Here’s a another one of these (Northern) Irish whiskey casks #84xx-85xx. Distilled in 1991 and based on the colour, this is probably from an ex-bourbon barrel.

Should be different from the excellent cask #8583 in the same series, but probably equally interesting.

Emerald Isle 24 yo 1991 (52,6%, Speciality Drinks 2016, cask #8507)

Nose: the unsherried counterpart of cask #8583. It’s all about the fruit salad: bananas, pineapples, passion fruits, lime. Also hints of green oak and mint. Light vanilla marshmallow. Mouth: fruit galore again. Same sherbety tropical fruits, with a bit more grapefruit now. Granadilla. It fades...

I’ve always thought the maritime Talisker character works best with a certain dryness. The sweet Amoroso sherry in the Distillers Edition rounds off its rugged character and smoothens it all out.

I tried the most recent 2016 release of Talisker Distillers Edition and decided to put it against an older sample of the Distillers Edition bottled in 2009 .

Talisker 1998 ‘Distillers Edition’ (45,8%, OB 2009, Amoroso sherry finish, TD-S: 5LX)

Nose: a fairly warm start, with nice smoke and charred wood. There’s some dark chocolate in the background and thick raisins. Red apple. Trademark peppery notes. Hints...

Auchentoshan 1999 17 YO Cadenhead Small Batch, 55,5 % Let’s try a Lowland whisky today. Let’ try the independent bottling Auchentoshan 1999 17 YO Cadenhead Small Batch. When they say ‘small batch’ at Cadenhead they do mean small batch. In this case the batch is 2 bourbon hogsheads, and a total of 498 bottles. It was bottled in […]...

By Jeffery Lindenmuth

Blade and Bow 24 year old, a very rare single barrel straight bourbon whiskey from the Stitzel-Weller distillery, most famous as the original producer of the Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve line of whiskeys, will be sold at Christie’s Auction House on december 9.

Unlike Blade and Bow 22 year old, which is a blend of whiskeys from several distilleries, the 24 year old comes only from  Stitzel-Weller and was barreled on november 22, 1991. This whiskey is notable not only as one of the final whiskeys produced at Stitzel-Weller, which closed in 1992, but also for...

By Susannah Skiver Barton

After a successful run last year, Maker’s Mark is bringing back its treat truck to six cities across the country, aiming to support programs that fight hunger and poverty. The truck offers holiday goodies in exchange for a donation to Share Our Strength , a non-profit group that aims to end child hunger in America. The partnership with Maker’s Mark will support access to programs that teach culinary education and shopping on a budget, among other services.

The truck’s menu includes spiced cider and a range of treats from Butter & Scotch bakery , such as...

The Clynelish Select Reserve “flavour-led concept” (no age statement, cask strength… and a high price) was this year applied to Cragganmore . Without an age statement or even a name, it becomes hard to refer to, but luckily there are very few releases from this distillery. I guess this will simply be known as the Cragganmore 2016 .

It was composed from three cask types : refill bourbon hogsheads, rejuvenated (recharred) bourbon and ex-bodega European oak sherry butts.

Cragganmore (55,7%, OB 2016, Special Release, 4932 btl.)

Nose: I really like this one. There’s sweet pear with apple,...

When it comes to late 1990s Clynelish , Jeroen from The Bonding Dram has a certain fame to defend, as many think his Clynelish 1997 was one of the best around (and there were a whole list of sister casks at that time).

This time he picked a Clynelish 1996 from the Signatory Vintage stocks, bottled in the Un-Chillfiltered Collection .

Clynelish 19 yo 1996 (50,9%, Signatory Vintage ‘Un-Chillfiltered’ for The Bonding Dram, Single Maltwhisky Shop & Prima Vinum 2016, hogshead #6406, 269 btl.)

Nose: classic nose, with waxy notes, (sweetened) lemon juice, lemon candy, unripe pineapples...

Edition Spirits Glengoyne 1996 (20 year old) 60.4%

Bourbon/ Code: EDI0191/ Dist: Apr 1996 Btl: Oct 2016?/ Tasted: Nov 2016

20 years old and over 60% abv? Now that’s impressive! And I have to say, so is the nose. It shows plenty of creamy oak and barley with banana, apricot and a a not too intrusive balsamic note. Intense and tight with dried grass, gooseberry, honey, green apple and cinnamon.

The palate is intense but it doesn’t seem like it’s over 60%. Barley, dried grass, apricot and vanilla oak open the proceedings an there’s not an off note or industrial...

Edition Spirits Blair Athol 1997 (19 year old) 50.7%

Sherry/ Code: EDI0188/ Dist: maj 1997 Btl: Sept 2016?/ Tasted: Oct 2016

Slightly balsamic and treacly on the nose with a lovely, balancing, tart orange note. Aromatic, sherried dried fruit follows with hints of cinnamon and ginger. Wonderfully fresh and vibrant with a touch of barley, prunes and black pepper.

The palate is rich, dark and lightly treacly with crushed berry fruit, malt and sherry spice. Again a lovely citrus note adds balance and a touch of liquorice, stewed apple and raspberry comes through on the middle. Very complex and deep...

Edition Spirits Glen Spey 1990 (25 year old) 53.9%

Bourbon/ Dark Sherry Finish

Code: EDI0184/ Dist: Oct 1990 Btl: Sept 2016?/ Tasted: Oct 2016

A lovely, light and citric nose, which is a bit odd considering it’s been finished in Dark Sherry (whatever that is?). Plenty of lemon zest, malt biscuits and vanilla along with a touch of menthol, grass and mint choc-chip cookies! Aromatic and surprisingly malty with a late hint of roasted hazelnuts, but no sherry that I can see!

Full and elegant with sweet barley, granulated sugar, grass and citrus. It does darken on the middle as...

The First Edition Glen Garioch 1993(?) (20 year old) 58.2%

Bourbon/ Code: EDI0034/ Dist: 1993(?) Btl: Feb 2014/ Tasted: Mar 2014

Dense, dark and malt aromas with treacle, dark spice and dark honey. See the theme? A lithe, refreshing citrus thread runs through it and freshens. Lovely complexity with emerging hints of herbs, earth, liquorice, sawdusty oak, slightly sweet peat and dark chocolate.

The palate is dark, malty and treacly with dark honey and spices. Extremely malty with a balancing citrus note – tangerine and lemon. Very juicy and succulent middle but its still pretty robust, malt and spicy. Good...

Douglas Laing Provenance Glentauchers 2009 (7 year old) 46%...

Edition Spirits Glencadam 1996 (19 year old) 52%...

Rock Oyster Cask Strength, NAS, 57,4 % Douglas Laing’s original Rock Oyster launched in januari 2015, and I was not overwhelmed by that particular Remarkable Regional Malt. The Rock Oyster represents the Islands region, and is made up from whisky from distilleries on the Islands of Jura, Islay, Arran and Orkney. The Rock Oyster Cask […]...

Box Whisky In Flames Selection, 5 YO, 60,8 % This single cask release from Box Whisky is a bit unusual. Anders Fridén, the singer in the rock group In Flames, is apparently a great fan of both whisky in general and of Box Whisky in particular. In augusti this year he was let loose in the warehouses […]...

Glenlivet Cipher, NAS, 48 % There’s always something (strange) going on in the marketing departments around the world, so also in the whisky industry. Back in 2013 Glenlivet released a whisky called Alpha, with no tasting notes, no cask details and an opaque black bottle. Now they are at it again. You see the Glenlivet Cipher is […]...

Braes of Glenlivet 1989 23 YO cask #689015, 54,9 % The name Braes of Glenlivet is the old name for Braeval Distillery. The Braes of Glenlivet 1989 23 YO cask #689015 was released by Speciality Drinks Ltd, the company behind The Whisky Exchange. Braeval Distillery is owned by Chivas brothers (Pernod Ricrad), and was established as recently […]...