There are still a few more distilleries visits posts in the making, but it takes time to sift through all those pictures I took during the visits, select the proper ones and process them for the posts, so I needed a distraction and therfore I decided to throw in a few whisky reviews here and then to sweeten your time.

Besides, it’s not like there’s shortage in new whiskies releases (and notes of old ones) as we are gearing toward x-mas and the shelves are being filled with shiny new bottles. From ultra rare and expensive bottles (nowadays it means everything...

You probably know the phrase “Timing is everything”. We all encounter situations and cases where the phrase is fitting like a glove to a hand. Although it’s not always a positive match, in my case and my wish to visit Scapa distillery, it was a perfect and positive match.

Back when I planned my Scotland trip and planned my Orkney day, I hoped that despite lacking a visitors center and a website that declared that the staff is too busy to take care of visitors, I’ll manage to arrange myself a wee tour at Scapa distillery. After all, being a whisky blogger...

The second day in this Scotland excursion wasn’t like the first day at all. We weren’t late and it had a very Scottish weather, gray and rainy just like what I wanted, although all the natives were longing for another day like yesterday full of sunshine. But we were going to Orkney and visit the northernmost distilleries in Scotland so IMHO it was the fitting weather :-)

After the sea cross, a bus to Kirkwall, visiting the Orkney museum (A must!), our ride arrived:

Yes, if you booked a high-end tour, they will happily pick you up from different places around Kirkwall...

Wolfburn is a distillery which as a whisky geek and a blogger I’m following closely for it’s always exciting to track and see how a new distillery shapes itself, both on whisky and business fronts, so I knew I want to pay them a visit when I get back to Scotland and visit the northern highlands region.

The staff at the distillery are very friendly. They happily booked the visit and even endured us being late for a hour. After all, it was that ‘late-late-late’ day and I had troubles locating the distillery as it’s not your average looking distillery. They are located...

After a long break due to a new house purchase and move coupled with a very long (and a very deserving!) summer vacation it’s time to resume normal activity here.

I was lucky enough to have a summer vacation in London with a wee getaway to Scotland and in those four days I managed to cross off a few more distilleries from my to-visit list.

The first distillery on this trip was Balblair, a distillery I like a lot for producing good, bodily and well done whisky but the day didn’t pan out as planned.

At first, the sleeper train...

A while ago when I tasted the old and new Laphroaig 15yo (see the results here ) I was also bestowed by a friend (Thanks A.!) with a sample of an indie Laphroaig 15yo for scientific comparison ;-)

It’s a single cask from the warehouse of A.D Rattray and it’s actually a 1998 vintage (distilled 04.11.1998) from a bourbon barrel which yielded 226 bottles after it was bottled in 2014 (24.10.2014), so it’s a bit “older” release than the recent new OB 15yo. How does it stand up against the official 15yo?

Laphroaig 1998 15yo A.D Rattray (58.4%, bourbon barrel #10479,...

For many years, there was only one single offering from Tamdhu. Before the relaunch of Tamdhu brand in 2013 it was a NAS offering (probably around 8 years old) and after the relaunch it was the 10 year old.

And now the NAS offering is doing a comeback but as an addition to the line up and with a totally new profile – matured exclusively in sherry casks and offered at cask strength. Do we have yet another NAS sherry bomb on our hands?

Tamdhu Batch Strength #1 (58.8%,  £56.95 / €69.99 )

Nose : feels youngish on the nose but it maj...

I  reviewed Benromach 10 Year old 100 Proof 6 months ago. I went against the majority of reviews out there and declared my big disappointment as I just couldn’t understand what’s all the fuss about and felt it was worse than the standard 10 yo. Best you go and read that review before resuming and reading the rest of this post…

OK. I assume you did your due diligence and read that post so let’s move on. A couple of months ago but well after the initial tasting and review, I tasted it again but this time I wasn’t aware...

Let’s stick with Benromach for another review (or two). Today it’s a review of their organic offering – the Benromach Organic. It’s an expression that started with 2006 distillation and the review is of their latest one, distilled in 2008 and matured in virgin oak casks.

It’s named Benromach Organic as this whisky is certified Organic from start to finish, meeting UK Soil Association standards for growing the ingredients, distillation, maturation and bottling. I Unique, neat and cool idea

Benromach Organic 2008 (43%,  £37.95 / €46.50 )

Nose : Young, malty with new make edge at first, creamy, green vegetables and grassy, honey...

Once again I’ve been too busy to post reviews on the blog but I had a very good reason: a house move. Barely time to breath and my whisky was stored away during the move, but now it’s back to normal so let’s resume with a review of the new Benromach 15 Year Old.

It comes on the heels of the last year very successful re-launch of the 10 year old and G&M tucked on here additional 5 years, staying with sherry and ex-bourbon casks combo but is it like the 10 yo or does it go in a different route?

Benromach 15...

I’m taking another break today from the headbangers reviews series. But I have a very good excuse this time: It’s the blog second birthday!

To accommodate the event, I’ve decided to review a festive dram and after debating between a few possibilities, I’ve decided to review Glengoyne 21 Year Old.

Just like last year I intended to have a give-away for the blog holiday but it will be delayed till later this month, so watch this space.

Glengoyne 21 Year Old (43%, £109.79 )

Nose : Sherry goodness with dried fruits, raisins, prunes and plums. It’s a settled and elegant nose, lots...

It’s time to resume the Headbangers series reviews. But as I want to review another Laphroaig whisky before the summer finally settle in here (which is late by normal standards), Let’s do a headbangers review of Laphroaig 15. We’ll pit the old (pre-2009 Laphroaig 15 vs Laproaig 15 the 200th Anniversary version.

Yes, a fight of the same expression but the truth is it’s not exactly the same expression. The old 15 Year old was a very popular, being milder than the 10 year old and more delicate. But in 2009 they stopped producing it and instead we got the...

I think I’ll prolong the headbangers break for one more day to review another new Laphroaig expression – the latest batch (007) of their ever-popular 10 Year Old Cask Strength expresison. Although it was bottled in januari 2015, It arrived to market and webshops without much fanfare in maj and the release proximity to Feis Ile and the new new 15 yo and Cairdeas releases made it coast to sold-out state under the radar.

But with all due respect to the new 15 Year Old and the Cairdeas, there’s no doubt that the 10 Year Old CS  does stands on it own as the...

Time for some interlude in the headbangers reviews series. I finally got my Laphroaig Cairdeas 2015 liquid and I just had to taste it as soon as possible :-)

It’s the Laphroaig 200th anniversary bottling, wholly produced in Laphroaig with 100% usage of malting floor barley and according to John Campbell, it should represent how old Laphroaig was used to taste.

Laphroaig Cairdeas 2015 (51.5%)

Nose : Sweet, malty and salty. Then the earthy sweet peat comes in along with citrus and honey. There’s smoky (not smoke) sweet cured meat, lots of brine  and vanilla and after a few minutes there’s...

Fllowing yesterday ‘fight’ between two Glenlivet whiskies, today will bring you a fight between two expressions from another speyside distillery – Glenrothes 1998 Vintage (10 years old but was bottled in 2014) against Glenrothes Alba Reserve .

It was one of the pairs I tasted recently at Dramming.com age vs NAS bling tasting . This time it’s not a whisky vs its’ replacement but one of the regular Glenrothes vintages releases, although this 1998 vintage is the first bottling made with Gordon Motion as the Glenrothes Malt Master and we pit it against their all ex-bourbon (American oak) NAS release. 

It’s time for a new series on the blog – the Headbangers! No, this is not a series of posts on the WWE wrestling duo or heavy metal band, but a series of posts where we’ll put 2 whiskies in the boxing ring and we’ll see which one fares better, get the laurels and majbe get our approval.

Although it’s a series, I will publish regular posts in between as ‘snacks’ and interludes so you won’t get bored of this too fast.

Anyway, time for the first round – we’ll pit the recently released Glenlivet Founders Reserve against the previous core range lowest offering,...

Glendronach is one well loved distillery due to their heritage, sherried profile and the periodical single casks batches.

A quick history lesson: Glendronach was mothballed since 1996 till maj 14th 2002 and it operated under Chivas Brothers until Billy Walker and co (AKA Benriach Distillery Company) bought it in 2008 and the core line (12, 15 & 18 yo) was successfully relaunched in 2009.

Now, If you look at that time table you can see some oddity which was a “secret” for a while (although not that well kept “secret” in the last few years) – All recent Glendronach 12 bottles that...

Feis Ile 2015 was a blast. Or so I was told by friends who attended the Festival. There were many events, lots of music, food and of course lots of whisky. As usual, there were special Festival bottlings by all Islay distilleries and although I wasn’t around, I was lucky enough to secure myself a few samples of them via friends.

This Feis Ile, marked the 200th birthday celebration by Laphroaig and Ardbeg and both distilleries released a special bottling to celebrate the event. Ardbeg bestowed upon the world Ardbeg Perpetuum – a blend of old and young whisky, matured in both...

Almost two years ago there was a big earthquake here. Well, not a real physical earthquake as you maj think but for the local alcohol and whisky scene it was an earthquake of magnitude 9 – the tax scheme on alcohol changed and with it, the doors for larger base of whisky and single Maltwhisky drinkers got opened wide.

And just like mushrooms after the rain, new web shops selling single malts were born, whisky clubs were founded and whatddoyouknow – a few distilleries were founded as well! Some are already working and some are still in newborn steps, going forward...

Oh, I was supposed to be off today without reviews, but I forgot to post a second Ardbeg review yesterday (along with the Ardbeg Auriverdes ) to celebrate the bicentenary of Ardbeg distillery. Therefor here’s a review of the Supernova 2014 I tasted last night to celebrate Ardbeg Day along with my friend Yori.

So Supernova 2014… It’s the third supernova release (following the very successful 2009 and 2010 releases) to celebrate the return to earth of a an ardbeg spirit that spent a couple of years in space. In short, just a marketing gimmick to release another whisky to...