Category Archives: Review

Review: Glenfiddich 1992 Single Cask (Whisky Shop)

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glenfiddich_1992_ssGlenfiddich Rare Collection 1992 Single Cask – Whisky Shop Exclusive – 56.3%

First off let’s take a quick tour of the info about this release, followed by my notes and thoughts below…

Recently The Whisky Shop team and one lucky customer, Neil Cromarty, joined Glenfiddich Malt Master, Brian Kinsman, to select a single cask Glenfiddich to be bottled exclusively for The Whisky Shop. The cask they chose was a refill bourbon cask filled on 13th March 1992, the year that The Whisky Shop was founded. 1992 was the year the cold war officially ended; the year South Africans voted to end apartheid; the year Disneyland Paris opened and the year Betty Boothroyd became the first female Speaker of the House of Commons.

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Review: Compass Box The Lost Blend

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compass-box-the-lost-blendCompass Box – The Lost Blend – 46%

Here’s some of the PR info, and after that you’ll find my notes and thoughts…

The Lost Blend is the new limited edition release from award-winning Scotch Whiskymaker Compass Box. This marriage of three single malts is a homage to their long lost (and much loved) Eleuthera whisky, and boasts the same unique smoky fruity style. After 10 years of searching, whiskymaker John Glaser was finally able to track down the unique whiskies he required earlier this year. The result is The Lost Blend.

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Review: Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow Blend

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Compass Box – Great King Street Glasgow Blend – 43%

GKS GlasgowBlend-Bottle-Box LARGEThere’s a new Great King Street blend on the streets. Here’s PR info and then below that find my notes and thoughts…

Glasgow Blend is the second permanent whisky to be introduced to the Great King Street range of innovative, small-batch Blended Scotch whiskies from Compass Box.

It is made from approximately 67% malt whisky from the regions of Islay, the Highlands and Speyside and 33% Lowland grain whisky from a Fife distillery.

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News & Review: Cutty Sark 33yo Art Deco

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Cutty Sark Launches 33yo Art Deco Limited Edition

cutty_sark_33Cutty Sark have a great set of blended whiskies in their range, and they’ve recently announced their oldest release, the 33 year old Art Deco release. Below you’ll find my tasting notes and thoughts on the blend, but first, here’s the PR info:

This new 33 Year Old bottling has been released to continue the exploration of the rich history, heritage and origin of Cutty Sark, with a specific focus on the exciting Art Deco period of the 1920s and early 1930s. Celebrating a time when Cutty Sark found its way into America, flourished within the emerging cocktail culture and changed the pace of Scotch whisky forever.

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Wolfburn: Info and reviews

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One of the newer distilleries to open of late is Wolfburn distillery, the northernmost whisky distillery on the mainland, based in Thurso. Below is a bit of info about the distillery before I take a quick look at how the spirit is maturing so far…

The first Wolfburn distillery was built in 1821 and was passed down through subsequent generations of the Smith family; in its heyday it was the largest distillery in Caithness. Production ceased during the latter half of the 19th Century – the exact date is not known.

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News & Review: Bunnahabhain Ceòbanach

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‘Smoky Mist’ descends… Bunnahabhain Introduces Limited Release Ceòbanach

Regulars will know I’m a big fan of Bunnahabhain, I always have been… Bunna 12yo was one of the drams that started me on my journey. Therefore imagine my excitement to get hold of an official sample of Bunnas latest release, Ceòbanach. Below you’ll find my notes and thoughts, but first let’s take a look at the official PR…
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Balblair Tasting at Milroys

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During this week I found myself in London for work, and as happy coincidence would have it in the evening there was a Blablair tasting hosted at Milroys by the distillery’s manager John MacDonald. He’s a top gent and very interesting to talk to, if you get the chance then you should spend some time in his company, be that at a tasting somewhere, or if you manage to visit the distillery and he’s around.

We spent a couple of hours chatting about loads of things, and going through some of the current range… most of which I’ve reviewed before, but it’s always nice to make some new notes which you can find below.

BalblairTastingLdn

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Review: Craigellachie 13yo, 17yo, 19yo & 23yo

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Craigellachie
I’m off to visit Craigellachie Distillery in the coming week, so now seems a great time to have a quick review of their official range which has been launched recently!

Here’s some of the official PR info, and at the bottom is my tasting notes of the range…

John Dewar & Sons Ltd. has unveiled a new range of proprietary bottlings from the Craigellachie distillery, bringing to light more of the hidden gems in its single malt portfolio, the ‘Last Great Malts’ of Scotland.

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News & Review: Velvet Fig by Wemyss Malts

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VelvetFigBottleFirst off, here’s the news! Then below is my review…

Wemyss Malts is launching a new no-age statement, limited edition whisky called ‘Velvet Fig’ which comprises specially selected single mlats matured wholly in ex Oloroso sherry casks, evoking rich autumn and winter fruits and spices.

This is Wemyss’ first blended malt to be non-chill-filtered and bottled at 46% abv. It’s a limited release of 6000 bottles globally, available for around £40.

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Quick Review: Ben Nevis 16yo IB (LotG)

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LotGBottleShotBen Nevis 16 year old – Lady of the Glen – 52.08% ABV

Info: Distilled 3rd December 1998, aged in Sherry Hogshead cask, #1407. Cask strength, no colouring added & non-chill filtered. 273 bottles.
Colour: Light straw… 2nd fill hogshead? Fino?
Nose: Packed with malty flavours and a slight salty fruitiness. Hints of tar. There’s a real toffee caramel note to this. A slight sparkling wine type nose.
Palate: Thick, instantly sweet and buttery, quite a wine like character.
Finish: Long, sweet, and enjoyable. Slight tannin wood sourness at the end.
Thoughts: I’ve seen a few great independant Ben Nevis bottlings and LotG seem to have managed to pick a great cask here. Water not needed!
Extras: Please note the bottle shot featured is a generic shot, no specific bottle shot was available at the time of posting.

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