The first-ever independent bottling from tiny Dutch craft distillery Cley is absolutely brilliant. The company responsible for it, The Barrel Baron, picked a top-notch cask and presented it in a very classy way! (more…)
4-10 Years
Fary Lochan 7yo Oloroso by The Liquid Madness (Review)
The driving forces behind the new indie bottler The Liquid Madness are two well-known whisky mavens from Germany, namely Tilo “The Caskhound” Schnabel and Sebastian “The Spirits Alchemist” Büssing. The two self-proclaimed “spirit adventurers” have joint forces (more…)
Glasgow Distillery 5yo Sherry Cask Finish by North Star (Review)
Earlier this year, Glaswegian indie bottler North Star celebrated its fifth anniversary. So, before I continue, here is a little insert: “Happy Birthday, Iain and team! Keep up the stellar work!” And now, on with the text … For my latest review here at BarleyMania, I have spent some quality time (more…)
Scharfenstein Edition No. 2 by The Nine Springs (Review)
Over the years, Burg Scharfenstein – a medieval castle in the federal state of Thuringia in Germany – had many owners. Since most of them did not really know what to do with the place, they did not give it the attention it needed and deserved. Luckily, this changed in recent years (more…)
Fary Lochan 7yo Distillery Edition with PX-Finish (Review)
When I met Fary Lochan’s CCO and Chairman Thomas Smidt-Kjærby in Hamburg last Saturday, he told me something that really lightened up my heart: After a lengthy corona break, the distillery has meanwhile opened its doors to visitors again. And the drammers in Denmark (more…)
Glen Moray 10 Years Old by Claxton’s (Review)
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…)
BenRiach 10yo “12.48 – Hoppy madness” by The SMWS (Review)
I love whisky, I love craft beer. And I love it when the two intertwine. One bottling, in which this happens, is the 10-years-old BenRiach from The Scotch Malt Whisky Society called “Hoppy madness”. After an initial maturation in ex-bourbon barrels, this crisp Speysider (more…)
Octomore Masterclass 08.2 by Bruichladdich (Review)
On New Year’s Eve I am all for smoke – albeit in the glass and not in the air! One whisky brand that you can always count on in this regard is Octomore by Bruichladdich. Whenever a malt gets released under the Octomore banner, you can be sure that it is packed to the brim (more…)
Glen Spey 8yo “80.17 – Dazzling and scintillating” by The SMWS (Review)
At the end of each year, it becomes time for me to renew my membership to The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Here, I always pay a little extra to get a mystery bottle along with the prolonged club affiliation. I find it really exciting to wait for the package, open it and take out a surprise (more…)
Caol Ila 10yo Single Cask from Weinquelle’s Whisky Choice (Review)
Recently, my favorite local dealer Weinquelle Lühmann launched its first indie bottling under the new label Weinquelle’s Whisky Choice. For this special occasion, they picked a classic dram from Caol Ila Distillery. It is 10 years old, matured in a hogshead and bottled at cask strength (more…)
