I can’t say I’m in a Christmas mood, yet this 2016 limited edition of Big Peat has been available for a while now. It is the 6th release for the holiday season. I tried the 2013 edition as well, let’s see how this compares.

Although traditionally Big Peat primarily contains whiskies from Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bowmore and Port Ellen, this one contains malt from all active distilleries on Islay plus the long-closed Port Ellen of course.

On the tin we sea a red-and-white version of Pig Peat, with 9 Christmas stockings hanging from his fireplace, representing the 9 distilleries included...

Once again I’ve been too quite in the last few months on the blog, but since the Jewish holiday season ended last week and I’ve recently celebrated my birthday, I have no more excuses and it’s time to resume activity on the blog. I’ve decided to start with some premium drams that I was very late to the party with them: The Circus and The General, both are matured and aged blends from the Compass Box.

But the blame for such a late review of The Circus doesn’t falls solely on my shoulders. The sample that was sent to me didn’t...

Kings County Distillery Bourbon, NAS, 45 % While Tuthilltown Spirits Distillery (makers of the Hudson whiskey) was the first distillery in New York State since prohibition, Kings County Distillery is the first distillery to operate within the borders of New York City since the Prohibition era, producing corn whiskey and bourbon whiskey. Kings County Distillery is […]...

The Macallan surprised us with its latest expression: Macallan 12 Years Double Cask brings the age statement back to the entry-level range. Surprising because in 2013 The Macallan was at the forefront of the NAS movement with its 1824 ‘colour’ series .

Originally a US exclusive, Macallan Double Cask is now available in Europe as well. Like the 12 Year Old Sherry Oak, it is a vatting of American and European Oak sherry seasoned casks , albeit with a higher proportion of American oak (supposedly around 50:50). It’s bottled at 40% – apparently they went for 43% in the US....

This is the Macallan 12 Years Sherry Oak,  the entry-level all-sherry Macallan I was talking about yesterday while reviewing the new Macallan 12 Years Double Cask .

Sherry oak is really the core of the Macallan legacy (the 18 Sherry is a legend), and of course they’ve never phased them out completely, but with the Fine Oak and 1824 series they have been less prominent – and less available – than before.

Macallan 12 yo Sherry Oak (40%, OB 2016)

Nose: definitely richer than the Double Cask. Less flinty matchsticks and (a tad) less caramel. Instead you get...

Hunter Laing Sovereign Strathclyde 1990 (25 year old) 51.7%...

Bunnahabhain 1976 39 YO Small Batch, 49,4 % Today I bring you a fairly new small batch release from independent bottler Cadenhead. The Bunnahabhain 1976 39 YO Small Batch is made up from three sherry butts, with a total outturn of 648 bottles. You can buy the Bunnahabhain 1976 39 YO Small Batch in Norway at NOK […]...

Balvenie 12 YO Single Barrel First Fill, 47,8 % We are seeing more releases from Balvenie distillery in Norway now. This is great, I think. Balvenie was an early favourite of mine when I first started exploring whisky in the late 1990s. Today I am looking more closely at the Balvenie 12 YO Single Barrel First Fill […]...

It’s that time of year again. The big pre-Christmas release of whisky in Norway. This always occurs on the first Friday of november, and the Oslo whisky festival is always held the same weekend. A perfect storm of whisky fun, if you like. This time we can enjoy 80+ releases. Most are new releases, but […]...

Mackmyra Special 08 Handplockat, NAS, 46 % The whisky of the day is release number 8 in the Special Series from Swedish distillery Mackmyra. The Mackmyra Special 08 Handplockat (“Handpicked”) was released back in 2012, and this is how they describe the whisky themselves: “This whisky is made from our Elegant recipe that has been […]...

Mosswood Nocino Barrel Aged American Whiskey

Release: oktober 2016 Price: $50 Proof: 92 Availability: 359 bottles Style: American whiskey

Need to know: A nine year old whiskey receives about six months of finishing in barrels that held nocino liqueur.

Whisky Advocate says: Owners Jake and Therese Chevedden make the nocino that infuses the barrels for this inventive whiskey using green-harvest walnuts from an English Walnut tree in their backyard in Oakland, Calif.

The Dubliner

Release: oktober 2016 Price: $28 Proof: 80 Availability: Widely available Style: Irish whiskey

Need to know: This blended Irish whiskey is aged entirely in American bourbon...

If you made a list of the all the Scotch whiskies to try before you die, it’s a fair bet that Black Bowmore would be on it. And for those in The Whisky Show’s 2016 Bowmore masterclass, not only did they tick that particular whisky off their list, they also got to try it in the presence of Eddie MacAffer (master distiller) and David Turner (distillery manager), who have a staggering 75 years’ experience of Bowmore between them.

Edide MacAffer (left) and David Turner of Bowmore (© Simon J Hanna)

Eddie has just retired, and has passed the baton to David, so this...