Month: October 2024
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October Black Box — Nourishing Nc’Nean and nineteen seventy-nine
From my “Black Box” of identity-masked and forgotten sample bottles, here come the blind reviews collected in the dreary month of October: Nc’Nean | “Huntress 2024 – Orchard Cobbler” | 4yo (2019) | 48.5% | Official 🌐 Scotch single malt 🪵 66% STR red wine, 31% ex-Bourbon, 3% ex-Sherry 🔆 unchillfiltered & natural color 💲…
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Ghost Safari – Brora, Port Ellen
Brora and Port Ellen were among the many casualties of the deadly year of 1983, within the period of whisky-bust in the 1980s. In the last couple of decades, they became iconic and coveted among enthusiast (and traders), as mature casks of the old stock came into circulation. In the present whisky boom, both distilleries,…
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Craigellachie x2, again
I became quite smitten with Craigellachie a few months back. A rather immediate consequence has been the hoarding of additional samples, of which I now have about six. Time to get to work and knock them down before they proliferate further! For a middle-of-the-week tasting, I’ll restrain myself to two non-CS samples… Craigellachie | 14yo…
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Bowies from three decades
Back for some more of that Bowmore. The not-so-amazing core range was one of my first horizontals on the blog (#13-16), followed up by a special 25yo release (#32), and then over a year later some special Bowmore blends (and one not so special, #200). Tonight’s roster sports a rather random trio of 2cl Bowmore…
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Ghost Safari – Rosebank, Pittyvaich
Halloween is approaching, so to get into the mood it’s time for some more ghost distilleries. First, a curious sample of Rosebank, only 8yo and presumably bottled in the 1980s. Then it’s one I haven’t tried before, as far as I can recall — Pittyvaich. This distillery was only in operation 1974-1993 and then demolished…
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Glenwinnie
Elgin in Speyside, Scotland is home to a handful of distilleries, two of which are among my longtome favourites — Glen Elgin, and Linkwood, both owned by Diageo. The only regular official bottling is from the Flora & Fauna range (colored, chillfiltered, low ABV), but fortunately indie bottlers have me covered. Then there is Glenlossie,…
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VT
Another first for this blog — a cognac review! — but I’ve been enjoying good cognac for a couple of years now. Naturally, I simply skipped over the mass-market Remy Martin, Hennessy, Camus and their ilk — if bland whisky isn’t worth the time, cost and liver damage, sure as hell bland cognac isn’t either.…
DuckDrams 