Bruichladdich Islay Barley was originally a small batch limited edition, released for the first time in 2013, but our bottle was filled in 2015 so it has more or less become a regular expression. The grain was harvested in 2006, the whisky distilled in 2007 and matured in ex-bourbon American oak.

The Islay Barley is made solely from barley grown on the Rockside Farm on Islay. Bruichladdich has always been working with the idea of terroir in whisky and this is a good example. They source barley from 10 local farms on Islay and also from a few others around...

Tomatin Legacy is a NAS expression matured in virgin oak and then in ex-bourbon casks from Maker’s Mark. A slightly unusual recipe.

What you see in the picture is the new bottle design and branding, available since mars 2016.

Tomatin Legacy (43%, OB 2016)

Nose: light, and it seems bittersweet, although you can’t smell bitterness of course. I get some green notes, like pine wood and green tea. Slightly plankish. Big lemon, some vanilla too. Not much flavour besides this: really neutral and grainy. Hints of dough. Mouth: funny – uncommon flavours for a single malt, and really...

After cask strength versions in 2004 and 2005, Caol Ila 25 Year Old became a permanent addition to the core range in 2010, the oldest to date except for a couple of special releases of course.

Caol Ila 25 yo (43%, OB +/- 2015)

Nose: it maj start on minerals and salty kippers, but it quickly becomes sweeter, more dignified and smoother with the arrival of fruity notes. Apricot, hints of vanilla and pear, with a light minty touch, which grow towards soft medicinal notes. Very nice ashy and oily notes in the background. Delicate, complex nose. Mouth:...

A couple of weeks ago, the Remarkable Regional Malts collection from Douglas Laing was completed with the launch of The Epicurean , a marriage of Lowlands malt whiskies.

We now have Timourous Beastie from the Highlands, Scallywag from Speyside, Rock Oyster from the Islands, Big Peat from Islay and The Epicurean from the Lowlands.

The Epicurean (46,2%, Douglas Laing 2016)

Nose: starts a bit too mashy and feinty for my taste. Sweet grasses after a while, with some citrus fruits and green banana. Hints of grappa. Faint metallic notes too. Takes a bit of time before the typical...

The Caroni rum distillery has been distilling in Trinidad and Tobago from 1918 until 2002, when it was closed due to industry consolidation. They still had an estimated 5300 casks of aged rum some ten years ago and lately many of these found their way to independent whisky bottlers that were looking at more affordable spirits (pioneered by the Italian importers Velier ).

Not a sexy distillery, I’m afraid

We’re trying a brand-new Caroni 1997 in the Liquid Art series (probably a split cask) and we’ve found a sparring partner in the Caroni 1997 bottled by The Whisky...

This is the relatively new version of Bunnahabhain 18 Years. The distillery owners Burn Stewart ditched the caramel colouring and chill-filtration and upped the strength to 46.3% around 2012 if I’m not mistaken.

Matured in a mix of ex-bourbon and ex-Oloroso casks, proportions unknown.

Bunnahabhain 18 yo (46,3%, OB +/- 2016)

Nose: such a nice surprise. Really nice dried apricots, with a leathery hint and some dusty notes that I really like. Highly elegant sherry influence. Cinnamon and red berries. Honey coated nuts and butter pastry. Rich, velvety with a light coastal touch. Beautiful. Mouth: similar thoughts. Fairly...

The richest Laphroaig ever! That’s quite a claim for the new Laphroaig Lore . It is named after the skills passed down over the generations and is the unofficial replacement for the discontinued Laphroaig 15 and Laphroaig 18 . An annual batch should appear from now on.

Laphroaig Lore is a marriage of six different whiskies. On Twitter they revealed that the whiskies in this vatting are 7 to 21 years old , with 3 more ages in between.

• 9 yo spirit matured in quarter casks and finished in virgin European oak hogsheads
• 9 yo spirit matured in re-used...

ACLA de Fans is a taxfree shopping centre in Switzerland , close to the Austrian and Italian borders, with a focus on whisky and interesting prices. They are regularly presenting exclusive bottlings in partnership with The Whisky Agency .

Their latest release is this Cragganmore 2004 .

Cragganmore 12 yo 2004 (54,6%, The Whisky Agency & Acla da Fans 2016, bourbon hogshead, 180 btl.)

Nose: where are my sunglasses? Typical young, fruity Speyside whisky, with lots of pears and apple juice, gooseberries and a nice fatty side. Hints of vanilla custard. Subtle minty notes and sunflower oil. Mouth:...

The Dalmore Luceo is part of a no-age-statement travel retail range named The Fortuna Merita Collection . Each of the four expressions is finished in different types of sherry casks seasoned with sherry from Bodegas González Byass . The partnership between Dalmore and this bodega go back more than 100 years.

The Dalmore Regalis is finished in Amoroso sherry (a sweetened Oloroso), The Dalmore Luceo in first-fill Apostoles sherry (a sweetened 30yo Palo Cortado), and The Dalmore Dominium in first-fill Matusalem sherry (30yo sweetened Oloroso). Valour combines Matusalem casks and Port pipes.

The series was launched late 2014 but was recently...

Glenglassaugh released two new ‘Octaves’ expressions: Glenglassaugh Octaves Classic and Glenglassaugh Octaves Peated . Both have been matured in octave casks, which are made from staves of a used cask and are approximately 1/8th the size of a butt. This results in more interaction between the wood and the spirit. They are bottled at 44% and will be available in the coming weeks.

Also new from its sister distillery: The BenRiach Peated Quarter Casks , matured entirely in casks that are 1/4th of a butt. A similar effect to what Glenglassaugh has been doing. A peaty fruit bomb, they say,...

Ardbeg Dark Cove is a combination of ex-bourbon casks and “its heart” matured in dark sherry casks. The darkest Ardbeg ever, they say.

Ardbeg Dark Cove (46,5%, OB – Feis Ile 2016)

Nose: creosote and a sneaker store at first, followed by hints of burnt meat and light vanilla. Subtle rhubarb and apple. Gingery notes, nutmeg and seaweed. Hints of chocolate truffles. Iodine. Soft leather. It’s rather well-mannered. I like it, but I wouldn’t call it dark. Mouth: sweet peat up front, smoked lemons and medicinal qualities. Some peppery bite. Nice sweet – sour – salt combination. Liquorice....

Bruichladdich had three bottlings available during Feis Ile 2016 :

• Bruichladdich PHD_135 15 yo 2001
• Bruichladdich Valinch 2008 ‘Islay Grown’ Starchmill Darm
• Bruichladdich Valinch 2006 ‘Islay Grown’ Dunlossit Farm

We’re trying the last one, a cask filled with spirit distilled from Chalice barley grown on the Dunlossit Estate . Terroir whisky, from local processes.

The barley is grown in a desolate place known as the ‘headland of the the gallows’. This lonely field is a rare patch of fertility amongst the barren, rocky outcrops and peat bogs tilled continually since Neolithic times. Evidence of Islay’s earliest farmers, dated to...

You maj have received an e-mail from Laphroaig yesterday about the Laphroaig Cairdeas 2016 Madeira . For this year’s Feis Ile , they released a follow-up for their Cairdeas 2013 Port Wood. This time it is a Madeira edition , which I believe is a wood type this distillery never worked with before.

The remaining bottles are now being sold by ballot . If you want a bottle, you can register your interest on the Friends of Laphroaig website and they’ll draw names at random on Friday 10th juni.

Laphroaig Cairdeas 2016 Madeira was matured in American oak barrels (for around 8...

As usual, the Lagavulin Feis Ile bottling is one of the most anticipated bottlings of the festival. There have been stories about long queues but I’ve heard there are still a couple of hundred bottles available from the distillery shop as we speak.

Lagavulin 18 Year Old Feis Ile 2016 was matured in American oak refill hogsheads and European oak sherry butts. Since they don’t mention a vintage this year, it probably means there is some older whisky in there as well.

Lagavulin 18 yo ‘Bicentenary Edition’ (49,5%, OB – Feis Ile 2016, refill hogsheads & European oak...

There are several Invergordon 1972 and 1973 to choose from lately. After the 1972 for Whisky Nerds , I’ll try two 1973’s head-to-head. The first is bottled by Sansibar in its Samurai series.

Invergordon 1973 (52,2%, Sansibar 2015, Samurai label, 240 btl.)

Nose: quite mild, with the vanilla sweetness in first row, and a creamy coconut note next. Hints of white chocolate. Close to rum (some banana and plums), although with the pencil shavings and the herbal notes it also hints towards old bourbon. More grassy hints after a while. Mouth: same flavours of coconut, vanilla cream, a...

In 1887 Alfred Barnard , the writer of The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom , said this about Lagavulin:

“From Ardbeg our route homeward lay through the beautiful village of Lagganmhouillin or Lagavulin, “the Mill in the Valley”, and no prettier or more romantic spot could have been chosen for a distillery. The make is pure Islay Malt, and is principally sold in Glasgow, England and the Colonies.  The make is held in high repute; we tasted some eight years old before starting, which was exceptionally fine.”

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the distillery, they decided to bring...

Most of this week was dominated by the news about the first Diageo Special Releases 2016 and really thin press releases for Father’s Day.

Glenlivet Cipher is a new “mystery malt” much like the Glenlivet Alpha . With its production wrapped in secrecy, you’ll have to try this single malt scotch whisky yourself to break the code. It’s made from a unique cask combination that has never before been used by The Glenlivet and not only is it a whisky without age, vintage or cask disclosure, they are also making a secret of the tasting notes – you’ll have to decipher them with the...

Even after almost eight years, I can count the number of Glenesk reviews on one hand, yet Cooper’s Choice had a 31 year-old distilled in 1984 as this year’s bottling to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Limburg Whisky Fair . In fact this bottler released multiple 1984 casks in the last few months, some bourbon, some sherry.

Glen Esk 31 yo 1984 (49,5%, Cooper’s Choice for Limburg Whisky Fair 2016, bourbon cask #4677, 240 btl.)

Nose: starting on a basket of discrete orchard fruits. Yellow apples, peaches and greengages. Hints of honey and barley sugar. Light vanilla,...

Breaking news: five of the upcoming Diageo Special Releases 2016 have appeared in the TTB database (very early compared to previous years). Here they are:

• Auchroisk 25 yo (51,2%, OB 2016, American + European oak casks, 3954 btl.)  
• Brora 38 yo (48,6%, OB 2016, 2984 btl.)
• Caol Ila 15 yo ‘Unpeated style’ (61,5%, OB 2016, refill American + European oak casks)
• Lagavulin 12 yo ‘Cask Strength’ (57,7%, OB 2016)
• Port Ellen 37 yo 1978 ‘16th release’ (55,2%, OB 2016, 2940 btl.)

With the exception of the Auchroisk, those are pretty much the usual suspects. Can we also...

This Highland Park 1999 was recently bottled as a Whisky Exchange exclusive. TWE already selected this same vintage from the Signatory stocks in 2014, but now they’ve worked with Gordon & MacPhail.

Highland Park rarely bottles ex-bourbon whisky, usually adding sherry-matured whisky to the mix to get their usual, richer character.

Highland Park 16 yo 1999 (56,6%, Gordon & MacPhail for The Whisky Exchange 2016, first-fill bourbon barrel #4260)

Nose: quite natural, showing subtle smoky notes, hints of vanilla and honey, and a big mentholated side. Lots of apples and citrus notes. Yellow candy. Quite oily with faint...