Brenne French Whisky 10 year old, 1 ^st Edition 48%

Matured in new Limousin oak barrels before being finished in Cognac casks

Tasted: Dec 2014

Nose: Now that’s an unusual nose! Earthy and lightly manurey with straw and violets. Quite winey with coffee, heather, gorse and a multitude of herbal notes.

Palate: Soft and densely honeyed with herbal coffee, violets and a touch of manure. Very herbal on the middle with hints of straw, sour apricot and pears soap!

Finish: Long and very heathery with hints of juniper, coriander and green pepper in the finish.

Conclusion: That’s weird but I...

Jameson Caskmates – Stout Edition, NAS, 40 % Irish whiskey giants Jameson released this new expression last year. They sent a few casks to the local craft beer brewery Franciscan Well and they used it to age their stout. The casks were returned to Midleton and then used to give a beer finish to Jameson. majbe the use of beer casks […]...

Dalwhinnie Winter’s Gold, NAS, 43 % Here’s a sweet little something for you. A relatively new release from Dalwhinnie in the Scottish Highland region. It is quite rare to see new releases from this Diageo owned distillery. Their classic Dalwhinnie 15 YO should be well known to most of you. I suppose the name of […]...

Since 1958, the James E. Pepper distillery has been shuttered and the whiskey was out of production. In 2008, the Georgetown Trading Co. relaunched the brand. A portion of the original distillery site, located in Lexington, Ky., has recently been revitalized within Lexington’s Distillery District.

Yesterday, Georgetown Trading announced that the James E. Pepper distillery will soon be brought back to life. Distilling will take place in the original James E. Pepper distillery building. According to the press release, “Thorough historical research and the collection of historic materials over the years will play an important role in rebuilding the distillery and museum.” A grand-opening for...

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”— Charles Caleb Colton

When Colton, an English cleric, wrote this in the 1820s, bourbon was barely a blip on the radar. Kentucky distillers were placing barrels on flatboats and just beginning their rise. Nobody was interested in imitating bourbon.

Nearly 200 years later though, the word “bourbon” is plastered on everything from candles to soup. Today, bourbon is an international powerhouse with signature brand flavor profiles and U.S. geographical protection.

If foreign distillers slap a “bourbon” label on their spirit, Heaven Hill’s Max Shapira, the industry’s de facto foreign bourbon seeker, will find...

A new month means our latest trio of offers, and with the weather beginning to warm up, there’s a summery feel to our choices for maj.

Malt of the Month

The Malt of the Month is Lagavulin Distillers Edition 1998 . Thiss bottling was introduced in 1997 with the 1979 vintage and is the most popular entry in Diageo’s range of cask-finished whiskies. This has been bottled at around 18 years of age after a final maturation in ex-Pedro-Ximénez sherry casks, which adds richness and freshness to the classic peaty and maritime character. We’ve knocked a tenner off and it’s...

This the Old Pulteney 1989 which recently won the World’s Best Single Malt award at the World Whiskies Awards 2016.

It has been matured in ex-bourbon barrels which previously held peated malt – this should result in a lightly smoky dram. See the Old Pulteney 1990 for some context.

Old Pulteney 1989 (46%, OB 2015, peated cask, 255 btl.)

Nose: no immediate peat at first. Instead it is a creamy nose, high on vanilla, with some apricots, roasted pineapple and oranges. Honey. Leafy notes in the background, and indeed a roasted note as well. Hints of lemon-scented wax...

Another bottling from the first batch of Claxton’s single casks: Tomatin 1994 .

Tomatin 21 yo 1994 (48%, Claxton’s 2015, refill hogshead #11247, 217 btl.)

Nose: a buttery kind of fruitiness, on garden fruits with a bit of rubbed mint. Green apples, lemons, gooseberries, sweet barley, a hint of banana too. Hints of peach yoghurt and white chocolate. A bit narrow for a 21 year-old but nice and clean. Mouth: fruity again, with a smooth and creamy texture. Honey, plum jam, peaches on syrup. Light hints of pepper and ginger. Light oak too. Finish: decent length, warming, with...

The third bottling from the Whisky Nerds is a 43 years old Invergordon 1972 (after the GlenDronach 1995 and the peaty Kavalan ), a bottling shared with Svensk Whiskyförmedling.

This is a sister cask of the Whiskybase bottling and a couple of Whiskybroker casks.

Invergordon 43 yo 1972 (49,8%, Whisky Nerds 2016, bourbon barrel #13-05, 102 btl.)

Nose: starts surprisingly bourbon-like., with a focus on the wood and wood glue, before it moves towards the more classic vanilla and creamy coconut. Very warm and rounded. Buttercups. marshmallows. Hints of mint and banana skin. Candied ginger before it returns...

I quite adore the Octomore line up from Bruichladdich. As one who considers himself as a peathead, having a unique extremely highly peated whisky line is nothing less than a blessing. I tasted and reviewed a few Octomores and I always look forward for new expressions to see what else do they have in their tricks bag.

The latest Octomore release was in late 2015; the Octomore 7.4. It’s the first time that Bruichladdich has reached the x.4 number for an Octomore release. Here’s a quick primer for you: the x.1 represents the ‘natural’ (bourbon casks) release, x.2 represents the wine finish, x.3...

Queen Margot 3 year old 40%

Tasted: Feb 2016

Nose: Full and intense with apricot, barley and hints of herbal grain. Pleasantly balanced with a touch of vanilla and toffee’d oak.

Palate: Full and soft with apricot and light honey. Relatively straightforward with the grain coming through on the middle.

Finish: Good length with the crisp grain dominating.

Conclusion: A pleasant, well balanced blend. Nothing exciting though. Has an Irish feel to it.

Glen Alba Sherry Cask Finish 22 year old 40%

Clydesdale Scotch Whisky Company for Lidl

Tasted: Feb 2016

Nose: A gorgeously honeyed nose which shows some maturity,...

The Girvan Patent Still Grain 25 year old Launch Edition 42%

Tasted: Feb 2016

Nose: Fresh, high toned and relatively young (in grain terms) there’s some nascent dried fruit and plenty of herbal/ grassy notes. With time some lightly estery banana and pineapple appear along with some creamy oak.

Palate: Fuller and weightier with the dried fruit showing a more oilier character and a light rum-like demeanor. The alcohol gives it a good piquancy.

Finish: Medium length with quite a youthful, grainy finish.

Conclusion: A pleasant if not earth shattering grain.

The Girvan Patent Still Grain No Age Statement Proof...

Puni Alba 43%

Tasted: Mar 2016

Nose: Interesting, youthful and very malty. It reminds me of a Dutch malt-wine with sweet barley, honey and a winey, sup Grappa-like note. A touch of buttery oak appears along with what feels like a little rye spice.

Palate: Crisper and edgy with more earthy rye-like notes and hints of sweet barley and youthful Grappa-like spirit. Subtly, dusty spiced with building whisky notes and a suggestion of oak.

Finish: Good length, if a little dry and subtly smoky with malt biscuits and dark rye-like notes.

Conclusion: A curious and entertaining dram. I would have...

Yellow Rose Outlaw Bourbon 46%

100% Corn aged in small oak barrels.

Tasted: Mar 2016

Nose: Young, but not spirity and very peppery with woody rye-like notes, hints of wheat flakes and green citrus fruit. Slightly herbal with a touch of burnt caramel corn and sweet oak.

Palate: Opens with soft but herbal rye-like notes, followed by fat corn and hints of dark chocolate, burnt caramel and drying wood spices.

Finish: Long and spicy with lingering corn and light herbal marc-like notes.

Conclusion: If this is what I think it is then it’s developing quite well and shows a lot...

Tormore 1995 (19 year old) 49.1%...

Craigellachie 2007 (7 year old) 66%

Sherry Butt 900771/ Tasted: Mar 2016

Nose: Intensely barley’d with baked fruit, herbs and beeswax. Slightly metallic with some faintly cardboardy spice and industrial notes. Water completely transforms it bringing out a Sauvignon blanc-esque grassy critic character.

Palate: Industrial hard barley with a touch of honey, malt and like the nose faintly cardboard spice. Unsurprisingly it’s pretty alcoholic too. Water makes it vague and more cardboard.

Finish: Very herbal and alcoholic with a touch of rose petal marc.

Conclusion: Dilution completely transforms the nose for the better; unfortunately water doesn’t produce the same transformation...

Alisa Bay 48.9%

The Lowlands distillery, which is set up to produce a number of different Speyside malt styles within the Girvan grain distillery complex in Ayrshire, was built in 2007 and has not released a single malt until now.

While the majority of Ailsa Bay’s whisky styles will be used for a variety of blends within owner William Grant & Sons’ portfolio, its peated run – that lasts for just one week per year – is reserved for the Ailsa Bay single malt.

Ailsa Bay is being positioned as the group’s ‘peated malt’, and has a stated phenol content...

Maverick Drinks Darkness Tobermory 16 year old 54.9%

Tasted: Mar 2016

Nose: Dusty, mocha laced slightly phenolic peat, brine, manure, earth and crisp barley. Pleasantly fresh and deep with tarry treacle. With time it becomes pretty stinky (in a good way that is!)

Palate: Very malty and manurey with dark treacle, vanilla and wood spice. A touch of honey and sweet barley lighten the middle and the dusty peat and salt appears. The alcohol helps emphasise the coastal intensity.

Finish: Long, salty and mouth-watering with lovely, lingering dry and sweet peat, manure and violets. The oak bitters a little at...

J.H. Original Selection Rye Whisky 46%

Tasted: Mar 2016

Nose: Raw and earthy with oily marc-like rose petal notes. Dark, toasted, slightly spicy rye emerges along with hints of vanilla cream, coffee and toffee.

Palate: Edgy and raw with prominent marc-like rose petal. Definitely not lacking in spirit character or alcohol. The dark rye notes pummel the palate. Damn! That’s intense!

Finish: Raw and mouth-watering. Quite herbal with a dry, slightly bitter ending.

Conclusion: if this is what I think it is then it’s showing a little more maturity than it did two years ago, but not much! Definitely work...

Intro A few weeks back, early mars of this year, I got to visit the Aisla Bay distillery (more on that in a few days). One great part of that visit was to attend a tasting of the Ailsa Bay whisky, and not just any tasting. Brian Kinsman, the Malt Master and William Grant & […]...