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4 drams of Claxton’s Spirits

October 5, 2022
Clynelish 14 year old

September 28, 2022
Two Ardnamurchan releases

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Bowmore 1997 3.243, SMWS

September 9, 2022
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Tasting notes: Mars Komagatake Rindo 2012

I have had the chance to try a few Japanese whiskies lateley, but I've never tasted a whisky from the Shinshu Mars Distillery. So when a friend offere…

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An interview with Rick from Single Note Whisky

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BYOB-C, Belgian bottler or club?

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An interview with Joeri from The Whisky Jury

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4 drams of Claxton’s Spirits
Clynelish 14 year old
Two Ardnamurchan releases
Bowmore 1997 3.243, SMWS
Speyside 13 yo & Aultmore 12 yo, Roger’s Whisky Company

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The Balvenie washbacks. 🖤

The Balvenie washbacks. 🖤

Well, it took a while, but here is finally my revi

Well, it took a while, but here is finally my review of the Clynelish 14 year old. It is the last in a series of three that I promised you a while ago.⁠
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Just a refresher, many months ago I asked you on Instagram what you think are nice and affordable whiskies (in the price range of about €50,- and less). And this Clynelish, along with the Ledaig 10 and the Talisker 10, were the most mentioned. Moreover, all three were single malts, which I had not yet reviewed.⁠
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The fact that this Clynelish could not be missing from the list is also a bit of self-interest. As a fan of the distillery, I was curious about how it tastes nowadays. It’s been quite a few years ago since I had a bottle of this in my whisky cabinet, so let’s see if it’s as good as I can remember.⁠
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NOSE: oh this is quite lovely. Sweet oranges and vanilla at first. Yep, there is a waxy note, yay! Red apples and a hint of ripe pears. A light floral note too. Then I get minerals before it goes towards fresh lemon juice.⁠
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TASTE: a creamy mouthfeel, which reminds me a bit of creme brulee. There is a bit of wax again, which is followed by oranges. Then apples and pears. A drop of honey and butterscotch in the back. Later also some cinnamon.⁠
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FINISH: mid-long, with a hint of lemons and pears. A little bit of honey. A touch of black pepper and it’s slightly oaky.⁠
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This Clynelish is definitely my favourite of the three I have tasted for this series. It’s a very nice single malt, of which I now wonder why it took me so long to repurchase it. So thank you very much for your recommendation!😁 This is great value for money, one of the better ones in its price range.⁠
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SCORE: 87/100

Happy Friday everyone! 🖤

Happy Friday everyone! 🖤

A lot of new distilleries have been opened in rece

A lot of new distilleries have been opened in recent years, but there are only a few that I actively follow. Dornoch, for example, is one of them, but so is Ardnamurchan, the distillery of the bottler Adelphi.⁠
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In May, I finally visited the distillery, a highlight of my holiday. Located at the most westerly point of the British mainland, it’s a long drive to get there, but in my opinion, it’s more than worth it! I really enjoyed looking around there and, of course, tasting some excellent whiskies. A great day and I hope to go back there someday.⁠
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Anyway, that was a few months ago. And that also applies to two Ardnamurchan bottles that have been in my cabinet for a few months, which I hadn’t gotten around to reviewing yet. Time to catch up! ⁠
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This Cask Strength edition is the first one, and I’ve never had a cask strength bottle of them before. This is made from 50 casks, 45 ex-bourbon, and 5 ex-sherry. 40 of these casks were filled with peated whisky, and 10 were unpeated. An interesting mix in theory, so let’s see what this brings. Bottled at a strength of 58.7% ABV.⁠
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NOSE: quite smoky this one. Which is followed by chalk and a salty note. A little bit of vanilla and a hint of oatmeal. I almost get a smouldering bonfire at this point. Candied lemons, but also oranges. Green apples.⁠
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TASTE: less smoke than the nose suggests, but it is certainly there. Creamy vanilla and cotton candy in the back. Chalk. Lemons and oranges. A good pinch of sea salt, before it gets a bit peppery.⁠
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FINISH: mid-long with quite some pepper, salt and vegetal peat.⁠
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Possibly the best Ardnamurchan I’ve tasted so far. Rather flavourful and punchy, with the right amount of peat. It’s just really well done. If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s still for sale in some places.⁠
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SCORE: 87/100⁠
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Whisky maturing at Glen Moray Distillery.

Whisky maturing at Glen Moray Distillery.

What a day it was yesterday at @wtfwhiskyfestival!

What a day it was yesterday at @wtfwhiskyfestival! Fantastic festival with a lovely crowd, and great to catch up with people I hadn't seen in a while or never even met in person! Thank you all for stopping by our booth; I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. What an excellent start to the whisky season. Now on to the next one! 😉

Tomorrow is finally the day! Then it's time for th

Tomorrow is finally the day! Then it's time for the @wtfwhiskyfestival, one of my favourite whisky festivals in the Netherlands. I'm not there as a visitor, but I'll be working for the @whiskybase team.⁠
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We have picked out a lot of excellent drams to take with us, such as this delicious 20 year old Cooley. But of course, there will also be an extensive range of Archives bottlings to taste. ⁠
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I'm looking forward to it! Will I see you there?

Something special on the menu today, a 24 year old

Something special on the menu today, a 24 year old Mortlach. Bottled by Gordon & MacPhail, this single cask has spent its entire life in a refill American Hogshead and was distilled in 1989. Super fruity and quite tasty. I'll post my full review next week, but I'm really enjoying this now! Delicious!

Teeling's three shiny stills. 🖤

Teeling's three shiny stills. 🖤

A 20 year old Springbank from 2017, so bottled abo

A 20 year old Springbank from 2017, so bottled about 5 years ago by Whisky Broker. A nice and interesting dram. A real sherry bomb, but the character of Springbank is still there. There is a small sulfur note present, however, but this is not overpowering, fortunately. Hard to imagine that this one only cost £ 135,- at the time.

This SRV5 (Station Road Vat 5) is an 8 year old bl

This SRV5 (Station Road Vat 5) is an 8 year old blended malt from the Thompson Bros.
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To create this blend, the boys use a solera cask. This European oak cask is 1200 litres in size and will never be completely emptied. Before bottling, 2/3 is removed from the solera cask, which is then poured directly into an intermediate vessel. Here the blended malt is reduced to an ABV of 48.5%.⁠
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To create the following batch, the solera cask will be replenished with new single malts, where it is mixed again with the remaining part of the first batch.⁠
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So what exactly goes into this blended malt? Single malts from the regions of Islay, Northern Highlands, and Speyside. I’ve heard many good things about this whisky, so I’m curious if it lives up to the expectations.⁠
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NOSE: rather soft and fruity. Galia melons and ripe pears. A touch of minerals and smoke. A lovely waxy note. Vanilla custard and butterscotch. Then a hint of bananas, which is followed by lemon zest and pink grapefruit. Later also a drop of honey.⁠
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TASTE: again with those lovely Galia melons, but this time mixed with a dash of fresh lemon juice. Butterscotch and vanilla. A hint of bananas, followed by a little bit of smoke and minerals as well. Granny Smith apples and pink grapefruit.⁠
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FINISH: mid-long with lemons and grapefruit. But there is a bit of smoke too.⁠
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Nothing too complicated but a lovely daily dram that is also quite affordable (around €45,-). Great for the summer and I think many people will like this one. Worth trying while it’s still available!⁠
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SCORE: 85/100

Back to whisky! 🥃⁠ ⁠ In the summer, I alway

Back to whisky! 🥃⁠
⁠
In the summer, I always distance myself from whisky a bit. Not just because of the warm weather (although it was a significant factor with the sweltering temperatures this year), but simply because there is more to life than just whisky. This summer was mainly about family and friends, lots of delicious food and (other) drinks, but also plenty of music for the first time in many years, which I missed so much! It was a wonderful summer, but the whisky season will slowly start again, and so will fall. Something I'm eagerly looking forward to now and can't wait for it. I hope to meet many of you again soon, to drink a dram together or just for the gezelligheid (Dutch word, can't translate it!😅)⁠
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By the way, I will also be reviewing more, and since I promised you one of this Clynelish a very long time ago, a review will be online soon. Stay tuned, folks! 😉⁠
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Are you also looking forward to fall and the whisky season starting again?

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4 drams of Claxton’s Spirits
Clynelish 14 year old
Two Ardnamurchan releases
Bowmore 1997 3.243, SMWS
Speyside 13 yo & Aultmore 12 yo, Roger’s Whisky Company
Glenrothes 15 year old, Mythical Beasts, Spiritfilled
SRV5 batch 1, Thompson Bros
Lambay Reserve Cask series, batch 01
Speyside 2010, South Star Spirits
Milton Distillery 1949, Gordon & MacPhail

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