*Thanks to SF and the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. In the world of Scotch whisky, the Gaelic word and occasional prefix ben means, simply enough, "mountain" or "hill". There are several "bens" amongst Scottish distilleries: Ben Nevis, Benrinnes, and Benromach are all currently pumping out the sauce today, while Ben Wyvis … Continue reading Chieftains 1995 BenRiach 17 Year Old Rum Cask Finish – Review
Chieftain’s
Chieftains 1997 Glenrothes 15 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to SF and the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. As if trying to figure out which company owns which distillery wasn't hard enough, Glenrothes waltzes in and throws another curveball to muddle the issue even more. One thing seems fairly clear; in 1887, Glenrothes was owned by a company called Highland … Continue reading Chieftains 1997 Glenrothes 15 Year Old – Review
Chieftains 2000 Strathisla 12 Year Old – review
*Thanks to SF and the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. Strathisla has been around for so long (its roots go back to 1786) there's bound to be a few dark moments in its past. As an appreciator of dark moments, one of my favorites is the brief period of 1940 to 1949 … Continue reading Chieftains 2000 Strathisla 12 Year Old – review
Chieftain’s 1983 Balmenach 28 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. Balmenach is another distillery you hear about being one of those distilleries you never hear about. The distillery traces its roots back to a 1824 when a small distillery called "Balminoch" was given its legal license. Founded by one James MacGregor, Balmenach remained in … Continue reading Chieftain’s 1983 Balmenach 28 Year Old – Review
Chieftain’s 1990 Rosebank 20 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. Poor, poor Rosebank. Long thought to be perhaps the finest of the Lowland distilleries, it has a rich history dating back to the early 1800's but came to a fairly ignoble end, completely unfitting its status and popularity. In 1988, one of the warehouses … Continue reading Chieftain’s 1990 Rosebank 20 Year Old – Review
Chieftain’s 1984 Benrinnes 26 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. Benrinnes, from the Scots Gaelic, Beinnroinn, means "promontory hill". A rather uninspired name if you ask me, but maybe on the day it was named it was bitterly cold, wet, and windy and the group of guys out naming stuff had had enough and … Continue reading Chieftain’s 1984 Benrinnes 26 Year Old – Review
Chieftain’s 1997 Caol Ila 14 Year Old Jamican Rum Cask Finish – Reveiw
*Thanks to the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. Perhaps let's start with a very brief, hopefully briefly accurate history of rum. Like whisky, hell, like all spirits, rum got its start when some genius, no doubt tired of drinking too many filling yet low-alcohol fermented beverages, decided to distill said same fermented … Continue reading Chieftain’s 1997 Caol Ila 14 Year Old Jamican Rum Cask Finish – Reveiw
Chieftain’s 1994 Longmorn 17 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. Let's say (for the sake of relating something to something else in order to create some kind of post) that you wanted to heat up some kind of liquid; there are basically two ways of applying this heat, directly or indirectly. If you want … Continue reading Chieftain’s 1994 Longmorn 17 Year Old – Review
Chieftain’s 1998 Strathisla 12 Year Old, Pétrus Gaia Finish – Review
*Thanks to the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. Strathisla is one of the older distilleries in Scotland, being founded in 1786. Since then it has gone through a few name changes (Milltown-->Milton-->Strathisla-->Milton--> Strathisla) and about 8,000 ownership changes. One of these owners, a chap named George Pomeroy, gathered up a majority stake … Continue reading Chieftain’s 1998 Strathisla 12 Year Old, Pétrus Gaia Finish – Review
Chieftain’s 1996 Allt A Bhainne 16 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. Ok, this makes the third review in a row where the whisky has come from a distillery that's younger than I am. This is the last built-in-the-70's review I'll do for a while, partly because I'd like to get back to learning a little … Continue reading Chieftain’s 1996 Allt A Bhainne 16 Year Old – Review
THE CASKS 