The Malt Cask

Caol Ila 12 is the second bottle of single malt I ever bought. As I have already mentioned, I wanted to increase the peat level slightly from my first bottle -Bowmore Small batch. Caol Ila wasn't a name I was familiar with until I started looking at other peaty bottles. And if you're not too much into whisky, I doubt you will know it either. You might however be aware of Johnnie Walker, one of the leading whisky brands in the world (blended whisky) and if you've ever tried the black label, you will have drunk some Caol Ila. In fact, 95% of the whisky Caol Ila produce goes into blended whisky and therefore only the remaining 5% end up bottled as single malt. What a shame, because for me, Caol Ila is one of the best.  Caol Ila distillery is located on the North East coast of Islay, just North of Port Askaig. A bit more about the 12 years then: It isn't as pale a whisky as the Kornog we tried last time but it will have had some colouring and the whisky will also

I know many people will say that whisky has been made to be enjoyed and you should therefore drink it rather than store it for years at the bottom of a cupboard with a view of making a few extra pounds/dollars/euros... In my opinion, you can do both.  The best way to know more about whisky is to try as many different releases as you can (always with moderation!). This will allow you to determine flavours you like and some you don't like. I started 2 years ago with the Bowmore Small Batch release, which I picked up on offer in my local supermarket and really enjoyed the taste of peat. From there, I decided to research other distilleries which offered peaty whiskies and bought my second bottle: Caol Ila 12 (still one of my favourite today for its oily mouth feel and peaty/salty taste). I then looked into the other Islay powerhouses and tried different Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Bruichladdish... in bars or at the Whisky Shop. I realised through tasting sessions that there were o

As I mentioned before, I have only started being properly interested in whisky in the last two years, but as my initial curiosity developed into a more passionate interest, I knew I had to go further than just reading online reviews and articles. So, I looked for whisky places around Manchester and started going to the Whisky Shop on Exchange Street. The first time I entered the shop, I felt a bit like a fish out of water as I had never really been to a whisky-only shop. However the staff were very welcoming and helpful and I quickly realised they were incredibly passionate about the spirit and prepared to share their passion and knowledge with their customers. Trying a new whisky can be a very costly thing to do if you have to buy the bottle (particularly if it's to realise the whisky isn't to your taste!) but the Whisky Shop allows you to try a dram or two and therefore decide whether it's the one for you or not.  I soon decided to add my details to their mailing list,

For the very first one, I decided to go with a French whisky, more specifically a Breton whisky. I know, the fact that I am French has probably affected my decision, but Scotland does not have the monopoly for good whisky.  As I mentioned in my welcome post, I do like strong flavours in whisky, peat and smoke in particular. After having tried and discovered some of the key peaty whiskies (Islay bottles in particular) I decided to research French whisky to see whether I could also find expressions of my favourite taste back home too. My research confirmed what I already knew (France isn't a major whisky producer despite being a major whisky drinker) but also brought to my attention a handful of distilleries, mainly located in Brittany. The one which particularly caught my eye was the Glann ar Mor distillery (glann ar mor meaning by the sea in Breton), located in Pleubian on the North coast. The distillery was created in 1997 but started being fully operational in the mid-2000. Th

Hello and welcome to the Malt Cask, a blog about whisky. I am relatively new to whisky, having only properly got into it about 2 years ago, so this blog will be about sharing new experiences, information and any tips gathered along the way.  Drinking whisky as always been for many people, the idea of a dark basement, cards, cigars and revolvers. Believe it or not, it isn't! For other people, whisky is this disgusting drink which doesn't taste of anything, burns your inside and leaves you with a terrible hangover the following morning. Again it isn't -providing you choose your bottle carefully and you drink it in moderation! Like with wine, if you look a bit more into what you are buying and don't go for the cheap and nasty stuff, you will find many enjoyable flavours.  I have realised that in the last few years, whisky has experience a bit of the revolution. Gone are the days when distilleries were closing down, they are now struggling to cope with the demand and n