Longmorn's name has trickled down pretty far from its original roots. The story goes there was an Irish missionary named Maernanog who more or less spearheaded the movement to get Christianity up and running in the Moray area of Scotland. In 625, he up and died after getting a hold of some bad clams (not … Continue reading Signatory 1992 Longmorn 17 Year Old – Review
Scotch
Chieftain’s 1982 Port Ellen, 25 Year Old – Review
Dear Port Ellen, You probably don't remember me, we just met, and it was a pretty short meeting, but I remember you. I've heard about you from the other whisky bloggers, they all say you're something special. When I saw you from across the room, I couldn't take my eyes off you. I waited patiently … Continue reading Chieftain’s 1982 Port Ellen, 25 Year Old – Review
Bargain Bin Fridays #2 – Cluny Blended Scotch Whisky
Installment #2 of the utterly painful, foolhardy, and somewhat disheartening Bargain Bin Fridays brings us to the shores of Scotland to sample "a superior blend of the finest distilled Scotch whiskies aged in oak casks & specially selected for their superior quality and rich flavors". This is the heady mantle worn by Cluny Blended Scotch … Continue reading Bargain Bin Fridays #2 – Cluny Blended Scotch Whisky
The BenRiach 12 Year Old – Review
The histories of some distilleries read like juicy soap operas, others like business seminar success stories, and then there are those, like BenRiach's that are kind of quick reads, a little dull and mildly depressing until the end, when, just before you nod off into your nosing glass, you hear tell of rosy tidings for … Continue reading The BenRiach 12 Year Old – Review
The Singleton of Glendullan 12 Year Old – Review
I try, I really do...I want to be blown away by younger Speyside malts but the reality is unless it's a high alcohol, sh-sh-sh-sh sh-sh sherry bomb like Aberlour's A'bundh, I tend to like them, appreciate them and...not be blown away by them. Dufftown's Glendullan was apparently the favored whisky of King Edward VII, and … Continue reading The Singleton of Glendullan 12 Year Old – Review
Octomore 2.1 – Review
For good or for ill (mostly for ill) Americans have this sad, misguided little notion that bigger and/or more extreme is better , especially when it comes to food or pretend food products. There's a new line of "bold" Doritos out there that promises an artificially produced heat hitherto unknown in the natural food world. There … Continue reading Octomore 2.1 – Review
Springbank 10 Year Old – Review
For the relatively uninitiated (like me), Campbeltown malts in general and Springbank in specific (which makes up most of the Campbeltown whiskies anyway, so...) hold a certain romantic appeal. They're like the bison (bison bison) of the whisky world, at one time so prevalent, traipsing their woolly bottles across the great plains of the Kintyre … Continue reading Springbank 10 Year Old – Review
Big Peat Small Batch “Blended” Islay Malt
I like to think that I'm a steely rock, inscrutable and impenetrable to the grasping wiles of advertisers and their kerned and pantone-d ministrations, but really, I'm just as much of a sucker for good packaging and marketing as the next guy. Ardbeg, for example, does a masterful job mixing the tradition and mythos of … Continue reading Big Peat Small Batch “Blended” Islay Malt
Glenfiddich 18 Year Old – Review
I suppose because I see Glenfiddich everywhere, in every little corner store, suburban big-box supermarket, domestic flights, and bars that keep the premium spirits in a dusty, ignored display next to the register, I default to thinking they're a big, corporate, profit-before-flavor scotch. It's easy to fall into that line of thinking these days when … Continue reading Glenfiddich 18 Year Old – Review
Port Charlotte PC6 – Review
Who, exactly, was this Charlotte and what did she do to get a quaint Islay village, not to mention a whole series of well-regarded scotches named after her? A strong-footed mid-fielder for Wemyss United who scored that stellar, curving goal for the win over Askaig City FC in the '46 All-Islay tourney finals? No. A … Continue reading Port Charlotte PC6 – Review
THE CASKS 