Author: emil
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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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.…
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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…
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“A” starts the alphabet
I like to follow a theme for whisky tastings and posts. The obvious theme is to compare bottlings from a particular distillery, or how different distilleries turn out in similar casks, etc. But every once in a while I just want to try some random stuff. Then I have to get creative with the thematicification.…
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Who’s that Whiskémon?
I have here the standard 12yo of Glenallachie, which by the way is an integrity bottling (i.e. natural colour, non-chillfiltered), good on them! And yummy for us. It’s been in my cupboard for a bit over a year since the (in)famous first whisky tasting / super-spreader event I hosted for my colleagues, and it’s nearing…
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Benrinnaissance
Finally, two weeks after the onset of a nasty cold, I feel sufficiently recovered to trust my nose with a whisky review (it’s 14th May today). On the menu: two samples from the Benrinnes distillery in Speyside. One from UK independent bottler Chorlton, that I bought from Hop/Scotch, the other sample from my Single Malts…
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Limburg Whisky Fair 2023
With Germany being such a massive importer of Scotch Whisky, it would be strange if there wasn’t at least one massive whisky festival. And indeed there is. At least one. My friends Simon and Veronika put Limburg Whisky Fair on my radar, and offered that I could stay with them in Frankfurt so we could…
DuckDrams 