Another release from the new independent bottler Beacon Spirits . This is a Speyside Finest 1975 , usually a nickname for Glenfarclas but we can’t be sure of that.

Speyside Finest 1975 (46,9%, Beacon Spirits 2016, 54 btl.)

Nose: a tad lighter and shier than its Good Vibes sister. However it shares the same beautiful elements: Caperdonich-like apricot jams, tropical hints and plenty of oily notes. In this case there’s also a more dusty / garage-like edge, even a slight chalky touch, nice. Mouth: fairly forthcoming and round, with sweet oranges, kumquat and guava pairing well with sappy...

In september Wolfburn will launch Wolfburn Aurora , a new expression composed with 2013 spirit matured in 80% quarter casks and 20% first-fill sherry hogsheads.

At the same time, the first general release (bottled entirely from quarter casks) will be relaunched as Wolfburn Northland .

Highland Park presented a special edition called Highland Park Hobbister , named after and crafted to highlight the distinctive peat cut from the Hobbister Moor seven miles from the distillery. As there are no trees on Orkney, their peat is composed primarily of heather and has a lower phenolic content. Usually Highland Park is...

Ready for some more mezcal? After the three unaged Espadín examples, we’ll now try a couple of others that are a little different.

Los Danzantes Añejo (45,9%)

Made with Espadín. Mezquite wood is used for the underground fire. Aged for sixteen months – 15% American oak barrels and 85% French oak casks. Around € 85.

Los Danzantes are a group of restaurant owners who started distilling their own mezcal.

Nose: lovely combination of coconut and mint with garage aromas (diesel, hints of paint). Polished oak, as well as herbal notes and leather. Earthy touches and chocolate in the...

I already tried mezcal some twenty years ago, but I have to admit I only knew it as that bottle with the worm inside – a Mexican gimmick and just cheap alcohol. Fast forward to 2004, when I tried the first decent Tequilas and Mezcals, as well as the mildly alcoholic Aztec precursor pulque during my holidays in Mexico. Still, there wasn’t much of an artisan mezcal scene back then.

The last couple of months, I thought it was time to dive a little further into this drink – people kept telling me it was an interesting malternative. I’ll give...

Like Nikka Yoichi , the core range of its sister distillery Miyagikyo was wiped off the table quite suddenly in september 2015. The brand is now represented only by this no age statement expression, simply called Nikka Miyagikyo single malt .

Nikka Miyagikyo Single Malt (45%, OB 2016, 70 cl.)

Nose: more vanilla than in the Yoichi, but just as juicy and fruity. Lots of red apples and rhubarb tartlets here. Lemon sweets and lime blossom. A slight buttery note. Also custard and some warm, exotic wood in the background. Mouth: opens on darker fruits than the Yoichi,...

This Arran 1997 was selected and bottled in celebration of the Limburg Whisky Fair 15th anniversary as well as Arran’s 21st anniversary. It is a single sherry cask. Mind that there were two of these editions: the other one was an Arran 1996 bottled at 54,8%.

Arran 18 yo 1997 (54,3%, OB ‘Limited Edition’ for The Whisky Fair 2016, sherry hogshead #913, 225 btl.)

Nose: nicely citrusy, nicely candied, nicely Arran really. Orange sweet, white grapes, hints of apricots and honey. Just light sherry and probably American oak. Vanilla cream and touches of pineapple. Macadamia nuts and a...

anCnoc Blas is a new limited edition from Knockdhu distillery. It is a mix of American oak barrels and Spanish oak butts, bottled at high strength. Although there’s no age statement, we’ve heard the components are between 8 and 12 years old .

Blas means ‘taste’ in Gaelic, and it’s a bit of a fashionista whisky: the label and packaging were designed by fashion designer Patrick Grant , who also made an accompanying pocket square with a similar bespoke print. Is it me or is this a strange association for the traditional whisky audience – given the high strength I...

A couple of days ago we saw the announcement of two new Tobermory expressions which are the start of a collection of six whiskies, released over the coming two years. Tobermory 18 Year Old (46,3%, blue) was only matured in ex-bourbon casks, whereas Tobermory 20 Year Old (46,3%, red) was finished in sherry casks.

Apparently each bottle contains a small booklet with perforated, numbered tabs. If you collect all six releases and send the strips to the distillery, you have a chance of winning a bottle of the Tobermory 42 Year Old .

Also new: an upcoming Kilkerran 12...

This Lagavulin was bottled for the Jazz Festival 2015 , but it was delivered too late for the festival and still on sale at the distillery when Feis Ile 2016 started, which is why it suddenly gained some renewed attention.

This Lagavulin was matured in refill American oak as well as European oak Bodega casks . It comes without age statement or vintage, but there have been rumours about a vatting of 12yo ex-bourbon and 18yo sherry casks.

The term bodega cask is still not clear to me. It suggests the fact that the cask was used in an actual...

The Whisky Exchange has just released a set of four TWE Exclusives, all sourced from the Signatory Vintage warehouses.

One of them is this Blair Athol 1988 . Signatory has a long relationship with this nearby distillery and they’ve released a couple of sister casks already.

Blair Athol 27 yo 1988 (55,7%, Signatory Vintage for The Whisky Exchange 2016, refill sherry butt #6845, 565 btl.)

Nose: really nice. A bit autumnal, with moss and leafy notes but also elegant, fruity sherry notes, chocolate coated nuts and dates. Thick but the sherry doesn’t overshadow the malty core. Caramelized apples. Hints...

This is the first release in a new Secret Casks series by Whiskysite.nl . It is an undisclosed Islay single malt distilled in 2009 and bottled at 6 years of age from a refill sherry cask. Not Lagavulin nor Bunnahabhain, I’ve heard.

Islay 6 yo 2009 (58,9%, Whiskysite ‘Secret Casks’ 2016, refill sherry cask #7065, 72 btl.)

An interesting salmon / orange hue. Nose: the cask already had its say in merely 6 years. Creamy fudge, but with prominent coastal notes too. Hints of antiseptics and new sneakers. A white chocolate and caramel combination. Traces of red fruit...

I’ve been on holidays in Greece for the past three weeks – you maj have noticed that there were less brand-new releases on the blog. I’m now catching up and we’ll start with this Benromach 1974 single cask .

This well-aged single malt was bottled from sherry butt #1583 , filled by the previous owners and one of the oldest casks in the warehouses.

It comes in the same style of bottle as the Benromach 35 Year Old . A book accompanies the whisky, delving into the Benromach history and providing some fascinating stories about the people behind the whisky....

The Antiquary is a blended whisky created by the Tomatin distillery . In september 2015 they released 800 bottles of this 35 year-old expression . It’s supposed to be 50% Tomatin and 50% Girvan.

The Antiquary was originally created by the Hardie brothers back in 1888. The name is taken from the famous Gothic novel written by Sir Walter Scott, redolent with family secrets, stories of hidden treasure and hopeless love.

Their specific, faceted bottle design reminds me of some 1970s or 1980s blends, but they chose to put the 35yo in a more classic bottle.

The Antiquary...

We already heard some rumours about an upcoming Lagavulin 25 Year Old and they have just been confirmed. This limited edition is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the distillery, just like the wider Lagavulin 8 Year Old release.

There used to be a 25 Year Old expression, a 1977 vintage bottled at cask strength in 2002. The new one is a limited release again and will be a one-off release with just 8000 bottles. It was matured exclusively in Sherry casks and will be available for around € 1000.

The name of each distillery manager and the dates of their...

Since 2012, Talisker 30 Year Old is bottled at the classic 45,8% ABV instead of cask strength. It also comes in a jazzier, shiny red box instead of the old blue cardboard.

Talisker 30 yo (45,8%, OB 2015, 3912 btl.)

Nose: very mild and elegant, with little smoke but a more forthcoming sweet, fruity note. Oranges, apple peelings and red berries. Also oily / waxy notes. Subtle coastal elements in the background, as well as a bit of pepper. Just a hint of charred oak. Very nice, but slightly understated, not to say underwhelming. Mouth: not very punchy...

The Glengoyne Teapot Dram is a ‘tribute to the daily dram that the Glengoyne workers enjoyed three times each day from copper teapots in the distillery canteen’, a custom that existed until the 1970s.

This expression was launched around 2011 and is only for sale at the distillery. It’s matured in first-fill sherry casks and bottled at cask strength. I believe Batch #4 is the latest available version. Each batch is 3000-3500 bottles.

Glengoyne Teapot Dram (59,4%, OB 2014, first-fill Oloroso casks, Batch #3, 3484 btl.)

Nose: lush and very juicy, with cherry liqueur, strawberry jam, bananas and...

Tomatin Distillery released a single cask whisky distilled in 1971 and bottled at cask strength (45,8% vol.) at 44 years of age. The spirit was matured in Oloroso sherry casks and just 252 bottles are available.

This expression is presented in a crystal decanter with an ornate box, part of which serves as a wooden plinth. Price: around € 3000.

Duncan Taylor released a new batch of its Black Bull 40 Year Old , a blended whisky has been around since 2010 ( we reviewed Batch #1 ).

The new batch – now in an all-black packaging –...

Another sample from the latest Spring 2016 releases from Wemyss Malts, a Mortlach 1995 . As always, a single cask bottled at 46%.

Mortlach 1995 ‘Flambé fruit’ (46%, Wemyss Malts 2015, hogshead, 337 btl.)

Nose: juicy fruits. We have green bananas, mirabelles and apricot. Acacia honey and hints of mint. Hints of rhubarb jam as well. Then we get some leafy notes and dandelions before settling on golden syrup and yellow raisins. Clean and fruity, with virtually no Mortlach meatiness at all. Mouth: again very fruity, with apples, yellow plums, sweet and sour citrus and plenty of barley...

This is the new Nikka Yoichi without age statement. After the discontinuation of virtually the entire core range in 2015, including the old Nikka Yoichi NAS , this is now pretty much the only available Yoichi. I fear we will have to deal with this situation for many years.

Nikka Yoichi Single Malt (45%, OB 2016, 70 cl.)

Nose: really nice. Less recognizable as a Japanese whisky, but good nonetheless. Very bright, juicy barley with apples and peaches. Candied orange peel. A little mint from the obvious American oak. A very light smoky touch underneath, with some nutty...

In september 2015, Nikka announced to discontinue all of its Yoichi and Miyagikyo single malt ranges. Not just their aged bottlings (10, 12, 15, 20 years old) but also its NAS offerings and a lot of its blended whiskies. Stocks have simply fallen too low and it will take years before we can think of aged single malt expressions again.

The Nikka Yoichi NAS we’re having today was available in Japan for the last ten years or so and also appeared in Europe a couple of years ago. I understand it is now gone as well and replaced by a...