Convalmore is   one of the distilleries that were closed during the whisky crisis of the early 1980’s. The site is now owned by William Grant and the abandoned buildings are used to store casks of Glenfiddich and Balvenie.

This is the Convalmore 24 Year Old 1978 that was part of the Rare Malts series.

Convalmore 24 yo 1978
(59,4%, Rare Malts 2003)

Nose: interesting, with hints of unripe banana, dried fruits and soft vanilla but also more austere notes. Tarry ropes, wet limestone, a few metallic notes. Lamp oil. Plenty of medicinal touches as well. Hints of almond...

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The other night I was sitting at a bar, a hushed, handsome space awash in wood and leather, tucked behind an unmarked door upstairs from a more raucous joint dominated by a flat screen blaring the World Cup and gals in too-tight dresses. I could have been in a speakeasy-style lair anywhere in the world, except I was in Taipei, at Alchemy, in the slick Xinyi district. It is here that I watched a large group of dolled-up friends, tipsy from a wedding, keep the party going by passing around a bottle of the Macallan and greedily sipping it like...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/07/15/nomad-sherry-maker-gonzalez-byass-ventures-into-whisky/

So far… One full day done, and we were ready for more Islay escapades! My whisky club, STOW, had settled in on Islay for The Big Islay Adventure 2014. Not everyone had the good sense to turn in before midnight after the first day (Thursday), but still everyone showed up at the bus at 9 am […]...

Läs mer http://www.whiskysaga.com/big-islay-adventure-2014-part-2/

Läs mer http://www.whiskyfun.com/2014/Two-very-surprising-Glenallachie.html

There are three new releases by Eiling Lim : a Littlemill 1991, a Clynelish 1997 and – the most uncommon dram if you like – this Ben Nevis 1970 .

We’ve seen single blend Ben Nevis 1970 in the past, but this is a single malt.

Ben Nevis 43 yo 1970
(44,8%, Eiling Lim 2014, 60 btl.)

Nose: smooth and rather fruity, with Williams pears, oranges, bananas and mirabelles. Rhubarb. There’s also this Ben Nevis je-ne-sais-quoi that I can only describe as half metallic, half lipstick. Some chamomile tea and waxed papers. A little nail polish remover. Floral honey....

Läs mer http://www.whiskynotes.be/2014/ben-nevis/ben-nevis-1970-eiling-lim/

The setup A few years back my wife and I moved to the rather sleepy town of Sandefjord, in the southeast of Norway. We didn’t know anyone there, but I was soon adopted by the local whisky club. Sandefjord Taste Of Whisky (STOW) is a an old whisky club, with rich traditions. STOW is actually a very […]...

Läs mer http://www.whiskysaga.com/big-islay-adventure-2014-part-1/

Läs mer http://www.whiskyfun.com/2014/The-quest-for-malternatives-on-Bastille-Day-calvados-part-trois.html

A BenRiach 1993 , finished in virgin American oak. It was selected by The Whisky Agency – sister cask #7976 had been bottled last year.

BenRiach 20 yo 1993 (52,3%, OB for The Whisky Agency 2014, cask #7977, Virgin American oak finish, 308 btl.)

Nose: intensely oak-infused, but in a very nice way. Dried coconut, waxed leather, mint syrup and vanilla. Traces of grain whisky, traces of rum, traces of American whiskey too. Apricots and bananas. Quite a lot of sawdust and oak polish. Hints of hay and spices. It’s not your classic Scotch, but it’s really enticing. Mouth:...

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SMWS 53.208 Old bagpipes under a bed in Islay, 17 YO, 57,1 % I recently visited Islay, and strangely enough (majbe) I decided to bring whisky to  the island. The reason for this rather odd behavior was that we happened to find a bottle at SMWS in Edinburgh with the very cool name SMWS 53.208 […]...

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Craigellachie 1995 17 YO Douglas Laing Old Particular, 48,4 % Todays whisky is a 17 YO Craigellachie 1995 from Douglas Laing Old Particular. The cask number is DL 10052. It was distilled november 1995 and bottled september 2013. All in all I have tasted three Craigellachies so far, all of them from Independent Bottlers. All of […]...

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In late 1980’s there were a couple of famous Glen Garioch 21 Year Old releases distilled in 1965 (white label with grey / golden / black letters according to the strength). By 1990 they were replaced by a 21yo with a black label.

We’re trying a rare 1973 vintage bottled in 1995 for the US market.

Glen Garioch 21 yo 1973 (43%, OB for Duggans Distillers NY 1995, 75 cl.)

Nose: flinty and mineral, but elegant at the same time. Waxed papers and linseed oil. Some peat, grapefruit and lemon zest. Leafy notes. Could be mistaken for a...

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Clan Denny Frank Znort Quartet 16 YO Craigellachie, 46,8 % Tirsdag 8.juli var det offisiell lansering av årets Frank Znort Quartet-whisky. Frank Znort Quartet (FZQ) er antageligvis verdens største kvartett. Ifølge Wikipedia er de i dag 18 faste musikere og et stadig økende antall gjesteartister. De er videre kjent for å ha holdt konsert hver søndag […]...

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Truly the whisky gods have smiled on me. Great are their blessings, as I bring you tidings of five (yes, five: read it and weep) interesting new releases that I have tasted recently on your behalf. To be even-handed, I’ll mention them in alphabetical order.

First up, then, is the Balvenie Single Cask 15 Years Old expression, the second in Balvenie’s Single Cask line. Drawn from a sherry butt, cask number 16293 (not that any of us would know the difference, but it lends corroborative detail to the label), this full-flavored 47.8% dram drew me in with its rich, warming...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/07/11/five-new-releases-no-make-that-six/

Läs mer http://www.whiskyfun.com/2014/A-pair-of-peated-Jura-plus-bonus.html

Bunnahabhain is without doubt the most widely available Islay distillery among independent bottlers these days. They seem to take advantage of the current shortage and popularity of Islay malt.

This is a heavily sherried Bunnahabhain 1990 , like we’ve seen a couple of times recently.

Bunnahabhain 23 yo 1990
(47,9%, Archives ‘Fishes of Samoa’ 2014, sherry butt #52, 201 btl.)

Nose: full-bodied nose, with juicy fruits and lots of sweet Oloroso sherry. Black cherries, rum & raisins, blackberries… Sweet but also quite spicy, with pepper and hints of curry. Nice tobacco too. Touches of balsamic. Also the typical flinty...

Läs mer http://www.whiskynotes.be/2014/bunnahabhain/bunnahabhain-1990-archives/

With around 100 active whisky distilleries in Scotland, it’s inevitable that some get overlooked. One underrated distillery is Glen Moray . The distillery’s range is prominent in supermarkets, but has managed to stay under the radar of the average whisky drinker. I admit that I have been equally guilty, and have only tried Glen Moray on a handful of occasions at whisky shows. So, to rectify that, on a recent trip to Speyside, booking a distillery visit was my top priority.

Glen Moray has had just a handful of owners in its 117 years of operation – founded in 1897 on the site...

Läs mer http://blog.thewhiskyexchange.com/2014/07/glen-moray/