Hanyu 1988 Ichiro’s Malt Three of Diamonds, 19 YO, 56 % This is my last review of a whisky in the Card Series from Ichiro’s Malt for a while. Simply because I do not expect to come across any more of these in the short term. They are becoming very rare. You can see my other […]...

Hanyu 1990 Ichiro’s Malt Queen of Hearts, 16 YO, 54,6 % Here is another whisky in the famous Card Series of Hanyu whisky releases from Ichiro’s Malt. I have tried a few of these before, and I always jump at the chance to try one. The Hanyu 1990 Ichiro’s Malt Queen of Hearts was initially matured […]...

Old Potrero Single Malt Straight Rye Whiskey, 3 YO, 48,5 % I recently came across this whiskey from Anchor Distilling Company. They are located in San Francisco, and actually started off as a brewery more than a hundred years ago. Here is a short quote from the Anchor Distilling Co. webpage: Inspired by his pioneering […]...

Arran The Bothy Quarter Cask Batch 1, NAS, 55,7 % On oktober 19, 2015, Arran Distillery released the Arran The Bothy Quarter Cask Batch 1. Here is what they say about the release: The Bothy is a limited edition of the Arran Malt which pays homage to the use of small casks which would have played a large […]...

Mackmyra Preludium:01 – De första dropparna, 3 YO, 55,6 % Finally I have gotten my hands on the very first official release from Swedish distillery Mackmyra. The Mackmyra Preludium:01 – De första dropparna (‘The First Drops’) is made up from whisky distilled at their first pilot distillery (1999-2002) and de very first casks of whisky distilled […]...

BenRiach 1985 21 YO Richly Peated Oloroso Sherry Butt Cask #3766, 54,5 % I am writing this on Wednesday afternoon, sitting in my hotel room in the Norwegian mountains. There’s a short break in the agenda for a job kick-off thingy. Lots of snow and cold, and things a lot less pleasant than a proper […]...

Hanyu 1988 Ichiro’s Malt King of Diamonds, ~18 YO, 56,0 % I have been lucky enough to try another few whiskies from the Card Series from Ichiro’s Malt. This fantastic series of whiskies from the now closed Japanese distillery Hanyu. The Hanyu 1988 Ichiro’s Malt King of Diamonds was initially matured in an unspecified Hogshead then […]...

Macallan Rare Cask Black, NAS, 48 % In oktober 2015 Macallan released the Macallan Rare Cask Black, a travel retail only addition to their 1824 Masters Series. Other whiskies in this range are the Rare Cask, Reflexion, No. 6 and M. There are a couple of things I love about this release. First off it is […]...

Back in september I visited the Spirit of Hven Distillery on the small island of Hven, in the middle of Øresund, between Sweden and Denmark. The island of Hven has 371 inhabitants and an area of 7.5 km2 (2.9 sq mi). The island was historically under Danish rule, and Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546–1601) built two observatories here, Uraniborg […]...

Teerenpeli 10 YO, 43 % What a massive achievement to be able to release a 10 YO whisky! Teerenpeli is, as far as I know, the first distillery in Finland, and only the second in the Nordics (after Mackmyra) to release a 10 YO single Maltwhisky. Impressive stuff! Nordic whisky is maturing (pun very […]...

The whisky festival season is already well under way, and we are only half way through januari. 2016 is looking good so far, I would say! Arktisk whiskyfestival, Tromsø, Norway On januari 9 I was in Tromsø, Norway, for the Arctic whisky festival (Arktisk whiskyfestival). I was working at this festival, as I sometimes do. […]...

Smögen Sherry Project 1:4, 4 YO, 57,2 % This is the fourth and final installment in the Smögen Sherry Project. A fun project where we as consumers can see for ourselves what effect an increased sherry influence will have on a young whisky. The first one had a 4 months sherry finish, the second 8 […]...

Bivrost Highland Single Malt 10 YO, 43 % Norwegian company Aurora Spirit launched the Bivrost Highland Single Malt 10 YO in mars 2015. This is a collaboration with independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail. They do not disclose which Highland distillery has produced the spirit, so we are left to guess. Aurora Spirit is currently building an […]...

Angels’ Nectar Blended Malt – First Edition, NAS, 40 % This is the first product from independent bottler Highfern, a company founded by Robert Ransom, formerly of Glenfarclas. The Angels’ Nectar Blended Malt is made from one Speyside single malt and two Highland single malts. The distilleries are not disclosed. The first edition of this whisky […]...

64.57 Tutti-frutti, limoncello…, 11 YO, 61,7 % What’s with all the limoncello at SMWS HQ? This is the third sample in my SMWS sample box which has had ‘limoncello’ as part of the name (the others are here and here). Weird! Fruity weirdness! Anyways… We have reached whisky number 9 in the sample box, and […]...

73.64 Anytime can be Xmas, 24 YO, 58,4 % I am still, slowly, working my way through my Christmas calendar of SMWS whiskies. I have now arrived at whisky sample number 8, which (after my blind tasting) turned out to be a 24 year old Aultmore. Aultmore is a Speyside distillery, and a distillery i […]...

Scallywag Cask Strength, NAS, 53,6 % Scallywag is the Speyside variant in Douglas Laings range of Remarkable Regional Malts, a series of blended malts. The original Scallywag was released in 2013, and in 2015 they released this limited cask strength version. The Scallywag Cask Strength has been maturd in a mix of sherry butts and bourbon […]...

Smögen Sherry Project 1:3, 4 YO, 53,7 % On oktober 1, 2015, the third installment in the sherry project from Swedish Smögen Distillery was released. The Smögen Sherry Project 1:3 is four years old. The first two years and 10 months it was matured in 120 litre virgin European oak Quarter casks (cask #36-38), then it received […]...

Pulteney 1990 24 YO Single Cask, 53,7 % It has been a while since last I reviewed a single cask release from independent bottler Cadenhead. Therefore I shall today present to you a very fine release, namely the Pulteney 1990 24 YO Single Cask. This whisky was distilled in 1990 and bottled in 2015. It has been […]...

Kilkerran WIP 7 Bourbon Wood Cask Strength, NAS, 54,1 % Well, yesterday I reviewed my first ever Kilkerran whisky from Glengyle Distillery. Here we go with number two, the Kilkerran WIP 7 Bourbon Wood Cask Strength. WIP is an abbreviation for Work In Progress. The whisky was distilled in 2004 and bottled in 2015. The WIP […]...