The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that this is the first post on the blog in almost three weeks. I’m sorry to say that I had a death in the family. This meant a return to Delhi at the end of the month to join my family in the mourning period. And since getting back to Minnesota last week I have been submerged in both jet lag and work, not having been able to get anything done for quite some time. It will probably take some time to return to the normal blog posting schedule but I did have this review done a while ago and so here it is. This is a review of a standard release, a classic: the Ardbeg 10. But it’s not a recent release. This is from 2008 (the L8 bottle code), which was from the first release of the 10 yo made from spirit distilled under the Glenmorangie ownership which had begun in 1997. The “Very Young”, the “Still Young”, the “Almost There” and the “Renaissance” were the special releases that had led up to this first regular release of the new 10 yo. Despite having consumed a few bottles of this over the years, I’ve never reviewed it. I guess I must have assumed I already had. Anyway, I’m glad to have caught the omission now that I’ve opened my last bottle. This review will slot in between my reviews of the 2007 and 2009 releases. Continue reading
Category Archives: Distillery
Littlemill 24, 1989 (Archives for the CasQueteers)
Last week I reviewed a 30 yo single malt (the 2017 release of the Talisker 30). Here now is one slightly younger. This Littlemill was distilled in 1989 and bottled in 2014 by Whiskybase for their Archives label on behalf of a Dutch whisky enthusiast group named the CasQueteers. It was one of several older Littlemills from the 1988-92 era that were bottled in the early-mid 2010s, many of the others also by Whiskybase (one of whose founders, Menno Bachess is a well-known Littlemill collector). I’ve reviewed a few of these Littlemills before, including some others distilled in 1989. Such were this 22 yo also bottled by Whiskybase, this 22 yo bottled by Glen Fahrn, and this 24 yo bottled by the Whisky Agency. And I’ve reviewed a bunch of others from 1990 too, as well as a few from 1988. What all of them have in common are the qualities that made Littlemill celebrated not when the distillery was on the go but when these accidentally aged single casks were released long after it had been demolished and the ground it had stood on plowed with sand (well, it was turned into a block of flats). Those qualities could perhaps be summed up by my description of this 24 yo on Instagram a couple of days ago: a cocktail of tropical fruit and diesel. I’ve had this bottle open for a few days now; it’s time to expand on that note. Continue reading
Talisker 30, 2017 Release
My first whisky release of the month was of a 3 yo American craft malt whiskey, the Zeppelin Bend from New Holland Distillers in Michigan. For the second, let’s go across the Atlantic to Skye for a much older single malt whisky. This is the Talisker 30 that was released in 2017. It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a Talisker 30. The last was a bottle from the 2015 release, which I quite liked. Before that I’d reviewed the 2006 and 2012 releases. Of those three only the 2006 was at cask strength. The last of the cask strength releases of the Talisker 30 came out in 2010, I think (I have a bottle of that in reserve). After that, all the releases have been at Talisker’s standard 45.8%. Despite the lowered strength, I had quite enjoyed my bottle of the 2015 release and I’d hoped this will be in a similar vein. Early pours were promising and now that the bottle has been open for a week or so, here are my notes. Continue reading
Zeppelin Bend
Two words that strike fear in the heart of any reasonable person: craft whiskey. Not all the bad whiskeys I’ve had over the years have been craft whiskeys but most of the craft whiskeys I’ve had over the years have been bad. This may explain why this bottle of Zeppelin Bend has sat umolested on my shelves for many years now. My friend Greg bought it at the New Holland Brewery in Michigan sometime in the last decade and gifted it to me. I must not have been very motivated to open it and then I forgot all about it until I noticed it on the shelves of the ever-shrinking whisky hoard last week. For whatever reason, I was suddenly driven to open it. And, what do you know? it turned out to be quite drinkable. It’s somewhere between Scotch whisky and bourbon in that it’s double distilled from malted barley (a la Scottish single malt whisky—though whether in a pot or column still, I don’t know) but matured in heavily charred new American oak casks (a la bourbon). I believe the maturation process lasts 3 years—very young by classic Scottish standards, even in these days of NAS, but older than most Amerrican craft whiskeys (or at least older than they used to be in the bad old days). I’ve enjoyed it straight on several occasions since I opened the bottle but have enjoyed it even more as a rye/bourbon substitute in Manhattans. Alright, let’s get to the notes. Continue reading
Tamdhu 9, 1989 (Cadenhead)
Back when I became a deranged whisky person, there was a store in Burnsville, MN that had a pretty interesting collection of malts at quite fair prices: Blue Max. Well, they’re still around, but under new ownership for a while now and the old magic—to say nothing of the old stock and the old pricing—is long gone. I took chances on a number of independent releases there more than a decade and a half ago, whiskies about which very little information was available. Among them were several releases from the old Cadenhead’s Authentic Collection series in dark green bottles (including this Ardmore that I just adore). I don’t actually recall purchasing this young Tamdhu (Tamdhu-Glenlivet on the label) and it’s sat hidden in a corner of my whisky hoard for a long time now. I found it while looking for a non-peated bourbon cask whisky to round out my current lineup of open bottles (I like to have a spectrum of profiles on hand). I was a bit nervous while opening it. It was bottled in 1999 and there’s always a good chance a cork will come apart after 26 years. Thankfully, that did not happen. I’m also happy to say that I quite liked the first few pours from the bottle. It’s been open now for a few days and here therefore are my notes. Continue reading
Laphroaig Cairdeas 2025, Lore Cask Strength
I finally got my hands on a bottle of the 2025 Laphroaig Cairdeas. Just the one bottle though. Which means my collection of Cairdeas since 2011 might end in 2024 with the Cask Favorites. You see, I’ve been buying two bottles of the Cairdeas every year, one to drink and one to keep. (Well, in some excellent years—see the 2015 200th anniversary release— I bought more than two.) I fully acknowledge that this is a very silly enterprise. The Cairdeas has been up and down over the last 7-8 years; pretty good in some years; ho hum in others; nothing to really get me going since that 2015 release. Laphroaig’s approach to Cairdeas in recent years has something to do with that as they’ve either released wacky wine cask finishes or cask strength iterations of releases from their regular line. Last year’s release was particularly heavy on the “we’ve run out of ideas” subtext, being composed of casks from the previous two years. Which brings us to this year’s release, which the distillery says is a cask strength version of the Lore (yes, a whisky from their regular line). As to whether this truly is a cask strength version of the regular Lore is not clear: I’ve seen reports of people being told at the distillery that it was only made in the same way as the Lore, i.e with the same mix of cask types. If you know more about this, please write in below. In any case, I thought the Lore was fine when I reviewed it on release in 2017 but was never moved to go back and try more recent versions of it. However, this was made, I’m hoping it’s better. Let’s see. Continue reading
Laphroaig 17, 1995 (The Whisky Agency)
I haven’t reviewed a Laphroaig in a while (this 21 yo bourbon cask, back in February). I was hoping to set that right this month with a review of the 2025 Cairdeas, but I haven’t yet come across it in Minnesota. That’s not to say it’s not here; I’ve not looked very hard: just on a few stores’ websites. If any of my local readers have a line on where it’s available, please let me know. In the meantime, here’s a review of another bourbon cask Laphroaig. Like February’s 21 yo, this is also an indie release from a while ago—from The Whisky Agency—but it’s a bit younger at 17 years of age. It’s also from a slightly smaller cask: a barrel to the 21 yo’s refill hogshead. I do prefer hogsheads and refill hogsheads in particular to the smaller barrels, as they have less oak contact—and in the case of the refill casks, that contact is with less active oak. But I’ve had some very nice bourbon barrel Laphroaig before (this 19 yo, for example) and so have no reason to think that this one will be anything but good. Let’s see if my positivity will be rewarded. Continue reading
Glengoyne 12 CS, Pre-2012 Release
Looking at my cabinet of open bottles, I noticed I did not have any younger sherried whiskies open that do not have any peat involvement. It’s not that I have anything against peated and sherried whiskies—why, some of my best friends are peated and sherried whiskies; it’s just that it’s nice to have some variety on hand. And so down I went into my whisky dungeon to see if there were any candidates for opening. There was this bottle of Glengoyne 12 CS. I remembered where I’d purchased it—Lowry Hills Liquor in Minneapolis—but not when. My spreadsheet—very assiduously updated in those days—tells me it was in 2012. I then looked for a bottle code to see if I could pin the release year down further and this is what I found etched towards the bottom of the bottle: L5109BB and below it, 3 15:46. Normally I would guess this meant it was bottled on the 109th day of 2005 at 3.46 pm but I confess I don’t really know how Glengoyne’s bottle codes worked then (or now, for that matter) and there does not seem to be any intel on that online. If you know more about it, please write in below. What I can tell you is that I don’t have so very much experience with Glengoyne; I’ve reviewed very few—the last almost exactly three years ago. But I’ve generally enjoyed what I’ve had even if I have not yet encountered one I thought to be remarkable. I can tell you that this bottle is not going to break that streak (I had purchased more than one back then and I have the score I’d assigned then, in my pre-blog days, recorded in my spreadsheet). But I’m glad to make its acquaintance again anyway. Continue reading
Ellenstown 12
Back when I started this blog in 2013, Ellenstown was a not uncommon sight in American liquor stores with non-standard whisky selections. In case you’re more recently arrived at the pursuit of single malt whisky, Ellenstown is not the name of a defunct distillery but a name used for two Islay whiskies brought to the US by CVI Brands, an importer from San Carlos, CA. (I’m not sure if these were released elsewhere in the world as well or if there were releases elsewhere with other age statements.) There were two of these: a 10 yo and a 12 yo. The 10 yo was said to be an Ardbeg and I recall both Ardbeg and Caol Ila being named as likely candidates for the 12 yo. Whether any of this speculation was based on actual knowledge, I don’t know; I would expect that the Ellenstown name would imply one of the distilleries closer to Port Ellen—so Ardbeg, more likely than Caol Ila, but also no reason why it couldn’t be Laphroaig (Lagavulin not being made available usually to indies). At any rate, I remember thinking it likely that the 10 yo was Ardbeg. I certainly saw it more frequently in MN and went through a couple of bottles before the blog got going. My spreadsheet tells me I also tried the 12 yo back in the day but I have no memory of it. Luckily, I did have a bottle on my shelves (along with two of the 10 yo) and so can now open it and take some proper notes. I notice now that the label says it was a single cask release. Was there more than one cask? If you still have a bottle lying around let me know if the rear label has the same barcode number as mine: 7 91774 10388 1. Okay, let’s get to it. Continue reading
Rampur Double Cask
My previous booze reviews this month have been of whiskies that were peated to one degree or another: relatively mild (the Nikka Pure Malt White) to not-so-mild (the Ardbeg Corryvreckan and the Caol Ila Feis Ile 2016). To close out the month, let’s do a whisky that’s not peated at all. This is the Double Cask from Rampur, the Indian malt whisky distillery from the Radico Khaitan group. I’d lost sight of them after reviewing their original (?) release, the Rampur Select a few years ago. In the intervening period they’ve certainly expanded their portfolio of releases quite dramatically: their website lists five regular releases and four limited edition releases. This Double Cask is one of the regular releases. As per the distillery’s website, it is made by marrying spirit from American oak bourbon barrels and European Oak sherry casks (butts? re-made hogsheads or barrels?). So, not double maturation. As to what the ratio of the cask types in the vatting is, I have no idea. Well, I don’t purchase very much whisky any more but for some reason I couldn’t resist when I saw this bottle in the liquor department of my Costco last week. Let’s see if my weakness did me a favour or did me in. Continue reading
Caol Ila 12, for Feis Ile 2016
Back in January of this year, I reviewed Caol Ila’s bottling for the 2017 iteration of Feis Ile, the Islay whisky festival. Now that I’m on the verge of finishing that bottle, it’s time to open another Caol Ila, and it may as well be another one bottled for Feis Ile. We’ll go back one year in time to 2016. Like the 2017 after it, the 2016 release was also 12 years old and without a vintage statement. While the 2017 release was to be double-mature in ex-amoroso sherry casks (I think previously used for the Talisker Distillers Edition), the 2016 was put together from a refill American oak hogsheads and European bodega sherry butts. Now as to whether the second type refers to European oak butts or merely specifies that these were butts actually used in sherry bodegas (as opposed to being reconstructed and “seasoned” with sherry expressly for the purpose of whisky maturation), I don’t know. I’m sure somebody else does—and if you’re that somebody, please write in below. Okay, let’s get to it. Continue reading
Ardbeg Corryvreckan, 2011 Release (Again)
Here is a review of a whisky that I have already reviewed, albeit five years ago. I don’t mean just that it’s another Ardbeg Corryvreckan review: it’s a review of a bottle released in the same year as that previous bottle: 2011. The Corryvreckan was then just a couple of years old. I had loved my first taste of it in 2009 or 2010 or whenever it was and I quite liked the 2011 release when I first reviewed it in 2020. I’m curious to see what I’ll make of it now (I’m not re-reading my previous notes until I get done with my notes on this one). I’m also curious about the status of current Corryvreckan. It’s still part of Ardbeg’s core lineup, along with other mainstays, the 10 yo and the Uigeadail—and also the newer An Oa and Wee Beastie—but I don’t think I’ve had any Corryvreckan released in the last decade. Those of you who have: do you find it to be still more or less as it was? The makeup seems to be the same, with ex-bourbon and ex-French oak casks in the vatting. Do let me know your thoughts on more recent releases. Okay, let’s get to this one. Continue reading
Nikka Pure Malt White, “Salty & Peaty”
The last whisky review I posted before our trip to Japan (and our subsequent summer travels) began was of the 2013 release of the Hakushu Sherry Cask. The first review I have for you now that our travels are over is of another Japanese whisky, the Nikka Pure Malt White. I acquired this bottle many years ago, along with the Pure Malt Black (which I reviewed almost exactly a year ago). A friend picked both up from the duty free at Reykjavik airport in 2012 for all of $22 each. Rub your eyes and read that sentence again. Where the Black was dubbed “Smoky & Mellow” this one bears the words “Salty & Peaty” on the rear label. Where the Black contained a high dose of peated whisky from Nikkas’s Yoichi distillery, the White was described by them as “made mainly with Islay, Scotland type malt”. Now as to whether “Islay, Scotland type malt” means it actually contains Islay whisky or whether it contains whisky made in that style—perhaps from peated barley from Islay—I have no idea. Anyway, I’m looking forward to finally tasting it. Continue reading
Glenburgie 24, 1992 (Cadenhead)
Here to close out the month in whisky reviews is my review of an older Glenburgie. This 24 yo was released by Cadenhead in 2016 and is a vatting of two bourbon hogsheads. I thought it might be the oldest Glenburgie I’ve yet reviewed but I see I previously reviewed a 29 yo from Signatory in 2018. I rather liked that one, and I also quite liked this 23 yo from Chester Whisky. Those were both bourbon cask whiskies as well and so I have high hopes for this one. Let’s see if they’re borne out.
Glenburgie 24, 1992 (51.6%; Cadenhead; two bourbon hogsheads; from my own bottle)
Nose: A lovely mix of oak and fruit. The oak is toasted and the fruit a melange of citrus (lemon peel), pineapple, tart-sweet apple, gooseberry and kiwi. Just a bit of freshly cut grass as well. Sweeter as it sits and a bit of cream emerges. With time the oak recedes; the lemon expands and picks up some honey. Water resets it and brings some of the oak back. Continue reading
Hakushu Sherry Cask, 2013 Release
By the time this review posts I will hopefully have just landed in Tokyo. To mark my first proper visit to Japan (outside of transit lounges) here is a review of a Japanese whisky.
This is the Hakushu sherry cask release from 2013. I’m too frazzled by last minute packing right now to go look up when these releases began or ended. I know that I’d tried and failed to get my hands on the previous year or two’s releases—I only managed to get this bottle because when the Whisky Exchange sent out their email in January 2014 announcing it was on sale, I was sitting jet lagged in my parents’ flat in Delhi and so managed to jump on it almost instantaneously. I also got a bottle of the Yamazaki Sherry Cask from that 2013 release in that order. That one I ended up selling at auction in the UK a couple of years later when the price it was commanding became ludicrous—I have no regrets about that sale: I sampled that whisky from a friend’s bottle and didn’t think it was anything very special. I’m sure this bottle of the Hakushu Sherry Cask would also be worth a lot of money now (and probably has been for a while). After all, it’s been a long time since there’s been much quality Japanese whisky on the market. But this one I’ve held on to for myself. And here I am now, drinking it. Let’s get to my notes. Continue reading
Lagavulin 16, Feis Ile 2017
June’s whisky reviews began with a 22 yo Littlemill from a boutique German independent bottler. The second review of a month is of an official release from one of Scotland’s most iconic distilleries, Lagavulin. This is a 16 yo but it’s not the well-known and much-loved standard Lagavulin 16. This is a cask strength 16 yo that was released for Feis Ile, the annual Islay whisky festival, in 2017 (almost exactly eight years ago). And, no, it ‘s not a cask strength version of the regular 16 yo either. This was double-matured in casks that had previously held moscatel, a sweet wine. In case the name sounds familiar in a whisky context, the Caol Ila Distiller’s Edition is also double-matured in moscatel casks. I assume there are a number of these casks lying around in Diageo’s warehouses and so this was probably a convenient way to come up with a Feis Ile release in 2017. (I may be misremembering but I think there may also have been a Diageo special release slate one year that featured malts from iconic distilleries being double matured in the casks used for other distilleries’ Distillers Editions.). Anyway, I’ve had this bottle sitting around for a while and am glad to finally have it open. This review joins my reviews of the 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2020 Lagavulin Feis Ile releases. I have a bottle of the 2016 release on my shelf but I don’t have the 2019—so I’m afraid I’m probably never going to complete that sequence. Anyway, let’s see what this is like. Continue reading
Littlemill 22, 1989 (Glen Fahrn)
To kick off June’s whisky reviews, here is an older Littlemill. This is another of the many casks of 20+yo Littlemill that were bottled by various indie outfits in the early 2010s, well after the distillery had closed, been demolished and the ground it stood on plowed with sand. Well, the latter only happened in a figurative sense. The distillery closed finally in 1994 and was dismantled in 1997. What was left of it burned down in 2004 and now a housing development stands on the site. As I never get tired of noting, Littlemill had a very negative reputation among whisky aficionados when it was open. The official releases were not very inspiring. But a number of casks that remained in storage were aged into an excellence that the official releases never reached and many of them were released 15 odd years ago. As the whisky market was not insanely overheated at the time, bottles from these casks were available at quite reasonable prices from various indie bottlers (my spreadsheet tells me I paid just about $114 for this one) and I socked a few away. This cask was released by a German outfit named Glen Fahrn. The latest release Whiskybase logs from them was in 2017—I’m not sure if they’re still a going concern. Anyway, I’m glad to have finally opened this bottle a few nights ago. Here now are my notes. Continue reading