*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
Independent Bottling
The Exclusive Malts 1991 Bunnahabhain 21 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to SF and the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. While watching the recent documentary on Los Angeles' Sound City, I almost passed out in shock when I realized that 1991 was 22 years ago. It's not that 22 years is such a long time, it's just that the 22 years in … Continue reading The Exclusive Malts 1991 Bunnahabhain 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
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
The Exclusive Malts 1988 Littlemill 24 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to SF and the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. Poor Littlemill. The last several years of its life were none to kind to one of the more interesting malt whisky distilleries in Scotland. Starting in the mid-80's, the Lowland distillery opened and closed in fits and starts until finally being closed … Continue reading The Exclusive Malts 1988 Littlemill 24 Year Old – Review
The Exclusive Malts 1994 Braeval 18 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to SF and the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. There has never been an official bottling from the Braeval distillery, any expression you find out on the shelves is, like this one from The Exclusive Malts, an independently bottled release. Why? Well, as I've mentioned before, Braeval is a newish distillery, … Continue reading The Exclusive Malts 1994 Braeval 18 Year Old – Review
The Exclusive Malts 2000 Aberlour 12 Year Old – Review
*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
THE CASKS 