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…)
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…)
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…)
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…)
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…)
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…)
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…)
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…)
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…)
With members all around the globe, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society has many homes in many countries. Its spiritual home, however, is a former wine warehouse called The Vaults in Edinburgh. In these mythic premises, the Society was founded way back in 1983. (more…)
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