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...

Läs mer http://www.whiskynotes.be/2014/springbank/springbank-18-year-old-for-the-nectar/

It’s strange how quickly something becomes a yearly tradition. It’s only the second time we’ve given our Whisky and Spirit of the Year awards, but it already feels like a festive fixture. The core idea was the same as last year: choose a shortlist of excellent spirits and whiskies, and then choose one as the best.

As with last year, we went for ongoing, regular releases. On the whisky front, they weren’t cask strength and they were all under £60 a bottle. Again, in common with last year, the choice of Spirit of the Year was almost unanimous, but the...

Läs mer http://blog.thewhiskyexchange.com/2014/12/spirit-and-whisky-of-the-year-2014-15/

Hibiki 17 YO, 43 % Hibiki is the flagship series of blended whiskies from Suntory, and the series was launched back in 1989. These blends are made up of whisky from all the Japanese Suntory distilleries; Yamazaki (malt), Hakushu (malt) and Chita (grain). A varied mix of casks have been used, including bourbon, sherry, Mizunara and […]...

Läs mer http://www.whiskysaga.com/hibiki-17-yo/

Midleton Very Rare 2014, 40%, $125

In living memory, Ireland’s whiskey industry has never been healthier. Irish Distillers has been reaping rewards for their consistent investment this century but they are not alone. The realization of the huge potential for Irish whiskey has led to a flurry of new distillery projects in the north and south. Over the next five to ten years, we can anticipate an abundance of provocative new whiskeys.

Thirty years ago, the very first Midleton Very Rare expression was released on an unsuspecting world. Over the decades that followed, the popularity of this whiskey has grown steadily;...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/12/08/21st-annual-whisky-advocate-award-irish-whiskey-of-the-year/

Läs mer http://www.whiskyfun.com/2014/A-Linkwood-extravaganza.html

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...

Läs mer http://www.whiskynotes.be/2014/benromach/benromach-10-years-100-proof/

Region – California – price – $40

Today’s review is of Lost Spirit’s Cuban Style rum. This one is bottled at the over-proof ABV of 75.5%, or, 151 proof.

There are a few 151 rums out there. Most of these bottlings are ones I stay away from as they just tend to be bottles of pure unadulterated hellfire.

If I do have any 151 rum, I’ll most likely find it sitting on top of a Mai Tai.

I never though I’d see myself pouring and analyzing a 151 rum but given that the Lost Spirits Navy Style rum (bottled at...

Läs mer http://www.jewmalt.com/lost-spirits-cuban-style-rum-75-5-abv-151-proof/

The Macallan Gold, NAS, 40 % The Macallan Gold is the entry level for the 1824 series from Macallan Distillery. I have previously reviewed the The Macallan Amber, The Macallen Sienna and The Macallan Ruby. The 1824 series has no age statements, but uses a color theme, and color names. The darker the color the […]...

Läs mer http://www.whiskysaga.com/macallan-gold/

Canadian Club Chairman’s Select 100% Rye, 40%, $27

The race for Canadian Whisky of 2014 was tight. Crown Royal Monarch was first out of the gate; probably the most flavorful Crown Royal ever. Scoring 96 points in the Buying Guide, Monarch tied the record set in 2010, when Forty Creek Confederation Oak became our top-scoring Canadian whisky ever. A perpetual favorite, Forty Creek followed with another solid contender this year: its 2014 Evolution. Then Highwood Distillers returned from a disastrous flood in 2013 with an even more flavorful, post-flood version of the already spectacular Ninety 20 year old. But everything...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/12/07/21st-annual-whisky-advocate-award-canadian-whisky-of-the-year/

Läs mer http://www.whiskyfun.com/2014/Malternatives-on-Sunday-hourrah-pour-l-Armagnac.html

Kilchoman Oslo Whisky Festival 10th Anniversary Edition, 5 YO, 59,3 % I 2013 feiret Oslo whiskyfestival 10-årsjubileum. I den anledning ble det utgitt en jubileumswhisky, nærmere bestemt en fem år gammel Kilchoman. Kilchoman destilleri ble etablert i 2005 og er det yngste destilleriet på Islay. Destilleriet har rukket å utgi mange whiskyer allerede. Dagens whisky ble […]...

Läs mer http://www.whiskysaga.com/kilchoman-oslo-whisky-festival-10th-anniversary-edition/

Kilchoman Oslo Whisky Festival 10th Anniversary Edition, 5 YO, 59,3 % I 2013 feiret Oslo whiskyfestival 10-årsjubileum. I den anledning ble det utgitt en jubileumswhisky, nærmere bestemt en fem år gammel Kilchoman. Kilchoman destilleri ble etablert i 2005 og er det yngste destilleriet på Islay. Destilleriet har rukket å utgi mange whiskyer allerede. Dagens whisky ble […]...

Läs mer http://www.whiskysaga.com/kilchoman-oslo-whisky-festival-10th-anniversary-edition/

Läs mer http://www.edinburghwhiskyblog.com/2014/12/06/an-education-the-irish-whiskey-academy-part-1/

Sazerac Rye 18 year old, 45%, $80

There were many great American whiskeys released this year, including Booker’s 25 ^th Anniversary release, Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch, and George T. Stagg. However, the winner this year is Sazerac Rye 18 year old .

It’s not just because it’s a classic—I rated it a 95—but it’s also because of its consistently high quality, year after year. That, to me, is this year’s tie-breaker. Limited edition whiskeys change from year to year. Since Sazerac Rye 18 year old was first introduced in 2000, its quality has been stellar and unwavering.

Part...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/12/06/21st-annual-whisky-advocate-award-american-whiskey-of-the-year/

Ledaig 10 YO, 46,3 % Ledaig is the peated whisky produced at the Tobermory Distillery on the Isle of Mull. If you have not been to the Isle of Mull you should definitely put it on your Bucket List, it is a magical little village. The Ledaig whiskies are made with malt which is peated […]...

Läs mer http://www.whiskysaga.com/ledaig-10-yo/

St. George Single Malt Lot 14, 43%, $80

There have been a significant number of “American malt whiskeys” popping up recently, and a fair amount of talk about them. Are they a new class, are they “Scotch” (they’re not, period, end of discussion), and more importantly, are they any good? I don’t think any new type of American whiskey is going to be a class or a category for at least five years—it’s just too soon to tell—but I can taste them now…and this one’s most definitely good.

The St. George Spirits single malt releases have been on my short...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2014/12/05/21st-annual-whisky-advocate-award-craft-whiskey-of-the-year/

[If you missed it, here’s part one: What was a sherry cask? ]

These days, the vast majority of sherry casks used to mature Scotch whisky are specifically built for the whisky industry. They are still usually constructed in the same way as a traditional sherry cask, whether it was used to mature sherry in a solera or transport it around the world. However, not all casks are the same, and there are a number of choices made during their creation.

The first choice is the type of oak to be used. The usual division of oak types in the whisky...

Läs mer http://blog.thewhiskyexchange.com/2014/12/what-is-a-sherry-cask/

Läs mer http://www.whiskyfun.com/2014/A-bag-of-Bowmore-part-six.html

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...

Läs mer http://www.whiskynotes.be/2014/ledaig/ledaig-2004-liquid-art-ledaig-2004-liquid-treasures/

Ben Nevis 2002 10 YO Cask #334 White Port Matured, 56,4 % The whisky of the day is a rather exclusive Ben Nevis expression. The Ben Nevis 2002 10 YO Cask #334 White Port Matured has been matured in a port pipe cask, yielding a total outturn of 710 bottles. It was distilled on 2002-12-09 […]...

Läs mer http://www.whiskysaga.com/ben-nevis-2002-10-yo-cask-334-white-port-matured/