The first-ever independent bottling from tiny Dutch craft distillery Cley is absolutely brilliant. The company responsible for it, The Barrel Baron, picked a top-notch cask and presented it in a very classy way! (more…)
Sherry Cask(s)
Fary Lochan 7yo Oloroso by The Liquid Madness (Review)
The driving forces behind the new indie bottler The Liquid Madness are two well-known whisky mavens from Germany, namely Tilo “The Caskhound” Schnabel and Sebastian “The Spirits Alchemist” Büssing. The two self-proclaimed “spirit adventurers” have joint forces (more…)
Glasgow Distillery 5yo Sherry Cask Finish by North Star (Review)
Earlier this year, Glaswegian indie bottler North Star celebrated its fifth anniversary. So, before I continue, here is a little insert: “Happy Birthday, Iain and team! Keep up the stellar work!” And now, on with the text … For my latest review here at BarleyMania, I have spent some quality time (more…)
The Macallan 12yo “24.148 – Effortlessly bold” by The SMWS (Review)
In recent months, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society released a couple of bottles with the identifier 24 on the label. All of ’em got sold out within minutes, if not seconds. The reason for this: In the bottle code system of The SMWS, the number 24 stands for The Macallan (more…)
Scharfenstein Edition No. 2 by The Nine Springs (Review)
Over the years, Burg Scharfenstein – a medieval castle in the federal state of Thuringia in Germany – had many owners. Since most of them did not really know what to do with the place, they did not give it the attention it needed and deserved. Luckily, this changed in recent years (more…)
Fary Lochan 7yo Distillery Edition with PX-Finish (Review)
When I met Fary Lochan’s CCO and Chairman Thomas Smidt-Kjærby in Hamburg last Saturday, he told me something that really lightened up my heart: After a lengthy corona break, the distillery has meanwhile opened its doors to visitors again. And the drammers in Denmark (more…)
Carlos I Brandy 130 Aniversario (Review)
In mid-March, I took part in a fantastic Carlos I online tasting run by my good friend Michael Lutz. I enjoyed the event so much that I decided to buy a new bottle of Carlos I afterwards. At first I aimed for the PX or the Amontillado. But then I thought to myself: Why not up the ante (more…)
2x German Whisky from Habbel & The Quaich: Hillock 5 1/2 Chief & New Gate 10yo SC (Review Flight)
Whisky made in Germany – that’s far more than an insider’s tip these days! All over my home country, go-getting distillers put their malt, grain and rye spirit into casks and develop it to become whisky or whiskey (unlike Scotland or Ireland, there is no unified spelling here in Germany; (more…)
Carlos I Brandy – Virtual Tasting with Michael Lutz (Tasting)
If you appreciate a good sherry cask maturation, here comes a recommendation: Besides sherry-matured whisky, there is another type of spirit you should definitely keep in your sights, namely Brandy de Jerez. Like cognac, armagnac and other brandies, Brandy de Jerez (more…)
