Reviews No.34 to 37 – A New Year and Some Samples Sent From Scotty in Scotland

2020 wasn't all bad. Yeah, there's a pandemic and with the P-word comes the exasperated realisation that a lot of people think Bill Gates is using a health crisis to nefariously microchip a global population of 7.5 billion people and then track our daily bowel movements. The mental gymnastics needed to believe that a guy …

Review No.33 – Ardnamurchan Single Cask AD/CK.335 07:15

Some folk just have an natural affinity for writing; to dive right in, to tie an experience to their insightful opinion, to then bring it all together in a flourish at the end. I, however, cannot, so instead I'm going to list some of the stuff I wanted as a kid but missed out on: …

Review No.32 – Daftmill 2007 Winter Batch Release

It's not often that a distillery sees such a persistent and fervent clamour for their releases, but distillery size, production output, a great name, continuing popularity, and, of course, the quality of the whisky all drive the somewhat nutty race to grab a bottle. Entering a ballot for the chance to obtain a bottle from …

Review No.31 – Ardnamurchan AD 09.20:01

The important issue first: Ard-na-murkan. That's according to the youtube videos I dilligently watched, but it's also written on the sustainable cardboard packaging that this whisky came in. This commitment to sustainability, from production to packaging, is at the forefront of Ardnamurchan's ethos. So, Scotland's first green distillery. What does that actually entail? This may …

Review No.30 – Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky

Even though I'm a big proponent of supporting local retailers and shops, I sometimes use a global e-commerce website which specialises in selling and shipping a dizzying array of shite, like sugar-free gummy bears and bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue Label for £500, and some awesome stuff like life-sized cardboard cut-outs of Ainsley Harriot and …

Review No.29 – The Arran Machrie Moor Cask Strength

I have developed a bit of a soft spot for Arran over the past few months - they produce consistently good drams, aren't averse to trying a wide array of cask maturations and finishes, and are one of the few distilleries in the past year to receive (mainly) positive feedback from the demanding whisky community …

Review No.28 – Bunnahabhain Moine

Today we're at Bunnahabhain over on Islay and this release was chosen because it's by far the easiest NAS release that I can pronounce. In 2018, with approximately only 1% of the Scottish population speaking Gaelic, the distillery saw an opportunity to name their releases using the native language and connect whisky lovers from both …

Review No.27 – Longrow 2007 Sauternes Single Cask 12 Year Old

With new whisky releases being churned out weekly, it's increasingly difficult to keep track of where and when they go on sale, even harder to afford them, and yet the trouble doesn't stop there. Should you have your ear to the ground and disposable income burning a hole in your pockets, then your next difficulty …

Review No.26 – North Star Orkney 13 Year Old (Highland Park)

EDIT: I cocked up my review tally - this is # 26, nae 25. A quarter century of uninspiring reviews with tasting notes you've read before - it can all seem a bit mundane at times, with very little Jim Murray-themed sexual analogies and zero controversy, but behind the scenes it's actually a constant battle …

Review No. 25 – Fettercairn Fior

I have a friend. Well, I actually have more than one, but this is specifically about a friend called Joseph. Joseph adores Fettercairn; absolutely loves their whisky, the distillery, and their location. I agree on location because, being from the North East of Scotland, I too trumpet about the scenery, the rowies (oh god, the …