Infectious Charm. Devastating Wit. Below Average Looks.
Aberfeldy’s recent brand makeover seemed to me to be an attempt to remind the whisky world that their whisky still exists and is not just meant to be blended into Dewar’s. It is also promising that Aberfeldy didn’t just redesign the label, and if you’re into that sort thing, it was an improvement, but they... Continue Reading →
It was Macallan night during one of our monthly SWC meetings. We had on the docket the 10, 12, and 15 year old expressions. I was excited. How could you not be with Macallan? Life was good. As we went through each whisky, nosing with patience, tasting with gusto, living life as God intended, our... Continue Reading →
Sherried Scotch whisky, at least in this author’s dumb, uninformed opinion, shouldn’t be the quintessential Scotch whisky expression. Just a few years finished in sherried oak can overwhelm a malt’s inherent flavor profile. Macallan’s Fine Oak Series, now called "Triple Cask Matured," offered a glimpse into the distilleries house character without a dominant sherry influence,... Continue Reading →
I felt like a gentlemen with a monocole and a top hat. And a kilt. All that was missing was a well oiled mustace. That’s what I felt like when I tried Macallan 12 for the first time. Back then, this was my first “luxury” malt, as that was what I thought Macallan was at... Continue Reading →
I wonder what Malt Rage looked like back in the day before whisky bloggers were around. Maybe it was just as annoying and self-important as it is today. I was not "malt aware" in 2004 when the owners of The Macallan released the Fine Oak series, but boy, I hear it was quite a thing... Continue Reading →
The phrase “Sherry Bomb” isn’t precisely a regulated one in the Scotch industry. A’Bunadh, Macallan, Dalmore, we can all agree on those. If a malt has a strong sherried presence but only was finished for a few years in a sherry cask, could it still be a sherry bomb? I think yes. And I think... Continue Reading →
If you woke up this morning with a still, small voice in your head seducing you with desires to find online whisky reviews for bottles not even available anymore, then you’ve arrived in a good spot, cause that’s what we’re going to do today. Buckle up, buttercup. Today’s review is for Ardbeg’s Dark Cove bottling... Continue Reading →
Call me Mr. Old Fashioned, I just subscribed to my local newspaper. I now have a bundle of paper news sitting on my front porch every morning. I simply grew tired of consuming news in the digital realm we find ourselves in. I noticed that I increasingly read more headlines than actual story content. After... Continue Reading →
GlenDronach Distillery possesses a long past. This fact is not in and of itself special. Lots of distilleries go back a ways. But there is something special about a malt that stands on tradition's shoulders. Founded in 1826, it wasn’t until 1968 that the distillery released a single malt under its own name. In recent... Continue Reading →
While discontinuing several popular bottles in 2017, Highland Park has recast their image in Viking lore. The previously named Highland Park 12 Yr Old has been reborn as Viking Honour. The bottle has received a makeover, but this expression remains a core bottling for the company as it always was. With the effort to improve... Continue Reading →
I have cried only 3 times in my life. Dad's funeral, the day the music died, and the day I found out that Balvenie Single Barrel 15 was discontinued. I have a special love affair with a decent Scotch whisky with no sherry finishing. There is something pure about that kind of stripped down composition... Continue Reading →
My first recollection of Ardbeg Supernova occurred in 2009, the year of its first release, during an interview between Whisky Cast and whisky writer Jim Murray. Murray recounted his sensory experience with Supernova as intense, to say the least, but perfectly caught the moment when he described swirling his last sip in the mouth for... Continue Reading →
We find ourselves bathing in the glory of Laphroaig’s 200th anniversary. One of the distillery’s celebratory bottlings is this year’s Cairdeas, Laphroaig’s selected trophy in honor of this year’s Feis Ile Festival of Music and Malt. Each Islay distillery is given a day to during the week long festival to promote and celebrate its contribution... Continue Reading →
Whisky writer Dominic Roskrow remarked that marrying smoky, peaty flavors with sherry finishing is a tricky thing. He covered the Lahproaig line for his book 1,001 Whiskies You Must Taste Before You Die and mentioned this in his write up on Laphroaig Triple Wood. If we are talking about heavily peated whiskies it’s not hard... Continue Reading →
Micro barreling used to be kind of a thing in the American whiskey industry. More like a craft thing, but a big thing. Without getting into it too much, the idea is that new companies, needing to get a brand to shelf as soon as possible, turn to aging their new make spirit in small... Continue Reading →
The French wine industry coined the word “terroir” as a way to romanticize not just the wine but the very ground from whence the wine is derived. Terroir is defined as “the characteristic taste and flavor imparted to a wine by the environment in which it is produced.” Ever see that documentary “Somm?” The sommeliers... Continue Reading →
I think the American craft distilling scene could take a lesson from Benromach Distillery. Looking at the movement from afar, it seems that there are a number of things they can no longer get away with, but one in particular is simply this: no more riding on the coat tails of anything other than what you put... Continue Reading →
I hope the good people at Glenlivet never read this review. Not that there is any remote chance they would anyway, but hope remains. You see, we as a club have tried every readily available expression from Glenlivet with the exception of their 25 year old. We’re not dentists, so we don’t count the glass... Continue Reading →
So we move on from the sassy fest of our last post to a more reasoned approach this time around. We present today a rather invigorating rhapsody of whisky geekery on Auchentoshan Triple Wood. The issues raised by this particular malt’s style inspire a quick word or two on distillation, as Auchentoshan distills their Scotch... Continue Reading →
Spokane Whiskey Club 