Irish single malts from independent bottlers are currently selling like hotcakes. We’ve seen old 1988 and 1989 expressions, the wonderful (peated) 1991s and several younger examples distilled early 2000s . All good to outstanding.

Also on a more global scale, Irish distilleries achieved some excellent results and are growing at a much faster rate than their Scottish neighbours .

For me a good reason to focus on Irish whiskey for a while, but not the independent European bottlers this time. Over the next couple of days, I’ll present a couple of interesting drams from different categories (blends, malts, pot still)....

Like the original Tullamore D.E.W., Tullamore D.E.W. 12yo Special Reserve is a triple distilled blend of all three types of Irish whiskey (pot still, malt and grain). However, it has a high proportion of the first two, matured in a combination of bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks, for 12 to 15 years. A very fine aged whiskey with great complexity.

The Tullamore Dew brand was bought by William Grant’s in 2012. The 12yo Special Reserve (originally a travel retail exclusive) was re-introduced recently with an updated presentation.

While they still rely on Midleton at the moment, they are also building...

Whisky bar review...

Spice King 12 YO, 40 % Today I thought we could take a closer look at one of the blended malts from independent bottler Wemyss Malts. The lucky winner of this particular draw is the Spice King 12 YO. We are actually tasting this against the Spice King 8 YO, which my wife will post […]...

Hudson Baby Bourbon Whiskey, NAS, 46 % This is a very cute bourbon, a cute baby of a bourbon actually. The Hudson Baby Bourbon Whiskey is produced by the New York distillery Tuthilltown Spirits. It is matured in tiny and cute 4 gallon barrels, which speeds up the maturation. The maturation is further enhanced by […]...

Aass & Egge – norsk single malt, 3 YO, 40 % OK, I have to start with a confession. This is not really a whisky. It is a single malt, but it is not purely made from barley, yeast and water. It contains hops. In fact this is a Eau de vie de biére, Two […]...

Well, officially the label says for The Netherlands and Japan but they nicknamed themselves Whisky Nerds. We know they are actually Bram Van Glabbeek and Floris Kooistra who are linked to the Dutch Usquebaugh Society, together with the Japanese distributor Whisky.E.

GlenDronach 19 yo 1995 (55,1%, OB for The Netherlands and Japan 2015, Oloroso butt #2380, 628 btl.)

Nose: good, heavy sherry. Dried figs and dates, Black Forest gateau, with some coffee liqueur and leather in the background. Red berry jam (or make that blackberry). Waxed furniture and subtle hints of pipe tobacco. Chocolate too, of course. Mouth:...

Italian bottler Samaroli released two sister casks of Jura 1997 in 2014, cask 9119 at 50% and cask 9118 at 43% (which says II release on the label). There also seems to be a blend of both – a bit confusing.

Isle of Jura 1997 (43%, Samaroli 2014, cask #9118, 2nd release, 350 btl.)

Nose: a coastal profile, slightly austere. Minerals and grassy notes. Green tea and mint. Dried seaweed and a fresh sea breeze. Underneath is a layer of sweet cake batter and buttercups. Subtle cooked apples as well. Rather discrete but not unpleasant. Mouth: again a...

We’ve had some excellent independent Littlemill expressions in the past few years, but the official bottlings don’t have the same reputation. While the indy early 90’s versions are expressive fruit bombs, the older officials tend to be shy, dusty and cereally.

In our glass we have the Littlemill 1975 , released in 1999 in the typical green dumpy bottle.

Littlemill 1975 (40%, OB 1999)

Nose: a lot of apple skin with hay. Cider apples. Apple seeds as well. A vague sweetness of berries. Some buttery tones. Some musty wood and a bit of wet newspaper. Very old-fashioned. Mouth:...

On the occasion of 200 years of the Ardbeg distillery , they launched Perpetuum. It’s a mix of “very old” and young Ardbeg, from both bourbon barrels and sherry casks.

There has been a Distillery release at 49,2% but we’re trying the wider release at 47,4%.

Ardbeg Perpetuum ∞ (47,4%, OB 2015)

Nose: quite warm, with deep sooty notes and some simmering ashes. Hints of wet tarmac. On the other side there is enough honey, vanilla and chocolate to make it rounder. Some candied lemon, as well as a few floral notes. It’s not very complex and seemingly...

Glentauchers 1996 18 YO Liquid Art, 51,3 % The independent bottler Liquid Art has just released their fifth whisky which is an 18 YO Glentauchers. I have only tasted two Glentauchers before, both 30 YO, so I am really looking forward to try this one. Glentauchers is located in Speyside. Glentauchers is still rarely seen as a single malt, […]...

Box Lengyel Utca 9, 3 YO, 63,1% So, it’s been far too long since last time I shared any tasting notes here on WhiskySaga.com, or anywhere for that matter. This little gem is a private cask from Box Destilleri AB in Sweden. A big thank you to my friend, cask owner Tobias Johnsson, for allowing me this […]...

I’ve just spent two days at Buffalo Trace with other journalists, learning more about the Single Oak Project, the coming distillery expansion, and the philosophy that drives their continued experimentation. It’s been a great time, and really makes me feel good about bourbon’s future. Here’s what happened.

First, I added two words to my vocabulary: “de-ricked” and “re-ricked.” Buffalo Trace has bought back Warehouses R,S,T, and U, the remaining original buildings on the distillery campus. They had been built fast and filled fast in the late 1940s, when the distillery owners didn’t want to get caught in another lack of...

Hielan = Highland.

GlenDronach The Hielan is 8 years old and relies on both bourbon cask and sherry casks (less than in other bottlings, hence the colour).

It’s a global trend to release younger expressions and to lower the influence of sherry maturation in the mix. Usually this also means dropping the age statement, but luckily not in this case. Any age statement is better than no age statement.

GlenDronach 8 yo ‘The Hielan’ (46%, OB 2015)

Nose: starts very buttery, with lots of toffee and caramel notes. Reminds me of certain Glenrothes expressions, including the big maltiness...