In eary April, Weinquelle Lühmann’s annual in-house fair finally bounced back after a five-year break. This, it seems, excited not only the local drammers in and around Hamburg but also the Weather God. Cause specifically for the event, the sky beamed extra-blue (more…)
Author: Tobi@BarleyMania
PURE.WHISKY: Ardmore 11yo from an ex-Laphroaig Oloroso Sherry Cask (Review)
Okay, fellas, let’s address the elephant in the room right away: This 11-year-old Ardmore from new German indie bottler PURE.WHISKY is an absolute banger of a dram! Ah, no. While this statement is totally true, that’s not the proverbial elephant. (more…)
GlenWyvis Batch 1 / Vintage Distillation 2019 (Review)
I always like it when a young whisky takes a certain pride in its age rather than trying to hide it. After all, the time spent in the barrel is but one of many factors that influence the outcome of the final product. In fact, one might argue that the chosen ingredients, (more…)
Carlos I Brandy Legacy Collection (Review)
For two reasons, visiting the Carlos I booth was one of my personal highlights of this year’s Hanse Spirit. First, I got to meet my pal Michael Lutz there, who worked the stand busy, competent, and good-humored as ever. And second, I discovered an expression there (more…)
Hanse Spirit 2024 in Hamburg – Explore the Liquid Life (Fair)
“Explore the Liquid Life” – ever since its first installment back in 2011, that’s been the claim of the Hanse Spirit fair, which is traditionally held in my home town of Hamburg in the beginning of the year. And what can I say? When I visited the event this year, I embraced that motto (more…)
Ardmore 13yo “The Iron Collar” by Whisky of Voodoo (Review)
For me, Ardmore is one of those hidden champions that usually don’t get as much praise as they’d deserve. Especially when drawn from carefully selected casks and bottled in natural strength, the distillery’s medium-peated Highlands whisky has a tendency to shine extra-bright. (more…)
Cley 4 Years Old “Palo Cortado Finish” (Review)
Palo Cortado is a comparatively rare type of sherry that we don’t see in the whisky world all too often. Sure, every now and then there is a release that says “Matured in a Palo Cortado cask” on the label. But in comparision to Oloroso or PX, for example, those bottlings are few and far between. (more…)
Turntable X Starward Collaboration Drop 01 (Review)
Whisky, like music, connects people – even if they are oceans apart from each other! With their recently released Collaboration Drop 01, Scottish indie bottlers Turntable Spirits have given that claim whole new level of truth. Taking it literally rather than just figuratively, they teamed up (more…)
“10+ Years”: Virtual Warehouse Tasting with Fary Lochan from Denmark (Tasting)
Fifty-five years of maturation spread across five drams! In this day and age, where less and less whiskies are bottled with double-digits on the label, that is a respectable number for any tasting line-up. It is all the more impressive, however, for a five-piece from a distillery located in (more…)
Organic Danish Whisky: Inaugural Release by Sall Whisky Distillery (Review)
When it comes to Danish whisky, I have to thank Thomas of Fary Lochan for some of my best discoveries. Among others, he was the one who first pointed me towards Thy Whisky. And he was also the one who introduced me to Sall Whisky – an organic micro distillery (more…)