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...

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année 2017 à tous! I am back in France for some family time during the end of year festivities. This is the reason why I have not been posting that much recently. When I reviewed my dad's Glen Deveron 15 in August, I did mention he also had a bottle of the 10 years old that I would review if I had time and of course, I didn't. Having a bit of time today, I thought I would make the most of it and post the Glen Deveron 10.   Like with the 15, the 10 is not a single malt which is readily available in the UK. The Deveron can be found in some whisky shops but I have never seen the Glen Deveron out there apart from on the continent. As far as the 15 is concerned, I ended up my August post saying that despite it being a rather pleasant malt, it didn't really rock my boat in terms of more pronounced flavours. I must admit, I expect the 10 years old to be along the same lines... As for the 15, the 10 is bottled at 40%, chill-filtered and with the ad...

For people who are relatively new to whisky and want to try some peaty single malt without being hit by the full power of a Laphroaig or an Ardbeg, Bowmore seems like a pretty good choice. I might have mentioned that Bowmore Small Batch is the bottle which initiated me to the peaty stuff. It is reasonably peated for an Islay whisky, which allowed me to enjoy the taste without being completely overwhelmed. It also made me curious to try more peaty whiskies, progressing to Caol Ila 12 before jumping into Laphroaig Quarter Cask, Kilchoman Machir Bay or Lagavulin 16. So at the time, Bowmore was a great dram in my mind. I was desperate to try the rest of the Bowmore range too, which actually took quite a while before it happened. My first go at the 12 was last Easter whilst on Islay with a few friends. We visited the distillery and thought we had to buy a bottle to have a few drams in the evening, and so we purchased a 12 year-old. However, despite being a pleasant enough drink, I cannot s...

After a quiet fortnight because of work, I am back with the account of the Bruichladdich tasting I attended on Monday. I do not normally tend to go to tasting sessions during the working week, but I made an exception this time as it was a Bruichladdich special, and I thought I might get to try some of their latest 10 year-old releases. It was run by their brand ambassador Abi Clephane and was held at the Whisky shop Manchester. We were presented with four bottles originally before two more appeared. Abi was, in my mind, what a good brand ambassador should be like: very enthusiastic, passionate about the whisky and what the distillery stands for, full of stories and anecdotes about the people who contribute to the elaboration of the amber nectar, without forgetting to mention a good measure of "terroir"! Abi Clephane - Bruichladdich brand ambassador The night started with their entry bottle, the Classic Laddie, a very solid unpeated dram made from barley exclusively gro...

A bit of Japanese whisky on the blog today. Apart from the post I wrote about my Nikka tasting session  at the beginning of August, I haven't reviewed any individual Japanese whisky. And the reason why is quite simple: the price. Japanese whisky is not something new; The Nikka company, for instance, starting production before WWII. However, it was pretty much unheard of in Europe until very recently, but for whatever reason, its popularity has absolutely exploded. And as usual with high demand and rather limited availability, prices have gone through the roof. If you want to get hold of a bottle of Yamazaki 12 for example, it will cost short short of £100. That's without mentioning the Yamazaki 18 which will set you back around £350 at auction. Even the NAS bottles will cost around £50. Personally, I do not think the hefty price-tag for these whiskies can be justified, no matter how good they might be. As mentioned above, a lot of it is to do with rarity and trend, and I don...