Tobermory is part of the Burn Stewart group, which also owns Bunnahabhain and Deanston. Their results have been pretty good lately and most of the ranges have been revamped and upgraded recently. Tobermory is frequently seen on the market in the peated Ledaig form lately, especially from independent bottlers.

This Tobermore 10 Year Old was first released in its current form in 2007.

Tobermory 10 yo (46,3%, OB 2014)

Nose: raw grains, lots of porridge. Wet hay. Overripe apples. Not as fresh as I hoped. Goes on with salty seaweed, moss and oily notes. A touch of butter...

Caol Ila 1991 23 YO Cask #1033 Cooper’s Choice, 46 % Let us go to Islay, the island of peaty drams. Let us visit Caol Ila, the giant among the eight, soon to be nine or perhaps ten, distilleries on the island. The Caol Ila 1991 23 YO Cask #1033 Cooper’s Choice is an independent bottling […]...

Ardbeg 17 YO, 40 % Vel, dette er ikke akkurat en whisky som er lett å få tak i lenger. Etter hva jeg har forstått, er den litt sagnomsust. La oss se hva jeg synes om den. Dette er forresten den andre gangen jeg smaker whiskyen. Scoren endte på akkurat det samme begge gangene, faktisk. Whiskyen […]...

Bruichladdich Bere Barley 2008, ~6 YO, 50 % We are testing a Travel Retail Exclusive today. The Bruichladdich Bere Barley 2008 was announced in oktober 2014, and is the third release of Bruichladdich Bere Barley. It was distilled in early 2008, and bottled in 2014, making it about 6 years old. The release is ‘limited’ to […]...

Wemyss Malts announced the release of six new single casks. We’re trying the Bowmore 1998 nicknamed Cacao Geyser .

Bowmore 1998 ‘Cacao Geyser’ (46%, Wemyss 2014, sherry butt, 737 btl.)

Nose: reminds me of the Bowmore 1995/2008 SMOS. Huge tobacco notes, with a bit of dusty leather and huge notes of Mexican chocolate discs. Figs. Also flinty notes and whiffs of gunpowder and rubber (nothing dirty). Lots of ashes. After a while it settles on a sweet & sour balance, with echoes of Balsamico. Mouth: slightly fruitier than expected, with pretty spectacular notes of blackcurrants. The dark chocolate is...

Springbank 1999 14 YO Society Bottling Local Barley, 57,8 % A special release is in the nosing glass today. This is a special release for the Springbank Society’s 10th Anniversary. The whisky has been matured in a refill sherry butt. It was distilled in september 1999, and bottled in april 2014. The total outturn was […]...

The Whisky Mercenary already released a Glenlossie 1992 in 2012 . At the end of 2014 he released a similar expression selected by BYOB-C , which stands for Bring your own bottle club , a newish Belgian whisky club.

Glenlossie 22 yo 1992 (48,2%, The Whisky Mercenary for BYOB-C 2014, 48 btl.)

Nose: aromatic with a firm fruity base (pears, gooseberries, melons). Touches of vanilla, mint and fresh grass. Soft waxy notes. Clean and easy, all fine. Mouth: apples, pears, majbe a little more citrus now. Still very fruity, with an underlying fructose sweetness. Soft spices (ginger, pepper) which...

Highland Park 1991 21 YO Directors’ Cut, 53,6 % Highland Park is one of the distilleries I have tasted most whiskies from, 47 different ones. I usually find whisky from Highland Park to be very nice, whether it is distillery bottlings or releases from independent bottlers. In fact I have only scored four of these whiskies […]...

We have too little Blackadder whiskies on this website, I guess. This label by Robin Tucek has a pretty good reputation, but somehow it manages to stay out of my focus.

This Bunnahabhain 1987 was distilled november 1987 and bottled maj 2014. Plenty of similar casks in the 24xx-25xx range have been bottled in the past couple of years.

Bunnahabhain 26 yo 1987 (61,7%, Blackadder Raw Cask 2014, hogshead #2488, 192 btl.)

Nose: some estery notes at first, moving towards garden fruits and oranges as well as some golden raisins. Polished oak. Honey and cinnamon buns. Unfolds nicely,...

Mackmyra Svensk Rök, NAS, 46,1 % We are going Swedish again today. Mackmyra Svensk Rök (Swedish Smoke) is the first regular expression from Mackmyra that is peated. Mackmyra Svensk Rök contains about 70 % peated whisky and 30 % unpeated (“elegant”). The name reflects the fact that this whisky has a unique Swedish smoke character, as […]...

New Cragganmore expressions rarely hit the market (the last one was four years ago already, not counting the yearly Cragganmore Distillers Edition ). This makes it even nicer to find it amongst Diageo’s Special Releases .

Cragganmore 25 Year Old was distilled in 1988 and aged in refill American oak casks.

Cragganmore 25 yo 1988 (51,4%, OB 2014, refill American oak, 3372 btl.)

Nose: sweet with lots of vanilla, heather honey and hints of honeydew melons. Nice bits of dried mango. The fruitiness is balanced (or muted if you like) by green, spicy oak and liquorice. Soft buttery...

Whisky Advocate’s  Spring issue’s Buying Guide is brimming with reviews; 114 of them to be exact. We’re going to give you a sneak preview by revealing the 10 highest-rated whiskies right here, right now. We start with #10 and conclude with #1.

#10:  Tomintoul Reserve 37 year old, 43%, $600

Not what you’d expect from a malt at this age. Instead of oak dominating the nose, it’s citrus in focus, with orange marmalade, candied orange, and even orange blossom. On the palate this whisky is light and delicate, leading with the citrus notes from the nose. This symphony of orange...