Category: Review
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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…
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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…
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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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“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…
DuckDrams 