Brora 38 year old (Diageo Special Releases 2016), 48.6%, $2,200

There is something rather ironic about the fact that Diageo ’s Clynelish site in Sutherland is best known to aficionados for a whisky produced only during the period of 1969 to 1983. That whisky is, of course, Brora, one of the brightest stars in the firmament that is Diageo’s annual Special Releases program.

The distillery was founded in 1819 as Clynelish, and traded as such until the construction of a ‘new’ Clynelish alongside the old two-pot operation during 1967-68. At that point the Clynelish name was transformed to the shiny,...

Lets face it. 2016 was a punch in the face for everyone in some way, shape, or form. However, it was a good year for good whisky.

Today’s good whisky will be televised (or, youtube’vised – see below).

Westland is, in my opinion, one of the world’s best producers of single malt and, heck, they’re only 5 or 6 years old! Imagine what’ll happen in 5, 10, 15 years?

Today, instead of writing a review, I thought it’d be good to record my review of two lovely Westland whiskies:

• Westland Winter 2016 – special limited edition
• Westland Peat Week...

Even though it’s not a high-end distillery, the name Mannochmore always gets me interested. The few expressions I’ve had were really good and I though the Mannochmore 18 Years from the 2009 Special Releases was pretty great.

This year there is a Mannochmore 25 Year Old from the same distillation year 1990. The distillery was built to partner Glenlossie and only began production in the 1970s. Very few old casks remain. It is a mix of first-fill bourbon barrels, new American oak barrels and new and ex-bodega European oak sherry butts.

Mannochmore 25 yo 1990 (53,4%, OB 2016,...

Bunnahabhain Moine 8 YO Cask #3657 Hand Filled Exclusive, 60,2 % The whisky under review today is an exclusive you can only get at the distillery. In this case we are talking Bunnahabhain Distillery on Islay. This is probably my favourite distillery on Islay, although it is very hard to choose just one favourite! The […]...

Lagavulin 25 year old, 50.9%, $1,200

Lagavulin Distillery celebrates its bicentenary in 2016 and as part of the celebrations, two new, limited-edition expressions were released, pitched at opposite ends of the age spectrum. First came a highly regarded 8 year old, though for some this seemed slightly too youthful to do this big, complex whisky full justice. Not for nothing is the Classic Malts expression so widely beloved bottled as a 16 year old, though the fifteen cask strength Special Release bottlings at 12 years of age have been uniformly impressive, too. Later in 2016 the age balance was redressed...

Glenrothes Vintage Reserve, 40%, $55

Glenrothes Vintage Reserve is a fine advertisement for the fact that when no age statement (NAS) whiskies are created with integrity, they can be extremely good indeed. It is also a fine advertisement for affordability. Vintage Reserve replaces the previous Glenrothes Select Reserve bottling, created by now retired ‘malt master’ John Ramsay. Glenrothes had become notable for its policy of releasing vintages from individual years, rather than whiskies with age statements, but Select Reserve took them into NAS territory for the first time in 2005.

Whereas the distillers were less than keen to reveal aspects...

As we approach the end of 2016, it’s time to look back at the TWE blog team’s favourite whiskies of the past 12 months. It doesn’t have to be a new release; just the drams we happened to taste this year that we loved the most. So, what did we go for? Read on…

Stuart

My choice goes to a whisky from a distillery that’s under the radar for most drinkers, despite sharing a name with a rather famous mountain that happens to be Britain’s tallest: Ben Nevis . Located in the western Highlands, the distillery stays firmly in the...

Norlan Whisky Glass

I have been intrigued by the Norlan Whisky Glass since it was announced as a Kickstarter project. The glass was developed using 3D printers and continuous feedback from industry experts. Let’s look at a few different aspects and see how it compares to other glasses.

One of the aims was to combine the looks of a whisky tumbler with the performance of a tulip glass . I must say it is beautiful. This maj not be the most important thing about a glass, but it’s nice to hold, it feels solid and somehow less breakable than...

Guillon Cuvée 46, NAS, 40 % This is a brand new distillery to me, the French company Distillerie Guillon. The distillery has been producing whisky since 1997, and is located in Montagne de Reims Regional Natural Park in Champagne. In their whisky production they use local barley from the Champagne area. Most (if not all) their […]...

Tullamore Dew 14 YO Four Cask Finish, 41,3 % Irish whisky on the menu today then. Triple distilled and “Four Cask Finish”. The Tullamore Dew 14 YO Four Cask Finish was first matured in ex-bourbon casks, before receiving a finish in four different types of  casks; bourbon, Oloroso sherry, rum and Madeira casks. The Tullamore Dew 14 […]...

Isle of Lime Shareholders Edition 2016, 3 YO, 47 % Hurrah! Another Nordic distillery has now released its first ever proper single Maltwhisky. This time it is the distillery Gotland Whisky, using the brand name Isle of Lime, that joins this exclusive club of distilleries. The release in question is the Isle of Lime Shareholders Edition […]...

William Grant & Sons Rare Cask Reserves Ghosted Reserve 21 year old, 42.8%, $140

This entrancing blend from lost Lowland distilleries has been a labor of love for master blender Brian Kinsman. A marriage of single Maltwhisky from Ladyburn and Inverleven with grain whisky from Dumbarton; a kindred spirit to the Ghosted Reserve 26 year old blended malt. It is fascinating to see a major producer using their private stocks to tackle the challenge of a closed distillery blend, and it’s no exaggeration to say that this is an unrepeatable exercise.

The distilleries maj have gone, the remaining stocks...

Amrut Spectrum, 50%, £100

One cask. Five woods. Isn’t it amazing that nobody ever perfected it before? Amrut deserves much greater recognition for their successful experiments in whisky making: they have previously mixed malted barley from Scotland and India (Amrut Fusion), matured whisky on more than one continent (Amrut Herald and Amrut Two Continents), and dazzled us with numerous finishing projects, such as Amrut Kadhambam. Last year’s Amrut Naarangi showed great promise for further innovation, by pretreating the finishing oloroso cask with wine and orange peel. Amrut Spectrum is a true original, the result of secondary maturation in bespoke chimeric...

Redbreast Lustau Edition, 46%, $69

Aaah, the luxury of choice. Irish whiskey drinkers are blessed that shelves are brimming with a much wider selection than just a decade ago. It’s not that long since new Irish whiskey releases were too infrequent to run an Irish whiskey section of the Buying Guide in every issue of this magazine. Now they are so numerous that we have to be selective about what goes into print. It’s a good problem to have.

The first thing you need to know about this whiskey is that it doesn’t carry an age statement; however, Irish Distillers...

Yoichi Single Malt, 45%, $80

For the optimists out there, rejoice! U.S. liquor stores are stocking a greater variety of Japanese whiskies produced by a greater number of distillers than for many years. For the pessimists out there, disaster! We still get to grumble about the profusion of whiskies with young or no age statements to our hearts’ content, carp on about steep prices charged by producers relatively new to making whisky, and wallow in our reminiscences about tasting legendary Japanese whiskies. But wait; the global whisky community’s longing for quality Japanese whisky is not an entirely unrequited desire. The...

Crown Royal Cornerstone Blend, 40.3%, $60

A wealth of great new Canadian whiskies in 2016 made it difficult to select just one winner. The sublimely complex Gooderham & Worts, a bourbonesque 14 year old from J.P. Wiser’s called Last Barrels , and Ninety, a creamy, spicy 20 year old all-corn whisky from Highwood Distillers , were strong contenders. When all was said and done, Crown Royal Cornerstone Blend emerged as this year’s Canadian whisky champion. The first release in a new series called the Noble Collection, Cornerstone Blend happened by chance, and if you don’t taste it soon you likely...

Region – Spain – ABV – 22%

Guys. Gals. I’m headed in a fast and downward spiral into the world of sherry.

I’m in the rabbit hole.

I really hope others will join me. It’s an amazing world of flavors for us all to explore.

I’ve enjoyed my fair share of sherries (say that 3 times real fast) over the past 10 years or so but, as of late, I now find myself craving the Spanish fortified wine.

Normally, when one starts writing reviews for this or that product, they’ll start at the Chevy or Ford of that respective product....