This is a Glenlivet 1974 bottled by Gordon & MacPhail as part of their Distillery Label range. It was matured in refill American oak casks & refill sherry casks (which I presume is American and European oak then).

There have been different releases at 40% and 43% throughout the years but this seems to be the latest release, which comes in the new style of bottles.

Glenlivet 1974 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail 2011)

Nose: red apples, or rather apple pie, with red fruit jam and soaked raisins. Light hints of praline and marzipan. Nice hints of furniture wax and...

Glenmorangie A Midwinter Night’s Dram started in oktober 2015 as a Sainsbury’s exclusive but was then distributed to other retailers in the UK a few weeks later. Word spread rapidly that it was a very pleasant dram, especially since it was originally available for around € 50.

This single malt features whisky drawn from select bourbon casks and Spanish Oloroso Sherry casks.

Glenmorangie ‘A Midwinter Night’s Dram’ (43%, OB 2016)

Nose: a profile that Glenmorangie masters perfectly. It’s rather light but very aromatic, sweet and candied. Vanilla with raspberries. Frosties and apricot jam. Orange peel. Plenty of...

Rittenhouse Straight Rye 100 Proof, 4 YO, 50 % The Rittenhouse Straight Rye 100 Proof is made at the Heaven Hill distillery in Kentucky, but it is stated that it is made in a classic Pennsylvania style. It has been aged for at least four years and it is bottled at 100 proof (50 % ABV). On […]...

Glenfiddich Bourbon Barrel Reserve, 14 YO, 43 % In oktober 2015 Glenfiddich released a new US exclusive whisky, the Glenfiddich Bourbon Barrel Reserve. This is a 14 YO bourbon matured whisky that has been finished for three months in new American oak barrels. Here’s a short quote from the press release: Our Malt Master, Brian Kinsman, […]...

Here’s another BenRiach from the 12th batch of single casks, bottled in juni 2015. Cask 4936 was filled in 1990 with spirit in the classic Speyside style, until being bottled after 25 years.

BenRiach 25 yo 1990 (50,4%, OB 2015, 196 btl.)

Nose: bright and fresh. Some garden fruits (pear, apricots) but rather shy, definitely not a fruit bomb. Hints of chalk and plenty of active oak. Quite some floral notes too, which makes it a rather fragrant BenRiach. Mouth: same feeling of mellow fruits (apple, grapefruit). Some barley sugars and slightly green, plankish oak. Vanilla and ginseng....

Scapa Skiren, NAS, 40 % Scapa Distillery on Orkney has led a quiet life for many years. It is now waking up from its slumber, and you can Läs mer about that and my visit to the distillery here. They recently decided to phase out their Scapa 16 YO in favour of a new NAS […]...

A lot of people have a soft spot for spiced rum , particularly at this time of year. The combination of rich rum and sweet spice works a treat, particularly served with a mixer or made into a cocktail. One of our favourites at TWE is Foursquare , which goes heavy on the spice but light – thankfully – on the vanilla.

It’s made in Barbados, in the same distillery as Doorly’s and the older rums from  St Nicholas Abbey , and is made without the addition of sugar-cane syrup, which explains its elegance and lightness of touch. This is what...

A couple of weeks ago, I was at a wonderful tasting in Germany where I could try this new Irish whiskey from the already famous batch of 1991 casks.

The label says it was selected by Master Taster F. Thomas ( remember this one? ) and bottled for Komplex Whisky in Sweden.

Ireland 24 yo 1991 (50,6%, The Whisky Agency for Komplex Whisky 2015, 157 btl.)

Nose: classic peaches, mango, pineapple and green banana. Never getting tired of this. While it’s very aromatic, it seems to have a bigger mineral side, with more waxy notes as well. A...

Have you ever wanted to own a cask of your very own, unique whisky? How would you even go about purchasing a cask, and how does it all work? Well, I wondered the same, and I wrote this article (in Norwegian) on the topic back in april 2012. A lot has happened since 2012, so I […]...

In our occasional series of Tweet-style interviews, Caroline Dewar brings us a recent discussion with Mark Reynier of Renegade Spirits , Waterford distillery, Ireland. As always, it’s 140 characters or less (we don’t count the spaces) in the answers.

Mark Reynier was previously the CEO at Bruichladdich distillery, the man who put together the investors to buy it and reawaken it from slumbers in 2000. With a team including Jim McEwan and Duncan McGillivray, they went on to launch some great whiskies and market them in their own, rather alternative fashion.

Following the sale of Bruichladdich to Remy Cointreau in...

Speyburn maj not be a well-known name, part of which probably comes down to the fact that there are so little independent bottlings. We’re trying a Speyburn 1991 (the year the distillery was acquired by Inver House) bottled by Gordon & MacPhail . It was matured in a a remade bourbon hogshead from American oak.

Speyburn 1991 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice 2015)

Nose: classic nose full of muesli, vanilla and bread dough. Lemony sourness and peaches. Pineapple candy. Grated coconut flakes. Light porridge. After a while the more fragrant side comes out: some floral hints...

The Elements of Islay are a range of whiskies from Speciality Drinks, a sister company to the known The Whisky Exchange shop, that represents different Islay distilleries. Each Islay distillery is represented with a symbol, a chemical element like code, like Lg for Lagavulin, Lp for Laphroaig and so on, and the whiskies are bottled either as single casks or as small batches (5-20 casks).

But now there’s a new addition, and it’s not representing any new Islay distillery, although I’m sure we’ll get to see Gartbreck and Ardnahoe in the future. This time it’s a blended malt (or vatted malt for old time’a...