The last time I reviewed a Caperdonich was back in 2013… Not that I didn’t get to try any, but somehow recent releases were always disappointing if (like me) you ‘grew up’ with Caperdonich 1972. And you know, prices for lost distillery bottlings are rising through the roof these days.

Here’s a new Caperdonich 1995 , a single cask bottling for Master of Malt .

Caperdonich 22 yo 1995 (59,2%, Master of Malt 2018, bourbon cask)

Nose: starts on flinty notes and lots of pipe tobacco, sunflower oil and fresh barley. Walnuts and hazelnuts. After a while there...

Stuart and Richard Urquhart, the managers of Gordon & MacPhail , are identical twins. That makes it extra special that today they are launching ‘Twin’ Longmorn 1961 whiskies, the oldest Longmorn single malts ever released. A great opportunity to taste a piece of Scotland’s liquid history.

Both are first-fill sherry hogsheads filled 2nd Februrary 1961 and bottled exactly the same day in 2018 at cask strength: European oak cask #508 bottled at 45% ABV and American oak cask #512 bottled at 40.8% ABV. Sold as a pair, with only 97 sets of decanters available.

Each set will be priced £...

Speyside Malt 1973 / Irish Malt 1989

The Whisky Exchange have just released two *very* interesting bottles:

• Irish Single Malt 1989 (Whisky Agency for TWE, 46.8%, 205 btl.)
• Speyside Region 1973 (Whisky Agency for TWE, 47.4%, 568 btl.)

Both are Whisky Agency bottlings exclusive to TWE. We’ve seen very similar releases before, all excellent (check this or this ), so we have high hopes. Expect a review next week.

The Whisky Show 2018 – show bottlings

In its tenth edition, The Whisky Show celebrates the Future of Whisky theme with three limited editions:

• Ben Nevis 21 Years (47.5%,...

After The GlenAllachie was taken over by Billy Walker’s team they presented a series of 50th Anniversary bottlings , single casks released in 50 cl bottles. They were quite old (distilled 1978 – 1991) so we’re trying one of the younger casks: GlenAllachie 1990 cask #2517 , a sherry butt. It is considered to have been a ‘prequel’ series with more single cask following soon.

GlenAllachie 27 yo 1990 (54,6%, OB ‘50th Anniversary’ 2018, sherry butt #2517, 50cl, 144 btl.)

Nose: fairly neutral, on yellow apples, golden raisins and bready notes. Oranges with cloves, subtle nutty notes. Hints...

Cask Orkney 18 Years is a new single Maltwhisky released by A.D. Rattray in juni 2018. Distilled on the Isle of Orkney, this should be Highland Park , matured in ex-bourbon casks.

Cask Orkney 18 yo (46%, A.D. Rattray 2018, bourbon cask)

Nose: nicely aromatic, with baked apples, juicy pears and vanilla, honey, lemon candy and a touch of marzipan. Very fresh. Also hints of chalk and seaweed. Beeswax. Perhaps light jasmine? Mouth: fresh citrus (lemons and oranges), creamy yoghurt, rather summery. Earl Grey. Peaches and toffee. Whiffs of grassy smoke in the background. Subtle coastal hints...

This Caol Ila 1984 is one of these 30yo+ single malts that have recently been bottled to ‘enhance’ the Connoisseurs Choice series, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. They come in a bulkier version of the new bottle, presented in a wooden presentation box.

Whereas the old Connoisseurs Choice range (map labels and later) used to be an entry-level range, often at low ABVs, it has now been given a significant push upwards.

Caol Ila 33 yo 1984 (52,8%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice 2018, refill sherry hogshead, 216 btl.)

Nose: unsurprisingly great. Excellent combo of sweeter...

This Edradour 1995 was a festival bottling for the recent Whisky L! (tenth edition) in Shangai, China. It was finessed in a first-fill Oloroso sherry butt for 13 years.

Edradour 22 yo 1995 (54,2%, OB for Whisky L 2018, Oloroso finish, 661 btl.)

Nose: clean, let’s continue. A really nice, tobacco-led profile, with cigar boxes and leather, old Oloroso and hints of redcurrants. Juicy damsons. Polished oak, hints of menthol and aromatic herbs. Crushed peppercorns and brown sugar. Mouth: a similar dry and herbal sherry profile, although there’s now a meaty side to it. Blackberry leaves, bitter oranges,...

First-fill bourbon barrels and then a six-month refill Pedro Ximénez sherry finish , that’s the recipe for Glen Scotia Double Cask . A NAS expression from this distillery, in the lower part of the core range.

Glen Scotia Double Cask (46%, OB +/- 2017)

Nose: dusty oak up front, with a charred edge, mixed with peaches and biscuits. Quite modern, with a hint of vanilla, but really not bad. Hints of yellow apples and a touch of salt and copper as well. Mouth: quite punchy, with raisins and grapes, then a slight alcoholic note (grappa), peaches again, even...

GlenAllachie 12 Years is the cornerstone of the new GlenAllachie core range, presented two months ago. It is matured in a combination of Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez sherry casks, as well as virgin oak.

GlenAllachie 12 yo (46%, OB 2018)

Nose: rather more impressive than the GlenAllachie 18 Years . Very fresh, with a bright fruitiness (banana, nectarine and mango) with marzipan and vanilla cake. Light mineral notes, grass and a peppery hint in the background. Honey and a hint of mocha. Great aromas. Mouth: honey and banana again, sweet but with a surprising bitter side (grapefruit, minerals,...

Another cask strength Connoisseurs Choice bottling from Gordon & MacPhail : Clynelish 1989 . It’s a vintage that we’ve tried several times before from independent bottlers, but it’s nice to see G&M has more of this lying around.

Clynelish 28 yo 1989 (49,3%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice 2018, refill American hogshead, 221 btl.)

Nose: always great to have this round combination of waxiness, ripe gooseberries and mild, warm oak. Later also juicy pears, green mango, candied ginger. Hints of leather and wet rocks. There was a dusty note at first but this disappeared. Good. Mouth: oily, with...

This high-end Glengoyne 30 Years was first released in november 2017 as a limited edition. A batch of 13 casks was selected: one third of first-fill European oak sherry butts and two thirds refill sherry butts. Quite possibly the perfect recipe for old sherry bottlings, if you ask me.

I won’t talk about the packaging too much, but it comes in a wooden box with a rose gold plated cask bung. It will be repeated as a yearly release.

Glengoyne 30 yo (46,8%, OB 2017, 6000 btl.)

Nose: truckloads of red plums, figs and juicy cherries. Lovely fruitiness...

Arran Distillers recently picked up two gold medals at the International Wine & Spirits Competition for this  Arran 10 Year Old and the top-of-the-range  Arran 18 Year Old . In general we don’t attach much value to all these awards, but it has to be said Arran is often getting praise for its commitment to quality.

About time we review this cornerstone expression…

Arran 10 yo (46%, OB +/- 2018)

Nose: a very honest, naked dram. There’s a nice pineapple / pear sweetness, creamy malty notes and sugary biscuits. Vanilla custard. Light heathery / herbal touches. Aromatic honey....

The Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 year old has been matured in traditional oak whisky casks for 14 years, before getting ‘finished’ in casks that were seasoned with a proprietary blend of Caribbean rums.

Its predecessor was called Cuban Selection but I suppose that was problematic for US sales.

The Balvenie 14 yo ‘Caribbean Cask’ (43%, OB +/- 2018, rum cask finish)

Nose: sweet, with buttery vanilla cake and yellow apples up front. Some creamy coconut, honey and toffee. Apricots and bananas. Golden raisins soaked in rum. Light leafy oak in the background. Rather fruity but I’m not...

Glenrothes Soleo Collection

A few months ago we already announced the fact that The Glenrothes would ditch the vintage concept in favour of a classic age statement collection. While this is hardly ground-breaking, it’s quite surprising that all expressions are entirely sherry cask matured . Too bad the ABV is still very low.

Five expressions have popped up in stores:

• Glenrothes 10 Years (40%)
• Glenrothes 12 Years (40%)
• Glenrothes Whisky Maker’s Cut (48,8%)
• Glenrothes 18 Years (43%)
• Glenrothes 25 Years (43%)

In Spring 2019 they will also launch a Glenrothes 40 Year Old . I hope to look into the...

Gordon & MacPhail is celebrating the 50th birthday of the Connoisseurs Choice with the release of 37 new bottlings from 23 different distilleries.

For the occasion the Connoisseurs Choice range is ‘enhanced’ with a series of single malts aged 30 years and above, which come in a bulkier version of the new bottle, presented in a wooden presentation box. From seven initial bottlings we’re now trying the Mortlach 1987 , a 31 year-old bottled from a refill sherry hogshead .

If this is refill, then how long was the original whisky inside, two weeks?

Mortlach 31 yo 1987...

This is part two of our review of the new Highland Park travel retail line-up, which focus on important animals of the Viking culture. In the first part I looked at Highland Park Spirit of the Bear and Highland Park Wings of the Eagle

Highland Park Loyalty of the Wolf is a 14 year old matured in American oak sherry casks and bourbon barrels.

Highland Park 14 yo ‘Loyalty of the Wolf’ (42,3%, OB 2018, travel retail)

Nose: rather sweet and malty, plenty of cake aromas, vanilla custard and apples. Light ginger and pepper in the background, as...

Italian Car Series is a range of whiskies bottled for Jan Vissers who owns the Single Maltwhisky Shop in Zammel, Belgium. He’s an Italian car freak and the labels feature drawings of old Ferrari Formula-1 cars.

I’m a bit scared of the outrageous ABV (67% after 11 years), but here goes…

Glenlivet 11 yo 2007 (67%, Signatory Vintage – Italian car series #4 2018, first-fill sherry hogshead #900201, 312 btl.)

Nose: syrupy fruits, lots of blackberries, cherries and raspberry jam. Walnuts, chestnuts, figs, raisins. Lots of cinnamon pastry. A bit of vanilla sugar as well. Some fragrant...

Last week John Glaser was making a small tour in my part of Europe, presenting some of the latest Compass Box releases and explaining the philosophy of the brand.

The event was taking place at the beautiful Bar Burbure in Antwerp, already indicating a focus on cocktails and bartenders, but luckily there was something in there for this slightly geekier whisky blogger as well.

It is very entertaining to hear how he started blending in his London kitchen, how the recipes are now designed by more blending wizards than John alone, where the name Compass Box comes from, how he...

Fettercairn 12 Year Old is part of the new Fettercairn core range launched in augusti 2018. This was matured in standard American oak bourbon casks and more or less the only accessible expression, the next in line is already 28 years old and around € 600… Talk about upscaling.

Fettercairn 12 yo (40%, OB 2018)

Nose: nicely fruity, with nectarine and tinned pineapple. Not too much vanilla. Hints of meadow flowers and mint. Behind this bright side there is also a hint of roasted nuts and a light meaty touch. Mouth: rather weak (unsurprisingly) but pleasantly rounded. Oranges,...

Teeling 27 Year Old – Whisky Exchange exclusive

The Whisky Exchange has just bottled a Teeling 27 Year Old single cask , distilled in 1991 and bottled at 48.9% from sherry cask #6838 (though not too heavy, or so it seems). It promises to display these wonderful notes of tropical fruits, with added complexity from the sherry. Available only from The Whisky Exchange .

Whisky Advent Calendars – Drinks by the Dram

Drinks by the Dram , the sample service from the Master of Malt group, has presented its Advent Calendars. There’s the classic Whisky Advent Calendar which...