This seldom heard bottling jumped onto my headlights on my trip back to Perth; the salesmen didn’t miss the opportunity either, selling a strong and rather persistent pitch. It did seem like he knew his spirits, but there was surely some gift of gab at play. Nevertheless, I thought, why not give this one a…
Review : Bowmore 10 Aston Martin
Both the Bowmore and the Aston Martin are stalwarts in their own right; backed by a rich history with each offering qualitative contributions in their own fields. An outcome from yet another collaboration between the two, were a series of expressions, a tri-series – The Bowmore Aston Martin 10, along with the older 15 and…
Review : Jura The Bay 12 YO
The Jura in my view, hasn’t got that many eyes, nor does it sail the word of mouth as one would hope. I’m not sure if it’s the lack of advertising that is missing substantial outreach, the lack of effective product placement or awareness; or its availability barring the 10 YO expression! For me, perhaps…
Review Ledaig Rioja Cask Finish
The Ledaig to me has always been a stellar whisky, especially for the value that it brings. The expression has had the misfortune of being lesser known than the other mainstream distillers for several reasons – known and unknown. However their 10 to me was such a great tuple – sweet and rich, fortified with…
Review Bowmore 10
To make things interesting, I got myself a Bowmore 10, a whisky I’ve sampled several times, though not particularly for a review. The choice for circling back emanated from a keen interest to ascertain how the Bowmore Aston Martin 10 stands up against the base travel retail bottling from the distillery. The Bowmore is no…
Review Talisker Surge
My first experience with the Talisker was very mundane, leaving me unimpressed. Possibly a bad batch of the 10, because every other sampling was quite the opposite, making me an avid fan of their briny, peated profile. And when a new expression caught my eye, I was inquisitive to see how this one would play out….
Review : Glenfiddich 14 YO
Have you ever felt that the most unappealing of casks is probably the Ex-Bourbon cask? You know… those casks that have previously aged American spirits (Bourbon); used, re-used and possibly abused due to their relatively cheap pricing and easy availability. I mean how much can a newly distilled spirit garner from a barrel that’s already…
Review : Amrut Bagheera
The Bagheera is a reclusive animal, one that has been part of local folk lore and even a main charachter in Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book.” This expression of Amrut takes an unusual route adorning the Bagheera along with the very regal Mysore Palace, with splashes of shades of green taking backstage. Why the Bagheera?…
Review : Benriach Triple Distilled Three Cask Matured 10 YO Single Malt
It had been a while since I got to pen my thoughts on some of my recent acquisitions; family, work and other commitments taking precedence. Missing on the joy and the clickity clackity sounds from hitting the keys on my keyboard re-inspired and brought joy in reliving what a particular whisky had to offer, its…
Review : Glenmorangie The Accord 12
Travel retail to me are the experimental grounds where distillers introduce some of their new releases amongst a smaller subset of consumers giving them the advantage of understanding consumer appetites’ before being released into the general public. But on the flip, explains why travel retain releases do not garner much hype as many a times…
Review : Arbeg Smoketrails The Manzanilla Edition
Smoketrails is a limited series of expressions introduced by the House of Ardbeg, that provides travelers an experience of the influence of casks sourced from around the world against the distilleries’ traditional smoky and peaty flavours. Another addition to pep up this ARDventure is the distilleries’ four-legged mascot, “Shorty,” a Jack Russell meant to join…
Review : Lark’s Rum Cask Release III
Another limited release from the Lark distillery finds itself at the table ready to be lapped up for a review – the Rum Cask Release III! This Tasmanian tuple is their third instalment of the series, grabbing influence from casks that are local to the distillery – the “Quite Cannon Rum”; explains the illustration on the…
Review : Highland Park 2001
The Highland Park 2001 is a Global Retail release from the Orkney Island based distillery and another expression within my collection back when I was just beginning my journey appreciating whisky. The collection, which was fuelled by several travels built my fondness for the golden elixir with many feeding my spirited journey, ultimately coming at…
Review : Limeburners Infinity Solera Cask
This week’s review is a local dram that I had held as part of my personal collection even before I had set foot here; an expression I asked a cousin to procure to bring some diversity and colour. Surprisingly it’s been around seven years that the expression has been holding cupboard real estate, which is…
Review : Lark Symphony No. 1
My second review for the month is from one of my favourite indigenous craft distilleries – The Lark. This one, the “Symphony No. 1” was introduced in 2020 and was the tazzie distilleries’ first blended malt consisting of a vat of spirits local to the state. I can see why Lark had coined the name…
Review : Paul John Bold
Even with summer dawning to a close, the heat has been stubbornly holding on to the late 30s. Hot and bored after a fair share of channel surfing, I plopped myself onto the couch positioned well below the aircon vent with a glass topped just enough for me to sip and spawn yet another review…
Review : Longmorn 18 YO Double Cask Maturation
There are a few expressions that sit quietly along the sidelines, away from the local liqour stores. The Longmorn 18 was introduced by the Chivas Brothers at travel retail stores during the late 2019s as part of their “Secret Speyside Collection”. The collection comes from “four of Speysides most ellusive distilleries” and are a series of…
Review : Limeburners Port Cask Single Malt Whisky
Stocked up with a few samples from my visit to the Great Southern Distilling company, the New Year brought the opportunity to revisit and possibly sample some of them. Part of the Limeburner’s core range is the Port Cask, an expression from the Albany based Western Australian distillery. The expression is aged in a combination…
Review : Balvenie The Creation of a Classic
Working as a book keeper at the Mortlach distillery, William Grant dreamt of much larger aspirations. Dreams that led him to purchase a plot near the Balvenie castle in 1886; a deed that laid the foundation to the distillery and gave it its name. Work however began much later, taking a total of 15 months…
Review : Amrut Amalgam Peated
Five years on after my review of the Amrut Amalgam, I got the opportunity to get acquainted with the half brother, The Peated. This expression isn’t a new kid on the block but one who made the rounds towards the end of 2018, a short while after its older sibling. This vatted malt has very…
Uisce Beatha | My Whisk'e'y Diaries 