This is 16 years old Strathisla 1970 , bottled by Gordon & MacPhail as a semi-official release for the Italian market. The spirit was distilled 29.09.1970 and bottled 29.06.1987 at natural strength. There’s also a version at 40%.

Intertrade was a company run by Ferdinando “Nadi” Fiori in Rimini, Italy. He owned the restaurant “Taverna della Artisti” and started in the 1970′s as one of the first important Italian whisky importers, but most of his legendary releases were bottled in the 1980′s. He was a pioneer when it comes to ’cask strength’ bottlings at a time when whisky wasn’t popular, let alone at such...

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We’re seeing a lot of GlenDronach 2002 releases lately. Remember this is the year the distillery was restarted by the Walker family after having been mothballed for six years.

Note that GlenDronach is keeping a lot of these 2002 casks aside to create the new 12 year-old, which is now effectively much older as there is no stock from 1996-2002. Nonetheless some of them are now hitting the market as single casks bottled for different parties.

It’s funny that this expression has the same cask number as one of these magnificent 1972 vintages . Anyway it’s a sister cask of...

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Thosop is the label started by Luc Timmermans in 2010. A total of 18 releases have been bottled with handwritten labels (including one uniquely hybrid Glenfarclas 1968 ).

This year a 19th expression was released, a Tomatin 1976 , a final bottling which marks the end of a great series.

Note that there are only 24 bottles. None of them are commercially available, only collectors who own the complete Handwritten series have been able to buy this bottle.

Tomatin 1976 (49%, Thosop ‘handwritten’ 2013, ‘Never released stock’, 24 btl.)

Nose: this one needs some time to...

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Merry Christmas everyone!

As the oldest and most expensive bottling of the pack, the Lagavulin 37 Years is the highlight of the 2013 Diageo Special Releases . Distilled in 1976 , it could be the same batch of casks that also produced the Lagavulin 30 Year Old .

Old Lagavulin is very rare, due to the popularity of the younger expressions. This expression was matured in refill American oak and European oak.

Lagavulin 37 yo 1976
(51%, OB 2013, 1868 btl.)

Nose: very nicely oily and elegant. Earthy notes up front (rather than big peat), with moss and...

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Johnny Drum is a sour-mash bourbon made by Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (also known as Willett ). They have a Green label, Black label, a Black label 12 and this Private Stock label. It used to have a separate “15 years old” label on the neck but recently this has been left out so it’s possibly a little younger.

Note that the Willett distillery has been restarted in 2012, but this small batch whiskey is just a label – the spirit is bought from external sources (some suggest Heaven Hill further down the same road).

Johnnie Drum ‘Private Stock’...

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Diageo

Roseisle distillery

Diageo moves in big ways, and that makes some folks uneasy. People scoffed when Diageo unveiled the massive new Roseisle distillery, for instance, fearing it would lead to the lights going out at affiliated distilleries all over Speyside.

Actually, what happened next was a $1.5 billion, five year investment program in Scotland, including a brand new distillery beside Teaninich. The numbers are big: 13 million liters per annum, sixteen copper stills, twenty new jobs, and a project cost of $76 million. Expansion projects and upgrades benefited distilling at Mortlach, Teaninich, Inchgower, Glendullan, Dailuaine, Benrinnes, Cragganmore, Glen Elgin,...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2013/12/23/whisky-advocate-award-distiller-of-the-year/

The Singleton series combines whiskies from three of Diageo’s biggest distilleries: Dufftown, Glendullan and Glen Ord. They’re big but hardly known as most of their production is used in blends like Johnnie Walker. It’s the first time Dufftown appears in Diageo’s Special Releases.

This expression was distilled in 1985 (one of the oldest expressions ever from this distillery) and matured in refill American oak.

The Singleton of Dufftown 28 yo 1985 (52,3%, OB 2013, 3.816 btl.)

Nose: old Speyside the way I like it. Creamy fruits (apples, pears, grapes) are mixed with heather honey and a good dose...

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Michael Urquhart

Managing Director, Gordon & MacPhail

Michael Urquhart, son of George Urquhart and grandson of John Urquhart, joined the family firm of independent whisky bottlers Gordon & MacPhail in 1981. His grandfather started work at the little grocer’s shop in Elgin in 1895, just a year after they first opened their doors.

“Mr. George,” Michael’s father, launched the ever popular Connoisseur’s Choice range in the 1960s. George’s three sons Ian, David, and Michael followed him into the company, along with Rosemary Rankin, John Urquhart’s granddaughter. Shortly after the firm’s centenary, Benromach distillery reopened under their ownership and continues to...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2013/12/22/whisky-advocate-award-lifetime-achievement-2/

Michael Urquhart

Managing Director, Gordon & MacPhail

Michael Urquhart, son of George Urquhart and grandson of John Urquhart, joined the family firm of independent whisky bottlers Gordon & MacPhail in 1981. His grandfather started work at the little grocer’s shop in Elgin in 1895, just a year after they first opened their doors.

“Mr. George,” Michael’s father, launched the ever popular Connoisseur’s Choice range in the 1960s. George’s three sons Ian, David, and Michael followed him into the company, along with Rosemary Rankin, John Urquhart’s granddaughter. Shortly after the firm’s centenary, Benromach distillery reopened under their ownership and continues to...

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Läs mer http://blog.thewhiskyexchange.com/2013/12/whisky-advent-calendar-last-days/

Kilkerran Work in Progress 5 Sherry Wood, 46%, $60

Glengyle is Campbeltown’s newest distillery, in the sense that it first produced spirit during 2004, though the original Glengyle operated between 1872 and 1925; a period when Campbeltown was still a major player in the Scotch whisky world. Glengyle was revived by Springbank owner Hedley Wright, and features a pair of modified stills formerly used by the Ben Wyvis malt distillery at Invergordon. Glengyle is operated by Springbank staff, using malt made in the floor maltings there, and quantities of spirit distilled vary significantly from year to year. The distillery is...

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This Old Pulteney 2001 was part of the bottlings for the Spirits in the Sky Festival in Leuven this year. A joint bottling by The Whisky Agency and The Nectar .

Old Pulteney 12 yo 2001
(49,2%, The Whisky Agency & The Nectar 2013, bourbon cask, 351 btl.)

Nose: a mineral profile. Chalk, graphite, wet cloths. Unripe fruits (apple, peach). Some seaweed. Hints of pencil shavings. Slight floral notes. Overall a little closed. After a while a candied white fruit note comes out. Mouth: surprisingly sweet, with a young fruitiness (apple liqueur, apricot, grapefruit) but also a nice praline...

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