The island of Helgoland is a popular holiday destination for German drammers. Since it is located in the open sea, the taxes on tobacco and alcohol are not as high there as they are on the mainland. Therefore, you can score all kinds of awesome bargains in Helgoland’s many liquor stores. (more…)
The minute Strathearn Distillery started out on their own in 2013 and got acquired by Douglas Laing in 2019. Shortly after, they launched their first official release, simply titled Batch 001. To be honest, I had overlooked it at first. But then I won a 20 per cent voucher (more…)
For several weeks now, Timo Lambrecht – Keeper of the Quaich since 2016 – has been doing daily tasting videos on Facebook. In these short clips, he introduces different bottles from the rich portfolio of Bremer Spirituosen Contor. One release that caught my attention straight away (more…)
“Grandfather, tell me a story,” the little boy asked. “All right,” replied the old man, “Go and get your storybook.” The youngster shook his head: “No, no. Not one of those. A real story! Tell me about the last whisky you had!” The grandfather’s eyes lit up: “Well, then … (more…)
Last year, Douglas Laing introduced a 22-year-old Auchentoshan as the Old Particular line’s official Halloween bottling. It came in a wooden box, sported all kinds of creepy critters on the label and had a black wax bottle cap. I bought it, opened it and was in love. (more…)
A couple of days ago, I spoke with a whisky buddy of mine, who named Teaninich as his favorite distillery. This was a first for me. Usually, people drop other names during such a conversation: The Macallan, Springbank, Bruichladdich or Tobermory, for example. (more…)
At the last Bottle Market in Bremen, the limited Vintage 2010 by Kilchoman was one of my favorite drams. I drank it at the booth of Vibrant Stills, who distribute Islay’s farm distillery here in Germany. Though I was deeply impressed by this multi-layered smokester’s clarity and refinement (more…)
Recently, Douglas Laing’s German importer Bremer Spirituosen Contor started the sublabel “Time for whisky adventures” within the Old Particular line of bottlings. The first releases sporting the new moniker and logo are three real sherry bombs: (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…)
