Tag: single malt
-
The first of first impressions
Samples, samples, samples. Since this blog started in March I’ve cracked open about a hundred little sample bottles. And in my cupboard I have another 120 or so waiting. Samples are great, I get to experience a wide range of whiskies at a tiny fraction of the price of buying a bottle. And I sometimes…
-
#100 celebration with my friend Ben N.
Time flies and fruit flies. With this post I will be adding dram #100 and beyond to the Index! As good an excuse as any to indulge in a particularly tasty tasting with Mr. Nevis. Ben Nevis distillery lies in Fort William at the foot of Scotland’s highest mountain, named after this famous distillery (if…
-
The Grand Glenfarclas Gustation
Glenfarclas stands out for many reasons. It’s one of only a few family owned distilleries in Scotland. It’s one of only three Scotch distilleries to direct-fire their stills, supposedly contributing to the ‘weight’ of the spirit, so suitable for long maturation in sherry casks. They market themselves a Highland malt, rather than a Speyside malt,…
-
B-whiskies
“A” starts the alphabet, and then comes “B”. It’s refreshing to have a tasting theme now and again that does not revolve around one distillery or some other very logical category. Here I simply went looking for some drams that started on the letter B, and found several candidates. In the end my palate was able…
-
Bunnagain
Following last week’s Bunna tasting I have a craving for more. How lucky then that I do have some more. In fact, no less than four additional samples and two open bottles, but let’s have some self restraint, shall we? Today I will finish off the 5cl sample of the standard 12yo, and compare it…
-
Three Indris
India, incredible India. This melodically sung slogan for Indian tourism got etched into my brain over a decade ago. Will it be Indi, incredible Indri next? Indri is the single malt brand from Indian distiller Piccadily, seemingly named after the location of the distillery. A company long in the Indian spirits industry but a relative…
-
Waiter, there’s a fly in my Balmenach!
I had never heard about Balmenach until 2021 when an independently bottled version for Royal Mile Whiskies appeared on their website. And no wonder, because this Speyside distillery has no official expression as a single malt since about twenty years, and is seen rather rarely among the indie bottlers. I bought the bottle from RMW…
-
Inchmurrin 1997
Loch Lomond distillery in west Highlands, near Glasgow, is a chameleon of a distillery. It sports no less than 11 stills of four different kinds, allowing them to produce a variety of styles, from both malted barley and grain. This means they can make their own blend, in-house. The most well-known and -selling product is…
-
Jura, again
Not only have I moved past my aversion to Jura, but I’ve fallen in love with it. Or rather with the idea of what a Jura could be if properly matured and respectfully bottled, but that I have yet to fully experience. Actually, I went ahead of myself and bought a 30yo Jura when I…
-
The Beast of Dufftown
Another “character distillery”. Mortlach, by their own marketing, is the Beast of Dufftown. I presume, because contrary to the classical easy-going Speyside style, Mortlach is famed for a substantive, meaty, pungent quality. I believe I have experienced this profile on a couple of occasions. Last was at Whisky Fringe 2022, where I tried the 25yo…
DuckDrams 