Okay, before any of the whisky grammar police start yammering at me for spelling Tennessee whisky without an "e", let me just point out that it was old George Dickel, himself, that wanted to spell it like that. He was trying to make the point that his whisky was as smooth as any Scotch whisky, … Continue reading George Dickel Barrel Select Tennessee Whisky – Review
Chieftain’s 1982 Port Ellen, 25 Year Old – Review
Dear Port Ellen, You probably don't remember me, we just met, and it was a pretty short meeting, but I remember you. I've heard about you from the other whisky bloggers, they all say you're something special. When I saw you from across the room, I couldn't take my eyes off you. I waited patiently … Continue reading Chieftain’s 1982 Port Ellen, 25 Year Old – Review
Recap – Signatory Tasting presented by the Whisky Shop, 6.17.10
Ed Kohl and Signatory hosted a great tasting, appropriately enough, at the Presidio Golf Club here in San Francisco. Presented by the fantastic Whisky Shop in a dark wood room looking over the (windswept) Richmond neighborhood and green links of the course, Mr. Kohl gave a great, detailed look into the Scotch making process and … Continue reading Recap – Signatory Tasting presented by the Whisky Shop, 6.17.10
Bargain Bin Fridays #2 – Cluny Blended Scotch Whisky
Installment #2 of the utterly painful, foolhardy, and somewhat disheartening Bargain Bin Fridays brings us to the shores of Scotland to sample "a superior blend of the finest distilled Scotch whiskies aged in oak casks & specially selected for their superior quality and rich flavors". This is the heady mantle worn by Cluny Blended Scotch … Continue reading Bargain Bin Fridays #2 – Cluny Blended Scotch Whisky
World Whisky – Book Review
You know that feeling you get when you buy something only to later realize that you had already bought basically the same thing previously and a lack of research on your part is now responsible for making you feel a bit like a jackass? You know how no matter how good that thing is, there's … Continue reading World Whisky – Book Review
The BenRiach 12 Year Old – Review
The histories of some distilleries read like juicy soap operas, others like business seminar success stories, and then there are those, like BenRiach's that are kind of quick reads, a little dull and mildly depressing until the end, when, just before you nod off into your nosing glass, you hear tell of rosy tidings for … Continue reading The BenRiach 12 Year Old – Review
The Singleton of Glendullan 12 Year Old – Review
I try, I really do...I want to be blown away by younger Speyside malts but the reality is unless it's a high alcohol, sh-sh-sh-sh sh-sh sherry bomb like Aberlour's A'bundh, I tend to like them, appreciate them and...not be blown away by them. Dufftown's Glendullan was apparently the favored whisky of King Edward VII, and … Continue reading The Singleton of Glendullan 12 Year Old – Review
Octomore 2.1 – Review
For good or for ill (mostly for ill) Americans have this sad, misguided little notion that bigger and/or more extreme is better , especially when it comes to food or pretend food products. There's a new line of "bold" Doritos out there that promises an artificially produced heat hitherto unknown in the natural food world. There … Continue reading Octomore 2.1 – Review
Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey – Review
It's hard to say if anyone has ever come to blows over the eternal question, "Are Bison Buffalo?". In 1997, at Cheyenne's annual Buffalo Days celebration, noted historical biologist Norman "The Helix" Bergstrom was hit from behind with half a plate of funnel cake after he loudly stated the probably accurate, though publicly unpopular aphorism … Continue reading Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey – Review
Springbank 10 Year Old – Review
For the relatively uninitiated (like me), Campbeltown malts in general and Springbank in specific (which makes up most of the Campbeltown whiskies anyway, so...) hold a certain romantic appeal. They're like the bison (bison bison) of the whisky world, at one time so prevalent, traipsing their woolly bottles across the great plains of the Kintyre … Continue reading Springbank 10 Year Old – Review
THE CASKS 