This review is the sequel to yesterday’s post. Yesterday we covered the 2 unpeated wood finishes from Glenglassaugh distillery and today we’ll check out the two peated expressions in the Glenglassaugh wood finishes series.

There’s a virgin oak finish and a Port wood finish which piqued my interest as I reviewed the Glendronach (sibling distillery) Peated Port finish only last week and as far as I could see, they have the same color too, so I was interested to see what difference there is between the two.

Glenglassaugh Peated Virgin Oak Wood Finish (46%, £59.95 / €44.49 )

Nose :...

Glenglassaugh distillery is the quiet little sibling in the Glendronach/BenRiach/Glenglassaugh group which was bought by Forman Brown back in 2016.

Billy Walker and BenRiach Distillery bought Glenglassaugh back in 2013 and except for a small burst of releases in the first 2 years after the acquisition (Revival, Evolution and Torfa), we didn’t any new releases from the spirit distilled after the distillery was revived until the new wood finishes releases late 2017.

There were four releases in total, two unpeated expressions and two peated expressions, all finished in different casks, all bottled at 46%.

Today we’ll check the tow unpeated expressions...

New whisky abounds from all across America this week—plus a couple of scotches.

First up, Ardbeg ’s annual limited-edition bottling has been revealed. Ardbeg Grooves includes whisky matured in red wine barrels with heavily charred, grooved staves, which allow for increased wood contact. As in years past, the whisky is first available to Ardbeg Committee members outside the U.S. at a higher proof, with a 46% ABV version rolling out to coincide with Ardbeg Day (this year on juni 2nd).

Several new craft whiskeys are launching. Colorado’s Woody Creek Distillers is debuting its first bourbon, a 4 year old whiskey...

As usual, mars sees the announcement of the first big whisky awards of the year – The World Whiskies Awards . If you just want to see who won, skip to the bottom of this post or head over to our big list of winners that we have in stock. Otherwise, read on…

Whiskies of the world…unite!

I’ve been a judge for the World Whiskies Awards for the past few years, and there’s one element to it that sets it apart from other awards – the word ‘World’. While other whisky awards accept whiskies from around the world, they usually...

Highland Park The Light 17 Years

After a successful Highland Park The Dark 17 Years , which symbolized autumn and winter, a new Highland Park The Light 17 Years is ready to be announced. It is matured in refill American oak casks, with aromas of pear, vanilla and nutmeg. It is bottled at 52.9% ABV and limited (cough) to 28.000 bottles. Expected early maj 2018 for around € 200-220.

You maj notice the slightly nuclear green hue, I think this is a Freya-style bottle, not just a calibration problem.

Glenrothes 10 / Glenrothes 12 / Glenrothes 18 Year Old...

This Inchmurrin 2008 single cask is exclusively available from World Duty Free in terminal 5 of London Heathrow airport.

Inchmurrin 10 yo 2008 (57,1%, OB for World Duty Free 2018, cask #79, 278 btl.)

Nose: very neutral and slightly spirity (aquavit). Porridge and stale beer. Bread. A little wood dust and peppery notes as well. It does get brighter and more fruity after a while (toffee apples and peaches) but always with this fruit eau-de-vie character. Mouth: very sweet, with more fruity notes now. Peaches, yellow apples, sweet oranges. A little vanilla custard. Turns back towards barley and...

I was invited to take part in a ‘taste hackathon’, trying to unlock the secrets of the new  Glenlivet Code . This successor of the Glenlivet Alpha and Glenlivet Cipher has the same concept: no age, no cask type, no tasting notes and an opaque, mysterious black bottle. Make up your own mind… They’ll probably tell us what it was in a few months.

Glenlivet Code (48%, OB 2018)

Nose: the first thing I noticed was a sweet, slightly fragrant winey side. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were Portuguese Moscatel or Madeira casks involved. Juicy fruits like...

A new year means a whole new crop of whiskies entering our buying guide—both recent releases and tried-and-true expressions. Topping our Spring 2018 list is Johnnie Walker Blue Label , a grail for many, and a dram of exceptional reputation. Also included is a standout from the Balvenie DCS Compendium Chapter 3 , a collection of five handpicked whiskies representing each of the decades that Malt Master David Stewart has spent with the company. The full collection is available to sample as a flight or individually at the Four Seasons’ Ty Bar in New York.

Meanwhile, it’s all about the...

Trying an Auchentoshan 1992 from Signatory Vintage today. They regularly bring out sister casks at the moment, it is probably a whole series that is deemed to be ‘mature’…

Auchentoshan 25 yo 1992 (51,4%, Signatory Vintage 2017, bourbon barrel #5430, 206 btl.)

Nose: slightly rough at first with grassy notes and a a chalky overtone. Opens up on vanilla cream, apples and buttery pears. Lightly floral honey. Minty notes. With water also hints of green oak and dried coconut shavings. Mouth: bright, malty but now also fully on tropical fruits, really nice. Pineapple, bananas, a little papaya. Hints...

It’s been a while since I reviewed something from Tomatin Distillery so let’s check out their latest peated whisky, Cu Bocan 2006 which was released last fall.

Cu Bocan 2006 is vatting of sherry and bourbon casks from 2006, so the whisky is 10 or 11 year old. It was bottled at 50% and 12,000 bottles were made available around the world.

Tomatin Cù Bòcan 2006 (50%,  £49.45 / €56.50 )

Nose : Malty, subtle honey and then sweet peat. Feels light and fresh and after a few minutes, bread and cookies dough, a bit of vanilla, weak pears and...

Whisky Live Tel-Aviv 2018 is happening right now and along the new Milk and Honey release  there’s another new release – a new single cask offering from Golan Heights Distillery. It’s a new cask (number #24) of Golani Black (distilled mash of malted barley and wheat), matured for 37 months in a virgin American oak cask.

This time, there’s a real nice touch to the release – it’s a “bottle your own” offering as you actually fill the bottle from the cask during the show. Real cool thing!

Like with previous Golan Heights Distillery releases, it’s a non chill filtered...