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…)
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…)
Last month, I received a wee parcel from Flickenshild whisky shop in Itzehoe, Northern Germany. The content: Three samples of their most recent exclusives, realized in collaboration with renowned indie bottlers Wu Dram Clan and Hunter Laing as well as fellow spirits dealers (more…)
The “Landscape of Taste” is an exciting territory to explore. While traveling it, you will pass hills of peat, gardens of fruit, fields of spice, forests of wood, clouds of smoke and a myriad of other oh-so-lovely domains. But how do I enter this mystical realm, you might ask. (more…)
Three independent bottlings. Three different distilleries. Three individual flavor profiles. Three unique stories – squeezed into one blog post! Admittedly, on the first glimpse there is not much of a common denominator between the members of this tasting trio. (more…)
In the context of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, the number 66 is a lot more than just two digits clinging to each other. In The Society’s distillery code system it refers to the Beam Suntory-owned Highlands unit Ardmore. And at least in my opinion, this busy production site is always worth checking out. Traditionally, The SMWS has a particularly good nose (more…)
In 2017, I took part in no less than five tastings and masterclasses at Christiansen’s Fine Drinks & Cocktails. Since I really enjoyed each and every one of these experiences, I came out of hibernation rather early this year to make sure I would not miss the afore-mentioned bar’s kick-off event (more…)
For several months, I was struggling with myself wether I should become a member of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society or not. Throughout this time I tried several bottlings of theirs and not once was I disappointed. In addition, my wife also enjoyed almost every SMWS dram (more…)
You might have realized that I am a big fan of independent bottlings. So when I visited Köpenicker Whiskyfest on the first weekend in September, I had to attend in the Signatory and Gordon & MacPhail tasting on Saturday evening. (more…)
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