Category Archives: 90-94 points

Hakushu Sherry Cask, 2013 Release

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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 →

Littlemill 22, 1989 (Glen Fahrn)

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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 →

Ben Nevis 22, 1991 (Signatory)

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May was going to be a month of single malt Scotch reviews but it turned more specifically into a month of reviews of sherry cask single malt Scotch whiskies. Things kicked off with an Ardmore 1977-2003 bottled by Scott’s Selection; next up was the 2011 release of the Glendronach 21, Parliament; last week I reviewed the 2018 release of the Springbank 15. And here now is a review of a Ben Nevis 22, 1991 bottled by Signatory. Whiskybase lists seven different casks of Ben Nevis 22, 1991 bottled by Signatory, but only two were at cask strength. This is one of the two. I’ve actually reviewed it before, back in 2020. That review was of a sample that had come to me from Michael Kravitz of Diving for Pearls (whose reviews I hope you are all still reading). I have to admit I had forgotten that I had already reviewed this but I’m always happy to re-review whiskies, especially when the first set of notes had come from a sample. Well, I really liked it back in 2020 from the 2 oz sample bottle and—spoiler alert—I can tell you that I really like it now that I have my own bottle open. These notes are being taken from the fourth pour from the bottle. Let’s get right to it. Continue reading →

Springbank 15 (2018 Release)

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I last reviewed the Springbank 15 more than six years ago. That review was of a bottle of the 2017 release. Today I have for you a review of a bottle from the 2018 release. Or rather, as per the very hard to find code on the bottle, it was bottled in 2018: my guess is it didn’t hit the market till 2019 (if I am reading the code correctly, it was bottled quite late in 2018). By the way, the code is not actually hard to find. It was for me because before opening the bottle I was squinting around the bottom, as that’s where I remembered it being etched/printed. Of course, when I gave up and removed the foil, there it was right at the top of the bottle. An exciting story, I think you will agree, full of the kind of dramatic tension and moral ambiguity that marks great works of literature. You’re welcome. More pertinent information is that the Springbank 15 used to be one of my very favourite whiskies, and the fact that I have lost touch with it has to do only with the fact that all Springbank seems to have become heavily allocated in the United States—with prices rising to match. Not that I buy very much whisky any more but even before I’d slowed down/come to an almost complete stop, it had become very hard to find any Springbank in Minnesota. A far cry from when we moved here in 2007, when a store in Minneapolis—famous for retailing a very wide selection of OB single malts at only 10% markup—was selling it for all of $68. Ah, those were the days. Anyway, here are my notes on this bottle. Continue reading →

Talisker 14, 1994, “Manager’s Choice”, Take 2

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If you’re a long-time, particularly dedicated reader of the blog [you are not], you might feel a sense of deja vu. Yes, I’ve reviewed the Talisker Manager’s Choice before. Almost five years ago, in fact. I loved it then. So why am I reviewing it again? Well, my initial review was of a sample from a friend’s bottle, and now I’ve finally gotten around to opening my own bottle (which I’d referred to in my previous review). And so I am curious to see how close the two experiences—one from a 1 oz sample taken from the end of the bottle’s life and one from the fourth pour from a freshly opened bottle—will be. I’ve not re-read the original review before taking these notes. Okay, let’s get to it.

Talisker 14, 1994, “Manager’s Choice” (58.6%; bodega sherry European oak cask; from my own bottle)

Nose: Very recognizably Talisker off the top with peppery peat and salt. Sweeter notes come up from below (pipe tobacco) along with beef bouillon and savoury gunpowder. Gets earthier as it sits with mushrooms—more specifically the liquor from soaking dried shiitake mushrooms. With more time there’s some orange peel in the mix and a touch of butterscotch as well. A few drops of water and the salt and orange peel combine and turn to preserved lime; a hint of apricot jam in there too. Continue reading →

Strathisla 30 (Gordon & MacPhail)

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Here to kick off the month in whisky reviews is a rather old and rather good Strathisla. This 30 year old was one of those licensed bottlings by Gordon & MacPhail but I can’t get a fix on year of release. Whiskybase does not have a listing for this 750 ml bottle at 43% abv. We can cautiously assume it was released at the same time as the 700 ml bottle at 40% but there’s no release date on the listing for that bottle either. My spreadsheet tells me I acquired it in 2013 from Binny’s in Chicago but I am pretty sure it was released in the previous decade. If I’m right about that, this is distillate from the 1970s, possibly even the early-mid 1970s. That’s generally a good thing when it comes single malty whisky from Scotland and especially when it’s older Speyside whiskies bottled by Gordon & MacPhail. Anyway, if you know more about the release year etc. please do write in below. In the meantime, here are my notes taken from the fourth pour from my bottle (which I am very sorry to be separated from here in Delhi). Continue reading →

Real Minero, Largo

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Here’s one more mezcal to close out the month in booze reviews. This is my second review of a mezcal from Real Minero, the storied Oaxacan operation. I’ve previously reviewed a batch of their Barril, which I enjoyed very much indeed. This week I have for you a review of a batch of their Largo. Largo is a variety of wild agave, apparently also known as Tobaziche in other areas. This batch was made from agave that averaged 14 years of age at the time of harvest. It was distilled in January 2023 in Filipino-style clay pot stills. All this information is from the rear label on the bottle, by the way. The Barril’s rear label notes it was rested in glass for six months before bottling; there’s no indication of resting in glass on the label of this Largo. I’m not sure which is the normal practice for Real Minero, or for that matter for mezcal producers more broadly. If you know more about this please write in below. I can tell you that I opened this bottle last week and it jumped right to the top of my not very extensive mezcal rankings. Here now are my tasting notes. Continue reading →

Lagavulin 19, 1995 for Feis Ile 2014

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I still haven’t gotten my hands on a bottle of the Feis Ile release I was expecting to review this fall. I am referring, of course, to the 2024 Laphroaig Cairdeas. For all I know, it’s been in Minnesota for a while: I just haven’t stopped in at a liquor store for a while—if you’ve seen it around somewhere locally, please drop me a line. In the meantime, here’s a review of a Feis Ile release from ten years ago. You are welcome. This was Lagavulin’s release for 2014. The total release was of 3500 bottles, which tells you a number of casks were involved—as your average sherry butt holds between 475-500 liters. Those casks were all European oak sherry casks and were all filled on January 30, 1995, which would make this whisky 19 years old. When sherry cask Lagavulin is good, it’s really, really good. Such were the 2013 and 2015 Feis Ile releases, both of which I’ve reviewed on the blog (here and here). I’m also remembering the 12 year old Lagavulin for Friends of the Classic Malts, which was also a 1995 distillation and which might also have been from European oak casks (I’m too lazy to go down to the whisky lair and check the label on my last surviving bottle). Anyway, let’s see what this one is like. Continue reading →

Highland Park 18, 2002 Release

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Last week’s whisky review was of the Longrow Rundlets & Kilderkins, which was distilled in 2001 and released in 2013. This week’s review is of a Highland Park that was released more than a decade prior, in 2002. I didn’t purchase it in 2002, however; at the time I had only barely started drinking single malt whisky and I’m not sure I was even aware of Highland Park as a distillery. No, I purchased it in December 2011 (I can tell you the month because in those days I was very meticulous about maintaining my whisky spreadsheet). I found a bottle at a store in a northern suburb of Minneapolis, on the shelf at the same price being asked for the current 18 yo (the flat bottle that had been introduced in 2006/7). I didn’t actually record it as a 2002 release in my spreadsheet though—it’s a funny story, how I came to confirm that date. When I opened this bottle last week, I peered at it against the light to find the bottle code printed on the inside of the label. That bottle code is L0146 B L11 12/03 10:16. Off I went to Google to see if there was any information out there on decoding Highland Park’s bottling codes. I arrived on this discussion on Connosr.com which indicated it was a 2002 release. The information came from a thread on the old WhiskyWhiskyWhisky forums. I clicked on the link to that thread to find…that it had been started by me in December 2011, right after I purchased the bottle. And the question had been answered by two different sources in 2013. I had absolutely no memory of this. I blame the whisky. Anyway, the bottle has been open a few days; here finally are my notes. Continue reading →

Highland Park 25, 1988 (Cadenhead)

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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

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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 my 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 →

Royal Brackla 22, 1994 (G&M for Binny’s)

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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 →

Longrow 21, 2001 (Cadenhead)

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Here to close out the week, month and year in whisky reviews is a single cask of Longrow 21 bottled by Cadenhead. As they are a sister concern, I expect they’ve picked a good one. Well, the week’s other releases from Springbank (whose peated label Longrow is) have also been very good: both this single sherry cask of Hazelburn (Springbank’s unpeated line), and the new’ish blended malt, Campbeltown Loch. Will the oldest of the three be the best? I hope so: it’ll be good to end the year on a good note.

Longrow 21, 2001 (44.1%; Cadenhead; bourbon hogshead; from a bottle split)

Nose: Oh, this glorious Longrow nose! Mineral peat, brine, cracked coriander seed, lemon zest, a slight whiff of machine oil. The salt expands dramatically on the second sniff with the lemon coming up behind. Continues in this vein, picking up some sweetness as it goes. A few drops of water and the salt, peat and lemon are balanced on a knife edge, with just a bit of vanilla below. Continue reading →

Clynelish 10, Special Release 2023

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Alright, we’re on the home stretch of my reviews of the 2023 release of Diageo’s so-called Special Release. I’ve found it to be more of a Ho Hum Release so far. Will this 10 yo Clynelish turn things around? It seems to be a . lot to ask of a 10 yo whisky—but keep in mind that others in the series (the Talisker and the Mortlach) don’t even have age statements. This was put together from first-fill bourbon casks. I might have asked for a mix of first-fill and refill casks but, hey, at least they didn’t use virgin oak casks. Got to keep things in perspective if you want to be a positive guy like me. What fanciful name did they give it? The Jazz Crescendo. I assume that’s because the casks were American. So hip, that Diageo. I don’t believe there’s any truth to the rumour that it was originally titled The Jazz Climax before concerns over font readability caused them to change course. Okay, enough nonsense: let’s see what it’s like. Continue reading →

Carsebridge 45, 1973 (Thompson Bros.)

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Alright, let’s bring my reviews of old single grain whiskies to a close. Today’s whisky is older than both the others I’ve reviewed this week (this Cameronbridge and this Cambus) and also all three of the considerably older single grains I reviewed in October (this Invergordon, this North of Scotland, and this Caledonian). It’s a 45 yo from Carsebridge, distilled in 1973 and bottled by the Thompson Bros. of Dornoch in 2018. Whiskybase lists it as being from a sherry butt but lists an outturn of only 349 bottles. Might have been a cask split with someone else? They did bottle another 1973 Carsebridge the next year with an outturn of 437 bottles (and a much higher abv); but 349+437 adds up to a lot of bottles, even for a sherry butt. If anyone knows where the rest of this cask went, do right in to the comments. Anyway, I liked both the Cameronbridge and the Cambus and hope this Carsebridge will take us out on an even higher note. Let’s see. Continue reading →

Kilkerran 15, 2004 (for the UK)

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This week of reviews of Kilkerran (the name of the whisky distilled at the Glengyle distillery in Campbeltown) began on Monday with Batch 6 of their Heavily Peated series. I rather liked that one (as I had Batch 5 and Batch 4 before it). The releases in the Heavily Peated series are, of course, all NAS. The other Kilkerrans I am reviewing this week both have age statements; And, if not for the 16 yo—which I reviewed earlier this year—at 15 years of age, both would handily be the oldest Kilkerrans I’ve yet reviewed. Both are part of a batch of single casks of various types that were bottled in 2019 to commemorate the distillery’s 15th anniversary. Most of these were bottled for specific markets. (One even came to the US; I shudder to think of how much would have been asked for it, given the premium we have to pay for anything the importer, Pacific Edge, brings in.) This one, a single refill bourbon hogshead was for the UK market. Let’s see what it’s like. Continue reading →

Kilkerran Hand-Filled, October 2022

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This week’s reviews are of a couple of Kilkerran distillery exclusive hand-filled casks. On Wednesday, I reviewed one that was filled at the distillery (or maybe at Springbank) in late-August 2022. Today I have one that was filled at the distillery (or maybe at Springbank) in late-October 2022. (I’m not sure because I was not the one who filled them.) The late-August hand-fill started out very nicely on the nose but then things went south in a hurry on the palate and finish. I’m hoping this cask will redeem it some. Let’s see how it goes.

Kilkerran Hand-Filled, October 2022 (58.9%; from a bottle split)

Nose: A very nice start with lemon, wet wool and peppery peat off the top and muskier fruit coming up from below (charred pineapple). Sweeter as it goes with some peach in there as well. With more time the lemon turns to lime and there’s some salt as well. Water pulls the passionfruit out here as well and mixes it with some vanilla (just a bit). Continue reading →