My rendezvous this week was with an expression whose distillery had reopened its doors in 1995, but had traits that spanned over a century, being one of the unfortunate many who fell victim to the times due to poor management and unconducive market dynamics. An Island distillery, the Arran has proximities to Campbeltown and the…
Tag: #mywhiskeydiaires
Review : Edradour Caledonia Selection 12 YO Single Malt
One of the smallest distilleries in Scotland, the Edradour is situated in Pitlochry, central to the highlands. The distillery is both unique and traditional for a host of things, in the sense that it houses a rather small cast iron mash tun that is over a century old, a Morton refrigerator, possibly the last of…
Review : Caol Ila 12 YO Single Malt
The Caol Ila is a Single malt that holds great relevance to the Johnnie Walker branding, being a major constituent to its malt component (another being Cardhu) while also lending it the traditional smoke and peaty nuances that makes the blend a standout. With over 90% of its produce being leveraged in making the blend,…
Review : Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2011
I find one of the most interesting bits about whisky is its similarity to both you and I; how it gets moulded and influenced due to the dynamics of what lay around it, defining flavour and character. Even the “odd bunch” expressions, that no matter how far they tend to stray away, are still unable…
Review : Glendronach 12 vs Compass Box The Story of the Spaniard
This month’s match up is another blind tasting, this one a sherry influenced face off – single vs vatted malt, champion vs underdog, aged vs NAS, the “tell some” vs the “tell all”. Yes, it’s the battle between the Sherry bombs – Glendronach’s 12 YO and Compass Box’s The Story of the Spaniard! In an…
Review : Nikka Coffey Grain Whisky
When Aeneas Coffey invented the continuous column still, the scotch industry hadn’t taken to the contraption very well, it was in a sense an unorthodox and almost heretic change from the well settled and established pot still. Though the Irish and Americans gobbled the technology, little might have Aeneas ever imagined that his invention would…
Review : Glenfiddich 18 vs Glen Grant 18
March continues the trend with yet another malty match mania, a head to head comparison between the Speysides! On one corner, we have four time ‘World Whisky of the Year’ winner, Glen Grant 18 , while on the other is the Glenfiddich 18, a contender no less with a host of awards under its belt…
Review : Rampur Sherry PX Finish
Slipping in another review towards the end of the year, this month’s tropical expression finds its roots from the Indian subcontinent, from one of the country’s oldest distillery – Radico Kaitan and its wing, the Rampur distillery. Though relatively new to the international single malt arena, the distillery does have a fair bit of experience…
Review : Talisker 10 YO
Rugged landscapes, narrow lochs, historic castles, green flora and a rich wild life are integral to the Isle of Skye, an island off the West Coast of Scotland. Better known is Talisker Bay or rather the distillery that takes the same name, the oldest working distillery on the island. Oddly enough, Talisker initially began producing…
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 : Ardbeg Uigeadail
An islay great and a commoner for those who love their concoction peaty is the Ardbeg distillery, an establishment with over 200 years of whisky history to its name. A white washed building with the ‘Ardbeg’ name tag boldly painted across, the distillery sits comfortably along the southern coast off the Isle of Islay, where…
Uisce Beatha | My Whisk'e'y Diaries 