Category Archives: Distillery

Kilchoman 7, 2011, Madeira Finish (for Spec’s)

Posted on by


Next up in wine-bothered peated whisky week is a young Kilchoman. This is a madeira finish that was bottled for Spec’s in Texas and released in 2019. (The cask number is 763/2012 but this was distilled in 2011.) I don’t know that I’ve ever had a madeira finished Kilchoman—though I have enjoyed madeira finishes/double maturations from other distilleries (Springbank most prominently). Let’s hope this one is better than Monday’s Ballechin.

Kilchoman 7, 2011, Madeira Finish (56.8%; for Spec’s; from a bottle split)

Nose: Sweet peat off the top (pipe tobacco) and quite a bit of ash; a slight vegetal note as well (bell pepper). On the next few sniffs the sweet notes include charred pork; some dried orange peel behind as well. With time the peat backs off and quite a bit of vanilla emerges. A squirt of water and there’s a big hit of cream and coffee cake; a little bit of apricot as well under all that. Continue reading →

Ballechin 10, 2010, Marsala Cask

Posted on by


Let’s keep the Edradour train going a little bit longer. This week will be a week of wine-bothered peated whiskies but we’ll begin with a Ballechin—which, as you know, is the name of the peated variant of Edradour. A slightly dangerous start to the week: I really did not like the first Edradour last week and that was from a marsala cask; well, this Ballechin is also from a marsala cask. Let’s hope for the best.

Ballechin 10, 2010, Marsala Cask (59.1%; from a bottle split)

Nose: Sweet, slightly rubbery peat off the top. The rubber is in the vein of gaskets on old medicine bottles. The peat gets more vegetal/organic on the second sniff: a damp, mossy log behind which some small furry creature is rotting. As it sits a fair bit of ash comes through the smells of  damp rot and there’s some fruit behind it too (orange peel, a bit of plum); some charred meat as well. With more time the peat wallop softens a bit; the salt is more palpable here too now. Mellower still with a squirt of water; still a lot of smoke but the organic/vegetal notes are gone; the salt and the citrus come to the fore too now. Continue reading →

Edradour 2000-2016 (for Tiger’s Finest Selection)

Posted on by


Edradour week began very unpromisingly on Monday with a single marsala cask bottled by a Taiwanese outfit named Or Sileis. It moved all the way up to middling on Wednesday with the 2019 release of the official Caledonia Selection. Which way will things go with today’s closer? Oh shit, did I mention this was a Taiwanese bottling as well? Can you feel the dramatic tension? This is the oldest of the trio at 15 or 16 years of age, and is from a single sherry cask. In case you’re wondering about the name, it refers to Tiger Huang, who is apparently “a famous whisky industry practitioner in Taiwan“. Is Tiger his real name or a nickname? Why can’t a nickname be a real name? What is this, an interrogation? Why haven’t you mentioned that there’s also a Taiwanese pop singer named Tiger Huang? Did she have something to do with this? And how about the “strategy and transformation leader” ex of McKinsey? How the hell are there so many people named Tiger Huang? What exactly is going on here? Continue reading →

Edradour 12 “Caledonia Selection”, 2019 Release

Posted on by


This week of Edradour reviews got off to a very shaky start—putting it mildly—with Monday’s marsala cask for the Taiwanese bottler, Or Sileis. I am hoping there will be a major course correction with today’s whisky, which is the 2019 release of the official 12 yo Caledonia Selection. There’s an interesting story about why it’s called Caledonia Selection, but I can’t remember what it is and am too sleepy now to look it up. If you know, or can be arsed to look it up, please write in below. What I can tell you is that it is double matured in bourbon and oloroso sherry casks. You’re welcome. Now, let’s see what it’s like.

Edradour 12 “Caledonia Selection”, 2019 Release (46%; double matured in bourbon and oloroso sherry casks; from a bottle split)

Nose: Now, these sherry casks have not covered up the idiosyncratic Edradour character: that beany, slighly rubbery thing (gaskets on old medicine bottles) is the main note alongside the sweet sherry notes of raisins and orange peel. A few drops of water and it mostly feels a little flatter; a bit of toffee maybe. Continue reading →

Edradour 2011-2020 (for Or Sileis)

Posted on by


It has been almost two years since I last reviewed any Edradour. Well, that’s not, strictly speaking, true: I have reviewed a number of Ballechins in the intervening period. (Ballechin, as you doubtless know, is the name of the peated variant of Edradour.) But it’s been a while since I’ve reviewed the distillery’s namesake brand; and so, let’s do a whole week of Edradour. First up is a somewhat obscure release. This is a first-fill marsala hogshead put out by a Taiwanese independent bottler named Or Sileis. Now, I enjoyed the old Ballechin #5 Marsala Cask back in the day; but it is also true that I generally like wine cask whiskies more when peat is involved. Peat is not involved here. Is that bad news? I’m not sure, by the way, whether this was a full-term maturation in the marsala hogshead or if it was finished in it for a period of months or years. The confusing thing is that the cask is said to have yielded 403 bottles, which is a lot for a hogshead bottled at cask strength. If you know more about this, please do write in below. Continue reading →

Bunnahabhain 13, 2009 (Sansibar for Finest Whisky, Berlin)

Posted on by


This week of reviews of sherried Bunnahabhains began with the distillery’s release for Feis Ile 2022. I did not care for that one. That was followed by the 2021 release of the Bunnahabhain 12 CS. Now, that one I really liked. This last review is of a 13 yo single sherry butt that was bottled by Sansibar for Finest Whisky in Berlin (a whisky store, I think). Will it keep the week’s trajectory going even higher? Let’s see.

Bunnahabhain 13, 2009 (54.4%; Sansibar for Finest Whisky, Berlin; sherry butt; from a bottle split)

Nose: Not quite as rich as the  12 yo CS but in the general ballpark. Less orange peel here; instead a fair bit of pencil lead. The savoury notes pop out on the second sniff. The fruit begins to expand as it sits: some dried orange peel, yes, but also some cherry; a bit of toffee and salt as well. With a few drops of water some of the oak emerges here as well (dusty rather than spicy) but there’s more toffee as well. Continue reading →

Bunnahabhain 12 Cask Strength, 2021 Release

Posted on by


This week’s Twin Cities restaurant report will be posted on Wednesday. For now let’s keep the reviews of sherry-bothered malts from Bunnahabhain going. The series did not get off to the most promising starts yesterday. My first review of the week was of last year’s Feis Ile release, a vatting of ex-bourbon and smaller PX octave casks, and I found it just about drinkable. Today’s review is of the 2021 release of the Bunnahabhain Cask Strength. This is a vatting of oloroso casks. I am hoping it will be at least a little better than the 2022 Feis Ile. Let’s see if that proves true.

Bunnahabhain 12 Cask Strength, 2021 Release (55.1%; oloroso casks; from a bottle split)

Nose: Now, this is very nice: rich, cakey sherry notes with some dried orange peel, some toffee and a touch of apricot mixed in. No sign of oak. On the second sniff there’s caramel and then a meaty quality begins to develop (beef stock). With more time there’s more of the apricot and toffee. Softer still with a few drops of water as some coffee cake with buttercream frosting joins the party. Continue reading →

Bunnahabhain Abhainn Araig, Feis Ile 2022

Posted on by


For the first full week of June, I’ll do a trio of sherry-bothered Bunnahabhains. First up is last year’s Feis Ile release, named the Abhainn Araig. This is a mix of spirit matured in bourbon casks (presumably regulation hogsheads or barrels) and spirit matured in smaller PX sherry octave casks (presumably seasoned with PX). I believe this went for just short of £100 at Feis Ile. It is currently available from a few US retailers for just short of $200. But is it any good? Let’s see.

Bunnahabhain Abhainn Araig, Feis Ile 2022 (50.8%; bourbon + PX octave casks; from a bottle split)

Nose: A sour start with orange and lemon, aspirin and oak. Even more acidic on the second sniff with the orange turning a bit fizzy, like a tart orange soda. With time it gets bready/yeasty and more than a little gingery. Less acidic with a few drops of water; there’s a hint of apricot now. Continue reading →

Blair Athol 12, 2009 (Cadenhead)

Posted on by


Let’s bring this week of reviews of bourbon hogsheads bottled by Cadenhead to a close. The week started with a Glenburgie and continued with a Glentauchers. Both were bright, summery malts. For the last review, I have a non-Glen and non-Speyside distillery: Blair Athol. This is a 12 yo distilled in 2009. The last Blair Athol I reviewed was also a 12 yo distilled in 2009, and was at a very similar strength as this one—but that was a sherry butt. I liked that one but it stopped well short of excellence. Let’s see where this less adorned bourbon  cask falls.

Blair Athol 12, 2009 (59.8%; Cadenhead; bourbon hogshead; from a bottle split)

Nose: Fizzy lemon; that nutty note I often get in Blair Athol; baked apples; malt; a bit of damp oak. Continues in this vein for a while. With more time and air the acid backs off a little and lets more of the musky notes through—a floral note too now, or is that peach? With a few drops of water the acid recedes further; the nutty note and the damp oak are gone too. Continue reading →

Glentauchers 15, 1998 (Cadenhead)

Posted on by


Tuesday is usually Twin Cities restaurant review day on the blog, but this week’s review—of a recent dinner at Petite Leon—will be posted not today, but tomorrow. It’s the end of the term and I’ve been too busy catching up with everything I need to get done to have time to resize the photographs from the meal. That review will be posted tomorrow, after I finish all my current grading today (and then a fresh wave of papers will come in over the weekend). In the meantime, you can go read my previous review of dinner at Petite Leon, or just read the second in this week’s reviews of bourbon casks bottled by Cadenhead.

Monday’s whisky was from Glenburgie. Today’s whisky is also from a Speyside distillery, and one that is even less vaunted than Glenburgie: Glentauchers. I really liked the last Glentauchers I reviewed, but that was almost twice the age of this one, and from a sherry cask. All the other Glentauchers I’ve reviewed have been from bourbon casks—and while none reached the heights of that 27 yo, none disappointed. And so I am hopeful that will at least be good. Let’s see. Continue reading →

Glenburgie 14, 2004 (Cadenhead)

Posted on by


There’s been a fair bit of peat and sherry in my whisky reviews this month. And so it’s only fitting that I close out the month, and start the next, with a complete lack of peat and sherry. This week’s reviews will all be of bourbon cask whiskies. All were bottled by Cadenhead, all from bourbon hogsheads. First up, a 14 yo Glenburgie.

Glenburgie 14, 2004 (53.6%; Cadenhead; bourbon hogshead; from a bottle split)

Nose: Bright fruity notes off the top (lemon, apple, pear) with some toasted oak and some icing sugar. On the second sniff the fruit is already muskier and there’s some plum and nectarine in there too. Continues in this general vein with the oak getting a little pricklier with time. With more time there’s some cereals as well. With a few drops of water there’s quite a bit of malt and some pastry crust (with baked apples behind). Continue reading →

Benromach 9, 2011 (for Binny’s)

Posted on by


This week of Benromach reviews has gone quite well so far. It got off to a good start on Monday with Batch 1 of the Benromach Cask Strength. And things improved further with Wednesday’s review of an 11 yo bourbon hogshead bottled for Binny’s (the Cask Strength was also 11 years old). The last whisky of the week is the youngest at 9 years old. It was also bottled for Binny’s and is from a first-fill sherry hogshead. Hopefully, it won’t break the hot streak. Let’s see.

Benromach 9, 2011 (60.6%; first-fill sherry hogshead 719 for Binny’s; from a bottle split)

Nose: Leads with nutty, slightly salty notes with a bit of butterscotch running under them. The high strength is damping things down, of course, but this is not as peaty off the top as the bourbon cask. On subsequent sniffs the peat is more apparent: slightly rubbery with hot stones/tarmac and some milky cocoa. With more time some fruit begins to poke through as well: plum, orange peel, a bit of apricot; after more airing, there’s a fair bit of lime as well. With a few drops of water the fruit come all the way to the front, the apricot leading the way; the salt turns to rock salt. Continue reading →

Benromach 11, 2010 (For Binny’s)

Posted on by


Benromach week continues. On Monday, I reviewed the first batch of the current Benromach Cask Strength, an 11 yo put together from bourbon and sherry casks. I thought it was quite good but well short of great. Today, I have for you a review of another official 11 yo. This is a single bourbon barrel, distilled in 2010 and bottled for Binny’s in Chicago. There was a time when Binny’s shipped all over the US, and they played a major part in the years that my whisky mania was approaching its peak. Now it’s been several years since the Binny’s supply got choked off for people residing elsewhere; I now barely buy any whisky from anywhere; and its been a while since my relationship with whisky collecting/amassing passed the manic stage. Now I am slowly drinking down what I amassed just short of a decade ago and not mourning too much the missed opportunities to try releases not available in Minnesotsa. Will this cask of Benromach make me melancholy? Let’s see. Continue reading →

Benromach 11, 2007, Cask Strength Batch 1

Posted on by


Last week’s theme was peated whiskies from Islay’s south shore. The week got off to a good start with a young Laphroaig and picked up with the 2017 release of the Lagavulin 16 and then had a disappointing end with the 2020 release of the Ardbeg Uigeadail. We’ll stick with peated whiskies this week but move off of Islay and go all the way up to the Speyside, to Benromach.

Benromach is a rare Speyside distillery that is known for its peated malt, which is made not as a one-off, as at some other distilleries, but as the norm. I’ve reviewed a few recent Benromach releases in the last couple of years and have generally liked them all a fair bit. This includes Batch 04 of the Benromach Cask Strength, which was an 11 yo distilled in 2009 and put together from a large number of bourbon and sherry casks. Batch 1 was also 11 years old and also put together from bourbon and sherry casks, though I’m not sure how many went into the vatting. Unlike subsequent batches, this was released in the US. Will this sample make me regret not paying attention at the time? Let’s see. Continue reading →

Ardbeg Uigeadail, 2020 Release

Posted on by


Let’s close Islay week with another classic, this one from the third of the South Shore distilleries: Ardbeg. I’ve previously reviewed three releases of the once-beloved Uigeadail: the 2007 and the 2011 and 2014 releases (the latter two side-by-side in a blind tasting). As with the Lagavulin 16, there’s been a narrative of decline for the Uigeadail for a while. And it’s true that the rich sherry character of the early releases faded after a while. That said, back in 2015 I quite liked the 2014 release, and liked it more than the 2011. But that was almost a decade ago. This 2020 release will bring us more or less to the present day and might help me decide whether to give in to the voice that has been telling me for some months now that I should really take a flyer on the current Uigeadail and Corryvreckan releases. So far it’s been losing to the more rational voice that reminds me that I still have unopened bottles of both from the early 2010s and should get to those first. But if this one is very good I may have to thumb my nose at rationality yet again. Continue reading →

Lagavulin 16, 2017 Release

Posted on by


This week of reviews of whiskies from distilleries on Islay’s south shore began on Monday with a young Laphroaig. Let’s go a mile or so down the road for the second, to Lagavulin. This is the 2017 release of the 16 yo. I’ve previously reviewed the 2012, 2013 and 2014 releases. I’ve since lost touch with this classic release, which really seems like a shame. Back in the mid-2010s there was already a bit of a narrative of decline around the Lagavulin 16, but I liked the 2014 release a lot. Will I like the 2017 release as much? Will it make me want to open the bottle of the 2018 release that my spreadsheet tells me is somewhere on my shelves? Let’s see.

Lagavulin 16, 2017 Release (43%; from a bottle split)

Nose: A characteristic mix of phenolic peat and organic notes (rotting leaves, damp wood). On the second sniff there’s salt, some sweet orange peel and a bit of woodsmoke. The woodsmoke expands with each sniff. With time the sweeter notes move in the direction of vanilla and cream, and there’s some milky coffee in the distance too now. A couple of drops of water soften it further, emphasizing the creamy note (smoked cream?). Continue reading →

Laphroaig 9, 2013 (Single Malts of Scotland)

Posted on by


The Highland Park 28, 1980 that I ended last week’s series of reviews of late 2000s Mackillop’s Choice releases was quite peaty but not phenolic. This week will be pretty peaty and phenolic. All the whiskies this week will be peated Islay releases. And what’s more they’ll be from the three distilleries from Islay’s south shore: Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg. I’ll take them in that order, which is also the order in which you’d encounter the distilleries if you set out from Port Ellen on the A846. A young Laphroaig will kick things off. This was bottled by the Whisky Exchange’s spin-off company, Elixir Distillers for their Single Malts of Scotland label (which they inherited from the parent company). I believe this was an exclusive for the US market. It’s from a single bourbon hogshead. Generally with young Laphroaig, ex-bourbon casks are a good bet; and as Single Malts of Scotland has historically been a pretty reliable label, I am hopeful. Let’s hope this doesn’t make me regret giving hope a chance. Continue reading →