Läs mer http://blog.thewhiskyexchange.com/2013/12/spirit-year-2013/

Talisker Storm, 45.8%, $66

Talisker in any guise is a very special and idiosyncratic single malt, defining an Island style that is all its own. The last year has seen Diageo expand the existing portfolio with three new Talisker expressions, namely Storm, Dark Storm (matured in heavily charred casks), and Port Ruighe (port finish), all released without age statements. Of this trio, Talisker Storm seems the pick, with one commentator describing it as “…everything that you love about other Taliskers with the settings turned right up.”

One of the ways in which the bolder aroma and flavor profile of Storm...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2013/12/20/whisky-advocate-award-highlandsislands-single-malt-of-the-year/

We’re working our way up in the Diageo Special Releases. This year’s Talisker is a 27 years old 1985 vintage . It has been matured in refill American oak casks. I have to say the packaging, with its out-of-centre labels, looks lovely.

Talisker 27 yo 1985 
(56,1%, OB 2013, 3.000 btl.)

Nose: really great, I love the mix of old books (waxed paper), dusty warehouses, orange peel and vanilla. Sea spray. Hints of wet cloths. Good to find some pastry notes as well as red apples and raspberry. Soft, sweet smoke in the background, with some ashy notes. Balanced...

Läs mer http://www.whiskynotes.be/2013/talisker/talisker-27-years-old-1985/

Kilchoman 2007, 46%, $80

This was a strong year—again—for Islay, with every distillery releasing sublime single malts, which made this decision an incredibly hard one. It ultimately came down to a choice between Bowmore’s The Devil’s Casks, a mentally wonderful sherried 10 year old which must now become a regular release (please?), and Kilchoman , with the latter shading it.

Why? Because here was a whisky which not only showed the difference between age and maturity, but was the first demonstration of a distillery itself reaching maturity, quicker than anyone might have imagined.

Single malt is all about distillery character...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2013/12/19/whisky-advocate-award-islay-single-malt-of-the-year-2/

The yearly Lagavulin 12 Years Old , matured in refill American oak and bottled at cask strength, 55.1% this year.

Lagavulin 12 yo
(55,1%, OB 2013, 11th release)

Nose: sweet, slightly youngish aromas at first. Redcurrant, a little banana. A classic lemon and pepper combination. Earthy peat, kind of leafy, with a soft matchstick edge. Some chalk as well, even a few waxy notes. Is it me or did this one grow towards Laphroaig and Ardbeg in the last few years? Mouth: hot and peppery at first (slightly alcoholic), quite dry as well, with some herbal notes / burnt...

Läs mer http://www.whiskynotes.be/2013/lagavulin/lagavulin-12-years-2013/

Läs mer http://www.edinburghwhiskyblog.com/2013/12/18/lady-of-the-glen-caperdonich/

Macallan Ruby, 43%, £120

To say that Macallan flirted with controversy last year would be a bit of an understatement. The announcement that it was going to replace some of its age statement range in favor of a new selection of No Age Statements graded by color certainly got plenty of people’s backs up. As a result, the new drams tended to be condemned before they’d ever been sipped. Those who did try them would, hopefully, have found that Gold, Amber, Ruby, and Sienna were not only excellent whiskies in their own right, but were excellent representations of Macallan, and,...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2013/12/18/whisky-advocate-award-speyside-single-malt-of-the-year-2/

Cardhu is still the best selling single malt in Spain (and popular in the rest of Southern Europe as well), making it a top-10 malt worldwide, but it’s mostly overlooked by connoisseurs.

This Cardhu 21 Years Old , distilled in 1991 , is part of the Diageo Special Releases . The last time that happened was in 2005. The spirit was matured in ex-bourbon American oak casks.

Cardhu 21 yo 1991
(54,2%, OB 2013, 6.000 btl.)

Nose: pretty neutral. There’s orange peel, yellow raisins and apples. Nice enough, but there’s something of sharper fruit vinegar that I don’t like...

Läs mer http://www.whiskynotes.be/2013/cardhu/cardhu-21-years-1991/

The Big Peat Christmas Edition 2013, 54.9%, £46

I’ve never hidden my love for big peaty whiskies. But this year releases that I thought would set my world on fire failed to deliver, and I found that most of the star performers were from the other end of the whisky spectrum. I was falling in love with gorgeous whiskies from bourbon barrels, laced with tropical fruits and vanilla, and reaching for quirky Aberfeldys and Glen Gariochs. Never was the case made more strongly t han in the case of blended whisky, where a procession of peated but bland blends failed...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2013/12/17/whisky-advocate-award-blendedblended-malt-scotch-whisky-of-the-year/

Läs mer http://www.edinburghwhiskyblog.com/2013/12/17/the-stars-align/

Another release in the recent Age Matters series from The Whiskyman is this Littlemill 1992 .

Recently prices of Littlemill  have taken quite a hike. It’s not totally surprising: this Lowlands distillery has been dismantled since 1997 and the remnants were destroyed in 2004. Stocks are low, and for most bottlers, Littlemill now seems part of the great lost distilleries that will soon become unavailable.

Duncan Taylor recently bottled a 1990 single cask #3045 – it comes in a fancy box and costs € 275. That’s crazy, but it indicates the mindset of bottlers towards this distillery and probably also the...

Läs mer http://www.whiskynotes.be/2013/littlemill/littlemill-1992-the-whiskyman/

Kavalan Solist ex Bourbon Cask, 57.1%, $110

2013 was a strange year for nontraditional whisky making countries. For many distilleries it was a year of consolidation for existing expressions and expansion in to new markets.   A new wave of distillers—Paul John (India) , Overeem, Limeburners, and Hellyers Road (all Australia), Copper Still  (England)—took steps toward the international stage, while only St. George’s in England, Zuidam in Holland, and Mackmyra in Sweden punctuated the year with more than one special and original release.

But the year belongs to Taiwan’s Kavalan , which totally put to rest the notion that it is...

Läs mer http://whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2013/12/16/whisky-advocate-award-world-whisky-of-the-year/

Caol Ila Stitchell Reserve is named after Billy Stitchell , the distillery manager who is retiring this year after almost 40 years. It is the eight edition of unpeated Caol Ila in Diageo’s Special Releases and the most affordable offer in the whole series.

This NAS cask strength Caol Ila was matured in a combination of American oak, rejuvenated American oak and European ex-bodega casks.

Caol Ila ‘Stitchell Reserve’
(59,6%, OB 2013)

Nose: sweet and fudgy, but with a surprisingly grassy, almost tannic profile. Corn flakes, some vanilla. Lots of lemons, both zesty and candied ones. Some resinous notes....

Läs mer http://www.whiskynotes.be/2013/caol-ila/caol-ila-stitchell-reserve/