970s distillates at a very young age – releases that came long before the wider popularity of Port Ellen.

A big part of these were bottled by Gordon & MacPhail in the 1980s and 1990s, mainly for Italian distributors like Intertrade, Meregali and Sestante.

Today’s Port Ellen 1974 was bottled at 15 years of age for Sestante . There’s also a 14 year-old version bottled in 1988. It’s one of...

Earlier this week I participated in an Glenlivet event that brings Tal Brody’s (ex-basketball player here in Israel) immortal words “We’re on the map and we’ll stay on the map” to mind. And you probably ask why and the answer is: We (the Israeli market) has grown up. We buy and drink more single malt than ever and we were finally noticed enough in Scotland to garner an exclusive single cask from Glenlivet – the first ever distillery single malt official bottling that was bottled exclusively to our market – the Glenlivet Single Cask Edition “Carn Ealasaid” 15 Year Old.

Rani Cohen...

I recently attended the Bergen Whisky & Beer Festival 2017; Feb 9-11. This was the third year for the festival, which is hosted by the enthusiastic Frode Harring from The Tasting Room. The venue was the same as the previous two years, the Scandic Bergen City hotel. The first year was charming, and sort of […]...

Port Askaig 16 YO, 45,3 % Port Askaig is an Islay single malt from an undisclosed distillery. It is a brand owned by Speciality Drinks Ltd. The Port Askaig 16 YO has been matured in a mix of bourbon and sherry casks. You can purchase the Port Askaig 16 YO at around GBP 80. It is not […]...

The Spring 2017 issue of  Whisky Advocate magazine hits newsstands in early mars. We’re counting down the top ten highest-rated new releases as reviewed in the  Whisky Advocate Buying Guide. For our Editor’s Choice, Value Pick and more great whiskies,  subscribe now !

#10— Spice Tree Extravaganza , 46% ABV, $140

Recognizably Spice Tree, but it’s richer, more dapper, traveling in style, and wearing better shoes. Peanut brittle, toasted coconut, and pale, light sherry. Honeyed palate with caramelized sugar, red apple, and red berry fruit before the gingersnaps and clove bite. It revs up with another spicy blast for the finish. A...

We often get asked which whisky is a good investment – and it is always a difficult question to answer. There are many ways to look at what has proven to be a good investment, but I have always believed the most important element is that the whisky is superb: a whisky you enjoy so much that you could drink it every day, and a whisky that you would choose as a desert-island dram. These amazing drams do not have to be the most expensive, the most beautifully packaged or the most limited of releases, just great drinking whiskies that...

We’ve seen a series of ‘Extra Old’ blended malts lately but it’s new in Irish bottlings as far as I know.

not sure why this Irish Single Malt Extra Old from Whisky-Fässle doesn’t have an age statement, for some reason it would be a mix of older and younger spirits. In any case pricing would lead us to a decent average age.

Irish single malt ‘Extra Old’ (50,6%, Whisky-Fässle 2016, barrel)

Nose: fresh, bright and very fruity. Banana, lemon, pineapple, whitecurrant. Rather great. Sweet barley. Hints of lime blossom, buttercups and light honey. Mouth: same fruitiness. Melons, pears,...

Auchroisk 1990 25 YO (Special Release 2016), 51,2 % …and with this I believe I have reviewed all the Diageo Special Releases for 2016, except for the Port Ellen. That one was simply out of my price range, even for a sample. This Auchroisk 1990 25 YO (Special Release 2016) marks the third time Auchroisk is included […]...

Mackmyra Moment Delägare (9), NAS, 51,4 % I have now reached release number nine in the Moment Series from Swedish distillery Mackmyra. The Mackmyra Moment Delägare (“Shareholders”) was released in 2012 in a limited run of 3000 bottles. It was matured in a mix of ex-bourbon, ex-sherry and ex-cloudberry casks. Here’s the description as given […]...

Dr. Jim Swan signing barrels at Taiwan’s King Car distillery, home of Kavalan whisky. (Photo by Jonny McCormick)

By Jonny McCormick

Fans of whisky from India’s Amrut, Penderyn of Wales, Kilchoman on Islay and Taiwan’s Kavalan all owe a debt of gratitude to one man: Dr. Jim Swan, a magician who turned aspiring distillers’ dreams into reality. His sudden and untimely passing on februari 14 ^th has been mourned internationally, a testament to the sorrow keenly felt by the global whisky community at the abrupt loss.

The foundation of Dr. Swan’s profession placed him within the inner circle of Scotland’s...

By Susannah Skiver Barton

Hold onto your hats: There’s a new Pappy about to hit stores, and it’s the oldest one ever released. Old Rip Van Winkle 25 year old is 50% ABV (100 proof). Available in april, the bourbon’s recommended retail price is $1,800.

Pappy 25 year old came from eleven barrels of bourbon distilled in 1989 at Stitzel-Weller distillery, where they rested until being moved to Buffalo Trace distillery ’s warehouses in 2002. In 2014, the whiskey was moved to stainless steel tanks to keep it from becoming over-aged.

There are only 710 handmade glass decanters available. Each...

By Susannah Skiver Barton

Brown-Forman —the American company best known for Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey —announced the appointment of Rachel Barrie as whisky maker for its scotch portfolio, which includes the GlenDronach , BenRiach , and Glenglassaugh distilleries. Barrie is leaving Morrison Bowmore Distillers (owned by Beam Suntory ), where she has served as master blender for the last five years, working with such brands as Laphroaig , Bowmore , Auchentoshan , Ardmore , and Glen Garioch . Her new position starts on mars 1 ^st .

Barrie takes the reins from Billy Walker, who founded The BenRiach Distillery Company...

Iceland has become the place to visit in the past few years. With miles of mountains, lagoons, glaciers and geothermal springs and a high chance of seeing the Northern Lights, it’s become well known as a haven for explorers and spa-goers alike, as well as attracting foodies for its burgeoning restaurant and bar scene.

Three examples of Icelandic landscapes (Fran Cano Cabal – own work , CC BY-SA 3.0 )

One of the most surprising things about Iceland is that fruit is able to grow less than 200 miles from the Arctic Circle. In fact the North Atlantic Current helps to keep...