Double Oak’s approach to the industry meme of “do something different to the base whiskey so we can charge more for it” is about as simple as you can get, and yet is oddly rare in the bourbon business. They took Jim Beam, having aged it like all bourbons in new charred American white oak barrels, and they…
The “Wee Witchie” is the name of Mortlach’s small experimental pot still, and “some” of its output was included in the batch for this bottling. “Some” is one of the worst words in the English language, so we don’t know if we’re talking about a literal teaspoon, or if 30% of the vatting comes from The Wee Witchie, so it’s kind of an irrelevant piece of information…
…so in an attempt to better understand the flavors that arise when whisky is aged in Sauternes casks, I sought a bottle of actual Sauternes. I’m drinking a Château Guiraud 2010 (375ml bottle) which was something like $40, and I’m drinking it chilled. I’m noticing the aroma – particularly – has distinct notes of golden raisins (duh), rich honey, fresh apricots, dried apricots, and a not-quite-yeasty fungal aroma that’s…
Redemption is a non-distiller producer (NDP) that repackages MGP whiskey with additional aging and a thin veneer of story. Their new offering, “Sur Lee” rye whiskey, adds mash lees to the barrels during aging and uses French winemaking techniques. But is it worth the $60 price tag?
Glen Moray is a whisky distillery located in Speyside, Scotland. They produce a 12 year old single malt scotch whisky that was bottled by That Boutique-y Whisky Company and has an alcohol content of 48.5%. This review was written (partially) by an AI!
Nothing wrong with this bourbon, although I can’t say there’s anything special about it, either. “High-Rye Bourbon” is not exactly a new concept, and LDI/MGP bourbons are a dime a dozen. Ten years ago I would have complained about paying $30 for…
Getting the easy stuff out of the way: This is a single malt scotch whisky, from a single distillery on the island of Islay in Scotland. It is heavily peated like other Islay stalwarts (Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Caol Ila, etc.) and should not be considered unless you know you’re ready for a face-full of smoke and weird brine flavors in your whisky. It is bottled at the impressive strength of…
The Exceptional is a line of sourced scotches blended and bottled by Sutcliffe & Son. They began with The Exceptional Grain in 2013, and then expanded to an Exceptional Malt and Exceptional Blend. Putting aside the hubris involved in referring to your own work as “Exceptional”, Sutcliffe has garnered renown for his blends and continues to release new editions each year. Each edition of…
Unlike many other bourbon brands which lately have been spinning off new releases several times a year, Maker’s mostly just makes Maker’s Mark. And Maker’s 46, and a cask-strength edition. Now, this 101 proof version has been added to the lineup as a Limited Edition, where previously it was only available at the distillery…
The Malt Whisky Yearbook is an annual “field guide” to the world of malt whisky and the malt whisky industry. Author/Editor and Keeper of the Quaich Ingvar Ronde started in 2005 – and every year thereafter – compiling 12 months of news, facts, and figures from the industry while also managing to capture the overall trend and feel of the marketplace. In a way, it’s like a whole year of whisky magazine issues compressed into one compact and concise guidebook.
