I believe Malts of Scotland is one of the biggest sources of independent Glengoyne . While other indies can’t seem to get them, this German bottler keeps a steady stream of releases.

Glengoyne 2000 (52,9%, Malts of Scotland 2015, sherry butt, Mos 15012, 482 btl.)

Nose: bags of oranges and tangerines, mixed with a few dusty grains and hints of brown sugar. Hints of Dutch stroopwafels and latte. Toffee. Apples and plums as well. Mouth: while the nose showed a big sweetness, on the palate it’s fairly dry and spicy, with a bitter edge. Not as thick as...

The other day I realized how long it had been since I last tried a Banff . I know there was a Banff by Duncan Taylor (Tantalus) fairly recently, but that was outrageously priced, which proves how rare this distillery has become.

Banff 31 yo 1975 (43%, Signatory Vintage 2007, hogshead #3343, 261 btl.)

Nose: hay and dried flowers, with lots of metallic notes and greasy touches. Almost phenolic. Wet chalk and gravel. Hints of cooked apple and a faint honeyed note. Quite odd when you read this description, but that’s Banff. Very old-fashioned. Mouth: a bit funny...

As you know, Malts of Scotland is distributed in Belgium by Dominiek Bouckaert who is also running his own label The Whiskyman . Now they’ve released a Malts of Scotland bottling for The Whiskyman , a Coal Ila 2000 .

Islay whisky is so rare these days, that only the bigger independent bottlers have access to it – and want to keep it under their own label.

Caol Ila 2000 (55,6%, Malts of Scotland for The Famous Whiskyman 2015, bourbon hogshead, MoS 15008, 198 btl.)

Nose: pretty much ticking all the boxes we’d expect from good Caol Ila....

Although it has been available since mid-2014 in some markets, the Balvenie 15 Year Old Single Barrel Sherry Cask (quite a mouth full) is still fairly new in this part of Europe. The old 15yo Single Barrel has been replaced by a Balvenie 12 Year Old Single Barrel (bourbon cask) and this 15 Year Old Sherry Cask (from European oak Oloroso butts actually).

Fully sherry matured Balvenies have been rare so it’s nice to see they will be readily available.

Balvenie 15 yo Single Barrel ‘Sherry Cask’ (47,8%, OB 2015, cask #12093, max. 650 btl.)

Nose: I like....

The festival Whisky in Leiden 2015 is coming up in under two weeks, so it’s time to have a look at the festival bottling, an Arran Private Cask distilled in 2000 and bottled from a sherry cask.

Arran 14 yo 2000 ‘Private Cask’ (55,7%, OB for Whisky in Leiden 2015, sherry hogshead #128, 202 btl.)

Nose: starts in a dusty / waxy way. Quickly followed by lots of candied apples and hints of apricots. Honey. A rather subtle, fragrant and very jammy profile. Actually it reminds me of Balvenie in a way. Spicy notes (pepper) with some oak...

Last night I attended a Twitter tasting, which featured three expressions from the core range of anCnoc : the entry-level 12 Year Old , the recent  anCnoc 2000 vintage and the really new anCnoc 18 Year Old.

anCnoc 12 Year Old is mostly matured in ex-bourbon wood, with a bit of ex-sherry casks mixed in, and therefore a classic example of anCnoc’s house style, with lots of barley sweetness, honey and citrus.

anCnoc 12 yo (40%, OB 2015)

Nose: a rather typical, bright and juicy fruitiness. Honeysuckle, sweet and sour (green) apples and plenty of floral honeys....

Dalmore Valour is a true Dalmore : no age statement, low strength and a few tricks with casks. Like most of the new travel retail bottlings by the way, it’s not just a problem of Dalmore.

In this case, the trick is to mention ‘maturation in 30 years old Matusalem sherry casks’. Are the casks 30 years old, or does it refer to the fact that the sherry used to season the casks is 30 years old (on average)? While it maj make the whisky look better, what really matters is that the whisky itself is much younger. The other trick...

Mortlach 1995 ‘Stem Ginger Preserve’ (46%, Wemyss Malts 2014, hogshead, 303 btl.)

Nose: a really interesting mix of fruity notes (sweet apple, rhubarb and even hints of banana) with oily notes (sunflower oil). Barley sugar. Sugared mint leaves. Honey glaze and vanilla. Fairly round and fat with a bright fruitiness. I like. Mouth: again round and mouth-coating. Lots of pear juice and pear drops, a bit of kirsch and pineapple. Honey and barley sugar. Very good, thick spirit. Evolves on grassier notes with hints of salty liquorice. Ah, and quite some ginger indeed. Finish: long, half fruity, half grassy,...

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Noah’s Mill is a Kentucky bourbon whiskey, highly sought after and difficult to get, especially when you’re not in US. For many years it was bottled as a 15 Year Old, but today it is said to be a mix of whiskey between 4 and 20 years old.

It is produced in small batches (less than 20 barrels each time) by Kentucky Bourbon Distillers , which is now operating a proper distillery but acted as an independent bottler until recently. It has been suggested that at least some of their products (Johnny Drum, Willett, Michter’s and others) are distilled by...

Another joint bottling for Massen , De Tongerse Whiskyvrienden and Dram Brothers . Number two is this Littlemill 1990 from Malts of Scotland , released together with a  Highland Park 1994 .

Littlemill 1990 (55,1%, Malts of Scotland for Dram Brothers & Tongerse Whiskyvrienden 2015, bourbon barrel, MoS 15006, 158 btl.)

Nose: dried grasses and hay stand out here, as well as some oak dust. The usual fruity notes are present, but not in the first row. Some banana ice cream, vanilla and guava juice. Waxy notes / lemon balm as well. Spanish horchata. Warmer than others. Mouth:...

Aberfeldy 21 Year Old is a mix of bourbon and sherry casks. We’re trying the new version, part of the restyling process that was started late 2014. It’s the oldest expression at the moment, until we see the Aberfeldy 30 Year Old that will be launched later this year.

Aberfeldy 21 yo (40%, OB 2014)

Nose: fairly neutral, it’s nice but a tad understated. Some berries and stewed fruits. Orange peel.  Subtle floral touches. A hint of coconut as well. Plenty of honey. All fairly standard notes, but I’m not complaining. Mouth: not exactly bold of course. A...

This is the fourth bottling for the Limburg Dramclub . Buying this bottle makes you a member and gets you a ticket for the next Whisky Fair and a 5% online discount during a year. See www.dailydram.de

Although the label simply says Irish malt 2009 , the spirit was supposedly produced at Cooley distillery (which makes it Tyrconnell).

Irish malt 6 yo 2009 (51,4%, Limburg Dramclub 2015, barrel, 141 btl.)

Nose: green Irish notes (pears, lemons, a little banana skin) but generally much grassier and grainier than the ones produced at Bushmills. Subtle whiffs of nail polish remover...

Wemyss announced a new selection of single malts. There’s Bowmore 1995, Blair Athol 1991 and Glenrothes 1993 but we’ll try the Mortlach 1995, Aberfeldy 1999 and this Benriness 2001 ‘Rhubarb Royale’.

Benrinnes 2001 ‘Rhubarb Royale’ (46%, Wemyss Malts 2014, hogshead, 425 btl.)

Nose: a rather naked but fairly aromatic nose. Lots of juicy fruits, apple compote, pears, indeed some rhubarb jam as well. Yellow raisins and red berries. Hints of vanilla biscuits and honey. A few beer-like notes as well. Mouth: bright and sweet again, with stewed fruits and wine gums. A bit youngish alright, but very pleasant....

I’m not sure they are the best whiskies I’ve ever tasted, but some of them are close, and I still feel there’s something special about Brora 30 Year Old . When I started with whisky almost ten years ago, I thought of these bottles as the holy grails.

I can’t stop thinking Brora has been surpassed (in terms of collectability or auction values) by other legends like Karuizawa, The Macallan or Port Ellen. It’s less in the spotlight than it once was, or so it seems. Yet I still think it’s the connoisseurs choice with the most unique character.

I...

I’ve already tried the Glenfarclas 1971 cask #140 from the same series and Glenfarclas 1971 cask #148 for Silver Seal , all bottled in the same year.

Glenfarclas 40 yo 1971 (51%, OB Family Cask VII 2011, sherry butt #150, 468 btl.)

Nose: very vibrant – the sherry is big but not too loud. Plenty of plums, redcurrants and raspberry jam. Lovely polished oak. A little vanilla and treacle toffee. Rum & raisins. Very light hints of lemon candles. Very seductive. Mouth: fresh, again a really nice fruitiness of red berries, juicy plums and a little cranberry juice....

An undisclosed Islay Malt 2007 in the Liquid Treasures series. Other bottlers have released similar casks with a Kildalton reference (e.g. Kildalton 2007 Archives ). So let’s keep it at Ardbeg again?

Islay Malt 7 yo 2007 (51,9%, Liquid Treasures 2014, bourbon barrel, 159 btl.)

Nose: lots of smoked fish, peated malt and clean lemony notes. A bit of tar and burnt heather. Roasted notes, like coffee and almonds. Clean and focused, but there’s a nice fat roundness to it (vanilla custard), as well as a mentholated edge. Mouth: quite sweet (vanilla syrup, pears and wine gums) before...

Springbank 12 Years Cask Strength is matured in a combination of 70% sherry and 30% bourbon casks. The latest batch n°10 was bottled at 53,2%.

Its malt is first dried over a peat fire and then over hot air.

Springbank 12 yo ‘Cask Strength’ (53,2%, OB 2014, Batch 10, ref. 14/532)

Nose: typical Springbank notes like leather and wet chalk, with some zesty grapefruit and brine. Hints of grass. Sharp lemon. Some medicinal notes and smoke. There is however a rounder side to it, a bit of vanilla and dried coconut flakes. Mouth: surprisingly honeyed now. Sweet mint...

This Bunnahabhain 1988 from the latest batch of  Wemyss releases was sold out in no-time. Just look at the colour and you know that you’re dealing with a heavy sherry influence.

Bunnahabhain 26 yo 1988 ‘Kirsch Gateau’ (56%, Wemyss 2014, sherry butt, 442 btl.)

Nose: very rich and highly aromatic. A true sherry bomb. Lots of black cherries, ginjingha, rum & raisins, moeilleux with bits of raspberry, all the usual suspects really. Cinnamon and clove. Hints of walnuts. Very nice touches of polished oak as well. On par with the best GlenDronach releases. Mouth: similar chocolate cake associations,...

Earlier this month, The BenRiach launched two new cask finishes: the BenRiach 15 years old Sauternes finish and this BenRiach 18 years old Albariza , which is a peated whisky finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks.

Albariza is a white chalky soil, typical for Andalucia but similar to the soils of Champagne or Chablis. Nowadays around 90% of the vineyards in the sherry region are planted on Albariza (although mainly with Palomino grapes, not Pedro Ximénez).

The BenRiach Albariza is distilled from peated malt. It was first matured in American oak casks and then finished in PX casks.

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