Continuing with the new Isle of Jura line up and we’re going up the range to check out Jura 12 Year Old, not to be confused with the old Jura 12 Elixir. Please note that Jura 12 will only be available in some selected markets, so you maj not be able to purchase it locally.

Just like the 10 Year Old, Jura 12 Year Old was matured in ex-bourbon casks for two more years and then was finished in aged Oloroso Sherry Casks (emphasis is mine).  It will be interesting to see what difference those two extra years and the aged Vs...

The next whisky in the new and revamped Isle of Jura line up is Jura Seven Wood. I know many eyebrows were raised (mine included) when it was announced – Seven different oaks seemed excessive.  We don’t know if it was matured in parallel in those seven different casks and vatted together or majbe some went through double/triple/quadruple maturation before being vatted together.

The seven wood used in the expression are:

• First-fill ex-bourbon American White Oak
• Vosges
• Bertranges
• Jupilles
• Allier
• Tronçais
• Limousin

I must admit this list kind of left me breathless when I first read it (didn’t even try...

This is the sad story of how I once went to lunch without my phone and when I got back to the office I found out this Springbank 20 Year Old which I coveted for over a week since I heard on it was suddenly released and got sold – all during lunch. Allow me to add that since then I don’t go out to eat without the phone.

And the whisky itself? A sherried Springbank in a fantastic price. The whisky was distilled 14.03.1997, filled into Sherry Hogshead #108 and bottled 5.09.2017 after 20 years. The cask yielded 268 bottles...

Remember Ardbeg Twenty Something 23 ? I speculated it maj be a start of a series and indeed it seems I was right. Another Ardbeg in the series is set to be released later this year (Summer/Autumn 2018) , this time with a 22 Year Old age statement:

As you can see from the label, it wasn’t bottled yet and they are waiting till juli 1st 2018 to bottle it (and get the 22 number on the label). This time it’s Ex-Bourbon casks and it will be bottled at 46.4%. Based on the Ardbeg Twenty Something 23 pricing, we should...

The Macallan Classic Cut was first released in USA late 2017. It’s a NAS Macallan which isn’t a real surprise but it did surprised the crowds by having a hefty 58.4% ABV. We didn’t see a cask strength release from Macallan for ages, or at least since the Macallan 10yo CS and the Cask Strength releases years ago.

It seems that Macallan has finally realized it’s time for a come back following the rising stiff competition from other distilleries releasing good sherried whiskies (hello Aberlour & Glendronach!) and I’m sure that the constant pleas from the fans didn’t hurt the...

Today we’re going to check out the sixth incarnation in the Longrow Red series – Longrow Red Cabernet Franc.

The Cabernet Franc casks are from De Toren in Stellenbosch, South Africa, same place where the Malbec casks used for last years Longrow Red were taken. The whisky was matured for 9 years in bourbon casks and then additional 2 in the Cabernet Franc casks.

Longrow Red 11 Year Old Cabernet Franc Finish (55.9%,  €89,95 )

Nose : Soft and clean. Staring with some wine influence of tannins and sour red berries, but then it’s more balanced with some vanilla, toffee and...

We’re familiar with the Glenlivet range of products and the changes in the line up such as the introduction of Glenlivet Founders Reserve and the (seems to be temporary) pull of Glenlivet 12 year old from certain markets to ease the pressure on matured stocks.

But some special yet official Glenlivet has popped up late in januari in a certain ‘hot’ whisky market – A sherried 13 Year Old Glenlivet was released exclusively for Taiwan market.

Thanks to a friend, I was fortunate enough to get a bottle and check out how a 40% and chill-filtered sherried Glenlivet tastes like.

Glenlivet...

Ardbeg An Oa is the latest addition to Ardbeg core range. It was released in late 2017 and I totally neglected to review it till now.

Despite the hope we’d get an older Ardbeg with an age statement (say 15 or 18 Year Old), Ardbeg An Oa is like Corryvreckan and Uigeadail and doesn’t carry an age statement. So it’s a NAS whisky and it contains spirit that was aged in PX sherry casks and bourbon barrels that were married together in a French oak vat. Let’s check it out:

Ardbeg An Oa (46.6%, £48.95 / €47,90 / $52.99 )...

Two Brewers Yukon Single Malt Release: 06 Classic 43%...

Roughstock Montana Spring Wheat Whiskey 45%...

Bower Hill Reserve Rye 43%...

Smooth Ambler Old Scout American Whiskey 49.5%...

Dam Raider Gin 40%...

A.D Rattray Blair Athol 2009 (8 year old) 59.6%

Bourbon Cask 333334. re-racked into Sherry Hogshead

Dist: 2009 Btl: 2017/ Tasted: Dec 2017

Aromas of herbal rye-like notes with toasted oak and edgy, spirity notes. It’s all rather un-integrated and the slightly industrial spirit notes begin to dominate.

The palate displays more barley sugar and toffee. Again it’s youthful but less spirity than the nose would suggest, majbe that’s down to a touch of honey softening the middle. A little masked with subtle herbal spice finish.

Water transforms the nose and brings out some lovely orange and tangerine, along with...

Gleann Mor ‘A Rare Find’ Tennessee Bourbon 2003 (13 year old) 53.7%

George Dickle/ Dist: Sept 2003 Btl:2016/ Tasted: Dec 2017

A stunning nose of orange liqueur and soft corn, followed by vibrant vanilla, marzipan and herbal rye. Wonderfully complex with developing notes of brown sugar, violets, dark wood spice and subtle sour fruit. Wonderfully balanced with late toasty oak.

The palate opens with some drying, lightly coffee’d wood spice and rye spice. The oak and the corn are sat in the background., although a touch of treacle emerges to offset the dry spices. The sweeter oak vanillins come through...

 ...

Working together with your dad—or grandfather—can have its ups and downs. But when that work is making whiskey, and the distillery is Wild Turkey , there’s a lot to enjoy. Jimmy Russell has served as master distiller at Wild Turkey for over 60 years; his son Eddie has worked alongside him since the early 1980s; and now Eddie’s son Bruce is coming up in the business. The three Russells sat down to share memories and stories about making whiskey, (occasionally) butting heads, and building a legacy that now spans multiple generations.

The post Uncut & Unfiltered: Jimmy, Eddie, and...

This week’s newest whiskies come from Scotland, Kentucky, Indiana, Ireland, and beyond.

Balvenie is releasing this year’s batch of Peat Week 14 year old. Vintage-dated to 2003, the peated whisky will be quite available—36,000 bottles are destined for the U.S. market—and will cost $99. If you’re wondering why Balvenie, a typically unpeated Speyside single malt, would make a peated version,  find out the answer from the man who makes it, David Stewart .

Another whiskey that’s coming back for the second year in a row, WhistlePig Farmstock Crop 002 is now hitting shelves. The blend includes ryes sourced from MGP...

High West Distillery is making a major change to one of its core whiskeys, Double Rye. Previously a blend of 2 year old rye from Indiana’s MGP Distillery and 16 year old rye from Kentucky’s Barton 1792 Distillery, Double Rye will now include a portion of High West’s own rye, made in Utah. The exact proportion of whiskeys isn’t being disclosed, but master distiller Brendan Coyle says the house-made whiskey is a minority of the blend and ranges in age from 4 to 7 years old. “We have some fairly complex, intricate blending recipes; the High West component that is...

Tomorrow is the 2018 Kentucky Derby, the biggest day in horse-racing and a pretty great excuse to pull out your favorite bourbon for a Mint Julep or two —or even to throw a whole party centered around the most exciting two minutes in sports.

But if that’s not your thing, there’s plenty more to get excited about this week, with new releases from Maker’s Mark , Jefferson’s , and even Bob Dylan . In fact, the acclaimed folk musician and Nobel Prize winner is rolling out a brand new line of bourbon, whiskey, and rye called Heaven’s Door . (If...