This 12 year-old expression from The Balvenie is aged in first- or second-fill bourbon casks, with up to a further year in first-fill oloroso sherry casks. It stands on its own as a beautiful example of what quality Speyside whisky and careful oak aging can do. It has also stood the test of time, and is just as good as it was when I reviewed it 12 years ago.
This particular release, which I snapped up in 2022 but is still on shelves well into 2023, was aged for a full 12 years in a combination of American and European oak sherry casks – assume that means refill casks – before finishing for an undisclosed period of time in Amontillado sherry casks. Amontillado is a dry type of sherry, so don’t expect…
This limited edition malt was bottled in 2021 to celebrate the annual Campbeltown Malts Festival, but they clearly made enough of it to warrant Costco-scale distribution. The whisky was aged for 10 years in first-fill bourbon before enjoying a 5 month dip in first-fill Bordeaux red wine casks from the Medoc region of France. I really like seeing the finish length on a bottle label – too often distilleries…
This 15 year-old bottling is aged in a combination of oloroso sherry casks and ex-bourbon American oak casks, which has become so common that it’s hardly worth mentioning anymore. Everyone’s doing the DoubleWood thing these days. The whisky is unfortunately bottled at the minimum legal strength of 40% ABV.
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…
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!
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…
Westward’s Oregon Stout Cask whisky is aged in new American oak, like their other malts, and is then finished in the aforementioned Oregon stout “seasoned” casks for 1 additional year. It’s bottled at 45% ABV in small batches without chill filtration. Here’s a weird thing: …
You’re not going to pick up an 18 year-old Kirkland single malt for $50 and find the next best whisky in the world. What you’re going to get is a whisky that has a few relatively minor flaws but is otherwise quite good for the price. I’ll say this for Alexander Murray (the independent bottler that supplies both Costco and Trader Joe’s with their own-branded scotches): they…
… Arran 18, however, is available to salve that particular wound. It’s not cheap per se, but it’s one of the few good deals in age-stated 18 year bottlings… when it’s not sold out that is. If you look hard enough (or order internationally – £75 without VAT! – or patiently wait for the market to calm down) you can find a bottle for under…
