DuckDrams

Featured posts

Latest pours

  • An empire lost

    An empire lost

    Imperial is like a poet whose work did not become appreciated until after their untimely death. In modern times a workhorse malt distillery for blends, it was mothballed in 1985, a difficult decade for the industry. Under new ownership it was running again between 1991-1998 but was then silenced, sold, and eventually scrapped in 2013…

  • Open up for the Dornochs

    Open up for the Dornochs

    [Title image from dramscotland] £1200 for a 50cl bottle of 3yo whisky! That’s what you’d be paying at auction for a bottle of Dornoch distillery’s first release a couple of years ago. Dornoch distillery is the passion project of the Thompson brothers, Phil and Simon, famous for their whisky bar at Dornoch Castle Hotel, and…

  • Glencadam ’91 & ’94

    Glencadam ’91 & ’94

    Glencadam 10 was my vote for best whisky at Whisky Fringe 2022. Sure, there was more ‘special’ stuff on offer at the Fringe, but the crisp, fruity, and tart profile of Glencadam is simply delicious; and unchillfiltererd, at natural colour, and 46% ABV, the 10yo offers unbeatable value at ~€40. A clue to as to…

  • The rehabilitation of Jura

    The rehabilitation of Jura

    I haven’t been to the isle of Jura, but I have laid eyes on it on my way to Islay. As my eyes traced its shorelines, traumatic memories of abused tastebuds resurfaced. Nearly a decade ago, before my serious interest in whisky took off, I shared a Jura tasting set with a friend. I can’t…

  • More ‘bow

    More ‘bow

    Following up on the “Bowmore straight from the source“, we are back to try some more of that juice: the 25yo Distiller’s Anthology 01. The juiciest of the lot? I better hope so, given that the I paid £20 for a mere 2cl sample. A bottle would fetch €700 on auction, probably haussed by Bowmore cultists…

  • Dea(n)ston

    Dea(n)ston

    Deanston, not among the most well-known Scotch distilleries, but one that should be! Deanston first came under my radar some years ago in a ralfy.com review, if I don’t misremember. I tried it in an Edinburgh pub, in a context where the focus was more on the company than the dram, but remember getting a…

  • Craigellachie x2

    Craigellachie x2

    I have been watering my whisky bush regularly, and it has grown me a pair of Creigellachies that are now ripe for harvest. The first standard 13yo was gifted to me as part of a larger whisky order I made with an online retailer. A bottle goes for around €40. The other sample is (surprise,…

  • Glenwood and Link Elgin

    Glenwood and Link Elgin

    Tonight I have a tasting theme of utmost seriousness, requiring the fullness of attention and discernment: a blind tasting challenge! I happen to have samples from three of my favourite distilleries: Linkwood, Glen Elgin and Deanston. All three are 13 years old, 52-56% abv, and of a comparable colour that suggests all are ex-bourbon casks.…

  • Thoughts on how to score

    Thoughts on how to score

    As this little blogling turns 2 months old, I’ve changed enough digital diapers (viz. formally reviewed 25 different whiskies) as to have learned quite a deal about the challenges of reviewerhood. For me, one of the greatest challenges has been choosing a scoring system and sticking to it. In this post I’ll explain my thinking…

Hej, hiya, moin!

I’m Emil, a Swedish ex-resident of Scotland now living in northern Germany. This blog is my virtual memory for all things related to whisky (and other fine spirits) in my life: I write reviews, report on trips and events, contemplate the results of my own experimentations, and scribble down un-/semi-/quasi-qualified opinions and perspectives. Welcome to a taste of my whisky world!

Site navigation

Common tags

3-5yo 6-9yo 10-14yo 15-19yo 20-24yo 25-29yo 30-39yo 40-49yo 70s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s a.d. rattray ardbeg ardnahoe auchentoshan ballechin ben nevis benrinnes berry bros & rudd black box blend blended grain blended malt blind Blind tasting bourbon cask bowmore bruichladdich bunnahabhain cadenhead's cambus cameronbridge campbeltown caol ila closed distillery clynelish craigellachie croftengea deanston dornoch douglas laing edradour elixir distillers ex-bourbon first impression glenallachie glencadam glen elgin glenfarclas glen garioch glen grant glenrothes glenwyvis gordon & macphail grain whisky highland highland park highlands hollyrood imperial inchmurrin irish whiskey island islay jura kilchoman kingsbarns lagavulin laphroaig ledaig linkwood littlemill loch lomond lowland mannochmore murray mcdavid nas nc'nean new make north star peat raasay rosebank rum scoring sherry sherry cask signatory single cask single grain single malt speyside springbank stauning tamdhu thompson bros tobermory tullibardine

Archive