The Malt Cask

I remember the first time I heard of the Macallan distillery, probably over 10 years ago when my uncle -a keen whisky drinker- told us it was, in his opinion, the best bottle of single malt you could buy in a (French) supermarket. He was certainly talking about the 10 years old, which was at the time widely available. Despite being one of the most know distillery, it has taken me a while to come round to purchasing a bottle of Macallan. The reason why is simple: most people I spoke to, and reviews I read about their current range (particularly the Gold) were not very positive, and everybody seemed to miss the former age statement sherried range. The problem is that as Macallan is a very collectible distillery, older age-statement bottles are out of my drinking price range. As far as this limited release is concerned however, the critiques are completely different, and most people think that this is a great example of what Macallan can produce so I thought I would get hold of a bott

Back for a new whisky year with a single malt I have mentioned in previous blog but have still not come round to reviewing, the Aberlour 16. I previously did an experimental review in which I mixed 80% of the 16 with 20% of the A'bunadh to create what I called the  A'bunadh 16 . I did mention at the time that the 16 was, in my mind, lacking something in terms of strength particularly, but I left it there without any more information. That is the reason why I thought it was time to give the 16 its own review. I bought my bottle of 16 about two years ago whilst in France. It was on offer in one of the main supermarket and for the equivalent of £20/£25 at the time, I thought it was worth giving it a try. Being the French version, mine is actually bottled at 43%ABV compared to the 40% versions I found in the UK, so it should be a tad stronger, without blowing your head off like with the A'bunadh. The 16 is 'double matured' whisky which means that it was aged both in

Going back over my old posts, I realised I started the blog in October 2015, which means that I have just completed my first calendar year reviewing whisky. As I follow a few whisky reviewers both on written blogs and recorded vlogs, I have found myself exposed to several "whisky of the year" posts. That made me wonder about my own whisky experience from 2016 and whether or not a whisky stood out in my mind. And the answer was both yes and no. I did get to try some fantastic whiskies this year, from Octomores to independent Coal Ilas, from Stagg Jr to ex-wine cask matured Auchroisk, Ardbeg Dark Cove, 1996 Clynelish, Nikka Pure Malt White, the Last Drop 48 and 50 and so many more, not forgetting to mention an amazing tour of Islay with again some great tasting sessions.  But what if I had to choose one whisky I bought and really enjoyed/enjoy spending time with? Well, one single malt came to mind very quickly, and that is the Lagavulin 8 years old . Every time I have a dram