Cadenhead keeps surprising us with casks that are unreachable for other bottlers. Here’s a Glenlivet 42 yo 1973 (they mention the old hamlet Minmore on the label).

Since this is bottled in the small batch series, it is a mix of several casks. majbe one of them was underproof and blending a higher proof brought it above 40% again?

Glenlivet – Minmore 42 yo 1973 (40,2%, Cadenhead Small Batch 2015, bourbon hogsheads, 630 btl.)

Nose: ah, 1970s polished oak! Plus a whole range of fruits: apricots, mirabelles, honeydew melon and really nice kiwi notes. Typical honey, and some...

After the summer break, many distilleries are launching new products again. As you know, I’m only publishing press releases on my WhiskyNotes Facebook page , but I think it maj be a good idea to publish one or more highlights of the week here as well, every Saturday.

Laphroaig 32 yo (46,7%, OB 2015, 5880 btl.)

After the excellent Laphroaig 15 Year Old and some exclusives like the Laphroaig 21 Year Old and a travel retail 16 Year Old , there is now the highlight of the special bottlings that celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Laphroaig . It is matured...

The Glenfarclas £511.19s.0d Family Reserve is a special released to celebrate the 150th anniversary of family ownership of the Glenfarclas distillery.

On the 8th of juni 1865, John Grant, 1st generation of the Grant family, bought the distillery for the amount of £511.19s.0d . His grandsons, John and George, later formed the company J&G Grant and to this day it remains an independent business and firmly in the hands of the family’s 5th & 6th generation.

The whisky is a vatting of predominantly first fill sherry butts . The age is undisclosed, it’s probably a mix of different vintages.

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Braunstein 11:1, 3 YO, 46 % It is about time we had another whisky from Danish distillery Braunstein here. The Braunstein 11:1 is an old expression, released in 2011 (hence the name). This whisky has been matured in Oloroso sherry casks. It was distilled in 2008 and bottled on april 1 2011, making it a […]...

Linkwood 1991 20 YO The Octave 56,5 % vs Linkwood 1997 17 YO A. D. Rattray 50,9 % Box Whisky Festival 2015 could offer other exciting whiskies beside the distillery’s own bottlings. I got the chance to compare two Linkwood. The first one was a 20 YO from the independent bottler Duncan Taylor released in their […]...

It’s that time of year again. The International Wine and Spirits Competition have run out of wine and spirits to judge and their eyes have turned to the world of drinks shops. It’s only the second year that they’ve had an award for Online Retailer of the Year, and again we are in the running for the prize.

The first step is a public vote, so if you think we deserve the award, please click on the banner below and vote for us:

The folks at the IWSC have sweetened the deal this year, and everyone who votes will be...

There’s a new exclusive bottling for the members of the Whiskybase community, a GlenDronach 1995 bottled from a Pedro Ximénez sherry puncheon.

Now that the remaining casks from the excellent 1993 vintage are officially ‘on hold’ (read: reserved for official releases), most shops seem to turn to the 1995 vintage for their bottlings.

GlenDronach 19 yo 1995 (54,2%, OB for Whiskybase 2015, PX sherry puncheon #3804, 694 btl.)

Nose: starts in a heavyweight, bloated style, not entirely my favourite, with a certain old blend character and some oxtail soup. Big toffee notes, balsamic syrup and toasted pastry. Hazelnuts...

The Irish single malt 1988 from The Nectar has a younger sister, although it could be more like a niece.

I’m not sure this 16 years old Irish single malt 1999 was produced in the same distillery. Probably not, actually. As you know indie casks are mostly sold in larger lots, and most 1999s point to Cooley .

Irish single malt 16 yo 1999 (53,5%, The Nectar of the Daily Drams 2015, joint bottling with LMdW)

Nose: a slightly greener kind of fruitiness. Plenty of citrus, especially grapefruit. Hints of lemon (blossom) and white peach. Nice banana liqueur...

Hanyu 1991 Ichiro’s Malt Jack of Clubs, 15 YO, 56,8 % The now legendary “Card Series” from Ichiro’s Malt is a series of single malt from the not closed Japanese distillery Hanyu. Ulf Buxrud has spent a lot of time and done great research to assemble the ultimate source of information on the Card Series. You […]...

Joining the Spirit of the Month ranks this september is something both old and new at the same time – Tanqueray Old Tom .

Old Tom is an old style of gin, sweeter than a London dry either by virtue of the botanical recipe or by some tweaking of the flavour with sugar after distillation. Either way, Old Toms are normally heavier and richer than a classic London Dry, and until very recently almost entirely unheard of in modern times.

The style initially rose in popularity in the 18th century and hung around until the early years of the 20th – the...

Maltbarn presented four new releases: Bunnahabhain 1987, Glen Garioch 1993, Auchentoshan 1992 and this Inchgower 1990 .

Inchgower 24 yo 1990 (51,4%, Maltbarn 2015, bourbon cask, 135 btl.)

Nose: quite bright and fruity although a bit restrained as well. Some white grapes, lime, canary melon and white peach. Gummi bears. Freshly cut grass with a few white flowers. Something of lemon yoghurt and sugared green tea. Caraway seeds. A bit uncommon but far from unpleasant. Mouth: again very bright and citrusy, with lime and pear, hints of vanilla and some floral notes. Green apples. Some oily notes and...

Kilchoman 10th Anniversary, NAS, 58,2 % Kilchoman Distillery, the young newcomer on Islay, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. To commemorate this they release the Kilchoman 10th Anniversary at the Feis Ile 2015 festival earlier this year. This is a limited edition of 3000 bottles. It is a vatting of whisky from casks filled between 2005 […]...

Just a quickie here. We subscribe to the BottleBlueBook TTB updates, mostly out of curiosity. They send out a daily update on COLAs filed with the TTB. Heh. What’s  that  mean? As some of you know, the TTB is the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau of the U.S. federal government, the descendant of the old ATF, and responsible for approval of spirits labeling, among other things, and a COLA is a Certificate/exemption Of Label/bottle Approval, the form the TTB gets from companies looking to get a new label approved. Note that the filing of a COLA doesn’t mean...