*Thanks to the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. If my cursory google-able research is correct (and why would it be?) Aberlour, or as translated into Scottish Gaelic, Obar Lobhair, apparently means "The mouth of the talkative stream". The babbling brook in question would be the Lour, which empties into the Spey, and upon whose … Continue reading The Exclusive Malts 2000 Aberlour 12 Year Old – Review
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AnCnoc 22 Year Old – Review
*Sincere thanks to LD of Alembic Communications Ltd. and AnCnoc for the sample If you go looking for the AnCnoc distillery, you're not going to find it...there's no such place. If you go looking for Knockdhu whisky on your liquor store shelves...you're not going to find that either. Yet both Knockdhu and AnCnoc exist and … Continue reading AnCnoc 22 Year Old – Review
Single Cask Nation 1999 Arran 12 Year Old Pinot Noir Cask Finish – Review
*A sincere thanks to JH, JJY, and SK at Single Cask Nation for the sample. The Pinot Noir grape, the one responsible for that little wine making region in France called Burgundy, is one of the oldest offspring of Vitis vinifera, and one of the oldest varieties of grapevines to be cultivated by man. There is some … Continue reading Single Cask Nation 1999 Arran 12 Year Old Pinot Noir Cask Finish – Review
Single Cask Nation 2007 Kilchoman 4 Year Old – Review
*A sincere thanks to JH, JJY, and SK at Single Cask Nation for the sample. Those of us in the whisky world are always excited to see a new face on the scene, a new independent bottler perhaps, or even a new whisky society, so you can imagine the buzz generated by the emergence of … Continue reading Single Cask Nation 2007 Kilchoman 4 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
E. H. Taylor Small Batch Bourbon – Review
*A sincere thanks to AP from Buffalo Trace for the sample. As an American whiskey drinker, you've doubtless come across the term "Bottled in Bond", perhaps you've given some thought to what that means...or perhaps not. Today, the term carries far much less weight than it did in 1897 when the "Bottled-In-Bond" act was passed. … Continue reading E. H. Taylor Small Batch Bourbon – Review
Kilchoman 100% Islay, 2nd Edition – Review
*Thanks to the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. The Irish saint, St. Comman also had a brother who was a saint - St. Cumine. Apparently that kind of things runs in one's family. Not mine, thankfully. Both Cumine and Comman were monks at the Abbey of Iona which is located, appropriately enough, … Continue reading Kilchoman 100% Islay, 2nd Edition – Review
Glenfiddich Cask of Dreams 2011 – Review
*Sincere thanks to MB from Glenfiddich and William Grant & Sons for the sample! Those that know me well know that I'm a scathing, occasionally ranting cynic with a big ol' softy heart...either that or a big ol' easily weepy softy with a small, cold lump of coal for a heart...sometimes both, which sounds just … Continue reading Glenfiddich Cask of Dreams 2011 – Review
The Arran Malt – The Devil’s Punch Bowl
*Thanks to the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. In popular culture, the Devil doesn't always seem to instill that much terror. Sure, there are a few good movies featuring/invoking a truly horrific being of some sort, maybe a book here and there, or a bit of extreme metal from Norway, but generally … Continue reading The Arran Malt – The Devil’s Punch Bowl
SMWSA 2012 Holiday Parcels…Part III
*A sincere thank you to the good folks at the SMWSA for the samples. The second 2012 "holiday" outturn from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America (SMWSA) was entitled "Holiday Parcels" and now that I've missed that boat and the holidays are pretty much over, I thought I'd take a three-part look at this particularly interesting … Continue reading SMWSA 2012 Holiday Parcels…Part III
THE CASKS 