*Thanks to the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. I'm anxious for the people of the Isle of Jura, all 200 of them, give or take a few hearty souls. Reading up on the island, I've learned that they are outnumbered nearly 35 to 1 by the large, locally prolific, and usually docile … Continue reading Chieftain’s 1996 Isle Of Jura 14 Year Old – Review
80-89
Chieftain’s 1982 Teaninich 28 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. Teaninich...yet another single malt scotch whose name receives a mild butchering by non-Scots/Gaelic speakers and even seems to create a bit of confusion amongst lauded Scottish whisky experts. Michael Jackson offers the pronunciations "tee-ninick" or "chee-ninick" in his Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch … Continue reading Chieftain’s 1982 Teaninich 28 Year Old – Review
Chieftain’s 2000 Strathisla 10 Year Old
*Thanks to the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. Strathisla is one of Northern Scotland's oldest functioning distilleries, getting its start in 1786 thanks to George Taylor and Alexander Milne who had then named the site Milltown. Some sources even claim that Strathisla is the oldest continuously run distillery in Scotland, though there should perhaps … Continue reading Chieftain’s 2000 Strathisla 10 Year Old
Canadian Club Classic 12 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to the good folks at Shift Communications and Canadian Club for the sample. Just off the top of my head, here's a quick list of Canadians I'd like to see perform in a smaller club: Glenn Gould, Gil Evans, Voivod, Gordon Lightfoot, SNFU, Oscar Peterson, Neil Young, Rush, and of course, Aldo Nova. Now that I think of it, I … Continue reading Canadian Club Classic 12 Year Old – Review
Canadian Club Reserve 10 Years Old – Review
*Thanks to the good folks at Shift Communications and Canadian Club for the sample. Hiram Walker, the founder of Canadian Club opened his first distillery, not in Canada, but in Detroit in 1858. However, before we get into why and how Canadian Club became Canadian, we need to figure where the hell the name Hiram … Continue reading Canadian Club Reserve 10 Years Old – Review
Powers Special Reserve 12 Year Old Irish Whiskey
It's odd to think that until recently, 1987 to be exact, there were basically just two functioning whiskey distilleries on the entire island of Ireland. The state of Irish Whiskey must have been in a terrible state in 1966 when John Jameson & Sons teamed up with the Cork Distilleries Co. and John Power & … Continue reading Powers Special Reserve 12 Year Old Irish Whiskey
Amrut Intermediate Sherry – Review
*Thanks to the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. Where I grew up, we called the middle school, that young adult warehouse between elementary and high school, the Intermediate School. I remember very little of those two years: a strange and difficult research paper on Venezuela, daring food fights right under the mildly … Continue reading Amrut Intermediate Sherry – Review
Bulleit (95) Rye Small Batch American Whiskey – Review
There's no surer sign of Rye Whiskey's comeback than Diageo's recent release and marketing of its Bulleit (95) Rye Small Batch American Whiskey (oddly, though,...no website). If a huge beverage conglomerate like that decides to put out a complex, high rye content whiskey like this, you know that somebody's decided for damn sure that there's money … Continue reading Bulleit (95) Rye Small Batch American Whiskey – Review
Evan Williams Single Barrel, 2000 Vintage – Review
Depending on who you ask, the year 2000 was either the first year of the current millennium we're in now, or, according to strict Gregorianists, the last year of the millennium we just left. The Gregorianists (is there such a thing?) are probably right, though aesthetically, it looks a lot better for a millennium to … Continue reading Evan Williams Single Barrel, 2000 Vintage – Review
Chieftain’s The Cigar Malt, 15 Year Old Speyside – Review
*Thanks to the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. I'm not afraid to admit that I hate cigars. A shocking, divisive, and opprobrious statement, if there ever was one, I'm sure. Perhaps I haven't really ever experienced a good cigar, I don't know, I also don't really care. I've been in the presence of … Continue reading Chieftain’s The Cigar Malt, 15 Year Old Speyside – Review
THE CASKS 