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Today is Valentine’s Day. It’s a day for flowers, and candy, and cards; romance and quiet dinners, and majbe a nice tot of whisky at the end of the day to put a bit of a glow on things. But when you have a sweetie who doesn’t necessarily love the same whisky that you do, the evening drink can be a time for loving compromise. You might want one thing, they might want another…but you can usually compromise on something that both of you will enjoy.

I asked some of the  Whisky Advocate crew how this would play out at...

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Duncan Taylor ’s Black Bull brand is sponsoring Ecurie Ecosse , a motor racing team with a great history that goes back to the 1950’s. The team had a 2011 revival and will now be driving a BMW Z4 GT3 in the British GT championship and the Blancpain Endurance series.

To celebrate this sponsorship, they’ve launched a Black Bull Racer’s Reserve, a 21 years old blend. Apparently the racers chose the whiskies, but the actual blending was left to the specialists at Duncan Taylor.

Black Bull 21 yo ‘Racer’s Reserve’ (50%, Duncan Taylor 2013)

Nose: quite a neutral,...

Läs mer http://www.whiskynotes.be/2014/blends/black-bull-21yo-racers-reserve/

We saw a wave of Glenturret 1980 and 1977 bottlings in 2012 already, from different German bottlers. Here’s one that left behind, now bottled in the new Old Times Diving series.

Glenturret 33 yo 1980
(42,8%, The Whisky Agency ‘Old Times Diving’ 2013, refill hogshead, 253 btl.)

Nose: lots of orange juice, then orange blossom, evolving towards bergamot oils and Earl Grey. Stewed apples. Lovely hints of passion fruits and lemon grass as well. I love this kind of fruitiness. Slightly ethereal, and not a lot besides fruits, I admit, but very attractive. Mouth: such a juicy fruit bowl! This is...

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Another one of these redesigned Liquid Library releases. Something that has become a ‘must-have’ or even a permanent offering for most independent bottlers: Clynelish 1997 .

Clynelish 16 yo 1997 (52,6%, Liquid Library 2013, refill hogshead, 129 btl.)

Nose: quite a round Clynelish, with some lemonade touches and lime juice. Buttercups and other flowers. Green banana. Less waxy and mineral than comparable Clynelish, although there’s surely some brine and waxy notes in the background. Soft peppery hints too. Mouth: again a clear fruity side (oranges, crystallized grapefruit, lemon) with a sweetish vanilla coating. Then it grows oilier and...

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Here’s a sneak preview of Whisky Advocate magazine’s spring 2014 issue Buying Guide. Today we reveal the top 10 rated whiskies. We begin with #10 and conclude with the highest rated whisky in the issue.

#10: Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection Extended Stave Drying Time, 45%, $47/375 ml

Richer and fuller when compared to the Standard Stave Drying Time variant in this Experimental Collection. Sweeter too, with creamy layers of vanilla and caramel. The extended drying time influence tames the dried spice and oak resin and is proof that extended stave aging really benefits older bourbons that might otherwise be dominated...

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Founded in 2012, Gaiaflow is a relatively new player in the Japanese whisky market. They’re acting as an importer for various spirits, mostly smaller brands.

They’re also releasing private bottlings like this Glentauchers 1992 from Asta Morris which has just arrived in Japan.

Glentauchers 21 yo 1992 (48,2%, Asta Morris for Gaiaflow 2013, ex-bourbon cask, 305 btl.)

Nose: sweet and bright. Plenty of fruits: gooseberries, green apples and pineapple cubes. Hints of honeysuckle. Some mineral notes, majbe a little mint and ginger as well. Over time soft vanilla comes out. Simple yet fresh and faultless. Mouth: really sweet...

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I have a couple of 1990’s GlenDronach expressions lined up, all from the latest Batch n°9 of single cask releases (oktober 2013). We’ll start with the 1991 cask #5405 .

GlenDronach 21 yo 1991 (49,9%, OB 2013, Pedro Ximénez puncheon, cask #5405, 702 btl.)

Nose: slightly overweight sherry. Bags of prunes and sticky dates. Caramel and pear syrup. Rather heavy, lacking a hint of brightness, especially since there’s also overripe oranges and a sulphury, vegetal edge that I really don’t like. Not my favourite GlenDronach so far. Mouth: walnuts and rubber, with meaty notes and a heavy caramel sauce....

Läs mer http://www.whiskynotes.be/2014/glendronach/glendronach-1991-single-cask-5405/