For Iain Croucher, the founder and mainman of Scottish indie bottler North Star Spirits, whisky is a pretty simple thing. At the end of the day, he claims, a good bottling must only meet four criteria: It must be honest. It must be fun. It must be tasty. And it must be opened and shared. (more…)
When speaking about Waterford Distillery on the Southeast shore of Ireland, one inevitably has to speak about terroir, too. The team around founder and visionary Mark Reynier (formerly of Bruichladdich) strongly believes in the impact of soil conditions, microclimate (more…)
The recent “Whisky Discovery” tasting by Douglas Laing marked a novelty in the company’s 70-plus-year history: This was the first time that the Glasgow-based malt mavens gave their fans the chance to taste a new selection of drams exclusively before the official release. (more…)
In mid-March, I took part in a fantastic Carlos I online tasting run by my good friend Michael Lutz. I enjoyed the event so much that I decided to buy a new bottle of Carlos I afterwards. At first I aimed for the PX or the Amontillado. But then I thought to myself: Why not up the ante (more…)
Ever since they first heated up their Forsyths stills in 2016, the good people of Germany’s biggest whisky distillery St. Kilian have known but one direction: upwards! The first five years of production were like a rocket ride for them. During that time, they have established St. Kilian (more…)
Often when I utter the term “fruit bomb”, I use it to describe a slightly older dram that has spent – let’s say – 16 or more years in the cask. That is because it usually takes a certain amount of time before those full-on fruit notes reached the climax of their development. (more…)
In one regard, whisky is like music. Just as everyone can find a song for every time they’ve lost and every time they’ve won, there is also the right whisky for just about any given occurence. Some are made to embrace the occasion, some are made to celebrate the occasion (more…)
Usually, I am not too intrigued by celebrity-owned or -endorsed brands. For example, I always liked Becks as a player. But I have not yet bought a bottle of that grain whisky, whose – admittedly good looking – face he is. With Heaven’s Door Whiskey it is slightly different. (more…)
Following your favorite whisky brands and folks on social media is a good idea. First and foremost, it helps you to stay up to date about new releases, interesting developments and special offers. Plus, it might even get you something extra from time to time. (more…)
There is a lot I love about Schlumberger, the German importer of such fantastic brands as Benromach, Kavalan or Penderyn. One particular thing I like: Besides making sure that us Germans have good access to the core releases from the above-mentioned distilleries (more…)
