Ben Nevis 10 YO, 46 % Today I am reviewing the standard bottling from Ben Nevis. Ben Nevis is located in Western Highlands, and is owned by Nikka, Japan. The Ben Nevis 10 YO is matured in a mix of bourbon and sherry casks. You cannot buy the Ben Nevis 10 YO in Norway or […]...

Old Pulteney 1997 Ambassador’s Single Cask, 17 YO, 53,4 % Today I am reviewing a release exclusive to Sweden. It is the Old Pulteney 1997 Ambassador’s Single Cask. The backstory is as follows. The Swedish whisky magazine Allt om Whisky each year selects two of it’s readers for a scholarship where they get to go […]...

Hanyu 2000 Ichiro’s Malt Six of Clubs, 9 YO, 57,9 % I recently came across another release in the famous Card Series from Ichiro’s Malt. The Hanyu 2000 Ichiro’s Malt Six of Clubs was distilled in 2000 and bottled in 2009. It was matured first in a hogshead, then it received a finish in a cream […]...

AnCnoc 12 YO, 40 % The whisky of the day is the AnCnoc 12 YO from Knockdhu Distillery, located in the Highland region of Scotland. This whisky has been matured in a mix of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, with a slight majority on the bourbon casks. Knockdhu are selling their whisky under the brand AnCnoc […]...

My “In Praise of Table Bourbon” piece that ran in the current Value issue of Whisky Advocate got a fair amount of positive comment in social media and in letters to the magazine. That’s the good news; people get that bourbon is for drinking, for enjoying, for simple pleasure.

The better news is that when I wrote it, I left some of my other choices for table bourbon out of the piece, simply because there were so many good ones that the piece was starting to sound like a laundry list. But in the interests of spreading the gospel of table...

Islay distillery Ardbeg is one of the most popular distilleries on the island, thanks to its rich, peaty drams. It’s also gained acclaim for its cask-maturation experiments, which are always popular and have gained cult status among Ardbeg fans.

These six limited-edition Ardbegs could be yours!

This month, we have a special prize draw for all Ardbeg fans: simply buy a 70cl bottle of Ardbeg Corryvreckan and you will be in with a chance of winning six limited-edition Ardbegs, worth more than £1,000!

The prize includes a 70cl bottle of each of the following:

• Ardbeg Alligator – aged in heavily...

We conclude our round-up of this year’s Whisky Show masterclasses with Gone But Never Forgotten, a tasting of six whiskies from closed distilleries. Such tastings always attract a lot of interest, for the simple reason that whiskies from closed distilleries are almost always in very short supply, so whisky fans will jump on any chance to try them. All of the distilleries whose whiskies we tried either closed in 1983 or 1985.

Gone But Not Forgotten – six much in-demand whiskies, all from closed distilleries

The six whiskies were:

• Glenesk Maltings 1969 25th Anniversary
• Millburn 1975 18 Year Old Rare...

It’s the season of prize draws at The Whisky Exchange, and the next on the list of great whiskies to win is an impressive set from Dalmore .

With legendary master blender Richard Paterson travelling the world extolling the virtues of the distillery’s whisky, it’s unsurprising that Dalmore has the reputation that it does. Roll in their impressive stocks of old whisky and a history stretching back 1839, and you have a distillery that’s been turning heads for a long while.

We’ve put together a set of three incredible whiskies to give away to one lucky customer:

Dalmore 18 – the...

Part of the Last Great Malts series, the Royal Brackla 16 Years is finished in first-fill Oloroso sherry casks. It sits in between the Royal Brackla 12 Years and Royal Brackla 21 Years .

Royal Brackla 16 yo (40%, OB 2015)

Nose: a nicely subdued waxy / fruity style, with plenty of apricots, mashed bananas and golden apples. Slowly becoming grassier (warm hay and dried flowers actually). Hints of cinnamon and vanilla. Seems older than it is. Mouth: quite soft but oily, with dusty grains and almonds. Orange oil and cinnamon. Showing soft herbal notes without the dryness that...

At the top of the Teeling range we have the Vintage Reserve Collection . It includes this Teeling 26 Year Old Gold Reserve and the Teeling 30 Year Old Platinum Reserve which is believed to be the oldest bottling of Irish single malt whiskey recently released.

The 26 year-old was double distilled in 1987 (at Cooley then? or a Bushmills experiment?), matured in ex-bourbon barrels and then married / finished for 12 months in white Burgundy wine casks .

Teeling 26 yo 1987 ‘Vintage Reserve – Gold Bottling’ (46%, OB 2014, Batch 1, 1000 btl.)

Nose: bingo. Bang-on...

There’s the wonderful 1960s character of course, the problematic 1980s and the reaffirming 1990s, but I have to say I’m not very familiar with 1970s Bowmore . In my glass is a vintage version of the Bowmore 21 Year Old , bottled from two casks filled in 1973 .

Bowmore 21 yo 1973 (43%, OB +/- 1994, sherry butts #5173 + 5174)

Nose: very elegant, light peat, accompanied by a fresh mintiness / eucalyptus, resinous notes and soft coastal notes. Beautiful fruity notes (blood oranges, mango) and a pouch of cigarette tobacco. Polished leather. Hints of thyme. A...

Kavalan Podium is an expression matured in a mix of virgin American oak + refill Kavalan casks.

Kavalan Podium (46%, OB 2015)

Nose: a fairly light but fresh nose, with vanilla cream, banana and papaya. Floral honey and hints of coconut which was to be expected from the virgin oak. Candied ginger, soft pepper. Also light leafy notes and a faint whiff of incense. Mouth: bright barley, bananas and honey again. Vanilla. Green fruits and a slightly tangy grape skin note. Ginger and pepper. Lemon peel. Dried coconut and leather. Rather modern and oak-driven but the balance between...

Another Invergordon , this time much older. It was distilled in 1972 and bottled in 2011 in Duncan Taylor’s Rare Auld series.

Invergordon 38 yo 1972 (45,5%, Duncan Taylor Rare Auld 2011, cask #85255, 163 btl.)

Nose: vanilla cream and grated coconut. Mashed bananas and majbe ripe apricot. Hints of buttered popcorn. Other than the fact that this is fairly dry on the nose (due to more oak shavings aromas), the notes are similar to other grain whisky from different ages. Invergordon 1988 is practically the same for instance. Mouth: very sweet, very liqueur-like. Orange syrup, vanilla syrup,...