Mackmyra Midnattssol was the second release in a new limited range that takes over from the Mackmyra Special series. The series is based on the seasons . Midnattssol means Midnight Sun and represents the summer. Recently it was followed up by Mackmyra Iskristall , the winter edition.

The Swedish distillery produced this expression from a combination of American and Swedish oak casks that previously held sherry and bourbon. About half of the final composition was then finished for about five months in casks that contained Swedish wine made from birch sap . Mackmyra doesn’t mention an age statement but it’s...

A few weeks back we received a very exciting packaged. Myken Distillery, the worlds first Arctic whisky distillery started production in december 2014, and they have kindly sent us samples of their new make and a sample that had been matured for 12 days in a heavily roasted American oak 5 liter cask. For more […]...

Kilchoman 100 % Islay 4th Edition, 4 YO, 50 % Well, a blind challenge is always an interesting experience. A friend gave me this sample a couple of weeks ago, and I have waited (im)patiently to find the right moment to enjoy it. My tasting notes below are the original ones and has not been changed since […]...

With the mantle of America’s Spirit comes not only support and loyalty, but a certain amount of historical responsibility. Bourbon has been entwined with the history and making of the United States for almost as far back as the Constitutional Convention, but perhaps never so much as when Henry Clay, Kentucky’s “Great Compromiser,” represented the Bluegrass State in Washington.

Clay served as Speaker of the House and Secretary of State, argued landmark cases before the Supreme Court, and gained his greatest fame in the Senate, where he successfully brokered a compromise between the northern and southern states that held off...

Partisanship nearly defines America today. But on Tuesday morning, the Distilled Spirits Council of the US offered some information that all parties can applaud: the American whiskey can claim a banner year. Again. The total whiskey category was flat for years, then in 2011 it picked up steam and it hasn’t shown signs of flagging.

This year’s industry review, which the trade organization presents each februari, revealed that the total supplier sales in the US were worth $23.1 billion. With American whiskey, it’s the same happy story: the category is booming and it’s the high-end and super premium brands that...

Balvenie Tun 1509 – Batch No. 1, NAS, 47,1 % After nine batches since 2010, of the Balvenie Tun 1401, it is now time for the follow-up. Tun 1509 is four times the size of Tun 1401, at 8000 liters, so we should see larger batches released. Balvenie Tun 1509 – Batch No. 1 is […]...

The Whisky Exchange  has just released a single cask  Millstone , produced at the Dutch Zuidam distillery. Founded in 1975, they have been producing single Maltwhisky since 2007, with some peated examples, finished malts and rye whiskies.

This one is produced from rye grain milled by Dutch windmills, distilled in januari 2004 in small pot stills and matured for over 10 years in a new American oak cask.

They say Sukhinder likes this whisky so much that he keeps pinching the sample bottle…

Millstone rye 10 yo 2004 (58,6%, OB for The Whisky Exchange 2014, cask #667, 245 btl.)...

Highland Park 1989 23 YO Cask #10518, 47,9 % Time now for an old whisky from Orkney, the Highland Park 1989 23 YO Cask #10518 from independent bottler Adelphi. This whisky was matured in a refill bourbon cask. It was distilled in 1989 and bottled in 2013. The total outturn was 170 bottles. The Highland Park 1989 […]...

Two sister casks, I presume. Both Maltbarn and Whiskybase / Archives recently presented a Dailuaine 1996 . Or majbe they shared the cask, who knows? After all hogsheads usually contain around 250-300 bottles. In any case similar casks have been bottled by Dewar Rattray for instance.

Dailuaine 18 yo 1996 (48,7%, Maltbarn 2014, bourbon cask, 158 btl.)

Nose: lemon candy and lime, pears and floral honey. Sweet banana ice cream and white grape juice. After that, warmer notes of almond and vanilla cream. It’s quite a sweety but it’s countered by some ginger and a little wax. Mouth:...

Kildalton 2007 7 YO Svenska Eldvatten, 56,8 % Kildalton, a new release from the independent bottler Svenska Eldvatten. Which distillery is this whisky coming from? We do not know for sure, other than it is an Islay distillery. Rumours has it that it is Lagavulin. The bottler lets us know the whisky comes from one of […]...

So far 1995 has been one of the least available vintages of GlenDronach . The Whisky Agency recently selected cask #4408 , an Oloroso puncheon.

GlenDronach 18 yo 1995 (52,2%, OB for The Whisky Agency 2014, Oloroso puncheon #4408, 740 btl.)

Nose: different in the sense that it seems drier, oakier in a way than comparable expressions. Wet leaves and hints of a damp, plastered cellar. Nice enough though. A few citrusy side and lots of berries. Raspberry sweets in the background. Mint. Mouth: much sweeter and definitely more candied now. Raspberry and strawberry candy, a little pink...

Box Whisky The Archipelago Baltic Sea 2015, 3 YO, 54,8 % This is the second special release from Box Whisky. Last summer they released the Box Whisky The Festival 2014, which was a peated whisky. The Box Whisky The Archipelago Baltic Sea 2015 (wow, that’s a mouth-full!) was bottled exclusively for Viking Line and was […]...

Michter’s is a brand name owned by Joe Magliocco of Chatham Imports.

They’re a “non-distiller”, which means they buy bulk whiskey produced at an undisclosed distillery (some say Kentucky Bourbon Distillers or Brown-Forman, majbe others as well) and bottle it under the Michter’s label.

Original Michter’s vs. New Michter’s

Mind that the Michter’s brand is much older. The famous bourbon A.H. Hirsch 16 Years (the best bourbon ever, according to some, distilled in the Spring of 1974) was also produced by a distillery named Michter’s. It was founded in 1753 (as Bomberger’s ) in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania and it closed down...

BenRiach 1985 24 YO Cask #5502, 50,1 % Here is a whisky we tasted completely blind a couple of days ago. Utter darkness perhaps describes this better. We had no clue whatsoever. We were given the sample by good friends who love to challenge us, and we are always ready to be challenged. Having nosed […]...