This month’s booze reviews kicked off with a rum: the Amrut Two Indies. Though this was not planned, it ended up becoming a non-whisky month, with two reviews of French brandies following: an Armagnac from Cardinat and a Calvados from Toutain. To close out the month, I have a mezcal. This represents novelty for me in two ways: this is a mezcal from a producer I have not previously encountered, and it is an añejo, having been matured in oak casks for at least a year. The producer is Rancho Vale Madre in Oaxaca. My friend Ben visited the distillery in February and very kindly brought me back this bottle. Unlike mezcals released in the US, this is a fairly bare bones label: there’s no detail of any kind on the production method or the variety of agave used; indeed, not even the abv/strength is noted (though I am pretty sure it’s around 40%). I was very curious to try it as the word on the American mezcal enthusiast street is not very positive on oak cask-aged mezcals in general. The thinking is that the quintessential qualities of mezcal are best expressed in joven/blanco spirit that has been “aged” only in glass. I’ve no idea what the status of añejo and reposado mezcals in Mexico more broadly or Oaxaca in particular is. Nor do I know very much about Rancho Vale Madre beyond the fact that they seem to a popular stop on mezcal tours in Oaxaca; the estimable Mezcal Reviews site does not list any of their releases. Anyway, as you’ll see below, while I enjoyed this añejo fine on its own, I think I will probably finish most of the bottle via cocktails. Continue reading
Category Archives: -Whisky by Rating
Toutain Hors d’Age
This month’s booze reviews have included a rum (this Amrut) and an armagnac (this Cardinat). Might as well make it a full month of non-whisky reviews. Here now is another brandy, albeit a Calvados. I’ve not reviewed a Calvados in a while—the last one was this 15 yo from Domaine Montreuil, which I reviewed in October 2023. Today’s review is also of a 15 yo, though the age is not mentioned on the label of this release from Toutain. The label only says “Hors d’Age” but it seems pretty common knowledge that the brandy inside is a minimum15 years old—that’s what pretty much everyone who sells it notes. Toutain sits on the border of the Pays d’Auge production region of Calvados and the question of which region their Calvados is actually from is a little complicated. I purchased this bottle—along with another of their releases—in Europe some years ago. At the time their releases were not sold in the US. Now, however, they are; indeed, their Hors d’Age is available if you look around online—though at a price that is quite a bit higher than I paid for it. At any rate, this means that my review will not be as useless as usual for my predominantly US-based readers. Let’s get to it. Continue reading
Cardinat 13, 2009 (for Serious Brandy)
I haven’t reviewed a brandy in a while. The last was a very old armagnac from Pellehaut that was one of two bottled for the Serious Brandy group on Facebook back in 2023. Here now is a review of the other. This, a Cardinat, is much younger than that Pellehaut. It was distilled in 2009 before being bottled in 2023 at the age of 13. I believe the cask was split with K&L (the California mini-liquor chain). These days I have almost nothing to do anymore with the whisky or spirits world, and no longer read any spirits-related news or websites or blogs—with the exception of my friend Michael’s notes over on Diving for Pearls. And so it’s hard to imagine that there was a time when I actually spent time and energy arguing with K&L employees online. I wonder what became of David Driscoll—last I heard, he was planning to cure cancer or something. I guess I would have heard if he’d succeeded. Anyway, I don’t know why I went on this K&L tangent. Let’s instead get to my notes on this brandy. Continue reading
Amrut Two Indies (Rum)
Here is an Amrut to start the month. It’s not a whisky though but a rum. Though Amrut is most famous now for its single malt whisky, they’ve actually been making rum for much longer. This, however, is not one of their old-school rums but a blend of their own rum with several Caribbean rums—from Jamaica, Barbados and Guyana: hence Two Indies. I’m not sure when it was first released but I first encountered it last December when I was visiting a friend in Coonoor in South India. She had a bottle that had come her way from Karnataka, the state in which Amrut is located. I tasted it then and really liked it. I didn’t look for it on my return to Delhi on that trip but when I was there again last month I made it a point to seek it out. Sure enough, it was easily available in liquor stores in Gurgaon (where my parents live); and since Gurgaon is located in Haryana and Haryana has some of the lowest prices for alcohol in all of India, I got this bottle for a very reasonable price: Rs. 1500 or $17.50. I opened it a few days after getting back to Minnesota and am very pleased to say that I like it as much now as I had in December. Here now are my notes. Continue reading
Bowmore Tempest, Batch 2
Today is the 12th anniversary of the blog. My first-ever booze review—posted on March 24, 2013—was of the Bowmore Legend. I’ve since marked every anniversary of the blog with a review of a Bowmore. Accordingly, here is a review of a Bowmore. This is in keeping as well with this month’s “young whisky” theme, being 10 years old. The secondary theme of the month’s reviews has turned out to be “throwback whisky”, as they’ve also all been reviews of whiskies released in or before 2013 (the year the blog launched—I note this in case you are even worse than me at arithmetic). Already reviewed this month: a 2013 release of the Ardbeg 10; the first release of the Kilkerran Work in Progress; and the Springbank 11, 1997, Madeira Cask. Here now is a review of the second release of the Bowmore Tempest (see here for my review of the first release). It was bottled in 2010 and, like the first batch, comprised whisky matured in first-fill bourbon casks. I can’t remember now how many batches followed this one but I do recall that the second batch was the last one to bear the name “Tempest” in the US. This on account of some brand infringement issue with an American wine. Subsequent batches were put out in the US under the name “Dorus Mor”. Anyway, I quite liked the first batch and am glad to finally be tasting this one. Continue reading
Springbank 11, 1997, Madeira Cask
Let’s keep the month of reviews of younger whiskies going. Following my reviews of the Kilkerran Work in Progress 1 and an Ardbeg 10 from 2013, here is a Springbank 11. This was released around the same time as that Kilkerran and was one of my first forays into purchasing limited release whiskies. I had enjoyed the Springbank 10 and the Springbank 15 (available at a startlingly low price from a store in Minneapolis known for their low mark-ups) a lot and so plonked down my money for this 11 yo. It was not a single cask release—900 bottles total were bottled at cask strength—but the spirit had spent the entire 11 years in the madeira casks. I enjoyed it greatly and purchased more than one bottle over the next year or two (of course, in those days excellent whiskies stayed on the shelves for much longer). Indeed, it was the gateway for me into Springbank’s Wood Expressions series (see also the Claret Wood and the Calvados Wood—to say nothing of all the 12 yo sherry cask releases from the 1996 vintage). Years later, when my friend Patrick S. offered me a bottle, I was only to happy to take him up on it. Now that it’s open, I can finally review an old favourite. Continue reading
Kilkerran Work in Progress 1, Take 2
In February I reviewed four older whiskies: a Caperdonich 36, 1972, a Caol Ila 30, 1983, the 2012 release of the Glendronach 21 “Parliament”, and a Laphroaig 21, 1990. March’s first review, on the other hand, was of a 10 yo: the 2013 release of the Ardbeg 10. Accordingly, let’s make this a month of younger whiskies. Up next, is the first release of the Work in Progress series from Kilkerran. I’ve actually reviewed this one before—about three years ago. That review was from a sample from a friend; this is from my own bottle. It was released in 2009 and contained spirit distilled in 2004, making the contents four or five years old. The vattings for these early releases of the Work in Progress series were said to contain both ex-bourbon and ex-sherry spirit, but I’m not sure what the ratios were. I do know I’ve liked most of the Work in Progress releases a lot. I’ve previously also reviewed both the sherry and bourbon cask releases of the fifth release and the bourbon cask releases of the sixth and seventh releases. I have an unopened bottle of the third release on my shelf. I haven’t tried the second or fourth releases since starting the blog. Anyway, let’s get reacquainted with the first release and see what I make of it now. Continue reading
Ardbeg 10, 2013 Release
My previous review of the venerable Ardbeg 10 was an unusually timely review. That was back in 2017 and I was reviewing the 2016 release. Today I have a review for you of the 2013 release. (I’ve previously also reviewed the 2007 and 2009 releases.) I’m not sure if I’ve had any Ardbeg 10 released since 2016 and I don’t have any sitting on my shelves. After this bottle is done, the only Ardbeg 10 I’ll have left is a bottle from the 2008 release. And so my reviews are going further back in time. That’s a bit of a shame as this is one of the great classic malts; along with the Lagavulin 16 and the Laphroaig 10, it used to be the cornerstone of the collection of every lover of peated whisky from Islay. I really should seek it out again—and I should probably check in on more recent releases of the Laphroaig 10 and Lagavulin 16 as well. I’m not buying much whisky any more these days—can’t remember which the last bottle I purchased was, or when I purchased it—but these are easily available in bars. Okay, let’s see what this one is like. Continue reading
Laphroaig 21, 1990 (Whisky Import Nederland)
For my last whisky review of the month I have an older Laphroaig. This is a 21 yo distilled in 1990 and bottled in 2012 from a single refill hogshead by Whisky Import Nederland. I don’t think I’ve ever had an older bourbon cask Laphroaig that I’ve not liked a lot and this one is no exception. I opened it a few days ago and have been enjoying it greatly. I purchased this bottle a long time ago and had it sitting around ever since for no good reason. Now that it’s open, I don’t expect it will make it to the end of March. Here are my notes.
Laphroaig 21, 1990 (52.6%; Whisky Import Nederland; refill hogshead 5936; from my own bottle)
Nose: Bright, carbolic peat (Dettol) with a big dose of lemon. On the second sniff there’s some cereals in there too. A little sweeter here too with time with just a bit of vanilla emerging. With more time there’s salt here as well. A few drops of water emphasize the sweetness but everything else is still here. Continue reading
Glendronach 21, Parliament (2012 Release)
I reviewed an 11 yo Glendronach back in August. Six months later, here is one that’s almost twice as old. This is the Glendronach 21, Parliament, specifically from the 2012 release. If I’m remembering correctly, the Parliament was launched in 2011. I was under the impression that I had reviewed a bottle of that 2011 release in the first year of the blog but I see now in my spreadsheet that I emptied that bottle two weeks before I launched the blog. Back in those days I did used to save large reference samples from bottles for future tastings; I wonder if one might be kicking around somewhere in my hoard or if I finished that as well at some point! Anyway, here is the 2012 release. The Parliament is unlike the more sought-after single casks Glendronach had begun to release around that same time in that it is a vatting, did not bear a vintage statement and was not bottled at cask strength. It was, nonetheless, usually better than many of those so-called single casks. Of course, I am referring to the earlier releases: I’ve not kept up with the distillery and have no idea if the 21 yo is still bottled or if not, when it was pulled. If you know more, please do write in. Continue reading
Caol Ila 30, 1983 (Wilson & Morgan)
I reviewed a 12 yo sherried Caol Ila last month. Here now is a much older one. While the 12 yo—bottled for Feis Ile in 2017—had been double-matured in sherry casks (in casks that had previously been used to make the Talisker Distiller’s Edition), this one came out of a single sherry butt. It was distilled in 1983 and bottled in 2013 by the Italian indie, Wilson & Morgan (yes, it’s not a very Italian name). I quite liked the only other Caol Ila I’ve had from Wilson & Morgan, but that was much younger and from a second-fill bourbon cask (this 16 yo). Indeed, I’ve generally liked almost all the Wilson & Morgan releases I’ve tried (not very many). And I can tell you—spoiler alert—that I quite like this one too. I opened this bottle, which I’ve had sitting on a shelf for a long time now, a few days ago and have been dipping into it ever since. These notes are being taken from the fourth pour from the bottle. The bottle was more than a bit hot when opened and I am hopeful that it may have mellowed a bit. Let’s see. Continue reading
Caperdonich 36, 1972 (Lonach)
Back in the early days of the blog—back when I had more energy and was known for being a thorn in the side of not food writers but the whisky industry and its many amateur apologists and spokespersons—one of the pet mythologies of the whisky enthusiast community that I often took issue with was the belief in magic vintages at particular distilleries. Indeed, one of my earliest reviews featured Caperdonich, which is one of the distilleries around which a lot of the magic vintage talk used to center (do people still go on about this kind of thing?). 1972 was the year about which people were most apt to wax rhapsodic. I never tired of pointing out—as I did in that first Caperdonich review—that what was almost certainly happening was that for entirely random reasons more casks of 1972 Caperdonich had survived to be bottled in the 2000s than of other years in the 1970s. I guess I just did it again. Anyway, I have for you today another Caperdonich 1972. This one was also bottled by Duncan Taylor—who bottled so many of those fruity Caperdonichs that made the dead distillery’s reputation—but not for one of their premier lines. The Lonach releases typically featured low bottling strengths and were not single casks. Quite likely these were vattings that had been used to rescue casks that had fallen below the minimum required strength of 40%. Many of these whiskies were very good anyway. Let’s see what this one is like. Continue reading
Longmorn 15
So far this month I’ve reviewed whiskies released in 2021 (this Highland Park), 2017 (this Caol Ila) and 2009 (this Talisker). Here now is an even more untimely review: of the Longmorn 15. This release was discontinued in 2006, being replaced the following year by the just about whelming Longmorn 16. The 16 yo added three more percentage points in abv but you would have had a hard time finding people then who preferred it to the 15 yo. But we took what we got. Back then there was barely any official Longmorn on the market, as most of it went—and still does—into the group’s blends, particularly Chivas Regal. Your best bet beyond the 15 yo, and then the 16 yo, were the occasional limited 500 ml releases in the Cask Strength Edition series from Chivas that used to be available at the group’s distilleries and a few retailers. Now there are three official releases: an 18 yo, a 22 yo, and a 30 yo. I haven’t tried any of them and couldn’t tell you when they were introduced. I have an idea though that they probably cost a lot more than the 15 yo or even the 16 yo ever did. The 15 yo, in case you’re wondering, went for about $50 back in the day (hell, the 16 yo cost me $70 in 2012). Anyway, this bottle remained unopened for about two decades. No longer. Let’s see what it’s like. Continue reading
Caol Ila 12, for Feis Ile 2017
Until a few years ago I used to purchase whisky occasionally from auctions in the UK and somehow accumulated a number of Caol Ila’s releases for Feis Ile, the annual Islay whisky festival. They’ve been sitting on my shelves ever since; it’s time to start opening them. For no particular reason, I’ll start with the 2017 release which was a 12 yo bottled at cask strength. The twist was that it had been double matured in amoroso sherry casks; and not just in any amoroso sherry casks but ones that had previously been used to make the Talisker Distillers Edition. I could be wrong but I think Diageo did that kind of a thing with a bunch of their distilleries either that year or around that time. I have a vague memory of there being another Diageo distillery’s whisky that had been double matured in casks that had previously been used to make the Caol Ila Distillers Edition. Or maybe I dreamed that up—it’s been a long time since I paid attention to this kind of thing. In this case, this complicated maturation process means the amoroso casks would have contributed not just the sweet/savoury character of the original contents but also some of Talisker’s brand of peppery peat. Let’s see what it all adds up to. Continue reading
Secret Orkney 15, 2005 (Cooper’s Choice)
The last Highland Park I reviewed was an old release of the official 18 yo that was put out in 2002. This is a much more recent release. Well, I suppose officially it’s not a Highland Park but an undisclosed distillery; but there are only two distilleries on Orkney and only one that makes its casks available to independents so you do the math. Anyway, officially this is a Secret Orkney. It’s a 15 yo, distilled in 2005 and released in 2021. It’s also an example of something we usually get only from independent bottlers: bourbon cask Highland Park. The distillery’s official “character” is associated with sherry cask aging, and high quality sherry cask Highland Park is indeed an excellent thing—see, for example, that 2002 release of the official 18 yo. But bourbon cask Highland Park is a truly wonderful profile as well and one that has almost never let me down. I always look forward to drinking it and so was very happy to find this bottle on my shelves while trying to figure out what to open this month. I think this was part of one of the very last whisky I orders I placed, back in the spring of 2021. I’ve already opened it and know that it was a good choice. Here now are my notes. Continue reading
Talisker 14, 1994, “Manager’s Choice”, Take 2
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
Ben Nevis 21, 1997 (Maltbarn)
Here is my last whisky/booze review of the month and also of the year. (Yes, there are five Mondays this December but I’m sticking with my regimen of only opening four bottles each month). I’ve not chosen anything particularly special to close out the year but I’m looking forward to this one anyway as well-aged Ben Nevis from a bourbon cask is usually a good bet. This one was distilled in 1997 and bottled in 2018 by Maltbarn, who’d then been on the indie bottling scene for almost a decade and had built a strong reputation over that time. They’re still around but, as I’ve not kept up with the whisky world in the last few years, I’m not sure if they’re still releasing whiskies at the clip they had been at the end of the previous decade. For that matter I’m not sure how many of the other stalwart European indie bottlers who came to prominence in that decade and the one previous are still as active as they used to be. I’m no longer in the whisky accumulating business and no longer a good source of information—if I ever was one—on what’s being released and by who. But I am glad to have a number of good bottles on my shelves from my whisky accumulating days to drink now. Let’s see if this is one of them. Continue reading