When it comes to drinking whisky, one of the greatest pleasures is sharing a dram. While there is joy in solitary sipping, teasing apart the flavours in a glass with others adds another level to the enjoyment of whisky. There are few other drinks where enthusiasts so regularly meet up to share bottles.

We organise regular tastings here in London, but that’s not all that helpful for folks who live farther afield. So, we are very pleased to introduce The Perfect Measure Tasting Sets :

A range of tasting sets put together by our team here at The Whisky Exchange, each...

Among the many independent Irish single malts that I’ve tried the past few years, there have been a lot of 1988 and 1991 casks but only one 1989 so far. Now there are two more.

One is a brand-new bottling from The Whisky Agency , a joint bottling with Eiling Lim . The other one is from the outstanding Emerald Isle series from Speciality Drinks / The Whisky Exchange. Highly respected bottlers – this should be interesting!

Irish single malt 27 yo 1989 (45%, The Whisky Agency & Eiling Lim 2016, barrel, 177 btl.)

Nose: classic Limerick style....

Kavalan Concertmaster utilises Ruby Port, Tawny Port and Vintage Port casks from Portugal to finish whiskies that were initially matured in standard American oak barrels.

I tried this sample as part of my Whisky Advent Calendar .

Kavalan Concertmaster (40%, OB +/- 2016, Port Cask finish)

Nose: honeyed and fairly aromatic, with vanilla and some varnished notes. Plums, raspberries and a hint of red wine, but the Port influence is nicely balanced. Almonds. A faint smoky / roasted note and some pepper in the background. A pleasant surprise. Mouth: less impressive now. Youngish profile. There’s a vague agave...

This is one of the latest batches of Aberlour A’Bunadh , one I selected for my Tasting Collection set. It’s a classic cask strength, sherry matured dram, on the market since 1998. As always, around 60-80 casks are used for each batch, which are bottled with no chill filtering and no colour added. The whisky used is roughly between 5 and 25 years old.

By the way, there have been over 200 participations in my little Tasting Collection competition. I will notify the winners later this week. Sorry if you didn’t make it, but we have another competition coming up!...

The Tomatin 18 Year Old , here in its renewed 2016 design, is matured in traditional oak casks (ex-bourbon) and finished in first-fill Oloroso Sherry butts for 2 to 3 years.

Tomatin 18 yo (46%, OB 2016, Oloroso sherry butt finish)

Nose: opens on a mix of honeyed notes and a real sense of freshly opened Oloroso casks (including the hint of dusty oak). Apricots, hints of Moscatel wine and golden raisins. Cinnamon syrup and vanilla. Baked apples. Heathery touches. Nicely fruity with balanced sherry. Mouth: fairly sweet and fruity again, with a creamy texture. There’s barley sugar,...

This year I had a chance to try the  Lagavulin 12 Years , Brora 38 Years and Port Ellen 37 Years  first. Now I was able to try the other Special Releases as well. Which one would you have opened first?

I went for the Linkwood 37 Year Old , because you don’t see Linkwood all that often, and because quite a few other reviewers highlighted it as one of their favourites in this batch.

Linkwood 37 yo 1978 (50,3%, OB 2016, Special Release, 6114 btl.)

Nose: rather classic entry on golden apples and honey. Peaches. Something of...

Blanton’s Straight From The Barrel, NAS, 66,25 % Today I am presenting my favourite bourbon. Well, a variant of my favourite bourbon. You see this is a single barrel release, sold at cask strength, so each release will be unique. I must also rush toi say that I might very well find a bourbon at a […]...

Bainbridge Yama American Single Grain Barley Mizunara Japanese Oak Cask, 45%, $495

Experimentation is the hallmark of America’s craft distilling movement. But even during this ambitious era, few distillers forge ahead with the determination of Bainbridge ’s Keith Barnes. Already a proponent of locally grown organic grain, Barnes set out to design a whiskey with a Japanese connection that would benefit the historic site of the village of Yama on Bainbridge Island, the last remaining first-generation Japanese immigrant village in the U.S.

After some consideration, Barnes decided to pursue mizunara oak, a rare and distinctive variety from the Japanese island...

Booker’s Rye, 68.1%, $300

Booker Noe accomplished many things in his career. When he passed away in 2004, rye whiskey was low on the list. Now, that has changed.

Before he died, Booker filled 100 barrels that aged for 13 years in Jim Beam warehouses D and E. The end result is this year’s American Whiskey of the Year, which ranks among the best whiskeys Booker ever made. In addition to high scores, these awards factor in trendsetting, ingenuity, and creativity, too. Plus, there’s a nostalgia factor: this whiskey is one of our last connections to American whiskey’s first “rock...

By Susannah Skiver Barton

West Virginia craft distiller Smooth Ambler Spirits has agreed to sell a majority stake to NBV Investments Inc., an affiliate of Pernod Ricard USA . The deal is expected to close in early 2017, and Smooth Ambler co-founder John Little will now serve as CEO, with director of sales and marketing John Foster also staying on. The sale amount wasn’t disclosed, but it will allow Smooth Ambler to increase production and grow its local team. Paris-based Pernod Ricard owns a number of whisky brands from around the globe, including Chivas Regal , Ballantine’s , Glenlivet ,...

Christmas is the ideal time to relax and share a glass or two of something good, but why not step out of your comfort zone and try something different? I’ve picked five festive drinks that are ideal to try this time of year. Unleash the spirit of Christmas!

1. Sipsmith Mince Pie Gin Gift Set

The smell of mince pies baking in the oven is an instant nostalgia hit, sending me straight back to my childhood and my mum tirelessly making batches of them. It’s the combination of hot pastry and rich, spicy filling that does the trick, and for...

No significant whisky news this week, as far as I know. Instead, here’s an extra review on Saturday: Teeling single malt , another sample that I found today in my Whisky Advent Calendar .

Teeling ‘single malt’ (46%, OB 2016)

Nose: very citrusy (lemon oil, graepfruit, lemon glazing) with fresh grassy notes and green apple peelings. Floral honey. Malt whiskey with the character of a bright white wine. Light and summery. Mouth: light and fruity again. Rhubarb, some pineapple, grapefruit and apple. Greengages. Hints of green banana too. This clean Irish fruitiness is topped with cinnamon and pepper....

Old Perth is a brand that goes back to the early 1990s when it was created by the Thomson family in Perth. It disappeared in the 1970s but was brought back to life as a blended malt in 2013 by independent bottlers Morrison & Mackay (of the Càrn Mòr brand among others).

The Old Perth Sherry Cask is a 2015 addition to the range, alongside a peaty expression. It is composed from sherry hogsheads, puncheons and butts . The internet tells me the whisky comes from Glentauchers and Speyside distillery, but I’ve seen other names as well, so take this...

Vicomte 8 YO, 40 % A French whisky from Florida, you say? Hmm, what’s going on here then? Let’s have a closer look at the French single malt Vicomte 8 YO from Florida based company Venturi Brands. The company behind the whisky has this to say about themselves: Venturi Brands is primarily focused on brand development […]...

Auchentoshan 13 YO Provenance Cask #11176, 46 % Another independent bottling of Auchentoshan for you this week. This time a release from Douglas Laing. The Auchentoshan 13 YO Provenance Cask #11176 was distilled in oktober 2002, and bottled in maj 2016. You can pick up a bottle of the in the UK at just under GBP 50. […]...

The 23 ^rd Annual Whisky Advocate Awards will be announced here  beginning this Friday, december 9 ^th .

The Whisky Advocate Awards exist to recognize excellence in the world of whisky. Now in its 23 ^rd year, the program honors the world’s greatest whiskies, distilleries, and the individuals who make and promote our favorite spirit. As always, these awards are not necessarily assigned to the whiskies that received the highest ratings in our reviews. The awards are recognition of a combination of excellence, innovation, tradition, and always, great-tasting whisky. Our Buying Guide reviewers reach a consensus on the awards.

The...