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: finish
Review : Wild Turkey Bourbon Whiskey
Little did one know that a game of hunting fowl and a round of alcohol among good friends would help craft the name for this unorthodox sounding whiskey…. The 19th century had two parallel tales, one a distiller- Jason Rippey who immigrated to the United States from Tyrone, Ireland, only to settle in Kentucky and…
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 : 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 : Gentleman Jack
Introduced in the year 1988 – over a century since the distillery last introduced an expression to their existing portfolio; the Gentleman Jack was poised to sit a notch higher than the Old No. 7 giving customers an opportunity to experience something more premier and upscale. These first generation bottles were initially sold exclusively within the United…
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 : Scottish Leader ‘Original’
Realising that consumers nowadays are becoming more and more cognizant of the multitude of genres, brands and expressions, several distilleries/distributors are willing to experiment with brands that might not necessarily come with celeb status, but nevertheless have a proven track record back home. Unfortunately, many of these lay bullied into obscurity as larger, more popular…
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 : 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 : Johnnie Walker Double Black
Great whisky does not have to be top dollar; and to amass a number worthy fan following doesn’t require it to be a single malt either- The Johnnie Walker Black Label. This blended scotch has successfully captured the Highlands and the West Coast with decent complexity without really drilling a hole in your pocket, and…
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…
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