Connor McGregor, Dennis Rodman, Justin Timberlake, P Diddy, Ludacris, George Clooney and Adam Levine aren’t names you’d usually come across put together, let alone on a whisky blog. And weird as it may sound , these folks do have quite a bit in common – they all own (read ‘in partnership’) their very own liquor brands. And I’m…
Tag: ABV
Review : Johnnie Walker Island Green
A mid 2016 release inspired by the more popular 15 YO Green Label, this NAS expression – The Island Green, was introduced exclusively at Duty Free outlets adorning a similar styling as it’s well placed blended malt sibling. With the preference amongst consumers shifting more towards Malts and blends being their first point of entry,…
Review : Chivas Regal’s Chivas Brother’s Blend
The Chivas Distilleries hadn’t strayed much with their bottle designs when it came to profiling their whisky portfolio. They did however leverage color to visually distinguish between the various bottlings and much of these colorings to me have been carefully picked such that it aligns closely with their branding – regal, high stature and luxurious….
Review #50 : Chivas Regal 18 Years Old
This post, the 65th, happened to coincide with my 50th whisky review which now meant I needed to open something a bit out of the mundane (based on our recent poll this had to be a blended whisky). The month of August too had several highlights which gave all the more reason that I pick…
Review : Woodford Reserve Distiller’s Select
Pot stills, column stills and triple distillation would in all likelihood fire up a few dozen neurons leaving you imagining yourself pouring either an Irish or some Lowland Scottish blend into your favorite tumbler. But given a few moments, you drift pass your imagination and realize that what you’ve come to fathom wasn’t really true,…
Review : Monkey Shoulder
Whisky blends form around 90% of sales globally and blends in general would cause one to think of a mix of grain and malt whiskies. A sliver perhaps… but still a genre in itself, there are these that they call vatted malts, more commonly known as malt blends – blended whisky with zero grain presence…
Review : Glenfiddich Select Oak – Cask Collection
Ever wondered why Glenfiddich and the lesser known Grants adopted the trademark triangular shaped form, one which has undergone little to no change since its inception in 1961? The design and much of its persona was the brainchild of master designer Hans Schleger; and the inspiration…malt whisky trinity – water, air and malted barley without…
Review : Jim Beam Original
Over 220 plus years of bourbon history started by the son of a German immigrant all began at the ‘Old Tub’ family distillery, now better known as the Jim Beam distillery. Passed from one generation to another, a total of seven, and very much still a family owned business, this rebranding took place after prohibition….
Review : Glengoyne 10 Years
This cusp of a whisky – partly Highland for its distillery and Lowland for its warehouses is one of the few that are still very much family owned. And it is this fact that allows the Glengoyne (meaning ‘valley of the wild geese’) to stay true to their traditions, those that have been passed from…
Review : The Glenlivet Nadurra First Fill American Oak 16 Years
It is said that upwards of 60% of a whisky’s flavor comes from the wood that houses it. Which would mean a lot of its viscosity, feel, balance and smoothness would be defined by this very relationship. And let’s not forget those felt on the palate- the degree of spice, the influence of sherry, the…
Review : Amrut Amalgam
Indian whisky has spent much of its time in the shadows of obscurity, battling a dysfunctional, highly aberrant whisky production system, lacking quality control and an absence of any such handbook of sorts. The good news however is and there are a handful of distillers (more like a pinch really!) that are doing a great…
Review : Chivas Regal 12 Years
The everyday whisky – that go to colleague after a hard day’s work; that chum, that ally that brings calm to a rather stormy day or one that’s easy on the wallet. And it’s not any average Joe that can meet this criteria; this bullion distilled brew has to be in a sense multifaceted – interesting…
Review : Ardbeg 10 Year Old
If you were to spark a dialogue with some random whisky peat buff, chances are along with the regular mention of the word ‘Islay’ you would in all likelihood encounter the Ardbeg brand name at least once during the conversation. And why not?! The distillery produces some of the smokiest whiskies, occupying the upper half…
Review : Paul John Edited
King’s beer, Feni, beaches, shacks, psychedelic trance parties…all popular nouns, most if not all of the one billion strong would associate with Goa. But hidden away like a needle in a hay stack is a little known secret, the presence of an underdog whose venture into the Single Malt’s world would not exceed beyond the number…
Review : Yamazaki Distiller’s Edition
A year later and I acquaint myself with yet another expression from the Suntory Yamazaki Distillery, the Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve – a gift presented by a close family friend on a recent visit to Japan. The Distiller’s Reserve is the distilleries first venture into the NAS space which also occupies a spot now in its core…
Review : Teeling Small Batch Whiskey
Shades of red, orange and yellow danced around the creature; its final hours marked by smoke, dust and burning embers blemishing the skies above. What was once loud cries have now been silenced and all that is left is but a heap of ash, a few spots of gold and a dancing trail of smoke….
Review : Auchentoshan Springwood Single Malt
Distillers and distilleries alike have had their fair share of bankruptcies, sell offs, acquisitions and buy outs; and though not many, several of them have stood through the sands of time – Auchentoshan (pronounced Ock-un-tosh-un) being one such example. The distillery was set up in 1823 by John Bullock, a local merchant. Five years past…
Review : Glengoyne 12 Years Old
A Highland whisky with a Lowland stroke – standing tall, the Glengoyne 12 Year Old. This distillery is borderline Highland almost brushing shoulders with the virtual boundary that separates it from the calmer, more temperate Lowlands. While much of the fermentation and distillation is all up north, the warehouses where the young spirit is matured…
Review : 100 Pipers Blended Scotch Whisky
The sound of bagpipes as it cut through the cold, dark, intense and hostile air; the myriad of black polished boots clickety clacking against the earth in unison. White socks, kilts, sporrans, bagpipes – a hundred that marched leading the militia towards war; a piece of history that has inspired and made its way into…
Review : Smokehead Islay Single Malt Scotch
“What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself.” – Abraham Lincoln The approach has rather worked on the contrary for the folks at Ian Macleod distilleries, especially in the case of one specific bottling – The SmokeHead. To the novice drinker, the name might cause one to think of a pot addict in…
Uisce Beatha | My Whisk'e'y Diaries 