Distilled in 2012, the Kilchoman Red Wine Cask is not just a finishing – it spent its entire life in wine casks from the Douro Valley in Portugal. It follows Port, Madeira and Sauternes matured expressions released annually by the distillery since 2014. It is bottled at 50%, slightly more than their typical 46%.

Kilchoman ‘Red Wine Cask’ 2012 (50%, OB 2017, 7000 btl.)

Nose: quite a buttery version, with brioche, hints of red berry tartlets and sweet pears. Lots of cold ashes as well as some punchy oak. Liquorice and rose pepper. Vanilla in the background. Light...

Claret wine casks are not exactly my preferred type of casks for whisky maturation. But sometimes they deliver a very nice result. Enter this Glenburgie 1993 from Cadenhead’s .

It was distilled in september 1993, filled into a bourbon cask and transferred to a refill Claret cask in 2008 before being bottled in Autumn 2017.

Glenburgie 24 yo 1993 (53%, Cadenhead’s Cask Strength 2017, refill Claret cask, 216 btl.)

Nose: bright, aromatic and sweet. Cut apples, hints of berries and peaches. Hints of grapes as well, but other than that the wine influence is very subtle. Pineapple sweets....

Balvenie’s David Stewart was one of the first distillers to experiment with cask finishing, giving a mature whisky a second ageing period in a different cask type. In 1983 he created Balvenie Classic , which was rebranded in 1993 as Balvenie DoubleWood . Nowadays cask finishing is all over the market but it’s fairly new nonetheless.

Since 2012 the normal 12 years old version has an older sibling: Balvenie DoubleWood 17 Years . Matured in American oak ex-bourbon casks and later in European oak sherry casks.

Balvenie 17 yo DoubleWood (43%, OB +/- 2017)

Nose: very fresh and...

We already had a good Secret Distillery #2 15 yo from That Boutique-y Whisky Company . This is from a different undisclosed distillery though, a Speyside distillery that is “known for its independence and for its massively sherried whiskies”. Enough information.

It is 9 years old and clearly comes from sherry casks.

Secret Distillery #1 9 yo (51,7%, That Boutique-y Whisky Company 2017, Batch #2, 1220 btl.)

Nose: sherry all the way, on the darker side of the spectrum. Treacle, dark chocolate, soaked raisins and lots of dates. Blackberry jam. Also roasted hazelnuts and some meaty hints. Mouth:...

Some time ago I reviewed a Tamnavulin 1992 from Cadenhead and said this whisky didn’t really exist as a single malt until the Tamnavulin Double Cask was launched some time ago. It is the first official bottling in more than 20 years.

Tamnavulin distillery changed hands in 1993 from Invergordon Distillers to Whyte & MacKay and was silent between 1995 and 2007 for renovation and upgrades.

Double Cask was initially matured in bourbon barrels and has been finished in sherry butts. It is the only expression for the foreseeable future, although they are sitting on some stocks that go back...

A lot of independent Glenrothes releases these days, many of which are dark sherry casks.

Today we’re trying one bourbon expression bottled in Holland by The Duchess and and at least one sherry bombs bottled by Sansibar.  The third one is from the latest Butterflies series by  Antique Lions of Spirits . As it turns out, the same age but three totally different profiles.

Glenrothes 20 yo 1996 (52,8%, The Duchess Shieldmaidens 2017, bourbon hogshead #10/1996)

This cask was apparently shared with Whiskyclub Ypenburg.

Nose: very natural, with varnished oak, sugared cereals and plenty of lemons and unripe...

Islay’s oldest distillery released a 19 year old hand-filled single cask for Feis Ile 2017. Matured in a first-fill Oloroso puncheon , this whisky was distilled in januari 1998 and bottled on the 27th of maj 2017.

People started queuing as early as 7am in front of the distillery. With only about 600 bottles available (and a questionable policy of selling 4 bottles per person), it sold out in a matter of hours. I was able to buy one in the secondary market, with a significant premium, but somehow I was triggered by the profile and a few early reviews....

It has been a long time since we’ve tried Port Askaig bottlings. These undisclosed Islay malts (often Caol Ila, but not all) are bottled by Speciality Drinks (member of the Whisky Exchange group) and the range has been growing steadily since the launch in 2009 .

One of the latest additions is this Port Askaig 15 Year Old Sherry Cask , a vatting of peated whisky from 1997 (20%) and fruitier spirit from 2001 (80%). They were married together at 50% ABV for three months and then brought back to bottling strength. All matured in first-fill Oloroso sherry butts.

 ...

Liquid Treasures has a new Miltonduff 1995 that has just arrived in store.

Miltonduff 22 yo 1995 (56,1%, Liquid Treasures 2017, bourbon hogshead)

Nose: very barleyish start, with green apples, pears, some grassy notes. Fresh herbal touches. Porridge. There’s also a mint / menthol theme. A pretty simple dram with textbook bourbon maturation. Mouth: majbe a little hot, with some beer-like notes, citrus fruits and a minty oakiness. Nicer with water, there’s a light hoppy side to it, and you get some mocha notes towards the end. Whiffs of pepper and light waxy notes. Finish: medium length, same...

Maltwhisky Yearbook 2018

The Maltwhisky Yearbook 2018 (edited by Ingvar Ronde) has been on our desk for over a week now, always a pleasure. It is a reference for all whisky lovers: you’ll find out how the industry is performing / evolving, you’ll get some background information on current-day trends and there’s an in-depth profile of each distillery, with the range of whiskies they have on offer.

The first part of the book is always a series of background articles:

• Secrets of the Stillmakers by Gavin D Smith, an interesting look behind the scenes of Forsyth’s and other...

As you know, I attended an exquisite Dalmore tasting courtesy of their Belgian importer The Nectar , which culminated in a sip of the Dalmore 50 Years , a special release to celebrate the 50th work anniversary of Master Blender Richard Paterson.

The distillery released more celebration bottlings this year, like the Dalmore Quintessence and this Dalmore 35 Years . It has been aged in three types of cask: first-fill ex-bourbon barrels, Matusalem sherry butts and a Colheita Port pipe. It is presented in a hand-blown Baccarat crystal decanter, adorned with a silver Dalmore stagg emblem.

Just 1000 bottles will...

A Glen Spey 1988 that was released some time ago by Sansibar in their Samurai label series.

Glen Spey 27 yo 1988 (47,7%, Sansibar ‘Spirits Shop Selection’ 2015, bourbon barrel, 198 btl.)

Nose: medium fruity (melon, sweet lemon, hints of papaya) mixed (and slightly muted) by some chalky notes and sweet grassy notes and hay. Plain oak, as well as some minty notes. After a while the fruitiness become rather candied (pineapple cubes). Mouth: some creamy fruits again, as well as some marzipan, but there’s also the sharper, greener, grassier side. Lots of citrus zest. Slightly bitter grapefruit...

Mackmyra Moment Körsbär and Mackmyra Skördetid are two of the latest releases from the Swedish distillery.

Körsbär is Swedish for cherry : it was matured in first-fill bourbon and first-fill Oloroso sherry casks that were previously filled with sweet cherry wine , combined with different types of small ‘Mackmyra Reserve’ 30-litre casks. It is probably the pinkest whisky I’ve seen!

Mackmyra Moment Körsbär (47%, OB 2017, 2400 btl.)

Nose: the fragrant cherry wine is quite obvious. Sweet cherry candy, as well as some strawberry pie, cinnamon pastry and juicy pears. Cassis lemonade. Plenty of vanilla. Subtle floral touches...

Sure, I’ve reviewed Old Pulteney 17 Years before, but that was an old bottling, almost seven years ago . An eternity if you keep in mind that Pulteney started releasing single malts less than 20 years ago.

The 17 Year Old predominantly features ex-bourbon maturation, with the addition of spirit that has been matured in Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez casks.

Throughout the years Old Pulteney 17 Years won numerous awards. There’s now a good reason for reviewing it again: the 21 Years is officially discontinued and the 17 Years will suffer the same fate early 2018 . That’s one good-value...

Glenmorangie 1989 Grand Vintage

Matured in Bond House No.1 and bottled at 43%, the new Glenmorangie 1989 is the latest Grand Vintage release from this distillery. Just over 6000 bottles will be available.

anCnoc Peatheart

anCnoc Peatheart is a new peated release (40 ppm ‘heavily peated’) in the growing smoky range from this distillery. It’s a NAS bottling at 46% and apparently it will come in numbered batches.

Wemyss Malts – Autumn 2017

There’s a new batch of single cask releases from Wemyss Malts, with prices between € 60 and € 390 more or less, all...

The autumn of 2010 was wet and windy. A late harvest saw Octomore farmer James Brown facing heavy losses from greylag geese and herds of wild red deer, resulting in a precious little yield. Malting the this Octomore grain produced results that were unprecedented, the readings came back at 309.1ppm.

That makes this Octomore 08.3 the peatiest Octomore ever, and the peatiest whisky ever at a staggering 309 ppm. The spirit was matured in 56% first-fill bourbon casks, the remaining in ex-Paulliac, Ventoux, Rhone and Burgundy wine casks.

It is part of the Octomore Eights Masterclass series. It contains 3...

Highland Park has released a new exclusive single cask edition for London Gatwick airport and World Duty Free . It marks the opening of Gatwick’s new North terminal WDF store.

This Highland Park 2005 single cask #1140 was matured for 12 years in a refill sherry butt. It was seasoned for two years with Oloroso before arriving at Highland Park, and it was used to mature another whisky before this one went in. They ‘repair’ refill casks (mixing staves) which means they can’t state whether it was European or American oak.

Highland Park 12 yo 2005 (66,4%, OB...

Remember the two Inchmurrin 2003 casks bottled by The WhiskyNerds early augusti? There was a bourbon-matured ‘Order’ and a sherry-matured ‘Law’ , both among the best value drams I’ve had this year.

A small part of both casks was kept aside and married together for two months to create a beautiful vatting of presidential allure: The Executive , influenced by two types of wood.

Inchmurrin 14 yo 2003 ‘Executive’ (54,6%, OB for The Whiskynerds 2017, sherry + bourbon vatting #17/171-1, 495 btl.)

Nose: you get the bourbonny oak first, but the sherry grows over time. In the...

That Boutique-y Whisky Company bottles single malts from a variety of renowned distilleries, but they also release their own blends and – in this case – blended malts. They are numbered #1, #2… each indicating a certain profile. The actual malts involved maj vary as new batches are released within these Blended Malt profiles.

While Blended Malt #1 is said to be teaspooned Balvenie, Blended Malt #2 should be a true blended malt with different single malts brought together by the TBWC team. We’re trying Batch #2 of Blended Malt #2 – in the meantime there has been a third batch...

Another cask from Batch 15 of the single casks: GlenDronach 1994 cask #3379 , a Pedro Ximénez puncheon.

GlenDonrach 22 yo 1994 (51,6%, OB 2017, PX puncheon #3379, 456 btl.)

Nose: rather winey in a way that reminds me a lot of some Brandy de Jerez (which uses ‘seasoned sherry casks’ similar to those used for whisky maturation). Jammy fruits (raspberry, strawberry, plums), slightly ethereal, I like that. Hints of rose pepper and cinnamon. Rum & raisins. Hints of rose petals and rosemary. Mouth: slightly alcoholic, with preserved fruits and Ginjinha cherries. Sweet and sour, majbe an oaky...