Category Archives: Whisky

Review: Tomatin Contrast – Bourbon vs Sherry

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Contrast Box & BottlesTomatin Contrast – 46% abv

Info: See the info here, however in short Tomatin have released a set of two 35cl bottles, one fully bourbon matured, and one fully sherry matured. They contain exactly the same make up of whisky so that you can compare how the maturation in different casks has affected things. Great geeky idea! It’s a NAS whisky, but they clearly state the makeup of the years in the malt blend, another thing which I love about this whisky, I wish more NAS releases from other brands would follow suit.
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Review: GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 4

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the-glendronach-cask-strength-batch-4-whiskyGlenDronach Cask Strength – Batch 4 – 54.7%abv

Info: Matured in a combination of Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso sherry casks. Non chill filtered, natural colour.
Colour: Summer gold.
Nose: Malty, sherried and fun. Fairly full on, don’t sniff too hard. Nutty apple pie. Fresh with a bit of youth (not in a bad way though) and, after a while, a touch of acetate.
Palate: Easier on the palate than expected, it’s quite gentle to start with, sweet and packed full of fruity flavours and fun. The longer you hold it on the palate the more intense it becomes however.
Finish: The finish goes on for quite some time, it’s sweet, some young touches, and with spices building all the time before eventually fading out.
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Review: GlenDronach ‘The Hielan’ 8yo

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GD8yoBottleGlenDronach – ‘The Hielan’ – 8yo – 46% abv

Info: Matured and married in a combination of bourbon and sherry casks. Non chill fi ltered, natural colour and bottled at 46%.
Colour: Light to medium straw, nice and natural.
Nose: Plenty of fragrant malt, hints of oak, bourbon character at first giving way to the more fruity sherry – a fairly light summer sherry. A nice clean sweet nose.
Palate: Medium to thick, oily and sweet. There’s more spice than I was expecting to find. It gives way to fruity flavours of summer berries, and plenty of malty goodies. There’s a fiery chariness to it at the back.
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Review: Abbey Whisky – Anon. (Batch 1) – 13 year old

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anon-batch-1-13-year-old-the-rare-casks-abbey-whisky-webAbbey Whisky – Anon. (Batch 1) – 13yo – 51.5%abv

Info: “Distilled in 2001 at one of Scotland’s finest distilleries, Anon. Batch 1 has been aged for 13 years in total, with the last 6 months of maturation spent in an Oloroso sherry cask. Bottled in 2015 at cask strength.”
Colour: Light to medium summer gold.
Nose: Rich, fruity malt, loads of malt, and… fruit! Mushed down red apples with some sultanas and custard. Hints of older oak, honey and some smoky hints from cask char.
Palate: Really thick oils coat your tongue with honey flavoured oaky malt. It’s very smooth for the higher than normal strength. A pinch of spices that make it interesting, but also not enough that it overloads your tongue. There’s a slight cardboardy thing going on nearer to the end.
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News & PR: Tomatin releases Contrast

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Contrast Box & BottlesTomatin have released a limited edition pack of Tomatin Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky called Contrast – a unique comparison of fully matured Bourbon and Sherry whiskies from Tomatin Distillery.

In each pack, there are two 350ml bottles each containing a vatting of casks from 1973, 1977, 1988, 1991, 2002 and 2006, with one of the vattings being from Ex-Bourbon casks and the other from Ex-Sherry casks. Bottled at 46%, both whiskies are non-chill filtered and natural colour, and display greatly contrasting colours and flavours.

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News & PR: Douglas Laing’s Old Particular Single Cask Single Grain Scotch Whiskies

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Announcing The Launch Of

DOUGLAS LAING’S OLD PARTICULAR SINGLE GRAIN

A COLLECTION OF SINGLE CASK WHISKIES FROM THE FINEST GRAIN DISTILLERIES

Douglas Laing & Co., leading purveyor and creator of the finest Scotch Whiskies, today announces the release of its Old Particular Single Cask Single Grain Whiskies.

Old Particular Grain with tubesThe Old Particular range, a ‘particularly’ unique series of individually hand-selected aged Whiskies from all over Scotland, launched in 2013 to resounding success. Until now, the award-winning Old Particular range has exclusively held Single Malt Whiskies, but today marks the addition of the finest Grain Whiskies to the portfolio.

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News & PR: The Famous Grouse Mellow Gold

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FG_Mellow_HRINTRODUCING THE FAMOUS GROUSE MELLOW GOLD

The UK’s number one selling Blended Scotch whisky, The Famous Grouse, has announced a new edition, The Famous Grouse Mellow Gold, will be added to the Famous Family this August.

The Famous Grouse Mellow Gold has been Blended for Smoothness and carefully crafted by Master Blender Gordon Motion. The master blender’s art is on full display, blending the finest scotch whiskies, matured in sherry and bourbon casks to deliver a smooth, well rounded whisky. Mellow Gold’s recipe has a higher proportion of sherry casks than The Famous Grouse to deliver a subtly sweeter, mellow flavour.

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Review: Clan Mackenzie Dinner at Dalmore & The Dalmore Distillery Exclusive 2015

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Clan Mackenzie International Gathering Dinner at The Dalmore Distillery
(plus a review of The Dalmore Distillery Exclusive 2015!)

Autumn in Dalmore

View from Dalmore out over the Cromarty Firth in Autumn

Recently I had the good fortune to be invited along to the Clan Mackenzie International Gathering Dinner at The Dalmore distillery. Hosted by Master Distiller Richard Paterson it was in honour of The Dalmore’s rich history and the fact that The Dalmore distillery was once owned by members of Clan Mackenzie. Clan Mackenzie have an International Gathering every 5 years which involves a week packed full of of events attended by members of the Clan from all around the world, this dinner being one such event.

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Review: Hibiki Japanese Harmony

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hibiki-japanese-harmony-whiskyHibiki Japanese Harmony – 43% abv

Info: Hibiki Japanese Harmony is made with malt whiskies from the Yamazaki and Hakushu distilleries, as well as grain whisky from the Chita distillery. The whiskies are drawn from 5 different types of cask, including American white oak casks, Sherry casks and Mizunara oak casks. Presented in the brand’s trademark 24-faceted bottle representing the Japanese seasons. NAS.
Colour: Light to medium gold.
Nose: Light but jam packed with malt and grassy aromas, along with sweet fruits and caramels.
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