A huge thank you to Jason at Guid Scotch Drink for the sample. If you haven't given him a read...do so. Interesting facts about Peacocks (Pavo Cristatus): Part of the Pheasant family, Peacock's are actually Peafowl. The word "Peacock" refers, damn appropriately I might add, only to the male of the species. The female is … Continue reading The Arran Malt, Icons of Arran #1, Peacock 12 Year Old – Review
Scotch
Isle of Skye 8 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky – Review
*Thanks to the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. Woeful is the path of the poor Scotch whisky blend! Blends get all the sales...but single malts get all the attention. Blends account for 90% of total whisky production...but single malts get all the attention. Blends are labored over for hours, days, weeks even, … Continue reading Isle of Skye 8 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky – Review
The BenRiach Curiositas 10 Year Old Peated Malt – Review
"Rident stolidi verba Latina" - Ovid* Let us cast our minds back to the heady days of the Punic Wars. Love was in the air, The Romans were just figuring out how to make a truly spectacular pork sugo, and the Carthaginians, long dominant in sea battle and handball were getting their butts kicked for … Continue reading The BenRiach Curiositas 10 Year Old Peated Malt – Review
Chieftain’s Tasting Review Notes, Round III
Round III of quick notes from the recent Chieftain's tasting hosted by K&L Wines at Martin's West in Redwood city... Chieftain's 1991 Linkwood 16 Year Old Yet another rarely-seen-in-distillery-bottlings...bottling, Linkwood has been around since the early 1800's, going through the usual myriad ownership changes before ultimately landing in Diageo's prodigious lap. Like Allt'A Bhainne and Glencadam, Linkwood spends … Continue reading Chieftain’s Tasting Review Notes, Round III
Chieftain’s Tasting Review Notes, Round II
Round II of quick notes from the recent Chieftain's tasting hosted by K&L Wines at Martin's West in Redwood city... Chieftain's 1985 Glencadam 22 Year Old Glencadam is another distillery that's more well-known for not being that well-known. Having been around since the 1825, many ownership changes over the years have finally led this Highland malt to the … Continue reading Chieftain’s Tasting Review Notes, Round II
Chieftain’s Tasting Review Notes, Round I
Part of Ian Macleod's family, the Chieftain's line-up of independent bottlings has recently found its way to the whisky shelves of the U.S. David Driscoll of K&L Wines hosted a recent tasting at Martin's West in Redwood city to introduce the new line-up. The big draw of the night for me was another taste of … Continue reading Chieftain’s Tasting Review Notes, Round I
Signatory 1992 Ben Nevis 17 Year Old – Review
I have no idea what a Cloud Chamber is. I've read descriptions and explanations but after a sentence or two, I get glassy eyed and wonder what bike race is happening in Europe and what whisky I'm going to have a sip of next. According to Wikipedia, a cloud chamber is used to detect particles … Continue reading Signatory 1992 Ben Nevis 17 Year Old – Review
Smokehead Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky – Review
*Thanks to the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. Advertising and marketing have been around for centuries. Political slogans and commercial messages have been found in ancient Egyptian ruins and Vesuvius' ash depository, Pompeii. Johnny Gutenberg's printing press really upped the ante, and today we're basically bombarded in all our waking hours by … Continue reading Smokehead Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky – Review
Signatory 1999 Auchentoshan 10 Year Old – Review
Back when I was rugged deckhand in the early 1800's, when I was hoisting a jib and batoning down the hatches to make ends meet instead of doing whatever it is I do now, we sang a lot of songs at work. That kind of thing probably wouldn't fly in today's hi-rise workplace, but back … Continue reading Signatory 1999 Auchentoshan 10 Year Old – Review
Caol Ila 10 Year Old “Unpeated Style” – Review
I don't think there's any doubt that Islay malts are the rock stars of the Scotch world at the moment. I mean, Auchentoshan's good stuff, but you don't see huge, frenzied leaps in web traffic when they put out a cleverly named NAS special release. Extremely over-sherried, or over-heathered bottlings are not exactly pouring out … Continue reading Caol Ila 10 Year Old “Unpeated Style” – Review
THE CASKS 