Angels’ Nectar Blended Malt – First Edition, NAS, 40 % This is the first product from independent bottler Highfern, a company founded by Robert Ransom, formerly of Glenfarclas. The Angels’ Nectar Blended Malt is made from one Speyside single malt and two Highland single malts. The distilleries are not disclosed. The first edition of this whisky […]...

64.57 Tutti-frutti, limoncello…, 11 YO, 61,7 % What’s with all the limoncello at SMWS HQ? This is the third sample in my SMWS sample box which has had ‘limoncello’ as part of the name (the others are here and here). Weird! Fruity weirdness! Anyways… We have reached whisky number 9 in the sample box, and […]...

Although some of the most expensive Special Releases (Brora, Port Ellen, Clynelish) are still easily found in stores, this Dailuaine 34 Years 1980 seems to have sold quite well. It maj be a less exciting distillery but it received some raving comments. It’s the first official bottling in years.

Dailuaine 34 yo 1980 (50,9%, OB 2015, Special Releases, refill American oak, 2952 btl.)

Nose: reminded me of some 1972 Caperdonich, in a slightly less warm way. It shares the combination of fruity notes (apricots, yellow plums), waxy notes, honey and polished oak. A little vanilla and almond cream....

Glen Scotia distillery presented three new, or at least repackaged expressions last year, rather soon after the 2013 rebrand which I found to be a little ‘alcopop’ style .

Glen Scotia Victoriana is a new one, matured in bourbon barrels and then finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks as well as deep charred oak casks. Bottled at cask strength with no age statement.

Glen Scotia Victoriana (51,5%, OB 2015)

Nose: rather nice, there’s definitely a dark / toasted side to it, alongside crème brûlée and red plums. Hints of damp wood. Blackcurrant jam. A little cookie dough, caramelized...

Region – Distilled in Indiana, matured and extra matured in Utah – ABV – 46%

High West and her various sourced ryes were the first ryes I got into when I started getting serious about American spirits.

Back then, High West had some 16 & 21yo ryes which were all over store shelves and at pretty decent prices. A bit later on I discovered their Rendezvous Rye (which is a staple here at Chez Hatton), and then even further on I found a truly ballsy one: Double Rye!

David Perkins of High West is quite open about sourcing whiskey and...

This evening is one of the most important in the Scottish whisky drinking calendar: Burns Night. It’s important enough that I’ve written about it for three of the past four years here on the blog ( 2012 , 2014 , 2015 ) and if it were not for the cold I am currently suffering from, I’d be filling my face with haggis and whisky tonight.

The wild haggis in its native habitat, as captured on film by StaraBlazkova

While I normally try and recommend something that isn’t whisky to accompany your dinner, this time I’m going to leave it to you: drink...

One of the latest releases in the Archives series: Glen Grant 1990 . A joint bottling with ART Taiwan .

Glen Grant 25 yo 1990 (56,6%, Archives ‘Fishes of Samoa’ 2015, hogshead #15230, 231 btl.)

Nose: oily with lots of bourbon oak characteristics. Plenty of fruits (honeydew melon, oranges, apricots, lime, light banana) with vanilla and light solvents. Hints of green herbs and pepper. Touches of leather. Mouth: same kind of fruitiness (peach, orange, apple, grapefruit) with pepper and honey. Vanilla and malty notes – very naked really. Almonds. Becomes grassier / floral towards the end, with a...

Australian whisky is on the up. This is far from a new thing, with Sullivans Cove French Oak picking up the World’s Best Whisky award at the World Whiskies Awards in 2014 and more distilleries springing up all the time. Despite the success, it’s still difficult to find Australian drams on the shelves on the UK. However, we have had a new one arrive recently – Starward from the New World Whisky Distillery.

I first heard about the whisky a couple of years ago, and more than anything, the bottle design grabbed me. I’m a sucker for beautiful labels and Starward ticks all...

Independent bottler Wemyss Malts announced its first Single Cask releases of 2016. Six casks have been selected, ranging from 13 to 25 years old.

The full cask list of this release comprises:

• “Sizzling Charcoal” Bunnahabhain 1997 , Islay,
• “Coastal Confection” Bowmore 1996 , Islay, Cask Strength
• “The Highland Mariner Clynelish 1997 , Highlands
• “Fallen Apples” Glen Garioch 1989 , Highlands
• “Barrista’s Dram” Craigellachie 2002 , Speyside
• “Toasted Anise” Glenrothes 1996 , Speyside

There are only a few hundred bottles from each cask and the suggested retail prices range from £55 to £110. These bottlings will be available in selected retailers...

Batch 12 of the BenRiach single casks comprised nine casks bottled in juni 2015, ranging from 14 to 38 years old. Surprisingly (majbe), the oldest casks (filled in 1976, 1979, and 1985) were all peated.

We’re trying the BenRiach 1979 single cask #517 and we’ll be trying a few 1990s casks from Batch 12 in the near future.

BenRiach 35 yo 1979 (46,9%, OB 2015, bourbon barrel #517, peated, 181 btl.)

Nose: hey, this recipe works! You get the warm, tropical fruitiness of old BenRiach (mango, papaya, burnt pineapple), as well as subtle smoky notes. Creamy vanilla too...

In the last few years I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon regarding whisky releases from independent bottlers.  Once every few months, a plethora of new independent bottlings from a specific distillery and year floods the market in the form of single casks (and sometimes a vatting of two casks), and all casks numbers are within a very small and definite range.

I assume that a stock of said casks were released from bond and independent bottlers rush, select and bottle a few casks within a short time period. In the last few years we’ve seen such waves of Laphroaig 1998, Longmorn 1996, Glen Keith 1992, Tamdhu 2004 and many...

Hunter Laing & Co. has announced plans to build Islay’s first new distillery in the past ten years at Ardnahoe, near Port Askaig. The  £8m project will be carried out in two phases. First, the construction of the distillery, warehousing, and visitor center to include a café, tasting room, and shop. The second phase will encompass expansion of the distilling operations and additional warehousing. Pending approval, construction is planned to begin in maj of this year. Their stills are projected to be distilling an initial batch of Maltwhisky by the end of 2017.

Hunter Laing & Co., a family operation, has...

In oktober 2015, Finnish distillery Teerenpeli released a 10 years old single malt , a first for the country.

The distillery started in 2002 but they rely on an older group of restaurants and a beer brewery. The copper pot stills were manufactured in Scotland but they’re  working with local barley and get their water from an ancient glacier. They’ve recently increased their capacity, up to 160.000 litres of spirit per year.

The Teerenpeli 10 Years was matured in a combination of 85% bourbon and 15% sherry casks. It is available in the Finnish state liquor stores but...

Lockett Bros already impressed us with their Springbank 1993 and Arran 1996 selections, so I was keen to try this third sample of a Bunnahabhain 1991 . It comes from a sherry hogshead but the colour isn’t as dark as you maj expect – majbe it was finished?

Bunnahabhain 23 yo 1991 ‘The Island of Bass’ (49,3%, Morrison & MacKay for Lockett Bros 2015, sherry hogshead #5420)

Nose: a fresh and fruity style, with stewed apples, oranges, honey and lots of golden raisins. Hints of peaches and vanilla. Quite jammy. Creamy chocolate and soft spices as well. Mouth:...