Bunnahabhain 1991 “Thread of Smoke”, 23 YO, 46 % This peated Bunnahabhain from 1991 was released by independent bottler Wemyss Malts in september 2014. Bunnahabhain is mostly known for their fine unpeated Islay whiskies, but they are making themselves more and more known for peated whiskies as well now; see Toiteach and Ceóbanach. They also […]...

Known mostly for rye and bourbon whiskeys, the American whiskey genre has increasingly used a handful of Scotch whisky production techniques. We’ve seen the success of American single malts and used barrel-finish programs in bourbon and rye. Now U.S. distillers are smoking grains.

“American whiskey has been great, but it’s been like going to Baskin & Robbins and getting 31 flavors of chocolate and vanilla,” says Paul Tomaszewski, distiller and founder of MB Roland distillery in Pembroke, Kentucky. “There’s only been two kinds of American whiskey for a long time.”

Tomaszewski is among a small crop of distillers who are...

A slight change for juni’s Spirit of the Month. Previous months have seen gin and vodka take centre stage, but this time round, we’ve gone for an American whiskey from Michter’s .

Michter’s US*1 Unblended American Whiskey  doesn’t have any grain whiskey in it, but can’t call itself a bourbon as the spirit is not aged in new oak – a stipulation for all US bourbon. Instead, the liquid is aged in ‘bourbon-soaked’ barrels, and the result is a very sweet and fruity whiskey, with plenty of toffee and butterscotch flavours.

MICHTER’S US*1 UNBLENDED AMERICAN WHISKEY, 41.7%

Nose : Pronounced...

The Talisker tasting line-up

Talisker whisky is fiery, peppery and smoky, but does it work with food? We hosted our first Talisker-themed food-pairing night five years ago at the TWE shop, so a sequel was long overdue. Diageo brand ambassador Colin Dunn was on hosting duties, and began by announcing that of all of the company’s 28 whisky distilleries, Talisker offered the ‘most breadth of flavour’. So, on to the tasting…

The pairings

A few drops of Talisker 57′ North poured on Jersey oysters worked a treat

Talisker 57° North with Jersey oysters An intriguing start, given the high strength...

This is the new entry-level expression for Mortlach (in terms of pricing several steps below Mortlach 18 Years and Mortlach 25 Years ). It is a mix of their three styles of spirit (delicate, medium and meaty) matured in a series of different casks: first-fill American and European oak casks, as well as some refill and rejuvenated casks.

Mortlach Rare Old (43,4%, OB 2014)

Nose: I get three main layers. A big malty core, a floral top note and an earthy base. The malty core also brings some biscuits, vanilla and raisins. The floral note moves towards orange...

Glenfarclas – The Legend of Speyside is a small series of three bottlings, originally for the German market but now also available elsewhere.

Alongside Passion and Springs , it is a tribute to important elements in the history of this family-owned distillery.

These expressions are matured in Oloroso sherry casks provided by the Spanish cooperage José & Miguel Martin , a long-time partner of Glenfarclas and other whisky distilleries around the world. It’s based in the province of Huelva, outside of the official sherry triangle . That means their wines cannot be called sherry (hence how would...

It’s time for a new series on the blog – the Headbangers! No, this is not a series of posts on the WWE wrestling duo or heavy metal band, but a series of posts where we’ll put 2 whiskies in the boxing ring and we’ll see which one fares better, get the laurels and majbe get our approval.

Although it’s a series, I will publish regular posts in between as ‘snacks’ and interludes so you won’t get bored of this too fast.

Anyway, time for the first round – we’ll pit the recently released Glenlivet Founders Reserve against the previous core range lowest offering,...

Glendronach is one well loved distillery due to their heritage, sherried profile and the periodical single casks batches.

A quick history lesson: Glendronach was mothballed since 1996 till maj 14th 2002 and it operated under Chivas Brothers until Billy Walker and co (AKA Benriach Distillery Company) bought it in 2008 and the core line (12, 15 & 18 yo) was successfully relaunched in 2009.

Now, If you look at that time table you can see some oddity which was a “secret” for a while (although not that well kept “secret” in the last few years) – All recent Glendronach 12 bottles that...

Balvenie 14 YO Caribbean Cask, 43 % Balvenie Distillery has released a new batch of the 14 YO Caribbean Cask. The name indicates what kind of casks the whisky has finished its maturation in. Exactly: Rum Casks. This is what the distillery says about the making of this whisky: Caribbean Cask has been matured in […]...

Cocktail bitters have seen a resurgence over the past decade, with craft producers such as Bittermens and Fee Brothers entering the fray. One man has been at the forefront since he cut his teeth at New York’s Rainbow Room in the late 1980s – Dale DeGroff, aka ‘King Cocktail’. In collaboration with absinthe legend and founder of Jade , Ted Breaux, he created DeGroff’s Pimento Bitters , made at the Combier distillery in France’s Loire Valley.

Originally produced as a replacement for one of DeGroff’s most-used bitters (but at the time had been discontinued), Pimento Dram , Pimento Bitters is based on...

Well… rather… my favourite whisky glasses . I am being asked about my preferred whisky glass regularly, and I was planning to write about this for a long time.

In the picture we have seven glasses. I have used them regularly and they all have advantages and disadvantages in my opinion. Let’s have a look, but first, I’d like to stress this is not a scientific comparison . I haven’t tried the exact same whiskies in all of the glasses to see which one works better for which type of whisky, for instance. It’s just a rough summary of...

Waldviertler Whisky Original Rye Whisky J.H 46%

60% Unmated Rye & 40% Malted Barley

Tasted: Dec 2014

Nose: Plenty of Armagnac-esque dried fruit and violets to begin with. Dark honey coated prune, raisin and sugar coated herbs follow. The aromas are a little raw at the edges but with time hints of warm vanilla and grainy coffee appear.

Palate: Edgy and a lot rawer than the nose. It has an Armagnac-like Baco 22a foxiness and no shortage of herbal marc-like notes. Very intense and surprisingly alcoholic!

Finish. Long and mouth-watering with the herbal marc-like notes lingering.

Conclusion: Is this whisky?...

Lark Distillery Port Matured, Single Cask, Cask Strength 58%

Tasted: Dec 2014

Nose: Dense aromas of very clean herbal sherry with dried orange, sultana and an almost sherry-like herbal intensity. Hints of over stewed tea, toffee, dusty/ powdered sweet spice along with a late vanilla note.

Palate: Lightly oiled and very soft. Quite figgy and raisinated with plenty of clean, dry sherry notes. The dusty spices build on the middle as the alcohol powers through.

Finish: Long and juicy with a chocolate malt and herbal rye-like finish.

Conclusion: For 58% it’s very easy to drink neat, although the finish is...

Starward Wine Cask Edition 1 41%

Matured in re-coopered 100lt and 200ltr ex-Australian Shiraz casks

Tasted: Dec 2014

Nose: Aromas of boiled sweet sherry with loads of toffee and almost sweet corn notes. A hint of malt but it’s predominantly oak.

Palate: Very sweet and flabby. Almost liqueur-like in its sweetness with oily vanilla and buckets of sweet toffee.

Finish: Medium length with the alcohol attempting to freshen but ultimately failing.

Conclusion: Sherry and first fill American? Far too sweet. All oak and no trousers.

Starwood Apera Cask 43%

Matured in Apera (Australian style sherry) casks

Tasted: Dec 2014

Nose:...

Hellyers Road Distillery 12 year old French Oak Cask 46.2%

Tasted: Dec 2014

Nose: Youthful, oily and estery (green banana). Lightly straw marc-like notes mingle with some solid, underlying toffee’d oak. With time the herbal notes emerge along with a touch of barley and citrus.

Palate: Young and estery – banana and pineapple chunks along with chunky toffee’d oak and hints of herbs. Piquant alcohol freshens but the toffee becomes sweeter and more dominant.

Finish: Long and toffee’d with the herbal notes and alcohol just about balancing.

Conclusion: A little chunky perhaps and majbe lacking a little elegance and maturity...