A comparison of two Glenrothes bottlings by Sansibar . Not the same vintage and not the same cask type, yet they’re not as far apart as you would expect.

Glenrothes 25 yo 1988 (47,2%, Sansibar 2013, bourbon cask, 127 btl.)

Nose: gentle, ripe fruits. Yellow apples, oranges, a hint of pineapple and melon. Generous notes of honey and vanilla. Then also a lightly sour edge as well as some grassy and earthy notes. Mouth: even more on the fruity notes. Oranges, pears, grapes and more tropical hints of papaya and mango. A hint of waxed oak and mild...

BenRiach started doing peated runs in the 1970s – some of the legendary 1976 single casks were peated. As far as I know it wasn’t until 2007 that they were released, all with Latin-sounding names. Remember BenRiach Arumaticus Fumosus , Maderensis Fumosus, Heredotus Fumosus or Curiositas?

majbe because of their long experience, I’ve always found BenRiach’s peated malts among the best from non-Islay distilleries. Nowadays BenRiach uses the same ppm as Laphroaig, around 45 ppm (using the colorimetric scale).

The top of the range has always been the 21 Year Old Authenticus, until it was upgraded to this BenRiach 25...

The Sherry Project 1 series consists of four sherry cask expressions from the Smögen distillery in Sweden. All four have been distilled in juli 2011 and matured in casks seasoned with sherry. This Sherry Project 1:4 was full-time matured in European oak quarter casks.

Smögen (named after the nearby Smögen island) was established in 2009, with the first spirit flowing in 2010. They also produce the Strane gin.

Smögen 4 yo 2011 ‘Sherry Project 1:4’ (57,2%, OB 2015, sherry quarter casks #25 + 26 + 27 + 29, 909 btl.)

Nose: elegant mix of peat smoke and sherry....

Some time ago when reviewing the Bunnahabhain Stiùireadair , I said I needed to try a recent batch of the Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old which it would be replacing (in part).

This version of Bunna 12 was introduced in 2011. It was upgraded on different levels: higher strength from 40% to 46.3% ABV and it is now bottled unchill-filtered and uncoloured. It was about time I updated my review of the old batch .

Bunnahabhain 12 yo (46,3%, OB +/- 2017)

Nose: sweet and creamy, but also earthy and leafy, with some smoky oak and light sherry. A...

Compass Box Bounty Hunter

Bounty Hunter in Napa Valley, California is a wine & spirits shop + bar that regularly has exclusive bottlings. Coming up is Compass Box Bounty Hunter , a blended whisky matured in American oak hogsheads, sherry butts and CB’s French oak barrels. Approximately 5% of the recipe comes from heavily peated Islay malt. Only 369 bottles will be available.

Bunnahabhain 1980 Canasta and more

Bunnahabhain announced an £ 11 million renovation in juli and they are also working on a slight update of its label design, with a classy dark version of the...

Ardbeg 1965 bottled by Cadenhead’s . Different versions exist, some with the same strength and possibly with the same contents, see the Sestante bottling for instance, as well as an ‘Andy and Norman’ label.

Ardbeg 24 yo 1965 (54,4%, Cadenhead’s 1990, black label dumpy)

Nose: very pure and rather smoky, hinting towards mezcal. Oily, with hints of a car workshop, turpentine and old greasy metal. Then hints of moss and herbs. Oranges, lemons and a hint of sour plums. Almonds too. Subtle pepper and eucalyptus. Austere aromas but somehow delivered in a rather round way, nice. Mouth: again...

Dino Mancarella is a German whisky lover who was thinking about bringing out a private bottling for some time. It didn’t happen until he tried this undisclosed Speyside Region 1973 by chance and was sold immediately.

Speyside Region 43 yo 1973 (51,6%, Mancarella 2017, +/- 50 btl.)

Nose: fresh fruits (grapefruits, gooseberries, apricots and lightly tropical notes), very subtle resinous notes, candle wax, lots of mint and herbal honey. Subtle hay and aniseed. Orange peels. Just a hint of blonde tobacco. Complex and elegant. As expected: excellent. Mouth: same lightly tropical and gently acidulated notes. Kumquats, mirabelles, oranges,...

I really dig Glen Elgin . I’ve just looked over the 11 expressions I’ve reviewed so far (distilled 1968-1995) and they’re all in the 87-90 region with just one or two exceptions. It’s not a big name but it shouldn’t be overlooked.

Here are two Glen Elgin 1995 bottlings from the same bottler Maltbarn . One dates back to 2015 but the other one is rather new.

Glen Elgin 20 yo 1995 (51,7%, Maltbarn 2015, bourbon cask, 116 btl.)

Nose: great profile. Sweet orchard fruits (ripe apples, greengages) mixed with  Clynelish-like hints of paraffin, motor oil and honey....

Over the past decade, Wemyss Malts sourced an assortment of casks to fill with single malt spirit from distilleries across Scotland, rather than purchase mature whisky. In the new Family Collection they will each year release casks that focus on one specific influence that impacts whisky: specific regions, specific malt, or in this case specific types of wood.

Vanilla Burst is a blend of two Speyside malts from 15 first-fill bourbon barrels. On the other hand Treacle Chest is made with two Highland malt whiskies matured in 15 first-fill sherry hogsheads.

Wemyss ‘Vanilla Burst’ (46%, Wemyss Family...

This is the second release from the Macallan Edition series, a collaboration between Master Whisky Maker Bob Dalgarno and the Spanish Roca brothers who are running El Celler de Can Roca (voted best restaurant in the world twice).

The Roca brothers and Dalgarno picked a whole list of sherry casks, nicely outlined on the box, even with the name of the supplying cooperage. There’s first-fill and second-fill, American and European oak, a bit of everything. For once I kinda felt it was too much information to really make sense or make me understand this whisky.

The Macallan Edition...

Dutch importers Han and Maurice van Wees bottled no less than 8 single casks of Longmorn 1996 in 2013-2014. First a set of five bottlings in the #7231x-7232x series and then three more in the #10508x-10509x series. All of these casks come from the Signatory Vintage stocks, who bottled a lot of sister casks in their own series.

I believe this was the last one, released during the Pot Still Festival 2014.

Longmorn 17 yo 1996 (59,0%, van Wees ‘The Ultimate’ 2014, sherry butt #105084, 594 btl.)

Nose: starts slightly (saw)dusty, but the fruitiness follows. Red berries, dates,...

A Caol Ila 1978 bottled in 1991 by Gordon & MacPhail for their importer Giuseppe Meregalli in Milan after some 13 years. There seems to be a second version bottled in 1992 as well.

Caol Ila 1978 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail for Meregalli 1991)

Nose: classic old coal smoke alongside waxed papers, some grassy notes and peppery touches. Apple peelings. Hints of seaweed. Walnuts. Something of sweet almonds and rosemary in the background. Beautiful. Mouth: smoky and salty, with lots of grainy notes and perhaps a slight spirity edge. Some green apples, liquorice and eventually also warmer notes,...

After a maturation in standard American oak casks, The Dalmore 18 Years spends three years in Matusalem sherry butts and then some time in ‘other’ sherry butts.

Dalmore 18 yo (43%, OB +/- 2017)

Nose: nice and thick, with plenty of the sherry shining through. Full of fruit cake, raisins, blood oranges and milk chocolate. A hint of cherries. Hints of crème brûlée and dark bread. Some vanilla and a hint of potpourri. Mouth: smooth, thick and almost syrupy, with honey, chocolate coated raisins, dark bread again. Drier hints of tobacco and pepper. Liquorice. A bitter hint of...

Another TastToe exclusive, again sourced from the Signatory Vintage stocks to celebrate the opening of the new store. This time it’s an affordable Clynelish 1996 .

Although 47.7% maj not seem extremely high, it is bottled at natural strength.

Clynelish 20 yo 1996 (47,7%, Signatory Vintage ‘Un-chillfiltered’ for TastToe 2017, hogshead #11447, 129 btl.)

Nose: classic. Warm fruity notes (peaches, ripe gooseberries, lemon candy) and the expected candle wax / beeswax notes, as well as some marzipan. Subtle hints of chalk and plasticine. Kirsch. Back to paraffin. Subtle hints of marshmallow. A rather rounded version, more waxiness than...

Here’s a Glen Elgin 12 Years from a recent batch that says hand crafted several times on the label. Not sure which part of the production they are referring to. Most of it goes to the White Horse blend – little seen as a single malt. This is the only official expression anyway.

Glen Elgin 12 yo (43%, OB +/- 2017)

Nose: pleasant nose, with hints of sweet malt and a refreshing mentholated note. Rather fruity, showing oranges, lots of juicy Granny Smith apples, unripe pineapple. Some honey. A soft floral note too. Mouth: same fruitiness (citrus, apple)...

Bruichladdich Octomore 08 Masterclass

The Octomore Eights Masterclass series consists of four new Octomore expressions, including Octomore 08.3 which will be the peatiest whisky ever produced (309 ppm phenols). Following distillation, the heavily peated spirit was matured in a combination of ex-Bourbon casks, and ex-wine casks made from European oak, for five years.

The series uses 2008, 2009 and 2011 distillates and different cask types, from plain oak barrels to Sauternes, Amarone, Ventoux, Burgundy, Mourvèdre and Austrian sweet wine casks.

The price will be between € 135 and € 185, more or less.

Glen Grant 15 Years ‘Batch...

This Port Ellen 1983 is kind of a private bottling for Botiglieria Corsini , a restaurant annex wine and spirits shop in Verona, Italy.

Port Ellen 11 yo 1983 (43%, Bottiglieria Corsini 1994)

Nose: very clean but nicely balanced. Lemons, vanilla, with growing coastal notes. Oyster juice. Hints of canvas and waxed papers. Hints of almonds, rubbed orange skin and mentholated notes. The sweet waxy side becomes louder and is quite gorgeous. Mouth: surprisingly sharp and narrow. A lot of seawater, tarry notes and soft bitter herbs. In a second wave there’s a bit of sweet lemon and...

TastToe is the biggest whisky and spirit shop in Belgium (perhaps even in Europe), certainly after they moved to a new location in juli 2017. TastToe is now the size of a small supermarket, with huge walls stacked with whisky, rum, gin, cognac, Madeira, wines… There’s now also space for beer, as well as a temperature controlled humidor and wine cellar. See their website for more info.

You can find anything there, from a cheap blended whisky to a € 15.000 Karuizawa. Actually, there’s a special rack with around 40 Karuizawas to choose from. In total they have...

anCnoc Stack was launched late 2016 as part of their rapidly evolving peaty collection. It has been matured in American oak ex-bourbon barrels for more than 10 years and comes at around 20 ppm of phenols.

anCnoc Stack (46%, OB 2016, 6000 btl.)

Nose: a lightly vegetal, mossy kind of peat smoke, sweetened with some honey and vanilla from the oak. Light apricot aromas and stewed apples. Fresh aromatic lemons, bordering on bergamot. Hints of dusty cereals underneath. Fairly light but very pleasant. Mouth: starts on rather deep, earthy smoke, joined by some chocolate notes later on. Hints...

We’ve all come to respect Amrut for making Indian single Maltwhisky that deserves its place in the market. However, they’ve come a long way. I dug up a bottle that I bought in 2008, with Indian text on the label and a pink Indian tax label…

Amrut single malt (40%, OB 2007, Batch 07)

Nose: sweet, with an industrial side. Stale butter, cardboard. Dusty dried flowers. Hints of oranges after a while, some honey and caramel. Perhaps a hint of marshmallow. Mouth: again very sweet, but in a rather indefinite way. Caramel, biscuits, mocha glaze. Then some...