The other day I was given I was given a nice early Christmas gift: a box of chocolates by the famous Belgian chocolatier Pierre Marcolini. The selection is called Rare Whiskies and Rums – it includes six different chocolates with a filling based on whisky and rum.

The starting idea is that liqueur-filled chocolates are always based on a nameless spirit, probably not the best one around, which is a shame when you’re working with top quality chocolate like Marcolini. This time, a lot of effort was put into matching a specific whisky / rum to a specific type of...

Läs mer http://www.whiskynotes.be/2014/whisky-news/rare-whiskies-and-rums-pierre-marcolini/

Balblair 1983 replaced the popular 1975 vintage at the end of 2013. It was matured in ex-bourbon barrels.

Balblair 1983
(46%, OB 2013, 1st release)

Nose: a nicely fruity, almost tropical nose. Fresh banana, sweet quinces and apricots, as well as a sourish hint of pineapple and passion fruit. Bright floral notes. Albariño comes to mind. Vanilla ice cream. Very subtle hints of old oak and almonds. Excellent. Mouth: quite lovely again. There are warm fruity notes (pears, plums) balanced by the same juicy acidity (kiwi) and soft, elegant spices (ginger, clove). Liquorice and cinnamon. Some freshly sawn, bourbonny...

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This Caol Ila 1983 is the first official 30 Year Old (as far as I know), bottled as part of the Special Releases 2014 . We’ve had a whole list of early 1980’s releases from independent bottlers, so we’re curious to see how the official release compares.

It is a mix of refill American and European oak.

Caol Ila 30 yo 1983 (55,1%, OB 2014, Special Release, 7638 btl.)

Nose: a maritime / medicinal version at first sight. Iodine impregnated gauze, seaweed, with some leather and soot. On a second level, there are rounder, fruitier notes: sweet lemon,...

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Aberlour a’bunadh is the cask-strength expression matured exclusively in Oloroso sherry casks, released in different batches (usually 5 or 6 a year). It is said to contain different profiles, from casks ranging between 5 and 25 years old.

I tried quite a few in 2008-2009 but later on I seemed to turn to other heavily sherried expressions. Today we’re trying the latest batch (if I’m not mistaken), batch n°49 .

Aberlour a’bunadh
(60,1%, OB 2014, batch n°49)

Nose: quite open and very sherried. It’s a modern kind of sherry maturation, with some winey overtones. Raspberries and orange peel. Sultanas...

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Aberfeldy Bits of Strange is a 16 year old single cask whisky, bottled at cask strength from a sherry-seasoned cask. It was launched to commemorate a homecomings tour of two Scottish bands, King Creosote and FOUND, in november 2012.

Aberfeldy 16 yo ‘Bits of Strange’
(55,1%, OB 2012, 318 btl.)

Nose: rather unique and very intriguing. There are huge waxy notes hitting you up front, as well as some tobacco leaves and echoes of pine wood refresher and mint. On a second level: dried apricots, backed apple and honeysuckle. Dried flowers. Vanilla and cinnamon. Nicely aromatic, with the sherry...

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This Glenrothes 1997 is among the latest bottlings from Kintra in the Netherlands.

Glenrothes 16 yo 1997 (53,2%, Kintra 2014, bourbon hogshead #15720, 137 btl.)

Nose: malty and fruity. Stewed fruits, ripe yellow plums, fresh apples and peaches. Citrus. Hints of dusty oak and dried flowers. Vanilla cake. Soft honey and mint as well. Not very complex but natural, nicely integrated and not too modern. Mouth: a surprisingly punchy attack, again fruity at first (grapes, apples, lemon), with hints of vanilla cream, but slowly drying and showing more bitter notes. Caramel and mocha, then some grapefruit zest and herbal...

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Strathmill 1988 as part of Diageo’s Special Releases 2014 . It was the first year that this distillery appeared in this series and the first official release in a very long time. It was matured for over 25 years in refill American oak.

Strathmill 25 yo 1988
(52,4%, OB 2014, 2.700 btl.)

Nose: very malty, with lots of grainy biscuits, plain gristy notes and sugar coated corn flakes. On a second level, there is soft vanilla, ginger and a nice dusty side that keeps the middle between hay and dried flowers. Honeysuckle and orange zest. Coffee with cream. Mouth:...

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With just 59 bottles, this Littlemill 1992 in the Archives series was very limited and indeed already sold out. Cask #44 has also been bottled by them in 2012.

Littlemill 22 yo 1992 (46,7%, Archives ‘Voyage dans l’Amérique Méridionale 2014, hogshead #43, 59 btl.)

Nose: starts fairly malty sweet at first, with some dusty vanilla and plenty of paraffin. Linseed oil, bread dough. Hay and soft hints of hazelnut paste. Less fruity than some other Littlemills, but after a while it shows melons and grapefruits. Also the kind of coconutty aroma that you sometimes get from bourbon oak. Mouth:...

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This is quite a rare Highland Park 1973 bottled by Mackillop’s Choice . Sister cask #8396 was bottled by Jack Wiebers in 2003.

Mackillop’s Choice was founded by Angus Dundee Distillers (Tomintoul, Glencadam) in 1996 and bottlings have been released since 1998. All releases are single casks selected by Lorne Mackillop – originally a Master of Wine – and bottled at 43% or 46%.

Highland Park 1973 (43%, Mackillop’s Choice 2007, cask #8395)

Nose: starts a little shy and mostly malty / nutty, but folds open so nicely. Juicy oranges, whiffs of mint and pine resin. Eucalyptus honey and nice...

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After my subtle hints while talking about the new Springbank 25 Year Old , some people have been waiting for my review of this one: Springbank 18 Year Old , a single cask version, distilled oktober 1996 and bottled for The Nectar .

It’s rare to see a bourbon cask version of a well-known dram that relies on sherry casks for around 80% of its composition.

Springbank 18 yo 1996
(58,7%, OB for The Nectar 2014, refill bourbon, single cask, 210 btl.)

Nose: starts with the typical dusty, grainy Springbank note, alongside coastal notes. Vague oily notes (wax...

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Not so long ago, I was very impressed with the new batch of Benromach 10 Year Old which was unveiled in april 2014.

Past oktober, the distillery also released a higher strength version: Benromach 10 Year Old ‘100° proof’ , bottled at the old Imperial measure which equals 57% alcohol volume. It shares the cask distribution (80% bourbon, 20% sherry), the one-year Oloroso finish and the new style of packaging.

Benromach 10 yo ‘100° proof’
(57%, OB 2014)

Nose: this only confirms how good this spirit is, whatever the strength. This combination of baked apple, plum jam, vanilla, furniture...

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This Ledaig 2004 is the third bottling by Liquid Art . I’ve seen a lot of 2004-2005 releases from this distillery lately, but I haven’t reviewed many of them as they tend to be really similar.

Ledaig 10 yo 2004
(51,6%, Liquid Art 2014, 176 btl.)

Nose: somehow the peat is quite warm here, more so than in other Ledaigs, and despite the young age. Tar and charcoal, mixed with a bit of vanilla and lemonade sweetness. majbe tinned peaches or pineapple in the back. Very light coastal notes, along with some mentholated hints, but it’s mostly the roundness...

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This brand-new bottling in the Fishes of Samoa series from Archives says ‘distilled at a Kildalton distillery’ on the label. Those are the Southern distilleries on Islay (Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Port Ellen).

Even though the distillery remains undisclosed, it’s mostly Ardbeg which often refers to the nearby Kildalton Cross (e.g. Ardbeg Kildalton ).

Kildalton 7 yo 2007 (54,4%, Archives ‘Fishes of Samoa’ 2014, hogshead #9396, 170 btl.)

Nose: high-strength and quite medicinal. Tarry notes and wet wool. Heather and hay. A little lemon skin and hints of apples. A bit of marzipan as well. Very clean, quite...

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Kavalan released an ex-bourbon expression for their Belgian importer The Nectar . I’m not sure why it doesn’t say Solist on the label, as far as I can tell it is a single cask release?

There’s also a new brandy cask release for TastToe (59,4%).

Kavalan ex-bourbon (54,8%, OB for The Nectar 2014, cask #B091103031A, 193 btl.)

Nose: starts a bit woody, but in a fresh way. A lot of vanilla, hints of caramel and banana. Fresh coconut. A bit like light American whiskey, if not for the tropical touches (pineapple, mango). Some toasted oak and ginger. Mouth: really...

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Ah, another one of these GlenDronach 1993 single casks distilled in januari of that year. This time Oloroso butt #23 bottled for Whiskybase in The Netherlands.

As a side note, I’ve heard all remaining casks from 1993 are officially ‘on hold’. None of them will be bottled for clubs or stores, all that is left will only be used for the official releases.

GlenDronach 21 yo 1993 (52,1%, OB for Whiskybase, Oloroso butt #23, 681 btl.)

Nose: rich and expressive. A kind of juicy plum and bramble aroma, with rummy overtones. Cinnamon. Big nutty notes (roasted chestnut, walnut)...

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Smooth Ambler is spirits company founded in 2009 in West Virginia, USA. Their brand is an ensemble of different things. They’re best known for “scouting” bourbon and rye whiskeys from external stocks, in a series named Old Scout , but they’re also producing spirits in their own still (gin, vodka, wheated bourbon). It’s not a temporary solution: they’ll continue this ‘independent bottler’ story, even when their own stock is mature enough.

Smooth Ambler Old Scout 7 Year Old is a straight bourbon whiskey produced by MGP in Lawrenceburg (Seagram’s at the time). It contains 60% corn, 36% rye and 4%...

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The chaps at Master of Malt come up with some of the most refreshing ideas in the world of spirits. A classic for this time of the year are the Advent Calendars , available in different themes and price categories.

This Christmas, they’re promoting the Drinks by the Dram Dramcrackers . They’re sold in a package of six Christmas crackers (€ 48). You pull them apart, they generate a huge explosion (well, not quite…) and your reward is a 3cl sample of an interesting spirit or liqueur, with tasting notes. AND a paper party crown. AND a crap joke....

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Cadenhead’s Cask Ends is a series of leftover bottlings. In their Campbeltown store, they have small casks with taps from which you can hand-fill your own bottle. Sometimes in 70cl bottles, sometimes just 20cl if there’s not enough, they finish off casks this way.

This Dallas Dhu 1979 is one of these Cask Ends . The spirit was distilled 8th of juni 1979 and filled into a bourbon hoggie. Mark Watt brought it to Spirits in the Sky in Brussels and it turned out to be the kind of dram everyone was talking about.

Dallas Dhu 35 yo...

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In the seemingly endless stream of Kilchoman bottlings, there are two PX finished versions for Belgium .

One is the Kilchoman 2009 cask 576/2008 for TastToe & Broekmans. There must be some kind of error on the label because the cask reference (2008) and the vintage don’t match. I believe this is actually a 2008 vintage as casks #575 (for LMdW) and #577 (for Whisky Import Netherlands) are distilled on the same day in 2008.

The other one is Kilchoman 2009 cask 262/2009 for two whisky clubs (2009 for real this time). This is a 100% Islay version.

...

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