This is the second bottling in the Brabazon series from Teeling Whiskey . It highlights the influence of fortified wines on Irish whiskey and this time maturation is done in Port casks .

Teeling gave us the ‘liquid profile’ for this whiskey and we learn that it contains spirits between 8 and 16 years old . Some were finished in tawny port, some were fully matured in white port (European oak) or ruby port.

Teeling Brabazon 02 (49,5%, OB 2017, Port casks, 12.500 btl.)

Nose: syrupy sweetness at first. Like a prune tartlet or strawberry cookies. Raisins, fresh...

Today we go back in time with a Glen Grant 30 Year Old , distilled in 1958 and bottled by Gordon & MacPhail in 1988.

Most of these seem to have been bottled for the Italian market (importers like Sestante) where the 5 year old Glen Grant  was a popular benchmark single malt at the time.

Glen Grant 30 yo 1958 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail 1988)

Nose: mossy, leafy notes at first, including a bit of Old Bottle Effect (metal polish). A bit of mint but also a shy but elegant fruity side (yellow apples, slight hints of...

The Whisky Exchange is on a roll. Just in time for the festive season, they’ve released a number of exclusive bottlings. We’ve had excellent oldies ( Irish malt 1990 and Strathisla 1970 ) but there’s also this younger Bowmore 2001 selected from the Signatory Vintage stocks.

Bowmore 15 yo 2001 (55,6%, Signatory Vintage for The Whisky Exchange 2017, hogshead #20117, 233 btl.)

Nose: sweet red apples mixed with coastal notes. Lemon candy. Golden raisiny touches too. Hints of seawater and wet fabric. Then back to light mango. The candied fruitiness works well alongside the muted smoke. Mouth: coastal...

James MacTaggart has been the master distiller at Arran distillery for 10 years now (and 40 years in the industry) and this was celebrated with a 10th Anniversary Limited Edition .

It is a vatting of 48 first-fill bourbon barrels coming from Jim Beam, Jack Daniels, Heaven Hill and Buffalo Trace, all filled during his first months of production in 2007.

 

Arran 10 yo 2007 ‘James MacTaggart’ (54,2%, OB ‘Master of Distilling’ 2017, first-fill bourbon, 12.000 btl.)

Nose: first-fill bourbon alright, full of vanilla custard, buttery candy, malt and honey. Ripe yellow apples. Whiffs...

Some whisky fans assert that bourbon is analogous to jazz: the only spirited art form original to America. As bourbon is made with an indigenous plant—corn—that seems a pretty solid claim. Well, as long you define “American” as from the U.S. Look south of the border, however, and you’ll find another spirit unique to North America: tequila. Its agave base is similarly original to the continent and it predates America’s corn concoctions by a century.

The Aztecs were drinking the fermented juice of agave for some 2,500 years before the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the early 16th century and distilled...

Last week a That Boutique-y Whisky Company Twitter Tasting was planned but it was postponed due to some logistics issues. So feel free to tune in this Thursday 19:30 GMT.

Five samples will be presented from the TBWC Advent Calendar , a selection of 24 whiskies in total, some of which haven’t been released yet on their own. As we wanted to give you an opportunity to order a calendar still in time for the Advent, here’s a review one of the highlights already: a Glenlivet 27 Years – Batch #1.

We’ll also try a Glen Ord 20 Years and...

Black Friday descends upon us and while it started as a pure brick and mortar retail event in USA, thanks to international commerce and online shops taking a hike on this day (in addition to Cyber Monday), we’re flooded with all kind of deals, including deals on whisky from reputable web shops around the world, including Scotland and England.

The Whisky Exchange shop took this one step forward and also released a special whisky to celebrate this day. A 16 year old whisky from single sherry butt hailing from a family owned distillery in the Speyside region which doesn’t allow...

The run-up to the holidays is full of planning, excitement—and a lot of running around. It’s important to make time to catch your breath and actually enjoy the season. An advent calendar is a great daily reminder to slow down and enjoy the holiday spirit—especially if it’s filled with whisky. (Get it?)

You can buy a number of pre-made whisky advent calendars. The Scotch Whisky Advent Calendar offers a collection of 25 exclusive single-barrel bottlings, while Heritage Distilling Company’s calendar includes the craft distillery’s bourbon and rye, as well as gin and vodka. Drinks by the Dram offers a host...

Did you see Monday’s reveal of the full Top 20 list ? Check out all 20 of the most exciting whiskies of 2017, including Whisky of the Year .

Beyond the Top 20 list, there’s more excitement to be had in this week’s new whisky releases. Glen Moray —whose 18 year old was number 10 on our list —is launching a sherry cask-finished, NAS single malt. For only $30, it’s worth picking up if you’ve never gotten acquainted with this Speyside distillery.

Higher up the pricing ladder, Macallan has a new line of single cask whiskies ranging in age from...

It’s a yearly tradition for The Whisky Exchange to come up with a Black Friday deal. Last year they found a remaining parcel of GlenDronach 15 Years, this year they have an exclusive bottling, something special with an unbeatable price. I’ve had a sneak peek.

It’s an undisclosed Speyside single malt from a “family-owned distillery”, you know… It was bottled from a single sherry butt in oktober 2017 at 16 years of age.

Undisclosed Speyside 16 yo ‘Black Friday’ (54,6%, The Whisky Exchange 2017, sherry butt, 582 btl.)

Nose: starts on dry, old-style Oloroso notes, including figs and...

The Whisky festival formerly known as Lindores has made a restart. It is now the G&B WhiskyFest (after two Lindores members Geert & Billy). There is a whisky gathering this Friday and a festival for old, rare and exquisite whisky on Saturday 25th november 2017, still in Hotel Bero in Oostende , Belgium.

Expect two festival bottlings this year: a Strathmill 1975 (in the Angel’s Choice series by Malts of Scotland) and this Mystery Speyside over 25 years old in a new series by Billy’s Whisky Barrel. Both very limited.

Mystery Speyside ‘over 25 yo’ (45%, Billy’s...