Bowmore Vault Edit1°n – First Release, NAS, 51,5 % OK, what’s up with these silly names of whisky?! I mean Bowmore Vault Edit1°n – First Release? Edit1°n?! Really?! Trying desperately too hard, are we? Is the target audience young millennials, or aging 1337 (‘leet’) nerds? Hmpf! Anyways, the subtitle of this dram is Atlantic Sea Salt. […]...

Eiktyrne Sokin og Eikin Sauternes Finish, 4 YO, 48,3 % Eiktyrne is the whisky brand used by Det Norske Brenneri (“The Norwegian Distillery”) in Grimstad, Norway. Back in 2015 they released the previous version of the ‘regular’ Eiktyrne – the Eiktyrne Sid og Vid (see review). Here is the second ‘regular’ release then – the […]...

By Susannah Skiver Barton

There’s never been a better time to be a whiskey-drinking sports fan . The NBA announced a new partnership with Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey that will continue over the next several years. The sponsorship agreement covers both the NBA and WNBA , as well as the NBA D-League and USA Basketball , and it starts with a two-day “experiential event” during NBA All-Star Weekend , februari 17 ^th -19 ^th , in New Orleans.

Jack Daniel’s currently sponsors five NBA teams—the Atlanta Hawks , the Denver Nuggets , the Los Angeles Clippers , the Oklahoma City...

WM Cadenhead bottled several Bruichladdich 1992 casks so far, mostly in the Authentic collection and recently in the Small Batch series . This is from the januari 2017 releases – it’s hard to find but I’m not sure whether it is sold out already or still on the way.

Bruichladdich 24 yo 1992 (53,3%, Cadenhead ‘Small Batch’ 2016, 3 bourbon hogsheads, 588 btl.)

Nose: starts with an oldskool dustiness , then also a waxy note (kind of a 1960s Ben Nevis waxy note if that makes sense to you). It will settle on this nice combination of garden...

Laphroaig announced two new travel retail expressions. Both will be available in april 2017, but prices are yet to be announced. Interesting, slightly uncommon recipes:

Laphroaig Four Oak (40%)

Matured in four different types of casks : bourbon barrels, quarter casks, virgin American oak barrels and European oak hogsheads. Kind of a Laphroaig Triple Wood on steroids, with new oak aromas? I’m afraid it might end up being a bit of everything and nothing in particular.

Laphroaig The 1815 – Legacy Edition (48%)

1815 refers to the founding of the distillery. This whisky was first placed in...

Yes, the label says Glen Morey although it should obviously be Glen Moray 1977 . There are relatively few bottlings from this distillery, let alone of this respectable age. This expressions was bottled by Malts of Scotland , but already back in 2012.

Glen Morey 34 yo 1977 (52,1%, Malts of Scotland 2012, bourbon hogshead, MoS 12021, 172 btl.)

Nose: honeyed, with a lot of berry fruits. Hints of pineapple, tangerine and other lightly exotic notes. Furniture polish, as well as some plain oak, a little plankish even. Menthol. marshmallows. Some slightly perfumy notes too. Mouth: fairly loud,...

The Arran Smugglers’ Series Vol.2 – The High Seas, NAS, 55,4 % A year ago I reviewed the first release in this series from Arran; The Arran Smugglers’ Series Vol.1 – The Illicit Stills. Time now to have a closer look at volume 2 in the series. The first release had a component of port […]...

By Susannah Skiver Barton  

Glenmorangie has released the eighth whisky in its Private Edition series, and Wyoming Whiskey is launching a sherry-finished bourbon.

Glenmorangie Bacalta

Style: Single malt scotch Proof: 46% ABV Price: $100 Release: februari 2017 Availability: 21,600 bottles for the U.S.

Need to know: The latest in Glenmorangie’s Private Edition series, Bacalta is 10 year old Glenmorangie aged in bourbon casks, then finished for two years in American oak casks that were seasoned with Malmsey madeira. “Bacalta” is Scots Gaelic for “baked” and refers to the way madeira is essentially cooked in-cask in the hot sun.

Whisky...

Of all the things that have crossed my path since starting to work in the drinks world, judging whisky competitions is one of the most enjoyable. However, many people don’t know what’s involved. The final round of judging for the World Whiskies Awards was earlier this week, so here’s what went on…

Get to the venue

The judges and our home for the day – the Honourable Artillery Company

It sounds obvious, but not everyone who judged the award lives in London. On my table alone there were folks from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Ireland, India, Scotland and Canada, as well as a...

Bowmore 9 Year Old was released in september 2016 – it proves that the old sacred 10 Year Old age statement is not sacred any more. It’s matured in Oloroso sherry casks but apparently there are classic bourbon casks in the mix as well. Also, despite the label saying ‘limited release’ most shops claim it is a permanent addition to their range. Not sure what to believe any more, and the official Bowmore website has been down for days now. Hello?

Sherried whisky from Islay is not that common, especially not in the lower end of the market. And this is...

Winter is still with us but we’re inching closer to spring time and the whisky market is waking up: the Glenmorangie Bacalta was launched and now we have two new Laphroaigs for Travel Retail – Four Oak, available now and The 1815 Legacy Edition, available from april 2017.

Michael Cockram, Global Marketing Director, Travel Retail at Beam Suntory, comments: “Peated Malts are having their moment in the spotlight, currently leading growth globally in the total malt category. This growth is being driven by European and GTR powerhouse markets, where there is a preference...

Wannborga 5 YO Ö Whisky Artisan Single Malt, 45,2 % Finally I get to taste my first whisky from Swedish distillery Wannborga. The Wannborga 5 YO Ö Whisky Artisan Single Malt was released in mars 2016. This was a small batch release, limited to just two casks (cask # 55 and cask #56). On the […]...

Glenlivet Coupar Angus, 15 YO, 57,9 % It is not very often we see exclusive bottlings for Norway, Scandinavia or the Nordics. majbe this is slowly starting to change? Recently we had the Highland Park Single Cask Chris Maile Edition exclusive to Norway, as well as Highland Park exclusives for Sweden, Denmark and Finland. Now […]...

By Susannah Skiver Barton

Stewart Laing, Jim McEwan, Andrew Laing, and Scott Laing toast to Ardnahoe distillery. (Photo by Ralph Dunning)

Legendary master distiller Jim McEwan is taking on a new role as production director of Ardnahoe distillery . McEwan retired in juli 2015 from Bruichladdich, where he had been master distiller for 15 years, creating whiskies like the heavily-peated Octomore, as well as The Botanist gin. Prior to that, he had been at Bowmore for 38 years, working his way up from apprentice cooper through positions in the warehouse, blending, and distilling, and finally ending up as the brand’s...

I’ve been lucky to attend plenty of whisky tastings. The latest was a tour through the new batch of Diageo’s Special Releases hosted by whisky educator Colin Dunn – and it was superb. But as it came to an end, it got me thinking: what are the key elements for a great whisky tasting?

Diageo whisky ambassador Colin Dunn (‘Everywhere you look, whisky is coming at you’)

1. Get the audience involved

The best tastings go beyond the standard teacher-pupil set-up, because the audience aren’t sat in a classroom waiting to be lectured to. They are as much a part...

Yay, two more Irish malts distilled in 1989 . The first one is bottled by Whisky-Fässle, the second is part of the 10th Anniversary series of The Nectar. The latter is finished in a rum cask.

Irish single malt 26 yo 1989 (47,2%, Whisky-Fässle 2015, barrel)

Nose: medium fruity nose on this one.  There’s green mango, lemon and sour pineapple, but we’ve seen wider noses. Quite some grassy notes. Mint and green tea. Perhaps one passion fruit. Plenty of varnished notes too. Mouth: same feeling of green citrus first, but then a burst of more tropical fruits. Lots...