When a club as illustrious and rich in tradition as The Scotch Malt Whisky Society turns 35, they don’t just bring a box of chocolate to the office and tell their colleagues “Help yourselves.” They celebrate with a whole lotta hoo-ha! (more…)
Cask Strength
Longrow 14yo Sherry Cask (Review)
Whisky does not always have to be silken, filigree and beautiful. Sometimes, you do not want to have the often-quoted “liquid sunshine” in your glass, but scratch the bottom of a barrel (figuratively speaking) for a good dose of smut and grime. (more…)
The Epicurean – Glasgow Edition by Douglas Laing (Review)
When I read on the internet that Douglas Laing was about to release a limited edition of their Lowlands blended malt The Epicurean, a huge smile formed on my face. As a dedicated fan of this moustached muchacho, I could not wait to find out what this special bottling (more…)
Balmenach “48.98 – Bubblegum church candle” by SMWS (Review)
My girlfriend and I bought this Balmenach 9yo at The Vaults, the spiritual home of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, on the first day of our latest trip to Scotland. To be honest, we predominantly picked it because it was one of the cheapest whiskies they had on sale. (more…)
Syndicate 58/6 & Aberlour 21yo “Architecture of Taste” (Rev. Flight)
Usually, I either buy the whiskies I introduce on BarleyMania myself or borrow them from friends. But every now and then, I also receive a sample from a distillery or from an independent bottler. Although I understand that some of you might question the impartiality (more…)
Glen Moray 12yo Handfilled (Review)
When visiting a distillery, one of the best souvenirs you can take home is a bottle that is exclusively available on site. While some production units offer these special releases as prefabricated bottlings that can be grabbed directly from the shelf, others not only sell you the whisky itself (more…)
Blind Tasting by Whiskymax & FOSM.de (Special)
Last month, I got an invitation by Peter of Friends Of Single Malt to participate in a special kind of blind tasting. He had been given three 700ml bottles from an indie bottler, whose name we only learned with hindsight (Whiskymax). The idea was to share the content (more…)
Williamson 2005 by Spirit & Cask Range (Whisky)
I must confess that this single cask bottling from the Spirit & Cask Range did not sound too tempting to me at first. In this age span, you find quite a lot of bourbon-matured whiskies from Southern Islay; and usually they are a bit more friendly to your wallet. (more…)
4 Single Cask Whiskies from Loch Lomond (Review Flight)
When Donald MacLellan, International Sales Manager of Loch Lomond Distillery, held a free tasting in Hamburg last month, I had to give the event a pass. As the guided degustation already started in the early afternoon, I could not get away from work early enough to join the fun. (more…)
Noah’s Mill Bourbon (Review)
Originally, Noah’s Mill Bourbon was recommended to me by the barkeeper of one of my favorite drinking joints in town, The Rabbithole. As he is a cool dude who definitely knows his spirits, I followed up on his advice and scored a bottle of Noah’s Mill (more…)
