Review No.25 – North Star Orkney 13 Year Old (Highland Park)

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 of policing my comments because a certain friend relentlessly posts under the pseudonym of …

Review No.21 – Adelphi Selection Benrinnes 11 Year Old

Most whisky fans will be familiar with Adelphi Selection and their position as one of the more prominent Independent Bottlers. I was aware of them but, up until recently, had never managed to try them. Fortunately, due to credit remaining on the engagement dowry (since gone but not forgotten), I luckily managed to find a …

Review No.19 – Ardbeg Blaaack Committee Release

I’m back after another lazy-bastard-hiatus with a huge backlog of whiskies to review from the past 9 months. By my remedial calculations, I should manage to catch up and complete these reviews around 2026, that’s if the world hasn’t ended by then. So, here I am, with thankfully little to whine about compared to many …

Review No.18 – Midleton Very Rare 2017 Edition

Started in 1984, this is the 34th release from Midleton's Very Rare series, which is oft-cited as being the top end of the Irish Whiskey market in terms of quality and popularity. Every year the best casks are selected from the distillery's warehouse and married together to produce each new bottling. Situated 30 minutes east …

Review No.17 – A Trio of Glen Garioch Samples

I recently received three samples from a friend who had visited Glen Garioch (for non-Doric speakers and those unfamiliar with the distillery, it's pronounced 'Glen Geery') to purchase a few distillery exclusives and, as he's aff the bevvy for the time being, was generous to send them my way with an accompanying mini tasting glass. …

Review No.16 – Suntory Kakubin White Label

I don't know how some of you do it - the prolific, relentless whisky reviews and blogging. It's impressive dedication and I only wish I had such drive. However, I'm lazy and this is a hobby, but even my laziness has limits. Given I am now working from home, and in between mundane tasks such …

Review No.16 – Arran 20 Year Old Explorer Series Volume 1 Brodick Bay

Welcome back to the whisky blog that uses a pet dog on a zero-hours contract for poorly taken photos, which, on the evidence provided, don’t seem to be improving. However, Elsie’s Sports Direct-like existence isn’t in vain, particularly given the exposure she enjoys to all 15 16 17 readers. Today’s review is from The Arran …

Review. No 15 – Glendronach Revival 15 Year Old (2015 Bottling)

One Aberdonian, a fawning appreciation for Glendronach, and an old bottling of the 15 Revival? Well, you aren't mistaken for thinking this would be another puff piece - an uninspired, slavish display of adoration for a whisky world cult favourite - and I was a bit troubled that all of my reviews had become overwhelmingly …

Review No.14 – Kilkerran 8 Year Old Cask Strength 57.1% (2019 Release)

I'm a bit behind the times on this one having missed out on a bottle when it was released at the tail end of last year, however after a concerted effort to hunt it down - which meant trawling through the Kilkerran trade list, then emailing and calling shops - I was fortunate to locate …

Review No.13 – Drumshanbo Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey

Many thanks to Whiskey Nut More Irish whiskey! Rude not to, I do live here after all. So, 2019 was drawing to a close and I was a mildly unimpressed consumer of this island's offerings. I am not sorry to say that I found it all a bit samey, even a bit repetitive. Probably a …