Peat has always been a divisive subject among whisky drinkers. For every individual who craves that salty, smoky hit that peaty whisky provides, there’ll be another who shies away and heads for a gentler, fruitier dram. Well, peat haters should look away now, as this post is all about the latest release from Speciality Drinks’ Elements of Islay range: Peat .

The latest addition to the Elements of Islay range: Peat

We first wrote about Peat here , so without covering too much of the same ground, Peat is the first ongoing release in the Elements range and is a...

In the latest releases from Maltbarn (which are still on their way to stores, if I’m not mistaken), we found this Irish single malt 2001 . I’ve yet to find a bad whisky among these independent Irish malts.

Irish single malt 14 yo 2001 (48,3%, Maltbarn 2016, bourbon cask, 167 btl.)

Nose: a green fruitiness, lots of green lemon, grapefruit, green banana. Unripe pineapple. majbe Honeydew melon. Then some caraway and light mineral touches. A light grassy side as well. Mouth: sweet and even more fruity now. White gummi bears, lemon candy, freshly cut Granny Smith, and light...

Garrison Brothers is the first legal whiskey distillery in Texas, founded in 2005. Their Texas Straight Boubon is highly rated by Jim Murray in his Whisky Bible, this Lone Star state whisky is produced in Hye.

It’s a bourbon of little over 3 years old , with a mashbill of about 75% Texas corn , with malted two-row barley from the Pacific Northwest and Canada and winter wheat grown in their own estate. It’s supposed to age fast in the warm Texas climate. They’ve had some problems with bursting barrels in the first few runs, which made them experiment with...

For seven year in a row with no end in sight, Glenmorangie presents us a new expression in the Private Edition series. 2016 brought us Glenmorangie Milsean (pronounced “mill-shun”) which means “Sweet Things” in Gaelic.

So it marks the returning to the previous theme of special cask finishes after the detour of Tùsail last year which focused on different barley. It was finished for 2.5 years in toasted ex-Portuguese red wine barriques (154 of those) and should bring out a candies shop feeling. If you want to learn more on this whisky, head up to the excellent and very detailed  blog post...

Haven’t tasted lately too many Mortlachs and it’s sad as most Mortlachs I tasted were very good and tasty (new official lineup notwithstanding), so it’s time for a new Mortlach review on the blog and today: a 1996 vintage Mortlach from a bottle share we did locally here. This bottle got me curious as I’m more used to ex-sherry Mortlachs, while this one was aged in an ex-bourbon cask.

It’s a 19 year old single cask Mortlach, bottled under the Cooper’s choice brand, a sibling to Finlaggan and Ileach brands from Vintage Maltwhisky Co. bottled at 53.5%, non chill filtered and not colored....

Gordon & MacPhails Collection Glen Scotia 1991 (15 year old) 43%...

Gordon & MacPhails Distillery Label Miltonduff 10 year old 40%...

Gordon & MacPhails Connoisseurs Choice Inchgower 1993 (17 year old) 46%...

Platte...

Karlssons Gold Vodka 40%...

Edition Spirits Benriach 1989(?) 26 year old 56.1%

Bourbon/ Code: EDI0120/ Dist: 1989(?) Btl: Nov 2015(?)/ Tasted: Dec 2015

Dusty and mature, malty and herbal aromas with some almost rye-like herbal spices. The malt is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Hints of balsamic berry fruit, sweet liquorice follow with an almost wheaty note. If I had nosed this blind I would have sworn it was made from some kind of multi-grain mash bill.

The palate is more classic, mature Benriach with the emphasis on the barley and dusty oak. Subtly malty with baked fruit and a...

Edition Spirits Highland Park 1997(?) 18 year old 56.7%

Bourbon/ Code: EDI0119/ Dist: 1997(?) Btl: Nov 2015(?)/ Tasted: Dec 2015

A superb nose of dusty peat, sweet barley and malt with a touch of balsamic baked apple, pomegranate and juicy vanilla. Lovely depth and complexity with a judicious sprinkling of duty spice.

The palate opens with sweet barley and toffee with some lightly bittering wood spice adding a counterpoint. Gently sooty peat on the middle but the oak is beginning to dominate. Intensely alcoholic and citric finish, which halts the oak and allows the lovely earthy peat, sweet peat and...

Intro On mars 9 this year I was in Glasgow, Scotland, attending a very special Kininvie tasting hosted by Kevin Abrook.  Kevin works as a Global Whisky Specialist – Innovation at William Grant & Sons, and has more than 20 years experience in the drinks industry. William Grant & Sons is an independent family-owned distiller and was founded […]...

It’s Valentine’s Day, 1990.  Dick Stoll, last master distiller at Michter’s distillery near Schaefferstown, Pa., protege of C. Everett Beam, and distiller of the now-vaunted A.H. Hirsch bourbon, receives a call from the bank that holds the note to the once-proud property. After years of mismanagement and financial impropriety under multiple owners, he is told to lock the doors for the last time…it’s over, for good. On that cold februari day, Dick Stoll is the last man standing at the last distillery in Pennsylvania. He is 57 years old.

With a family to provide for and not a lot to...

I’ve had a fascination with aquavit for a long time. Admittedly, I’m a fan of caraway-flavoured spirits in general, as explored in my kummel post. Last month I took a trip to Norway to visit Arcus Gruppen’s distillery near Oslo to see how Linie is produced.

Aquavit (also spelled ‘akvavit’) is a flavoured spirit produced throughout Scandinavia, with a small amount made in Germany, too. To be called aquavit under EU law, it must have a minimum strength of 37.5% abv and the predominant spice must be either caraway or dill, in a similar way that juniper must be the main...

A 2015 addition to the Deanston range, this expression has been matured for 18 years in ex-bourbon casks , including a finishing period in first fill Kentucky bourbon casks.

Deanston – one of the strangest looking distilleries I know (a former cotton mill) – was purchased by current owners Burn Stewart Distillers in 1990, after it had ceased production in 1982 for over eight years. This is production of the early years.

Deanston 18 Year Old (46,3%, OB +/- 2016, first-fill bourbon cask finish)

Nose: starts a bit musty, ponderous and even slightly sulphury. Then sunflower oil, sweet...

In a couple of days, Joel Harrison and Neil Ridley (of Caskstrength.net fame) will be presenting their latest project: Exile Casks . They’re in the role of ‘cask detectives’, hunting down forgotten casks, destined for blends that no longer exist, set aside for customers that went out of business, or simply fallen off stock records.

They are now “liberating” them as single cask releases at cask strength , in 50 cl bottles. Coupled to direct distribution (bottles are only sold online), smaller bottles allow them to keep the prices low.

The first release is named The Trojan ,...

Highland Park Ice Edition is a brand-new limited edition of Orkney’s distillery. It is aged for 17 years , mostly in rebuilt first-fill bourbon casks that had been fitted with virgin American oak cask ends.

This release follows on from the Valhalla collection and honours another Norse myth: the Ice Realm of Niflheim. A Highland Park Fire edition is coming up in 2017 and I don’t think the Norse theme is about to end soon.

Although some will say it’s overpackaged, I have to say the bottle looks quite spectacular. It comes in a wooden cradle which resembles a...