Ledaig 2005 9 YO Cask #0064, 46 % This is a single cask release from independent bottler The Vintage Malt Company. Ledaig, as I am sure most of you know, is the peated whisky made at the Tobermory Distillery on the Isle of Mull. The Ledaig 2005 9 YO Cask #0064 was matured in an unspecified […]...

W Single Maltwhisky av Fredrik Paulin, 3 YO, 50,1 % This is a whisky with quite a long name, and a slightly unusual backstory. It has been produced by the company Skånska Spritfabriken / XO Spirits AB (also a long name!), in southern Sweden. Well, actually from what I can tell the actual distillation […]...

Tasting Balblair at Dr. Jekylls, one blended malt and four single malts Just a week ago I was fortunate enough to join a Balblair tasting at Dr. Jekylls Pub in Oslo. It was distillery manager John MacDonald himself who presented the whiskies. The line-up their current range – which was very interesting: Blairmohr 8 YO […]...

Two weeks ago, the name ‘Michter’s’ was reunited with a tangible piece of that storied distillery’s past, the barrel-a-day distillery made in 1976, which since 2011 has been on the outskirts of Cleveland, Ohio making bourbon, rye, and apple brandy at the Tom’s Foolery Distillery.

“It’s more distilling capacity than I need,” says Tom Herbruck about selling the equipment to Michter’s. “This will allow us to get back to our original plan of staying very small.” Tom’s Foolery is moving soon, to a farm where they already grow grain. They will keep making whiskey and other spirits, but on a...

On september 3, Jim Beam found itself trending in social media circles for something that happened 12 years ago. The Weather Channel had posted video of the 2003 Jim Beam warehouse fire on its Facebook page that offered apocalyptic-looking, spiraling flames on a pond, with a voiceover deeming it a “ firenado .” In its post (to more than 5 million fans), the Weather Channel informed viewers that lightning struck a Beam warehouse and 800,000 gallons of the good stuff spilled into a retention pond. Weather Channel: “You have to have exactly the right conditions for something like this to happen. A...

Hosted by the Jewish Whisky Company, the inaugural Chicago Whisky Jewbilee is quickly approaching! After 4 successful, sold out whisky events in NYC, we decided it’s high time to take the show on the road to Chicago!   In fact, the event is so succesful and unique, The Spirits Business calls  Whisky Jewbilee one of  “ the world’s top 10 whisky shows! “

The Jewbilee will be held at Salvage One  on...

Region – Kentucky  – Special pick by and for Gordon’s Fine Wines– Single Barrel # 514 Rick House “T” – Floor 6, 55% ABV (multiply ABV x 2 to get “proof” – I really prefer the use of ABV, less multiplication, and more direct – come on America!!!).

A week or so ago I reviewed a single barrel pick of Russell’s Reserve by and for Warehouse Liquors in Chicago . As promised in that post, I’d be reviewing the RRSB bottle I purchased at Gordon’s Fine Wines.

Below is said review.

Spoiler alert — I really enjoyed this single barrel...

Sugar cane – where it all begins…

Continuing our efforts to tell everyone about rum, here is a very strange spirit that I really like: Clairin Sajous .

Clairin is a style native to Haiti, similar in production and character to agricole rum. That makes sense, as it’s the style most associated with France, and Haiti was a French colony before gaining independence in 1904. It’s a rough-and-ready spirit rarely seen off the island, but thankfully we’ve now got the chance to try it without flying to Haiti.

Luca Gargano, rum legend

The reason we can now try clairin in Europe is Luca Gargano of Velier,...

For our new Champagne of the Moment, we’ve chosen a rosé Champagne from arguably the region’s most-famous house, Moët & Chandon . The exact Moët we’ve gone for is the Rosé Impérial – not just the standard bottle, this special edition comes wrapped in its own chiller jacket. This not only looks snazzy, but has the added advantage of keeping the bottle cool once you’ve taken it out of the fridge – no ice bucket needed!

Moët & Chandon’s beautiful orangerie in Epernay

Founded by Claude Moët in 1743, the house initially sold its Champagnes solely within France. The first...

A lot of early 1990s Auchentoshan from independent bottlers recently. This 1992 expression was recently released by Maltbarn .

Auchentoshan 23 yo 1992 (52%, Maltbarn 2015, bourbon cask, 134 btl.)

Nose: starts grassy and neutral, with some plankish notes, but becomes rounder and more attractive after five minutes. Crushed mint leaves, grapefruit and creamy malt sweetness. Lemongrass and hints of butter milk. Pear and almonds. Paraffin notes. Mouth: immediately very zesty (grapfruit, lemon peel) and grassy, including a bitter side. Ginger and chalk. Waxy notes and herbs like juniper and tonic water. Salted liquorice. I’m missing a juicy,...

Glenmorangie Duthac is the first release in the Travel Retail Legends collection, which will be expanded over the next two years. Each expression will honour a local Highland legend – Saint Duthac is the patron of Tain, the hometown of the distillery.

At its base is bourbon barrel matured spirit, married with Pedro Ximénez finished whisky and some charred virgin oak casks (which seems to be a recurring theme in some of their latest releases). For a Glenmorangie , there was very little fuss about it – it was just there on the shelves of international airports. majbe not...

The Whisky Agency recently launched an unspecified blended malt. We have no clue about what’s inside. Given that it’s ‘extra old’, it could be something like their Blended Malt 1980 , or majbe it’s more like the Speyside Region 2001 from Archives which was composed of old leftovers mixed with younger spirit?

Anyway it’s sherry matured and it seems to be the start of a series with different volumes.

Blended Malt ‘Extra Old’ (44,7%, The Whisky Agency & The Nectar 2015, volume 1, sherry wood)

Nose: some nice fruity notes. Red berries, stewed plums, oranges, nicely sweet &...

Girvan 25 YO The Girvan Patent Still, 42 % This old grain whisky was launched by William Grant & Sons last year. The Girvan 25 YO The Girvan Patent Still has been matured in ex-bourbon American Oak casks. It has been named after the still used in its production (see here for more). You can buy the […]...

BenRiach Albariza 18 YO, 46 % BenRiach recently released the BenRiach Albariza 18 YO, a limited edition of 3886 bottles. This is a peated whisky, initially matured in American oak casks, and then given a finish in Pedro Ximénez Sherry casks. The name, Albariza, has a clear connection with the contents of the bottle. Albariza is the name […]...

Back in mars 2014 I started my Nordic Whisky review series. So far I have released 56 reviews in this series. I had planned to publish a Top 5 list when I reached 50 reviews of Nordic whisky, but I plain forgot. Here it is then, the Top 5 – Nordic Whisky based on my first […]...

Japanese whisky has seen a huge growth in recognition over the past year, partly due to Yamazaki Sherry Cask being named as 2015 World Whisky of the Year in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible . It has taken more than 90 years to come to the attention of the masses – the first whisky distillery in the country was Yamazaki , founded in 1923. One of the founders was Masataka Taketsuru, who left to set up his own company (later to become Nikka ), establishing Yoichi distillery on Hokkaido in 1934. We were delighted to welcome Nikka’s European brand ambassador, Sayumi...