“We make single malt in Seattle because we have the perfect climate for barley, peat, and oak trees,” says Matt Hofmann, master distiller and co-founder of Westland Distillery . When he set out to make a peated single Maltwhisky, however, he ran into trouble immediately. “Nobody in the U.S. knew how to make peated malt,” admits Hofmann. Peat was never used as a fuel in the Pacific Northwest like in Scotland: no need, there are plenty of forests. As a workaround, he imported heavily peated malt from Bairds Malts in Scotland.

In 2016, Hofmann partnered with Skagit Valley Malting...

Brendan McCarron is Head of Maturing Whisky Stocks for The Glenmorangie Company – makers of Ardbeg and Glenmorangie – and heir apparent to the company’s whisky creator, Dr Bill Lumsden. We spoke to him at the launch of Ardbeg An Oa , his first addition to the Ardbeg range.

How did you get involved with the whisky world? I did chemical engineering at university and I started out making drugs on the south coast of England but my girlfriend was homesick and wanted to move back to Scotland, so I went to Diageo to work on a project in kiln...

It’s been a busy year at The Whisky Exchange and the blog team is ready to wind down and enjoy the festive season. Here’s what we’ll be drinking this Christmas…

The TWE blog team (not pictured)

Stuart

I don’t associate one particular drink with Christmas – I use it as an excuse to pull out some great bottles and try them (not that you need an excuse to drink delicious wine and spirits). With Christmas dinner – which I have the dubious pleasure of cooking this year – I’ll start with fizz to accompany some smoked salmon, perhaps something from...

I recently spent some time with Bruichladdich’s production director Allan Logan, learning about how they make the fabled Octomore – including Octomore 8.3 , the world’s peatiest whisky. Allan, part of the two-man team that took over the distillery when Jim McEwan retired , is exceptionally passionate about provenance and peating, as well as and making great whisky. Here’s what I learned from him about making a peat monster… don’t try this at home?

Distillery Manager Allan Logan and Head Distiller Adam Hannett

How are peat levels measured?

As humans, we’re pretty sensitive to peat and can detect its smoky, meaty,...

Buying whisky without having a sip beforehand is so dangerous. Today’s example is a Linkwood 1987 from Cadenhead .

Linkwood 28 yo 1987 (58,4%, Cadenhead ‘Small Batch’ 2015, two sherry butts, 1062 btl.)

Nose: very shy sherry influence, majbe Fino casks. Leafy notes, raw barley, hints of chalk. Some citrus and garden fruits underneath (apples, peaches). Hints of bread with salty butter. Green walnuts. Rather austere, few notes that get me excited. Mouth: sharp and rather hot. Common peaches and pears again, before the oak comes rolling in. Slightly tannic, dry and chalky. White pepper and ginger. Grapefruit...

Highland Park single casks

There are mixed feelings about the recent avalanche of Highland Park single casks . So many airports have already had their own single cask, now two labels popped up for a San Diego region exclusive and an Arizona cask , with probably more regions to follow. Great times for Highland Park collectors, or perhaps the exact opposite.

Dalmore 45 Year Old

After some (excellent) Dalmore 30, Dalmore 40 and Dalmore 50, the distillery is now filling some gaps with an upcoming Dalmore 45 Year Old . Still bottled at 40%, which is a shame...

Merry Christmas everyone.

We’ll celebrate with a deeply sherried Strathisla 1960 , from an era when sherry casks were still fairly simple, I guess.

Strathisla 1960 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail ‘Rare Vintage’ 2012, sherry butt)

Nose: I love this rich, slightly heady sherried character. Lots of prunes, figs and raspberry jam. Ginjinha. Then hints of shoe polish, menthol and waxed oak furniture. Very juicy, with a rich brown sugar note but also an elegant sour note. Herbal notes. Whiffs of cigar boxes. Mouth: a similar sweet and sour effect (prunes, cassis, sour cherries). Hints of smoke, even tar...

Three more undisclosed Speyside 1973 . More Farclas majbe. Or majbe not.

Speyside Region 44 yo 1973 (48,8%, Maltbarn for Shinanoya 2017, sherry cask, 249 btl.)

Nose: the biggest, sexiest fruitiness. Tangerines, apricots, papaya and gooseberries. Muscat grape. A little paraffin. Plenty of honey on the side, pollen, fruit syrups. Meadow flowers. Tiny hints of dried herbs. Mouth: same level of fruitiness. Orange liqueur, pears, honey, with just a little more grapefruits and unripe pineapple. Now also mixed with green tea, mint, eucalyptus. Hints of green spices. Waxy notes. Just a hint of marzipan and caraway seeds. Finish:...

So many Littlemill bottlings around 2012-2014 and just two that I could try this year (see the Littlemill 1990 Archives ). Douglas Laing bottled this refill hogshead last summer in the Xtra Old Particular range.

Littlemill 25 yo 1991 (50,9%, Douglas Laing ‘Xtra Old Particular’ 2017, refill hogshead #11789, 300 btl.)

Nose: a bit of an uncommon start on old wax candles and dusty cupboards. Engine oil. Then a bit of sweet plums, orange zest and honey. Green banana. Roasted malt. Hay. Cedar wood. Very interesting but perhaps not as fruity as I expected. Mouth: again a weird...

This Glenesk 1980 was bottled in 2014 in the Rare Old series by independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail.

Glenesk was one of the distilleries founded in the whisky boom of the late 19th century. During its history it switched from whisky production to malting and grain production. It’s only in 1964 (when it was called Hillside ) that it became a proper Maltwhisky distillery. The name Glenesk was adopted in 1980, so we’re trying one of the earliest Glenesks. The plant was mothballed in 1985 so bottlings are very hard to come by.

Glenesk 1980 (46%, Gordon...

There used to be a time when visiting whisky shops at airports was a joy. They had some special releases or specific batches that were better or more interesting than what you found in main street shops.

Somehow my impression is quite different nowadays: the selection tends to be bland and while there are still special editions for travel retail, more often than not I am suspicious that distilleries use them to get rid of unwanted stocks. Just a personal feeling.

Auchentoshan Cooper’s Reserve is part of their (successful) travel retail range, which was launched in 2012 and also includes...

Johnnie Walker Blue Label – Brora & Rare

Johnnie Walker doesn’t come by often on this blog, but the new Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost & Rare line is pretty interesting. Each edition will be composed around whisky from a lost distillery and the first batch is a Brora edition .

At its heart is some Brora single malt, but two other lost distilleries are also included: Pittyvaich and Cambus grain, as well as Clynelish, Lochnagar and others. The first review I saw calls it a masterpiece. It is bottled at 46% ABV and arrived in stores this week ....

This VT 46  is one of the new products from cognac house Vallein-Tercinier . Their master blender married two batches of old cognac from the Bons Bois and Fins Bois zones (one 15 years old, the other 25 years). It’s natural colour and non-chillfiltered.

Vallein-Tercinier VT 46 (46%, OB 2017)

Nose: a fruit basket of peaches, unripe banana, bright lime. Orange lemonade even. Not all fruits though, there is also a hint of chamomile, musty cellar and light Mediterranean herbs (aniseed). Mint and verbena. Even a subtle top note of floral honey and blossomy hand cream. Mouth: very...

This new release is part of diptych that celebrates the seasons on the Isle of Orkney, home of the Highland Park distillery. The Dark focuses on autumn and winter, while The Light will symbolise spring and summer. We can expect the other one early 2018.

Highland Park The Dark 17 Years is matured in European oak sherry-seasoned casks.

Highland Park The Dark 17 yo (52,9%, OB 2017, 28.000 btl.)

Nose: a slightly subdued nose. There are sweet blackberries and fig pastry but mainly spices. Cinnamon sticks and roasted (chest)nuts. Soft hints of metal polish. Mouth: again a fairly...

The Clans label is a new Sansibar series which honours the legendary Scottish clans from the region the whisky was made in. For the Isle of Mull this is the MacLean clan, one of the oldest in the Highlands.

Tobermory 1994 , matured in a PX sherry cask. A combination we haven’t tried before.

Tobermory 23 yo 1994 (57,9%, Sansibar ‘Clans Label’ 2017, PX sherry cask, 242 btl.)

Nose: no sulphur or weird notes, good start. Rather on cranberry biscuits, banana bread and cinnamon rolls. Then red plums. Caramelized apples. Light coastal notes. Hints of pipe tobacco and...