I attended Spirits in the Sky last weeke-end and while I don’t go to whisky festvals as much as I once did, it’s safe to say this is still the best place to experience the Belgian whisky scene and stay up-to-date about the new releases.

I’ll start with very quick impressions of a few new and upcoming releases – this is probably what people are mostly looking for. Mind that these are just casual tasting impressions…

• Undisclosed Speyside 27 yo 1992 (46.2%, Infrequent Flyers, barrel #4406044) A great new release in the second batch from Alistair Walker. A...

There’s a new batch of Artful Dodger bottlings but they seem to arrive in a random order. TWE offered this sherry matured Springbank 18 Years (no vintage) a few weeks ago, but not the other releases. And no sign in other stores, better keep your eyes peeled…

Springbank 18 yo (45,9%, Artful Dodger 2019, first-fill sherry hogshead #646, 392 btl.)

Nose: old leather, some car workshop aromas and even light farmy touches (sheep stable). Slightly Brora-like, nice. Then some roast meat and tobacco, some nutty touches and flints. Spanish fig bread and dates in the background. Orange (peel),...

Starward is Australian Maltwhisky produced in Melbourne since 2007. Like their own Starward Solera expression, this single cask release for the 20th Anniversary of The Whisky Exchange was bottled from an Apera cask .

In 2010 the Australian fortified wine which had historically been called sherry underwent a name change to apera . After all Sherry (or the Spanish version Jerez) is a protected designation of origin, which after decades Australia decided to respect in an agreement with the EU. It comes in similar styles, from dry to very sweet, but contrary to sherry it is often seen as...

The Fisherman’s Retreat is a restaurant and wedding venue near Manchester, but they also have a valued whisky bar and store .

We’ll be trying two of their shop bottlings: an Arran 2013 (Yalumba Octavius Shiraz wine cask) and a Port Charlotte 2008 (Haut Brion cask). They seem to have a preference for red wine casks (specifically from the Southern hemisphere), also for their previous releases.

Arran 5 yo 2013 (54%, Fisherman’s Retreat 2018, Yalumba Octavius cask, 191 btl.)

Salmon colour. Nose: slightly gimmicky red wine maturation, like in the early days. Cooked strawberries, pomegranate and a...

One of the Special Releases 2019 that got me excited was this Talisker 15 Year Old , the first time this is seen as an official release of this age. It’s a 2002 vintage matured in freshly charred American oak hogsheads, bottled at natural strength.

Talisker 15 yo 2002 (57,3%, OB ‘Special Releases’ 2019, freshly charred American oak hogsheads)

Nose: rather bright and mellow at first, with some banana cake and stewed apples, smoked peach and iodine. A little wax and vanilla. Rather summery and blossomy, but not too soft. Light chilli and cinnamon. Mouth: quite powerful, more...

Ardbeg Blaaack

Pinot Noir casks from New Zealand: the key element for the upcoming Ardbeg Blaaack . A black sheep on the label expresses the fact that this is truly a whisky apart . The Committee 20th Anniversary edition is bottled at 50.7%, traditionally there’s a common version at 46% for Ardbeg Day.

Mortlach 15 Years ‘Six Kingdoms’ (Game of Thrones)

The ninth and final bottling in Diageo’s Game of Thrones series is a Mortlach 15 Year Old ‘Six Kingdoms’ .

It has been matured in first-fill sherry seasoned casks and finished in American oak ex-bourbon casks. Pretty...

Cheaper by the Dram is a new whisky sample service specialized in rare and unique drams. They are sourcing collectable whiskies from auctions and collections and make them available as 3 cl samples.

It’s a shame that they can’t mention the distillery on the sample bottle, nor publish a picture of the actual bottle that is being shared. It has to do with SWA labeling requirements and copyrights, they claim most other sample services are walking on a thin line. However they can link to Whiskybase profiles.

Anyway they offered me to test-drive the service and sent me...

We’re proceeding with the 2019 Special Releases and I’m sure this Mortlach 26 Year Old is on many whisky lovers’ wishlist.

Mortlach is a bit of a difficult brand in my opinion: drastically premiumized in 2015 but without success, then given a makeover with more reasonable prices last year. I think they are now offering much better value for money (but also significant batch variation ). Interesting to see where this is going.

Mortlach 26 Years is a 1992 vintage, matured in first-fill PX and Oloroso seasoned casks .

Mortlach 26 yo 1992 (53,3%, OB ‘Special Releases’ 2019,...

Another STR cask whisky. These are red wine casks treated with Dr Jim Swan’s proprietary shaving / toasting / re-charring process. The wine adds depth but the shaving and re-charring takes away the excessive winey edge, while also eliminating the rough new oak elements. A mix of seasoned and virgin oak if you like, mostly used by young distilleries (like Gouden Carolus and Cotswolds ) to beef up young whisky.

Kilchoman STR Cask is a combination of 43 hogsheads, filled with 50 ppm new make and aged for around 6-7 years of age.

Kilchoman 2012 STR Cask (50%,...

This is another one of the three new 20th Anniversary bottlings just released by The Whisky Exchange for their 20th Anniversary.

A Clynelish 2005 matured for over 14 years in a refill sherry cask and bottled by Gordon & MacPhail in the Connoisseurs Choice range.

Clynelish 14 yo 2005 (51,8%, Gordon & MacPhail ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ for TWE 20th Anniversary 2019, refill sherry hogshead, 224 btl.)

Nose: dried bananas and pears at first, moving to nutty notes, hints of sour orange oil and mirabelles. Old resinous oak, camphor and wet tobacco leaves. Cinnamon and nutmeg. Pollen and herbal honey....

This is an single malt Islay whisky matured for over 25 years at an undisclosed distillery and bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company . The question that everyone asks is always ‘what distillery could it be’, but does that really matter?

Islay No. 2 (48,6%, That Boutique-y Whisky Co 2019, Batch #3, 1522 btl.)

Nose: a nicely refined Islay profile, with apple compote, melons and traces of charred pineapple. Menthol and eucalyptus, carbon papers and toffee. Sea spray and burnt pine needles. Rather complex and layered. Mouth: punchier and smokier. Starts on earthy smoke and salty seaweed, before...

Even when they’re unnamed, it’s easy to recognize Highland Park releases. Most of the indie bottlings are great. We’re having a 2003 single cask bottled in the Old Particular range from Douglas Laing .

Probably Orkney’s Finest 16 yo 2003 (48,4%, Douglas Laing ‘Old Particular’ 2019, DL13371, 371 btl.)

Nose: a mix of oily notes, wet gravel and warm wax, mixed with HP’s trademark honey sweetness. A whiff of smoke and an earthy, almost farmy edge. Peaches. Some creamy vanilla and spice from the oak. Mouth: perfect strength, with a nice oily texture. Starting on spicy and herbal...

The Whisky Exchange is releasing three new 20th Anniversary bottlings today, available online and in their shops.

One of them is a single bourbon barrel Old Pulteney 2004 , from the same year as last year’s sherry cask but intended to show a totally different side of the distillery character.

Old Pulteney 2004 (50,9%, OB for TWE 20th Anniversary 2019, ex-bourbon barrel #221, 246 btl.)

Nose: a nice mix of mineral notes, coastal air, minty notes, a little sour dough and fresh, gingery oak. A great waxy side too. Some barley sugar and creamy yellow fruits underneath. Gooseberries....

Here’s the Lagavulin 12 Year Old for this year, matured in refill American oak and distilled in 2006 / 2007.

This time the packaging takes the style from the ‘rare by nature’ theme of the Special Releases 2019 instead of the usual Lagavulin styling. Nice but collectors will not be happy, I suppose.

Lagavulin 12 yo (56,5%, OB 2019, 19th release, refill American oak, 60.000+ btl.)

Nose: youthful and intense, with a lot of carbolic soap, mossy notes, menthol and deep peat smoke. Hints of chilli and green pepper, and plenty of medicinal notes. Tarry ropes and other...

From Zuidam distillery comes this Millstone Oloroso Sherry , kind of a younger and cheaper version of their 12 Years Oloroso. For this whisky they were using smaller 250l casks, re-composed from larger sherry butts.

Millstone Oloroso Sherry 3 yo 2014 (46%, OB 01.2018, 3000+ btl.)

Nose: a lot of very young Oloroso wine notes, but also prominent notes of sherry vinegar I’m afraid. Not great in whisky, but please get to know this unique vinegar. A sour fruity side (red berries, apples, rhubarb, heavily infused fruit tea) and savoury, lightly meaty hints (maggi, celery, wet leather). Hints...

In 2017 Diageo surprised many whisky enthusiasts by removing Brora from the yearly Special Releases , something that was later explained by the news of the re-opening of the distillery in 2020.

To mark the 200th anniversary of the distillery’s (original) opening Diageo vatted 12 American oak hogsheads from 1978 . They filled 1819 bttles – the foundation year indeed.

Brora 40 yo 1978 (49,2%, OB ‘200th Anniversary’ 2019, 1819 btl.)

Nose: wonderfully sweet and fruity. There’s European fruit (stewed golden apples, grapes, figs) as well as raisins and some tropical notes of grilled pineapple and papaya. Typical...

Bimber Re-charred Oak

The second release from Bimber distillery (after the First ) is a small batch release: Bimber Re-charred Oak Casks, a vatting of heavily charred (‘alligator’) American oak casks laid down in 2016. Bottled at 51.9% ABV and available on their website for a reasonable £ 65, later also from select retailers like The Whisky Exchange .

Tomatin Decades II

Back in 2011 Tomatin released Decades , a really tasty composition of casks from every decade that Master Distiller Douglas Campbell had been working at the distillery (1960s to 2000s).

Now there’s the Tomatin Decades II...

Black Tot is a Caribbean blended rum. It is a modern interpretation of British Naval rum , an old style of rum known for its heavy, dark flavours. This version is said to be lighter, more elegant and more importantly, unsweetened.

Black Tot is a blend of rums from Barbados (elegant and fruity), Guyana (full-bodied) and Jamaica (heavier and funkier).

The brand started in 2010 when Speciality Drinks (now Elixir Distillers ) bottled some of the last real navy stocks . In the past few years they developed it into a whole range of rums.

Black Tot rum...

Bimber is a single malt distilled in London and they seem to be doing things right. Local barley, floor malting, long fermentation (seven days), directly fired stills, serious wood management, what’s not to like?

Founders Darius and Ewelina moved from Poland to the UK in 2003 and the first spirit was produced in 2016 – the first in London in over a century.

Bimber First Release is a whisky distilled in 2016 and matured in five first-fill Pedro Ximénez casks for three years. Genuine solera casks, apparently.

Bimber – The First Release 2016 (54,2%, OB 2019, Pedro Ximénez...

The other night I was invited to the Belgian presentation of the Balvenie Stories , a series of whiskies inspired by loyal craftspeople at The Balvenie and the great stories they told: tales of character, endeavour and craft. The distillery decided to record these stories and create three new whiskies .

You can listen to the stories on the Balvenie website . There’s also a book Pursuit: The Balvenie Stories collection which can be bought from Amazon . It includes short stories from some of the world’s finest writers, loosely inspired by the theme of pursuing dreams and chasing perfection....