This Amrut 2009 was matured in a bourbon cask and bottled as a single cask in 2015, specifically for Whiskybase.com. Amrut has bottled similar single casks in the past, most filled in 2009, matured in different wood types.

Amrut 6 yo 2009 (62,8%, OB for Whiskybase 2015, ex-bourbon cask #3434, 150 btl.)

Nose: the nose is quite intense and smells more like other drinks than like whisky. I get some Brandy de Jerez (which is a Spanish brandy matured in sherry casks) as well as rummy notes. Stewed figs and red apples, some banoffee, guava and a generous...

While the actual Lindores Whisky Fest is still going on as we speak, we already had a great night on Friday. As this will be the last edition, we also attended the final Lindores festival tasting, which featured the Lindores festival bottlings of the past couple of years.

Although I had tasted them all before, I’d like to add quick notes for the ones that didn’t make it onto the site yet:

• Clynelish 16 yo 1996 (52,3%, The Whiskyman for LWS 2012, refill bourbon hogshead, 239 btl.) A clean expression with a big focus on waxy notes and...

After two peated whiskies that were matured in sherry casks, the third whisky from Gordon and Macphail “The Wood Makes the Whisky” campaign is a straightforward ex-bourbon matured whisky from Speyburn distillery.

We’re not used to see many Speyburn indie bottlings out there. In fact, there aren’t many official bottlings, but G&M have longtime relationships and connections with various distilleries and whisky producers and so they stocked a few casks from Speyburn, released under the “Connoisseurs Choice” brand. The latest one, which was part of the package is a 1991 vintage but we don’t know when was it bottled so...

As I promised earlier this month in the Laphroaig 32 year old review , here’s the Laphroaig 21 Year Old review. The Laphroaig 21 is a Friends of Laphroaig (FoL) exclusive, that was distilled during 1993 and bottled earlier this year after spending all this time in 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrels.

This combination means we can expect a matured (and perhaps a bit muted) peat profile with huge fruity side.

Laphroaig 21 (48.4%, 350 ml,  £99  for FoL members)

Nose : Oh it’s indeed very sweet. whiff of vanilla and honey at first with some lemon. There’s sweet peat smoke with hints of medical notes. Slowly the...

AnCnoc 22 YO, 46 % The AnCnoc 22 YO from Knockdhu Distillery is a relatively new release. It was released earlier this year, and came to market in Sweden in juni 2015. It has been matured in a mix of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, with a slight majority on the sherry casks. We should therefore […]...

GlenDronach 2003 12 YO – Norsk whiskyforbund Cask 1, 55,9 % First of all a disclaimer is in order for this review. This whisky is the first whicky selected by and for the Federation of Norwegian Whisky Societies (Norsk whiskyforbund). Up until three weeks ago, I was on the board of this federation. One of […]...

Demand for Maker’s Mark continues to grow strongly, and the distillery has been trying to catch up with it. A second set of stills, a new artificial lake for secure water supply, new warehouses: it’s been busy outside of Loretto for the past ten years.

It’s not slowing down. Last week, spirit started flowing from a third set of stills at Maker’s. Like the previous expansion, this set is, as much as possible, identical to the originals, a mirror image. The three stills sit side-by-side-by-side to minimize any differences from siting.

Three sets of coppers and pipes; no mirrors used....

Frapin is one of the most highly rated houses in the Cognac region, with a range of elegant, classy bottlings that reflect the Grande Champagne terroir where its vineyards are based. I met up with cellar master Patrice Piveteau who was in the UK to launch the latest Multimillésime bottling from Cognac Frapin – No.6 , a blend of eaux-de-vie from 1986, 1988 and 1991.

Patrice Piveteau, cellar master at Cognac Frapin

‘We have 240 hectares of vineyards, all in Grande Champagne. We control everything and we start from the beginning ’

‘ We distil on the lees – the idea...

The luxurious world of Cognac was centre stage at TWE Vinopolis this week, with Martell pouring five of their best bottles. The youngest we tried was aged for between 10 and 25 years ( Cordon Bleu ), which gives a good idea of the quality on show. Our host was Martell Cognac brand ambassador Matthias Lataille who ended with an incredibly rare bottling, and got extra brownie points by serving up some delicious macarons, too…

In Their Own Words – Matthias Lataille

‘Eighty per cent of Cognac is produced by the big four Cognac houses [ Courvoisier , Hennessy ,...

Saturday 28th november 2015 is the last edition (really?) of the legendary Lindores Whisky Fest . Legendary because there is probably no other festival in the world that focuses entirely on old, hard-to-find whiskies (and mussels and shrimp croquettes). Italian collectors like Giovanni Giuliani, Diego Sandrin or Max Righi are presenting their bottles, as well as Angus MacRaild, the Lindores members themselves of course and a couple of others.

On Friday 27th there is also a Lindores Festival Bottling tasting. All six bottlings for the Lindores Club and Festival are included in this tasting, including the ultra-limited Port Ellen 1979...

The label of this brand-new Eiling Lim release tells us it’s “artisan blended malt whisky, older than old and 100% premium quality”. Very honest and clever: pretty much the same level of information we get from distillery releases these days, hehe.

We’ve heard some of the contents goes back to the 1970s but remember, officially we can only tell you the youngest component is from the 1990s.

Blended Malt ‘older than old’ (46,5%, Eiling Lim 2015, not so many bottles)

Nose: aromatic sherry up front. Fruity (oranges, apricots, plums) with light savoury touches and a pleasant acidity. A...

The Lagavulin 12 Year Old is one of Diageo’s Special Releases that lots of people are looking out for. It’s widely available, for a reasonable price, and it tends to get (ridiculously) high marks.

Lagavulin 12 yo (56,8%, OB 2015, 15th release)

Nose: apparently warmer and sweeter than previous years, but not much. Sweet lemon and pear. Deep sooty notes as well, youngish peat, medicinal notes and hints of leather. Menthol. Bonfire on the beach. Hints of hot chilli after a while. Mouth: big smoke and burnt wood, rather acrid at first but slowly becoming sweeter and fresher...

I’ve been contemplating writing a post on holidays whisky purchases and to be precise, a festive yet striking gold on the value for money scale whisky. When I started looking around for options I encountered the list of the new offers from Glendronach Batch 12 and the rising prices of said offers from a batch to a batch. So I thought to myself: if only the Glendronach 15yo was still available as it’s a perfect fit to my criteria – sherried, festive, complex for its age, rocking VFM.

Why did I think it’s not available? Because last summer it was announced...

The next sample from Gordon & Macphail ‘The wood makes the whisky’ is Ardmore 1996. The sample didn’t have bottling date so we do not know the exact age, but if we go by the assumption it’s the latest release, then it was most likely bottled in 2013 so the age statement is 16yo, just double the age of the Bunna I reviewed on Thursday.

The companion book of the campaign

The Ardmore was matured in Sherry Refill Hogsheads while the Bunnahabhain was matured in Refill Sherry Butts, so we have much more wood contact with the spirit and it spent double...

Stauning Traditional 1st Edition, 3 YO, 63,3 % Today I start my review run on the unpeated ‘Traditional’ expressions from Danish distillery Stauning. The Stauning Traditional 1st Edition. This was a limited release of 728 bottles, bottled at a cask strength of 63.3 % ABV. The whisky has been matured exclusively in first fill ex-bourbon […]...

Winchester Bourbon Whiskey, 6 months, 45 % Time to boldly go where I have rarely gone before. A few days back I tested my first ever whisky produced using the TerrePURE process – accelerated maturation through chemistry rather than using just plain old oak barrels. I have now tried the Winchester Bourbon Whiskey. According to […]...