I'm guessing more than a few people have that one story about that one night with that one alcoholic product which pretty much ruined that product for them forever and ever. For me, it was tequila. Really cheap, really bad tequila. I remember the night being a lot of fun, except for the few parts … Continue reading Espolòn Tequila Blanco – Review
Highland
The Exclusive Malts 1996 Ben Nevis 17 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to SF and the good folks at Impex Beverages for the samples. The history of the Ben Nevis distillery is long, marginally interesting, and surprisingly international. It is certainly one of the older Scotch distilleries, having been founded in 1825 by a man named Long John McDonald. Not surprisingly, Long John McDonald is … Continue reading The Exclusive Malts 1996 Ben Nevis 17 Year Old – Review
The Exclusive Malts 1995 Glen Garioch 19 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to SF and the good folks at Impex Beverages for the samples. I know what's on your mind. It's certainly not whisky, or the decrepit state of our union, or who will be the starting shortstop for the St. Paul Saints this season. No, I knew what was on your mind from the moment … Continue reading The Exclusive Malts 1995 Glen Garioch 19 Year Old – Review
The Exclusive Malts 1995 Highland 20 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to SF and the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. In the literature from the importers and other reviewers and sellers, I've seen this one listed as the 1995 "North Highland" 20 Year Old. As you can see below in the bottle shot, the label just says "Highland" and dispenses with all … Continue reading The Exclusive Malts 1995 Highland 20 Year Old – Review
Glen Garioch 1797 Founder’s Reserve – Review
*Sincere thanks to MS & AS at Savona Communications for the sample. So, who the hell founded this distillery? My keen and occasionally flagging interest in whisky history has drawn me down a dark road which seemingly has no end. According to the distillery itself, which one would expect to have the final say-so in this … Continue reading Glen Garioch 1797 Founder’s Reserve – Review
The Exclusive Malts 2004 Tomatin 10 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to SF and the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. In the beginning of 2014, a great many red-blooded, whiskey-drinking Americans were saddened, incensed, and apparently betrayed somehow to find out that Japanese beverage giant Suntory, was buying Beam Inc. Such was the outrage that the quintessentially American Jim Beam brand was now … Continue reading The Exclusive Malts 2004 Tomatin 10 Year Old – Review
The Exclusive Malts 1999 North Highland 14 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to SF and the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. Buried somewhat shallowly in the whisky industry, there is a...what shall we call it, a practice? A concept? A technique? Something called "teaspooning". Basically, teaspooning consists of adding a little bit of another distillery's whisky to a cask of single malt whisky. Ostensibly … Continue reading The Exclusive Malts 1999 North Highland 14 Year Old – Review
SMWSA 2012 Holiday Outturn…Part I
*A sincere thank you to the good folks at the SMWSA for the samples. The excellent Scotch Malt Whisky Society needs no introduction, nor does their equally as excellent U.S. branch, fittingly called the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America (but if they do, please follow their links). I thought I'd forgo the lengthy chin-wagging … Continue reading SMWSA 2012 Holiday Outturn…Part I
The Dalmore 15 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to the good folks at the Baddish Group for the sample. From what I've read, I gather the solera process of aging sherry is a black art practiced by blind, deaf, abnormally tall monks who are trained from infancy to be preternaturally sensitive and attuned to tell-tale sounds of liquids aging in oak. They … Continue reading The Dalmore 15 Year Old – Review
The Dalmore Mackenzie – Review
*Thanks to the good folks at the Baddish Group for the sample. Just a few famous MacKenzies throughout history: Sir Alexander Mackenzie (1764-1820) was a Scottish explorer who crossed Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific in 1793, besting Lewis & Clark's more celebrated crossing by nearly 12 years. Kenneth Mackenzie, 1st Lord Mackenzie of … Continue reading The Dalmore Mackenzie – Review
THE CASKS 