I hadn’t tried official Port Ellen releases since the 12th release in 2012, simply because I couldn’t find a sample, let alone afford a bottle. I’ve tried few independent Port Ellen expressions the last few years for that matter – it is now a truly rare whisky.

Now I had the chance to try the 2016 release . It is 37 years old.

Port Ellen 37 yo 1978 ‘16th release’ (55,2%, OB 2016, 2940 btl.)

Nose: starts earthy and coastal, on fishing nets, damp canvas, a bit of shoe polish. Lots of leathery notes as well. Waxed papers. Thinking about...

Some time ago, I received three samples of Golden Grain whiskies bottled in the Cooper’s Choice range. Two had been bottled before, the third was a cask sample. I was asked to give my opinion, and in the meantime it has been bottled for True-Whisky in Berlin, Germany.

They are blended grain whiskies , all blended at birth . It is a rare practice, supposedly started by Joseph Hobbs in the late 1950s. He owned the Lochside and Ben Nevis distilleries, where he produced malt and grain whisky. Both were used for blended whiskies like Sandy Macnab , and Hobbs...

I quickly tried this Glen Spey 1978 when it came out, thought it wasn’t good enough to buy , and tried it again – in better conditions – at the final Fulldram tasting some time ago.

That’s right, the renowned whisky club from Leuven has put an end to its whisky tastings. After eleven years they thought it was getting too hard to stick to their standards of the highest quality whisky, at least within reasonable membership prices. After all they started in a climate of Brora 30, Glen Garioch 1968, Ardbeg 1967, Springbank Local Barley 1966, Macallan 1965, Ben...

Another bottling from the latest batch of Wemyss single cask expressions: Bunnahabhain 2001 from a huge sherry puncheon .

Bunnahabhain 14 yo 2001 ‘Hickory Molasses Glaze’ (46%, Wemyss Malts 2016, sherry puncheon, 771 btl.)

Nose: rich and sherried, with plenty of tobacco notes at first. Some heather honey and roasted nuts. Bitter oranges. Candied figs. Hints of barbecue glaze and smoking hickory indeed. Wet leaves. Overall nice aromas but rather sharp and winey, with some vinegary touches as well. Mouth: same ballpark. Seville oranges, milk chocolate, sour plums and light brine. Burnt notes in the background. Pepper and...

Glenturret Peated Edition, NAS, 43 % I believe this is my first ever review of a whisky from Glenturret distillery; guest blogger Tone reviewed the Glenturret 10 YO a while back. So, the Glenturret Peated Edition is a relatively new addition to the core range of this small highland distillery (production 340 000 litres per […]...

Old Potrero Hotaling’s 16 Year Old Single Malt Rye Whiskey

Release: november 2016 Price: $165 Proof: 100 Availability: 200 bottles Style: Single malt rye

Need to know:  This very limited release comes from a single-barrel, a once-used charred fine-grain American oak barrel, that was filled with 100 percent rye whiskey. The name Hotaling’s commemorates the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire in which the A.P. Hotaling and Co.’s whiskey warehouse miraculously survived.

Whisky Advocate says:  Anchor has been at the forefront of craft whiskey since 1994. If you’re unable to access, or afford, this special release, look for the flagship...

Things that’ve impressed the hell out of me this year?

Almost nothing.

2016 has be a crap year with too many good people dying and various tragedies that there just doesn’t seem to be an end to (take your pick).

Thankfully, there is whisky.

This single cask of Fukano Japanese whisky (distilled from rice), however, impressed the hell out of me.

Region – Japan – ABV – 41.8% (natural cask strength)

On the nose — Say what?! Nose this blindly and I would have guessed/assumed this was a 20+ year old Willett Rye.

Wonderful oak framing with a spiciness...

I’ll be honest – it took me a while to get into gin . My spirits education began with dark, not white spirits, and it was only a few years ago that I learned to appreciate a refreshing G&T. But now I’m also a huge fan of sloe gin . If you’ve never tried it, it’s rich, warming and fruity – a delicious winter drink that keeps out the cold but is not heavy or cloying. It works in summer, too, with a splash of ice or tonic, but the mercury is falling in thermometers all over the UK right...

The Masterpieces are a special series from The Whisky Exchange with bottlings that are personally selected by the owner Sukhinder Singh. It is meant to represent the pinnacle of excellence.

This year’s release was a sherry matured Laphroaig 1996 .

Laphroaig 20 yo 1996 (50,6%, The Whisky Exchange ‘Masterpieces’ 2016, PX cask, 516 btl.)

Nose: huge sherry, really huge. It’s full of red berries, forest fruits jam, cherries in syrup, candied oranges and rum & raisins.  Nicely juicy, with a dry layer behind it, more on chocolate, charcoal and tarry ropes than on actual peat smoke. Just a...

Friday 16 september 2016 – our third and last day on Islay. How could this day possibly be as good as day 1 and day 2? Well, Rachel (Wild and Magic Islay) sure knew how to spoil us with some lovely distillery visits this day as well. As the day before she picked us up after […]...