For the past few years, there’s one annual whisky release that we’ve received more questions about than any other. It’s not the Port Ellen from the Diageo Special Releases or even the Glenmorangie Private Edition – it’s the next in the Rosebank Roses collection.

The Rosebank Roses will be a set of seven whiskies from the late, lamented Falkirk distillery bottled by our friends at Elixir Distillers. Two have been released son far, with the remaining five appearing one at a time each februari until 2023. Each is named after a facet of the world of romance – the first...

Old Pulteney unveiled a new core range in augusti 2018. The acclaimed 17 Year Old and 21 Year Old expressions were phased out and this is now the entire line-up:

• Old Pulteney 12 Years (40%, ex-bourbon)
• Old Pulteney Huddart (46%, ex-bourbon and some heavily peated casks)
• Old Pulteney 15 Years (46%, ex-bourbon and ex-sherry)
• Old Pulteney 18 Years (46%, ex-bourbon and ex-sherry)

Although the recipe of the 12 year-old remained the same after the make-over, I hadn’t formally reviewed it since 2012 so it was time for an update. Matured in bourbon casks, predominantly refill.

Old Pulteney 12...

Number two in our (short) list of reviews of the recent 30th Anniversary bottlings from Signatory Vintage . A 30 years old Highland Park distilled in 1988 and matured in a hogshead.

Highland Park 30 yo 1988 (49,7%, Signatory Vintage ’30th anniversary’ 2018, hogshead #755, 220 btl.)

Nose: quite fruity (ripe apples, grapefruit, lime) with heathery notes and the typical coastal side. Distinct floral notes too, mixing with hints of beeswax. Just a whiff of earthy peat. Highly polished and inviting. Mouth: a similar bright fruitiness, now clearly more tropical (tangerine, passion fruits, lime, pink grapefruit). Still a...

Tamdhu with a sherry influence but some 40 years apart…

First there is the Tamdhu 10 Year Old bottled in the 1970s (one of the first single malt bottlings after the 8 Years), then we have the latest Tamdhu Batch Strength released a couple of months ago.

Tamdhu 10 yo (40%, OB late 1970s, 75 cl)

Nose: very fresh, with sherry notes (marmalade, raisins, cooked fruits), acacia honey or mead, malty and some floral / minty notes. Soft but very pleasant. Goes on with very light heathery peat and whiffs of old books. Mouth: sweet and creamy, a...

Happy New Year! Here’s a quick overview of the highlights of 2018 before we start a new year of (almost) daily whisky reviews.

Best new whiskies in 2018

I think 2018 was a ‘richer’ year than the past two or three years, in the sense that there were more whiskies which surprised me, with great bottlings coming from more sources.

The undisclosed Speyside whiskies have been in my hotlist since 2016 and there have been a couple of great bottlings this year as well, a 1977 and 1973 from Maltbarn and the Vega whisky from North Star...

I will review a couple of Signatory Vintage bottlings, released for their 30th anniversary a couple of months ago. First up is this Caperdonich 1995 from a refill sherry hogshead. The colour doesn’t indicate an avalanche of sherry.

Sister cask #95051 (same bottling date) was released for the 10th anniversary of The Nectar in 2016.

Caperdonich 23 yo 1995 (58,4%, Signatory Vintage ‘30th Anniversary’ 2018, refill sherry hogshead #95050, 265 btl.)

Nose: starts a bit sharp and piquant, on sweet mustard with balsamic touches. Time-out. After fifteen minutes: apple juice, lemons, peonies and a hint of tobacco. Also...

After a travel retail edition in 2014 (white label) this is the wider 2016 release that you can also find in regular stores. Bowmore Springtide is matured predominantly in first-fill Oloroso casks, with some second-fill added. Altough I must add this is based on the white label, this one simply says ‘Finest Oak Casks’.

I’ve had this one in a line-up in a sherried whisky tasting once, where it was very well received.

Bowmore Springtide (54,9%, OB +/- 2016, 4000 btl.)

Nose: medium sherry, with nice hickory smoke, leather and red berries. Slightly modern with its fresh oak...

Fettercairn has recently been Dalmorized . That means they’ve asked The Nose to highlight some of their best whiskies, specifically at high ages. The classic Dalmore recipe of finishing in Gonzalez Byass casks and Port casks has been applied, as well as an overall (steep) increase in price.

We’ll be trying the new Fettercairn 28 Year Old (€ 600), the Fettercairn 40 Year Old (€ 3500) and Fettercairn 50 Year Old (over € 11.000).

Fettercairn 28 yo (42%, OB 2018, ex-bourbon casks)

Nose: a dusty, coppery start. Then some shy fruity notes: slightly overdue pineapple at first, later...

Another Malt Musketeers bottling. This young bottler was also responsible for an excellent St. Magdalene . Now we’re trying a 26 years old Bunnahabhain .

Bunnahabhain 26 yo 1991 (50,3%, Malt Musketeers 2018, first-fill sherry butt #4321, 35 cl, 90 btl.)

Nose: big and fairly dry sherry nose. Leather, coffee liqueurs and plenty of dark chocolate ganache. Hints of orange peels and cigar leaves. Muscovado sugar and walnuts. Cured meat. Old-style dusty notes too, think wine cellars or libraries. Wee hints of artichokes. Mouth: fruitier now, exploding on blackcurrants, raspberries, ginger fruitcake and tropical flashes of roasted pineapple...

Here’s a very young Caol Ila 2011 bottled in the single cask series from Master of Malt .

Caol Ila 6 yo 2011 (58,4%, Master of Malt 2017, bourbon cask)

Nose: young and surprisingly soft. There’s some rhubarb and buttered popcorn. Hints of kiwi and pineapple. Then some seaweed notes, seashells and yeasty bread. Even a touch of rosewater lokum. Some ashes but it’s not extremely smoky so far. However the combination of minerality and sweet fruits makes it really nice. Mouth: more punch now, very clean. More smoke, although there’s some lime and limoncello too. Hints of...

Compass Box No Name No. 2

Compass Box No Name No.2 is the second edition where Compass Box lets the whisky speak for itself.

While the first No Name was based around Ardbeg, this is a combination of 75% Caol Ila from refill sherry butts, 11% of Talisker and 13% of Clynelish, both from rejuvenated hogsheads, and just a dash of the trademark CB Highland whisky mix. They say it is a bigger peat beast than their Peat Monster…

They will release 8436 bottles at 48.9% ABV from februari 2019.

The XL Blend 40 Year Old

The XL...

Peat’s Beast Twenty Five is a 25 year-old single Maltwhisky from Islay, produced by an undisclosed distillery. The company Fox Fitzgerald, established in 2010, is behind this brand – they also have the Rest & Be Thankful series among others.

Peat’s Beast 25 yo (52,2%, Fox Fitzgerald 2017, 3000 btl.)

Nose: quite intense notes of tarry ropes and iodine, with creosote, subtle brine and black peppercorns. A little smoked ham and fresh hints of menthol and sea spray. In the background there is also a soft fruity theme, on apricots and lemons. Great depth and complexity. Mouth:...

Merry Christmas everyone!

Lagavulin celebrated its 200th Anniversary in 2016, with the release of a Lagavulin 8 Years and a  Lagavulin 25 Year Old .

This limited edition was matured in sherry casks and bottled at cask strength. The name of each distillery manager and the dates of their stewardship have been etched onto each bottle, with the names of founders John Johnston and Archibald Campbell located prominently above their 19 successors.

Lagavulin 25 yo (51,7%, OB 2016, 200th Anniversary, sherry casks, 8000 btl.)

Nose: very nice, it has this sherried, dark profile of the original 21 Years...

After two slightly disappointing G&M bottling for TWE , there’s another Whisky Exchange exclusive that I’d like to share: this Clynelish 1996 selected from the Signatory Vintage stocks.

I’m usually not a fan of first-fill sherried Clynelish, but a refill butt can do wonders.

Clynelish 21 yo 1996 (52%, Signatory Vintage for The Whisky Exchange 2018, refill sherry butt #11390, 517 btl.)

Nose: the cask added nice nectarines and pineapples to the waxy Clynelish markers that are now in a second row. Fresh oranges and tangerines, a little vanilla and almonds. Still nice waxy notes and soft minerals....

Last week I was offered a whisky sample from a new shop called Single Malt Samples . I applaud the initiative, I personally rely heavily on samples for my reviews and the number of shops offering them seems to be in decline, sadly.

Apart from individual 4 cl samples, they are selling tasting kits which include samples and information sheets about each whisky, packaged in a gift box. There’s also a mystery box with samples that are not visible on the website.

I’ll be reviewing the BenRiach 2006 cask #5293 , a single cask bottled for La Maison du Whisky...

Glengyne distillery in Campbeltown released a cask strength version of its single malt in april 2017, bottled at 8 years of age and eagerly awaited.

We’re trying the latest (third) batch, bottled in 2018 at 56.5% ABV.

Kilkerran 8 yo Cask Strength (56,5%, OB 2018, 9000 btl.)

Nose: gentle sweet smoke, with lots of mineral notes, wet chalk, gravel and earth. Sooty notes and light diesel. A slight sourness of lemon and green apple. More orchard fruits (peach, rhubarb) after a while, as well as vanilla, honey, spearmint, orange oils and hints of biscuits. Young but spot on....

The Whisky Exchange has just released two exclusive Connoisseurs Choice bottlings from Gordon & MacPhail .

The first is a Glenlivet 2003 from a bourbon cask, something you rarely see especially from independent bottlers. The other one is a Glenturret 2004 with a deep sherry colour.

Glenlivet 15 yo 2003 (59,4%, Gordon & MacPhail for TWE 2018, refill bourbon barrel, 176 btl.)

Nose: fresh garden fruits and typical (bourbon) wood markers. Vanilla biscuits. Apples, gooseberries, peaches. Raw barley notes, light acacia honey and spices (ginger, pepper). Orange peel. Mouth: creamy texture, all very bright and fruity albeit quite...

Jura 28 Year Old // Jura Rare Vintage 1988

Jura revelead the first in a new Prestige range, marking the end of a total overhaul for the core range. The new range of rare aged expressions now contains a Jura Rare Vintage 1988 , 30 years old, matured in bourbon barrels and finished in old Tawny Port pipes from the Symington estates (Graham’s, Cockburn, Dow, Warre…). There are 1406 bottles of this releases (cask strength 53,5% and around € 750).

There is also Jura 28 Year Old , a new permanent expressions which will be available annually in limited numbers....

Jameson Bow Street 18 Years Cask Strength is a blend of pot still and grain Irish whiskeys, and for the first time in the history of Jameson, this is bottled at cask strength (55,3% ABV).

It was matured in a combination of bourbon and sherry casks at the Midleton distillery, then married in first-fill bourbon barrels for one year, resting at the Bow Street distillery in Dublin (where they have a tiny storage facility of just 84 casks…).

Jameson Bow Street 18 yo ‘Cask Strength’ (55,3%, OB 2018)

Nose: toffee and generous earthy spice (ginger, pepper)...

A recent addition to the Boutique-y Whisky range: Laphroaig 20 Years , Batch number 6. Middle-aged Laphroaig from what appears to be a sherry cask (based on the colour), let’s dive in.

Laphroaig 20 yo (49,9%, That Boutique-y Whisky Company 2018, Batch #6, 50 cl, 490 btl.)

Nose: starts fairly dry, with antiseptics, hessian, medicinal herbs and soot, but it becomes wonderfully fruity after a while. Hints of strawberries, soaked raisins and papaya. Menthol, coastal notes and tobacco. A sherry cask, I presume – a nice one. Mouth: same balance of chocolate and espresso, black pepper and medicinal...