Category Archives: Whisky

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: Secret Speyside 20yo (LotG)

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LotGBottleShotSecret Speyside 20 year old – Lady of the Glen – 52.3% ABV

Info: Distilled 17th October 1994, aged in refill Bourbon hogshead cask #1171. Bottled at cask strength, no colourings added & non-chill filtered.
Colour: Light golden yellow.
Nose: Quite dry nutty, with time there’s sweeter barley and fruits.
Palate: Easy going, very smooth for the fairly high ABV. Packed with oaky wood notes, coconut, hessian and then gentle fruit bowl sweetness.
Finish: Fresh bourbon sweetness on the reasonably long finish.
Thoughts: I have no guess on the distillery! It’s  nice however, I like how easy going it is without need for water. The price seems reasonable.
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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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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Review: Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ryder Cup

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JWsquare-Ryder-CupJohnnie Walker Blue Label Ryder Cup Limited Edition – 40.0% ABV

Info: Diageo sponsored the 2014 Ryder Cup and released this special bottling of Johnnie Walker Blue Label to celebrate using some of their rarest stocks. It’s been around a wee while, but there’s still some about.
Colour: Golden with rusty orange tints.
Nose: There’s a fruity smokiness that leaps out of the glass, there’s old restrained oak and some sweetness. There’s a farm hint on the nose along with almonds. In general a very blended nose, nothing sticks out too far.
Palate: Buttery silk with a pinch of spices, it goes into a gentle sweetness with autumn fruits and hints of bonfire in the background. Surprisingly thick in the mouth considering the ABV (which indicates it’s chill filtered).
Finish: Gentle honied oak appears more strongly along with soft puffs of Highland smoke and a sweet warmth that spreads slowly over your chest.
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Review: Octomore 6.3 Islay Barley

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octob.2009Octomore 6.3 Islay Barley – 2009 / 5yo – 64% abv

Info: The first Octomore distilled from 100% Islay barley. Grown and harvested by James Brown from Lorgba, a field on Octomore farm. A massive 258 PPM.
Colour: Fairly rich golden, autumn tints.
Nose: As ever you have those well known slightly briny deep engine oil tones that Bruichladdich is famous for, smokey barley and sweet citrus and oak notes, a background of marmalade. It becomes lighter and lighter over time with honeyed tones showing.
Palate: Really oily and rich with slightly sweet mossy peat tones. The high ABV does make it quite hot. The mossy tones seem more pronounced in this particular Octomore over previous versions, and I like them!
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