Month: May 2018

Highland Park Magnus

The Scotch NoobReviews5 Comments 23398 views

Like the rest of the line, Magnus is partly peated and partly aged in “sherry seasoned” American oak casks. Before you ask, that just means they took regular old ex-bourbon casks and sloshed some sherry around in them for a few months. This is becoming pretty standard practice in the scotch whisky industry, since nobody drinks actual sherry these days and real sherry barrels are hard to come by. Some refill casks are also used, but the distillery says the sherry-seasoned casks are a “high percentage” of the vatting. If you say so, Edrington. …

GDPR Headaches

The Scotch NoobUpdates4 Comments 3627 views

The aforementioned GDPR regulations go into effect on May 25th, in 5 days from this post. Because of the headaches and intense amount of website work this is causing me, I do not have time to write a review this week – you can thank the EU. A quick summary of the sources of my …

Koval Single Barrel Millet Whiskey

The Scotch NoobReviews1 Comment 10774 views

The Koval Millet whiskey is aged in 30-gallon new charred oak barrels (like bourbon distilleries, Koval sells all of its barrels after a single use). I was unable to find any information about the amount of time this whiskey spends in-barrel, so I would go ahead and assume it’s quite young. … Koval distillery in Chicago is an undeniable pioneer in this space, with various whiskies for sale distilled from millet, oats, spelt, wheat, and rye. All of Koval’s spirits are single-barrel releases, and all are made from organic grains farmed in the American Midwest.

Wee Dram YouTube Channel

The Scotch NoobNews4 Comments 5483 views

Reader Gordon contacted me earlier this year to get my feedback on a series of videos that he had put together with his drinking buddy Johnathan. Gordon does an endearing, rambling style of video whisky review that makes me feel like I’m sitting around the firepit with him, chatting about our favorite subject over a dram. His perspective is refreshing and the videos are artfully composed. … I highly recommend checking out their channel and giving them a “Subscribe” to show a little support if you like their content.

GlenDronach (18 year) Allardice

The Scotch NoobReviews16 Comments 18300 views

The GlenDronach 18-year is named after the 1826 founder of the distillery, James Allardes. It is aged for 18 years exclusively in Spanish oloroso sherry casks, and bottled at 46% ABV without chill-filtration or added coloring. This has more deep, dark, concentrated dry fruit than I’ve ever experienced in a single malt. I’m not sure that’s actually a good thing. …