In the last few years I have troubles enjoying Bowmore whiskies. It’s not the distillery fault that my taste and preferences has changed over the years, but I do keep tasting them, hoping to encounter one that I’ll like and as a service to my readers

The latest Bowmore I tried was the  15th release from the independent bottler Dramfool. It was distilled in september 1996, matured  in a refill bourbon hogshead and bottled in maj 2018, producing 299 bottles at 52.9%.

Bowmore 1996 21 Year Old Dramfool (52.9%,  £125 )

Nose : Starts very floral, gentle peat, lactic, wisps of smoke....

Highland Park offers a distillery exclusive but only if you shell out enough £££ for one of the premium tours and then you have to spend another £120 for the actual exclusive bottle.

In the last few months the distillery exclusive bottling was a 14 Year Old offering from a Refill Butt #3376 that yielded 582 bottles at 57.8%.

Highland Park 14 Year Old Cask #3376 (Distillery Exclusive) (57.8%)

Picture source: whiskybase.com

Nose : Dried dates and figs, cinnamon and some nutmeg, demerara sugar with a touch of brown sugar. After a few minutes there are some dried berries with gooseberries as...

Another day, another review of whisky I liked in the past up to the point I had a bottle but never took notes and this time it’s Glenmorangie Signet.

Glenmorangie Signet is the only NAS whisky in the core line up (the annual Private Edition notwithstanding) and it features some percentage of heavily roasted chocolate malt in the recipe.

The chocolate malt is used a lot for beers but rarely for whisky as the yield is far below the commonly used barley strains in the industry. But it does add some different flavors to the whisky.

Glenmorangie Signet (46%, £135...

A review of a blended whisky? Sure, why not? Especially when it’s a blended whisky with a pedigree:

All the way back in 1958, a rare blend of Scotch malt and grain whiskies was found in 10 casks in a warehouse owned by William Muir Bond 9 Limited. Having been distilled in 1954 and made to a recipe that dates back to the 1800s which was enjoyed by royalty, it’s safe to say it was quite a good find indeed.

In 1966, when the whisky was 12 years old, a quantity was bottled for the Directors of William Muir Bond...

Distell, the owners of Tobermory, Bunnhabhain and Deanston distilleries (after purchasing Burn Stewart Distillers back in 2013), has announced last week a formal collection of limited editions for 2018 with six whiskies from those distilleries.

In 2017 we had a similar collection from Distell although it was not officially announced as a global and unified series. The 2017 collection included two Bunnahabhain whiskies (Moine Brandy Finish and PX Finish), Deanston in Bordeaux wine casks and a few more releases from Tovermory and one of those ‘extra’ releases was the Ledaig 13 Year Old Amontillado Finish which became a big hit...

Edition Spirits Tamdhu 1999 (18 year old) 51.5%

Bourbon/ Code: EDI0341/ Dist: Apr 1999 Btl: ?/ Tasted: Mar 2018

Initially the nose is quite tight with hints of fragrant barley, malt, apricot and dark honey. It opens a little to show some dusty, almost gristy barley and a tart lime infused fruitiness.

The palate is also a bit tight with barley, malt and milky oak. Hints of apricot, grass and orange appear, but the citrus is quite sharp, with an almost under-ripe tangerine/ orange character. Masked finish with a slightly salty after-taste.

A drop of water emphasises the creamy oak and the orange...

Edition Spirits Auchroisk 1998 (19 year old) 54.2%

Bourbon/ Code: EDI0339/ Dist: maj 1998 Btl: ?/ Tasted: Mar 2018

Dense barley’d and herbal on the nose – wild thyme and heather. Subtle honey, cereal, juicy citrus and malt biscuit notes follow.

The palate is pretty ,malty and biscuity with hints of honey, apricot and lime. Masked, very cereally, almost wheaty finish.

With water the nose is still dense but it has now come alive and shows an abundance of juicy orange/ Clementine. The barley is a little more fragrant and a touch of Sauvignon Blanc-esque grass and gooseberry appears. The palate is crisper...

Redsmith London Dry Gin 43%...

Carn Mor Strictly Limited Pulteney 2007 (10 year old) 46%...

Carn Mor Strictly Limited Glenturret ‘Ruadh Mhor’ 2009 (8 year old) 46%

Sherry Hogshead/ Dist: 2009 Btl: 2018/ Tasted: Mar 2018

Edgy, pungent and herbal. Heavy herbal peat aromas mingle with medicinal peat, burnt wood, green nuts, manure, warm green spices, smoked bacon and visceral Oloroso. You can almost smell the tannins!

The palate is dense and treacly with earthy peat, medicinal peat and herbal peat, and some burnt wood for good measure. Hints of green Oloroso, bitter chocolate and wood splinters follow. Tight and herbal finish with lingering peat, dark chocolate and bitter oak spices. This is definitely not for the...

Mossburn Distillers No4 Teaninich 2007 (10 year old) 59.1%...

Mossburn Distillers No3 Blair Athol 2007 (10 year old) 59.8%

Bourbon Hogshead/ Batch 17.0507.3/ Dist: 2007 Btl: Nov 2017/ Tasted: Mar 2018

Fresh and barley’d on the nose with hints of coffee’d oak and herbal honey. Slightly gristy and mineral with a little herbal marc and a touch of lime and gooseberry. Very appealing and definitely not lacking in Highland character.

The palate is full and barley’d with hints of herbal honey and vanilla oak. Lovely balance and depth with a touch of citrus to keep it lively! Neat, the finish is a little masked but the after-taste is ever so slightly mentholated...

Mossburn Distillers No6 Ardmore 2008 (9 year old) 46%...

Hunter Laing Hepburns Choice Benriach 2010 (7 year old) 46%...

Edition Spirits Speyburn 2005 (12 year old) 56.2%

Sherry/ Code: EDI0340/ Dist: Oct 2005 Btl: ?/ Tasted: Mar 2018

A chunky, coffee and raw cereal nose. Quite malty and toffee’d with developing, luscious apricot and orange conserve. With time a touch of cider apple.

The palate is grippy and toffee’d with gritty tannins, malt, cereal and apricot. Rather foursquare and lacking a bit of elegance. Medium length with the finish a little masked but lingering malt and a subtle, dark chocolate after-taste.

Diluted the nose becomes delightfully honeyed and floral. It’s really opened up now and shows hints of honeysuckle and sweet barley....

Cask strength. Bottled-in-bond. Barrel proof. These phrases set many a whiskyphile’s heart beating a little faster. But seeing 40% or 43% ABV? For some drinkers, the only feelings aroused are scorn and cynicism. Surely distillers are watering the whisky down to stretch their supply and save money, or to appeal to people who don’t really like whisky in the first place—aren’t they?

History tells us that, at least in the case of American whiskey, nobody was complaining about their hooch being too strong. Rather, it was Prohibition, when bootleggers added more water to whisky to stretch supplies, that necessitated the...

Over the past decade, Austin, Texas has transformed from sleepy slackerville to one of the fastest-growing cities in North America. With the help of some big-name tech companies and the increasing popularity of the annual South by Southwest festival held each mars, Austin has blossomed into a bustling metropolis of nearly one million. Although some stalwarts still cling to the city’s self-appointed moniker of “Live Music Capital of the World,” Austin has taken on new bragging rights, namely for its impressive (and seemingly ubiquitous) craft spirits scene, with whiskey at the forefront.

Day One

Everything’s bigger in Texas, except public...

What does your whisky cabinet covet—something rare and limited from a faraway land? Something new and exciting that’s locally made? In the world of whisky collecting, beauty is in the eye of the bottle holder, but a few truths remain: A majority of the most collectible distilleries are in Scotland. It’s never too late to get started collecting. And older isn’t necessarily better .

When it comes to the here and now, American whiskey is taking hold as the next big collectible category . Many of the best bourbons and ryes are still both affordable and accessible, but simultaneously, they’re...