Want to add unique flavors to your favorite cocktails without a lot of effort or money? Try making an infused whisky. It’s ridiculously easy and instantly transforms the old and familiar into something exciting and new.

“Whisky is almost an infusion already, because it starts off as clear spirit and is then essentially infused with wood in the barrel,” says Adam Seger, chef and bartender at The Tuck Room LA . “That nice, rich vanilla base opens up a whole host of additional items you can infuse.” Think of Manhattans made with cherry-infused bourbon and orange-infused rye Old Fashioneds—and then...

On the surface, port seems to have little in common with whisky. The former is made from fermented grapes and is notably sweet, while the latter is distilled from grain and sports more than twice as much alcohol. However, as a red wine fortified with distilled spirit, port pairs well with many of whisky’s flavorful kindred companions—cigars, cheese, and red meat, for instance. With its legendary power and flavor intensity, port makes a wonderful diversion, certain to please both the wine and the spirits lovers gathered around your holiday table.

Made from a handful of indigenous red grape varieties in...

Olivier Humbrecht, the owner and winemaker of the renowned Domaine Zind-Humbrecht in Alsace, knows a thing or two about taste. Many of his wines have scored over 95 in Wine Spectator, and the 2001 Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Gris Alsace Clos Windsbuhl Sélection des Grains Nobles earned a coveted 100 points in 2004. With such a well-honed and refined taste in wine, it’s no wonder that the boisterous and friendly Frenchman also loves whisky—specifically Scotch single malts—which he collects with a passion.

Short weekend trips through the Highlands with his Scottish wife inculcated Humbrecht’s love of scotch. “I developed a taste for it...

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For many whiskey lovers, there’s nothing better than the taste of bourbon straight from the barrel: unfiltered and uncut, and as close to untouched as you can get at retail. While 80 proof (40% ABV) is the lowest legally allowed alcohol level for bourbon, and many releases are less than 100 proof, barrel-proof or cask-strength bourbon is typically in the range of 110 proof and higher. Some bottles, like certain bottlings of George T. Stagg, even soar above so-called hazmat levels—140 proof, which legally can’t be brought on an airplane (even in your checked luggage).

Many of the top barrel...

Announcing our latest Whisky Exchange exclusive – a rare chance to try one of Loch Lomond’s wide range of single malts that don’t usually see the light of day as single malts. Introducing our brand new Croftengea 2008 .

Croftengea 2008, 9 Years Old, 54.8% ABV

Here’s what I thought of it:

Nose : Chocolate, liquorice and candied lemon start proceedings, with a rich background of earthy peat smoke. A sharp stewed apple fruitiness dominates the centre, dusted with sugar and drizzled with warm tar and TCP.

Palate : Rich smoke rolls around the mouth: a bonfire of burning peats,...

Skip back a generation and the term ‘New World wine’ didn’t mean much to UK wine drinkers. After all, the best stuff just came from France, didn’t it?

So, what is New World wine? It’s wine from the big countries and regions outside Europe, with the three big hitters being  Australia , New Zealand and California . They announced their arrival on these shores in the early 1990s with a new style – big, full-flavoured wines bursting with fruit. The labels told you plenty about the contents, the wines didn’t need decanting first and they were delicious drunk on their...

With The Cognac Show starting tomorrow, there’s one final step in my Cognac education I need to share: how to drink the stuff…

Fortunately, I’ve had expert tuition from Whisky Exchange buyer Dawn Davies MW and Cognac consultant, BNIC-accredited educator and all-round boiled-wine expert Ed Bates.

On its own

If you’re coming from a whisky background, this will seem fairly familiar: you should drink your Cognac from a tasting glass at room temperature. Our classic Whisky Exchange tasting glass (aka the Bugatti Kelch) is perfect for the job, and will be the glass that guests to The Cognac Show will...

Port Charlotte 10 Years / Islay Barley 2011 / MRC:01

Bruichladdich announced the relaunch of Port Charlotte , their heavily-peated single malt. It comes in a distinctive new packaging this summer. The distillery will release four new products in 2018, malting as before to 40 ppm.

The first of these is the new Port Charlotte 10 Years , now available in steady amounts, bottled at 50% ABV. There will also be a 2011 vintage version of Port Charlotte Islay Barley . The third is a limited Port Charlotte MRC: 01 , distillery in 2010 and matured in Bordeaux Left Bank...

Tomintoul has quite an extensive range, starting with the NAS Tomintoul Tlàth and then a 10 Years, 12 Years, 14 Years, 16 Years , 21 Years, 25 Years and 40 Years, plus a few extras like a Port finish and Five Decades.

For World Whisky Day is was able to try two mid-range expressions, plus a secret upcoming release.

Tomintoul 16 Years is the flagship bottling of the distillery. It is bottled from bourbon casks at 40%.

Tomintoul 16 yo (40%, OB +/- 2018)

Nose: fairly neutral, with lots of malty notes, dried grasses and ripe apples. Juicy...

The Benromach 1977 followed the release of three other vintage single casks: Benromach 1973, Benromach 1974 and Benromach 1975 earlier in 2017. I was born in 1978 so I’d better start saving, it could be next?

The 1977 was bottled from a refill American oak hogshead after 39 years of maturation.

Benromach 39 yo 1977 (56%, OB 2017, refill bourbon hogshead #1268, 225 btl.)

Nose: well yes! I like this waxy spirit, mixed with mirabelles, whitecurrants, green banana and a touch of aniseed. Vanilla custard. Honey. Lighter hints of passion fruits and orange zest. Always some eucalyptus, menthol...

Valinch & Mallet is a fairly young independent bottler headquartered in London but run by two Italians Davide Romano and Fabio Ermoli.

In the past couple of years they’ve released a nice series of whiskies and rums, all un-chill filtered and natural colour, most of them at cask strength.

There are four Valinch & Mallet collections: Hidden Casks (under 20 years, silver plaque), Lost Drams (over 20 years, bronze plaque), XO (over 30 years, gold plaque) and the Young series (with a lower ABV).

We’ll start with an older release and look at some upcoming releases later. South Shore Islay...

The fifth and final release of the Teeling Revival series has just been announced. We’re now very close to the launch of the first new Dublin distilled whiskey for over 40 years – in november 2018.

Teeling Revival V consist of 12 year-old single malt initially aged in bourbon barrels and then finished in a combination of Cognac and Brandy barrels . See my reviews of the other releases: Revival I , Revival III and  Revivial IV .

Teeling Revival 12 yo  (46%, OB 2018, cognac & brandy finish, 15.000 btl.)

Nose: nice fruitiness, with lots of lime,...

This should be more of a confirmation: every Islay fan already has its eyes on this Ardbeg Ar10 . It’s part of the Elements of Islay series, from the latest batch that hasn’t been released yet.

Ardbeg Ar10 2001 (52,4%, Elements of Islay 2018, two bourbon barrels)

Nose: great. Creosote, iodine, wood embers and herbal peat, as well as a mezcal sharpness but also plenty of rounder vanilla pastry and custard. Creamy white chocolate and almond paste. Hints of lime and pink grapefruit (not quite the typical Bowmore fruitiness, but in the same vein). Deep tarry notes in...

Ardbeg Twenty Something 22 Years

Ardbeg Twenty Something is turning into a series. After the 23 Year Old there’s now evidence of an upcoming Ardbeg Twenty Something 22 Years . It will be bottled in juli from a handful of bourbon casks at 46.4% ABV. The launch can be expected in september – oktober and the price will supposedly be around € 500 again.

Tamdhu Dalbeallie Dram

Tamdhu Dalbeallie Dram is a limited edition for this year’s Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival (3-7 maj). Matured in Oloroso casks and bottled at cask strength, it honours Dalbeallie train station,...

A limited edition smoky (!) Macallan in the 1824 Masters Series. Macallan Rare Cask Black is a marriage of around 100 casks: first-fill Sherry European oak sherry-seasoned casks and American oak casks.

It could be made with peated spirit (rare but the experiments seem to exist) or perhaps casks that had a particularly smoky character. I couldn’t find decisive information on this.

It was originally a travel retail expression but it’s now available in traditional whisky shops as well.

The Macallan Rare Cask Black (48%, OB +/- 2016)

Nose: very little peat in any case. Dried...

On Monday I received an Elements of Islay tasting kit which contains four new bottlings that sparked my interest:

• Elements of Islay Cl10  (Caol Ila)
• Elements of Islay Ar10 (Ardbeg)
• Elements of Islay Lg8 (Lagavulin)
• Elements of Islay Oc5 (Octomore)

We’ll start with the Lagavulin Lg8 , a 2006 vintage bottled from two bourbon barrels.

Lagavulin ‘Lg8’ 2006 (59,5%, Elements of Islay 2018, two bourbon barrels)

Nose: rather superb. There’s sweet peat and rich sooty notes, as well as an underlying fruitiness of peaches and mango. Linseed oil. Light vanilla custard. Iodine and camphor. Mouth: a nice fruitiness...

This is a 1 year-old bourbon from Rock Town distillery in Arkansas. I was intrigued by the fact that That Boutique-y Whisky Co would bottle something this young, so I bought a sample.

Rock Town 1 yo (51,7%, That Boutique-y Whisky Company 2018, Batch #2, 190 btl.)

Nose: a lot of pencil shavings and charred barrels mixed with buttered popcorn. Then both darker notes (sweet pumpernickel) and brighter notes (red apples and citrus). Hints of pepper and maple syrup, or rather thyme syrup. Minty notes and red berries as top notes. Mouth: very oaky, with bags of peppermint,...

Another Cask End bottle from Cadenhead’s that I could try thanks to some nice friends: single grain Girvan 33 Years .

Girvan 33 yo 1979 (46%, Cadenhead 2013, bourbon barrel, 222 btl.)

Nose: typical solventy grain whisky, showing a little glue, coconuts and vanilla. Unripe banana, a little leather and white chocolate. Toffee apples. Whiffs of freshly sawn oak. Mouth: less sweet than expected. Creamy white chocolate and vanilla but also quite some spices (white pepper pepper, liquorice). Hints of oatmeal cookies. Sweet citrus. Tinned pineapples and butterscotch. Finish: not too long, but quite smooth. Hints of spicy...