Author Archives: Steve Prentice

News & PR: Burn Stewart unveils two new bottlings for Deanston and Ledaig

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BurnsStewartLogoBurn Stewart unveils two new bottlings
for Deanston and Ledaig

Ledaig 18yrs_large (2)Burn Stewart Distillers has today announced the introduction of two new expressions – Deanston 18 Year Old and Ledaig 18 Year Old – both permanent additions to the range for each of the brands.

Both additions have been crafted by Master Blender, Ian MacMillan, using traditional methods. Like all of the malts in the Burn Stewart portfolio, Deanston 18 YO and Ledaig 18YO are unchill-filtered, ensuring that more of the whisky’s natural aroma, flavour and texture remain in the bottle, delivering a deeper taste.

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Review: Balvenie 15 Year Old Single Cask

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Balvenie15SherryBalvenie 15yo Single Cask – 47.8% abv

Info: Cask 16293, a single barrel sherry cask.
Colour: Bright & clear golden with some orange tints.
Extra: Oily thick legs that slowly run down the glass.
Nose: Malty, nutty and deep, there’s layers of great flavours here to explore. Some toffee and butter cream along with a small bowl full of autumnal stewed fruits. Hints of spicy oak wood.
Palate: Fairly thick but also sprightly on your tongue. There’s enough spices to keep it on it’s toes, but it’s quite accessible and easy to drink with layers of sweet malt and fruits followed up with honey, cream and gentle oak notes at the back. There are touches of cask char that build towards the end of the palate to give a very slight smoky hint.
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Review: Bowmore 17 Year Old (SMWS 3.243)

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SMWS3243BottleBowmore 17yo – SMWS 3.243 – 57.1% abv

Info: The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) have joined with Islay House for their first Feis Ile event on Friday 22nd May 2015, and to celebrate they’re releasing this bottle of 3.243 “Dark, smouldering flamenco gypsy”, a refill ex-sherry butt, which will be available at the hotel on the evening.

Colour: Fairly dark mahogany gold.

Nose: Gentle light islay smoke. Layers of smells; old oak, leather, cola cube (just the one!), gentle mosses. It’s possibly slightly closed, but give it some time to open up, maybe gently warm it in your hand and out comes a hint of smouldering fire and cinder toffee.

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Review: Highland Park 18 Year Old

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highland-park-18-year-old-whiskyHighland Park 18yo 43% abv

Info: Lightly peated whisky from Orkney.
Colour: Medium to light gold with clear tints.
Nose: Light puffs of well aged floral peat smoke mingle with rich oaky notes and barley. There’s tannins and some older autumnal fruits along with drops of honey.
Palate: The palate is smooth and easy to get into with some spices that build gently. There’s a constant backdrop of oak along with barley, and that floral peat which is light but gives everything a nice depth. At the back is those honeyed stewed autumnal fruits.
Finish: The finish is warming on your chest and lasts for quite a long time with a sweet, herbal edge to it.
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Review: The BenRiach 18yo Albariza

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BenRiach 18YO AlbarizaBenRiach 18yo Albariza – 46% abv

Info: BenRiach 18 Years Old Albariza is part of the new heavily peated range. Originally matured in American oak casks, then finished in Pedro Xinenez sherry casks.
The name ‘Albariza’ is derived from the typical white soil used for growing grapes in the production of sherry in the Andalucia region of Southern Spain. It’s bottled at 46%, at natural colour and non chill filtered, limited release.
Colour: Rich dark rusty gold.
Nose: Really rich and deep, lots of layers of raisiny sherry fruits and peaty goodness. Not too much oak which is good, it smells more accomplished (i.e. older) than its 18 years.
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Review: Smögen Sherry Project 1:1 & 1:2

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Smögen Sherry Project – Svensk Single Malt

In 2009 Pär Caldenby established Smögen Whisky to produce a handcrafted smoky whisky in small batches and Smögen Distillery was built on a farm on the west coast of Sweden north of Gothenburg. The distillery has a 900 litre wash still, a 600 litre spirit still, and a production capacity of 35000 litres. It’s first distillation started in August 2010.

I’ve been lucky enough to try two of their expressions, so let’s dive in…
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Comment: Ardbeg Perpetuum goes on sale, Ardbeg.com breaks

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ardbeglogo

So, Ardbeg Perpetuum (Distillery Edition) has gone on sale today… or has it?

In what seems to be yearly tradition, the Ardbeg site has totally gone AWOL, leaving fans (and investors) trying for over 6 hours (at the time I write this) to get a bottle added to their shopping baskets and through to the checkout… for some the extra stress of putting in their credit card details only for them to be left back at the start page without knowing if their order completed or not.

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News & PR: Ledaig releases 1972 vintage malt to the market

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ledaig

Ledaig releases 1972 vintage malt to the market

Ledaig 42YO bottle onlyBurn Stewart Distillers has released a rare, one off malt to key international markets – Ledaig 42YO, a robust, smoky malt whisky with a rich and distinct history.

Named Dùsgadh, meaning ‘awakening’ in Scot’s Gaelic, reflecting the long, dormant period of maturation, this is the rarest and oldest Ledaig ever released and the next 40YO Ledaig single malt won’t be available until 2036.

The story of handcrafted Ledaig 42YO begins on the Isle of Mull at the Tobermory Distillery, the only distillery on the mystic island and amongst the oldest commercial distilleries in Scotland. The malt’s old world charm reflects the brand’s spirit to do things the traditional way, by hand.
In a rare feat of master blending, this Single Malt Scotch Whisky has retained all of its deep, peaty intensity, which is almost unheard of for an expression of this age. Throughout its four decade history, the Scottish landscapes and climates to which Ledaig 42YO has been exposed, have strengthened the malt’s distinctly rich and smoky flavour.

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Review: Cotswolds Distillery Malt Spirit

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CotswoldsBirdLogoCotswolds Distillery Malt Spirit 3mo

Info: Unknown abv, probably into the 60’s. Matured for around 3 to 4 months in a small cask.

Colour: Straw, but bright and light.

Nose: Obviously still a very ‘new make’ nose to this. Barley sweetness with an acidic edge possibly added by the start of the oak interaction. There’s also a buttery creaminess.

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Review: Angels’ Nectar – Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

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angels-nectar-blended-malt-first-edition-whiskyAngels’ Nectar – Blended Malt Scotch Whisky – 40% abv

Info: Created from a selection of Speyside and Highland malt whiskies (i.e. there’s no grain whisky in the blend) by Robert Ransom, formerly of Glenfarclas. No colouring added.

Colour: Clear with a hint of yellow, nice and honest.

Nose: Beautifully gentle buttery speyside nose, with a malty, gentle nutty background.

Palate: Fairly thick mouthfeel, especially considering it’s 40%. It’s got a well rounded balance of sweetness, a drop of oak and a hint of spice, along with some stewed fruits and lots of buttery creaminess.

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