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
Category Archives: Binny’s
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
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
Highland Park 15, 1999 (for Binny’s)
I failed to mention in the preamble to Monday’s review of the Highland Park 12 for the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers that all this week’s reviews will be of whiskies from Highland Park. Consider it now mentioned. Monday’s review was from a firkin (a smaller than normal cask), which had previously held sherry. Today’s review is of a 15 yo matured in a bourbon barrel (ignore what it says on the sample label). It’s from a parcel of Signatory casks, all bourbon barrels, with proximate numbers. It was bottled for a Chicago outfit called Vintage Wines (which Google tells me is now permanently closed). Michael K. of Diving for Pearls informs that bottles of this barrel hung out on the shelves at Binny’s in Chicago for at least two-and-a-half years. Is that because most people go to Highland Park for heavy sherry? Well, I do like a good bourbon cask Highland Park. Let’s see if this is one and if it will make this week’s Highland Park streak so far a positive one. Continue reading
Highland Park 12, 2006 (for Binny’s)
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
Teeling 18, Madeira Cask (for Binny’s)
Madeira cask whisky got off to a very good start on Monday with an Inchmurrin 13 bottled by the SMWS. It took a step back on Wednesday with a 5 yo Kilchoman. Today I have for you a review of a whiskey as old as the other two put together. Will it end the week on a high note? On the one hand it was a Binny’s selection—usually a good sign. On the other hand, it’s a Teeling and my recent experiences with Teeling were not positive (see here, here, and here). Of course, those three whiskies from their core range have no necessary relationship with this one. Most of these Teeling releases are sourced whiskies. Well, I’m not sure about the miniature of the Single Malt that I reviewed: their own malt whiskey is of age to be bottled. But this 18 yo is definitely sourced as there was no Teeling distillery 18 (or 21) years ago (this was bottled in 2020 from a single cask). Nor do I know if this was a full-term maturation or a finish. I can tell you, though, what I think of it. Continue reading
Glenlivet 15, 2006 (Signatory for Binny’s)
Speyside week began on Monday with a bourbon cask Dailuaine bottled by Signatory for Binny’s, and continued on Wednesday with the 2019 release of the Craigellachie 23. I liked both of those a lot. Here now to close out a week is another cask bottled by Signatory for Binny’s. This is a 15 yo Glenlivet and it’s a single first-fill sherry butt. It’s one of several high-octane sibling casks bottled by Signatory. And I mean high-octane: this is nearly at 64% abv. Let’s see what it’s like.
Glenlivet 15, 2006 (63.8%; Signatory for Binny’s; first-fill sherry but 900788; from a bottle split)
Nose: Unsurprisingly closed at first but after a bit of airing there’s rich notes of raisins and orange peel plus a lot of salted nuts; a very slightly rubbery note as well (rubber gaskets on old medicine bottles). With more air there’s more fruit: apricot jam to go with the orange peel; some butterscotch as well now. With a few drops of water the apricot and butterscotch expand dramatically and there’s some cherry in there too now. One more drop and there’s some plum. Continue reading
Dailuaine 12, 2007 (Signatory for Binny’s)
There was quite a lot of peat to close out June; so let’s start July on a milder note. First up, a trio of Speysiders—and first among them, a single bourbon hogshead. This was bottled by Signatory for Binny’s in Chicago and I’m really looking forward to it. Before shipping changes, and then my waning interest in buying whisky intervened, Binny’s was one of the premier US-based sources of interesting whisky. Their single cask program was always well-priced, interesting and usually the baseline quality was high. I’ve lost touch with it for some time now and so can only hope the standards are as they used to be. Well, I don’t know why I’m going on as though I haven’t reviewed any Binny’s releases for years and years—I just reviewed a few last month! But for whatever reason, this Dailuaine reminds me of what used to be a steady annual stream of good whisky put out without fuss or noise by Brett Pontoni and his team. Let’s hope it doesn’t let all my nostalgia down. Continue reading
Caol Ila 10, 2007 (G&M for Binny’s)
Caol Ila week began yesterday with a 7 yo bottled by Single Cask Nation from bourbon barrels. The second Caol Ila of the week is slightly older at 10 years old and was bottled by G&M from a single refill sherry butt for Binny’s in Chicago. I’ve had a number of excellent sherried Caol Ilas of this general age from G&M—see, for example, this one. Then again, I’ve also had some that were less excellent—see, for example, this one. Let’s see where this one falls.
Caol Ila 10, 2007 (59%; G&M for Binny’s; refill sherry butt 311989; from a bottle split)
Nose: Ah, very nice notes of sweet pipe tobacco off the top with ashier smoke coming up from below. On the second sniff there’s some orange peel and some biscuity malt, even as the ashy smoke expands. With time there’s a hint of apricot as well and also a bit of savoury gunpowder. With a big squirt of water there’s a fair bit of butterscotch and then more of the savoury gunpowder. Continue reading
Benromach 9, 2011 (for Binny’s)
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)
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
Mortlach 21, 1990 (Signatory for Binny’s)
Sherry Cask Week comes to an end with this 21 yo Mortlach distilled in 1990 and bottled by Signatory for Binny’s in Chicago in 2012. Yes, I’ve sat on this bottle for almost 10 years, and no, I cannot begin to tell you why. Back in the day, Binny’s had one of the best cask exclusive programs in the US, if not the very best. Brett Pontoni and his team selected casks of a good quality and sold them for good prices without too much hoopla. Those days are long gone as no one seemingly is able to find good casks at good prices anymore and some don’t even seem able to reliably find acceptable casks at good prices. Hopefully the wheel will turn sometime soon. It’s sad to think of how much harder it is now for someone just entering the hobby to truly experience the full range of single malt whisky than it was a decade ago. Will the industry at some point price itself into a dead-end and have to retrench? Or will marketing win out? When you look at what is happening on social media with not just single malt whisky but also bourbon (and increasingly brandy), it seems hard to be hopeful that sanity will return anytime soon. The producers and marketers have whipped customers into a frenzy and all too many people seem excited to pay high prices for marginal bottles. Anyway, let’s go back to 2012 when this 21 yo sherry cask Mortlach cost $99. Continue reading
Kilchoman 3, 2007 (for Binny’s)
After a week of reviews of whiskies from Highland Park (which followed a week of reviews of whiskies from Glen Scotia) let’s do a week of reviews of whiskies from Kilchoman, Islay’s small farm distillery. This was the very first Kilchoman I ever had. It was bottled in 2010 for Binny’s in Chicago at the ripe young age of three. The distillery put out a number of these store exclusives among their earliest releases and they helped make their name in the US (and elsewhere too). Those were the days when Binny’s shipped out of state and I purchased a bottle right away. I drank it down slowly over the next few years and before finally finishing it in early 2013—as per my spreadsheet, a month before I started the blog—I put four ounces away for future reference, as was my practice at the time (well, my usual practice was to put away 6 ounces). In other words, this review is of a sample that was put away more than 8 years ago and from a bottle that was opened more than 10 years ago. Though I’ve stopped saving these reference samples in recent years, I do very much enjoy going back to some of the whiskies I drank a long time ago. I really liked this one back then, as I have a number of other young Kilchomans. Let’s see what I make of it now. Continue reading
“Probably Speyside’s Finest” 22, 1991 (OMC)
Glenfarclas don’t usually allow independent bottlers to release casks of their whisky with the distillery’s name on it. As to whether they also require that said bottlers kiss their asses by using names like “Probably Speyside’s Finest” or whether it drives them insane with rage that they don’t go with “Absolutely And Indubitably Speyside’s Finest, You’d Have To Be An Idiot To Not See It”, I don’t know. (As always, there are exceptions: see this Cadenhead bottling of a 33 yo.) Some say this is because most indie Glenfarclas is bourbon cask and the distillery doesn’t want their sherry maturation branding disturbed by this. Of course, there have been official ex-bourbon releases as well; for example, this one in the “Family Casks” series, which I was not very enthused by. This particular cask was bottled as an exclusive for Binny’s by whichever part of the Laing family it is that now owns the Old Malt Cask label. There was a time when Binny’s picks were very reliable and this cask dates from that time. Let’s see if my faith is rewarded. Continue reading
Royal Brackla 14, 1998 (G&M for Binny’s)
This review comes to you despite the sordid machinations of Michael Kravitz. You see, many years ago, Florin (the original Fresh Prince of Bel Air) asked him to pass a sample on to me when we met for lunch in Los Angeles but what did Michael Kravitz do? Yes, he stole it. Now this will not surprise most of you who have been aware of the content of his character for a while now but it surprised and—I’m not unwilling to say it—shocked me when I found out about it. For I am by nature a trusting person who likes to believe in the best everyone can be. And even though Michael Kravitz looks a shifty type, I have never believed in judging a book by its cover. But now that I have read the dossier that a number of you have compiled of his various malfeasances over the years, I am forced to look the ugly truth in the eye. But enough negativity! Michael Kravitz stole my sample and gave it a bad review; but Florin sent me another anyway and I am here to set the record straight. Continue reading
Glendullan 12, 1999 (G&M for Binny’s)
Jim Murray has apparently deemed a Glendullan to be the best something or the other. This is not that Glendullan. This is also not the Singleton of Glendullan, the 12 yo from that distillery that used to be the most ubiquitous, or more accurately, the only ubiquitous Glendullan in the US. No, this is a single cask bottled by Gordon & MacPhail for Binny’s in 2012 or thereabouts. In other words, this is an extremely untimely review: I doubt anyone at Binny’s or Gordon & MacPhail even remembers this whisky. But that’s what I’m here for: to make sure we never forget these one-off releases from Scotland’s third and fourth tier distilleries, to resist the relentless pressure of the now. Or maybe I just randomly review whatever’s at hand. Can you tell that I have nothing to say about this distillery, which mostly produces for Diageo’s blends? I’ve only ever reviewed one other—a Cadenhead’s release from a couple of years ago that was nice enough. Let’s see what this one is like. Continue reading