PUNI is a new distillery in the Italian Alps (the Highlands of Italy , so to speak). It was set up in 2010 by the Ebensperger family and they have been distilling since februari 2012, using alpine water, locally sourced grains, traditional Forsyth & Sons pot stills and remarkable maturation warehouses. After three years, their first whisky (the first Italian single malt) was bottled in oktober 2015.

PUNI uses three types of malted cereals in order to give the Italian whisky its characteristic taste. They say “barley forms the malty, spicy foundation, wheat adds a mellow sweetness and...

This wee blog is exactly seven years old today.

Well, majbe not exactly. Let me tell you a little secret: when I started, I figured it was useless to start with one review. So the real start was further down december 2008 – I published a handful of reviews with dates in the past… The first visitors didn’t show up until 21st of december: one French guy from Colmar, Alsace (no kidding) and one American from Rowland Heights, California. Thank you, guys, you were the first of 2.5+ million visitors so far.

I thought some Anniversary Edition would be appropriate....

The GlenDronach Peated is the first peated expression of GlenDronach . Of course sister distillery BenRiach has quite some experience.

Contrary to what they usually do, this is not thoroughly sherried, it’s matured in bourbon barrels and it’s given an Oloroso + Pedro Ximénez cask finish. It is a fairly small-scale release and from what I’ve heard we won’t see frequent batches, majbe once every few years or so.

GlenDronach Peated (46%, OB 2015)

Nose: fairly moderate. Medium peat smoke (25 ppm, the warm mainland type, no medicinal notes here), with some yellow apples and creamy custard behind...

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We’ve had cask #9464 a couple of months ago. Both are selected by The Whisky Exchange from the Signatory Vintage stocks.

Glenlivet 33 yo 1981 (52,2%, Signatory Vintage for The Whisky Exchange 2015, refill sherry hogshead #9468, 154 btl.)

Nose: less sherried than #9464. That means more focus on the rich fruity side: apricots, stewed apples, dried banana and hints of pineapple. Some golden raisins. After a while I get some cardamom, and light hints of tobacco leaves and wet gravel come out. Mouth: rather soft and much drier now, but not in a tannic way (not yet)....

This is the latest 2015 release of the PX finished  Lagavulin Distiller’s Edition which is currently arriving in most stores.

Lagavulin 1999 ‘Distiller’s Edition’ (43%, OB 2015, PX finish, lgv. 4/504)

Nose: smooth peat in a perfect balance with raspberries, maple syrup and warm tobacco notes. Forest fruit chocolate cake, cinnamon and subtle coastal notes. This expression has become a little less sweet in the past few years, and I think it’s really excellent now. Mouth: rich, with more ashy peat than on the nose. Some tarry notes and earthy notes. Oranges, a hint of herbal honey, but again...

Sometimes I try old whisky that doesn’t really seem to fit the distillery profile or reviews that I find. A dodgy review today: Glen Albyn 1968 bottled by Gordon & MacPhail .

Glen Albyn 1968 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice 1991)

Nose: fairly neutral. Apples, oranges, grassy notes. A little pepper. Hints of furniture wax, which is nice, but also wet cardboard. A dusty, even slightly peaty touch as well. Mouth: sweeter than expected, orange juice, yellow plums and vanilla cream. Some smooth grainy notes. Closer to an old blend, I’d say. Finish: not too long and...

After the initial maturation, the Talisker Distillers Editions are given a finishing period in Amoroso casks (Diageo doesn’t mention the word ‘sherry’ so they maj come from elsewhere in Spain). The last one we tried was the Distillers Edition 2001/2012 – here’s the new one bottled in 2015.

Talisker 2005 ‘Distillers Edition’ (45,8%, OB 2015, Amoroso finish, TD-S: 5RD)

Nose: brine and other maritime notes up front, with touches of sour pickles. Apple juice, red berries, raisins and orange zest. Mild peat smoke but not as clear as in other Talisker expressions. Not as warm either. Whiffs of...

This Amrut 2009 was matured in a bourbon cask and bottled as a single cask in 2015, specifically for Whiskybase.com. Amrut has bottled similar single casks in the past, most filled in 2009, matured in different wood types.

Amrut 6 yo 2009 (62,8%, OB for Whiskybase 2015, ex-bourbon cask #3434, 150 btl.)

Nose: the nose is quite intense and smells more like other drinks than like whisky. I get some Brandy de Jerez (which is a Spanish brandy matured in sherry casks) as well as rummy notes. Stewed figs and red apples, some banoffee, guava and a generous...

While the actual Lindores Whisky Fest is still going on as we speak, we already had a great night on Friday. As this will be the last edition, we also attended the final Lindores festival tasting, which featured the Lindores festival bottlings of the past couple of years.

Although I had tasted them all before, I’d like to add quick notes for the ones that didn’t make it onto the site yet:

• Clynelish 16 yo 1996 (52,3%, The Whiskyman for LWS 2012, refill bourbon hogshead, 239 btl.) A clean expression with a big focus on waxy notes and...

Saturday 28th november 2015 is the last edition (really?) of the legendary Lindores Whisky Fest . Legendary because there is probably no other festival in the world that focuses entirely on old, hard-to-find whiskies (and mussels and shrimp croquettes). Italian collectors like Giovanni Giuliani, Diego Sandrin or Max Righi are presenting their bottles, as well as Angus MacRaild, the Lindores members themselves of course and a couple of others.

On Friday 27th there is also a Lindores Festival Bottling tasting. All six bottlings for the Lindores Club and Festival are included in this tasting, including the ultra-limited Port Ellen 1979...

The label of this brand-new Eiling Lim release tells us it’s “artisan blended malt whisky, older than old and 100% premium quality”. Very honest and clever: pretty much the same level of information we get from distillery releases these days, hehe.

We’ve heard some of the contents goes back to the 1970s but remember, officially we can only tell you the youngest component is from the 1990s.

Blended Malt ‘older than old’ (46,5%, Eiling Lim 2015, not so many bottles)

Nose: aromatic sherry up front. Fruity (oranges, apricots, plums) with light savoury touches and a pleasant acidity. A...

The Lagavulin 12 Year Old is one of Diageo’s Special Releases that lots of people are looking out for. It’s widely available, for a reasonable price, and it tends to get (ridiculously) high marks.

Lagavulin 12 yo (56,8%, OB 2015, 15th release)

Nose: apparently warmer and sweeter than previous years, but not much. Sweet lemon and pear. Deep sooty notes as well, youngish peat, medicinal notes and hints of leather. Menthol. Bonfire on the beach. Hints of hot chilli after a while. Mouth: big smoke and burnt wood, rather acrid at first but slowly becoming sweeter and fresher...

I’ve reviewed 13 whiskies this week, from 10 bottlers and always in a direct comparison between similar vintages / ages. It was more or less an experiment. Most bloggers (like me) do one whisky at a time, but others (most notably Serge) totally rely on direct comparisons. I’m not saying one method is better than the other, but I’d like to share some thoughts. Feel free to comment.

Comparisons highlight the differences

True enough: whenever you try similar whiskies head-to-head, the differences stand out more . However I’m not sure this is an advantage. Of course it makes...

First released in 2006, Flaming Heart combined whisky matured in new French oak with the smoky Islay character. It was a popular blended malt and there have been four bottlings so far.

The latest fifth release is called ‘15th Anniversary Edition’ and celebrates the creation of Compass Box in 2000.

When it was launched, Compass Box provided the exact composition :

• 38,5% of Caol Ila 14yo from refill American oak hogsheads
• 27,1% of Caol Ila 30yo from refill American oak hogsheads
• 24,1% of Clynelish 20yo from rejuvenated American oak hogsheads
• 10,3% of married Clynelish / Teaninich / Dailuaine...

Arran The Bothy is a brand-new NAS bottling from Quarter casks .

These smaller casks are working well for Laphroaig and other distilleries , and The Arran used them to finish this whisky for at least 18 months after the initial maturation in first-fill bourbon barrels. Smaller casks means more wood contact (around +30%) and supposedly a wider aromatic range.

A bothy is a basic shelter in the Scottish mountains, usually left unlocked for anyone to use.

Arran ‘The Bothy’ Quarter Cask (55,7%, OB 2015, Batch #1, 12.000 btl.)

Nose: rich and fruity, with lots of vanilla and...

Three Bunnahabhain bottlings. I first thought they were all 1989 but it turns out one of them was actually from 1990 . Three really different whiskies anyway.

Bunnahabhain 23 yo 1989 (44%, Abbey Whisky ‘Rare Casks’ 2013, refill bourbon barrel, 96 btl.)

Nose: peated Bunna. On its own this doesn’t come out that much (it’s rather a heathery, softly smoky style) but in a direct comparison it’s definitely peated. Also moderately fruity: oranges, pear, subtle hints of roasted pineapple. Light vanilla. Honey and hints of pastry dough. Mouth: a nice, creamy mix of sweet marzipan, yellow apple and...

Two Inchgower 1991 bottlings today. When independent bottlers share a cask, one of them bottles it and sells part of the bottles which are then labeled by both. In this case the colour of the cap foil is identical.

Inchgower 24 yo 1991 (51,8%, Sansibar 2015, bourbon cask, 132 btl.)

Nose: initially a bit closed. Malty notes and muesli. Dusty grains. The alcohol seems to block some aroma. More fruits after a while, garden fruits like pears, apples and peaches. Grassy notes, light chalky hints too. Mouth: again some mineral and chalky notes at first, then overtaken by...

Two Auchentoshan bottlings. Not from the exact same vintage, but I don’t think that’s the reason for their big differences anyway. Read on.

Auchentoshan 22 yo 1992 (50,7%, Sansibar ‘Samurai’ 2015, bourbon cask, 119 btl.)

Nose: quite classic in the sense that it’s rather fruity (lemon, peach, banana, a slightly Irish combo) while also adding mineral notes (limestone) and whiffs of coconut oil. Floral honey. Wood shavings. Light grassy touches as well as a vegetal edge. Mouth: again quite an Irish profile. Banana and citrus notes, (pink) grapefruit. Vanilla custard. Lightly bittersweet hints of ginger and green oak....

Three sister casks of Glen Keith 1992 in a direct comparison today. All of them are 21 years old and bottled in 2013-2014. I had some other 1992s lined up but I feared it would become too boring, so I decided to throw in the new Glen Keith 1995 in the Liquid Treasures series.

Glen Keith 21 yo 1992 (50,9%, The Nectar of the Daily Drams 2013)

Nose: half fruity, half grassy. Pear, apple and gooseberries. Soft vanilla and marzipan. Then some hay and dried yellow flowers. Hints of clay as well. The grassy touches are joined by...