This whisky is obviously not from the stash of long-accumulated bottles that I am supposed to be opening, drinking and reviewing these days on the blog. It’s just that I wasn’t able to keep myself from picking up a bottle when I saw it at our local Costco last week. I’ve quite enjoyed the preceding Offerman Editions of Lagavulin 11 and so it seemed to be a good bet. As you may recall, the very first Offerman Edition—which was released in 2019, I think—did not have any cask complications associated with it. The second edition—which came out in 2021, I think—received a Guinness cask finish. Meanwhile, the third edition featured maturation in casks that had been shaved down and re-charred. I didn’t like the third one quite as much as the first two but all have been interesting variations on the Lagavulin profile and not gratuitous celebrity cash-ins. The fourth edition—only just released in the US—sees the whisky get a rum finish for eight months. Let’s see how it compares to the others. Continue reading
Category Archives: Distillery
Bowmore 15, 1992 (Douglas Laing)
No, I haven’t already rolled back my commitment to slow the pace of my whisky reviewing and to restrict it only to bottles that have lain unopened for years in my stash. It’s only that I still have a few samples left over from before I left for Bombay in early January and I may as well get through all of them as well. And so here’s a Bowmore 15. This was distilled in 1992 and bottled in 2007 from a refill hogshead by Douglas Laing in their Old Malt Cask series. Back when this came out a lot of whisky geeks were still very wary about Bowmores distilled in the early 1990s. This was on account of the proximity to the long problematic preceding decade at the distillery. As I’ve noted before on the blog, my random sampling suggests that by the early 1990s most of those problems had been worked out. Indeed, I’ve had quite a few rather nice indie Bowmores distilled in the early 1990s. That’s not to say, of course, that there aren’t casks from that period that still bore/bear traces of the major problems of the distillate in the 1980s, particularly a strong soapy note. Let’s hope this cask is not one of those. When teenaged bourbon cask Bowmore is good it’s very good indeed, with that unique mix of smoke, fruit, florals and coastal notes. Let’s see where this one falls on the spectrum. Continue reading
Highland Park 25, 1988 (Cadenhead)
At the start of April I noted that I am cutting down the the number of whiskies I review on the blog so that I can focus on finally drinking down all/most of the whisky I acquired over the last decade and a half. It’s going to be a slow campaign, with no more than four bottles projected to be opened and steadily consumed (with help from friends) each month. The campaign began two weeks ago with a Littlemill 23, 1989 from Archives; it continued last Monday with a Talisker 10 released in the 1990s. Here now to close out the month is a Highland Park 25 that was distilled in 1988 and bottled in 2013 by Cadenhead. It’s not a single cask but a batch release. Bottles went to both the European and US markets. Neither label notes a year of distillation or cask information but this is rather obviously sherry cask whisky in colour, aroma and flavour. Whiskybase says “sherry butts” and lists 1086 bottles. So probably a pair of butts—assuming, that is, that no Glendronach-style shenanigans were involved, in which case this might be from a clutch of 24 year old ex-bourbon casks that were dumped into “rejuvenated” sherry butts for an additional year before bottling. At any rate, I opened my bottle a few days ago and waited for it to settle down a bit before taking my initial notes. Here they are. Continue reading
Talisker 10, “Map Label”, 90s Bottling
As you may recall from my post to start this month, for the foreseeable future I am going to be posting fewer booze reviews on the blog. This is due to a desire to drink down the many bottles in stash accumulated over some 15 years. The plan is to open a bottle a week and gradually drink it down—with the occasional help of friends. The first bottle I opened as part of this campaign was the Littlemill 23, 1990 from Archives that I reviewed last week. That was a fruity bourbon cask. As I currently already have a few open bottles of heavily peated whiskies and a couple of sherried whiskies, I decided to next open a mildly peated whisky. Accordingly, bottle 2, which was opened last week is a Talisker 10. Not a recent one though. This is the so-called “map label” which was released in the 1990s as far as I know. Perhaps there’s a bottle code somewhere on the bottle that would narrow the specific year down but I’m not terribly enthused about looking for it. If anyone knows when the map label was launched and discontinued, please chime in below in the comments. What I can tell you is that I have been enjoying this bottle very much and am already beginning to feel melancholy about its inevitable demise in a few weeks. Here now, from the top quarter of the bottle, are my notes. Continue reading
Littlemill 23, 1990 (Archives)
This week’s review is of a Littlemill. As I’ve noted before, Littlemill didn’t have the best reputation when it was a going concern. Indeed, when I first started getting interested in malt whisky as something other than an occasional indulgence, the official 12 yo—pretty much all that was easily available then—was one you learned to stay away from (though I didn’t think it was that bad when I finally tried it). As with so many other distilleries though, the distillery’s reputation improved after it closed, when older single casks began to become available from independent bottlers. In the early-mid 2010s, in particular, a number of 20+ yo casks filled in the late 1980s to the early 1990s showed up on the market that put the distillate in a very different, very fruity light. A number of these casks were bottled by Whiskybase under their Archives label. This bourbon cask 23 yo, distilled in 1990 was one of the first (though not, I think, the very first—there was one in the inaugural Archives release as well). As with so many bottles I purchased in those years, I’ve had it sitting on my shelves for a long time now. I’m glad to finally open it and am looking forward to drinking it down over the next few weeks. Continue reading
Indri, Trini — The Three Wood
Hey look, it’s a whisky review. As I said on April 1, I’m going to be posting far fewer whisky (and other booze) reviews going forward. The goal is to focus on drinking down my own collection of bottles and not on reviewing as many whiskies as I can. These two goals are not compatible, in case you’re wondering. Anyway, my review today is not of a whisky that was in my collection but of one I drank quite a bit of in my recent travels. I first purchased a bottle of this Indri after arrival in Bombay. I liked it so much as I drank it down over those five weeks that I purchased another bottle from duty free that I drank down over five weeks in Seoul. And then I purchased a third bottle that I drank part of in Delhi and left behind in my father’s bar. Yes, I thought it was a very good whisky, especially for the price. I was shocked, however, to learn in Delhi of the company’s controversial ownership. Frankly, it’s put me off the whisky more than a little. You may be wondering what I’m on about. Here’s the story. Continue reading
Kilchoman 10, 2006, for Clauso & Friends
One more review to close out the week in Islay whiskies and the month in whisky reviews. Like Monday’s Bowmore and Wednesday’s Ardbeg, this Kilchoman is an official release. It is not, however, one that was widely available: it was a single cask bottled for a private group, one of several casks from 2006 and 2007 that were privately bottled. The cask was a bourbon barrel. Bourbon barrels always make me worry about the possibility of too much vanilla etc. in the whisky, but, on the other hand, I do also really like bourbon cask Kilchoman; and so I’m also quite looking forward to this one. Let’s see where it falls.
Kilchoman 10, 2006 (57.9%; for Clauso & Friends; bourbon barrel 112/2006; from a bottle split)
Nose: A big wave of peat off the top, and it’s a mix of phenolic notes with charred woodsmoke and toasted cereals. On the second sniff there’s ink and more coastal notes below that (kelp, brine). Continues in this vein with some added sweetness (a touch of creme brulee). A few drops of water pull out quite a bit of citronella and meld it with the medicinal notes and the creme brulee. Continue reading
Ardbeg 12, 1999, “Galileo”
I said on Monday that I’d be closing out the month with a week of reviews of single malt whiskies. I forgot to say that they’d all be Islay whiskies. On Monday I reviewed a relatively recently released Bowmore: the second release of the Bowmore Vault Edition. Today, I have a review of an Ardbeg released almost 12 years ago: the Ardbeg Galileo. This was Ardbeg’s special release for 2012, back when Ardbeg’s Feis Ile releases had just begun to take up residence in the realm of the ludicrous. The silly story attached to the Galileo was that a small amount of the whisky that went into it was sent into space at the end of 2011, purportedly to see how well it would mature in zero gravity conditions. Because that naturally was and remains a very relevant question for any contemporary distillery: as you know, we are on the verge of running out of gravity on Earth. Well, at least we can be secure in the knowledge that a corner of Islay will be prepared. It was also a controversial release among a sector of whisky geeks then on account of the ex-marsala cask content. This was clearly also well before proliferating cask folly made marsala cask maturation seem positively old-fashioned. Continue reading
Bowmore Vault Edition, Second Release
Alright, let’s close the month out with a week of single malt whiskies. And as the blog’s 11th anniversary was yesterday, let’s start with a Bowmore. [My first-ever review was of the lowly Bowmore Legend, and so I’ve marked every anniversary with a Bowmore review.] This is the second release of Bowmore’s Vault Edition and hit the market back in 2019. The Vault series was apparently intended to showcase different aspects of Bowmore’s character—I’m not sure if it’s still on the go—and the second edition emphasized peat smoke. It was matured in bourbon and then sherry casks. No word on age but the price on release was £70. This was down from the first edition’s original asking price of £100, which I guess might mean that even in the inflated market of recent years, drinkers are not uncritically buying up every official release from a name distillery no matter what ludicrous price is being asked for them. That said, I’ve no idea what the prices asked for later releases were. Let’s see if I like this one more than the Legend all those years ago. Continue reading
Royal Brackla 22, 1994 (G&M for Binny’s)
Let’s close out highlands distilleries week with another pick for Binny’s in Chicago. Unlike Wednesday’s Teaninich, this one was bottled by Gordon & MacPhail and while it’s also from a hogshead, it’s from a refill sherry hogshead. The distillery is another that I’ve not reviewed very many malts from: Brackla, or as they style themselves, Royal Brackla. After this review I will have reviewed only two more Bracklas than I have malts distilled by Ardnarmurchan (see Monday’s review). Well, I hope this one—which is older than both the two previous combined—will be quite a lot better than either: this has not been a great week so far on the blog for highland malts. The portents are good. The last Brackla I reviewed was also a Gordon & MacPhail pick for Binny’s and I liked it a lot—I reviewed that one four and a half years ago. And I also quite liked the first one I reviewed—that was almost 11 years ago, only a few weeks after I started this blog. Where does the time go? Anyway, let’s see what this one is like. Continue reading
Teaninich 10, 2007 (Signatory for Binny’s)
This week of reviews of malts from highlands distilleries began on Monday with a young release from a new distillery I had never tried before: Ardnamurchan. It continues today with a malt from a much older distillery: Teaninich. I’ve not reviewed so very many malts from Teaninich either—there is not a massive amount of it about—but I’m always happy to have encounter one of them in my glass. This one is another single cask bottled by Signatory for Binny’s in Chicago. It’s a hogshead, which is good news as that austere northern highlands style that Teaninich is part of shines best from bourbon casks. Anyway, let’s see if it’s shining here.
Teaninich 10, 2007 (58.5%; Signatory for Binny’s; hogshead 702710; from a bottle split)
Nose: A sweet arrival with cereals and apple; some wet wool in there too. On the second sniff there’s some honey and some simple syrup; behind it there’s some hot tarmac and some wet stones. With time the simple syrup trumps the fruit. Water tames the simple syrup a bit and brings out some cream. Continue reading
Ardnamurchan AD/ 04.21:03
March began with a week of reviews of single casks from Ben Nevis (here, here and here). Let’s keep things in the highlands for a second week. This week’s reviews, however, will be of whiskies from three different distilleries. First up, a release from a distillery I don’t have any prior experience with: Ardnamurchan. It is actually located only about 45 miles from Ben Nevis, a little to the southwest. It’s owned by Adelphi, the well-known independent bottling concern. The distillery was constructed in 2013—this is around the time, I think, when a number of the major independent bottlers began to get into the whisky production game, as the continued supply of casks from the usual sources began to look more questionable in the future. The first batch of spirit at Ardnamurchan was distilled in 2014. I believe the first official single malt was released in 2020, at the age of 5. If I’m understanding the release numbering system correctly, the one I’m reviewing today is the third release and came out in April, 2021. As to whether this is a year older than the 2020 release or distilled a year (or more) later, I don’t know. I do know that it’s a vatting of 65% ex-bourbon, 35% sherry (px and oloroso) casks and that it contains equal partsof peated and unpeated spirit. I am very curious to see what it’s like. Continue reading
Ben Nevis 24, 1996 (Single Malts of Scotland)
Ben Nevis week has so far featured two young casks from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Monday’s 9 yo was from a first-fill hogshead; Wednesday’s 8 yo spent its last three years in a second-fill oloroso hogshead. Here to close out the week now is another bourbon hogshead, this time from the Single Malts of Scotland. This is older than the previous two combined. It was distilled in 1996 and bottled in 2021. As per Whiskybase, the bottlers seem to have got their hands on a large parcel of these 1996 casks of proximate age bottled across both their Single Malts of Scotland and Whisky Trail lines. This one was bottled for the American market. Let’s see what it’s like.
Ben Nevis 24, 1996 (48.8%; Single Malts of Scotland; hogshead 1730; from a bottle split)
Nose: Everything Ben Nevis: salted nuts, powdered ginger, Makrut lime, a hint of mineral peat, sweet floral notes. Continues along these lines, with the fruit becoming more acidic as it goes. With water the acid recedes and there’s more floral sweetness. Continue reading
Ben Nevis 8, 2012 (SMWS 78.53)
Ben Nevis week started on Monday with a 9 yo from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society; it continues today with a 8 yo from the same bottler. Monday’s 9 yo was from a first-fill hogshead. Today’s 8 yo, dubbed “Death in the Afternoon” by the society’s tasting panel, also started out in a bourbon cask but after five years was transferred to a 2nd-fill oloroso hogshead. So probably more of a double maturation than a finish. I do enjoy bourbon cask Ben Nevis a lot—as the less assertive wood lets the distillate’s idiosyncratic character take centerstage. But I’m not opposed to a good sherry cask either. Let’s see if this is one of those.
Ben Nevis 8, 2012 (60%; SMWS 78.53; 2nd-fill oloroso hogshead finish; from a bottle split)
Nose: Rubber gaskets, roasted malt, orange peel and that nutty-beany thing. On the second sniff the citrus begins to brighten and come through to the top. Gets more mineral as it goes. As it sits the citrus and the mineral notes blend into something like orange soda with a Dispirin tablet dissolved in it. Not much change with water. Continue reading
Ben Nevis 9, 2012 (SMWS 78.59)
Okay, Ben Nevis to start the month. First up is a young one from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, bottled after 9 years in a first-fill hogshead. They gave it the name “Burning berries”, which is both downright prosaic by their usual whimsical standards and also, I must say, promising. Let’s see if that promise is kept.
Ben Nevis 9, 2012 (57.8%; SMWS 78.59; first-fill hogshead; from a bottle split)
Nose: Quite closed at first, with none of that Ben Nevis funk in evidence. After a bit of airing some fruit begins to emerge: lime, tart-sweet apple; some wet concrete as well. Opens up further as it sits: the lime expands and here finally is some of that Ben Nevis powdered ginger and yeasty dough; a bit of roasted malt in there too. With a few drops of water there’s a fair bit of vanilla and cream but the lime is still quite strong (and mixed in with some floral sweetness). Continue reading
Glenlossie 9, 2008 (Signatory for Binny’s)
Here to close out the month in booze reviews is another Speyside malt, and another bottled from a hogshead by Signatory for Binny’s in Chicago (see here for Monday’s Mortlach). Let’s get right to it.
Glenlossie 9, 2008 (59.2%; Signatory for Binny’s; hogshead 10520; from a bottle split)
Nose: A lovely fresh mix of honey, lemon, cereals, toasted oak and a bit of freshly cut grass. On the second sniff the lemon is joined by tart-sweet apple and some pineapple. As it sits, there’s sweeter fruit (peach). , A few drops of water and the peach expands, picking up some Korean pear.
Palate: Comes in as indicated by the nose but in a brighter, more acidic avatar. Hot but approachable at full strength; oily texture. The fruit gets sweeter here too with time. Continues in this tasty vein. Okay, let’s see what water does for it. It pushes the acid back a bit and emphasizes the sweeter fruit and the oak. Continue reading
Mortlach 11, 2009 (Signatory for Binny’s)
After weeks of reviews of Islay whiskies, rums and mezcals, let’s close out the month with a couple of Speyside malts. First up, a young bourbon cask Mortlach bottled by Signatory for Binny’s in Chicago. Mortlach in its official incarnation is known for sherry cask-matured whisky and that’s also the guise in which it usually shows up from indies as well. And so I’m always happy to try bourbon cask versions. Let’s get right to this one.
Mortlach 11, 2009 (55.1%; Signatory for Binny’s; hogshead 306532; from a bottle split)
Nose: Honey, toasted cereals, lemon, toasted oak, dried leaves. On the second and third sniff the toasted cereal moves towards heavily charred toast and the lemon moves towards lime. As it sits the lime gets muskier—more in Makrut lime territory now. With time there’s some sweeter fruit (blueberries). A couple of drops of water pull out some pastry crust and push the citrus back. Continue reading
Port Charlotte 16, 2001, The Heretic, Feis Ile 2018
Okay, let’s close out peated Islay week with one from Bruichladdich. This 16 yo Port Charlotte was bottled for the 2018 edition of Feis Ile, the Islay whisky festival. It is a vatting of the last five casks that were filled during the 2001, which was the first year that the peated Port Charlotte distillate was produced at Bruichladdich. It was given the name “The Heretic”, which I think refers to the fact Bruichladdich had not historically made peated whisky. The cask types that went into the vatting include ex-bourbon, ex-rum and ex-French wine. At only 1300 bottles, this was a true limited release. Let’s see what it was like.
Port Charlotte 16, 2001, The Heretic (55.9%; for Feis Ile 2018; from a bottle split)
Nose: The familiar Bruichladdich/Port Charlotte sour milk but it’s mixed here with sweet cereals and carbolic peat and lemon and the whole is rather nice. On the second sniff there’s some bacon fat in there too. On the third sniff the bacon fat turns to a freshly open can of smoked sardines. Some butterscotch in there as well. Water amplifies the butyric notes at first but it burns of leaving a mix of cereals and ash. Continue reading
My Annoying Opinions 