*Thanks to SF and the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. Some Scotch distilleries seem to live more on the peripheries of whisky history than on the center of the stage. There are those that were not designed by the leading architect of the day, that spent as much time mothballed as they … Continue reading The Exclusive Malts 2000 Craigellachie 12 Year Old
Speyside
Glen Grant Five Decades – Review
*Sincere thanks to NR from Exposure PR for the sample. In an attempt to give you a little mood music and to keep the Glen Grant Five Decades theme going, here are songs from the five decades in question, all performed at least partly by someone named Grant. Go ahead pick a tune, I'll wait... … Continue reading Glen Grant Five Decades – Review
The Exclusive Malts 1984 Tormore 29 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to SF and the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. To quote the late, great Michael Jackson (no, not the gloved one, this one), Tormore Distillery, "with a musical clock, belfry, and ornamental curling lake...looks like a spa offering a mountain-water cure."¹ Now, it may come as a great shock to everyone, perhaps … Continue reading The Exclusive Malts 1984 Tormore 29 Year Old – Review
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
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 1992 Glen Grant 20 Year Old – Review
*Thanks to SF and the good folks at Impex Beverages for the sample. Why I am fascinated with the tangled stories of ownership in the whisky world is beyond me. Partly, I suppose I like the notion that throughout such upheaval and change, many distilleries just kept right on mashing, worting, washing, and distilling away. … Continue reading The Exclusive Malts 1992 Glen Grant 20 Year Old – Review
THE CASKS 