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Scyfion: a Ukrainian independent bottler

December 3, 2019
Interview: Cheaper by the Dram

November 18, 2019
That Boutique-y Whisky Company advent calendar

November 10, 2019
The Balvenie DCS Compendium Release, chapter 3.

October 26, 2017
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Clynelish 2008, cask #800151, Van Wees

February 17, 2020
Milk & Honey Classic

February 14, 2020
New Riff Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

February 10, 2020
Aberlour 12-year-old Double Cask

February 5, 2020
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New Riff Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey

If you spend a lot of time on Instagram like me, you might have seen them come by, photos of a bottle of New Riff. This relatively young American dist…

Scyfion

Scyfion: a Ukrainian independent bottler

Cheaper By The Dram

Interview: Cheaper by the Dram

That Boutique-y Whisky Company

That Boutique-y Whisky Company advent calendar

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Clynelish 2008, cask #800151, Van Wees
Milk & Honey Classic
New Riff Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
Aberlour 12-year-old Double Cask
Tomatin Legacy

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When I drink a whisk(e)y, it's not always about writing tasting notes or thinking about which flavours I can discover, you know. Sometimes it's just nice to sit back and relax and just enjoy a dram, without thinking too much about it. #weekendgoals #relax

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A Glentauchers that has matured in a 1st fill sherry cask, not something you often come across. I was very curious and bought one during my last trip to Scotland. It made me wonder if the light character of Glentaucher can cope with the influence of this cask. So here are my notes: ⁠⠀
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Nose: A real sherry influence here, as expected. Dried fruits, like raisins and dried figs. A leather note and dark chocolate. Then it starts to become fruitier, with mainly dark forest fruits such as blueberries, sweet blackberries and dark cherries. Some honey here as well. Followed by caramel fudge and a hint of toffee. After a while, it also gets a hint of red berries. Nice, but not much of the Glentauchers character so far. With water: somewhat less heavy. It becomes fruitier and it adds some freshness from oranges and a hint of lemons. Strawberries too.⁠⠀
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Taste: Sweet forest fruits at first, blueberries and sweet ripe blackberries again. This is followed by leather. A sweet note from honey. And spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper and chilli peppers. I think we need some water here…. Sooo, with water: That’s better. Sweeter, fruitier and less spicy but the chilli peppers are still here. It adds some lovely dark chocolate as well.⁠⠀
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Finish: Long with spices and burnt caramel. With water: adds chocolate and honey.⁠⠀
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Ok, the character of Glentauchers is completely gone. It seems like a good sherry cask though as a lot of flavours keep appearing and it’s ever-changing. Even though it’s quite unique to taste a Glentauchers matured in a sherry cask, I would have loved to see at least a bit of the Glentauchers character in here. But I should have known this wouldn’t be the case with a 1st fill sherry cask. So it loses some points here for me. It’s still nice though and if you like your sherry bomb then you probably would love this.

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One of the big surprises for me last year was the young London distillery Bimber. After tasting a number of samples and also their re-charred virgin oak release, I was very impressed with this small distillery. So last month I was finally able to visit Bimber and that was very interesting! So if you are in London, make sure you visit this distillery. It's definitely worth it!

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Time to kick off the weekend with this fine 10 year old Clynelish from the Dutch bottler Van Wees! I had not written any tasting notes about it yet and so that is what I am going to do right now. (Review will be online next week). Cheers and have a great weekend everyone! ⁠

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A Glen Garioch from 1990. Could be interesting.... :-)

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This 15 year old Springbank is the perfect example of a whisky that works well in combination with rum casks. It's fully matured in these casks, but the character of Springbank is still clearly present. Very well balanced and at no time does one dominate the other. Very tasty indeed! Here are my notes:⁠⠀
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Nose: Oh nice! There’s a little peat and even a faint diesel note at first. Lemons in the background. Then that typical Springbank farmyard note. And then it goes towards cane sugar, but nothing too much, it actually works well here. Later also bananas. Some chalk and vanilla. And it’s somewhat salty. A hint of tinned pineapples too.⁠⠀
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Taste: Bananas at first! But also some peat here. And that farmyard note again. Oh, I like this. But more fruits now, mostly peaches and pears. Then it becomes a little sugary, but nothing too much. A hint of liquorice. Creme Brulee and it’s somewhat salty.⁠⠀
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Finish: Mid-long to long. Fruity with salt and pepper. Some chalk here as well. And a hint of cappuccino.

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This is the beautiful Tormore Distillery. I took this photo during the Spirit of Speyside festival last year. In a few days, the program for this year will be announced again and I am very curious about what events they have this year. But I'm sure it will be good again! Who else is looking forward to this?⁠⠀

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Thanks for the nice bottle @matsuiwhisky! Looking forward to trying this one. So expect a review to be online soon. 😊 Have a nice weekend all!

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I wasn't entirely convinced of this Tormore when I first tasted it. But now I've tried it again in the comfort of my own home, it's really nice. I pick up more than I initially did. Perhaps not the most complex dram, but it's lovely. Water makes it slightly better, but it's dangerously drinkable at 58% ABV. Here are my notes:⁠⠀
Nose: Quite fruity at first, yellow apples and tropical fruits like pineapples, kiwis and then it goes towards vanilla. Caramel fudge. Later also a hint of icing sugar. Water makes it less fruity so it seems. Bringing out pastry⁠⠀
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Taste: Very drinkable at 58% ABV actually. Vanilla. Milk chocolate followed by a hint of lemons. And a little bitterness from pink grapefruit. Somewhat peppery and menthol in the background. With water: everything is still there but with more vanilla and grapefruit and somewhat creamier.⁠⠀
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Finish: Mid-long, mostly with vanilla and a hint of kiwi. Somewhat oaky. Caramel toffee in the end.⁠⠀

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Friday evening dram! A 7 year old Croftengea (peated Loch Lomond) from the SMWS. It's young, fierce and tasty. And the title says it all.... No this is defitinitely not for the faint-hearted. ;-) Cheers all, have a great weekend!

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Whisky maturing at Tomatin Distillery.

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Convalmore was one of the distilleries located in Dufftown, just up the road to The Balvenie and Glenfiddich. It produced mainly whisky for blends, such as Black&White. After being mothballed in 1985, the premises were sold to William Grant & Sons., who now uses the warehouses to store their whisky. But the license is still in hands of Diageo (the last owner and operator of the distillery), so they can still release Convalmore whisky if they ever want to.⁠⠀
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This 24-year-old Convalmore was bottled in 2003 at a strength of 59.4% and is the only Convalmore in the Rare Malts series. It’s really good and quite complex, but it needs some time to develop and also water helps here to bring out new flavours.⁠⠀
Here are my tasting notes:⁠⠀
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Nose: Vanilla and tobacco leaves at first. A hint of stewed fruits and honey. But at the moment it is still fairly closed and the scents are quite concentrated. Then a little coconut appears, followed by hazelnuts. Mandarins. Give it time and it opens up. Apricots here as well. With water: Fruitier and it adds lemons and also some mint. Caramel too.⁠⠀
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Taste: Quite a thick mouthfeel. Vanilla, coconut in the background and a hint of ginger. Hazelnuts. Tobacco leaves again. But I think it could use a little water as it is quite peppery from the alcohol. Oranges. With water: fruitier, beeswax, mint and caramel too.⁠⠀
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Finish: Long, pink grapefruit in the background and those mandarins again. Peppery. Water adds mint, coconut and caramel.

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Clynelish 2008, cask #800151, Van Wees
Milk & Honey Classic
New Riff Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
Aberlour 12-year-old Double Cask
Tomatin Legacy
Laphroaig 10 year old cask strength, batch #010
Tormore 1999, Gordon & MacPhail
Clynelish 21-year-old, batch 7, That Boutique-y Whisky Company
Glentauchers 2006, Distillery Reserve Collection
Springbank Rum Wood 15-year-old

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