I did plan to give Bowmore’s 16 YO Apellations Travel Exclusive a try earlier than I had hoped for; but the whisky stars didn’t quite align, pushing the dates a wee off – by a good 2 months! And albeit a bit delayed, here we are as I give the second of the tri-series a…
Tag: Islay whisky
Review Bowmore 14 Bordeaux Cask Finish
Two decades, a stopover and a flight later, I got to visit my home away from home. Although I didn’t plan on rewinding through memory lane, I did get to set foot into a few travel retail stores. It had been a year since I travelled, and this was incentive to make the most of…
Review : Port Charlotte 10 YO
It had been a while since I got to acquaint myself with an Islay, so when this dark bottled beauty caught my eye, there was very little reason for me to look the other side. The Port Charlotte is the middle sibling from the house of Bruichladdich, not a peat God like the eldest –…
Review : Bunnahabhain Stiuireadair
July brings with it a review that is very much Islay; spawning thoughts of peat, smoke, cigarette ash and leather? Unfortunately this strays from normalcy, sans most of the peaty influences, but also adorning a name that looks daunting to pronounce – Stiuireadair ! Pronounced as “Stew-rah-dur” (Thx to the internet), meaning “Helmsman” in Gaelic,…
Review : Ardbeg An Oa
Moving East to the Scottish Isles, taking a small break from my stint with Bourbons, I got my hands on more comfortable grounds, a smoky one this! The ‘An Oa’ , pronouned “An oh” is another one of Ardbegs now staple expressions that was introduced in 2009. Inspired after the rocky peninsular off the south…
Review : Port Askaig 100 Proof
Situated on the North Eastern side of the island of Islay and home to one of the island’s ferry terminals is Port Askaig. And though not a Laphroaig, nor a Caol Ila or an Ardbeg in the sense that they don’t malt or distill their own spirits, this independent bottler takes advantage of their relationships…
Review : Laphroaig Quarter Cask
A fraction of the size of a standard cask, the Quarter Cask adds gold, literally, to the whisky that is housed in the cask, owing to the larger wood to whisky interaction. This unorthodox maturation technique was almost forgotten; but rekindled by the folks at Laphroaig in the hopes of introducing another poster boy, who…
Review : Bowmore 15 YO Travel Exclusive
After a five year hiatus, in 2017 the folks at Bowmore re-introduced their aged statements within travel retail stores with the release of their 10, 15 and 18 YO Travel Exclusive Range. NAS whiskies in general have been on the receiving end from the very start, frowned upon at the get go; many times the…
Review : Laphroaig Four Oak
There is nothing more surreal than the sight of whisky twirling in the tumbler and the waft of smoke and brine tingling the nose, tempting the salivary gland as it goes into overdrive. As you press the glass onto your lips and tilt it towards you, every sip of whisky that gushes onto the palate…
Review: Bowmore No. 1
Islay whiskies hold almost God like status in the scotch world owing to its unique maritime and rich peaty-fire ember like character. It’s very likely that every whisky forum has at least once had its share of Laphy / Ardie cults religiously backing their die hard views. So when you are presented with an Islay,…
Review : Lagavulin 8 YO Limited Edition
Whisky writer Alfred Barnard had in 1886 pressed his lips against an 8 year old whisky from the Lagavulin distillery, and so much did this tuple impress him, that he penned his thoughts in his book, “The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom“. And to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the distillery, the folks at…
Review : Laphroaig 10 Years
A canvas, pitch black with a plethora of dim neon white lights and the brush of ivory hue extending from one corner to the other. Swords, all green pointed in a multitude of directions with glass crystal shards scattered across and a cloud of earie mist hovering silently outwardly over this plane of dark fluid-metal….
Uisce Beatha | My Whisk'e'y Diaries 