Whisky bottles were standardised at 70cl across Europe back in 1990, and ever since then our North American cousins (and our chums down in South Africa) have been pointing at the extra couple of shots their 75cl bottles get them. For september, we’re firing a shot across their collective bow, with our Malt of the Month deal saving you money on litre bottles of Glenfarclas 12 Year Old – that’s a whole extra five drams than you’ll get from a 75cl bottle. Take that, America!

GLENFARCLAS 12 YEAR OLD. 1 LITRE. £37.95 throughout september

Producer’s Notes

Nose : Fresh and beautifully light,...

With the recent boom of Japanese whisky and the direct connection of Bowmore with Japan (they are owned by Beam Suntory), we now welcome a new Bowmore Mizunara Cask finish .

Mizunara oak only grows in specific parts of Asia and although it grows slowly and it is a little difficult to work with, Mizunara casks have always been used in Japanese whisky production to induce some unique aromas. Suntory only produces around 100 casks per year and this is the first time an Islay whisky is finished in these casks (which are probably refill Yamazaki casks).

Bowmore Mizunara...

Glenlivet 1974 (bottled 2011) Gordon & MacPhail, 43 % The independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail has released a lot of whiskies from Glenlivet distillery, many of which have been bottled at 40 % or 43 %. This Glenlivet was distilled in 1974 and bottled in 2011. It is a part of the bottling series George & J.G. Smith’s. It is […]...

RoughStock Montana Spring Wheat Whiskey, NAS, 45 % Back in 2005, when distiller Bryan Schultz founded RoughStock Distillery, this was the first legal distillery in Montana in over 100 years. That is always a nice starting point when you want to tell the story of your distillery. RoughStock Distillery is located near Bozeman, and is today joined […]...

Karuizawa has earned the title of the most expensive 700 ml bottle of whisky ever auctioned. Bonhams, Hong Kong set the record with a hammer price of HK$750,000 ($96,774) for the Karuizawa 1960 52 year old ‘The Cockerel’ 51.8%, on augusti 28 ^th 2015. The record hammer price represents an appreciation of greater than 500% over the original retail price of £12,500.

Japan took the honor from a single malt Scotch whisky. Bowmore held the 700 ml record for 680 days following the charity sale of the Bowmore 1964 48 Years Old. Christie’s sold that one-off Bowmore for £61,000 in...

Region – Kentucky  – Special pick by Gene at Warehouse Liquors – Single Barrel # 922 Rick House “N” – Floor 5-3-3, 55% ABV (multiply ABV x 2 to get “proof” – I really prefer the use of ABV, less multiplication, and more direct – come on America!!!).

Number of bottles ??  Cost: $55

I bought this bottle on the suggestion of Warehouse Liquors store proprietor, Gene.  If you’re ever in Chicago, Warehouse Liquors is a sight for sore whisk(e)y eyes. Like Binny’s, Kenwood, Antioch (and many others… the list could go on, really), Warehouse Liquors is a whisk(e)y destination...

We spend a large amount of time at The Whisky Exchange looking for great whisky. While this sometimes appears as obscure old bottles and hard-to-find things from overseas , we also work closely with distilleries to snap up exclusive bottlings. We’ve convinced the folks at BenRiach Distillers to let us have another pair of single casks – one from BenRiach and one from Glendronach .

The BenRiach warehouses are a treasure trove of casks

BenRiach is known for its experimentation. Even before the current owners bought the distillery in 2004, BenRiach was playing with triple distillation, and since the takeover they have continued,...

Any shopkeeper will tell you a lot of people are anxiously waiting for new independent Irish whiskey , especially these (officially undisclosed) Bushmills casks that seem to have been brought to the market by the Teeling brothers. This is a brand-new one, already sold out in most places.

Irish single malt 27 yo 1988 (49,5%, The Nectar of the Daily Drams 2015, joint bottling with LMdW)

Nose: another generously exotic nose (guava, tinned pineapple, kiwi, passion fruits). Rather warm and honeyed, majbe a little less of the acidity that you find in other examples, but more redcurrant jam...

It seems the latest batch of Whisky Agency releases passed by with a little less fuss than we’ve come to expect. They’ve been on the market for a while, but I’ve only been able to try two or three. Here’s the Auchentoshan 1994 from the Circus series .

Auchentoshan 21 yo 1994 (54,8%, The Whisky Agency 2015, refill hogshead, 216 btl.)

Nose: rather naked, with some nice fruity notes (unripe pineapple, green banana, greengages) and light grassy notes. Slightly less common notes of menthol. Some flinty hints, as well as some waxy lipstick notes. Nice and simple. After...

Mackmyra Svensk Ek, NAS, 46,1 % The product Mackmyra Svensk Ek (Swedish Oak) is surrounded with a bit of controversy. This is in fact a re-launch of the previous product Mackmyra Första Utgåvan (The First Edition), although the composition of the whisky has also been slighty adjusted (so not simply a name change). The controversy […]...

We see more and more of the “store bottlings” coming up. Liquor stores are taking the time and making the investment to go to distilleries and select a single barrel to be bottled and labeled for sale at their store only; bars are starting to do it as well. We thought you might be interested in just how that happens, and when I was contacted about such a selection, it seemed like a good time to do that.

I got an email from Nick Taylor, who runs the scotch and whiskey department for Gordon’s Fine Wines & Liquors in Massachusetts (they have...

The Whisky Mercenary selected his newest bottling from the Gordon & MacPhail stocks. Twenty years old indie Highland Park . We’re not complaining!

Highland Park 20 yo 1995 (50%, Gordon & MacPhail Exclusive for The Whisky Mercenary 2015, refill bourbon hogshead #1485, 325 btl.)

Nose: sweet heather honey and zesty notes at the same time. Green apple, white peach and lemon candy. Slightly youngish banana and pear. Subtle coconut notes and a touch of mint / menthol. Very soft peat smoke and limestone. A rather summery version of Highland Park, thanks to the bourbon oak. Mouth: rich and...

A total of 45 whiskies are released in the Vinmonopolet monopoly stores on Friday september 4. In the list below we have linked to our reviews for the ones we have already tested. Very interesting this month are the Arran 18 YO, Bruichladdich Octomore7.1, Miltonduff, Knob Creek Rye, and the Scallywag Cask Strength. Amrut 2009 Single […]...

Enough old treasures for a while. This week we’ll focus on more mundane new releases.

Elements of Islay Lp6 is a first-fill matured Laphroaig , the latest in the Elements of Islay series from The Whisky Exchange.

Laphroaig Lp6 (51,3%, Elements of Islay 2015, 50 cl)

Nose: classic Laphroaig elements (profound smoke, dried kelp, iodine, eucalyptus) but also elegantly mixed with honey and vanilla. Nice hints of aromatic Szechuan pepper. Some peaches. A relatively mild nose. Mouth: again some tarry smoke but also plenty of rounder notes. Vanilla syrup, hints of roasted pineapple. Hints of black olives and Mediterranean...

Hunter Laing Sovereign Grain Dumbarton 1964 (50 year old) 49.1%

Bourbon/ Code: SOV2058/ Dist: Dec 1964 Btl: maj 2015/ Tasted: Jun 2015

Quite a dark nose of treacle, mature wood spice and fudge. Dark, almost rum-like prune, date and raisin with a lovely, pure, creamy, lightly perfumed vanilla oak note adding lightness to the shade, so to speak. Subtle but luscious honey emerges along with a touch of sweet orange and spice.

The palate is dark and sweet. Molasses and treacle mingle with dried prune raisin and hints of almond. Some grippy grain and the alcohol add freshness as the...

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Tormore 1988 (26 year old) 50%...