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  • Ghost safari #1

    Ghost safari #1

    I have been trying a lot of newbie distilleries recently (Newbies Pt I, II, III) with the aim of getting through all of them eventually — a task that will take years for the simple fact that new distilleries still keep popping up like malty mushrooms in the ground! Of the 28 distilleries founded in…

  • Son of a bad bottom

    Son of a bad bottom

    “Isn’t particularly of any interest… let’s move on.” So said Ralfy recently of Macduff in his overview of Scotch malt distilleries A-Z on his Patreon channel. To the contrary, in the Bad Homburg whisky festival 2023 I tried two Macduffs that were both were really interesting. One was relatively young but had a very distinguished…

  • Wiener whisky

    Wiener whisky

    Second half of July I spend a week in Vienna for work, a science conference on mathematical modelling in ecology and evolution. Getting there from my home in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany was fairly convenient with the ÖBB Night Jet, with their new sleeper wagons with individual pods. Or shall we call it sarcophagi? Good thing I’m…

  • Birthplace of the water of life

    Birthplace of the water of life

    “And by payment made to Brother John Cor by precept of the comptroller, as he asserts, by the King’s command, to make aqua vite within the period of the account, 8 bolls of malt.” Exchequer Rolls of 1494 This is widely recognized as the first written record of the production of aqua vitae, or whisky.…

  • Blend it up

    Blend it up

    Sometimes I can be very undecisive. I stand in front of my whisky safe, with a dozen or two different tastings themes to choose from. Young grains. Old Islays. A Glen Garioch horizontal. Another vertical of newbie distilleries. Cracking open a new bottle for a first impression? After a long time hesitating, and trying to…

  • ,

    Revisiting Edinburgh, my spirit-ual home

    Revisiting Edinburgh, my spirit-ual home

    Oh Flower of ScotlandWhen will we seeYer like again? In the beginning of July I went on a short holiday in my favourite city that I called home for four years. The purpose of the visit was to attend Zoe’s graduation and meet some old friend (…and while there to enjoy a dram or two.)…

  • Bushy Irish diamond lady

    Bushy Irish diamond lady

    Irish whiskey has thus far been nearly absent from this blog. Time to give a chance to the green island in the west. Irish whiskey was once the most popular spirit in the world. Then it crashed in the 20th century following domestic and world wars, trade wars with the UK, and whatnot, with only…

  • Remarkable rocky hill hooch

    Remarkable rocky hill hooch

    Craigellachie — ‘rocky hill’ — distillery, is a Speyside distillery dating back to the 19th century. It’s gained a following among afficionados for it’s traditional and ‘dirty’ style. Despite being owned by drinks giant Bacardi via the Dewar’s subsidiary, the entire single malt core range is integrity bottled — 46%, non-chillfiltered, natural colour — and…

  • Try before you buy

    Try before you buy

    Today I will implement the ancient wisdom of trying before buying. Two bottles on the German market have caught my attention recently, and I’ve contemplated a buy but thought I could maybe wait for a sale before I took the chance. Then I found both in 5cl tasting samples, so I ordered them (along with…

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!

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