The end of this month will mark the fifth anniversary of the start of my blog. I tell you this now so you may prepare appropriately for the celebrations when the actual day of the anniversary arrives. I began the blog with a review of a Bowmore and have marked each anniversary since with a review of a Bowmore. You can expect that to continue. As for what other whiskies I review this month, as always, I invite your input below.
I should say, however, that of late it seems like my food posts are getting more views than my whisky posts. Of the ten most viewed posts of February three are restaurant reviews (including the top two posts) and one is a recipe. Of the six spirits reviews that rounded out the top 10, two were of bourbons and one was of a rum. Only three malt whisky reviews in the list. Accordingly, I have a long list of potential malt whisky reviews for you to make nominations from for March.
- Auchroisk 18, 1988 (Blackadder)
- Balblair 16
- Balblair 2003
- Balblair 2005
- Ben Nevis 17, 1999 (The Whisky Agency for Casa de Vinos)
- Benromach 9, 2001, Cask Strength
- Bowmore Devil’s Casks, Second Edition
- Bowmore 17, 1997 (SMWS 3.243)
- Caol Ila 25, 1984 (Bladnoch Forum)
- Clynelish 23, 1989 (Thosop)
- Craigellachie 25, 1990 (SMWS 44.67)
- Glen Keith 21, 1996 (Single Malts of Scotland)
- Glen Ord 14, 2001 (SMWS)
- Glen Ord 28
- Glenburgie 29, 1983 (Signatory)
- Glendronach 25, 1968
- Glenturret 33, 1980 (The Whisky Agency)
- Highland Park 25, (circa 1995 release)
- Laphroaig 18, 1997, Cask 54 (Berry Bros. & Rudd)
- Ledaig 11, “Time IV” (The Whisky Exchange)
- Littlemill 12
- Littlemill 21, 1992 (Berry Bros. & Rudd)
- Littlemill 22, 1989 (Archives)
- Longmorn 24, 1990 (Single Malts of Scotland)
- Speyburn 26, 1988 (Berry Bros. & Rudd)
- Tobermory 18, 1994 (Wilson & Morgan)
- Tobermory 20, 1994, Oloroso Sherry (Wilson & Morgan)
- Tomatin 25, 1988 (Malts of Scotland)
There’ll probably also be at least one rum review and possibly a brandy review or two as well. I’ve also been sitting on some samples of very old blends (as in released many decades ago) so if you’re interested in that genre as well, please give a shout. Probably won’t get to more bourbon till April but am planning on reviewing more standard bourbon this year. On the food front, it’ll be mostly reviews from the Twin Cities metro area plus the occasional recipe. You may also have to ignore another post about books. What fun we’ll have!
My Annoying Opinions 
My picks would be the Benromach 9yo, Glen Ord 28yo and the Glenburgie 1983.
I greatly appreciated the book review as Amitav Ghosh is now on my radar. Writers beyond the west and Japan are underrepresented on my bookshelves so more recommendations, please.
Also, is there any way to compare and contrast ROI of your whisky dollars versus restaurant dollars? I’d be interested to know, in 2018, which pursuit gives you greater enjoyment per buck.
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Looking forward to more of your entertaining TC restaurant reviews MAO.
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#8,9,13,14, and congrats on the blogaversary!
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Hi there,
“I should say, however, that of late it seems like my food posts are getting more views than my whisky posts.”
Small wonder wouldn’t you say?
I’m waiting daily for a blogger or reddit or any other news source in the net to state the obvious:
Whisky is dead.
The drinks giants managed to kill whisky enthusiasm with their premiumisation strategy and the ever increasings prices accompanied by dwindling quality and ever more boring “new offers” or “innovations”.
Will you be the one? 8-)
Greetings
kallaskander
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I don’t think whisky is dead so much as badly hurting – although that is for the reasons you’ve identified: premiumisation, higher prices, lower quality, and new offers and innovations that don’t amount to very much. Enthusiasm in on the decline because, try as it might, the industry can’t keep it going without producing things to be enthusiastic about. The current whisky planet is only “the best of all possible worlds” if removed from the context of the era which came before it. We’re now in a time of constantly “finding new audiences” for whisky, primarily because much of the old one is saying “WTF!” and just isn’t buying into the razmatazz to the required degree any more.
Leaving quality improvement aside, even product honesty/disclosure from the industry would be widely seen as a major improvement in an era dominated by bullshit, but it would probably also be too big a concession to expect from producers who, quite obviously, think it’s fine to mislead people about what they’re buying and even the fundamental physics of their product. There are some people who are oh so clever and experienced with whisky who are just getting around to acknowledging that casking, environment AND age have an impact on whisky character, so the rush to truth is a slow one indeed. If, with full disclosure, it were to be revealed that not all that many producers really CAN make all that much whisky that’s 8 or younger that’s really worth buying/talking about, well… it might go a long way to explaining, not only many current new product offerings, but also why we don’t have full disclosure.
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I don’t think my blog was ever popular enough among whisky geeks for me to proclaim seeming lowered interest in my whisky reviews as proof of the death of whisky. I think some of my whisky readership just went elsewhere when I was reviewing far fewer whiskies last year. Also, I should clarify that far more of my page views in aggregate are of my whisky posts than of my food posts. It’s just in relative terms that my food posts seem to be viewed more. That is to say, I don’t make as many food posts as whisky posts but their ranking is relatively higher.
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Hi there,
fair enough. We can recline in our favourite arm chair with a good dram of yonder years and wait and see.
Greetings
kallaskander
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I remembering you liking the glen ord 30. Would love to hear your thoughts on glen ord 28.
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Bowmore Devil’s Casks and highland park 25, please
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