Ardbeg Dark Cove is a combination of ex-bourbon casks and “its heart” matured in dark sherry casks. The darkest Ardbeg ever, they say.

Ardbeg Dark Cove (46,5%, OB – Feis Ile 2016)

Nose: creosote and a sneaker store at first, followed by hints of burnt meat and light vanilla. Subtle rhubarb and apple. Gingery notes, nutmeg and seaweed. Hints of chocolate truffles. Iodine. Soft leather. It’s rather well-mannered. I like it, but I wouldn’t call it dark. Mouth: sweet peat up front, smoked lemons and medicinal qualities. Some peppery bite. Nice sweet – sour – salt combination. Liquorice....

Bruichladdich had three bottlings available during Feis Ile 2016 :

• Bruichladdich PHD_135 15 yo 2001
• Bruichladdich Valinch 2008 ‘Islay Grown’ Starchmill Darm
• Bruichladdich Valinch 2006 ‘Islay Grown’ Dunlossit Farm

We’re trying the last one, a cask filled with spirit distilled from Chalice barley grown on the Dunlossit Estate . Terroir whisky, from local processes.

The barley is grown in a desolate place known as the ‘headland of the the gallows’. This lonely field is a rare patch of fertility amongst the barren, rocky outcrops and peat bogs tilled continually since Neolithic times. Evidence of Islay’s earliest farmers, dated to...

Trolden Old No. 2, 3 YO, 45 % The Trolden Old No.2 is the first Nordic bourbon I have tested. This is also just the second release from Danish distillery Trolden, and the first I have tested from this distillery., Their initial release was called Trolden Nimbus, and I hope to come across it one day. […]...

No modern distillery has influenced more American brands than the current MGP Ingredients distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, which won last year’s Whisky Advocate Distillery of the Year award. They have provided whiskey to dozens of brands, ranging from Bulleit Rye to Templeton. All the while, some of the non-distiller producers (NDPs) were creating questionable marketing around the Lawrenceburg whiskey, often neglecting to include the required state-of-distillation on labels. But as indicated in our 2013 coverage , lost in the marketing backstories was master distiller Greg Metze and the whiskey.

Metze recently announced his retirement after a 38-year career at the...

This post is a little different from our usual blog entries. We want to tell you about a saving that our UK customers can make – we’re offering free standard delivery for all UK orders of £40 or more – that’s a saving of £4.95. To qualify, all you need to do is place your order by Sunday 12 juni and we’ll apply the discount when you arrive at the checkout on our website.

There are a few terms and conditions (boring, we know, but only a few) – have a quick read below, then take a look at our site...

You maj have received an e-mail from Laphroaig yesterday about the Laphroaig Cairdeas 2016 Madeira . For this year’s Feis Ile , they released a follow-up for their Cairdeas 2013 Port Wood. This time it is a Madeira edition , which I believe is a wood type this distillery never worked with before.

The remaining bottles are now being sold by ballot . If you want a bottle, you can register your interest on the Friends of Laphroaig website and they’ll draw names at random on Friday 10th juni.

Laphroaig Cairdeas 2016 Madeira was matured in American oak barrels (for around 8...

As usual, the Lagavulin Feis Ile bottling is one of the most anticipated bottlings of the festival. There have been stories about long queues but I’ve heard there are still a couple of hundred bottles available from the distillery shop as we speak.

Lagavulin 18 Year Old Feis Ile 2016 was matured in American oak refill hogsheads and European oak sherry butts. Since they don’t mention a vintage this year, it probably means there is some older whisky in there as well.

Lagavulin 18 yo ‘Bicentenary Edition’ (49,5%, OB – Feis Ile 2016, refill hogsheads & European oak...

There are several Invergordon 1972 and 1973 to choose from lately. After the 1972 for Whisky Nerds , I’ll try two 1973’s head-to-head. The first is bottled by Sansibar in its Samurai series.

Invergordon 1973 (52,2%, Sansibar 2015, Samurai label, 240 btl.)

Nose: quite mild, with the vanilla sweetness in first row, and a creamy coconut note next. Hints of white chocolate. Close to rum (some banana and plums), although with the pencil shavings and the herbal notes it also hints towards old bourbon. More grassy hints after a while. Mouth: same flavours of coconut, vanilla cream, a...

For many, Jameson is their first experience of Irish whiskey . The classic Original is the bestselling whiskey from the country (try it with ginger ale ). But this week, the brand announced it is launching The Whiskey Makers series, a new range, as well as a new look to its existing heritage whiskeys. I was lucky enough to be given a sneak preview of the newly extended family, in advance of the releases due in the summer.

The extended family: the three on the left are the new Whisky Makers series; while the heritage whiskeys have been given a new look

The Whiskey Makers...

In 1887 Alfred Barnard , the writer of The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom , said this about Lagavulin:

“From Ardbeg our route homeward lay through the beautiful village of Lagganmhouillin or Lagavulin, “the Mill in the Valley”, and no prettier or more romantic spot could have been chosen for a distillery. The make is pure Islay Malt, and is principally sold in Glasgow, England and the Colonies.  The make is held in high repute; we tasted some eight years old before starting, which was exceptionally fine.”

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the distillery, they decided to bring...