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…)
Every year, the Islay Festival of Whisky & Music finds its big finale in rollicking festivities on the premises of the easternmost of the so-called Kildalton distilleries on the island’s south shore. But it’s not only there that Ardbeggians go crazy on that day. (more…)
Although he was the first Remarkable Malt to hit the market back in 2009, it took Big Peat quite a while until he received a special bottling with an age statement. However, after his friends Scallywag, Timorous Beastie and Rock Oyster had all spawned limited editions (more…)
The Vaults. That mythical place in the north of Edinburgh, where 35 years ago the world’s most illustrious whisky club – the Scotch Malt Whisky Society – was founded. Today, the former wine warehouse still serves as a high-class bar and meeting room for the Society’s members. (more…)
Two times a year, Glasgow’s North Star Spirits releases a new selection of single cask whiskies. And two times a year, I order at least one bottle from their latest series. After obtaining a muscular grain by Port Dundas in round one and a fruity malt by Linkwood in round two (more…)
For two reasons, picking a bottle from The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is not a particularly hard task. First, the whiskies’ telling monickers always give you a good impression of what to expect. And second, the quality of the releases of the world’s biggest dramming club (more…)
When a whisky legend like Fred Laing, who has been working in the industry for half a century (and counting), hand-picks a cask for a special occasion, you know that liquid greatness is inbound. And indeed, I cannot think of a better term to describe this 16-year-old Laphroaig, (more…)
A few days ago Norbert Meyer-Sand, the owner of a very cool online mailorder called Whisky Experience, invited me to accompany him to a VIP tasting with Kilchoman’s maltman Jamie Muir. Organized by Corinna Schwarz and Adam Dittrich of the distillery’s German importer (more…)
Lately, I have been listening to British indie pop band Art Brut’s great album “It’s a bit complicated” a lot. Art Brut have always been one of my favourite bands and I even named my cat after their lead singer Eddie Argos. My favourite track on this album is called “Direct Hit”. (more…)
Considering how good they are at throwing memorable parties and giving people an amazing time, it does not really come as a surprise that the team of Christiansen’s in Hamburg hauled out the big guns to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their amazing whisky and cocktail bar. (more…)
