Category Archives: Distillery

Edradour 12, 2010, Moscatel Cask (for Spec’s)

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This week I’m reviewing single casks of Edradour that were recently bottled for Spec’s in Texas; the further twist is that they’re all wine casks of one kind or the other. The series didn’t get off to the best start on Monday. That 10 yo Chardonnay cask had a little too much sulphur in it even for a non-sulphur-phobe like me. Water rescued it but, on the whole, it was underwhelming. Today’s cask, two years older and filled a year prior, is a moscatel cask. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a moscatel cask Edradour or Ballechin before. Let’s hope it gets the week back on track.

Edradour 12, 2010, Moscatel Cask (53.1%; for Spec’s; cask 88; from a bottle split)

Nose: Starts out nutty, beany and yeasty, just like the chardonnay cask. Some roasted malt on the second sniff and then a big wave of citrus (lime peel) and chalk. Spicier here too with time even as some sweeter fruit is teased—let’s see if water brings it out. No, not really; in fact, it washes it out. Continue reading →

Edradour 10, 2011, Chardonnay Cask (for Spec’s)

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Okay, having done a week of blended malts/whiskies from Compass Box (here, here and here), let’s do a week of single malts. This week’s whiskies are all from Edradour, they were all bottled for Spec’s in Texas, and they’re all wine casks of one kind or the other. Edradour—the tiny highlands distillery owned by Signatory—have a history of wine cask releases; both for the mainline malt, and for the peated variant, Ballechin. The base spirit is an idiosyncratic one and it’s probably fair to say that Edradour in general is more a cult distillery than a crowd-pleaser, and also that the cult is not very large. I myself have historically preferred the heavily peated stylings of the Ballechin variant to mainline Edradour—just as I prefer the heavily peated Ledaig to that distillery’s also idiosyncratic mainline malt, Tobermory. And whether it’s Ledaig/Tobermory or Ballechin/Edradour, I generally prefer sherry casks to ex-bourbon. Well, none of this week’s casks of Edradour for Spec’s are sherry casks. First up, is a chardonnay cask. It was bottled at an eye-watering strength; which is, I suppose, another hallmark of the distillery’s single cask program. Anyway, let’s see what it’s like. Continue reading →

Compass Box, The Circle No. 2

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I am at the end of my week of Compass Box reviews and you’ll be relieved to hear that I’m not closing it out with another release from seven years ago. The last review of the week is of a release from just last year and it was not made as protest against whisky industry regulations. It seems to have some connection to a international bartender conversation called the Circle. This is the Circle No. 2, which implies—if you’re good with the detective work like me—that there was another release before that. And for all we know there may have been one after as well. It’s also different from the Enlightenment and Three Year Old Deluxe in that it’s got a lot more parts to it. While the Enlightenment had malt from four distilleries in it, and the Three Year Old Deluxe had malt from only two distilleries in it, this has malt from five distilleries, as well as a not-inconsiderable portion of blended whisky. About half of it is bourbon cask Glen Elgin and another 17% or so is bourbon cask Speyburn. The remaining 33% is made up of first-fill sherry hogshead Ardmore (2.2%), first-fill sherry butt Teaninich (13.5%), a little bit of wine cask Linkwood (2.3%) and that parcel of blended Scotch, said to be “primarily first-fill sherry butt” (14.3%) . I got all this from Compass Box’s fact sheet, which also tells me that I might know the person who composed this whisky. Let’s hope I like it. Continue reading →

Compass Box, Enlightenment

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For the first full week of November let’s do a series of reviews of releases from the boutique indie bottler, Compass Box. As you doubtless know, unlike most Scotch whisky indies, Compass Box does not release casks of whiskies from distilleries but their own blends of one kind or the other: vatted malts (or whatever they’re officially called now), blends of malt and grain, all grain whisky: they’ve released them all. They are very popular with the whisky geek corner of the market. I have previously aired my skepticism about aspects of Compass Box’s presentation and appeal to this part of the market. In short, I’ve speculated that their bespoke presentation and facility with the language of whisky geekdom is a large part of their success. The whiskies themselves have often seemed to me to be adjacent to the presentation of them. That said, I’ve liked a number of their releases even as I’ve wondered about the fuss. Enlightenment, released in 2016, was one of their releases about which a fair bit of fuss was made. Continue reading →

Ardbeg 5, “Wee Beastie”, 2020 Release

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I started the week (and ended October) with a young, heavily peated whisky from Islay. I now end the week (and begin November) with a young, heavily peated whisky from Islay. The 2023 Cairdeas does not, of course, carry an age statement but it’s probably still at least a few years older than this Ardbeg. This is the five-year old, dubbed “Wee Beastie” that joined the distillery’s core lineup in 2020. This sample, indeed, comes from that original release. It is a vatting of spirit matured in both ex-bourbon and ex-oloroso sherry casks—I don’t know about the proportions—and the distillery’s website pronounces it the “rawest, smokiest Ardbeg ever”. I don’t know that that first adjective really gets me very excited but I am famous for the openness of my mind: if the whisky is good, I won’t care what they say about it. I do appreciate that they put the 5 yo age statement on the bottles, but not enough to forgive the owners all the rest of the tomfoolery they’ve gotten up to in the last decade or so. Okay, let’s get to it. Continue reading →

Laphroaig Cairdeas 2023, White Port & Madeira

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My whisky readership has shrunk dramatically in recent years (I base this entirely on the lowered level of engagement with my whisky reviews). And so I almost feel I should apologize to the little that remains of that readership for trying their patience in October. So far this month I’ve posted two weeks of reviews of mezcal, one week of reviews of brandy, and one week of reviews of grain whisky (I am assuming here that my whisky readership is really mostly interested in single malt whisky). Please accept as penance this very timely review of a recent release, one that should be widely available all over the United States: the 2023 release of Laphroaig’s annual Cairdeas, bottled for Feis Ile, the Islay whisky festival. The Cairdeas releases have come to the US every year since 2011 (the series itself is only a few years older than that). The price has slowly edged up (it’s now in the mid $80s in Minnesota, before tax) and this year—for the first time—it’s a 700 ml bottle even in the US. Which means it’s a bit more expensive still per pour. Continue reading →

Caledonian 40, 1974, “The Cally”

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Old single grain whisky week began on Monday with a 43 yo North of Scotland, distilled in 1973 and bottled by Gordon & Company. I quite liked that one. The series continued on Wednesday with another 43 yo distilled in 1973, this time an Invergordon bottled by the Whisky Agency. I didn’t like that one quite as much. Let’s end the week with a whisky distilled a year later in 1974 but three years younger than the others at 40 years of age. It’s also unlike the others in that it is an official release: not from the distillery per se but from Diageo who own the distillery and made this 40 yo part of their special release slate in 2015, calling it “The Cally”. It’s not, therefore, a single cask but a vatting of several bourbon hogsheads. I could be wrong but I think it might have been the first time a single grain whisky was part of the special release slate. If I am wrong about that, I trust someone will write in and let me know. If I remember to check later, I’ll look it up myself and amend if necessary. Anyway, let’s see what it’s like. Continue reading →

Invergordon 43, 1973 (The Whisky Agency)

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This week of reviews of old single grain whiskies got off to a good start on Monday with a North of Scotland 43, 1971 bottled by Gordon & Company. Let’s see if the streak continues with this Invergordon, also 43 years old but distilled a couple of years later. The bottler is the Whisky Agency, once one of the biggest names in independent bottling in Europe. Now that I’ve stopped buying whisky from Europe, I’m no longer sure which bottlers are still active or as active as they used to be. Is the Whisky Agency still a big name? This is not my first review of an old Invergordon, by the way. I’ve also reviewed another 1973, a 39 yo bottled by Malts of Scotland, another German bottler that was a big name back in the day. No idea if they’re still as active either. I do know I didn’t care very much for that 39 yo. Let’s see if this 43 yo is any better.

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North of Scotland 43, 1971 (Gordon & Company)

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Alright after a week of brandy reviews (Armagnac, Calvados and English cider brandy), let’s go back to Scotland for some whisky. But instead of my usual regimen of single malt, this will be a week of reviews of single grain whiskies; and pretty old ones at that. First up is a 43 yo, a North of Scotland distilled in 1973 and bottled by Gordon & Company. I reviewed a grain whisky from Teeling this summer and a few years ago I reviewed another from Nikka; but it’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a Scottish grain whisky. More than eight years, in fact. Coincidentally, that one was a North of Scotland bottled by Gordon & Company as well—though a 42 yo distilled in 1971. I was not overly impressed by it, and, frankly, I don’t believe I’ve ever been very impressed by a grain whisky. But there’s always a first time for everything and I’m hoping this one will exceed my expectations. I do feel nostalgic as I get into it; not on account of the whisky but because of the sample bottles. These are a pair of 20 ml sample bottles from Whiskybase. I’d purchased them back when I used to purchase whisky from Europe—a lot of it from Whiskybase. I haven’t done so in many years now. Shipping became too expensive and whisky became not just expensive but stupid. And, indeed, I don’t think Whiskybase even ships to the US anymore. So it goes. Continue reading →

Clynelish 1996-2015, Prenzlow Portfolio (Jack Wieber)

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Back to a sherry cask to close out this week of reviews of whiskies from highlands distilleries, and also to close out the month. We’ll go a bit further north than Tomatin, to Clynelish. It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed a sherry cask Clynelish; my last three reviews were all of bourbon casks of one kind or the other (here, here and here). Well, the label on this bottle does not specify the cask type but it was very clearly a sherry cask. It was distilled in 1996 and bottled in 2015 by Jack Wieber’s Whisky World in Germany (and it’s been even longer since I reviewed a Jack Wieber release). The “Prenzlow Portfolio” part of the name refers to the label painted by the artist, Alfred Prenzlow. I assume there were other Jack Wieber bottlings in this series with labels created by Alfred Prenzlow but I have not come across them. This is another of many bottles that I purchased almost 10 years ago but for some reason never got around to opening. Well, I finally opened it over the weekend. Here now are my notes. Continue reading →

Tomatin 11, 2006, Cask 4182

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Highlands distilleries week continues with another bourbon cask, time from Tomatin. This was also not a cask available broadly, though it was available to the public. I don’t mean to be mysterious: while Monday’s Ben Nevis was a private cask bottling, this one was one of five casks available for hand-filling when I visited the distillery in June of 2018 (see here for my account of the excellent tour my family took of the distillery). I had purchased a similar bourbon cask the previous summer as well; and since I’d liked that one a lot, there was no doubt that I was going to get another. As it happens, I filled the PX cask as well alongside this one. I’ve reviewed that PX bottle previously—only a few months after purchase. Why I waited more than five years to open this one, I cannot tell you, except that I have a stupid amount of whisky on my shelves and often lose track of bottles. Anyway, I opened this a few nights ago and have very much enjoyed my first pours of it. Now that it’s had a few days to breathe in the open bottle, here are my notes. Continue reading →

Ben Nevis 12, 2009

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September began with a week in Campbeltown with a Kilkerran trio (here, here and here). It continued with a week of island distilleries (here, here, and here) and then a week that featured an English distillery (here) and two Speyside distilleries (here and here). Let’s close the month out now with a week of distilleries in the Scottish highlands. I’ll start with a bourbon cask Ben Nevis.

This 12 yo appears to have been a private cask bottling. It was bottled to mark someone’s bat mitzvah. And as per the rear label picture on Whiskybase, it had been distilled on the day that person was born and was then bottled on the day of their bat mitzvah. It must have taken some doing to make this happen. I assume the birthday cask was identified closer to the time of bottling than of filling—otherwise you’d be taking the chance that this special commemorative whisky might turn out to be a dud. Though it’s true that young bourbon cask Ben Nevis is usually a good bet. The yield was 293 bottles from an ex-bourbon cask (presumably a hogshead) and that probably explains how a bottle ended up in the possession of the person I got a part of a bottle split from. Let’s see what it’s like. Continue reading →

Glenallachie 10 CS, Batch 6

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Let’s close out non-island distillery sherry cask week with another whisky from a Speyside distillery. After an 11 yo Craigellachie, here is a 10 yo Glenallachie. This is Batch 6 of their 10 CS release—I’m not sure what number it’s up to now. I rather liked both Batch 2 and Batch 3 and am hopeful that this will be good as well. Like those batches this one—a large release at 39,000 bottles—has been put together from a hodge-podge of cask types: PX and oloroso puncheons, rioja barriques, virgin oak casks of one kind or the other. That’s a lot. What does it add up to? Let’s see.

Glenallachie 10 CS, Batch 6 (57.8%; from a bottle split)

Nose: A quite nutty, slightly beany arrival. On the second sniff there’s some orange peel and some sharper notes (yeast? chalk?); some palpable oak too behind it all. More of the orange peel with time but there’s also a touch of bitter oak extract. Water pushes the bitter notes back a bit and pulls out some cherry. Continue reading →

Craigellachie 11, 2011 (Single Malts of Scotland)

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This week of reviews of sherry cask whiskies from non-Island distilleries got off to a promising start with a young whisky from the new’ish English distillery, Bimber. For the second review of the week, we are back in Scotland, up in the Speyside, at Craigellachie. Craigellachie—like Mortlach—produce an atypical Speyside spirit. Both distilleries are among the few that still use wormtubs to condense their spirit; as a result both produce a heavy, meaty/savoury spirit. Sherry cask maturation can emphasize those qualities, and in the case of Craigellachie in particular, can bring out an organic, farmy note. Such was the case, for example, with a 15 yo bottled for K&L a couple of years ago. It’s a non-cookie cutter profile for sure. This particular cask, a single sherry butt, was bottled by the Single Malts of Scotland in 2022. That label is now operated by Elixir Distillers, which was spun off from the Whisky Exchange a few years ago; because I am old and resistant to change, I still think of it as a Whisky Exchange label. Get off my lawn. Continue reading →

Bimber Oloroso Cask, Batch 3

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Last week’s whisky reviews were all of sherry cask whiskies from island distilleries (Tobermory, Bunnahabhain and Highland Park). I’ll keep the sherry cask theme running this week but we’ll move away from island distilleries. In fact, today we’ll move away from Scotland altogether. Bimber is an English distillery, located in London. I have to confess that I hadn’t really heard of them before I went in on this bottle split. What’s the point of being a whisky blogger if I don’t know about new distilleries, you might ask. But as I’ve been saying over and over again for quite some time now, it’s been a long while since I stopped paying attention to whisky marketing and other industry news. Indeed, with the exception of Michael K’s Diving for Pearls, I no longer even read any whisky blogs with any regularity. And so it’s no surprise that I didn’t know about Bimber. For all I know, there’s 15 other London-based distilleries now. Anyway, Bimber are new’ish—their first casks were filled in 2016 and their first release was in 2019. This, the third release of a batch of oloroso-matured spirit, came out in 2020. They’re a small outfit and they make their malt whisky from barley grown on their own farm; I’m not sure how large their capacity is but their website indicates that their approach is that of a craft distillery. Well, let’s see what the whisky is like. Continue reading →

Highland Park 12, 2006 (for Binny’s)

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This was a week of reviews of sherry cask whiskies from island distilleries. It started on Monday on the Isle of Mull, with an idiosyncratic official Tobermory 17 that I enjoyed despite the clear presence of sulphur. I enjoyed Wednesday’s Bunnahabhain 12 from A.D Rattray even more, despite the stupidly high abv. Here now to close out the week is another 12 yo, another official release, and another whisky at a very high abv. This is a Highland Park selected by Binny’s in Chicago and bottled in 2019. It was matured in a first-fill European oak hogshead. Was this an European oak butt that was broken down and rebuilt as a hogshead or two? Or was it a purpose-built hogshead that was then treated with sherry to turn it into a “first-fill” cask? I expect the second is probably closer to reality but don’t really know. If you know more about Highland Park’s cask program for these high octane sherry cask releases that they’ve been pumping out over the last half-decade or so, please do write in to the comments. Continue reading →

Bunnahabhain 12, 2009 (A.D. Rattray)

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The theme for this week is sherry cask whiskies from island distilleries. The week got off to a good start on Monday with a funky, idiosyncratic Tobermory with more than a bit of sulphur mixed in. That was a 17 yo. Today I have for you a review of a Bunnahabhain 12. No, not the official 12 yo but an independent bottling of a single sherry butt. The bottler is A.D. Rattray and the cask was filled in 2009. There’s more than one of these Rattray Bunnahabhain 12s around. Well, there’s at least one more. While Whiskybase does not have an entry for the cask I’m reviewing (900020), they do have one for cask 900037. It was also a sherry butt, and, like this one, it was bottled at a very high strength: 66.7% abv. If you can believe it, cask 900020 had even more alcohol in it at 67.3%. That might make it the highest strength Scottish single malt I’ve ever had. I’m not in general a fan of whiskies being bottled at these crazy strengths but there certainly is a market for that kind of thing—especially in the US, where this seems to have been released (I’m sure it’s all gone by now). Bunnahabhain’s sherry cask spirit has also been known to have a fair bit of sulphur in it—I’m thinking o my last bottle of the OB 12 yo, which furred my mouth a fair bit—though that was a long time ago. Hopefully, this won’t be in that vein. Let’s see. Continue reading →