Tormore maj not be a sexy name, and a pretty strange distillery if you judge it by its architectural qualities, yet I did have a few pleasant surprises when trying their whiskies. Here’s a Tormore 1997 bottled by Gordon & MacPhail .

Tormore 1997 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail ‘Connoisseur’s Choice’ 2014)

Nose: rather fresh, with garden fruits, hints of tangerines and fig compote. Light honey. Lemon and mint. It shows a lot of vanilla after a while. Mouth: creamy and fruity, with honey and some lightly tropical fruits. Mango, banana, sweet grapefruits and peaches. Nice sweet and sour balance,...

GlenDronach Peated, NAS, 46 % In late 2015 GlenDronach introduced their very first peated core range whisky, the cleverly named GlenDronach Peated. This is a whisky with no age statement (NAS). The GlenDronach Peated is initially matured in bourbon casks, then it receives a finish in Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez Sherry casks You can obtain […]...

By Susannah Skiver Barton

Bardstown Bourbon Company announced a partnership with Western Spirits Beverage Company to produce whiskey for the company’s brands, which include Bird Dog whiskey , Lexington bourbon and Calumet bourbon . The distilling starts this month. Bardstown Bourbon will make whiskey for all three brands which will then be aged at its on-site warehouses. The joint venture is part of Bardstown’s Collaborative Distilling Program—a contract-distilling initiative that currently is completely sold out with around 12 partners. Western Spirits—which doesn’t disclose where its whiskey is currently made—is the first partner to be publicly announced.

Bardstown Bourbon’s current facility, which...

Redbreast Lustau Edition is a rather unique project of an Irish whiskey producer and a Spanish sherry bodega, with both names being mentioned. Usually distilleries source casks from small coopers who often use indistinct wines to season their casks, but in this case Bodegas Lustau (one of the most awarded sherry brands in the world) was asked to specifically prepare casks for this release. They teamed up with the Antonio Páez Lobato cooperage (also in Jerez de la Frontera) which provided the new casks.

The base whisky was between 9 and 12 years old.  The spirit was first matured...

Signatory Unchillfiltered Collection Ben Nevis 1991 (22 year old) 46%...

Maverick Drinks Darkness! Ben Nevis 17 year old 49%

Palo Cortado Sherry Cask Finish/ Cask No 1494/ Tasted: Oct 2015

Very herbal and meaty aromas with malt, treacle and sweet, dark honey. This is a serious maltfest! With time a touch of vanilla oak, cold tea and earth appears.

The palate is thick and malty. I need a knife and fork for this one! Treacle, building bitter tannins and the alcohol kick in on the middle to balance the sweetness, but there’s no subduing the malt! Long and treacly with mouth-watering barley, citrus, subtle sweet spice and guess what? Yes....

By Susannah Skiver Barton

This week brings a trio of half-size bottles of straight Kentucky bourbon from the Wild Turkey distillery and Woodford Reserve .

Whiskey Barons Collection

This new range from Campari —which owns Wild Turkey—aims to “recreate historically significant bourbons that were lost after Prohibition,” according to a press release. Although both bourbons were distilled at Wild Turkey, neither Jimmy nor Eddie Russell, Wild Turkey’s co-master distillers, were involved in their creation. A portion of the profits from each bottle will be donated to the restoration of the historic T.B. Ripy house in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky.

Bond & Lillard...

The lawsuit alleging that Buffalo Trace and parent company Sazerac deliberately misled consumers about the age of Old Charter Bourbon has been voluntarily dismissed, according to a motion filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by Bursor & Fischer on behalf of plaintiff Nicholas Parker. Parker had originally filed the lawsuit in november 2016, alleging seven counts of deceptive acts or practices, false advertising, unjust enrichment, breach of warranty, fraud, and negligent misrepresentation. He sought compensatory, statutory, and punitive damages, as well as to put a stop to the “illegal practices.”

Recall, Old Charter was previously sold as an...

The Balblair 2005 vintage was launched early 2016 and is matured entirely in ex-bourbon, American oak barrels. It replaces the Balblair 2003 which had basically the same recipe.

Balblair 2005 (46%, OB 2015, 1st release)

Nose: young, with clear hints of new-make spirit. Quite some feinty hints (mix of rubber and leather) at first but these dissipate. After that, it’s all on pear drops and banana candy. Some vanilla and touches of floral honey. Close to the barley. Mouth: more body than I expected. A young but fairly weighty spirit. A lot of honey, moving towards toffee and...

Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2010 is the successor of the 2009 vintage that came out last year. The barley for this edition was harvested at eight Islay farms (Coull, Cruach, Dunlossit, Island, Mulindry, Rockside, Strachmill and Sunderland). Bottled at 50% after 6 years in cask.

The Balvenie Peat Week 2002 is a 14 years old peated Balvenie matured in American oak and bottled at 48,3%. The distillery had some experiments with peated casks in the past (casks that previously held peated whisky, but not Balvenie) but this seems to be the first Balvenie made from peated barley. For one week each...

I know it’s been a while since my last post on the blog, but it’s not a paying gig and there were other things that were occupying my free time. I’ll try to get back to posting on a more regular basis and I’ll start with a recap and review of the #LaddieMP5 event held by Bruichladdich last Thursday.

In case you aren’t familiar with the MP term, MP means Micro Provenance as Bruichladdich are keen on testing and exploring the impact of terroir, barley and casks on the final result and last Thursday was the 5th public MP event...

Brora 1977 38 YO (Special Release 2016), 48,6 % This is the 15th release of Brora in the annual Special Release series from Diageo. Every year the Brora and the Port Ellen releases are the most expensive in this series. Brora distillery closed in 1983, which means we won’t be seeing releases of Brora whisky for […]...

Spice King Batch Strength 001 (Wemyss Malts), NAS, 56 % Independent bottler Wemyss Malts have recently released a series of ‘batch strength’ whiskies. These are higher ABV versions of some of their most well-known blended malts. First out is the Spice King Batch Strength 001, bottled at 56 % ABV. I have previously reviewed the Spice […]...

Mackmyra Moment Skog, NAS, 52,4 % My review today is of the seventh release in the Moment Series from Swedish distillery Mackmyra. The Mackmyra Moment Skog (“Wood”) was released in 2012, in a limited run of 3000 bottles. This particular Mackmyra whisky was matured in casks saturated with Swedish berry wine, made from lingonberry and blueberry. […]...