Amrut Spectrum, 6 YO, 50 % Today I present my review of the quite intriguing Amrut Spectrum from Amrut Distilleries. Here’s a bit of info on this rather uniquely matured whisky: To make this whisky, malts were initially matured for a period of 3 years in ex-Bourbon barrels after which they were transferred to a custom […]...

Spring has sprung and London Wine Week is upon us yet again. If you’re in London and are either a wine fan or someone who wants to learn more, then head over to the Wine Week website and grab a wristband now by clicking the pretty picture below:

Along with great-value wine flights and food pairings in bars across the capital, there are also loads of events. We’ve dug through the list and pulled out a few of our favourites:

WSET CRASH COURSE IN FOOD AND WINE PAIRING

Tuesday 24 maj, 6.30pm

The perfect start to the week, giving you...

This Bowmore 1997 ‘Shellfish platter’ is part of the new Spring 2016 releases from Wemyss Malts .

Bowmore 1997 ‘Shellfish platter’ (46%, Wemyss Malts 2015, hogshead, 330 btl.)

Nose: starts quite raw, chalky, with lots of oysters and hints of heather smoke. Hay and mineral notes. Briny notes and seaweed. Fresh herbs. Clean and seemingly narrow, but after a while some whiffs of bright, slightly tropical notes come out (grapefruit, a little passion fruits) – hinting towards the excellent Bowmore 1993s. Mouth: quite fruity (sweet lemon and orange) with medium peat and a few medicinal touches. Lots of...

Feis Ile 2016 is here and the first open day belongs to Lagavulin distillery. Lagavulin celebrates its 200th anniversary in 2016, one year after Laphroaig & Ardbeg did and they started 2016 with a bang and a new limited release. The limited release is Lagavulin 8 Year Old which was inspired by the visit of Alfred Barnard to the distillery in the 1880s when he tried an ‘exceptionally fine’ eight-year-old from Lagavulin.

It’s quite a large limited edition with 20,000 (some says 30,000) bottles in a higher than usual ABV of 48%. It was a bold move to release such a young release and they deserves a big...

Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX Private Edition, 12 YO, 46 % Here’s an old release in the Private Edition series from Glenmorangie. I recently reviewed the latest expression, the Glenmorangie Milsean Private Edition. The Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX Private Edition was released back in 2009. It has been matured in American white oak, with a finish in Pedro Ximenez […]...

The Glenlivet has announced the release of three single cask whiskies: Pullman Club Car, Pullman Twentieth Century Limited, and Pullman Water Level Route. This is the Glenlivet’s first single cask release in the U.S. market. Each has a suggested retail price of $350.00 and availability is exclusive to the U.S. Further details are provided in the press release included below.

A One-of-a-Kind Journey Through History and Flavor, The Glenlivet® Honors its Past with the Release of Three Single Cask Whiskies For the First Time in the United States

Inspired by the Historical Connection to The Pullman Company, The Glenlivet Single Cask Edition...

It’s that time of year again. If you know any whisky geeks online, then Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are probably already filling up with pictures of the Scottish countryside, Calmac ferries and the Port Askaig petrol pump – it’s time for Fèis Ìle, the Islay Festival of Malt and Music .

Unfortunately, the blog team aren’t going to be on the island this year, but here at The Whisky Exchange we believe in bringing the festival into people’s homes. By which we mean we’ve got a load of special offers on Islay drams – you can find them all on our...

Douglas Laing released a limited edition of their Big Peat blended malt for the Islay festival that starts today and continues next week (20-28 maj).

Big Peat Feis Ile has an updated packaging which features Islay’s most notable landmarks. The round church at Bowmore and Port Ellen’s Kildalton Cross feature amongst a collage of travel stamps, in a colourful, hand-drawn design with Big Peat himself at the forefront.

The liquid inside has the same style, but this time he’s bottled at higher strength for an even punchier peat hit. Only 500 bottles are available at the festival but also from global...

Today is Springbank day at the Campbeltown Malts Festival 2016 and while nowadays  Springbank whiskies are cherished and loved by many whisky geeks (myself included), it’s a good opportunity to look back at a bit old version of Springbank 10 Year Old and see how its’ profile is vastly changed from the current familiar Springbank profile that encompass the entire current lineup.

The sample I tasted came from a miniature that is predating the current revision on the market and I believe it was bottled early 2000s or late 1990s.

Springbank 10 Year Old (46%)

Nose : Oh this is a bit...

Scapa distillery which belongs to Pernod Ricard produce only one single malt to the market. It started with the Scapa 12 which was replaced with Scapa 14 which in turn was replaced with Scapa 16 and in turn got replaced with Scapa Skiren, a NAS whisky – it always felt like there can be only one…

But now, new evidence on the TTB database, shows that Scapa are going to double the amount of official bottlings with a new release: Scapa GLANSA:

Quite an interesting release as we get a second NAS whisky and the distillery that never produced a peated whisky and...

Benromach rose to fame in the last few years with the re-release of the Benromach 10 and the addition of the 10 yo 100 proof and 15 year old expressions to their line up. But in addition to those releases, there were also some young releases like the 5 yo and different wood finishes (all below the 10 year old barrier). The latest of those releases is the Benromach Sassicaia 2007 which follows the Sassicaia 2006 that was released a year ago, making it an annual release of some kind.

The Sassicaia 2007 was initially matured in First Fill bourbon barrels before a two years finish...

Today the Campbeltown festival starts and with it a hectic and busy two weeks full of distilleries activities highlighted by Feis Ile 2016 on Islay. It all starts with Glen Scotia open day in Campbeltown and I have a Glen Scotia review for the occasion.

Glen Scotia 15 Year Old is a recent release that was released in 2015 as part of the brand re-launch, matured in ex-bourbon casks and bottled at 46%.

Glen Scotia 15 Year Old (46%,  £55.45 / €57.50 )

Nose :  Concentrated sweet fruit, very jammy. Red apples, oranges, vanilla, nuts, ginger spice and cinnamon, After a while...

W L Weller 7 year old 45%

Tasted: Oct 2009

Wonderfully bold and soft aromas of liquorice coated wheat and vanilla oak, supplemented with herbal spices and hints of violets and demerara. Relatively straightforward but it has a lovely depth. The palate opens with bitter oak followed by hard violet and liquorice encrusted wheat and spices. It settles down on the middle to display a touch of demerara, but the bitter oak theme continues. Quite a dry finish with charred oak and smoke and a pure sugar crystal after taste. Quite pleasant but could have done with a tad more...

Douglas Laing Old Particular Port Charlotte 2005 (10 year old) 48.4%

Port Hogshead/ Code: OLD0292/ DL11030

Dist: Oct 2005 Btl: Feb2016/ Tasted: Apr 2016

Light and breezy to start with ozone and salt. A touch of barley, lime, tar and building smoky, earthy and lightly medicinal peat follows along with winey red fruit, malt and smoky bacon notes. The aromas are relatively subtle by Port Charlotte stands but the peat is cloaked a little by the port.

The palate is soft and malty with subtle herbal peat, tar, liquorice and treacle. Quite tannic with the dry, dusty port spice coming...