Maltbarn has a new batch of bottlings: Invergordon 1973, Fettercairn 1988, Glen Elgin 1995 and the youngest of them all, this Caol Ila 2004 .

Although I can think of at least two others from the same bottler, you don’t get too many Caol Ila expressions from sherry oak these days. I’m always surprised how it can take the common, clean bourbon profile into different directions.

Caol Ila 12 yo 2004 (54,7%, Maltbarn 2017, 175 btl.)

Nose: the sherry isn’t all that loud, yet it gives it a nicely tarry, sooty edge and a certain hint of Laphroaig,...

This new Glen Keith 1992 seems to be a sister cask of the one bottled by the same bottler back in 2014. Look at the colour, and you’ll be surprised that it was bottled from a bourbon barrel …

Glen Keith 24 yo 1992 (59,7%, Archives ‘Fishes of Samoa’ 2017, barrel #120633, 131 btl.)

Nose: one where the fruits and the (heavy) oak go hand in hand. It’s packed with melons, apricots, yellow plums and Haribo sweets, even more so when you add some water. But it also has lots of freshly sawn oak, leathery touches and vanilla....

The story behind The Syndicate blend starts in 1958, when ten forgotten barrels of blended Scotch were discovered in a warehouse owned by William Muir Bond 9 Ltd. Having been distilled in 1954 it turned out to be a fine whisky, which was left to mature further until part of it was bottled in 1966 for the directors of the company and a group of friends – six people in total, hence the name.

Today The Syndicate 12 Year Old is made with 18 malt and 4 grain whiskies. As it is matured in a solera (a system of fractional...

I have been on vacation the past three weeks and published reviews from a buffer, which explains the fact that I could not write about the latest releases. I’ll try to catch up as soon as possible…

Highland Park Valkyrie is the first expression I can try from the rebranded core range. It replaces Highland Park Dark Origins and it’s the first release of a new Viking Legend series which will also include Valknut and Valhalla down the line.

Compared to Dark Origins, Valkyrie uses less first-fill sherry casks and less European oak. On the other hand half of...

Inchmoan 12 Year Old is a peated expression from the Loch Lomond stills. The spirit is a combination of 3 styles, all peated. Two of them are produced in the straight neck still and the third one in traditional pot stills. Different styles of peat are used.

Inchmoan 12 yo (46%, OB 2017)

Nose: very earthy and muscular, with germolene and vegetal touches. Slightly dirty. Warm leather. Moss. Roasted peanuts and burnt cake. Old ashtrays. Mouth: roasted nuts and sweet ashy peat, definitely in a mainland style without medicinal touches. Fairly creamy but with an underlying black pepper...

Baretto in Milan was the exclusive importer for Italy of Glenlivet in the 1960s and 1970s. Their Glenlivet 12 Year Old was an unblended all malt – already quite something back in the 1960s and 1970s when the single malt market was very, very small.

Glenlivet 12 yo ‘Unblended all malt’ (45,7%, OB for Baretto, early 1970s)

Nose: at the same time elegant and weighty, highly integrated. Something of honeyed tea (chamomile), vanilla and blackberries, but also lots of old-school notes. Silver polish, subtle smoke, grease, leather and leafy notes. Hints of iron and candle wax. Rye bread...

There have been several Glenfarclas 2000 vintage releases, bottled around 2013-2015. This one says Premium Edition on the label.

Glenfarclas 2000 ‘Premium Edition’ (46%, OB 2015, Oloroso sherry casks, 6000 btl.)

Nose: fairly light sherry. Apricots, fresh plums and citrus notes, with traces of fruit eau-de-vie. Quite a lot of plain barley. Hints of vanilla and beeswax. A bit of floral honey and toffee. Quite a rich spirit, although there’s relatively little sherry for a Glenfarclas. Mouth: sweet and oily. Honey and vague fruity notes (plums and oranges). White pepper and light hints of clove. Light herbal touches...

The Kincardine follows on from Adelphi’s Glover series. This time, it’s a blend of hogsheads from Glen Elgin and Macallan from Scotland, with two casks of Amrut from India. A cross-continent blended malt.

The Kincardine has been inspired by a Scot who helped shape modern India, Victor Alexander Bruce who is the great grandfather of Adelphi’s Master Blender and Director Alex Bruce.

While 7 years maj not seem old, keep in mind that you rarely see those ages from Indian distilleries, who struggle to fight the angel’s share in their hot climate.

The Kincardine 7 yo (52,9%, Adelphi...

Although the name Aura doesn’t really indicate it, Teerenpeli Aura was matured in a porter cask . That’s right. An ex-bourbon cask that was seasoned with Porter beer (produced by Teerenpeli as well, after all they are originally brewers) for about a month. The whisky then matured its whole life (five years) in this cask.

We already know they make good spirit so we’re interested to find out how it works out in this uncommon cask type.

Teerenpeli Distiller’s Choice ‘Aura’ 5 yo (43%, OB 2016, 50 cl, 426 btl.)

Nose: sweet and malty, with subtle roasted /...

Aultmore 10 yo 2006 (58,7%, Liquid Treasures ‘Artist Edition’ 2017, bourbon hogshead, 282 btl.)

Nose: neutral whisky, entirely on malt and fruit eau-de-vie. Honeyed muesli bars. Something of sugar coated cookies. Apples and yellow plums. Grassy notes. Mouth: rather sweet and again very malty. Plenty of honey. Stewed plums, hints of butter pastry and vanilla custard. A little chocolate. Ginger and dried grasses. Finish: medium long, grainy, with lingering mocha.

A neutral dram, with fruits, candy sugar and vanilla. Not bad but modern and slightly uninspired, from a distillery that is always rather middle-of-the-road to me. So far no indy...

Made by the owners of the Springbank distillery, J and A Mitchell, the Campbeltown Loch 21 Year Old is made with up to 60% single malt, a big part of which is Springbank of course. The other 40% is said to be Girvan grain whisky. A minimal blend , just as we like ‘em.

Campbeltown Loch 21 yo (46%, OB +/- 2017)

Nose: rich and malty, with orange marmalade, floral notes and sweet lemon glaze. damp oak. Very little peat for a Springbank, closer to Hazelburn. Resin. Apples. Soft sherry notes. Cardamom. New leather. Mouth: sweet fruits, candied...

Isle of Jura 21 Year Old used to be available as part of the core range (bottled at 40%) until 2008-2009. It was discontinued and brought back at 44% for the 200th anniversary of the distillery in 2010. Shortly after it returned to the core range.

Jura 21 Years is part of the ‘rare expressions’, topping the 10yo Origin, the 16yo Diurach’s Own and a couple of peated releases.

Isle of Jura 21 yo (44%, OB +/- 2017)

Nose: quite full, with a sherry influence of toffee, cedar wood and nougat. Bung cloth. Citrusy notes too. Hints of...

While visiting the Jameson distillery in april, I tried the Jameson Whiskey Makers series as part of the Whiskey Makers Experience.

This trilogy was launched in juli 2016 and each expression was created by one of the key craftsmen behind the Jameson brand: Brian Nation (Master Distiller, responsible for the spirit), Ger Buckley (Head Cooper, responsible for the casks and wood management) and Billy Leighton (Master Blender). They all tried to create a whiskey that focuses on their part of the production process.

All are bottled at 43% and priced around € 60.

Jameson Distiller’s Safe

A...

Glen Spey … one of the most obscure distilleries in Scotland, right? In the heart of Speyside (Rothes), part of Diageo, producing Maltwhisky for J&B and other blends, yet it’s very much under the radar of whisky enthusiasts.

Very little bottlings as well, it has been four or five years since I tried my last Glen Spey (a few good ones though) and I’ve never had modern production like this Glen Spey 2004 bottled by Gordon & MacPhail .

Glen Spey 2004 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice 2013, refill bourbon barrels)

Nose: fresh but shy and...

This Loch Lomond 2001 is an exclusive single cask specially bottled for The Whisky Shop by Loch Lomond distillery. It spent 16 years in French Limousin oak.

Loch Lomond 16 yo 2001 (56,5%, OB for The Whisky Shop 2017, Limousin oak cask #16/329-2, 384 btl.)

Nose: starts on green apples, quickly joined by a gristy, peaty side and some oats. Hints of dough, mint and fragrant oak shavings. Soft vanilla. Light musty notes in the background. Reminds me more of the old production than of their reworked Loch Lomond 12 for instance. Mouth: plenty of apples again, pear...

Quite a rare Highland Park 1972 , bottled in Cadenhead ’s Authentic Collection, almost 25 years ago already. Hard to come by, but a bottle with a great reputation.

Highland Park 21 yo 1972 (56,5%, Cadenhead ‘Authentic Collection’ 1994, sherrywood matured)

Nose: starts a bit flat, with lots of dates, honey and caramelized nuts, but it folds open to a wonderfully deep sherry nose. Brighter fruity notes (raspberries, oranges, raisins). Hints of allspice and ginger. Leathery notes and something waxy. Faint heather smoke. A bit of musty cellars. Mouth: rather perfect, heavy sherry, with a superb balance of...

Although I never came around trying their releases, I’ve always been intruiged by the idea of the Lost Distillery Company . Over the centuries so many distilleries have been closed or destroyed, and no production survived. The company researches their production methods, location, historical conditions etc. to get an idea of what their malts could have been like .

There’s no magic in that. No proof or certainty either. You could argue that yeasts, barley, wood and production methods in general have changed so much that it’s impossible to get close to what they must have tasted like back then,...

Loch Lomond 12 Year Old has been aged in three types of cask: bourbon, refill and recharged casks. It is also very lightly peated, but that only comes out in the very end.

Loch Lomond 12 yo (46%, OB 2017)

Nose: quite a subdued start on oats, marmalade, caramel and a metallic note. Sponge cake. Unripe pear and tangy lemon. Spicy / dusty malt. Quite a neutral, reticent spirit (I tried this after the more summery, more open Inchmurrin 12 Years). Mouth: an instant oak feel, hints of brown sugar and yellow apples, citrus and a hint of...

Part of the recent Faces of Angkor series from Liquid Treasures : a middle-aged Bruichladdich 1990 .

Bruichladdich 26 yo 1990 (47,3%, Liquid Treasures ‘Faces of Angkor’ 2017, bourbon cask)

Nose: melons, green apple, peaches and lemons. Fruity notes, almost fruit candy or lemonade. Hints of floral honey. Bergamot majbe. Few spices, but there’s a very light maritime touch. A rather classic Laddie nose for this period. Mouth: similar fruity freshness. Quite summery, peaches, mirabelles, sweet grapefruit, hints of coconut and pepper. A very light salty edge. All good, even if that is a little predictable perhaps. Finish:...

Talisker 26 yo 1990 (53,3%, OB ‘Casks of Distinction’ for Boyao Zhao, ex-bourbon cask #5407, 222 btl.)

The Chinese investor Boyao Zhao has a second bottling in Diageo’s super-premium Casks of Distinction programme. As a Talisker fan he picked a Talisker 1990 to follow up his excellent Lagavulin 1992 . The bottles should arrive in China by augusti, but like last time, they will not be publically sold.

Karuizawa Golden Geisha

Elixir Distillers (the Whisky Exchange sister formerly known as Speciality Drinks) announced two new Karuizawa bottlings: Karuizawa Golden Geisha 33 yo 1981 (63,4%, 129 btl., around €...