*Thanks to SF and the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. As the British Empire dwindled after World War II, England itself began to re-build and revive. By the 1950's, the country experienced a period of relatively intense prosperity. A welcome by-product of all this prosperity was an uptick in demand for whisky. … Continue reading The Exclusive Malts 1984 Invergordon 30 Year Old – Review
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The Exclusive Malts 1992 Dailuaine 21 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to SF and the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. The name "Dailuaine" (pronounced 'dale-YOU-an') comes from the Scots-Gaelic An dail uaine, which means "green vale". For a distillery residing in the Speyside region, this is a quite accurate name and an incredibly vague one at the same time. During the brief time I spent in this … Continue reading The Exclusive Malts 1992 Dailuaine 21 Year Old – Review
The Exclusive Malts 1996 Auchroisk 17 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to SF and the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. Like many Scottish distillery names, the somewhat unpronounceable Auchroisk, once translated from Gaelic to English ends up being a relatively simple descriptor of the physical place where it resides. Sure, this simplicity can occasionally seem a little obvious and uncreative on the … Continue reading The Exclusive Malts 1996 Auchroisk 17 Year Old – Review
Chieftains 1995 BenRiach 17 Year Old Rum Cask Finish – Review
*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
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
Compass Box The Peat Monster +/- 2011 – Review
*Thanks Dad! The word "peat," a near and dear word to whisky lovers to be sure, is most likely of Celtic origin owing maybe a little bit to the medieval latin word peta, and sharing its ancestry with the Welsh word peth, and the Cornish word peyth, which both mean "bit," "piece" or "thing." Interestingly, there's no relationship between the word … Continue reading Compass Box The Peat Monster +/- 2011 – Review
The Exclusive Malts 1997 Clynelish 15 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to SF and the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. Clynelish is pronounced KLYNE-leesh or klein-LEESH depending on what sylLABle you'd like to put the emPHAsis on. The name means "slope of the garden" in Gaelic, though the garden in question might just be the metaphorical garden of the eastern coastal Highlands … Continue reading The Exclusive Malts 1997 Clynelish 15 Year Old – Review
Master of Malt 1983 Dailuaine 27 Year Old – Review
All due apologies to Master of Malt, who graciously provided me with this sample and then went and sold all the bottles before I had a chance to review it. It is with great regret and mild humiliation that I'm writing this review (and a few others) pretty much after the fact. This past Fall, … Continue reading Master of Malt 1983 Dailuaine 27 Year Old – Review
Master of Malt 30 Year Old Speyside (4th Edition) – Review
In the interest of full-disclosure, I'd like to mention right away that Master of Malt sent me a sample of this whisky to review. Also in the interest of full-disclosure, I'd like to mention that I am a huge fan of Master of Malt. Rest assured that I was a huge fan of Master of … Continue reading Master of Malt 30 Year Old Speyside (4th Edition) – Review
THE CASKS 