Norwegian craft brewers Lervig are total champions of barrel aging – and their Paragon barley wine ales are often praised as the pinnacles of their work! The 2019 Vintage is the latest expression in the much-lauded series. To create this very rich, strong, sweet and creamy beer, Lervig (more…)
Bourbon Cask(s)
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…)
Benromach 11yo “Germany Exclusive” by Schlumberger (Review)
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…)
Imperial 22yo Single Cask by Chapter 7 Whisky (Review)
From Scotland’s various ghost distilleries, Imperial in Speyside still ranks among the more accessible ones. Sure, new Imperial bottlings do not exactly pop up twice or thrice a week. And when they do, they do not sell for bargain prices. Yet, it is much easier and cheaper (more…)
Benrinnes 22yo “36.172 – Orange oil and wine corks” by SMWS (Review)
This year, the sought-after festival bottlings from The Scotch Malt Whisky Society sported colorful animal illustrations. One of my faves: the chilled orang-utan that peacefully dozes on the label of this bourbon cask-matured Benrinnes 22 Years Old. (more…)
Shock’em’toshan 22yo by Old Scar-ticular (Review)
Tonight is Halloween, fellas – the scariest and most awesome time of the year! To celebrate my favorite holiday in style, I walked over to my cabinet o’ poisons and picked a special sip from it, namely a 22-year-old Auchentoshan… or shall I rather say… Shock’em’toshan (more…)
Ardmore 10yo “66.150 – Smoke, soot and tarry ropes” by SMWS (Review)
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…)
ÜberQuell: “Putting a Belgian Wit beer into a Bulleit cask” (Interview)
The recently released Summer Wit Barrel Aged marks ÜberQuell’s second craft beer with extra maturation in a cask from Bulleit Bourbon. Before, the Hamburg-based mirco brewery already gave one of their annual Julebryg expressions a similar treatment. (more…)
Craigellachie 11yo “44.97 – Sweet, succulent shape-shifter” by SMWS (Review)
In mystery shows like “Supernatural“, shape-shifters often fill the roles of sly and devious antagonists that use their transformation abilities to mislead the heroes and perform their vile deeds unnoticed. This special breed of shape-shifter, which hails from Craigellachie Distillery (more…)









