This is Batch 4 of the GlenDronach Cask Strength, matured in Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry casks. Shops keep selling this as a ‘sherry bomb’ but based on the colour, we expect a slightly lighter, fruitier dram.

GlenDronach Cask Strength (54,7%, OB 2015, Batch #4, 17.806 btl.)

Nose: more stewed fruits than dried fruits. Fig compote, honey and yellow raisins. Cinnamon pastry, peppery oak and a hint of herbal tea. Apricots. Roasted nuts. A slightly lighter, but very juicy version of GlenDronach’s sherry character. Mouth: spicy attack (ginger / pepper combo) followed by apricots and prunes. Sultanas and...

Scotch Maltwhisky Society 127.1 Harbourside Barbecue 8 year old 66.5%

Bourbon/ Dist: 2002 Btl: 2010/ Tasted: juli 2010

Nose: An intense, fishy and coastal nose with sweet peat, prickly alcohol, hints of coffee and juicy orange fruit. There is some bog myrtle beneath. Water emphasises the oils, the camphor/ eucalyptus and majbe boosts the peat aromas a tad.

Palate: The palate is oily and alcoholic but with water becomes a touch sweeter and fuller with some gentle earthy-peat showing.

Finish: Good length with an oily-peat finish but with water it becomes a bit too confected – sugar sprinkled peat...

We thought it would be fun to compare a bottle of Ballantine’s Finest produced this year, with one that was bottled in the early 1970s. Will there be much difference in the character and profile of the whisky? Will we detect any old bottle effect (OBE) – ‘maturation’ in the bottle? Both bottles were opened for […]...

Spirit of Hven Sankt Ibb, 3 YO, 51,4 % Today we present a single cask release from Spirit of Hven Backafallsbyn in Sweden. The Spirit of Hven Sankt Ibb was released on juni 5, 2014, and sold out immediately. The whisky was distilled in 2011, bottled in 2014, and the total outturn was 273 bottles. […]...

Highland Park 12 YO (bottled early 1980s), 43 % I am lucky to have friends who love to buy exciting whiskies. I am really looking forward to tasting this 12 YO Highland Park bottled in the early 1980s. A couple of weeks ago I gave you my tasting notes on the Highland Park 10 YO and the current 12 YO from […]...

Diageo’s Johnnie Walker line will see the debut of a new series of limited bottlings, the Johnnie Walker Select Casks , different wood-finished whiskies (the number of releases is unknown at this time). The first will be a Rye Cask Finish , released in september in U.S. markets. Diageo North America marketing director for Scotch whisky Brian Cox was quoted about the new series in Shanken News Daily, saying, “We’re considering Select Casks as an annual limited edition.”

The whisky grew out of Johnnie Walker master blender Jim Beveridge’s ongoing experimentation with the Johnnie Walker blends. The Rye Cask Finish...

Over the past few years we’ve been working closely with some of the world’s best independent bottlers to release whiskies exclusive to The Whisky Exchange. We’ve produced a range of great bottlings , but we’ve returned to one producer more than the rest – Signatory Vintage.

Casks and casks and casks and casks and…

Andrew Symington and his team have an incredible range of casks in their warehouses at Edradour, and despite having seen inside a few years ago , I’m still impressed by the whiskies that they’ve given us the opportunity to have as exclusives.

This time we have...

Hibiki Harmony includes whiskies from Yamazaki (left) and Hakushu (right) distilleries

Japanese whisky is enjoying its moment in the sun, but its new-found popularity is putting a strain on stock levels, and as such, non-age-statement whiskies are the inevitable consequence. Hibiki ’s answer is Harmony , a blend of more than 10 malt and grain whiskies.

The whiskies are from Suntory’s Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries, and also the Chita grain distillery, which acts as the dashi (‘broth’) of the blend, says the company. A number of different types of cask are used, too, including mizunara, American white oak and sherry...

Gin has seen a remarkable rise over the past few years, with new brands appearing almost every week. One of the first was No.3 Gin , introduced by historic wine and spirit merchant (and independent bottler) Berry Bros & Rudd in 2010.

Each bottle of No.3 Gin was originally wrapped in retro-map tissue paper, showing the brand’s spiritual home – No.3 St James’s Street in London.

Berrys’ found the perfect producer for its gin in De Kuyper , both being family-owned firms founded in the 1690s. The respected liqueur specialist is situated in the Dutch gin capital of Schiedam (also home to...

It has taken a while but now the Elements of Islay series finally includes an Octomore Oc1 , the highly peated spirit distilled at Bruichladdich . In fact this is one of the first independent Octomore releases ever.

Octomore Oc1 (65,4%, Elements of Islay 2015, 50 cl)

Nose: quite compact and dense, with initial aromas of eucalyptus and medicinal notes of antiseptics and iodine. Then some sour apples, becoming sweeter with hints of peach. Lots of mineral notes, some sourdough as well. Mouth: really heavy peat. I’ve had Octomores that were surprisingly soft but this one is rather...

Bushmills 21 Year Old is matured in Oloroso sherry casks and bourbon casks. After that it’s finished for two years in Madeira casks . This is the top of Bushmills’ core range.

Bushmills 21 yo (40%, OB +/- 2014)

Nose: a nice, warm fruitiness of banana, fresh figs, mango and tangerine. Floral honey. Quite thick, with creamy white chocolate and some vanilla latte. Subtle grassy notes. Mouth: classic Irish fruitiness, think banana, guava and bright hints of passion fruits. Also a sweet metallic note. Fresh and juicy. Gets warmer (almond paste) and drier towards the end, with coconut...

The latest release from Eiling Lim is an Auchentoshan 1992 . In general I don’t get excited when I see this distillery, but this one turned out a bit different.

Auchentoshan 23 yo 1992 (45,7%, Eiling Lim 2015, 132 btl.)

Nose: a light, flowery and rather ethereal nose. Blossoms in spring, nectarine, unripe apricots, green banana and light tropical fruits. Hints of bubble gum and jawbreakers. Very fresh, with some menthol and quite a lot of waxy notes (lipstick). A bit of vanilla. Mouth: starts fruity and sweet, with lots of unripe fruits again. White nectarine, oranges, melon....

Stratheden Classic Selection, NAS, 43 % Here it is then, the sixth and final release in The Lost Distillery Company‘s new entry level range, the Classic Selection. Stratheden is the Lowland whisky from the company. It was located in Auchtermuchty (love that name!), was opened for production in 1829 and closed down in 1926. We […]...

Nikka Pure Malt White, NAS, 43 % Nikka Pure Malt White is a blended malt from Nikka Whisky with the subtitle “Peaty & Salty”. Nikka has released both Pure Malt Black, Red and White. The difference is, as Nikka describes it: “Black” is a pure Maltwhisky made primarily with the Yoichi malt, and it […]...

Rare Ayrshire 1974 37 YO Cask #2604, 52,1 % This certainly is a rare release. ‘Ayrshire’ is the alternative name often given to whisky from the closed Lowland distillery Ladyburn. Ladyburn was established in 1966, built on the same site as the huge grain distillery Girvan – both owned by W. Grant & Sons. The […]...

Wa rlike destruction came to Louisville this week. When I saw the Whiskey Row ashes, the smoldering charred wood, facades holding on by historic bricks, I was reminded of the carnage of war and my personal moments in it. I was taken back to a time I once tried to forget, only to fail and be forced to deal with the memories. In Iraq, I was an Army photographer. I walked through the streets and villages, and in homes, with an M-16 slung from my side and a Nikon D1X firmly gripped, always ready to capture combat or whatever.

Halfway...

With summer in the air here at TWE HQ, we think it’s time for a new competition. We’re big Highland Park fans and we’ve got a very special bottle to give away: Highland Park 1976 Orcadian Vintage.

The Highland Park Orcadian Vintages are an impressive range of whiskies, very limited releases that are increasingly hard to find. They range from the 1964, one of the oldest officially bottled Highland Parks ever released, through to the 1976, bottled at a comparatively sprightly 35 years old back at the end of 2011.

I was very fortunate enough to have a taste of...

The highly respected Benromach 10 Year Old is now joined by an older brother, Benromach 15 Year Old . Alongside the 10yo 100° Proof , the 5 Year Old , the Organic and Peat Smoke expressions, Benromach basically launched an entirely new core range in under a year!

While the 10 Years had 80% bourbon and 20% sherry casks, the 15 Years was predominantly matured in sherry casks, some of which have been heavily charred. Longer maturation means the smokiness of the 10 should be muted a little, while the (sherry) wood brought out different aromas.

Benromach 15...